LTE - The Basics

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

Wireless carriers really like using technology-laden acronyms like 3G, HSPA, EV-DO, 4G and LTE and they expect us all to have a degree in rocket science. 

In reality, most people do not know what any of these acronyms means. This article is aimed at revealing what LTE stands for.

LTE – The Meaning Behind The Acronym

LTE is short for Long-Term Evolution. This is an extension of the popular GSM (‘Groupe Special Mobile’ or Global System for Mobile Communications) technology, which is used all over the world nowadays. GSM is capable of simultaneous high speed data with 3G and voice and this is the way you surf the web while talking on your phone if you choose most of the carriers all over the world and have a 3G-capable mobile phone. The easiest way to tell that a mobile phone is a GSM is to look for its SIM or Subscriber Identity Module card. This is a tiny chip that has information about your phone number. Moreover, you can transfer it from one unlocked cell phone to another one quite easily. 

Other carriers nowadays use CDMA, which stands for Code-Division Multiple Access. This is an older standard for data and voice and it does not need a SIM card. It is most common in the US and only some mobile carriers rely on this standard. This technology is limited to either data or voice at any given time. This means that you can never have both even if your phone supports 3G. 

ETSI or the European Telecommunications Standards Institute is the one to establish the standards for the whole telecommunications business. This is a non-profit organization and it supports the relationship between the companies that made the hardware (the cell phones) and the carrier companies which provide networks for those phones. LTE is the product of a cooperation known as 3GPP or Third Generation Partnership Project. 

Nowadays, there are two different versions of LTE. There is the current pre-4G standard and it is advertised by carriers who say it is actually 4G anyways. There is also the LTE Advanced and this is the true 4G, but you will not see it for quite some time. The currently advertised 4G LTE is a baby step taken towards the adoption of LTE Advanced, which is going to be compatible with the standards used nowadays.

LTE is a technology of the future and the hardware available nowadays cannot handle LTE Advanced just yet. This means that for now we have to stick to the pre-4G standard, which is the 4G we know. LTE is the most recent evolution of GSM. It is created in order to bring broadband speeds to mobile data transfers. It is supposed to unify all the carriers around the world and especially the rivals in the US. 

Why do we care about LTE? 

This new standard promises us high speeds for mobile data. It can offer up to 100 Mbps download speed and up to 50 Mbps upload speed at best.

RELATED POST: CNETTV: 4G Networks - How they're Tested

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*by andreascy*

IPad 3 : Available in 3 - 4 months

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

According to the Taiwanese news agency DigiTimes, tech giant Apple, Inc. (NYSE : AAPL) will be releasing its much - awaited next generation of iPad in the next three to four months. 

DigiTimes reported that their sources from the Apple's supply chain said that the production for the iPad 3 ramped up and the production of current generation of iPad decreased. Specifically, the source of the news agency confirmed that OEM production of the iPad 2 will remain high, producing 14 to 15 million units by the fourth quarter of 2011 but will drastically decline to 4 to 5 million units on the first quarter of 2012 to pave the way for the new iPad. 

The production of the new iPad 3 is expected to reach up to 9.5 to 9.8 million units in the first quarter of 2012. The new iPad will be equipped with Retina Display and is expected to have its launch on March or April based on Apple's yearly product cycle. Looking back the first iPad went on sale in the United States on April 3, 2010. The iPad 2 became available on March 11, 2011. 

Another rumor is that the Cupertino - based company will launch the next generation of iPhone and iPad next year. 

According to Nikkei Business,Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo said that the company will be offering the new iOS devices next year. The Japanese network came to an agreement with the Cupertino - based company that it will launch the iPad 4G LTE in summer and iPhone 4G LTE in fall. 

NTT DoCoMo is the predominant mobile phone company in Japan and holds more than 50 percent of the market. Nikkei Business reported that the upcoming iPad 3 and iPhone 5 both with LTE will be the new offerings of the company for 2012. 

The news agency added that Apple CEO Tim Cook met with NTT DoCoMo president Kiyoyuki Tsujimura and VP Takashi Yamada earlier this month to work out the details of the arrangement, and the companies have reportedly reached agreeable terms. 

It was reported that the two companies have been already in discussions before. However, according to the rumors, the Japanese mobile company was not too happy with the terms set by Apple with regards to the demand on the units as well as the refusal of Apple to allow mobile carriers to install their own apps on the iOS device. 

Update : The New iPad is here! Details on Apple's New Tablet on :

http://officialandreascy.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-ipad-details-on-apples-new-tablet.html

*by andreascy*

AT&T Announced LG Nitro HD : 4.5-inch 720p Display, 1.5GHz Dual-Core Chip, And LTE

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Ready to add another device to AT&T's growing number of LTE smartphones? Welcome the LG Nitro HD, Ma Bell's version of the Optimus LTE.

Spec-wise, the Nitro is packed to the gullet with top-of-the-line guts :

4.5-inch 1280x720 AH-IPS display

1.5GHz dual-core processor

1GB RAM

4GB built-in storage, 16GB microSD card included

8MP rear shooter, 1.3MP front cam

Android 2.3 (will most likely be upgraded to ICS)

4G LTE

The Nitro will be available beginning December 4th for $250 with a two-year agreement.

*by andreascy*

CNETTV : Huawei Activa 4G brings MetroPCS more LTE - First Look

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Huawei's first 4G LTE phone for the U.S. brings MetroPCS customers faster speeds and a good camera. 

More details on :
http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/08/huawei-activa-4g-arrives-on-metropcs
More videos from CNETTV on :
http://officialandreascy.blogspot.com/search?q=cnett

*by andreascy*

Pros and Cons of Mobile Broadband Service

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

To provide access to the Internet, mobile broadband makes use of similar technology as the one found in mobile phones. 4G mobile broadband is the current standard from the former 3G network. 

4G is designed to be much faster and can provide internet access to laptops, smartphones, and other personal mobile devices. If you are thinking of picking up a mobile broadband dongle soon, then read on first and learn about its pros and cons. 

Pros 

• Mobility: This is the selling point of mobile broadband connection. You can use it to get access to the Internet as long as you have 3G or 4G reception. The stronger the reception, the better your browsing experience. 

• Plug and play: Just plug your USB modem or dongle into your laptop, and the software you need to connect to the Internet is installed automatically. There’s no need to go through any tedious installation process while talking to a technical support representative on the phone. 

• Convenient: There’s no clunky Ethernet cabling involved. You only tote a small USB modem, plug it to your laptop, and get Internet connection. 

• No landline bills: If you only keep your landline to maintain a high-speed Internet connection, then you can cancel your landline subscription and save money. 

• Pay as you go: You have the option to prepay or to sign up for a mobile broadband subscription package. If you only need to go online occasionally, then a prepaid option can save you money.  

Cons 

• Coverage: If you live in a remote area, you may not get reception to your provider’s 3G or 4G network. That’s why it is wise to sign up with a major ISP for your mobile broadband access. A major ISP has more infrastructures in place to cover a wider area. 

• Usage limit: To prevent the network from being overwhelmed, your mobile broadband plan comes with a capped data usage. Thus, you need to learn ways to conserve your bandwidth to avoid getting charged for exceeding your download limit. Install a free program (like BitMeter, NET Traffic Meter, or TrafficStatistic) to monitor your data usage. Then enable the pop-up blocker, uninstall unneeded plugins, and tweak some of the settings in your browser. You need to research on ways to save bandwidth by changing the settings of your browser. 

• High price: Compared with conventional residential high-speed internet packages, mobile broadband services can be quite expensive. 

• Speed and performance issues: Mobile broadband is not suitable for heavy downloading, streaming HD movies, and online gaming. Mobile broadband speeds average around 1 Mbps, while the average speed offered in residential broadband services is at 3 Mbps. The connection speeds in mobile data can also fluctuate throughout the day, depending on your location and the number of people connecting to the network at a given time. 

• Locked dongle: Your mobile broadband dongle is locked to only one operator, so if you plan to switch to another provider, you need to buy a new USB modem.

Mobile broadband has always presented issues for the user. We’ve picked out the benefits and drawbacks, of using mobile broadband instead of a fixed-line connection, and mentioned all of the latest developments. Hope you liked them!

SEE ALSO: 

LTE - The Basics

Inner Workings of High Speed Internet

Making The Switch To High Speed Internet

CNETTV : 4G Networks - How they're Tested

Tips For Making Your Garden An Internet Hot Spot

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*by andreascy*

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer Keynote speech Video from 2012 CES

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

Steve Ballmer gave his final keynote speech at 6:30 pm today in Las Vegas during the CES 2012 conference. He spoke about Windows 8, Windows Phone, Kinect, Bing, Office and the Xbox.

It was an interesting presentation and Steve Ballmer was in rare form. He was "interviewed" by Ryan Seacrest from TV's American Idol. Their banter back and forth was a little painful to watch at times but the technology was pretty solid.

On Windows Phone 

- Some of the new features were reviewed. 

- They talked about Bing and Windows Phone Integration. 

- Samsung, LTC, Nokia, and HTC are Microsoft windows Phone partners. 

- The Nokia Lumia 710 and 800 will be coming soon to Canada and US.The 710 will be available this wednesday from Sprint. The 800 will be available in next fewmonths. 

- He unveiled the Nokia Lumina 900. 

- He emphasised Windows Phones is jumping heads first into LTE phone networks. 

- He referenced the upcoming HTC Titan 2 - coming on ATT 4g LTE network - it has a 16 megapixel cam. 

- Derek Snyder - Microsofts SVP of marketing came up and did a Windows Phone demo. 

On Windows 7/8 Ultrabooks

- They showed a short video showing the different (new) Ultrabooks available for Windows 7/8. 

- Aspire S3, the UX31, Portege Z380, Dell XPS 14z, Samsung Series 9, Lenovo U300, and the new HP Spectre. 

On Windows 8

Tami Reller, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer came out to talk about Windows 8. She demoed Windows 8 on a laptop and a tablet. She also demoed the HTML 5 game "Cut the rope" from ZeptoLab. She spoke highly of the Nvidia Tegra 3 graphics chip powering the Samsung Tablet she was demoing. The new phrase from Microsoft which she repeated was Windows 8 works with "Touch, Mouse and Keyboard". 

She said the Windows store will open in late February. It will be global and available in every language offered for windows. The Windows Store will have both paid and free apps. Businesses can also use the Windows store to deliver apps and updates to employees. 

She also demoed the following on Windows 8 : 

- Type to search. 

- Renaming groups of apps. 

- Use of the share charm. 

- Using snap to view desktop and tablet apps side by side. 

- IE10 metro style ie plugin free browsing. 

- IE10 metro style html 5 video. 

She reiterated that late February is the Windows 8 Beta release timeframe. She closed by showing (briefly) 2 new Ultrabooks. The HP Envy 14 Spectra UltraBook and the Samsung Series 9. She introduced another Microsoft Phrase to watch for "Windows 7 today, Windows 8 tomorrow" 

Steve Ballmer Talks Windows 7 

- Impressive stats - 500 million users windows 7. 

- Licensing occurring at a rate of 7 copies a second. 

- 25,000 users signed by the end of the keynote session. 

- Every windows 7 pc will run Windows 8. 

- Tweet choir. 

Steve Ballmer Talks Xbox/Kinect 

He described the Xbox as world sales leader for consoles: 

"We're the sales user in consoles, we have 66 million XBox users and over 40 million Xbox Live subscibers tuning in for a variety of different experiences". 

He gets to brag "I bet on it 10 years ago..." 

"We've shipped over 18 million Kinect Sensors in a little over a year. Kinect, as we begin to integrate Bing into the Xbox experience, it will really transform the TV experience. You just say it and the Xbox goes and finds it." 

- Bing being integrated with Xbox/Kinect. 

- Metro is central to the experience. 

- You can ask Bing to discover the content you want. 

Craig Davidson comes on to the stage, Senior Director of Xbox. He does a brief Xbox demo. 

They announced a partnership with News Corporation, bringing Fox, WJS, Fox News and IGN to the Xbox. They did a really fantastic interactive demo of an Xbox Sesame Street game. It was an interactive demo with cookie monster and grover and coconuts. Very very cool. 

Next, they showed the old Kinect video we have already seen. 

Kinect is coming to windows on February 1st, 2012.

Microsoft is working with over 200 companies to develop apps for Kinect for Windows. Steve Ballmer waxes nostalgic towards the end. He talks about some of the things Microsoft have accomplished : 

- Sync - Installed in 4 million ford vehicles, 9 million soon. 

- Office 2010 - fastest selling version in history. 

- Office 365. 

- Skype acquisition - Over 200 million people used over 300 billion minutes of voice and video. 

- Bing and Yahoo at 30% market share. 

His parting message was that Windows 8 is critical for the company and as he said remember: 

Windows Windows Windows! 

Metro, Metro, Metro! 

Here is the keynote speech video from CES 2012. Enjoy the video.

Let us know what you think below. Share this topic with your friends and discover even more by following us on Facebook, Twitter.

*by andreascy*

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX : Video Playback and GPS Navigation Test

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX is a slightly thicker twin of the DROID RAZR, coming with a larger battery to boost its battery life. All other specifications remain the same. It's fast processor pushes the phone's Android OS with speed and agility. Paired with a connection to Verizon's 4G LTE data, this phone really flies!

For someone like me who owns a real camera for when the photography urge strikes, I'd run, not walk, to the DROID RAZR MAXX, since its combination of speed, longevity, and killer design is awe-inspiring.  

But the real reason to buy the RAZR MAXX is actually its massive mammoth 3300mAh battery, which is unfortunately not user-removable. Specifically, you'll be able to stream YouTube video for up to 13 hours, or enjoy GPS navigation for 8 hours. Two words: holy smokes. That's right -- we found ourselves in awe, wondering where this phone had been our whole lives.

Watch as the DROID RAZR MAXX demolishes the competition in a battery drain Video Playback and GPS Navigation test.

Video Playback Test :

GPS Navigation Test :

Our hats go off to Motorola - the RAZR MAXX offers endurance that competing smartphones can only dream of. Power users who need to have the longest lifetime possible will have no choice but to pick it. How long will it be before some phone dethrones the Motorola RAZR MAXX?

*by andreascy* 

Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X Are Among The 5 Best Smartphones of 2012

Posted by Unknown

Description : 

It is not that difficult for someone to name five top smartphones in the market. You guessed it right, Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC One X are top on the list with the best smartphones of the year. Apple's iPhone 4S which was however launched last year made it to the list because of its high demand. 

With increasing competition in Mobile Market manufacturers are coming out with astonishing devices to keep up with the others. Samsung, HTC and Nokia came out with wonderful handsets this year. Apple however lacks a new phone which is expected to come out later this year, however the iPhone 4S has managed to get a good place in the market because of its popularity. Below is the list of the best handsets to buy this summer.

Samsung Galaxy S III 

The Samsung Galaxy S III top on the list it sports a 4.8 inch 720x1280 Super AMOLED display, Android ICS withnew TouchWiz overlay, NFC, 2GB of RAM, 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, 8 megapixel rear camera, 1.9 megapixel front facing camera, 4G LTE and/or HSPA+ support, and 2100 mAh battery. 

Some Extra features include Smart Stay where the sensor notes when you are looking at the display and keeps the display turned on during this time, Direct call that will initiate a call when you lift the phone to your ear during a text conversation, Smart alert that vibrates your phone when you come back to it if there are pending notifications, S Voice voice command software, enhanced sharing functionality, and more. 

For many analysts, the Galaxy S III is the best Android handset ever.Popularity of S3 can be gauged from the sales figures of the handset. In one month and two days after its official release (May 29, 2012) Samsung sold out more than 6 million units of the handset across the world. As per market analysts, Samsung may sell more than 20 million units of the handset in six months of its availability.

HTC One X

The One X is one of the best looking smart phones ever. With its quad-core 1.5 Ghz Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD2 HD display and a thinner design running HTC Sense 4.0 on Ice Cream Sandwich this phone has a balance of looks and performance.

It has a 8 mega-pixel camera with a fast shutter. It has 32Gb internal storage with no room for a microSD card slot. It comes with a 1800mAh battery which is unfortunately non-removable. You also get 25Gb of Dropbox space.

iPhone 4S 

The iPhone 4S is actually Apple’s 2011 phone. As far as specs and features are taken into account, the iPhone 4S is not as powerful as the leading Android phones of the day. 

The iPhone 4S has only a crammed 3.5-inch display, an 8 mega-pixel camera, 1GHz dual core Cortex-A5 processor and 512MB of RAM. Also it has Siri, iOS's Virtual personal assistant which was a key feature for its success.

Nokia Lumia 900 

The Lumia 900 is a gorgeous looking phone running Windows Phone 7.5 Mango OS. It has a 1.4 GHz Scorpion CPU with Qualcomm APQ8055 Snapdragon chip, Adreno 205 GPU and 8-megapixel camera. 

The handset boasts a 4.3-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, the latest version of the firmware from Microsoft runs the handset. Sadly it won't get updated to Windows Phone 8.

Nokia 808 PureView

The 808 PureView is the best camera phone ever made. The 808 PureView runs on Belle OS from Nokia. The PureView has grabbed the attention because of its 41 mega-pixel camera with features like Carl Zeiss optics, up to 4x lossless digital zoom, geo-tagging and others. 

Besides this it also has an ARM 11 processor clocked at 1.3 GHz, 4 inches of AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 360 x 640 pixels of display resolution, 16 GB of in-house memory, 1 GB of ROM and 512 MB of RAM.

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*by andreascy*

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrade for DROID RAZR & DROID RAZR MAXX

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Two Motorola phones making the global jump to Android's latest Operating System. The DROID RAZR and the DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola are the first 4G LTE smartphones on the Verizon Wireless network to be Global Ready.

If you’re the owner of a Motorola Droid RAZR or Droid RAZR Maxx, the day you’ve been waiting for is finally here. As promised by a Verizon, the Android 4.0 update for the RAZR Devices is finally here. You don’t have to wait for it to get pushed to your device, just go out and get it on your own.

- To get the update, simply go to Settings > About phone > and check for a system update. The update should be available, and once applied, you should be rocking Android 4.0 in no time.

Ice Cream Sandwich features upgraded functionality and new features, such as Face Unlock. By looking directly at the screen, the smartphone recognizes its owner and automatically unlocks the device. It also includes Direct Access Lock Screen, which allows you to easily open camera, text messages, and dialer from the lock screen. 

Customers can use the front camera to video chat with friends and family to share summer stories or even just to wave hello. The new Video Calling icon makes it easy to access video chatting apps like ooVoo and Tango. 

The upgrade also enhances the voice input technology, typing your words as you speak emails or texts. Speak continuously for paragraphs at a time, add punctuation and even edit mistakes with voice input. 

As a Global Ready device, customers with the DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX will be able to have voice and data service in more than 220 countries, when subscribed to an international plan. 

Additional information on the ICS upgrade can be found on the DROID RAZR & DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola support page. 

Before you upgrade : 

Learn what's new with Android 4.0. Ice Cream Sandwich on your DROID RAZR and DROID RAZR MAXX. 

Home Screens and Notification Window :

Discover more about the interactive home screens and notification window.

Home Screen Folders :

Learn how to group and organize your apps in labeled folders.

Webtop Basics :

Discover more with your phone in a full desktop experience.

Calling & Messaging :

Check out the features of calling and messaging.

Adding & Deleting Widgets :

Learn how to add and delete widgets on the home screen pages.

Taking and Sharing :

Learn how to capture a screenshot and share it with friends.

Smart Actions App Setup :

Learn how to setup triggers and actions in the SmartActions app to automate your everyday tasks.

Face Unlock :

Learn how to setup Face Unlock in order to protect your device.

Google Voice Actions :

Learn how to send text messages, set alarms, get directions and more through Google Voice Actions, by using only your voice.

Check out http://motorola.com/icecreamsandwich for more information.

Check also :

Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX : Video Playback and GPS Navigation Test

*by andreascy*