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Huawei makes Honor official, forgets to mention its other virtues
Sure, we love it when phones and spec lists leak out into the wild, but there's nothing like an official announcement to set the record straight. When we last saw the Huawei Honor, it claimed to have a single-core 1.4GHz processor, a 4-inch FWVGA (854x480) capacitive screen, and a radio primed for European and Asian bands. The official word? It's got all of that, but it's also packing an 8 megapixel rear facing camera (2MP up front), 512MB of RAM (with 4GB ROM memory, and expandable up to 32GB) and a hefty 1900mAh battery. The Gingerbread powered handset is a hair thicker than we expected as well, measuring in at 10.9mm at its thinnest point. What else is new? Oh, just a handful of new frequencies, including GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 /1900 and the WCDMA/HSPA+ 900 / AWS / 2100 bands (compatible with T-Mobile's US 3G). No word on price just yet, but the DLNA-certified powerhouse should be hitting Asia-Pacific, China, Russia, and the Middle East in "Classic Black" the fourth quarter, with more colors (and hopefully, regions) dropping sometime during the Christmas season. Want the full PR and official spec list? Skip on past the break.
European Commission mandates LTE and WiMAX on 900Mhz and 1800MHz bands for 2012
Color us tickled, but the European Commission has revised its technical rules for the use of 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums, compelling member states to make room for LTE and WiMAX service by December 31, 2011. As a goal, the EU hopes to provide broadband to all rural Europeans by 2013, and foresees 4G signal on the long-range 900MHz spectrum as the solution. The Commission also released guidelines to ensure UMTS, LTE and WiMAX will co-exist on the 1800MHz spectrum -- a decision that lays the groundwork for global LTE roaming. Now, how about some mandates on those outrageous international roaming charges? Check out the details in the press release after the break. [Image courtesy of Flickr]
Polish operator Mobyland jumps straight from 2G to LTE
If you're still running a GPRS or EDGE network anywhere in the world, we've just about reached a breaking point now where you're probably better off moving straight to LTE rather than investing billions of dollars and years of work bringing HSPA or HSPA+ online. Indeed, that seems to be the call that Polish operator Mobyland (our proposed logo pictured left) has made, deploying and flipping the switch on a new LTE network -- the first in the world to go live in the 1800MHz band. Of course, the many proposed LTE frequencies around the globe are going to make it more of a nightmare than ever to release roaming-capable 4G devices in the future, but for now, we imagine the data card or two that these guys have on store shelves should be enough to get the job done -- and we'd love to see the look on customers' faces the first time they give it a shot after upgrading from their ancient 2G modem.
HTC Hero approved by Global Certification Forum, rocking GSM and HSPA
We're unfortunately light on details here, but The Unwired is reporting that HTC's Hero has been approved by the Global Certification Forum, listed here as "HERO100," with support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE and dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 1800/2100 MHz. With the company's touted London event just around the corner -- this Wednesday, to be exact -- we wouldn't be surprised to see the phone and its oft-rumored "Rosie" Android UI take center stage, in possibly two variations. Other than frequency bands and the associative name, the GCF isn't giving us anything else to work with, so for now just sit back and hope this uncertainty is cleared up sooner rather than later.
Finland ready to rock LTE at "lower cost" 1800MHz
2.6GHz is fast emerging as a favored slot for LTE spectrum in Europe, but Finland's bucking the trend with an auction of some space in the 1800MHz band -- space that carriers TeliaSonera, Elisa, and DNA have snapped up. The frequency is touted as effectively being a lower-cost option for 4G deployment because it's better suited for range and penetration, meaning fewer base stations need to be deployed. Theoretically, the net effect should be that LTE networks get deployed faster in the country, but as we know all too well from 3G deployments, spectrum diversity always leads to fractured hardware availability; of course, with Nokia right in the backyard, we bet 1800 ends up getting all the support it needs to be successful.
