cellular

U.S. Cellular gains another budget flip phone for its repertoire of entry-level feature phones. The Samsung Chrono has Bluetooth, speakerphone, and is Web-capable.

It also includes GPS and texting with predictive text. Physically, it sports a 2-inch QVGA screen and a VGA camera.

The Chrono weighs just over 3 ounces and stands 3.7 inches tall, 1.8 inches wide, and is 0.7 inch thick. It promises 4.45 hours of talk time.

The Chrono costs just a penny ($0.01) on contract, or $19.99 as a prepaid option.

It's been my personal experience that that nerds love their room in the basement, which tends to be kinda dark even during daytime, where they have fast Internet access and lots of gadgets. And I have to admit that it's nice down there here, where you I can do all kinds of fun things, such as playing games, programing, playing more games, or just quietly enjoying the sound of crunchy Cheetos while pondering over the prospect of some romantic date...without being bothered.

But it's not true anymore that you can only have fast Internet at home.… Read more

In our experience, Verizon's claim about offering the fastest 4G network has been consistently correct in CNET tests. Its LG VL600 LTE USB Modem proved the fastest among its peers, and now the Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-11 is by far the fastest among 4G cellular routers CNET has reviewed. But it's far from perfect.

Measuring just 3.5 inches by 2.3 inches by half an inch, Verizon's compact and good-looking Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot SCH-11 is about the same size as Sprint's MiFi 4082 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot or T-Mobile's 4G Mobile Hotspot ZTE MF61. All three routers support 3G and 4G networks and offer Internet access for up to five Wi-Fi clients.

However, the similarity ends there. The Samsung device doesn't support most features available in the other two, such as GPS, Wi-Fi Protected Setup, an external antenna port, microSD slot for network storage, and so on. The router doesn't even allow Wi-Fi clients to communicate with one another. It's just a simple router that shares a very fast connection to the Internet. … Read more

U.S. Cellular announced today its plans for bringing 4G LTE coverage and cell phones to more than a quarter of its customers in 2011.

The nation's sixth largest mobile operator will roll out 4G service in stages, starting with Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin. 

"In addition to our line-up of cutting-edge devices, customers who switch to U.S. Cellular get unique benefits like faster phone upgrades without continuously signing contracts, and join the happiest customers in wireless," said Mary Dillon, U.S. Cellular's president and CEO, in a statement.

U.S. … Read more

Next week, CEOs from some of the nation's largest wireless companies will be testifying on Capitol Hill for and against the proposed $39 billion megamerger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA.

On Wednesday, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson and T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm will argue in favor of the merger in front of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "The AT&T/T-Mobile Merger: Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?"

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and regional carrier Cellular South CEO Hu Mena will be there to testify against the merger. … Read more

LG should be the next company to enter the dual-screen smartphone fray with its Android 2.2-powered Genesis. Uncovered by AndroidCentral, the LG Genesis features a very familiar enV design with its two touch displays (3.5-inch external, 3.2-inch internal).

On the hardware front, the handset offers a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 5-megapixel camera, and a five-row QWERTY keyboard. Additionally, the Genesis has 430MB of internal memory, an 8GB microSD card, and support for Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), GPS, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, and DLNA media sharing.

AndroidCentral's findings indicate that U.S. Cellular will offer the smartphone for an expected $249.99 price tag with the requisite two-year commitment and $449.99 outright. As of this time, neither the LG nor the carrier have formally announced the phone or its release date.

I'll admit that I'm growing a little bit leery of the dual-screen Android phones and tablets hitting the market. Android developers already have their hands full dealing with the various platform versions and I foresee that the secondary displays will only add to the equation.

Already, we have the Samsung Continuum and Kyocera Echo on sale with Sony's tablet arriving later this year. Until one of these handsets really takes off, developers will sit on the sidelines, fearful of wasting time and effort on a one-trick pony. … Read more

The T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot looks like a chocolate bar and is supposed to be enjoyed like chocolate, too: slowly. This doesn't mean the device's Internet connection is slow, however.

In fact, it's significantly faster than the recently reviewed Sprint MiFi 4082 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot; it has average 4G download speeds of around 3.5Mbps and uploads at around 1.8Mbps in the San Francisco Bay Area. So why do you have to hold your horses when it comes to enjoying it?

The answer is because of the data plans T-Mobile has for the device. There … Read more

With a filing at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today, AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile is now in the hands of federal regulators.

The paperwork, which spells out AT&T's intention to acquire T-Mobile's spectrum licenses, is the first official step in its quest to become the country's largest wireless carrier. AT&T also used the documents to argue why the deal is good for customers and the wireless industry as a whole.

"AT&T faces severe spectrum and capacity constraints and cannot simply wait for the next … Read more

Does it have Samsung's signature high-polish glossy body? Of course! But the Samsung Gem, an Android 2.2 Froyo smartphone for U.S. Cellular, also has some style all its own. With its swooping lines and repeated pentagonal, superhero-esque accent, it doesn't look like just any other Android phone.

We're pleased that Samsung left its custom TouchWiz interface off this model, giving us the default (some would call it "pure") Android experience.

The specs are typical for a … Read more