Items tagged with Verizon
During the terrible wildfires that ravaged some California counties, firefighters working to save lives and property had a problem with the cellular data service they were receiving on the Verizon network. The problem was that Verizon throttled their plan making the internet access the teams needed slower than it should have been. Verizon's response on the issue of slow internet speeds for the county was that it needed to upgrade to a better plan; which is ultimately what happened, so the firefighters had the tools they needed to get their life-saving work done. Legislators in Texas want to...
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It appears that Verizon has realized one of the big downsides to proclaiming "first" when it comes to its 5G wireless rollout. Verizon claimed to have the first 5G network available in the United States when it launched Verizon 5G Home back in early October, but it was using non-standardized 5G hardware. Verizon took this shortcut in order to get the jump on its rivals, but by bypassing a standards-based approach, it meant that future smartphones and other 5G devices wouldn't be able to work on this initial Verizon 5G TF network. But now, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg is saying that...
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We have a lot to look forward to with 5G wireless technology, which is the successor to current generation 4G LTE networks deployed by America's four major wireless carriers. Carriers are promising a lot with their 5G rollouts, with AT&T and Verizon jumping the gun with limited 5G network availability in some of the largest U.S. markets. AT&T lit up its first mobile 5G network at the end of the 2018, but it is only available in 12 markets currently (Atlanta, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Fla., Louisville, Ky., Oklahoma City, New Orleans, Raleigh,...
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Back in May of 2018, we talked a bit about the Visible pre-paid cellular service that is backed by Verizon. It's been a while since we have heard anything about Visible, which first launched with exclusive support for iPhones. Now, Visible has announced that it is extending support to Android devices, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. For $40 monthly paid up front, you'll get unlimited text, calls, and data. Right now, those are the only two Android phones that are supported by Visible, unfortunately. You can either bring your own unlocked Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ over to...
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It doesn't matter what smartphone you prefer or what carrier you use; all smartphone users have to deal with robocalls and spam on their devices. Verizon wants to make it easier for its customers to end spam and robocalls and will be providing its third-party spam and robocalling protection for free starting in March. Verizon says that over a year ago it added call and spam screening at no additional cost for wireless users who subscribed to the Call Filter service, which was previously called Caller Name ID. That service was able to identify spam callers and unknown numbers by name and show a...
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Verizon is making it easy to rock out with your iPhone out, or with your Android device if that is how you roll. How so? Verizon has reached a deal with Apple to include an Apple Music subscription with its Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited Plans at no extra charge, starting tomorrow, January 17. That's a pretty nice perk, and it expands on Verizon's previous offer of six months of Apple Music included with its Unlimited plans. And while Go Unlimited customers are excluded from the expanded offer, they are still eligible to receive six months of Apple Music for free. "When we introduced six...
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Streaming gaming services will soon be on the market in force giving gamers plenty of options to choose from. This week we talked about a rumor that Amazon was developing a game streaming service to rival services in the works from Microsoft and Google. A new rumor floating around suggests that wireless carrier Verizon is working on its own Verizon Gaming streaming service. Reports indicate that the Verizon Gaming service is currently in alpha testing on the NVIDIA SHIELD TV set-top box. The Verge claims to have seen documentation that states the streaming gaming service will eventually make its...
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Earlier today we reported that T-Mobile was taking AT&T to task for its decision to seemingly deceive customers by changing 4G LTE labels on consumers' smartphones to ”5G E” with a software update. 5G E stands for 5G Evolution, which in AT&T parlance is a speed-boosted extension of existing 4G LTE wireless technology. Now, the nation's largest wireless carrier, Verizon Wireless, is also calling out AT&T. While Verizon technically launched a 5G wireless network, it is limited to just a few cities in the United States at the moment and is only available...
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Garmin on Monday announced the Vivoactive 3 Music with Verizon, its first smartwatch with both GPS and 4G LTE connectivity baked into it. As with other smartwatches with 4G LTE connectivity, users can leave their smartphones behind when going on a walk or jog, and still receive text messages on their wrist. The same goes for streaming music. "The Vívoactive 3 Music with 4G LTE connectivity gives you everything you need from your phone—safety features, text messaging, and the ability to download and listen to music—now on your watch, so customers can leave their phones behind...
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As much hype as there is surrounding 5G connectivity, it will likely be several years before the faster wireless standard becomes commonplace. That day can't arrive fast enough, as far as we're concerned. The same goes for Inseego, formerly Novatel Wireless, which is working with Verizon to accelerate the roll out and adoption of 5G connectivity. Inseego's relationship with Verizon goes back a long way. The company developed and sold a MiFi hotspot when Verizon first started deploying its 4G LTE network several years ago. Now it's doing the same thing, only with 5G—Inseego today unveiled...
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We've seen some excellent deals going on smartphones of late, particularly during Black Friday. Samsung has been dealing on its flagship Galaxy Note 9 dating back to October when it announced it was doubling the trade-in offer to lure buyers to upgrade to the Note 9. Amazon had a deal on the Galaxy Note 9 in early October that included a free Galaxy S3 Frontier smartwatch. Those deals were good, but for a lot of people, all they want is a healthy price cut. Today only via the Samsung store you can get a sweet $300 instant rebate on the Galaxy Note 9 good on both the 128GB or 512GB versions...
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Companies are racing to deploy 5G networks and expanding their product and service portfolios for the upcoming era of high-speed wireless connectivity. In an attempt to stay ahead of the curve, Verizon Communications announced a new operating structure consisting of three "customer-facing areas," those being Consumer, Business, and Verizon Media Group / Oath. Image Source: Flickr via Mike Mozart Verizon is essentially breaking into three business segments so that each one can be hyper-focused on their respective market. The underlying goal for all three is to tap into the emerging 5G landscape....
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When early birds starting picking up their Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL phones from Verizon this week, they were met with befuddlement when it was discovered that the devices were carrier locked. While this might not seem all that surprising given that the Pixel 3 is a Verizon carrier-exclusive device, Verizon has traditionally sold its smartphones unlocked straight out of the box (including previous-generation Pixel phones). However, this policy changed with the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL (read the HotHardware review here). Instead, Verizon says that its smartphones have to be first...
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Don't look now, but Palm is back! Well, sort of. A startup in San Francisco is resurrecting and reinventing the Palm brand with a new phone. Well, also sort of. The new Palm phone is being marketed as a companion device...for your phone. Say what? That may sound confusing and illogical, but the startup behind it all insists there are use case scenarios for a companion phone. It's all about the size, or lack thereof. Palm (the company) says its "making smartphones truly mobile again," and the idea behind the new Palm phone is that it's smaller and less bulky than today's enlarged handsets, particularly...
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