One of the downsides to joining a prepaid network has always been their lack of connectivity when it comes to 4G LTE networks. Some can take advantage of HSPA+ speeds, but none at this time connect to LTE networks from AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Well, until today. AT&T will allow customers on their GoPhone prepaid plans to connect to LTE and HSPA+ going forward, as long as they have an LTE phone or iPhone.

Currently, the smartphone GoPhone plan runs $65 and only includes 1GB of data, along with unlimited talk and text. But hey, LTE on prepaid? We have to start somewhere.

Via:  Engadget | AT&T

Cheers thebeeobee!

During the beginning of Verizon’s comical J-Lo themed press event this morning at CTIA in Las Vegas, COO Marni Walden did announce at least one important bit of information. Their 4G LTE network now covers 497 markets, which is 95% of their 3G network. Remember that their initial goal was to cover 100% of their 3G network by the end of 2013, but have since moved the date up to mid-year as LTE build-out has increased dramatically. With 95% complete, I’d say they’ll hit their goal and then some. Back in January they were at 473 markets, so already this year they have added another 20+ along with countless expansions in existing markets.

Is anyone not yet covered by Verizon’s LTE network?

Over the last year or so, we’ve talked a lot about switching carriers. With policy changes frustrating consumers, tiered data hampering usage, and phones not being offered across the board on all carriers, there may not be a better time than now to consider a move. One downside to moving, though, is the worry of coverage with a new carrier not being equal to what you were previous receiving. The last thing you want to do is commit to a new carrier, only to find that your phone can barely hold a signal at home or that LTE won’t be in your neighborhood for years. 

Taking place in Las Vegas this week is CTIA, another annual mobile/tech industry conference much like CES that takes place in January. Some well-known names are attending this year’s meetup, companies such as HTC, NVIDIA, LG and Verizon are all in attendance. Demoing their Tegra 4i processor with built in i500 LTE modem is Santa Clara’s NVIDIA, showing the industry that thanks to an update, their chip is capable of flying through large amounts of data in no time at all. 

Well, we didn’t see this coming today. Jelly Bean is coming to Verizon’s Motorola XOOM 4G LTE. Soak test invites are currently rolling out to those enrolled in Motorola’s feedback program, so this means we will soon see a larger roll out of the update to everyone who still owns the OG Android tablet. To clarify, this version of Jelly Bean is probably the 4.1 build and not the 4.2, which even Google has stated won’t come for the device. 

This morning, AT&T announced a gang of new cities that will sport their 4G LTE network. From what we have seen (just last week as an example), Big Blue is doubling down on getting LTE into as many cities as possible, as quickly as possible.

Down below is the list of new cities. 

Today, AT&T is lighting up a whole mess of new 4G LTE markets here in the U.S. If you have a 4G LTE capable device and live in one of the below-listed areas, you should either already see 4G or will very soon. 

News flash! Even tech bloggers don’t get to keep devices that are sent to them for review purposes. No sir, we have to pick and choose our personal devices with care just like each and every one of you. Sure, we get to put our grubby little paws all over the newest tech before the general public, but that doesn’t mean those devices hang around for more than a couple of weeks. Once our reviews are done, we tend to ship them back to PR departments before going back to whatever phone we have chosen to be our daily driver. After some time spent with both the new HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, I have made a decision on what that new daily driver should be.