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There's something called 'Enhanced HD Voice' and EE supports it
Most weirdos people that actually use their smartphones to make calls will be aware of the eerily crisp connections of HD Voice. All major carriers in the UK support the standard at this point, which is technically known as Voice over LTE (VoLTE), since 4G frequencies are responsible for the improved call clarity. But apparently, there's something better. It's called Enhanced HD Voice, and EE is today boasting it's the first network in the UK to support it.
AT&T service prevents scam calls from reaching your phone
Yes, you can block phone numbers used for robocalls and tech support scams, but that usually means having to take at least one call (or running the right software) before you realize something's fishy. And AT&T, at least, is trying to do better. In response to the FCC's request for tougher action, the carrier has introduced a free Call Protect service for HD Voice (voice over LTE) users that aims to block fraudulent and spam calls, in many cases before they even reach your phone. An automatic fraud blocking feature will stop scams at the network level, while you'll also get warnings about suspected spam calls if you're in an HD Voice coverage area.
LG's first Windows phone in ages is a budget model for Verizon
LG hasn't really done much to support Windows Phone as of late (despite promises to the contrary), but it's making amends for that today. Verizon has announced the previously leaked LG Lancet, a Windows Phone 8.1 device (LG's first, in fact) for the budget crowd. The hardware won't blow you away between the 4.5-inch display, 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 8-megapixel rear camera, 0.3-megapixel front camera and 8GB of expandable storage. However, it does have a few aces up its sleeve.
AT&T's clearer LTE calls are now available in 13 more states
While AT&T's introduction of Voice over LTE in May was good news, you couldn't exactly call it a massive launch when just four states got those clearer phone calls. The situation is much better as 2014 draws to a close, though. The carrier has switched on VoLTE (aka HD Voice) in both the District of Columbia as well as certain areas in 13 other states, ranging from Washington to Texas. The company isn't saying just which cities are getting the improved service, but it's a big step forward for a fledgling technology -- if you subscribe to AT&T, you're now that much more likely to have a pristine-sounding conversation. Now if only American providers could get their LTE calls crossing networks. [Image credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew]
Verizon's HD voice and video chat only works on two phones (for now)
Verizon's HD voice and video chat feature is now live, just like it promised back in August. The carrier officially calls it "Advanced Calling 1.0," and it lets you make high-definition voice calls over LTE to other Verizon phones that also have the capability. Its video chat function, on the other hand, is a combination of HD voice and real-time video feed, though it can transfer the video portion of the call from LTE to Verizon WiFi when available. Anyone with a compatible device can access the feature at no additional charge, with HD voice costing the same as your standard call rates. Video, however, will be billed as data, with one minute eating up between six to eight MB.
Why T-Mobile wants to give you a wireless router for free
If you're a T-Mobile customer, your company just gave you a very unexpected gift at yesterday's UnCarrier event: a wireless router. Yes, a fully functioning, magenta-branded, ASUS-built router, which can do essentially everything your current router can do -- and if yours is old, this will likely do even more. The device, which would cost roughly $200 if you purchased it on Amazon without T-Mobile's tweaks, only requires a $25 deposit, which gets returned to you once you're done using it. The company is going all-in on its commitment to providing every subscriber and every carrier-branded smartphone with free WiFi calling, and the router -- called the T-Mobile Personal CellSpot -- is the icing on the cake. But, you may ask, why is this a thing that's happening in the year 2014, especially when most of us already have access to a router (and thus, WiFi calling) nearly everywhere we go?
Verizon's HD voice and video chat nearly ready to launch nationwide
LTE isn't just about getting incredibly fast data speeds on our smartphone or tablet. Sure, that's been what the technology's been primarily used for ever since it was introduced a few years ago, but it's capable of providing crystal-clear phone calls as well through a service known as Voice over LTE (VoLTE). The catch is that it's up to each carrier to provide the service. AT&T and T-Mobile have rolled out the capability already, and Verizon announced today that it's nearly ready to flip the switch on VoLTE nationwide, and it'll happen in a matter of weeks. Whether that means two or fourteen, Verizon won't say. But when it's ready, this functionality will be pre-loaded on new devices and pushed to existing phones in a downloadable update (provided the hardware is compatible, which many devices are).
Verizon's next-gen voice service still planned for this year, will come with video calling
Verizon and AT&T, the two largest mobile operators in the US, have spent the last couple years in a race to deploy next-generation voice technology known as Voice over LTE (VoLTE). With its announcement last week, AT&T was the first to deploy the fast-speed VoIP network, but don't count Verizon out of the race quite just yet: executives explained to us today that it's still on track for nationwide deployment sometime this year.
AT&T's high-quality LTE calls arrive on May 23rd, but only on one phone
Right in sync with rumors, AT&T has launched its high-quality LTE voice calling in a handful of places across the US. If you live in the right parts of Illinois, Indiana, Minneapolis and Wisconsin, you'll get pristine-sounding phone conversations starting on May 23rd. There's no public roadmap for other regions, but AT&T is promising news on a "market-to-market" basis. Just don't expect a wide selection of phones at first. The only phone that will support voice over LTE from day one is the fairly ho-hum Galaxy S4 Mini -- if you just bought a Galaxy S5 or some other hot new device, you'll still have to wait patiently for word of an update. Many smartphones are capable of handling the technology, however, so don't be surprised if your next heart-to-heart chat sounds much clearer than usual. [Image credit: Getty Images]
AT&T set to beat Verizon by deploying high-definition calls over LTE this month
With so many apps, services and features on today's smartphones, it's easy to forget that there are still plenty of people out there who still actually make calls. Eager to leverage the speed and efficiency of existing LTE networks, providers like AT&T and Verizon are busily trying to enhance voice call quality with a technology called Voice over LTE (VoLTE). Given the vast delays in deploying the service -- both carriers wanted to launch it in 2013 -- it's apparent that VoLTE has presented its fair share of technical difficulties. AT&T, however, is now ready to flip the switch in select markets: sources familiar with the matter have indicated that the carrier plans to beat Verizon to the punch by rolling out VoLTE beginning on May 23rd.
Sprint to launch HD Voice calls nationwide in July
Sprint's HD Voice impressed our ears two years ago, but the feature's been placed on the company's back burner since then. Sure, it's already available in a handful of locations, but it's only now that the carrier's announced its plans to make it available nationwide. According to Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, subscribers all over the country should be able to enjoy clearer voice calls "around the first of July"... assuming they're using HD Voice-compatible devices to talk to people also using HD Voice-compatible devices. It's not too bad, though: over two dozen Sprint phones already support the standard, including the iPhone 5s/5c, Samsung Galaxy S 4/Note 3, Nexus 5 and HTC One/One Max. Sprint's HD Voice promises "crystal clear calls" by cancelling background noise and delivering more natural-sounding voices. From the time it was introduced in 2012, though, rival carriers AT&T and T-Mobile have already come up with their own versions. Hesse made the announcement at the Oracle Industry Connect event, where he also talked about the overly technical details of Sprint's Spark LTE service.
Verizon expanding San Francisco Innovation Center, currently working on cross-carrier HD Voice support
2011 sure doesn't feel like that long ago, but it's evidently long enough for Verizon to realize that demand for innovation is booming in Silicon Valley. Not quite two years after the company cracked open the doors to its San Francisco-based Innovation Center, it's already looking to expand. During a briefing today at its other Innovation Center -- the one located just outside of Boston -- we were told that plans are underway to expand the SF facility. Presently, the Waltham, Mass. center is the vaster of the two, and it's Verizon's goal to stretch the California edition to (roughly) match the original location. We were also told that the company has looked at a variety of other cities where potential Innovation Centers could be planted, and while "three to four" undisclosed metropolises are in play, the company wants to nail the execution of its first two before hastily expanding into new locales. According to Praveen Atreya, director of Verizon's Innovation Program, there's just too much involved in the incubation and launch process to not devote the proper amount of manpower to it. In other words, there's more to launching a product than just design and manufacturing; a lot of TLC goes on in order to make something have a successful shelf life.
AT&T to roll out support for HD Voice later this year
When Apple introduced the iPhone 5, Apple's Senior VP of Marketing Phil Schiller explained that Apple updated the iPhone 5's entire audio system. In addition to the inclusion of three microphones and an improved speaker design, Schiller also boasted that the iPhone 5 featured a technology dubbed wideband audio, otherwise known as HD Voice technology. Phil Schiller said the technology was capable of delivering amazing sound performance and described it thusly: In a typical cellphone call, this is what it looks like. The frequency of the data in your voice is compressed around the midrange to help make that call sound more intelligible, but it doesn't sound entirely natural all the time. So with wideband audio we can fill up more of the frequency spectrum and make your voice sound even more natural. Note that the chart above was taken from Schiller's keynote presentation. In order to take advantage of the much improved call quality, however, the technology must be supported by the carrier and both devices on a particular call. When Apple first introduced the iPhone 5, Schiller said that 20 cellphone carriers worldwide would be ready to support the iPhone 5's wideband audio technology at launch. Notably, no US carriers were part of that original grouping of 20. But that's all poised to change. AllThingsD relayed statements made by AT&T senior VP Kris Rinne today at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit indicating that Ma Bell is planning to roll out support for wideband audio later this year. "HD Voice is part of our voice over LTE strategy," Rinne explained. Of course, this is welcome news for AT&T subscribers who have long complained of subpar call quality measured against other US carriers like Sprint and Verizon. Rinne also added that AT&T is taking other measures to improve call quality on its network. Rinne, who oversees network technologies for the carrier, said that the carrier will also begin work on so-called advanced LTE which does things to reduce interference and bond together traffic from various frequencies. Sprint is reportedly interested in supporting HD Voice as well, though a timetable for such support wasn't specified. So is HD Voice all it's being cracked up to be? Well, when T-Mobile announced its plan to start carrying the iPhone 5 beginning on April 12, it also mentioned that it will support Phone 5's HD Voice feature. Gizmodo was able to give the feature a test run and came away impressed. Calling from one T-Mobile iPhone to another, my caller's voice came through loud and clear. You know how sometimes cell-to-cell voice calls can sound a little fragmented? Like little bits of sounds are being dropped? This didn't have that. It was a much more natural-sounded call. It was a bit richer, and definitely fuller. I wouldn't say it was like night and day, but it's definitely a noticeable improvement. I then used the same iPhone to call an HTC One on AT&T and it sounded, y'know, like a typical cell call. It was very slightly broken up, and definitely didn't have as much dynamic range. So iPhone 5 users experiencing particularly shoddy call quality on AT&T have reason to rejoice. Verizon users, on the other hand, will have to wait until 2014 for HD Voice support.
T-Mobile says its iPhone 5 has HSPA+ on AWS bands, HD Voice
We all know the iPhone is at last reaching T-Mobile -- but what you might not know is that it won't just be a one-for-one port of the existing hardware. Carrier CEO John Legere just stated that the T-Mobile iPhone 5 will support HSPA+ on AWS bands (1,700MHz and 2,100MHz) in addition to ready-made LTE support. If you wander outside of an LTE coverage area, you'll still have up to 42Mbps data on Magenta's network. There's more: it'll also support the same HD Voice calling that went nationwide in January.
Hands-on with T-Mobile's HD Voice, Tap Tag app for NFC-ready Android phones
T-Mobile had more than just big updates at its CES event; it gave us opportunities to try both its newly national HD Voice service and a seemingly unknown carrier-specific NFC app, Tap Tag. The currently Android-only software is best described as a crossover between somewhat simpler existing NFC tag systems. like Samsung's Tectiles, and multi-step automation like Motorola's Smart Actions. Put a Tap Tag-equipped phone against a relevant marker and it will perform one or more customizable tasks, such as putting the phone in a do-not-disturb mode at the same time it sets an alarm for the morning. From our glance through the menus, it's surprisingly deep and flexible without being intimidating. There are pre-defined templates, but nothing's set in stone -- if your definition of an office mode involves launching YouTube and cranking the volume, you can make it happen. More details, including HD Voice testing, await after the break.
Urban Hello introduces bizarrely attractive home phone via Kickstarter, we go eyes-on
The Kickstarter page for Urban Hello's beautiful, strange home phone may not be live yet, but we've already gotten our hands all over it. The HD voice device is more than looks, though, featuring two OLED screens built into a minimalist aesthetic, intended to simplify the home phone experience. The handset even comes in a handful of colors, "in order to blend in better with the decoration of any interior." A pre-order of $85 will net you one of the very first off the production line -- of course, the Kickstarter has to go live before you can pledge any money. Head past the break for all the specifics, straight from Urban Hello. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
SuperTooth launches the $199 Disco Twin and $89 HD Voice at CES (video)
Gallic Bluetooth audio house SuperTooth wants you to buy its Disco speakers in pairs to better show off its stereo prowess, not to mention make a little more cash. That's why it's outing the Disco Twin here at CES, a $199 pair of noisyboxes that offer discrete left and right stereo -- each pumping out 16 watts of RMS power. You'll be able to squeeze up to four hours of juice out of each one if you use them to host a (short) rave, or up to 10 hours in more serene circumstances. At the same time, it's also releasing the HD Voice, an $89 hands-free car kit that clips to your sun visor and will even pair with your phone using voice commands. The company isn't ready to say when the pair will be available, but we can't imagine it'll be a long wait. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Orange begins first HD Voice calls between countries, decides clarity knows no borders
Orange was one of the vanguards of high-quality cellphone calls, having kicked off HD Voice with a Moldovian launch back in 2009. The premium chatter has always stopped at the border, however -- even two Orange customers couldn't see the improvement if they were in different countries. The carrier is bridging that gap with claims that it's the first to support improved voice on the international level: starting today, Moldovans and Romanians on Orange can give each other a ring and expect the extra-smooth calling they're used to from local conversations. We don't yet know if and when other countries will hop on the bandwagon. We've reached out, but it's possible that any upgraded links between other countries will come only from case-by-case negotiations. Those in Bucharest might want to track down any relatives in Chișinău for a quick chat in the meantime.
Bring the noise! Sony confirms HD Voice support for Xperia T
In the fast moving world of smartphones, giant HD displays just aren't enough anymore. The new hot commodity in the land of mobile is "HD Voice." Sure, the technology isn't exactly brand new, but using it over post-3G high speed networks is. The selling point here is high quality noise cancellation, which allows a phone's user to be heard clearly in the noisiest of environments. The latest device to hop on the bandwagon is Sony's Xperia T. When describing this feature, the herculean consumer electronics maker got downright emotional saying, "you feel closer to the person you are talking to." While we're not too sure about that, HD Voice did impress during our ears-on session. The major caveat here is that this feature requires that both parties have HD Voice capable handsets. So, until this concept becomes more mainstream, Xperia T owners' phone calls are likely to be close, but no cigar.
LG's first VoLTE Bluetooth headset revealed: Tone + packs 'high-quality' audio codec
LG isn't short of a few Voice over LTE handsets, but this neck-hugging Bluetooth handset promises to offer similarly crisp voice calls, if the feature's available, without the need to fumble around in your pockets . The Tone + headset totes a pair of in-ear buds, is available in both white and black and will even vibrate in Battle Royale terror style when you receive a call. LG has built in a "professional grade audio codec", the aptX, to improve audio performance alongside that VoLTE compatibility. The headphones can event pair to two devices (even two smartphones) and read out your received SMS messages. You can expect the micro-USB rechargeable Tone+ to last around 15 hours of talk-time, or 500 hours on standby. Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but LG promise to launch the device in the US, Korea and China by the end of the month.
