verizon wireless - 23/36 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[Deal Alert] HTC Thunderbolt Just $100 On New 2-Year Agreement At Wirefly

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Deals, HTC, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Stay tuned - this is a multi-part "Deal Alert," everyone. First on our list: the HTC Thunderbolt. If you open a new Verizon account (sorry, additional lines and renewals aren't eligible) today, you can pick up an HTC Thunderbolt from Wirefly for just $100. Not shabby. The Thunderbolt was Verizon's debut 4G LTE device, and it has enjoyed substantial popularity since launch. It's also probably the best 4G handset on Verizon presently, though its battery life and lack of a Gingerbread update have put off many owners.

The Thunderbolt packs a 1GHz single-core next-gen Qualcomm processor, 768MB RAM, and a 4.3-inch SLCD display (with Gorilla Glass).

Jul

Confirmed: Motorola Droid 3 Has Locked Bootloader

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Droid 3, News, Verizon Wireless

All of Motorola's recent devices (save for the XOOM) have featured bootloaders that are locked down like Fort Knox, and despite publicly stating that they would be reversing that policy, the company has yet to take any action. Although they stated they wouldn't begin making bootloaders unlockable until late 2011, many people held out hope for the newly-released Droid 3. An apparently lost hope, unfortunately, as a Motorola Support forum admin has confirmed that the hot new Droid is as locked as its brethren.

Motorola painted a big bull's eye on itself when it started locking bootloaders, and now the company is certainly taking its time remedying the situation.

Jul

Motorola DROID 3 Pricing Leaked: $199 With A New Two-Year Contract, $459 Without

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 3, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Those (im)patiently awaiting the upcoming launch of the DROID 3 now have even more info on what to expect: thanks to Droid Life, we now know what the phone's pricing will look like, both on- and off-contract.

If you're cool with signing a new two-year agreement, you'll be paying the now-standard price of $199. Alternatively, if the shackles of a contract are enough to scare you away, you could purchase the phone off-contract for the fairly reasonable price of $459 (I say "fairly reasonable" since other carriers, such as Sprint, happily charge over $600 for an contract-free phone).

Droid Life says that "direct fill orders" (though we haven't a clue what that means) will begin tonight around midnight EST, and if the latest round of rumors is to be believed, you'll be able to pick up a DROID 3 starting July 14th.

Jul

[Rumor] Is The Droid Bionic Launching On August 4th?

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Bionic, Droid 3, News

Well, isn't this interesting... it appears that Android Central has gotten a hold of a leaked screen with some pretty promising release dates for some highly anticipated phones, including the Motorola Droid Bionic. Let's push that one of to the side for just a moment though and address the first phone on the list: the Droid 3.

We've basically known everything there is to know about the D3 for a while. This image echoes the previously rumored July 14th release date, so I will be really surprised if we don't see the newest Droid incarnation hit the Big Red sales floor in a week-and-a-half.

Jun

[Deal Alert] DROID Charge Now Just $129.99 At Wirefly On New 2-Year Agreement

Posted by David Ruddock in Charge (i510), Deals, News, Tips & Tutorials

I'm not a big fan of the DROID Charge, but hey, to each his own. And apparently consumers haven't been such huge fans of the phone's notoriously high original MSRP ($300 on upgrade or new agreement), making it the most expensive subsidized Android phone to date.

Well, Wirefly has started playing hardball, and after having dropped the Charge down to $180 a month or so back, they've gone price-slashing yet again: you can now pick up the Samsung DROID Charge for $129.99 on a new Verizon account with a 2-year agreement, or when you add a line to your existing plan (sorry, it's still $200 if you want to upgrade).

Jun

[Weekend Poll] How Much Cellular Data Does Your Device Use Per Month?

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Carriers, Editorials, News, Polls

Last Updated: September 3rd, 2011

This is the latest in our Weekend Poll series. For last week's, see How Much Has Owning A Tablet Impacted Your Computer Use?

It seems the explosive growth of smartphone use has had some unintended consequences: U.S. carriers are moving towards tiered data. While some carriers have had "soft" caps for years, we've recently seen a move towards hard caps. "Tiered" plans have long been standard in other parts of the world, but the simple difference is that US carriers charge significantly more across the board - be it basic plans (just minutes), add-on's (such as texting), or data (whether used on a plan or as-you-go).

Jun

Exclusive Download + Video: Root-Friendly Flashable Gingerbread Update For HTC Droid Incredible 2 [Leak]

Posted by Justin Case in Exclusives, Gingerbread 2.3, HTC, Incredible 2 (Vivow), News

Last Updated: June 5th, 2012

Yesterday, a signed Gingerbread RUU was leaked for the HTC Incredible 2 by MobileUnderground member Football. xgunther and I over at the AndIRC Incredible 2 chat repacked it and made it root-friendly.

Right now, you have to be one of the lucky few to be set S-OFF and rooted by AlphaRevX and running ClockworkMod recovery in order to flash the pre-rooted ROM. For those who are not that lucky (yet), enjoy the pictures and videos while we all wait for AlphaRevX to release the full unlock for the Incredible 2.

Note: Please note that we recommend against flashing the full signed RUU (i.e.

Jun

[Updated: Existing Customers Can Keep Unlimited Data] Editorial: Why Verizon's Tiered Data Plans Will Punish Everyone - Not Just Heavy Data Users

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Carriers, Editorials, Verizon Wireless

Update: According to two separate Verizon memos intercepted by Droid-life, existing Verizon customers can keep their existing data plan pricing when renewing or upgrading. Unfortunately, as with all offers of this type, just how long it will last remains to be seen. But, given that the BIONIC is coming some time soon-ish, it seems very likely that existing Verizon customers will be able to get the device without being forced into tiered data.

This should sate a lot of potentially angry current Verizon customers, but will definitely punish those coming over from AT&T for the iPhone 5 later this year.

Jun

[Rumor] Verizon Implementing Tiered Data Plans On July 7th, And They're Not Pretty

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in News, Verizon Wireless

Most users accustomed to unlimited data cringe upon hearing the words "tiered data plans" - but they aren't always bad. As our own David Ruddock pointed out, they don't affect most users - and they might even be cheaper for non-data hogs (aka 97% of customers).

However, in the case of the new tiered data plans Verizon Wireless is rumored to be implementing early next month, there's not much of an argument - they don't add any value whatsoever for VZW subscribers, and their sole raison d'être seems to be raping subscribers' wallets further still. Have a look for yourself:

2GB – $30/month
5GB – $50/month
10GB – $80/month
Overages - $10/1GB

No, this isn't a nightmare.

Jun

Gingerbread Update For DROID 2 Global Not Rolling Out Just Yet, Says Motorola

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Droid 2 Global, Gingerbread 2.3, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

Though Verizon would have you believe that Gingerbread is already rolling out to DROID 2 Globals around the world, Motorola is apparently riding a different train of thought entirely - according to a manager on their support forums, the update isn't quite ready yet.