Hong Kong’s CSL upgrades to LTE Cat 4 network, offers Huawei’s 150 Mbps mobile hotspot (video)
Posted by Richard Lai | Filed under Techie Stuff
With Hong Kong boasting pretty much the fastest average internet speed on this planet, it's no surprise that the city is also one of the first to launch commercial 150 Mbps LTE Cat 4 service -- just right after SingTel's launch in Singapore earlier this month. Announced yesterday by CSL (who operates both one2free and the more premium 1010), its FD-LTE network takes advantage of the recently acquired 5MHz extended spectrum, in order to increase the capacity of 2600MHz from 2 x 15MHz to 2 x 20MHz. This upgrade is what enables Cat 4 download speed of up to 150Mbps on this band as of yesterday.
The company's 1800MHz spectrum will also get an upgrade from 2 x 10MHz to 2 x 15MHz in June, followed by another jump to 2 x 20MHz towards the end of the year. You'll find a live demo video (courtesy of RingHK) showing the performance difference between Cat 3 and Cat 4 after the break, with CTO Christian Daigneault claiming he's seen a speed increase of up to twice as fast in the lab.
Filed under: Wireless
Source: Engadget Chinese, RingHK (Chinese), Huawei
eTrak GPS+ melds WiFi, cellular and GPS tracking, launches at CTIA 2013 (hands-on)
Posted by Myriam Joire | Filed under Techie Stuff
We've come across a number of GPS-based tracking devices over the years but most are rather bulky and difficult to setup. eTrak's attempting to remedy this here at CTIA 2013 with GPS+, a fob-like product that combines WiFi, cellular and GPS tracking in a small, light and easy-to-use package. The device, which is about the size and weight of a box of licorice-flavored Tic Tacs, features a panic button, multicolor status LED and charging contacts,. It's meant to be attached to a keyring, and comes with a matching charging base which includes a standard micro-USB connector. Battery life is about 5 days per charge -- not too shabby for a product that packs WiFi, cellular and GPS radios. Speaking of which, eTrak's partnering with Verizon Wireless for CDMA-based network positioning. The company provides a web-based interface which supports geo-fencing with SMS and email notifications, along with iOS and Android-compatible apps. GPS+ will retail for $129 and be available soon (production's been under way since May 1st). Two plans will be available: $10 per month with a one-year subscription and $15 per month commitment-free. Don't miss our gallery below and follow the source link for more info.
Filed under: Misc, Wireless, Mobile
Source: eTrak
Tags: GPS, Misc, Mobile, Verizon, Wireless
GM and AT&T demo LTE-enabled OnStar connected vehicle (hands-on)
Posted by Sean Cooper | Filed under Techie Stuff
GM and OnStar were on hand at CTIA to demonstrate a few ideas of what its new service could look like once bolstered with AT&T's LTE network. The system, which we originally heard about in February at Mobile World Congress, is still in its infancy, but with all the ideas being bounced around during our whirlwind tour it's apparent that's changing fast. Without question, big change is what is driving this whole endeavor, specifically adding infotainment to its stalwart safety, security and diagnostics offerings.
GM and OnStar envision a curated app ecosystem with downloadable apps, remote car management -- including streaming video to remote devices from your car's onboard cameras -- access to U-Verse and even a built in hotspot to share with your passengers. Developers will have access to APIs that can interact with the car to grab info about speed, performance, fuel economy and other interesting metrics but are locked out of anything potentially dangerous. After our brief demo we came away mostly impressed with what we saw, though, we're still unsure if an in-car app ecosystem is a viable thing. Driver distraction issues aside, there are wealth of devices able to provide all the same services and more often than not they'll already be in your pockets and in your car. Launch of the 2015 model year cars is still quite a way off but we'll definitely be tracking the system's progress as it prepares to hit showrooms later this year. Follow on for a video of the system in action.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, AT&T
Tags: AT&T, Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless
J Lo partners with Verizon to launch Viva Movil, a Latino-focused retail chain
Posted by Brad Molen | Filed under Techie Stuff
Today at CTIA 2013, Verizon announced an exclusive partnership with Jennifer Lopez to create a mobile company catered to the Latino market. Called Viva Movil, the new entity will be headed by Lopez and boasts Big Red, Brightstar and Moorehead Communications as partners. The idea behind this venture is to offer an enriched customer retail experience with specialized stores that feature device demos, dedicated play areas for children, bilingual staff and online options will be available on the company's site, which went live today. Since Verizon is the exclusive wireless partner, it's a safe bet that we'll see devices that are branded to the carrier, albeit with a different marketing approach. As majority stakeholder and "kind of the Chief Creative Officer," J Lo has a large amount of interest in the company's success; in fact, the A-list celeb is sweetening the launch with her own exclusive line of smartphone accessories. The first store is slated to open mid-June, with more coming before the end of the year in other densely-populated Latino areas.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon
Tags: Cellphones, Mobile, Verizon, Wireless
Hands-on with Kwikset and UniKey’s Kevo keyless entry system
Posted by Sean Cooper | Filed under Techie Stuff
Kwikset and UniKey are set to update their home entry systems, which have remained largely unchanged since they were first invented more than a hundred years ago. Using a Bluetooth daughter card in the lock mechanism, a couple Bluetooth antennas and a clever app this lock opens by simply touching a finger to the outside of the housing when you approach the door.
At its simplest, the companies' Këvo system isn't too unlike a keyless car entry system, though it takes advantage of your iPhone's Bluetooth LE -- Android and BB10 versions will arrive as soon as those platform's stacks are sorted -- or the included keyfob for the proximity technology. Security is handled through the phone or desktop app enabling you to share keys with your family as administrative users, normal users, one-off entry or even scheduled access. For those concerned about leaving your phone too near the door and thereby allowing anybody access, the system actually uses two antennas, one on the inside and one out. So should you stand behind the closed door the system won't trigger access to those outside. Battery life for the four AAs is rated for a year, and you've no need to worry about being surprised by an outage, either: the system will notify you well in advance using the lock's eight RGB LEDs or through the app. Pricing will be somewhere in the $199 range when it hits the shops, though sadly we don't have an exact date to share. We're pretty stoked to get a chance to check this system out for ourselves but until that time, check out the quick video of it in action below.
Filed under: Wireless
Tags: Wireless
Cricket launching Galaxy S 4 on June 7th, starting at $55 down
Posted by Jon Fingas | Filed under Techie Stuff
The Galaxy S 4 is now readily available in the US, but it hasn't had much sway with the prepaid crowd so far. Cricket should be addressing that deficit soon, as it just narrowed down its launch of the Samsung flagship to June 7th. The contract-free carrier is making up for being late to the party with a low up front price: customers can plunk down $55 to start an installment plan rather than pay the GS4's full $600 cost in one shot. Would-be adopters will need to live in one of Cricket's LTE coverage areas to pick up a GS4, but those who do may get a rare discount on a (mostly) fresh device.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Cricket
Tags: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Wireless
Vodafone sneers at the technofreaks, delays UK 4G launch until September
Posted by Daniel Cooper | Filed under Techie Stuff
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Coalo has conceded that the company is pushing back its 4G rollout to September. The decision was taken in order to ensure the infrastructure is "really ready," promising that Voda's service will be "better performing" than EE's Bacon-flavored LTE. Despite the late start, Coalo has laid down an aggressive timeline, demanding that 40 percent of the UK is covered in 4G before March 2014 -- which'll please those notoriously impatient technofreaks no end.
Via: Trusted Reviews
Source: The Guardian
Researchers achieve world record in wireless data transmission, seek to provide rural broadband
Posted by Darren Murph | Filed under Techie Stuff
Speed. It's a movie. It's a drug. And it's also something that throngs of internet users the world over cannot get enough of. Thankfully, the wizards at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology have figured out a way to satisfy the unsatisfiable, announcing this week a world record in the area of wireless data transmission. Researchers were able to achieve 40Gbit/sec at 240GHz over a distance of one kilometer, essentially matching the capacity of optical fiber... but, you know, without the actual tether.
The goal here, of course, isn't to lower your ping times beyond where they are already; it's to give rural communities across the globe a decent shot at enjoying broadband. Distances of over one kilometer have already been covered by using a long range demonstrator, which the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology set up between two skyscrapers as part of the project "Millilink". There's no clear word on when the findings will be ported over to the commercial realm, but given the traction we're seeing in the white spaces arena, we doubt you'll have to wait long.
Filed under: Science, Internet
Via: Physorg
Source: Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics
Tags: Internet, Science, Wireless
Survey says Verizon is best at customer satisfaction… among the big four, anyway
Posted by Zachary Lutz | Filed under Techie Stuff
The results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index are in, and parroting a recent study by Consumer Reports, Verizon Wireless is named the front-runner with the most happy subscribers among the big four carriers. The survey takes a number of factors into account, such as call clarity, dropped calls, network coverage, data speeds, helpfulness of in-store staff, diversity of plans and the quality of the carrier's websites. As the dust settled, Verizon notched a three-point gain to chart a score of 73 (out of 100), whereas ACSI's previous front-runner, Sprint, held steady with a score of 71. AT&T is portrayed as "in a statistical dead heat with Sprint," which climbed one point to chart an ACSI score of 70. Meanwhile, satisfaction among T-Mobile customers fell a point, which caused the carrier to pull up the rear with a score of 68.
On the whole, ACSI suggests that subscribers are generally more satisfied with regional providers and MVNOs, as the little dogs hold an aggregate score of 78. Speaking in broader terms, the ACSI reports that the wireless industry has reversed its two-year trend of sliding customer satisfaction to hit a benchmark score of 72, which matches the industry's 10-year high. Naturally, improvements still need to be made across the board, but at least things seem to be moving in the right direction.
Via: FierceWireless
Source: ACSI
