4g

Motorola has a new 4G smartphone up its sleeve but has turned the device's name into a guessing game.

Hinting about the device on its Facebook page, the company is asking people to identify the phone. Promising a new clue each day all week, Motorola has so far revealed that the new smartphone will support 4G LTE.

The answer is due this Friday, giving people just a couple more days to decide. But more clues many not be needed.… Read more

Sprint customers in parts of the San Francisco Bay Area seem to already be getting a taste of the carrier's LTE network.

The company has been hard at work doling out LTE access to certain parts of the country. The launch has so far focused mostly on smaller markets rather than larger cities, but a rumored rollout in the San Francisco Bay Area appears to be running ahead of schedule.

Sprint customers in the Bay area have been tipping off the Android Police enthusiast site about getting 4G LTE connections on their devices. One user around the Palo Alto … Read more

You don't need any accessories to catch up on Friday's top tech stories:

A new service called Dyle picks up live, local TV signals to watch on your mobile device. The first with this service is the MetroPCS Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G. But if you rather not drop $460 right now for a phone, iOS users may have another option this fall when Dyle attachments are expected to go on sale.

No price has been set, but the attachments could cost, at most, $150. And the service from then on is free. Would you pay for an … Read more

Nobody looking at the long antenna sprouting from MetroPCS' new Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G would suggest that Samsung's bringing sexy back, but for TV lovers, the throwback has a purpose.

The prepaid carrier and Samsung teamed up to introduce the Dyle Mobile TV service, which delivers live, local broadcast TV over Metro's 4G LTE network. The service is free once you buy the phone.

Dyle has been in the works for years, and is certainly an interesting. Now how about the Lightray itself?

The Android 2.3 Gingerbread handset is a version of U.S. Cellular's … Read more

HTC's planned turnaround is going to take a lot longer than expected.

The struggling smartphone company posted a second-quarter profit of NT$7.4 billion, or US$247 million, nearly a 60 percent decline from its year-earlier profit of NT$17.5 billion, or US$584.3 million.

Revenue for the Taiwanese company fell by more than a quarter to NT$91.04 billion, or US$3.04 billion.

The results underscore a growing trend in the smartphone business: that virtually everyone but Apple and Samsung is struggling to grow amid intense competition. HTC's One series of phones … Read more

After a long wait, Research In Motion has unveiled its 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook.

The device will be available to Canadian customers first and come with 32GB of storage. If LTE is not available, the tablet will "automatically adjust to connect on HSPA+," RIM says. The tablet will be available to Bell, Rogers, and TELUS customers in Canada.

The 4G LTE-equipped PlayBook comes with the same 7-inch display as its predecessor, and includes both front- and rear-facing HD video cameras. HDMI out and stereo speakers are also included. On the software side, users can expect the same operating … Read more

Apple will be able to ramp up enough units of the iPhone 5 to at least satisfy sales estimates, according to J.P. Morgan's Mark Moskowitz.

In a report out today, the analyst said his firm expects Apple to announce the new iPhone in September and then follow up with a volume rollout in October. Despite concerns over supply constraints for the phone's display and casing, J.P. Morgan's Asia Tech team doesn't see any "major limitation or hurdle" standing in the way of a strong year-end push for the iPhone 5.

Even assuming … Read more

Looking to slash your smartphone bill? Prepaid services that resell service from the nationwide carriers at big discounts may be your answer.

There are now several prepaid services available that resell nationwide carriers' 3G wireless services. The benefits to these plans are huge. Customers can still get access to hot new smartphones and reliable networks with nationwide coverage at a fraction of the price that they'd pay subscribing to a service from AT&T or Verizon Wireless. Of course, there are a few downsides to these prepaid services. Still, as I explain in this edition of Ask Maggie, … Read more

Many iPod Touch owners harbor a secret dream of using their devices as iPhones, bypassing long-term contracts and pricey service agreements in favor of cheap/free calls via Vonage, Skype, and other voice-over-IP apps.

Just one problem: Wi-Fi ain't everywhere. Without it, iPods can't make calls, stream media, play online games, or do any of that other good stuff.

One possible solution: the FreedomPop iPod Touch 4G Sleeve, a case that adds 4G wireless capabilities to your iPod.

Sound familiar? Back in May, FreedomPop started taking preorders for its FreedomSleeve, a $99 iPhone 4/4S case offering WiMax-based … Read more