Hasta La Gadget!

Verizon’s been talking details on LTE deployment for some time now, but even at CTIA earlier in the year, the carrier insisted that it would be the first half of 2011 before the next-gen network was active in the US of A. Now, it looks as if the engineers have been working triple-time in order to get Long Term Evolution live in the States under Big Red’s branding, as a new VZW commercial (embedded after the break) has affirmed that the first LTE waves will go public here in December 2010. Yeah, next month. Granted, there’s no information beyond the date, but at least we shouldn’t have to ponder long which devices will be first out of the gate. Here’s hoping Santa’s wish list has room for one more thing.

Continue reading Verizon launching LTE network in December 2010 (video)

Verizon launching LTE network in December 2010 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Paying for data overage is the new hotness in the wireless biz, and Verizon was the latest to dive head-first into the nasty world of usage-based pricing for its wireless data plans just a few weeks ago. But how about paying for speed instead? Seems both outgoing Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg and CFO Fran Shammo commented today that the company’s shiny new LTE network could support charging different rates depending on the speed subscribers select — just like in the landline internet business — though they wouldn’t commit to implementing such a system just yet. Speaking of LTE, Seidenberg also mentioned that he “expects” Verizon’s first LTE phone to launch in February (likely the LG we saw or HTC’s Mecha, if we had to guess), coming in on the early side of its 1H 2011 plan — and what’s more, he’s saying more LTE-equipped devices will launch than originally anticipated. We certainly won’t complain about that.

On the undying topic of the iPhone, Seidenberg’s basically holding the same line he’s maintained for some time, which is that the companies’ “interests are coming together” and that the phone will come when “Apple thinks it’s time.” The gem, though, is that Seidenberg specifically says that Verizon’s adoption of LTE has attracted Apple’s attention and helped it score the iPad — and seeing how Verizon’s cobbled-together iPad / MiFi bundle doesn’t support LTE, we can only assume it was a peace offering to help the two companies come together and prepare to work together more closely down the road. Question is, just how soon would Apple like to play the LTE card?

Verizon execs propose speed-based pricing for LTE data plans, say LTE has ‘drawn the interest of Apple’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you weren’t so keen on that LTE-enabled LG handset for Verizon that we saw recently, feat your eyes on this puppy. What we’re looking at here is allegedly the HTC Mecha — which may be known at retail as the Droid Incredible HD — and from the looks of it, it’ll be the first true EVO 4G equivalent from HTC for Big Red. And yes, when we say “EVO 4G equivalent,” we mean 4G network support, too: you’ll notice a little “4G” symbol up there toward the right side of the status bar, suggesting this will likely be among the company’s inaugural LTE phones early next year. Android Central‘s source says that the phone is getting 9Mbps down and 5Mbps up in testing right now… so let’s just hope those speeds hold up when the network actually launches.

HTC Mecha / Incredible HD pictured for Verizon with a fancy ‘4G’ symbol originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint and Clearwire have characterized LTE as complimentary to WiMAX time and again, but if that doesn’t allay your suspicions of turncoat tactics in the wireless data space, take it from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse’s lips. “Our 4G strategy is WiMAX, full stop!” he told GigaOM, adding that LTE isn’t necessarily on Sprint’s roadmap. Quizzed about WiMAX partner Clearwire’s LTE trials, however, he dropped a very intriguing hint about the possible shape of phones to come: “We have so much spectrum that we decided to do tests so in case we have multi-modal phones with other air interfaces, we can add LTE on top of WiMAX and run both networks,” he told the publication. Dual-mode WiMAX / LTE smartphone, anyone?

Sprint CEO claims WiMAX is here to stay, says Clear’s LTE trials were for potential multi-mode phones originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s precisely zero doubt that AT&T will be supporting LTE waves in the not-too-distant future, but it looks as if “the future” may be drawing closer than anyone had ever imagined. Or else the carrier’s just really, really proactive. Based on the leaked slide above, it looks as if AT&T is already beginning to transition its current crop of SIM cards to “those that will also support LTE devices.” Naturally, the iPhone 4 is omitted from all of this due to it using a micro SIM, but it looks as if employees will need to keep a careful eye on the SKU (and front graphics) in order to make sure customers are well equipped for another blend of 4G. Now, how’s about a rollout schedule, Ma Bell?

AT&T transitioning to LTE-friendly SIM cards originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Oct 2010 13:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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