HSPA
Latest
Samsung Infuse 4G is AT&T's first 21Mbps smartphone
AT&T has been adding a little dash (and asterisk) of 4G to all its phones as of late, but not all of those handsets are created equal -- the Motorola Atrix 4G, HTC Inspire 4G and HP Veer 4G are technically capable of only HSDPA Category 10, which equates to maximum download speeds of 14.4Mbps. Not so for the new Samsung Infuse 4G, as it's been boosted to HSDPA Category 14, which bumps its particular flavor of 4G up to 21Mbps. That has AT&T playing in the same arena as T-Mobile, assuming that your local cell towers have the fiber backhaul in place... and assuming that T-Mobile doesn't make good on promises to deliver some 42Mbps (HSPA+ Category 20) handsets before AT&T catches up. And yes, the uploads should be fine, too -- AT&T says the Infuse 4G supports HSUPA Category 6, which should give us maximum rates of 5.76Mbps when firing files into the clouds.
HTC Sensation 4G hits the FCC, shows off T-Mobile-friendly AWS radio
As always, the FCC continues to tease our gadget lust with another upcoming smartphone. This time we have the HTC Sensation 4G, aka PG58100, which is believed to be launching in early June and will ride on T-Mobile's very own AWS waves. Frankly, the label above is the only interesting eye candy you'll find here as the lab photos remain hidden under HTC's confidentiality request, but it's not like we haven't seen the 1.2Ghz dual-core in its full glory before. What remains uncertain is whether T-Mobile's offering will come with Sense 3.0 -- the carrier has a habit of delivering vanilla Android devices these days, like the G2 and G2x (though the latter's from LG). Place your bets now, our operators are standing by.
AT&T brings HSUPA to Atrix 4G and Inspire 4G, one requires WiFi to download update
If you're the somewhat-proud-but-feeling-throttled owner of a Motorola Atrix 4G or HTC Inspire 4G, your days of terribly slow uploads are nearly through -- following some preliminary tests, AT&T is rolling out updates that provide "increased potential data speed" to both HSPA+ handsets right on cue. The Inspire 4G's patch will also "make the email set up process much easier," while the Atrix 4G will actually get a pair of updates which will allegedly bring better Bluetooth headset compatibility, fingerprint reader performance and battery life (which is always a plus) as well as the questionable utility of turning the Atrix into an EDGE hotspot, and a bump to Android 2.2.2 to hopefully fix any lingering SMS routing bugs. Word of warning though, you'll need to throw your Atrix up on a WiFi network to obtain these goodies -- all the Gs in the world won't help you.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v available tomorrow for €590, starting with Portugal
Some lucky Aussies might have been able to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1v ahead of the rest of the world, but it turns out the Portuguese will actually be taking this Honeycomb tablet home first, starting tomorrow. Originally known as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 but quickly superseded by a slimmer, impending model, said transitional device is now listed on Vodafone Portugal's website with a more delightful €589.90 ($860, which is no doubt off-contract) tag to go with its HSPA+ radio, along with a big red "available from April 26th" stamp. We dug through Vodafone's other European sites and the only country that also mentions this Tegra 2 slate is the Netherlands, though it only indicates a "week 17" launch -- in other words, any time between now and May 1st. If you're in Europe and don't mind this slightly out-of-date whopper, be sure to check back as we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more details. [Thanks, Carlos O.]
HTC Sensation 4G launching on June 8th, because Google AdWords says so
We already knew the dual-core Sensation 4G will be showing up in the states "beginning this summer," though HTC and T-Mobile have been mum on an actual date -- or so we thought. If you look up said phone on Google, you should see a cheeky Adwords ad mentioning a "6/8" date in the link. But wait, there's more: TmoNews also spotted the same date stamped on the Sensation 4G product shot from last week, which we've embedded after the break for your convenience. Of course, anything could change between now and June, but this preliminary date is certainly a good sign for all HTC Gingerbread anticipators -- or, you know, you could just get the leaked ROM right now.
KnightHawk 3G network-in-a-box breaks soldiers' backs, helps them get online anywhere
While it's easy enough to envision soldiers scaling battlegrounds with portable hotspots in tow, it's a useless solution for warriors deployed to remote areas that have patchy service to begin with. Enter the KnightHawk 3G, a rugged network-in-a-box that cooks up connectivity in otherwise uncovered areas. The self-contained WCDMA network runs over the 2100MHz spectrum, promising download speeds as fast as 14.4mbps and max upload rates of 5.76mbps. It has capacity for up to 60 simultaneous voice calls and can handle 14 HSPA connections at a time. And it'll help keep our troops in top shape -- you can't tell from the photos, but that thing weighs 45 pounds. %Gallery-121824%
Meizu MX to be Jack Wong's next dream phone, coming with HDMI-out by year's end (update: HSPA+)
It's only been 109 days since Meizu's remarkable launch of the M9 Android, but as we all know, there's nothing stopping our man Jack Wong from teasing his next flagship phone on his forum. Previously known as the M9II, Wong has now renamed this 4-inch handset to MX -- apparently short for "meng xiang" or "dream" in Mandarin Chinese, though X can also cunningly double up as the Roman numeral for 10 here. Also shared is the above real-life shot of an MX mock-up -- not far off from the earlier render -- which is appropriately seen chillaxing on the CEO's bed. In a separate forum thread, we're told that HDMI and coaxial digital audio outputs will be present on the MX, and a 16GB model will be released by the end of the year probably for ¥3,580 ($548). While this is a significant jump from the M9's ¥2,699 ($413), Wong insists that both phones share the same profit margin, and frankly, this will still be a pretty good deal for some Cortex-A9 goodness under a larger screen. We'll be right here waiting for you, Meizu; or we could just pop by your factory again some time. Update: Jack Wong's also confirmed HSPA+ support for some sweet 21Mbps download speed. The phone's getting better by the minute! Update 2: And we now have an 8 megapixel camera with flash.
Samsung Galaxy S getting a 1.4GHz '2011 edition' next month (update: confirmed)
You didn't think Samsung was going to leave the classic Galaxy S handset in the past, did you? Dmitriy Ryabinin of hi-tech.mail.ru has tracked down the above comparison sheet showing off a new variant of the 4-inch Android phone, this time packing a 1.4GHz Qualcomm MSM8255T chip and a 14.4Mbps HSPA+ radio. Other than those upgrades and a 1650mAh battery, it's a faithful reproduction of last year's original and should be arriving in Russia around the end of April for a price of just under 24,000 rubles ($846). What gives us faith in this apparent leak is our earlier sighting of a 3.7-inch Galaxy S2 "Mini" device from Samsung, which also clocks in at a mighty 1.4GHz. Coincidence? We doubt it. [Thanks, Andy] Update: That was quick. Samsung's Russian mouthpiece has confirmed all of the above, adding note of a metal back cover and a Galaxy S Plus name for markets outside of Russia. Sadly, there's no word as to where else it might be showing up.
ZTE gets tight with T-Mobile, launches Rocket 3.0 modem and 4G Mobile Hotspot for HSPA+
T-Mobile's 42Mbps HSPA+ coverage is expanding and expanding, and ZTE is helping to bring it back down to earth. The company has launched two new wireless devices especially for the T-Mo's 42Mbps service, the first being the Rocket 3.0, a USB modem that's due this spring. The second is the simply titled 4G Mobile Hotspot, the same we got a little quality time with earlier, which beams out WiFi connectivity for up to five devices at one time. If you can't handle all that speed, ZTE also has the Jet 2.0 and Rocket 4G, both of which top out at 21Mbps. All should be available in the next few weeks, and all should help you get your bits on from anywhere.
T-Mobile Jet 2.0 HSPA+ modem lifts off March 23rd?
Two rumors do not make a USB dongle, but things certainly seem to add up -- one leaked document told us T-Mobile would get its first 21Mbps HSPA+ WWAN modem in March, and now a second one (once again courtesy of TmoNews) pegs the T-Mobile Jet's "value-conscious" successor for the 23rd of this month. Of course, if that first document was correct, there are faster 42Mbps modems just around the corner. Your call.
T-Mobile continues campaign against iPhone 4 with new 'State of the Smartphone' infographic
T-Mobile cares about you. It cares so much that it's spending all its advertising dollars lately making sure you know full well that the iPhone 4 can't do "4G" the way its own phones can. The latest salvo in this crusade of enlightenment includes the above graphs showing just how much faster and further your money can go if you ride along on the Magenta network. It conveniently ignores the fact that AT&T and Verizon offer other phones besides Apple's iPhone, some of which can handle speeds above the 3G threshold, but such is the price you pay when you want to have a really pretty and eye-catching chart. Hit the source link to soak up more of T-Mobile's priceless wisdom. [Thanks, Ramon]
T-Mobile bumps myTouch 4G, G2 prices to $250
It started as a leak on TmoNews earlier today, and T-Mobile's now made it official -- the carrier is bumping the prices of both the T-Mobile G2 and MyTouch 4G from $200 to $250 on a two-year contract (with no mail-in rebate). That, of course, follows the T-Mobile's little "mistake" last week with its pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which was first listed at $150 before being changed to $200 a few days later. A number of other more inexpensive phones have also seen some minor prices changes -- hit up the link below for the complete rundown on those.
AT&T's brewing HSUPA-gate: the inside story
Though it really came to a head with the recently-launched Inspire 4G, users have noticed that there really aren't many phones in AT&T's stable that deliver stellar upload speeds -- the Atrix 4G is suffering the same sub-megabit performance, as are older devices that should seemingly support HSUPA like the Samsung Captivate. We've chatted in the past few days with a source who offers an interesting explanation: AT&T currently requires that all handsets that it sells "handshake" with the network as 3GPP Release 5 devices, the last official set of 3G specifications that lacked support for HSUPA. That feature -- also known as EDCH, or FDD Enhanced Uplink -- was added in Release 6. Though AT&T is apparently working on permitting the bulk of its handsets to handshake Release 6, presently only the iPhone 4 (and presumably all of its recent data devices like USB modems, which may also use Release 7) are allowed. Neither we, nor our source, know why this is. Our source believes that the Release 6 certification may happen within a "month or two," which would explain why some AT&T sales reps in live HSPA+ areas are telling customers that the "4G network" isn't live yet. You can form your own conclusions as to why AT&T might be imposing this arbitrary limitation, but we do know that "enhanced" backhaul figures prominently into the company's 4G story; there may be concerns that flipping on HSUPA for everyone right now would overwhelm its legacy infrastructure. At any rate, it sounds like this could all be solved soon through a combination of network changes and possibly firmware updates for individual devices, so let's keep our fingers crossed. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
AT&T's HTC Inspire 4G can do HSUPA, has it disabled for some mysterious reason
There's a story going around the past couple days that HTC's Inspire 4G for AT&T -- a phone that you would assume to be wicked fast on both uploads and downloads in light of the name -- doesn't support HSUPA, a critical element to offering reasonable uplink speeds. Turns out it's not quite that simple. Here's what we're hearing from trusted sources: Contrary to AT&T's official line -- which is flatly that the Inspire's specs don't include HSUPA -- the hardware most certainly does support it. For some reason, HSUPA has been disabled in the current firmware, but could be easily enabled in a future update if HTC and AT&T were to agree to do so. For what it's worth, we're not even aware of an HSPA+ chipset that lacks support for HSUPA, so that definitely sounds right. We've also been told that AT&T's network may simply have HSUPA disabled in 4G areas. That doesn't necessarily make sense since other HSUPA-compliant devices on AT&T (like the iPhone 4, to name an obvious example) can regularly hit HSUPA uplink speeds, but we suppose it's possible that there's some specific incompatibility between the infrastructure and the chipset used by the Inspire. An eerily-similar incident has happened in the past, after all. We'll keep our ear to the ground as we get more on this situation, but the bottom line is that hope is not lost for heavy uploaders with Inspires -- we just need to find out what it's going to take to get HTC to push an update.
Netgear unveils a pair of 42Mbps HSPA+ routers, and one for LTE
We're not sure how they feel in lands where fiber optic connections flow like wine, but in most of the developed world a up to 42 megabit per second internet connection feels mighty fine. Fine enough, in fact, that it can make sense to share it with your peers, and that's why Netgear's new MBR1310 and MBR2000 routers are here. They're quad-band DC-HSPA+ units that dole out that precious 3G data over 802.11n WiFi or via four 10/100 wired ethernet ports, with the MBR2000 adding ADSL2+ for a wired backup option. If you're lucky enough to be working with LTE in Europe, there's the MBR1517 as well, virtually identical to the model announced for Verizon but presumably with different carrier support. No word on when, where, or how much any of these fallback connectivity options will cost. PR after the break.
Motorola posts specs for GSM and WiFi-only Xoom, indentical to original save the radios
What's the difference between a WiFi-only Xoom tablet and one equipped with EV-DO Rev. A or HSPA bands? Just $200 and the radio chip within. Motorola just released the full spec sheets for its full lineup of Android Honeycomb tablets, and they're otherwise exactly the same inside. That goes for the Tegra 2 SOC, of course, but also surprisingly the GPS, which is often baked right into the cellular radio in mobile devices like these. Good on Motorola for keeping the functionality in! [Thanks, David W.]
Sierra Wireless intros dual-carrier HSPA+ / LTE AirCard 753S and 754S, with 319U and 320U in tow
Thanks to Verizon's blowout at CES, we've already been treated to a couple of LTE-friendly mobile hotspots from the likes of Samsung and Novatel Wireless, but Sierra Wireless is joining the crowd here at Mobile World Congress. The outfit has just revealed its two newest mobile hotpots, the AirCard 754S and 753S. The former supports dual-carrier LTE, while the latter handles dual-carrier HSPA+, enabling up to five WiFi devices to surf on either of the fastest two mobile superhighways. We're told that the 753S can hit downlink rates as high as 42Mbps (and upload rates near 5.76Mbps) on a DC-HSPA+ network, while the 754S can reach 100Mbps (down) / 50Mbps (up) while operating on an LTE network. Both of these are right around the size of a deck of cards, and no software installation is required to get 'em working. There's also an integrated LCD that provides a look at WiFi access information, battery life, network signal strength, and the number of devices connected, with audible alerts and a web admin interface available as well. The duo is expected to ship at some point during 2011's second quarter, but there's no news yet on which (if any) carriers will be picking them up. Moving right along, Canada's own Telus will be offering yet another new one from Sierra Wireless this March: the AirCard 319U USB modem, a device we recently spotted in the FCC's database. This one promises download speeds of up to 42Mbps and upload speeds approaching 5.76Mbps, with a swiveling design that allows the body of the modem to be tucked up against the side of the notebook and protects it from being damaged by accidental bumps. The LTE-friendly AirCard 320U is the USB version of the 754S hotspot shown above, with an articulating and pivoting hinge that works with the widest possible variety of USB port placements, and if all goes well, it'll ship during Q2 2011 for an undisclosed rate. Sierra plans on having Mac and PC support for the whole lot, and we'll be digging for details surrounding price and availability. %Gallery-116575%
Qualcomm ships dual-mode Gobi3000 WWAN chip, intros LTE / HSPA+ chipsets galore
Qualcomm just refined the term "blowout" here at Mobile World Congress. It's obviously a critical show for the wireless supplier, and while the 2.5GHz Snapdragon CPU is the undisputed highlight, there's quite a bit of chipset action worth paying attention to if you'd prefer that your next handset / mobile hotspot be capable of handling the world's most advanced network technologies. First off, there's the Gobi3000 modules, which Qualcomm just announced were shipping en masse. Compared to the Gobi2000 that has been infiltrating laptops and MiFi devices for the past year, this one doubles the HSPA downlink speed and enhances the Gobi common application programming interface (API) functionality for enterprise applications. The design supports single-mode (UMTS) and multi-mode designs (CDMA / UMTS), and should be popping up soon in devices from Huawei, Novatel Wireless, Option, Sierra Wireless and ZTE. Next up are the MDM9625 and MDM9225 chipsets, which are designed to support LTE data rates as high as 150Mbps within mobile broadband devices. These guys are fabricated using the 28nm technology node, and are backwards compatible with previous generations of LTE and other wireless broadband standards, giving consumers using USB modems powered by the MDM9625 or MDM9225 chipsets an uninterrupted broadband data connection on nearly any network around the world. These are being launched alongside the MDM9615 and MDM8215, which are similar chips designed to support multi-mode LTE and dual-carrier HSPA+, respectively. As for the MDM8225? That's being released today to support HSPA+ Release 9 (the latest version, obviously), which will support 84Mbps on the downslope (not to mention dual-carrier HSUPA operation) and should fit into at least a couple of T-Mobile USA devices by 2012. Finally, Qualcomm has nailed down a deal that'll enable all future Snapdragon-powered Android devices to "have access to instant streaming of TV shows and movies from Netflix." Just sounds like a pre-loaded installation to us, but hey, we'll take all the optimization we can get when it comes to streaming video on the mobile.
Samsung's Galaxy S 4G for T-Mobile going for $149 at Walmart
It may be a Vibrant with Froyo, a front-facing camera and a thing for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but it's still downright enviable when you consider the Galaxy S 4G's innate support for 21Mbps downloads. As of today, neither Samsung nor T-Mobile USA have been perfectly clear about how much they'd be demanding for this guy, but thanks to a leaked pricing sheet from Walmart, it looks as if it'll be a solid $50 less than most new smartphones. Those who waltz into Wally World later this month will be able to take one home for $148.88 with a two-year service agreement, or if you're the No Strings Attached kind of individual, $650. Ah, the choices we're saddled with.
T-Mobile's upcoming HSPA+ WWAN offerings get leaked, comical codenames revealed
It's been a hot minute since the folks at T-Mobile have introduced a new USB WWAN modem, but if the document above is to be believed, that could be changing in short order. As the Jet ages, it looks like a few others -- codenamed Kitty Hawk, Washington and Wayne -- could be swooping in to take things from here. The former is rumored to hit shelves in March, offering HSPA+ speeds of 21Mbps and the ability to solve most of the world's problems. As for Washington? That'll be T-Mob's first USB modem to offer HSPA+ speeds approaching 42Mbps, and if all goes well, this guy will also splash down next month. Moving on, there's a pair of Waynes that'll serve as the carrier's first mobile hotspots, enabling five WiFi-enabled devices to mooch off of a 21Mbps (Lil' Wayne) or 42Mbps (Big Wayne) connection. Here's hoping T-Mobile does the smart thing and sticks with the codenames -- the marketing exec in us just knows it's the right thing to do.
