Phone Upgrade Plans: Sprint vs. AT&T vs. Verizon vs. T-Mobile

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How to Undervolt Your Verizon Galaxy S III and Add 2 Hours of Battery Life

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Games Portal, New Social Gaming Platform Coming To Verizon

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Verizon Beefs Up Messaging App to Ping Your Phone, Tablet and PC

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Report: HTC One Headed to Verizon Wireless

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Verizon May Switch to LTE-Only Phones by 2014

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$20 Verizon Jetpack MiFi 5510L Shares 4G LTE with Up to 10 Gadgets

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Motorola X Phone Coming to Verizon for $299 in May?

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5-inch LG Optimus Vu Phablet Could be Coming to Verizon as LG Intuition

If you like your phones big and your cellular carrier’s nationwide network even bigger, you’ll be happy to hear that your phablet options are about to double. According to Droid Life, the Optimus Vu — LG’s long-awaited (and massive) Samsung Galaxy Note competitor — should hit Verizon stores sometime in the coming weeks, sporting a 5-inch screen and a brand new name: the LG Intuition.

Droid Life’s source passed a long a screenshot that shows a blurb for the phone, referenced as the Intuition and sporting a $199.99 on-contract or $549.99 off-contract price tag.

Curiously, the listing doesn’t include any mention of a stylus. When we went hands-on with the Optimus Vu in February, it packed an included pen, though we noticed that there wasn’t any place to actually store it in the phone itself.

LG has yet to confirm that the Optimus Vu/Intuition is coming to U.S. shores, much less talk about spec details, but the Korean version sports a 5-inch IPS screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio and 1024×768 resolution. Presumably that will stay the same in a U.S. release, though it would make sense for LG to replace the overseas Optimus Vu’s older dual-core Qualcomm processor with a new and improved CPU. Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon S4 processor, with its integrated 4G LTE radio, would be a likely replacement choice.

Samsung is expected to announce its follow-up to the Galaxy Note, the cleverly named Galaxy Note 2, on August 29th at IFA Berlin.

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Motorola and Verizon Tease “Main Event” on September 5th

Bring your cameras to work on September 5th, New Yorkers, because you could witness a sight that happens once in a blue moon: a horde of pasty tech journalists jogging en masse down the city streets. Nokia and Microsoft already had a press conference scheduled in NYC that day to talk up the Windows Phone Lumia lineup, and the hub-bub hints that it may be the unveiling of the first Windows Phone 8 device. Exciting! But that’s not all that’s in store for that fateful fall day.

Not to be outdone, Motorola and Verizon just shipped around a save-the-date of their own. The date: September 5th.  The location: New York City. The purpose: Motorola’s not saying… but we have a strong guess.

Since Verizon’s the co-sponsor and the tagline of the announcement is “Motorola On Display,” it’s not going too far out on a limb to guess that September 5th will be the grand unveiling of the so-called Motorola Droid RAZR HD, which has had several details leaked to the web in recent weeks. The Droid RAZR HD reportedly has a 4.5-inch true 720p display — hence the name — along with a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, world phone capabilities and on-board 4G LTE.

The fifth is just the tip of the iceberg for major September announcements; Samsung’s teased us with “Something Big” on the 1st and Apple is widely expected to unveil the iPhone 5 on September 12th.

Via SlashGear

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Report: LG Optimus Vu Tablet Phone Coming to Verizon

The market for phablets (phone/ tablet) has been severely limited her in the U.S. So far as the only real option consumers have is the Samsung Galaxy Note for AT&T and, as of today, T-Mobile. But if you’re a Sprint or Verizon Wireless, you’re currently out of luck. Fortunately, for Verizon customers at least, that looks like it’s about to change.

Android Police is reporting that they’ve gotten their hands on a Verizon-branded version of LG’s Optimus Vu. Measuring a massive 5-inches, the Optimus Vu sports a 1024 x 768 HD IPS display with a decidedly box-like 4:3 aspect ratio. We spent some time with the Optimus Vu back in February during Mobile World Congress and were blown away by the display’s brightness.

Beyond its display, the Optimus Vu features a 1.5-Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage space, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The original Optimus Vu came preloaded with Google’s Android Gingerbread operating system, but Android Police say that the Verizon version will instead come loaded with Android Ice Cream Sandwich. Also on tap for the Verizon version, 4G LTE.

No word yet on when the Optimus Vu will touchdown on Verizon.

via: Android Police 

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Verizon Wireless and GameTanium Offer Unlimited Gaming Service on Big Red Phones and Tablets

Verizon Wireless is giving its Android smartphone and tablet customers two ways to game. There’s the old way: downloading and paying for games a la carte at anywhere between free and $15. And there’s the new way: paying Verizon Wireless $5.99 a month to download any game available in its new digital storefront.

That storefront comes fully stocked with titles courtesy of the GameTanium service, a digital repository of casual games for the Android platform. Verizon’s intentions are simple. Download the GameTanium app from Verizon’s app market, pay the carrier-billed monthly $6 fee, and enjoy unlimited access to each game therein. Of course, the benefits of that proposition depend on the quality of GameTanium’s selection.

Right now, the service lists Doodle God, Fruit Ninja, World of Goo, and Plants vs. Zombies as its most popular titles, but none of these appear in the Google Play Store’s Top Paid games. Meanwhile, popular titles like Temple Run: Brave ($.99), The Amazing Spider-man ($6.99) and Max Payne Mobile ($2.99) are noticeably absent from GameTanium’s lineup. 

Still, GameTanium could be a boon for heavy mobile gamers who don’t like to shell out dough on a game-by-game basis, as long as they make sure to take advantage of the service’s library and download several new titles a new month.

For those with happy thumbs that are eager to tap, slide, and drag their way to victory, GameTanium includes a free three-day trial and can be downloaded from the Verizon app store. Just remember, GameTanium requires Android phones and tablets running Android 2.2 or higher and at least a 1GB SD card.   

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Verizon to Charge $30 for New Phone Upgrades Starting April 22

Verizon Wireless has announced that starting April 22, customers will be charged a $30 mobile device upgrade fee. The U.S. carrier’s reason for implementing the fee is supposedly to “continue to provide customers with the level of service and support they have come to expect which includes Wireless Workshops, online educational tools, and consultations with experts who provide advice and guidance on devices that are more sophisticated than ever.”

It would appear that the new policy would apply to 3G and 4G tablets as well, since the fee covers “all mobile devices.”

Prior to this move, Verizon had been the only carrier not to charge its customers with an upgrade fee. Both AT&T and Sprint charge $36 to upgrade to a new device on contract, while T-Mobile charges customers $18 to upgrade.

via GigaOm

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Verizon Proposes Video Service, Puts Netflix and Hulu in Jeopardy

According to the Wall Street Journal, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam announced that the company is planning to launch a service that will allow Verizon customers to stream cable television onto their mobile devices. Amazingly, customers using this service may not have to worry about exceeding their data caps — a feat made possible by Verizon’s recent purchase for $3.6 billion of airwaves (known as spectrum) from major cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner.  The deal, which is still pending approval by federal regulators, could spell disaster for rival video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, all of which bump up against the data caps.

In the interview, Mr. McAdam expressed his excitement for the deal, arguing that an integrated service such as the one Verizon has proposed will allow customers to pick and choose the channels they want to watch, rather than being forced to buy bundles of channels.

Critics, however, are less sanguine about the prospect. They argue that allowing Verizon to stream its own content over spectrum that it owns could lead to anti-competitive pricing designed to muscle out other video streaming services such as Netflix. If this happens, critics worry, consumers could ultimately pay more for streaming video on their mobile devices as competition declines.

Jeff Kagan, a tech analyst, worries that smaller video streaming companies such as Netflix could be forced out by Verizon if regulators allow the deal to go ahead. “Netflix discovered a vein of gold,” Kagan told us in a phone interview. “When something like streaming video becomes a successful niche, the big companies move in. In the past, small companies similar to Netflix have not survived when larger providers offered the same services in a cheaper bundle. If two companies offer the same services and features, people will choose the cheapest option.”

Within the last few years, data has rapidly surpassed voice as the most profitable part of wireless service. In just a few years, Kagan believes, data will account for as much as 97 percent of spectrum usage, while voice will account for just 3 percent. This dramatic shift in spectrum usage underscores the importance of streaming content to wireless providers, who are going to great lengths to acquire as much spectrum as possible.

Kagan worries that less financially powerful carriers such as T-Mobile won’t be able to keep up with Verizon and AT&T in the race to acquire spectrum. “The wireless marketplace has consolidated so much in the last few years, the government needs to step in and ensure that we have more than just two companies providing wireless service,” Kagan argues. “Regulators have to be concerned with what is best for the rapidly growing industry as a whole, and not one competitor or the other.”

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LTE-Capable LG Lucid Coming to Verizon for $80

Get ready, folks; there’s a new Verizon LTE  smartphone in town. The carrier just announced the LG Lucid, which will ship with Android Gingerbread 2.3 but get the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade in due time.

The curiously named Lucid (we wonder if LG took a few spins with the Android Name Generator) sports a 4-inch Gorilla Glass touchscreen and a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera capable of shooting 1080p video (Verizon says you’ll be able to edit your footage directly on the phone). The dual-core processor runs at 1 GHz, and you get 1GB—for the mid-range price of $79.99 after mail-in rebate.

You won’t have to wait long to pick up the LG Lucid if you so desire; it’s dropping at Verizon stores just two days from now, on March 29th.

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SpoonFed Mobile: Angry Birds Space, MetroPCS vs Verizon, New iPad Test Drive

The second episode of SpoonFed Mobile is on the air, bringing you the top stories in mobile tech. This week, I take Angry Birds Space for a spin and weigh in on whether small carriers like MetroPCS are a good deal. Last but not least, I test drive the new iPad to find out if it’s the tablet to beat or just a good-looking refresh.

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Verizon vs AT&T: Which New iPad LTE Plan is Right For You?

Big Red is advertising three 4G LTE data plans for the new iPad. The first, a 2GB a month plan, will run you $30. Verizon’s 5GB plan will cost you $50 a month, while its high-end 10GB plan rings in at $80 a month. The biggest benefit to Verizon’s iPad plans is that they allow users to take advantage of the new iPad’s hotspot feature, without piling on an additional fee.

Verizon typically charges users an additional $20 a month to activate a device’s hotspot feature. But with the new iPad at least, that fee is nonexistent. By offering free tethering the Verizon iPad effectively becomes your MiFi, allowing you to get laptops and other devices online from the road at no additional cost. Go over your data limit on any of the aforementioned plans, however, and you’ll have to fork over an additional $10 per 1GB of data used.

 AT&T

AT&T’s basic $14.99 plan, as always, is a bad joke that should be avoided.  For that price, you get just 250MB of data, an amount so small you could burn through it just by checking email a few times. If you do make the mistake of going over the 250MB limit, AT&T’s overage fee is another $14.99 for each additional 250MB of data used. If you download 1GB movie with this plan, it’ll cost you close to $

Any consumer who can do basic math will opt for at least the $30 plan, which provides 3GB a month of data, 1GB more than Verizon provides at the same price point. Go over that 3GB limit and you’ll be hit with a $10 fee for each additional gigabyte used. AT&T’s top-of-the-line data plan offers 5GB of data at a cost of $50 a month, the same price as Verizon’s 5GB a month plan. Like AT&T’s 3GB plan, the 5GB plan also includes a $10 overage fee for each additional gigabyte used.

However, the biggest issue with AT&T’s plans is that they don’t include a free hotspot feature like Verizon’s do. AT&T has already gone on record stating that their version of the new iPad will not support Wi-Fi tethering at launch. That may change over time, but as of this moment, it’s a strike against the AT&T.

On its other devices, the company currently requires users to purchase the $50 a month 5GB data plan in order to even use Wi-Fi tethering. If AT&T hopes to compete with Verizon it needs to offer free tethering at any plan level on the new iPad.

Conclusion

If tethering matters to you — and if you have a laptop, it should — Verizon is the carrier to turn to for your new iPad needs. However, if you don’t take any other computers on the road with you but your iPad, AT&T does offer more data at the $30 sweet spot. That said, we have yet to test how the tablets function on either telecoms’ network. But when we do, we’ll publish the results.

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Verizon Says 4G Restored, Service Still Spotty

For the fourth time in the last three months, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network has suffered a service outage. Verizon Wireless spokesman, Tom Pica, said the outage was brief and that service has since been restored.

We tested the network from our New York office using the Speedtest.net app on our Droid RAZR Maxx and. We got a decent but unspectacular average download speed of 9.4 Mbps. Upload speeds were far lower, reaching just 1.5 Mpbs. During out initial testing, the phone managed 12.9 Mbps down and 8.8 Mbps up.

According to Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney, the network outage was limited to Verizon’s 4G service and did not impact 3G or voice networks. However, several users reported that they were unable to establish a 3G connection with Verizon. In an interview with Bloomberg, Pica said complaints from New York area residents began at around 6:30 a.m. today.

Verizon has been forced to cop to a series of network issues in the past three months. In December alone, Big Red’s 4G network went down as many as three times. Most of those outages, however, lasted just a few hours before full connectivity was restored.

Verizon’s 4G LTE service has been the fastest of the four major carriers and generally the most reliable. In fact, the company took the top spot in our 2011 Nationwide 4G Showdown. But with AT&T getting more aggressive with its 4G LTE rollout, Verizon will need to figure out a way to keep outages to a minimum.

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Carrier Support Showdown: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Tested

Cellphone shoppers generally judge wireless carriers based on their networks’ speed, size and—above all—reliability. But reliability extends to customer service. Will your carrier be able to help when something goes wrong? And can you get your questions answered in a timely fashion?

With that in mind, we performed a survey of the country’s four largest service providers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless—to determine which offers the best service and which could use some lessons in customer appreciation.

To get a complete view of each carrier’s customer support options, we visited two of their brick-and-mortar stores, placed two phone calls to their tech-support hotlines and tried to connect with them via their Web services. For our tests, we used purchased phones (instead of review units) to help ensure we received genuine user experiences.

Our test beds included an AT&T Motorola Atrix 4G, a Sprint EVO 4G, a T-Mobile G2x and a Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid X. To ensure our testing was fair, we posed the same three questions to each carrier’s service representatives: “How can I tether my phone to my notebook,” “How can I upload photos from my phone to Facebook?” and “How do I improve my phone’s battery life?”

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Motorola Droid 4 To Land on Verizon February 10 for $199

We first saw the Motorola Droid 4 at CES at the beginning of this year and were delighted by its springy, edge-lit keyboard, so we’re quite excited about the announcement that comes to us this morning, care of Verizon Wireless: The Motorola Droid 4 will be available this Friday, February 10 for $199.99 on a two-year contract.

The Droid 4 is run by a 1.2-GHz processor and features an 8-MP camera with 1080p video capture and 16 GB of internal memory, expandable via microSD. Unfortunately, keyboard-lovers are left behind the technology curve again when it comes to display technology. In a world where many of today’s top phones have 1280 x 720 displays with gorgeous colors and wide viewing angles, this slider sports a standard, 4-inch qHD (540×960 pixel) screen. It also has narrower viewing angles — but viewed straight on, the display is decent enough.

To target business users, the Droid 4 comes equipped with mirror mode support using HDMI output, and boasts compatibility with Motorola’s Lapdock accessories to let you turn your smartphone into a full notebook (for a price). Like the Droid RAZR and RAZR Maxx, the Droid 4 comes with Smart Actions software (which lets you conserve the device’s juice) and MotoCast (for streaming content from your PC to your smartphone).

This is no Droid RAZR with a keyboard, but it does fill in the void where Motorola has disappointed in the past. The Droid 3 didn’t let you access Verizon’s 4G LTE network; this phone does. The Samsung Stratosphere was supposedly the answer to that problem, but that phone had a slow-moving single core CPU and only an 800 x 480 screen.

With its dual-core CPU and qHD screen, the Droid 4 promises to be the most powerful keyboarded phone on the market. We’ll let you know if this is indeed the case when we get our mitts on the product and review it.

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