Hasta La Gadget!

So here’s some interesting insight into the wild, rough-and-tumble world of wireless product launches: Verizon announced ZTE’s AD3700 USB modem today, a product that gained FCC approval over five months ago, which means it’s probably been getting a trial by fire on Verizon’s test labs since then. You’ve gotta figure that ZTE was working on the prototype for many months before FCC approval, so all told, this launch is probably a culmination of a solid year of work, cash, blood, sweat, and tears. Don’t you feel obligated to buy it now? Anyhow, the modem runs $79.99 after a $50 rebate when it launches on the 14th, which is actually a really solid deal considering that it’ll do EV-DO in the States and HSPA around the world for 3G service no matter where your job or your whimsical vacation travel habits might take you.

Filed under: Wireless

Verizon announces AD3700 global modem from ZTE originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like Verizon’s up to something (and we’re not talking about Sholes). A quick trip over to VZW’s site has confirmed that $99 — and a two-year contract — will land you just about any smartphone that they offer (one notable exception being the Samsung Saga), including HTC’s Touch Pro and Touch Diamond. Could this mean that the new Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are soon to rear their pretty little heads? We’d be down with that.

Filed under: Cellphones

Verizon: Touch Diamond, Touch Pro now $99 with contract originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t know if this is indicative of the company’s rumored plans to roll out LTE in Q1 2010 , but Verizon has announced that it’ll start running trials of its 4G network later this year, and the lucky cities to first get a stab at it are Seattle and Boston. In an earnings call today, CFO John Killian reiterated that the plan is to have a commercial launch in “up to 30 markets next year” (note he didn’t say when in 2010), with an expected 100 million points of presence for LTE by 2013. VZW COO Denny Strigl skirted by a few questions about any future Apple devices, but no surprise there, that’s been its modus operandi for some time now.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Verizon will run LTE trials in Seattle and Boston later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So we already knew Verizon was looking to push LTE out the door and to about 20 to 30 markets in the second half of 2010, but Tech Crunch’s got it on good word that the company’s doing everything in its power to get the service ready to go in a number of areas in time for Q1 2010. That’s interesting in and of itself, but together with this morning’s whispers of Apple’s tablet coming early next year and past talk of an Apple / VZW partnership, and the tale gets exponentially more intriguing. As TC suggests, a tablet lacking voice service on the LTE network wouldn’t violate AT&T’s not-at-all permanent exclusivity. Its source said there was one LTE device, not a wireless card, that this early launch was being “specifically geared towards,” but even if so, that could apply to any number of other non-Apple gadgets (from Nokia, perhaps?). Of course, much of this is rumor built on rumor, so no matter how well these pieces might seem to fall in place — or how potentially awesome the idea might seem — there’s a large grain of salt you should be taking with you.

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops

Verizon rumored to be pushing up LTE plans to Q1 2010, new Apple device the catalyst? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The old adage goes “be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.” After years of bellyaching (we’re as guilty of it as anyone) that Nokia was giving Europe first dibs on its hottest handsets over North America, we’re now seeing perhaps the most dramatic, positive shift in North American strategy in the company’s history — in fact, they’re straight-up saying that they want to push all the way to number 1 in the local market. But is it enough of a shift to fend off aggressive moves from Samsung, LG, Apple, and the rest of the gang across every conceivable market segment?

Nokia’s product portfolio manager for the region, Ira Frimere, sat down with Computerworld recently to discuss the renewed push, admitting that the company has had to rethink some fundamental things about its products and its business model to help its cause in the States; one small example is the fact that the Surge is launching without the typical four-digit model number or Nseries / Eseries code that is found on virtually every Nokia sold worldwide, ostensibly because Americans apparently prefer names to numbers (it’ll launch as the Surge 6790 internationally, it turns out). Additionally, the company has dedicated a facility in San Diego to working with its North American carrier partners — AT&T and Verizon, most prominently. It’s still early on, but the labor there seems to already be bearing fruit, considering that AT&T will be stocking three S60 devices once the Surge launches — a record — and Verizon’s rumored to have some interesting stuff in the pipeline.

Frimere adds that Nokia believes services are key to winning American hearts and minds, an area the company has been putting extensive R&D into lately with its Ovi line (unfortunately, so is everyone else — and getting to iTunes and App Store-level acceptance with Nokia Music and the Ovi Store is going to be an uphill battle, to say the least). Ultimately, the conclusion seems to be Nokia’s reluctant admittance that breaking into the US market requires a willingness to give carriers far, far more respect than they deserve by bending and breaking to their somewhat odd demands — and that’s going to be an ongoing problem for consumers, whether you’re a Nokia fan or not.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Nokia talks shop about its revised US strategy, but is it enough? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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