Aug 30

Reminder: Samsung Epic 4G launching on Sprint tomorrow

Posted in: samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili
Looking for a good reason to camp out a Sprint store overnight? Then you won’t find a much better one these days than the Samsung Epic 4G, which is launching on the carrier tomorrow for $249.99 on a two-year contract (in case you needed a reminder). According to Sprint, most stores will be opening at 8 a.m. sharp, which still leaves you plenty of time to read (or re-read) our review of the phone.

Reminder: Samsung Epic 4G launching on Sprint tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 26

The revolving door: Froyo for Droid Incredible coming tomorrow, Froyo for EVO 4G gets rooted

Posted in: Android, droid, froyo, Google, HTC, htc sense, HtcSense, leak, rom, sense, Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon

The rich landscape of Android versioning just got a bit richer, with word of an official Froyo update for the Droid Incredible being launched tomorrow (based on the screencap pictured above), while the EVO 4G’s recent Froyo software just got rooted. If you’re crazily impatient, an Android 2.2 ROM for the Incredible just leaked out into the wild, and can be installed with a bit of work, but from the official-looking-ness of this leak from Droid Life, a painless official update is not far off. Meanwhile, in Sprint land, the xda-devs have a rather complicated, rather scary method posted for rooting 2.2 on the EVO 4G — you’ll have to ask yourself how much that freedom is worth to you, or just wait for the inevitably easier methods to come along and hold your hand.

The revolving door: Froyo for Droid Incredible coming tomorrow, Froyo for EVO 4G gets rooted originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 25

Virgin MiFi With True Unlimited 3G Data for $40

Posted in: Sprint, Today's Chili

Virgin Mobile’s truly unlimited MiFi data plan is official. Leaked by Virgin itself through Facebook a few days ago, the new Broadband2Go plan gives you as much internet as you can use for just $40 per month. Best of all, this is done without a contract, meaning you can stop any time your like, or just take a pause for your vacations.

First, the major caveats. Virgin Mobile piggy-backs on Sprint’s network, which means that you can only use this if you have Sprint coverage. Second, because Sprint uses CDMA technology for its network, you can’t just pop in a SIM if ever you take the Virgin MiFi abroad.

Aside from that, though, this looks like an amazing deal. You can share the 3G data connection with up to five devices via Wi-Fi, which means netbooks, notebooks, cellphones and iPads. Hell, you could even use this as your main home connection.

You’ll need to buy the MiFi itself, for $150 (there is also an $80 USB dongle available for laptop users), but you’d be paying that indirectly anyway if you signed up for a contract. The new plan isn’t yet live on the Broadband2Go page (linked below), so I haven’t had a chance to dig into the small print, but barring any weird definitions of “unlimited” by Virgin, this could be as big a turning point in mobile internet as the original, short-lived unlimited iPad plans from AT&T.

Broadband2Go [Virgin. Thanks, Kevin!]

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Aug 23

HTC EVO 4G suffering occasional micro-USB port issues?

Posted in: charging, HTC, Sprint, Today's Chili

A quick glance of forums about the interwebs suggests that the EVO 4G has another potential defect that seems to be affecting a notable (though probably still very, very small) number of devices: problems with the micro-USB port, an issue that bit Nokia not long ago on the N900. The main symptom here seems to be that the phone will no longer charge or charges intermittently — and considering that your phone amounts to little more than a paperweight if it’s not properly juiced, we’d say it’s a big issue for affected folks. People returning their devices to Sprint have apparently have mixed luck getting reps to agree that the phone should be replaced, but for what it’s worth, we’ve just heard back from an HTC spokesperson who — in addition to emphasizing that the number of affected units seems to be small — says that the problem will be covered under the one-year warranty as long as “it is determined that the issue was not caused by customer misuse.” Anyone out there seeing this?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC EVO 4G suffering occasional micro-USB port issues? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 23

Bad Reception? Sprint May Give You a Free Femtocell to Fix It

Posted in: Sprint, Today's Chili


If you’re a Sprint Nextel customer and your reception is poor, the carrier may give you a free coverage-boosting femtocell.

Sprint-Nextel has begun a program of offering a free Airave Access Point to qualifying customers, according to a story on Fierce Wireless. The new femtocell, made by Airvana, provides cellular coverage over a small area and supports 3G (EV-DO) data speeds, unlike Sprint’s previous Samsung-built femtocell, which only supported the slower CDMA 1x data service.

Femtocells are like miniature cellphone towers, providing a signal boost over a range of about 100 feet or less. About the size of a cable modem, they use a landline internet connection to connect with the carrier (and the internet), and broadcast a cellular signal that subscribers of that company’s wireless service can use to connect. AT&T recently began offering a femtocell called the 3G MicroCell, which costs $150 plus $20 per month. It does remedy coverage problems, as our review of the 3G MicroCell showed, but places the financial burden on the customer.

Sprint, by contrast, is willing to foot the bill for qualifying customers, although the company requires that you send the femtocell back if you end your contract with Sprint.

Customers that don’t qualify for a free femtocell can still buy the Airave for $100 plus $5 per month.

Fierce Wireless, via Ars Technica

UPDATED: Samsung, not Airvana, built the first-generation Sprint Airave femtocell. Airvana is the manufacturer of the second-generation, 3G-capable Airave.

Photo: First-generation Samsung-built Sprint Airave femtocell. Photo by nino63004/Flickr

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Aug 23

US Senators uneasy over possible Huawei equipment deal for Sprint

Posted in: deal, Sprint, Today's Chili

Chinese telecom giant Huawei already has a pretty big (and growing) presence in North America, having previously signed deals with regional carriers like Leap (better known by its Cricket brand) and MetroPCS — but apparently, a bid to supply one of the Big Four with equipment is hitting a little too close to home for some legislators. A group of eight US Senators has filed a letter with the Treasury Department expressing concern over Huawei’s alleged ties with everything from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to present-day Iran to China’s own People’s Liberation Army, saying that such a company “should not be able to do business” in the country. Of course, similar concerns ended up dooming Huawei’s attempted buyout of 3Com not long ago — and considering the political climate in US-China relations, this is the kind of lukewarm response Huawei and other major Chinese firms might need to keep dealing with as they try to grow their Western presence.

US Senators uneasy over possible Huawei equipment deal for Sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 22

Clear (AKA Sprint 4G) Coming to NYC in September?

Posted in: Sprint, Today's Chili, WiMAX

Clear coming to NYC SoonIt looks like New Yorkers may finally get 4G next month. The high-speed wireless network, run by Clearwire but also available from Sprint, Time Warner Cable and various other companies, has been up and down in New York City for weeks as Clearwire has been testing it, Sprint spokeswoman Stephanie Vinge told me on Twitter.

Walking through the Queens Center Mall today, though, I found a Clearwire store promising to open in September. They could open the store as an information kiosk without a network available, but it would help pay the rent if they could actually sell modems.

To double check, I emailed both Sprint and Clearwire. Clearwire spokeswoman Susan Johnston said, “In advance of Clearwire’s commercial 4G launches we
regularly conduct operational readiness activities, which include
preparing our local market retail presence.  These activities are
underway in a number of cities, including NYC.  As we stated during our
recent 2Q earnings call, we expect to launch commercial service in NYC
by the end of the year, but we are not providing additional details at
this time.”

Looks like some white paint at the Queens Center Mall may be providing additional details!

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Aug 21

Switched On: Gluts and glory

Posted in: Android, att, column, droid, GalaxyS, hero, Sprint, switched on, SwitchedOn, Today's Chili, verizon, xperia

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Before the mass adoption of smartphones in the U.S., many fretted that the heavy subsidization model was feeding a free handset model that would keep Americans hopelessly addicted to basic voice plans and phones optimized for them. The price consumers paid in relation to the value of the handset, it was argued, was hopelessly out of whack. This year, a string of successful smartphones have shown that an increasing percentage of U.S. consumers are willing to pay $200 for a flagship device. On the other hand, there’s still ample evidence that price and value can remain disconnected. And the carriers aren’t making it much easier.

The smartphone surge has been driven in part by a desire to acquire the best and by a response to carrier advertising. However, a recent run-up in advanced smartphones have made it difficult to define a clear top of the line at many carriers, and carriers simply cannot promote them all with the same attention lavished on the iPhone or original Droid. Take the turn of events at Verizon, for example, which in the space of a few months has rolled out the Droid Incredible, Droid X and Droid 2, with the Samsung Fascinate in the wings. At least the first three have been all priced at $199, with strong precedent for the Fascinate coming in at that level. And while AT&T has been a bit more diverse in the operating systems of its recent spate of high-end contenders — the iPhone 4, BlackBerry Torch and Samsung Captivate — they too have all been priced at $199.

Continue reading Switched On: Gluts and glory

Switched On: Gluts and glory originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Aug 2010 19:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 18

Samsung says GPS is ‘tested and validated’ on Epic 4G, our testing agrees

Posted in: Android, GalaxyS, issue, problem, samsung, Sprint, Today's Chili

If you own a Galaxy S anywhere in the world or you’re thinking of buying one, you’re probably well-acquainted at this point with the GPS issues it’s been suffering that prevent you from getting anything close to a precise lock on your location — it might not be a deal-breaker for some, but for anyone planning on using their phone for turn-by-turn nav or fitness tracking (for instance) it’s a big deal. Samsung’s already committed to updating released versions of the phone in September, but what about the upcoming Epic 4G? Our testing suggests that it’s functional — Google Maps was able to give us extremely precise positions very quickly — and a statement we’ve received from Samsung seems to corroborate that:

“We have tested and validated both Network Assisted (indoor) and Autonomous (outdoor) GPS on the Epic 4G. With regards to Vibrant and Captivate, we are currently testing software updates which will optimize GPS performance. We expect to be able to make the updates available in September and will communicate more information and download instructions in the next few weeks.”

In other words, the Captivate and the Vibrant have the bug and will be fixed next month; the Epic, meanwhile, should be good to go when it launches on the 31st. Cheers to that, we say.

Samsung says GPS is ‘tested and validated’ on Epic 4G, our testing agrees originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 18

Verizon testing a $99 unlimited plan that simply matches Sprint’s famous offering

Posted in: Sprint, Today's Chili, verizon, vzw

Carriers test the waters on new plans all the time, but this new one from Verizon seems — at least at cursory glance — squarely aimed at its CDMA competitor. According to research from Current Analysis, the nation’s top carrier is trying out an unlimited Nationwide Talk & Text plan for $69.99 in San Diego and Los Angeles retail outlets. That’s $20 less than the current price, and coupled with a $29.99 data plan, we’re looking at a monthly fee that’s within pennies of Sprint’s Simply Everything plan. As with other network trials, this one may never expand beyond certain test markets — but needless to say, this seems to indicate Verizon’s taking its smaller CDMA rival a whole lot more seriously. Amazing what a quarter of positive subscriber growth can do, isn’t it?

Verizon testing a $99 unlimited plan that simply matches Sprint’s famous offering originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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