Tag Archives: verizon

Verizon already looking forward with LTE-Advanced

Verizon has the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network , comparable or even faster than most home broadband connections, but it isn’t going to rest on its laurels. As it continues to deploy LTE networks across the U.S., with plans for a complete overlay by the end of 2013, Verizon is also working on LTE-Advanced. The carrier says it’s too early to tell what the implications and potential are, but that its long-term plan is to use the next-generation LTE technology. Light Reading Mobile  says: But that’s all the carrier has going on with regard to the true 4G LTE network. Praveen Atreya, director of network technology and Verizon’s LTE Innovation Center, says it is too early to test LTE-Advanced or even research potential speeds and features of it. That being said, Verizon is definitely going that route in the long term, he says. Currently, Verizon is still focused on deploying its 4G LTE network across the nation. With its newly announced areas of coverage , Verizon will cover 143 total markets by September 16, bringing the total population covered to over 160 million, which is over half of the U.S. Verizon is also working on voice-over-LTE, which will allow users to make voice calls over the carrier’s 4G network. This will improve voice quality overall, and will continue to give Verizon’s LTE users the benefit of simultaneous voice and data usage. [Via: LR Mobile ] Verizon already looking forward with LTE-Advanced originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-09-15T15:48:46Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

Verizon beefs-up its Android app store with Chomp-powered search

Good news for the Verizon Wireless customers as the carrier announced a deal with Chomp to provide an integrated search function for apps in the newly redesigned Verizon Apps. As a result, users should expect to get much better results, even on queries that has nothing to do with the app’s name — Chomp’s proprietary technology “understands” what the app does to return better results. For instance, it is possible to search for “kid’s games,” “expense trackers” or any description and instantly see the best apps for that search term. The Chomp algorithm learns things associated with every app from the information available on various app marketplaces, as well as data from Twitter, Facebook, various blogs and websites. In total, the company has filed for 11 patents based on its app search technologies and user experience. Chomp’s app search engine will power all searches in Verizon Apps beginning on Android smartphones being released later this fall… Verizon beefs-up its Android app store with Chomp-powered search originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-09-14T10:51:43Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

More Samsung Prime Rumors – Device To Be Announced After iPhone 5 Launch?

It’s time for yet another , Samsung Nexus Prime rumor (like you could get enough). This time, I received an email today from one of our readers in regards to the Verizon version of the device code named “Droid Prime.” Our tipster was able to squeeze out some info from his close friend who works deep within Verizon’s HQ. The Verizon insider confirmed that the “Prime” will in fact be heading to Verizon and on either November 17th or 24th. He also mentioned he hasn’t heard anything on it being labeled as one of Verizon’s “Droid”devices (Droid Prime). The device might not even be announced until sometime after the iPhone 5′s launch, pushing the Prime release out of October and into that original rumored November date. Once again, this is all “he said, she said” and while this is nowhere near “official,” I’ve always been one for juicy gossip. Thanks Droidfan11 !

Verizon re-launching its app store; do we really want it?

V Cast Apps may have been one of the worst attempts at an app store we’ve seen, but Verizon is not giving up. Verizon’s first attempt resulted in an app store that was very difficult to work with (slow and buggy) and had a lack-luster app selection. As a matter of fact the app store never even worked with my HTC Thunderbolt , so it’s been some months since I’ve even been able to access it at all. In an attempt to improve its chances of success, Verizon just announced that it will be re-launching its app store under the name Verizon Apps. The name is much better/simpler than V Cast Apps, but Big Red will need more than a good name. We still don’t know what the changes to the app store itself will be, but Verizon will need to have something up its sleeve to grab customers’ attention. There are many reasons Verizon’s third-party app store was never successful (aside from the fact that it was not well designed). The main reason is the official Android Market . The Android Market is clean, simple and fast. It’s the most trust-worthy and is available for every Android device out there. Not only that, but it has the best selection of apps for Android; almost every existing Android app is available. (There are some third-party app store exclusives). There are some success stories other than the Android Market, though. Take the Amazon App Store , GetJar and AppBrain  for example. The most successful of the three has been the Amazon App Store, although it’s mostly used for the free app of the day. These app stores can–and have to–resort to great deals or usability advantages, whereas V Cast Apps has neither. The only advantage we can see in Verizon Apps is carrier billing, something other major carriers are now offering in the Android Market. Why are Verizon customers not getting that treatment? Probably to push people into using their third-party app store. Please understand that it’s not our intention to bash Verizon Apps (or V Cast Apps); this is simply the truth. Verizon’s first attempt was not worth the bloatware space, and Verizon Apps needs to throw a good curve ball in order to move away from its bad reputation. V Cast Apps was simply a bad product. If the company wants to make us eat these words, it’ll need to invest the work and time to improve the service at hand. And it does seem Big Red might be really trying to make things better. The company has invested in an office in San Francisco. Developers are invited to come to Verizon’s premises and develop their apps, as well as test them on the carrier’s devices. Verizon Apps has not been released, and we have to hold judgement until it comes around. Verizon Apps needs to offer game-changing services in order to grow. Until then, the Android Market (which will continue to come pre-installed on every Android device) is still your best friend. Stay tuned to see what Verizon Apps will have to offer. The app store should come pre-installed on future devices. Current devices will probably get it via an OTA update. For now, tell us what you think! Are you guys waiting to see what Verizon Apps has in store? Do any of our readers use V Cast Apps? If so, why do you use it over the Android market? What do you guys think Verizon could do to succeed in the app store business?

Verizon Said to Announce Verizon Apps Store Later Today

CNN reports that Verizon will be announcing Verizon Apps later today at a Las Vegas Conference. It will be an Android app store exclusive to Verizon customers and the store is expected to be preinstalled on new handsets going forward and offered to existing Android smartphone owners. Details are a tad scarce at the moment, but it’s said Verizon will employ Chomp to power their application searching engine. Without knowing much more than that, we’re inclined to scratch our heads and question why Verizon’s doing this. If you don’t remember, they launched the V Cast Apps store a while back. Among carrier billing to make it easier for users to buy apps, they also promised more visibility due to a more hands-on approval process which would eliminate the many garbage apps you see in the Android market. It’s perceived that didn’t go too well for Verizon, but we can’t say for sure. But if they really didn’t do all too well with V Cast apps, why would they come out and reintroduce the same thing? Will there be different and newer incentives for developers? Is Chomp’s discovery engine the main driving force for a relaunch? We can’t say for sure, but hopefully we’ll know more before the sun goes down.

Verizon Leak: HTC Vigor To Be Rebranded as The Thunderbolt 2? Samsung Prime to Replace DROID Charge? [Rumor]

Turns out the beastly spec’d HTC Vigor on its way to Verizon could be the officially named Thunderbolt 2. Thanks, to our friend Mannequins from our very own Android Forums, he was able to get snag a quick pic of a handout given to him by a Verizon rep while working his shift at Best Buy Mobile. The Thunderbolt was only released a few months ago in March but things move fast in the mobile world – real fast. While this is by no means “official” (check out the spelling), it does give us a better idea of what the HTC Vigor’s Verizon branded name could be when it launches in a few more weeks. Oh, and as I’m sure you’ve no doubt noticed, this handout also lists the “Sam Prime” as replacing the DROID Charge. Was this rep going off of inside info he was given by his superiors? Or maybe he’s an avid Phandroid reader and is going off of rumors. Once again — grain of salt, people. [Via AndroidForums ]

iFixIt Guts the Motorola DROID Bionic in Latest Teardown

Ever wanted to see what the inside of a bionic robot looks like? Well, the DROID Bionic’s no bionic robot, but it is one hell of a nice phone. If you’re the type who likes to see what’s going on beneath the hood, iFixIt has posted their teardown for it. Apparently it was easy as pie to take apart which is a sigh of relief for those who would rather do repairs themselves. Take a look at the full breakdown over at their site .

Gingerbread Update for the Droid R2-D2 Coming Soon To A Galaxy Near You

We’ve seen Motorola release soak tests leading to the inevitable Android 2.3 OTA update being pushed to the regular Droid 2 and Droid 2 Global only a couple of days ago. Unfortunately, the Special Edition R2-D2 Droid 2 owners were left out of all the fun. If you thought Motorola forgot about R2-Droid2 owners, I have to admit — I was a little worried myself. Thankfully, we’ve come across this leaked PDF showing the software update version 4.5.602.A957 for the Motorola Droid R2-D2 will indeed be rolling out very soon. Doesn’t look like there will be a soak test for this one so I’d suggest hitting up your Settings > About Phone > System Updates every few hours (or at least everyday) to stay on top of things. May the force be with you… [Via Droid-Life ]

Got Your DROID Bionic Yet? [Forum Talk]

Yesterday, one of our readers was somehow able to grab a Motorola DROID BIONIC Many responded with kind jealousy, inquiring where they themselves might be able to acquire one. Well, no one really has to worry about all that now as, if you haven’t heard, it’s now available in-store. With that, did you buy your DROID Bionic yet? If not, when are you planning on getting one? I should note that this question is being posed to those who actually have plans to buy the Bionic, so those who don’t need not apply. Anyway, there’s a thread full of excited people over at the DROID Bionic sections of AndroidForums.com so go ahead and join them! View This Poll online survey

Verizon Motorola Droid Bionic initial impressions

The Verizon Motorola Droid Bionic is finally available after a long, strange trip. The dual-core, 4G LTE smartphone debuted all the way back in January at CES, faced delays and a brain transplant , and is now available to the masses for about $300 on a two-year contract. Is it worth the wait? We’ll have a full review very shortly but I wanted to share some initial thoughts on the latest Android superphone. The Droid Bionic looks and feels very similar to the Droid X2, which I find to be a good thing. It sports a 4.3-inch qHD display with Gorilla Glass that’s nice to look, is responsive but not quite as good as we’re used to seeing from Samsung or HTC. Underneath the screen, you have four capacitive Android buttons and the front-facing camera and the notification light. Along the left spine there’s a solid volume rocker and the right spine has the microUSB port and the miniHDMI out port. The power/unlock button’s on top with the standard headphone jack. The back of the Verizon Motorola Droid Bionic is a soft plastic finish that makes the device feel comfortable in your hand. Some of you may miss the premium feel of a brushed aluminum or metal backing but I’ve found this leads to a good in-hand feel. Unlike the Droid X2 , the whole back cover of the Droid Bionic comes off in one piece. The look and feel of the Droid Bionic is solid but what’s really exciting is the inside, as this is the first device to sport a dual-core processor and 4G LTE connectivity. The few speed tests I’ve done have been impressive and we already know that Verizon 4G LTE is the real deal . We’re still putting the TI OMAP dual-core processor through the paces but it looks pretty snappy so far. The Droid Bionic rocks Motorola’s customized version of Android and it’s hit or miss so far. With Google trying to buy Motorola , this may be the last phone we ever see with remnants of MotoBlur. I’m happy about that. We’ll have the full review up shortly with videos but let us know specifically what you’d like to hear about. Verizon Motorola Droid Bionic initial impressions originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2011-09-08T17:15:35Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j