Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile If Virgin Mobile’s official announcement via Twitter saying that their Samsung Intercept will be getting Android 2.2 come Spring, well they might be setting a record here. The Samsung Intercept just arrived on Virgin Mobile sometime in October 2010 with Android 2.1 as its default OS. Based on Android update history, the 3 month transition from one version to another is currently the fastest that a mobile carrier and an Android phone will achieve so far. No specific date was announced so far. But what we learned is that the update will happen OTA and Samsung Intercept users on Virgin Mobile’s data network will receive the notifications once the update is available. So, if you’re using Virgin Mobile’s Samsung Intercept right now, expect to have your phone’s OS upgrade to Froyo pretty soon. Via [TalkAndroid] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile  Are you using Virgin Mobile’s $40, unlimited 3G broadband data plan? If you’ve been enjoying these services for quite some time now, well sorry to say that this but Virgin Mobile is sort of ditching this service. According to PC Mag, Virgin Mobile is adopting an almost similar scheme that are being used by T-Mobile and Cricket when it comes to offering unlimited data plan.
So starting February 15, once you consumed 5GB of data, your speeds will be slowed down and will go back to its usual speed after the current month is over. In case you’re wondering why Virgin Mobile is doing this - well, it has something to do with their “need to implement network controls to ensure optimal experience.” Virgin Mobile’s Corinne Nosal said via email to PC Mag - “Customers who use BB2Go for typical email, internet surfing and reasonable downloading will likely not be impacted/notice any difference.” Well, if this news comes to you as a letdown and you don’t want to miss high-speed, unlimited data services, you can always check out Sprint 4G/Clear which remains to offer said unlimited high-speed mobile data solution. Via [PC Mag] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Now that they officially carry the iPhone and with several new 4G-capable smartphones announced to be released soon, Verizon is now beefing up its 3G network capability by adding more 3G cell sites across the New York Metro Area. Of course this is a must since Verizon pretty much has a lot of expectations to fulfill from those potential customers who will be jumping into their iPhone offering come February. So, kicking off Verizon’s 3G network enhancement activity are five new 3G cell sites activated in places such as Rockland and Suffolk Counties, three cell sites in Westchester County and on in Nassau, New York and Putnam Counties. Verizon customers or would-be customers in these counties will experience faster and easier 3G connectivity when using their Verizon phones or future iPhones. Verizon also promises to give customers in these counties better reception, fewer dropped cals and of course faster downloads when using their 3G-capable smartphones. According to Verizon, this is part of the company’s multi-billion dollar network investment each year to stay ahead of the growing demand for the company’s voice and data services. Of course once the iPhone becomes available this demand will definitely increase. Here’s the complete list of the new 16 3G cell sites which were just opened up by Verizon. If you’re located in any of these areas, expect a boost on your 3G connectivity the next time you use your Verizon smartphones. - Monsey, NY (Rockland County)
- Spring Valley, NY (Rockland County)
- Suffern, NY (Rockland County)
- Suffern Park, NY (Rockland County)
- Palisades, NY (Rockland County)
- East Islip, NY (Suffolk County)
- Blue Point, NY (Suffolk County)
- Medford, NY (Suffolk County)
- Wading River, NY (Suffolk County)
- Village of The Branch, NY (Suffolk County)
- Bronxville, NY (Westchester County)
- Yonkers, NY (Westchester County)
- Croton on Hudson, NY (Westchester County)
- Merrick, NY (Nassau County)
- New York City (New York County)
- and West Paterson, NY (Putnam County)
Read [PR Newswire] Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Computers, Mobile Computers Sprint recently announced a price cut for its Samsung Galaxy Tab from $399 to $299 on a two year agreement. The seven inch Android tablet featuring Android 2.2, 3G, WiFi, 1.3MP front facing camera, 3MP rear facing camera, and Samsung Media Hub still represents one of the better Android tablets currently available. The decrease is price is probably meant to to keep the Galaxy Tab competitive in terms of pricing when high spec’d 4G tablets become available in this quarter or the next. Keep in mind the two year contract requires a data plan of 2GB for $30 or 5GB for $60. Read [Sprint] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Communications, Cellphones, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Fresh off the heels from Verizon Wireless’ hyped up event, Sprint has sent out invitations to its own event taking place on February 7 in New York City. Interestingly, illusionist David Blaine will be on hand to help CEO Dan Hesse illustrate that the impossible is possible. Sprint also promises to deliver an “industry first” product, which makes the event sound very interesting and we could see the release of a super Android smartphone. Or perhaps Sprint is going to launch its own version of the Apple iPhone! Even though the iPhone is probably not going to happen, we will let you know what happens at Sprint’s event. Via [Engadget] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Wireless While many reading Gadgetell will have already been using mobile broadband in one form or another, it seems that this technology is really going to take off in 2011. According to new estimates, mobile broadband usage will top 1 billion users in 2011. And for those wondering what that can be compared to, “During the course of 2010, a significant milestone in terms of mobile broadband subscriptions was reached as their number surpassed the half-a-billion mark globally,” Ericsson, the world’s biggest mobile network gear maker, said in a statement.
In other words, mobile broadband usage is expected to (almost) double in use as compared to 2010. And to show just how far we are coming, or more accurately how quick things are changing, accordion got the same source, “mobile internet subscribers totaled around 200 million” in 2008. Read [Reuters] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile, Web  Evernote has recently announced that a new update for their webOS app is ready and available in the App Catalog. This update was also given the honor of being the “first Evernote app to get an update in 2011.″ And for those who may laugh that off, while really nothing overall, it does seem a nice step up considering just a few months back the webOS Evernote app was on the back burner. Anyway, moving forward and concentrating on the task at hand—the most recent Evernote for webOS update. According to the details on the Evernote Blog, the update contains notebook filters, more note sorting options, list view, more note editing options and “lots more.” Of course, the kicker came at the end when they let everyone know that they are “committed to the WebOS platform” and that we “can expect lots more in the future.” Certainly good news for webOS users, and with that, here is a further breakdown of the changes found in the new version of the app.
Notebook filters
You can now choose to only display notes from a single notebook when viewing your note list. This makes browsing and searching through your notes much faster and more efficient. Choose a notebook by tapping on the notebook selector at the top of the card on the note list screen. More note sorting options
In addition to notebook filters, we've also added the ability to sort your note list by title, created date, updated date, as well as putting them in ascending and descending order. This call be done from within Preferences. List view
For some of us, limited connectivity and other bandwidth constraints are a way of life. With this update you can stop worrying about downloading thumbnails every time you perform a search. Simply select the new List View option in preferences and your note list will arrive thumbnail free. Not only does this use less data, but it's also a heck of a lot quicker to load. More note editing options
Give your notes some pizzazz by adding color to your text. This can be done from the Evernote menu Edit item. Lots more
There were also a bunch of other enhancements: - Note details scale with the content size
- Improved memory use
- Better note editing and tag entry
Read [Evernote Blog] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile, Computers, Mobile Computers  Just because it has to be said, while we are all very happy to have the Verizon iPhone officially announced because we can finally put that rumor to rest—it really only means other rumors are going to jump in place. So lets get the topics out in the open and start to discuss.
First, how long will it be until the real Verizon iPad is announced and available? We know it is coming, after all, Verizon Wireless CFO Francis Shammo recently spilled those details. And second, we know about the iPhone 4, but when is an LTE-capable iPhone going to hit Verizon? Anyway, while still early and while some are still celebrating the announcement and soon to be release of the Verizon branded iPhone 4—there will always be people wanting more. Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Computers, Software / Applications, Web, Web Browsers, Google  Some not so great news for those who happen to like seeing H.264 video in Chrome as it seems Google is dropping the support. The details are coming courtesy of The Chromium Blog who are reporting that;
“Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.”
Bottom line, H.264 support will soon be removed from Chrome. And while they say they are heading to support on codecs that are “completely open codec technologies” they will still be offering support for Flash. That said, the changes are expected to “occur in the next couple months.” I guess by announcing this ahead of time they are trying to give publishers and developers time to make the necessary changes. Read [The Chromium Blog] Via [Google Operating System Blog] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Cellular Providers, Smartphones, Mobile Though this has not yet been confirmed from anyone official at Verizon, it looks like Verizon employees will not be able to share in the joy of buying an iPhone 4 when it is released early next month. The details are coming from an “anonymous” source of SlashGear who have stated that; “Verizon will not allow employees to carry the iPhone 4 on their employee accounts. Furthermore, Verizon is actually taking the extra step and informing employees that if they do get an iPhone 4 and add it to their employee account, the number will be blacklisted from the account altogether.”
In addition, it looks like Verizon has not provided the employees anything solid as to when they will be able to buy the iPhone. Bummer for them, although given a situation of *possible* limited inventory, this sort of makes sense and is nice to see that they want their customers to come first. And to be honest, this would not be the first time something like this has happened. Either way though, I cannot help but feel employees would be able to give better service for potential customers if they actually had an iPhone 4 of their own that they were using and excited about having in hand. You know, the whole personal experience sales thing. Via [SlashGear] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Business News, Computers, Mobile Computers Verizon Wireless already offers the WiFi iPad bundled with its MiFi device to offer the iPad experience in conjunction with Verizon’s network. However, according to Francis Shammo, Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Wireless, the nation’s largest carrier will begin to sell the iPad that can “connect directly to its network.” After Verizon Wireless already managed to land the iPhone 4, if this rumor pans out and it launches the iPad 3G on its network, AT&T will be dealt with another strong blow. No word on whether the iPad Verizon Wireless will begin selling is the current model, or the highly-rumored iPad sucessor. Hopefully we will learn more soon as I’m sure many Verizon customers would love to purchase an iPad 3G on Verizon Wireless. Via [Bloomberg] Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
 Section: Communications, Smartphones, Mobile  Yesterday we were learning about the name of the upcoming version of Android, you remember, 2.4 which is expected to be announced during Google I/O in May and then rolled out some time over the summer months. Well, it seems that portion still stands as correct (at least for now), however the name Ice Cream was not complete. According to TechCrunch, the name will actually be Ice Cream Sandwich. So there you have it, almost straight from Andy Rubin himself, well, in a very round about way. It seems this name was given to Michael Arrington “in passing” and during a conversation about the Nexus S. Either way, I guess we will be seeing a statue of an Ice Cream Sandwich being rolled out onto the Google complex in a few months time. And speaking of the Android version statues, one can only assume that people seeing them would have confused the Froyo cup and a cup with regular Ice Cream so in that respect, Ice Cream Sandwich makes more sense for Android 2.4. Via [TechCrunch] Full Story » | Written by Robert Nelson for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »
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