Hasta La Gadget!

We managed to see plenty of the LG Revolution at both CES and Mobile World Congress, and it’s now finally cleared one of the final hurdles on its way to availability. While there’s unfortunately none of the usual teardown pictures to be found just yet, the phone has now passed all of the FCC’s various tests, and been slapped with the requisite label to prove it. Sadly, we still don’t have much indication of a release date but, as Wireless Goodness points out, there’s an increasingly good chance that this could actually be Verizon’s first 4G phone if the HTC Thunderbolt delays continue.

LG Revolution passes through the FCC, four Gs intact originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 11:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No blockbusters here — nothing that’s going to give you much insight into an exact launch day for the Thunderbolt — but Verizon CTO Tony Melone made a few comments about its LTE handset launches at a financial conference yesterday that border on the interesting. Asked whether the company was facing any challenges in getting the phones solid and ready for commercial consumption, Melone responded by saying that they’re “facing is what you would expect, and that is a new technology, you are working through issues. And [they] anticipated that, and [they] are pleased at how [they] are working through issues.” In the same breath, he reminded the audience that Verizon had said the phones would be coming in the first half of ’11 all along and that hasn’t changed — so they’re not late by a long shot. Pressed on whether battery life specifically was a concern for the Thunderbolt, Melone said that he thinks the juice “will be acceptable to consumers.” Considering what we’ve been hearing about recent firmware revisions on the test units, we’re hopeful he’s right — Verizon has a reputation for testing the crap out of devices prior to release, after all.

Verizon CTO: ‘working through issues’ with LTE phones, still on track for first half launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that we were doubting the veracity of our tipster’s info, but here’s a nice fat slice of pseudo-official confirmation of what we were told a couple of days ago. HTC has laid claim to the trademark of “HTC EVO View 4G,” confirming our indications that an EVO View tablet would be coming to Sprint’s Now Network. That postulation is also supported by the fact that the EVO branding has only ever appeared in association with Sprint as well as some pretty compelling circumstantial evidence. There is an interesting new piece to the puzzle, however, in the 4G appendage to the device’s name, which would imply that we’re looking at our first WiMAX tablet — something Sprint promised for this year and looks set to unveil at the upcoming CTIA 2011 trade show. Our expectation is that the EVO View 4G moniker will be attached to HTC’s1.5GHz Flyer, a 7-inch Android Gingerbread slate with aspirations for Honeycomb glory in its near future. Only one way to be sure though, keep an eye on our CTIA coverage and we’ll let you know as soon as the official bird chirps out the official word.

HTC seeks EVO View 4G trademark, all but confirming WiMAX tablet for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ringo and co. said it best, and now Beeline, Megafon, MTS and Rostelekom are getting a little help from their friends. Er, friend. Or maybe it’s the other way around? At any rate, the first four have just signed a deal with Yota to build out a nationwide LTE network that’ll work across the board. Rather than forcing each operator to do their own thing, the four in question will now have the option to buy 25 percent stakes in Yota; according to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, this unified effort will enable Russia’s economy to reap the benefits of a widespread 4G network while other nations (ahem, America) fight to see whether it’ll be WiMAX or LTE taking the lead. If you’ll recall, Yota was actually one of the first carriers on the planet to serve up commercial 4G, but last year it decided to make the switch from WiMAX to the suddenly popular LTE. The goal here is to have LTE in 180 cities with a total population of more than 70 million citizens by 2014, and we’re told that those situated on Little Diomede may actually be the first to get LTE in Alaska. Kidding. Maybe.

Continue reading Russia’s major mobile operators join hands for unified LTE rollout

Russia’s major mobile operators join hands for unified LTE rollout originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This intelligent SanDisk mobile memory card provides specific, real-time network data to MetroPCS to measure customer interest in digital content. Details of aggregated, anonymous consumer usage will allow MetroPCS to determine the impact of its movie offering, which in turn allows them to provide customers with more customized content and services in the future.

Continue reading Galaxy Indulge microSDHC card regularly reports back to MetroPCS (but hey, you get Iron Man 2 for free!)

Galaxy Indulge microSDHC card regularly reports back to MetroPCS (but hey, you get Iron Man 2 for free!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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