Mobile Phone News and Reviews » T-Mobile USA

Mobile Phone Reviews :T-Mobile USA Blocking Unlocked BlackBerry Storm Owners from the Network

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 10:48:56 +0000

One of the (many) benefits of GSM, is the fact you simply need a SIM card to make your device work. With a little work, you can make any GSM-based handset “unlocked,” and therefore capable of working on any other GSM carrier out there in the world. In the case of the BlackBerry

=============
Article Content:
One of the (many) benefits of GSM, is the fact you simply need a SIM card to make your device work. With a little work, you can make any GSM-based handset “unlocked,” and therefore capable of working on any other GSM carrier out there in the world. In the case of the BlackBerry Storm, which is a world phone from Verizon Wireless here in the States, you are able to primarily find access to CDMA-based networks, but thanks to the partnership with Vodafone, can also use a SIM card to access networks while out and about. Another option, of course, is to unlock the Storm and use it on T-Mobile USA. Apparently, T-Mobile doesn’t like that plan anymore.

Courtesy of CrackBerry forums, it’s looking like the fourth largest wireless carrier has gone ahead and put the clamp down on unlocked BlackBerry Storm devices. According to several reports, the devices aren’t functioning properly at all: many have said that they have no data connection, while calling customer service has resulted in obtaining no help at all. Others have even heard, “Your device is not supported,” even before they can connect to anyone to talk to.

All of this is coming from the customers, but with so many of them independently verifying the same situation, it’s definitely something that’s got us scratching our head in confusion. Why T-Mobile would lock down the usage of the Storm on their network is beyond us: after all, it’s not like it’s the only device being utilized on their network which doesn’t come from T-Mobile. We’ll keep our eye on this one. And, if you’ve got a Storm and you’re running around on T-Mobile’s network, let us know your own experiences.

[via CrackBerry]

———————

Mobile Phone Review :T-Mobile Launches HSPA+ in Northeast United States

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:15:08 +0000

Find yourself up in the Northeast of the United States? Feel like your time on T-Mobile USA hasn’t been the best, without all that HSPA+ goodness making it to your neck-of-the-woods? We understand. Especially when the Magenta carrier is announcing it all over the place, except

=============
Article Content:
Find yourself up in the Northeast of the United States? Feel like your time on T-Mobile USA hasn’t been the best, without all that HSPA+ goodness making it to your neck-of-the-woods? We understand. Especially when the Magenta carrier is announcing it all over the place, except where you are. When do you get your time in the spotlight, right? Well here you go, folks: you’ve just been lit-up.

If you’re in upstate New York, Connecticut, or Providence, Rhode Island, then you’re in luck. You’ve got access to T-Mobile USA’s HSPA+ network. T-Mobile says that, theoretically, their high-speed data network is fully capable of up to 21Mbps download speeds. Yes, that does mean that, at least on paper, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ is delivering much faster “4G speeds” than, you know, the competitor. And, no, you don’t have to pay extra to get access to this faster data service. T-Mobile’s just nice enough to give it to you, like you don’t owe them anything.

Right now, T-Mobile’s plan is to get their faster data coverage to 155 million people by the end of 2010, and they’re on track to make that happen. Currently, it covers 30 million Americans, with more cities like Boston and Washington, D.C. on deck to get the awesomeness “in the coming weeks.” Full press release below.

Press Release:

4G Speeds From T-Mobile Now Broadly Available in the Northeastern U.S. and Other Major Cities
T-Mobile Deepens, Expands Mobile Broadband Network to More Places on More Leading Devices
BELLEVUE, Wash. – May 24, 2010 – T-Mobile USA, Inc. announced today the continued expansion and customer availability of its HSPA+ super-fast mobile broadband network that delivers 4G speeds in the Northeastern U.S. and other major cities across the country.
As the company continues to aggressively broaden its HSPA+ network in the New York City metropolitan area, including New Jersey and Long Island, T-Mobile announces the further build-out and widespread availability – right now – of its super-fast network in adjoining regions, including Upstate New York (Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse), Connecticut (Hartford, New Haven, Milford and Stamford) and Providence, R.I. Already live in Philadelphia, as well the Washington, D.C. suburbs, T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network will expand into Boston and Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks, further enhancing the Northeast corridor with 4G speeds. In addition, customers in Memphis, Tenn., and Las Vegas, also now can stay connected on T-Mobile’s high-speed mobile broadband network.
Using the HSPA+ wireless technology standard, the T-Mobile network currently delivers theoretical peak download speeds of 21Mbps. T-Mobile’s rapidly expanding HSPA+ mobile broadband footprint makes it easy for customers to enjoy 4G speeds on existing mobile broadband devices such as the T-Mobile webConnect™ Rocket™ Laptop Stick. In addition, more than a dozen released T-Mobile devices benefit from these enhanced speeds, with two high-performance smartphones available next month – the T-Mobile® myTouch 3G Slide™ and the Garminfone™.
T-Mobile’s HSPA+ mobile broadband network now covers more than 30 million Americans. With an aggressive build-out plan, T-Mobile expects to make further significant leaps in the coming weeks and months to deliver 4G speeds in 100 major metropolitan areas, covering 185 million people in the U.S. by the end of this year.
T-Mobile customers with 3G smartphones who live in these areas served by the company’s mobile broadband network are now getting enhanced data speeds without having to buy a new phone or spend additional money. Now, these customers can surf the Web, download files and share media on-the-go – many times faster on home-broadband-like speeds.
“Our competitors are asking consumers to pay more for faster wireless service with limited coverage and very few capable devices,” said Neville Ray, senior vice president of Engineering and Operations for T-Mobile USA. “In contrast, T-Mobile is already delivering 4G speeds today to customers and we continue to make major leaps in expanding our HSPA+ mobile broadband footprint.”
T-Mobile’s next-generation network can provide consumers with a home-broadband-like experience on-the-go. T-Mobile currently has 5.2 million customers using 3G-capable converged devices on the network, a 33 percent increase in smartphone adoption since the end of 2009 and expects to increase that number to 8 million by the end of the year.

———————

Mobile Phones News :T-Mobile MyTouch 3G Slide Unboxing [Video]

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:15:08 +0000

Available soon on T-Mobile USA, the MyTouch 3G Slide’s retail packaged is packed in an interesting metal box design. The MyTouch 3G Slide is powered by Android 2.1, featuring 3.4-inch HVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera, 8GB microSD memory card and 600MHz processor. Android

=============
Article Content:
Available soon on T-Mobile USA, the MyTouch 3G Slide’s retail packaged is packed in an interesting metal box design. The MyTouch 3G Slide is powered by Android 2.1, featuring 3.4-inch HVGA touch screen, 5-megapixel camera, 8GB microSD memory card and 600MHz processor. Android Community has got a unboxing video and photos, check out the report after the jump.

———————

Mobile Phone Reviews :SlashPhone Week in Review — Week 12 2010

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:56:41 +0000

Another week notched off the calendar, leading up to a week ahead that’s probably going to lead up to one of the biggest Saturdays since the launch of the original iPhone. Too bad it has nothing to do with a phone, though. In any case, we’re knee deep in articles from

=============
Article Content:
Another week notched off the calendar, leading up to a week ahead that’s probably going to lead up to one of the biggest Saturdays since the launch of the original iPhone. Too bad it has nothing to do with a phone, though. In any case, we’re knee deep in articles from the last week, which saw quite a few announcements. We were also quick to bring you quite a few hands-on videos, along with our personal perspective on a recently released Nokia device. So, let’s get right into it.

Monday, March 22nd

When it comes to Nokia, we’re just as familiar with their devices as we are with their services. And that’s probably due to their hard work in the smartphone, as well as almost every other market for phones that we can think of, industry. According to a leak that broke via Twitter last Monday, it seems that Nokia is starting to rework their roadmap, and focusing more on services, rather than devices. What’s getting the axe? S60 devices. A shame for most, especially fans of the Operating System, but it looks like Nokia has their eyes set on services, rather than devices. And while Palm may be seeing some dark days, that’s not stopping them from releasing their pair of webOS smartphones on the AT&T network in the coming network. The Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are the same models for AT&T that we saw get released for Verizon Wireless, so don’t expect any major surprises here. And a last bit of AT&T-based news, we see another Android-powered handset aimed for the carrier’s 3G bands. The Dell Aero is a rebranded Mini 3, so again, nothing really groundbreaking too announce. Except that the device won’t allow for third-party downloads, and has been skinned by Dell for AT&T’s usage.

LG has announced the LG VS750. It’s a Windows Mobile Classic (which means Windows Mobile 6.5.3), and it’s not going to upgrade to Windows Phone 7 Series, due to its resistive touchscreen, and power powerplant inside. It’s scheduled to hit the Verizon Wireless network some time in the next few months. In memory card news, SanDisk has announced their 32GB MicroSD card. So, you’ll finally be able to take advantage of that space allotted by some of the major new handsets being released.

And then finally, we have the Motorola i1. An Android 1.6-based device, it’s the world’s first Push-to-Talk Android handset. It’s super thin, and we managed to get some hands-on time with the device while visiting CTIA 2010 this year. If you’re interested in that whole PTT thing, then this could be your next device. It definitely felt good in the hand.

Tuesday, March 23rd

What a great way to start a Tuesday, than to see that a new way to text has broken the world record for texting. You’ve probably heard of the keyboard Swype, but if not, it’s a great new way to input text on a touchscreen device. Featured prominently on the Samsung Omnia II, it’s making a big splace on Android-based devices as well. Simply draw a line from one letter to another to input the word you want, you don’t have to worry about chicken-pecking anymore.

Tuesday also saw a literal onslaught of Android news. It started with the announcement that Kyocera would be introducing the ZIO into the world. A ridiculously thin device, running Android, which the manufacturing company promised would bring some personal touches to the Operating System. We’re wondering if that means more than the experience that HTC Sense brings to the table, so we’re excited to see what that developers into. The Android train then took us to the Galaxy S, the latest handset from Samsung. It’s a 4-inch, Super AMOLED display Android monster, with the software tweaks that Samsung is legend for. Oh, and it also has the fastest processor available in any smartphone on the market. But then we have the bigger, first 3G/WiMAX-based handset: the Sprint EVO 4G. It’s the brother to HTC’s HD2, with the same physical characteristics (with some marginal aesthetic alterations), and it’s a beast.

On the other end of the spectrum, we reviewed the Nokia 5230 Nuron, being offered up by T-Mobile. It’s got a few quirks, and it doesn’t have WiFi, but it’s probably the perfect device for someone looking for smartphone-like features, without paying the higher price tag of the smartphones available for carrier.

Wednesday, March 24th

On the world phone front, Samsung introduced the Metro 3G, which is a rebranded version of the Samsung Shark (as seen in Europe over the last few months), which is being launched in India. It’s a basic device, with some social networking functions integrated, but it probably won’t get anyone all that interested in phones too excited. It does look interesting, and that does go a long way in the cell phone market. As for Europe, it looks like the Nokia E72, which is a very popular phone, has just been voted onto the mobile network 3, by popular demand. The mobile carrier is currently testing the device, before they should be ready to launch it in the next few months.

And while Verizon Wireless talks up their LTE-based plans for later this year, it looks like MetroPCS is way ahead of the game. They are going to have their next generation network launched by the end of this year, and with it, the first LTE-based device, manufactured by Samsung. It’s rumored to be running some kind of version of Windows Mobile, but we have our fingers crossed that it cuts it close enough to this holiday season, so we get to see some Windows Phone 7 Series love for it.

And then there’s AT&T, which took Wednesday as their day of 3G MicroCell announcement time. The service is meant to make those with bad service in their homes, due to terrain or construction of their homes, have usable service. It’s being developed with Cisco, and has been in testing since last September. It’s going to cost 9.99 to buy, and you can get a monthly unlimited plan with it if you want, as well. It’s beginning to roll out later this year, with full coverage planned for 2011.

Thursday, March 25th

The HTC Desire is one of those devices that people have been clamoring for since, well, the announcement of the Nexus One. They want the guts, and Android 2.1 goodness of the HTC manufactured device, but with some of HTC’s Sense User Interface goodness. HTC must have known the demand would be there, because they indeed did create the Nexus One with Sense UI, and it’s name is the Desire. For lucky T-Mobile UK customers, that device is going to be ready to purchase starting March 29th, and not surprisingly, it will be free on the right type of contract.

Skype, while already available on the iPhone via the App Store, is a service that iPhone users can only use via WiFi. But, what about those times you don’t have a MiFi, or a WiFi signal anywhere near you? Thanks to Verizon Wireless, you’ve got choices. Well, if you don’t like WiFi, that is. Skype for Verizon Wireless launched on Thursday, for Android and BlackBerry users, with one stipulation. Feel free to use it as much as you want on the 3G network, but don’t expect to be able to connect via WiFi. You need to have an unlimited data plan to take advantage of the service, too. No surprise there, right?

Apple’s App Store is a place where hard working developers can go to show off their latest creations, and, hopefully, make a boat-load of money. That is, unless you go against Apple’s hidden rules for application approval. In that case, you should expect to be denied. In the case of mobile browsers, Safari is the one shiny gem available for the iPhone. Opera wants to change that. They’ve announced that they have submitted their mobile browser to Apple’s prized product. They even included a count-up meter, showing how long it takes for Apple to approve (or deny) the application for distribution.

Friday, March 26th

The HTC HD2 is one of those devices that’s been roaming around, enjoying the life of luxury over in the realm of Europe for quite a few months now. The fellows over at SlashGear loved it, and so do we, truth be told. It’s a great device. And, as of March 24th, T-Mobile USA finally got their carrier mitts on it. What no one probably expected, though, was that the carrier’s online retailer would sell out, along with the majority of brick-and-mortar stores across the nation. T-Mobile and HTC are sitting pretty now, we’re sure.

The Nokia Music Store, one of the manufacturer’s crux services, is getting a name change to match all of their other services: Ovi Music will mark a changing of an era, but not an end. The music store will still exist, and devices that “Come with Music” are still going to find their way to customer’s hands. And, just a quick reminder, the Samsung Galaxy S has the fastest processor available. Definitely worth checking out, if you ask us. The HTC Desire got unboxed over at SlashGear (lucky, much?), and it looks just as beautiful as it does in all those press releases. And, just in case we couldn’t mention the HTC HD2 any more, here’s a few videos of the hardware running Windows Phone 7 Series, thanks to some developers in Russia.

———————

Mobile Phone Review :HTC HD2 for T-Mobile USA Got a Specs Boost

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:38:36 +0000

Still waiting for a HTC Touch HD2 in US? The Windows Mobile smartphone is finally reaching T-Mobile USA, with a internal memory boost! Compare to other international version, T-Mobile version has a 1GB ROM and 576MB RAM, meaning you can install more applications or store more data

=============
Article Content:
Still waiting for a HTC Touch HD2 in US? The Windows Mobile smartphone is finally reaching T-Mobile USA, with a internal memory boost! Compare to other international version, T-Mobile version has a 1GB ROM and 576MB RAM, meaning you can install more applications or store more data into your internal memory. While the pricing info is not available, the HD2 is sold with a 16GB microSD card, compare to the 2GB microSD card bundle in other region. The Touch HD2 has been announced for T-Mobile, coming this Spring to US. It should be running with Windows Mobile 6.5 and is said to be included for a future Widnows Mobile 7 upgrade.

[via mobiletechworld]

———————

Mobile Phone News and Reviews :doubleTwist Partners With T-Mobile USA to Provide Media Sync and Desktop Media Management Software for Android Smartphones

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:38:36 +0000

doubleTwist today announced the availability of Multimedia Sync by doubleTwist, a custom version of the critically acclaimed media management software that will be available for free to T-Mobile Android smartphone customers. A custom installer will be pre-loaded on the T-Mobile myTouch

=============
Article Content:
doubleTwist today announced the availability of Multimedia Sync by doubleTwist, a custom version of the critically acclaimed media management software that will be available for free to T-Mobile Android smartphone customers. A custom installer will be pre-loaded on the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition, and customers can download the software for free with other devices including the T-Mobile G1, Motorola Cliq, Samsung Behold II and T-Mobile myTouch 3G at http://apps.t-mobile.com/doubletwist.

The software, available for Windows and Mac platforms, automatically finds music, photos and videos stored on a user’s computer and enables seamless syncing of their media to their mobile devices. doubleTwist includes step-by-step instructions for connecting and transferring DRM-free content to each supported device, making the process simple and accessible.

Users can create and sync new playlists or import their existing iTunes playlists to start enjoying their music on a new device. doubleTwist also enables users to transfer videos and photos to and from smartphones and automatically converts video to ensure compatibility with each device, eliminating file format problems for consumers.

[via androidguys]

———————