Carriers - 38/218 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Oct

Deal Alert: Motorola RAZR HD Drops To $129 On Amazon For New Customers; RAZR MAXX HD to $179

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Deals, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

Just a week ago, I discovered that despite some flaws, the Motorola DROID RAZR HD is a great phone. With a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 CPU, a 4.7" 720p SAMOLED display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (plus a microSD slot), and a 2530mAh battery, it packed solid performance and good battery life into a slim package.

Now, there's another reason to love it: Amazon has dropped the price down to just $130 for new customers ($150 for upgrades), compared to Verizon's $200. And the RAZR MAXX HD (with its 3300mAh battery and even longer name)? Just $180 ($200 for upgrades).

Oct

CyanogenMod 10 Nightly Builds Come To The MetroPCS Samsung Galaxy S III

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Galaxy S III, MetroPCS, News

It's always a joyous occasion to welcome a new device into the CyanogenMod family. This time it's the MetroPCS variant of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

CyanogenMod is one of the most popular Android ROMs and is supported on a ton of devices already. The CyanogenMod 10 version being offered for the MetroPCS SGS3 is a nightly build, meaning it is the experimental product of a day's work. Bugs are to be expected, but CM10 is getting quite stable overall. There are no monthly builds for this device, but that might happen soon. The monthly "M Snapshots" tend to be a little more sturdy.

Oct

PSA: Google Clarifies Nexus 4 Support For HSPA+42, Updates Play Store Pages Accordingly

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in AT&T, News, Nexus 4, T-Mobile

When the Nexus 4 was announced yesterday, there was a bit of confusion regarding its HSPA+ support for faster HSPA+42 speeds offered by companies like T-Mobile. The Device Play Store pages showed HSPA+21, but T-Mobile's press release claimed the faster HSPA+42, also known as DC-HSPA+ (dual-cell). Did that mean that T-Mobile customers needed to get a special variant of the Nexus? The answer is no, but the inaccuracy surely puzzled some.

Google just cleared up the confusion and updated the Device Play Store with the right data. Both the 8GB and 16GB pages now correctly mention HSPA+42:

If you're a customer of T-Mobile, AT&T, or a myriad of related MVNOs, buy the new Nexus without fear when it becomes available November 13th.

Oct

EE 4G LTE Launches In The UK Today

Posted by David Ruddock in 4G, Carriers, Everything Everywhere (EE)

Six months ahead of all competitors, EE - a joint-venture between Orange and T-Mobile - is launching the UK's first LTE network today. The initial launch rollout will cover 11 major cities: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Sheffield, and Southampton.

EE is promising at least 2,000 square miles of coverage expansion every month (which is probably a better coverage metric for the UK), with 5 more cities to be covered by year's end.

EE has a decided advantage over its competitors due to a spectrum crunch even worse than the one currently going on in the US, with T-Mobile and Orange using spectrum refarming to work around the lack of new airwaves.

Oct

Verizon Announces The Spectrum 2 By LG For $99 After Mail-In-Rebate

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Spectrum 2, Verizon Wireless

About a week ago, we got a look at the LG Spectrum 2 and all of its innards thanks to Best Buy. Now, Verizon has made it official. It's not going to rock any socks off, but for $99 after mail-in-rebate and a new two-year contract, it's really not a bad piece of kit:

4.7" True HD 1280x720 IPS display
1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4
1GB RAM
16GB storage, microSD card slot
Global Ready
8MP rear shooter, 1.3MP front camera
Android 4.0

It's not winning any awards for most stylish, best all around, or... anything else, for that matter. But it is a solid mid-ranger that might fit the bill perfectly for anyone looking for a new device that packs a punch and won't break the bank.

Oct

T-Mobile Set To Carry Google's Nexus 4 And 3G Nexus 7 As Premier Launch Partner

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, Google, News, Nexus 4, Nexus 7, T-Mobile

In addition to the absolute mania of incoming announcements we saw from Google today, there was one interesting carrier-related development for the Nexus line – T-Mobile, the US' fourth largest carrier, announced that it would be carrying Google's LG-built Nexus 4 and ASUS-built 3G Nexus 7 as a "premier launch partner" starting this November. In fact, users can already sign up for more info at T-Mobile's website.

Oct

Verizon's Motorola DROID RAZR HD And RAZR MAXX HD Now Support Isis Mobile Wallet

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in News, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

Earlier this week, Isis Mobile Wallet payment platform went live on three U.S. carriers - Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Verizon had only one device listed as supported at launch, with the DROID RAZR HD / MAXX HD compatibility set to arrive by the end of October. The Galaxy S III was also listed, but according to this list, it doesn't seem to be ready just yet.

Two days ago, Verizon released the first update v0.7.2 for the RAZR HD variants with only a mention of one new feature in the changelog: an "updated Google Security Patch." Today, Verizon amended the update document and added the mention of Isis Mobile Wallet, thus fulfilling its promise right on schedule.

Oct

Samsung Releases Open Source Kernel Files For Note II On T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular, Plus AT&T's Galaxy Rugby Pro

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Android OS, AT&T, Development, Galaxy Note II, News, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular

Now that we've seen Samsung's Galaxy Note II go up for grabs at T-Mo, Sprint, and US Cellular, it's time we began expecting to see Samsung drop kernel source code for the carriers' respective variants. That's just what Sammy has done, recently releasing the open source kernel files for SGH-T889, SCH-R950_USC, SPH-L900_SPR, and a bonus device – AT&T's Galaxy Rugby Pro, lovingly called SGH-I547_ATT.

Oct

Droid RAZR HD And MAXX HD Receiving A Minor OTA Update, Contains 'Google Security Patch'

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

If you were quick to grab the Droid RAZR HD or MAXX HD from Verizon Wireless within the past week, you should be getting your first OTA fairly soon. Verizon just updated its supports docs for the newest members of the Droid family, showing a very minor update.

Yep - that's it. The 6MB update only brings one little-bitty fix, and we're not really sure exactly what to does. Whatever it is, it's a big enough deal that Google and Verizon felt the need to push it out now instead of waiting to bundle it with a larger OTA, so you may want to go ahead and grab it.

Oct

LG Optimus Elite Receiving Minor OTA Update

Posted by David Ruddock in Device Updates, News, Optimus Elite, Sprint

If you have an Optimus Elite, it's time to hit that "check update" button - a brand-new software version (LS696ZVF) is headed out to devices this morning. It's definitely on the minor side, and no, it's not Ice Cream Sandwich. Honestly, if you have an Elite, you're probably going to be stuck in Gingerbread hell forever unless you're on a custom ROM. Anyway, here's the changelog:

- NFC driver permissions update
- Support for downloadable Sprint Direct Connect Now client from the Google Play Store
- “QuickMemo” LG application
- Sprint Connections Optimizer

Head over to the Sprint Community post to find out more.