Verizon Wireless - 22/32 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jan

Verizon Now Selling Samsung Galaxy Tab For $499.99, Issuing $100 Refunds To Those Who Bought It Within The Last 14 Days

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Costco's been selling Verizon's version of the Galaxy Tab for $499.99 for a while now, but that doesn't make Big Red's latest deal any less exciting. As of today, customers can walk into any Verizon store and pick up a Tab for the aforementioned price of $499.99; only there's another bonus here: the package includes $60 of free movie rentals from Blockbuster or Samsung's own Media Hub. Additionally, if you bought a Galaxy Tab within the last 14 days, the carrier will offer you a $100 refund.

What's your take on the matter - is this proof of Verizon's generosity, a result of underwhelming sales figures, or simply a sign of things to come?

Dec

[Rumor] Motorola's Android Tablet To Be Called DROID XOOM, Won't Pack 4G

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, XOOM

If Droid Life's sources are to be believed - and given their track record, I'd say they are - then the upcoming Honeycomb tablet from Motorola will be called the DROID XOOM. We've heard of Motorola filing trademarks for the XOOM name, so it would certainly seem to fit. One other tidbit mentioned by their source: the tablet won't come packing LTE.

Is the lack of 4G disappointing? Sure, but based on what we've seen of the tablet (Andy Rubin using it, leaked pictures, teaser video, and teaser site), it may be very, very well worth it anyway.

Dec

HTC Thunderbolt Photos Leak, Still Looking Sexy

Posted by Nate Kimmey in News, Thunderbolt (Mecha), Verizon Wireless

There's not much left to leak about Verizon's upcoming LTE phone, the HTC Thunderbolt (previously thought to be called "Incredible HD" or "Mecha"), but some high-quality pictures can't hurt, can they?

You can check out the phone in all its glory by hitting the source link, but you won't find anything surprising - we've already heard about the kickstand, 4G LTE connectivity, and front-facing camera. Still, it's definitely a nice-looking device, and we can always hope that HTC will somehow manage to shove in a dual core processor.

Source: Droid Life

Dec

Costco Reduces Price Of Samsung Galaxy Tab To $500 With One Month Of Data From Verizon

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News

Last Updated: December 26th, 2010

Though we still couldn't reliably confirm a similar Galaxy Tab deal at Best Buy, here's a legitimate sale - Costco is selling Samsung's seven-inch tablet for just $499.99. Customers purchasing the device from Costco will also have to pay an activation fee (refundable with a mail-in-rebate) and sign up for at least one month of data from Verizon, who offers the following data plans for the Galaxy Tab:

$20/month for 1GB of data
$35/month for 3GB of data
$50/month for 5GB of data
$80/month for 10GB of data

The reduction in price is great for customers who are looking to get a taste of the Android OS in a tablet form factor.

Dec

HTC Hints At Its Next 4G Phone, Unveil Coming January 6th - A Verizon Phone At Last?

Posted by Brian O'Toole in HTC, News, Thunderbolt (Mecha)

HTC's released plenty of phones lately, but Verizon - arguably the biggest Android carrier - hasn't been getting any love since way back with the release of the Droid Incredible. What better way to bring it all back than with an LTE launch phone? Judging from HTC's rather smug (who can blame them?) teaser page, they're set to hit the ground running with a launch of the "Incredible HD" on January 6th. That coincides happily with the start of the Consumer Electronics Show, where Verizon are already expected to be pushing their LTE agenda.

It may not be the only LTE device readying itself for action with Big Red, but staunch HTC fans have been somewhat starved of choice on the famously reliable CDMA network of late.

Dec

AT&T Will Buy Wireless Spectrum For $1.93 Billion To Expand Its 4G Offerings

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in AT&T, News

AT&T will be purchasing wireless spectrum from Qualcomm, the computer chip manufacturer, for $1.93 billion to provide higher speeds for its 4G network. The spectrum is in the lower 700 MHz frequency band and covers 300 million people in the United States.

The AT&T mobile network has been criticized heavily for some time because of connectivity issues which have caused poor service for its iPhone users. The iPhone uses more data than any feature phone and most smartphones (but not Android phones), so having exclusivity over the phone has put a severe strain on AT&T's network. Customers in heavily populated areas, such as New York City, are known to experience dropped calls and generally slow Internet browsing speeds.

Dec

Will The FCC's Net Neutrality Order Cost Smartphone Users?

Posted by David Ruddock in Carriers, Editorials, News

In a word: yes. Wireless carriers in the US (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc.) have long been deeply opposed to net neutrality over their so-called "mobile broadband" networks, but today they've been given a power they have long desired to see the FCC put into writing.

If you haven't been following the net neutrality saga, you might want to find out what exactly "net neutrality" is, or what it means.

What is "net neutrality"?

It's a loaded term, to be frank. Net neutrality activists will tell you it means the complete freedom of information from corporate interference by requiring that ISPs (Internet service providers) do not give any preferential (or deferential) treatment to any information transmitted over their networks, unless it is clearly illegal or dangerous.

Dec

[Update: Possibly Fake] Best Buy Reduces Price Of Verizon's Galaxy Tab To $500 Without Contract

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Deals, Galaxy Tab, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

Though it previously retailed for $599, the Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab can now be purchased from Best Buy without a contract for just $499. The price drop may be an indication that the WiFi-only Galaxy Tab could retail for much less.

Update: It looks like this is fake! Our own source at Best Buy, as well as calls to various brick-and-mortar locations, suggest to us that this is just a case of Photoshop trickery. Sorry for any confusion! -- Aaron

Update 2: According to commenter K, this deal has indeed been going on for a bit - to get the discounted price, you have to sign up for at least the $20 plan, which can be canceled after the first month.

Dec

Analyst Says 80% Of Verizon Smartphones Sold Run Android, Coincides With Fall In Blackberry Sales

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Android OS, News

ITG Investment Research analyst Matthew Goodmam has come out with some figures for smartphone sales on Verizon. Perhaps most shocking is seeing just how far Research In Motion (RIM) has fallen - BlackBerry's share has fallen from over 90% of smartphone sales in late 2009 to less than 20% today. Before you get carried away with that drop, though, there are a few factors to consider that may make the numbers just a little less spectacular.

The first consideration is that smartphone sales are increasing hand-over-fist as a percentage of sales - people are switching from their dumbphones to smartphone in spades.

Dec

All Droids (Excluding The Pro) Now Part Of Verizon's Holiday Buy One Get One Free Offer

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Deals, Droid 2 Global, Droid X (Shadow), HTC, Incredible, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless

With the cheapest one costing $149.99, Verizon's Droids aren't exactly stocking stuffers, but at least the price comes with double the value now. That's right - the infamous BOGO (buy one, get one free) deal has now been extended to the carrier's flagship Android devices... all except the Droid Pro, that is. Additionally, the original Droid 2 is excluded from the ad despite being part of the deal, most likely because its global brethren already appears in the ad. However, why the Droid Pro is being left out of the fun is anyone's guess.