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3.5g posts

Sprint keeping its options open with LTE?

by Darren Murph posted Mar 10th 2009 @ 5:01AM

Sprint hasn't been coy about its love and adoration for all things WiMAX, and while it obviously has a vested interest in seeing the next-gen wireless protocol thrive, even it isn't completely ignoring the possibility of dabbling in LTE. Or, at least that's the impression we get from a recent spokesman answer to a question on whether it was "evaluating LTE equipment." Speaking on behalf of the carrier, John Polivka wouldn't go so far as to confirm nor deny whether it was actually dipping its toes into LTE testing while its Clearwire buddies weren't looking, but he did affirm that "as a prudent technology development organization, [Sprint] is always collecting competitive information about various technologies / equipment to monitor and asses the competitive landscape and any potential impacts to Sprint's plans." We've already seen a few CDMA mainstays admit to siding with LTE for 4G, and honestly, we wouldn't be shocked to see Sprint eventually cave too. Whatever stops the bleeding, right?

Research says WiMAX and LTE will live different lives, coexist

by Darren Murph posted Feb 26th 2009 @ 8:39AM

Thinking that there's only room in this ~~town~~ world for either WiMAX or LTE? Research firm In-Stat would love to disagree, as a new report from it asserts that both will actually live on for at least the next little while. Unsurprisingly, it's expected that mobile WiMAX will "outpace LTE over the next few years due to its head start on deployments," and potentially more importantly, the company believes that WiMAX and LTE will take "very different paths." In fact, it's stated that most WiMAX support will come from fixed network carriers looking to spruce up their existing offerings, while LTE expansion will likely be pushed solely (or mostly, anyway) by mobile operators. To us, it all boils down to support, and it only takes a quick survey of the field to see that LTE has the most of that. For better or worse, it seems the next-gen data war is but beginning, even though we already thought we were nearing the end.

Mio said to be prepping GPS-enabled 3.5G touchscreen handset for Q1 2009

by Darren Murph posted Dec 1st 2008 @ 1:05PM

Not that Mio hasn't pumped out a GPS phone or two before, but the rarely-heard-from handset maker is reportedly on its way to delivering its first 3.5G touchscreen-based GPS phone in Q1 2009. Undisclosed sources singled out at DigiTimes have it that the mobile will be powered by a 3.5G chipset from Qualcomm and will come loaded with Mitac's self-developed "Spirit" touch interface. Additionally, it'll pack a 3.2-megapixel camera and should launch ahead of Garmin's oft-delayed nüvifone. In related news, Mio is also scheduled to launch a GPS-packin' MID before Q1 2009 ends, though it's still unclear if it'll choose a 7- or 8-inch panel to accompany the 3G radio and Windows CE operating system. Riveting stuff, huh?

[Via GPSTracklog]

GSM Association votes to support LTE

by Darren Murph posted Nov 15th 2007 @ 2:21PM

Chalk up another one for the LTE team, as it has yet another big proponent in the ever-raging 4G war. Not even two months after Verizon gave LTE the nod over WiMAX / UMB, the board of the GSM Association has now voted to support Long Term Evolution as the mobile broadband solution to follow HSPA. The GSMA also noted that it would be interfacing with other outfits / organizations that are developing LTE technology and begin work with the NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks) initiative. Furthermore, Rob Conway, the entity's CEO, reportedly called on the International Telecommunication Union to "ensure the industry wins the spectrum needed to offer mobile broadband." 'Course, we've already heard that things are shaping up nicely (in testing) for the standard, but winning over the GSMA is likely to incite some serious celebrating in the offices of LTE backers everywhere.

DT501HS PC Card handles DVB-H and HSDPA

by Darren Murph posted Nov 14th 2007 @ 5:19AM

If you've ever wondered just how much functionality could be crammed into a single PC Card, it seems that Onda and Siano are out to give you an answer. Deemed the "world's first combined DVB-H / HSDPA card" for Italy's TIM, the DT501HS enables users to suck down mobile TV and internet content in one fell swoop, but we've no idea if / when this thing will be made available on any other carrier(s). Notably, this device relies on Siano's wee PCB-mounted SMS8021 antenna, which means that you won't find any external protrusions here. As for pricing, we weren't able to locate any hard figures, but those parked in Italy should be able to snap one up anytime now in TIM stores.

[Image courtesy of Cellular]

HTC's P5500 'Nike' slated for September launch?

by Darren Murph posted Aug 14th 2007 @ 7:02PM

Although the most recent hunch about a handset release did indeed prove true, we're not so sure about these HTC claims. DigiTimes has it that High Tech Computer is "expected to launch its second touchscreen-controlled smartphone supporting a 3.5G standard perhaps as soon as September," and while it didn't confirm, the site did insinuate that the mobile in question is the P5500 "Nike." Additionally, the rumors suggested that the phone will be "built using a CPU from Samsung and chipsets from Qualcomm," while also supporting W-CDMA. Of note, these same "sources" claimed that a device codenamed Vogue would be hitting North, Central, and South American shores, and we certainly can't find any room to argue with that.

[Via TheUnwired]

Samsung's HSDPA-enabled SPH-W2400 does DMB TV

by Darren Murph posted Jun 10th 2007 @ 12:36PM

Samsung's SPH-W2400, which we spotted a month or so ago thanks to the FCC, finally has a face and a few more details to boot. The snazzy Anycall-built slider sports a unique rotating screen, DMB TV tuner, a two-megapixel camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth, microSD slot, TV out, language translation software, and HSDPA connectivity. Best of all, it appears that this phone will basically work in every corner of the modern world, but sadly, we've no idea where you'll actually find one for sale nor how much you'll be asked to cough up for it once you do.

HTC subsidiary will sell 3.5G data cards

by Evan Blass posted Apr 16th 2007 @ 5:23AM

Not content with simply making some of the best smartphones on the planet, Taiwanese powerhouse HTC is now looking to get into the data card game, with the company prepping a new HSDPA card through its BandRich subsidiary. The C100, as it's known, will offer download speeds up to 7.2Mbps where available, and is said to be just the first of many mobile modems BandRich is planning. DigiTimes is reporting that the C100 will be priced north of €200 ($269), so although we don't yet know when/where these are gonna drop, it looks like you'll have to part with at least a few C notes if this model lands in your neck of the woods.

[Via jkOTR]

LG's Joy does Symbian S60 and HSDPA, too

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 18th 2006 @ 8:35AM

Step aside Samsung i520 and Nokia N95, you've got company. That's right, LG's first Symbian S60 slider rides the glossy success of their Chocolate phones and is said to feel remarkably light considering the kit packed within. No official announcement has been made, but from the looks of reports spillin' outta London's Symbian Smartphone Show, the Joy is set to deliver Symbian OS v9 and S60 3rd Edition Feature Pack 1, a 2.4-inch LCD screen, GSM / EDGE / HSDPA radios, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, a full xHTML browser, microSD expansion slot, a 2 megapixel camera for snaps and a second shooter for VGA quality video calls. Damn near identical specs as the Sammy. But you won't hear us complaining about choice, albeit not ours, since we won't likely be screaming for Joy Stateside anytime soon.

[Via All About Symbian]

LG CU500 launches Saturday on Cingular

by Chris Ziegler posted Jul 14th 2006 @ 2:04PM

The handset itself might not be anything spectacular in terms of specification, but one aspect of LG's CU500 clamshell makes it extraordinarily interesting: it's North America's first retail HSDPA handset. A little private investigation on our part (meaning we called a few stores) reveals that the phone officially drops in Cingular's 3G markets tomorrow, but several persistent individuals have managed to get stores in the Boston and Atlanta areas to part with their units a day early. HowardForums has a rather active thread heralding the news, which you can read after you give your local store a call, eh?

[Thanks, The Bullfrog]

Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook Q2010 now with HSDPA

by Ryan Block posted May 29th 2006 @ 2:27PM

As if this handsome little bugger wasn't already the "world's most desirable laptop," the Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook Q2010 won't just have Bluetooth, WiFi, 1GB RAM, a black "piano lacquer" finish, an eight-hour battery, a weight of about 2 1/2 pounds, and 3G -- it'll be 3.5G. That's right, T-Mobile Austria intends to equip the laptop with HSDPA data access for use on their high speed European network. The $5,000 price tag on the Q2010 just became that much easier to justify.

SK Telecom launches HSDPA network with new Samsung SCH-W200

by Evan Blass posted May 16th 2006 @ 12:16PM

South Korean consumers looking for some serious mobile bandwidth need not wait until June to pick up one of LG's SH100 handsets that we brought you earlier today, because SK Telecom has just announced that their HSDPA network is live in 25 cities as of today, and that a new model from Samsung is available for the rollout. Besides 2G, 3G, and 3.5G data support, the new Samsung SCH-W200 -- which is the first of five impending HSDPA phones, including the SH100, that will available by year's end -- offers both a two megapixel as well as a VGA camera, S-DMB TV capabilities, MP3/AAC playback, text-to-speech, and perhaps most importantly with all these features, multitasking. Although theoretically capable of 12Mbps downstream traffic, SKT's HSDPA network will currently only deliver a relatively pokey 1.8Mbps to the W200 -- with 3.6Mbps promised for later this year -- but claims to be the only WCDMA network in the world to offer guaranteed video conferencing performance through circuit, and not packet, switching.

Read- HSDPA rollout
Read- HSDPA speeds (subscription required)
Read- Samsung SCH-W200