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iPhone 5 gets 4G LTE when Apple says so, not carriers

Apple will be the judge of whether a network's 4G LTE offering is worthy of supporting the iPhone 5, not the other way around.

That's the apparent revelation in a report today from industry site Telecoms.com. A spokesperson from Swisscom confirmed Apple's 4G approval protocol to the site this week, claiming that "Apple only enables 4G access after testing their device on an operator's live network."

In other words, Apple has managed to put 4G behind its fabled walled garden in a way, wrestling a significant measure of control away from the network carriers. Once Apple has determined that a 4G network has met its internal performance standards, it pushes out a software update enabling the step-up from 3G (or -- gulp -- something else) to LTE on that network.… Read more

T-Mobile boosts 4G coverage in attempt to lure iPhone users

T-Mobile today added Baltimore, Houston, and Washington, D.C. to the list of U.S. cities served by 4G (HSPA+) on its faster 1900 network.

"As a part of our $4 billion plan to transform our network, T-Mobile continues to strengthen an already fast and competitive 4G experience in major metro areas across the country by installing new equipment and retuning our 4G airwaves to work with more devices," T-Mobile USA Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said in a statement today.

One of the devices that the carrier specifically highlighted to get the faster 4G coverage is the … Read more

AT&T Mobility CEO sees record customer loyalty by 2015

AT&T believes customers will stick even tighter to its wireless service over the next few years.

The company expects to hit a record-low rate of customer turnover by 2015, according to Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T's mobility arm. He was speaking today at the company's investor conference in New York.

De la Vega was his usual bullish self and threw out several stats to back up his optimism. In addition to the customer turnover rate estimate, he said he expects 90 percent of its customer base to own a smartphone by … Read more

FreedomPop's $99 sleeve brings 4G to iPod Touch

After a long wait, FreedomPop is now shipping the iPod Touch 4G Sleeve.

The sleeve can be attached to any fourth-generation iPod Touch, and allows you to connect to the firm's 4G network and make free calls via Skype and any other voice-over-IP application. Users can connect to 4G anywhere that is on the startup's 4G coverage map -- including the East Coast, Florida and California.

Currently, a sleeve-equipped iPod Touch can stream video, make VoIP calls, and serve as a hot spot for up to eight devices. The startup began taking preorders in May for the $99 … Read more

Add coupons from big-box retailers to Passbook

iOS 6 has been out for just over a month and is already installed on more than 200 million iOS devices across the globe. With such a big user base in such a short amount of time, hopefully we will begin to see an increase in the amount of companies integrating Passbook into their product offerings.

We have already discussed Valpak passes, Starbucks integration, adding random gift cards and even how to create passes for Passbook. All of which were equally useful. And now we can add 20 more big-box retailers to the list, as Coupons.com has rolled out … Read more

Data speeds: iPhone 5 vs. Samsung Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 4S

Though its thinner profile and longer screen are two of the iPhone 5's top draws, I'm more interested in what's inside Apple's newest handset. Yes, after a long wait, the iPhone 5 finally adds support for 4G LTE data networks. Of course, I have to point out that a galaxy of Android phones (get it!) have long offered the feature, but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful that at long last the iPhone has caught up.

Editors' note: This article was originally posted September 22, 2012. We will continue to update it as we … Read more

Apple's Siri trounces Samsung's S Voice (hands-on)

I've updated this hands-on to reflect Siri's new tricks in iOS6; it originally posted June 21, 2012 comparing S Voice on the Galaxy S3 -- which is still current -- to Siri on iOS 5. If you're wondering, tomorrow I'll be comparing the updated Siri to Google Voice Actions.

Voice assistants like Siri, S Voice, Google Actions, and Microsoft's TellMe aren't new, but they are evolving into more mainstream features that can expedite results. S Voice, which launched this summer on the Samsung Galaxy S3, is Samsung's answer to Siri. That also makes … Read more

Understanding Facebook integration on iOS 6

When Apple announced iOS 5 and the tight integration it would feature with Twitter, many people wondered about the conspicuous lack of Facebook integration. We still don't know why Facebook wasn't included in iOS 5, but it is included in iOS 6 and it works great.

In Settings, you'll find a listing for Facebook. Go there to start setting up Facebook's new integration with iOS. If you don't already have the Facebook iOS app installed on your device, you'll be able to download the app there.

You can then log in to Facebook directly … Read more

So, what's new? Comparing the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5

After months of rumors, endless "leaked" images, and tons of analyst reports, Apple finally introduced its latest smartphone, the iPhone 5 last week. In addition to its new look, it also received some hardware and feature updates. To see what changed and what stayed the same, CNET put together this handy comparison chart that stacks up the device with its previous iteration, the iPhone 4S. Take a look and be sure to read our full iPhone 5 review.

iPhone 4S                  &… Read more