Tag Archives: wireless

AT&T and Sprint announce 4G LTE market expansion

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Verizon flipped on its 4G LTE service back in December 2010 and since then it’s rather quickly spread to 190 million US cities and 118 million major airports, covering more than 200 million Americans. At long last, the time has come for the competition to throw their hats into the ring.

In early September, AT&T launched their 4G LTE service in 5 markets (Chicago, Atlanta, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston) to complement its HSPA+ network (also known as “faux-G”). Later in November they expanded to eleven additional markets including Athens, Ga., Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. On January 5, AT&T added another eleven markets to the mix, and they’re big ones: New York City metro area, Austin, Chapel Hill, Los Angeles, Oakland, Orlando, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Ma Bell calculates that this addition makes AT&T 4G LTE available in a total of 26 markets to 74 million consumers. The company expects its 4G LTE deployment to be mostly complete by the end of 2013.

And then there’s Sprint. They’ve been innovating behind Verizon and AT&T, only just announcing their first major markets to receive 4G LTE. Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio will be the first four markets to see the faster speeds in the first half of 2012. Sprint is also working on boosting their 3G speeds as well. They call it Network Vision: “Sprint customers can expect to enjoy ultra-fast data speeds, improved 3G voice and data quality, and stronger in-building signal penetration providing a more reliable wireless experience…everyone in the upgraded areas is expected to benefit from the advanced 3G/4G LTE network.”

With 4G LTE markets spreading across America like wildfire from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint, consumers can expect new smartphones to release this year that take advantage of the faster voice and data speeds that 4G provides. Rumor has it that the next iPhone will in fact be compatible on VZW, at least. Now that AT&T isn’t allowed to swallow T-Mobile, the network that made popular the Sidekick is going to have to act quickly if they want to remain the race; their speedy HSPA+ network won’t stand a chance once the other three carriers are boasting their expansive 4G LTE ones. Let the games begin.

[Via AT&T; Sprint]

Sony intros wireless stereo headset for PS3 users

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Is that minuscule Bluetooth headset Sony outed in November not good enough for you? Sony has invented a heavier duty headset for the audiophile living in all of us. The official PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset features 7.1 virtual surround sound that “lets you hear all the minor in-game audio clues clearly” and was “designed with comfort in mind for hours of gameplay.” The cans, which also feature a retractable mic, connect to the console via the included USB Wireless Adapter. Volume controls and microphone mute are easily accessible on the headset itself, and gamers will see “on-screen headset status updates” that provide battery status. The headset goes on sale this September for a cool $99.99.

[Via PlayStationBlog]

Verizon details its 4G LTE network

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Today Verizon announced that it will be turning on its blazingly fast 4G LTE wireless network on Sunday, December 5.  The mobile operator claims it will be “the fastest and most advanced 4G network” in the country.  They are starting small but the long-term plan is to eventually replace the current 3G network with 4G LTE (or Long Term Evolution).  The network is initially launching in 38 major cities, including New York, Chicago, San Fransisco, and Los Angeles, and in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast.  They say it will immediately reach more than one-third of all Americans, and they expect the expansion to reach all current 3G areas by 2013.  They are using the 700MHz spectrum for LTE deployment in the US to insure a “high-quality” network with “excellent coverage.”  4G LTE boasts speeds up to 10x times faster than 3G and a response time that’s over 2x faster.  Faster speeds and reduced lag time promise better upload and download times, smoother video streaming and video chat, and sharing options.  Verizon says customers can expect 5-12Mbps on the downlink and 2-5Mbps on the uplink.  That’s pretty damn fast; compare those numbers to current 3G speeds (0.6-1.4Mbps download and 0.5Mbps upload).  It’s also faster than the competition; it bests AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ (1-7Mbps download) and Sprint’s WiMAX (3-6Mbps download).

When Verizon officially launches its 4G LTE network this Sunday, customers will only have the option to use from two USB modems to hook up their laptops wirelessly to the network.  Verizon says “consumer-oriented handsets” (aka cell phones and tablet devices) that will harness the new network will be available by mid-2011 and will be announced at CES.  The LG VL600 (available on launch day) and Pantech UML290 (available “soon”) USB modems will each cost $99 after a $50 rebate and with a new two-year agreement.  The data plan pricing is as follows: $50/month for 5GB monthly allowance, $80/month for 10GB.  You’ll have to pay $10/GB in overage charges if you use up the allowance.  There’s no cap on overages, a nice touch I guess.  Both modems are backwards-compatible with Verizon’s 3G network.  If you lose 4G reception the modem will automatically switch to 3G speeds on the fly.  3G to 4G does not work that way; if you move from the slower network to the faster one the switch will only take place once 3G downloads are complete.

And that about sums up today’s announcements.  When the network goes live on Sunday, Verizon will provide street level coverage area maps so you can find out if you’re blanketed by 4G LTE.  Be sure to look after the break for the official PR which includes a full listing of all cities and airports included in the initial launch window.

Update: It’s been confirmed that Verizon will offer the 4G LTE service off-contract, too.  The monthly rates and overage fees remain the same; what becomes more expensive is the upfront cost for the USB modem.  Instead of paying $99, you’ll be forced to pay$249.99 for a modem if you decide to enter the 4G world contract-less.

[Via Verizon; Engadget] Continue reading Verizon details its 4G LTE network →

High tech gun requires its handler to wear a wristwatch

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This sleek, futurisic looking gun does not match the unattractive watch it must be paired with in order for it to fire.  The gun flashes a red LED light to reveal it’s unarmed when the watch is not in close distance to it.  If the shooter is wearing the custom watch the gun becomes armed when a wireless signal is shared between the two mechanisms, and this is confirmed with a green LED light.  It’s an electronic safety, if you will.  Armatix’s .22ca gun ships in February for about $10,000.

[Via Gizmodo; Wired]

Clock displays your energy usage; may promote it

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The Energy Aware Clock shows you the time (obviously) and your energy use by way of cool visualziations on its front display.  This concept device somehow wireless connects to your power meter and shows in real-time your energy consumption fluxuate with blue spikes.  Although the idea itself is interesting and could work, I feel it may cause more energy consumption, at least initially, because who won’t want to show off the awesome blue visualizations, right?

The clock is created by Swedish designers Loove Broms, Karin Ehrnberger, and Sara Llstedt Hjelm and will be shown off at Design September Brussels 2009.

[Via Gizmodo; DVICE]