Today we're taking a peek at the expected dates that 3G networks will shut down in the year 2022. These dates are important, since they show the end-point for functionality for some of the oldest mobile smart devices still in service today. It's not only smartphone and tablets that have the potential to stop connecting to mobile data - it's accessories and IoT devices that connect with 3G, too.
There's an early access program coming to the likes of the Parrot ANAFI Ai 4G LTE-connected drone. This is the sort of program you get in on if you're a hardcore drone user, if you're the sort of professional who uses drones for high-level visuals or 3D scanning, and for those that wish to be the first users of the Parrot ANAFI Ai 4G robotic UAV. Parrot does make clear that this is for "professional drone operators"... but that's you, right?
5G has been the battle cry of network operators and device manufacturers for a few years now, but the push hasn't been as fast or as easy as they had hoped. In addition to setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, wireless carriers' plans to retire old networks and technologies to free up resources have also been met with some resistance and delays. That said, the deadline for 3G networks is can no longer be delayed, and T-Mobile is finally setting its foot down on when it will shut down not only its own 3G network but also Sprint's 3G and LTE networks.
Despite its aggressive push in getting its own HarmonyOS and revamped EMUI skin to a large number of its current phones, Huawei may still be in trouble as far as making new devices go. It is crippled in its ability to buy the latest and greatest mobile processors from Qualcomm as well as making its own Kirin silicon. Huawei, however, is fond of finding loopholes and workarounds, and its latest strategy might be to simply drop 5G from the Snapdragon 778G and the upcoming Snapdragon 898 that it will be buying from Qualcomm.
Confusing cellphone coverage maps with misleading graphics and incomprehensible claims may be getting its comeuppance, with the FCC launching its first mobile broadband map to help consumers figure out what service they're actually likely to get. While cellular networks have been steadily improving, particularly with the arrival of 5G, it's still fair to say that carrier maps tend to be more promotional than educational.
Parrot has a new drone, but the French company would really rather you think of the new Anafi Ai as a 4G-connected flying robot. Tapping cellular data for better, broader range, and a new 3D vision system for obstacle avoidance, Anafi Ai's other big boast is an open-source platform that effectively turns the drone into a flying computer for surveys, research, and more.
It looks like Verizon will soon hop on the smart display bandwagon. The company is apparently creating its own smart display based on Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, and while it sounds like this new smart display will share a lot of its features with its competitors, there is one feature that might give it an edge in the smart display space.
With LG's formal withdrawal from the smartphone market, there have naturally been questions about the company's ability to support the phones it already has out in the wild. Of course, LG promised that it would indeed continue to update at least some of its phones but that remained to be seen. As if to dispel those doubts, LG has finally launched the LG UX 10 with Android 11 update for the LTE-only version of the LG Velvet, almost half a year after the LG Velvet 5G received it.
Network operators have a tendency to redefine common words and give them new meanings. "Unlimited" is not unlimited when it comes to data and "indefinitely" definitely has an end. To be fair, Verizon did leave the door wide open for when it will shut down its 3G network and now it is officially giving notice to the old technology's remaining users. Big Red is finally shutting down its 3G CDMA network at the end of 2022, three years after its initial plan.
Last year's Galaxy S20 wasn't exactly the heavy hitter that Samsung had hoped, at least not compared to how much interest and sales the Galaxy S21 this year garnered. It was even eclipsed by its own "Fan Edition", the Galaxy S20 FE that was announced just a month after the Galaxy Note 20 series. Its success may have encouraged Samsung to launch yet another Galaxy S20 FE, one that doesn't have 5G capability but runs on the same 5G-capable Snapdragon 865 as the 5G model.
5G has been the battle cry of network operators and phone manufacturers for more than two years now but the next-gen network still doesn't have the ideal coverage and speeds that proponents would have liked. In some cases, carriers have even had to make do with "Dynamic Spectrum Sharing" or DSS 5G, a.k.a. Verizon's "nationwide 5G", which is a far cry from the 5G that many people have in mind. And then there's still the ongoing improvement on 4G networks that, somewhat ironically, is making Verizon's new 4G look better than its existing 5G performance.
There has been no shortage of attempts to offer people an escape from the smart but sometimes obtrusive modern devices known as smartphones. A lot of them try to take you back to the good old days but nothing says "old-school" better than a phone with a rotary dial. That's what this Rotary "Un-Smartphone" kit is offering interested builders and makers, allowing them to assemble a functional, 4G -capable device that really does nothing much but make call or display messages. That said, it may not be as antiquated as it first sounds.