3G - SlashGear

‘3G’ Stories

ASUS roadmap outed: Transformer Prime 3G incoming; Win8 tab this year

Chris Davies, Jan 7th 2012 Discuss [30]

ASUS has confirmed that there will a 3G-equipped version of the Eee Pad Transformer Prime in March, with the company also saying it plans to launch an ARM-based Windows 8 slate by the end of the year. The much-anticipated tablets were confirmed in a pre-CES briefing attended by NetbookNews, though there's still room for some surprises next week: ASUS says it has two new models for the show, along with a further two tablets pencilled in for the latter half of 2012. Read The Full Story

T-Mobile USA faces $9bn bill to bring network up to scratch

Chris Davies, Dec 21st 2011 Discuss [8]

T-Mobile USA may take away a "record high break-up fee" from AT&T's failed takeover bid, but the carrier still faces a roughly $9bn spend if it wants to compete in the US market. Despite receiving a chunk of AT&T's spectrum covering 50m people, analysts warn that owner Deutsche Telecom will have to spend three times the $3bn fee from Ma Bell on improving the network and acquiring further spectrum. That will likely mean dreary prospects for investors, Businessweek reports, facing reduced dividends after next year. Read The Full Story

Verizon 3G/4G data suffers second downtime [Update: It's back!]

Chris Davies, Dec 21st 2011 Discuss [77]

Verizon Wireless is experiencing widespread data network problems across the US, customer reports have suggested, with both 3G and 4G service down in many locations. The carrier's forums are abuzz with frustrated smartphone and tablet users, suffering the second significant outage in less than a month. Read The Full Story

T-Mobile USA details “record high break-up fee” from AT&T

Chris Davies, Dec 20th 2011 Discuss [18]

T-Mobile USA owner Deutsche Telekom has gleefully set out exactly what it can expect from AT&T as its break-up fee, after the collapse of the acquisition deal this week. AT&T was originally to pay $39bn for T-Mobile USA; now, with regulators frowning on the deal, the carrier will be forced to cough up what Deutsche Telekom describes as a "record high break-up fee" of $3bn in cash and "a large package" of AT&T's AWS spectrum. A long-term US-wide UMTS roaming agreement is also mandatory. Read The Full Story

Samsung drops iPhone 4S 3G patent attack [Updated]

Chris Davies, Dec 16th 2011 Discuss [3]

Samsung has reportedly abandoned attempts to hound the iPhone 4S with 3G patents it holds, conceding that Apple is covered for their use of the cellular technology through their use of Qualcomm chipsets. The decision was revealed in the latest batch of legal sniping at the Mannheim Regional Court in Germany this morning, patent expert Florian Mueller reports, though Samsung also filed against Apple over a further four patents while the Cupertino company fired back with six suits of its own. Update: The changes aren't so clear-cut after all; more details after the cut. Read The Full Story

ASUS: ICS for Transformer Prime due Jan 2012

Chris Davies, Dec 15th 2011 Discuss [3]

ASUS has announced that Italian would-be buyers of the Eee Pad Transformer Prime will have to wait until the end of January 2012 before they can pick up the Tegra 3 tablet; however, it will likely be released running Ice Cream Sandwich as standard. The OS news lends further weight to the rumors that ASUS will have the Android 4.0 upgrade ready next month, with previous comments from the company only outlining a vague Q1 2012 window for its release. Read The Full Story

3G Tablets fall from favor say researchers

Chris Davies, Dec 13th 2011 Discuss [8]

Integrated data connections in tablets along with mobile hotspot connected slates are falling from favor, new research suggests, with WiFi-only use proliferating among owners of iPads and other models. While 60-percent of tablet owners used WiFi only and 5-percent reported some intent of subscribing to a mobile broadband plan within the next six months back in Apri, NPD Group discovered, cellular use has actually shrunk in intervening period. Read The Full Story

Samsung iPhone 4S French ban attempt rejected

Chris Davies, Dec 8th 2011 Discuss [3]

Samsung has been given an embarrassing legal spanking by the French courts, which refused to grant a sales ban against the iPhone 4S and demanded that it pay Apple €100,000 ($134k) in legal fees. Although the sum is likely far less than Apple has actually paid its legal team in France, the decision is a blow to Samsung which had been enjoying a limited run of success against its Cupertino rival in Australia and the US. Read The Full Story

ip.access AFC portable femtocell offloads 3G/4G to WiFi

Chris Davies, Dec 5th 2011 Discuss [0]

An iPhone-sized portable femtocell could make creating a private bubble of cellphone coverage straightforward in homes, offices, hotel rooms and public spaces, offloading smartphones and other mobile devices onto WiFi. The ip.access Advanced Femtocell Concept (AFC) works as existing products, like the AT&T 3G Microcell and Vodafone SureSignal, but can hook up to the internet via either a wired ethernet connection or WiFi. Read The Full Story

No Transformer Prime 3G/UMTS version says ASUS Germany

Chris Davies, Dec 1st 2011 Discuss [18]

While the ASUS Transformer Prime has finally hit the SlashGear test bench and - in a few days time - store shelves, for some the package won't be complete until a 3G version of the Tegra 3 tablet is available; unfortunately, that's looking increasingly unlikely. Despite suggestions last month that ASUS would consider a 3G Transformer Prime if the market demanded it, the company's German division has thrown cold water over the prospect, claiming the minimal demand for UMTS 3G models means they're not going to be produced. Read The Full Story

HTC juggles 3G in German patent case

Chris Davies, Nov 28th 2011 Discuss [0]

HTC may claim its 2012 range will "focus on the product" to restore the company's upward momentum, but the current line-up could be yanked from German shelves if patent courts have their way. The company is under attack from patent holder IPCom over 3G/UMTS standards used without licensing in its smartphones, a charge HTC claims has been negated by the dismissal of the patent, but which, FOSSPatents reports, may not be as clear-cut as presented. Read The Full Story

Acer Iconia Tab A700/A701 Full HD Tegra 3 tablet revealed

Chris Davies, Nov 16th 2011 Discuss [5]

Details of an Acer tablet running NVIDIA’s Tegra 3 processor with a Full HD resolution display have emerged, hot on the heels of the apparent confirmation of the mid-range Iconia Tab A501/A511. The Acer Iconia Tab A700/A701 was spotted in amongst profile documentation on the company’s support site, complete with a pixel-dense 1920 x 1200 WUXGA display and NVIDIA’s new quadcore chipset.