Sprint launched nine 4G LTE markets this morning, ranging from Texas up to Pennsylvania. This brings their grand total of live markets to 67. They are still currently working on some major areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, so that number is sure to rise in the short future.

New markets:

• Altoona, Pa.
• Asheville, N.C.
• Columbus, Ind.
• Elkhart/Goshen, Ind.
• Hammond, La.
• La Crosse, Wis.
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Statesville, N.C.
• Temple, Texas

If you are currently on Sprint and live in one of those markets, this Monday is looking pretty good for you.

Via: Sprint

Earlier this week, Verizon’s official Twitter support account made mention of a new Galaxy Nexus update on the horizon. In fact, they said it would be here “soon,” prompting a little excitement from the G-Nex crew. What we weren’t sure about was whether or not this would be a 4.1.2 update or a big jump to 4.2.2, the current version of Android that almost all other Nexus devices are running. Thanks to a very special man with a very special version of the Galaxy Nexus, it looks like 4.2.2 might indeed be the build we see in the near future. 

In a new deal announced yesterday, AT&T and General Motors announced that next year your car will soon be working on the same signals as the phone in your pocket. 4G LTE will be added into Buicks, Chevys, GMCs and Cadillacs starting next year. AT&T’s Ralph de La Vega said they are working with GM to provide a “connected car base, and provide unique and relevant services.”

LTE will power the entertainment system found in the dashes of the cars, allowing for streaming music, videos and directions. This connectivity will also allow your car to become a WiFi hotspot for devices without cell connection, a lifesaver for any road trippers out there. Combine this with GM’s OnStar technology and you have got yourself some well-connected vehicles. Look for this tech to start being installed sometime in 2014.

Via: AT&T

Verizon continues to push out new LTE markets and expand in others on its way to matching 3G coverage across the country. In the latest batch of expansions and rollouts, we get territories in West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Missouri as the recipients of shiny new 4G LTE coverage.

Since Big Red covers almost all major cities, we are now listing out new coverage areas that include highways, counties, and other bodies of land. The entire list is below. 

There are a handful of new 4G LTE markets from AT&T today, bringing speedy downloads and perky uploads to compatible devices. If you live in one of the following areas, feel free to take the rest of the work day off and party.

New markets:

• Tunica, Mississippi
• Athens, Tennessee
• Lafollette, Tennessee
• Tallahassee, Florida
• Salinas and Monterey, California
• Lawrence, Kansas

Via: AT&T

Not sure what else to say. Maybe next year it’ll be a phone.

A little late night discussion – take it wherever you please.

This morning, NVIDIA announced the newest member to the Tegra 4 family called the Tegra 4i. This is their first LTE integrated chip, so if it’s adopted by phone manufacturers, we should finally start to see more Tegra-equipped smartphones in the mass market. In the past, Tegra chips were separate from LTE modems, which gave Qualcomm and their integrated Snapdragon processors a head start on LTE phones. With this new Tegra 4i chip and the technology behind it, NVIDIA may have a winning formula, one that will target the mainstream phone market, with Tegra 4 still powering superphones. 

This morning, Sprint quietly announced the official deployment of 4G LTE into a few markets including  San Francisco, Washington D.C., New York City, and some towns in Florida. While a Sprint spokesman said the coverage is somewhat spotty in these areas, this roll out is all part of a larger deployment that is to take place later down the road.