T-mobile continues to bring the latest update to their 3G network to more cities today, with the “4G-like” HSPA+ speeds now available in:

• Boston, Mass.
• Erie, Penn.
• Fresno, Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif.
• Miami, Fla.
• Richmond, Va.
• Spokane, Wash.
• Topeka, Kan.

This brings the total number of HSPA+ cities up to 55, with 100 million lucky Americans now basking in the warmth that only high-speed 3G radio waves can bring*.

While the up-and-coming T-mobile G2 will be T-mobile’s first HSPA+ phone, the network maintains that you will see a speed boost on their other (plain ol’) HSPA phones.

So, are you in one of the 55 cities that now enjoy HSPA+ ? Have you seen a difference in speeds on your phone? Let us know in the comments. I’m curious.

*3G radio waves are no replacement for a good jacket or scarf. No responsibility taken if you catch a cold come winter.

Full PR, below.

Today, T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced the continued expansion of its super-fast mobile broadband network to 100 million Americans in more than 55 major metropolitan areas.

T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network – which offers theoretical peak throughput speeds of 21Mbps – is now available in Boston, Mass.; Erie, Penn.; Fresno, Palm Springs and San Diego, Calif.; Miami, Fla.; Richmond, Va.; Spokane, Wash.; and Topeka, Kan.

“Our new network offers today’s available 4G speeds to more people than any other wireless network in the country and we’re not done yet. We are now on pace to more than double our HSPA+ footprint – reaching more than 200 million people by this year – with plans to offer 42Mbps theoretical speeds in 2011,” said Neville Ray, chief network officer for T-Mobile USA.

For more information, please visit http://t-mobile-coverage.t-mobile.com/coverage.

Article: RSS via: MobileCrunch

Clearwire launched their Rover – pay as you go internet service today, offering unlimited usage for $5 a day, $20 a week, or $50 for a month of 4G service. The Rover service is accessed via one of two ways, either from the Rover Solo; a single system dongle, or the Rover Puck which allows connectivity with up to eight devices at a time. The Rover Solo dongle sells for $99, and the Puck will cost you $149. Connectivity is provided via Clearwire’s previously existing 4G network (in most areas) but it’s still compatible with their 3G network as well. Download speeds will range from 3 to 6 mbps, with a maximum burst speed of 10mbps in the Puck device. You can pick up either device from Best Buy, your local Clearwire store, or online at the Rover website.

Article: RSS via: MobileCrunch

Infineon, the company behind the baseband chips inside your super-duper new phone, is about to cash out from the wireless industry courtesy of Intel’s insatiable appetite. The Wireless Solutions Business (WLS), which accounted for nearly a third of Infineon’s €3 billion ($3.83b) revenue last year, is being sold to the American chipmaker for a cool $1.4 billion. For its part, Intel is quick to reassure the world (and its antitrust authorities) that WLS will continue to operate as a standalone business and continue to support ARM-based devices. Chipzilla’s perfectly innocent ploy is to harness Infineon’s knowhow in future smartphone, tablet and laptop products, providing both the processing and wireless capabilities. Specifically mentioned in the news release is Intel’s ambition to “accelerate 4G LTE” through this deal, while also not neglecting its ongoing efforts with WiMAX, with the overarching strategy being described as “a combined path.” We should know more about where this path will take us when the acquisition is completed in the first quarter of next year.

Article: RSS via: Engadget

You might recall that British regulator Ofcom recently got things in order for an auction late next year of Old Blighty’s 2.6GHz spectrum for 4G use, but it turns out that spectrum’s going to make a quick pit stop before reaching its final destination. Broadcasters at the London Olympics have been given the green light to use the bandwidth — which will have already been sold by the time the games kick off in mid-2012 — for wireless cameras, with the government saying it’s fairly certain that carriers wouldn’t have had an opportunity to deploy LTE in that spectrum by then anyway. Though Ofcom’s original spectrum utilization plan from last year didn’t call for using 2.6GHz, it apparently got a wake-up call from the Vancouver games, which revealed higher demand for both wireless cameras and 3D broadcasts than the agency had anticipated — and unlike carriers, which are expected to pay billions of pounds sterling for LTE rights, Ofcom will be extending use of the bandwidth to broadcasters during the Games gratis. Awfully kind of them, isn’t it?

Article: RSS via: Engadget

For past 24-hours or so, I’ve been playing around with Sprint’s new Samsung Epic 4G smartphone, which is optimized to use its 4G network, though it switches back and forth to 3G depending on 4G availability. This device is part of the Samsung’s Galaxy S series of smartphones. (Kevin reviewed the AT&T version of Galaxy S recently.) We recorded an unboxing video of this superphone which clearly packs a big punch; leaving Droid 2 in the dust.

It’s pretty thin and has a fantastic slide-out keyboard (better than anything I’ve personally tried from Motorola and HTC). It has a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera,  a 1-Ghz processor, and most importantly, can act as a hotspot for upto 5 Wi-Fi devices. The phone is going on sale Aug. 31. I suspect this is going to help Sprint retain customers who’ve been looking to upgrade to a smartphone and even attract new ones.

What are my first impressions? I’ve been bowled over by the speed and power of this device, much more so than any other 1 GHz Android phone I have used. The big processor, the 1 Gb ROM and lots of memory are perhaps the reasons why Android feels so snappy and web browsing is smooth and easy. I’m told the Sprint HTC EVO is pretty good, but I haven’t used it, so I can’t quite compare the two phones.

The keyboard on this device is easy to use, overcoming Android’s weakness: the virtual keyboard. I have a Droid 2 sitting on my desk, and it pales in comparison to this device. The camera is pretty good and so is the multimedia playback on the phone, which is the first smartphone to come with a decent pair of headphones.

These are very early impressions, so take them with a grain of salt for now and enjoy the video.

Article: RSS via: JkOnTheRun

While WiMAX isn’t exactly streaming through the air everywhere at this point, domestically it has a solid head-start on LTE. Despite that, with many major players (like Verizon and AT&T) already choosing the latter of those two, WiMAX has a tough fight ahead of it for 4G supremacy. Maybe its successor will charm the competition, WiMAX 2 — the artist formerly known as 802.16m. That standard will boast theoretical speeds of 1Gbps for downloads, though users are rather more likely to see something in the 100Mbps range (still a huge jump over what gets an Evo 4G user excited today). When can we expect all this bandwidth? The standard is due to be finalized in November, then hardware is expected to be ratified through 2011 before getting bolted to towers in 2012 where it will, thankfully, be fully compatible with O.G. WiMAX devices. Something good to look forward to, or too little too late to hold off the LTE hoards?

Article: RSS via: Engadget

Clearwire’s iSpot has been hacked just a week after its release. This 4G WiMAX mobile router was originally an Apple-only device, connecting up to eight Apple devices to it, where website ispotunrestricted.com has been configured to generate an unlocked custom configuration profile which can then be loaded onto your iSpot.This profile allows you to hook up any Wi-Fi enabled device to the iSpot when loaded, apart from Apple device support, of course.

The unlocking method is so easy that you won’t need a doctorate degree or speak codes in your dreams to perform, making the $25 monthly subscription fee sound like a steal, considering you get unlimited 4G data. Great for folks who stay in WiMAX blanketed areas, another method which skips messing around with the iSpot’s configuration file would be to spoof the MAC address of your machine in order to have it match an Apple device. Bear in mind that this can and will most likely void your warranty as well as your service plan with Clearwire.

Article: RSS via: Ubergizmo

It seems a little early in the game to be going to WiMAX-only gear when dual-mode EV-DO / WiMAX modems are readily available — but if you’re feeling confident that your town’s 4G rollout is rock-solid, you might want to take a crack at Sprint’s new U1901 USB stick. Interestingly, it’s got an accessory docking cradle (not included) with an external antenna to boost reception a bit if you’re in shaky coverage, so you might be able to pull a signal with this setup in places where you otherwise wouldn’t — but still, not having EV-DO as a cushy fallback would take some stones. It’s available now for $49.99 on contract; follow the break for Sprint’s press release.

Article: RSS via: Engadget Mobile

Clear is looking to capitalize on the popularity of the iPad by offering a mobile hotspot device for Apple products. The aptly named iSpot is roughly the size of an Apple mouse and shares connections on the Clear 4G (WiMAX) network with up to five devices using Wi-Fi. The iSpot is restricted to iOS devices, so only iPhones, iPods and iPads can share the 4G connection.

The restriction to iOS devices is due to the low monthly rate of $25 for unlimited 4G connectivity. The Clear 4G network is currently available in major cities in the U.S. There’s no 3G capability integrated in the iSpot, so if you find yourself outside a 4G coverage area, your iSpot will become an iBrick. The iSpot has a quoted battery life of four hours on a single charge. Clear has priced the iSpot at $99.99, but is selling it for $29 today only.

Clear also has a version of the iSpot, dubbed the Spot, that will share a 4G connection with any eight devices (not just iOS). The unlimited 4G data plan is about $40 monthly, with the exact price based on the customer’s location.

Article: RSS via: JkOnTheRun

We already know that Sprint are looking to 4G to salve their fortunes, and so news that the WiMAX network is spreading can only be a good thing for investors and for data-hungry users.  Fresh to feel the warm touch of 4G on their skin are Modesto and Stockton, California; Jacksonville, Florida, Wilmington, Delaware; and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

That now makes forty-eight metropolitan areas with WiMAX coverage – the full list is in the press release below – and Sprint reckon subscribers will see up to ten-times the performance of a regular 3G connection.

Now it’s just a case of getting the supplies of handsets that use the 4G network to cater for demand; Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has already admitted that shortages of flagship devices such as the HTC EVO 4G have undermined the carrier’s advantage over rivals.  In the meantime, HTC has announced plans to use Super LCD displays alongside AMOLED panels so as to alleviate the bottleneck.

Press Release:

Sprint Launches 4G Coverage in Delaware, Florida and Michigan and Extends 4G Coverage in California

Modesto, Calif., Stockton, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Wilmington, Del., and Grand Rapids, Mich., Launched Today
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Aug 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) –

Today, Sprint (NYSE:S) unveiled 4G service to populous areas of California, Delaware, Florida and Michigan. With today’s launches of Modesto, Calif., Stockton, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Wilmington, Del., and Grand Rapids, Mich., Sprint boasts 48 metropolitan areas enabled with the new mobile broadband service, which allows for Internet traffic at super fast speeds. Unlike competitors, Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to actually launch wireless 4G technology in cities across the country. Wilmington, Jacksonville and Grand Rapids are the first cities in Delaware, Florida and Michigan to offer 4G service.

With 4G, Sprint customers experience fast mobile downloads, streaming video without the lag, and turbo-charged Web browsing. This new wireless technology boasts download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G.1 Users can video chat with friends and family via the popular HTC EVO(TM) 4G, America’s first 3G/4G wireless smartphone. And in the near future, Sprint customers will be able to purchase Samsung Epic(TM) 4G, the company’s second 4G enabled smartphone.

With the Overdrive(TM) 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Sierra Wireless, users can create a 4G hotspot on the road or at home. With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can try 4G for 30 days and if they are not satisfied, they can cancel service and have the opportunity to be fully reimbursed.2 Sprint also offers simplicity and savings vs. competitors with Everything Data plans, which include unlimited Web, texting and calling while on the Sprint network for one low price.

“Sprint customers are the first in the country to use 4G with either a smartphone like HTC EVO or one of Sprint’s other 4G devices like the 3G/4G Overdrive Hotspot to wirelessly connect a laptop to the Internet,” said Matt Carter, president of 4G, Sprint. “Later this year, Sprint will launch Boston, Miami, New York and Los Angeles, enabling millions more to harness this powerful new service.”

As summer travel continues, people will find that 4G is available in many markets across the country: California – Merced, Modesto, Stockton and Visalia; Delaware – Wilmington; Florida – Jacksonville; Georgia – Atlanta and Milledgeville; Hawaii – Honolulu and Maui; Idaho – Boise; Illinois – Chicago; Maryland – Baltimore; Michigan – Grand Rapids; Missouri – Kansas City and St. Louis; New York – Rochester and Syracuse; Nevada – Las Vegas; North Carolina – Charlotte, Greensboro (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon – Eugene, Portland and Salem; Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading and York; Texas – Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco and Wichita Falls; Utah – Salt Lake City; Virginia – Richmond; Washington – Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities and Yakima. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.

Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network.

Article: RSS via: SlashGear