Articles about AT&T

Three weeks have passed since the Android Open Kang Project team released a new build, and after a long wait AOKP Jelly Bean Build 5 is now available, bringing along the latest version of Android with it. Also released is a new app named Kangerator for following and downloading new AOKP releases.

The latest build is based on Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean, build number JZO54K and apart from introducing support for the AT&T variants of the Samsung Galaxy S III (d2att) and Galaxy Note (quincyatt) and removing support for the HTC One XL/X (evita), it also brings a number of features from the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich builds, such as NavBar widgets.

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AT&T's hottest smartphone of the season (well, so far) arrives in 18 days, and it's not iPhone 5. America's second-largest carrier has queued up the LG Optimus G, which will be available for $199.99 on contract -- that means two-year commitment. Optimus G specs impress, particularly that quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor, but the software somewhat disappoints. The device ships with Android 4.0.7, not successor Jelly Bean unveiled in June. Upgrade may be months away.

Older software mars what otherwise is a beauty: 4.7-inch TrueHD IPS+ display, 1280 x 768 resolution, 15:9 aspect ratio; 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor; 2GB RAM; 32GB storage (internal and card, expandable to 80GB); 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3MP front-facing cameras, zero-lag shutter; 4G LTE; Wi-Fi; A-GPS; MHL; DLNA; near-field communication; Bluetooth 4.0; and 2,100 mAh battery. Measures 131.9mm x 68.9mm x 8.45mm and weighs 145 grams.

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With Softbank's majority stake acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corporation, the amount of foreign interest in the United States wireless market is greatly expanded. On the other side of the coin, wholly-American owned wireless companies are beginning to look like an endangered species.

The two largest US carriers, Verizon Wireless and AT&T are mostly owned by American companies, but based upon first quarter 2012 market share figures (source: Strategy Analytics) and corporate ownership percentages, we estimate that 45.3 percent of the United States' wireless market will be controlled by foreign multinational companies pending the regulatory approval of SoftBank's acquisition of Sprint. As the next four years fan out, we must turn our eyes to the smaller national competitors and regional carriers and see how they merge and change.

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The official launch of Windows 8 is just around the corner, and so is the holiday shopping season, the high point in consumer spending for the year. What better way for AT&T to capitalize on both events than to offer two exclusive Windows 8-based tablets?

AT&T looks to be covering both important Windows bases (RT and Pro) with its selections: the Windows RT-based ASUS VivoTab RT, and the Windows 8 Pro-based Samsung ATIV Smart PC. Both devices will have mobile connectivity via AT&T's 4G network.

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A week after the Android Open Kang Project team announced the implementation of a new release schedule, they delivered on their promise by releasing AOKP Jelly Bean Build 4, providing along with it a number of interesting statistics.

Since June, the Android distribution reached a little over 180,000 official installations worldwide, and that is impressive for what is basically a small team of developers. The number of custom Android distributions based on AOKP code reached almost 430,000. The focus is still on AOKP Jelly Bean Build 4 that is based on Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean build number JRO03R, so what does it bring to the table?

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It's been almost three years since the Federal Communications Commission began warning us that we are consuming more wireless bandwidth than the airwaves can support, and in those three years, relatively little has changed to fix the situation. Lightsquared attempted to cleverly utilize satellite-band spectrum to build a ground-based 4G network, but those attempts were squashed by the GPS lobby, and could take another five years to come back.

The FCC is still on its quest to free up a total of 300 MHz of wireless spectrum by 2015 for mobile broadband data services, but time is rapidly running out on that promise. Last Wednesday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the commission would be updating its wireless spectrum policies by the end of the year to help free up about 100MHz worth of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band.

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Bad news for anyone who finds themselves needing to look up something on Wikipedia when talking on the phone to their mom, the CDMA/LTE version of Apple's iPhone 5 will not support simultaneous voice and data (SVD). The pure GSM versions of the iPhone 5 will, however allow this feature, so the new buyer must beware.

For this feature to exist on Verizon and Sprint's networks, Apple would have had to install another wireless radio antenna in the iPhone 5. Of course, Apple only began offering CDMA iPhones last year, and those versions did not support simultaneous voice and data, either, so upgrading customers should already be well familiar with this missing feature.

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With iPhone 5's launch presumably close, and the 4S itself being discounted at carriers and retailers (and Apple, too, if you ask), AT&T now offers an early discount to smartphone customers ahead of the launch of the next model.

AT&T smartphone customers are being extended the same benefit that iPhone 3GS customers received in 2010 ahead of the launch of the iPhone 4, and some iPhone 4 customers saw ahead of the iPhone 4S announcement. As was the case previously, getting the special pricing requires a new two-year contract.

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National wireless carrier AT&T plans to move completely past 2G wireless connectivity by 2017, a recent 10-Q filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission revealed.

Due to the impending 'spectrum crisis' that has been slowly edging toward wireless providers for the last three years, AT&T plans to eventually shutter its 2G network, and redeploy it for use on next-gen mobile broadband networks.

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In a very bold move, AT&T slashed the price of the Nokia Lumia 900 in half. That means that if you’re into discounts, the flagship Windows Phone device is the right device for you today. With a two-year contract, Lumia 900, currently one of the best WP 7.5 offerings, is available for just $49.99. The price cut makes Lumia 900 considerably more attractive compared with fellow Windows Phones.

But there's a hidden price to pay, and it's not about money. Let’s assume you’re interested in getting the Lumia 900. So what’s the future hold for your new shiny piece of tech? Microsoft announced that current Windows Phone 7.5 devices will get some features of Windows Phone 8, but not all of them so to make it sound like a big improvement over its predecessor they’ve named the new operating system Windows Phone 7.8. That’s a great marketing strategy to throw current owners and buyers a bone, a slight taste of what’s to come, but to also force them into getting a new device if they want the full blown experience that Microsoft has in mind.

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Second in a series. Two days ago, I established that iPhone's market share is heavily dependent on carrier subsidies. Now let's take a look how iPhone subsidies affect carriers and the potential impact this could have on Apple.

To Summarize, under iPhone's current subsidy structure, it is practically impossible for carriers to break-even. Even when factoring higher churn rate of other smartphones and lower cost of retaining iPhone users, Apple's device still costs carriers too much to be really profitable compared to other smartphones. Essentially, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone users subsidize iPhone owners. Carriers make more money from non-iPhone smartphone owners, while raising data and early-termination fees to offset iPhone costs.

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Unsurprisingly, 4G LTE is the fastest growing cellular network technology, in part for what it delivers and deployment's timing. Strategy Analytics forecasts that 4G LTE will reach 1 billion connections, or 15 percent of all, by 2017. That compares to 12 years for GSM and about 11 years for WCDMA to reach as many.

But LTE isn't gain without pain. In the United States, Verizon by far and large has the most expansive 4G network, reaching 250 metro areas and 200 million Americans compared to 38 metros and 75 million people for AT&T. Adoption still is fairly low, perhaps because phone subscribers don't understand the value. Meanwhile, Verizon will axe grandfathered unlimited plans when subscribers upgrade to LTE. There's pain for the gain.

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Two days ago, May 4, I received the Samsung Galaxy Nexus -- the 16GB HSPA+ model Google started selling direct last week. I'm not alone. Many of you ordered this phone, too. This first-impressions post extends my December review of the 32GB Verizon LTE model.

I will say straight up that out-of-box experience on AT&T is nowhere as good as Verizon. Network is huge factor. Audio quality is crisp and clear on Verizon compared to occasional hissy-fits on AT&T. Data speed isn't comparable, so far -- that's round and about San Diego and communities East and South, La Mesa and Lemon Grove, respectively. I expected at least 10Mbps HSPA+ data speed, based on my wife's Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket (before AT&T turned on LTE service here). I've yet to top 3.5Mbps on AT&T HSPA+ compared to an average 20Mbps over Verizon LTE. If data throughput is a priority, Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ -- over AT&T anyway -- is not for you. However, if you want a GSM network phone that is unlocked and contract-free and offers the best of Android, Google Galaxy Nexus is an exceptionally good choice. But expect to make a few compromises.

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You'd never know that the execs over at AT&T are bitter about the failed T-Mobile USA merger or paying out $3 billion for absolutely nothing.

Yesterday, T-Mobile handed out 1,900 pink slips, mostly to employees working in call centers. Gee, that's not a vital area, now is it? Today, AT&T rallies to T-Mobile's defense, blaming not the nation's fourth-largest carrier but the Federal Communications Commission. AT&T's rationale: The carrier would have preserved those jobs if allowed to buy T-Mobile.

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The US Justice Department accuses AT&T of defrauding the government, alleging the carrier improperly billed for services intended for the hard of hearing. The system has become a method through which scammers, many from Nigeria, make purchases using stolen credit cards and fraudulent checks.

Called IP Relay, the service allows the hard of hearing to place phone calls to a hearing individual relayed by messages sent over the Internet. A call center operator then relays the message to the called person. A former worker in one of AT&T's call centers had already filed a whistleblower suit over the matter.

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