Tag Archives: vzw

J Lo partners with Verizon to launch Viva Movil, a Latino-focused retail chain

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J Lo partners with Verizon to launch Viva Movil, a Latinofocused retail chain

Today at CTIA 2013, Verizon announced an exclusive partnership with Jennifer Lopez to create a mobile company catered to the Latino market. Called Viva Movil, the new entity will be headed by Lopez and boasts Big Red, Brightstar and Moorehead Communications as partners. The idea behind this venture is to offer an enriched customer retail experience with specialized stores that feature device demos, dedicated play areas for children, bilingual staff and online options will be available on the company's site, which went live today. Since Verizon is the exclusive wireless partner, it's a safe bet that we'll see devices that are branded to the carrier, albeit with a different marketing approach. As majority stakeholder and "kind of the Chief Creative Officer," J Lo has a large amount of interest in the company's success; in fact, the A-list celeb is sweetening the launch with her own exclusive line of smartphone accessories. The first store is slated to open mid-June, with more coming before the end of the year in other densely-populated Latino areas.

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Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean update incoming for Verizon’s Galaxy Nexus, rollout to begin ‘in phases’ today

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Android 422 Jelly Bean update incoming for Verizon's Galaxy Nexus, rollout to begin 'in phases' today

Verizon's Galaxy Nexus is largely considered to be the (Big) Redheaded stepchild of the Nexus line, lagging behind its purebred bretheren in the update department. But the delays are getting shorter and, as the carrier's just confirmed, users should begin to see Android 4.2.2 rolling out to their handsets as early as today. Initially released back in February, this Jelly Bean update brings with it the ability to snap 360-degree photospheres, various camera UI improvements (i.e., filters and borders), lockscreen widgets and a Swype-like Gesture keyboard. It's set to be released gradually, so don't despair if that OTA update notification takes a few days to make itself known.

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Source: Verizon Wireless

Verizon hoping to launch cheaper LTE-only phones in late 2014, bid good riddance to 3G

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Verizon to look at launching cheaper LTEonly phones, with no 2G or 3G support, in late 2014

A pure LTE world is still a long, long way off. But some countries and carriers could get there quicker than others, and indeed Verizon has revealed that it's considering launching LTE-only handsets, with no CDMA chip, within the next couple of years. Speaking to analysts at a recent Deutsche Bank event, the carrier's CFO, Fran Shammo, said his company's goal is to establish voice over LTE by the end of this year and then to "start to think" about pure LTE handsets in "late 2014". Shammo mentioned this possibility in the context of bringing out cheaper phones, and a general incentive for any carrier to leave 3G behind would be to avoid paying associated licensing fees to the likes of Qualcomm or Broadcom. If those savings eventually trickled down to us customers, and if we could breathe the clean air of the countryside without LTE dropping, then it'd certainly be an enticing prospect.

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Via: The Verge, CNET, FierceWireless

Source: Verizon

Verizon Selects brings targeted ads to VZ wireless customers, induces more holiday shopping

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We've grown accustomed to the creepily context-aware ads in our Gmail inboxes and we've seen targeted ads come to game consoles and printers, so naturally, it's no surprise Verizon's bringing such advertising to its mobile customers. Called Verizon Selects, it's a program rolling out to some Big Red patrons, who, should they choose to opt in, will receive tailored offers and marketing messages on their phones.

It works by using myriad user info, including location, web browsing and mobile app usage data "to create specific insights" -- i.e. VZW figures out where you go and what you like in order to shoot you appropriate ads. In order to get folks with the program, Verizon will offer those who opt in a coupon or "some other form of reward," and the company is assuaging privacy fears by allowing users to control their privacy choices on the Verizon Selects website. What say you, dear readers -- will you be opting into Big Red's new mobile marketing scheme? Sound off in the comments below.

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Via: Slashgear

Source: Verizon Wireless

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II now open to pleasures of the rooted kind

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Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note II rooted

Shame you can't do anything about that obnoxious home button branding, but thanks to the folks over at XDA you can now squeeze some root juice onto your VZW Samsung Galaxy Note II. As per usual with Sammy's Android devices, the process involves the use of Odin to flash an image before you can enjoy the perks. Do note however, the hackery only gives you superuser access -- there's no way to cram in a custom ROM just yet. Early users have reported a few issues, including busted mics, broken signal strength indicators and general slow-coach behavior, but it sounds like updates have now plugged most of those holes. You'll find the payload and instructions waiting at the source link -- just be careful not to orphan that S Pen.

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Via: Pocketnow

Source: XDA Developers

Consumer Reports: Verizon ranked the best major US carrier, AT&T ranked the worst

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Consumer Reports: Verizon ranked the best major US carrier, AT&T ranked the worst

Nothing much has changed in this year's mobile carrier satisfaction survey from Consumer Reports, with Verizon again being rated the best of the major providers, netting good scores for voice and data service quality, staff knowledge and issue resolution. The other big players also ranked in the same order this time around, with Sprint and T-Mobile following behind Big Red, and AT&T staying in last position. None of the bottom three scored particularly highly, especially in relation to voice service quality, and only four points separated them in the ratings. While AT&T had the worst value and data service quality scores, its LTE network was ranked the best of any carrier, and the least problematic. MVNO Consumer Cellular, which piggybacks on AT&T's network, didn't disappoint after last year's overall first place finish, keeping the top spot and receiving great scores all round. Full results of the survey, which polled 63,253 subscribers, will be available in Consumer Reports' January 2013 issue.

Continue reading Consumer Reports: Verizon ranked the best major US carrier, AT&T ranked the worst

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Via: USA TODAY

HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today

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HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today

It's not much of a secret at this point, but HTC and Verizon have finally made their king-sized smartphone official at today's press event: the Droid DNA, which is essentially Big Red's variant of the J Butterfly released in Japan a few weeks ago, will be offered in stores and online starting the day before Thanksgiving for $200 with a two-year commitment, but early adopters will be able to pre-order their unit today.

As you may recall, the DNA is already well known in mobile circles thanks to its 5-inch 1080p Super LCD3 display (which comes out to 440ppi), but there's plenty of other goodies that make this particular handset a rather tempting purchase for the holiday season. For instance, it's helped along by a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor (APQ8064 paired with MDM9615m, to be specific) and 2GB of RAM, and will come running Jelly Bean and HTC's Sense 4+ UI. It will also come with an 8MP f/2.0 rear camera with 28mm wide angle lens, BSI sensor, ImageChip and 1080p HD video capture. On the opposite side of the phone you can expect to see a 2.1MP f/2.0 front-facing cam that features 1080p HD video record and an 88-degree ultra-wide angle lens. By the way, all of these spiffy specs will rely on an embedded 2,020mAh battery for its power supply, but it'll have Qi-compatible wireless charging to help out when it's getting low.

HTC continues to highlight its audio prowess, as the DNA takes advantage of Beats Audio and a 2.55v built-in headset amplifier and dedicated rear speaker amp, which is geared to offer minimal distortion at maximum volume; in terms of how much multimedia you can throw on the phone, however, it comes with 16GB internal storage and no microSD slot. Rounding out the spec sheet, the DNA offers Verizon LTE, quad-band GSM and UMTS (we haven't been told if global roaming will be enabled, but we suspect so), Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX support, NFC, MHL, dual mics for noise cancelation and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (dual-band). It measures 9.73mm thick and weighs 4.86 ounces (138g). We'll update our post with Verizon's press release as soon as it's available, and our team is at this morning's event getting ready to have some quality hands-on time with the new beaut. In the meantime, you may want to think about revising your Black Friday shopping list.

Continue reading HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today

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HTC Droid DNA coming to Verizon on November 21st for $200, pre-orders begin today originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon hands-on (video)

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DNP Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon handson

Now that Microsoft's officially flooded the world with good tidings of Windows Phone 8, it's the turn of OEMs and carriers to get the word out about their own Microsoft-flavored smartphones. We finally got a chance to play with Nokia's previously leaked and recently announced Lumia 822 for Verizon, a mid-range handset similar to the Lumia 820 on AT&T and the Lumia 810 for T-Mobile that will cost $99 with a two-year contract. Availability is slated for sometime in November -- it's been a long time since we've seen a Nokia device on Verizon (sorry, but those Pantech-built models don't count), so this is rather exciting news.

Spec-wise the Lumia 822 features a 4.3-inch WVGA ClearBlack AMOLED display, an eight-megapixel autofocus Carl Zeiss camera, a 1.2MP front-facing shooter, a Qualcomm dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 processor, 1GB or RAM, 16GB of internal flash, microSD support for additional storage, and optional Qi-compatible wireless charging. Radios include CDMA and LTE for Verizon, GSM / GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / HSPA+ for global roaming, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, A-GPS and NFC.

In terms of design, the Lumia 822 is much curvier than its siblings and the battery cover doesn't wrap around the sides. The camera pod and flash placement matches the longitudinal setup from the Lumia 920 and Lumia 810 instead of the transverse layout found on the Lumia 820. At 142g (5 ounces) it's quite a hefty device, but despite being 11.2mm (0.44 inches) thick, it feels very nice in hand. Build quality is solid, which is pretty much what you'd expect from Nokia. The phone will be available in three colors: black, white and our favorite, a stunning shade of grey. See for yourself in the gallery below, and peek after the break for our hands-on video.

Gallery: Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon hands-on

Brad Molen contributed to this report.

Continue reading Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon hands-on (video)

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Nokia Lumia 822 for Verizon hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Oct 2012 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon hands-on

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon handson

So far we've had the opportunity to review the global edition of the Samsung Galaxy Note II -- as well as get our hands on three of the five variants known to be making their way to the US -- but tonight we got our first official look at Verizon's particular flavor. Not that it's much different than the rest of the crowd: it's loaded with the same specs we've seen on the N7100 model (5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display at 1,280 x 720, 3,100mAh battery and a quad-core Exynos processor clocked at 1.6GHz), with the exception of Verizon-specific LTE bands, and have the same button layout that we've come to expect. Of course, there's that hideous Verizon logo on the main button, but that's the only visual difference we could spot.

Software-wise, Verizon's version of the Note II contains the built-in apps we've gotten accustomed to with its Android phones: VZ Navigator, My Verizon Mobile, and Mobile Hotspot. The device we picked up was running Jelly Bean, like its counterparts from other carriers. Sadly, no pricing or availability is yet available for the Note II on Verizon, with reps at the Samsung event we're at saying that it's up to Verizon to loose that news.

Gallery: Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon hands-on

Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.

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Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Next-gen Casio G’zOne makes it to the FCC, reveals LTE and NFC support

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The last Casio G'zOne handheld to come our way was the Commando, a military-grade device that marked the company's first foray into Android smartphones. Now it seems there's another one in the works, at least if a recent FCC filing is any indication. The Casio C811 looks to be a successor to the aforementioned Commando, with its G'zOne branding and features like WiFi and GSM world phone capabilities. Notably, the FCC document reveals the phone has Verizon-flavored LTE plus NFC support, both of which lead us to believe it'll likely be a mid- to high-end handset. Not much else is divulged from perusing the filing, but we're sure that whatever the C811 turns out to be, it'll be just as tough and durable as the rest of Casio's G'zOne offerings.

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Next-gen Casio G'zOne makes it to the FCC, reveals LTE and NFC support originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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