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?

Verizon 4G LTE Now in Over 497 Markets, 95% of the 3G Network Covered is a post from: Droid Life

Sooooo, about that Verizon Wireless press event at CTIA. It was for a Latino-focused mobile network that Verizon has partnered with Jennifer Lopez to launch – it’s called Viva Movil. It was easily one of the more embarrassing and hilarious (for the wrong reasons) press events I have seen in my 3 or 4 years in this business. J-Lo stood on stage after a quick intro, not even hiding the fact that she was ill-prepared and had to turn her head from teleprompter to teleprompter during her drawn out speech over a company that she apparently cares so much for. There was even a moment where she lost track of a question she was attempting to answer, and instead took to explaining how fun it was to pick out colors and fonts for stores. Marni Walden, Verizon’s COO, probably made matters worse though, by starting off the event telling the press in attendance that they wouldn’t have invited them there unless it was for a “big announcement” and that they would have news to Tweet about afterwards. She wasn’t lying, there is plenty to Tweet about. 

Viva Movil will have stores in New York, Miami, Los Angeles and a presence online. Verizon doesn’t actually own any part of the business, they are simply helping promote it and are a launch partner. Viva Movil will be branded as “premium” Verizon store, which is no different than any other third party wireless store you may have visited.

After cruising through their site for a moment, I noticed that they have a decent collection of phones that includes the Galaxy S3, iPhone 5 and RAZR MAXX HD. The minute and data plans are the same as Verizon’s, since everything runs on their network.

I don’t think I need to go into how awkward and confusing the idea of a Latino-focused wireless network is, do I? If you want to find out more, hit up the source link below.

Here are the two highlights from the event:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

More:  Get Viva

Jennifer Lopez Partners With Verizon to Launch Latino-focused Viva Movil Network is a post from: Droid Life

CTIA 2013 is happening this week in Las Vegas and Tim is there in attendance for one reason, because Verizon scheduled a press event to take place, their first in quite some time. We have no idea what to expect once they take the stage, but you can probably think of a few good reasons. Will it be network related? Is their initial 4G LTE rollout complete? Will VoLTE make its first appearance? Or will we finally see the Verizon-branded HTC One? It could be a combination of all of those things for all we know. Verizon has been tight-lipped on this one, so stick with us during our live blog to see what happens.

The event kicks off at 11:00AM Pacific (2:00PM Eastern).

Live: Verizon’s CTIA 2013 Press Event is a post from: Droid Life

Hypebeast tank tops on? The HTC One on Verizon rumors won’t seem to die, and we’ve got another random one to toss out this afternoon, the day before Verizon takes the stage at a press event at CTIA. According to an XDA member who works for Sprint, their HTC rep stopped by this afternoon to check on things and happened to have a special device tucked away in his pocket. When asked about the 4.2.2 update for the Sprint version of the One, the rep reached for a second device, which he claims to be the Verizon version already running 4.2.2. This tipster mentioned that the device had the 4.2 notification toggles, likely similar to what we saw in the leaked 4.2.2 ROM for the HTC Butterfly. 

So what does this mean? It could be a troll or it could be the first sign of something we have all been waiting for – the HTC One on Big Red. Keep in mind that Verizon really does have a press event scheduled for CTIA tomorrow that we’ll be at, but there have been no hints suggesting that HTC has anything to do with it, thus far. HTC is doing a little press get-together at CTIA this week, however, lots of companies do PR parties without announcing anything significant.

Then again, didn’t HTC say only a week or so ago that when they announce a new product for Verizon, they’ll “make a big deal about it”? Why yes they did. They also can’t seem to find a way to fully put to bed rumors of the One coming to Verizon, so don’t rule anything out.

We know that a device under the codename DLXPLUS with Verizon branding and similar specs to the One is alive and making its way through the certification process. We also have multiple reports out of AllThingsD which suggest the One is indeed coming to Big Red.

One thing is for sure, we’ll know tomorrow at 11:00AM Pacific if Verizon’s event has anything to do with HTC.

Via:  XDA

Cheers Mike!

Random Rumor: HTC Rep Stops by a Sprint Store, Pulls Out Verizon HTC One Running 4.2.2 is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

Thanks to apps like CellMaps Mobile, you can check out carrier coverage in your area before deciding to make a move. There are a handful of apps that do similar things to CellMaps Mobile, but this app was released this morning and offers up an incredibly simple map feature and carrier selector. It does have an in-app upgrade that unlocks more features, though.

From the main screen you have options of Coverage, Insights, About, and Settings. Coverage takes you directly into a map with boxes for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 4G LTE, along with the four major U.S. carriers to be displayed. Tap the appropriate boxes, and bam, enjoy the visualization of coverage.

The information displayed is not community-generated, but instead uses the marketed maps of carriers for comparison’s sake.

If this isn’t your cup of tea, feel free top check out OpenSignal, which is a community-generated app with quite a few additional features.

Play Link

CellMaps Mobile Shows You Carrier Network Coverage Areas, Lets You Compare is a post from: Droid Life

If Verizon ever opens up a pre-order for a new flagship device that you are strongly considering or have already made your mind up on, jump on the pre-order. Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen pre-orders arrive early time and time again from Big Red. The Samsung Galaxy S4 is no exception, as pre-orders shipped at the end of last week and are now arriving as early as today to many. Readers of ours (as you can see by the image above) are now the “envy of everyone” they work with.

The device doesn’t officially launch until May 23.

Have you received yours? If so, we’d love to hear your initial thoughts on it!

Cheers Chris!

Verizon Galaxy S4 Pre-orders Now Arriving at Homes of Lucky Customers is a post from: Droid Life

A couple of weeks ago, Dan Rosenberg announced that he had unlocked the bootloader of the AT&T Samsung Galaxy S4, but that he wouldn’t release his method until Verizon’s variant was also out in case they tried to patch it. With Big Red’s version arriving on doorsteps of pre-orderees, Dan had a chance to test his method thanks to a “helpful tester” and came out successful. According to a Tweet sent by Dan this morning, he successfully booted a custom recovery onto the Verizon version of the device and that he is looking forward to a release. 

Should your Galaxy S4 arrive in the coming days, or you decide to pop into a Big Red store to pick one up, be on the lookout for this method. We’ll be sure to pass it along the minute it becomes public, as there is no telling how long it’ll take for Verizon to issue a patch.

Take us away Diddy, “Can’t nobody take my pride, can’t nobody hold me down, ohhhh no, I got to keep on rootin’!”

Via:  @djrbliss

Cheers Mark!

Dan Rosenberg Appears to Have Conquered Verizon’s Galaxy S4 Bootloader, Boots Custom Recovery is a post from: Droid Life

Back on February 1, Verizon introduced a new set of prepaid plans that were laughable, to say the least. These new plans started at $60, which would get you unlimited talk and text along with 500MB of data. The second tier landed you the same unlimited benefits, but only 2GB of data for $70. Keep in mind that neither is capable of connecting to Verizon’s nationwide 4G LTE network and are instead stuck on their insanely slow 3G CDMA network. Also, prepaid offerings from companies like SmartTalk offer unlimited talk, text, and data for as little as $45 per month on HSPA+ networks. 

Outside of MVNOs, we have seen T-Mobile become the UNcarrier and AT&T launch their new AIO prepaid plans over the last couple of months, both offering services which crush the measly little data caps that Verizon set in initial prepaid plans. So, as any respectable business would do, Verizon has made some changes to those initial offerings.

Their prepaid plans now offer more data along with the same unlimited talk and text bundles. For $60, prepaid customers will start at 2GB of data instead of 500MB. At $70, customers will be bumped up to 4GB of monthly data.

Keep in mind that AT&T’s new AIO plans start at $55 for unlimited talk and text with 2GB of data, but then jump to unlimited (high-speed HSPA+ for the first 7GB) data for $70.

Via:  Verizon

Verizon Ups Data Limits on New Prepaid Plans, Likely in Response to Competitors is a post from: Droid Life

Yesterday, readers reached out to inform us that their pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy S4 on Verizon were being processed and potentially getting primed for shipping. They weren’t messing around, as orders for many of them have begun to ship with estimated arrival times of early next week. The device was supposed to arrive around May 23 – at least that’s the new release date – but if they are shipping now, some lucky future GS4 owners could have their devices a day or so early.

Get ready! And be sure to browse through our Galaxy S4 review and 20+ tips and tricks video, so that you know all there is to know about Samsung’s new flagship. 

Cheers Dan, Matt, Stephen, and Alan!

Verizon Galaxy S4 Pre-orders Already Shipping! is a post from: Droid Life

According to some of our readers, their Galaxy S4 pre-orders on Verizon are starting to be processed, and some even say they’re being shipped. Verizon previously listed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 would launch on May 30, but then bumped it up a full week to May 23.

Naturally, it makes sense that orders would start being processed as inventory fills up, but to see that they might begin shipping too is a great sign for customers waiting by their door.

Let us know if you receive your shipping info from Verizon.

Update:  They are now shipping!

Cheers Jonathan!

Galaxy S4 Pre-Orders on Verizon Are Beginning to be Processed is a post from: Droid Life

The HTC DROID DNA, which could easily be considered Verizon’s best available phone (our review), can be had for free thanks to a new coupon code and referral program that Big Red is running through May 21. All you have to do, is click through on the source link below, type in your email address, and wait for your coupon code to arrive (should take only a couple of minutes). Once you have it, you can print out the code and redeem it inside a Verizon or store, or use it during checkout through their online shop. 

Verizon is currently charging $199 on new 2-year contract for the DNA, so this promo will save you almost $200. In order to receive the phone for free you do need to sign a new contract.

The promo also allows you to refer friends who are not currently Verizon customers. Should you refer them, Verizon will give you $25 per.

Keep in mind that the Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available starting May 23 and that there is still a chance that Verizon carries a version of the HTC One down the road.

Via:  Verizon

Cheers Albert!

[Deal] Verizon Handing Out Free DROID DNA Coupon Codes is a post from: Droid Life

According to a Verizon PR rep, their Samsung Galaxy S4 launch has been moved up to May 23. Previously scheduled for May 30, this is exciting news for Big Red customers who were beginning to feel left out of the GS4 party. Samsung’s newest flagship is already available on every other major carrier in the U.S. Verizon doesn’t typically provide details on why their devices tend to (almost always) launch later than similar phones from other carriers, but we often attribute it to their testing procedures, which have a reputation in the industry for being slow.

We should point out that a quick browsing of Verizon’s website still shows May 30 as the ship date for orders. That could change, though.

Update:  Verizon has updated their press note for the Galaxy S4 with a mention of May 23. The device will be available both in stores and online that day.

Via:  @VZWKen | Verizon

Cheers Open1Your1Eyes0!

Verizon’s Samsung Galaxy S4 Now Launching May 23 (Updated) is a post from: Droid Life

Did you happen to lose root or still have not yet rooted after updating the Galaxy Note 2 on Verizon to build VRAMC3? Developers released an updated rooting method for the device over the weekend, easily working its way around VZW’s OTA patch. Running the program is extremely simple as it is completely automated and just takes a couple of clicks if you are running Windows 7. It is also available for Windows 8, Linux and Mac users, so it should be a fun and easy process. 

You will need Java installed on your computer and a completely stock device. If you are ready to get your root on, head on over to the thread to download the needed file.

Via: XDA

Cheers Lakers1moretime!

Rooting Method Updated for Verizon Galaxy Note 2 After VRAMC3 Update is a post from: Droid Life

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. 

Here is the invite being sent to owners.

Hi,

Thanks for joining the Motorola Feedback Network. We are inviting owners of the Motorola Xoom on Verizon to participate in an early preview of a new Jelly Bean software release, and provide feedback.  If you are not currently using a Verizon Xoom, please excuse and ignore this email.

Click this link “link retracted“ to take the enrollment survey if you wish to take part. Note that you must be a member in good standing of the Motorola Owners’ Forums to be included. The registration window could close without notice so please respond as quickly as possible.

This is a confidential test under the terms of the Motorola Feedback Network. Do not post any details or information about this on any public sites.

Thanks — please understand that start times are always fluid. We ask for your patience if you register but don’t hear from us right away.

Matt
Motorola Owners’ Forums
Motorola Feedback Network

Who here is still rocking the XOOM?

Cheers M and J!

Soak Test Invites Arriving, Jelly Bean Coming to Verizon’s Motorola XOOM 4G LTE is a post from: Droid Life

Verizon is currently hosting a “Red Hot Deal Days” event from today through May 12 (this Sunday), so if you were in the market for a new Big Red smartphone, now wouldn’t be a bad time to look. Well, assuming you aren’t interested in the Galaxy S4, since that won’t be out until May 30. But if the GS4 isn’t on your radar, you’ll find deals on the RAZR MAXX HD and regular RAZR HD, RAZR M, Incredible 4G LTE, Blackberry Z10 (hah!), and more.

The DROID line is headlining this show, with the RAZR MAXX HD at $149 on contract, RAZR HD at $49, and RAZR M and Incredible 4G LTE for free. The Samsung Galaxy S3 (16GB model) is also there for $99 on new 2-year contract.

Keep in mind that Amazon will beat almost all of these prices, starting with the RAZR MAXX HD at $99 on contract.

Via:  Verizon

Cheers Adam!

Verizon Hosting “Red Hot Deal Days” – RAZR MAXX HD for $150, RAZR M for Free, Galaxy S3 for $99 and More is a post from: Droid Life