Sprint execs leave Clearwire board out of an ‘abundance of caution’

Well, it looks like Sprint and Clearwire aren’t taking any chances when it comes to some of the new antitrust rules now in place. Clearwire has just announced that the three Sprint executives now on its board will be resigning out of an “abundance of caution” — that includes Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, along with division presidents Keith O. Cowan and Steven L. Elfman. Not many more details than that at the moment, but Sprint does still hang onto the right to appoint members to the Clearwire board, and the four Sprint appointees currently on the board will remain in place. As The Wall Street Journal notes, however, the move would seem to clear the way for Clearwire to potentially make another deal, although no one involved is saying anything publicly at the moment beyond what’s in the brief press release after the break.

Continue reading Sprint execs leave Clearwire board out of an ‘abundance of caution’

Sprint execs leave Clearwire board out of an ‘abundance of caution’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon scoop extravaganza: Motorola Venus with portrait QWERTY, Stingray LTE tablet, and more?

We’ve been tipped by multiple sources today on some interesting developments in Verizon’s roadmap over the next couple quarters, and if you’re a BlackBerry fan, an Android fan, or a fan of exceptionally fast data, you’re probably going to want to tune in. Let’s get right into the meat of it, shall we? Follow the break!

Continue reading Verizon scoop extravaganza: Motorola Venus with portrait QWERTY, Stingray LTE tablet, and more?

Verizon scoop extravaganza: Motorola Venus with portrait QWERTY, Stingray LTE tablet, and more? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic 4G: problems so far — and a few solutions

Since the Epic 4G launched on Sprint August 31, we’ve been receiving notes from owners on various issues they’ve experienced with the phone. We’ve heard about and experienced problems with the supposedly-fixed GPS, to surprisingly slow 3G uploads (fix on the way), to odd issues with battery drain and glitchy market install problems. Now that we’re facing the end of Sprint’s 30-day return period, we’re wondering if Sprint and Samsung have shown enough of a commitment to resolving any problems to keep owners and potential buyers hanging on. Check after the break for a few of the issues we’ve found and what can be done about them, and let us know in our poll how optimistic you are about the future of this otherwise well-received device.

Continue reading Epic 4G: problems so far — and a few solutions

Epic 4G: problems so far — and a few solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire throttling at-home WiMAX users?

Ah, throttling. Can’t ever seem to fully shake it, can we? Just weeks after hearing about a similar issue with the Epic 4G, scores of Clear at-home WiMAX users are now up in arms over apparent throttling on certain accounts. As the story goes, it seems as if the company is pulling back on upload and download speeds (from 10Mbps to around 0.25Mbps) for users who have consumed between 7GB and 10GB in a month, which is comically low even compared to Comcast’s hated 250GB / month usage cap. Forum users are finding customer service lines to be no help whatsoever, and some digging has found that this may all be a part of a network traffic administration program that’s ongoing within Clearwire. Have any of you seen similar issues? How much data are you sucking down per month? Does your usage clock still show up in your account profile? Let us know in comments below.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Clearwire throttling at-home WiMAX users? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clear WiMAX router passes the FCC without a scratch

The world is not suffering from a dearth of WiMAX routers, but Clear has just a bit of room in their stable: while they offer 4G modems that plug into your computer over USB or Ethernet, along with battery-powered WiFi hotspots, they don’t offer any home routers that do the WiFi thing, router thing, and WiMAX thing all-in-one. If this sounds like soft spot in their lineup to you, you’ll be happy to know that an honest to goodness plug-it-into-a-wall 802.11n router with WiMAX, Clear branding, and possibly even a VoIP plug has just passed through the FCC. Will it change everything? Maybe.

Clear WiMAX router passes the FCC without a scratch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 09:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVO 4G and Droid Incredible vie for title of best Android hotspot in informal test

Wireless tethering is rapidly becoming a desirable option in top-tier smartphones, but which device delivers the best? Laptop Magazine swore to find out, pitting six Android favorites (two HTC, two Motorola and two Samsung) against one another in a brutal data-sucking showdown in New York City. Unsurprisingly, the HTC EVO 4G came out on top, averaging 5.09 Mbit / sec downloads and a 3.65 second page load time when 4G connectivity was present, but intriguingly enough it’s the freshly-upgraded Droid Incredible that pulled the best speeds on 3G. Lest you think Motorola was trounced in this little competition, the Droid 2 actually delivered websites the fastest at 4.425 seconds on average — besting the Samsung Epic 4G on 4G — and Droid X owners can find consolation in the fact their handset is really good at loading ESPN for some reason. Sadly, the study failed to include the most important item for comparison across the board: a dedicated MiFi or aircard.

EVO 4G and Droid Incredible vie for title of best Android hotspot in informal test originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC CEO: ‘initially, we don’t have time’ to put Sense on Windows Phone 7

We think there might be a miscommunication or a disagreement in semantics here, because HTC CEO Peter Chou has mentioned in an interview with FierceWireless that its ubiquitous Sense UX won’t “initially” appear on its first crop of Windows Phone 7 devices, but that “over time [they] will innovate on top of that to provide some HTC experience.” That seems like odd phrasing considering that we’ve already seen HTC devices in the wild running bits and pieces of Sense on WP7, so we tend to believe Chou might have a more thorough, comprehensive experience in mind — something that Microsoft is pushing back on (for now, anyway) by demanding that UI innovation be sandboxed in some pretty significant ways.

In the same conversation, Chou mentioned that they’ll be releasing an LTE phone in 2011, though he didn’t give any details on design, platform, or carrier. MetroPCS, AT&T, and Verizon will all have fragments of their 4G networks live in 2011, and at least two of those three seem likely candidates to take delivery of some early LTE hardware from the big boys like HTC. For what it’s worth, HTC already delivered the first WiMAX phone in the States — the EVO 4G, of course — so it comes as little surprise that they’d be looking to make a splash with LTE as well.

HTC CEO: ‘initially, we don’t have time’ to put Sense on Windows Phone 7 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Confirmed: EVO 4G update removes framerate cap

You hoped, you opined, you might have even prayed — and as it turns out, you win. As many of you have suspected, the latest firmware update to Sprint / HTC’s EVO 4G does, in fact, let us break past the former 30 frames per second barrier. You know, the one HTC said couldn’t be crossed with software updates alone. At least, it did for our handheld, as you can see above. Good news for everyone bothered by this (now seemingly) artificial limit — now back to your regularly-scheduled WiMAX enjoyment.

Confirmed: EVO 4G update removes framerate cap originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 14:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire starts selling roaming WiMAX Day Passes in US and Japan, unlimited data awaits

Got some Intel-powered WiMAX equipment, a Clear subscription, and a yearning to spend some time in Japan? Then we’ve got great news for you, sailor! Clearwire has just hooked up with UQ to provide Day Passes over in the land of earthquakes and sushi. These act as one-day roaming permits for your WiMAX needs, furnishing you with unlimited 4G access and costing a measly ¥600 ($7) a pop. So basically, it’s the Clear Rover gone international. Clearwire’s also talking business with other global partners and the ultimate idea seems to be for it to hook up with all the big WiMAX purveyors and set up an affordable 4G roaming network for its internationally minded customers. The full press release awaits after the break.

Continue reading Clearwire starts selling roaming WiMAX Day Passes in US and Japan, unlimited data awaits

Clearwire starts selling roaming WiMAX Day Passes in US and Japan, unlimited data awaits originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 11:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Comcast says additional Clearwire investment is unlikely

Clearwire isn’t in the black yet, having bled about $126 million in the second quarter of 2010 — but should the need arise for additional investment before it can turn a profit, the company shouldn’t plan to knock on Comcast’s door. Though it doesn’t have as much visibility in the 4G marketplace as Clear and Sprint do, Comcast does actually offer WiMAX service using Clearwire’s network and owns about 9 percent of it, but the cable provider’s CFO says that the prospects for upping that share aren’t good and that its up to Clearwire to “figure this out” — “this” being its financial pickle. Not exactly a vote of confidence, is it? Obviously, adding (or converting to) LTE is a possible game plan for Clearwire that’s going to require some serious cash to pull off, so staying tight with Sprint seems like a stellar idea right about now.

Comcast says additional Clearwire investment is unlikely originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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