Archive for: wireless
Despite the slow uptake of the so called 4G technology publicly known as “WiMAX”, the IEEE is hard at work prepping said technology’s successor — 802.16m. This new standard will no doubt carry the name “WiMAX 2″ when the time comes for a mass rollout. For now though, that name is uncertain. What is certain, however, is that 802.16m will be fast. The theoretical maximum as stated by the IEEE is 300Mbps which puts it at twice the rated speed of LTE. However, when compared to LTE-advanced and its 1Gbps peak download rate (theoretical), it’s not nearly as exciting. Nevertheless, WiMAX supporters should be pleased seeing as the current adoption and real-world speeds attained with current WiMAX networks leave quite a bit to be desired.
Presser after the break…
The HTC Thunderbolt is one of the most important phones to launch in recent memory. With a second generation Snapdragon processor clocked at 1GHz, a 4.3″ 400 x 800 display, and LTE support, the Thunderbolt is meant to turn heads. And turn heads it did when it arrived at Gadgetsteria HQ. The HTC Thunderbolt is an amazing piece of gadgetry, despite the lack of a dual-core processor. But take our word, the lack of a dual-core processor is not a reason to pass on the Thunderbolt. Take Android, toss in LTE, and add in a nice big screen and you’ve got the start of something awesome. Hop inside for the full review…
Despite persistant rumors saying otherwise, new evidence is pointing to an iPhone 5 without NFC capabilities. Such claims were apparently made by Apple during meetings with European cellular carriers. According to reports from the Independent, Apple is waiting on clearer standards as well as waiting for their own NFC technology to mature before they make their move. Apple’s NFC technology would unsurprisingly revolve around iTunes for the exchange of cash.
Similar rumors pegged the iPad 2 as debuting with NFC technologies as well. Though as we’ve all seen, such rumors never quite came to fruition, as the iPad 2 is NFC-less. With projected sales of NFC payments slated to hit €110bn by 2015, it’s definitely in every mobile manufacturer and cellular providers’ best interests to get a grip on this technology sooner rather than later. Hopefully 2012 brings clearer standards and/or Apple’s own NFC technology ready to battle with the likes of Google’s own NFC-capable Android devices and any other contenders that enter the market space.
- February 21, 2011 12:08 pm
It’s rare that we see cellular operators around the world come together on one single spec. Often times, each respective carrier believes they can engineer a workable solution better than anyone else. The end result ends up being the release of various “solutions” (ie: specifications) with no clear winner, meaning a headache for multi-carrier/global devices. But at least in the case of NFC, global love appears to be growing larger. According to the GSMA Chairmen and CEO of Telecom Italia, Franco Bernabe, 2012 will be the year we see an official NFC spec released. So far, support has been promised by the following carriers: América Móvil, Axiata Group Berhad, Bharti, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT Corporation, MTS, Orange, Qtel Group, SK Telecom, SOFTBANK MOBILE, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telekom Austria Group, Telenor and Vodafone.
Having a single, universal standard will go a long way into accelerating NFC adoption for both hardware and software services alike. And even though the official NFC spec isn’t scheduled for public consumption until 2012, mobile hardware manufacturers and software developers are already dipping their toes in the NFC water. Add to that the growing interesting with this years CES and MWC and you’ve got quite the story in the making. We can hardly wait.
There’s nothing like hearing of some new LTE love coming to town compliments of Verizon. Today, the CDMA-turning-GSM carrier announced 49 new markets that will receive LTE by the end of 1H 2011. Even better news is that an additional ~50 markets will go live in 2H of 2011 per Verizon’s goal of 140 markets by the time 2012 rolls in. While Verizon is arguably just as stingy with anti-consumer policies as AT&T, you have to admit that they deliver when and where they say they are going to, and in a timely fashion. List of new markets after the jump…
With CES being the largest electronics show in the world combined with the increasing importance of going wireless, it makes since that Powermat — who specializes in wireless recharging technology — would have a big showing at this years show. I had the pleasure of being shown around the Powermat booth by CEO, Ran Poliakine. In past years, cases and replacement battery covers for your favorite gadgets were the big thing. This year, it was all about expanding the wireless charging to multiple devices in multiple places, as well as introducing some new and exciting features. Everything from wireless laptop charging to wireless batteries to Powermat equipped cars was unveiled. Hop inside for the full rundown.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of attention paid to WiFi-enabled memory cards from the likes of Eye-Fi. At this year’s CES, the company is taking the wraps off of their newest Eye-Fi X2 card upgrade which brings new functionality to new and old cards alike. With the new X2 upgrade, Eye-Fi users can now extend wireless sharing and uploading to a nearby smartphone or portable device. Combined with other Eye-Fi features such as wireless backup and media sharing and you’ve got yourself another reason to buy more memory cards. Hey, you can never have too much, right?
- December 23, 2010 6:52 am
Thanks to a new decision by Qualcomm to sell their remaining chunk of defunct FLO TV wireless spectrum, UK users will soon be enjoying even faster cellular data. The chip maker is planning on integrating “L-Band” support that when paired with other cell networks will enable dramatically faster downloads thanks to the multi-lane approach. It is a similar approach that U.S. carrier AT&T is taking locally.
All of the new spectrum becoming available from failed FLO TV will certainly help the ailing cellular industry who voices concerns almost daily about shrinking bandwidth. With that said, FLO TV is scheduled to be shut down for good on March 11th, 2011.
UK users can look for better cellular performance in the coming months. Official statement from Qualcomm after the break…
- December 22, 2010 8:06 pm
AT&T users residing in the mid-west area of the country need not pull their hair out. Your phones are not broken. You did not accidentally change some setting. AT&T’s network is more or less down. A short but clear thread on AT&T’s own user forums highlights the issue as affecting MicroCell towers as well as actual transmission towers. So far, the entire Chicago-land area, parts of Wisconsin, and northern Indiana have been affected. Though there are some people reporting more recently that their service is coming back up in south Chicago and northern Wisconsin.
I can personally attest to the northern Indiana outage. I haven’t been able to do much of anything over AT&T’s cellular connection since 12pm yesterday, December 20th. A call to AT&T resulted in nothing more than a trip through the typical CSR troubleshooting and no actual acknowledgement of any problems even after pressed.
AT&T’s network taking a hit isn’t new. Though previous network problems have elicited some type of official statement, and at the very least, a blip on Twitter. At this point I’d even take a simple text at least giving a heads up that something is wrong.
For now however, all we have is this one thread. If anyone has found out more information or updates as to affected/reinstated areas, drop a line below.
Update
Back up here in South Bend.
[AT&T]
