News about ATT:
LG Thrill 4G announced
The world of 4G phones are getting populated by the day, and here we have the LG Thrill 4G that will be made available as an exclusive hanset to AT&T retail stores throughout the US albeit in the coming months. It will feature high-speed integration of dual-core/dual-channel 1GHz RAM that is more than capable of handling 4G speeds, delivering a powerful smartphone experience regardless of where yo are.
AT&T Introduces the HTC HD7S and the LG Thrill
Just to let you know, I am at CTIA Spring 2011 in Orlando, Florida. CTIA is a big tradeshow where many of the mobile tech-related business put themselves on display. It would appear that AT&T has jumped the gun with big mobile announcements as they unveiled two new phones that they will carry.
Motorola ATRIX 4G announced
Motorola’s upcoming Android 2.2 Froyo-powered handset, the ATRIX 4G, is set to light up the smartphone world – that’s a given, and we are pleased to bring you news of its availability while it is hot off the press. Available for pre-sales a day before Valentine’s (that is February 13 just in case you do not own a calendar), it will cost you as much as other high-end Android-powered smartphones, that is, $199.99 with a two-year service agreement.
AT&T prices its Samsung Galaxy Tab at last
The tablet market is certainly heating up, and AT&T will be carrying the Samsung Galaxy Tab as well (not to mention most of the other major carriers Stateside), where they have slated November 21st to be the launch date – making it arrive more than a month before Christmas, perhaps in anticipation of a mad rush for this during the Christmas season? You will have to dig relatively deep though, as the Galaxy Tab is no impulse purchase at a $649.99 price point.
AT&T and Apple to deliver Apple iPad
So the iPad has already proven itself to be a success since it was released earlier this year, with many other hardware manufacturers around the world jumping in on the tablet craze as well. Well, it doesn’t hurt to see the iPad being made available elsewhere throughout the country which will surely play some role in making sure the iPad ends up with even higher sales figures in due time. Both AT&T and Apple have announced that all three iPad Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available at over 2,200 AT&T Stores from Thursday, October 28th onwards. Not only that, AT&T will offer customers 3G pre-paid data plans for iPad, alongside Apple’s easy on-device activation and management. Unlike smartphone plans, all iPad data plans are available without the need for a term contract and you aren’t skimped either since they include unlimited access to AT&T’s 23,000+ domestic Wi-Fi Hot Spots.
Microsoft unveils three AT&T phones for the United States
Microsoft is having a field day making announcements about Windows Phone 7 left and right, and they have revealed ten new phones for 30 countries. Three of these new phones are for AT&T.
AT&T ‘U-verse mobile app’ available for download
AT&T have announced that its ‘AT&T U-verse’ mobile app is now available at the app store. The app gives U-verse subscribers the ability to download and watch TV on their iPhone; making AT&T ‘the first TV provider to offer an integrated mobile app that allows you to … [visit site to read more]
Handy Light for iPhone’s dirty little secret: tethering (video)
You may ask yourself, why on earth would anyone pay 99 cents for an iPhone app whose sole purpose is to flash bright, solid colors? We certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but Handy Light has a great little Easter egg that undoubtedly doesn’t jive with the folks at Cupertino HQ. Like Nullriver’s Netshare app before it, this little piece of software allows for SOCKS proxy tethering, without having to sign up for AT&T’s tethering plan. Instructions available via the video below, and if you’re looking to pick up the app yourself, better hurry — we can’t imagine Apple will let this one stay in the store for very much longer. Read the rest of this entry »
AT&T announces Sharp FX quick messaging phone
Hmmm, looks like the Sidekick is not quite dead yet with AT&T announcing the availability of the Sharp FX quick messaging phone this coming July 25th. This will be the first quick messaging handset from Sharp on the AT&T network, while making it the latest AT&T Mobile TV-capable device that is lined up to rock and roll in the US market. What you get here would be a whole full touchscreen for your fingers to slide all over, not to mention a slide-out QWERTY keyboard which will definitely make life a whole lot easier if you are one who wants to send out text messages and emails in a flurry while not having gotten used to a virtual keyboard just yet. Of course, instant messaging and social networking also comes into the picture with the Sharp FX to make sure you will never be left behind at all times, while an MP3 player, a 2-megapixel digital camera with camcorder capability and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity rounds off the list of features.
Apple discussed Verizon switch ‘at least half a dozen times,’ and other stories about its AT&T relationship
“An iPhone, an iPhone, my carrier’s reputation for an iPhone.” Grab a cup of coffee and get yourself comfortable, fans of behind-the-scenes industry drama. Wired has published an exhaustive and fascinating expose on the “loveless celebrity marriage” that is Apple and AT&T — all from sources familiar with the matters but who cannot (or will not) be named, of course. In other words, don’t take this as gospel, but frankly, none of this sounds too crazy or outside the realm of what we’ve already surmised ourselves. In brief, the two companies have been contentious towards one another since just after the iPhone was unveiled. For AT&T’s part, the carrier was reportedly taken aback when its requests (delivered by Senior VP Kris Rinne) to restrict YouTube’s bandwidth usage (or make it WiFi-only) while the network infrastructure was built up fell on deaf ears in Cupertino. Word has it Apple also refused to allow its devices to be used in campaigns to combat Verizon’s Map for That ads: “It was [effective] because of AT&T’s network. We would have been letting them use the iPhone to put lipstick on a pig,” remarked one anonymous Apple exec.
Sharp keeps going with the Sidekick look, intros FX for AT&T
Sharp, you see, hasn’t had much luck with its North American phone efforts as of late — they’ve made almost all of the now-dead Sidekick series, and the Kin… well, you know how that ended up working out. So on that note, we seriously wish these guys the very best of luck with their first non-Sidekick, non-Kin entry in the US market in as long as we can remember: the FX for AT&T (which looks curiously like a Sidekick, actually). This puppy pairs a touchscreen with a QWERTY slide and just a 2 megapixel camera — not particularly high-end — but interestingly also features support for AT&T’s FLO TV-based Mobile TV service, making it a nice upgrade for Quickfire users. It’ll be available next Sunday, July 25 for $99.99 on contract after $50 mail-in rebate; in the meantime, follow the break for the full press release. Read the rest of this entry »
Samsung Captivate now shipping from AT&T, right on cue
Sure, the Samsung Vibrant came out three days earlier, but you don’t care if T-Mobile customers beat you to the Galaxy S punch — you’re on AT&T, and it’s about time you had (another) high-end Android smartphone to call your own. Our recent hands-on showed it was a bit sluggish, so you might want to wait for our full review, but if your heart’s set on that 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and 1GHz Hummingbird core, you’re only two clicks away from adding the Android 2.1 handset to your virtual shopping cart. Click one is our source link, immediately below.
AT&T bonds two phone lines to extend U-verse’s reach, ensure it is the 98th caller
Like your average teenager, AT&T has recognized the power in using two phone lines to cheaply extend its reach and influence. Pair bonding technology expands U-verse’s reach by sending the signal over two copper phone lines at once and was supposed to roll out back in ’08. No word what caused the delay, but that it’s a cheaper option than putting more “shovels in the ground” should keep costs down and Randall Stephenson happy. According to AT&T, that extra distance (about 1,000 to 2,000 extra feet from neighborhood nodes) will help expand availability to 30 million households by the end of next year, so if you’ve been waiting for some Total Home DVR / Xbox 360 Mediaroom / mobile U-verse (once the latter two actually launch, of course) action but live a block or two too far outside the radius then things are looking up. The bad news? It won’t add bandwidth for the compression issues or lack of additional HD streams Home Theater Review noted, and definitely won’t help you score concert tickets during the top 8 at 8. Read the rest of this entry »
Apple: iPhone 4 drops ‘less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS’
It’s fairly obvious that the howls around the web for Apple to address this antenna issue has gotten underneath the skin of one Steve Jobs, and in a fashion that’s very much unlike Apple (or AT&T, for that matter), the aforesaid CEO has actually handed out a bit of hard data surrounding dropped calls on the iPhone 4. According to Jobs, AT&T won’t reveal the exact amount of call drops for competitive reasons, but they did manage to push out a meaningful delta. As of today, they’ve noticed that the “iPhone 4 drops less than one additional call per 100 than the 3GS.” In other words, the iPhone 4 has actually been dropping more calls than the 3GS in the three weeks that the former has been on the market. Of course, Steve’s also playing up the fact that just a fraction of a percent of all buyers have bothered to call in about their bout with dropped calls (and why would you, knowing there’s no cure?), but it’s still interesting to finally get some cold, hard facts on this disaster. Even if it’s but a snippet. Read the rest of this entry »
HTC pulls sideload-capable Sync app for AT&T’s Aria
We suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, but we’re still disappointed to see that HTC has pulled the version its Sync app that had been posted late last week with support for sideloading of Android apps on AT&T’s Aria, seemingly by mistake. Given that the new version of Sync had never been accompanied by an over-the-air firmware update to enable non-Market app installations from the phone itself, this seems to totally confirm what had been suspected all along: it was nothing more than a mix-up, and AT&T hasn’t approved any sweeping changes in its branded Android philosophy. Considering the excitement and buzz this whole thing generated, we can still hope AT&T has a change of heart, of course — but in light of everything we know, we certainly wouldn’t get our hopes up.
Dell Streak very likely coming to AT&T any day now
You may have heard chatter recently that Dell’s Streak is destined for AT&T as soon as July 19 — and now, with a little dot-connecting, we’re pretty much on board with that theory. We’ve just been tipped with some images of a corporate-owned AT&T store where contractors are in the process of installing new kiosks in the “Smartphones” area of the floor under tight security; they’ve apparently been made to sign NDAs and a number of employees “are already on the chopping block” for trying to figure out what it is. We suppose it could be something Captivate-related, but considering the level of security here, we think it’s something much bigger. Like 5 inches or so, if you catch our drift. Catch another shot after the break. Read the rest of this entry »
Wozniak on iPhone 4: “It’s like the AT&T dead zone has been extended”
In the run up to Apple’s iPhone 4 press conference tomorrow the last thing they needed was more bad publicity about the fourth-gen smartphone’s poor antenna performance. Unfortunately, hot on the heels of Bloomberg’s report that a senior engineer warned Apple management back in 2009 that the iPhone 4’s design would cause signal problems, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has waded in with a little criticism of his own. Asked about his own iPhone 4’s performance, Wozniak said his own casual testing suggested that the smartphone’s problem “only occurs in some places” and that it was “like the AT&T dead zone has been extended with this new phone.”
AT&T Dell Streak due Monday July 19th?
According to the latest rumors leaking out to BGR, AT&T are planning to launch the US-spec version of the Dell Streak on Monday July 19th. The 5-inch Android tablet has been on sale in the UK since early June, with no official word on a US launch at the time aside from the promise that it would drop “later this summer”.
AT&T Samsung Captivate unboxing & first-impressions
AT&T’s Captivate is the first of Samsung’s Galaxy S series smartphones to reach the US, and our review unit has just dropped onto the test bench. Packing a 4-inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor and 16GB of onboard storage, AT&T’s latest Android device marks a reasonably significant style departure from the original European Galaxy S, though you still get Android 2.1 and TouchWiz 3.0. Check out the unboxing and our first impressions of the AT&T Samsung Captivate after the cut.
EVO 4G shortages may hurt 4G adoption, Sprint gives customers in seven new cities the chance to be disappointed
Apple class-action over AT&T iPhone lock gets green-light
More iPhone class-action suit excitement this week, but this time it’s nothing so measly as dodgy reception. Instead, a federal judge has ruled that a monopoly abuse suit against Apple and their US carrier partner AT&T can go ahead, covering anybody who bought an AT&T iPhone (with two-year agreement) since the first-gen model’s release in 2007. According to the suit, because of Apple’s long-term – quoted at five years – exclusivity agreement with AT&T, buyers were in fact locked into five year rather than two year relationships with the carrier.
HTC EVO 4G shortages undermine Sprint’s WiMAX advantage admits Hesse
Sprint’s patchy stock of the HTC EVO 4G has limited the impact of their early entrance into the 4G market, according to CEO Dan Hesse, telling the WSJ that “we thought we would have more of a head start than we’ll end up having.” HTC says the delay in handsets is down to shortages in stocks of components like touchscreens, and that they’re looking to new suppliers to boost production capacity; according to HTC spokesman Keith Nowak, the company is even monitoring flights to the US to get last-minute shipping space for the EVO 4G – and the Verizon Droid Incredible, similarly in short supply – as it rolls fresh off the production line and thus speed up availability.
Confirmed: HTC Sync lets tethered AT&T Aria sideload apps
Looks like more than HTC’s description was erroneous yesterday afternoon — we’ve just confirmed that the HTC Sync desktop client for the AT&T Aria allows users to install third-party apps on non-rooted devices, just as promised. We ran some quick tests, and while it doesn’t actually enable anything on the handset end, it most certainly does allow those of you with Windows PCs (or VMware) to sideload APKs like Swype over USB with a simple drag-and-drop maneuver. Given how quickly the company sought to correct our original post on the subject, we’d expect HTC will be issuing a rather different version of the software soon, so hit up that source link, pound in your serial number, grab the EXE, and get while the getting’s good.
AT&T handing out free 3G MicroCells to loyal customers?
While we’ve no clue how widespread AT&T’s generosity is, or how you might get one, it appears that the company’s “most valuable customers” are now receiving free range-boosting femtocells. Today, loyal reader Jason got a old-fashioned paper letter in the mail, offering his iPhone-wielding family a 3G MicroCell with no strings attached. Driving down to the local AT&T store, he got the product, but the dumbfounded reps offered no explanation why. Though his calls do frequently drop at home, Jason says he wasn’t terribly vocal about the issue and only pays around $180 per month for his family plan — the only thing that might possibly qualify him, in his opinion, is that his contract was set to expire. We’ve reached out to AT&T for more information; in the meanwhile, see Jason’s letter after the break.
HTC Aria update for AT&T enables mobile hotspot, sideloaded app support (update: disappointment)
Well, this is genuinely awesome: it seems AT&T is pulling back from its ban on third-party sideloaded apps on its Android devices, because HTC has just released an Aria update that enables them (either that or HTC just went rogue here, but we highly doubt it). While that doesn’t have much practical implication for your typical smartphone user, it’s a strong sign that AT&T might be ready to take a more reasonable stance on the openness of its branded devices that would put it inline with the attitudes Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have all taken with their Android phones so far. Additionally, the update includes “the Mobile Network sharing function,” which we take to mean a mobile hotspot app in the same vein as the one that’s shipping with Froyo — if we had to guess, it probably requires AT&T’s 2GB DataPro plan plus the tethering add-on, which would put it in line with what they’re charging on the iPhone. Onward and upward, AT&T.
iPhone AT&T exclusivity lawsuit granted class-action certification, every AT&T iPhone customer included
Hey, remember that iPhone class-action lawsuit we poked around in a couple months ago and discovered Apple’s lawyers confirming the original five year AT&T exclusivity agreement? Well, get ready to hear about it a lot more in the months to come, as the judge in the case has officially certified the case as a class action, meaning it now officially includes anyone who’s ever bought an iPhone on AT&T. If you’ll recall, the argument is that iPhone customers signed up for a two-year contract without being told that AT&T had an exclusive for five years — thus in reality being held to the carrier for an additional three years without recourse. Sure, that sounds a little silly, but if you bought the first-gen iPhone and wanted to stick with the platform it’s the truth — discounting the fact, of course, that no one’s required to buy another Phone after two years, and even then you have to sign a new contract. While we’re definitely curious to see if the plaintiffs can get past that little logical hurdle and win something more than a token settlement, we’re far more interested to see if they can get any more documentation from Apple nailing down its actual agreement with AT&T. Should be juicy — we’ll keep you in the loop. Read the rest of this entry »
Samsung Captivate’s retail package in the wild (update: just the phone, too)
You’ve got a little over a week to wait before these things officially go on sale, but if you want a preview of what you’ll get when you buy a Captivate at your local AT&T retailer, look no further than the shot above. Interesting how the front of the box clearly calls it out as “a Galaxy S phone,” isn’t it?
How-to: resize your SIM, change your APN, and drink the sweet nectar of mobile freedom
Myriam Joire (tnkgrl) was born wearing combat boots and holding a keyboard; moments later she picked up a soldering iron. She’s been stomping, typing and hacking ever since. In her regular series, she’ll share her tips, tricks, and mods on everything from phones to netbooks — and be sure to catch her weekly on the Engadget Mobile podcast.
Samsung Captivate coming to AT&T on July 18 for $200
We’ve just gotten official word that the Captivate — AT&T’s rendition of Samsung’s global Galaxy S line of high-end Android phones — will be available starting Sunday, July 18 for $199 on contract with no rebate required. That pricing is more or less what we’d expected considering that T-Mobile priced the Vibrant the same way — and if rumors of T-Mobile’s launch date bump are true, the Captivate won’t be the first kid on the block. Still, all four US nationals are getting this thing pretty shortly, which is an extremely impressive Android coup for the boys and girls over at Sammy. Stay tuned for a review just as soon as we can make it happen. Read the rest of this entry »
Samsung Captivate hits AT&T July 18th
AT&T has confirmed launch dates for the Samsung Captivate, their version of the Super AMOLED Galaxy S smartphone. The Captivate will arrive on AT&T on July 18th, priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement (including a voice plan and $15 data package add-on).
AT&T blame Alcatel-Lucent HSUPA kit for sluggish uploads
AT&T has blamed software bugs in Alcatel-Lucent HSUPA hardware for the apparent 3G upload throttling observed by some users in the US recently. According to the AT&T statement, Alcatel-Lucent are working on a software fix for the bug – which is affecting less than 2-percent of AT&T’s customers, the carrier claims – but until then users with HSUPA-capable devices will be limited to regular 3G UMTS upload speeds.
AT&T identifies Alcatel-Lucent as slow upload culprit, fix in the works
As we’d suspected, AT&T isn’t intentionally limiting upload speeds on iPhone 4s in some markets where things suddenly got slow over the weekend. Or that’s the company’s claim, anyhow — and seeing how they’re actually calling out a supplier in the process, we tend to buy it. Specifically, AT&T says that some Alcatel-Lucent equipment (which isn’t used in all markets) is causing uploads to fall back to non-HSUPA UMTS speeds “under certain conditions” affecting “less than two percent” of the company’s customers, and that they’re working on developing a fix. “Less than two percent” seems a bit optimistic, but regardless, at least it shouldn’t be a permanent condition for anyone. Here’s the full statement: Read the rest of this entry »
BlackBerry 9670, 9800 and 9300 get video fondle
It’s BlackBerry leak time again, and today it’s a trio of new RIM devices that have made their way in video form to Salomondrin. His anonymous tipster has sent hands-on overviews of the BlackBerry 9670 Clamshell, BlackBerry 9800 Slider and the BlackBerry 9300 (which basically adds 3G to the 8520).
AT&T having HSPA upload speed problems in some markets
There’s now a rather meaty thread on Mac Rumors‘ forums detailing problems that iPhone 4 users have had with miserably slow upload speeds in HSPA-equipped AT&T markets — speeds that had in some cases been well over 1Mbps before the holiday weekend but have since fallen to 100kbps or lower. A popular theory is that AT&T decided to cap speeds in light of the iPhone 4′s success and the danger it poses to network oversaturation, but we’re not buying it — 100kbps is ridiculously slow for an HSUPA-enabled network, even a heavily-used one, and there are huge markets (LA, for example) that seemingly aren’t affected. We don’t know what’s going on, but we’ve reached out to AT&T for comment and we’ll let you know what’s up as soon as we do. Read the rest of this entry »
AT&T upload throttling frustrates iPhone 4 owners
Speculation among iPhone 4 owners has suggested that carrier AT&T have begun capping 3G upload speeds, with some users reporting a tenfold reduction in rates. The company has made no official statement as yet, but in certain areas where previously speeds in excess of 1Mbps were being recorded, now sub-100kbps rates are more likely. It’s unclear whether solely iPhone 4 owners are being affected, or if all AT&T devices are seeing the same throttling.
iPhone 4 jailbreak and unlock coming soon
An all-devices jailbreak that will liberate the iPhone 4 from its Apple lock and permit the installation of unofficial third-party software – among other things – has been promised as imminent by one of the iPhone Dev Team, who has confirmed that the group’s next release will address the fourth-generation smartphone. MuscleNerd revealed that the next jailbreak app will work in a similar way to Spirit, addressing all devices, all bootroms and the latest official Apple firmware, with a “painless install”.
Windows Phone 7 Launch Date Expected for July 24th as AT&T Signage Appears?
Since we got a whiff of Windows Phone 7, there has been a fair amount of speculation regarding a release date. There was a hint that an October Telstra launch was on the cards with some even expecting the Window Phone 7 to be released this … [visit site to read more]
AT&T stores getting Windows Phone 7 retail materials, launch coming sooner than expected?
Microsoft’s mobile efforts may look like they’re slightly in disarray after the expensive and embarrassing Kin debacle, but it looks like Windows Phone 7 may yet emerge unscathed from the chaos — and potentially even earlier than expected, if this sheet of AT&T retail signage that’s being sent out for a July 24th store overhaul is to be believed. Don’t get too excited, however: we’re told that cards like this have hit in July for September launches in the past — which would line up with that hint of an October Telstra launch — and that the “QTY: 6″ label likely points to two devices, not a sextuplet. (We’d guess… Samsung and LG?) Either way, it would be a big win for Microsoft if it can manage to get Windows Phone 7 in store shelves before that promised “holiday 2010″ due date — we’ll see what happens. Read the rest of this entry »
Pre Plus and Pixi Plus free on contract, with free accessories, too
What we really want from HP is a brand new webOS smartphone, but it’d be unfair to say we’d “settle” for a Palm Pre — especially at prices like these. To commemorate the opening of the new HP Wireless store, the company’s offering both Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, on AT&T or Verizon, free of charge for a limited time. Not only that, but these handsets feature free shipping, and the Pre comes with free accessories (including a Bluetooth headset, car charger and leather case) to boot. Meanwhile, Sprint’s still sitting in the corner all alone, expecting folks to slap down cash money (up to $100) for these handsets’ original incarnations. If you’ve been considering these devices already, it seems that now’s the time to choose… but before you sign your life away, why not read our full review? Read the rest of this entry »
