Hasta La Gadget!

What now, Verizon? We kid, we kid — regional player MetroPCS’ bid to become the first American carrier to launch a commercial LTE network won’t likely have much bearing on the competitive landscape, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. We’d already known on the record that the company was on track for a launch before the end of 2010, but Samsung — which is producing MetroPCS’ inaugural 4G handset, the Craft — is now saying on no uncertain terms that they’re ready to flip the switch in the service’s first two commercial markets, Dallas and Las Vegas, next month. Interestingly, MetroPCS won’t confirm Samsung’s statement, so we suspect Sammy just blew the lid off this thing before MetroPCS was ready. Whoops! Service pricing — and device availability beyond the Craft — both remain to be seen.

Samsung: MetroPCS launching LTE service next month originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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These shots actually surfaced a few days ago buried in the depths of HowardForums, but given what we know of Samsung’s R900 Craft thus far — particularly the fact that it’ll be a non-smartphone — we have no reason to doubt that we’re looking at a prototype of it here. What makes the Craft most notable is that it’s slated to be MetroPCS’ first LTE-capable handset (and one of the first LTE handsets anywhere in the world) for its shiny new 4G network, and it looks like we can expect full sliding QWERTY along with the typical TouchWiz UI elements. We’d like to hate on this thing for not running Android or Windows Phone 7, but hey — it’s almost certainly going to be the first LTE phone to hit these shores, so we’re willing to cut it just an ounce of slack this once. The carrier’s first LTE markets are lighting up later this year, so we expect to see this with a whole lot less Blurrycam before too long.

Samsung Craft LTE phone spied enroute to MetroPCS? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BGR’s lined up a handful of very believable rumors for Big Red today — and if you’re an Android fan, you’re going to want to pay very close attention (heck, even if you’re not, you should probably take a look). First up, Motorola’s said to have a full-touch Android 2.2 handset in the works with global roaming capability on GSM and presumably HSPA — a first in the CDMA Android world — that apparently looks a bit like a Motorola Q (without the keyboard, of course). Interestingly, we’ve recently been clued into a global roaming Moto from a trusted tipster of ours with the codename “Venus” that’s slated to enter internal testing on the 27th of this month, so that lines up pretty nicely with this rumor — but Venus could also be another global Android smartphone allegedly in the pipeline from Motorola, the Droid Pro. As its name suggests, BGR says the Droid Pro will be a monster, featuring a 1.3GHz core (faster than the 1GHz Droid X and Droid 2) and a 4-inch screen with a target street date in November — just in time for the holidays. There are also apparently global Android handsets in store from Samsung and HTC; additionally, our tipster tells us that there will be a Motorola “Ciena” sans global roaming, a phone could possibly be that WX445 we saw not long ago. It’s entering carrier acceptance testing on the 17th.

Follow the break for the rest of the lowdown!

[Thanks, HTC Kid]

Continue reading Verizon rumors: LTE, Android 3.0 tablets, a Droid Pro, and more

Verizon rumors: LTE, Android 3.0 tablets, a Droid Pro, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we think “craft,” we think of airplanes, boats, and perhaps the occasional needlepoint project — but all kidding aside, we’ve definitely heard worst names than “Craft” for a major phone launch, so we’ve got nothing to complain about here. Regional carrier MetroPCS has announced on its latest earnings call that its first LTE phone — the FCC-approved R900 from Samsung — will come to market as the Craft at a price in the same range as its current smartphone lineup which includes the Code for $250 and the BlackBerry Curve 8530 for $280. These guys are still on target to launch in Vegas this year, but it now looks like they’ll be adding Dallas-Ft. Worth into the mix as it moves to complete its 4G build-out early next year. It’s a seriously aggressive timeline for a carrier traditionally known for cheap voice and text, not blazing data — but hey, who are we to complain?

Samsung Craft to be MetroPCS’ first LTE handset, Dallas-Ft. Worth added as a launch market originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When you keynote one of the biggest consumer electronics trade shows of the year, it’s usually a Big Deal — and you’re also plainly aware that when you step up on that stage, your audience (read: us) is fully expecting you to unveil something new and awesome. On that note, we’re intrigued to hear that Verizon Communications’ Ivan Seidenberg has been selected to do the honors for the opening address at CES 2011 next January. The press release — which you can find after the break — says that Seidenberg will “highlight [the] company’s vision for its LTE 4G wireless technology,” so we’d expect those LTE handsets expected early next year to factor prominently into the equation; of course, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a tablet or two, either. In the wake of Ballmer’s milquetoast showing at the 2010 show, the pressure’s definitely on to deliver a rousing address. Oh, and Ivan? If Ralph de la Vega says “break a leg,” he might mean it quite literally, so watch your step.

Continue reading Verizon chief tapped for CES 2011 keynote

Verizon chief tapped for CES 2011 keynote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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