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Sprint expands LTE to 21 new markets, including Los Angeles

Sprint has expanded its 4G LTE network to 21 new markets, the CEO said Thursday, boosting the carrier's footprint with the high-speed network.

Chief exec Dan Hesse, speaking at the Competitive Carriers Association trade show in New Orleans, said the new markets include Los Angeles; Charlotte, N.C., and Memphis, Tenn. He also noted that customers are seeing LTE in cities that haven't been officially announced yet, such as New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Sprint has been playing catch-up in terms of 4G LTE, lagging far behind rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T. It … Read more

Verizon sold 4M iPhones in Q1

Verizon Wireless sold 4 million iPhones in the first quarter.

The breakdown of iPhone sales was split evenly between the iPhone 5 and older iPhones, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo said during a conference call Thursday.

The company sold 7.2 million smartphones in the period, with 28 percent going to customers new to Verizon. Shammo declined to provide a figure for Android sales.

In total, Verizon sold 9.7 million devices on a contract basis, with 87 percent of those being phones of some sort.

The 4G LTE push continued in the first quarter. Verizon activated 5.9 million … Read more

Chromebook Pixel LTE arriving today

The Chromebook Pixel with Wi-Fi might already be available, but the LTE model is coming to some doorsteps today.

Google announced the Chromebook Pixel LTE's availability on its Google+ page yesterday, saying that some of the customers who ordered the device from its Google Play marketplace will start receiving their devices starting today.

Google said on its Chromebook Pixel LTE product page last month that the device would start shipping on April 8. The company is now promising ship times of three to five days on new orders.

The Chromebook Pixel LTE goes for $1,449. The device runs … Read more

Leaked Sprint memo tips major 4G LTE expansion for April 12

Sprint may be announcing the launch of 4G LTE services in over 20 new markets on Friday, April 12, if a leaked memo proves to be accurate.

According to details obtained by Phone Arena, LTE speeds will soon arrive in 21 markets spread across ten states. Among the cities listed in the memo are Los Angeles, Ca., Charlotte, NC, Memphis, Tn., and Virginia Beach, Va. Should all of these cities go live on Friday, Sprint will have just shy of 100 LTE areas.

While Sprint has not officially announced the rollout of 4G LTE in these cities, the carrier is … Read more

Sprint ups Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE to Android 4.1

Sprint today announced the Android 4.1.2 update for the Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE.

Sprint, on a bit of a roll, has begun rolling out Jelly Bean to the budget-friendly smartphone. Available starting today, the software update brings the standard suite of Android 4.1 features to the notifications, camera, and to the OS as a whole.

With the update, Victory users will gain access to Google Now, expandable and actionable notifications, and an updated Android Beam that now shares files as well as URLs and maps. Also present are Jelly Bean's lock screen widgets, smarter home … Read more

AT&T adds six LTE markets, unveils plan for 77 more

Six more AT&T markets have access to its 4G LTE network, bringing its total to 182, the carrier said today.

Meanwhile, seven existing AT&T markets have snagged expanded LTE coverage. The company also unveiled plans to bring the super-fast wireless connection to 77 additional markets by the end of summer.

AT&T is racing to catch up to market leader Verizon Wireless, which offers LTE in nearly 500 markets and plans to wrap up its deployment by the middle of the year. With the increasing consumer awareness over 4G LTE and the need for a … Read more

AT&T's 4G LTE hits 175 markets

LTE coverage bragging rights are usually a numbers game, and with the rollout of fast 4G in 14 new markets, AT&T has brought its total numbers up to 175.

Alphabetically, the new markets are:

Beaumont, Texas Binghamton, N.Y. Carbondale-Marion, Ill. Fort Pierce, Fla. Fort Smith, Ark. Fresno, Calif. Houma, La. Jefferson City, Mo. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. Las Cruces, N.M. Montgomery, Ala. Mount Vernon, Wash. Palm Coast, Fla. Temple-Killeen, Texas

Verizon, meanwhile, covers 486 markets with 4G LTE.

In terms of absolute population coverage, AT&T expects to supply fast 4G to 250 million people by … Read more

T-Mobile said to provide LTE on unlocked iPhones on April 5

Unlocked iPhone 5 owners on T-Mobile's network might be able to update their devices to LTE a bit earlier than expected. According to TmoNews, the carrier is said to be sending out an update on April 5 that will enable LTE, Visual Voicemail, and more.

"The T-Mobile Carrier Update is a minor iOS software update that enables official iPhone support by T-Mobile," a notice sent to TmoNews says. "When installed, the software update enables a handful of capabilities like Visual Voicemail, MMS Settings, and Network/Device optimizations that customers do not have access to today. On … Read more

T-Mobile to Lumia 810 users: No LTE for you

Nokia Lumia 810 owners hoping for an update to 4G LTE are out of luck.

The Lumia 810's hardware can support both HSPA+ and LTE; however, T-Mobile has confirmed that an update to LTE isn't going to happen -- at least not at this point, according to a statement sent to CNET today:

While the Nokia Lumia 810 features a chipset, which provides the hardware capability to support both HSPA+42 and LTE, the device will not automatically access our LTE network and, at this time, it will not receive an update to do so.

T-Mobile is committed … Read more

HD Voice coming to AT&T later this year, an exec reveals

AT&T plans to begin deploying HD Voice's improved voice calling to customers later this year, an executive with the carrier revealed today.

The feature, which has been long touted by the wireless carriers, uses hardware and software components on both the phone and on the network to significantly enhance voice clarity while reducing background noise. The feature devotes more frequency to handle the amount of audio coming in and automatically kicks in when both handsets support it.

Speaking at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit in Sausalito, Calif., Senior VP Kris Rinne said that the carrier's support for … Read more