IntoMobile » WiMAX

Sprint WiMax phone could debut next week

Marin Perez — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:28:06 +0000

Credible reports are swirling that Sprint (NYSE: S) will unveil its first 4G smartphone at next week’s CTIA conference. Will we finally get to see the HTC Supersonic?

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse will be giving a keynote speech at CTIA next Tuesday, and those “people familiar with the matter” told The Wall Street Journal that WiMax and a 4G handset will play a major role in the presentation. This makes a ton of sense because Sprint has previously said it would bring a 4G handset out this summer and it’s pimping WiMax/4G in multiple TV ads. The leaks are most likely Sprint people trying to drum up advanced interest. Well, it sure as hell worked on me.

The HTC Supersonic, or some variation of it, will probably be unveiled and it’s a beauty. This relatively slim handset is expected to rock a 4.3-inch AMOLED touch display, 1GHz Snapdragon, run Android 2.1 with Sense and have a 5-megapixel camera. The features are all good, but the drool-worthy part is being the first on the block to 4G data on your phone. The company has already released the 4G/3G Overdrive hotspot and this thing can get over 10 Mbps in the right spots – it averages 3 to 6 Mbps in most 4G zones. Having that kind of speed on a cool-looking HTC phone is more than enough to get me to break my contract with Verizon (NYSE: VZ), now if only WiMax could come to San Francisco sooner.

The move would be a nice feather in Sprint’s cap because it would be the first U.S. carrier with a 4G handset and it should have that distinction for almost a year. Verizon is rapidly pushing its 4G network – based on Long-Term Evolution technology – and Big Red is expected to have 4G smartphones by the middle of 2011. We’re going to have a brigade of IntoMobile staff at CTIA, so keep it tuned for more Supersonic news, impressions, pictures, videos and a whole lot more. Check out this teaser video for now:

[Via Phonescoop, The Wall Street Journal]

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Apple gives more details about iPad’s 3G

Marin Perez — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 17:48:26 +0000

Apple let gadget-hungry fans pre-order the iPad this morning, but it also gave some more details regarding the device’s connectivity options and content.

As Steve Jobs said when he introduced the device in January, iPad users can sign up for no-contract 3G data with AT&T (NYSE: T). You can sign up for the $29.99 version for unlimited (probably no more than 5 GB AT&T says “unlimited” will mean unlimited) data a month, or the $15 package for 250 MB a month. A cool thing is you won’t have to call AT&T because you can just hop to the Settings and sign up directly from the device. You’ll be able to monitor your data usage if you don’t sign up for the unlimited version and you’ll be sent alerts when you’re at 20%, 10% and zero of your data allotment. These alerts will give you options to purchase more data.

“So if you have a business trip or vacation approaching, just sign up for the month you’ll be traveling and cancel when you get back,” Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) said on its website. “You don’t need to visit a store to get 3G services. You can sign up, check your data usage, manage your account, or cancel your service — all from your iPad.”

I’ll give Apple and AT&T credit for developing a sensible way to purchase data on the iPad and I’m very happy there’s no long-term contract. I am very peeved that the iPad uses the micro-SIM format to block you from using the mobile data you’re already paying AT&T for, but that’s another issue. Apple also gave a few more details about the iBooks application, which apparently won’t be preloaded. Once you download it from the App Store, you’ll be able to sync books with iTunes, have the device read certain books aloud and you’ll be able to look up any word in the built-in dictionary or on Wikipedia. Check out the video below that premiered at the Oscars and let us know if you’re planning to grab one of these.

[Via Apple]

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LTE handsets hitting Verizon next year

Marin Perez — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:10:28 +0000

Verizon Wireless is on track with the rollout of its Long-Term Evolution 4G network and the largest U.S. carrier is set to have LTE handsets in mid-2011, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Getting a 4G handset out next summer would reportedly be about six months ahead of schedule and there’s no word on what manufacturer will have the first device. This is cool stuff because a 4G handset could potentially get 5 to 12 Mbps on the go, which could open the door to services like HD streaming videos, high-quality video chatting, or VoIP calling. Big Red is currently deploying LTE across the country and it plans to have up to 30 markets covered by the end of the year.

Of course, this may start the iPhone-to-Verizon (NYSE: VZ) rumors again because LTE is looking like it will be the standard for 4G around the world. If Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) wants to come to Verizon it will, but this doesn’t make things any easier technologically because Verizon’s 4G handsets will have to be able to fall back on Big Red’s 3G. Verizon has aggressive LTE deployment schedules but it’s really tough to cover the entire United States – we still don’t have 100% 3G coverage.

Rival Sprint (NYSE: S) is backing WiMax for its 4G efforts and it is already delivering 3 to 6 Mbps on the go. It is offering USB modems and 4G/3G mobile hotspots like the Overdrive and a WiMax handset is expected to launch this summer. We’ve already seen some WiMax handsets from HTC and Sprint is reportedly talking with Samsung about a 4G handset. It’s going to take a while but we’ll soon have some insane broadband at our fingertips. I’m excited.

[Via The Wall Street Journal (subscription required)]

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Verizon’s LTE hits 50 Mbps

Marin Perez — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:29:43 +0000

If you’re not excited about Verizon (NYSE: VZ)’s 4G network rollout, you should be. The largest U.S. carrier said its test markets using Long-Term Evolution technology were able to have peak download speeds of 40 to 50 Mbps with 20 to 25 upload speeds. Peak speeds and theoretical limits are one thing, but Big Red said its real-world speeds could be 5 to 12 Mbps download, with 2 to 5 Mbps upstream.

“Our LTE rollout plan positions Verizon Wireless to be a global leader in 4G LTE deployment,” said Tony Melone, senior VP and CTO at Verizon Wireless, in a prepared statement. “We are on track to deliver an outstanding wireless data experience to customers in 25 to 30 markets covering roughly 100 million people by year’s end.”

To be fair, these speeds were derived from trial markets in Boston and Seattle, and these were probably under ideal conditions. Still, it points to the not-too-distant future where mobile broadband will be fast enough to remove limitations on services and what we can do on the go. The easy features to look at are VoIP calling, video calling, and HD video anywhere. The exciting part is that once we have this type of speed on our smartphone, application developers will be free to come up with innovative products without having to worry about bandwidth constraints. SlingBox, for example, won’t have to strip out the best part of its app because of network concerns.

Verizon’s not the only one looking toward the next generation of mobile broadband. Sprint (NYSE: S)’s WiMax network delivers 3 to 6 Mbps right now and it will cover 120 million people by the end of the year. AT&T (NYSE: T) is waiting until 2011 to deploy LTE and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) is upgrading its network to HSPA+, which will deliver 21 Mbps to users on the go. This is all cool stuff but I’m going to throw a little cold water in your face by bringing up some potential snags. Even with Verizon’s aggressive deployment schedule, it’s going to take many, many years for a nationwide deployment – we still don’t have 100% 3G coverage. Additionally, Verizon’s 4G devices will have to be dual-mode to have fall-back coverage, so don’t expect interoperable 4G networks any time soon.

[Via Verizon]

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Verizon on track with LTE rollout

Marin Perez — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:24:13 +0000

Get ready for 4G folks, as Verizon (NYSE: VZ) said it is on schedule to roll out its next-generation mobile broadband network using Long-Term Evolution technology.

In an interview with Network World, Verizon Wireless CTO Tony Melone said the company has been “pleasantly surprised” by the readiness of the infrastructure, and that deployment is “looking better each day, not worse each day.” He reiterated that Verizon will have commercial 4G services in up to 30 markets by the end of the year and it will follow an aggressive deployment schedule.

“Fifteen months after our initial launch we’re planning to double the number of markets that have LTE,” Melone said. “Then by the end of 2013 we’re going to have our entire current 3G footprint covered by 4G. So in other words, everywhere we have 3G coverage today we’ll have 4G coverage. And we’ll also have places where we don’t have 3G coverage today that we’ll have 4G.”

Melone said he is “bullish” that the ecosystem will be ready on day one, so we can look forward to some LTE handsets by the end of the year. Verizon will most likely won’t have voice over LTE until the network is built out fully, so expect many of its 4G devices to be dual-mode. He didn’t give exact speed expectations but look for up to 10 times more throughput and 80% less latency with the LTE network.

This is really cool stuff because we’re starting to see mobile broadband speeds that could change the we work and play. Sprint (NYSE: S)’s WiMax network is growing and I actually saw a 4G-only commercial on TV last night. AT&T (NYSE: T) is reportedly getting its act together with its 3G network and it should start deploying LTE in 2011. Even T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) is pushing out HSPA+ later this year and that promises to deliver 21Mbps on the go.

[Via Network World]

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Sprint pushing WiMax to more markets

Marin Perez — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:01:15 +0000

Sprint is moving along with its WiMax deployment and said the 4G service would be in major cities like Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. by the end of the year. The third-largest carrier is expected to blanket 120 million people by the end of 2010 and this should give it a sizable lead over Verizon (NYSE: VZ), which will begin its 4G deployment based on Long-Term Evolution this year.

The WiMax infrastructure will be put up by Clearwire, which Sprint (NYSE: S) has a majority interest in, and it will also hit Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis and more markets that will be announced at a later date. Sprint’s hoping this fast network will help it reclaim some subscribers from Verizon and AT&T (NYSE: T).

“While other national wireless carriers are just talking about 4G, the Sprint Now Network already offers the reality of 4G now in a large number of markets across the country, with many more to follow this year,” said Matt Carter, Sprint’s president of 4G, in a trash-talking prepared statement.

While LTE has the theoretical potential to deliver 100 Mbps, real-life implementations will definitely be lower. Sprint’s WiMax services are already offering 3 to 6 Mbps and this amount of real-life mobile bandwidth does change what you can do on the go. We’ve already seen the 3G/4G Overdrive hotspot and we should see a WiMax-compatible handset by the fourth quarter. If nothing else, this move will spur AT&T, T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) and Verizon to focus on beefing up their competing mobile data networks.

[Via PhoneScoop]

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Hi, I’m Marin and I’ll be your editor

Marin Perez — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:44:25 +0000

I thought it would be prudent to do a proper introduction as I’m the new guy and you’ll be seeing my mug around here a lot. I’m a tech reporter who’s written about mobiles for InformationWeek, CNET, Androinica, Know Your Cell and various other sites.

I’ve spent a ton of time thinking about smartphones and how these can impact our daily lives and find it fascinating that what used to be far-out concepts are now in our pockets. I think the proliferation of these always-connected devices is leading to an incredibly innovative period that’s akin to the first Web boom. We’re just at the beginning too. Once the 4G networks get rolled out and smartphones go super mainstream, we’ll see some mind-blowing stuff and you can be damn sure I’ll do my best to cover it.

I rock a Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Droid, but have had Windows Mobile phones, BlackBerrys and I keep current with all the major platforms. I like to cover some of the bigger issue stories that let me be a blowhard about things like the national broadband plan, carrier developments and the platform wars. Don’t get me wrong though, I still get a giddy thrill out of a cool app and will not hesitate to describe a phone as sexy.

Outside of the tech sphere, I love talking about the NBA (go Lakers), nitpicking the finer points of local politics and checking out bands. If you ever want to drop me a line, send me a tip, or tell me I suck, feel free to shoot me an e-mail at marin@intomobile, tweet me @marinperez, message me on Facebook, or swing by my crummy site.

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FCC seeks more wireless spectrum for mobile broadband data networks

Marin Perez — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:31:49 +0000

The FCC is looking to free up to 500 megahertz of spectrum for wireless broadband over the next ten years and it will try to buy the airwaves from broadcasters. The move would help avert what FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski calls a “spectrum crisis” that could leave data-hungry mobile devices like the iPhone, Droid, and 3G-enabled laptops starving for wireless data

AT&T (NYSE: T), for example, has seen a 5,000% increase in mobile data usage over the last three years thanks to the iPhone. Existing airwave holders like Fox, NBC, and ABC will be able to voluntarily give up spectrum for a cut of the auction proceeds. Genachowski is also looking to cut the regulatory red tape that is required for carriers to roll out these new services, which should make AT&T, Sprint (NYSE: S), T-Mobile (NYSE: DT) and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) very happy.

“Spectrum – our airwaves – really is the oxygen of mobile broadband service,” Genachowski said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “Without sufficient spectrum, we will starve mobile broadband of the nourishment it needs to thrive as a platform for innovation, job creation and economic growth.”

It’s not going to be easy though because the broadcasters don’t appear eager to give up spectrum. In an official response to the FCC, the National Association of Broadcasters said its members are the most efficient spectrum users and that local TV stations just gave up about a quarter of spectrum in the digital TV transition.

I think the proliferation of mobile broadband is the next-generation highway system, that is, infrastructure that sets the nation up for long-term growth. I understand sheer land size is an issue but it’s embarrassing how far the United States lags behind other countries in broadband penetration and speeds. Opening up more spectrum will also mean a faster rollout of WiMax and LTE and then we’ll really start seeing some innovative developments in the mobile world. It’s going to be hard to pry away spectrum from the broadcasters, but it’s something that has to be done.

[Via FCC (RTF doc)]

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Beceem BCS500 integrates LTE and WiMAX in a single chip

Dusan Belic — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:40:06 +0000

Provider of 4G chips Beceem Communications used the Mobile World Congress to announce the “game-changing” BCS500 chip that integrates 4G LTE/WiMAX technology. The multi-mode chip supports the latest revisions of the IEEE 802.16 standard (16e and 16m), as well as the 3GPP-LTE standard, based on Release 8 specifications. Beceem goes on to add it’s the only device chip to support UE Class 4 capabilities, and also TDD and FDD configurations for LTE and IEEE 802.16m. This in turn enables real-time band/channel reconfiguration through the so called “autosense” feature that automatically detects the network type.

You may not care about the tech mumbo-jumbo above, but you do care to know it supports up to 150Mbps downlink speeds, which is awesome.

On the downside, Beceem said we’ll have to wait for the second quarter of 2011 to see the BCS500 hitting mass production. Sampling, however, starts in Q4 2010.

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WiMAX-Toting HTC Supersonic Pictured

Simon Sage — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 16:13:18 +0000

Remember those rumours about Sprint (NYSE: S)’s first WiMAX smartphone, codenamed Supersonic? Well, the first batch of photos showing off the supposed device have surfaced, and it does, indeed, have a 4.3” AMOLED display. Other specs include Android 2.1 (with Sense), 5 megapixel camera, 1 GHz processor, FM radio, and a handy little kickstand. Before you get too excited, odds are we won’t be seeing any commercially-available U.S., WiMAX handsets until late this year, if not 2011. One can only assume that Russia has been a good testing area for HTC, since they’ve been running the MAX 4G over there since November ‘08. The battle between HSPA+, LTE, and WiMAX will be an interesting one, but it’ll be at least a few years until we find out who really wins that fight – my guess is LTE.

[via Android Mobile OS]

UPDATE: If these pictures hurt your eyes, here’s a clearer rendering from Androphones.

UPDATE 2: Yet another picture, this time from YouHTC.ru…

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