Droid Life

Tag: 4G LTE

  • New Verizon Store Giving Away HTC Thunderbolt on February 12th in Grand Opening

    If you live anywhere near Northampton, MA, then you may want to plan a trip to a new Verizon retailer that’s throwing a grand opening party on February 12th.  Why?  Because they are giving away a brand new HTC Thunderbolt and letting the lucky soul who wins it walk out of the store with it that very same day.  “But, but, I thought it wasn’t coming out until the 14th?”  So did we, but they are giving one away anyway.

    Oh and for confirmation, we called the store, played really dumb, and were told that 1 person is guaranteed to walk out of the store that day with the device in hand.  We also asked really inquisitively if the device would actually be out and available to purchase by then and were told that it won’t be officially released at that time.  Fun, fun.

    Here is the store info.

    Cheers Zach!

  • Is Best Buy Hinting at $29.99 4G LTE Plans for Verizon? (Updated)

    Two of our sources mentioned to us yesterday that there was a strong possibility of Verizon launching their first 4G LTE device, the HTC Thunderbolt, with a $29.99 unlimited data plan.  It almost seems hard to believe, but with only a few cities ready to take advantage of VZW’s new network, it could easily be an introductory rate that would change as rollout to additional markets begins or so Verizon can see how much data their first set of 4G customers are consuming.  No matter what, we’d be more than happy to pay the same price for 4G data as we are currently for 3G.

    And to help aid the idea that we could be paying just $29.99 to start, one of our readers was cruising through Best Buy’s mobile phone plan page and noticed that same price and the fact that they are now listing it with both 3G and 4G under Verizon for network speeds.  Obviously we could be jumping at nothing here, but they only mention that their smartphones will require a $29.99 data plan while Sprint on the other hand, makes it clear that 4G speeds come  at a premium.

    We’re hoping to know more by next week with a possible Thunderbolt announcement.

    Update:  And just after I hit publish, we received confirmation from a 3rd source that we will indeed see $29.99 prices for 4G plans initially.  Fingers crossed, people.

    Cheers DJCyph!

  • Verizon 4G LTE Data Plans to Launch at $29.99?

    I know all of the news today has been about the new Android Market and Honeycomb, but we’ve received some other info that may make your life even more amazing should you be looking to get into a new 4G LTE device from Verizon.  According to word from our friends at Big Red, they will initially launch their 4G LTE unlimited data plan at $29.99, which is the same as the current 3G plan.  Chances are that it will change once they go completely nationwide, but the rumored plan right now is for the price to remain at $29.99.  We had actually heard this tip last week, but were waiting for a second confirmation which came just minutes ago.

    Obviously these numbers can change at any time, but we still wanted to relay info on to you that we feel has come from a reliable source.  I should also point out that we’ve heard that the data plan could be $29.99 plus a $15 add-on for 4G data, so let’s not get too crazy yet.  Be sure to send those happy thoughts towards that $29.99 price though.

    And on a related note, let’s talk about the HTC Thunderbolt again.  Our sources continue to tell us that February 24th is the day even with rumors of the 14th getting a ton of play.  I’ll just toss this idea out there to maybe help clarify the situation.  It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that February 14th ends up being the pre-order day with the 24th being the day it actually hits store shelves.  Any takers on that?

    Cheers A!

  • Monday Poll: The Most Important Smartphone Feature Today is…

    We’re about to enter a period in smartphone technology where minimum specs are going to become more important than ever.  There are so many quality options currently on and headed to the market that it has become difficult to decide which phone should be the next to grace the lining of your jean pockets.  We see a lot of conversation over whether or not this AMOLED screen is better than that qHD screen and if this single-core processor can compete with that dual-core version.  There are few phones out there that seem to completely satisfy every single one of your needs, but which one ultimately leads you to a decision?

    [poll id=”57″]

  • Motorola XOOM Confirmed for “End of February” Release, DROID BIONIC in Q2 (Updated)

    We’re listening in to Motorola’s earnings call right now and CEO Sanjay Jha just confirmed that the Motorola XOOM will definitely be out in February.  At first he said “end of February” but he’s come back on now to confirm that it will definitely be in February which could mean middle of the month.  The device as expected, will ship as a 3G device, but will be upgradeable to 4G LTE shortly there after.  We thought we heard March, but it could have been May.

    Update 3:31PM:  Sanjay was asked about gross margins for tablets and how subsidized pricing would work with them and his answer wasn’t straight-forward as you can imagine.  He actually wouldn’t confirm either way if there will be subsidy with the XOOM, but did bring up some variables they look at in the tablet market which you’ll find interesting.  He made reference to 3G/4G vs wifi-only tablets and also different sized tablets including 7″ and 10″ variants.  We may be jumping at nothing here, but it sure sounded like wifi-only and 7″ tablets are in their plans.

    Update 3:41PM:  Asked about future plans for Blur and they are as expected, still using it.  They think it helps them understand their consumers and what they want, which means they don’t read this blog nearly enough!

    Note:  I should also point out that Sanjay confirmed Q2 for the DROID BIONIC and the 4G LTE XOOM which puts them in play some time before July.  Our May date is looking good so far.

    If you are interested in their earnings numbers, you can check the press release here.

    We should point out that their Q1 2011 numbers show that they are bracing for the i*hone landing on Verizon.  Without a major release in early Q1, they are expecting to see losses of anywhere from .09 to .21 cents per share and a $26 to $62 million net loss.  The XOOM will likely help keep that number closer to the $26 million mark and then carry them through Q2 alongside the Atrix 4G.

  • HTC Thunderbolt Can Handle Data and Voice Over 3G, Why Not Announce it?

    When we broke the news that Thunderbolt training had started today, we were also tipped to the possibility that the phone could handle voice and data while on 3G.  As you all know, Verizon CDMA network was incapable of producing this in the past, but apparently they figured out a way with this new 4G device.  Our buddies over at Phandroid received additional confirmation that this is indeed the case.  If you can’t see past their watermark, the statement is below:

    There is functionality in the Thunderbolt that allows simultaneous voice and data while on the VZW 3G network, however, we cannot promise the experience will be one that is consistent with our brand.  As a result, do not reference this functionality as a benefit during your conversations with customers.

    Apparently HTC has found the breakthrough of the last 5 years for Verizon and yet they want everyone to remain silent on the matter.

    But why keep it a secret?

    We can’t help but toss this out there…can anyone think of one major reason as to why Verizon wouldn’t want their sales staff out on the floor announcing that the Thunderbolt can do voice and data at the same time?  This is HUGE news if you think about it.  AT&T constructed an entire ad campaign about their network’s voice/data capabilities in comparison to Verizon’s.  And now they’ve figured it out, but want to keep it a secret?   I wonder if it has anything to do with that other phone that comes out on February 10th and the fact that it is unable to perform such a task.  Can you imagine all the i*hone users returning to VZW stores asking why that “DROID” phone can do something theirs can’t?  Epic.

    So…who’s changed their mind and now wants a Thunderbolt?

    Source:  Phandroid

  • Rumor: DROID BIONIC and Atrix Suffering from Power Management Issues

    We had heard about power issues with the DROID BIONIC essentially on the day we returned from CES, but brushed them off as the units we used were clearly no where near finalized.  In fact, we were told that we might not see the device in the first half of 2011 because of these issues, but again, pushed our worries aside hoping that Moto would take action.  And then this week, those rumors became more visible over at Howard Forums through a couple of “trusted” members. (more…)

  • HTC Thunderbolt Training at Verizon Starts Today (Updated)

    Verizon started training their employees today (yesterday at some stores) on the HTC Thunderbolt and from the sounds of it, things are still on track for mid-February.  HTC reps still aren’t ready to confirm a date yet, but they were willing to mention next month as the current target.  They also got up in front of the VZW reps and demoed simultaneous data/voice on their 4G LTE network, which our guys can’t stop talking about.  And reps were allowed plenty of hands-on time with the device, which means we’re getting that much closer.  February is 5 days away.

    Update:  Our guy says that somehow during the demo, data/voice was done simultaneously over 3G as well.  We were skeptical at first to believe it, but Phandroid received a similar tip that it may be some new type of radio.  If that’s the case, AT&T may be ridiculously screwed as that was one of their last arguments for keeping i*hone users.

    Cheers Spaniard!