Hasta La Gadget!

AT&T has priced up Samsung’s ATIV Smart PC running Windows 8, and the docking tablet doesn’t come cheap: $799.99. The 11.6-inch tablet will come with 64GB of internal storage and a dual-core 1.5GHz Intel Atom processor when it drops on November 9, and run Windows 8 as standard with the option of a Windows 8 Pro upgrade. Buyers will be able to add the tablet to a Mobile Share plan, or take out a specific data plan for the slate.

There’s also a microSD card slot – good for up to another 32GB – and a special digital pen that, like the S Pen on the Galaxy Note 10.1, can be used for more accurate note-taking and sketching. Connectivity includes WiFi and Bluetooth, but from AT&T’s perspective it’s the 4G that’s most important.

Your $799.99 doesn’t also demand a two-year agreement, which is a boon, though you will of course need a smartphone first in order to sign up to an AT&T Mobile Share plan. However, nor does it include the docking keyboard Samsung showed off alongside the slate.

$800 strikes us as a lot for a tablet, and we’ve a suspicion that many would-be users will think the same. Microsoft is also yet to price up the Surface Pro, its full Windows 8 version of the Surface, and though the RT version is competitive with the iPad, the Pro iteration is likely to be considerably more. Even Samsung priced the WiFi-only model at $749 including keyboard dock when it announced it back in August.

AT&T will also offer the ATIV’s Stand Dock, which charges the tablet, and adds USB and ethernet connectivity, for $49, along with the VGA Adapter, for $40; each will go on sale in late November. There’s more on the ATIV Smart PC back in our hands-on from IFA.

AT&T’s Samsung ATIV Smart PC drops November 9 for $800 is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

US Cellular announced on Wednesday that it will increase its LTE network coverage by 30 new markets on November 5th. The first territories to be be summarily blessed are: Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. While this is great news for customers who call these states home, the carrier has yet to detail which cities will be making the jump to 4G. In the meantime, we’d advise keeping an eye on US Cellular’s coverage map to see if your stomping grounds made the cut. For an encore, the carrier will light up Rockford, Illinois; Medford, Oregon; Yakima, Washington; and Knoxville, Tennessee at an undisclosed time. As for its LTE-ready smartphone roster, your current options are a trio of Samsung-made Android devices: Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II and the Galaxy Metrix. Hopefully, as America’s eighth largest wireless carrier’s LTE footprint increases, so will its stable of suitable handsets. Until then, US Cellular 4G hopefuls, we hope you like the taste of TouchWiz.

Continue reading US Cellular bringing LTE to 30 additional markets on November 5th

Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Mobile

US Cellular bringing LTE to 30 additional markets on November 5th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FreedomPop’s gamble on free WiMAX data launched in beta at the start of month, but early adopters had to be contented with conventional hotspots and modems at first; those of us with a fixation on data-only cellular handsets had to keep waiting. We can stay slightly cooler-headed now that the provider is shipping its iPod touch 4G Sleeve. Shelling out $99 grafts a 4G hotspot to the back of the fourth-generation media player that gives it independence from WiFi as well as connection sharing with eight other devices — at least, for anyone willing to burn through that 500MB of free monthly data in record time. About the only catches are the $10 per gigabyte overage fee and a design that’s just slightly behind the times for iPod addicts. While some of us will still cling to smartphones for coverage or legacy reasons, others who mostly communicate through Instagram food photos could have that excuse they need to drop cellular phone service once and for all.

Update: Thanks to reader (and early adopter) Penn who pointed out that overages are $20 per gigabyte if you’re on the free plan — it’s only $10 if you’re a regularly paying customer.

Continue reading FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications)

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Wireless, Networking, Mobile

FreedomPop ships its 4G-enabling iPod touch case, lets us nearly go phoneless for $99 (update: plan clarifications) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EE has thrown in with Apple’s new iPad 4th-gen and iPad mini, confirming that it will be offering LTE versions of the two tablets “in the coming weeks.” Sold alongside the Orange and T-Mobile UK versions – which will be limited to HSPA+/DC-HSDPA – the 4G iPads will be tied to data plans from £25.99 per month for your mobile browsing.

EE’s announcement doesn’t come as too great a surprise, since the carrier was the only UK 4G network to be cited as compatible with the new iPad’s on Apple’s own tech pages. What we’re more interested in is pricing, given the carrier found itself in hot water this week after would-be early adopters proved turned-off by EE’s initial price plans.

We can make a few educated guesses as to data bundles from the mobile broadband pricing EE is offering, however. They’re pegged at £15.99 for 2GB per month, £20.99 for 3GB, and finally £25.99 for 5GB, when accessed via a USB modem or mobile hotspot.

Of course, that’s with an 18-month agreement, unlike what are normally rolling month-to-month plans provided for iPad users. Rates will likely be a little higher – or data allowances a little less – than the contract pricing, therefore.

Update: EE’s tablet data plans are here, though the news isn’t great if you – like us – you were hoping for rolling agreements. Instead, there are three 24-month contracts to choose from, priced at £25.99 for 2GB, £30.99 for 3GB, and £35.99 for 5GB; beyond that, £6 gets you another 500MB and £15 gets you another 2GB.

There’s more on the iPad mini in our hands-on from Apple’s event on Tuesday. In the UK, it will go on sale from £369 for the 16GB WiFi + 4G version, with preorders starting from Friday, October 26.

EE confirms LTE iPad mini and iPad 4th-gen headed to UK is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As a carrier trailing Verizon and AT&T in terms of subscribers and now 4G coverage, Sprint has made it a habit to undercut the other two on value. While its upcoming tablet-specific data plans won’t necessarily be cheaper, they do promise up to 20 percent more data for the same price and still do not require a contract. Sure to come in handy now that it’s offering the fourth generation iPad and iPad mini on its network, they are 300MB/$14.99, 3GB/$34.99, 6GB/$49.99, or 12GB for $79.99. There are also $10 and $15 offers for customers that also have Sprint smartphones that offer 100MB and 1GB of data, respectively, and activation fees for all 3G/4G tablets are being waived for a limited time. As you’ll recall, Verizon and AT&T’s offerings include 2GB/$30 (3GB/$30 on AT&T), 5GB/$50 and on Verizon, 10GB/$80 packages. Even if you’re not an Apple user these plans apply for all 4G capable slates, with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 specifically mentioned. For those planning to pick up one of the latest iPads with wifi + cellular capability however, their mid-November launch date may have narrowed slightly , since these plans go into effect November 11th. Check the press release after the break or a post on its Sprint Community blog for more info.

Continue reading Sprint rolls out new 4G tablet data plans November 11th, likely just in time for new(er) iPad, iPad mini

Filed under: Tablets, Mobile

Sprint rolls out new 4G tablet data plans November 11th, likely just in time for new(er) iPad, iPad mini originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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