Verizon Samsung Cell Phones

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – BONITA SPRINGS A Bonita Springs attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit against Samsung Electronics America, claiming its Galaxy S smartphones have defects that make the cellphones worthless. Kenneth Gilman, who purchased a Fascinate a year ago, alleges Samsung’s Galaxy S cellphones, including the Captivate, Fascinate, Vibrant and Epic 4G, are plagued by defects Samsung concealed from consumers, who never would have purchased them if they’d known. Allie Weibring, a spokeswoman for Samsung, said the company doesn’t comment on current or pending litigation. It’s not the first class-action lawsuit involving the Galaxy S smartphone. But Gilman, who has won major product liability cases against pharmaceutical giants, roof shingle and tire manufacturers and others, said it has greater implications. He branded it part of a battle against increasingly weakening laws that once protected consumers. His lawsuit comes eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 ruling that may eliminate citizens’ rights to band together to file class-action lawsuits against large corporations.

That decision, involving AT&T Mobility, centers around cell phones and a common contract that requires customers to settle claims through arbitration, instead of lawsuits. Such contracts, often in fine print, are more often seen in employer agreements, but are becoming increasingly common with companies offering cell phones, credit cards, cable service, furnaces, water heaters, loans and other products. “That cuts off a person’s rights,” said Gilman, who also has offices in Boston and Wareham, Mass. “Now what they have done is preclude you from going to court. Companies can treat citizens any way they please because there’s nothing consumers can do about it.” Kristian Kraszewski, his co-counsel, noted arbitration only benefits major companies, whose lawyers can increase billable hours. But it will hurt plaintiffs, he said, because they can’t band together as a group. “Who’s going to take a case for 80?” Kraszewski asked. “Nobody.” Still, Gilman believes he can win the arbitration argument, which Samsung is using in a similar case.

In those court papers, Samsung blames Verizon, denies there are defects, or that it knew of them, although Verizon provided customers with an alert about the Galaxy S problems. Gilman’s lawsuit, filed in December in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, also lists Samsung Telecommunications America as a defendant and seeks at least 5 million for “thousands” of consumers who purchased defective phones.

“Plaintiff has missed many phone calls, alerts, messages, emails and alarms and otherwise lost the ability to access or save data to his phone,” the 14-page complaint alleges. ” … Plaintiff has experienced extreme frustration during his multiple attempts to procure a working phone and the phone is worthless.” The lawsuit alleges that immediately after Gilman bought his phone for “hundreds of dollars” in December 2010, he began experiencing multiple problems, including the inability to shut off calls; involuntary termination of calls; the screen would become dark after three seconds, which rendered the phone inoperable; the voicemail didn’t work; the email didn’t work; and it automatically entered silent or airplane mode without any prompting. Gilman contends he gave Samsung and Verizon, its authorized agent, “multiple opportunities” to inspect, repair or replace the defective phone, but Samsung refused to replace it.

Source
http//www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/06/samsung-phones-suit-gilman-bonita-springs-cell-law/

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Samsung Some Samsung mobile phones do include Carrier IQ, but it’s very important to note that it’s up to the carrier to request that Samsung include that software on devices. One other important point is that Samsung does not receive any consumer user information from the phones that are equipped with Carrier IQ. Nokia We are aware of inaccurate reports which state that software from CarrierIQ has been found on Nokia devices. CarrierIQ does not ship products for any Nokia devices, so these reports are wrong. RIM RIM is aware of a recent claim by a security researcher that an application called “CarrierIQ” is installed on mobile devices from multiple vendors without the knowledge or consent of the device users. RIM does not pre-install the CarrierIQ app on BlackBerry smartphones or authorize its carrier partners to install the CarrierIQ app before sales or distribution. RIM also did not develop or commission the development of the CarrierIQ application, and has no involvement in the testing, promotion, or distribution of the app. RIM will continue to investigate reports and speculation related to CarrierIQ. Motorola I recommend you follow up with the carrier PR teams as this is only pre-loaded as an operator requirement.

Editor’s Note This story was updated at 11pm Eastern with comment from T-Mobile.

Source
http//www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397128,00.asp

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Holidays are a good time to test mobile networks because they invariable require driving on crowded highways to visit the in-laws in the far-flung suburbs. So the long Thanksgiving weekend was the perfect opportunity to run AT&Ts Chicago LTE network and its new smartphones through the paces. I did my tests in outbound and inbound stages. On my way from central Chicago to Arlington Heights, I basically tried to break the HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket with video. While on the way back into town, I ran a barrage of speed tests. In general, I was impressed with overall experience as well as the speeds I clocked, though I did have some concerns about how LTEs inner-city network will perform when its truly loaded. But onto the results! Starting at home, I turned off Wi-Fi on both phones and then downloaded the Netflix streaming app on the Samsung. It handled the 6-MB download almost instantaneously, but the real test would be how it actually handled watching a movie.

I started some Britcom episode my wife and I had already seen (so as not to tempt her to watch while she drove), and while the video popped up instantly with no buffering, initially it played at a much lower resolution than I was expecting. Within 20 seconds, though, the show went into a much higher resolution and stayed that way for the remainder of the test.

Source
http//gigaom.com/broadband/taking-lte-to-the-freeways-impressions-of-atts-chicago-network/

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – What you get from the Galaxy Player is Android, plus Samsungs TouchWiz UI. Im normally not a fan of TouchWiz, and the fact that the Player runs an older version of the skin (3.0 instead of 4.0) is particularly irksome. Samsung has done a lot to simplify and clean up TouchWiz in recent months, but none of that work made it to either Player, which still have colored boxes behind ugly icons, and clutter everywhere you look. There are a few things TouchWiz does really well, though, and fortunately most of them are related to media playback. There are playback controls in the notification window, as well as on the lock screen; thats much better than having to unlock your phone and open the app every single time you want to move to the next song. The primary problem is that the stock Android music player isnt very good. It works fine, but is overly simple and not very nice to look at, and TouchWiz doesnt do much to help. Happily, there are plenty of good music players in the Android Market Id recommend Google Music, Winamp, Uber Music, and DoubleTwist over the stock Android app, though those apps lose some of the lock-screen and notification window functionalities. Other than the standard Android apps, theres not much else preloaded on the Player.

Theres a couple of Samsung apps like Samsung Smart View and Samsung Apps, as well as Social Hub and an FM radio app that I quite liked. The restraint is appreciated, especially since the hallmark feature of the Player is that you get full access to the hundreds of thousands of apps in the Android Market, as well as all the Google apps. One of the best Google apps is Navigation, which lets your Galaxy Player double as a GPS with turn-by-turn directions. Its really, really slow, but it works even when theres no Wi-Fi to be found. One app that doesnt exist for Android, sadly, is iTunes. Google Music is perhaps the closest analog (and is much improved afterGoogles recent update), allowing you to buy music and sync it between the cloud and your device, but its not nearly as complete or seamless a system as iTunes. You can drag-and-drop songs from your computer, or manage them through other apps, but iTunes handily beats them all in being simple to use.

The upside of being outside of the Apple ecosystem, though, is file support the Player supports a lot more file formats than the iPod, especially when it comes to video playback; all my AVI files of The West Wing episodes were finally playable. Over several days of using both Player models, I always wished they were just a hair faster. The 1GHz Hummingbird processor and 512MB of RAM arent particularly slow or laggy, but now that Ive gotten used to newer hardware the Player just takes a split-second too long to do almost everything.

Launching an app or going to the home screen was especially troublesome, and I occasionally had to mash the capacitive Android buttons a few times to get them to work. I noticed the sluggishness particularly when typing Id type four words before they would display, and then theyd all pop up on the screen at once. My benchmark tests backed up what I saw in use, too I got Quadrant scores between 1,400 and 1,600 for both Players, which is a totally acceptable score but doesnt even compare to the over-3,000 results from the Galaxy S II. The Player is quite clearly a year-old phone with the phone parts ripped out. My iPod touch always felt like it lasted forever, only needing a charge every few days with regular use. The Galaxy Players are the same way; they lasted multiple days of relatively frequent use, though lots of Netflix streaming or radio listening did it in much faster. Most of that is just due to the Players lack of an always-on cellular connection (same goes for the iPod) and youd probably get similar battery life from a phone in Airplane mode, but I was definitely impressed with the Players longevity.

Source
http//www.theverge.com/2011/11/21/2553335/samsung-galaxy-player-4-0-5-0-review.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – In other words, Apples iPhone 4, which was more than a year old during the quarter, was the 1 phone during the quarter, while Apples 25 month-old iPhone 3GS was also enough to beat every single one of the latest and greatest Android device, including all of the 4G LTE devices that had been released in the previous six months. These results demonstrate both the strength and weakness of Apples business model of offering a very limited number of models that are differentiated only by how much storage they have. During the 3rd quarter, Apple offered the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 in two colors with three different storage sizes each. So, while Apple has the 2 smartphone platform, it has the 1 and 2 devices. Compare that to Samsung, which sells Android and Windows Phone smartphones. A quick look on Samsungs Phone landing page asks customers to browse by carrier, not by device. The more adventuresome can view all 136 models Samsung makes (that includes feature phones as well as smartphones).

In some cases, even when Samsung sells the same device on more than one carrier, they have different features and even different form factors. From Samsungs Phone Page, View All 136 But all those models add up. Apple may have had the top two devices during the quarter, but Samsung was the 1 mobile device maker during the quarter, just like Android has been the 1 smartphone platform for much of the last year. Then again, Apple takes a monstrous portion of the entire cell phone industrys profits. This not only relates to the fact that Apple commands a much higher premium for its iPhone devices, it also makes a higher profit per device because of its highly concentrated product line. During the November quarter, Apple will be offering three iPhone models, the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4, and the going-on-three-years old iPhone 3GS, which will be free with a two year contract at AT&T. We would expect that lineup to result in Apple claiming the top three spots in rankings such as NPDs. The image below is a comparison to Apples and Samsungs mobile product lines (limited to the first of nine pages of Samsung phones).

iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS vs. an Alphabet Soup of Smartphones As we have repeatedly noted, there are many metrics with which to pass some kind of arbitrary judgement on who is beating whom in the smartphone market, but the reality is that Apple is playing a different game than OEMs like Samsung, HTC, and Motorola Mobility. The companys goals are also far, far different from Googles when it comes to that companys Android platform.

Source
http//www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/npd_iphone_3gs_outsold_every_android_smartphone_in_q3/

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Finalized summer results for Samsung show its net profit dropped 23 percent in a year-to-year comparison as its display and chip groups offset the smartphone success. The summer quarter brought a modest 3.1 billion, slightly down from the spring too. It had been dragged backwards by slow sales of traditional computers and TVs, which caused the display division a loss of money. The chip business for memory and mobile processors had also the profit cut to 1.42 billion. Operating profit at 2.3 billion was over double and came mainly from runaway success of handsets like the Galaxy S II. Although the company did not say how many smartphones and cellphones it had shipped, leaks have mentioned over twenty million smartphones and topped the 17.07 million iPhones of Apple. This success is not supposed to repeat as Apple waits for its iPhone 4S to establish historical sale records. Samsungs past fall quarter might get a lift from sales of the holiday, but most of that may still come from smartphones, such as the Galaxy Nexus, as well as closely related components that the company provides to itself and to customers including Apple, like mobile screens and flash memory. There is no mention of the preliminary bans Apple requested on the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Germany and Australia and also a brief ban related to the Galaxy phone line.

Source
http//www.htlounge.net/art/15836/samsung%E2%80%99s-profit-23-lower-in-summer-despite-smartphone-success.html.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – With the launch of Google Wallet in September, contactless mobile phone payments are finally available in the United States. Despite its hype, this technology won’t be replacing your wallet anytime soon. But its convenience, ease of coupon redemption and receipt storage, and promise of more uses to come mean you should still consider it for your next mobile phone — or maybe even the one you already have. Rather than type in a mobile payment text (SMS) message or pull a credit card out of a wallet, shoppers using Google Wallet can wave their phones near a MasterCard PayPass device or other near field communications (NFC) receiver at the checkout counter. The device receives the signal and charges the correct amount to the shopper’s credit card, or a virtual prepaid Google card. You can use Google Wallet today if you have a Samsung Nexus S 4G mobile phone on the Sprint network, and it works at any of the 140,000 PayPass receivers at cash registers in the United States and the 200,000 more in the rest of the world. Many more options will appear soon, both from Google and from Isis, a formidable joint venture of Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Here are seven reasons why it’s time to give this technology a serious look

Source
http//www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/cell-phones-nfc-chip-contactless-payments-google-wallet-1273.php.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Does anybody remember the Stratosphere? A few days ago the Galaxy S II phones were among hottest out there. Today, not so much. For Verizon, having such a robust lineup–which includes the recently launched iPhone 4S–is a boon, and a stark contrast from the older basic cell phone days, when the hottest devices only ran on the GSM network used by AT&T and T-Mobile USA. Gadget bloggers, and tech journalists such as myself, love the torrent of new devices because it means more to write about. But the rate at which these new super smartphones are emerging is dizzying. That run of phones doesn’t even include the wave of devices hitting the market with the other major carriers. People often hold off purchasing new phones so they can see what’s coming ahead; with such a steady flow of new products, they may end up paralyzed with indecision. It sounds counterintuitive, but the Android world, customers, and handset manufacturers included, could stand to see fewer launches of the next big thing.

Source
http//news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20122716-94/android-super-smartphones-too-much-of-a-good-thing/.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Local cellular CEOs reveal which phones they are currently using, and which phones they look forward to getting their hands on The life of the CEO of a cellular operator is not easy dealing with network problems, trying to calm consumers down amidst BlackBerry outages, staying relevant in an increasingly competitive market and figuring out where to invest your millions in bonuses. One of the perks of the job is that you can get your hands on the latest gadgets and use whatever mobile phone you want. If you are not happy with your phone you can simply change it for another one no questions asked. The fact that the CEOs of cellular operators can use any phone they want raises the question which phones they actually prefer. Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys recently switched from BlackBerry to Android, and is currently using the Galaxy SII. Uys said that he is also looking forward to get his hands on the new Samsung Galaxy Note.

Source
http//mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/36316-cellular-bigwigs-reveal-their-mobile-phones-of-choice.html

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Call clarity on the Galaxy S II is as good as it gets on a phone network. We have no complaints here in Manhattan, New York. Yes, call clarity is dependent on how well AT&Ts network runs in your area, but for its part, Samsungs Galaxy S II is doing its job. Data speeds on AT&Ts HSPA network are not impressive. Weve only been able to get 0.8 to 1.2 Mbps download and upload speeds in Manhattan, which isnt as fast as T-Mobile or Sprint. Verizons LTE network, of course, is about 20 times faster than AT&Ts. But the Galaxy S II isnt to blame for AT&Ts slow network. We wish Verizon would launch an LTE version of the phone, but regardless, this is as fast as youre going to get on AT&T until the carrier finally launches its LTE network. One of the biggest problems with the current crop of dual-core phones is battery life.

Perhaps its due to AT&Ts weak 4G network, but the Galaxy S II is getting stellar battery life for a smartphone. The battery has lasted for more than a day with moderate use, and is rated to last even longer if you dont use your phone much. The 1,650 mAh battery is rated to last 8 hours during talk and 16 days on standby. We havent performed a full battery drain test, but if battery life is a big deal, this phone doesnt sacrifice it for style. Its been a long wait for the Samsung Galaxy S II, but its been worth it. For those on AT&T, this phone is better than the Infuse 4G, HTC Inspire, LG Thrill 4G, and Motorola Atrix. The battery life is solid, Samsung has spruced up its TouchWiz interface, the specs are best in class, and the camera is as good as ever.

We highly recommend the Galaxy S II. More powerful phones will come out, but this will remain a great option for some time. At 200 with a two-year contract, we cant complain.

Source
http//www.digitaltrends.com/cell-phone-reviews/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-review/. .

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – While only AT&T wound up on this year’s list of America’s most-hated companies, Sprint did underperform the Big Blue Ball on a JD Power customer care survey this August. The other major carriers are hardly blame-free, as all four have tripped over efforts to deal with exploding mobile data use in some fashion or another. Most have attempted to limit how much data users can download, and how fast they can get it, a process known as throttling. Carriers’ pain is a gain for new ideasCustomers that demand better connections are finally starting to find some appetizing alternatives at the wireless buffet. One of the tastiest new dishes is Boingo Wireless (Nasdaq WIFI) , which offers a revenue model that Fool contributor Tim Beyers says is cut from the same cloth as the mobile carriers its services could supplant. Fool contributor Sean Williams is even more bullish, calling it the best tech IPO of 2011. The demand for fast, unlimited wireless connections will only keep growing if data throttling cuts off smartphone users sooner and sooner. The amount of data transferred around the world has been increasing at an exponential rate, a process known as the Law of Accelerating Returns.

If carriers maintain the strict throttling requirements they’ve established today while data use explodes, Boingo could be scooping up use-restricted customers by the millions. Skin in the gameIf you wondered why Microsoft cosponsored the study, my personal philosophy is When in doubt, always assume an ulterior motive. Microsoft has been getting its wireless feet wet across the pond with a partnership known as the Cambridge TV White Spaces Consortium. The White Spaces Consortium aims to turn unused TV spectrum in the United Kingdom into an inexpensive way to handle the country’s exploding wireless use, projected to grow 92% by 2015. If that project succeeds, you can expect Microsoft and its fellow White Spacers (a group featuring fellow smartphone also-ran and new Windows Phone partner Nokia (NYSE NOK) , as well as Samsung and BT Group (NYSE BT) ) to look beyond the shores of Britain for ways to monetize their work. If that’s the case, TV spectrum in America might become a new battlefield. The FCC recently took steps toward pulling Channel 51 — the highest broadcast television channel left after broadcasters grudgingly abandoned channels 52 through 69 in 2009 — off the air, in order to toss hungry wireless carriers another bone.

If Microsoft can find a way to make money off of the U.K.’s white spaces, don’t expect them to give up America’s TV spectrum without a fight. Add these companies to your Watchlist, so you can be the first to know if they decide to stop lobbing grenades and start a real war. Is Boingo Wireless really the best IPO of 2011, or is there a more mouthwatering company just begging to be part of your portfolio? Find out in this free report!

Source
http//www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/10/12/could-this-be-the-beginning-of-a-spectrum-war.aspx. .

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – With 4G in its name, you may have high hopes for the data speed on the Epic 4G Touch. Unfortunately, my experience continues to show thatSprint’s WiMAX network is highly inconsistent here in New York City. At best, it still doesn’t come close to Verizon’s LTE network. At worst, it slows to a crawl. I did manageto hit download speeds of 12.5Mbps on oneoccasion. The rest of the time it bounced around between 1Mbps and 4Mbps, with occasional dips intosub 500Kbps territory. The Epic 4G Touch can act as a mobile hotspot for up to eight devices. The 8MP camera in the Epic 4G Touch truly excels.

It is absolutely top of it’s class for picture quality, offering sharp, clear photos with natural colors and little noise. It will be interesting to see how the Epic 4G Touch compares to the iPhone 4 S camera when it is released in a few days. Camera controls are also among the best on any phone. The numerous settings are accessible from a single menu button, and there arefour shortcut buttons that you can customizefor easyaccess toany of the settings. There isa single LED flash. On the front there is a2MPcamera, which was notable for its ability to handle poor lighting conditions. The Epic 4G Touch of the few phones that has the power to handle 1080p video recording.

I was very impressed with the lack of stutter or artifacts I see all too commonly in cell phones.The Epic 4G Touch was also able to refocus quickly as I panned around another welcome improvement. The video was a little shaky from my hand movement and there was a bit of wobble, but solid overall. The Epic 4G Touch runs Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread, with tweaks from Samsung for its TouchWiz interface. Thanks to its 1.2GHz dual-core processor, navigation on the Epic Touch flies. Opening menus, scrolling contacts, launching apps, the Epic 4G Touch is the fastest phone I’ve tested.

As you might expect from such a large display, the keyboard iswell-spaced, ad both Swype and a multitouch keyboards are options. The Samsung Spic 4G Touch comes with 16GB of onboard storage and a slot for up to a 32 GB microSD card.

Source
http//www.techlicious.com/review/review-of-the-samsung-galaxy-s-ii-epic-4g-touch-sprint/

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – With Palm essentially dead, and RIM undergoing a less than smooth transition, it seems at times that more companies are going after the suits and ties crowd that have been ardent devotees the the former mobile giants. And so, in the press release today announcing the Samsung Stratosphere, the first LTE device on Verizon Wireless to include a QWERTY keyboard, the bulk of the text involves the business features of the device, with just a few lines to discuss media features and a single mention of playing games. Nonbusiness types might have a few nice things to say about the Stratosphere, though. Sporting a 4″ SuperAMOLED WVGA display, a 1 GHz Hummingbird SoC, 1.3 MP front-facing and 5 MP rear-facing cameras and running Gingerbread, the Stratosphere is basically, a Galaxy S. So, this may be last years internals, but the reportedly slim form factor, keyboard and LTE may strike a note for those itching to upgrade. There’s no mention of TouchWiz, though the press stills feature its familiar home screen. Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync is present for e-mail, calendar and contacts. Cisco’s AnyConnect provides corporate VPN connectivity, and Sybase Afaria provides remote device management, so work issued phones can be wiped by IT when you leave yours in a cab. We’re curious just how thin the device might be, certainly Samsung has experience building devices that compete on thin, but thin QWERTY is hard to do. To find out, check your local Verizon store Oct. 13th, and if the upgrade bug bites you this’ll ring up to 149 on contract after a mail in rebate. UPDATE We got the Stratosphere’s dimensions in and are including them in a comparison chart below, and at 0.55″ thick, this isn’t Galaxy S 2 territory, nor was it expected to be.

It is however thicker than its most recent competitor on VZW, the Droid 3, whose 0.51″ doesn’t have to make do with the additional LTE chip. Still, it is comparable to other LTE stablemates and to other QWERTY’s on the market.

Source
http//www.anandtech.com/show/4946/samsung-stratosphere-lte-and-qwerty-for-149-

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – ConnectivityAs widely reported, the iPhone 4S is a dual-band world phone, meaning it supports both GSM and CDMA. This is more significant for Verizon and Sprint customers, as it will allow them to use the iPhone even if they travel overseas. What’s yet to be determined is whether the carriers will unlock the preloaded SIM card, so users can swap it out for a prepaid international SIM card at their destination. We also don’t know if the CDMA models will offer simultaneous voice and data over the CDMA network. At present, that’s a significant limitation of the Verizon iPhone 4. Meanwhile, for GSM customers, the iPhone 4S now supports HSDPA 14.4, so the smartphone is capable of reaching theoretical download speeds of 14.4Mbps down, 5.8Mbps up, which is double the speed of the iPhone 4. Note that AT&T has taken some liberties with its marketing by saying it will be the only first U.S.

carrier to offer an HSPA connection, but to be classified as HSPA, the handset would technically need to be capable of reaching theoretical download speeds of 21Mbps, such as the Samsung Galaxy S II for AT&T. Of course, the lack of “real” 4G support for LTE on Verizon or WiMax on Sprint is troubling. Apple has its reasons, no doubt. Battery life remains an issue for high-speed phones and Apple must have decided that, at this point, it couldn’t offer its optimal customer experience on a 4G handset (remember that customer experience is really what Apple is all about). Secondly, Apple never jumps on a technology that is still growing, and it must think that 4G doesn’t cover enough people quite yet. DesignAs we noted earlier, the iPhone 4S’ design is nearly identical to the iPhone 4’s. Aside from being 0.1 ounce heavier, the iPhone 4S is exactly the same size as its predecessor.

It also features the same 3.5-inch, 960×640-pixel Retina Display with a glass back and front. One thing Apple did redesign, however, is the antenna system. The new design will hopefully prevent another Antennagate situation and Apple says to expect even better call quality. Pricing and availabilityThe iPhone 4S will be available for preorder on October 7; it goes on sale October 14 from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint in the U.S. It will come in black and white and pricing starts at 199 for the 16GB version, 299 for 32GB, and 399 for 64GB. iOS 5 The iPhone 4S will debut with all the features of iOS 5, which is Apple’s latest version of its operating system.

We tackle that analysis in our separate iOS 5 First Take, so be sure to check it out. In short, it’s not a huge upgrade, but we welcome the new features like the advanced notifications and “PC Free.” So should you buy it? There’s no question that the iPhone 4S offers several attractive new features. Granted, some gadget enthusiasts who’ve spent months watching the “iPhone 5″ rumor mill spin out of control will be disappointed. And in a way, we sympathize. Indeed, the lack of highly anticipated features like 4G and a revamped design can be hard to swallow. But as long as the “antennagate” problems that we saw on the iPhone 4 don’t return, we can live without a new design.

A bigger display would be nice, but we don’t see a real need for a thinner phone. Waiting for 4G is more troubling, but it fits Apple’s pattern of staying behind bleeding-edge technology. Android fans may gloat, but Apple fans shouldn’t be surprised. In the end, the decision to buy an iPhone 4S will depend on your current carrier contract. If you aren’t eligible for an upgrade with a rebate, then we don’t think the new features are worth paying full price.

On the other hand, if you can upgrade or if you’re a Sprint customer waiting to get your hands on the iPhone for the very first time, then you should consider it. Sure, there’s the chance that a better “iPhone 5″ will come next June, but that’s a long time to wait. What’s more, there’s no guarantee that Apple will even stick to that schedule. So go ahead and take the chance because in the cell phone world, something better is always around the corner.

Source
http//reviews.cnet.com/Apple_iPhone_4S_64GB_white_Verizon_Wireless/4505-6452_7-35027108.html

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Despite the iPhone 4S announcement yesterday, almost all of the cell phone companies that will support the iPhone 4S are being surprisingly quiet. The iPhone 4S is a faster iPhone 4, with a better camera, iOS 5 and the Siri voice control app. In a change from pastiPhoneannouncements, you can now purchase a Sprint iPhone, but you wouldnt know it if you went to Sprint.com. The iPhone 4S will beavailableto purchase on a pre-order basis on October 7th, and will go on sale on October 14th, No Sprint iPhone 4S info in sight. While the iPhone 4S is big news, and all over the Apple website, it is missing from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T. Right now, if you visit your favorite cell phone company, youll see the following. Sprint is still pushing the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic Touch 4G andAT&T is trying to sell you a Windows Phone 7 device for a penny. Verizon however, has just put up iPhone 4S details.

Source
http//www.gottabemobile.com/2011/10/05/att-and-sprint-mum-on-iphone-4s-details/.

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Last week, when I reported that Judge Pauline Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wants her colleagues to clarify the standard for issuing pre-trial injunctions in patent cases, I listed the four prongs of the preliminary injunction test federal judges are supposed to apply likelihood that the plaintiff will prevail on the merits; irreparable harm to the patent holder absent an injunction; the balance of equities; and the public interest. Judge Newman wants the appeals court to revisit a ruling that making it easier for patent defendants to counter the first element of the test. But in the biggest injunction case out there right now, the fourth prong is shaping up as a critical consideration. On Friday, San Jose federal judge Lucy Koh ruled that Verizon and T-Mobile can submit amicus briefs opposing Apple’s bid to enjoin the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy cellphones and tablet computers. (As usual, Florian Mueller at FOSS Patents was first with the news.) With Apple’s injunction motion scheduled for an October 13 hearing, both wireless carriers argued that they’re already marketing Samsung products for the upcoming holiday season, so a bar on sales would not be in the interest of the shoppers who want to buy Galaxy devices. “The timing of such an injunction on two popular consumer products that will help anchor 2011 holiday sales would unnecessarily harm T-Mobile and thousands of U.S. consumers,” wrote T-Mobile’s K&L Gates lawyers in their amicus brief, which contends that Apple doesn’t need a preliminary injunction because it can always recoup money damages if Samsung’s products are later determined to infringe Apple patents. Verizon’s brief, filed by Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, adds the argument that Samsung products operate on the 4G network, which has cost Verizon big bucks to develop.

Barring Samsung phones would severely restrict consumers’ 4G options, Verizon claims, and could cripple the network. “The harm from an injunction would go well beyond Verizon Wireless and consumers,” the Verizon brief said. “It would hurt U.S. businesses, U.S. job growth, and access to emergency personnel.” (Did you get that Apple? If a heart attack victim has to dial for help with a 3G phone because he couldn’t buy a Samsung device, it’s on your head!) Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson told me that Verizon-which only recently hooked up with Apple to support iPhones–is just trying to support competition in the marketplace for mobile devices. “We have a pretty important position that needs to be heard,” he said. “In a way, we’re not taking sides.

We believe consumers have to have access to the latest devices.” Apple’s lawyers at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr and Morrison & Foerster had asked Judge Koh not to admit the amicus briefs because T-Mobile and Verizon waited too long to file them, leaving Apple insufficient time to respond. (I called both Harold McIlhenny of MoFo and Bill Lee of Wilmer but didn’t hear back.) Judge Koh did agree with Apple that there’s no need for T-Mobile’s lawyers to argue at the Oct. 13 hearing. “T-Mobile is not a party to this litigation, and the attorneys from Samsung and Apple are fully capable of arguing the issues without the assistance of third-party counsel,” she wrote. Final briefs are due in the next couple of days.

Samsung’s lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan didn’t respond to my phone messages. (Reporting by Alison Frankel) Follow Alison on Twitter AlisonFrankel Follow us on Twitter ReutersLegal

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Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – A Windows Phone developer has concluded that Microsoft’s “Mango” update fixes a bug that collected a user’s location data without permission. “I have confirmed that Windows Phone ‘Mango’ no longer sends location data prior to being granted permission to do so,” Rafael Rivera wrote in a blog post. “The behavior I’m now seeing is perfectly aligned with Microsoft’s letter to the U.S. House of Representatives.” Microsoft said in a recent update to its privacy policy that “an unintended behavior” in its Windows Phone 7 software collected the location data, but that update 7.5, codenamed Mango, “eliminates” the problem. “After the update, information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers will be sent when using the Camera application only if you have agreed to tag your photos with location,” Microsoft said. “For voice commands, location information will no longer be requested and information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers will not be sent to Microsoft when using voice commands.” Rivera’s post comes one month after Microsoft was hit with a lawsuit that accused it of storing location information about its Windows Phone 7 users even if they opt-out of having that data collected. The woman who filed the suit, Rebecca Cousineau, hired security analyst Samy Kamkar to run tests on a Samsung Omnia 7. Kamkar found that the Windows Phone 7 Camera app starts collecting data even before the pop-up prompt is displayed, among other things.

“When hitting ‘cancel’ to prevent your location information from being shared, the phone continues to intermittently transmit information from Wi-Fi networks and cellular towers to a host owned by Microsoft Corporation leading to the user’s location,” Kamkar said at the time. “The Windows Mobile operating system is clearly sending information that can lead to accurate location information of the mobile device regardless of whether the user allowed the Camera application to share location information or not.” In late September, Rivera tested out Kamkar’s findings and found that the camera app did indeed collect location information. He speculated that the camera app might not really have received any data and was instead just “waking up” the location service on the phone in preparation for a data collection, but said it was a problem nonetheless. “But it doesn’t matter what piece of code is responsible. This behavior appears to contradict Microsoft’s earlier statements to the U.S. House of Representative,” Rivera wrote, pointing to testimony in which Microsoft said it does not collect information “unless a user has expressly allowed an application to collect location information.” When Mango officially made its debut last Tuesday, Rivera tested the location bug on his Samsung Focus and found that it no longer collected the location information.

Kamkar did not immediately respond to questions about whether he had also found that Mango eliminates the location problem. Interestingly, Microsoft acknowledged that Mango contains one other “unintended behavior” with the “Me” feature. “Each time you access the ‘Me’ feature, information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers is sent to the Windows Phone location service. The information sent, received and stored by the Windows Phone location service when you use the ‘Me’ feature does not identify you or your individual device,” Microsoft said. “Nevertheless, this behavior is unintended and will be eliminated as part of the next scheduled update to Windows Phone 7.5. After that update, information about nearby Wi-Fi access points and cell towers will be sent only if you have agreed to allow the ‘Check In’ function of the ‘Me’ feature to access and use location information.” The issue of location tracking, meanwhile, made headlines in April when two researchers published a blog post that said Apple iOS 4 devices collected users’ location in an unencrypted file known as “consolidated.db.” It’s no secret that Apple collected this data to serve up location-based services, but the researchers were concerned that this information was stored in an insecure manner, and transferred to a user’s PC when they sync their iOS device.

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http//www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2394009,00.asp

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Verizon has asked a California court to block the presentation of Apple to block an order barring the importation of Samsung Android-based smartphones, and tablets in the U.S. Friday. Foss Verizon patent applications which prohibits the sale of Samsung hinder their own development of the LTE network, and can adversely affect the network have improved emergency. Apple and Samsung were locked in a dispute over patent infringement allegations for several months. The company claimed that the other mobile devices use patented technologies without a license and complaints against each other in the United States and other countries. Apple does not want Verizon blocks Verizon Samsung phones in the United States filed its curiae or friend of the court brief with the District Court of Northern California and could be a measure to protect its own commercial interests. The mobile operator offers several Google Android OS-based smartphones, and provides the 4G LTE only Android-based phones are. Verizon also gained early access to Google’s Android OS 2.0, with its exclusive agreement Droid. The company is also the only four other companies iPhone in the United States, along with AT & T.

A German court recently upheld a sales order table 10.1 Galaxy compressed blocks in the country, and the company appealed in the hope of reversing this decision. Apple has also granted an injunction by a Dutch court blocked the sale of certain equipment Galaxy of the European Union, and Samsung has decided to postpone the sale of its 10.1 Galaxy Tab tablet in Australia in late September. So far no word on whether the court accepts the filing of Verizon or deposit of the court’s decision on the application order for Apple is that it affects. Apple has not commented on Verizon filing with the court.. .

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – Why pay 649 for a new phone, if you get a third of the cost? Lowering the price is only a matter of signing on the dotted line All you need to do to win the grand advance of reimbursement is to remain faithful to a cellular level by a certain time. But what really value for money in these marriages? It is a two-year contract really a fair trade for discounts? Like most relationships, is complicated. Sometimes you have to gain in terms of cheap prepaid monthly special offers and sometimes not. But one thing is almost always the case phone companies are really after money. But not just hand over your money, not knowing what type of plan you should get. Here is some information about some plans you may consider. Do your homework and it’s perfect somewhere.

Smart choice for Smartphone If you want an entry level Apple (AAPL) iPhone 4 with 16 GB of internal memory, Verizon (VZ) and AT & T (T) would be happy to sell you for 199. Verizon will also tell you the total sales price is 649, if you do not want to go for the filling of two-year contract requires the registration of two discounts. (Ma Bell makes it even more difficult to find this basic information.) What happens when you have decided on an iPhone for Verizon with a total of two years of commitment and the need for all the extras? The price charged by the case now 450 or 18.50 per month for two years to the life of the operation. You are free to choose any plan you want to call and SMS, the ability of the low range of 39.99 with 450 minutes of calls per month and pay-as-you-go messaging versions for 89.99 for unlimited time. Here’s the zinger Definitely, you need to take a packet of data as well. The cheapest one is right for your business off with high-speed 2 GB of data per month, costs 30 per month. Meanwhile, the price difference is between the plans and prepaid calling commitment is 5 per month, as we call it a surplus of 25 per month.

Today, 25 hours 24 600, so if you want to use Wi-Fi coffee shop instead of 3G or 4G, which pays an extra 150 for services you do not want. But hey, at least are capable of playing YouTube videos while the Alligator Alley. 3G/4G A must have? OK, so if you really want 3G/4G add-on? The prepaid version costs exactly the same as a contract. In this case, you have to pay 5 per month and waive repayment of the first 450, you do not win much on the road. However, if the change as one of Imelda Marcos changed shoes, then you know that the pain of separation from service by phone before your birthday. The high rate of rupture can be painful. In the case of AT & T, the cancellation fee of 325 on top of 10 per month in proportion to service.

So back to the contract a month before the end and still hit with a 95 to be. With a prepaid plan, you can jump to another company such as AT & T, Sprint Nextel (S) and Leap Wireless (LEAP) that you want without a cancellation fee of 350 earlier. This trivialization of the iPhone in the previous example, but the same general trends apply to all intelligent or stupid AT & T or Verizon. A basic feature phone can be available for free with a two-year contract if traded on a sale price of 200.

However, the same phone number is often something like 20 to 50, along with a prepaid plan for two years effective discount of almost anything available. Apart from the absurdity of the early termination, ie. Shopping around to find the perfect plan for your needs, but the profiles are actually much terribly similar, even if you look at Sprint or T-Mobile. For example, the plan T-Mobile Standard 500 minutes is also 40 per month, as the 450 minutes from Verizon or AT & T. The plan of 200 megabytes of data adds 20 per month and includes unlimited SMS, so that the littl. .

Verizon Samsung Cell Phones – It seems almost a lock that AT & T, Verizon and Sprint will get the next iPhone, when it starts, but what about T-Mobile? Now users of T-Mobile, while this is our assumption that we have the iPhone next 5 months. Here’s why. The flight to T-Mobile road map (click to enlarge) on the big picture on the right look for the secret release date 10/15 The latest rumors about the iPhone 5 (or 4S, or whatever) than in the next month. As we said in the post about iPhone rumors five cases, which went online, wrote last week, the president said that one of the largest mobile operators in France, will receive the new iPhone on 15 October. While this date is good with all other rumored iPhone release date five outstanding (all of which say they come in the current October-Some rumors say it will be the October 7, 21 others say), is also part of a flight T-Mobile roadmap this month that T-Mobile is also a “big launch” on October 15 countries. (Plans of work for those who do not know, are essentially carrier-term plans for their business, so an idea when the new products, such as phones, tablets, etc. can be – and if things are how to start training . seller in the shops of the new mobile phones and tablets should be trained before they are available, so they know all about them when they come to see). The roadmap does not say exactly what this version is “important, but fled TmoNews, T-Mobile operates the roadmap for 15 years, said in October could be a cell phone like the Samsung Galaxy S II (also scheduled for release T-Mobile next month.) However, “major update” of a roadmap and the CEO of a major airline in the trading day because it is something more than coincidence, it seems (I mean, what could be a big launch of a new iPhone?).

add that the leak of BGR this year Apple and T-Mobile test a month from T-Mobile for the iPhone 4 (see above) and a T iPhone -Mobile as the next logical further. Of course this is just our guess, and Apple could just wait and see what happens with every purchase of AT & T T-Mobile, actually tried before the launch of iPhone T -Mobile (and Sprint and the U.S. Justice Department is difficult to block the merger, who knows what will happen.