Rev. A -- Engadget Mobile

rev. a posts

Motorola releases push-to-talk over EV-DO Rev. A solution

by Darren Murph posted Aug 25th 2008 @ 9:48PM

Tired of abysmal sound quality when yapping via PTT? Are your chirps not leading to responses in a timely fashion? Never fear, as Motorola is all over it. For better or worse (though probably better), Moto has released its next-generation push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) solution, which is optimized for CDMA 1x networks with EV-DO Rev. A data capability. According to the official verbiage, the new solution leverages the zippy protocol to provide "low call set-up time latency and improved quality of service (QoS)." Rev. A chirping -- who woulda thunk it?

Alltel kicks off EV-DO Rev. A deployment

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 23rd 2008 @ 4:37PM

With LTE a few years out yet, Alltel needs something to get it over the 3.5G hump -- and seeing how it's presently a CDMA carrier, you can pretty much guess where this is going. Sure enough, Verizon's newest partner in crime has announced that the rollout of its EV-DO Rev. A upgrade is now underway, promising a bump in downlink speeds from 400-700kbps on the existing Rev. 0 network to somewhere between 600kbps and 1.4Mbps. Uplink speeds are where Rev. A really shines, though, blazing as much as ten times faster than it did before -- 800kbps on a good day with bursts of up to 1.8Mbps. Two data cards are being offered to take advantage of the service -- one from Huawei and one from UTStarcom -- while compatible handsets currently include the HTC PPC6800 and Touch. The rollout is targeted for "select markets" right now -- Charlotte, New Orleans, Phoenix and Tampa among a total of 18 -- with overall EV-DO coverage continuing to expand as well; Alltel's targeting 82 percent of its footprint to be upgraded by year's end.

Alltel Touch gets firmware update, EV-DO Rev. A included

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 23rd 2008 @ 8:30PM

Make us proud, Alltel! The number five carrier's really been going all-out as of late, doing an impressive job of keeping its offerings in line with the big boys -- and in some cases, outdoing 'em with hot exclusives like the Glimmer. Once again, they've gotten the jump on their larger, heavier competition by becoming the first carrier to release a firmware upgrade for the Vogue (the Alltel Touch, in this case) that ups the radio to EV-DO Rev. A speeds. Speedy uploads aside, the upgrade includes some Bluetooth fixes and adds the ability to receive video messages. Sprint, Verizon -- your move.

[Via phoneArena]

Motorola demos EV-DO Rev. A to LTE handoffs

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 27th 2008 @ 8:50PM

We try not to be an overly philosophical bunch, but we can't help but observe some interesting parallels between Motorola's industry-first demonstration of an EV-DO Rev. A to LTE handoff with the way the entire wireless world is progressing. Without a single major carrier win to its name, EV-DO's successor, UMB, seems poised to ride off into the sunset while current CDMA customers like Verizon plan migrations to the GSM-friendly LTE standard. Anyway, this little technical achievement will certainly set the minds of said CDMA customers at rest, knowing that its subscribers will one day be able to roam on data services between EV-DO Rev. A and LTE cells -- and considering that the transition period could last many years, that's an important capability to have. On an interesting side note, Alltel was on hand for the demo; they've not committed to any 4G technology, but we can say with certainty that they're at least considering LTE at this point.

Verizon launches Kyocera KPC680 EV-DO Rev. A ExpressCard

by Darren Murph posted Nov 20th 2007 @ 7:15PM

Still waiting around to hop on the Rev. A highway? Although last week would've been a swell time to do so, now's not too bad either, and Verizon Wireless customers have yet another option at their fingertips. The Kyocera KPC680 ExpressCard is available now for anyone interested, and enables BroadbandAccess users to reach average download speeds of 600kbps to 1.4Mbps and upload speeds that range from 500kbps to 800kbps when situated in a Rev. A area. Additionally, this thing sports a "breakthrough" (ahem) antenna design that "moves the antenna away from the device as it is opened, providing greater sensitivity, dual external antenna ports for signal flexibility and a compact form factor." Get yours now for just $49.99 after a mail-in rebate and throwing your John Hancock on a two-year agreement.

Verizon intros Sierra Wireless AirCard 595U EV-DO Rev A USB modem

by Darren Murph posted Aug 16th 2007 @ 4:38PM

BroadbandAccess customers, meet Sierra Wireless' AirCard 595U EV-DO Rev A USB modem, which is (almost) finally available to you through Verizon Wireless. Designed for use with your USB port, this EV-DO Rev A modem can also be connected through the included docking cradle, and even comes bundled with VZAccess Manager software. Additionally, the device boasts an internal, removable battery to "ensure there is always enough power support to handle peak or fringe area transmission requirements," and should be available for those interested on August 30th for $179.99 -- after you mail back a pesky rebate and sign your name to a two-year agreement, that is.

Sierra Wireless AirCard 597E ExpressCard to hit Sprint

by Darren Murph posted May 23rd 2007 @ 5:45PM

Although Sierra Wireless launched its AirCard 597E EV-DO Rev. A ExpressCard last summer, the device is finally making the leap to Sprint-Nextel's Mobile Broadband Network. Aside from the aesthetics, just a few alterations have been made under the hood, but we know you're most interested in how it allows Sprint customers to hop on the 3G highway with their ExpressCard-equipped lappie (or desktop). Of note, this rendition does manage to add assisted GPS (A-GPS) capabilities which "plots your current location on a map and then searches for nearby points of interest," a "high-performance (albeit beefy) integrated antenna to improve signal capture and data speed," and the new 65-nanometer MSM6800A chipset from QUALCOMM. Reportedly, Sprint will be demonstrating the card at this week's Interop expo in Las Vegas, and while pricing details were left out for the moment, the card should slip into retail channels next month.

Sprint's PPC-6800 dubbed the Mogul?

by Darren Murph posted May 10th 2007 @ 8:32AM

It's bad enough that nearly every HTC handset that makes its way into a carrier's lineup inevitably gets rebadged and renamed, but this one's sure to make you scratch your head. Just hours after hearing that the handset is likely to miss its May launch by a few months, we've now caught wind of an interesting teaser site that leaves little doubt about what phone is behind the silhouette. Interestingly, the Sprint, HTC, and Qualcomm sponsored site boldly states that the pictured device is not the PPC-6800, but rather the Mogul. It then continues on by insinuating that this 007-esque gizmo can handle just about any mission you task it with, but fails to provide any concrete information beyond that. Hey, you've got to find some way to keep interests piqued until October, eh?

Telus, Sierra Wireless carrying EV-DO Rev A to Canada

by Darren Murph posted Feb 16th 2007 @ 5:55PM

If the Canucks out there have been getting a bit jealous at all the Rev A love going around down south, your resentment ends now -- well, sometime this year, anyway. Thanks to Telus and Sierra Wireless, EV-DO Rev A connectvitiy is headed to Canada in the coming months, as interested users will be able to pop the AirCard 595 into their laptop's PCMCIA slot and reportedly reach peak speeds of up to 3.1Mbps downstream and 1.8Mbps upstream. Of course, it is noted that typical speeds will range between 300 to 400Kbps whilst uploading, and 450 to 800Kbps on the downward slope, but you Canadians will probably take what you can get, eh? Unfortunately, there's no set dates for the future rollouts, and "select markets" is all we have to go on for availability, but we do know that Telus will be charging $349.99 for the AirCard 595 sans a contract, or you can lock yourself in for a whopping three years if you've only got $99.99 to spare.

Samsung preparing new PTT phone for Verizon?

by Michael Caputo posted Feb 6th 2007 @ 9:38AM

Please take this information with a grain of salt -- It it looks like our pals over at Samsung are getting ready to launch a new PTT (Push to Talk) phone with The Network sometime soon. We thought Big Red had given up on walkie-talkie style communication until we heard that a relaunch was forth-coming with the introduction of Rev. A networks. Other than the picture here, it's pretty much WYSIWYG, so if anyone would like to share the details, please drop us a line.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Sprint / Sierra Wireless extends EV-DO Rev. A support to Mac users

by Darren Murph posted Jan 8th 2007 @ 4:15PM

While the Wintel crowd has been enjoying that Rev. A speediness for some time now (in certain locales, at least), the Mac faithful have been fairly well shut out up until now. Thanks to Sprint and Sierra Wireless, all that changes today, as the Seirra AirCard 595 PC Card now works in OS X 10.4 or later. The free Watcher Lite 1.0 software is currently available from Sierra's website, but before you go dashing out to pick up a card, you will still need a Windows-based machine to activate the device or have it pre-activated before heading into your Mac. Furthermore, don't plan on utilizing that ExpressCard slot either, as the only supported card thus far rocks a PCMCIA interface. Nah, Macworld hasn't hit full swing just yet, but this news is a real fine way to get things rolling.

Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A rollout to begin in Q4

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 3rd 2006 @ 12:57PM

Perhaps spurred on by Verizon's rollout schedule -- or the increasingly present threat of Cingular's HSDPA coverage -- Sprint's decided to light a fire under its EV-DO Rev. A rollout plans, promising coverage for a population of 40 million by year end. The upgrade from their existing Rev. 0 network should offer average download speeds of 450-800kbps with a theoretical maximum of 3.1Mbps, up from 300-400Kbps and 1.8Mbps, respectively. Though the upgrade won't likely cause many folks to join the bandwagon, it's a welcome boost for existing subscribers looking to match (or surpass, depending on who you ask) HSDPA performance. Look for the rollout to complete in Q3 2007, with availability of Rev. A handsets and PC peripherals (including an ExpressCard flavor) this fall.

[Via phoneArena]

Qualcomm: EV-DO Rev. A VoIP good to go

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 9th 2006 @ 8:31PM

VoIP over EV-DO Rev. A, the technology stack that effectively killed EV-DV, has been given Qualcomm's blessing this week, possibly clearing one of the last remaining roadblocks to Sprint and Verizon getting this show on the road. Of course, the big draw for VoIP over EV-DO is simultaneous voice and data, a feature where UMTS currently has EV-DO squarely beat. To get the seal of approval, Qualcomm went big with 62 simultaneous VoIP calls on a single channel in "mobile, pedestrian and fixed" environments. Picture sixty-two Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guys standing in the area of one city block, and you'll get the idea.

[Via dailywireless.org]

First pics of dual-network iDEN/CDMA handsets surface

by Evan Blass posted Apr 17th 2006 @ 11:15AM

We have to admit that we're not big fans of the whole push-to-talk thing -- something about that annoying "chirp chirp" followed by both parties repeatedly querying "where you at?" -- so we were naturally a bit disappointed to learn that Sprint-Nextel will begin releasing dual-network phones that only incorporate iDEN functionality to feed people's nasty PTT habit. As we'd heard last month, Sprint-Nextel will start rolling out a series of these iDEN/CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A handsets near the end of the year, and now the first pictures of two models from Motorola have surfaced. Besides their ability to jump on iDEN for walkie-talkie action, nothing really stands out about these devices; they both incorporate the same function-over-fashion design that we've come to know, if not love, from the Nextel-Moto alliance. PCS Intel reports that these two unnamed handsets could go on sale as early as November, for an unknown price, with more feature-filled (read: multimedia-centric) models popping up in the second quarter of next year.

[Thanks, John R.]