verizon wireless - 31/36 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Mar

[Deal Alert] HTC Thunderbolt Pre-Order Goes Live On Wirefly, And It's Cheaper Than You Think

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

Take a deep breath - it's really starting to look like the Thunderbolt saga is approaching the end. Verizon's first 4G LTE device has been through a rollercoaster of predictions, disappointments, and broken promises (over and over), but the latest confirmed date of March 17th we told you about earlier is indeed proving to be legitimate.

As promised, Wirefly just launched the Thunderbolt pre-order page, and if you've been waiting to pick one up, you may be pleasantly surprised. In addition to not charging any tax in most states and offering free shipping, Wirefly's price is lower than what we've been expecting to see in Verizon's own stores and Best Buy, for both off-contract and on-contract pricing, including upgrades.

Mar

Which Carrier's Network Is Really The Fastest? One Study Attempts To Answer

Posted by Will Shanklin in AT&T, News, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

They say "talk is cheap" - and these days it seems like every major US wireless carrier is claiming to have the fastest 4G (of course 4G is a highly debatable marketing term that describes three vastly different networks, but that's fodder for another post altogether). It's relatively easy to tune all of the marketing hype out but, when presented with some solid numbers, it gets easier to pay attention. PC World has tried to give us some raw data to work with in their profiling of the data speeds on the four major providers.

There are, however, a couple of very important things to keep in mind before viewing these results:

PC World measured the best service they could get (whether 3G or 4G) over 260 locations in 13 cities.

Mar

Oops - Authorized Verizon Retailer Sends Flyer To Customers Claiming HTC Thunderbolt Is "Now Available"

Posted by Will Shanklin in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Way to pour salt on your customers' wounds there, ~~Verizon~~ authorized Verizon retailer: pictures have surfaced of a new flyer arriving in customers' homes (obtained by Droid Life) that shows the HTC Thunderbolt with the words "Now Available" beneath it. No, this isn't an unexpected dream come true for Verizon customers, it seems like a flub by an authorized dealer (it's unclear to us which one) that certainly can't help calm the restless natives.

Despite the rhetorical wrangling we heard from a Verizon exec yesterday about being on track with LTE phones, this flyer appears to confirm beyond the shadow of a doubt that Verizon had originally intended for its first LTE smartphone to be available much earlier than that.

Mar

Verizon Suing The Pants Off Of SMS Scammers

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Verizon Wireless

Have you ever been annoyed by SMS spam that attempts to convince you to pay for new Paris Hilton ringtones or something else you probably don't want? It appears that Verizon Wireless has too, as they have filed a federal lawsuit outlining a fraudulent SMS scheme that targeted its customers.

Among the violations that the scammers allegedly performed on Verizon customers:

misappropriating approved short codes for unapproved “shadow” campaigns that did not comply with Verizon Wireless’ consumer protection and disclosure policies
blocking certain IP addresses from accessing the websites associated with these shadow campaigns
re-directing visitors to shell websites, preventing Verizon Wireless and its auditors from finding the shadow campaign websites in the normal course of monitoring Premium SMS campaigns for compliance

Customers who think they might have been on the receiving end of this scheme and think they might be entitled to a refund can visit www.premiumsmsrefunds.com to get the full scoop.

Mar

Prepare To Groan: Verizon Exec Says HTC Thunderbolt To Arrive "By The End Of The Second Quarter"

Posted by Will Shanklin in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

Yesterday, we heard that yet another (unconfirmed) HTC Thunderbolt "release date" was a big dud, but today, we have some even more disappointing news for eager LTE customers: Verizon chief technology officer Tony Melone said that customers will have 4G phones in their hands "by the end of the second quarter." Yes, that would mean by the end of June - probably not anytime soon. While Melone intended to highlight their pursuit of excellence in this interview, I think most of us can already hear the collective groan from Verizon customers who have been anticipating the upcoming HTC Thunderbolt.

This from Melone:

I guess our expectations change, but we had said first half of this year at CES, quite frankly, we think that exceeded people’s expectations.

Mar

Latest Thunderbolt "Release Date" Shot Down

Posted by Will Shanklin in News, Rumors, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

You can chalk up another false rumor on the list of "impending releases" for the HTC Thunderbolt. The latest speculation to be debunked is that the March 10 date that had been teased is a no-go, according to a leaked Verizon chart picked up by Droid Life. The internal memo shows the much-delayed Verizon phone falling sometime after the iPad 2 launch (which is March 11).

This news makes sense, as, despite the anticipation for the first 4G phone on Verizon's LTE network, the iPad 2 launch would likely take priority with Big Red. The chart below, highlighting the launch of Apple's latest tablet, clearly shows the order of launches Verizon has planned:

To add another rumor to the list, our sources are telling us the end of March will be the real release date (possibly landing on the 24th).

Mar

Motorola XOOM + Android 3.0 Review: Sweet As Honey

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, Reviews, Tablet Reviews, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Last Updated: February 8th, 2012

The Motorola XOOM: Ever since it was first teased at D: Dive Into Mobile, the Android community hasn't been able to take its eyes off the tablet's dual-core processor, gorgeous 10.1-inch display, and - last but certainly not least - Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system.

Well now the device has officially gone on sale, and I've been ~~testing~~ falling in love with a review unit for the last few days. Typically, I end up hating devices that I adore at first blush, but the XOOM is an entirely different story - the device is far from perfect (where are the tablet apps?), but I have yet to find anything truly upsetting about it.

Mar

Droid X2? New Motorola Phone Shows At FCC

Posted by Will Shanklin in Droid X2, News, Verizon Wireless

Apparently the FCC has had a new Motorola phone submitted to it that sounds like it could possibly be the Droid X2. The phone carries the model ID IHDT56MJ1, which is all we have to work with since Motorola apparently requested that the device's name remain anonymous for 180 days (roughly six months for those who had trouble in math). If the conclusion of the period of anonymity coincides with the phone's launch, that would put it at August or September, which sounds reasonable to us for a Droid X2 launch.

The two pictures on the left below were not snooped from the FCC, but were from a leak last month picked up by TheMobiZone, supposedly showing the Droid X's sequel.

Mar

Updated: Verizon Confirms What It Has Been Saying For A Year: Unlimited Data Is Going Away, Say Hello To Tiers

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Verizon Wireless

While some people were unable to contemplate the possibility that Verizon's all-you-can-eat data plans would be coming to an end, Verizon's CFO Fran Shammo again affirmed the carrier's commitment to move to a tiered system today. When will life start to suck for new or upgrading Verizon customers? This Summer, apparently.

"But David, I already have an unlimited data contract, they have to honor that!" Why yes, they do. Until you want to upgrade to a 4G device, and you have to sign a completely "new" rate plan contract. AT&T is already doing this with the Inspire 4G - if you upgrade from any previous device to the Inspire, AT&T forces you into their limited data plans because your "service" has changed (to "4G").

Feb

If Your Motorola XOOM Is Rooted It Will Not Be Upgraded To 4G LTE Unless You Un-Root, Says Moto

Posted by David Ruddock in Development, Motorola, News, Tips & Tutorials, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Well, the title explains it pretty well, but I'll provide you some documented evidence:

That's right, folks. Sending in your XOOM to Motorola while it's rooted will get it sent right back. Motorola will not provide 4G LTE upgrades to XOOM devices that have been rooted, plain and simple.

A forum moderator in the same Motorola support thread indicates that it's not quite as hard-line as the first responder indicated, and that your XOOM simply must be stock in terms of software functionality when Motorola receives it. Presumably, this means a flash back to factory settings and software will allow your previously booted 'n rooted XOOM to be upgraded.