26
Aug
samsung_logo1

It looks like Sammy has some big news for us in the coming weeks -- we already know we're going to hear about the Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Note at the IFA conference beginning September 1st, but now we're hearing rumors that Sammy will also unveil LTE versions of the Galaxy S II and the Galaxy Tab 8.9, both rocking upgraded specs from their non-LTE counterparts.

The LTE Galaxy S II is said to have a larger, 4.5-inch display along with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (no word on whether it's an Exynos, but we assume that it is) along with the first ever LTE/WCDMA/GSM multi-band radio.

23
Aug
248939_1998800203175_1038615681_2250841_3077936_n1

We already know virtually every detail about the upcoming Droid Bionic, and now Phone Arena has snagged a photo of a VZW internal document that basically verifies the last of the rumors: release date and price. We've been hearing rumors of a September 8th date for some time now, and one look at the image shows that pretty much hits the nail on the head. The phone will come in at a minimum advertised price of $299 with a two-year contract, which has quickly become the standard pricing for all of Big Red's 4G LTE phones.

Verizons-Infocenter-shows-yet-again-a-September-8th-launch-date-for-the-Motorola-DROID-BIONIC

So, now we've seen it, taken a look at the specs, and found out when we can get it and how much it will be -- that pretty much covers all bases.

22
Aug
vzlogo

Big Red just finished lighting up 15 new cities with 4G LTE five days ago and it has already lined up the next set of lucky areas to get a blazing fast wireless makeover.

Set to unleash on September 15th, the following citied can expect to get a major speed boost:

  • Fargo, ND
  • Moorhead, MN
  • Rockford, IL
  • Moline, IL
  • Rock Island, IL
  • Bloomington/Normal, IL
  • Champaign/Urbana, IL
  • Springfield, IL
  • Mansfield, OH
  • Canton, OH
  • Lima, OH
  • Iowa City, IA
  • Davenport, IA
  • Bettendorf, IA
  • Blacksburg, VA
  • Las Cruces, NM
  • El Paso, TX
  • Wichita Falls, TX
  • Austin, TX
  • Shreveport, LA

More areas may follow, so we'll be sure to let you know before the hammer drops.

17
Aug
vzlogo

It its ever-expanding conquest for mobile domination, Verizon Wireless will be turning on 4G LTE connectivity in 15 more cities across the nation, as well as expanding in 10 existing markets, on Thursday, August 18th.

In the past eight months, VZW has expanded its 4G LTE network to cover over half of the US, putting it on track to bring LTE to more than 185 million Americans by the end of the year.

Cities affected by this expansion will be:

  • Tucson, AZ
  • Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers, AR
  • Bakersfield and Salinas/Monterey/Seaside, CA
  • Fort Collins, CO
  • Frederick, MD
  • Worcester, MA
  • Omaha, NE
  • Council Bluffs, IA
  • Albany, Ithaca and Syracuse, NY
  • Altoona and Johnstown, PA
  • Memphis, TN
  • Prova, UT

In addition to the new markets, ten existing markets will see an expanded coverage area:

  • Washington DC
  • Tampa, FL
  • Atlanta, GA
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Boston, MA
  • Lansing, MI
  • New York, NY
  • Cincinnati and Columbus, OH
  • Salt Lake City-Ogden, UT

If you're not one of the lucky ones getting LTE tomorrow, don't sweat it -- Big Red shows no signs of slowing down this rollout, so there's a good chance you'll be covered by year's end.

11
Aug
droid-charge-1

The Droid Charge was the first 4G phone with Droid branding to hit VZW, and as such, has been the flagship phone of the Droid lineup since its release back in May. If you were to walk into a Big Red retail store and buy the Charge right now, you would leaving with $300 less than you went in with, and, lets face it, who wants to drop that much coin on a new phone?

Thankfully we have online retailers like Amazon Wireless to prevent us from wasting a ton of money, and they're here to save you a cool $230 on a new Droid Charge -- as long as you're a new Verizon customer willing to sign on the dotted line vowing your loyalty for the next two years.

07
Aug
image

The Droid Bionic, Verizon's most anticipated and delayed phone of 2011 (alongside the SGS2), expected to show up around September 8th, just got a few details we were curious about confirmed in its FCC filing docs, along with a slew of photos. Hilariously, it looks like either FCC has been testing this phone in a warzone or they have a pack of wild puppies around the office, because the device looks like it's just been through battle and gotten a Purple Heart.

image image image image

Additionally, among all the boring test reports, we have quite a few pages from the Droid Bionic's user guide, which not only confirm a 4.3" screen (not 4.5" as was suspected at one point), a dual-core 1GHz processor, and 1080P HD recording, but also highlight the Bionic's LTE and world radios, in addition to 3G.

02
Aug
231199836

Well, it's only taken about five months, but Verizon XOOM owners will finally be able to make use of that lovely microSD slot on the side of their tablet. Of course, the OTA update in question does a fair bit more than allow you to up your XOOM's already robust storage. Take a look at this list:

changes

While Verizon (they're the ones publishing the update) doesn't explicitly state that the update, dubbed HTJ85 (has a nice ring to it, right?), brings Android 3.2 to the XOOM, it's clearly implied by the addition of "Screen Scaling Compatibility Mode" - a feature of Android 3.2 that we talked about a while ago.

28
Jul
verizon

If you were not in one of the lucky cities to get 4G coverage from Verizon's extensive LTE rollout earlier this month, fear not as more cities are being added to the list as we speak. In fact the rollout and expansion have become so extensive we had to hunt through two pages of Verizon's press-releases to compile the list of new and expanded markets.

The cities that Verizon will be rolling out 4G LTE to on August 18 include the following:

  • Provo/Orem, Utah
  • Capital Region, New York
  • Syracuse New York
  • Ithaca, New York
  • Greater Worcester, Massachusetts
  • Salinas and Monterey, California
  • Bakersfield, California
  • Omaha and Council Bluffs, Nebraska
  • Johnstown and Altoona, Pennsylvania
  • Ft.
26
Jul
tab101_3

While not entirely unexpected, Verizon and Samsung have pulled a bit of a ninja act with the LTE Tab 10.1. We haven't heard a word about it lately, yet an official announcement has just landed in our inbox announcing it will go on sale in two days. The ubertablet will run from $530 for the 16GB model to $630 for the 32GB model, a $30 premium over the WiFi version. As an added bonus, Tab 10.1 purchasers will get a free $25 credit for the Samsung Media Hub.

The major specs:

  • Dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 T20 processor
  • 10.1" WXGA 1280x800 TFT (PLS) screen (PLS confirmed by official specs)
  • 1GB RAM
  • 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
  • 7000 mAh battery
  • 3MP rear camera with LED flash and 720p video recording, 2MP front-facing camera

Full presser:

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB™ 10.1 WITH 4G LTE AVAILABLE AT VERIZON WIRELESS

4G LTE and Wi-Fi Models Available; 8.6 Millimeters Thin and Weighing in at 1.25 pounds

BASKING RIDGE, N.J.

22
Jul
Android-Money

I know, I know. The last one was under $50, and preferably free. But in our attempt to keep you updated with the latest and greatest deals on the latest and greatest devices, we had to make sacrifices. Fortunately, that means there are also no repeat appearances from last month's post, though you should still check it out - a lot of those handsets (aside from the DROID 2) are still viable choices.

So, you get a fresh batch of deals, on a fresh set of phones. Oh, 4 of the 5 are for Verizon - and AT&T and T-Mobile are left out of this month's roundup (though the $50 Infuse deal at Target gets an honorable mention).