T-Mobile Will Have The iPhone On It’s 4G Network This Year– Whether Apple Wants Them To Or Not
May 9th
It’s been no secret that T-Mobile really wants the iPhone, and equally no secret that T-Mobile users want one too (with over a million iPhone’s already being used on T-Mobile’s 2G network today). Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007 all iPhone’s could be used on T-Mobile’s network, but the problem was they only could use T-Mobile’s 2G network and not it’s fast 4G one. This had to do with fact that the iPhone didn’t have the right radio band inside needed to use T-Mobile’s faster networks (known as the 1700 MHz band)– but that will all change soon. If Apple won’t bring the iPhone to T-Mobile then T-Mobile will go to the iPhone.
Later this year, T-Mobile will begin to upgrade some it’s 2G network (on what’s known as the 1900 MHz band) into part of it’s 4G network. Unlike the 1700 MHz band, this 1900 MHz band is supported by the iPhone (since AT&T uses it for some of their own 4G HSPA+ network). Basically what this means is that any unlocked iPhone– from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4S (and presumably the new iPhone 5 or whatever it’s called later this year)– will now be able to finally get T-Mobile 4G!
There is still no word as to whether T-Mobile will finally get to officially sell the iPhone (and thereby have an iPhone that also works on their current 1700 MHz 4G network), but T-Mobile says that this upgrade should be finished by the end of the year (think somewhere between October-December). So T-Mobile iPhone users you can finally relax– one way or another you’ll finally be able to get a 4G iPhone.
More info: AllThingsD
AT&T Planning To Launch Family Data Plans This Year
May 8th
Well that didn’t take long. Late last month Verizon announced that they will be launching family data plans this summer, and now AT&T has told CNET that they will also be launching their own family data plans later this year. Of course AT&T didn’t given any specifics– such as when exactly the plans will be available (they did say it would be “soon”) or what the pricing would look like– but hey, right now we’ll take what we can get.
So why should you care about this? Well, in addition to hopefully lowering your monthly bill, this should be great for anyone out there looking to upgrade to an iPhone or other smartphone but can’t convince their parents to allow them to get data. We’re not sure exactly how this will work but we imagine it going something like this: instead of paying $30 a month for 3 GB of data for each person’s phone (which is what you have to do today), your family pays $100 a month and gets 10 GB of data for all 5 lines of your family plan to share. If you have multiple members of your family with smartphones and data plans this could be a really great way to help lower your monthly phone bill (even if it’s only by a little, like not paying $20 a month for 200 MB of data when that person only uses 50 MB).
Like with Verizon we’ll of course keep you updated as we learn more. For now let’s just hope that Verizon and AT&T can get this out sooner rather than later.
More info: CNET
Verizon Unleashes The Next Droid Incredible– Meet The Droid Incredible 4G LTE
May 7th
In a time where we see more and more phones launch with screens of 4.5 inches or more, it’s nice to see a phone that’s not as huge but still just as powerful. Verizon get this and today they announced the next generation of their Droid Incredible line, a phone we’re happy to say that it is exactly that.
Like the earlier Droid Incredibles– the original Droid Incredible and the Droid Incredible 2– the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is a powerful phone in a very nice, thin design. If you want a fast 4G LTE phone on Verizon that doesn’t need you to have huge hands or pockets we think this is the phone for you. Specs wise it’s just as impressive as those earlier Droid Incredibles and is exactly what you’d expect from a top of the line phone today. It’s got a 4 inch qHD screen (while not as clear as the as a lot of those 720p screens you see on big phones like the HTC One X, it still should make everything you view on it– from videos to pictures to apps– look pretty amazing), a 1.2 GHZ dual core processor with 1 GB of RAM (so everything runs smoothly), an 8 megapixel back camera with a front camera for video chat (with HTC’s Video Pic software so you can take pictures while you’re recording video), built-in Beats Audio support (so all your music and videos sound great), Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and of course, it runs on Verizon’s 4G LTE network.
No word yet on when this bad boy will be available to order (or how much it will), but if it comes in below $100 with a 2 year contract it could be a great choice for anyone with an upgrade. Verizon said we should expect the Droid Incredible 4G LTE to arrive in the “coming weeks.”
Is Facebook Finally Bringing Video Chat To The iPhone?
May 4th
Facebook Video Chat– coming soon to the iPhone?
With Facebook Video Chat having been available for Windows and Mac for almost a year now, it seemed like it would only be a matter of time before they brought the feature over to their mobile apps. And according to the site 9to5Mac, that time is finally almost here.
The folks over at 9to5Mac have gotten a sneak peak at a beta for an upcoming update to Facebook’s Messenger app for iPhone. In addition to the usual bug-fixes and performance improvements expected in a normal update they found this: the ability to make Skype Video Chats right from your iPhone/iPod Touch just like you already can from your computer. Making a video call is pretty simple too– if the person who you’re talking to is at their computer or on iPhone/iTouch you’ll see a blue arrow next to their name. Tap that arrow and you’re calling them.
9to5Mac also says that Facebook has a similar update planned for the Android version of the Messenger app (as well as a version of the Messenger app for the iPad), but that will probably come after the iPhone gets its update this summer.
Samsung’s Announcing The Galaxy S III Later Today– Here’s What We Expect
May 3rd
Later today Samsung plans to take the wraps off of the next generation in their hugely successful Galaxy line, the Galaxy S III. The Galaxy S II last year really raised the bar for Android phones with its amazingly thin design and awesome 4.3 inch screen (so much so that it’s still one of the top Android phones today on AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) so obviously it’s gonna be hard for Samsung to top that. But we think they can and well, according to the latest rumors it looks like today Samsung’s going to be raising the bar yet again.
Verizon To Launch Family Data Plans This Summer
Apr 26th
With more and more people buying smartphones that require data plans, and more and more of us teens in particular upgrading to iPhones and Androids it seemed like this would be only a matter of time: family data plans. I mean, we have it for calling and texting so why not this too?
Well, Verizon understands this and they have announced that this summer they will finally launch family data plans. In addition to hopefully lowering your monthly bill, this should be great for anyone out there looking to upgrade to an iPhone but can’t convince their parents to allow them to get data. We’re not sure exactly how this will work but we imagine it going something like this: instead of paying $30 a month for 2 GB of data for each person’s phone (which is what you have to do today), your family pays $100 a month and gets 10 GB of data for all 5 lines of your family plan to share (with things like the leaked Verizon screenshot above to help you figure out how much data you’re family needs). If you have multiple members of your family with smartphones and data plans this could be a really great way to help lower your monthly phone bill (even if it’s only by a little).
Again, all Verizon has said at this point is that this will be coming sometime this summer– so we don’t yet know how much data you’ll be getting or how much it will cost, but we’ll of course keep you updated on that as we learn more. In the meantime, let’s hope AT&T and T-Mobile add this soon too.
UPDATE: As Unclesameisen pointed out in the comments, Sprint already offers family data as part of their Everything Data Family plan (see here for more info on that).
Pic from PhoneArena
Top 5 New and Upcoming AT&T Phones: Spring 2012
Apr 18th
So you’re on AT&T, you’ve got an upgrade coming up sometime over the next couple of months and while you like some of the phones already out there, you really wanna know what AT&T’s got coming out during the next few weeks or months so you don’t go out and buy something only to really regret it a week later. Well we wanna try to help you avoid that, so here are 5 phones out now or on their way to AT&T and that any AT&T user with an upgrade should be really excited for.
Need More Battery Life For Your Android Phone? Here Are Some Tips
Dec 20th
I love my Epic 4G Touch, but one thing that annoys me is its relatively short battery life that barely gets me through the day (and sometimes doesn’t even last that long). And this isn’t just a problem on the Epic 4G Touch– most Android phones have quicker battery drains because of their larger screens, more powerful processors and 4G chips (all things that help make Android so great).
If you’re like me you’re gonna want to try to make the most of your Android phone’s battery life, so here are four tricks that I use to get the most out of my smartphone.
Galaxy Nexus Now Finally Available From Verizon
Dec 15th
We know a lot of you have been waiting for Verizon to finally release their latest Android superphone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and today we finally have the good news you’ve been waiting for: the Galaxy Nexus is available now for Verizon’s usual 4G LTE phone price of $300 with a new 2 year contract and data plan. Yes, you can finally pick up the latest and greatest Google phone and the first phone to run the latest and greatest version of Android, version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
But wait– things get better. If you look online you’ll see sites like Amazon and LetsTalk.com offering the Galaxy Nexus for a much better price of $250 when you upgrade your phone (Amazon is also offering the HTC Rezound and Motorola Droid RAZR for an even cheaper $230 on upgrade– $70 less than what Verizon charges). And did we mention that Verizon will also give you double the data for your data plan when you buy a new 4G LTE phone? Yeah, for any upgrade to a 4G LTE phone Verizon will give you double the amount of data (so for example, instead of paying $30 a month for 2 GB you now are paying $30 for 4 GB. This means you can actually do things like video chat and watch YouTube from your phone without constantly worrying about running over your limit and paying Verizon even more money). For more on this see Verizon’s site here.
So Verizon users, which phone do you want for the holidays: Droid RAZR, HTC Rezound, Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S?
More info: Verizon
AT&T Announces Their Third LTE Phone: The LG Nitro HD
Dec 2nd
Looking for a new AT&T 4G LTE phone this holiday season but want something with a more powerful screen than the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket or HTC Vivid? Well, then you should check out AT&T’s latest 4G LTE beast, the LG Nitro HD. Like the Vivid and Galaxy S II Skyrocket, the Nitro HD is an absolute beast of a phone with all the latest and greatest specs you’d expect on a top-of-the-line Android phone today: 1.5 GHZ dual-core processor, 8 megapixel back camera with 1.3 megapixel front camera for video chat, Android 2.3 Gingerbread (with an upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich likely coming next year), and of course, support for AT&T’s growing 4G LTE network (and 4G HSPA+ network for the places that don’t have LTE yet. See our post here on what the differences are between AT&T’s 4G networks).
But the biggest news here is the screen. Like Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus and HTC Rezound, the Nitro HD packs a 4.5 inch 720p HD screen (the first phone on AT&T to do so). This means that everything from pictures to videos to games to websites will look beyond amazing on here (think of this as the awesomeness of the iPhone’s Retina Display, but on a screen one inch larger). If you plan on using your phone for a lot of video watching (it comes with 20 GB of storage) or gaming we definitely recommend checking this guy out.
The Nitro HD will be available this Sunday, December 4th, for a pretty expensive price of $250 with a new 2 year contract and data plan (and who knows, hopefully it’ll get some holiday discounts as we get closer to the end of the month).
