Rather than a Nexus 5 is there a chance that Google releases a new version of the Nexus 4 this summer? According to a new rumor that is making the rounds and appearing in our inbox far too often, this is the word on the dark, back alley, make-sure-you-have-a-tight-grip-on-your-purse, streets. The rumor is this – Google is going to release a new variant of the Nexus 4 with both CDMA and LTE radios inside, along with 32GB of storage. It’ll be unveiled at Google I/O in May. So, what do we think? 

Well, first, Google seems to have made it clear at times that they aren’t fans of tying their Nexus devices to carriers. We all know from back in the days of Ice Cream Sandwich that their Android engineers spoke of having their minds blown over the carrier approval process for delaying what should be simple updates. But then again, Andy Rubin said after the launch of the Nexus 4 that they would “certainly have a desire to offer devices on every carrier on the planet.” His comments came during an explanation over the lack of LTE in the device and the idea that they didn’t want to use hybrid LTE networks along with older tech and dual-radios, since they diminish the user experience and battery life. So which is it? Do they hate carrier-tied devices or not? Or was Rubin speaking generally about having a device that works on all carriers, yet isn’t necessarily branded by them? Tough to tell.

This rumor does pose a couple of interesting points, though. The first being that Sprint received both of their Nexus devices (Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus) around April and May, long after the initial release of the same device. Should Google have figured out a way to toss in a CDMA/LTE radio inside one, launching on Sprint at Google I/O in May certainly matches up to previous time frames. Then again, Google has had to publicly state some of their frustrations with CDMA in general, as it is difficult to support in AOSP. Do they really want to go down that route again after all that we’ve been through? We’re talking withheld factory images, binaries, and updates for both Sprint and Verizon variants of Nexus devices, all of which run on CDMA networks.

The other part of this rumor mentions that we could see this version with 32GB of storage inside. As you all know, the current Nexus 4 only comes with 8GB or 16GB of storage, which in today’s smartphone era, isn’t necessarily enough thanks to massive pictures, HD video recordings, HD games, and movie downloads. One could fill up 8GB (since the system usually takes a couple of that to begin with) in no time without even trying. So, a 32GB version of the phone does make some sense.

We’re also acknowledging the idea that Google would likely release a new version of the Nexus 4 over a brand new Nexus 5 since the Nexus 4 is still only a couple of months old, makes a lot of sense. Google tends to launch new smartphones at their winter events, while saving the mid-year I/O conference for tablets and random media players that lack any functionality. Why not toss out a new version of the Nexus 4 to push sales until they can launch new hardware during the holidays?

We should point out that the folks at Android Central mentioned the existence of a similar version of this device back in November of last year, stating that it could arrive by late Q1. Obviously, that didn’t happen. They later weighed in with the idea that we may not see this phone after all, even though they had heard that AT&T and Sprint versions were in testing, because news on either device had gone silent for months. At least that’s another supposed confirmation of the device’s existence, but at this point, not necessarily in a good way.

Keep in mind that we also saw a brief glimpse of a white Nexus 4, along with a matching white Bumper, yet have never seen either officially launch anywhere. Google does some head-scratching things more often than we can keep track of. I’ll just say this – a CDMA variant of the Nexus 4 makes little sense to me after seeing what has happened over the years with both Sprint and Verizon versions of Nexus phones. But then again, this is Google we are talking about.

So, folks, we really just don’t know. One can always dream.

Via:  Sidhtech

Cheers Sean, Roderick, and everyone else!

Weird Rumor: 32GB Nexus 4 With CDMA and LTE to be Announced at Google I/O? is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon dropped a “save the date” into our inbox this afternoon, asking that we reserve some time on May 22 at CTIA for a “special announcement” from COO Marni Walden. We were actually planning on skipping CTIA this year as the wireless tech conference has become a waste of time over the last two years, but this certainly means we’ll be in attendance. The question is, “What kind of announcement are they going to make?”

Big Red has been quiet this year in terms of device announcements, even managing to remain completely silent on the Samsung Galaxy S4 since its unveiling. There have been rumors of a May 30 or even May 22 launch floating around, so the timing of this announcement works. But why host an entire event to announce that they are carrying the GS4? Samsung already told us it’s coming, they just wouldn’t give us a date. Seems unlikely, right?

Will they announce a network change? More on their LTE rollout or even VoLTE? First VoLTE phone? What about the end of contracts with smartphone plans? Could we see their oft-rumored HTC One variant codenamed DLXPLUS?

Verizon, you have grabbed our attention.

Verizon has a Special Announcement to Make on May 22, Any Guesses? is a post from: Droid Life

The Facebook announcements continue on this morning with HTC and AT&T partnering up to release the first Facebook-focused phone, the HTC First. It’s available April 12 (same day as Facebook Home) for $99.99 on contract at AT&T. You can pre-order today if you’d like. Oh, it has LTE as well. The device sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor, 4.3″ 720p display, 5MP rear camera, 1GB RAM, and runs Android 4.1.

At some point today, the pre-order site will go live here.

AT&T Joins with HTC and Facebook to Launch HTC First, the Only Smartphone Designed Around Facebook Home

Facebook’s Newest Mobile Experience Available Exclusively on the Nation’s Fastest 4G LTE Network

Dallas, Texas, Bellevue, Washington, Menlo Park, California, April 04, 2013

AT&T*, HTC and Facebook have teamed up to develop and launch the HTC First™, the first and only smartphone built to feature Facebook Home, which puts your friends at the heart of your phone. Facebook Home is the first mobile experience designed to give you your friends’ latest updates right on your home screen and messages that reach you no matter what you’re doing.

HTC First will be available for pre-order today for $99.99 with a two-year commitment and available exclusively in AT&T stores and online starting April 12. To pre-order, visit www.att.com/facebookhome.

The HTC First runs on AT&T 4G LTE, the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network.** In addition, independent mobile research firm RootMetrics® has published a special report on 4G LTE in the U.S. which notes that AT&T wireless customers in our 4G LTE markets that were tested by RootMetrics have access to the fastest mobile speeds on their smartphones. AT&T also has the nation’s largest 4G network, covering 288 million people.

“The HTC First will offer the best Facebook Home experience on mobile, right out of the box. That’s why we’re committed to this phone and making it exclusive in our stores,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO, AT&T Mobility. “Because AT&T offers the fastest 4G LTE** in the nation, it’s the best network for Facebook Home. And the best device for Facebook Home is the HTC First.”

“HTC has a track record of providing beautiful hardware design, and of being first-to-market with smartphone innovations,” said Peter Chou, CEO, HTC Corporation. “The HTC First continues that track record, providing AT&T customers with a unique home experience that puts a user’s friends and family at the center of their mobile experience.”

“Home is a completely new experience for your phone,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s Founder and CEO. “With Home available right out of the box, you’re getting the best quality experience for connecting with your friends.”

Facebook Home brings your News Feed to the surface, immediately giving you the content you care about right on your home screen when you turn on your phone without having to open an app or access a mobile website. Just sign into your Facebook account and begin using Home – no need for download or configuration. Facebook Home connects you directly with your friends, whether it’s their real-time updates and newest photo uploads being streamed on your cover feed or the ability to chat with friends without jumping in and out of apps.

Facebook Home is built around your friends and puts them at the center of your phone:

Cover feed: A constant, fresh stream of photos and updates from your newsfeed, cover feed is always present when you wake up your phone. It lets you stay up-to-date on your friends’ latest activities in real-time, all the time. You can swipe through to see more photos and updates, double tap to “like” a post and comment right from cover feed. To learn more about cover feed, check out this video.

Notifications: Notifications from apps and friends appear right on your home screen. It’s easier to see when you have a missed call, calendar reminder or new message. Open a notification with a double tap or clear them away to see your Cover Feed. To learn more about notifications, check out this video.

Chat Heads: The mobile messenger lets you jump in and out of conversations while you do other things, like watch a video and browse the web. Reply right from chat heads, or move them around if you’re not ready to respond. Plus you can send and receive texts and Facebook messages from the same spot. To learn more about chat heads, check out this video.

App Launcher: See your favorite apps and post right to Facebook from the same spot. You choose what’s on your app launcher—press and hold an app then drag it anywhere.

Instagram: HTC First is the only phone that comes with Instagram pre-loaded.

HTC First will be available in four colors: black, white, red and pale blue. The hardware is thin, modern and seamless, with soft edges to draw your attention to the updates from friends and family on the 4.3-inch glass display. Inside, the smartphone runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with the new Facebook Home experience and incorporates a Qualcomm Snapdragon™ 400 processor with dual-core CPU and 3G/4G world and multimode LTE so you can enjoy the richest content on AT&T’s blazing fast 4G LTE network.

For more information, or to pre-order HTC First, please visit www.att.com/facebookhome.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

**Limited 4G LTE availability in select markets. LTE is a trademark of ETSI. Claim based on a comparison of U.S. national carriers’ average 4G LTE download speeds for Android™ and Windows smartphones and iPhone 5. 4G speeds not available everywhere.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com/aboutus or follow our news on @ATT, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/att and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/att.

About HTC

Founded in 1997, HTC Corp. (HTC) is the creator of many award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences for consumers around the globe. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones and tablets powered by the HTC Sense® user experience. HTC is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). For more information, please visit www.htc.com.

HTC and AT&T Announce the HTC First, Also Known as the First Facebook Phone – Available April 12 for $99 is a post from: Droid Life

Remember how surprised we were to see the Nexus 4 attaching itself to random 4G LTE networks (AWS band) shortly after release in places like Canada? And how we were simultaneously holding out hope that T-Mobile would launch their AWS LTE network so that we wouldn’t miss out on all the fun? Well, before that ever happened, Google updated the device to Android 4.2.2 and essentially killed off those chances. But, thankfully for us, there is still hope now that T-Mobile has officially launched their AWS LTE network in seven cities. 

As one would expect from the amazing Android tinkerer community, users are already finding T-Mo’s 4G LTE in places like San Jose, Houston and Las Vegas, all of which are a part of the seven city launch. How are they doing it, you ask? Custom ROMs and the old .33 radio/baseband from before the 4.2.2 update, which brought .48 and killed LTE.

According to the lengthy XDA thread we linked to below (start around the 100-page mark), users are finding success with both CM and AOKP ROMs. Keep in mind that they are also having to update APN settings on the device and make sure they have the .33 radio flashed.

If you live in any of the new T-Mobile LTE markets and own a Nexus 4, LTE speeds are only a ROM flash away.

Via:  XDA

Cheers @iAmAButta!

Nexus 4 Devices Seeing Plenty of T-Mobile LTE Action Thanks to Newly Live Markets is a post from: Droid Life

Over the last couple of years, the DL community has made it clear that they love themselves some 4G LTE. Since Verizon was first to the plate and has seemingly rounded the bases at an unstoppable pace, you have also made it clear that they are the carrier for you. But now that others – T-Mobile in particular for today’s poll – have joined the game, would you ever switch or are you comfortable in your Big Red briefs?

T-Mobile only announced seven markets today, but they hope to have 200 million people covered by the end of the year. I argued earlier that their focus should be their network rather than this “UNcarrier” schtick, so hopefully they stick to that.

But just because they have LTE, are you willing to give their low prices a shot? If not, feel free to tell us why.

Tuesday Poll: T-Mobile Launches LTE – Likelihood of You Switching Over? is a post from: Droid Life

Click here to view the embedded video.

T-Mobile is trying to shake up the entire wireless industry this month by taking the “Un-carrier” approach to wireless service. Gone are the two-year contracts and 23-month phone upgrade cycles – in are the month-to-month plans with the option to upgrade to the newest phones whenever you please at the lowest prices. They are also shunning tiered data plans (sort of), spouting off colorful commentary to their competitors, and claiming to have cancelled their membership to the “out-of-touch wireless club,” a direct reference to the “Big 4″ U.S. carriers grouping that includes Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. It’s a lot of marketing speak and posturing, but is it even the right approach? 

In T-Mobile’s new plans, customers can sign up for unlimited talk and text for $50, with 500MB of data. If they want more data, they can add on 2GB for $10 or go fully unlimited for an additional $20. Second lines are $30, with data remaining at the $10 and $20 price points. After the first two lines, additional lines are $10 per month without data.

Of course, those monthly rates do not include the monthly payment plans you make on the phone you just purchased through them. See, T-Mobile will get you into the brand new iPhone 5 for $99, but they’ll then charge you a monthly fee until you have fully paid off the full $579 price of the phone (or whatever retail is these days). It’s their way of killing subsidies – whether or not you like the approach can be debated for hours, so we’ll leave it as it is.

They also launched their LTE network in seven cities and hope to cover up to 200 million people by the end of this year. Sure, they are late to the party, but they are hoping to ramp up rollout so that they can keep up with Verizon and AT&T.

But here’s the thing – if I were to ask you today, why you aren’t a T-Mobile customer, I bet I can guess the answer in a matter of seconds. It’s the coverage, isn’t it? Too many times in the comments of this site have we seen, “I’d switch to T-Mobile in a heartbeat, but I get zero coverage at my house/work/regularly visited bar.” We’ve even bragged up prepaid plans and adopting the unlocked model, yet so many of you still bring up the fact that Verizon gives you the best coverage and that’s exactly why you’ve stuck with them for so long. There is no denying that you’d love to go with the cheapest carrier that provides the most freedom, but in reality, you can’t do it at this time.

Here are the coverage maps of the northwest that I pulled minutes ago from Verizon (left) and T-Mobile’s (right) websites to add some perspective:

So here is where I don’t think T-Mobile is taking the correct approach at their latest attempt at a comeback. In my opinion, I don’t necessarily think it’s all about two-year contracts, subsidies and cheap no-frills plans. People want to know that they are going to have coverage 99% of the time. Mobile phones are replacing home phones by the second, so things like reliability are more important than ever. When consumers take that weekend road trip or fly back home to their small home town, will they have service? If they hit up an outskirts suburb in a major city, what’s their data coverage going to be like?

We’ve even talked about Verizon’s insanely priced Share Everything plans, yet as expensive as they remain, with prepaid options sitting out there at arm’s reach that are half the cost, customers still won’t switch because they know exactly what they are getting and have been getting for years. T-Mobile is still known as having sh*tty service, so is becoming the Un-carrier going to change that? And whether that’s still true or not depends on the person, but that’s sort of the point here.

While my time with T-Mobile’s service has been limited to my life with the Nexus 4, I can tell you this. I live in Portland, a decent sized city and have asked my wife to look something up for me more times in the last four months than I did the previous three or four years of my smartphone-filled life combined because I constantly run into a lack of signal or coverage. It was spotty in New York during Samsung’s Galaxy S4 event, it’s at times non-existent at Blazers games in downtown Portland, I lose service when I drive 5 minutes south to Lake Oswego (suburb of Portland), and typically find myself carrying a second phone (Verizon or AT&T) with me when I know I’ll be heading out for more than a few hours at a time.

Again, I like no-contracts, unlocked phones, and a “f*ck the man” approach to life. Props to T-Mobile for that. I even despise the recent approaches by Verizon and AT&T to essentially scam consumers into overpriced shared data plans while selling them on unlimited text and calling features that they don’t need anymore. But did any of T-Mobile’s song and dance change their network status or image? I don’t know that it did. Give us great wireless service that’s reliable and we’ll sign on the dotted line, whether that includes a contract or not.

Click here to view the embedded video.

T-Mobile’s UN-Carrier Approach Sounds Awesome, But Killing Contracts Shouldn’t be Their Message or Focus [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

According to Verizon CTO Nicola Palmer, the company will finally start to utilize the AWS LTE spectrum they own before the end of the year. They currently only have 700MHz spectrum (band 13) in play, but as they continue to build that out, with hopes of covering 90% of the country by the end of the year, they’ll start their growth strategy which includes AWS (band 4). 

Once they hit their mid-year goals for 700MHz, they’ll take to 5,000 sites and equip them with AWS antennas. The AWS spectrum will allow them to handle an ever-growing capacity demand for 4G LTE.

From a device standpoint, Palmer mentioned that they have already advised partners on strategy and are expecting devices to ship with AWS support in the first half of the year. As she points out, you can’t have a network if you don’t have devices that can connect to it.

With Verizon creating a multi-band LTE network, I can’t help but think this will be a blessing for those of us who love unlocked phones. While new phones will need to be multi-band in order to support both of Verizon’s bands, this also should mean that chipset makers are going to really focus in on making global multi-band LTE chips that cover all sorts of frequencies. In fact, Qualcomm is already working on one.

Palmer wrapped up by pointing out that their goal remains to have VoLTE service up by late 2013 or early 2014. After that, it’s on to LTE Advanced and the mega-speeds and LTE improvements it contains.

Fun times ahead in the advanced mobile data network game, indeed.

Via: Fierce Wireless | The Verge

Verizon to Utilize AWS Spectrum This Year, Ship Supported Devices First Half is a post from: Droid Life

Speaking at the Deutsche Bank 2013 Media, Internet & Telecom Conference, Verizon  CFO Fran “ShamWow” Shammo brought to life the idea that his company will likely start to sell VoLTE devices by the end of this year or early 2014 and that they will help lower subsidies in phones. With VoLTE (voice-over LTE), there isn’t a need for a CDMA modem inside the device because voice and data are both done over LTE, so the prices of phones would essentially drop and become more affordable to consumers. 

The key here, is the fact that Verizon’s 4G LTE network has grown so rapidly. Once they have matched their 3G network coverage by mid-2013, they will be able to release VoLTE phones that run on nothing but LTE.

While Shammo’s comments likely had to do with an ongoing conversation in the industry over a change in subsidy approach (T-Mobile makes you pay a monthly fee for phones rather than through a typical upfront price slashing via subsidy), we care more about what this means for Nexus and future device implications. If Verizon were to sell a phone with no CDMA radio inside, we’re talking about an opportunity for Google to drop a new phone on us with an LTE radio inside tuned to Big Red’s band 13 LTE frequency with no need to worry about the locked up nature of their CDMA network. This could also mean a time where we can buy unlocked LTE phones (assuming they support Verizon’s band) and activate without a need to go through Verizon, much like we see with current GSM networks.

VoLTE may be our second chance at having a Nexus that works on Verizon. If VZW plans to have phones of this nature by the end of this year, feel free to start hypebeasting your next Nexus feature list in the comments.

Via:  Fierce Wireless

Verizon Plans to Launch VoLTE Phones by End of This Year to Help Lower Subsidies is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky:

• North of Charleston, W. Va., along Interstate 77 to the Kanawha/Jackson county line, including the town of Sissonville; and northeast of Huntington, W. Va., in Proctorville, Ohio.
• Bridgeport, just east of Clarksburg.
• North along Interstate 77 from the Washington/Noble county line to the Noble/Guernsey county line, including Belle Valley, Caldwell and Dexter City.
• Along Interstate 70 from Blaine to the Pennsylvania state line;
• Along routes 7 and 2 from the Ohio County, W. Va., southern border to the Belmont County, Ohio, northern border;
• Oglebay Park
• This expansion covers the city of Norwalk, U.S. Route 20 and U.S. Route 250.

Pennsylvania:

• Mount Washington
• Site enhances coverage along Grandview Ave. on top of Mount Washington from Shaler Street on the west side to Wyoming Street. Coverage also extends down Wyoming Street to Virginia Avenue.
  

Connecticut:

• Harwinton
• Litchfield
• New Hartford
• Plymouth
• Thomaston
• Torrington
• Bristol
• Burlington
• Collinsville

Missouri:

• Kirksville
• Unionville
• Green Castle
• Lancaster
• Pollock
• Greentop
• Poplar Bluff
• Advance
• Grayridge
• Dexter
• Harviell
• Fisk
• Fairdealing
• Doniphan
• Wappapello
• Bloomfield
• Puxico
• Williamsville

Are you a part of this new expansion?

Verizon 4G LTE Expands in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Missouri, and Pennsylvania is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

Tegra 4i

The Tegra 4i features a quad-core (4-PLUS-1) CPU based on ARM’s R4 Cortex-A9 CPU, along with a fifth battery saver core. It has a 60-core GPU, an integrated version of NVIDIA’s i500 LTE modem, NVIDIA’s new Chimera computational photography architecture, and is about half the size of the new Snapdragon 800. It’s not quite the beast that the Tegra 4 is, but it does bring power and efficiency to the mass smartphone market that was once only seen in superphones. NVIDIA and ARM are calling this processor, which can be clocked at 2.3GHz, the “most efficient, highest performance CPU core on the market.”

Specs

Phoenix Reference Phone

To help get the Tegra 4i to market quicker, NVIDIA created the Phoenix reference phone platform, which sports a 5″ 1080p display, Tegra 4i processor, 4G LTE, computational photography architecture (for awesome HDR photos), and is only 8mm thick.

Chimera Computational Photography Architecture

If you watched NVIDIA’s press event at CES, then you likely remember their CEO standing on stage with an attractive female in some sort of beach setting, so that they could demo some sort of new photography tech. That tech, is called Chimera, and it’s included in both the Tegra 4 and the Tegra 4i.

Chimera introduces “always on” HDR, HDR panoramic or “fish eye” modes, and tap-to-track, allowing users to lock the focus onto a specific object, even as it moves around.

Camera and phone manufacturers can already add support for Chimera. In fact, Sony already has with its Exmor RS 13MP sensor.

Wrap-up

Quite a bit of big news out of NVIDIA’s camp this morning. We have the new Tegra 4i, a tiny processor with tons of power and efficiency, along with an integrated LTE chip to help bring NVIDIA’s processors to the mainstream market. They provided more details on Chimera, their photography architecture that takes HDR smartphone shots to a new level. And last, the Phoenix reference design, which should help manufacturers quickly build out devices using the new Tegra 4i.

NVIDIA Announces Tegra 4i With Integrated LTE Chip, 60-core GPU, and Half the Size of New Snapdragons is a post from: Droid Life

It has been well documented at this point that the Nexus 4 has an LTE chip inside. Even LG came out and admitted that they used the same processor/modem combo from the Optimus G inside the device, a chipset which included an LTE radio. Thanks to the presence of this LTE chip, some users, mostly in Canada, were able to get an active LTE connection as long as the connection was made on Band 4. Hopefully they have enjoyed their time with it, as Google has killed off this Band 4 support in the latest update to Android 4.2.2. 

According to Anandtech, a radio update inside the new firmware removes LTE support. Even if you try and toggle to “LTE only” in settings, the device will quickly dump you back to “WCDMA preferred.” Since the device was not approved by the FCC to operate in an LTE capacity, this is not all that surprising.

If you were taking advantage of the N4′s secret LTE power, you may want to hold off on updating. If you aren’t ready to give up LTE, there is a chance that you’ll find an update package without the new radio over at XDA or another forum.

Via: Anandtech

Nexus 4 Android 4.2.2 Update Removes Unofficial LTE Support, Sorry Canadians is a post from: Droid Life

The FCC has voted in favor of allowing Dish Network to use their AWS spectrum as a 4G LTE wireless network. Dish will now “consider its strategic options,” but as you all know, Google was once brought up as a potential partner for the satellite company. Those rumors seem to have died a bit, but in order for those talks to even advance, you would assume that this approval needed to happen first. Sprint has also been linked to Dish, along with a handful of other companies.

Via:  Engadget | FCC

FCC Gives Dish Network Approval to Build Own LTE Network is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon’s CEO, Lowell McAdam, sat down for a brief chat this morning at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference. During the conversation, he talked about the entire status of the company, from Wireline to Wireless. Clearly, we care about his Wireless quotes, some of which show how far ahead Verizon thinks they are in terms of network and their new shared data plans. 

One quote in particular talks about others in the industry waiting to see with 4G LTE, while Big Red was willing to move forward with the technology from day 1. That early start gave them the massive lead in network coverage they have, today. But as one would expect from a company of this size, they aren’t stopping or planning to slow. In fact, while their competitors will eventually come close to matching their network in terms of coverage, McAdam thinks that the company will, by that time, be figuring out what “5G and 6G looks like.”

So even if someone catches up quote from a coverage perspective, you have got to catch up from a user experience perspective. And so we are going to hang on to that and we are going to defend that ground. And in the meantime, we are going to try to figure out what 5G and 6G looks like. So there is — it is not like — I know when you do your model you always like to think about okay this is the last evolution. Well, I hope I never see the last evolution in wireless technology. So I believe that we will.

Outside of network talk, McAdam also mentioned the adoption that they are seeing with their new Share Everything plans. As you all know, new customers are forced into these shared data plans, so when we hear talk of positive adoption, we don’t necessarily put a lot behind it. With that said, Verizon’s chief did mention a big bump on tablet connectivity through these shared plans, saying that people like the idea of adding on for $10, rather than having to fork out the $30 it used to run them.

Just over the holidays as an example, we saw a big tick up in tablet attachments. In the past people were buying them and saying I don’t want another account for this. I don’t want to have to pay for the unlimited data. I don’t know how much I am going to use it. I am just going to stick with Wi-Fi. And we saw a significant shift over Thanksgiving where people were saying just for the $10 access a month, I will go ahead and use that – use the share everything plan.

Nothing super juicy, but for those of you that are living and dying with Verizon, you have to love their confidence in the future of their network.

Via:  Verizon

Verizon CEO: While AT&T and Others are Playing Catch-up With LTE, We’ll be Figuring Out 5G and 6G is a post from: Droid Life

According to a recent study, a test of battery life between 3G (CDMA) and VoLTE showed a 50% reduction when placing calls over LTE only. The test apparently took place over an unnamed U.S. operator’s network in two major markets using a smartphone that was capable of making both VoLTE and CDMA calls. We do not know the specific device, only that it was using a fully charged 1540mAh battery. 

During the test, the device lasted 252 minutes over VoLTE and 503 minutes on CDMA. It’s tough to say why the drain happened so quickly, but the author of this study tossed out the idea that when using VoLTE only, you are only using the LTE chip, which could result in a larger drain. I don’t know that I necessarily buy into that idea, since we spent the first year of LTE complaining about dual-radios and the fact that a device’s battery was horrible because it had to power both an LTE and CDMA radio simultaneously.

One thing I think we should keep in mind, is the fact that VoLTE on Verizon is just now going into major testing, if you could call it that. By the time we get close to launch, which could be towards the end of 2013, I would imagine that devices will be built with VoLTE in mind and with a focus on battery life. Since we don’t know who the carrier was or which device was being used, I wouldn’t call these tests definitive by any means. Still, something to think about.

Via:  Fierce Wireless | BGR

VoLTE Could Slash Smartphone Battery Life by 50%? is a post from: Droid Life

Over the weekend, some crafty Canadians figured out a way to get the LG Nexus 4 working on their Band 4 LTE networks. The world was semi-shocked, as Google and LG released this as a non-LTE phone. Unfortunately, hopes were already raised, talk of a future software update to enable LTE was tossed around recklessly, and every person in the U.S. with the phone probably called T-Mobile to ask when their LTE network would be built out.  

LG responded to all of this chatter this morning, saying that the reason the device has an LTE chip inside, is because the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset used only comes with an LTE radio attached. This same chipset also happens to be the exact one used in the Optimus G, a device that the Nexus 4 is based off of, which actually does run on LTE networks. They also mentioned that a future software update is not going to magically allow for LTE connectivity.

Here is the statement that was given to TechRadar:

“In order to provide the best possible specification for Nexus 4, LG utilised the same powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset as can be found in its 4G LTE product, namely LG Optimus G.”

“This powerful chipset is only available with a combined processor and modem and cannot be implemented separately.”

“The modem contains 4G LTE capabilities but is only effective when combined with other essential hardware parts such as a signal amplifier and filter in order for it to work. It therefore cannot be upgraded to 4G LTE capability through software.”

While it’s tough to not call this news “disappointing,” you have to remember that Google and LG announced this as an HSPA-only device. When it cruised through the FCC, there was no LTE radio in sight. In fact, one wasn’t tested or mentioned.

Who knows, though, maybe we’ll see a separate LTE version later down the road. (Not crossing my fingers.)

Via:  TechRadar

LG: Nexus 4 has LTE Chip Because It’s Based Off the Optimus G, Future Software Update to Activate It Not Coming is a post from: Droid Life