Hasta La Gadget!

New pictures have just leaked of Pantech’s second 4G LTE device for Verizon Wireless. What you’re looking at below is their new Pantech Star Q, complete with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and decent mid-range specs. The new budget offering hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the folks from AndroidandMe received the picture below confirming its existence.

What you’ll get from the Pantech Star Q is an overall decent mid-range smartphone. It runs on Verizon 4G LTE, and packs the same 1.5 GHz dual-core S4 processor as the Galaxy S III, but that is where the good news ends. Most likely it will be a free device, or around the $49 mark — otherwise I doubt many will be buying it.

It rocks a 4-inch display, 3 megapixel camera on the rear and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. Sadly for some reason Pantech’s UI changes to Ice Cream Sandwich makes this phone look like something from 2009. The low WVGA resolution screen and measly 3 megapixel camera (without flash) will keep this phone on the low end of the price spectrum, that is for sure. It has a 5 row hardware QWERTY keyboard for fans of those, and will most likely be a very budget friendly phone. Now all we need is a price, release date, and official announcement. We’ll update when we hear anything more.

Pantech Star Q leaks for Verizon, rocks 4G LTE and dual-core S4 is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Rogers was the first with LTE in Canada. Its budget brand Fido has largely been left out of that 4G fiesta, but the gap is closing today with official plans to give the yellow doghouse some LTE of its own. The initial deployment this summer will largely overlap Rogers’ fledgling network, starting with benchmark cities Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, Toronto and Vancouver. Only a Fido Mobile Hotspot with 10-device sharing will kick off the hardware selection; if you’re impatient, though, any compatible and (usually) unlocked LTE device will do with a relevant SIM card. About 20 million Canucks will potentially have the high-speed option by the end of the year — and with Fido’s plan costs expected to stay the same, that coverage could make the provider a de facto choice for fast data in the Great White North. Click past the break for the official word and the full 2012 expansion list.

Continue reading Fido hops on the LTE bandwagon, gives Canadians frugal 4G this summer

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Fido hops on the LTE bandwagon, gives Canadians frugal 4G this summer originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 03:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’ll likely be a really, really good while before AT&T catches Verizon in the race towards becoming the largest LTE network in the States. Still, you can’t blame the Rethink Possible outfit for doing what it’s supposed to — even if it only means rolling out the “true 4G” in small chunks. As of today, though, AT&T’s flipping the switch on its Long Term Evolution waves in places like Miami, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and the Worcester, MA area. Meanwhile, the company also announced it’s improving LTE coverage in other vicinities around Massachusetts, Greater Baltimore as well as the Washington, D.C. region. Of note, this means AT&T’s speedier service is now live in more than 50 markets, a rather small figure when compared to Big Red’s 300-plus.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

AT&T lights up LTE network in a few more markets, expands coverage in others originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This morning it’s been made official: Motorola’s next QWERTY device, the Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE, the first LTE Motorola device on its carrier in the USA, complete with enterprise security and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich. This device does not have the highest definition display in the land with its 4.3-inch 540 x 960 TFT LCD, nor does it have the most power with 1GB of RAM and a dual-core 1.5GHz processor. What it does have is a QWERTY keyboard, NFC, environmental performance assurance from ULE, and corporate email access with MS Exchange ActiveSync.

Though not detailed in full just yet, this device is ready for business with what Motorola is touting as enterprise security and a 3G / 4G mobile hotspot – though you’ll be paying an extra fee for USA-based hotspot, and international hotspot supports just one person.) And yes, this device is an international phone if you’d like to take it pond-jumping.

You’ve got 1080p HD video playback as well at 1080p video capture with the back-facing 8 megapixel camera, and the front-facing camera is also HD for video chat. This device comes in one flavor – 8GB of onboard memory – though you’re also able to add 32GB with its available microSD card slot. You’ve got Bluetooth 4.0 with EDR, a 1785 mAh non-removable battery, and the whole device is certified for environmentally rough situations.

This smartphone is UL Environment (ULE) Platinum Certified, aka “the highest level of environmental performance recognized by sustainable requirements established by UL Environment.” You’ll be able to work with a lovely five-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard and you’ve got Motorola’s user interface onboard over Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box. Catch it in stores soon!

NOTE: We’ve reached out to Motorola to find out which manufacturer makes the processor – coming soon!

Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE official with QWERTY and ICS is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Samsung is already cooking up a lot of mid-range phones for Sprint and Verizon in the near future. Why not throw an AT&T model on the stove? Based on a flood of certifications (and Samsung’s own browser profile), the SGH-i547 will sit squarely in the mid-range of Big Blue’s Android phones — with one exception. Its 800 x 480 screen, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC won’t rock most people’s worlds, but the quad-band LTE still sticks out like a sore thumb despite other in-testing devices going the same route: the 700MHz, 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands may give the i547 more 4G support than AT&T-compatible 3G. We suspect the support is either an early sign of LTE futureproofing or for roaming on LTE networks as they go live around the world. Globetrotter or not, the i547 still has a lot left hidden under its kimono; we’re expecting one or two more surprises before all is said and done.

Filed under: Cellphones

Samsung SGH-i547 runs through certification gauntlets with quad-band LTE, shroud of mystery originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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