Hasta La Gadget!

As the holiday season draws closer, bargain hunters and retailers alike are starting to map out their Black Friday game plan. However, if you’re balling on a budget and looking to score a stellar smartphone, then allow us to lend a helping hand. An anonymous tipster has shared a peek at one of Sprint’s post-Turkey Day attractions, with the gory details shown in the image above. Both current and prospecting customers will have a chance to snag a Galaxy S III for $50 on a new two-year agreement, with Sprint no doubt hoping to use its unlimited data policy to lure to-be network switchers. Supplies are expected to be limited, so you’d be wise to get up entirely too early if you’re hoping to guarantee yourself a unit.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Sprint Black Friday ad reveals $50 Galaxy S III on November 23rd only originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T is close to securing a major victory in its battle against the spectrum crunch. While it’s not quite a done deal, FCC chairman Genachowski has submitted a proposed order to FCC commissioners that would authorize AT&T’s deployment of its LTE service within a 20MHz portion of the 2.3GHz (WCS) band. The deal is unique in that the spectrum is currently reserved for satellite radio, and the reallocation would mark the first of its kind within the WCS band. As you may recall, AT&T previously conceded to a 5MHz dead zone on both ends of Sirius XM’s operating frequency in order to mitigate interference concerns, and it seems the move was sufficient to gain the chairman’s support.

Also looming on the FCC’s to-do list is the decision of whether to approve AT&T’s purchase NextWave and its unused WCS spectrum. If it’s any indication, however, Chairman Genachowski seems bullish on the reallocation and has suggested that the agency may authorize another 30MHz of the WCS band for mobile broadband use. AT&T has previously said that it could feasibly deploy LTE over the 2.3GHz spectrum within the next three years. One group fighting the deal is the Competitive Carrier Association, which posits that AT&T’s purchase of such a significant chunk of spectrum on the secondary market is anti-competitive in nature. It’ll no doubt be interesting to see if the argument gains any traction with the FCC. In the meantime, you can view remarks from the agency’s spokesperson after the break.

Continue reading FCC chairman green-lights AT&T’s use of WCS spectrum for LTE with proposed order

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

FCC chairman green-lights AT&T’s use of WCS spectrum for LTE with proposed order originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 07:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Has anyone else noticed a surge in locations getting newly-minted LTE of late? Sprint has, and it’s joining the bandwagon with a further five areas from today. Users in Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita in Kansas, Waukegan-Lake in Illinois and Barnstable-Hyannis in Massachusetts will be able to slurp down Big Yellow’s new service soon, if they can’t already. The company has also revealed that Chicagoans, Angelenos and New Yorkers will be getting 3G service thanks to the company’s Network Vision program, as it continues to swap out its aging Nextel hardware for something a little more futuristic.

Continue reading Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Sprint brings LTE to parts of Kansas, Illinois and Massachusetts originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news: Cellcom is offering its first-ever LTE phone on September 21st, in what will no doubt be one of the carrier’s biggest phone launches of the year. Only it’s not what you think. While Cellcom is indeed picking up the iPhone 5 soon, its major device launch this week is the HTC Desire 4G LTE, its rebranding of Verizon’s Droid Incredible 4G LTE. Other than the lack of Big Red badging and apps, it’s a match for the mid-tier Android 4.0 handset on the larger (and shared) network. Buying one will even cost the same $150 on contract, or $420 at full price. Much to our relief, though, Cellcom isn’t leaving us with one 4G phone per platform. The provider should start selling a relabeled Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX, the $200 RAZR MAXX 4G LTE, at an unspecified point in the near future. Let’s hope for better timing with the second wave of releases.

Continue reading Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you’ll notice

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Cellcom carries HTC Desire 4G LTE as its first LTE phone September 21st, hopes you’ll notice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Sep 2012 04:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re still struggling to decide which carrier to use for your iPhone 5, you may have had some of the decision made for you. Following statements by Verizon that hinted simultaneous voice and data still wouldn’t be an option despite the inclusion of LTE, which theoretically frees up CDMA for calls, we’ve confirmed with Apple spokesperson Natalie Harrison that this is indeed the case. It’s “not yet possible” to do side-by-side CDMA voice and LTE data on a “single-radio” design like the iPhone 5, she says. That’s technically true, although it may be a case of Apple wanting to keep hardware differences to a minimum between CDMA and GSM users. AnandTech founder Anand Lal Shimpi tells the New York Times that Verizon phones like the Galaxy S III, which don’t have this limit, follow a different approach: where Apple uses a second antenna to improve overall reception for a single connection, Samsung and other phone makers use theirs to keep both data and voice flowing in harmony. While it’s a tradeoff with its own benefits, the choice means that iPhone 5 units for Verizon, Sprint, and every other CDMA carrier still won’t let you check your e-mail in mid-call without WiFi. If that’s an issue, you’ll have to turn to AT&T (or T-Mobile with an unlocked phone) to get your fix.

Filed under: Cellphones

Apple confirms iPhone 5 won’t do simultaneous voice and LTE data on CDMA networks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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