Carriers

For the past few years, T-Mobile and Verizon have traded the crown for customer care. This time, Verizon has again snatched that title, according to data from J.D. Power and Associates' semiannual survey, which was released today.

Verizon Wireless tallied a score of 770 out of a 1,000 possible points, just 4 points ahead of T-Mobile, with 766. Sprint followed with a total of 752 points, and AT&T ranked just behind, with … Read more

Verizon Wireless's Android lineup grew a little stronger today when the carrier began deploying 2.3 Gingerbread to the Motorola Droid X2. The 101MB software update features a number of bug fixes and general enhancements plus improvements to existing applications. As is the case with nearly all recent Verizon updates, the addition of a new Download Manager app provides a central place to handle downloads.

Other details in the 1.3.232 update include calendar enhancements, improved copy and paste, and geotagging capability for the camera app. The home screen and user experience also get a revamp with new widgets, icons, screen transitions, and home customizable tray icons.

It will be interesting to see how this software update is received by Verizon's user base considering the carrier's concerns over Motorola's recent Gingerbread updates. Less than one month ago, for example, we heard that the carrier was shelving all 2.3 updates from Motorola over issues arising with other handsets.

Indeed, a quick look at the Motorola Support forums tells us that Droid X users have been plagued with multiple issues since they updated to 2.3 last month. … Read more

Dual-core 1GHz processors and qHD displays might be the bee's knees today, but they'll pale in comparison to tomorrow's Android phones. New benchmarks for an unannounced HTC handset have landed online that point to a very high-end smartphone headed for Verizon Wireless.

According to the NenaMark benchmark scores, the HTC ADR6425LVW, or Vigor, should offer not only a a 1,280x720-pixel-resolution display, but also a 1.5GHz processor with a Qualcomm Adreno GPU and Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. It's not immediately obvious whether the device has a dual-core platform, but that seems logical given that … Read more

AT&T is showing its commitment to Android this morning with an announcement that confirms Android 2.3 Gingerbread updates to the following phones: HTC Inspire 4G, LG Phoenix, Motorola Atrix 4G, Pantech Crossover, Samsung Captivate, and Samsung Infuse 4G.

Atrix 4G owners will get their update starting today, while Inspire 4G users will receive an update in August. The Atrix 4G update will also let users download apps from third-party stores. Due to different manufacturer skins and other performance issues, AT&T has not revealed when the rest of the aforementioned devices will get their updates.

The other Android 2.3 Gingerbread phone not on the list is the HTC Status, which is AT&T's first Android 2.3 smartphone.… Read more

When carriers announce exciting new phones, rarely do they also reveal exactly when that new handset will go on sale. We usually hear promises like "summer" or "second half of the year" and then we wait for the actual release date to drop. More often than not, it can take a while and cell phone fans and tech journalists begin to get impatient. "Just what's taking so long?" we wonder. Or even worse, "Could there be something wrong with the phone?"

Of course, you can't really blame us for always wanting the next best thing. Yet, this week I learned that perhaps I could be just a bit more patient. And I owe that realization to a two-day visit to Sprint's headquarters and testing labs in Overland Park, Kans. Though I had been to Sprint's "campus" near Kansas City, Mo. before--and trust me that it really looks like a college--this was the first time I saw something outside of a conference room. I joined CNET News Senior Writer Roger Cheng and a small group of reporters for briefings with company executives, including CEO Dan Hesse, and a behind-the-scenes tour of the painstakingly thorough process that Sprint uses to evaluate new devices and ready them for its network. … Read more

Motorola announced this week that the Droid 3 will soon make its way north of the border, arriving exclusively as the Bell Mobility XT860 4G. Save for the difference in network support, the specifications read identical to its Verizon Wireless counterpart and should make for a terrific addition to the carrier's lineup.

Features include Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a five-row sliding QWERTY keyboard, 4-inch qHD display, a dual-core 1GHz processor, and an 8-megapixel camera capable of recording 1080p HD video. If the model number wasn't a dead giveaway, the XT860 4G offers support for Bell's growing 4G … Read more

The last time we checked in with U.S. Cellular, the carrier was promising no less than seven Android devices by the end of the year. At the time we had a few clues about possible manufacturers, but we were largely left in the dark as to what to expect. Thanks to a recently leaked road map, however, we now have a clearer picture as to what lies ahead for the nation's sixth largest carrier.

As expected, HTC figures to play a prominent role in the second half of 2011 with two phones and tablet on the horizon. Tech-savvier Android fans will enjoy the Desire 2 (Desire S) while new smartphone buyers might gravitate more toward the entry-level Wildfire S. Both of these handsets should replace current offerings and join the U.S. Cellular lineup at some point in October. Before that, however, the HTC Flyer is expected to arrive in August, presumably as part of a back-to-school offering. The 7-inch tablet and stylus combination could make for a good digital assistant, especially if the price is right. … Read more

Though AT&T continues to win widespread support from state governors for its $39 billion T-Mobile bid, at least one group from outside the wireless industry thankfully is returning to sanity. This week, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) withdrew its support for the merger after strongly offering it six weeks ago.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Acting President Mike Thompson said that while AT&T has a "strong record of support" for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, support for the merger "was not sufficiently consistent" with GLAAD's … Read more

We haven't heard much from Kyocera since it unleashed the dual-screen Echo early this year, but today the company returned to its simpler roots by announcing the Luno S2100 for Cricket.

Proving that flip phones still exist, the Luno sports a folding design in a deep purple hue. The rounded edges give it appeal and the 1-inch color external display will let you check caller ID and the time without opening the phone.

Inside you'll find a 1.8-inch color display and a standard alphanumeric keypad. Features include Bluetooth 2.1, a WAP 2.0 browser, a VGA … Read more