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Posts with tag cdma

Telstra kills off CDMA, completes migration to GSM

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 30th 2008 @ 12:52PM


Oh, come on, Qualcomm, show a little emotion; shed a tear or something! After some two years of planning and urging legacy customers to migrate, Australia's Telstra has flipped a big, red, scary-looking switch somewhere, sending its CDMA network into darkness, never to return. The move effectively obsoletes roughly 3,500 CDMA sites around the country along with what the carrier bills as "redundant equipment" -- a nice little cost savings, no doubt, not to mention the freeing of significant chunks of spectrum for more advanced services. As you might have guessed, Telstra is jumping through these hoops to get customers onto its Next G-branded UMTS network, mirroring a widespread trend away from CDMA-based technologies and toward the GSM roadmap. Globally, it seems like CDMA2000 has years of life left -- but without a shred of major carrier support for the 4G path, its glory days may be numbered.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

Nokia intros a couple CDMA flips, say hello to the 1606 and 3606

by Sean Cooper, posted Apr 1st 2008 @ 9:06PM


While Nokia didn't show up to CTIA with guns-a-blazin', they did offer up a couple new CDMA sets with AWS bandwidth in the Nokia 1606 (pictured on left) and the 3606. Planned for release in Q3 this year -- no pricing info available, for either -- the 1606 is low-end character packing 8MB of memory, flashlight -- with dedicated button, ooh-la-la -- 1.8-inch internal 262k color and external monochromatic display, and 3.5 hours / 10 days talk and standby time. The Nokia 3606 holds more tech joy under its hood -- but is still a lower-end device -- sporting a 1.3 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 15MB internal memory with expansion via microSD, and up to 5 hours of continuous music playback. We've not heard who the lucky carrier will be for either of these, but we expect an announcement can't be too far off.

Cricket emits SCH-r430 MyShot / SCH-r210 Spex AWS handsets

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 1st 2008 @ 11:53AM


The collection of AWS handsets just keeps getting bigger, as Cricket is announcing a pair of its own in the SCH-r430 MyShot and SCH-r210 Spex. As for the former, you can expect a flip phone design, 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, web browsing / messaging capabilities and oodles of mundaneness. As for the candybar-styled Spex, you'll find built-in Bluetooth, a 1.5-inch 128 x 128 resolution display, speakerphone support and little more. Granted, both phones are tri-band -- meaning that they'll play nice in PCS, Cellular and AWS markets -- and thankfully, you won't be asked to take out a second mortgage to call one your own. The duo is available now for $149.99 and $119.99, respectively.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Forget the "A" -- Motorola's MOTORZR V3s is AWS capable

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 21st 2008 @ 11:25PM


At this point, we're simply running out of metaphors for the egregious ways in which Motorola is abusing the industrial design of the original RAZR. Yes, Moto, we get it, it was a game-changing phone -- in 2004. Heck, we'll even give it a free pass for 2005 and 2006. But a new one in 2008? Seriously? Sure enough, the new V3s variant rocks out with CDMA support on the 800, 1900, and 1700MHz bands, making this the first RAZR of any sort to support AWS. Cricket just launched its first AWS phone, so we wouldn't be surprised to see this one land over there, too. Oh wait, our bad, Motorola did change one thing about this phone: the "A" has been dropped from the name. The manual calls out the V3s as the "MOTORZR," possibly in preparation for a broad new marketing campaign that's virtually identical to the old, but with even fewer vowels. Your guess is as good as ours.

First pics of CDMA BlackBerry Curve 8330 surface

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 11th 2008 @ 1:06PM


We heard you poor souls loud and clear -- hoping, begging, praying for a CDMA Curve announcement during CES. Apparently, said device is on the way. According to non-blurry (gasp!) pictures over at BBGeeks, the CDMA Curve is rockin' a 8330 model number, integrated GPS, built-in camera and a temporary sticker on the back warning that what you're looking at is absolutely not for sale under any circumstances. Excited? You should be, now hit up the read link and take a peek.

Qualcomm gets cozy with LTE, makes migrating from CDMA a snap

by Chris Ziegler, posted Feb 8th 2008 @ 4:00AM

What if Toshiba were to produce a Blu-ray player? If there's one surefire sign that a company is recognizing the mortality of its own standards, it's throwing some support behind the competition's -- and that's exactly what Qualcomm has done in announcing new roadmaps for its mobile and cellular base station chipsets that include LTE. LTE, one of several 4G standards competing for the hearts and minds of carriers across the world, has a huge leg up on Qualcomm's own UMB and WiMAX (which is technically a pre-4G standard, anyway) by having the blessing of the GSM Association, the global juggernaut of mobile industry organizations. Anyway, Qualcomm's new plans call for future chipsets to support various flavors of UMTS, HSPA, and EV-DO, theoretically making it easier for carriers of all creeds to migrate to LTE while still supporting legacy cells and devices. The new silicon is expected to be available next year, and without a single major carrier having signed up for UMB, we'd say that's not a moment too soon.

CDMA Nokia with EV-DO passes the FCC

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jan 10th 2008 @ 3:08PM


The Dark Age of Nokia's CDMA relations may be finally drawing to a close. After a series of forgettable rebranded Pantechs (seriously Nokia, what the crap was up with that?), we were encouraged last year by the introduction of the rather low-end 2135 candybar, an honest-to-goodness Nokia that seemed to indicate Nokia / Qualcomm relations might -- might be warming. This device features EV-DO data and Bluetooth, but that's about all we can gather from the few FCC docs that aren't protected by the confidentiality clause at the moment; we don't know who it might be headed for, whether it runs S40 or S60, or any other juicy little bits of information that would make the Nokia faithful on Verizon and Sprint drool. We'll pass along details as we get 'em, of course.

Sprint links both its networks for walkie-talkie call

by Brian White, posted Jul 24th 2007 @ 6:34PM

Although Sprint has decided to dump the Nextel name from all its marketing efforts, it is (of course) keeping that billion-dollar iDEN network operational. To drive that point home, the wireless carrier made the first walkie-talkie connection between two different phones (one on each network) recently. Yes, Nextel's "Direct Connect" talked to Sprint's upgraded EV-DO revision A network as the carrier prepares to make that newer EV-DO revision A network interoperable with the older iDEN network sometime next year when it comes to that chirping walkie talkie feature.

Qualcomm planning healthcare MVNO

by Brian White, posted May 17th 2007 @ 8:30PM

As if the U.S. doesn't have enough MVNOs these days, CDMA pioneer Qualcomm plans on launching one with a healthcare focus. The new company, LifeComm, has been designed to have broad customer appeal -- not just for medical professionals -- and was created by Qualcomm and some unnamed partners. It's reportedly set for launch sometime in late 2008, featuring in-phone services that give advice and information on fitness, weight management or reduction, diabetes management and heart health. Past the phone, the MVNO will also offer services for wellness, fitness and even health maintenance. With ESPN Mobile folding not long ago, will such a narrow focus be enough for LifeComm?

[Via mocoNews]

The Samsung SCH-B6550: like the U740, but not

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 11th 2007 @ 10:50AM


Yeah, so this is how Sammy does up a dual-hinge flip in its domestic market. It looks a good deal like the U740 that we get over here -- in fact, if it weren't orange, it'd be a dead ringer from the outside -- but flip 'er open and you'll notice that the QWERTY keypad we get here has been replaced by a more traditional numeric type. The reason? Well, it seems the SCH-B6550 here does T-DMB mobile TV, so it'd make sense that users would want a convenient way of setting it on a surface and getting their couch potato on. Like the U740, the B6550 does 1.3 megapixels from its camera, but ups the display from 220 x 176 to full QVGA resolution. We're not sure how we feel about the orange, but then again, we're not sure how we feel about the original U740's champagne, either.

Hands-on with the Samsung Ubicell

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 28th 2007 @ 1:43PM


While we're all patiently waiting for UMA to go national (any carrier want to step up to the plate here?), Samsung's taking a decidedly different approach to mobile VoIP with its Ubicell product unveiled this week. Carriers are apparently keen on embracing it, too, with Sprint planning on offering it later this year at a to-be-determined price. We had a chance to check it out this morning, and it looks decent enough; it's reasonably small and it won't stand out in most decor (especially if you can just set it next to your wireless router). The craziest feature might be the integrated GPS that -- get this -- locks you out if you try to get all clever and take the Ubicell outside of US territory. In other words, Sprint has no interest running a femtocell in, say, Madagascar.

Gallery: Hands-on with the Samsung Ubicell

Kyocera introduces 5 new handsets at CTIA

by Sean Cooper, posted Mar 27th 2007 @ 4:57PM


Kyocera, the well-known CDMA handset specialist, has busted out a slew of new handsets today at CTIA. "Typical clamshell" and "variation on the theme" seem to be the orders of the day, with Kyocera only bringing one non-flip out to play. From left to right, at the top of the list is the E5000 (check that sweet-looking hinge) featuring a 1.3 megapixel cam, EV-DO, Bluetooth with A2DP support, and touch sensitive keys on the face to access your tunes. Next up, the M1000; this side flipper opens to reveal a QWERTY keypad, has dual displays, Bluetooth 1.2, and voice digit dialing. The E2000 brings the music-centric features with memory expansion to 2GB, front-mounted music controls for quick access, a 1.3 megapixel shooter, all packed in a styling piano-black enclosure. The E1000 brings most of the same features as its sibling, the E2000, but lacks the EV-DO love and the expandable memory slot. Rounding out this year's offering is the lowly S1000, this diminutive candy bar boasts 3 hour talk time, a straightforward keypad for texting, and weighs in at only 76 grams. Alright, we admit, we're suitably impressed with Kyocera's portfolio at a show where most of the heavy-hitters seem to have already emptied the bank of new releases for the year -- keep it coming, folks.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Broadcom wants to ban all U.S. phones with Qualcomm chips

by Brian White, posted Mar 23rd 2007 @ 5:48PM

After we thought Qualcomm and Broadcom had at least kissed and made up a little, Broadcom dropped a bit of a bombshell this week: the wireless chipset company asked the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban the import of Qualcomm-containing mobile phones to the U.S. The handsets in question feature certain Qualcomm processors involved in the long-running patent infringement lawsuit between the two wireless companies. Broadcom told the ITC that Qualcomm would be "rewarded for patent infringement" activities if all Qualcomm chip-containing handsets were not banned from being imported into the U.S. In other news, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and Alltel said they would immediately switch to GSM and give away free Nokia N73 handsets to all customers. Just kidding -- we can have fun too, you see?

[Thanks, Wil]

Funny lookin' Nokia -- the 7088, perhaps?

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 22nd 2007 @ 8:50AM


Pretty much every detail surrounding this bizarre slider is distinctly un-Nokia. First, it's allegedly the 7088, a CDMA phone recently approved by the FCC. Thanks to a recent series of spats with Qualcomm, the popular belief held that Nokia was all but abandoning in-house CDMA handset development, but the 7088 is straight-up 100 percent Espoo. Second, it's frickin' weird. The front has a strange, pudgy appearance (which admittedly jibes with the ID label diagram in the FCC's archives for the 7088) with distinctly L'Amour-esque accents, despite the fact that it's said to sport a meager 160 x 128 display -- pretty crappy for a phone bearing L'Amour credentials. Ah, well; whatever Nokia wants to call this thing, we reckon there'll be more than a few CDMA users across the globe celebrating its arrival.

[Via Slashphone]

Pre-order LG AX8600s coming in new colors from Alltel

by Brian White, posted Feb 26th 2007 @ 2:22PM

Alltel likes colors, from gloss black to fire red -- so it's no wonder that one of the handset staples in its inventory is getting new skins for all kinds of personalities and tastes. The LG AX8600 is apparently available not available in several new colors from CDMA carrier Alltel even though that handset was brought to life as the VX8600 by larger CDMA fan Verizon Wireless last summer. While we're still not sure Alltel has the "largest network", at least the carrier does have some decently-packed phones as of late. But, right now, we still can't find the AX8600 for pre-order in these different skins available at Alltel's website. It was there briefly, but it's gone as of this second. Until it reappears, here's a nice pic of the Verizon version in plain ole' black to tide you over.

Update, 2-27-07, 12:02pm CST: Alltel's page with the newly-colored AX8600s is up now. Hopefully it stays there (Thanks Brent!)

[Thanks, jerreteb]




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