lte - 26/30 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Feb

New Ad Shows $299 Price For Thunderbolt, Continues To Be Most Confusing Device Launch Ever

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Well, another day, another HTC Thunderbolt rumor. Today's addition to the Thunder-rumor-dome is a little different, but don't worry - it's still pretty upsetting. A new Best Buy Ad has shown up with an advertised price of $299 for Verizon's debut 4G handset. Yuck. The Android Police team already thought $249 was a little steep, but $300 for a phone based on a platform that's been around more than 4 months worldwide?

Along with that, there's some delightful speculation about the Thunderbolt's release date having been pushed back to March 10th (which now seems fake). Hats off to Verizon and Best Buy for the best ongoing smartphone troll of all time.

Feb

Motorola XOOM Gets A Teardown, 4G LTE Chip Upgrade Takes 10 Minutes, Not 6 Days

Posted by David Ruddock in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

The good folks over at iFixit gave the Motorola XOOM a teardown this morning, and aside from the ridiculous 57 screws holding it together, it has been deemed pretty tinker-friendly, scoring an 8/10 on the repairability meter.

One interesting piece of information did emerge during the XOOM's disrobing, though - in regard to its much-touched LTE upgradeability. The teardown's author noted that the XOOM ships with a dummy mini-PCI board, presumably holding the 4G LTE radio's slot. What's so fascinating about that? Well, the author claims a seasoned technician could swap out the dummy card and close up in about 10 minutes.

Feb

Roseville Best Buy Thinks HTC Thunderbolt Is Delayed Till March 4th, But Can It Be Trusted To Use A Calendar?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, News, Rumors, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

Last Updated: October 10th, 2011

Among all the Thunderbolt delay rumors, here comes the latest one from the Roseville Best Buy #129. Their Twitter account, currently followed by 372 people, tweeted a few hours ago that the launch has been delayed further than we were anticipating - till Thursday, March 4th.

If true, this means earlier rumors of the February 24th and 28th launches will have turned out to be false, arousing even more suspicion around the reasons behind such a disastrous release of Verizon's first LTE handset. Are there last-minute problems with the LTE network? With the device itself? We don't know, but our curiosity sure is peaking.

Feb

Xoom 4G LTE Upgrade Will Require A Shipment To Motorola

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, XOOM

For anybody who is planning to buy a Xoom tomorrow, we finally have an idea on how the upgrade to 4G LTE compatibility will work. Instead of just being a simple software update, you'll have to send your device to Motorola, which, while free, will take "up to 6 business days." The process will be available approximately 90 days after the Xoom is released, and will remain available for six months. Be warned, however - this may result in some unpleasant circumstances, as users are warned to backup their device before shipping it. The details should be available officially tomorrow, and will be found on Verizon's soon to go live Xoom 4G LTE upgrade page.

Feb

The Barn Is Now A Rooftop - Verizon Releases A New Thunderbolt/LTE Commercial For A Phone Without A Release Date

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless, Videos

The most anticipated Verizon phone of the month, the HTC Thunderbolt, just got its first official commercial, complete with lightning, thunderbolt (no kidding), and a guy on the hunt for HTC's newcomer who ran away straight from the Ocean's 11 set. Two things are for sure - rooftops are definitely cooler than barns, and lightning is always a good idea.

Oh, and you know what else would be a good idea? A release date for the very thing Verizon is advertising as well as Skype at launch. That would be just super.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2TkxqVrVeQ

Source: VerizonWireless

Feb

Sanjay Jha On Motorola XOOM Pricing: 3G Version Will Cost $799, WiFi-Only Model To Retail For $600

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Told you so - the price of the XOOM will indeed be significantly less than $1,200 (at least according to Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha). In fact, if you decide to take the WiFi-only route, the tablet will cost just $600 - half of the price Best Buy put up (and subsequently took down). 3G connectivity will come with a $199 premium (jacking the price up to $799), though it's worth noting that the XOOM's radio will see an LTE upgrade sometime down the road.

Of course, there's probably one question on your mind: "How does this look next to Apple's pricing?" Well the cost of the WiFi-only model actually compares favorably - a 32 GB WiFi iPad costs $599, so the two tablets will be neck-to-neck.

Feb

[Videos] WireFly Reviews The HTC Thunderbolt, Compares It To HTC EVO 4G And Verizon iPhone 4

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless, Videos

Last week our friends at WireFly unboxed the HTC Thunderbolt, but spent little time actually using the device. They left us with a few tantalizing tidbits though, saying "this phone cranks," and promising a full video review, as well as head-to-head comparisons with the iPhone 4 and the EVO 4G. Yesterday, the last of the three videos went up - let's take a look.

Video Review

The review video is just over 8 minutes long. The first few minutes are spent running through the system, and from the 4:10 mark onwards, they run some benchmarks and compare the scores to other devices.

Feb

Latest From The Stack Of HTC Thunderbolt Release Date Rumors: February 24th

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

First it was a mystery. Then it was the 14th of February. After that, it was indeterminately postponed. And now, Android Central is reporting that the Thunderbolt will finally launch on February 24th.

This lines up perfectly with Droid Life's earlier speculations, though of course, it's always possible that Verizon will push the date back yet again. Because, you know, it's not like anyone is eagerly awaiting the carrier's first 4G phone or anything.

Update: Things are looking even more certain now: BGR has also been told that the Thunderbolt will be released on the 24th.

Feb

Verizon Moves Towards Voice-Over-Data With VoLTE

Posted by Josue Alamo in News, Revolution, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Verizon is about to add another card to its deck - at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, the carrier intends to announce VoLTE, which will enable voice calls to be routed over their fancy new LTE network. This opens the door for simultaneous voice and data usage, a feature AT&T customers have been bragging about for ages now. Additional benefits include superior call quality between VoLTE-enabled phones, though legacy 3G users will be left behind with no improved call clarity. Also in tow is video and text over LTE, with Verizon and Skype partnering up to provide conference calling opportunity to users.

Feb

Wirefly Unboxes The HTC Thunderbolt: "This phone cranks."

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Our pals over at WireFly have done an unboxing video of a production Thunderbolt, and at 7 minutes long, it provides a good look at what customers can expect to find in the box. See for yourself:

Notable points:

32 GB microSD card pre-installed (8 GB of ROM, for a total of 40 GB of storage)
Kickstand
SIM card required for LTE
Dual-LED flash
4.3" 480x800px LCD
Android 2.2.1
8 MP camera around back, 1.3 MP in front

Although they just barely play with the phone while it's powered on, they mentioned in an email that "This phone cranks." They also mention that WireFly will be selling the device "soon." How soon that is is up for debate though, especially in light of today's delay.