verizon

Verizon sold 3.1 million iPhones in the third quarter, thanks in part to the launch of the iPhone 5.

The carrier's chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, said that 21 percent of its iPhones were enabled with a 4G LTE connection, indicating that 651,000 iPhone 5 units were sold. The iPhone 5 hit the market with a week left in the quarter, and sales are expected to ramp up in the fourth quarter.

It remains to be seen how many iPhones its competitors, AT&T and Sprint Nextel, sold in the period, with both companies set to … Read more

Verizon managed a rare feat in the third quarter: juggling a spike in iPhone sales with double-digit earnings growth.

The two rarely go hand in hand, as the more iPhones a carrier sells, the higher the subsidy it has to pay to Apple (without that subsidy, your iPhone 5 would cost a minimum of $650), and the larger the hit it takes to its bottom line.

Through a combination of cost cuts and an effort to squeeze as much profit out of the rest of the business, Verizon managed to avoid that fate. Today, it posted a third-quarter profit of $… Read more

Adding new smartphones to the family's wireless plan can be a scary endeavor, especially as most of us have already seen our wireless bills for just one smartphone surge above $100 a month.

Are there any tips for getting hot devices like the iPhone 5 at a discount? Is there a trick to avoiding taking out a second mortgage to pay for an additional smartphone on the family plan? In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice. I also offer my views on whether it's really worth it to buy the iPhone 4S instead of the … Read more

Verizon Wireless is set to become the next wireless provider to offer carrier billing for Google Play purchases, according to unconfirmed reports. An internal Verizon screenshot obtained by Droid Life shows that the feature will be enabled later this week, specifically on October 18.

It it follows through, Verizon would be the last major U.S. carrier to adopt the billing strategy for apps, games, and other content. With that in mind, it appears that Big Red is going to employ a somewhat different tactic from the other players.

As evidenced in the photo, Verizon will put a $25 cap … Read more

Isis, the wireless carrier joint venture created to push mobile payment services, said today that it would launch its trials in Salt Lake City and Austin, Texas, on Oct. 22.

There will be as many as 20 compatible handsets by the end of the year, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

Isis is an effort by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA to create a standard platform that would allow consumers to pay for goods and services with their smartphones. It's just one of several mobile payment initiatives -- one of the most notable being Google … Read more

Verizon Wireless has begun selling information about its customers' geographical locations, app usage, and Web browsing activities, a move that raises privacy questions and could brush up against federal wiretapping law.

The company this month began offering reports to marketers showing what Verizon subscribers are doing on their phones and other mobile devices, including what iOS and Android apps are in use in which locations. Verizon says it may link the data to third-party databases with information about customers' gender, age, and even details such as "sports enthusiast, frequent diner or pet owner."

"We're able to … Read more

Sprint Nextel is slowly making some progress on the 4G LTE front.

The carrier, which lags behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T with its LTE network, said today that it would expand into an additional 22 markets -- including San Francisco -- "in the coming months." This follows the company's commitment last month to roll out the service in 100 cities, although it similarly didn't give a specific time frame.

The release of the LTE-enabled iPhone 5 has put a spotlight on just how weak its 4G coverage is relative to its two larger competitors. … Read more

The wait for Motorola's new Droid Razr HD and Droid Razr Maxx HD phones will soon be over. Verizon officially confirmed that Moto's fresh devices will hit store shelves on October 18.

Via Verizon's blog, the company locked down pricing and availability for both models. The Motorola Droid Razr HD will run from $199.99 ,while the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx HD will cost a steeper $299.99. Both devices feature large 4.7-inch HD AMOLED screens and access to Verizon 4G LTE.

Only the Razr Maxx HD will boast the massive 3,300 mAh battery, which … Read more

SAN DIEGO -- The majority of Verizon Wireless's data traffic will soon be traveling over the company's new 4G LTE network, Verizon Wireless CTO Nicola Palmer said at a press conference at the CTIA's MobileCon tradeshow here Tuesday.

Palmer talked up the carrier's progress on deploying its LTE network. The company announced it would be deploying its 400th market next week and is two months ahead of schedule on its 4G LTE roll-out.

She also noted that 35 percent of Verizon's mobile data traffic traversed the 4G LTE network in September. And she said that … Read more