NTT DoCoMo readies first dual-mode HSDPA, LTE femtocell for December

NTT DoCoMo readies first dualmode 3G and LTE femtocell for December

LTE's frequent gotcha has been indoor coverage: as it often relies on high frequency ranges outside of the US, the signal can drop off quickly at home or in the mall. There have been LTE femtocells before to fill in the gaps, but NTT DoCoMo claims to have the first mini cell site that would cover our needs much more thoroughly. The Japanese carrier's new base station run simultaneous 112.Mbps LTE and 14.4Mbps HSDPA (sorry, no HSUPA upload speeds) on the 2GHz band to keep 3G data and voice working side-by-side with 4G, piping both through a wired broadband connection; there's no need to sacrifice the basics or legacy support just for a better LTE signal. NTT DoCoMo plans to sell the dual-mode femtocell to local homeowners, offices and stores in December. Sadly, there's no immediate word of plans for femtocells that support networks abroad, although the technology's existence gives us hope that we'll see it spread to other providers -- and that black holes in cellular coverage will be distant memories.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo readies first dual-mode HSDPA, LTE femtocell for December

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NTT DoCoMo readies first dual-mode HSDPA, LTE femtocell for December originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US

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European LTE deployments might just be getting started, but the European Commission is already trying to head off any bandwidth problems at the pass. The organization has ordered that 120MHz of normally 3G-only spectrum around the 2GHz band has to be reusable for LTE and other 4G networks by June 30th, 2014. Once the airwaves loosen up, the Commission sees its home continent having an advantage over an LTE-happy US: it expects to have as much as 1GHz of spectrum available for 4G, or potentially twice as much as what Americans might claim. Officials are also mulling plans to repurpose extra slices of 2GHz spectrum that haven't even been used for 3G and could offer that much more headroom. While an edge over the US in bandwidth might not last after policy changes, it's hard to complain if the EC move leads to future smartphones whose downloads stay speedy.

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European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US

European Union flags

European LTE deployments might just be getting started, but the European Commission is already trying to head off any bandwidth problems at the pass. The organization has ordered that 120MHz of normally 3G-only spectrum around the 2GHz band has to be reusable for LTE and other 4G networks by June 30th, 2014. Once the airwaves loosen up, the Commission sees its home continent having an advantage over an LTE-happy US: it expects to have as much as 1GHz of spectrum available for 4G, or potentially twice as much as what Americans might claim. Officials are also mulling plans to repurpose extra slices of 2GHz spectrum that haven't even been used for 3G and could offer that much more headroom. While an edge over the US in bandwidth might not last after policy changes, it's hard to complain if the EC move leads to future smartphones whose downloads stay speedy.

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European Commission clears 2GHz bands for LTE use by 2014, claims 4G pipes wider than the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola’s RAZR i: benchmarking Intel’s first 2GHz Medfield smartphone

Motorola's RAZR i Early benchmarks pitted against the RAZR M

Motorola were quick to tell us that we're testing on pre-release RAZR i here -- software updates may arrive before the device does, but these figures below should give you a good estimate at what the 2GHz Intel processor can do. We've pitched it against the US-bound Droid RAZR M, with a capable dual-core Snapdragon S4 clocked at 1.5GHz, and ZTE's Grand X IN, which houses Intel's 1.6MHz Medfield Z2460 and Android ICS.

Motorola Droid RAZR M Motorola RAZR i ZTE Grand X IN
Quadrant 4,944 4,125 2,710
Vellamo 2,442 1,906 1,550
SunSpider 0.9.1 (ms) 1,951 1,062 1,355
AnTuTu 6,364 6,175 N/A
GLBenchmark Egypt Offscreen (fps) 56 41 N/A
CF-Bench 9,392 2,973 873
SunSpider: lower scores are better

So what do all these numbers mean? Well, Intel's 2GHz processor is pretty capable. Although the RAZR i only bests the RAZR M on SunSpider browser performance (something that Intel's been focusing on with its mobile hardware), it's a substantial score difference. Otherwise, the Europe-bound RAZR skates pretty close, if behind the RAZR M's benchmarks. There's a hiccup on the CF-Bench score, something that we also noted on the Grand X IN. While both the ZTE and Motorola devices are running Android 4.0, there's still a tangible difference in these early benchmarks -- perhaps testament to both Motorola and Google's proximity and the debut of Intel's faster 2GHz Medfield processor. We'll be testing out those power-saving promises from the chipmaker over the next few days.

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Motorola's RAZR i: benchmarking Intel's first 2GHz Medfield smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 07:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android phone (video)

Motorola RAZR i handson with the 2GHz Android ICS smartphone

While we've seen similar things from the RAZR M already -- and even reviewed it -- we reckoned those 2GHz Intel internals and HSPA-only radio inside the RAZR i (as well as European availability) warranted another tour of the hardware. In summary, there's decently bright, if a little jaggy, 4.3-inch AMOLED screen, with a water resistant coating covering the already hardy Kevlar backing. There's space for microSD expansion, and thanks to that tiny bezel, it's a phone that very happily resided in the palm of our hand. Some Intel assistance has added a new 10-frame burst mode, and also sped up the boot-time of the camera app itself, not forgetting that this RAZR model has a dedicated camera button on the side. We're booting up our benchmark toolkit to assess how Intel's processor fares, but until the final scores are revealed, take a look at our hands-on video after the break.

Update: We've added our initial benchmarks -- check them here.

Continue reading Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android phone (video)

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Motorola RAZR i: hands-on with the 2GHz Android phone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Sep 2012 05:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Nexus 7 overclocked to 2GHz, punches well above its weight

Google Nexus 7 overclocked to 2GHz, punches well above its weight

The stock Nexus 7 peaks at a 1.3GHz clock speed when it's at full burn. That's certainly good enough for the $199 price tag, but eager adopters have just hit a new record in trying to wring out even more of a bang for the buck. Courtesy of a custom Elite kernel from XDA-Developers' Clemsyn, the Tegra 3 in the mini tablet will scale all the way to a heady 2GHz. You'd be right in suspecting that it leads to some dramatic speed boosts: the Nexus 7 at this pace can put a Transformer Prime to shame in common benchmarks, let alone most smartphones. Reaching the loftier heights of performance does require nerves of steel, however. The Elite kernel is very much a rough build that the creator doesn't yet trust with the public, and NVIDIA's processor is already known to get toasty under significantly added stress. There's hope a refined kernel will make for a safer venture into unknown territory. If you can't wait to throw at least some caution (and the warranty) to the wind, though, hit the second source link for code that will reach a slightly less melt-prone 1.8GHz.

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Google Nexus 7 overclocked to 2GHz, punches well above its weight originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MetroPCS and T-Mobile want Dish to give up half of its wireless spectrum, worry about AT&T and Verizon swooping in

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Dish Network might not start up its LTE-based 4G network until as late as 2016, but that hasn't stopped MetroPCS and T-Mobile from jointly telling the FCC that the would-be carrier needs to make some concessions for small carriers to rest easy. Both of the complaints have a common proposal that would see Dish give up 20MHz of its 40MHz space in the 2GHz range to prevent the satellite giant from using its abundant airwaves as part of a cash grab: MetroPCS and T-Mobile are worried Dish will just try for a "windfall" and sell the spectrum it doesn't need to AT&T or Verizon. While it's not asking for a sell-off, the Rural Cellular Association is still jittery about concentrations of power and wants the FCC to make Dish hit certain build-out targets, offer roaming at wholesale rates and require FCC approval for any roaming deal that would go to Big Blue or Big Red. The big carriers' advocacy group, the CTIA, is unsurprisingly against build-out demands as "unduly burdensome." FCC officials have been silent by comparison, although the agency has encouraged spreading spectrum around and proposed its own expansion requirements. You'll likely see smartphones with 2GHz frequencies at some point in the future -- it's just a matter of whether Dish or someone else slaps its logo on top.

MetroPCS and T-Mobile want Dish to give up half of its wireless spectrum, worry about AT&T and Verizon swooping in originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink FierceBroadbandWireless  |  sourceT-Mobile (PDF), MetroPCS (PDF), CTIA (PDF), RCA (PDF)  | Email this | Comments