4G – SomeGadgetGuy

July 1, 2015

Sprint Removes Video Streaming Limit on ALL IN Unlimited Plans

The times they are a changing.

We’ve gone years with “Unlimited” plans which have restrictions on data usage or speed throttling based. In light of recent concerns facing AT&T and T-Mobile unlimited plans, Sprint reacted quickly to customer complaints regarding their new All In plan, which offers unlimited talk, text, and web for $80 a month.

The issue? A video streaming throttle of 600Kbps. With more consumers streaming high quality video, watching Youtube and Netflix, or broadcasting with apps like Periscope, it makes sense why the nation’s fourth place carrier would want to put some limit on the bandwidth people might use. However, we’re all a bit more sensitive about what the word “unlimited” means. We’ll have to see how Sprint might manage potential network congestion issues moving forward…

You can read Sprint’s brief press release below.

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January 27, 2015

Review: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, 10.1 on AT&T – LTE on an Android Mid-Ranger

I’m really happy to see more tablets offering LTE connectivity at a wider range of prices. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 is targeting consumers shopping in the mid range, how does it stack up to the competition? Let’s take a look!

Shop the Galaxy Tab 4 10.1 LTE on Amazon.

December 16, 2014

T-Mobile to Unleash Rollover Data in 2015 – Un-Carrier 8.0 Announcement

I’ve been complaining about this for YEARS. Each month you buy a bucket of data. If you use more than that bucket you pay a penalty, but if you don’t use the whole bucket you don’t get a credit or a benefit. Instead the carrier takes your unused data and throws it away, and you pay full price for a new bucket next month.

Starting in January of 2015, T-Mobile will roll that data over into a special store they’re calling the Data Stash. It will come to all plans including data only Tablet plans. To sweeten the deal, customers will also start off with 10GB of data in their stash.

I’ve been hoping a company would do this since we moved over to data caps on cellphone contracts. I was so goofy happy, I jumped immediately into a Live Hangout and started throwing things.

The full T-Mobile press release is below, and they always put out funny releases.

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August 21, 2014August 21, 2014

Sprint Slashes Prices on Unlimited Plans to $60 a Month

We seem to be in the middle of a carrier price war.

After landing a new CEO, Sprint has been focused on appropriate pricing, after admitting their network can’t quite compete toe to toe with VZW or AT&T. The first step was offering up a new Family Shared Data plan which undercuts the big carriers.

Now they have T-Mobile in their sites with a new unlimited data plan. At $60 a month per line, it’s $20 a month cheaper than T-Mo’s unlimited offering.

“People know Sprint for Unlimited,” said Marcelo Claure, Sprint CEO. “We have long been the leader in offering customers unlimited data and that leadership continues today with our new $60 unlimited plan. Unlimited talk, text and data for $60 is the best unlimited postpaid plan available. And, we’ve listened to our loyal customers; we’re making the Sprint $60 Unlimited Plan available to both new and existing customers.”

The beauty of this announcement is how it catches T-Mobile by surprise. John Legre snarkily announced a new “Free Data” promotion meant to upset Sprint’s Shared Data Plans. Sprint’s move here goes completely un-addressed. Looks like Sprint’s new CEO Marcelo Claure is already making moves to change the perception of the company.

…customers can save $120 over two years versus T-Mobile’s promotional price…and they don’t have to jump through T-Mobile’s hoops and recruit their friends.

While Big Blue and Big Red duke it out in the major leagues, Lil’ Yellow and Lil’ Magenta are getting scrappy.

Full Sprint PR below.

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December 18, 2013

Sprint and Dish partner for Fixed Wireless Broadband Service Trials

Broadband improvements are somewhat stagnant here in the states. Many areas are under-served with few choices and high prices. While some areas are looking at Google and other companies to roll out Fiber to the home, many communities are hoping to see improvements over basic DSL. If it’s not economically feasible to roll out fiber or new wired service, the next best option is to provide service over the air.

Sprint and Dish are teaming up to test a 4G LTE to home service which could be a compelling solution for those needing more speed, but are ignored by traditional ISPs. Served over Sprint’s 2.5GHz spectrum, you would expect speeds comparable to Sprint’s current LTE offerings. Like Dish’s TV service, this should be a bit more stable than the LTE served to our phones, as your home is not a moving target. You shouldn’t even have to worry about poor building penetration of the higher frequency connection as an external receiver on your house will feed the connection indoors.

These trials will roll out in Corpus Christi, Texas next year. If you already have access to fast broadband options, this probably wont be your jam, but for those of you waiting out better options and services, this might be a good solution in the future.

Full PR after the jump.

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December 9, 2013

AT&T Customers Can Now Roam in Canada on Roger’s LTE Network

Marking the first international partnership for LTE roaming, AT&T customers can now sign up for discounted rates on Rogers’ 4G network when traveling through Canada.

Covering 70% of Canadian’s, Rogers will be lighting up LTE in 95 markets over this next year. For you world travelers, an AT&T Data Global Add-On package should help take some of the fear out of using your smartphone while on a trip. We all know someone who came home to find an outrageous bill because they used their phone overseas.

The packages are tiered 120MB for $30/mo; 300MB for $60/mo; and 800MB for $120/mo, and are good in over 150 countries, but of course traveling to Canada will guarantee you the four gees speed.

Full PR after the jump.

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September 16, 2013

Bring AT&T LTE compatible handsets to StraightTalk.

The prepaid phone market is getting really hot. As consumers shop various plans and services, prepaid solutions might be just the ticket for some shoppers. This has historically meant having a “last generation” experience, using a 3G service while the big boys trotted out real 4G LTE data. This is starting to change however, as AT&T has rolled out AIO nationwide utilizing their LTE network, and now StraightTalk is getting into the game too.

Starting now, you can bring an AT&T compatible LTE phone to StraightTalk and utilize LTE access. It will require a new SIM card to activate, but it looks like plan pricing will remain the same as their previous Faux G offerings, unlimited plans starting at $45 a month. Now while ST offers unlimited data, it’s been reported that heavy users will be throttled, but considering the price of this service, that’s not horribly surprising. Might still want to read up on those terms of service before porting your number over.

If you’re buying a new phone, and you’re not able to bring your own from another carrier, the two handsets current sold through StraightTalk which support LTE are the Galaxy S3 and the iPhone 5. Neither particularly exciting in this current market, but if you’re shopping a new phone plan, prepaid might be something worth checking out.

(via StraightTalk)