C-Spire Wireless Announces Additional $10 Million In Network Upgrades For Increased Bandwidth, iPhone Release.

Late last week we learned T-Mobile USA was not going to be the fourth major wireless carrier of the iPhone in the U.S. Instead, a smaller regional carrier, C-Spire (formerly Cellular South), took the coveted spot. Naturally, the sure-to-come bandwidth onslaught means C-Spire will need to upgrade their networks. And upgrade they are.

The carrier has announced a massive 238-cell site upgrade costing over $10 million spanning 61 cities and 65 counties throughout Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, in an attempt to increase network coverage and data speeds for the upcoming iPhone launch (and smartphones overall). The $10 million is in addition to a previously announced $90 million upgrade from last month which highlighted among other things, thousands of miles of fiber and enhanced backhaul connections to cell sites.

Besides the upcoming iPhone, C-Spire is prepping their network for a big LTE rollout scheduled to begin before the close of 2011, and even include support for Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) — a notable first as VZW doesn’t even have said feature available to the public yet.

For wireless customers located in the southern states covered by C-Spire Wireless, the iPhone game just got a lot more interesting.

We’re interested to hear from current C-Spire wireless customers as to how coverage really is (outside of PR speak) as well as real-world data speeds. Shoot us an email at tips[at]Gadgetsteria[dot]com.

Review: XtremeMac Tuffwrap iPhone 4S Case

iPhone cases are a dime a dozen. Save for a few different designs and patterns, they all share the same basic shape. Xtreme Mac’s Tuffwrap sings a different tune, however, by featuring a unique layer that changes color with heat. The image above looks cool enough. But how well does it actually work? Jump inside to see if the Tuffwrap’s greatest feature (to change color) is marketing gimmick or real-world trick…

HTC Re-iterates Goal Of Upgrading As Many Phones To Ice Cream Sandwich As Possible.

HTC is committed to updating as much of their current product lineup to Google’s recently announced Android 4.0 update, Ice Cream Sandwich, as possible. Late Friday HTC posted the following message to their Facebook Fan Page wall:

“Since Google unveiled Ice Cream Sandwich earlier this week, HTC has been looking closely at the new OS’s features and functionality to determine our upgrade plans. We’re a recognized industry leader in providing fast and consistent upgrades to our Android devices (see what Engadget had to say about our upgrades: http://engt.co/qMb9nQ), and Ice Cream Sandwich will be no different.

Upgrades require a careful balance of hardware and software to ensure the best possible performance and usability, so please stay tuned as we assess our product portfolio. Our goal is to upgrade as many HTC devices as possible and we’ll be sharing details on specific devices and timing in the coming weeks!”

Owners of the HTC Desire will remember the upgrade process (and following drama) to Gingerbread was less than seamless, with the ultimate update being a watered down piece of garbage. Judging by HTC’s more humble “wait and see” tone we’re guessing they learned their lesson the first time around, and as such will make sure the ICS upgrade is much less rocky.

As the statement says, stay tuned…

Apple Updates Macbook Pro Line.

Usually Apple pushes out even the most minor of upgrades by starting with the ceremonial “We’ll Be Right Back” sticky note pasted across the online store. For the latest Macbook Pro refresh, however, Apple did everything live with no sticky at all. With that said, the upgrades aren’t anything to write home about — small CPU and GPU upgrades. Still, for those wanting the latest and greatest Apple has to offer…

• 13-inch: Base 13″ MBP now comes with a 2.4 GHz CPU and 500 GB hard drive.

• 15-inch: The 15 incher begins life with a 2.2 GHz Core i7 CPU and can be fitted with up to a 2.4 GHz option. Graphics card updates come in the form of either an AMD 6750M (512 MB) or 6770M (1 GB) while hard drive options (in basic configuration) are 500 GB and 750 GB.

• 17-inch: Base processor has been bumped up from the 2.2 GHz Core i7 to a slightly faster 2.4 GHz Core i7 with an accompanying AMD 6770M GPU.

Pricing has remained unchanged with the 13″ starting at $1,199 (base) and rising to $2,499 (base) for the 17″.

Review: Callet iPhone Wallet Case.

With more and more people turning to digital forms of payment, not to mention the beginning rise of NFC/mobile payments, the need for the traditional wallet is finally diminishing. While carrying a spare card or two and your ID in a pocket isn’t the smartest of choices, tucking them neatly inside a specially designed case such as the Callet for iPhone is quite handy. Join us after the break as we take a look at the Callet and if it could/would/should become your new go-to place for communication, entertainment, and payment purposes…

Worst Floods To Hit Thailand In 50 Years Will Cause HDD Shortages In 2012.

While residents in parts of Thailand hit by the worst flooding in over fifty years are stock piling non-perishable food and clean drinking water, computer manufacturers (and maybe even you) are beginning to stockpile hard drives. The image above shows a not so dry Western Digital factory that is reportedly (and obviously) completely shut down. There are also reports other hard drive manufacturers such as Seagate are looking at significantly reduced output. Though in Seagate’s case, whom is still running at 100% production, it is component suppliers who are facing production cuts due to the floods.

The end result according to Western Digital CEO John Coyne is “significantly reduced” hard drive supply in 2012. Apple CEO Tim Cook also touched on the looming hard drive during Tuesday’s earnings call by saying shortages are guaranteed in following quarters: “I’m virtually certain there will be an overall industry shortage of disk drives as a result of the disaster”.

If you’re a data hoarder picking up a couple extra drives now instead of later may be a good idea. On the flip side, SSD manufacturers and HDD manufacturers looking at increasing SSD production could see a benefit from the HDD shortage. Now would be a great time to to more heavily push the much more efficient, faster, and overall better technology.

Via: TIMN | AllThingsD | CRN | SeekingAlpha

Motorola Forum Mod “Confirms” ICS Update For Original XOOM.

Fridays are generally slow, unexciting days for tech news. But every once in a while something exciting leaks out. Late this morning a forum moderator in Motorola’s support forums “confirmed” that the original Motorola XOOM would be getting an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich update at some point in the future. The moderator, Matt, also mentioned he didn’t have any specific timeline as to when said update would actually roll out and if it would be the first tablet to receive an ICS update.

Good news, XOOM users? Would an update to ICS convince you to keep the XOOM around your stables a while longer?