The Moto 360 Sport has been available in the UK and France since December 18th. Starting today, those in the US will be able to purchase the smarwatch from Motorola and Verizon’s online store.
Update: T-Mobile has made it official and is carrying the device starting January 26th.
In addition to arriving in more European countries, the BlackBerry PRIV will also be available through all four major carriers in the United States. BlackBerry CEO John Chen confirmed the news at CES today, but did not offer a timeline for when they’d be released.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will be the first phones on Verizon to get WiFi calling through a software update rolling out now. Other Verizon Android and iOS phones will get WiFi calling early next year. In addition, the Samsung updates also includes other new features and bug fixes.
WiFi calling is a part of Advanced Calling, a branded feature set of Verizon’s LTE network that also includes HD voice calls and video calls over cellular. The feature is available for free to customers calling US numbers through the stock dialer app.
Today’s update to Samsung devices also includes enhanced conference calling, HiFi audio, and Live Video Broadcast. There are also fixes to wireless charging and ALM. Owners of these two phones should head on to Settings > System Update > Check for new to get the new update. Go to Samsung’s page for more details about the update.
With ever more devices trying to squeeze growing volumes of mobile data through a limited number of LTE frequencies, Verizon is leading the push for use of unlicensed frequencies – known as LTE-Unlicensed, or LTE-U. As well as increasing capacity, LTE-U would potentially offer faster speeds.
The problem? These are the same frequencies used by WiFi, Bloomberg reporting that Google, Microsoft, Comcast and other oppose rapid adoption for this reason.
The three companies have been among a group lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to delay LTE-U’s adoption pending further tests [claiming that it] “would substantially degrade consumer Wi-Fi service across the country.”
The companies argue that while both existing LTE frequencies and WiFi play nicely when it comes to competing demand for use of the same airwaves, LTE-U doesn’t …
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AT&T subscribers who previously had unlimited data plans back in the iPhone 3G era and have managed to hang onto that plan are in for their first price increase in seven years, a source with knowledge of the matter has informed 9to5Google.
Update: AT&T has now publicly announced the change. Additional information has been added below.
T-Mobile has announced its latest “un-carrier” initiative, dubbed “Un-carrier Unwrapped.” Rather than a permanent addition to the company’s offerings, Un-carrier Unwrapped is a month-long event during which the carrier will gift its subscribers and new customers with special deals and benefits.
The first of those was announced today: unlimited LTE data for all subscribers on Simple Choice post-paid plans for the next three months.
Update: LG has now acknowledged the issue and says that it is canceling the rollout of the device worldwide. It also is unsure if it will be available at any point in the future.
AT&T today appears to have started notifying customers that a quality issue has occurred with the recently launched LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. According to sources, AT&T has notified its retail stores and customers that those who purchased the latest Watch Urbane are eligible for a refund due to the “quality issue.”
Earlier this fall, LG announced the second generation version of its stylish round Android Wear watch. The LG Watch Urbane 2nd generation was sleeker and more attractive than its predecessor, and also the first Android Wear device to come with an LTE-equipped model. Both AT&T and Verizon will be accepting orders for the LTE model from this week…
Verizon has confirmed through its official Twitter handle that the BlackBerry PRIV is heading to its store shelves soon. The Portrait-slider doesn’t have a specific release date or price on VZW yet, but you can sign up to register for updates on Verizon’s store page.
[tweet https://twitter.com/VerizonNews/status/662727973351526400 align=’center’]
Verizon is the second big carrier to officially offer the PRIV for sale. It’s biggest competitor, AT&T started selling the device yesterday, getting a jump start on ‘Big Red’. It’s too early to tell how well the launch is going for the once smartphone king from Waterloo, but early reaction from tech fans has been positive.
The PRIV features a large 5.4-inch dual-curved Quad HD AMOLED display, and a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor paired with 3GB RAM. It has 32GB of storage as standard (expandable up to 2TB), 18MP OIS-equipped camera, 4k video recording and a 2MP front facing camera. It also features the trademark physical keyboard and costs a princely $699 from BlackBerry’s online store. It’s hard to imagine that Verizon will offer it any cheaper.
Alphabet/then Google CEO Larry Page spilled the beans on Motorola’s big product announcement way back in 2013 on an earnings call justifying the purchase of Motorola:
“Think about your device. Battery life is a challenge for most people. You shouldn’t need to carry around a charger to make it through the day. If your kid spills their drink on your tablet, the screen shouldn’t die. And when you drop your phone, it shouldn’t shatter.
“Having just seen Motorola’s upcoming products myself, I’m real excited about the potential there. In just under a year, they have accomplished a lot, and have impressive velocity and execution.”
Unfortunately, Google capitulated to Samsung and sold off the Motorola division to Lenovo early last year. That doesn’t mean that the things Motorola was working on stopped.
In fact, there’s a very real possibility that Page was referring to a shatterproof Google-branded Moto Nexus 6, but the shatterproof technology wasn’t ready for launch…just like the fingerprint reader that also wasn’t.
Fast forward to this week and Motorola along with its Droid carrier partner Verizon debuted two new Droids, the Droid Turbo 2 and Maxx 2. I’ve been using both phones since the event and have a pretty good viewpoint on their role in the Android ecosystem.
In what is certainly the shortest press release I’ve ever seen, Motorola’s official UK handle announced what I’ve been hoping to hear ever since Verizon and Motorola announced the DROID Turbo 2 earlier this week. The device is making its way across the pond, albeit without the Verizon livery, bloatware and brand name. Internationally, the DROID Turbo 2 will be sold as the Moto X Force, and it features all the specifications that make the DROID Turbo 2 so appealing…
Right before Verizon and Motorola took the stage earlier today to show off its new Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2 smartphones, a red version of the former showed up on the red carrier’s website. And while we now have a clear look at everything the phone offers, it’s interesting to note nonetheless that Verizon seemingly intends to carry on with the “Employee Edition” tradition…
As is the case with the regular Droid Turbo 2, the device’s listing that popped up earlier today showed that it has a lightweight design with a Snapdragon 810 system-on-a-chip from Qualcomm, a 5.4-inch QHD display, and a couple of great 21-megapixel and 5-megapixel cameras (although those are pretty standard for 2015). This particular phone seems to only be available in 64 GB.
While Verizon has already pulled the page detailing the phone, we can assume that it’s not going to be available to consumers — at least for now — anyway. It is the “Employee Edition,” after all. Be sure to read up on the regular Droid Turbo 2 and Droid Maxx 2, and if you’re really pining for some red on your Droid, you’ll be happy to learn that you can now use Moto Maker on the Turbo 2.
At a small and relatively short event in New York City this morning, Verizon and Motorola unveiled the latest smartphones to bear the iconic DROID brand-name. The DROID Turbo 2 and Maxx 2 both take influence from the latest series of Moto X devices, and continue the legacy of their predecessors. The Turbo 2 is the company’s shatterproof flagship, while the Maxx 2 is more moderately priced and is essentially a Verizon-branded Moto X Play.
In case you didn’t know, Verizon and Motorola are prepping to launch a couple of new Droid phones today, and they say that our “expectations will be shattered.” And while we are on the ground ourselves in New York City to find out if that turns out to be true (I’m betting against it, personally), I’m happy to report that Verizon has indeed provided a livestream if you want to tune into the action yourself.
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With Verizon’s logo notably absent from the list of Samsung Pay U.S. launch partners, it had been unclear if or when the company might allow its customers to use the service. That uncertainty has now ended, with the app available to Verizon customers in the Google Play store. Customers on other carriers have been able to download the app since August.
You’ll need to have a compatible device, which currently means either a Galaxy S6/edge/edge+ or a Note 5. It is so far supported by cards from American Express, Bank of America, Citi and US Bank …
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Even before Motorola officially announced the Moto X Play and Moto X Style/Pure, the rumors surrounding the Lenovo-owned company’s new devices also included new DROIDs for Verizon. Since the launch, the evidence has been pointing towards a rebranding of the X Play as the new DROID Turbo, which perhaps explains the decision not to launch the X Play in the US.
While we’ve already seen a fairly official looking render leak, it doesn’t come more official than Verizon tweeting a teaser from its official handle. Today, the company posted a video clearly showing the design of the phone, as well as insinuating that it’ll be okay to drop on the floor, it can handle it. The tweet reads “introducing the perfect phone for imperfect people” before following up with “The new Droid is dropping soon”. Get the hint?
[tweet https://twitter.com/verizon/status/656505056116781056 align=’center’]
While the company is clearly focussing on the durability of the phone, it’ll be interesting to see how specs and performance are compromised, or if they’re not. While we don’t know a huge deal about the new DROID(s), it’s not likely to be a carbon copy of the X Play. The Moto X Play’s biggest turn-on is the huge 3,630mAh battery which can power through two days of moderate use on a full charge. In the past, the DROID Turbo and DROID Maxx series’ phones have had great batteries too, so we’re not expecting that to be any different this time around.
Verizon and Motorola will announce the new DROID phones at an event on October 27th, and we’ll be there in person to bring you coverage.
Verizon and Motorola have begun sending out press invites this afternoon for an event to be held on October 27th in New York City. “Everything you expect from a phone will change,” the invite boldly claims. And clearly, the companies are planning to introduce more than one smartphone, as the invite asks members of the press to join as they unveil the newest “DROIDs”…
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[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/651126504156368896 align=’center’]
Verizon customers still clinging on to their grandfathered unlimited data plans will shortly face a $20 price hike. The wireless carrier confirmed to CNET that it plans to raise the price of its old unlimited plan, meaning grandfathered customers will face a monthly data plan charge of $49. The price increase will take place once each individual contract expires…
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
[tweet https://twitter.com/9to5toys/status/651126504156368896 align=’center’]
Verizon took the veil off of the Sony Xperia Z4v just about 4 months ago, saying that it would be coming in the summer. That quite obviously didn’t happen even after Sony’s website proudly proclaimed that the phone would be coming on August 13th, leading most to believe that it has just been straight-up cancelled. As of today, Verizon has confirmed that to be the case: The Xperia Z4v will never see the light of day…
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Update: It’s gone.
It’s not really a matter that’s up in the air, but now the confirmation is coming straight from Google. At the time of this writing, the “Optimized devices for Android Screen casting” Chromecast support page lists the “Droid Maxx 2,” a phone that hasn’t yet been announced in any official capacity…
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While we haven’t yet gotten our hands on the Nextbit Robin, it’s definitely a bit different than most of the other smartphone offerings we’ve seen this year. On top of its cloud-first features, the phone has also been popular for its design and price. Now, Nextbit has announced that the phone is supporting another carrier: Verizon.
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