Verizon Wireless - 48/71 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

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

HTC Thunderbolt Launching March 17, Wirefly Taking Pre-orders Starting Tonight At Midnight

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

Last Updated: August 1st, 2012

We have learned from a number of trusted sources that the much-anticipated HTC Thunderbolt will launch this Thursday, March 17. We have also learned that online retailer Wirefly will be offering pre-orders starting at midnight (PST) tonight. The site's Thunderbolt page has not yet been updated to reflect this, but they announced it via their Facebook page. Verizon's first LTE smartphone lists for $249.99, but Wirefly is promising a "special price" for their customers.

After a series of frustrating delays and false rumors, anxious Verizon customers can now breathe a sigh of relief as the launch is finally concrete.

Mar

Adobe Flash 10.2.155.67 For Android Leaked, Includes Honeycomb Compatibility - Download It Now!

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Applications, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Motorola, News, Verizon Wireless, XOOM

Remember that new version of Flash we reported on this morning? Yeah, well it's still scheduled to roll out on March 18th - one week from today - but thanks to BBCrackman from My Droid World, you can download a leaked copy of version 10.2 now.

Just as promised, it (finally) includes support for Honeycomb, meaning you can now watch South Park, Conan, or any other Flash video on your XOOM. Artem and I briefly played with it on our XOOMs, but unfortunately, we discovered that the experience wasn't without its flaws - video quality wasn't exactly top-notch, some controls were hard to utilize, and no, Hulu still doesn't work.

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

The Four-Gees Comparison: Which Carrier Should You Be Looking To For Your 4G Android Phone?

Posted by David Ruddock in AT&T, Carriers, Editorials, Off-Topic, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless

Last Updated: March 30th, 2011

4G is here - and it seems like all four of America's biggest carriers are more than happy to advertise the fact that they've got it. Sprint was first on the scene - offering their WiMax 4G, and T-Mobile shortly thereafter began its upgrade to HSPA+ technology. Verizon was next, providing mobile broadband LTE via USB dongle for laptops, though its much-awaited debut 4G handset, the Thunderbolt, has yet to hit shelves after numerous delays. Finally, lagging behind in truly characteristic fashion, AT&T has begun to roll out its own HSPA+ network, with plans to offer LTE in the second half of the year.

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").