This is Big Red’s attempt to give first quarter sales a jolt, as this time of the year is usually hard on most cell service providers coming off of a crazy holiday season. The double data promotion pushes VZW’s aggressive approach in its 4G LTE products. This is the perfect time to push this promotion, especially since the Motorola Droid 4 went on sale today.

Most of the new phones released within the last couple of months should be eligible for this deal. We’re not sure how long Verizon will keep this promotion going, but my gut feeling tells me that it’ll be gone soon, so taking advantage of this would be a smart move people.

Let’s hope this stops being a promotion and 4 GB becomes the standard data plan Big Red offers. With its blazing-fast 4G LTE network, it’s pretty easy to blow through 2 GB in a month without really trying. What Verizon handset would you use for this double data promotion?

[via PhoneArena, photo credit]

The handset also packs a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, a 4.0-inch qHD display, an 8-megapixel camera with 1080P HD recording, front-facing camera for video chats, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB internal storage, 4G LTE and Android 2.3.5. The handset is on the short list to get Android 4.0 Ice Cream sandwich sometime in the near future. Think of the Droid 4 as a Razr with a gorgeous keyboard.

You can grab the Droid 4 online or in Verizon Wireless stores for $199 with a new, two-year contract. You can also check out a quick hands-on video we snagged of the phone when we were at CES.

[Via Verizon Wireless]

Carriers pay Apple the subsidy that is able to keep the iPhone down to its $199 price point even after cramming in loads of new features in every release. For Apple, this is good. For consumers, this is good. For carriers, this is very bad.

During 2009 and 2010 before Verizon Wireless was selling the iPhone, its EBITDA margin was at an average of 46.4 percent. Right after the Verizon iPhone became a reality, the profit margin dropped to 43.7 percent. Last quarter, which was the first quarter to include iPhone 4S sales, Verizon’s margin was at 42.2 percent.

Fortunately for Verizon, its margins are comparably high to those of AT&T and Sprint. AT&T’s EBITDA service margin last quarter was 28.7 percent, an 8.9 percent decline year-over-year. Sprint’s margin last quarter was even worse at a sad 9.5 percent. The year before that when Sprint wasn’t selling the iPhone, its margin was 16 percent.

The good news is since Apple sells so many iPhones, carriers are still making plenty of money off of them. Don’t ever lose sleep about them not making money — if something doesn’t add to their bottom line, you can bet carriers will not go through with it.

[via CNN Money]

These 4G LTE-enabled tablets will be used throughout the Suns’ operation. This will include workers at the game showing perspective clients interactive views of their game seats and you could easily see kiosks or retailers in the arena using these to jazz up displays. It’s not just the business side though, as every player will get a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and this will include the team’s playbook, videos, scouting reports, travel itineraries and the 4G LTE means that these will be able to be updated on the fly.

“Today’s announcement marks the beginning of a new era in the NBA, where I think teams throughout the league will want to integrate a tablet into their operations,” said Suns’ coach Alvin Gentry.

This is another sign that there definitely is a place for mobile technology at sporting events on all sides. We’ve already seen some NFL teams use the iPad to replace playbooks and I wouldn’t be surprised to see every team have this within five years.

While the Suns organization was never really able to surround Steve Nash with a championship cast (they let A’mare and Joe Johnson walk, sold draft picks that could have been Luol Deng and Rajon Rondo) but the team has done a great job of investing in its digital media strategy. Along with the tablet announcement today, this Phoenix team has been miles ahead of nearly any other organization when it comes to social media.

Under the hood, the Droid 4 is competitive with other handsets in Verizon’s current Android lineup.  The Droid 4 has a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor,  an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with 1080p HD video capture, a Front-facing camera for video chat,  a five-row QWERTY keyboard with edge-lit keys, LTE connectivity and Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread (upgradeable to Android 4.0). It also has government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2), desktop virtualization and other enterprise features. If you want a laptop with your phone, you can grab the Lapdock 500 accessory which has a 14-inch display and sells for $299.97.

[Via Verizon Wireless]

If I could suggest one thing – grab the Galaxy Nexus, instead — it is readily available in stock. It may not be as sexy as Moto’s baby (though that’s arguable), but it rocks a much better 720p screen. Not to mention the preloaded Ice Cream Sandwich…

[Via: AndroidCentral]

Undoubtedly, this move will bring Redbox into closer competition with Netflix and heat up the relatively untapped mobile video market. Redbox has a long ways to go if it wants to topple Netflix, though. The popular DVD-by-mail rental company launched an online service several years ago which has performed very well. So well that some claim Netflix grabs almost 25% of North American web traffic on any given day. Netflix also brought its streaming service to mobile devices via apps for the major platforms like Android and iOS. Market share numbers are not yet available, but each app has been downloaded millions of times.

[Via Coinstar; image from Shutterstock]

After watching the game on 4G, 3G and WiFi, I’m happy to say the stream was a resounding success. I’d give it an 8 out of 10, with a few points subtracted for missing content blacked out on the mobile that cable viewers got to see.

What I liked best about the NFL Mobile app

The NFL Mobile app did an excellent job streaming the game to my phone. I didn’t drop the stream and the quality over WiFi and 4G was superb. There was noticeable degradation when I switched to 3G, which made it marginally watchable and detracted from what was an otherwise pleasant experience. The Super Bowl stream was front and center in the app, which let me jump immediately  to the game and not hunt through older content to find the show. Once the stream launched, it played with minimal interaction. The app kept the screen on, so I never missed a critical play because I had to unlock the phone. I also like the mobility provided by a cell phone. I watched the game while I cooked dinner, sat at my computer and lounged on the couch.

What I didn’t like about the NFL Mobile app

Over all, the experience with the NFL Mobile app was a pleasant one, but it wasn’t perfect. The biggest drawback was the missing content. There was no halftime show, only a blank screen with an NFL logo for those using the mobile app. I wasn’t that interested in watching the half-time extravaganza, but it was hard to read a Twitter stream filled with comments about Madonna and not be able to take part. The app also blacked out a few commercials, which was mildly annoying. I’m not sure which commercials I missed, but, at least, I got to see the ones that I wanted like the Best Buy and Samsung Galaxy Note ad. Besides the missing content, I’d also like to see the stream made available to other carriers besides Verizon.

I had two other minor complaints about the experience that were tied to Verizon and the phone, not the content. First, the app kept asking me whether I was still watching. I assume Verizon wanted to disconnect people who are not actively engaged, but it was annoying to have the game stop in mid-play every 20 minutes and ask me if I was still there. Once I tapped continue, it jumped ahead to the live play.

The app also consumes data, which could be a problem for customers on a limited data plan. That being said, Verizon did a pretty good job at compressing the video and, according to my logs, the NFL Mobile app only consumed about 10 MB of data. Lastly, the video stream killed my battery in record time. I started out with a full battery and was out of juice before the end of the game. If I was truly mobile and not at home, I would have missed the last eight minutes of the game, which were the most exciting in my humble opinion.

Conclusion

I enjoyed the NFL Mobile app and would undoubtedly watch a live game again, given the opportunity. I would even pay a dollar or two in the future to watch a high-profile show like the Super Bowl, especially if it came with all the content of the cable version. Verizon has to address the data consumption problem, especially if wants people to pay for the video stream. It shouldn’t encourage people to watch lots of video and then give them only a 2 GB monthly allotment. Battery life is also an issue as you don’t want to watch a long video and discover you have no power left to make a phone call. As mobile video increases and hardware is streamlined, I’m hopeful these few limitations will be removed. I look forward to a future where I can watch all my TV on my phone or tablet without the need to subscribe to cable or satellite.

• Mobile Hotspot bug fixes and improved security
• Update to VZ Navigator with the latest 3D map improvements
• A number of Visual Voice Mail updates
• Improved stability of data connectivity after Airplane Mode is disabled
• Improved data throughput performance in low-signal 4G environments
• Improved Battery life when using Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP) Bluetooth headsets
• Updated Favorite Contacts widget
• Improved device stability when moving between home screen panels
• When performing an OTA update, the display will correctly show the remaining download time
• Addition of the CMAS (Commercial Mobile Alert Service) feature
• Few VCast apps pre-installed

There you have it. Again it’s not Android 4.0, but it’s definitely worth pushing the [update] button.

• Google Mobile Services has been updated to Gingerbread R8.
• Improvements in security with the latest Google Security Patch.
• New Verizon Video Application will replace the current V CAST Video app.
• Addition of text messaging and multimedia messaging signatures.
• Correctly enter your PIN/Password in Lotus Traveler without error.
• The screen is now kept locked after a call is ended via a Bluetooth headset in order to avoid unexpected dialing in the pocket.
• LED flash for missed call or text has been added back.

In order to enable Push to Talk capability, you must ensure that the Push to Talk feature code has been added to your account by logging in to My Business Account or Verizon Enterprise Center, or by calling 1.800.VZW.4BIZ. If you are a consumer, log into My Verizon or call 1.800.2.JOIN.IN. Now open the Push to Talk app and enable the feature by selecting “OK” – the side key on the Commando will automatically change to Push to Talk ready…

In the announcement, Verizon and Comcast said it will offer customers a Visa prepaid card for up to $300 when a user signs up for Xfinity service and a new Verizon smartphone or tablet plan. This offer enables the companies to offer the much-vaunted “quadruple play” where a customer gets their home phone, wireless phone, home internet and television via a single entity, even if it’s a joint venture.

It looks like the prepaid Visa is only good for new signups, so I’m out of luck even though I use Xfinity and Verizon in San Francisco. Additionally, I’m not sure how much of a discount getting this bundled packed will give you but there is something to be said of convenience. Even though Verizon Wireless’ company offers a competitor to Comcast and Xfinity, it is probably doing this partnership for very important reasons: to go after AT&T and for spectrum.

AT&T is trying to make its own inroads into the Bay Area, as I’ve received multiple requests to switch over to AT&T’s U-verse service, which is only Internet offering right now in San Francisco. Additionally, Verizon is trying to spend a few billion to buy spectrum from a consortium of cable companies and one of the stipulations of this deal is that Verizon will stop expanding its FiOS service. Essentially, the cable companies are ceding the wireless space in order to keep a lock on the home Internet and television services.

Any of you San Francisco readers planning to jump on this?

[Via Verizon, Comcast, Photo via Shutterstock, Javarman]