July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

T-Mobile has finally launched 4G LTE in seven cities throughout the United States, with fast speeds now live in Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington D.C.

The company made the announcement at its big “UnCarrier” event, where it also finally announced availability for the iPhone, a long-missing part of its smartphone lineup. The iPhone 5 will join the fold on Friday, April 12 for $99 down.

T-Mobile has offered HSPA+ as its “4G” offering for quite some time, but it is widely considered to be “3.5G” than “4G” because it is based on 3G technology. LTE is truly a next-generation offering, and Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint all offer LTE, with Verizon offering it in the most markets throughout the U.S.

T-Mobile said it expects the new 4G LTE network will reach 100 million Americans by the middle of 2013 and 200 million by the end of the year.

Top photo via T-Mobile/YouTube

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Right now, everything RIM does is in preparation for one thing: the überimportant launch of the BlackBerry 10.

Its latest patent deal is no exception. To prepare for the operating system’s debut, RIM is expanding its existing patent agreement with wireless research company InterDigital. With the expanded deal, RIM now has the rights to InterDigital’s 4G LTE and LTE-Advanced technology.

The announcement is a significant one for RIM, which can finally bring 4G LTE to its BlackBerry phones without having to worry about getting sued by InterDigtal over the technology. (Also, in case it wasn’t clear, the deal also more or less confirms that RIM’s upcoming smartphones will indeed come with LTE chips — which should make carriers like Verizon and AT&T very, very happy.)

RIM’s patent agreement comes weeks after RIM reached a similar patent licensing deal with Nokia. While that agreement has cost RIM at least $65 million so far, it’s also further proof that RIM is aiming to make the launch of BlackBerry 10 as smooth as possible. The last thing RIM wants to do is let a patent spat screw up the launch of the most critical release in its history.

How much money is LiveU’s 4G LTE-equipped LU70 backpack worth? At least $27 million, according to the company’s latest funding round.

The portable video uplink company has become the go-to for companies looking to uplink HD video while on the field. Broadcasters as big as BBC News and NBC already rely on the technology, and it’s that reliance that’s fueling LiveU’s growth.

Joining the funding this time around is Lightspeed Venture Partners, which joins existing backers Canaan Partners, Carmel Ventures and Pitango Venture Capital.

As LiveU CEO Samuel Wasserman notes in the release announcing the news, the funding will be vital as LiveU moves further towards being more of an end-to-end solution for broadcasters. With the cash, the company plans to both increase its service portfolio and expand its office footprint.

Founded in 2006, Live U has to date raised roughly $50 million. IT’s headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Photo: CrunchGear via LiveU

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

AT&T will spend $14 billion over the next three years on wireline and wireless network improvements, with a clear goal of covering 300 million Americans with 4G LTE data by the end of 2014, the company announced today.

Not only will AT&T focus tightly on building out its 4G network, but it also has ambitious plans for wireline services. By the end of 2015, the company wants to expand its broadband network to 75 percent of its customers in 22 states, and it aims to have fiber deployed to another 1 million business customers.

“This is a major commitment to invest in 21st century communications infrastructure for the United States and bring high-speed Internet connectivity — 4G LTE mobile and wireline IP broadband — to millions more Americans,” AT&T CEO and chairman Randall Stephenson said in a statement. “We have the opportunity to improve AT&T’s revenue growth and cost structure for years to come, and create substantial value for shareowners.”

Cat eating phone photo via Indi Samarajiva/Flickr

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Next week, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE service takes the unprecedented step of landing in its 400th market, showing the company’s dominance in next-generation wireless service.

By comparison, Verizon’s closest competitor, AT&T, has 4G LTE service in just 75 markets. And don’t even get us started on Sprint, which is floundering to get LTE in a handful of markets this year.

Verizon’s 400-plus milestone achievement, announced Tuesday at MobileCON by Verizon Wireless chief technical officer Nicola Palmer, comes two months ahead of schedule. The winning city is Marquette, Mich., which was specifically chosen to symbolize Verizon’s commitment to extending 4G LTE coverage beyond the obvious big markets.

Verizon first launched its 4G LTE network in December 2010, offering consumers speeds nearly 10 times faster than 3G service. Since then, the company has been focused on expanding the network coast to coast, and it has ramped up the number of 4G LTE-ready devices for sale. The company has introduced 37 4G LTE devices, Palmer said.

Beyond Marquette, 4G LTE coverage will arrive in 20 additional middle-sized towns next Thursday. On October 18, the carrier will offer the faster service in 417 total U.S. markers, which gives it reach to an estimated 245 million people, the company said. Verizon will also roll out the speedier network to 30 more cities in November and December.

The pending network updates are part of a bigger push to persuade consumers to think of Verizon as the fastest network out there.

The speed message, particularly as to why consumers should care about 4G LTE, is harder to convey to people than the general coverage message, a company spokesperson told me yesterday. A variety of “Can You Hear Me Now?” ads were effectively used to drive home the idea that Verizon’s network is more reliable than competitors. The company aims to convey its 4G LTE prowess with equally simple, we’re-better-than-the-other-guys messaging.

It’s easy for consumers to understand “more than,” the spokesperson said.

Photo credit: shane_curcuru/Flickr

Sept. 9 - 10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Anyone considering buying the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch will be wondering whether the new features make it better suited for personal and professional use.

Before releasing new devices to market, Apple can’t ignore the “consumerization of IT” trend and the growing user base that brings its cell phones and tablets to work. So with each new release, it’s driving deeper into the heart of the enterprise.

The suite of new features may not bode well for IT teams. For starters, they can expect to see an influx of reports from employees ‘accidentally’ dropping their corporate phones in the toilet and asking for an upgrade to an iPhone 5!

Apple’s new iPhone 5. (Credit: Meghan Kelly)

In all seriousness, in the enterprise, this will strike long-time Microsoft advocates down a few pegs. As Forrester’s CIO expert, Ted Schadler, puts it in a recent blog post, “With this release, it’s clear that Apple plans to keep making hits, to grow its ecosystem to solar system proportions, and draw in all the supporting players it can.”

Experts agree that all the buzz around today’s launch could prompt more companies to mandate a “bring your own device” (BYOD) policy, as employees will want to show off their swanky new devices at work. In addition, the 4G LTE will help Apple fans convince their IT teams, as frequent business travelers will no longer have to rely on company-issue phones.

Read more here about Apple’s launch event here.

New features that are relevant for Apple BYOD users include:

• The new aluminum backing — it’s far more difficult for employees to break than the glass screen. This will reduce repair costs and keep employees productive if they rely on an iPhone at work. As well as being less fragile, this is also the lightest model ever made.
• The larger screen-size — If iOS developers can develop applications to fit a larger screen, this will make it easier to view numbers and charts on business applications, and conversations on tools like Yammer. It’s the same width as the iPhone 4S, but is longer, now 4 inches on the diagonal with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• Better video – Apple now has a full 1080p high-definition video on the iPhone 5. Good news for those who need to record video on the fly in their professional lives.
• Faster WiFi and LTE — in business situations, this will make it easier to run and display videos, presentations, and reports. For frequent business travelers, the 4G LTE will no doubt be useful.
• Improvements to Siri and triple microphones – Two of the mics are at the top front and back of the unit, and the third is located at the bottom. The boost in audio will come in useful at work, particularly during conference calls.

Top image via Shutterstock 

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Sprint will launch 4G LTE high-speed data in another 100 cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston, in the “coming months,” the company announced today.

Sprint offers LTE in just 19 metropolitan areas in the U.S., including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. (Check out Sprint’s coverage map here.) Verizon, on the other hand, now claims to cover 235 million Americans in 371 cities with its 4G LTE. AT&T has 60 active markets with 4G LTE but plans to have more than 100 total markets by the end of the year.

While Sprint was the first major U.S. wireless carrier to offer next-gen 4G data speeds over WiMAX, its WiMAX buildout was plagued with problems. It shifted gears to LTE with an “aggressive roll-out” last October, and it is now aiming have the majority of its LTE efforts completed by the end of 2013.

Check out the full list of upcoming Sprint LTE cities below.

• Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastian, Puerto Rico
• Albermarle, N.C.
• Asheville, N.C.
• Athens, Texas
• Austin, Texas
• Barnstable Town (Hyannis/Midcape), Md.
• Baton Rouge, La.
• Boston
• Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass.
• Charlotte, N.C.
• Chicago
• Clarksville, Tenn.
• Cleveland, Tenn.
• Coamo, Puerto Rico
• College Station, Texas
• Columbia, Tenn.
• Columbus, Ind.
• Cookeville, Tenn.
• Crossville, Tenn.
• Daytona Beach-Deltona-Ormond Beach, Fla.
• Fayetteville, N.C.
• Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
• Gary, Ind.
• Goldsboro, N.C.
• Greenville, Tenn.
• Guayama, Puerto Rico
• Hammond, La.
• Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C.
• Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La.
• Hutchinson, Kan.
• Indianapolis
• Jacksonville, Fla.
• Jonesboro, Ark.
• Kankakee-Bradley-Bourbonnais, Ill.
• Kerrville, Texas
• Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.
• Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
• Lancaster, S.C.
• Lawrence, Kan.
• Lincolnton, S.C.
• Los Angeles
• Lumberton, N.C.
• Marion, Ind.
• McPherson, Kan.
• Memphis, Tenn.
• Miami
• Michigan City-La Porte, Ill.
• Morristown, Tenn.
• Myagez, Puerto Rico
• Nashville, Tenn.
• New Orleans
• New York
• Norfolk, Va.
• Ocala, Fla.
• Ocean Pines, Md.
• Orlando, Fla.
• Ottawa-Streator, Ill.
• Palatka, Fla.
• Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla.
• Palm Coast, Fla.
• Peabody/Lawrence-Methuen/Gloucester, Mass.
• Philadelphia
• Ponce, Puerto Rico
• Port St. Lucie, Fla.
• Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
• Rochelle, Ill.
• Rockford, Ill.
• Rocky Mount, N.C.
• Salina, Kan.
• Salisbury, Md.
• Salisbury, N.C.
• San German-Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla.
• Sebring, Fla.
• Shelby, N.C.
• Sherman-Denison, Texas
• South Bend, Ind.
• Southern Pines-Pinehurst, N.C.
• Springfield, Ma.
• Statesville-Mooresville, S.C.
• Tampa, Fla.
• Topeka, Kan.
• Tullahoma, Tenn.
• Tupelo, Miss.
• Warrensburg, Mo.
• Warsaw, Ind.
• Washington, D.C.
• Waukegan-Lake County, Ill.
• West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla.
• Wichita, Kan.
• Wichita Falls, Texas
• Worcester-Fitchburg-Leominster, Mass.
• Yauco, Puerto Rico

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

NEW YORK CITY —  At a press event in New York City today, Motorola announced the latest entries in its line of successful kevlar-backed Razr smartphones.

First up was the Razr HD, a device that’s been rumored for months now.

Razr HD’s central feature is its 4.7-inch high-definition display, which will be joined by a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB RAM. As expected, the device comes with an LTE radio built in, though Motorola made the surprising decision to ship it with Android Ice Cream Sandwich, not Jelly Bean.

Alongside the Razr HD, Motorola also announced the Razr HD Maxx, a similar device offers a talk time of up to 21 hours. Both the Razr HD and Razr HD Maxx will be available in stores before the holidays, Motorola says. While there was no mention of cost, Motorola is likely to price the Razr HD at $199 and the RAzr HD Maxx at $299.

Motorola also unveiled the Droid Razr M, a mid-range device that was leaked in August. While largely similar to its more expensive counterparts, the Droid Razr M is meant to be Verizon’s answer to Sprint’s Photon Q 4G LTE. The device, which will be in stores next week, retails for $99.

“We believe customers expect value from our partnership with Verizon,” Verizon vice president Tami Erwin said about about the Razr M.

Wednesday has been a big day for device announcements, with Nokia unveiling a pair of Lumia devices at an event in New York City this morning.

We’ll have a hands-on with the new devices in the coming hour.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Budget wireless carrier MetroPCS has added an eye-popping “limited time” offer for unlimited talk, texting, and 4G LTE data for just $55 a month, the company announced today.

MetroPCS doesn’t have the marketing heft of big players like Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint, but this new offer could certainly grab some attention. The new offer gives consumers a savings of $15 per month over previous offers. Families that want in can get an even better deal, with the price dropping to $50 per month for additional lines.

The company has not stated an end date for its promotion. MetroPCS President Thomas Keys told CNET that the company did not want to “set an artificial timeline.”

The newest addition to MetroPCS’s handset lineup is the $149 LG Motion 4G. The Motion 4G runs on Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and includes a 3.5-inch screen, 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, and 5-megapixel camera with 1080p video recording.

Phone with money photo via Shutterstock

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Verizon Wireless’s snappy 4G LTE network will add 34 new markets Thursday, and in turn, it will now cover 235 million Americans, or 75 percent of the U.S. population.

By far, Verizon has the most true-4G coverage in the United States, with 371 cities now marked on the map. This has become a major focus of Verizon’s marketing and a striking comparison point next to its peers. Verizon’s 4G coverage towers over AT&T’s limited 51-market LTE network. Sprint has even less 4G LTE coverage, while T-Mobile doesn’t have an active LTE network yet.

Not only will Verizon offer some 4G coverage in new cities, but it’s expanding coverage in 38 existing markets, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.

One of the biggest reasons LTE is so important this year is the release of the next iPhone. This model will almost certainly include 4G LTE wireless capabilities because it would be innovation suicide to not offer it. Top-notch Android phones have been offering 4G data connections since before the iPhone 4S launched. If we assume the new iPhone will work on AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint’s LTE networks, competition for iPhone fans will be fierce.

Here is the full list of new cities with Verizon 4G LTE coverage:

• Hot Springs, Ark.
• Redding, Calif.
• Valdosta and Waycross, Ga.
• Centralia and Danville, Ill.
• Parsons, Salina, and Topeka, Kan.
• Alexandria and Monroe, La.
• Pittsfield, Mass.
• Battle Creek and Muskegon, Mich.
• Mankato and Worthington, Minn.
• Joplin and Sedalia, Mo.
• Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot, N.D.
• Chillicothe, Ohio
• Reading, Pa.
• Aberdeen, S.D.
• Laredo, Odessa, and Texarkana, Texas
• Brattleboro and White River Junction, Vt.
• Charlottesville, Va.
• Longview, Wash.
• Eau Claire, La Crosse, and Manitowoc, Wis.

Welcome to the future, PlayBook.

Over a year after its announcement, RIM has finally dropped the release date for the 4G LTE version  of its PlayBook tablet. Available in Canada August 9th, the device will be offered by Bell, Rogers, and Telus.

As expected, the device is almost identical to the non-4G PlayBook: It features a 7-inch display, HDMI out, a pair of cameras, and runs the latest version of the PlayBook operating system. RIM, however did upgrade the processor to 1.5 GHz, which edges out the 1GHz processor found in current models.

Notably, RIM isn’t going all-out on storage options: The 4G LTE PlayBook will only come with 32GB of storage, a move that echoes RIM’s decision to discontinue the 16GB version of the Wi-Fi PlayBook earlier this year.

For RIM, releasing a 4G LTE PlayBook is a clear sign that the company is still invested in the tablet space, something that investors and journalists have been skeptical off for a while.

Naturally, the biggest question on consumers minds (those of you that care, anyway) is this: When will the new PlayBook make an appearance elsewhere? RIM is mum on the details,  but we can expect announcements from the likes of AT&T and Verizon soon enough.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Sprint will launch its first five LTE markets in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, and San Antonio on July 15, an important step for the third-place U.S. wireless carrier.

Initially, Sprint was the first true 4G provider in the U.S. when it launched WiMAX 4G in many markets around the country starting in 2008. But troubles with WiMAX provider Clearwire stalled its launch in imporant markets, and all the while, No. 1 carrier Verizon and No. 2 carrier AT&T were launching their own 4G LTE offerings. Now Sprint is transitioning to LTE from WiMAX and launching its first markets.

“The performance of both the 4G LTE and improved 3G networks are exceeding our expectations, and we are pleased with the progress of the entire Network Vision program,” said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse in a statement.

The launch of Sprint’s first LTE markets is incredibly important not only to keep customers from defecting to AT&T and Verizon but also to supports its newest LTE-capable devices. These include the Samsung Galaxy III, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC EVO 4G LTE, LG Viper 4G LTE, and the Sierra Wireless 4G LTE Tri-Fi Hotspot (which supports LTE, WiMAX, and 3G). Without LTE network availability, any customer with one of four aforementioned phones will be stuck with extremely slow 3G speeds.

Sprint said it expects to have built out its 4G LTE network to “cover 250 million people across the United States” by the end of 2013. Let’s hope they get a good chunk of that done by the end of this year, or else the company can expect even more customers to flee.

Dan Hesse photo: Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Most people won’t care about Quantance‘s tiny qBoost power amplifiers. But these efficient little chips should capture your attention because they could speed up 4G data rates by 2 to 5 times.

Quantance is handing out samples of its finished third-generation chip, the Q845 ET power supply, it announced today. So far, major smartphone manufacturers in the LTE supply chain are testing the chip, which could wind up in smartphones in consumers’ hands in the first half of next year. Those devices will have faster data rates and better battery lives. And the phones won’t burn hot in your hands.

The new chip is more efficient and smaller than rival power supplies and can deliver power to the rest of a phone in the right amount and do so at a very high speed.

Older power supplies are slow and haven’t kept up with the rapidly evolving smartphone. Some can generate voltage efficiently, while others do it quickly. But Quantance designed its power supplies to deliver power quickly and efficiently at the same time, said Rob Rovetta, vice president of product at San Mateo, Calif.-based Quantance, in an interview with VentureBeat.

“This is giong to be the industry’s fastest-performing chip,” Rovetta said.

Most power supply companies simply ratchet up the power that they deliver to a smartphone application. That’s because the app will crash if it gets too little power. Designers have to design for overkill on power or risk having constant failures. The consequence is that the device, such as my own Verizon 4G LTE MyFi hot spot (which provides internet data connectivity anywhere it can get a cellular signal), will run out of power far too quickly.

The Q845 supports ET operation up to 20 megahertz LTE, providing the response time equivalent of a 400 megahertz switcher for ET systems. As a result, the Q845 is more than 100 times faster than any other mobile ET power supply solution available today.

Some 4G LTE companies evaluating the chip hope to get a finished product with it out this year. But Rovetta said most will likely take more time preparing brand new products around the technology. It could be used in 4G LTE smartphones, tablets, or MyFi devices.

These devices are currently frustratingly slow because the power-related constraints are stopping them from transferring data at the maximum theoretical rates. Device makers actually have to throttle their designs because of the power limits, Rovetta said.

“We are thrilled to be sampling our chip and are already deep in the process of integrating our qBoost-enabled products into baseband chipset platforms and high-speed mobile data devices,” said Vikas Vinayak, Quantance’s CEO and co-founder. “The industry-wide interest in our chip is a strong indicator that the 4G/LTE market will depend heavily on ET to achieve maximum speed, coverage, and battery life. And with our unique qBoost approach, we feel Quantance is well positioned to lead the ET market race.”

The Q845 uses a patented combination of switching and linear power supplies inside a single chip to efficiently deliver power. The design is so radically different that the company has had to work on the technology for six years. Its third version of the chip is the one that will likely be commercially successful, Rovetta said.

Quantance has 25 employees and has raised $30 million from investors, including TD Fund, Granite Ventures, InterWest Partners, and DoCoMo Capital. Rivals include Texas Instruments, Fairchild, and Maxim. Smaller rivals include R2 and Nujira. Quantance founders include Vanayak and Serge Drogi, chief technology officer.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Wireless carrier T-Mobile has announced new partnerships with Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Network to help the carrier build its upcoming 4G LTE network, the company announced today.

T-Mobile has been hurt more than any other major carrier by the absence of Apple’s iPhone and its lack of a true 4G network. The company has branded its HSPA+ network as “4G” but clearly that didn’t work well enough to keep subscribers coming back for more. T-Mobile lost a whopping 802,000 contract customers in its last quarter, and its revenue fell 3.3 percent.

The company’s 4G LTE network, which will cost $4 billion to roll out, will launch some time in 2013. In a multi-year agreement, Ericsson and Nokia Siemens will support the LTE network by providing “state of the art, Release 10 capable equipment” at 37,000 cell sites across the U.S. to increase signal quality.

AT&T and Verizon have already deployed their LTE networks, which are significantly faster than T-Mobile’s HSPA+ faux-4G offering. Sprint has plans to roll out LTE in the middle of the year.

On top of the partnerships, T-Mobile has also expanded its HSPA+ network to 229 markets in the U.S. The carrier added Little Rock, Ark.; Springfield Mo.; Hattiesburg, Miss. and Madison, Wis. to its HSPA+ 42 network. The HSPA+ network will provide a stop-gap solution while T-Mobile customers get access to 4G LTE access and devices.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Apple, you’ve got some splainin’ to do. The new iPad, which will be released tomorrow, does not allow FaceTime video chat using 4G LTE networks, according to a report by The Verge.

Former CEO Steve Jobs said that FaceTime would be Wi-Fi only in 2010 when it was introduced at WWDC 2010. “We need to work a little bit with the cellular providers to get ready for the future, so we’re Wi-Fi only in 2010,” he said at the time. In theory, the company was waiting for better network connections to support video chat before allowing it over more than just Wi-Fi. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, even with powerful 4G LTE speeds.

Verizon Wireless and AT&T’s 4G LTE speeds are significantly faster than anything their respective 3G networks can cook up, so video chat should work fine in those markets that have LTE. Verizon expects to cover 260 million Americans with LTE by the end of the year. AT&T, on the other hand, plans to cover 150 million Americans by the end of 2012.

What’s especially frustrating is that the new iPad allows you to create a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices, such as an iPhone 4S. Using an iPhone 4S over an iPad-created hotspot would allow you to run FaceTime using a 4G connection all the same.

Apple did not immediately respond with a comment. (And in this case, we don’t expect them to.)

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Verizon Wireless is likely in the process of quietly installing 4G LTE networking equipment in Apple Stores around the country, a move that would help better sell the iPad HD with LTE data speeds.

Both AppleInsider and Cult of Mac have reported that technicians have begun upgrading Verizon equipment that is already present at Apple Stores. The equipment’s purpose is to give customers looking at the iPhone and iPad better carrier service and faster data speeds.

All kinds of rumors have been swirling for iPad HD event scheduled for 10 a.m. PT today in San Francisco. We expect that the iPad HD will feature a super-high-resolution Retina Display, a faster processor, 4G LTE networking, better cameras, and improved software.

The 4G LTE rumor especially lines up when you think about the iPad delivering content fast no matter where you go. As my colleague Devindra Hadawar writes, it makes sense for Apple to finally move beyond 3G with the iPad 3. The iPad is already a “magical” device to consumers, but the addition of an always-on 4G network as fast (and in some cases faster) than their home broadband would make it seem downright miraculous. More so than the 4G smartphones on the market, the iPad 3 could end up being the killer LTE device that AT&T and Verizon have been praying for.

We’ll see today if the rumors for the iPad HD (or iPad 3) hold up. Stay tuned to VentureBeat for posts coming at you live from Apple iPad’s event.

5th Avenue Apple Store in New York: Sean Ludwig/VentureBeat

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Verizon Wireless appears to be having yet another wide outage of its 4G LTE data network, according to various reports on Twitter.

The network reported three data outages in the month of December. Verizon swiftly blamed the down time on “growing pains.”

Verizon said today that it is looking into the issues, which are reportedly affecting users in Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Phoenix, and parts of Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“VZW is investigating customer issues in connecting to the 4GLTE data network,” Verizon said via Twitter. “3G data, voice, and text services are operating reliably.”

While Verizon is saying its 3G network is fine, several users of 4G phones say they can’t even access 3G on their phones. Eric Gilkey said on Twitter: “Your 3g WAS out for a while. Let’s not act like it was unaffected.”

Let us know in the comments if you are having any trouble connecting to Verizon’s 4G or 3G networks and where you are located.

VentureBeat is holding its second annual Mobile Summit this April 2-3 in Sausalito, Calif. The invitation-only event will debate the five key business and technology challenges facing the mobile industry today, and participants — 180 mobile executives, investors, and policymakers — will develop concrete, actionable solutions that will shape the future of the mobile industry. You can find out more at our Mobile Summit site.

The devices use 4G LTE mobile networking to connect to the internet from any location and essentially allow you to add huge amounts of storage to your mobile device. Using the wireless connectivity, you can use your smartphone or iPad to view more than 300 high-definition movies stored on a Seagate mobile wireless storage device. You could store the whole catalog of James Bond movies in HD and have each movie ready to play at your fingertips.

Seagate and Verizon are demonstrating the new technology at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas.

The 4G LTE-connected storage will use the network to connect up to three WiFi-enabled devices to the internet at the same time. The two companies have been working on the technology for about two years and created a multi-party collaboration last year that also includes Novatel Wireless and Skycross. The timing for Seagate’s product hasn’t been determined yet.

“This is an example of innovation in storage,” said Scott Horn, vice president of global marketing for Seagate, in an interview. “It opens up new possibilities for getting your content when you are on the go.”

Consider, for instance, entertaining your kids by letting them watch a movie from a huge collection while they’re sitting in the backseat of a moving car. Each of the kids could be watching a different movie at the same time. The device will be portable, using rechargeable batteries with up to five hours of battery life. It can have WiFi connectivity.

Seagate is also showcasing other storage solutions as well at CES. They include the GoFlex Satellite mobile wireless storage, first introduced in May 2011. The drive is a WiFi-enabled storage device that can stream media to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Seagate is unveiling new features that improve the device.

The storage company is also unveiling its GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter (pictured right, $99) and the GoFlex Desk Thunderbolt adapter ($199), both of which will let users transfer data at high speeds using Intel’s Thunderbolt technology. The GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter will be available in the first quarter, and the desk version will be ready in the second half of the year. Seagate will also show some GoFlex Slim hard drives with more storage, 500 gigabytes instead of the previous 320, for the Mac.

For more gadget news, be sure to check out VentureBeat’s live coverage from CES 2012.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Wireless provider Verizon is America’s favorite national network, but it is not immune to an occasional case of the sniffles. A technical issue is being blamed for a service disruption that knocked out 4G LTE service to wireless customers nationwide, and left them without high-speed voice, data and SMS service. The disruption began on Tuesday evening and was resolved by Wednesday night.

On the Verizon Twitter feed the company announced, “Verizon Wireless 4GLTE service has returned to normal after the company’s network operations team resolved a technical issue,” without specifying the nature of the technical issue, how many people were affected, or what steps were taken to remedy the problem. Verizon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Verizon told Reuters that 3G data, voice and text messaging were back to normal.

This week’s outage is the second for the company this year. In April, Verizon suffered from a nationwide outage to its 4G LTE network. Nicola Palmer, Verizon Wireless vice president of network operations, boasted that her company had avoided troubled with its nationwide 4G LTE rollout at VentureBeat’s Mobile Summit just days before April’s outage. Hubris anyone?

Verizon is America’s largest mobile phone carrier, with 107 million subscribers. The Verizon 4G LTE network debuted in December of 2010 and is currently available in 38 regional markets and 60 airports. The company has plans to expand its high speed wireless capability to 175 markets. By contrast, AT&T’s 4G LTE service was launched this September and covers subscribers in five cities.

Verizon Wireless was formed in a joint collaboration between UK’s Vodafone Group and Verizon communications, which also sells broadband Internet and cable television service in the U.S. Verizon consistently ranks as the top national wireless carrier and was chosen as America’s best provider for the second straight year by Consumer Reports readers.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

In a bid to shore up its 4G wireless network, Verizon has agreed to buy 122 wireless services licenses from Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, the company announced today.

Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks initially set up a wireless venture called SpectrumCo in 2007. But because the venture didn’t turn into anything substantial, the companies are cutting their loses and selling the assets to Verizon. The deal stipulates that Comcast will receive $2.3 billion, Time Warner Cable will get $1.1 billion and Bright House Networks will bank $189 million, based on how much ownership each company had in SpectrumCo. The SpectrumCo companies actually bid $2.4 billion for the spectrum in 2006, so Verizon is paying a $1.2 billion premium for it.

If U.S. regulators approve the move, Verizon will own much more spectrum, as the assets cover 259 million Americans. The goal would be to give more Verizon customers across the country its 4G LTE service, which is already the largest next-gen 4G network. The U.S. Government plans to open more of its wireless spectrum to mobile operators at an auction, but Verizon is preemptively moving ahead of that to secure itself spectrum.

“Americans deserve excellence from a wireless service provider, and innovative wireless companies plan ahead in order to deliver on that expectation,” Dan Mead, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless, said in a statement. “Spectrum is the raw material on which wireless networks are built, and buying the AWS spectrum now solidifies our network leadership into the future, and will enable us to bring even better 4G LTE products and services to our customers.”

The deal, pending approval from a highly regulatory FCC and DOJ, would put a ton of pressure on AT&T, which already is behind Verizon in building out a true 4G network. Verizon offers 4G LTE in more than 150 U.S. markets. AT&T (and T-Mobile) mostly offer up HSPA+ as its version of 4G, which delivers faster speeds on already established 3G networks. That said, AT&T now has LTE live in nine markets in the U.S. and plans on steadily adding more.

AT&T is also struggling right now because it is looking less likely that its proposed buyout of T-Mobile will happen. The FCC has blasted the potential AT&T-T-Mobile merger in a 157-page report that ultimately concluded that the merger would ultimately hurt U.S. consumers. AT&T and T-Mobile-parent Deutsche Telekom have actually withdrawn their FCC application for the merger, so the company’s may also be planning to lose this fight.

Your move, AT&T.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

AT&T is officially launching its 4G LTE network in five cities today, according to the carrier. That means if you’re an AT&T subscriber living in San Antonio, Chicago, Dallas, Houston or Atlanta your mobile Internet access should be faster today. The rest of the country will have to wait jealously until AT&T expands the service to 10 more cities (70 million United States residents total) by the end of the year.

LTE stands for “Long Term Evolution” and it provides a wireless broadband technology that helps mobile devices get faster Internet access. The 4G stands for “fourth generation,” meaning this version of LTE should be faster than the previous editions.

AT&T soft-launched their LTE network about a month ago in a couple cities. The carrier  has been scrambling to catch-up with MetroPCS and Verizon Wireless. Those two carriers have already launched LTE networks in the U.S. Verizon is in the lead with 25 markets covered by its LTE network.

AT&T is also behind the game in regards to LTE-friendly hardware. The carrier doesn’t yet have smartphones that can take advantage of faster LTE network. There are only three AT&T devises that currently work with LTE: the USBConnect Momentum 4G modem, Elevate 4G mobile hotspot and HTC Jetstream Android Honeycomb tablet.

AT&T’s upcoming LTE smartphone, the HTC Holiday, will reportedly have a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon SoC processor, a 540×960 display, runAndroid 2.3.4 and  feature HTC’s Sense 3.0 user interface, according to AT&T. Five GB of data will cost $50.

If I had a nickel for every time an AT&T subscriber said they’re switching to Verizon as soon as Apple’s new iPhone 5 comes out I could afford to buy a new iPhone 5. Hopefully this LTE network will help AT&T keep their customers from jumping ship.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Verizon Wireless on Tuesday added a little bit of 4G magic to its Android tablet lineup with the 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Verizon has shown off its impressive reach by expanding its blazing fast 4G LTE network at an impressive clip since its introduction in Dec. 2010. The 4G network now serves more than 70 metropolitan areas.

The Android-3.1-running tablet is equipped with a 10.1-inch 1280 x 800 resolution screen, a dual-core NVidia Tegra 2 processor, a 3-megapixel camera on back, and a 2-megapixel camera on front for video chat.

Sarah Rotman Epps, senior analyst for Forrester Research, said that while Samsung is moving in the right direction with tablets, Forrester is still forecasting Apple’s iPad to get 80% of tablet sales in the U.S. in 2011.

“Samsung has aggressively innovated to improve the Galaxy Tab product and marketing strategy,” Epps told VentureBeat. “Samsung is moving in the right direction, but Apple is leagues ahead.”

The LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1 doesn’t come cheap and will run $529.99 for the 16GB model and $629.99 for the 32GB edition. And both of those prices come with two-year agreements at that. Monthly data plans runs $30 for 2GB, $50 for 5GB, and $80 for 10GB.

Verizon’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 drops on July 28th.

Are you a fan of the newest Android tablets? Are you thinking about picking up a Galaxy Tab?

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Intel said today it has bought most of the assets of Cairo-based SySDSoft as part of an effort to move into 4G LTE communications.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move is a shift for Intel, which has long supported WiMax as a strategic effort in high-speed, long-range wireless internet. But 4G LTE has caught hold, and carriers such as Verizon Wireless are deploying it in the U.S. The deal also shows that multinational companies are ready to place bets on Egyptian talent in the wake of the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

Intel will hire roughly 100 of SySDSoft’s engineers in Egypt. Privately held SySDSoft makes software for embedded wireless systems. Arvind Sodhani, president of Intel Capital, the chip maker’s venture arm, said the acquisition is the first of its kind that Intel’s undertaken in the Middle East. Intel has huge operations in Israel, but not so much in the predominantly Arab countries.

SySDSoft designs software for use in wireless mobile platforms related to technologies such as WiMax, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Wireless USB, CDMA-DO and LTE. SySDSoft will be part of Intel Mobile Communications. Intel still has a lot of WiMax efforts under way.

The system, which is debuting in Nissan’s all-electric Leaf, allows drivers to search for charging stations and plot routes that will use less of the electric car’s battery (avoiding slopes, for instance), and connects drivers through a global cloud that Airbiquity operates for Nissan. The platform comes standard with Nissan’s Leaf (console and car pictured), which is currently is all booked up with the car maker’s initial run of 20,000 reservations.

Electric vehicles like the Leaf, the partially-electric Chevrolet Volt and Tesla’s upcoming all-electric Model S sedan all offer some kind of souped-up display system. Given that electric cars are a relatively new technology and come with an above-average price tag, these extra features add to the cool and luxury factor while providing tools to help consumers understand their car’s range and tailor their driving habits to it.

The shift isn’t limited to electric cars, though. The information and communication technology (ICT) system for the Leaf is one of several efforts among automakers — not to mention many cleantech startups — towards data-driven efficiency, as well as cloud-enabled entertainment. Ford’s Sync computer system is now in 3 million vehicles, enabling voice command-activated entertainment options as well as safety features like automatic 911 operator connection in the event of a crash. And GM announced it will showcase a Buick at CES that uses GM’s Onstar Service with Verizon’s 4G LTE network to enables video chatting (erm, anyone see a crash hazard here?), home monitoring and impact detection. Nissan, Ford, and GM have all developed smartphone apps to go with their ICT systems.

The moves also represent more data than ever being exchanged between manufacturers and consumers. The Leaf’s system, for example, can send information about battery efficiency back to Nissan, where researchers can use it to improve the next generation of electric vehicles, or alert drivers when their tire pressure is low or repairs are needed.

“There’s fewer surprises about breakdowns, parts that need to be replaced,” said Leo McCloskey, vice president of marketing for Airbiquity.

Given the backlash over privacy concerns with smart meters broadcasting real-time energy usage data wirelessly, will there be similar hesitation over integrating such functions inside cars, which are arguably just as private a space as a person’s home? Customers can opt out of the service, McCloskey said.

But most people probably won’t. With most of the cars going to early adopters, it’s likely the vast majority will want use the system, which is connected to a designated web portal where Leaf owners can see the data and statistics associated with their driving. What’s more, this is the wave of the future when it comes to cars, McCloskey said.

“This is not a dilettante thing to make it look cool, it’s not an adornment. This is really quite central to every automaker we talk to right now,” he said.” There is a very exacting strategy around ICT [information and communication technology] … The vehicle now starts to conform to the consumer as opposed to the consumer trying to figure out what (car) is right for them.”