lte - 5/30 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Teardown Of Nexus 4 Finds World Band 4G LTE Chip That You Probably Can't Use

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in LG, News, Nexus 4

It was a little surprising to see Google announce a new Nexus device this year without LTE support. While LTE deployment is still lagging behind in many regions, the good old USA is fast becoming blanketed with speedy 4G. Now that the Nexus 4 is in the wild, iFixit has taken it apart, and you'll never guess what they found. Yes, a 7-band 4G LTE radio chip. The plot thickens...

The chip in question, the Qualcomm WTR1605L (highlighted in green above), supports all currently operating LTE networks around the world. This chip is probably a holdover from the LG Optimus G design, which the Nexus 4 is based on.

Nov

AT&T Talks Up Its LTE Rollout, Announces Ten New Markets

Posted by Cameron Summerson in AT&T, News

While Google may not be entirely ready to commit to LTE as the network that its current line of Nexuses will run on, three of the big four carriers seem to boast what they're up to in that department pretty consistently. Today, it's AT&T.

The company has just announced that not only does its LTE network cover "more than 150 million people across the U.S.," but also that it's ahead of schedule and plans on adding around 100 million more people to that number by the end of 2013. And another 100 million by the end of 2014.

To help reach that goal, they announced ten more LTE markets today:

If you're in any of the above areas, congratulations - you can now "do more faster."

Nov

Kindle Fire HD 8.9" Begins Shipping Today, Starting At $299

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Kindle Fire HD, News

It's been a few weeks now since the 7" Kindle Fire HD went on sale. Beating Amazon's earlier announcement by a few days, the 8.9" version is now shipping, with the LTE model to follow next week. In case you've forgotten, the larger Kindle houses a 1920x1200 screen that's not quite the best display around, but definitely close enough.

If you're still not sold on this don't-call-it-an-Android tablet, here. Allow Amazon to try to convince you with a list of bullet points:

Kindle Fire HD 8.9” is the top-of-the-line Kindle Fire. Features include:

A vibrant 8.9”, 1920x1200 resolution display at 254 ppi.

Nov

Cricket Joins The LTE Smartphone Crowd: LG Optimus Regard Available Now, Samsung Galaxy S III Coming November 23rd

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Cricket Wireless, Galaxy S III, News

There are still great swatches of the American wireless industry woefully lacking in LTE coverage (we're looking at you, T-Mobile) but bit by bit the various carriers have been hopping on the bandwagon. While budget carrier Cricket Wireless has actually had LTE coverage in Las Vegas and Tucson for the last few months, it'd been restricted to USB access dongles, WiFi hotspots and the like. Their first LTE smartphone, the LG Optimus Regard. Yup, that's the name they went with.

The Regard fits neatly into the low end, with a 3.5-inch screen running at 480x320. At least its' got Android 4.0, though it's also running LG's custom skin.

Nov

AT&T Marks LTE Service In Six New Cities 'Available'

Posted by Liam Spradlin in 4G, AT&T, News

If you're an AT&T subscriber who is yet to "do more faster" with the provider's LTE network, you might just be in luck. AT&T has announced new LTE availability in six cities across the country today, along with expansion in the Greater Seattle Area and one county in Maryland.

Here's a quick look at cities where AT&T LTE has officially lighted up (click them to see AT&T's city-specific press release):

Nov

Sprint Officially Announces The ZTE Flash, Along With A Handful Of New LTE Markets

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Flash, News, Sprint

Considering the multitude of leaks surrounding the device,, you probably already know basically everything there is to know about the ZTE Flash for Sprint. And now, The Now Network has made this mid-ranger official. The device features some pretty modest specs, along with a very Galaxy Nexus-esque form factor:

4.5" 1280x720 Display
1.5GHz dual-core processor
1GB RAM
12.6MP rear shooter
Android 4.0
1,780mAh battery
8GB storage, microSD card slot
4G LTE
5.27 inches (H) x 2.56 inches (W) x 0.38 inches (D)
5.2 oz.

To go along with this new 4G offering, Sprint also announced several new additions to its LTE network:

Minneapolis/St.

Nov

AT&T Promises LTE Coverage For 300 Million Americans By The End Of 2014 After $8bn Investment

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in AT&T, News

Sure, Verizon's running those ads that tells you how obvious it is their network is best, but AT&T wants you to know it's not sleeping on the job. Today, the carrier announced that it plans to have LTE coverage for 300 million people by the end of 2014. For those counting, that leaves only about 10 million out in the entire country.

The plan comes as part of a $14bn investment into wireless and wireline services—$8bn of which is going to wireless—that is expected to be carried out over the next three years. The new 2014 estimate will add an extra 50 million LTE customers on top of the already expected 250 million people covered by the end of 2013.

Nov

[Update: Price And Release Date] Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 LTE Making Its Way To Sprint In The Near Future

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, News, Sprint

Update 11/1/12: The tablet will come out on November 11th for $549.99.

Another day, ten new Samsung device announcements. We've already taken a look at the Galaxy Music this morning, and now the Korean manufacturer has announced the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is coming to Sprint's growing LTE network.

This is Sprint's first LTE-powered tablet, and packs a bit of a spec boost over the Wi-Fi model:

10.1" 1280x800 display
1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon MSM8960
1GB RAM
8GB built-in storage, microSD card slot
3MP rear shooter, VGA front camera
10.1 inches x 6.9 inches x 0.38 inches, 1.29 lbs.
Android 4.0

Like most other recent device announcements, there's no word on pricing or availability, only that it "will be announced at a later date." Cool.

Oct

AT&T Lights Up New LTE Markets In Knoxville, Tulsa, And Ft. Myers

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in AT&T, News

Do you like things that go fast? Do you enjoy sphere-shaped logos? Do you live in a moderately-populated town in Tennessee, Oklahoma, or Florida? If you answered yes to these questions, have I got some great news for you! AT&T users in Knoxville and surrounding counties, Tulsa, and Ft. Myers will notice a shiny new LTE market activated in their area.

The Knoxville area in particular is receiving a fairly wide-spread rollout, getting the LTE treatment not just in Knoxville, but also "Knox County, including parts of surrounding Anderson and Blount Counties and parts of Loudon, Roane and Sevier Counties." So, who out there is seeing the new speeds?

Oct

US Cellular Expanding LTE Coverage To 30 New Markets In November, Mostly Northeast And Midwest

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in News, US Cellular

With T-Mobile acquiring MetroPCS, things are starting to look mighty lonely in the regional carrier department here in the States. Even so, US Cellular has been making admirable strides in rolling out LTE services to their relatively small customer base, even beating some of the bigger carriers to the punch in many of their markets. Starting on November 5th, US Cellular will be adding new markets and expanding existing LTE zones... just in time for Galaxy Note II owners to enjoy them.

LTE will be switched on in select cities in Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia, with LTE coverage expanded in Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Oklahoma.