Verizon launched LTE in 6 new markets today, including locations in Kentucky, Michigan, and Colorado. This brings the total number of markets that are equipped with Verizon 4G LTE up to 497, which is just three shy of hitting that illustrious 500 mark. AT&T is in second, but they still have work to do in order to catch up, and T-Mobile just launched their LTE network, so they’re still spring training, so to speak.

Verizon plans to cover its 3G network entirely with LTE by the middle of this year, and they carrier said that their 3G network is already 95% covered by their LTE, so they only have a little ways to go at this point. If you’re wondering if you’re city has LTE, it most likely does, but if you’re not sure, Verizon has a full list of LTE-equipped markets in the US.

Last year, Verizon blew past its year-end goals for 2012, covering 417 markets by the middle of October with a year-end goal of covering 400 markets. That’s quite an accomplishment and proves that not only is Verizon willing to casually meet their goals, but they aim to exceed them.

Verizon celebrated the 2nd birthday of its LTE network back in December, and announced that 440 markets had the carrier’s faster LTE speeds. Currently, more than 40% of Verizon’s smartphones run 4G LTE, as well as 63% of all internet devices sold from Verizon. Plus, over half of all of Verizon’s mobile network and data traffic is over LTE speeds. That’s quite impressive to say the least, and while there will be an equilibrium with AT&T eventually, Verizon is making sure they stay on top for as long as possible.

VIA: Android Community

Exactly when T-Mobile USA will begin to offer the Lumia 925 is unclear. Nokia has said that the smartphone will begin to roll out in June, though that’s for Europe and China. The US release is due sometime after that; T-Mobile says it will detail exact dates and pricing soon.

Whenever it lands, it will have LTE 4G on the carrier’s fledgling network, along with the 8.7-megapixel PureView camera which Nokia is so proud of. There’s also a 4.5-inch OLED display and optional wireless charging with a clip-on back cover.

The camera may use the same sensor as in the Lumia 920 and Lumia 928, but it’s paired with a new lens assembly on the Lumia 925. That has a sixth lens component – glass, rather than the plastic of the other five parts – which Nokia says is good for better sharpness and brightness.

That processor is used to good effect, as we discovered when we reviewed the Optimus G Pro earlier this month. Then, the LG impressed us with its smooth Android performance and the usefulness of the various sketching and note-taking apps, which are still included despite the phone lacking a dedicated stylus.

That’s arguably the most significant deciding factor between the Optimus G Pro and Samsung’s Galaxy Note II. Nonetheless, even without a pen, the big screen of the LG does have its advantages for multimedia consumption and web-browsing.

LG Optimus G Pro review:

It’s likely to be too big for many users, but we should see features like dual-recording – which combines footage from the front and rear cameras into a single frame or video clip – showing up in smaller LG devices over the coming months.

If you’re convinced, the LG Optimus G Pro is available from AT&T today, though you’ll need to sign up to the usual two-year agreement with a mandatory voice and data plan. The phone has been up for preorder since May 3rd at $199.99.

Unlike in Europe, where the full extent of Nokia’s line-up has been made available, those in the US have had to deal with the company’s carrier-exclusive promotion. That has meant certain models are only available on certain networks, such as the Lumia 920 being exclusive to AT&T.

The Lumia 620 remains one of our favorite Windows Phones from Nokia’s lineup. The budget nature of the handset suits the first-time-smartphone-owner audience that Windows Phone caters to particularly well, while the interchangeable covers stand out in among a sea of black, white, and silver devices. There’s more detail in our full review.

Unfortunately, it seems Aio isn’t quite set up to handle all of the Lumia 620′s flexibility. The carrier currently doesn’t offer any of the “dual-shot” covers separately, only the blue finish that comes with the phone by default.

Of course, the main downside is that Aio Wireless is only available in a very limited number of locations at present: just Houston, Orlando, and Tampa, in fact. AT&T promises more coverage “over the coming weeks” though is yet to ink a specific roadmap.

[via Nokia Conversations]

That then spreads the remainder of the cost of the smartphone out, over the length of the 24-month agreement. You’ll be looking at $5 extra on your bill each month for the privilege, though at least you’re paying no more than you would if you spent the money upfront. T-Mobile will offer the payment plan option from May 22.

As for the Lumia 521 itself, unsurprisingly it’s a variant on the Lumia 520 we reviewed last month, complete with a 5-megapixel camera, 4-inch touchscreen, and support for 720p HD video recording. However, it will gain WiFi Calling in T-Mobile’s version, though that won’t be enabled until a firmware update is ready from May 20.

Those who pick up the phone early, at a Microsoft Retail Store or Walmart, will have to wait for that update to be pushed out to their phone before they can make WiFi calls. That’ll be installed OTA, however, rather than demanding the Lumia 521 be plugged into a computer.

Pre-orders of the AT&T Galaxy S 4 began back in mid-April, with the smartphone shipping from the end of the month. However, at that point only the 16GB version – priced at $199.99, again with a two-year agreement – was on offer.

Although the Galaxy S 4 has a microSD card slot to add to that, some early-adopters have been frustrated to discover quite how much room Samsung’s added-extras take up on the phone. In fact, roughly half of the 16GB phone’s storage is occupied, something the company argues is the price owners pay for things like native TV remote control and other tweaks to Android.

While a microSD card can be used to boost storage for media purposes, apps can’t be installed to it, and so for those wanting to take advantage of the Galaxy S 4′s expansive display for gaming, the 32GB version might be a more sensible buy. There’s more on the new Samsung in our full review.

[via Android Community]

Harlin says that the company’s DROID DNA is still the “HTC hero smartphone at Verizon,” and he claims that the DNA’s features “still compete with products in 2013,” which hints to the possibility that HTC may skip over Verizon this year, since they think that the DNA will last into 2014 before the company will need to release a new phone on Verizon.

The HTC One is been released on all major carriers except for Verizon, which is leading to so many questions and rumors on the Verizon version of the new device. Frankly, we’re not sure why the company isn’t releasing the phone on Verizon, and if they eventually do, it’ll way later than all the other carriers.

The HTC One is one of the newest Android devices to release this year so far, and it comes with an aluminum unibody shell, which is something that we rarely see on an Android device. The Samsung GALAXY S 4, which also was recently released, comes with the traditional plastic shell that Samsung used on its Galaxy S III.

In fact, the press release refers to the somewhat generic “Apple products” rather than iPhone or iPad specifically. The obvious assumption is the iPhone 5 and, given US Cellular’s appeal among cost-conscious users, the cheaper iPhone 4S and 4 versions too, though it could also be a pre-emptive grab for whatever new version – whether iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, or something else – Apple reveals later this year.

No matter which version, US Cellular is confident it will help them grow their numbers. “We have a number of strategies in progress to increase loyalty and attract more customers, including our announcement today that we will begin offering Apple products later this year” president and CEO Mary N. Dillon said in a statement today. “By further strengthening our device portfolio, we’ll give consumers another great reason to switch to U.S. Cellular, and enable our existing customers to choose from an even wider variety of iconic smartphones.”

However, the carrier would be wise to look to other, smaller networks to see the potential risks involved. Leap Wireless waded into the Apple smartphone game last year, but was forced to warn investors that it could be left with a sizable amount of unsold stock after demand proved to be less than the amounts it had negotiated with Apple.

The new phone will cost you $199 after signing a new two-year contract, or you can shell out $549 for the off-contract version if you so desire. Early adopters will also get a free LG black folio case to keep their new device safe from the elements, but it seems AT&T only has a handful of these, so if you’re going to pre-order the phone, there’s no better time than right now.

The Optimus G Pro looks to take on the Samsung GALAXY S 4, the HTC One, and the Galaxy Note II with a 5.5-inch full HD IPS display that has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. On the inside, there’s a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro quad-core processor, coupled with 2GB of RAM to keep things going along smoothly.

The $199 price of the Optimus G Pro will land you 32GB of storage, with the ability to slap in a microSD card if you ever find yourself with not enough space for all those movies and music files. On the back you’ll spot a 13-megapixel camera with a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera that can record 1080p video. Check out our complete photo tour of the phone to get a better sense of the Optimus G Pro’s camera.

However, it’s the potential for industry-disrupting price plans and off-contract service that CEO John Leger believes will really help the carrier stand apart. “Together, as America’s Un-carrier, we’ll continue our legacy of marketplace innovation by tearing up the old playbook and rewriting the rules of wireless to benefit consumers” he said today.

The deal is expected to also save both carriers money, with a potential saving of $6-7bn; there’s also the potential for pushing the MetroPCS brand into more areas, taking advantage of T-Mobile’s spectrum. MetroPCS’ shareholders approved the deal late last month.

While T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS may now be living happily under the same roof, for subscribers there won’t be much in the way of difference based on what they see on their phone screen, at least. The two brands will be operated separately, though eventually shift to a common network infrastructure, and sharing support.

The Samsung GALAXY S 4, BlackBerry Z10, and HTC One are all priced at $199, so if you were to trade in your old junker, you would only be paying $99 for one of these phones. Furthermore, for mid-range smartphones that are priced at $99, you’d be getting these for free if you traded in your old phone.

In order to get a trade-in value for your old phone, you’ll have to answer some basic questions about the condition of it first, including functionality as well as if anything is broken. Then you have to enter in the device’s serial number and the phone number of the phone (it has to be an AT&T number). Once that’s done, you’ll be able to see how much your old phone is worth.

Then again, you’re probably still better off using another service like Gazelle, Swappa, or even eBay. You’ll most definitely get more money out of your old device, and depending on what service you use, you can haggle with the price in order to get the best deal possible. At that point, you can take that money and get yourself a brand new phone.

Breaking down its customer base, AT&T says that 72% (or approximately 48.3 million of its customers) of the carrier’s on-contract subscribers are wielding smartphones. Overall, AT&T says that this has been the best first quarter that the company has ever seen as far as smartphone sales are concerned.

As for how AT&T earnings compared to the same time last year, the company experienced drops all across the board, but nothing significant. However, the company did see a rise in net income with a 3.2% gain compared to last year. As for total operating revenue, that was down 1.5% from $31.8 billion from a year ago.

AT&T’s wireless business saw big leaps, however, with a 21% rise in revenue compared to the same time last year. Total revenue for the carrier’s wireless business was $16.7 billion for the quarter, and net income was $4.66 billion, which is a 4% gain compared to last year. Overall, it seems AT&T made it through a rather successful quarter, especially for being a first quarter.

The tool looks fairly easy to use, and all you have to do is select the store that you want to make the appointment at, and then select the date and time that you’d like your appointment scheduled for. Then all you have to do is enter in your name, contact information, and the reason for your visit.

The web page also allows you to change your appointment if you already scheduled one, which will definitely be convenient for those who are constantly changing their schedules around on-the-fly. Previously, AT&T relied on a first-come first-serve system, which was a shot in the dark on how long you would be waiting for a representative to help you out.

Most wireless carrier stores rely on the first-come first-service system, but this new scheduling system should definitely move things right a long and make more customers happy at the same time. We’re not sure whether or not AT&T is moving full-time to the new scheduling system, but we’re guessing customers will still be able to walk in to a store without scheduling an appointment and take their chances.

The news puts Clearwire’s business back under the microscope, and is timely given the announcement by Dish Networks earlier today that it was bidding on carrier Sprint. Dish already had a standing bid in on Clearwire, though has blamed regulatory red-tape for the deal not going through, though the company’s chairman did confirm today that the offer was still standing and had not been withdrawn.

Clearwire currently offers 4G service in selected areas across the US, covering approximately 130m people by population. Although best known for its WiMAX network, the carrier has been building out an LTE network for the future; most recently, Sprint announced a plan to buy Clearwire in a deal worth $2.2bn.

According to the filing, Clearwire will discuss the proposed deal – exact terms of which have not been revealed – with Verizon (which it identifies only as “Party J”) and Sprint. The $1.5bn tag would be reduced by the current value of what Clearwire itself pays to lease the spectrum, something which the company has warned could be a “substantial” figure.

“On April 8, 2013, the Company received an unsolicited, non-binding written proposal from Party J, a strategic buyer, in which Party J offered to acquire Clearwire spectrum leases generally located in large markets that cover approximately 5 billion MHz-POPs at a gross price of approximately $1.0 to $1.5 billion, less the present value of the spectrum leases which could be substantial. The Special Committee will, consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, evaluate this proposal and any other proposal and engage in discussions with each of Party J and Sprint, as appropriate” Clearwire SEC filing

Adding to the complexity of the spectrum shuffling is the ongoing bid by Japanese carrier SoftBank for Sprint. The purchase is contingent on Sprint acquiring Clearwire, among other things.

“Sprint is in play” Ergen said of his company’s new deal, with the chairman apparently far more confident that Dish could pick up the carrier than it was about the proposed Clearwire deal earlier this year. Despite making an informal offer for Clearwire, Dish subsequently abandoned its bid after numerous legislation issues arose.

In contrast, Ergen points out, picking up Sprint would only involve paying off the $600m breakup fee that is part of the carrier’s existing sale agreement with Softbank. Dish would cover that fee, the chairman promises, in addition to paying $4.76 in cash and $2.24 in Dish stock for every Sprint share.

“Sprint shareholders will benefit from a higher price with more cash while also creating the opportunity to participate more meaningfully in a combined DISH/Sprint with a significantly-enhanced strategic position and substantial synergies that are not attainable through the pending SoftBank proposal” Charles Ergen, chairman, Dish Network

The payoff for Dish is clear, the company has said. With Sprint included, the TV provider could bundle voice and internet service, in addition to mobile entertainment access, to subscribers: Sprint’s cellular data could provide an alternative to traditional DSL/cable home broadband. For Sprint, Dish argues, the benefit would be not only in cash but Dish’s existing 45 MHz spectrum holding, its roster of satellite TV subscribers, and its network of customer services and technical staff already operating in the US. In all, Dish argues it could achieve savings of around $11bn if the deal goes through.

“The combined national footprints and scale will allow DISH/Sprint to bring improved broadband services to millions of homes with inferior or no access to competitive broadband services” Charles Ergen, Dish Network

Softbank announced its bid for Sprint late last year, offering $2.2bn for the carrier in what it said was an attempt to streamline the US operator’s LTE rollout, plus a shortcut to negotiating better deals for top-tier handsets. Dish came out as a vocal critic of the acquisition soon after.

The Sprint board will now have the option to consider Dish Network’s offer, though – even if accepted – Softbank will have the opportunity to increase its own bid. Dish has a new microsite detailing its proposal, with Ergen even going so far as to compare the suggested deal with Seinfeld. “In terms of our strategy,” the chairman writes, “I often think of the television show Seinfeld … you initially didn’t know exactly where things were going, but it seemed to all come together in the end.”

[via WSJ]

Meanwhile, AT&T says it intends to broaden its service even further, with 77 new markets set to get blessed with LTE by the summer. The network also has widespread HSPA+ coverage, it points out, for when users step outside of LTE service: in fact, AT&T says almost 100-percent of its existing network offers HSPA+.

Nonetheless, on LTE service alone, AT&T still finds itself behind Verizon. The CDMA carrier started its 4G deployment earlier than AT&T, and boasts more than 485 cities where LTE is offered.

Wireless isn’t AT&T’s sole plan for high-speed connectivity, of course. The company also revealed plans to take on Google Fiber, with a fiber network of its own in Austin. That, offering speeds of around 1Gbps, will be used as a test-bed for trialling new home and commercial internet technologies, though there’s no public timescale for when the rest of the US might get a taste.

The first ten cities to get the double-speed LTE are Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, and Sheffield. Trials in Cardiff have already been underway, with EE seeing higher than 80Mbps rates in its own testing; in a perfect, lab setting, the system could go as high as 130Mbps, though that would never be achieved in the wild.

To achieve all that, EE is doubling the 1800MHz spectrum its 4G service can use, up to 20Mhz. That means not only higher speeds but more capacity, something the carrier says will be vitally important as 4G adoption increases: its research suggests data traffic over the next three years will jump by up to 750-percent.

In response to the expected climb in demand, EE will also be trialling carrier aggregation before the end of the year, part of the LTE-Advanced feature set, which joins together spectrum in different bands for more performance. That will see the carrier make use of its newly-acquired spectrum holdings, bought in the recent UK 4G auction, in the 800MHz and 2.6GHz frequencies.

Meanwhile, there are also plans for voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) along with video and voice calls over 4G/LTE (VoLTE), though there’s no timeline for their launch. The speed improvements will come at no extra cost to subscribers, as EE prepares itself for rival UK networks launching their own 4G service, something expected to happen within a matter of months.

The HTC first is the first Facebook Phone right out of the box, it working with the new Facebook Home Android app experience. This software creates a full Facebook experience for anyone using it as their homescreen launcher, decidedly separate from Android’s core. With this app you’ll be getting Facebook Home updates on the 12th of every month (according to Facebook) and you’ll have full access to your Facebook content.

UPDATE: See our HTC first hands-on here and now!

You’ll be seeing the following unique bits and pieces coming from this EE release of the HTC first as well:

• EE Film – the only service in the UK which combines 2 for 1 cinema ticketing, listings, trailers and digital film downloads in one place
• A discount of £5 per month on EE superfast Fibre Broadband – so they can get blistering speeds at home and on the move
• Fast track customer service by dialing ‘33’ from their handset
• Clone Phone Lite – giving people free storage to back up the content that matters most

Have a peek at the timeline below for more information on the HTC first as well as our Android Hub for more Android excellence through the future! In our brand new Facebook Home tag portal you’ll find all you need to know about this new experience and about the future of Facebook on your smartphone!

The pricing details run contrary to previous rumors about AT&T’s plans for the phone, which suggested the carrier would demand $250 for the 32GB version. That, unsurprisingly, met with vocal criticism, given that HTC needs to make the One as big a success as possible if it’s to claw back market share.

AT&T will offer both the black and the silver versions of the One, both packing LTE connectivity. The smartphone also has a 4.7-inch Full HD display, 1.7GHz quadcore processor, and HTC’s special UltraPixel camera, which uses oversized pixels for improved low-light performance.

The camera also includes Zoe recording, a blend of burst-capture stills and brief Full HD video recording which can then be automatically cooked up into a half-minute “highlight reel.” There’s more on how Zoe technology works in practice here.

AT&T will also preload its own AT&T DriveMode app, a car-mode system which kicks in when the One is in a vehicle traveling at above 25mph. It will automatically reply to texts, emails and calls to reduce the risk of driver distraction.

There’s more on the HTC One in our full review.

HD Voice, also known as wideband audio, involves squeezing more frequency data into each call, pushing the limits closer to what the human ear can actually hear. In a regular voice call, that might be as little as 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz (the human voice, meanwhile, can range from 80 Hz to 14 kHz); however, HD Voice extends that to somewhere in the region of 300 Hz to 3.4 kHz.

The end result is a more realistic, natural sounding voice call, though it takes its toll on bandwidth. AT&T’s plan is to use VoLTE to address that, taking advantage of the thick data pipe 4G allows to easily accommodate the better quality calls.

However, that means VoLTE has to be up and running before AT&T can think about switching HD Voice on, something the carrier has in mind for later in the year. It will also explore LTE Advanced, which can deliver more bandwidth, among other things, by aggregating channels.

News that AT&T is to hop on board the HD Voice train is likely to come as a disappointment to T-Mobile USA, which cited the technology as one of its differentiators after confirming it was finally going to offer the iPhone 5 from early April.

The acquisition will expand Verizon’s coverage in northwest Arizona, a region of the US that doesn’t get much coverage in the first place (because, you know, it’s out in the desert). Mohave’s operations cover a population of just over 200,000. 3G data will be available, with Verizon’s blazingly-fast 4G LTE rolling out sometime in the near future.

For the time being, Mohave customers won’t be affected until the Verizon network transformation is complete in early 2014. At that point, Verizon will begin to transfer Mohave customers over the Verizon’s network. Again, this only affects those in northeast Arizona who are currently with Mohave Wireless.

It turns out that Verizon has already invested over $80 billion since the company began to increase the coverage of its network around the US, and it looks like it’s paying off. Big Red has the largest 4G LTE network in the US right now, with 486 markets that have Verizon’s LTE, and it covers almost 90% of the US population, according to Verizon.

The iPhone 5 will cost you different amounts depending on which carrier you buy it from – and depending on if you purchase it “off contract” or not. You also have what might appear to be three different kinds of purchases on your hands now:

1. On-contract (each of the top three mobile carriers in the USA with 2-year contracts)
2. Off-contract (paying one since price once in one lump sum with no contractual obligations)
3. T-Mobile

With your T-Mobile purchase, you’ll be paying $99.99 USD down for starters – that’s half the price (essentially) of the $199 you’ll pay if you’re purchasing the device with a 2-year contract with any of the top three mobile carriers in the USA.

1. $199 with subsidy costs built-in to your data/voice/text plan (you can’t see it, but it’s there).
2. $649 (we’ll stick to the 16GB version since T-Mobile is advertising that model as their hero with $99.99 down and so forth)
3. $579.99 ($99.99 down with $20 per month for 24 months)

So why would you want to purchase an off-contract iPhone 5 from Apple for $649 then have it working with T-Mobile data? You wouldn’t. That’s absurd. If you want to purchase an iPhone 5 to use with T-Mobile, you can do so cheaper by buying it from T-Mobile with their “Simple Choice Plan” structure (that’s what the hardware pricing plan T-Mobile is pushing is called).

Purchase an iPhone 5 with any carrier using a 2-year contract and you’ll be paying an amount of cash built-in to your monthly payment well past the time that T-Mobile would allow you to be finished. With T-Mobile, there’s a clear separation between your monthly bill for the hardware (that you’re paying off) and the mobile service. With every other carrier, you continue to pay for the hardware forever – or until you end your service.

The GALAXY S 4 is the newest smartphone to be announced, and T-Mobile will have it available starting in May, with CEO Legere mentioning “about May 1.” However, pricing hasn’t been announced yet. The BlackBerry Z10, on the other hand, is available starting today. It’ll cost you a total of $531, but it’ll be split up over 24 months with $18 payments per month, and a $99 down payment at the start.

The HTC One will also be hitting T-Mobile “later this spring.” The carrier hasn’t announced pricing or availability, though. The HTC One was announced last month, and it pretty much stunned us with its 4.7-inch 1080p display and the new “UltraPixel” camera technology, not to mention its beautiful metal design.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II is already available on T-Mobile, but customers can update the device via an over-the-air update to enable the LTE chip for the network. If you don’t yet have a Galaxy Note II, you can grab one for $29 down, and $16 monthly payments for 24 months. As for T-Mobile’s new hotspot, the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE supports up to eight devices and is available for $29 down with 24 monthly payments of $5. The device is available now.

T-Mobile announced a new “Simple Choice” plan, which was revealed a couple days ago. The plan starts at $50 per month for 500MB of data, and customers can add a second line for $30 per month, with each additional line only costing $10 per month. You can bump up the data to 2GB for an extra $10 per month per line, and unlimited LTE is only $20 more per month per line. Plus, there are no contracts, making T-Mobile the first major carrier in the US to get rid of such a thing.

The carrier also announce that their new LTE service is launching today in seven major metropolitan areas. These markets include Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington DC. T-Mobile expects its 4G LTE network to reach 100 million Americans by mid-2013, and 200 million people by the end of 2013, which is certainly a bold step for the company.

As for the LTE devices that you’ll be able to grab from T-Mobile, they announced that the Samsung GALAXY S 4, Galaxy Note II, BlackBerry Z10, HTC One, and the iPhone 5. The company also outed the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE, giving laptops and other non-LTE device the ability to access the carrier’s LTE network quickly and easily.

If you purchase a smartphone on any major carrier today on a 2-year contract, you get a subsidized price on that smartphone. This means it’s cheaper to you than it’d be if you bought the device off-contract – but you’ll be paying for it anyway in monthly costs to the carrier in addition to the amount you pay for data, voice, and text.

Even after you’ve paid enough money to the carrier, cash each month equivalent to a portion of the full cost of the smartphone, you’ll continue to pay. The only way to avoid this amount of money that isn’t actually purchasing you anything is to sign up for a new 2-year contract with that carrier for a new smartphone.

Harsh!

With T-Mobile’s new plans, you’ve got the smartphone’s cost separate – clearly separate – from the monthly payments you make for data, voice, and text. The smartphone will cost the same as it did before T-Mobile switched over to this new plan, but you’ll be able to pay it off without worrying about signing up for a contract – or a new contract once you’ve paid off the smartphone.

Once you pay off the full amount of the smartphone (the off-contract price), you no longer have to pay T-Mobile for the privilege to use said device. You only have to pay the data, voice, and text cost. Once you pay off the cost of the phone, you get a lower monthly bill.

Sound like the paradigm shift you were waiting for in mobile device carrier economics? Let us know if you expect T-Mobile to be your mobile carrier in the near future! Also have a look at the rest of T-Mobile’s plans in a report on what they’ve shown off already, and join us tomorrow for more during the big T-Mobile event!

However, if you want a truly unlimited experience, you can get unlimited talk, text, and data for only $70 a month. The only caveat is that you won’t be able to use your device as a Mobile Hotspot, but that’s hardly a deal breaker for many of you. With the unlimited everything plan, you can watch as many Netflix movies, download as many mobile games, and stream as much music as you want.

With the addition of the new plans comes the removal of phone subsidies. However, T-Mobile still makes it easy for you to afford the latest, high-end smartphones. For example, a Samsung Galaxy S III will require only a $69.99 down payment, and additional $20 payments spread across 24 months. The down payments for phones and its monthly payments vary from device to device. While it’s unfortunate to have to pay the full price for a smartphone, in the end, you’ll be saving a lot more money (especially if you don’t usually change phones every two years).

You can also bring your own device to T-Mobile’s network, whether its an unlocked AT&T phone that can work on T-Mobile’s refarmed 1900MHz network, or a used phone from Swappa, eBay, Amazon, or other online resellers. This way you’ll end up saving even more money with T-Mobile’s plans. T-Mobile is also hosting an event on March 26th where it will announce and possibly launch its 4G LTE network in 8 different cities.

[via T-Mobile]

T-Mobile had stated it has slated the launch of its 4G network for the end of this month, making the March 26 event a perfect time to announce it. To go along with the faster network, the carrier will offer Blackberry’s Z10 and the Galaxy Note II as its first handsets that support 4G, which will service about 100 million subscribers by summer time.

The plans are fairly economical, with a $50 option getting users unlimited minutes and texting, as well as a paltry 500MB of data. Forking out another $20 will get you unlimited data as well, or subscribers can get 2GB of data for a flat rate of $10. Theres also a family plan that starts at $80 for two lines.

We’ll likely hear an announcement about the availability of the iPhone from T-Mobile during the event, as well. Finally, another recent T-Mobile happening we’re likely to hear about is its merge with MetroPCS, which was just recently announced as getting a thumbs up from the FCC last week.

[via Android Community]

The FCC’s statement also makes clear that this merger will very possibly create a “more robust, national network” and will move to make the fourth-largest carrier in the United States a service provider with “improved quality of service” from top to bottom. The FCC has concluded that, per their mission to decide,

“Any potential public interest harms would be outweighed by the resulting public interest benefits” – FCC

This decision is made with several conclusions including that Deutsche Telekom has the right to select a name other than the one listed above any time prior to the close of the deal “Deutsche Telekom AG Application, ULS File No. 0005446627, Exhibit 1, Description of Transaction and Public Interest Statement at 3 n.5″ Deutsche Telekom is the parent company of T-Mobile USA, you should know, if you did not know before right this minute.

Four FCC heads, Chairman Genachowski, Commissioner Rosenworcel, and Commissioner Pai, have released statements in support of the approval, letting the public know why they’ve supported the merger and how it’ll affect us all.

“When markets are competitive, consumers are better off when the government forbears from intervening and allows private parties to negotiate and enter into voluntary agreements. As I have said before, mutual consent implies mutual benefit, and it is accordingly in the public interest for freely-negotiated contracts to be allowed and enforced so long as third parties are not harmed. ” – Commissioner Pai

“I have expressed to the parties my concern that as they move ahead, American workers do not get left behind. Major job losses are not in the public interest. The companies have pledged to me that they have no plans to close any domestic call centers, to move them offshore, to close any retail stores, or to reduce retail positions as a result of this deal. They have also assured me that they plan to increase the overall number of workers they employ in the United States. I expect that the company will keep its word—and live up to these promises.” – Commissioner Goldman

Above you’ll see Commissioner Pai‘s statement as well as the statement of Commissioner Goldman. You’ll see that Goldman made a point to assure the public hat both T-Mobile and MetroPCS have promised to keep all of the stores and workers they’d had before this deal, and have no plans to fire any workers or close any stores as a result of the deal.

“Mobile broadband is a key engine of economic growth, with U.S. annual wireless capital investment up 40% over the last four years, the largest increase in the world, and few sectors having more potential to create jobs. In this fast-moving space, of course challenges remain, including the need to unleash even more spectrum for mobile broadband and continuing to promote competition and protect consumers. The Commission will stay focused on these vital goals.” – Chairman Genachoswki

Above you’ll also see the statement of FCC Chairman Genachoswki, who opts to address the situation from a more broad perspective. Have a peek at the timeline below to see more on the history of this deal as it began and ran through to today, where it’s closer than ever to being fully approved.

The Z10 will use AT&T’s LTE network, for faster download speeds, but early-adopters of the new BlackBerry 10 platform will have to stomach the usual two-year commitment and a price more commonly associated with a new iPhone or top-tier Android device. That could be overly-ambitious for AT&T and BlackBerry, with the Z10 decidedly occupying the “challenger” category right now.

As we found in our review, the Z10 does some things well – the screen is good, and the software is a significant improvement over BlackBerry 7 – but it also falls short in places. Mediocre low-light camera performance has in part been addressed by a recent firmware update, but the handset also has middling design and build quality in comparison to, say, Apple’s phone.

Still, AT&T isn’t the only carrier to have high expectations for what BlackBerry fans might pay. Verizon confirmed some time ago that it would be offering the Z10 this month, also pricing it at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement. T-Mobile, meanwhile, will begin sales to business customers from today.

The details suggest that T-Mobile will soon go contract free, which also means that early termination fees will be a thing of the past. That alone is starting to make things seem better already, isn’t it. As to how this is expected to work without requiring someone to shell out $500, $600 or more upfront — a mix of down payments and monthly payments. Think of it like financing the price of the device. Details suggest that would mean paying $99 or less at the time or purchase and then paying the remainder monthly until the device is paid in full.

Again, details have yet to be confirmed by T-Mobile which means things could still change. The nice part here, this is all expected to go into effect later this month. TmoNews is reporting that T-Mobile may be looking to put this in effect as early as March 24 with an announcement coming as soon as this Monday. Assuming that plays out as expected, Monday could be a big day for T-Mobile.

As for those existing customers still under contract with T-Mobile — you are not going to let off entirely. In fact, it was said that any existing contracts will remain in place until they expire. Otherwise, if you were considering upgrading this weekend, you may want to hold off until Monday, just in case. In addition to the contract-free shift, T-Mobile is also expected to do some further rebranding. This is expected to include what is being called “Dual 4G” in which they promote their HSPA+ and LTE networks.

[via TmoNews]

Leap signed a three year long purchase commitment with Apple back in May 2012, which came into effect when Cricket began selling phones the following month. That agreement basically means Leap must buy a certain, minimum amount of devices from Apple, even if it doesn’t necessarily sell that many.

“At our current purchase rate, we project that we will purchase approximately one-half of our first-year minimum purchase commitment through June 2013 … If Apple were to require us to meet the annual minimum commitment in each of the three years of the contract term, we estimate that we would be required to purchase approximately $100 million of additional iPhones in mid-2013 above our current purchase rate, approximately $150 million of additional iPhones in mid-2014 above our current purchase rate and approximately $200 million of additional iPhones in mid-2015 above our current purchase rate” Leap Wireless

Part of the problem, Leap suggests, is the limitations of its network coverage. Cricket service isn’t available to the same extent as that of AT&T and Verizon, which can mean potential customers either can’t buy the iPhone where they live, or choose another carrier because they may need to travel outside of Cricket’s network.

As the carrier points out, “if Apple introduces an AWS-compatible version of the iPhone in the future, we will be able to sell the device in additional markets covering approximately 40% of our covered POPs.” Nonetheless, Leap isn’t counting on that necessarily happening – or, indeed, Apple agreeing to renegotiate the purchase commitment – and so is considering other strategies.

They include more comprehensive device leasing or financing programs, which would spread the upfront cost of the iPhone 5 out over a more extended period, or even just changing the sticker price of the iPhone itself. The carrier also hopes to work with Apple to boost its promotional drive, to tackle the possibility that many people might not even consider Cricket in the first place.

Interestingly, while Leap’s COO says he is “not concerned about … meeting the Apple commitment,” attempting to reassure the market during a recent financial results call, he is also putting a big chunk of his faith in another device. “I would say there was a stronger device [than iPhone 5] in our lineup” Jerry Elliot told analysts last week, referring to Samsung’s Galaxy S III.

[via WSJ]

People in Barnsley, Chorley, Coventry, Newport, Preston, Rotherham, Telford, Walsall, and Watford will all be able to get online with EE 4G now. The carrier says that speeds in the range of 8-12Mbps are the average, though obviously that depends on where exactly you are.

By June 2013, meanwhile, EE has said it will have almost doubled its current total of 4G locations. Aldershot, Ashford, Basildon, Basingstoke, Blackpool, Bradford, Bracknell, Camberley, Colchester, Crawley, Doncaster, Dudley, Farnborough, Guildford, Horsham, Huddersfield, Leatherhead, Leicester, Luton, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Oldham, Oxford, Reading, Redhill, Reigate, Sevenoaks, St Albans, Stevenage, Tonbridge, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Warrington, West Bromwich, Wigan, and Woking will all be active on LTE by the middle of the year.

Time is running out for LTE’s exclusivity, however. The UK’s 4G spectrum auction closed recently, with Vodafone, O2, and Three – among others – all picking up chunks] of the airwaves for their own LTE roll-out plans. They won’t be hanging around, either: the first active networks are tipped to go live by the summer.

That will ramp up the pressure, not only on EE’s coverage and speed, but on its pricing, something the carrier has been criticized for since launch. LTE currently commands a premium in the UK, but the expectation is that greater rivalry will force cuts as the market regains its competitive balance.

Vodafone splashed more than $790m on spectrum, including two paired 800MHz chunks, and three 2.6GHz chunks. Everything Everywhere (EE) came in second, spending almost $589m on four chunks (two in 800MHz, two in 2.6GHz), closely followed by O2, which spent $550m for two 800MHz chunks.

That left Three with a £225m spend on two 800MHz chunks, and finally Niche Spectrum Ventures, with £186m on three chunks in the 2.6GHz spectrum. MLL Telecom and HKT (UK) Company failed to acquire any spectrum.

Next up comes the “assignment stage,” where the companies bid on where exactly within the bands they’ve bought their new spectrum will be. In all, 250MHz of spectrum was awarded, which Ofcom points out is roughly equivalent to two-thirds of what radio frequencies are currently in use by operators. That process will begin imminently, Ofcom says.

It shouldn’t take long, either, since estimates for the first rival LTE services to take on EE’s network in the UK are by spring or early summer 2013. There won’t be full roll-outs until 2017, however, so expect patchy 4G concentrating on the larger cities, at least for the foreseeable future.

Of course, even if Verizon isn’t taking the One, that doesn’t rule out a variant of the phone for its network. The carrier has stuck to its DROID branding, for instance – including the well-esteemed DROID DNA by HTC – and it’s possible that is holding out for a specially named version that would fit with that.

However, the news is good if you’re on other carriers around the world. In North America, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Cincinnati Bell, and Best Buy will all be offering the One in the US, while Rogers, Bell, TELUS and Virgin Mobile Canada will offer it in Canada.

In Latin America, there’ll be support for the various América Movil regional networks, Movistar Venezuela, and Entel Chile, among others. China will also be getting the HTC One, with China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom all in line for the phone.

As for Europe, in the UK there’ll be availability across O2, EE, Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Three, Carphone Warehouse, and Phones4U. EE has already confirmed that it will be offering the One for £69.99 ($108) on a £41 per month, 24 month package (1GB mobile data; unlimited UK calls and texts). Onto mainland Europe, and there’ll be support from Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange in various countries, and then further afield into Russia, the Middle East, and Africa.

We’ll update as we get more pricing information from other operators.

UPDATE: Straight from the carrier itself: “Vodafone will be offering the HTC One for sale from 15th March 2013, with pre-order opening two weeks before.”

UPDATE: Clove.co.uk lets us know: “The price is £425+VAT and the device is available in Silver or Black colours with 32GB of internal memory.” Shipping is “expected” to begin on the 15th of March – looks like a lock!

States that currently have US Cellular’s 4G LTE service that will see an expansion include Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Currently, the carrier’s LTE coverage covers 61% of its customers in the US.

Some of the cities that will receive US Cellular’s 4G LTE coverage include Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Manhattan, Kansas; Eureka and Ukiah California. As far as what other cities are on the list to get the upgrade, US Cellular didn’t say, so cross your fingers and just hope that it’s your city that gets the faster service.

US Cellular currently offers 10 devices with LTE capabilities, including the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, as well as several Motorola devices. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when US Cellular will start knocking out its list of cities to get LTE, but we’re guessing we should be seeing steady roll-outs all year long.

3 Austria users with the iPhone 4S also encountered similar problems, and the carrier said that it and Apple were working on a fix for imminent release. That update came sooner rather than later, in fact, with Apple pushing it out OTA to iPhones yesterday.

“Apple has released a new version of its iPhone software that fixes the 3G performance issues that have been affecting users of the iPhone 4S who had installed iOS 6.1″ Vodafone said today. There are no other known features to the new version.

Where Apple is with addressing some of the companion concerns of enterprise system managers, who have complained that iOS 6.1 devices have been creating vast database logs, is unclear. That problem, believed to be connected with how Exchange calendar invitations are handled, has seen some devices spawning 50GB+ log files and forcing admins to block them from the system.

The pricing strategy is at odds with the only existing commercial 4G network operating in the UK, from EE. There, the strategy has been to charge a premium for faster access: although EE still offers Orange and T-Mobile UK contracts, subscribers on those plans only get to use the 3G networks at most. EE has been criticized for the expense of its agreements, along with the limitations of its data allowances, though given the captive audience there’s minimal motivation for it to be more generous.

That’s all set to change later in 2013, however, when the other UK carriers aim to have their own 4G service up and running. Three has already begun paving the way to what it calls “Ultrafast” connectivity with DC-HSDPA, of which there’s currently around 55-percent population coverage. That will continue to spread ahead of LTE, with 80-percent population coverage expected by the end of Q1 2013.

Beyond that, Three intends to add in 1800MHz spectrum to its DC-HSDPA service. The carrier is known for offering “true unlimited” data on some of its packages, the promise of which is likely to get speed-freaks drooling when you factor in LTE.

In comparison, Apple saw growth during the period, rising from 44.9-percent of the same market back in 2011. Windows Phone grew slightly, from 2.2-percent to 2.6-percent, but according to the research firm’s figures, RIM was the biggest marketshare loser, its BlackBerry platform dwindling from 6.1-percent in 2011, to just 1.1-percent in 2012.

As for share by carrier, AT&T maintains the top-spot for smartphone sales, though only just, with 33.3-percent of the market. Verizon has closed the gap, however, being just 1.3 points behind. Together, the two carriers represent the lion’s share of smartphone sales.

Interestingly, the raw figures don’t quite tell the whole story. According to Kantar, more than a third of new iOS users were transitioning from another smartphone platform, and Android deserters represent a greater chunk of those moving across. “19-percent of iOS sales over the last year were derived from Android users, compared to 9-percent in 2011″ analyst Mary-Ann Parlato said of the stats, with the trend most evident among Verizon subscribers, where 30-percent of iOS sales were of former Android users.

Despite that – and a total of $16.2bn capital expenditures over the course of 2012 – Verizon still spent less than it did in 2011, by around $70m in fact. The company also trimmed its debt, cutting it by $3.2bn to $52bn at the end of last year.

Revenues for the whole year mustered $115.8bn, up 4.5-percent year on year, while revenues in Q4 2012 specifically rose 8.5-percent for wireless service and 15.7-percent for FiOS.

However, costs related to pensions and benefits plans hit home, and took their toll on Verizon’s overall share value, with the company recording a loss of $1.48 in EPS for the fourth quarter, more than double the loss in Q4 2011.

According to Verizon, its LTE network – as of today – covers nearly 89-percent of the US population, roughly 273m people, and is active in 476 markets. Usage may well see a boost too, with the company launching its shared data plans for business customers on Thursday this week.

That will change later in the year, however, with EE saying that it “will make 4G available for LIFE Mobile customers later in 2013.” Until then, subscribers will get the run of EE’s combined Orange and T-Mobile UK airwaves, which were coupled together back when the Everything Everywhere partnership was settled.

Details on the LIFE Mobile service itself have not been revealed, with Phones 4u saying that it will have more news – including pricing – closer to launch. However, the MVNO is described as “great value” and to “include data packages as standard.”

Thanks to the combined network, LIFE Mobile will be able to boast 98-percent 3G coverage of the UK population when it launches. Meanwhile, Phones 4u will continue to sell service from the existing UK network players – including EE – alongside its own LIFE Mobile options.