Hasta La Gadget!

The day of September 6th is gearing up to be a rather hefty one for Verizon: earlier we reported that the Samsung Galaxy Stellar is slated to launch on that date, and it’s also the day after Motorola unveils its latest lineup for Big Red. Why not throw in another device that we’ve heard so much about, such as the LG Intuition? Indeed, docs detailing the CDMA-clad Optimus Vu is now beginning to make the rounds in Verizon’s internal system — and its intended launch date is among the trove of treasures to be found within. According to the docs, we should expect to see the 5-inch device available online in time for the 6th, while all channels won’t be ready to go until the 10th. We can’t imagine that too many people will be upset over having to wait another four days, however.

In terms of specs, here’s what we can anticipate from the Intuition: Ice Cream Sandwich, a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8660 (Snapdragon S3) processor paired with MDM9600 LTE modem and 1GB RAM, Gorilla Glass, a 5-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1024 x 768, 15 hours of talk time, 8MP rear camera with 1.3MP front-facing cam and no microSD expandable storage option. Ultimately, the Intuition is Verizon’s variant of the Optimus Vu, and boasts that commonality right down to the components and design — you won’t find much difference in specs, weight or dimensions between the two. We’ve compiled a few images for your enjoyment, so head below to see. As before, we had to be creative in how we treated these images to protect the identity of everyone involved.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

LG Intuition 4G LTE may become available on Verizon September 6th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 Sep 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canadians have had fairly limited options for LTE-based 4G if they didn’t want to turn to the three main carrier brands: they could go to a Bell-owned Virgin Mobile, and that’s it. While there isn’t a truly independent LTE carrier yet, Rogers’ lower-cost Fido label has just taken its promised LTE access live to at least offer some competition among the smaller names in the field. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, Toronto and Vancouver can immediately hop on the network at speeds of up to 100Mbps. Bring-your-own-device users don’t have to pay a premium to get the faster speeds, although there’s currently little choice in hardware if you want to buy straight from the source: the lone LTE device on offer is Sierra Wireless’ AirCard 763S hotspot, which costs $50 on a two-year contract. The flexible rate data-only plan also isn’t the greatest deal, starting at $22 for a gone-in-five-minutes 100MB per month to $92 for 9GB. All the same, light data users in the True North will be glad to know they don’t have to be relegated to 3G to save a few dollars.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking, Mobile

Fido switches on LTE, gives Canadians a taste of slightly more budget-minded 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The LG Intuition may be one of Verizon’s more poorly-kept secrets of recent memory. Apart from LG itself having confirmed that an Optimus Vu rebranding is due for the US within weeks, there’s been pricing and even an uncannily detailed FCC filing to fill in the gaps. Why not throw official press images into the mix? From the renders DroidDog has managed to obtain, the Intuition is a bit more than just a one-for-one port of the original Korean phablet. While Verizon’s influence is light outside of that attention-grabbing logo, there’s a switch-up in the navigation keys to reflect that Android 4.0 will be there from the beginning — a nice break from the ancient-feeling Android 2.3 layout of the original. About the only question left at this stage is that of the exact release date. There’s a September 15th mention in one of the images, but we all know how dates in press imagery can be misleading.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

LG Intuition spied in press shots, leaves one piece of the puzzle left to go originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon received the Department of Justice’s blessing for its cable company spectrum purchase last week, and now it’s the FCC’s turn to rubber stamp the plan. The agency has followed Chairman Julius Genachowski’s recommendation and voted that Verizon can snap up the relevant AWS airspace as part of its LTE network expansion. Some riders are attached to the deal, although they’re not all weighty. Verizon has to make an “unprecedented divestiture” of spectrum to T-Mobile in addition to its swap with Leap, promise certain coverage levels in the newly acquired zones at 3- and 7-year milestones, guarantee some roaming deals and provide updates on how its DSL service adoption is impacted by all that 4G. That Verizon has 45 days to finalize the T-Mobile deal gives some idea of how quickly everything has to move, although it could be a long while before we see AWS-ready Verizon devices in the shops.

To no one’s surprise, advocacy groups are still upset: the Alliance for Broadband Competition believes the FCC decision “does not go far enough” to keep a level playing field, for example, and wants to voice its problems to the FCC. Anxiety still exists that just about any deal concentrates too much spectrum in the hands of Big Red. Still, there’s a sense among groups like these that Verizon has had to at least partially address worries over unfair competition.

Continue reading FCC approves Verizon deal to buy cable company spectrum, asks for concessions

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

FCC approves Verizon deal to buy cable company spectrum, asks for concessions originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are plenty of (terribly named) stars in Samsung’s Galaxy, but despite the overcrowding, its stateside constellation’s showing no signs of slowing. Joining US Cellular’s lineup as early as this Friday, the Metrix 4G packs a mix of yesteryear’s specs for a budget LTE alternative to the GS III. The 4-inch handset, outfitted with the OEM’s preferred Super AMOLED display tech, runs the incredibly stale Android 2.3 Gingerbread atop a single-core 1GHz processor and packs a dual 1.3-megapixel front facing / 5-megapixel rear camera setup into a slide-out QWERTY form factor. If you happen to live within the operator’s 4G footprint, you’ll be able to snag this handset for $130 with a mail-in rebate, otherwise outliers will have to chalk up an additional $50. Skip on past the break to check out the company’s official PR.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G hits US Cellular this Friday for $180

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G hits US Cellular this Friday for $180 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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