Facebook has today rolled out its new VoIP calling feature to Messenger users in the United Kingdom, following its launch in the United States back in January. Available only on the iPhone, the feature allows users to make free voice calls to their Facebook friends over Wi-Fi and 3G.
In the latest spat of the carriers, AT&T ran a one-page ad in newspapers last week attacking T-Mobile and claiming that the purple carrier drops two times more calls and is 50% slower.
It hasn’t taken long for T-Mobile to respond with their own one-page newspaper ads, which are simply brilliant: “If AT&T thought our network wasn’t great, why did they try to buy it?” Touché. T-Mobile’s got a couple of other ads to taunt AT&T, which you can check out here.
Source: Tmonews
Sprint has been racing to catch up with Verizon and AT&T with LTE coverage over the past couple of months, and while they don’t have nearly as much coverage as the two cellular giants, they’re starting to get LTE into some of the most important U.S. metropolitan markets now.
This morning Sprint activated their LTE coverage for San Francisco, however it’s not in full bloom just yet.
EE has today announced plans to rollout its 4G LTE network to another 27 towns in the United Kingdom by June 2013, expanding its 4G coverage to 55% of the U.K. population. The carrier is currently the only network to offer a 4G service in the U.K., but its latest announcements comes as rivals begin making preparations for their own 4G services.
The new 128GB iPad with Retina display is now available to order from the Apple online store. The device is priced from $799, and it’s currently shipping in 1-3 business days. You’ll also be able to find it in your local Apple retail store.
EE launched the United Kingdom’s first 4G LTE network back in October 2012, and with it came some pretty expensive price plans; the carrier has certainly been taking advantage of the fact that it has the U.K.’s only 4G network. But that approach is going to be spoiled by rival carrier Three.
Already the cheapest of all the U.K.’s major providers, Three is looking to maintain its position by promising its customers that they won’t pay any extra for 4G connectivity.
Verizon has today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2012, which has been its best yet in terms of subscriber growth. The company added 2.1 million new customers during the three-month period, bringing its total number of subscribers up to 98.2 million, with 58% of those customers using a smartphone.
AT&T could acquire a European carrier as it looks to expand its business overseas, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company is reportedly looking at way in which it can escape the growth constraints in the United States by entering a new wireless market where it can “upgrade technology and rollout more lucrative pricing strategies.”
Although AT&T is only identifying targets at this point, it’s though the company could announce a deal before the end of the year.
A day after AT&T announced its “best-ever” quarter for smartphone sales, rival operator Verizon Wireless is doing exactly the same thing. The carrier has announced that it expects to have reached a record 9.8 million sales during the fourth quarter of 2012, and it’s attributing that success to the popularity of the iPhone.
LAS VEGAS, CES 2013 – The only thing that sucks about the iPod touch is that you don’t have a data connection all the time. You can try to scour the streets for free Wi-Fi, but everyone’s locking their networks now. FreedomPop has a solution that will give your iPod touch the data connectivity of an iPhone for free.
Michigan readers, rejoice, as AT&T announced today several new 4G LTE markets in the eighth most populous state in the US.
Users in the following areas of Michigan should start to see the little LTE symbol at the top of their iPhones and Android handsets very soon.
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Beverly Hills, Michigan
Birmingham, Michigan
Monroe County, Michigan
Kent County, Michigan
Ottowa County, Michigan
Apple’s 4G-equipped iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad have taken a step closer towards a launch in China today after receiving their network licenses from Chinese telecommunications certification center TENAA. Like the iPhone 5, the tablets are expected to be available on the China Unicom and China Telecom networks.
Sprint has announced today that it is set to acquire 100% ownership of Clearwire in a deal worth $2.97 per share — or roughly $2.2 billion. The carrier says it plans to utilize Clearwire’s 2.5 GHz spectrum, which will be migrated to 4G LTE standards, to achieve “operational efficiencies and improved service for customers.”
The United Kingdom is a little late to 4G — just a few months ago, 4G networks didn’t exist. Now it has one, EE, which is quickly trying to expand its 4G coverage across the country. It began its rollout in 11 major cities, and the company has announced today that it will be reaching an additional 17 by March 2013.
Guy Kawasaki was one of the Apple employees behind the legendary marketing of its 1984 Macintosh, and he’s well known among the Apple community for being a former evangelist of the Cupertino company. You might think, then, that when Kawasaki’s phone rings, it’s an iPhone he pulls out of his pocket.
Well that couldn’t be further from the truth. Kawasaki’s a diehard Android fan, and he has been for about a year. He no longer uses any iOS products at all — not even an iPad.
Strong sales of the iPhone 5 have helped Apple grab more than a quarter of the global LTE device market last quarter, despite the handset’s short time on sale. The Cupertino company now commands 27% of the market share, while arch rival Samsung’s 40% share means it maintains the top spot for the seventh quarter in a row.
However, increasing competition from its rivals means Samsung’s share has quickly slipped by more than 10% from 50.9% in the previous quarter.
Looking to get an iPad mini with super-speedy LTE access ridiculously cheap? If you’re in the United Kingdom, then you’re in luck. EE, the U.K.’s first and only 4G network, is now offering Apple’s new tablet subsidized for just £50 (approx. $81) — providing you’re happy to sign up for a new two-year agreement at £36 (approx. $58) per month.
Apple released iOS 6.1 beta 3 to registered developers yesterday, but unless your iOS device’s unique identification number (UDID) is registered with Apple’s developer program, you can’t install it. But don’t worry, we can tell you everything that’s new in this version, including some changes to iCloud setup and Passbook sample cards, new mobile-cellular data options, and more.
Sprint has announced that it will begin selling the iPad mini + LTE and the fourth-generation iPad + LTE from today, November 16. It promises a range of “attractive” data plans that will connect customers to its super speedy 4G network, which are all available without a contract.
AT&T had the fastest 3G network in the country, but when it comes to 4G LTE service, they’ve been way behind Verizon. It looks like AT&T is finally ready to play catchup with Verizon though as they announced this morning that they plan to invest $14 billion into their LTE network over the next three years.
AT&T is calling their investment and LTE expansion plans, “Project Velocity IP,” and is hoping that the investment in the network will drive continued increases in revenues from existing products and services.
The iPad mini is Apple’s answer to smaller Android tablets from the likes of Amazon and Google. But there’s a good reason why it doesn’t come with the same $200 price tag. A teardown has revealed that the new iOS device costs at least $188 to build, and that price rises when you add bigger storage options and 4G connectivity.
T-Mobile is now the only major carrier in the United States that doesn’t offer the iPhone, because Apple’s device isn’t compatible with its 3G network. However, that could be about to change. One analyst believes that T-Mobile will finally get its chance to offer the iPhone 5 from early 2013.
SoftBank, Japan’s third-largest carrier, has this morning announced that it will acquire Sprint in a deal worth $20.1 billion. The company will purchase $8 billion in newly-issues shares from Sprint, in addition to $12.1 billion in existing shares — giving it a 70% stake overall.
It’s been just three weeks since the iPhone 5 started shipping, and Apple’s latest smartphones already accounts for more web traffic than the Samsung Galaxy S III, according to a new report.
It’s thought the handset’s “record-breaking sales numbers” — which have made it the fastest-selling iPhone to date — plus its “new 4G browsing speeds which encourage data usage” are just a couple reasons why the iPhone 5 is so big when it comes to web browsing.
Apple is widely expected to unveil the rumored ‘iPad mini’ at a press event this month, with many speculating that event invites will be sent to the press as soon as tomorrow, October 10th. The mythical 7-inch tablet will likely be priced between $200-$250 and target competition like the Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire. Apple has been poised to enter the cheaper tablet market for quite some time, and the company has reportedly started manufacturing an upwards of 10 million units to sell this holiday season.
A new report today claims that the iPad mini will be Wi-Fi-only, unlike the current third-gen iPad that can operate on 3G and 4G carrier networks. Apple is also expected to unveil an updated version of the current third-gen iPad with 4G support in the U.K. and the new Lighting dock.