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Palm Voice Test portal foreshadows Verizon's LTE voice plans, quasi-affirms new pricing
See that image above? It's not a forthcoming Palm LTE phone for Verizon Wireless, but it could be a sneak peek into Big Red's plans for the future. If you'll recall, VZW's CTO Tony Malone hinted last week at CES that integrated LTE voice + data wouldn't come until 2012 or 2013 at the earliest, and for now, all LTE devices would be relying on 3G for voice and 4G for data. Heck, not even all of the first-wave LTE devices will support simultaneous 4G data + 3G voice. Of course, we all know that LTE voice is coming eventually, and a new test portal at Verizon's official website may be a clue as to how things will be arranged once it's live. We're guessing that an admin simply populated this page with information and images from the standard Pre Plus page -- there's no way an LTE-enabled Pre is planning to slink into VZW's lineup -- but it's pretty obvious that at least someone within the company is thinking about a world where voice calls are completed over LTE. Potentially more interesting is the "4G plan pricing on this phone" line -- during Verizon's second LTE presser at CES, none of the executives on stage would talk dollars and cents, but this makes it fairly clear that there will definitely be separate plans for 4G phones, most likely ones with higher prices. Feel free to hit the source link if you'd like to poke around, but we wouldn't expect it to remain online for much longer. One more look is after the break. Update: As we predicted, the page has been pulled. Good thing the important bits are right here for you and yours.
Rock Band Mobile will let four players jam over Verizon's 4G LTE network
There's no shortage of applications out there to demonstrate the potential of Verizon's 4G LTE network, but Electronic Arts' just showed off one of the more impressive ones to date at its CES 2011 press conference. It demoed its forthcoming Rock Band Mobile game for Android, which will let up to four players "jam together over the network," making it the first game that can be played with friends over the network at launch. Not much more than that to go on at the moment, but we're certainly eager to try this one out for ourselves. Update: Press release is after the break with the complete track listing. Jethro Tull is headed to 4G.
Live from Verizon's CES 2011 4G LTE press conference
We've here at Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE presser at CES, and we're told our worlds will be changed forever in five minutes. Or something to that effect.
Netgear announces MBR1000 for Verizon LTE, handful of other wireless routers
Because you shouldn't hog all that 4G LTE goodness for yourself, Netgear's announced a MBR1000 mobile broadband router compatible with Verizon's LTE network and its USB modems. It boasts four Ethernet ports and 802.11n WiFi... nothing mind-blowing, but isn't the LTE part enough? Additionally, we've got a quartet of routers with more traditional origins. Without further ado (and all in one breath, if you can): the N300 wireless router boasting Powerline AV (WNXR2000) coming this month for $119.99, the N750 wireless dual-band gigabit (WNDR4000) coming first quarter for $179.99, the N600 wireless dual-band gigabit ADSL modem router (DGND3700) in second quarter for $199.99, and a premium (albeit lacking ADSL) version N600 (WNDR3800) with ReadyShare hard drive / printer access from outside the network, a clear channel selector, and dashboard control for monitor / repair (also second quarter, for $179.99). There, wasn't so bad, was it? %Gallery-112751% %Gallery-112741%
Verizon confirms contract-free 4G LTE options: same rates, pricier modems
Verizon didn't make any mention of it during it's big announcement yesterday, but PC Magazine's Sascha Seagan has confirmed with the carrier that it will indeed be offering its 4G LTE service off-contract as well. That will actually come in at the same rates as the on-contract pricing -- $50 for 5GB or $80 for 10GB, plus a $10 per GB overage -- but you'll have to shell out a full $249.99 for the modem, as opposed to just $99.99 on a two-year contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate).
Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data (update)
And here we go: Verizon just announced its 4G LTE pricing and full list of coverage areas. Some 38 markets will go live when the switch is flipped on December 5, including Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and LA, and pricing starts at $50/month for 5GB of data, with an $80/month plan for 10GB. Overages run $10 per GB, which isn't insane, and there's also supplemental coverage in around 60 airports. Check the full PR after the break. Update: Some highlights from today's press conference: More modems will be coming out within "weeks" and are all backwards compatible with its EV-DO network. Verizon will talk about "consumer-oriented devices" (translation: phones) at CES. The modems are capable of 4G-to-3G handoff, but not 3G-to-4G -- they'll stay on 3G until you're done transmitting data. The LTE and 3G plans might integrate, according to CTO Tony Melone, but probably not until 2012 or 2013. It sounds like the modems will only be available in stores on December 5th -- no third-party retailers at first.
Verizon hosting 4G LTE news conference tomorrow to discuss launch plans
Guess what people, Verizon's LTE network launch is really for real and the carrier has now scheduled a news conference for tomorrow where it'll discuss its December plans in more detail. Tony Melone, VZW's chief tech officer, will be on hand to answer any questions beyond the already known plans for 38 metropolitan areas to get the 4G LTE treatment -- accounting for a cool 110 million Americans who'll be able to ride the lightning of faster internet speeds on the move. The event kicks off at 12PM and we'll make sure to tune in, if only to find out what Tony's answer is to the inevitable "what is 4G" question. [Thanks, Henry]
