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Sprint's 5G service launches in four cities this May
It's Sprint's turn to commit to a 5G network launch. The carrier has confirmed that full-fledged 5G service will debut in May in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Kansas City. Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, DC will follow before the first half of 2019 is over. It's not certain which devices will be available on launch day, although Sprint has already committed to offering the LG V50 ThinQ and HTC 5G Hub in the spring. The Galaxy S10 5G is due in the summer.
Google Fi adds support for next-gen RCS text messaging
Google is putting its money where its mouth is when coming to support for next-gen texting. It's starting off 2019 by introducing RCS chat to Google Fi. So long as you have a supporting Fi-friendly Android phone (more on that in a bit), you can share higher-quality media, message over WiFi, see who's typing and get message receipts. It'll be automatically enabled if you have a "designed for Fi" phone, and will kick in if you set Google's official Messages app as your default.
Google Fi’s iPhone debut comes with caveats
Three years after its debut, Google's Fi is no longer just a "project." The company announced today that its wireless service has matured enough to not only get a rebrand but also much wider device support. More important, not only will Fi be compatible with more Android phones, it'll work with the iPhone too (at least, it's in beta). It's a big step forward for Google Fi, which until today has been self-limited in reach. The question now is, will this be enough to get people to switch over?
Google Fi wireless service finally works with iPhones
If you're an iPhone users looking to change mobile carriers, you have one more option to add to your list. Google is finally expanding its Project Fi wireless service to support Apple's flagship phones, along with a wide variety of Android devices. The opening up of the previously gated program also comes with a name change. The tech giant is dropping "Project" from the title and simplifying things to Google Fi.
After six months with Google's Project Fi, I'd switch to it if I could
If there's anything that needs disrupting in the US, it's wireless carriers. By and large, Americans pay far too much for our monthly cell phone bills. Additionally, we tolerate practices like data throttling and let's not even mention the terrible international roaming rates. So when Google announced its own Fi wireless service earlier this year, I was pretty excited. Finally, there was a real challenger to the throne of the Big Four that promised to offer a more affordable and more reasonable experience. I hopped on board, got an invite, and have been using it for the past six months with a loaner Nexus 6 and, eventually, a 5X. In sum: If Fi were compatible with my iPhone (or even more Android phones), I'd switch in a heartbeat.
FreedomPop is building a 'WiFi-first' smartphone with Intel
Budget carrier FeedomPop has signed a deal with Intel that will see it introduce a "WiFi-first" smartphone next year. The phone will use Intel's low-cost "SoFIA" Atom x3 processors and leverage WiFi hotspots wherever possible instead of mobile data, even for things like texting and calling. The phone will "seamlessly" switch between WiFi and cellular networks with no discernible difference to the user, and when it does connect to cellular it'll apparently be free. FreedomPop already offers a similar service -- its big selling point is that calls and texts are sent via mobile data or WiFi rather than traditional means -- but this will be the first phone purpose-built for its virtual network.
GoogleFi gives 360 addicts Xbox Live on the go
Obviously, quite a few possibilities open up when your whole town is wired for WiFi, but we can't say we really pegged drive-by 360 play as one of them. Mountain View, CA residents Brandon Wirtz and Jake Ludington fixed up Brandon's Jeep with 23-inch Samsung LCD and an Xbox connected to Google WiFi via Jake's laptop. The total cost of wire-free 360 action is about $4000 if starting from scratch, but isn't that a small price to pay for the freedom to frag?[Via BBC News]
