Hasta La Gadget!

Today Verizon‘s big CFO Fran Shammo has issued a few statements that are both good and bad, to say the least. During an annual investors conference Shammo stated that their new share everything plans were doing much better than expected, and seeing higher customer adaption then planned for. However he also mentioned a few things that should have us worried.

Later while talking about 4G LTE and unlimited data plans that we all so much adore, he mentions that unlimited data is basically going away. According to the report he actually said, “Unlimited is just a word, it doesn’t really mean anything.” We have a feeling T-Mobile begs to differ since they recently launched their “truly unlimited data plans” that truly have no limits, or throttling.

Then, according to CNET, he took this even further by saying, “The whole unlimited thing is going by the wayside.” What exactly does that mean? Well it’s sorta taken out of context because he’s saying that in regards to consumer use, which he said isn’t nearly as high as what they think they’re using.

An interesting note is he actually also stated that many customers are going off of their grandfathered unlimited plans in favor of the Share Everything plans offered. Although this basically just means that more people are using more than one device, or have more than one family member on a plan and are actually enjoying the shared options. Verizon’s unlimited plans have technically been long gone for a few months, but we’re not too excited with the way things are starting to sound.

Once T-Mobile gets their 4G LTE up and running next year, if they continue to offer unlimited options the others might have to do the same. Thoughts?

[via CNET]

Verizon: Share everything plans better than expected – Unlimited data is fading away is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

Refresh Roundup: week of September 10th, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Phablet lovers on Verizon may have reason to rejoice, because the carrier’s variant of the Galaxy Note II may have been captured in the flesh. The white device is aesthetically identical to the version straight from Samsung’s house, save for its questionable carrier-branding. While the back of the phone sports a seemingly legit “Verizon 4G LTE” logo along with its moniker, you’ll notice a rather obnoxiously-planted “Verizon” logo on its home button — perhaps a bit too ridiculous to be the real deal. That said, it’s almost certain that the Note II will officially make it to Verizon, no matter if it’s dressed like the photos above or not; this purported variant lines up nicely with screenshots leaked earlier this week showing AT&T and Verizon compatibility. Now, if only we could have further confirmation — perhaps in the way of a second visit to the FCC in the near feature or some leaky memos.

[Thanks, Sean P.]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Verizon’s Galaxy Note II purportedly poses for the camera, over-branding included originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon has never totally been on the Google Wallet bandwagon. First, Big Red refused to support the mobile payment system, citing a lack of secure hardware. Months later, folks managed to gain official access through the Play Store, but it looks like that the VZW GNex is, once again, Wallet-free. Word on the web has it that those Nexus owners are now, upon opening the app, greeted by a message saying that their version of Google Wallet is no longer supported, and that they need to update the app. Problem is, the Play Store is telling folks that their devices are no longer supported. We’ve confirmed the issue ourselves, but we don’t know if this a temporary problem, or if it’s a permanent move. We’ve reached out to both Google and Verizon for comment, and we’ll let you know as soon as we hear back.

[Thanks, Tim]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Verizon Galaxy Nexus owners lose Google Wallet access originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Isis, the mobile payment service that is the result of a Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile team-up, was supposed to enter into its first round of trial runs later this month. Instead, CNET reports that its developers have hit a few roadblocks, and have now pushed the launch of that first trial run back a bit. We don’t know when, precisely, the trial run of Isis will be kicking off now, but we’re told that we can expect more news on it soon.

The disappointing announcement comes from Isis head of marketing Ryan Hughes, who said in an interview with CNET that the company is more concerned about launching the service the right way instead of as quickly as possible. He also assures that the Isis team hasn’t hit any major setbacks, but instead they’re going down a “punch list” of necessary features and goals. The reason for the delay wasn’t revealed, but it seems like getting Isis ready for its trial run phase is simply taking longer than expected.

We’re told that we don’t have much longer to wait until that trial run launches, however. That seems to suggest that Isis is quite far along in the development process, but its developers just need a little more time to iron out the kinks. Hughes says that he’ll have more news for us in October, and it’s likely that announcement in October will be when we’ll find out more about the state of Isis.

Even when Isis does launch, it’ll have a fight ahead of it. Google Wallet has enjoyed a lot of exposure since its debut, but that hasn’t helped with the slow uptake from consumers. Many phones these days are coming with NFC capabilities, but one of the most notable handsets that will be lacking NFC is the freshly-revealed iPhone 5. Hughes, however, says that Isis team is working on a sleeve that will allow iPhone 5 owners to use an NFC chip with their new handset, but at any rate, he claims that one device not utilizing NFC probably won’t do anything to slow the adoption of mobile wallet services. Keep an ear to SlashGear for more information on Isis!

Isis mobile payment trial run hit with a delay is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.