Hasta La Gadget!

Alanis Morrisette couldn’t have possibly thought up something this ironic to put in her hit song. On the same day Sprint launches an ad campaign trashing T-Mobile’s “unlimited” plan for throttling its data speeds, the Now Network announced that it intends to begin throttling Virgin Mobile’s broadband sometime in October. Those who use larger amounts of data on the prepaid brand will experience the briskness of 256kbps as soon as they hit a monthly threshold of 2.5GB. This won’t affect postpaid customers on Sprint for the time being, but it’s hitting a little too close to home. After all, the company — always playing the role of consumer advocate — is now at least experimenting with the idea of employing the same practices it’s currently trashing its competitors for. Those who’re taking full advantage of Dan Hesse’s spoils are safe for now, but the question remains: who’ll throttle the throttlers? Check out the vid and press release in all their irony-dripping glory after the break.

[Thanks, John]

Continue reading Sprint’s Virgin Mobile brand to test throttling while Sprint pokes fun at throttlers (video)

Sprint’s Virgin Mobile brand to test throttling while Sprint pokes fun at throttlers (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AllThingsD  |  Sprint  | Email this | Comments

HTC rolling out unlocked bootloaders to select phones in August originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 22:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Facebook  | Email this | Comments

A Verizon spokesperson confirmed the company will soon shift to tiered pricing data plans. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Verizon confirmed Tuesday it will end its unlimited data pricing plan options for smartphone customers on July 7, continuing a broad shift to tiered-use plans amongst cellular carriers.

Instead of the existing $30 monthly fee Verizon currently charges for an unlimited data package, the company’s new structure mimics that of others in the industry. Verizon will charge $30 for 2 GB of monthly data, $50 for 5 GB, and $80 for 10 GB, according to mobile industry publication Fierce Wireless.

The elimination of unlimited data plan offerings confirms an earlier leaked report that the company would shift to a different pricing model before the end of the summer.

In doing away with unlimited data, Verizon follows the lead of the other major carriers. AT&T killed its unlimited data buffet last year. And just this May, T-Mobile rolled out a high-speed data access plan which throttles your connection speed to a lower rate after you hit your data limit. Verizon tried a similar data-throttling maneuver, although the company tried to sweep it under the rug by burying the change in an unpublicized memo.

As smartphones tied to data plans grow more commonplace, wireless carriers change data policies quickly to adjust to demand. Over half of all U.S. mobile phone purchases within the last three months were smartphones, according to Nielsen research findings, while data use has nearly doubled over the past year. Yet the cost per MB of data has dropped by nearly 46 percent. That’s a figure the carriers don’t want to see.

Sprint remains the sole holdout of the four big U.S. carriers, offering its unlimited 3G/4G unlimited data and minutes plan for $100/month, unlimited data and 450 minutes for $70 a month, and unlimited data and 900 minutes for $90 a month. In January, Sprint also tacked on a $10 “premium data fee” for any new smartphone subscribers requiring a data plan.

There’s some good news to Verizon’s announcement: If you’re an existing Verizon customer not on contract, you can upgrade your smartphone and still keep your unlimited data plan even after the July 7 deadline. The flip side to that, however, is you’ve got to sign a two-year contract.

Remember how excited we all were when we found out that Android 2.3.4 would bring video chat to Google Talk on the Nexus S? Only to have our hopes and dreams smashed when we discover that it didn’t work over 3G on T-Mobile. Well, it seems the carrier has quietly flipped a switch, and now all you Nexus owners can GChat face-to-face over HSPA+. Surely this an historic day, one that will go down in the annals of mobile history — or, you know, at least one that deserves an exasperated “finally!” Check out the video proof after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Google Talk video chat finally available over T-Mobile 3G and 4G (video)

Google Talk video chat finally available over T-Mobile 3G and 4G (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Coated  |  Android and Me  | Email this | Comments

Not all wireless carriers are created equal, nor for that matter is all 4G — anyone who’s ever swapped networks or done any sort of traveling across the country can tell you that. And while it seems like we have fewer and fewer choices as the days go by, our increasing reliance on mobile devices makes the efficiency of our data delivery all the more important. PCMag invested some serious man / woman-hours for its annual “Fastest Mobile Networks” story, gathering mobile data in 21 cities — running more than 140,000 tests in all. According to the results, Verizon’s LTE rules supreme in pretty much every area tested, save for those “in-between” rural locations, where AT&T nabbed the top spot. Perhaps it’s time to take old “Test Man” out of retirement for celebratory victory lap?

Verizon dominates ‘Fastest Mobile Networks’ testing, considers calling AT&T to brag originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  PCMag  | Email this | Comments