Hasta La Gadget!

We’d not-so-secretly hoped that carriers would be looking to dispense with those troublesome 5GB caps on so-called “unlimited” 3G data plans, but there’s a big problem with that: spectrum is still limited, and even though 4G technologies help use it more efficiently, it’s still a constraint that the FCC is going to need many years to solve. We’re not sure how much the spectrum crunch really factors in here, but in addition to his comments on Droid Incredible inventory problems, Verizon Wireless boss Lowell McAdam mentioned at a Barclays Capital conference this week that he hopes to move away from unlimited plans altogether for the company’s LTE network, instead charging for “buckets” of megabytes, just like in the olden days — despite the fact that it’ll cost it a half to a third of what it costs today to transmit the same amount of data.

On a happier note, McAdam said that the company expects to be using its LTE network for voice by 2012, which comes just after its first volley of LTE-capable handsets in early 2011. He also mentioned that at least some of those devices will be shown off at CES 2011, and naturally, we’ll be there — not just to check out the phones, but to raise some hell at the notion that unlimited data is a thing of the past. At this rate, how are we ever going to run the Engadget servers on a wireless connection?

Verizon looking at non-unlimited plans for 4G data, will use LTE for voice by 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Leave it to the very same poster who teased the Motorola Shadow’s Getting Started manual, wnrussell of Howard Forums, to provide a pretty clear shot of the device itself — yep, that’s a HDMI out port — and reveal some purported specs. Here’s the claimed technical details: 4.1-inch screen, TI OMAP 3630 processor (a 720MHz ARM Cortex A8), 8GB internal storage, 8 megapixel camera. Yeah, we can buy all that, especially since he’s clearly got the device in hand — so now it’s up to Verizon to let us know when we can do the same.

[Thanks, Erik]

Motorola Shadow glimpsed in the wild: 4.1-inch screen, 8MP camera, OMAP3630 processor? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 23:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You remember those Android 2.1-powered LG Allys that were supposed to go on sale with Big Red earlier this week? Yeah, well, they didn’t, and Verizon’s site is still showing them as pre-orders. We’re not sure what’s going on there, but pre-orders are being extended through the 26th with sales commencing on the 27th; folks that have already pre-ordered the phone are apparently getting emails explaining the situation and letting them know that they’ll be “the first to receive the phone upon initial availability on or after May 27th.” The “or after” part there seems to be giving them a loophole in case they need another delay — so this could be a last-minute software issue, supply problems, some sort of wacky marketing stunt, or a stunning heist involving the theft of every Ally that has been imported to the United States thus far. Your guess?

LG Ally release pushed back a week for reasons unknown originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 May 2010 01:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon had already said that it anticipated launching its first LTE handsets in the first half of 2011, but as we’re rounding third base toward the launch of Big Red’s first commercial 4G markets, it’s shedding a little more light on how it thinks this’ll all go down. Basically, wireless chief Lowell McAdam says we can expect “up to” five handsets by May of 2011, exactly a year from now — which could mean anywhere between zero and five, as far as we’re concerned — and that Motorola, LG, HTC, and RIM are all in the running to serve up that first volley of hardware. What’s not clear is whether these will make voice calls over CDMA exclusively (a la EVO 4G) or if they’ll be compliant with the IMS-based (and GSMA-friendly) voice the company expects to eventually roll out on top of its LTE network, but either way, it’s good news.

Turning our attention to Verizon’s recent tablet hullabaloo, McAdam says that although “there’s no reason [the company] couldn’t have an iPad,” the first tablets it offers will be Android-based — yes, “tablets” plural — and that most of them will launch in the fourth from companies “including Motorola, Samsung and LG.” Interestingly, this dovetails rather conveniently with an NVIDIA-powered Motorola tablet with Verizon branding that was briefly (and quietly) shown off at CES this January, so we wouldn’t be surprised if that was the unit we ended up getting. None of these devices might end up with the iPad’s name recognition, obviously, but an LTE-powered Android tablet with HTC’s good design sense certainly can’t hurt.

Verizon to offer ‘up to’ five LTE handsets by next May, Android tablets from HTC and friends originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 17 May 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know what makes us happy? Pizza. But a close second has to be 4G technology, which makes us truly envy the Bostonians who were treated to a sample of Verizon’s trial LTE deployment in the friendly confines of a downtown pizza joint last month. Big Red filmed the event — and while the whole thing comes off a little bit like a carefully-orchestrated PR stunt, it’s hard to argue with nearly 10Mbps down and over 2Mbps on the upstream. That’s good stuff that should have Sprint, Clearwire, and the rest of the players on notice — assuming Verizon’s network holds up under the crushing pressure of commercial availability once thousands of rowdy Harvard students start hammering it, of course. Follow the break for the full video.

Continue reading 4G shocker! The good people of Boston enjoy Verizon’s trial LTE network

4G shocker! The good people of Boston enjoy Verizon’s trial LTE network originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 22:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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