iPhone 5S to support superfast LTE-Advanced?

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iPhone 5S to support superfast LTE-Advanced?

Soon available in 'superfast' model?

The iPhone 5S, which we're expecting to arrive later this year, may support 4G LTE-Advanced if rumoured negotiations are to be believed.

South Korean carrier SK Telecom is said to be in talks with Apple to release an iPhone capable of LTE-Advanced speeds, which a source speaking to The Korea Times believes to be the iPhone 5S.

"SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S," said an anonymous SK Telecom executive. "We are in the middle of negotiations."

The upgrade could see the iPhone 5S achieve downloads that are the double the speed of current, though only the South Koreans will be able to reap the benefits for the time being.

Speedy... for some

Samsung pulled the same stunt just recently, with its LTE-Advanced Galaxy S4 going official last week after SK Telecom announced it had launched the world's first 4G LTE-Advanced network.

With the UK and most of the rest of the world currently without any running LTE-Advanced networks, it's unlikely that we'll be taking advantage of the greater speeds soon.

Still, having both Apple and Samsung on board could prove a catalyst for a global rollout, so if a super-speed iPhone 5S does surface, we'd expect to see LTE-Advanced make its way around the world before too long.


Source : techradar[dot]com

HP Exec Says Company is Working on a New Smartphone

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HP

HP Veer – a past HP smartphone offering.

HP’s brief push into the smartphone market might have ended in failure, but – like with their tablets – the company isn’t necessarily giving up just yet.

According to HP’s Yam Sun Yin, HP is actually working on a brand new smartphone as we speak. While the company’s main focus is tablets and traditional PCs, they understand that the smartphone space is important, too.

As Yam Sun Yin puts it, they are working on something but “I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game.”

Further she says that there are still things that can be done differently to set any future HP smartphone apart from the pack. “Being late you have to create a different set of proposition[s]. There are still things that can be done. It’s not late. When HP has a smartphone, it will give a differentiated experience.”

So what would such a smartphone look like? While Windows Phone 8 is certainly possible, it seems more likely that the company would continue down the Android path, just like with some of their most recent tablet offerings.

The big question is whether or not HP really can do enough to set an HP phone apart from the many others out there on the market, particularly in the Android space.

Judging just by the Slate 7 I would have said no, but with recent efforts like the SlateBook and Slate 21 – I think it is certainly possible. What are your thoughts, can HP carve itself a piece of the smartphone market pie?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

HP plots a return to the smartphone arena

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HP plots a return to the smartphone arena

HP is promising something different

HP has confirmed that it is working on a new smartphone, which it says will aim to offer a different and unique user experience.

HP Senior Director of Consumer PCs and Media Tablets for Asia Pacific, Yam Su Yin, said that the company is working on a number of devices, and when asked specifically about a smartphone, admitted that one was in the pipeline.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Yin was open about HP's ambitions for a smartphone. "The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable'" she said. "It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game."

She continued: "Being late you have to create a different set of proposition. There are still things that can be done. It's not late. When HP has a smartphone, it will give a differentiated experience."

Burnt fingers

This isn't the first we've heard from HP about a return to the smartphone game, with a few previous hints that it was making plans, but it does seem like the closest thing to confirmation.

HP had a brief – and less than successful – flurry into the smartphone market when it purchased Palm for in 2010, but sales were poor and WebOS failed to catch on - although WebOS still lives on through LG.

There's no indication of when a possible new HP mobile could hit the market or what OS it could be running on. But it will really have to really make good on its promise of a unique experience if it wants to stand out in this overcrowded market.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Verizon Wireless Looking to Buy Mobilicity and Wind Mobile

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Canadian regulators have been looking for a way to introduce a solid fourth option for Canadian wireless customers. The spectrum auction that eventually saw the launch of Wind Mobile and Mobilicity was supposed to do that, but the two new entrants have faced a lot of growing pains and they’re both reportedly on the market. And a big possible buyer for both Wind and Mobilicity is none other than Verizon Wireless.

Last week, we heard reports that Verizon Wireless had put in a $700 million bid to buy Wind Mobile. It looks like Big Red is seriously interested in re-entering the Canadian marketplace; many people forget that that Verizon once held a 20% stake in Telus back in the early days. With a lot more money in their back pocket, Verizon could make a much larger splash in Canada than what Wind and Mobilicity have been able to achieve thus far.

In order to make a real impact, though, it looks like Verizon would have to buy both Wind and Mobilicity, as well as participate in the upcoming spectrum auction for the 700MHz band. And Catalyst Capital Group, which owns more than 30% of Mobilicity’s senior secured credit, would welcome a Verizon buyout with open arms. The talks are still in the early stages, but acquiring both struggling carriers would give Verizon a much bigger chunk of the 1700MHz spectrum.

It’s not really about the subscribers, even though Verizon would effectively start with about a million customers if they got both companies. Rather, as Catalyst co-founder Newton Glassman points out, “Mobilicity on its own is a flea on an elephant’s butt of wireless telecom in Canada.”

I know it’s just wishful thinking, but wouldn’t it be great if Verizon started offering cross-border plans for Canadians and Americans? If you’re effectively “roaming” on your own network on the other side of the border, it’s not really roaming at all, right?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Three cuts costs and confusion with simplified PAYG tariff

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Three cuts costs and confusion with simplified PAYG tariff

Three easy steps to a cheaper tariff

Mobile provider Three has launched its new, simplified PAYG tariff that will apply to all of its pay-as-you-go customers.

New and existing customers will now pay 3p per minute for phone calls, 2p a text and 1p for 1MB of data. Customers won't be forced to choose between different tariffs and credit won't run out after a fixed period of time.

All the add-ons and confusing top-up options are being thrown out the window. Meanwhile, customers currently on Three's PAYG with leftover credit can use it "as they wish".

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Not enough? Why not try the THREE blips below. Still not satisfied? Then jump over to our blip page.


Source : techradar[dot]com

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