4g

Meet Coolpad's entry-level Quattro 2 4G

LAS VEGAS -- Coolpad follows up the original Quattro 4G with a new smartphone squarely targeted at budget shoppers. The Quattro 2 4G features a dual-core processor, runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and has 1GB of RAM.

The other attributes of the Quattro 2 4G are also relatively midrange, at least compared with today's cutting-edge handsets. The phone will use a 5MP camera for main photo duty and will rely on a 1,800 mAh battery for power. The screen is a large 4.5-inch LCD but sadly will have a mere qHD resolution (960 by 540 pixels). … Read more

New Android app checks 4G coverage

LAS VEGAS -- Tapping into high-speed 4G networks is a real treat, but sometimes a signal is hard to find. Mosaik's new CellMaps Mobile Coverage app for Android is here to help.

Announced today at CTIA 2013, the application lets U.S. Android phone owners see 4G footprints for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon in real time. Users can also drill down to see cellular network services in their neck of the woods or scan the overall 4G picture nationally.

Even more exciting is the application's ability to filter 4G coverage in granular details such as … Read more

Hands-on with the FreedomPop Overdrive Pro

About two weeks ago, wireless Internet provider FreedomPop introduced the Overdrive Pro, a Sprint-powered 3G/4G mobile hot spot with a tantalizing price tag: $39.99 for the hardware, 500MB of data per month absolutely free, and low rates on additional data.

FreedomPop's previous products all relied solely on Clearwire's WiMAX network, which left users like me (who live where there's no coverage) out in the cold. But the Overdrive Pro changes that, and so I was excited to test-drive one.

Which I've been doing for the past few days. The good news is the Sierra … Read more

AT&T's 4G LTE covers almost 200 million

AT&T is getting closer to its quest of covering 250 million people with 4G LTE by the end of 2013. On Monday, the carrier announced five more markets that will receive the faster 4G speeds.

The new markets are:

Manhattan, Kan. Sedalia, Mo. Warrensburg, Mo. Jacksonville, Texas Palestine, Texas

This brings AT&T's total to 212 4G LTE markets and nearly 200 million people, up from 175 LTE areas just a month ago.

Verizon's needle, meanwhile, hovers in the 500-market range.

FreedomPop introduces nationwide 3G, $40 hot spot

For a while now I've been wanting to test-drive FreedomPop, the wireless Internet provider that offers, among other things, 500MB of free mobile data per month.

Alas, because it's a 4G-only service based on Clearwire's WiMAX network, there's no coverage in my area.

That changes today with the introduction of FreedomPop's new Overdrive Pro mobile hot spot, which offers both 4G and 3G coverage via Sprint.

In other words, now I can get in on the free-data action. The Overdrive Pro costs $39.99 and allows for up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect at … Read more

Sprint expands LTE to 21 new markets, including Los Angeles

Sprint has expanded its 4G LTE network to 21 new markets, the CEO said Thursday, boosting the carrier's footprint with the high-speed network.

Chief exec Dan Hesse, speaking at the Competitive Carriers Association trade show in New Orleans, said the new markets include Los Angeles; Charlotte, N.C., and Memphis, Tenn. He also noted that customers are seeing LTE in cities that haven't been officially announced yet, such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Sprint has been playing catch-up in terms of 4G LTE, lagging far behind rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T. It … Read more

Verizon sold 4M iPhones in Q1

Verizon Wireless sold 4 million iPhones in the first quarter.

The breakdown of iPhone sales was split evenly between the iPhone 5 and older iPhones, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said during a conference call Thursday.

The company sold 7.2 million smartphones in the period, with 28 percent going to customers new to Verizon. Shammo declined to provide a figure for Android sales.

In total, Verizon sold 9.7 million devices on a contract basis, with 87 percent of those being phones of some sort.

The 4G LTE push continued in the first quarter. Verizon activated 5.9 million … Read more

Huawei Premia 4G review: Great price, lousy battery life

An inexpensive off-contract Android phone is hard to find, and for $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, MetroPCS' Huawei Premia 4G has a particularly attractive price tag for a 4G Android 4.0 phone.

There are some very decent features for the price point, including a 5-megapixel camera with flash, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor.

Yet, something has to give, and in this case it's the phone's battery life, and to a lesser extent, its voice quality. MetroPCS' 4G LTE network, while steady in my tests, also produces speeds you'd … Read more

Leaked Sprint memo tips major 4G LTE expansion for April 12

Sprint may be announcing the launch of 4G LTE services in over 20 new markets on Friday, April 12, if a leaked memo proves to be accurate.

According to details obtained by Phone Arena, LTE speeds will soon arrive in 21 markets spread across ten states. Among the cities listed in the memo are Los Angeles, Ca., Charlotte, NC, Memphis, Tn., and Virginia Beach, Va. Should all of these cities go live on Friday, Sprint will have just shy of 100 LTE areas.

While Sprint has not officially announced the rollout of 4G LTE in these cities, the carrier is … Read more