4g

Analyst expects iPad to pass Mac

The iPad is set to surpass Apple Mac computer shipments by September, while production levels for the yet-to-be-released iPhone 4G will hit 12 million by that time, according to an analyst.

"By the September quarter, iPad sales volumes should exceed Mac, which, on average, are about 3 million on a quarterly basis," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, in a phone interview Friday. Kumar said that iPad shipments will "easily" reach 4 million by the end of the September quarter.

Kumar also commented on the production ramp for the iPhone 4G. "Supply … Read more

Google Latitude gives you an alibi

Links from Thursday morning's episode of Loaded:

Barnes and Noble launches an iPad app to sell books from the Nook store

Google Latitude will now track where you've been

BillShrink can help you compare cable and satellite TV services in your area

The iPhone 4G may launch on Sprint, not Verizon. Keyword: may.

Verizon iPhone: Sooner or later?

At least once a week I get an e-mail from a friend or reader asking me whether I think a Verizon iPhone will be announced on June 7 when Steve Jobs is expected to unveil the fourth-generation iPhone at Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference). A lot of the folks who e-mail me have fulfilled their contracts and are free to go to whichever carrier they want but are anti-AT&T. Others, of course, are simply loyal Verizon subscribers who refuse to switch to AT&T to get an iPhone.

"Have you heard anything on the Verizon … Read more

White iPhone 4G pictures surface online

New photographs circulating around the Internet are reported to be of the forthcoming iPhone 4G (not currently confirmed by Apple), now sporting a white front. Rumors that Apple would continue to offer the black and white color choices have been circulating for quite some time and would seem to be accurate, if these photographs are indeed real. Questions about the authenticity of these pictures could be because the white iPhone is not actually assembled (note the Home button's setting).

Despite the fact that the white front plate is only resting on the iPhone unit, the construction of the surface … Read more

Android 2.2 coming to Nexus One, other HTC phones

Now that all the juicy details of Android 2.2 "Froyo" are out, the question for current Android phone owners inevitably turns to "When do I get it?" Well, there is good news for some, bad news for others, and no news for the rest.

Starting with the good, Google announced via its Google I/O Twitter account that Froyo will be served to Nexus One users in the next few weeks. Not terribly surprising that the N1 would be one of the first to get the update considering its direct ties to Google (though that … Read more

The 404 585: Where we're having a 4G with the HTC Evo (podcast)

Three's a crowd and four's a party, but what do you call five tech geeks and an HTC Evo in a frozen meat locker? We'll just call it a 4G (pronounced fourgie) until we come up with something better. It's officially time for another Natali Del Conte Thursday, but we also have CNET smartphone expert Bonnie Cha in the studio to tell us all about her full review of the HTC Evo 4G from Sprint.

Bonnie just got back from a short trip to Philadelphia to test out Sprint's 4G network, since the limited coverage … Read more

Dialed In 127: Sprint's 4G plans (podcast)

We dish heavily about the HTC Evo 4G, especially about Sprint's unusual choice to charge a mandatory $10 fee even if you don't get 4G in your area. We also talk a little about the iPhone possibly getting tethering, and more.

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News Motorola FlipOut sambas on over to Brazil iPhone OS 4 beta reveals AT&T tethering option Report: Apple readying 24 million units of next iPhone HTC Evo 4G available June 4 for $199.99 HTC Wildfire set ablaze for European, Asian markets … Read more

High-fashion Versace phone

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Versace Unique is not an iPhone killer. Or an Evo killer. Or whatever phone du jour we want to kill at the moment.

Why are these high-fashion phones still around? Who uses them? I've never once seen one in the wild. Only once have I ever even heard of one in the wild and that was when my friend Adam Curry said that he was going to buy his teenage daughter a Samsung Armani. He hardly counts. He is a high-profile guy. Mere mortals do not … Read more

Sprint's 4G plans explained

At long last, it appears 2010 is the year of 4G. Or at least that's what Sprint is hoping for, as it begins on June 4 to roll out the country's first ever 4G phone, the HTC Evo 4G. By most accounts, the phone looks amazing. It promises a 4.3-inch TFT display, a front-facing camera, an 8-megapixel camera on the back, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, Android 2.1, and so much more.

But let's step back for a second and redefine what 4G means in this case. Sprint's 4G technology is called WiMax, and it stand for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. It has close ties to current Wi-Fi technology and is based on a 802.16e wireless standard. WiMax offers a theoretical download speed of up to 10Mbps and peak upload speeds of 1Mbps, though Sprint says that average download speeds will be more like 3 to 6Mbps.

Sprint is the only carrier pursuing WiMax as a 4G technology. The other three--AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile--are going the LTE route. That stands for Long-Term Evolution, and it has a slightly different architecture than WiMax. Existing WiMax hardware would be incompatible with LTE. However, Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse has said that if LTE turns out to be the standard in the future, Sprint would be open to changing over to LTE (unlike GSM/CDMA, the differences between LTE and WiMax are not that vast).

The reason Sprint has been so aggressive with WiMax instead of LTE is that the company has already acquired a lot of the spectrum with its acquisition of ClearWire a few years ago. For more on 4G technology, you can read our quick primer on the subject.

Prior to the Evo 4G, Sprint released a few mobile broadband products that take advantage of 4G/WiMax. They include Sprint's OverDrive mobile hot spot, which lets you connect up to five devices at a time. The data plan on the OverDrive costs $59.99 a month. As for data caps, here's where it gets interesting. Sprint says it still maintains a 5GB data cap for 3G mobile broadband products, but it won't have a data cap for 4G. Also, Sprint says that it doesn't have a data cap for any of its handsets, regardless if it's 3G or 4G. So, good news there. Additionally, the HTC Evo 4G has the ability to act as a WiFi Hotspot for up to eight devices as long as you sign up for a $30 mobile broadband plan, so if you have an Evo 4G, there's no need to get a separate Overdrive, and you get the benefit of unlimited data.… Read more