LTE, short for Long Term Evolution, is the fourth wireless standard that provides theoretical download speeds of over 1gbps. Verizon was first to the market with LTE, followed by AT&T, Sprint, and lastly, T-Mobile. Carriers are providing smartphone, tablets, and other connected devices that take advantage of these faster data speeds.
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by Michael Fisher | October 30, 2012 4:31 PMRead OnIn a busy fourth quarter for mobile technology, it's tough to stand out from the pack. Despite our initial skepticism, though, the first "pure Google" smartphone from LG has managed to do just that. Our time spent with the company's Optimus G went a long way toward reversing our negative perceptions about the South Korean OEM. As the leaks flowed in at an increasing rate, we became cautiously optimistic about the device now known as the Nexus 4. But for all the gleaming glass, Snapdragon S4 Pro slickness, and Jelly Bean butteriness of the new Google-experience flagship, there's one ...
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by Stephen Schenck | October 25, 2012 4:02 PMRead OnThe Galaxy Note II is finally coming to US carriers, and we just gave you a run-down on the T-Mobile variant of the phone. We mentioned at the time how, unlike the other Note II models, this one only operated over HSPA+, thanks to T-Mobile still being behind the rest the of the pack when it comes to getting on-board with LTE. As it turns out, though, the Note II could be a smart buy for users who are looking forward to the day when T-Mobile finally does start offering LTE service, as the phone already includes the necessary LTE radio. This is apparently a consequence of the T-Mobile Note ...
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by Michael Fisher | October 22, 2012 11:01 PMRead OnFor the past few years, most new-product announcements from South Korea's LG have been greeted in America with a heaping helping of "who cares?" The company has spent so long in the shadow of its more-successful rival Samsung that its smartphones, particularly in the United States, have struggled for even moderate mind share. That struggle is also a product of the widely held conception that LG devices just aren't that good, a conception that devices like the LG Intuition have only reinforced. But recently, LG has caught a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. We had the opportunity ...
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by Stephen Schenck | October 3, 2012 9:50 AMRead OnLast week, some rumors had started circulating that MetroPCS might be looking to find itself a buyer, and Sprint, T-Mobile, and even Dish Network might be some of the companies it had been in discussion with. In the comments, many of you seemed hopeful that T-Mobile might be able to improve its position among the big carriers in the States by scooping-up the carrier's assets. We've got good news for you then, as T-Mobile just announced that both companies' boards have approved the deal. Between the two of them, the two carriers have around 42.5 million subscribers. As T-Mobile starts ...
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by Stephen Schenck | September 28, 2012 8:03 PMRead OnMetroPCS is far from the most popular cellular network in the States, but with just shy of ten million subscribers, it's still one of the major players. Even in the shadows of the likes of AT&T and Verizon, it manages to keep itself relevant with some flat-rate service plans and innovations like an early push for VoLTE. Will the carrier be around much longer, though? Its future is looking increasingly uncertain, upon reports that a number of other telecommunications companies are interested in buying it out. Supposedly, T-Mobile, Sprint, and even satellite provider Dish Network are ...
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by Michael Fisher | September 25, 2012 4:08 PMRead OnOne of the awesome things about mobile technology today is that most of us have been around long enough to witness several generations of its evolution. We've seen mobile phones progress from outsized boxes with 4-line monochrome LCDs, to tiny clamshells with blue backlights and internal antennas, back into outsized boxes- now with HD displays and internals that beat out some notebook computers. But the evolution we've followed for years isn't confined to handheld hardware. The networks that fuel the little packages of future-tech we carry in our pockets have undergone their own sweeping ...
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by Stephen Schenck | September 24, 2012 3:21 PMRead OnMotorola's announcement of the RAZR i may be the most high-profile usage of the Intel's new Atom-based Medfield SoCs to date, but it won't see a release in the US. As an LTE-crazy nation, it's getting harder and harder to market new smartphones lacking 4G radios, and we haven't seen any of these phones with Intel chips also support LTE. In a recent interview, Intel’s Director of Product Marketing Sumeet Syal commented on the lack of LTE in these first-gen Medfield designs, and touched on where the company is going from here. The good news is that you shouldn't have long to wait before we ...
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by Joe Levi | September 24, 2012 8:07 AM
Read OnSprint seems to be having a hard time with 4G. First they deployed Wi-Max while everyone else was jumping on the LTE band-wagon, now users are complaining that they're not getting LTE on their LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphones -- even when they're allegedly under an LTE umbrella. What gives? It turns out there's some magic going on -- well, maybe some well-intentioned technical stuff anyway. The problem, it seems, happens when you've got a stronger 3G signal that your 4G signal. When that's the case the phone figures you'd rather have a reliable signal than a fast one. ...
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by Stephen Schenck | September 20, 2012 3:35 PMRead OnBesides the allure of high-speed data, the deployment of LTE brings with it other reasons to be excited about the future of cellular technology. One of the most promising opportunities LTE presents is letting carriers start moving voice service over to these 4G bands with voice-over-LTE, or VoLTE. Not only will that allow for higher quality voice calls, but eventually we'll get to a point where carriers can switch-off old networks, just like they did with analog cellular, and free-up that spectrum for even more LTE goodness. LTE is all over the place now, so where's VoLTE? The CEO of ...
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by Brandon Miniman | September 14, 2012 2:12 PMRead OnSamsung has been mostly uncontested in the phablet space that it invented with the Galaxy Note. We haven't seen a competing device from Motorola or HTC, though there are rumors of a 5" 1080p Android from HTC heading to Verizon. LG, though, is going up against the Note with the Optimus Vu, now available stateside as the LG Intuition on Verizon Wireless for $199.99. The Intuition has a smaller, but wider screen than the Note at 5.0" (versus 5.3" on the Note and 5.5" on the Note II) thanks to its 4:3 aspect ratio afforded by the 1024x768 resolution (making for a pixel density of 256). Inside, ...
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by Stephen Schenck | September 13, 2012 7:00 PMRead OnOne of the big letdowns of the iPhone when it finally made its CDMA debut on Verizon was that the phone couldn't do simultaneous voice and data, unless you were pulling that data over a WiFi network. That wasn't really Apple's fault, but it sure gave AT&T some ammunition to use in its own iPhone advertising campaigns. Now that the iPhone 5 is bringing LTE support to the platform, those old CDMA limitations should be going out the window, right? Don't count on it. BGR managed to get confirmation from Verizon that the iPhone 5 won't be any different in this regard than the iPhone 4S; ...
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by Michael Fisher | September 12, 2012 4:18 PMRead OnAnyone following the news from last week's Motorola announcement in New York City could be forgiven for overlooking the Droid RAZR M. Alongside the Droid RAZR HD and Droid RAZR Maxx HD, the true successors to Motorola's thin-phone throne, the M seems slightly underwhelming. It's a smaller device packing a display from last year along with an unremarkable spec sheet, its casing featuring none of the aggressive visual flair of its headlining compatriots. Indeed, obscured by the glow of its larger, more-powerful cohorts, the RAZR M appears at first glance a completely forgettable device. ...
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by Jaime Rivera | September 10, 2012 3:56 PMRead OnWith the iPhone 5 just a couple of days from being announced, the media is full of speculation. I'll admit the whole team got together last week to discuss this, but we decided to leave this video until this week since there were a lot of products that deserved our full attention with all of last week's events. Today has proven to be a rather silent day, and we know why it is. Everyone, be it customers, lovers, haters, and even competitors are all waiting for it to be September 12th at 10:00am PST for Apple to officially unwrap the iPhone 5. This top 5 was a difficult list to come-up ...
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by Stephen Schenck | August 30, 2012 5:38 PMRead OnAfter last week's verdict in the Apple v. Samsung lawsuit, it's easy to see why Samsung might be a little upset. We've heard that the company has no plans to let that result affect its ability to sell phones any, and whether that means new software, hardware redesigns, or continuing to duke it out in a court of law, Samsung will find some way to keep doing what it's been doing. We can't help but wonder if the whole incident might just play some role in the latest news to surface on Samsung's plans for dealing with Apple, where the company makes it very clear that it intends to sue Apple ...
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by Jaime Rivera | August 27, 2012 7:18 PMRead OnThe rumors about a Motorola XT907 have been quite popular, and here you have it. Inhale and repeat after me: Motorola RAZR M 4G LTE - now exhale! Call this the attack of the longest and stupidest names for a phone, and this new RAZR takes a big chunk of the cake. Now, all the bashing aside there are some good and bad things to report here. On the positive side, look at that insanely thin bezel! One of my biggest complaints about handling my Atrix HD is how thick the bezel is, but the engineering department got the complaint and fixed it with this future RAZR. Thin is kind of an ...