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T-Mobile’s VoLTE service rolls out nationwide following Seattle launch

Ben Lovejoy Jul 31 2014 - 5:22 am PT

VoLTE

T-Mobile announced during its earnings report that it has now completed its US roll-out of its Voice over LTE service after its launch in Seattle back in May and expansion to 16 markets last month.

With more than 8 million VoLTE-capable devices on the T-Mobile network, our customers have made over 52 million crystal-clear VoLTE calls to date.

VoLTE offers faster call setup and better audio quality during calls through HD Voice, as well as the ability to switch seamlessly between voice and video calls. It’s supported by a limited number of handsets at present, with the Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Light and LG’s G Flex among them, but is likely to become a standard feature over time. Verizon has also announced that it will be launching its own VoLTE service nationwide later in the year.

T-Mobile also noted that JD Power just ranked T-Mobile the highest in customer service among the top four major U.S. wireless providers, AT&T taking second place, Verizon third and Sprint Nextel fourth.

Sprint’s HTC EVO One promo brings back the pin drop

Seth Weintraub Apr 5 2012 - 12:09 pm PT

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JpdPU8QatDM]

As we noted in our live event coverage, the Sprint EVO One features HD Audio, which should allow users to hear the other side of the conversation much more vividly. Perhaps to illustrate the feature, the HTC promo video brings back the famous 80’s commercial Pin drop.

This is Sprint’s 1980s Pin Drop commercial:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnlqrMWVYCs]

HTC details the design work in the video below:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pNlGtUPuabs]

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Sprint’s HTC EVO One event: Notes and Pictures

Seth Weintraub Apr 4 2012 - 4:40 pm PT

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[slideshow]

Notes from the event:

– Narrator introduction: Sprint was the first carrier with nationwide 4G, first with 3G, and it unveiled the first 3D phone.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse takes the presentation stage floor:

– He talks about Sprint’s successful partnership with HTC and Evo.
– Showcases network vision, which is an initiative designed to give customers a better network coverage and experience.
– He mentions that Evo is an HD voice- capable phone. Mobile voice quality is crystal clear. Enhanced voice quality for Sprint stems back to fiber optic network days of Sprint’s heritage.

HTC President Jason Mackenzie takes the stage to unveil new Evo One:

– It has only been two years since both companies originally launched the HTC Evo flagship device.
– It was the first 4G smartphone to launch in the United States. This year represents a turning point for HTC, because it is delivering true hero products with beautiful designs, amazing cameras, and an authentic sound.
– HTC is not just all about specs; it believes experience is key.
– Evo One’s Sense 4 is faster, cleaner, and more intuitive than ever before for delivering a premium experience.
– Evo One boasts an amazing camera and awesome sound experience.
-Design is something HTC has always been serious about, and it is doubling down this year so phones look and feel great.

HTC Lead Designer Jonah Becker takes the stage to discuss the Evo One’s design:

– The Evo name stands for the very best. It features authentic material with meticulous attention to detail.
– The Evo One is crafted from aluminum, first given a black finish, and then the edge’s surface is cleaned of edge to bring a highlight to the device’s look.
– Design process discussed next (video demo): Red kickstand gives the Evo One an HTC look, but it also serves a purpose.
– The Evo One has a soft touch finish and blasted aluminum for texture, and then it undergoes a chemical etching process to create something new to industry without painting or coating.
– About 100 different machine cutters are used to create all the features and geometry needed in the HTC Evo One—and people notice. A much-better designed product. “It’s what I want in my pocket.”
– New Evo is also a high-end camera like an SLR, and the red ring around lens mimics high-end cameras, while the red band on the back reinforces the HTC brand.
– The aluminum gives the Evo One a precise feel, and an actual camera button gives it a real feel.
– It is also a multimedia powerhouse; hardware is just a passage to content.
– Crisp, rectangular phone mimics TV, and its kickstand lets you go hands free.

Sprint Product Chief Fared Adib takes stage to talk about camera features:

– The camera: True digital SLR in phone.
– The Evo One sports HTC image sense technology and dedicated imaging chip, with super fast camera startup and auto focus to allow four frames per second in a continuous shooting mode.
– Image sense f/2.4 lens with HDR and smart flash makes sure every picture is perfect, i.e., not too dark or too light.
– The Evo One takes videos and photos simultaneously without switching between modes. While shooting video, just click shutter button to snap a picture.

Sprint CEO and HTC President are back on stage to conclude presentation:

– The HTC Evo One has a focus on sound: Rich, authentic sound with Beats Audio by Dr. Dre.
– Evo One has a media manager to get sound from computer to phone, but the music hub also gives access to a user’s music in apps and all other places. Streaming options to car and TV are also available.
– HTC voice: In 2012, Sprint will serve 500 million voice minutes. Sprint’s beloved HD voice is the future of phone calls. It is possible through a combination of dual microphones, decoders, encoders, and networks for a richer sound.
– Demo video depicts reduced background sound very well. “Hearing is believing.”
– Key features: 2,000 mAh batter, 4.7-inch HD screen, and Snapdragon dual core processor, Beats Audio by Dr. Dre, Ice Cream Sandwich OS with Sense 4.0, and a 8-megapixel shooter and 1.3-megapixel camera.

The HTC Evo One will be available in the second quarter for $199.99. Pre-sale starts May 7.

Demonstration area opens:

– I played with the phone. It looks cool—feels sturdy and valuable, yet the screen is huge. I had trouble handling it, because I am use to the smaller iPhone. Snapping photos while recording video was excellent. The fast startup and auto focus was also impressive. Camera features are cool too: built-in vignette, panorama, HDR, face detection for group shots, and more. The HD voice demo was amazing, as well. It highlighted absolutely no background sound despite the noisy area. I think the HTC Evo One is a quality phone. There is nothing that stands out when it comes to the user interface, though, as it looks like a typical Android smartphone.

The full-sized pictures are below:

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