According to the report, Sprint’s burgeoning LTE infrastructure will not be supported in the LTE model of the next-gen Apple tablet. Nevertheless, bringing it up to speed on Verizon and AT&T will make the iPad 3 even more attractive, and will lessen the impact of LTE-powered Android tablets in their attempt to differentiate themselves from the industry-dominant iPad brand.

The prospect of an LTE-equipped iPad has been the subject of iPad 3 rumors previously, but as we now have an official date for the tablet’s unveiling and the time continues to clock down, details are sliding into place. The other well-known fact about the iPad 3 is that it will have an incredible high-resolution screen known as a Retina Display, in addition to a quad-core processor. We’ll see the full details when the unveiling event happens on March 7.

[via WSJ]

The late-night sketch showed an exaggerated version of Verizon’s “kitech sink” approach, which is to throw a whole lot of jargon about 4G and LTE, while inundating viewers with a wide selection of phones without trying to focus on a single one. Back when Verizon’s marketing campaign was essentially all about the Droid, it managed to make that device the most popular Android phone in the market. Today, though, what is the equivalent of the ubiquitous Droid?

There isn’t one, as the skit shows. Twitter lit up with comments from tech heads who appreciated the clip. “Verizon SNL skit is so true. They need some serious brand work. Their equity is too fragmented across phone manufacturers,” wrote on euser. “No lie, Verizon IS an old person’s nightmare,” wrote another. The sketch depicts an aged man trying to understand what the overly energetic Verizon salesperson is trying to peddle, but ultimately it ends up with the customer asking what happens if he drops is phone or tablet in the toilet. “It breaks instantly,” the salesman says. Verizon did not comment on the skit.

[via Wall Street Journal]

There’s also an 8-megapixel main camera with LED flash and 1080p Full HD video recording, a front-facing camera for video calls, and WiFi hotspot support for tethering other devices. Motorola has splashed plenty of enterprise-level software at the DROID 4, too, with government-grade encryption (FIPS 140-2) and the Citrix Receiver app preloaded.

However, even if you’re planning on using the DROID 4 for play rather than work, the 1.2GHz dual-core processor should be easily sufficient. OS is Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread, but an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade is in the pipeline.

More on the Verizon DROID 4 by Motorola in our hands-on and unboxing from earlier this week; stay tuned for the full SlashGear review.

The LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be given to each Suns player complete with the team’s playbook, video from team practices and games, and scouting reports on opponents. It will also be easier for the team to manage their master itinerary and other travel plans.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will also be used by the Suns throughout US Airways Center on game-nights such as for showing clients interactive views of game seating, presentations for season ticketholders, and other in-game promotions. The tablets will also be integrated into the Suns’ TV and radio broadcasts as a way to interact with digital fans via social media.

That leaves the actual Galaxy S III launch still shrouded in mystery. Samsung has said that the smartphone will make its official debut in the first half of 2012, as the centerpiece of a dedicated event rather than sharing the stage with the rest of the cellular industry – Apple aside – at Mobile World Congress.

From leaked specifications, it sounds like it’s well worth waiting for. Samsung apparently committed to making the Galaxy S III even thinner than its GSII predecessor, and has supposedly come up with a roughly 7mm thick smartphone with a Super AMOLED Plus display and a quadcore processor. An 8-megapixel camera – making a bump on the back – and Full HD video recording is tipped, together with LTE and an HDMI output.

Talk of LTE might suggest a US-based event for the Galaxy S III’s first reveal, though that would be at odds with the launches of the previous two phones. Alternatively, Samsung could follow the pattern of the Galaxy Nexus, and launch a European HSPA+ GSIII first, following up with LTE versions for the North American market.

The same goes for the 5GB ($50) and 10GB ($80) plans, which double up to 10GB and 20GB respectively. However the promotion is only valid for new smartphone subscribers or those upgrading for the first time to a 4G smartphone from a 3G model; those buying tablets, modems or mobile hotspots are also left out in the cold.

After two years, if you renew your contract then Verizon will let you keep the doubled data for as long as you keep paying, though who knows what new plans will be on offer by then. The carrier hasn’t said how long the deal will be offered.

The new promotion comes just in time for the release of the Verizon DROID 4 by Motorola, which goes on sale this Friday. It’s priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement and mandatory data plan.

On the back there’s an 8-megapixel camera with Full HD video recording, while a 1.3-megapixel camera is up front for video calls. The 4G connection can be shared out with up to eight WiFi-tethered devices, and there’s WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth along with GPS.

Motorola is also pushing the Lapdock 500, complete with its full-sized keyboard and 14-inch display, for those willing to spend another $299.97 turning their smartphone into a notebook. More details in our full hands-on.

Motorola DROID 4 hands-on:

Verizon is promising an Android Ice Cream Sandwich update for the DROID 4, though there’s no timescale for its release; until then, you’ll be using Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread.

[via Android Community]

Both the hotspot and the dongle being detailed here will upgrade Rogers up until now fastest speeds of 12 to 25 Mbps all the way up to 40 Mbps. That’s quite a jump for those of you out there only cruising at such a speed whist watching your streams of Terrance and Phillip all day long. These devices will also be amongst the first to be connecting to the 2600MHz band, a band that’s not been used by LTE devices thus far.

Both of these devices will be able to run on Rogers HSPA+ network as well, all of these coming in at right around $22.93 Canadian a month. You can get into this deal on a tablet plan for $7.93 Canadian a month, but exact details on the tablet plan have not yet been revealed in full. You’ll be busting out at speeds you never before thought possible in one way or another very soon! Get red with Rogers!

The products HTC launched in Q4 2011 “are not selling as well as we expected” Yung said, a detail that comes as little surprise given the numbers the company announced earlier in the day. Revenue in Q4 fell 2.49-percent year-on-year and by more than a quarter from Q3, to NT$101.42bn ($3.44bn), and HTC saw its margins shrink as well.

Yung echoed earlier suggestions from HTC’s press release, saying that the company was now waiting for “the next product cycle” to restore its fortunes. Nonetheless, revenues of just NT$65-70bn ($2.2-2.4bn) are predicted for Q1 2012, with a 25-percent gross margin, given the time it will take for newly-announced devices to actually reach the market.

The first of those new handsets are expected to be revealed at Mobile World Congress later this month. On the cards – according to the rumor-mill, at least – are the HTC Ville and the HTC Edge. We’ll be at MWC 2012 to bring back all the details.

The smartphone has a 1280 x 800 display and uses an active digitizer to work with the digital pen. That can capture and annotate screenshots, be used to write and draw on photos and even video clips, or simply to navigate the Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS with Samsung’s own TouchWiz interface. There’s also an 8-megapixel camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

Opinion is split as to whether the Galaxy Note counts as a phone or a mini-tablet, though you could argue it offers the best of both worlds. Samsung made it the centerpiece of its Apple-skewering advert for the Super Bowl this weekend.

More details on the AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note LTE in our full hands-on with the smartphone, and you can find more on the tablet functionality in our review of the European version.

What these HHI researchers are doing is working with DASH, or Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. This standard works with the LTE standard as it’s quickly replacing UMTS for mobile use around the Earth and will have videos and images made available in various qualities at the same time. Different file sizes will then be available depending on how far away from a strong signal the user is, transmitting stations and the mobile device automatically checking for reception and volume of traffic on the network to choose the best version of the media in question.

Poor reception or a massively overloaded network will result in a diminished quality image or video but judders will be taken out entirely. As connection quality improves, so too does the quality of the media in real-time. Thomas Wirth, Group Manager at HHI noted the following:

“With our mechanism, resources can be optimally distributed, and hence saved. The saved resources can then be allocated to others. This means we can increase the number of users that can be serviced.” – Wirth

In other words, this is great for everybody, including the carriers that distribute the data in the first place. These HHI researchers have already completed a prototype of the brand new Radio Resource Manager and will hopefully be delivering to groups worldwide soon. How would you like a perfect stream of your cat doing a dance in a video you’d usually not be able to view in the Grand Canyon? This is a reality soon!

[via Frauenhoffer]

“As LTE networks are deployed alongside 3G networks,” Cristiano Amon, senior vice president of product management at Qualcomm said in a statement, ”the ability for multimode 3G/LTE mobile devices to connect to different network technologies will be an important part of providing the best possible mobile voice and data experience to consumers.”

The demo used Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC), allowing a single radio to shift a call between 3G and 4G networks. Existing LTE devices have used CSFB (circuit-switched fallback technology) which automatically step a radio down from 4G to 3G when a voice call is to be made. Paired together, manufacturers can use a single 3G/4G chip rather than two separate radios.

Verizon is tipped to be trialling VoLTE in two US cities currently, with a full rollout believed to be intended for 2013. The carrier demonstrated the technology in early 2011, though not with transition to a 3G network, and has since committed to including LTE support in all its future smartphones.

The Apple A6 processor, meanwhile, has the model number S5L8945X. Details on the A6 have not been released by Apple, but the chipset is expected to have not only four cores but upgraded graphics capabilities driving a “Retina Display” panel running at 2048 x 1536 resolution. Despite their legal differences currently clogging up courts worldwide, Samsung is believed to be manufacturing the A6 for Apple.

As for connectivity, LTE has been well-rumored and would certainly fit in with Verizon and AT&T in the US. The combination modem would also make sense for the multiple countries without 4G LTE networks, presumably offering HSPA+ connectivity as well.

Of course, this sort of screenshot would be relatively straightforward to fake, and so – as with most Apple rumors – we’ll take them with a heaped serving spoon of salt. It’s unclear whether the tablet will be the iPad 3 or, as other rumors have indicated, that Apple will push out an iPad 2S first as a more incremental update.

There’s also an 8-megapixel main camera with 1080p Full HD video recording, and a front-facing camera for video calls. Inside lurks Qualcomm’s dual-core Snapdragon 1.5GHz processor along with HSPA+ for when you’re outside of AT&T’s growing LTE network, plus WiFi b/g/n and GPS.

AT&T will also be offering a range of official Galaxy Note accessories with the smartphone, including the Desktop Dock, the Spare Battery Charging System and a Protective Flip Cover Case (in multiple colors including tan, black, pink, red, white and blue). There’ll also be the Galaxy Note S Pen Holder Kit, making the stylus fatter and easier to hold.

Pre-orders will begin at AT&T’s online store from February 5, with deliveries from February 17. That will be followed by in-store availability on February 19. The AT&T Galaxy Note will be available in carbon blue and ceramic white.

More on the Galaxy Note in our full review of the European version.

What could have potentially been one of the best moves for the Xyboard is that its official name is the Droid Xyboard. Unfortunately, most people just end up dropping the Droid moniker, and secondly that moniker has lost a lot of its value. Motorola should have captured that brand momentum with its first tablet, the Xoom. It isn’t making nearly as big a splash now.

Nevertheless, the availability of cheaper Xyboards should spark some new interest in the company’s second big attempt to cash in on the tablet war. There are four versions of the device, broken up into 10.1-inch models and 8.2-inch models, each with either 16 GB or 32 GB. Prices range from $400 to $600, a modest decrease from the cost of their 4G LTE-equipped counterparts.

[via Unwired View]

What you’ll see here is that T-Mobile will not be getting a whole solid nation-wide map of pink but rather a selection of key cities that’ll bump them up in the minds of consumers. The midwest is mostly empty except for the coolest places in Minnesota (your humble narrator’s home stomping grounds) and essentially the whole southeast is forgotten about, but the western half of the states is pretty well covered. San Francisco, San Jose, Salt Lake City, and all the way back over to Washington DC, each of them will have a jump up in connectivity for T-Mobile customers in the very near future.

T-Mobile will have between 60 MHz and 80 MHz of combined AWS and PCS airwaves in the cities it’s picked up in this transaction. This will allow T-Mobile to make its HSPA+ 42 Mbps footprint an equitable one in this ever-growing market, and those of you with the pink carrier will find yourselves amping up just so long as you live in one of these areas. Meanwhile AT&T will continue to jam out their relatively new LTE network in states that they did not give over to T-Mobile as well as the one’s they did. Make no mistake, AT&T hasn’t sacrificed any location they can’t continue to cover otherwise – because that would just be silly.

[via GigaOM]

The March 18 date isn’t final and could change, the source reckons, since the Lumia 900 is still going through technical acceptance and that might introduce delays. Still, it’s the price that will make the biggest waves; $100 for a 4.3-inch device with LTE is a stand-out figure, and – along with Microsoft’s hefty marketing budget for Windows Phone in the US – should make some waves in the US market.

As we wrote earlier this month, AT&T, Nokia and Microsoft need to be ambitious with the Lumia 900 pricing if they want the smartphone to stand out from the overwhelming crowd of Apple and Android. We won’t know final pricing until AT&T announces it, however.

More on the Lumia 900 in our full hands-on from the launch at CES, and in the video below.

No mention of specific iPhone sales has been given, with Verizon instead content to namecheck its recent LTE device announcements. They included the DROID RAZR and HTC Rezound in Q4 2011, as well as several more LTE devices shown off at CES 2012 earlier this month.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is up 2.6-percent among retail users over the same period last year, while postpaid data ARPU is up 14.3-percent. Elsewhere in the company’s business, 201,000 FiOS Internet and 194,000 FiOS Video net subscribers were added, with FIOS customers each spending $148 on average per month.

The quarter saw Verizon’s highest number of retail wireless net additions in the last three years.

Although the UK was among the countries to get the original Nokia Lumia, the 800, first, neither it nor the Lumia 710 include a front-facing camera. Right now little in Windows Phone actually makes use of that secondary camera, but that’s expected to change as Microsoft readies a version of Skype for the platform.

Otherwise, it’s the familiar polycarbonate unibody casing and a ClearBlack AMOLED display, still running at WVGA resolution but using an RGB matrix panel for improved visuals. It seems Carphone Warehouse jumped the gun in announcing the smartphone, which so far Nokia is yet to date for a European release.

AT&T Nokia Lumia 900 hands-on:

More information on the AT&T Lumia 900 in our full hands-on from CES earlier this month.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Currently, 4G devices on Verizon’s network use LTE for data, if the service is available, but rely on 3G for voice calls. VoLTE, however, would route voice over the capacious data network, with Verizon demonstrating the technology back in early 2011 on a prototype LG Revolution

A full launch in 2013 wouldn’t, of course, preclude a more limited-scale roll out in 2012 as originally promised, and since the tech requires LTE coverage anyway it would give Verizon a chance to further extend its 4G network.

Verizon has already committed to including LTE support in all its future smartphones, including presumably the next-gen iPhone, and to have nationwide LTE coverage completed in 2013. “We’re continuing to work on VoLTE and the services it brings,” a Verizon spokesperson said on the rumors, “and will share any launch or availability plans in due course.”

[via Android Community]

At the same time, Atlanta, Houston and Spokane, Wash. will all get increased 4G coverage, meaning more room to wirelessly roam without dropping back to a EVDO Rev.A signal. Verizon is quoting average speeds of 5-12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink.

Although AT&T had more new LTE devices at CES 2012 last week, that wasn’t to say Verizon came to the show completely empty-handed of 4G phones. As well as the DROID RAZR MAXX, with its boosted battery, there was the QWERTY-toting DROID 4 and the LG Spectrum. Meanwhile those looking for bigger screens got the promise of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE.

Verizon has committed to LTE support in all of its future smartphones, as well as tablets, mobile hotspots and netbooks. Apple is yet to confirm an LTE iPhone, though the iPhone 5 is widely expected to offer 4G support later in 2012.

There’s also an 8-megapixel camera with flash on the back, capable of recording Full HD video, while a front-facing camera serves for video calls. Unlike many Android slates, there’s a memory card slot for a microSD card, allowing you to upgrade the storage.

Connectivity includes HDMI, USB and the usual bevy of WiFi, Bluetooth and sensors. You also get DLNA streaming support, and LG is talking up its interactivity features between the Optimus Pad LTE and its other hardware, such as smartphones and TVs.

Battery life from the 479g tablet is up to 10hrs, and there are various apps preloaded including a video editor to allow you to whip your 1080p footage into shape. The LG Optimus Pad LTE will go on sale in South Korea first, though we’d hardly be surprised if LG then expanded its reach to LTE networks in North America.

Hardware details on the two new PlayBook models are uncertain. The 3G+ of the new 7-inch version is apparently a chipset limitation, preventing LTE being included. However previous leaks of PlayBook OS 2.0 revealed LTE iconography and support for 1280 x 800 resolution, which could indicate one or both of the new models are stepping up to a more pixel-packed screen.

The first BlackBerry 10 handset isn’t expected until September this year, according to the source, in keeping with RIM’s own public “late-2012″ timescale. Exactly what the device will be is unspecified, though it seems likely to be the BlackBerry “London”, the only phone believed left uncancelled from those we’ve seen leak from the Canadian firm.

Before that point, however, there’ll supposedly be two new BlackBerry Curve handsets, targeting emerging markets; one will be 2G-only. PlayBook OS 2.0 will drop at the end of February 2012, while the PlayBook Admin Service will drop this coming summer. Meanwhile, BlackBerry Mobile Fusion - which will allow remote configuration, locking, secure wiping and connectivity management across BlackBerry phones, the PlayBook, Android smartphones or tablets, or an iPhone or iPad – will arrive in April, a month later than RIM previously expected.

RIM is expected to preview BlackBerry 10 at Mobile World Congress 2012 late next month – a timescale that would fit in with the tipped PlayBook OS 2.0 release, suggesting the two could well coincide – though that’s said to be a behind-glass showcase with no hands-on devices available. In the meantime, RIM is supposedly working with investment bank Goldman Sachs on exploring the potential of selling off the company.

Neither A&T nor Nokia would be drawn on exactly how much the Lumia 900 will cost when it eventually goes on sale. Going by previous LTE smartphones, however, $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement and mandatory 4G data plan would on the fact of it seem most likely.

Still, AT&T is working hard to push LTE down through the price range. The Pantech Burst and Samsung Exhilarate didn’t exactly grab attention like the Lumia did, but AT&T has promised them for $50 apiece (again, with contract). 2012 may well end up being the year for relatively affordable LTE devices after all.

Will any of those be bearing the Nokia logo, however? The Finnish company has been ambitious with its Lumia 800 pricing in Europe, undercutting Android and iOS rivals and negotiating decent subsidies with networks to make the Windows Phone more affordable. As an exclusive on AT&T, however – something both companies have repeated ad-nauseum – there’s always the suspicion that the carrier will use that rarity to milk subscribers of a little extra cash.

That would potentially be death to Nokia’s chances in the US market, however. It may still be the number one mobile phone company in the world, but Nokia’s standing in the US is embryonic at best; if AT&T slaps a $200 tag on the Lumia 900 it’ll lose a huge chunk of potential audience who might be willing to give Windows Phone a punt. Offer it for $100, however, and all of a sudden there’s a lot more appeal. Do the unthinkable and opt for free-on-contract – just as the 800 is sold in many European countries – and you could have a real success on your hands.

Nokia has long made a point of highlighting its supply chain and experience in producing hardware, which combine to help the company drive down prices. Stephen Elop has even recently namechecked that as a reason why selling off its smartphone division to Microsoft simply wouldn’t make sense.

Now it’s time for Nokia to put its potency to work. It has one chance to storm the US market and convince analysts, investors, geeks and consumers that it has caught up with its rivals, and a bulging marketing budget isn’t enough, on its own, to do that. Price the AT&T Lumia 900 right, and Nokia could take its first step on a comeback campaign it’s been paying lip-service to for months.

Nokia Lumia 900 hands-on:

It seems pretty certain that we’ll finally see a 4G LTE iPhone 5 this year and we’ve already seen two LTE-capable Windows Phones. The HTC Titan II and the Nokia Lumia 900, both LTE-capable, were just announced for AT&T. Verizon so far carries only one Windows Phone, the HTC Trophy, and had given Microsoft an ultimatum last month demanding LTE devices only.

Despite this, Verizon’s associate director of device marketing Keith Lampron expressed that the company does intend to fully support Windows Phones in the future, suggesting some LTE Windows Phone models for Verizon are in the pipeline.

[via FierceWireless]

What Audi has at this show, they say, is more representatives for electronics than at any other car show they’ve been to. The complete interior of their vehicles, they’re showing, is connected to the world around it. Through no less than LTE connectivity, Audi will be connecting to the mobile world around them. Fantastic functionality will now be coming in faster than ever to users rolling out with Audi drivers.

NOTE: those of you with extensive knowledge of Audi’s systems will recognize that several of these features are available and have been available since late 2011 – what this presentation encapsulated was the full package as it moves on in to 2012, complete with LTE and NVIDIA.

Audi connect will also be working with a phone box in the center console of their future cars which will able to connect to your outside antenna for better phone connections, plug in through USB, and of course, safe storage. They showed a brand new MMI display in an ultra-slim form factor, all of this connected with an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor for ultra-quick processing. This display will be working with 3D graphics and will have an ultra-intuitive user interface. This display will also show Google Earth right out of the box, with full photo-realistic picture down to 30 meters. Photorealistic scenery shows you exactly where you are at all times, courtesy of Google.

Audi online traffic information will be integrated in future vehicles, it working with Google again to bring you traffic information in color-coded roads to show you where to drive if you want to get to where you’re going quick. Voice Control is already integrated as well, using Google Voice to make it happen – you’ll be able to ask for what you want, a voice-activated POI search, now complete with the new display and the much more complete Google Earth integration.

An upgrade to the Audi A3 will be their rotary touchpad which allows gestures and touch-sensitivity good enough to write letters which are recognized by the integrated NVIDIA-powered computer. In the future, Audi notes that they’ll have head-up technology which allows for projected images above your dashboard. Mobile Computing is at the center of this whole project, NVIDIA showing off their Tegra 3 quad-core processor working with Audi’s MMX port system at the same time consumer electronics have the chip – this type of situation a first and showing Audi to be a forward-thinking group in the world of consumer electronics without a doubt.

“We don’t talk about autonomous driving, we talk about pilot driving.” – Ricky Hudi, Audi

In that Audi envisions a world where you are the pilot and not the robot using the car just for transport, they’ve shown that they intent to differentiate themselves by concentrating their efforts specifically on the driver more than anything else. Of course they’ll continue to create fantastic vehicles that have energy invested inside and out, but connecting to the consumer electronics world through the mobile environment here makes them set for the future.

The most impressive feature of the Galaxy Tab 7.7 is its screen, a brilliant 7.7-inch Samsung Super AMOLED panel. The screen has a resolution of 1280 x 800, matching the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and 8.9, though it has a vertical orientation. The biggest extra feature is a built-in infrared port to control your home entertainment devices, which the 7.7 model inherits from the 7.0 Plus.

On the inside, the 7.7 gets a 1.4Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM and an 8 megapixel camera. Honeycomb is the order of the day, but it should get an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich sometime in the future. Samsung’s TouchWiz interface covers the operating system for differentiation.

This gives Samsung 4 active tablet models worldwide: the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, 7.7, 8.9 and 10.1. This comprehensive portfolio is complimented by wireless offerings from all four US carriers. There’s no word on a price or date for the Galaxy Tab 7.7 plus ,and perhaps most distressingly, no indication that a WiFi-only (and contract free) model will be coming to the US at all. Check out a few photos below.

Inside, there’s a 1.4GHz single-core processor, also as in the Lumia 800. On the back is an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash and autofocus, supporting 720p HD video recording; that resolution is a limit of Microsoft’s smartphone OS, at present, rather than whatever the optics in the phone itself (indeed HTC’s 16-megapixel Titan II is also limited to 720p). Still, you do get Carl Zeiss f/2.2 optics on the new Lumia, and a front camera has an f/2.4 lens.

Nokia has used the extra space inside the injected polycarbonate single-piece casing – another thing carried over from the smaller Lumia and the N9 before it – to accommodate a 1,830 mAh battery, and the phone itself will be available in either black or cyan. Preloaded is a special CNN app, with iReport features.

Neither Nokia nor AT&T are saying exactly when the Lumia 900 will go on sale, bar “in the coming months” and nor will they confirm pricing. More info at Nokia Conversations.

The Samsung Exhilarate is constructed from 80 percent recycled post-consumer materials and is certified Platinum by UL Environment, achieving the highest level of sustainability certification. It features eco-modes and tools for more energy efficient operation. And, it has a 4-inch Super AMOLED display, front- and rear-facing cameras, voice recognition, and access to AT&T U-Verse Live TV.

Other specs on the handset have not been revealed yet, except that it will support 4G LTE and should arrive on AT&T’s network in the coming months. The handset is expected to be priced at less than $50 with a new two-year service agreement.

The Galaxy Nexus will offer a pure Google experience, boasting the latest Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system. Details on the specs haven’t been released, but it should be fairly similar to the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon.

The LG Viper is being touted as an eco-friendly device with a case made entirely from recycled plastic and a charger that’s more energy efficient. It features a 4-inch WVGA NOVA display, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, VGA front-facing camera, NFC, and runs Android 2.3.

The two smartphones and the one mobile hotspot are among 15 new 4G LTE devices planned for launch on the Now Network this year, which will include more handsets as well as tablets and data cards. The 4G LTE smartphones can take advantage of the carrier’s Everything plans, including Everything Data Plan with Any Mobile, Anytime that offers unlimited data, texting, and calling to and from any mobile device in the US.

This camera on the device has a dual LED flash, BSI sensor for low-light, and 720p video capabilities. You’ll be getting a brand new HTC widget on this device as well, this making the device look rather similar to the Android offerings of last year. This is a “true showcase” as Chou says, of hardware and mobile lifestyle connections with high speed. This Windows Phone experience, so good and so smooth here, brings forth a high-class show for the first LTE Windows Phone on AT&T and in the world.

There’s also an 8-megapixel camera with 1080p Full HD video recording, 16GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot, along with Mirror Mode for outputting the display on a TV. Plug in that way, and you can access the full Firefox browser and use the multi-window Webtop app; you can also dock the DROID 4 with the Lapdock 100 or Lapdock 500 Pro.

Despite the specs, the DROID 4 by Motorola is only 1/2-inch thick. It has mobile hotspot support for up to eight WiFi-tethered devices, and MotoCast for streaming multimedia and documents from your home or work computer.

The Verizon DROID 4 by Motorola will go on sale “in the coming weeks”; the carrier is yet to announce pricing, though we’re guessing it’ll be $200-250 with a new, two-year agreement.

Along with LTE there’s also WiFI b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS, along with a 3-megapixel rear camera and a 2-megapixel front camera. The main cam can shoot 720p HD video, too. A mobile hotspot app can be used to share the 4G LTE connection with up to 10 WiFi devices or a 3G connection with up to five.

16GB of onboard storage gets a microSD card slot to augment it, and there will be various accessories on offer. A keyboard-dock will have a 3.5mm audio output and charging support, while a multimedia dock will HDMI out, audio out and a charging port. A USB/SD adapter, HDMI adapter and Book Cover Case round out the options.

Verizon isn’t saying how much the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE will be, nor when exactly it might launch, but we imagine we’ll find that out soon enough.

The Pantech Element, specifically, is waterproof. But that’s not all that important when you consider how big a high-five this is between AT&T and Pantech as the latter is still on its way into the USA in the smartphone market. The Pantech Element has a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and has an 8-inch XGA display. This device has a non-localized enhanced haptic feedback display as well, providing a rather strange feeling for your tips. Throughout the set of announcements for the tablet, the Waterproof bit did keep coming up though, with the device dunked in a tank the entirety of the talk.

We’ll be getting some hands-on looks at these devices this week.

In fact, Verizon reckons you can use the Jetpack in over 205 countries, more than 125 of which will deliver 3G speeds. The display is a low-power OLED panel and the buttons are touch-sensitive, while the WiFi is b/g/n with WEP/WPA/WPA2 and VPN pass-through support.

The whole thing measures in at a bag-friendly 3.49 x 3.49 x 0.70 inches and 4.7 ounces, and receives data allowance updates via SMS message that are then shown on the display. Verizon isn’t saying how long the battery will last, however, which gives us some pause for thought: most mobile hotspot devices average out at around two hours, but LTE does have a reputation for guzzling through power.

We’ll know more when Verizon confirms pricing, full specs and availability over the next few weeks.

There are a couple of minor changes – the earpiece is larger on the Ace, a long slit rather than a small hole – and the LED flash on the rear of the phone has been moved from above the camera lens to the side of it, as on the N9. The camera itself is believed to be the same, however, running at 8-megapixels with autofocus and 720p HD video recording.

AT&T has also thrown some of its own software at the smartphone, though the exact details of what apps are preloaded haven’t been shared, while there’s also said to be ESPN, Spotify, Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive onboard.

Finally, despite what reports over the weekend suggested, the Ace will use the same polycarbonate construction and design as the Lumia 800, not a “metallic” finish. We’ll know all the details when AT&T and Nokia officially announce the smartphone later on today.

As the summit gets under way we can expect more than just devices. The developer platforms was one of the first of its kind from AT&T and they’ve continued strong since. From gaming, smartphones, mobile data connectivity and more we can expect to see a little of everything from AT&T.

Now lets mention a few devices we can expect to see. First off the Samsung Galaxy Note. Samsung’s 5.3″ smartphone tablet hybrid that took IFA by storm. A few key differences are the 4 standard capacitive touch buttons usually seen here in the USA, instead of the single larger home button as international models have seen. AT&T’s model will also feature a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor. We are still waiting for details on whether we’ll have 4G LTE on board or not — and as soon as we hear we’ll update with additional details.

Pantech has also announced a new 4G LTE device in the Pantech Element 4G LTE tablet. Pantech has released plenty of budget-friendly devices in the past and the recent leaks suggest a $300 price range for the new Pantech LTE slate.

HTC is also set to debut a new device and we are hearing a few whispers that it will indeed be a new 4G LTE Windows Phone .5 Mango device. The summit has just started and we are taking it all in as we go. As soon as everything wraps up we’ll be sure and announce anything and everything from AT&T, Samsung, Pantech, HTC and whoever else appears.

Stay tuned for hands-on pictures and video from the AT&T Developer Summit and SlashGear.

The back holds an 8-megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and 1080p Full HD video recording, while a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera does video calls. Standard storage is 4GB, with a microSD card slot to add to that (a 16GB card will be preloaded), plus there’s WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. The MicroUSB port does HDMI-MHL, and there’s hotspot sharing for up to 10 WiFi-tethered clients.

The Spectrum measures a not-inconsiderable 135.4mm x 68.8mm x 10.4mm and 141.5g, though LG does at least use that heft to accommodate a 1,830 mAh battery. A second, extended battery with 3,000 mAh to play with should hopefully keep up with power-hungry LTE.

The LG Spectrum will go on sale January 19, priced at $199.99 with a new, two-year agreement. An Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is promised for the first half of this year.

Samsung is ready to bring their 5.3″ Super AMOLED HD packing smartphone tablet hybrid to the states. Since first being unveiled at IFA late last year we’ve been patiently awaiting more details. As we our wandering the halls and streets here at CES we are seeing plenty of posters around. It looks to be headed to AT&T and soon, with the standard 4 Android capacitive touch buttons on board.

The images don’t reveal much and don’t mention anything about 4G or LTE but I’m sure we’ll hear all the details from Samsung and AT&T shortly — not to mention the SlashGear team will run and get hands-on as soon as possible. Samsung recently announced an LTE version of the exciting Galaxy Note so hopefully AT&T will add the Note to their ever expanding LTE lineup.

“The information was not provided by Anymode, AT&T or Samsung , nor did Anymode, AT&T or Samsung approve it … The issuing party apologizes for the publishing of the inaccurate information and any inconvenience it may have caused”

Anymode’s original press release had promised covers, cases, skins, earphones, batteries and Bluetooth gadgets for the Galaxy Note. The AT&T variant is expected in the US in early 2012, the information continued, despite neither the carrier nor Samsung actually confirming it was ever in the pipeline in the first place.

Unfortunately for Anymode – and its PR firm – this is a genie that may be difficult to stuff back into the bottle. We’d already seen leaked images of the Galaxy Note bearing AT&T branding earlier this month, and back in December more information about the LTE-toting variant leaked too. The smartphone crossed the FCC in AT&T form earlier in 2011.

Our guess is that AT&T was saving the official unveil for CES 2012 next week, but we’ll know for sure in a few days time.