04Apr

HTC And Sprint Officially Unveil The New EVO 4G LTE

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evo_views

It’s hardly a surprise anymore (as is usually the case) but here it is anyway – Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and HTC President Jason Mackenzie have just taken the stage at their collaboration event in New York, and just officially unveiled the new EVO 4G LTE.

For all my moaning about design (more on that later), my mother always taught me that it’s what’s on the inside that counts, and that’s where the EVO shines. Nestled behind its gigantic 4.7-inch 720p Super LCD 2 display is the same dual-core, 1.5GHz Snapdragon S4 chipset that powers its One X cousin, along with 1GB of RAM to help keep things snappy.

As expected, the EVO 4G LTE also runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, with HTC’s thoughtfully-redesigned Sense 4.0 UI on top of it. Some people (myself included) tend to bristle when custom overlays are thrown into the mix, but as I noted when I got to play with the One X, it’s much less clunky than the Sense of days past.

All in all, it’s the same general formula as the lovely HTC One X, just with most of the visual appeal sucked out of the hardware.

Much to my chagrin, the redesign first spotted in that leaked press shot a few days ago was indeed legit, and it extends far beyond the device’s ho-hum front. The back appears to be clad in both glossy and matte black finishes, with a strip of red metal dividing the two (it’s also where the wee little kickstand is). Right smack in the middle of the glossy black zone is the The EVO 4G LTE’s 8-megapixel camera pod is mounted, which (as on the One X) will be paired with HTC’s new camera software for above-average pics.

Thankfully, the EVO 4G LTE does stand out in one place where its more handsome brethren don’t — it includes a discreet camera button along the lower right side, while the others relegate the shutter button to the touchscreen. It may seem like a minor quibble, but it strikes as a rather thoughtful addition considering HTC’s renewed focus on mobile photography.

Now, seeing a device’s specs laid out in front of you is nice and all, but if you want to see the thing in action, stay tuned — I’ll soon be jumping into the fray to score some hands-on photos and video.





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16Mar

Sprint Officially Kills LightSquared Deal, Returns $65M In Prepayments

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lightsquared

It only seemed like a matter of time before things got worse for LightSquared, and today the nation’s third largest wireless carrier has dealt the ailing company another significant blow. With the upstart network provider unable to land FCC approval thanks to some pesky GPS interference issues, Sprint has announced that they have chosen to officially terminate their agreement with LightSquared.

Sprint noted that they would still be open to future collaborations so long as LightSquared could get their wireless affairs in order. That still seems like a tall order at this point — little movement has been made on that front since the FCC revoked their conditional approval of LightSquared’s network buildout earlier this year.

Still, it looks like LightSquared has some fight left in them yet. As a result of the agreement, Sprint must return the $65 million given to them by LightSquared as part of the 11-year payment plan the two companies agreed upon in mid-2011. Though Sprint certainly could’ve used the cash, LightSquared arguably needs it far more — they recently had to lay off 45% of their workforce to reduce operating costs, and the company is the midst of preparing to mount a legal offensive.

Politico reported earlier this week that LightSquared now has two “prominent conservative litigators” — Theodore Olson and Eugene Scalia — on retainer, which hints at a potential legal battle with the FCC in the near future. Though their specific legal strategy is still shrouded in mystery, LightSquared spokesperson Terry Neal notes that the two “have extensive experience assisting clients with significant challenges involving government agencies,” and that the company is pleased to have them on their side. Those of you itching for a good old-fashioned legal throwdown may want to keep your eyes on LightSquared — things look bad for them now, but they sure do love a fight.



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16Mar

Sprint Officially Kills LightSquared Deal, Returns $65M In Prepayments

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lightsquared

It only seemed like a matter of time before things got worse for LightSquared, and today the nation’s third largest wireless carrier has dealt the ailing company another significant blow. With the upstart network provider unable to land FCC approval thanks to some pesky GPS interference issues, Sprint has announced that they have chosen to officially terminate their agreement with LightSquared.

Sprint noted that they would still be open to future collaborations so long as LightSquared could get their wireless affairs in order. That still seems like a tall order at this point — little movement has been made on that front since the FCC revoked their conditional approval of LightSquared’s network buildout earlier this year.

Still, it looks like LightSquared has some fight left in them yet. As a result of the agreement, Sprint must return the $65 million given to them by LightSquared as part of the 11-year payment plan the two companies agreed upon in mid-2011. Though Sprint certainly could’ve used the cash, LightSquared arguably needs it far more — they recently had to lay off 45% of their workforce to reduce operating costs, and the company is the midst of preparing to mount a legal offensive.

Politico reported earlier this week that LightSquared now has two “prominent conservative litigators” — Theodore Olson and Eugene Scalia — on retainer, which hints at a potential legal battle with the FCC in the near future. Though their specific legal strategy is still shrouded in mystery, LightSquared spokesperson Terry Neal notes that the two “have extensive experience assisting clients with significant challenges involving government agencies,” and that the company is pleased to have them on their side. Those of you itching for a good old-fashioned legal throwdown may want to keep your eyes on LightSquared — things look bad for them now, but they sure do love a fight.



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03Mar

White HTC Amaze 4G Officially Discontinued, Making Way For HTC One Launch?

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Screen Shot 2012-03-02 at 9.17.55 PM

Obvious news is obvious as the HTC Amaze 4G white has been officially discontinued for the better part of two weeks now as smart money would bet that T-Mobile is already making inventory space for the HTC One S. Sure, it’s about five or six weeks ahead of the scheduled HTC One S launch, but we’ve got no problem with the Amaze making way for the One… Read more

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01Mar

AT&T Officially Makes Unlimited Data Plans Not So Unlimited With New Throttling Rules

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att-fail

Welcome to the brave new world, everyone. AT&T announced today new guidelines in regards to older so-called unlimited data plans. Subscribers will still be able to keep these plans but they’re essentially limited to AT&T’s new 3GB/5GB data plans.

Let’s be clear: AT&T’s unlimited plans are now officially limited.

AT&T, like most other wireless carriers, started selling unlimited data plans several years ago to curb anxiety in regards to data usage. At that time, mobile data was still limited to email, web browsing and photo messaging. Streaming media was still very rare. These unlimited plans offered carriers’ marketers and salesmen an easy tool to get people to upgrade to smartphones. But now they’re supposedly killing the network — or so carriers would have consumers believe.

Today’s change essentially caps these legacy data plans at 3GB for HSPA+ and 5GB for LTE. Any overage will result in throttling, which as anyone who has been throttled before will attest, essentially kills data connectivity. Even mundane tasks as browsing the Internet are painfully slow. This cap remains in place until the end of the billing cycle. You will still have unlimited data, but on AT&T’s terms.

AT&T started throttling customers in 2011 in response to increased data usage. However, it was always somewhat shrouded in mystery. The policy was public, which caused misconceptions and confusion. The caps were also set at 2GB even after AT&T rolled out new, $30 3GB data plan. This new move by AT&T, while shady at best and a breach of contract at worst, at least puts the company’s policy in clear view. It even gives tips on how to better manage data.

However, as I stated previously, throttling those on legacy products affects those nearing the end of their AT&T contracts. AT&T should be courting these people rather than driving them toward other carriers.



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