Verizon
Top 5 New and Upcoming Verizon Phones: Spring 2013
May 9th
For most of 2013 Verizon has been pretty quiet on the new phones they’ve launched. But that all looks to change very soon. If you’re on Verizon and have an upgrade coming up sometime over the next couple of weeks or months these are some of the best phones either already at Verizon or rumored to be coming to Verizon very soon. The last thing you want is to go out and buy something only to really regret it a week later.
While not everything here is confirmed to be coming to Verizon (some are just our best guesses based on rumors we’ve been hearing), here are five phones you should be excited for if you have an upgrade coming up.
Galaxy S4 Now Available For Pre-Order On Verizon
Apr 26th
We know a lot of you are waiting for the Verizon Galaxy S4, especially since AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint are all releasing the phone within the next few days. While Verizon won’t be releasing their version of the Galaxy S4 until sometime in May, they have put it up for pre-order so you can make sure you’ll be one of the first to get it when Verizon finally releases it. As of now the pre-order page promises shipping by May 30th, though hopefully it will be much sooner than that. Pricing for the 16GB Verizon S4 is $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate and a new two-year contract and you can pre-order it here.
For those who don’t know, the Galaxy S4 is Samsung’s new “next big thing” and it is an absolute beast. It’s got an amazing 5 inch 1080p HD screen, powerful quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM (for making sure everything you do on your phone runs well), 13 megapixel back camera with 2 megapixel front camera for HD video chat, IR blaster (for using this as a TV remote), and of course, 4G LTE support. The S4 also has a lot of really cool and interesting software features like Dual Camera (for taking a picture with the front and back camera at the same time), Group Play (for combining the speaker of your S4 with your friends’ S4s to make for an impromptu sound system), S Translator and Air Gesture (for controlling your phone just by waving your hand. Think of this as a type of Kinect for your phone). For everything new on the S4 see our earlier post here.
So Verizon users, are you going to go for this over something like the iPhone 5 or are you still hoping for Verizon to get the HTC One?
Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Release Dates- What We Know So Far
Apr 21st
If you’re looking for a new Android phone or have an upgrade coming up odds are you’ve narrowed your choices down to either the Samsung Galaxy S4 or HTC One. Both are very impressive phones with amazing 1080p HD screens, super fast quad-core processors, powerful cameras and interesting software features like the ability to become a remote for your TV. And best of all– both phones either are, or will be, available very soon.
We know that there’s a lot of interest in both of these beasts, so here’s a quick roundup on when they will be available at your carrier and how much it will cost you to get one.
BlackBerry Z10 Now Available From AT&T, Coming To Verizon and T-Mobile Next Week
Mar 22nd
BlackBerry fans the good news keeps on coming, BlackBerry 10 has officially launched in the US. AT&T announced pre-orders for their first BlackBerry 10 phone, the Z10, earlier this month and it is now available in AT&T stores and online for $199.99 on a new 2 year contract.
Now if you’re on Verizon or T-Mobile and are excited for the Z10 we’ve got good news for you. Both carriers will be releasing the Z10 next week, with Verizon releasing it on the 28th for $199.99 with a new 2 year contract and T-Mobile releasing it on the 26th. There is no word yet on the pricing for T-Mobile’s version of the Z10. And we’re sorry Sprint users, you’re carrier doesn’t have any plans for the Z10, instead they’re waiting the keyboard packing Q10 to be their first BlackBerry 10 phone (the latest rumors say the Q10 will be out in May or June).
For more info on the Z10, Q10 and BlackBerry 10 see our post here.
So BlackBerry fans– are you going to go pick one of these up or have you given up on BlackBerry and are looking at an iPhone, Android or Windows Phone to be your next phone?
More info: AT&T, Verizon (pre-order), @TMobileHelp
Verizon Announces The HTC Droid DNA– This Is The New Top Droid
Nov 15th
As expected, Verizon and HTC this announced their latest and greatest superphone, the Droid DNA. There were a lot of crazy rumors about this phone over the last few weeks, and well, it looks to live up to all of them.
At a size that is just slightly larger than the Samsung Galaxy S III, HTC and Verizon have seem to have packed in here everything you could want in a 2012 top of the line smartphone: a quad-core 1.5 GHZ processor with 2 GB of RAM (so everything runs fast and smooth on here), Android 4.1 Jelly Bean with the latest version of HTC Sense, an 8 megapixel back camera with a second 2.1 megapixel front camera for HD video chats, 16 GB of built-in storage (though unfortunately no microSD card slot for adding more), support for NFC (so you can do things like share pictures just by tapping phones) and wireless charging, built-in Beats Audio (with some updates so that your music will sound better even when playing at the maximum volume), and support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. The greatest part about this phone however is the screen.
The Droid DNA packs an unbelievable 5 inch Full HD 1080p screen. As strongly rumored as this was, that it’s actually here is pretty insane. Basically, this has the same amount of pixels as the average 40-50 inch HDTV, but in this much smaller design. This means that anything and everything– games, pictures, books, Facebook updates, Tweets, text messages– will look absolutely amazing on here.
The Droid DNA will cost $200 when arrives in Verizon stores next Wednesday, November 21st. If you really can’t wait to make this your next phone, you can pre-order it now from Verizon’s site which as of this writing has a promised ship date of Monday, November 19th.
More info: HTC
Is Verizon Launching the Droid DNA Tomorrow?
Nov 12th
Over the last few weeks there have been a lot of rumors about another new Droid ready to join Verizon’s lineup, the Droid DNA by HTC. And like the most recent new Droids, the Motorola RAZR MAXX and RAZR MAXX HD, this guy looks to be an absolute beast.
Now all we know is that this guy will be called the Droid DNA, and this comes thanks to some promoted tweets from Verizon Wireless’ official Twitter account teasing a big announcement set for this Tuesday. These Verizon tweets also lead to a Droid Does site that yesterday mentioned “unboxing the new Droid DNA” (they have since changed it to just “unboxing the new Droid”).
Of course, what the rumors say about this phone line up perfectly with one other Verizon teaser tweet that this new Droid will “better, stronger, faster.” How much “bigger, stronger and faster?” Well the latest rumors say this beast will have an insane 5 inch full 1080p HD screen (think of this like a bigger, even better version of the iPhone 5′s Retina Display. Basically, this will make anything and everything you do look ridiculous), a 1.5 GHZ quad-core processor with 2 GB of RAM (for speed), 8 megapixel back camera with a 2 megapixel camera on the front for HD video chat, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and of course, built-in Beats Audio and 4G LTE. This looks to be going right up against the Galaxy Note 2 for the title of best super-sized Android phone on Verizon.
No word on a price or release date (rumors are that it will be out before Thanksgiving possibly for $200 on a new 2 year contract), but we’ll hopefully know all that very soon.
Info via: @VerizonWireless, DroidDoes, pictures from @evleaks and Droid-Life
Motorola Gives The Droid Razr HD and Razr Maxx HD A Price And Release Date, Both Coming October 18th
Oct 12th
We know a lot of you have been waiting for Verizon and Motorola’s next-gen Razrs, the Razr HD and the Razr Maxx HD, to finally come out. Well today we have some good news for you– we finally now have a price and release date. Beginning next Thursday, October 18th, you’ll be able to go into your local Verizon store and pick these bad boys up. The Razr HD will cost $199.99 while the Maxx HD will cost $299.99, both with a new two-year contract.
For those who don’t know, the Razr HD and Maxx HD are the next generation of last year’s original Razr and January’s Razr Maxx. Like those Razrs, the Razr HD and Maxx HD have the same very thin, water-resistant design made from Kevlar (so you don’t need to worry about this breaking in half if it drops or if a little water gets on it), 8 megapixel back camera with a second HD front camera for HD video chat, and 4G LTE support. These new Razrs of course are also now packing some much updated specs such as a 1.5 GHZ dual-core processor (up from the 1.2 GHZ dual-core processor on the original Razr) with 1 GB of RAM, a larger 4.7 inch HD screen (up from the non-HD 4.3 inch screens on the older Razrs), Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (with a promised upgrade to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean by the end of 2012), and support for NFC. The Razr HD will ship with 16 GB of storage and be available in either black or white while the Razr HD Maxx will ship in black with 32 GB of storage as well as that much larger battery for even better battery life (Motorola and Verizon claim it will get an insane 32 hours of battery life, or more than enough to get you through the day).
The 2012 Razr family: Maxx HD, HD and Razr M
We recently saw the new RAZRs at an event in New York and we gotta say they are some nice new phones. The screens were extremely sharp, things ran fast and they both felt great in our hands. As you’d expect with the RAZR line, both were extremely thin– even the HD Maxx which has that 30% larger battery (in fact when we put both side by side we had a hard time telling the difference between the Razr HD and HD Maxx). All in all, if you’re looking for some fast and thin phones on Verizon you’re going to want to check these out.
Info from Verizon
Verizon Confirms: The iPhone 5 Is, And Will Remain, Unlocked
Sep 27th
Remember last week how we told you about Verizon’s iPhone 5s coming unlocked? Well, earlier this week Verizon confirmed that this was true, and more importantly, that they had no plans to change it. Last year Sprint’s iPhone 4S’s were initially shipped unlocked, though that was a mistake and Sprint re-locked them after a software update.
So what does this mean to you? For one thing, if you plan on taking a trip abroad you will now be able to much more easily use your iPhone 5 with that country’s local carrier, and avoid paying the expensive roaming fees Verizon charges for using their service overseas. Also, if you ever decide to switch from Verizon to AT&T or T-Mobile your phone should now be able to switch with you.
All in all, this is nice win for us users. AT&T already lets some iPhone users unlock their iPhones if they meet certain requirements, but this way is obviously much easier. Let’s hope all the carriers to do this with their future phones.
More info: AP
Verizon’s iPhone 5 Comes Unlocked, Will Be Able To Work Internationally Right Away
Sep 21st
If you were looking into getting an iPhone 5 on Verizon but were waiting because you were planning to take a trip abroad you can stop waiting now. As the website iDownloadBlog found out today, Verizon iPhone 5s are shipping unlocked, meaning you can use it with any GSM network around the world– including AT&T or T-Mobile in the US if you so choose. All you have to do is swap out the Verizon nano-SIM with one from a carrier in the country you’re in and you’ll be all good to go.
Now a couple quick things to note. Not all LTE networks are the same and a phone that works on Verizon’s LTE network might not work on AT&T’s. This is because each carrier has their own frequency, or “bands”, on which to broadcast their LTE signal. Some phone’s have support for multiple LTE networks (like the iPhone 5), others don’t. It’s the same reason why the iPhone didn’t work on T-Mobile’s 3G/4G network for all these years, it just didn’t have the right bands inside to use it (this is another reason why T-Mobile is changing their 4G network to a band the iPhone supports). So in this case of the Verizon iPhone 5, you’re only guaranteed to have 4G LTE on the Verizon network or in other countries with similar LTE bands like England, Germany, Japan etc. (as the Verizon iPhone 5 supports the 1, 3, and 5 bands those LTE networks use). The Verizon iPhone 5 won’t work on AT&T’s LTE network or the LTE networks in Canada (which use the 4 and 17 bands that the Verizon/Sprint iPhone 5′s don’t support).
If you’re planning on studying or travelling abroad check Apple’s site here to see which countries and carriers offer LTE for the iPhone 5.
Now don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’re new iPhone 5 won’t work, it only means it might not have 4G LTE. Luckily, all iPhone 5s– both the AT&T and Verizon/Sprint versions– have support for many of the bands carriers around the world use for their fast 3G/4G HSPA+ networks (with the notable exception being the 1700 Mhz band T-Mobile uses for much of its current 4G HSPA+ network). This means that internet, texting and calling should all work fine.
We don’t yet know if the Sprint or AT&T iPhone 5s are also coming unlocked, or if Verizon plans to leave these unlocked, but we’ll be sure to let you know more once we do. In the meantime, check out this video after the break of a Verizon iPhone 5 working on AT&T’s 3G/4G network.
Info via iDownloadBlog, MacRumors
Top 5 New and Upcoming Verizon Phones: Fall 2012
Sep 20th
So you’re on Verizon, 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 Verizon’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. While not everything here is confirmed (some are just our best guesses based on rumors we’ve been hearing), here are 5 phones that are here or said to be on their way to Verizon and that any Verizon user with an upgrade should be really excited for.
