cellular

Every weekday afternoon, CNET Update delivers the top tech stories of the day. The show keeps a close eye on emerging trends, hot devices and new apps. And it's all in less than three minutes.

In today's show, Microsoft's got the hots for Nook, LG has its head in the cloud, and we're battling pigs in space! (space! space! space!):

Microsoft is investing $300 million in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary that will handle digital and college business. With this investment, expect the Nook to become a stronger player against the Kindle and iPad.

A … Read more

U.S.Cellular and Alltel Wireless have joined up with Wal-Mart to take on the cell phone frontier of big-box retail distribution.

U.S. Cellular, a regional carrier out of Chicago, and Alltel, based in Little Rock, Ark., will begin selling select phones under the U Prepaid brand in 18 states some time in May.

U Prepaid, a pre-existing Alltel brand, will kick off at Wal-Mart with four phones: the Android-powered Samsung Repp, LG Attune/LG Exchange and LG Saber feature phones with QWERTY keyboard, and the simpler Samsung Chrono.

Customers will ride either U.S. Cellular or Alltel's … Read more

Sprint and AT&T aren't the only ones with big LTE plans. U.S. Cellular is taking bold steps to build out 4G LTE wireless data access, too. In February, the carrier announced the Samsung Galaxy S Aviator, its first smartphone to link to the provider's swift new infrastructure, and just last week it revealed its first 4G tablet. Today U.S. Cellular has officially launched the $199 handset. … Read more

Besides basic divisions in hardware and software, there are some major differences in the way iPhone and Android platform smartphone users ingest data, a new study says.

According to market research firm ComScore, iPhone owners in both the U.S. and the U.K. consumed more of their data over Wi-Fi and their carrier's wireless signal than smartphone users on Google's Android platform during the month of February.

As part of its Device Essentials study released today, ComScore said that 71 percent the U.S. users on iPhones use both cellular and Wi-Fi networks, versus 32 percent of … Read more

We tested the cellular speed of Apple's new iPad in four different cities: San Francisco, London, Singapore, and Sydney.

The first test used the Speedtest.net app to test theoretical download speeds measured in megabits per second. The country whose iPad achieves the highest number wins the test. OK, I guess you can't really "win" a test, unless it's a con-test!! Yeah, so this wasn't just a test, but also became a friendly competition between countries.… Read more

U.S. Cellular makes good today on a February promise to launch its 4G LTE market with a tablet.

Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 marks U.S. Cellular's first LTE offering, making it the fourth U.S. carrier (behind MetroPCS, Verizon, and AT&T) to offer devices on the LTE, or Long Term Evolution, technology for 4G data speeds.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate, which has been available unlocked and with other carriers for months, features Android Honeycomb OS, a 10.1-inch WXGA touch screen (a 1280x800 HD resolution), a 1 GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 … Read more

Despite its mundane and nondescriptive name, the new iPad (third generation) is actually the first 4G device from Apple.

The iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 are both 3G devices. The fact that iOS 5.1 makes AT&T's iPhone 4S show a 4G signal only makes it more confusing, and now you probably don't know what 4G is anymore.

I do, however. How, you might ask? Well, it's simple: 4G is fast, and putting a Ferrari logo on your Honda Civic won't make it a racing car. No offense to the Civic; it's great on gas, but it's speed we're talking about here. So let me say this once again: the new iPad is the first 4G device from Apple.

A couple of months ago, I had a chance to roam around San Francisco with the new iPhone 4S from all supported carriers and found that none offered cellular Internet speeds even close to those of the slowest 4G device. Now, I just did the same thing with the new iPad, both AT&T and Verizon versions, and it was quite the opposite story. … Read more

A nexus tablet, Instagram is here, but not really and google fails to entertain, all that and more on this week's episode of Android Atlas Weekly for March 14th, 2012.

NEWS:

Jessica Dolcourt with the Samsung Galaxy S II on US Cellular -Samsung Galazy S II

-Google Pin Frenzy

-Google’s entertainment strategy is in disarray

-Nokia Maps gives turn-by-turn walking navigation to all

-Hottest new apps out of SXSW 2012

-Instagram coming to Android ‘really soon’

-Android Tablets Will Overtake iPad by 2015, IDC Says… Read more

When U.S. Cellular picked up the Samsung Galaxy S II, it gave me a chance to lay some fresh eyes on a familiar device long after it ceased being the de facto best Android Gingerbread phone around.

I'm happy to report that it's still a terrific phone, and one with components that can stand against most of the next wave of more advanced phones, with one major and one minor sticking point. The major caveat: it won't support LTE. The minor one: it's U.S. Cellular's priciest offering, at $230 after a $100 mail-in rebate (so you're out over $300 up front).

However, if you can afford the cost, and if 4G data speeds aren't your primary concern, then you're looking at the carrier's newest flagship phone.

Check out the video, the photos, and all the pros and cons in this full review of the Samsung Galaxy S II for U.S. Cellular.… Read more