T-Mobile is gearing up to flip the switch on their LTE network. Today they began pushing out software updates for Android version 4.1.2/ Software T889UVBMB4 for the Samsung Galaxy Note II. The new update introduces LTE support along with other improvements for the device.
Joining the Galaxy Note II on T-Mobile’s 4G / LTE will be the BlackBerry Z10. In testing the LTE network Laptop Magazine is showing download speeds of 58.8 Mbps and uploads at 25.5 Mbps. Keep in mind those numbers are from a tower not under any type of load so probably wont be real world numbers when LTE goes live.
The software update will take place OTA (Over The Air) and if you want to read more about the update you can follow this link.
LTE will go live first in Las Vegas, NV and Kansas City. The plan is to cover 100 million people by mid 2013 and 200 million by years end.
Mobile World Congress might as well be Android World Congress as another Android handset is gearing up to hit the market come the second quarter of 2013. ZTE has unveiled the Grand Memo, a 5.7-inch handset.
“The ZTE Grand Memo’s large, high definition screen makes it perfect for media and entertainment, but its uses reach far beyond that,” said Mr. He Shiyou, ZTE EVP and Head of the Mobile Devices Division. “With ZTE’s custom Mifavor UI, a powerful processor, and LTE connectivity, this device offers users a wide array of benefits that go well beyond the capabilities of the typical handset.”
The ZTE Grand Memo will be using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with quad-core Krait CPUs.
“Qualcomm Snapdragon platforms are at the heart of over 770 announced smartphones and tablets, and we are thrilled to work with ZTE to bring the Grand Memo to consumers,” said Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management at Qualcomm Technologies.
Specs:
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
5.7-inch HD display
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with quad-core Krait CPUs
2 GB of RAM
16 GB of internal storage
13 megapixel intelligent AF camera with face recognition and panorama
1 megapixel front-facing camera
3200 mAh battery
As always there are no launch details or pricing on the Grand Memo, but check back as more details are released.
Huawei a company known for their information and communications technology (ICT) solutions has been inching their way into the smartphone / tablet world. Huawei is in Barcelona, Spain to introduce the Huawei Ascend P2.
The Ascend P2 is another Android smartphone that will ready to launch globally in the second quarter of 2013.
“Ascend P2 is the perfect combination of elegance and power, and further proof that there’s no need to compromise when desiring a perfect smartphone. It is evidence of the outstanding smartphone experiences and great technology that we are committed to bringing to consumers globally,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group.
Huawei feels they will have the world’s fastest 4G / LTE smartphone come launch and according to some of features this device has to offer it might be possible. The Ascend P2 has a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and is capable of having theoretical downloads speeds of up to 150 Mbps all running on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
Other features include a 4.7-inch LCD display, a 13 megapixel rear-facing camera with HDR, 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera and a 2420 mAh battery.
No price or release date have been giving at this time.
The moment HTC fans have been waiting for has finally arrived, as the company has officially announced the HTC One.
The HTC One is wrapped in a zero-gap aluminum body, has a 4.7″ LCD display at 1920 x 1080 pixels, 1.7 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 4 megapixel (UltraPixels) rear camera, 2.1 megapixel front-facing camera, 2,300 mAh battery, LTE support, Sense 5 and runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
The UltraPixel camera is definitely a different take on cameras as most manufactures are upping the pixels. HTC has another take on giving their users a great experience.
In regards to the camera HTC stated:
“For years, people have been misled about what is important in a camera, what matters is not pixel count, but pixel size. Bigger pixels let in more light, it’s simple physics… We’re trying to balance out what a lens can support and what a sensor can support. We’re talking about real image quality, not just megapixels for the sake of megapixels. The era of the megapixel is over.”
Below are specifications on the UltraPixel camera:
BSI sensor, Pixel size 2.0, Sensor size 1/3′
Dedicated HTC ImageChip 2
F2.0 aperture and 28mm lens
Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)
Smart Flash: Five levels of flash automatically set by distance to subject
Front Camera: 88 wide angle lens with HDR capability
1080p Full HD video recording for both front and back camera
HDR Video
Continuous shooting and VideoPic
Slow motion video recording with variable speed playback
HTC Zoe with highlights and HTC Share
Retouch with Object Removal, Always Smile, and Sequence Shot
The HTC One also introduces HTC BlinkFeed, HTC Zoe and HTC BoomSound. These key new features innovate the mobile experience and will set a new standard for smartphones.
HTC BlinkFeed: is a bold new experience that transforms the home screen into a single live stream of personally relevant information such as social updates, entertainment and lifestyle updates, news and photos with immersive images so that people no longer need to go to separate applications to find out what’s happening.
HTC Zoe: gives people the ability to shoot high-res photos that come to life in three-second snippets. These Zoes, photos and videos are then displayed in a unique way that brings the gallery to life and transforms the traditional photo gallery of still images into a motion gallery of memories. It also automatically creates integrated highlight films from each event comprised of Zoes, photos and videos set to music with professionally designed cuts, transitions and effects.
HTC BoomSound: introduces for the first time on a phone, front-facing stereo speakers with a dedicated amplifier and an amazing full HD display that immerses people in music, videos, games and the YouTube clips they love. Beats Audio integration is enabled across the entire experience for rich, authentic sound whether you’re listening to your favorite music, watching a YouTube video or playing a game.
Three of four major carriers in the U.S. will be offering the HTC One AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. There is no release date or price, but rumors are hinting at March. Below is a video on the HTC One.
Verizon activated 9.8 million smartphones in the fourth quarter period with 30 percent of those activations new to the carrier. Out of the 9.8 million activations Apple’s iPhone stood out on top with 6.2 million devices activated, according to Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo.
Shammo also shared that the other 3.6 million smartphones that were active where powered by Google’s Android OS. All, but 5% of Android devices that were activated were able to connect to Verizon’s 4G/ LTE network.
As far as Apple’s iPhone, half of the smartphones were able to tap into the 4G/ LTE network, which means the other half of the iPhones were either the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S.
Sprint has announced that the company will be expanding their 4G LTE network in 28 additional cities this month. The new cities are part of Sprint’s Network Vision strategy to combine multiple networks into one.
Customer will be able to experience faster data speeds that enable instant Web access, better signal strength when making a call or using the Web, fewer dropped calls and improved voice quality with less static or background noise.
“We’re committed to providing improved 3G and 4G LTE as quickly as possible, and keeping our customers informed as to when and where they can experience the new network’s superior performance and speed,” said Bob Azzi, senior vice president-Network, Sprint. “Our customers depend on their mobile devices as their primary source of communication, business connectivity and entertainment. We’re delivering all of that functionality at a very competitive price.”
NVIDIA has announced their new mobile processor the Tegra 4, the world’s “fastest processor with great performance and flawless battery life for smartphones and tablets.”
With the Tegra 4 users will be able to experience good graphics, lighting fast web browsing, and new capabilities with the camera using computational photography. The Tegra 4 also enables worldwide 4G/ LTE voice and data through an optional chipset, the fifth-generation NVIDIA Icera i500 processor.
“Tegra 4 provides enormous processing power and efficiency to power smartphones and tablets, gaming devices, auto systems and PCs,” said Phil Carmack, senior vice president of the Tegra business at NVIDIA. “Its new capabilities, particularly in the area of computational photography, will help improve a whole range of existing products and lead to the creation of exciting new ones.”
Tegra 4 Key Features:
GeForce GPU with 72 custom cores
Quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 CPU, plus a 2nd Generation Battery Saver Core
AT&T has expanded their 4G LTE market in four new metro areas bringing their total to 113 markets, covering 160 million people. AT&T’s goal is to reach 300 million on their 4G LTE network by the end of 2014 and the company is already more than half way there.
Today is a big day for Verizon Wireless as the company is celebrating their two-year anniversary of 4G LTE. Verizon now serves 440 markets with the 4G LTE network.
If you take a close look at the picture above you will see Verizon put together a little fact sheet for you to see how well the company’s 4G LTE network has taken off.
Once again Verizon was the highest ranked mobile carrier in the U.S. but overall their satisfaction rating has dropped. The Consumer Reports survey was based off of voice / data service quality, staff knowledge and issue resolution. These results are based on polls from 63,250 subscribers.
The carriers all maintained their positions from last year with Sprint pulling in second place followed by T-Mobile and then AT&T. AT&T has a reputation of coming in dead last in this annual survey and we don’t see them instituting any changes to improve the scores anytime soon.
While AT&T did leave this satisfaction survey with a black eye, the respondents did give AT&T the highest score for their LTE network surpassing all of Verizon’s claims of biggest and best.
The complete results are available in the January 2013 Consumer Reports magazine or online via this link. (Subscription Required)
Sprint has announced another expansion of their 4G/ LTE network to 11 new markets. This brings Sprint’s total 4G/ LTE markets to 43.
“We are pleased to deliver our new 4G LTE network to more Sprint customers,” said Bob Azzi, senior vice president-Network, Sprint. “Whether someone uses 4G LTE for personal or professional needs, they will find that Sprint’s new 4G LTE network is performing extremely well. Customers should find it consistent, reliable and fast.”
The new areas:
Anderson, Indiana
Clarke County, Virginia/ Jefferson Country, West Virginia
T-Mobile has been working hard to strengthen their 4G experience in some of the major metro areas throughout the US, today the company has announced that they have enhanced coverage in 10 new metro areas. These upgrades allow unlocked iPhones to take full advantage of 4G network speeds and is another step in T-Mobile bringing the iPhone to market in 2013.
The 10 additional areas include:
Miami, Florida
Phoenix, Arizona
San Francisco, California
Mesa, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Modesto, California
Oakland, California
San Jose, California,
Stockton, California
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
With the addition of the 10 new cities, this brings a total of 15 metro areas live. The other five areas are Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas and Washington D.C. T-Mobile is expecting to launch multiple additional major metro areas by the end of the year.
