Archive for: hspa
- January 19, 2012 11:14 pm
AT&T seemingly stole the show this week with the announcement of new data plans. And while they go a little ways towards making heavier data users happier, it is T-Mobile pulling out biggest surprise.
On January 25th the carrier will quietly launch two new promotional, “premium” and “ultra” data plans. Get ready for it — 5GB and 10GB data plans with tethering/mobile hotspot for free. In total, you’re looking at a solid ~$20 in savings. Oh, and the best part is that new and existing customers can get in on the fun.
We’re a bit disappointed T-Mobile isn’t broadcasting the upcoming data plans on every possible medium. Both plans are leaps and bounds better than any other major carrier. At the same time, we can understand the carrier wanting to protect their network. A bajillion people jumping online at the same time thanks to the crazy promotional data plans could bring things to a halt.
T-Mobile. Come on. Brag about this!
- November 16, 2011 12:33 pm
Verizon isn’t the only one giving a speed boost to vast numbers of data-hungry customers. T-Mobile too is upping the ante by unleashing new 21 and 42 Mbps service to select markets today.
- 21 Mbps: Decatur and Peoria, Ill.; Evansville, Ind.; Holland and Kalamazoo, Mich.; Santa Barbara, Calif; and State College, Pa.
- 42 Mbps: Bend, Medford and Corvallis, Ore.; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Bloomington, Champaign–Urbana and Springfield, Ill.; Columbus, Ga.; Hagerstown, Md.; Montgomery, Ala; and Yuba City, Calif.
Pure, blinding speed. We love it.
Say it ain’t so. Apple is “working with” AT&T to get the “3G” indicator on the iPhone 4S’ status bar changed (incorrectly we might add) to “4G”. As you all may know, AT&T has been pushing a lot of heavy “4G” marketing as of late with several different Android phones. The only problem of course is that the phones in question only have HSPA+ on board — and HSPA+ is not “4G”. Unfortunately, the term 4G was watered down when the powers that be gave in to carrier pressure.
Hopefully the letter is just wishful wording as Apple has never been one to give in to pressure regarding the status quo. As we see it, now would be a very bad time for Apple to start buying into the whole “4G” false marketing scam and, oh yeah, lying to customers.
We’ve reached out to AT&T and will report back once we hear something.
Update
AT&T got back with us to confirm they are working with Apple to change 3G –> 4G on the iPhone’s status bar. While we certainly appreciate the faster 14.4 Mbps HSPA+, it is again, not 4G and should not be labeled as such.
- September 29, 2011 9:10 am
Right now users of T-Mobile’s post-paid offerings have two choices a $50 for unlimited minutes/texts and a paltry 100 MB of data and a $70/month plan which keeps the unlimited minutes/texts and raises the data (throttling) cap to 5 GB.
A leaked screenshot circulating today appears to show T-Mobile will soon be announcing a mid-tier $60/month plan. Said plan will feature unlimited minutes/texts and 2 GB of data. To be clear, none of T-Mobile’s plans actually cut off data and require an added charge when you hit the limit. Speeds are simply throttled down to 2/2.5G speeds.
There isn’t any mention of a date for when we can expect this new plan to drop. Given the fiercely competitive nature the holiday season brings, we’ll place our bets then.
TMO users?
When will hardware manufacturers learn that bold phrases such as “200x faster than…” and “ultra sharp screen…” are nothing more than buzz words that do little to actually inform the public about a particular device’s features. Marketing at it’s finest unfortunately. So consider us unamused with T-Mobile’s new claims regarding their G-Slate tablet boasting of (network) speeds that are “200x faster than the iPad 2 on AT&T and Verizon” and 300x faster than the Motorola XOOM on Verizon Wireless. The tests were conducted in New York City and Seattle, Washington by an “independent third party conducted testing” — that doesn’t sound janky at all — and found T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network easily beat the competition.
Mild criticism and sarcasm aside, the G-Slate hardware is one of our favorite Android tablets. Now if only T-Mobile wouldn’t mislead customers with potentially false claims — cellular performance is incredibly inconsistent and dependent on a number of factors. On that same note, the G-Slate tablet itself isn’t any faster than the iPad 2 or Motorola XOOM. T-Mobile is merely marketing their 3G — it’s not real 4G — HSPA+ network. Plus, once the LTE XOOM is made available, T-Mobile’s claims will be instantly nullified. LTE is light years ahead of HSPA+.
But hey, T-Mobile does have one thing down pat: The G-Slate only costs $399 w/ a 2-year contract and $599 off contract. Not a bad deal compared to the competition if we say so ourselves.
Josh Levy from Free Press has gone ahead and laid down the top 5 myths (and facts) concerning the ongoing AT&T/T-Mobile merger giving unknowing consumers a quick and concise way to see just how badly they’re about to be screwed. While the government is likely being wooed by AT&T and T-Mobile lobbyists, the Free Press (along with *hopefully* millions of Americans) are able to see straight though the tangled mess of lies and faulty information.
No matter what AT&T/T-Mobile may claim or how rosy a picture they paint, removing competition from the market is never good for the consumer or market as a whole. The real benefactors: AT&T/T-Mobile’s bank accounts.
Hop past the break for Josh Levy’s (Free Press) top 5 myths about the AT&T/T-Mobile merger.
The general rule of thumb I use for phone calls: Unknown number –> Voicemail. There are certain circumstances where that varies such as if I’m waiting on an important phone call that I know is coming. Considering landline phones have had caller ID for years, what gives? Who knows why it took the mobile sphere so long to get on board with caller identification. All that matters is that it’s finally here.
T-Mobile has officially unveiled their new new “Name ID” caller ID service that just as landline phones, will present you with basic information about the caller. If you’re feeling the love, T-Mobile only asks that you pay them $3.99/month in return for letting you know if it’s a crazy ex calling from a friend’s phone or the now more common bill collector.
Add the new Name ID service via phone or your online account under “Manage Services”.
Congratulations to the fine residents of:
- Barnstable, Massachusetts
You are now bathing in T-Mobile’s HSPA+ goodness. And with that, T-Mobile has officially hit 200 markets totalling 190 million people. Tell us: How are you putting all of that new bandwidth to use?
Gee…wonder what that could be? How about the myTouch 4G Slide that we saw officially leaked several hours ago? Sorry T-Mo. The surprise has been lost. Still, we’ll gladly accept a new keyboard-packin’ Android device.
