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Verizon's LTE network takes the night off, leaves a bunch of Thunderbolt users bewildered
Is your fancy new phone lacking that certain extra G that makes it special? Worry not, it's not just your device, Verizon's entire LTE network seems to be having problems as outages have been reported from across the US. We tested our own Thunderbolt in San Francisco this morning and it was indeed making do with only 3G connectivity. It's important to note that Verizon's 3G network seems to be ticking along quite alright, it's just 4G service that's down at the moment. Some folks have reported losing both 3G and 4G connectivity, but that's owing to a documented issue with 3G provisioning on the Thunderbolt -- we've noted the way to overcome that problem in a previous post. For now, just enjoy your regular-speed mobile internet until the super-fast stuff is fixed and back up. Update: The Verizon Wireless Twitter account has confirmed the issue, and that the company's network engineers are "working to resolve quickly." Update 2: As of 4:13pm ET Verizon has determined the cause and is "working with major vendors to restore connections." Still no ETA for a fix. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung releases Droid Charge source code ahead of phone's launch
This isn't right... this isn't right at all. As a possible tip of the hat to enthusiastic coders, or merely a curious oversight, the source code for Verizon's forthcoming Droid Charge has appeared on Samsung's open source portal. Nothing earth-shattering here (as we've known of this 1GHz LTE handset for a while), but we reckon there's a few industrious readers who will appreciate hacking this Droid's software ahead of launch. So if you count yourself among that bunch, follow the source link and type 'SCH-I510' in the search box -- happy coding!
Droid Charge shows its colors in Verizon training docs, Droid Bionic gets killed off?
Samsung gave us the basic specs on day one, but Verizon's sparing no detail this week, as it trains employees how to effectively sell the LTE-packed Droid Charge to those of us who live and die by how many devices we can connect to our hotspot (10) and size of our bundled microSD card (32GB). Droid-Life brings us those revelations, while Phone Arena has a rumor somewhat upsetting if true -- that site's anonymous tipsters claim that the Droid Bionic is no more. They say that the Atrix-alike's Tegra 2 processor wasn't playing nice with Verizon's LTE baseband chips and had overheating issues too, and rather than expend more effort to fix the incompatibilities, Motorola simply gave it the boot. However, Phone Arena's quick to mention that the "Droid Bionic" name may live on, as Moto will allegedly be grooming the top-shelf Targa to replace it. We're reaching out to Verizon right now, and expect we'll have an official "we do not comment on rumors and speculation" before long. Update: Motorola tells the Wall Street Journal that the Droid Bionic has been delayed.
Novatel's USB551L 4G LTE modem hits Verizon March 31st
Samsung's new LTE mobile hotspot may have managed to sneak out a bit early, but it looks like those opting for Novatel's USB551L LTE modem instead will still have to wait a few days. Verizon has just confirmed today that the modem will be available on March 31st for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year contract). As expected, the modem packs both Windows and Mac support out of the box, and promises download speeds up to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps. Still no word on Novatel's 4510L MiFi, though we presume it will be following shortly. Full press release is after the break.
Verizon says 4G LTE network will cover 'at least' 147 US cities by the end of 2011
Verizon used CES back in January to announce 49 new markets that would be covered by its 4G LTE network by the end of 2011, and it's now taken advantage of CTIA to announce an additional 59 cities, which brings the total up to "at least" 147 that will be covered by year's end. Those new markets span just about the entire US (including Hawaii, but not Alaska), and they build on the initial group of 39 markets, which already covers some 110 million people. Head on past the break for the press release with the complete list.
HTC Thunderbolt hits $175 price point with LetsTalk -- but only for this weekend
LetsTalk has this morning dropped its price for the HTC Thunderbolt from $200 all the way down to the so-far unmatched level of $175. This applies when bought with the obligatory two-year service plan and will be available to all willing customers, whether they be new to Verizon, adding an extra line, or upgrading their current phone. It also betters Amazon's $180 price in one other important aspect: Amazon's Thunderbolts are on back order at present, whereas LetsTalk has immediate stock and will even cover the cost of shipping. All good things must come to an end, however, and this discounted pricing will last only until Monday, at which point the cost will revert to a more sustainable point for the retailer. That said, we'd advise against rushing in unless you're categorically sure -- LetsTalk will ding you for $250 if you don't stick to the contract that goes with this handset for at least 181 days.
HTC Thunderbolt now available to buy: $250 from Verizon, $180 at Amazon
Another saga put to rest. The question of just when Verizon will release its first 4G LTE handset was answered yesterday with the word "tomorrow," which makes today that day! Verizon Wireless is now taking online orders for HTC's 4.3-inch Thunderbolt, pricing the LTE lubber at $250 on a two-year contract. It comes with Android 2.2 as the OS underlying the HTC Sense 2.0 UI, an 8 megapixel camera with HD video recording, 768MB of RAM, and a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 chip that will have to do its best to keep up with those crazy 4G download speeds. If Verizon's own pricing feels a bit rich to you, shop around -- we've found the Thunderbolt as low as $180 at Amazon, although the online retailer has it on back order for the moment. [Thanks, Justin]
Verizon offers unlimited LTE data plan for HTC Thunderbolt, don't expect it to stick around
Verizon execs have been clear as crystal that unlimited smartphone data will follow the dodo -- perhaps as soon as summer of this year -- but in the meanwhile you can drink your fill of the best as the HTC Thunderbolt will launch this Thursday with an unlimited LTE data plan. While we've no guarantees how long it will last, or whether you can grandfather the $30 monthly option into bigger and better devices down the road, it does open up a whole new avenue of opportunity for the Thunderbolt. Considering that Verizon's 4G USB modems top out at 10GB of LTE data for $80 a month, the HTC handset just became the most powerful, affordable MiFi you could possibly own. Assuming battery life is decent, of course. Find the full PR below.
Apple interested in building 4G LTE iPhone "early"
Apple may be looking to build a TD-LTE iPhone earlier than expected, according to a comment from China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou. Jianzhou singled out Steve Jobs while speaking about the possibility of an LTE iPhone outside a conference meeting on Friday. The chairman said "Jobs has expressed his interest in an LTE iPhone and is willing to start the development at an early date." China Mobile, the largest mobile operator in China as well as the world, is preparing to launch large-scale tests of its TD-LTE network in select Chinese cities including Shanghai and Hangzhou. LTE or Long Term Evolution is the next generation in cellular technology that promises significantly faster mobile broadband speeds. It is commonly referred to as 4G. These upcoming tests are the precursor to a full-scale launch expected by the end of the year. An earlier demonstration produced download speeds of 80 Mbps, which is 20x faster than current cellular network technology. LTE is poised to explode in China in the next several years. IHS iSuppli predicts capital spending on LTE will double to US$100 million in 2011 and balloon to $1.3 billion by 2014. China's total mobile user base has grown to over 869 million subscribers and is the largest in the world. While its mobile subscriber numbers are high, China's mobile phone penetration is relatively low at 64%. Whether or not Apple will be "early" with a China Mobile iPhone remains to be seen, but this untapped market presents a unique opportunity for growth that Apple would not want to ignore.
LTE iPhone noise builds steam with a grain of Wang
Has it got the fourgees? Well, if you're talking about Apple's iPhone and believe what you hear from China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou, it very soon will. Following in the well publicized footsteps of Verizon CEO Dan Mead, Mr. Jianzhou tells us that Steve Jobs himself "has expressed his interest in an LTE iPhone and is willing to start the development at an early date." Of course, the crux of the issue will be in ascertaining how early "an early date" might be, but it's not completely out of the realm of reason to believe that Apple may already be cranking away on an LTE-capable iPhone 5. We all know how much Steve loves to compare measurements with the competition and the iPhone's lack of a fourth G will probably be driving him mad by the time the summer rolls around. Either way, we've now got two extremely senior dudes claiming LTE is on Apple's roadmap.
Verizon CEO: iPhone 4 sales strong, more coming from Apple on LTE
In a recent interview, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead rebutted recent reports suggesting Verizon iPhone sales were low by confirming that the wireless carrier sold more iPhone 4s during its initial launch than any other product in the carrier's history. Mead would not divulge the actual numbers, but he confirmed these sales figures would be released during the carrier's next quarterly report. The Verizon iPhone launch was characterized by fewer and shorter lines at both the carrier's retail outlets and Apple stores. According to Mead, this was not a reflection of low demand, but the carrier's plan to stagger the launch. "It was a conscious decision to spread the launch over three phases," said Mead, who also confirmed that 60 percent of iPhone sales were processed online. Verizon held two pre-sale opportunities on February 3 and 9 and kicked off the official launch on February 10. Besides the iPhone 5, Mead hinted that Apple was interested in LTE technology and working on devices compatible with Verizon's 4G network. Mead said, "You'll see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it." Apple recently addressed LTE, and COO Tim Cook confirmed the Cupertino company is not ready to adopt this 4G technology. Speaking at the Verizon iPhone launch, Cook said, "the first-generation LTE chipsets force some design compromises, some of which we wouldn't make." Hopefully, Apple can work with chipset manufacturers to iron out these kinks, and we can look forward to 4G speeds combined with Apple's solid hardware and slick mobile OS.
Verizon CEO claims Apple LTE products are coming, doesn't specify when
Dan Mead, Lowell McAdam's successor at the helm of Verizon Wireless, has told the Wall Street Journal that we'll "see more coming from Apple on LTE. They understand the value proposition of LTE and I feel very confident that they are going to be a part of it." No further details were forthcoming from the chief exec, such as timing and the particular shape of Apple's participation in Verizon's LTE plans, but at least we now have an indication that Cupertino is actively working toward 4G connectivity. Mead's comments came as part of an interview discussing the iPhone 4's launch on his network, which has already seen the device bust through Verizon's opening sales record. Notably, at the actual launch of that phone, Tim Cook said an LTE version of the iPhone would have required too many compromises, so we suspect those compromises are exactly what Apple's working on right now.
Motorola Xoom will get LTE in 'approximately 90 days,' requires one week for hardware upgrade (updated)
When will the Motorola Xoom, ahem, justify its price point with a dose of Verizon's speedy LTE? According to an allegedly leaked Verizon document at Droid-Life, it seems we'll see it by the end of May. You can read the rest for yourself immediately above, but if you have an aversion to JPEG images we'll also spell out the salient points here: the upgrade will reportedly be completely free, including shipping; both hardware and software tweaks will be carried out by Motorola; and the whole process will take up to six business days. If these facts are all correct (and we don't honestly doubt a one), you should see them mirrored at our more coverage link in the days to come. Update: The official Xoom LTE upgrade site is now live confirming that the process will take six business days to complete after shipping it off to Verizon in a FedEx box, free of charge. Unfortunately, VZW won't say exactly when the upgrade will be available, going only so far as to say "shortly after launch."
Motorola's Sanjay Jha on Xoom: 'Our ability to deliver 4G justifies the $799 price point'
Motorola's Xoom will cost a tad more than the competition, but company co-CEO Sanjay Jha has an explanation for why that might be: he told reporters that the Android Honeycomb tablet's price is justified by the promise of speedy 4G internet. Of course, the $800 Xoom doesn't actually come with 4G connectivity out of the gate, but Jha told reporters that the Xoom's LTE upgrade will be free, and that wonder of wonders, the tablet will be capable of pulling down 50 megabit per second speeds. Someone might want to check Sanjay's math -- sure, in the midst of a Verizon fog at CES 2011, we were able to manage 33Mbps, but we typically get less than half that speed on a day-to-day basis.
LightSquared says it has signed up five companies for its wholesale LTE service
LightSquared has faced something of an uphill battle in getting its wholesale 4G LTE network off the ground -- even including accusations that it's a threat to national security -- but it looks like it's having fairly good luck attracting some customers. According to Chief Marketing Officer Frank Boulben, LightSquared has signed agreements with five companies so far, including two carriers, one website, a national retailer, and a device manufacturer -- none of which it's able to name, of course. Boulben also revealed that the company, which plans to compete with the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Clearwire, is finished raising money for the "short term," and that it plans to begin trials later this year in Las Vegas, Baltimore, Denver and Phoenix once it finishes its lab testing in Dallas.
Verizon 4G LG modem now Mac compatible, too
There you go, Verizon LG VL600 modem owners who use Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.6, you didn't have to wait too long, at all! Your Verizon 4G LTE LG modem is now compatible with your Mac computer. All you need to do is download the latest Verizon Access Manager for Mac software (version 7.2.5) for your LG modem and you'll be ready to go, fast. Verizon released the Mac compatible drivers for its other 4G modem, the Pantech UML 290 just over a week ago. You can download the drivers by accessing Verizon's Access Manager website, here. [Via MacRumors]
HTC Thunderbolt makes FCC appearance?
It looks like HTC just got the go-ahead for a 4G smartphone from that great predictor of market preparedness, the FCC -- and all signs point to Thunderbolt. PG05100, as it's so lovingly referred to, operates on Verizon's 700MHz LTE as well as its CDMA / EVDO bands, and is set up for SVDO and SVLTE (or simultaneous CDMA voice and LTE data) -- definitely in keeping with Verizon's plans. Unsurprisingly, HTC's slapped the usual confidentiality request on this one, asking that any telling photos remain under wraps until March 31st. Considering what we've heard about a delayed Valentine's Day debut, could this mean an April Fools' launch for Verizon's first 4G LTE smartphone? Our heart tells us to doubt it, but if PG05100 turns out to be the real deal, Thunderbolt should hit the US sometime soon. Not soon enough, mind you, but you catch the drift. [Thanks, Shane]
Verizon 4G LTE might offer $30 unlimited data plan, if you're lucky
The mobile rumor mill has been abuzz about Verizon's potential move away from unlimited data plans for a long time now, but we're not putting the rumors to rest. In fact, we're just fanning the flames -- according to the folks at Droid Life, Big Red's $30 unlimited data plan could be coming to 4G LTE. The site's sources point out that this might mean $30 plus $15 for 4G data, and that pricing structures are likely to change as the LTE Juggernaut powers ahead. Considering the first Verizon 4G phones haven't even made it to market yet, unlimited data might be around for sometime to come ... then again, it might not -- don't you just love speculation?
Verizon 4G Pantech modem now Mac compatible
Mac OS X (10.4 through to 10.6) users who have Verizon's Pantech UML290 4G LTE modem, you're in luck. Your modem is now compatible with your beautiful Mac computer for super-fast mobile cruising of the internet. About 13 hours ago (at writing of this post), Verizon announced -- via a VZWNetwork tweet -- the latest Verizon Access Manager for Mac software (version 7.2.4) as available for download. Unfortunately, if you've got the LG VL600 Verizon 4G LTE dongle, we're afraid you're still out of luck. However, this dongle is still expected to become Mac compatible at some point later in February.
Verizon 4G dongles to gain Mac compatibility in February
If you've got an LG VL600 Verizon 4G LTE dongle, and you've been climbing up the walls waiting to use it with your Mac, you're going to have to wait just a little bit longer. At present, there are no drivers available to support the 4G dongles on Mac computers, but we understand that Verizon engineers have been hard at work rectifying this. And, it seems, the fruits of their labor will be revealed shortly. According to PhoneScoop, LG VL600 4G LTE dongles will become Mac compatible at some point in February. So, there you have it! Soon your Mac will be able to cruise the 'net at (Verizon) LTE speed. [Via Engadget]
