Hasta La Gadget!

You might remember that an LTE modem for Verizon passed FCC muster not long ago — now, it seems we’re getting our first glimpse of it. As is usually the case with these early devices on next-gen networks, this USB stick doesn’t look quite as svelte as we’d probably like it to be, but we have little doubt that they’ll get progressively thinner and sexier over the course of a year or three. And hey, in the meantime, far be it from us to steer clear of faster download speeds just because the modem’s a little chubby, you know?

LG VL600 LTE / CDMA modem for Verizon in the wild? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, well — what have we here? It looks as if AT&T is fixing to rebundle its wireless plans starting on July 25th, obviously with intent to push those newly created data packs onto folks who may otherwise be inclined to pass right over. Furthermore, these new plans encourage users to select unlimited messaging, which — as everyone and their third cousin knows — is highway robbery. But then again, it’s not like you’re about to kick your texting habit, so you might as well pony up. So far as we can tell, the actual value propositions aren’t changing (for example, a single user Nation Plan with 450 minutes, unlimited messaging and a 2GB Data Pro plan will cost you $84.99 either way), but it’s clear that AT&T’s aiming to narrow its offerings. The only real question revolves around the packages that include “pay-per-use” messaging — will the carrier let users add smaller messaging plans, or just force us all to go unlimited or PPU? The 25th is right around the corner, so we ought to know for certain soon enough.

Update: We’ve scooped the family plans as well. We’ve also confirmed that nothing at all should be changing (you can still add select messaging plans to PPU options) in terms of pricing — it’s mostly just reshuffling the furniture, if you know what we mean.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

AT&T readies new calling plans for July 25, nothing changing at the core originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was already a man in a hot seat and these latest numbers will do little to lower the temperature. Nokia’s net profit for Q2 2010 was €221 million, which most companies would be happy with were it not for the fact that this company pulled in €380 million in the same quarter last year — and that’s with 2009, as Nokia’s own report indicates, representing an economically tougher environment. Average selling prices for Nokia handsets used to be €64 back then, which dipped to €62 in the first quarter of this year, and is now at €61. Nokia says this has been caused by price pressures, “particularly in certain high-end smartphones,” and though the change may appear small, a Euro’s difference tends to be amplified when you’re shifting upwards of 111 million units each trimester. For his part, OPK has said that the speculation about him being replaced isn’t doing Nokia any good and he’s determined that it “must be brought to an end one way or another.” Guess we better keep an eye on this one then.

Nokia quarterly profits drop 40 percent year-on-year as CEO says speculation must end ‘one way or another’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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At present, Verizon only offers prepaid mobile broadband in buckets ranging from 100MB up to 1GB at prices from $15 to $50. Problem is, 1GB goes by in about two seconds if you’re YouTubin’ your way through a layover in Atlanta, enjoying a little too much Hulu and Pandora, or torrenting a few ISOs (perfectly legal ones, of course) — so to that end, we’re hearing that a 5GB option will be launching on August 23 for a breathtaking $80. Presumably, it’d be good for 30 days from the date of purchase the same as the current 1GB plan, though we don’t know that from the information we have. Sounds a little ridiculous to us, but we suppose that’s the price of contract freedom on a top-tier network these days.

On a related note, we’re now hearing that the FiveSpot mobile hotspot we told you about is lined up for a late August launch as well, though we don’t have an exact day, and it’ll be officially replacing the MiFi — makes sense. If you already have a MiFi and you don’t do much international travel, it doesn’t seem like there’s a compelling reason to upgrade, but globetrotters are definitely going to want to check this out.

[Thanks, RBF]

Verizon launching $80 5GB prepaid data plan next month, FiveSpot too? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon has yet to publish a list of the launch devices customers in its first commercial LTE markets will be enjoying later this year, but if we had to guess, this sucker is a strong possibility. What you’re looking at here is LG’s VL600, a USB modem that’ll do both LTE and CDMA in the same package — in other words, it’ll have you covered on Verizon for laptop data pretty much anywhere you go within the carrier’s entire footprint. Judging from the size of the USB connector relative to the rest of the device’s body, this might not be ridiculously large, either; typically, first-gen products like this are bordering on hilariously huge, but LG and others have had a really long time to ramp up to commercialization of their LTE products, so we’re cautiously optimistic for once.

LG VL600 hybrid LTE / CDMA modem for Verizon clears FCC hurdle originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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