Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon’s chief operating officer John Stratton mentioned today that “LTE smartphones are on the horizon,” a sentiment the carrier has been echoing since it launched its 4G network earlier this month. That alone isn’t new, but what is new is the mention of Moto in the same breath: “Motorola will be right there.” He wouldn’t go into specifics about models, specs, release dates, or prices, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the offering looked a little like the Tegra 2-powered device codenamed Olympus (pictured) — allegedly for AT&T — that we’ve seen floating around recently. For what it’s worth, we’re also aware of models from HTC and LG in the pipe, so by all accounts, Big Red is planning on coming out with guns blazing when it rolls out 4G handsets next year.

Motorola has an LTE phone for Verizon in the works originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Notice how we said “hardware,” not “phones?” In light of that wild Motorola teaser we just saw and the fact that we know Verizon and Moto are working pretty closely on Android tablets, it’s entirely possible that phones won’t be the only items on Verizon’s docket when it starts pulling the covers off its first consumer-oriented LTE gear at CES in a couple weeks. The fact that there’ll be new LTE hardware intros from Verizon at CES is nothing new — they’ve been saying as much for a while now — but the specific mention of Android is a comforting confirmation that we’ll probably see the HTC Mecha, that unnamed LG, and perhaps a tablet or two on hand as opposed to MetroPCS’ unusual strategy of taking the dumbphone route. ‘Bout time the EVO 4G and Epic 4G had to watch their backs, isn’t it?

Verizon teases Android LTE hardware for January 6th at CES originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 13:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though it’s standing firm on the definition of its original 4G specification — IMT-Advanced — which only WiMAX 2 and LTE-Advanced are currently capable of meeting, the ITU is easing off its earlier rhetoric, admitting that the term “4G” realistically could apply “to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMAX, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed.” The whole dust-up started when carriers around the world deploying LTE and WiMAX networks (ahem, Sprint and Verizon) were throwing the “4G” term around very, very loosely — and to their credit, the networks are indisputably a generation beyond CDMA2000 and UMTS / HSPA, so if anything, we’d fault the ITU for leaving today’s modern networks without a generation to call their own. The “evolved 3G technologies” verbiage in the ITU’s statement would seemingly even leave room for T-Mobile USA’s claim that its 21Mbps HSPA+ network constitutes 4G… so yeah, score one for marketing campaigns. Of course, none of these carriers had ever planned to bow to the ITU’s recommendations anyway, so the ruling has little practical relevance — just know that the true 4G speeds are still a few years off.

[Thanks, Nate]

ITU capitulates, admits that the term ‘4G’ could apply to LTE, WiMAX, and ‘evolved 3G technologies’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our stratospheric rise in smartphone adoption over the past several years (with no end in sight), it’s that we can never have enough spectrum to run data services for them — just ask the chairman of the FCC, the president of the CTIA, or pretty much anyone who’s ever tried to load Engadget on an iPhone in Times Square. To that end, we’re excited to see that the FCC has slated another round of 700MHz spectrum — the pure gold that Verizon, AT&T, and others are using for LTE deployments — but we wouldn’t get too excited, because it’s actually just a few blocks left over from the last auction that went unsold or unpaid. Markets in Puerto Rico, North Dakota, North Carolina, and South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia make up the 16 licenses available, so if you were planning on setting up 4G services in the Bismarck metropolitan area, you’re in good shape.

FCC to auction off deadbeat bidders’ 700MHz spectrum on July 19th, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Regional carrier MetroPCS is ticking three more checkboxes today as it keeps pushing its ongoing LTE network rollout, and they’re big ones: on top of Sacramento, they’ve added Boston and none other than New York City. That makes the carrier second to launch LTE in the Big Apple — Verizon’s already there — but you can’t take away from the fact that MetroPCS beat the big guys with their first live commercial markets by several months. As for hardware, it’s the same as usual: the Samsung Craft dumbphone is your only option, which means that if you’re looking to blaze on your notebook with a next-gen USB stick, you’re still going to have to head to Verizon anyway. Follow the break for the full press release.

Continue reading MetroPCS brings its LTE network to Boston, Sacramento, and New York City

MetroPCS brings its LTE network to Boston, Sacramento, and New York City originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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