PATREONItems tagged with LTE
Samsung Galaxy S5 Arrives With Beastly Snapdragon 801 Processor, 16MP Camera, And A Heartbeat Sensor
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has arrived. While the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4 was a blockbuster event, the successor to the role of Samsung’s flagship phone hasn’t made nearly such an impact despite sporting strong features and specifications. The LTE-equipped Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch (1920x1080) display and rocks a quad-core Snapdragon 801 SoC (2.5GHz), 2GB of RAM, 16 GB or 32GB of onboard storage (with a microSD slot that allows for another 128GB), and 16MP/2MP rear/front cameras. The 16MP on the back had autofocus, HDR, selective focus, and shoots in UHD at 30fps, while the wide-angle front camera can capture selfies at a resolution of 1920x1080. There are multiple sensors, including...
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Securing patents is an important part of doing business in today's corporate world. Lenovo understands this, hence why it just agreed to purchase a portfolio of mobile technology patents from Unwired Planet for $100 million dollars in cash, the two companies announced. The deal also gives Lenovo a term-based license to Unwired Planet's patent portfolio. In total, Lenovo gains access to 21 patent families owned by Unwired Planet, the most important of which are for certain 3G and LTE mobile technologies. "This investment is an extension of Lenovo's existing intellectual property portfolio," said Jay Clemens, General Counsel of Lenovo. "It will serve the company well as we grow and develop our...
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The FCC has approved an AT&T acquisition of Leap Wireless, which includes Cricket and all of its 4.6 million customers--but the agency did not greenlight the deal without caveats. AT&T does get all of Leap Wireless’ spectrum, networking equipment, and “other assets”, but the company will have to divest spectrum in some markets to avoid anti-competition problems. More notably, AT&T has agreed to launch LTE service using Leap Wireless’ unused spectrum within 90 days so that the latter’s (former) customers get access to AT&T’s 4G network, and LTE service will come to six markets in Texas within 18 months. Current Cricket coverage map But wait,...
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After the blockbuster spectacle that was the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4, the hullabaloo over the next generation of Samsung’s flagship smartphone seems almost demure, but in any case the company announced the new Samsung Galaxy S5. The phone features a 5.1-inch (1920x1080) Super AMOLED display and a quad-core 2.5GHz processor with Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB of storage, and a microSD card slot that supports up to 128GB of additional storage. The front camera is a solid 2MP, but the rear 16MP camera is where it’s at. The rear camera also features 0.3-second autofocus, advanced HDR, and a special selective focus feature that creates a depth of field effect....
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It was just late December when the NVIDIA Tegra Note 7 got the latest Android 4.3 update, but NVIDIA announced that the device is already being updated to Android 4.4.2 (KitKat), and there’s now an LTE version is coming, too. NVIDIA is popping a fifth-gen i500 LTE modem into the Tegra Note 7, and the software-defined radio technology inside means it can receive upgrades without requiring new hardware. The KitKat update includes Gamepad Mapper, which allows players to use a physical Bluetooth controller to play touch-only mobile games. The original Tegra Note 7 (our review here) is just $199, and the LTE version costs $299 and includes the Tegra 4 processor and 72-core GPU, 5MP rear and...
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Straight out of the "It's about time!" files comes an FCC filing that suggests Microsoft could soon be unveiling an LTE-equipped Surface 2 tablet, and as boring as that might sound, it holds a lot of importance. Plus, there's a couple of fun things to speculate on. For starters, let's not ignore the fact that the lacking of an LTE Surface tablet could have been hurting Microsoft's potential sales, given LTE-equipped Android and iOS models have existed for a while. Not everyone needs wireless coverage on their tablet, but those that do would have dropped Surface out of the running immediately. Second, what makes this FCC filing even more interesting is that measurements seen in the above example...
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The problem is that in heavily populated areas, the shared mobile wireless bandwidth gets badly congested by all the concurrent users; the solution, allegedly, is personal cell (“pCell”) technology that’s being developed by Steve Perlman and his Artemis Networks startup. Current mobile wireless technology works by setting up individual towers that spit out an LTE wireless signal, with the idea that each tower’s signal will gently overlap, creating a seamless coverage area. Anyone within range can use the shared bandwidth, but of course performance can become problematic with too many users on one network. Steve Perlman With pCell technology by contrast, the network equipment...
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We got some hands-on time with Samsung’s Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab Pro tablets at CES, and the company has now stamped a date on the devices’ availability in the U.S. They’ll be available as of February 13th, but you can preorder one today. The first three models in the family are the Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 and 10.1- and 8.4-inch versions of the Galaxy Tab Pro, all WiFi-only. Verizon will offer an LTE version of the 12.2-inch Note Pro “later this quarter”, and in March you’ll be able to get a 12.2-inch Tab Pro, too. Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 “The Note Pro and Tab Pro create a more meaningful user experience at the intersection of work and play,”...
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When it comes to mobile broadband speeds, Korea is doing quite well. While Sprint is boasting about 50-60Mbps that will be in five U.S. cities by the end of the year, Korea’s SK Telecom says that it already has 300Mbps LTE ready to roll. (Well, sort of.) The technology involved is a three-band aggregation, just like Sprint’s Spark initiative, and with the 20MHz and two 10MHz bands together, SK Telecom says it can offer 300Mbps LTE speeds. There are some hurdles to overcome first, though, including getting global standardization and getting hardware makers to develop the needed chipsets and devices. Even so, SK Telecom expects to have the service commercially available by the end of...
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HP and Google are set to debut an LTE version of the HP Chromebook 11, but the announcement came from neither company; instead, it’s from Altair, the company that’s making the actual LTE chip for the device. We are extremely proud to have been selected by Google and HP to power the world’s first low-cost LTE Chromebook,” said Eran Eshed, Co-Founder and Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Altair. “By focusing on 100% LTE and eliminating costly 3G components, we were able to help our partners lower the cost of this critical LTE connectivity feature.” The Google Chromebook Pixel has optional LTE, and other than the 3G-packing HP Chromebook...
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AT&T today signed a deal with Rogers Communications to launch LTE roaming in Canada. In doing so, Ma Bell gets the distinction of being the first U.S. carrier to offer international LTE roaming (i.e., bragging rights). For customers, however, it amounts to more than just bragging rights, as AT&T subscribers visiting Canada can continue to use their existing LTE device to navigate the web, download apps, upload photos to social networking sites, and everything else that consumes data, and without the worry of racking up insane roaming charges. "Our agreement with Rogers affirms our commitment to deliver superior international coverage to our customers," said Bill Hague, executive vice...
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When considering the physical design of a smartphone, there’s one key dimension that often matters most to the majority of users: thickness. No one wants to carry around a thick, clunky smartphone. Manufacturers realize thin devices sell, which is why it seems every time we turn around they’re constantly fighting for the title of thinnest device. The current title-holder is the Motorola Droid Ultra, which is billed as the thinnest 4G LTE smartphone. It measures just 0.28 inches thick and is available exclusively through Verizon Wireless. Motorola Droid Ultra Review: Ultra Thin LTE Smartphone...
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When considering the physical design of a smartphone, there’s one key dimension that often matters most to the majority of users: thickness. No one wants to carry around a thick, clunky smartphone. Manufacturers realize thin devices sell, which is why it seems every time we turn around they’re constantly fighting for the title of thinnest device. The current title-holder is the Motorola Droid Ultra, which is billed as the thinnest 4G LTE smartphone. It measures just 0.28 inches thick and is available exclusively through Verizon Wireless. The Droid Ultra was announced alongside the Droid Maxx and the Droid Mini. Falling in the middle of this trio, the Droid Ultra has a lot to...
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For many, hopping onto an LTE network feels like the future. It's so vastly superior to older 3G networks that the difference in speed is astounding, but as technology goes, good enough never truly is. LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) is already being tested in some parts of the world, making a beeline for developed nations whose mobile data users can't get enough. This week, Telsta (an Australian carrier) and Ericsson (an equipment provider) worked together in order to help a live network approach 300Mbps. And we're talking about a mobile network here, not a wireline network. The feat was accomplished using Ericsson's LTE-A software, as Telstra "combined 20 MHz of 1800-MHz spectrum with 20 MHz of 2.6-GHz...
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Sprint customers can snag a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 for $49.99 starting on October 11th with a new line or eligible upgrade and a 2-year service agreement. Unlike the WiFi-only version of the Galaxy Tab 3 we’ve reported on before, this little number offers 4G LTE. The device will come in white initially with a black version available by the holidays, and it runs Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean), 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of onboard storage. It also has 3MP rear/1.3MP front cameras, Samsung Hub, an IR blaster, Polaris Office, SAFE enterprise security if you’re BYOD-ing at work. You can add a Galaxy Tab 3 to your existing plan for as little as an extra $5 per month plus taxes and...
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By and large, AT&T's LTE expansion efforts have lagged behind those put forth by Verizon Wireless. But when it all comes down, a lot of has to do with spectrum. Those who have plenty of it, have plenty of opportunities to blanket areas. Those without it, starve. Now, AT&T has announced that it has made final a $1.9 billion spectrum buy from rival VZW, which will significantly improve its LTE reach in a whopping 18 states. In other words, those looking for more LTE coverage on AT&T will see some major improvements in the near future. The acquisition will add meaningful 700MHz Band B block spectrum to AT&T's coffers, including licenses that cover 42 million people in the following...
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Sprint may not be the lead dog in the carrier pack any longer, but it still holds an ace in its sleeve: unlimited data for life, for those who want it. While every other major rival postpaid carrier has switched over to tiered data plans, Sprint's offering the Moto X with unlimited talk, text and data for $80/month. The device itself will be priced at $199.99 on a 2-year contract, and if you haven't heard, we're pretty big fans of the phone. For a limited time only, new customers who switch their phone number to Sprint from another carrier will receive an additional $100 instant credit, reducing the price of Moto X to $99.99. In the coming months, Sprint will also add the ability to customize...
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A leaked photo can only give you so much to go on, but a new one from Evleaks shows what appears to be the upcoming 6.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Mega (SGH-I527 Melius). The image indicates that the phone--er, mega phablet--is running on AT&T. We’ve previously covered some of the specs and features of the Galaxy Mega, which include an 8MP rear- and 1.9MP front-facing camera, 64MB of expandable storage, LTE and HSPA, a 3200mAh battery, and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean). It will also boast Samsung-specific goodies such as Group Play, WatchON, ChatON, Samsung Link, and S Translator. Credit: Evleaks There’s been no announcement of a release date yet, but one clue could be that the date on the...
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Far too often, we hear plenty of negative stories making the news, with very little positive news to balance things out. It's a depressing cycle, to be sure, so we're thrilled to see a nugget in the technology world that's breaking that trend. Defense Mobile Corporation aunching a new nationwide wireless service on the Sprint 4G LTE network, with a unique mobile affinity platform, integrated mobile banking, and a set of community-focused mobile applications. When it launches in 2014, the service will be available to active-duty officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. military, including those serving or honorably discharged from the Selected Reserve and federally recognized National Guard...
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In a lot of ways, it already feels like we're living in a future approved by The Jetsons. For one thing, there's no Wi-Fi on airplanes, which is technologically mind-blowing. Moreover, we have vehicles that run on batteries alone, and we're able to charge our mobile phones sans wires. But now, we're one step closer to truly intergalactic bragging rights. Audi has just announced its intentions to bring LTE to the car, setting a new standard in keeping drivers and riders connected even while kicking the pavement. Starting this month, the Audi S3 Sportback will ship as the first in the automaker's line to have LTE as an available option. To use LTE, a suitable SIM card with a data flat rate simply...
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Sprint may be late to the LTE game, but those who've been hanging on can look forward to two new devices. The company, alongside Netgear, has just announced that two of the first tri-band 4G LTE devices from Sprint will begin shipping on July 19th. The $49.99 Netgear Zing Mobile Hotspot and the $19.99 341U USB modem are the two new kids on the block, designed to bring customers improved network performance and stronger in-building coverage by taking advantage of 4G LTE deployment on Sprint's network (at 1.9GHz 800MHzand2.5GHz). The three bands of spectrum accessible on these devices will provide Sprint customers a high-quality, consistently fast 4G LTE network experience, whether they are sitting...
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Perhaps the second time will be the charm for AT&T. The carrier, which failed in its attempt to scoop up T-Mobile a couple of years ago, still needs access to additional spectrum in order to truly compete with Verizon Wireless in terms of network coverage. It's pretty hard to get spectrum these days, but a surefire way is to acquire a rival operator that owns a chunk of their own. Now, the nation's fifth largest carrier is in AT&T's sights, as the company announced this week that it had agreed to buy Leap Wireless for a staggering $1.19 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, AT&T will acquire all of Leap's stock and wireless properties, including licenses, network assets, retail...
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