Sprint matching its peers, getting Windows Phone 8 devices next year

Sprint matching its peers, getting Windows Phone 8 devices next year

Sprint was notably absent from the list of carriers adding Windows Phone 8 devices to their line-ups, but it seems the mobile network is not being left out altogether. PCMag has received a statement from Sprint which claims that it's allying with Microsoft to make WP8 handsets available "next year." Despite rumors an LTE model was destined for the carrier, nothing materialized, and the WP7-loaded HTC Arrive even disappeared from its ranks. It looks like these weren't signs the relationship had gone sour, and now at least, customers can be assured they won't need to switch providers to get their hands around a WP8 device. However, "next year" is a pretty big window, so we'd be hesitant to assume something's coming mere weeks into 2013. Waiting a while might not be so bad, though -- it could even mean an exclusive handset or two might find its way to steadfast patrons.

Filed under: , , , ,

Sprint matching its peers, getting Windows Phone 8 devices next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 12:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePCMag  | Email this | Comments

UK government and industry heavyweights set up 5G Innovation Centre, want to go one better

UK government and industry heavyweights set up 5G Innovation Centre, want to go one better

The UK is almost ready to flip the switch on its first LTE network, but it's determined to be at the forefront of the next-generation, setting up a "5G Innovation Centre" at the University of Surrey. The government announced it's putting up £11.6 million (around $18.6 million) in funding, but another £24 million (around $38.5 million) will be coming from an industry group comprising the likes of Huawei, Samsung, Telefonica, Rohde & Schwarz, Fujitsu and others. The money will allow research to go beyond concept and theory, with the aim that all partners work together to develop and standardize 5G technology, which the university has been looking into for a number of years already. They will focus on energy and spectrum efficiency as well as speed, and although it's early days, 10Gbps has been banded around as a per-tower target, translating to roughly 200Mbps for each connection. Unfortunately, we've also got a number to kill your geek buzz -- it's upwards of a decade away. Still, at least you've got a long time to think about which case you'll be picking up for your 5G-ready Galaxy S XV.

Continue reading UK government and industry heavyweights set up 5G Innovation Centre, want to go one better

Filed under: , , , ,

UK government and industry heavyweights set up 5G Innovation Centre, want to go one better originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Oct 2012 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Mach inks carrier billing deal with Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK

Mach inks carrier billing deal with Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK

Not a month after Mach's last carrier billing deal, UK network providers Vodafone, Three, O2 and Everything Everywhere are getting in on the action. The company's direct billing solutions will initially allow the networks to charge app and online purchases straight to your bill, with in-app sales joining them at a later date. Don't expect this to be implemented immediately, however, as the agreement covers the back-end processing -- the individual carriers will be responsible for turning it on customer-side. They'll likely inform you when they hit the switch and your phone bill becomes a monthly surprise.

Continue reading Mach inks carrier billing deal with Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK

Filed under: , , ,

Mach inks carrier billing deal with Everything Everywhere, O2, Vodafone and Three in the UK originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |   | Email this | Comments

Rogers boosting its LTE coverage in Canada, will cover 10 new cities by October 1st

Rogers boosting its LTE coverage in Canada, will cover 10 new cities by October 1st

We're sure it's just coincidence, but on the same day a certain new LTE phone was revealed, Rogers announced the expansion of its 4G network in Canada. By October 1st, the carrier will have switched on its high-speed network in Kingston, Edmonton, Quebec City, Oakville, Burlington, London, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and Barrie. That's not quite the end of it either, as the plan is to feed 60 percent of the country's inhabitants the same 4G nourishment by the end of the year, and even more in 2013. With so many new LTE-capable devices soon finding their way into the hands of data-hungry Canadians, all that remains is the important decision of choosing your latest pocket-filler.

Filed under: , ,

Rogers boosting its LTE coverage in Canada, will cover 10 new cities by October 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Android Central  |  sourceRogers  | Email this | Comments

Sprint confirms its HD Voice is incompatible with the iPhone 5

Sprint confirms its HD Voice is incompatible with the iPhone 5

The new, lighter iPhone 5 has a bigger screen, punchier processor, LTE and dual-band WiFi, but if you plan to pick one up for Sprint's network, you can't have it all. Carrier spokesperson Michelle Leff Mermelstein told Phone Scoop that its version of HD Voice will not work on Apple's new wünderphone. While most carriers use WCDMA networks to achieve the greater definition, Sprint uses CDMA 1X Advanced, which unfortunately isn't compatible with the handset. Knowing the feature will be missing prior to launch isn't ideal, but when you're calling your friends to boast about that day-one purchase, a slight drop in clarity isn't likely to kill your geek buzz.

Filed under: , ,

Sprint confirms its HD Voice is incompatible with the iPhone 5 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Sep 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePhone Scoop  | Email this | Comments

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Skype is always finding new ways of making it easier for users to spend money, and now it's extending its carrier billing options in a new deal with Mach. From October, more users than ever will be able to buy credit for the VoIP service then forget about it -- at least until the phone bill arrives. Purchases will initially be available through a web browser, but in-app functionality is expected in the future, although there's no word on exactly which network providers will be involved. We hope, however, that sometime next month, at least a few of those who enjoy Skyping on the move will appreciate sending the bill to their carrier.

Continue reading Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Filed under: , ,

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |   | Email this | Comments

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Skype is always finding new ways of making it easier for users to spend money, and now it's extending its carrier billing options in a new deal with Mach. From October, more users than ever will be able to buy credit for the VoIP service then forget about it -- at least until the phone bill arrives. Purchases will initially be available through a web browser, but in-app functionality is expected in the future, although there's no word on exactly which network providers will be involved. We hope, however, that sometime next month, at least a few of those who enjoy Skyping on the move will appreciate sending the bill to their carrier.

Continue reading Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases

Filed under: , ,

Skype strikes deal with Mach to expand direct carrier billing for credit purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 07:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |   | Email this | Comments

Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted

Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted

With an opening ceremony celebrating social media and a guest appearance by the father of the world wide web, you would think the games are pretty Twitter-friendly. Well, not so much, as the hordes of London have been told to keep non-urgent texts and tweets to themselves to avoid disrupting TV coverage for those who weren't lucky enough to score beach volleyball tickets. The recommendation comes after broadcasters bumbled through the men's cycling road race due to a lack of available data from the cyclists' GPS. The information bottleneck appears to be related to one specific network and sharing the data burden has been discussed, although probably not via Twitter. The IOC knows that telling the masses not to log on likely won't have any impact -- so, what's next for the data haters.

Filed under: ,

Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Shocker! Three’s unlimited data adopters use lots of 3G

Shocker! Three's unlimited data adopters use lots of 3G

Three, a UK mobile network provider specializing in unlimited data packages, has reported that its customers are talking full advantage of their plans. Specifically, the average monthly usage has more than doubled this summer (we use the term loosely) from 450MB to 1.1GB over the same period last year. Smartphone users are understandably the healthiest eaters, sucking down around 1.5GB per month. With the BBC continuing to expand its 3G offerings and an undoubted increase in tablet use, tethering and the like, we imagine these figures are far from their peak. With 4G on the horizon, will Three regret positioning itself as the great provider; or, like Sprint over in the US, will it stand its ground for the sake of an advantage?

Continue reading Shocker! Three's unlimited data adopters use lots of 3G

Filed under: , ,

Shocker! Three's unlimited data adopters use lots of 3G originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 13:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThree  | Email this | Comments

Google badmouths HTTP behind its back, proposes SPDY as a speedy successor

Google badmouths HTTP behind its back, proposes SPDY as a speedy successor

If there's anything that Google doesn't like, it's things that collect dust. The company is famous for its annual spring cleaning efforts, in which the firm rids itself of redundant and dead-end projects, along with more bullish moves, such as its push to overhaul the internet's DNS system. Now it's looking to replace HTTP with a new protocol known as SPDY, and to that end, it's demonstrating the potential speed gains that one might expect on a mobile network. According to the company's benchmarks, mean page load times on the Galaxy Nexus are 23 percent faster with the new system, and it hypothesizes that further optimizations can be made for 3G and 4G networks. To its credit, Google has already implemented SPDY in Chrome, and the same is true for Firefox and Amazon Silk. Even Microsoft appears to be on-board. As a means to transition, the company proposes an Apache 2.2 module known as mod_spdy, which allows web servers to take advantage of features such as stream multiplexing and header compression. As for HTTP, it's no doubt been a reliable companion, but it seems that it'll need to work a bit harder to earn its keep. Stay weird, Google, the internet wouldn't be the same without you.

Google badmouths HTTP behind its back, proposes SPDY as a speedy successor originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 May 2012 14:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceGoogle Developers Blog  | Email this | Comments