Hasta La Gadget!

Is it cooler than Sprint’s Snap? That’s for you to judge, but whatever the case, Verizon has now announced its own version of HTC’s latest WinMo Standard handset. The so-called Ozone features WiFi, global roaming capability, VZ Navigator and visual voicemail support, a QWERTY keyboard (which feels great if it’s anything like its cousin’s), and a beefy 1500mAh battery that we’re betting will keep this thing going all day and then some. The best part, though, might be the price: it’ll be just $49.99 on contract after rebate when it launches online on June 29 and in stores on July 13.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

HTC Ozone comes to Verizon June 29 for under $50 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We’re not sure what the LG M13 is, exactly, but we can tell you one very important thing about the mysterious device: it’s awesome. We know this because the FCC has revealed some limited documentation about the recent approval, which is where we find out that it’s a “Cellular / PCS CDMA / EvDO and 700MHz LTE Device.” Translated, that means it’ll be able to play both on CDMA networks — take Verizon’s, for example — and also on LTE spectrum deployed in the 700MHz band, which Big Red just so happens to have recently purchased a whole lot of. This wouldn’t be the first time LTE-compatible stuff from LG has garnered FCC love, but it would be the first time we’ve seen a device that supports both LTE and CDMA — and considering that Verizon will have both networks operational for years (if not decades) to come, that’s a pretty important feature. Any creative guesses as to what this might be, then? A modem, perhaps?

Filed under: Wireless

FCC approves LTE / EV-DO hybrid gear from LG originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Verizon on Monday unveiled faster pricing tiers for its FiOS Internet service and announced a promotion that will provide new residential customers with the choice of a free netbook or Flip camcorder.

The company will bump its entry-level, fiber-optic FiOS service from 10 Mbits/s download and 2 Mbits/s upload speeds to 15-Mbits/5 Mbits. Mid-tier speeds will also jump from 20-Mbits/5-Mbits to 25-Mbits/15-Mbits, Verizon said.

For unbundled FiOS Internet service, an annual plan for the 15-Mbits/5 Mbits service will cost $44.99 per month, and a month-to-month plan will cost $54.99. For 25-Mbits/15-Mbits, an annual plan will be $64.99 per month and a month-to-month option will cost $72.99 per month.

In Long Island and the New York City suburbs, entry-level service will be available for 25-Mbits/15-Mbits and mid-tier will have speeds up to 35-Mbits/20-Mbits. To receive 35-Mbits/20-Mbits, however, cutomers must subscribe to a $109.99 per month bundle that also includes FiOS TV Extreme HD plus Showtime, and Freedom Essentials voice service.

To pull customers away from cable to FiOS, Verizon will be offering a free Compaq Mini netbook or Flip Ultra camcorder to customers who subscribe to certain pricing tiers and bundles.

AT&T’s contribution to the improved overall speed of the iPhone 3GS—their upgraded 7.2Mbps network—is nearly as important as Apple’s. But 7.2 is just a number, and AT&T’s network is just one of many. Here’s where it actually stands.

First, a direct translation: AT&T’s upgraded (or more accurately, upgrading) 3G network claims data download rates of 7.2 megabits per second. Though that’s the lingo used to describe bandwidth, it’s important to remember that those are not megabytes. AT&T’s impressive-sounding 7.2 megabits would yield somewhere closer to .9 megabytes (900 kilobytes) per second, and that’s only if you’re getting peak performance, which you never will because…

That 7.2Mbps is theoretical, and due to technical overhead, network business, device speed and overzealous marketing, real world speeds are significantly lower. UPDATEDEven looking at the old hardware on the current 3G network—the networking guts in your iPhone 3G is technically capable of reaching the 3.6Mbps downstream that AT&T’s network is technically capable of pushing. There are lots of reasons you don’t ever see that. For one, it’s limited to 1.4Mbps to preserve battery life—the faster you download, the faster you burn that battery. Another is congestion—all the a-holes watching YouTubes around you—and backhaul—the amount of pipe running to a tower, or more English-y still, the total bandwidth the tower has available. Another is proximity—the closer to the tower you are, the faster your phone is gonna fly. So for top speeds, you should sit under a deserted tower with plenty of backhaul.

As you can see on our chart above, our tested speeds for everything from EV-DO Rev. A to WiMax ran at anywhere from one half to one sixth their potential speed. Accordingly, Jason found AT&T’s network to run at about 1.6Mbps with the iPhone 3G S—about a third faster than with the 3G, though he was probably still connecting at 3.6Mbps rates—the 7.2 rollout won’t be complete until 2011, according to AT&T.

AT&T-style HSDPA is expected to reach out to an eventual theoretical speed of 14Mbps, which will undoubtedly make the current 3G networks feel slow, but won’t necessarily blow them out of the water. That’s the thing: the iPhone, and indeed just about all high-end handsets on the market today, operate at speeds that are reasonably close to the limits of 3G technology. In a funny sort of way, the iPhone 3GS is already a bit out of date.

So what’s next? And what the hell are those really long green bars up there? Those are the so-called 4G (fourth generation) wireless technologies. Americans can ignore HSPA+ and EV-DO Rev B. for the most part, and given that they’re the slowest of the next-gen bunch, shouldn’t feel too bad. And anyway, as Matt explained, WiMax and LTE are what’s next for us.

Both Verizon and AT&T are within a couple of years of deploying LTE in their networks, and WiMax is already out there in some cities. Our own WiMax tests on Clearwire’s network peaked at an astounding 12Mbps—nearly eight times faster than the iPhone 3GS on AT&T. And even if WiMax is shaping up to be more of a general broadband protocol than a cellular one, this is the kind of thing that’ll be in your phones in a few years, and the promises are mind-boggling: earlier this year, Verizon’s LTE were breaking 60Mbps.

So in short, your brand-new, “S”-for-speed iPhone is pretty speedy—as long as you only look to the past.

Verizon on Wednesday updated a lawsuit it filed in March to accuse more companies of making illegal telemarketing calls regarding car warranties. OnStar also joined Verizon in the suit, which now targets nine companies in total.

OnStar provides vehicle-based consumer assistance. Users received more than 400,000 telemarketing calls earlier this year, most of which were automatically answered by OnStar’s equipment. Since OnStar handles emergency calls, all calls must be answered, so the influx of calls affected the system, Verizon said.

“These telemarketers continue to prey on our customers using illegal methods to reach them on their wireless phones,” Steven E. Zipperstein, vice president and general counsel at Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. “This litigation is aimed not just at the telemarketers, but also at those who enable their unlawful conduct with technological assistance. We will not rest until they stop invading our customers’ privacy.”

Since January 2008, more than 2 million Verizon Wireless customers have received calls from numbers starting with 281, 614, 801, and 562 area codes.

Those who answer their phones hear a pre-recorded voice that tells them their car warranties are about to expire, and requests that they press 1 for more information. They are then directed to an operator who asks them for the make and model of the car, but if callers ask questions, the call is disconnected.

In February, St. Louis-based National Auto Warranty Services and Florida-based Explicit Media, doing business as Voice Solutions, were forced to pay a $50,000 fine for making these telemarketing calls to Verizon customers. Verizon donated the funds to actress Mariska Hargitay’s Joyful Heart Foundation.