Once again some new FCC papers have us wondering. As a GSM version of the Motorola Droid 3 showed itself to the FCC, with full support for bands used by AT&T and Bell in Canada. I’m sure those of you who have AT&T as their carrier would like to see this phone come their way. However, I would say don’t hold your breath though stranger things have happened. There’s a better chance this device is the one that was mentioned by Mobile Syrup last week discussing the Motorola XT860 (aka Milestone 3) heading to Bell on August the 14th.

According to FCC reports, the device has:

• 16GB of internal storage
• a 960×540 qHD display
• uses an SNN5885A battery

So it definitely appears to be the GSM Motorola Droid 3. The device, as referred to by its FCC ID IHDT56MF2, supports bands for GSM 850, 1900, and WCDMA bands II and V. AT&T and Bell in Canada both currently use these bands.

Would you like to see this device show up on AT&T’s inventory?
Perhaps an unlocked model would do?
What are your thoughts on this latest variant of the Motorola Droid 3?
Let me know in the comment section below.

source: FCC

According to a report from T- Mobile, they will be expanding their 4G HSPA+ network to 47 new cities across the US. This brings the list of current markets to 102 after they added 50 more markets back in May. That’s a fairly impressive number and to deploy that many more at one time, seems like a lot. It appears like T-Mobile really wants to be the GSM contender that keeps up with Verizon’s latest efforts to supply the nation with global 4G coverage.

The fact that their new HSPA+ markets are capable of 42Mbps, it seems a shame that the only device capable of using that speed so far, is the Rocket 3.0. But we have all seen the goodies that are coming down the pipes for T-Mobile, in the not too distant future.

Thinking further, maybe Verizon could actually learn a little here and see the other angle in which a company can approach a nationwide upgrade. Maybe having the network in place and ready, and then releasing the devices, isn’t such a bad way to go after all. I know it’s discouraging for me to own a 4G device, and live where it isn’t available yet. Good thing I make trips to the city and airports enough to make some use of it.

Anyhow, here is the list of cities being added:
• Akron, Ohio
• Albuquerque, N.M
• Allentown-Bethlehem, Penn
• Brownsville, Texas
• Cape Coral, Fla
• Canton, Ohio
• Charleston-North Charleston, S.C
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Colorado Springs, Colo
• Columbia, S.C
• Columbus, Ohio
• Corpus Christi, Texas
• Fayetteville, N.C
• Florence, S.C
• Fresno, Calif
• Harrisburg-Carlisle, Penn
• Hickory-Lenoir-Morgantown, N.C
• Killeen, Texas
• Lakeland, Fla
• Lancaster, Penn
• Las Cruces, N.M
• Madera, Calif
• McAllen, Texas
• Merced, Calif
• Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, S.C
• Napa, Calif
• Palm Bay, Fla
• Palm Coast, Fla
• Panama City, Fla
• Pueblo, Colo
• Reading, Penn
• Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif
• Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• San Antonio, Texas
• San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif
• Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif
• Santa Fe, N.M
• Sarasota, Fla
• Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Penn
• Sebastian, Fla
• State College, Penn
• Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va
• Wilmington, N.C
• Visalia-Porterville, Calif
• Waco, Texas
• York-Hanover, Penn

***UPDATE
Apparently the carrier issued an erroneous statement that it would be launching dual-carrier HSPA+ in 47 markets, and later issued a correction stating the expansion would only cover 41 new markets.

T-Mobile decided to delay the launch of dual-carrier HSPA+ in Pennsylvania, which was the cause for the change in number of markets being deployed.

Six markets in the state, Allentown-Bethlehem, Harrisburg-Carlisle, Lancaster, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, State College and York-Hanover, were dropped from T-Mobile’s first list of dual-carrier HSPA+ markets set to go live today. The only city from the state that remains on the list is Reading, Penn.
This brings the total number of markets launched to 96, not 102 as previously stated.
Just wanted to bring you up to date on the changes.

Is your city on the map?
Will they remain a threat to Big Red?
What do you think?

source: tmonews

We’ve heard rumors about a Sprint and T-Mobile merger in the past, and this is no different. This morning, Bloomberg is reporting about Sprint and Deutsche Telekom holding meetings to discuss a possible acquisition. The deal could reportedly give Deutsche Telekom a sizable stake in Sprint following the merger – up to 50%. Sprint had no comment, but a Deutsche Telekom spokesperson said the company “could sell all or part of the U.S. business, and all options are open.”

I know we’ve discussed this before, but what are your thoughts about this possible merger? It could be another Sprint/Nextel fiasco since Sprint runs on CDMA while T-Mobile runs on GSM, but it could help if Sprint switches their 4G over to LTE. Also, T-Mobile is the one that started calling HSPA+ 4G, with At&t following them, so there’s no telling how soon T-Mobile might transition to LTE.

Source: BGR

So some of the biggest beefs of WP7 is no flash, no Copy and Paste, no real good navigation program. Well it appears that Microsoft listened, and in the unveiling of Windows Phone 7, Steve Balmer did say we would get these features in the early 2011 time frame. Well now we have confirmation.

In a blog post from a director at MS:

Critics have commented on the lack of specific features like copy & paste and lack of 100s of thousands of applications. And while both are true, copy & paste will be available as an update in a matter of weeks (early 2011) and as for applications, it’s just a matter of time. Developing Windows Phone 7 apps is as easy as developing any .NET/Silverlight application.

 

So Developers if this rumor does hold true, and that it is not just copy and paste…but includes Bing navigation, task switching, and Flash/Silverlight plug-in enabling what does that do for the applications you are making? Critics now can stop gawking at the fact that there is not Copy and Paste functions and move on to other fish to fry.  The true question is does SP1 come pre-installed on WP7 CDMA versions or will it like wise be a separate push to install.  Time will tell… Let the count down begin!

Learn more about Windows Phone 7, and watch a few videos… Click here: Windows Phone 7: A New Kind of Phone

via WPCentral

Windows Mobile developers are continuing to find ways to save money on global phone calls and text messaging rates. They haven’t forgotten about Windows devices and their users’ needs, especially the ones with friends and family all over the world. That’s why developers have created this new application, very similar to Skype, to give you peace of mind while you don’t want to end that long conversation with your friend in Puerto Rico or Iceland.

MO-Call is a VoIP application for your mobile phone that currently supports over 2,025 phone models. What makes it different from many of the other VoIP applications is that it allows calls anywhere you have GSM or CDMA coverage for as low as 1¢ a minute.. This application does support Wi-Fi, which gives you a way to connect for FREE. MO-Calls made over Wi-Fi to other connected MO-Callers are completely free. While Mo-Call runs in the background, users can save up to 90% on international calls. Download the application free and get instant savings on local and international calls.

Download (link here.)

Calling Rates (link here)

Check your current provider for possible additional charges while using this application.

You may have read yesterday that a spokesperson from Verizon Wireless, Brenda Raney, told Bloomberg that they would not have any Windows Phone 7 devices until sometime in 2011. Now Microsoft has confirmed that there will be no Windows Phone 7 CDMA devices until 2011.

Microsoft senior project manager, Greg Sullivan, told CNet:
“For the worldwide market, the vast majority of phones are GSM phones, so we focused on GSM first and then plan to deliver an update that will have great CDMA support in the first half of 2011. That’s device availability in the first half and we’re very confident of that. That’s probably a conservative estimate.”

Source: BGR

Would you like to own an unlocked Palm Treo Pro? If so, here is your opportunity! Dell Small Business is selling this device for $179.99 with free shipping. However, if you use the coupon code “CWT98NZP?Z66L8”, it drops down to $161.99. The site I found this deal at says this is the lowest price by $115 that they have come across, so get to it!

While this device is not the newest generation out there (it has a 400mhz processor after all), the specifications are good for a back up phone.

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro
• Touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard
• 2-megapixel camera
• Quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSDPA 3G (850/900/1800/1900)

Also, due to our crafty ROM makers, you can run WM 6.5 on this device. Go here to check them out! Please note that PPCGeeks.com and all its entities are not to be held accountable for any/all customizations, edits, or other modifications that you make to your device. Also, running a custom ROM carries with it the possibility of bricking your device. Please flash wisely!

If you are interested in purchasing this device, you can go here!

Source- DealNews.com

Is it time to worry if you have GSM? Only time will tell. Different security experts say different things.

The telephone companies are proclaiming that the A5/1 algorithm, a 64-bit binary code, will soon be phased out for its successor, the 128-bit A5/3 algorithm, and that even just a simple modification to the existing code would be enough to thwart any attempts to intercept calls.

Some security experts on the other hand are saying that the “hardware and software needed for digital surveillance were available free as an open-source product” and that this new development could “reduce the time to break a GSM call from weeks to hours.”

So who do you believe? If the older technology will be phased out, how soon will it happen? GSM is used worldwide and has a much larger user base than CDMA, so how many people will this effect?

Source: Gizmodo (Thanks for the tip John Norman)

Phone calls cost money. As consumers, we have the option to pay as you go, pay for a set amount of minutes per month, or choose  an unlimited amount of minutes per month. But the amount of calls that the cell company can process is a static amount and is expensive and costs the same no matter which phone plan a user opts for. More phones calls for a set amount of space raises the cost of handling phone calls.

The amount of calls that they can process per chunk of their finite spectrum allocated to them by the FCC is important. The more calls they can handle with less resources frees up space for more bandwidth-intensive applications like internet access. Higher speeds and more bandwidth are things that we all can enjoy.

For U.S. Carriers that use GSM as their basis of cellular communication (AT&T and T-Mobile), the move to 4G via LTE is especially important. Besides the speed gains (as high as 100 Mbps for download) and advertising advantage versus 3G competitors, LTE will allow its users (Verizon Wireless (who is making the switch from CDMA-based to GSM-based technologies for 4G), AT&T, and T-Mobile in the U.S.) to package more mobile phone calls per 1 Mhz of space then ever was possible before.

In a perfect and simplified world, basic GSM (2.5G) technology can move between 4 and 8 calls per 1 Mhz. Not bad in our perfect simplified world. Moving up to UMTS (3G) nets 12 calls per Mhz while HSPA (3.5G) can get 24 calls per Mhz. That is all good and dandy, but what about the 4G bringer, LTE? Anywhere from 50 to 80 calls per Mhz.

As you can see, LTE is going to be a major upgrade for both carriers and consumers as more calls per Mhz means lower costs for carriers which will (hopefully) translate to lower bills and higher speeds for consumers. For those who would like to get down and dirty with the details, please go to the source link for a more in-depth explanation into how these numbers were figured out.

Source- MobileSociety.com

Source- themobileninjas.com