V CAST @ CES - When Verizon says Get It Now, they finally mean it

Verizon wireless has launched EV-DO in 11 new metro areas today. Subscribers in Chicago, Houston, Boston, Phoenix, Cincinnati, Columbus, Orlando, Jacksonville, Providence, Hartford and New Haven (shwew!) will all have access to Verizon's 3G network, as long as they have a PC Card or the VX6600 Pocket PC phone. Verizon continues to ignore the entire northwest quadrant of the country, because, you know, no one in say Seattle is on the leading edge of technology. However on February 1, everyone in a city with EV-DO will be able to get high speed access on 3 new clamshell handsets, which we've already told you about, the LG VX8000, Motorola Samsung A890, and the UT Starcom (nee Audiovox) 8940. The phones aren't the exciting part, the VCAST content is.

The service will cost $15 per month for unlimited access to basic video clips and WAP content. Premium content like music downloads, 3D games, NBA, NASCAR and probably some exclusive video content will cost extra. All of the video content is produced specifically for the small screen, so it's not shmooshed TV clips but actual phone-centric video, and it looks sharp. Verizon won't just get exclusively formatted content, they'll also get exclusively produced content. Fox will create 3 new series specifically for the V CAST service, Love and Hate, 24 Conspiracy and Sunset Hotel. MTV and other broadcasters will also provide programs.

We got a chance to play with the service today, and we can tell you it lives up to Verizon's "Broadband Access" brand name. Video clips buffer in about 10 seconds and playback at TV-quality framerates. Downloading a 3D game (Kingdom Hearts bay-bee) only took about four seconds — for the whole damn game. When these phones launch, you won't regret  being the first in line for one at your local Verizon store.

[Griffon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Huh, I thought SF Bay area was supposed be on that list... did that allready happen early?

[Jason S @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Hey Griffon,

http://cellphones.engadget.com/entry/7932728849548140

[marc @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

is it the Motorola A890 or the Samsung A890 (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000070025447/)?

[Eric @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Take a look at the coverage maps here:

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/CoverageLocatorController?requesttype=NEWREQUEST

A pretty large percentage of the urban northeast covered. When Verizon says New York, they include much of North Jersey. When they say New Haven, they include nearly all of Southwestern Connecticut. And so on and so on.

Now here's the million-dollar question: will you be able to use the $15/month plan in conjunction with the XV6600 or some other phone for occassional laptop DUN access? If that's the case, then I might actually consider switching to Verizon.

[richwise @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Does 15/mo. give you unlimitted surfing on Pocket Explorer via broadband?

[richwise @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Does 15/mo. give you unlimitted surfing on Pocket Explorer via broadband?

[Robert Kim @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

EVDO Phones for Sale...

Ok... I am starving... but last comment for the day.. just finished up day 3 of CES in Las Vegas... You can order your new UTStarcom Audiovox xv6600 ... motorola e815 ... and LG vx8000 at http://video-phones-evdo.com and also from http://wireless-internet-store.blogger.com

let me know... [e-mail]

[Homer J @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

From the VZW press release

http://news.vzw.com/news/2005/01/pr2005-01-07.html

VCAST Overview
For $15.00 monthly access in addition to their regular Verizon Wireless calling plan, VCAST customers get unlimited access to a wide array of more than 300 daily updated videos from leading content providers. Verizon Wireless VCAST customers also receive unlimited browsing of Verizon Wireless� Mobile Web 2.0 news and information service. In addition, customers can choose from premium content, available for an additional cost, that includes 3-D games, music videos and other premium channels.

[Graham Kaplan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

Hey, at least Seattle has UMTS through ATT/Cingular, which means we'll probably be one of the first to get the new 3Mbps 3G thing Cingular's going to roll out.

[mobigital @ Dec 19th 2005 2:41AM]

UMTS is far below 3Mbps, it's actually capped at around 250 Kbps... Cingular hasn't even started and already behind Verizon and Sprint just because of poor technology...