Hasta La Gadget!

The ZTE Flash is not dead and buried, but on the contrary, it is making its way to Sprint. Right now, it is not called the ZTE Flash due to sensitivities in the US market (remember how the government was recommended to drop ZTE and Huawei from all contracts because they were suspected of spying?), but rather, has been renamed to a more US-friendly moniker simply known as the Sprint Flash. Originally marked for an October 14th release date, that did not happen, but better late than never, right? The Sprint Flash is tipped to arrive in stores later this November, carrying a 4.5-inch touchscreen display, a 12-megapixel camera at the back with a 1-megapixel shooter in front, running on a 1.5GHz dual-core processor which is accompanied by 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory, 4G LTE support, Sprint ID, and a 1,730 mAh battery.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich will be tied to the Sprint Flash right out of the box, and we do not have word as to whether the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is in the pipeline or not. No idea on whether the Sprint Flash’s display will carry 720p HD resolution and will it run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 unit processor, but we do hope that all will be revealed in due time. The Sprint Flash ought to retail for a mere $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate on a 2-year contract if you are interested, clearly placing it somewhere in the mid-range scheme of things.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: ZTE Flash looks to be headed Sprint’s way, Sprint Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 coming your way this November 11th,

That was quick — not long after launch details of the LG Mach were caught lurking in Sprint’s catalog, the carrier has confirmed them. Fans of the Korean firm’s aesthetic who also like their QWERTY keyboards can buy the mid-range smartphone for $100 on November 11th, the same day its bigger Optimus G cousin reaches stores. Just be sure to avoid the Sprint website during the wait for the newly dated device; Optimus G pre-orders have started at the source link, and a click on LG’s flagship could be mighty tempting.

Continue reading LG Mach reaches Sprint on November 11th at $100, Optimus G pre-orders begin today

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint, LG

LG Mach reaches Sprint on November 11th at $100, Optimus G pre-orders begin today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon rolled out an LTE-equipped version of its smaller counterpart a few months ago, and now Sprint has announced that it’ll begin offering the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 4G LTE on November 11th. That will be available for $550 (sans contract), and you’ll be able to activate it on one of the carrier’s new month-to-month tablet rate plans, which run from $15 a month for 300MB of data to $80 for 12GB — Sprint says it’s also waiving activation fees on all 3G/4G tablets “for a limited time.” As for the tablet itself, it comes with a speedier 1.5GHz dual-core processor than the WiFi-only model (which clocked in at 1GHz), but looks to otherwise be the same 10.1-inch device, right down to the now somewhat dated Android 4.0 for an OS — no word on a planned upgrade to 4.1 or 4.2 just yet.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 4G LTE hits Sprint on November 11th for $550

Filed under: Tablets, Sprint

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 with 4G LTE hits Sprint on November 11th for $550 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Nov 2012 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yesterday it was reported that 25% of cell phone towers in 10 states had been knocked out by Hurricane Sandy, as well as 25% of cable services, and a small number of emergency call centers. Now, according to the FCC, that number has dropped a few percentage points. Homes without cable TV and wired broadband is now “well under 20-percent.”

Verizon has reported that 6-percent of its cell towers are down in the storm’s path, but that its data and switching centers are fine. Sprint and AT&T didn’t offer a statement on how they’ve been affected. Meanwhile, T-Mobile has reported that in New York, 20-percent of its cell network was down, as well as up to 10-percent in Washington. T-Mobile and AT&T announced earlier today that their respective customers in New York and New Jersey will have access to both companies’ networks to increase the odds of getting service in the areas.

Said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, “The crisis is not over. Over all, the condition of our communications networks is improving, but serious outages remain, particularly in New York, New Jersey, and other hard-hit areas.” The FCC is continuing to expect the worse. Unfortunately, neither carriers nor the Federal Communications Commission have offered a statement on when customers can expect full service again.

Finally, the emergency calls centers that went down as a result of the storm have all been restored. According to the FCC’s Chief of Public Safety, all emergency calls will be received at 911 centers. Still, “a limited number” of emergency calls center still cannot see the caller’s location, and some calls are still being rerouted to other centers.

[via New York Times]

FCC provides Hurricane Sandy cellphone disruption data is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Huawei is a Chinese company that offers all sorts of hardware for mobile networks and other network systems. The Chinese company has been at the center of spying allegations made by the US government suggesting that Huawei may be allowing the Chinese government access to American network systems. Huawei continues to strenuously object to these claims and has offered access to its source code in an attempt to prove it’s not facilitating Chinese spying on America.

Despite the allegations of spying, Clearwire has announced that it will be using Huawei hardware in its high-speed LTE 4G wireless networks. Clearwire started out using WiMAX for its 4G network, but in new network rollouts, the company is moving to LTE technology. Clearwire plans to start rolling out its new 4G LTE networks in 2013.

Reuters reports that the US government has given the green light to Clearwire’s network rollout using the Huawei equipment. Currently, the biggest shareholder and customer for Clearwire is Sprint. Sprint does plan to use Clearwire’s LTE network that will operate on Huawei hardware.

Clearwire is already using Huawei network hardware for its existing WiMAX network. Clearwire has noted that it will require all hardware vendors and all software to pass extensive testing by third-party company that is approved by the US government to analyze critical infrastructure systems for weaknesses or potential spying software. The company will also be using network hardware from Samsung, Cisco, and Ciena Corp.

[via Reuters]

Clearwire chooses Huawei for LTE network is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.