Mobile Miscellany: week of January 28th, 2013
If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought a resolution to HTC's kerfuffle with the custom ROM community, along with a handful of special edition Samsung smartphones and new efforts toward spectrum sharing with the US government. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of January 28th, 2013.
HTC makes amends following HTCRUU takedown
Breathe easy, HTC enthusiasts. After last week's takedown of the HTCRUU ROM host site, the manufacturer has clarified that its sole concern revolved around the site's inappropriate use of the HTC name and logo. What's more, HTC went out of its way to rectify the situation with the site's creator, and the company also reiterated its support for the ROM community, which it identified as "valuable to the overall health of the Android ecosystem." As it stands, all custom Sense ROMs and official release RUU's that were formerly hosted on HTCRUU may now be accessed at ruu.androidfiles.org. As a compromise, the site will no longer host pre-release RUU files, and curiously enough, HTC also revealed that it may begin hosting the official RUU files itself. Don't you just love happy endings? [HTC, RootzWiki]
AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon to test spectrum sharing with Department of Defense
AT&T revealed this week that it, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless have entered into an agreement to test the viability of sharing 95MHz worth of spectrum that's currently in use by the Department of Defense. This proposal was previously put forth by the NTIA, which covers spectrum between the 1755MHz and 1850MHz bands. Now through March, the carriers will participate in simulation exercises to determine whether commercial and government activities can co-exist, and the results will be made publicly available through the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee. Meanwhile, Sprint has revealed its interest in the program and related that it's in active communication with the NTIA. [FierceWireless]
Russia welcomes special edition Samsung La Fleur smartphones
Those of you who've been following Mobile Miscellany for a while now may recall Samsung's La Fleur smartphone collection, which was previously tipped for a January debut. It seems that's come to pass -- in Russia, anyway -- where special editions of the Galaxy S III, Galaxy S III Mini, Galaxy Ace 2, Galaxy S Duos and Galaxy Ace Duos have become official. The phones match their generic counterparts in the spec and price departments, but the lovely design will certainly turn a few heads -- so long as it's not covered up with a case, that is. [GSM Arena]
Other random tidbits
The Nokia Lumia 920 is now available at Three in the UK for £450 outright, or £36 per month plus a £69 upfront cost on a two-year agreement. The Lumia 620 also joined the ranks at Three this week, which sells for £170 without commitment. [Three 1, 2]
Videotron has put the Nexus 4 up for sale at $149.95 with all plans of $49.95 or more. [MobileSyrup]
The HTC 8S is now available at Bell for $279.95 outright or zilch on a three-year agreement. [MobileSyrup]
Sprint has extended its LTE network to Austin, Bryan and College Station, Texas; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Boston, and Framingham, Mass.; Columbia, Tenn.; Emporia, Kan.; and Gettysburg, Pa. Outside of the continental US, the carrier has also expanded its LTE network to Aguadilla, Isabela, Cabo Rojo and Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. [Sprint PR 1, 2, 3, 4]
Verizon Wireless expanded its LTE network in Seneca County, N.Y., to cover the villages of Interlaken, Ovid and Phelps. [Verizon PR]
EE has activated its LTE network for nine new towns in the UK, and the carrier claims that 45 percent of the country's population is now covered in 4G goodness. The lucky areas include: Amersham, Bolton, Chelmsford, Hemel Hempstead, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield and Wolverhampton. [Android Central]
