AttWireless
Latest
AT&T rolls out expanded 4G LTE coverage to 16 US markets
AT&T customers scattered around the US have something to be happy about today -- 4G LTE coverage was just switched on several market areas. The company announced that the following markets can now access the 4G LTE network with their iPhone 5s, LTE-compatible iPads or iPad minis and other compatible smartphones: Asheville, N.C. Casa Grande, Ariz. Culpepper, Va. Dover, Del. Fredericksburg, Va. Goldsboro, N.C. Leonardtown, Md. Linglestown, Pa. Longview, Wash. Ocean City, Md. Port Townsend-North Whidbey Island-Camano Island, Wash. Prince Frederick and Calvert County, Md. Roanoke, Va. Salem, Ore. Schenectady, N.Y. Shelton, Wash. AT&T plans to extend LTE to a total of 79 new markets by the start of summer, which is just a scant three weeks away. LTE is up to 10 times faster than the company's 3G data network, and TUAW editor Dave Caolo is anxiously awaiting its arrival on Cape Cod so he can rely less on slow WiFi service when he's having his car worked on. Soon, Dave, soon...
Daily Update for May 21, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
AT&T waiving overage charges for Oklahoma customers affected by tornadoes
This morning, AT&T sent out a message to Oklahoma customers affected by yesterday's tornado devastation noting that those in the affected areas will have all voice, data and text overages waived through June 30. The company also reminded AT&T Wireless customers across the country that they can support disaster relief efforts by texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. That text message sends a donation of $10 to the American Red Cross and is charged on the customer's monthly bill. Bryan Gonterman, state president for AT&T Oklahoma, said in a statement, "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by the tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area Monday. We are coordinating with local authorities and bringing in additional resources. We recommend text messaging for communications with family, friends and loved ones given heavy call volumes."
AT&T's HTC One X gets rooted, catches up with the global gang
No sooner did the international variant of the One X reveal its source code, now the AT&T version has landed itself an unofficial root. Better still, the folks over at xda-developers have already squeezed the occasionally laborious process into a one-click install. For those not in the know, this doesn't mean an unlocked bootloader, which is still wrapped up in AT&T red tape. Root meddling types can hit up the source for the necessary files. Just, be careful -- that's some pricey polycarbonate and the Galaxy S III's still some weeks away.
AT&T's One X discovered to have 'restricted' bootloader, HTC responds
Since last year, HTC itself has been happy to let you unlock the bootloaders on its Android devices, but that doesn't mean you'll always be able to. If you'll recall, the international version of the One X was rooted just a few weeks ago, but such access apparently isn't in the cards for the AT&T-branded variant. The inconsistency was discovered by the likes of the XDA-Developers forums and MoDaCo, and after we pinged HTC for comment it responded with the following: HTC is committed to listening to users and delivering customer satisfaction. Since announcing our commitment to unlockable bootloaders, HTC has worked to enable our customers to unlock the bootloader on more than 45 devices over the past six months. In some cases, however, restrictions prevent certain devices from participating in our bootloader unlocking program. Rest assured, HTC is committed to assisting developers in unlocking bootloaders for HTC devices and we'll continue to unlock additional devices in the future." While HTC clearly isn't spilling the beans on what "restrictions" are blocking this variant of the Android superphone from entering the land of custom ROMs, it's become a general suspicion that AT&T might be the source. Naturally, we can't know for sure at this point, but we've reached out to the carrier in hopes of potentially getting more details on the situation. We'll be sure to keep you posted if we hear anything, but in the meantime, hit up the more coverage links below for further info. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Refresh Roundup: week of March 5th, 2012
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Apple iPhone 4S now shipping in 'one to two' weeks, over 200,000 AT&T pre-orders in first 12 hours
If there was any question of how hot a tamale Apple's iPhone 4S would be, the answer's edging toward muy caliente. AT&T's stated that the iPhone 4S has ushered in its best iPhone launch to date, receiving over 200,000 pre-orders for the device during the first 12 hours of availability (crediting its success to having the only US version operating over 14.4Mb/s HSPA+, aka FauxG). While that's good news for Ma Bell, as of today, you'll be looking at a wait time of "one to two weeks" after placing an order for this latest iThing (Sprint and Verizon included). We've yet to hear how the latter two telecoms have fared, but we'd imagine it won't be a secret for too long -- the iPhone 4S is officially available on October 14th, after all. Full AT&T PR just past the break. [Image from Skyline/Shutterstock]
HP's Pre 3 gets an emissions test at the FCC, likely destined for AT&T
The FCC has seen a decent share of WebOS devices this year, having first tested the Veer in February, and most recently HP's Touchpad (which we reported earlier today). Now, it appears the regulator is examining the forthcoming Pre 3, and while none of the documents specifically name the device, based on the size and proportion of the label, we think it'll pair nicely with a certain 3.6-inch display. We've also noted the diagram mentions a battery compartment, suggesting it's not the Veer, which is rumored to have a sealed battery. Whatever the device may be, it's packing WebOS 2.3 -- and judging from the 1900 / 850MHz 3G bands, it seems destined for AT&T, Rogers, Bell, or Telus in North America. Follow the break for a peek at the FCC label.
AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers? (update: it's a market trial)
While we've no clue how widespread AT&T's generosity is, or how you might get one, it appears that the company's "most valuable customers" are now receiving free range-boosting femtocells. Today, loyal reader Jason got a old-fashioned paper letter in the mail, offering his iPhone-wielding family a 3G MicroCell with no strings attached. Driving down to the local AT&T store, he got the product, but the dumbfounded reps offered no explanation why. Though his calls do frequently drop at home, Jason says he wasn't terribly vocal about the issue and only pays around $180 per month for his family plan -- the only thing that might possibly qualify him, in his opinion, is that his contract was set to expire. We've reached out to AT&T for more information; in the meanwhile, see Jason's letter after the break. [Thanks, Jason] Update: We're being told that AT&T is currently in the process of trialling different ways of offering the MicroCell, which is why a handful of customers have received this letter. We suspect you're always going to get positive reactions when you're offering something for free... but maybe we're crazy.
AT&T Wireless CEO not worried if Verizon gets the iPhone
That's the word from AT&T honcho Ralph de la Vega this morning at a JPMorgan tech conference, as reported by Business Insider. Now Ralphie is not sayin' Verizon will get the iPhone, but he thinks if they do it will have a minimal impact. He told the crowd that switching carriers is a tough thing for many customers to do. He said that 70% of AT&T customers are on family plans, which are tough to get out of. He also said that 40% of AT&T customers are on corporate discount plans, which can be a pain to let go of. AT&T has been the exclusive source for the iPhone for the last 3 years, while Apple has often moved to multiple carriers overseas. The majority of AT&T complaints have been dropped calls, poor signal strength, and the lack of tethering, which was promised but hasn't been delivered as yet. It appears to be built into the soon to be released iPhone OS 4, but having the capability and turning it on are two different things. Survey after survey shows customers unhappy with AT&T, and the company has responded with some increased expenditures in cities that had really bad reception issues and a re-branding. Would Apple add Verizon to get existing Verizon customers who want the iPhone, thinking that most AT&T customers will stay with what they have? How about you? Would you ditch AT&T for Verizon, even if you had a family plan or corporate discounts?
Analyst: Apple will sell 35m iPhones next year, with or without Verizon
One of the questions that always seems to come up during our TUAW Talkcast and TUAW TV Live sessions is "When do you think Verizon Wireless is going to get the iPhone?" According to recent comments from Merrill Lynch analyst Scott Craig, the answer to that question is irrelevant to Apple. Craig anticipates that Apple could sell 33 million iPhones in 2010, and that number would rise to 35 million in 2011 even without a second U.S. carrier. However, the upside to Apple in selecting a second U.S. carrier -- possibly Verizon Wireless -- is that the number of 2011 sales could rise to as high as 55 million. Other Wall Street analysts believe that Apple's decision to stick by AT&T for the iPad indicates a vote of confidence for the carrier, with analysts at Credit Suisse even going so far as to say that there's a 75% chance that AT&T will keep iPhone exclusivity for another year. While the analysts don't seem to see a real downside risk for Apple, Credit Suisse recently downgraded Verizon from Outperform to Neutral based on the absence of the iPhone from their product line. It would definitely be in Verizon's best interest to make an agreement with Apple to carry the iPhone; however, Apple is unlikely to make agreements with non-GSM carriers such as Verizon Wireless until they are well into a transition to the 4G LTE technology. [via Cult of Mac]
AT&T activates 3.2 million iPhones in 3Q
Reports of trouble for AT&T's 3G network have done nothing to keep people from the iPhone in the U.S. The nation's second largest wireless carrier announced third-quarter earnings Thursday morning that were full of iPhone goodness. AT&T (T) activated a record 3.2 million iPhones in 3Q, 40% of which went to people new to the company. Wireless data was the supporting star of the show. Services such as messaging, Internet access and the like were up 33.6% from 3Q of 2008 to $3.6 billion. Data sales now account for 29.4% of AT&T's wireless revenue. The company's earnings were relatively flat, having posted a profit of $3.2 billion, or 54 cents a share for 3Q '09 versus $3.23 billion or 55 cents a share for 3Q of '08. AT&T did, however, bring in enough to beat analyst expectations. The street was only looking for earnings of 50 cents a share. [via MediaPost, Marketwatch]
AT&T / Cingular class action gets go ahead from federal court
This one goes back a little ways, but a U.S. District Court in Seattle has now given the go ahead to a class action lawsuit brought by former AT&T Wireless subscribers, who have complained that their service went downhill after the company was bought by Cingular and ultimately became the new AT&T. They're also not too happy that they were forced to pay to get new Cingular phones, and they're now asking that AT&T pay back all those extra charges, plus the usual damages, of course. For its part, AT&T isn't saying anything more than that it "respectfully" disagrees with the court's decision, and that it's now studying the ruling and considering its options.
Man charged $28,000 for using data card, Slingbox to watch football game
While waiting for a Caribbean cruise liner to set sail from the Port of Miami last November, a Chicago native with an AT&T wireless card and Slingbox decided to catch the Bears vs. Lions football game on his laptop. The end result? A $28,067.31 bill from for international data charges, despite the ship never leaving the harbor. Apparently the card was picking up a signal it shouldn't have, and while the bill was eventually dropped to $290.65 after a considerable number of calls to customer service, let that be a warning to mobile users traveling on the fringe of international roaming areas -- and in case you were wondering, the Bears ended up winning 27 to 23.[Via The Register]
AT&T cutting 12,000 jobs due to "economic pressures"
AT&T may have about the best selection of choice handsets (smart or otherwise) available in the States right now, and continued iPhone exclusivity has definitely brought a windfall of new subscribers to its wireless division, but Ma Bell wasn't built on cell towers alone. There's still an extensive landline division to support, and it seems the company is leveraging the current economic doldrums to make it a little less so, joining the layoff crowd for the second time this year by shedding a further 12,000 workers (about 4 percent of its workforce), most said to be coming from passé, non-wireless sectors. So, happy holidays, folks -- hope those severance packages get you through the winter. [Via CellPhonesMarket.com; thanks, SK]
