wireless

The past 12 months have seen a lot of action in the mobile market.

Google Android and its biggest device partner, Samsung, had a very good year as they surged ahead of Apple and the iPhone. Meanwhile other players in the mobile market, such as Microsoft, Nokia, and Research In Motion, still struggled to make a dent against Google and Apple. And the impending "spectrum crunch" has driven a bevvy of wheeling and dealing on the carrier side.

What will 2013 bring? I suspect Android will continue to get stronger. But we'll finally see whether a true &… Read more

People have been modding wireless inductive phone chargers into their cars since the Palm Pre and its magnetic Touchstone, but Toyota claims today to be the first automaker to offer the tech with its announcement that the 2013 Toyota Avalon will be available with Qi wireless charging.

Specifically, the Qi wireless charging will be available as part of the 2013 Avalon Limited's and Hybrid Limited's $1,750 Technology package, so you'll also want to make sure that you're interested in the radar cruise control, precollision system, and automatic high beams that also come as part of … Read more

Sprint announced 4G LTE coverage today in six new areas, bringing the total to 49 markets.

Effective immediately, subscribers in parts of Indiana, Pennsylvania, and California will find the faster data speeds awaiting them.

Reaching 49 markets in total, Indianapolis/Carmel, Ind.; Santa Rosa/Petaluma, Calif.; Vallejo/Fairfield, Calif.; York/Hanover, Pa.; and Franklin County, Pa. are the newest members of the club. Parts of southern Puerto Rico, including Ponce, Coamo, and Guayama are also seeing 4G LTE coverage today. In addition to these new cities, Sprint is also celebrating expanded LTE coverage in Chicago.

After having just launched the … Read more

Defense researchers are looking to update the wireless platform currently used for military communications to deliver 100Gbps connections.

While fiber-optic cables provide the long-haul backbone for most data and voice communications networks without issue, radio signals often face electronic interference and degradation over long distances, resulting in reduced communications efficiency to soldiers in the field.

The current Common Data Link, the U.S. military's secure communications protocol created in 1991, operates at data rates of up to 274Mbps. To boost that speed, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is inviting input on creation of a new wireless communications platform … Read more

Japan-based Softbank is limiting how much Sprint can pay to acquire Clearwire, a new report claims.

Sprint Nextel yesterday confirmed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it's willing to pay $2.90 a share to buyout the remaining shares in Clearwire. The total cost would be $2.1 billion. Some Clearwire shareholders, however, are saying that Sprint should up its bid to $5 per share.

But there's just one problem: according to Reuters, citing sources who claim to have knowledge of the dealings, Softbank has banned Sprint from paying any more than $2.97 per share … Read more

It's been an exciting -- and busy -- year for networking and storage, two very important categories in consumer electronics. Important because they are at the core of information technology -- without either, most or all of your gadgets will come to a grinding halt. And as far as I know, we haven't yet seen the limit of what they can do.

That said, here is a quick roundup of the current state of this sector and what we can expect, based on my educated guesses, heading into CES 2013.

802.11ac This year will be remembered … Read more

Dish has been given the official green light to fire up its wireless spectrum. The satellite TV provider announced today that the Federal Communications Commission has approved its request for wireless spectrum use.

"The FCC has removed outdated regulations and granted terrestrial flexibility for most of the AWS-4 band," Dish senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jeff Blum said in a statement today. "The Commission has taken an important step toward facilitating wireless competition and innovation, and fulfilling the goals of the National Broadband Plan."

Dish started talks with the FCC earlier this year. Initially, … Read more

A group of tech companies is pressing Congress to provide more spectrum for use by portable electronics devices such as tablets and smartphones.

A letter sent to lawmakers today and signed by Alcatel-Lucent, Apple, Cisco, Ericsson, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, and Samsung urged the technology committees in the House and Senate to consider auctioning some of the spectrum currently used by federal agencies, according to a report in The Hill.

In the Jobs Act passed earlier this year, Congress authorized the Federal Communications Commission to reclaim and auction spectrum held by TV broadcasters to wireless broadband operators. The … Read more

Verizon Wireless isn't making it easy for loyal, longtime smartphone customers to keep their existing unlimited data plans. And now some subscribers, who are willing to pony up the full price for a new smartphone, worry that Verizon may change its policy again and get rid of the plan for everyone.

Truth be told, few people actually need unlimited data. But for those who do, it's a good deal. In fact, it's such a good deal, these customers worry about losing it. And if you're a Verizon customer who wouldn't worry?

The carrier got rid … Read more