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Verizon pushes for quick Windows Phone / LTE integration, tugs at Microsoft's pant leg
There's no question that Verizon's making a big push for LTE, but it appears that Microsoft has yet to take notice -- after all, Android continues to dominate Big Red's 4G network, with nary a Windows Phone in sight. VZW hopes that'll change, however, with CMO Marni Walden revealing that the company has "communicated to Microsoft that LTE is critical to us," suggesting that the ball is in Windows Phone's court. Meanwhile, Microsoft smartphone chief Andy Lees had previously confirmed that LTE functionality was on the Windows Phone roadmap, saying back in October that the company and its partners were looking at how 4G LTE support could be integrated. To date, Lees has declined to give any indication as to the actual timing for the first LTE models. In other news, Verizon has offered Microsoft a custom-made promise ring just to make sure its intentions were understood.
Sharp Aquos Phone SHI12 visits the FCC, flaunts its 3D camera in drawings
It's rare that we see Sharp's Aquos phones here in the US, but one model, at least, could be making the long journey stateside. A handset dubbed the CMDA SHI12 just cleared the FCC, and after comparing the drawings in the report to shots of devices already on the market, we're pretty sure it's the IS12SH that Sharp announced for Japan a few weeks back. Though the report is typically terse when it comes to specs, it does confirm that the phone has an 8 megapixel 3D rear-facing camera, Bluetooth, FeliCa, GPS, and tri-band CDMA (B0 / B3 / B6) connectivity. And though it's not in the filing, if this is indeed the IS12SH, then it also has a 4.2-inch qHD display and runs Android 2.3 (or so we'd hope, anyway). Of course, an FCC filing doesn't mean this will ever reach a carrier or go on sale in the US, period. But in case it does, don't say we didn't give you a heads up.
Rumor: Apple talking with CDMA carriers in India
Adding to the already bloated CDMA iPhone rumor mill, The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Apple is in talks with Reliance Communications Ltd and Tata Teliservices Ltd to bring the much-talked-about CDMA equipped iPhone to India. Apparently, talks with Tata Teleservices Ltd have been going on for some 4 to 5 months now. Similarly, this same CDMA iPhone is the one that has been repeatedly rumored to appear on - surprise, surprise - Verizon's network early next year, also according to the Journal. So, Verizon folks, things are looking more and more in your favor, once again -- at least until they don't, once again. If Apple were to introduce a code division multiple access (CDMA) iPhone, it would open Apple's iPhone up to roughly 550 million new customers worldwide, according the latest official figures from the CDMA Development Group. This certainly would expand Apple's iPhone market! In India, one of the world's fastest growing wireless markets, Apple has the potential to get its iPhone into 134 million current CDMA handset users' hands, though Apple Insider suggests that nearly half the country may struggle to afford the phone, with individuals earning an estimated US$1.25 or less a day. If the rumors are to be believed, a CDMA iPhone release early next year is looking more and more likely. As always, nothing is certain until we see it in the cold, hard, light of day. [Via AppleInsider]
BlackBerry Bold R020 and 9670 Oxford flip outed?
It's felt almost as if the BlackBerry smartphone rumor mill has been a little too quiet -- dare we say burnt out -- since the Torch hit the scene (BlackPad notwithstanding, of course). That's all changed with a pair of interesting leaks care of Boy Genius Report. Behold a successor to the Bold 9700, the R020. The tri-band UMTS / quad-band EDGE device is gonna disappoint some with the same 624MHz clockspeed and 2.44-inch 480 x 360 screen, but it does have twice the RAM (512MB), a 5 megapixel camera with AF and flash, and of course runs on BlackBerry 6. If the purported leaked slides are correct, a device of such magnitude should be launching in the October timeframe. Looking to the CDMA side of things -- which means likely both Verizon and Sprint -- we've got a 9670 "Oxford" (at least by codename) flip phone with a full QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, 360 x 400 internal display (240 x 320 for the external), usual amenities like WiFi and GPS, and the hip new BB6. No touchscreen on either phones, as far as we can tell, but perhaps that's a blessing for those that fret smudged screens.
HTC Touch Pro2 brandishes Verizon logo, poses for camera with Cedar
Not that it wasn't without warning, but we've now got some pretty definitive picture proof that HTC 's Touch Pro2 is set to bask in Verizon's CDMA goodness -- we guess your Sprint friends won't be having all the fun, after all. Also caught on camera here is the HTC Cedar, a CDMA version of the HTC Maple / Snap. It's got a slightly different button layout just under the screen than the Sprint version we recently saw, which itself is different from its initial unveiling. According to 474RPR, who leaked these pics, this one's bound for Alltel's network, which while we don't see any proof from the image, we could totally buy that. Of course, none of these pics give a release date of any sort, so hang tight while we all anxiously wait in unison. [Via wmpoweruser]
Is the Palm Treo Pro coming to Sprint?
Back in late August, we heard whispers that a CDMA Treo Pro could be in the works. Since then, we haven't heard a peep on any progress.... until now, that is. The eagle-eyed mobile mavens over at WMExperts happened to notice a peculiar "Sprint Treo850e" sucking down 160kbps with .229s of latency on the spcsdns.net network while checking out mobile speed tests. No surprise that the Treo 850 is better known as the Treo Pro, but finding that one is sneaking around on Sprint somewhere is. C'mon Sprint, how's about a joint release with the Touch Pro?
Verizon's entire EV-DO network leaps to Rev. A
In what's likely yet another futile attempt to steal some limelight from that other national carrier today, Verizon has finally enhanced "100-percent" of its EV-DO network to Revision A technology. Of course, some locales have been enjoying the Rev. A niceties since February, but now Verizon users coast-to-coast (those under an EV-DO umbrella, that is) can stop feeling envious and start enjoying the higher speeds. Interestingly enough, this news comes just days after the company lowered its BroadbandAccess rates and merely hours after throngs of AT&T users reported their EDGE speeds skyrocketing for no apparent reason. Verizon subscribers in EV-DO areas can now expect average download speeds of nearly 600kbps to 1.4Mbps, while uploads will top out somewhere between 500kbps and 800kbps.
