Nokia’s Lumia 900 is currently AT&T’s flagship “hero” device but new owners are already expressing concerns over the phone’s ability to maintain a data connection. Reportedly, the phone has had trouble staying connected to HSPA and LTE data networks, so users aren’t able to surf the web or download any data. AT&T is reportedly telling Lumia 900 owners to pull their SIM card, restart the phone or even perform a master reset — all things you don’t regularly expect to have to do with a new phone. The good news is that several users have reported that at least one of those steps helped solve the problem.
Apple is expected to take the wraps off of a new iPhone sometime later this year, and today some initial details on the prototype versions of the device have made their way online. A report from 9to5 Mac claims that Apple has begun internal testing on the next iPhone and that, although the prototypes look similar to the iPhone 4 externally, the handsets are a tad different on the inside. The test units, which feature the designation "N96," are said to include a variant on the A5X processor that's powering the new iPad along with a full gigabyte of RAM. It's worth noting that the retail version of the next iPhone is said to feature a design different than that of the iPhone 4, but that the prototypes don't include the new look in order to prevent leaks.
Facebook today announced that it has agreed to purchase popular photo-sharing service Instagram for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the company will add Instragram's team to its own, though the service will continue to operate independently from Facebook. Instragram has been available to the Apple iPhone for some time, but only recently became available to Android smartphones. The deal is expected to close later this quarter pending customary closing conditions.
RingPlus today announced that it plans to launch an MVNO in three U.S. metropolitan markets in the third quarter of the year using Sprint's wireless network. RingPlus provides ringback tone services and this marks a new direction for the company. It hopes its integrated ringback tone services paired with the ability to roam across Sprint's nationwide footprint will provide enough differentiation to attract customers. The initial launch markets will be New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Despite all the hype, opening up the API, and recently scooping up a music streaming service, we might have seen the end of Beats brand plugs being bundled in with HTC phones. Martin Fichter, a product executive for the phone manufacturer, told CNET that "If they want a Beats headphone, they'll buy it directly," suggesting that the lure of the in-the-box pair just wasn't strong enough for those with a penchant for bass. Perhaps this explains why the whole "Enable Beats" option embedded on the new One series no longer requires the brand's headphones to activate it? Still, if true, the move seems a surprisingly quick turn around on what was originally a much vaunted collaboration. That, or contractual obligations further up the food chain are drawing to a close.
While Nokia may be the manufacturer making the biggest push behind Windows Phone, Samsung is apparently still interested in the platform. Chinese blog, WPDang, is reporting that Samsung will launch 3 Windows Phone handsets in 2012.The first of which will be the Samsung Mandel SGH-i667. This handset is rumored to sport a WVGA display, LTE connectivity, and run Windows Phone Tango.There isn’t much known about the other two handsets, except that they will supposedly be running Windows Phone Apollo.
Sprint announced that it will start pushing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Samsung Nexus S 4G. The update will be delivered in waves over the course of the next month. It can be downloaded over-the-air and installed without plugging in to a computer. Android 4.0 will bring a significant number of new features and tools to the Nexus S 4G. Users will be notified when their device is ready for the update.
Just when you thought RIM couldn't catch a break, The Washington Post is reporting the US government doesn't plan to jump smartphone ships anytime soon. According to the publication, Casey Coleman (chief information officer at the General Services Administration) says that while the agency may have handed out iPhone and Android phones to the staff, a big chunk of the 12,000 agency-issued handsets are BlackBerry devices. The main reason behind the choice of Berries is RIM's focus on security, which Coleman notes "is paramount for government use." Still, the GSA officer isn't ruling out switching to a different OS in the distant future, as platforms like iOS and Android start to become "equally secure."
Just a couple of weeks after U.S. Cellular launched its first 4G LTE tablet in the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, today the carrier announced that its first 4G LTE smartphone is now available for purchase as well. The Samsung Galaxy S Aviator is up for sale on U.S. Cellular's website and is also in its stores and is priced at $199.99 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate, though U.S. Cellular says that customers in "select markets covered by its 4G LTE network" can snag an Aviator for $99.99 after $100 mail-in rebate for a limited time. The Aviator is an Android 2.3.6 Gingerbread device that includes a 4.3-inch WVGA SAMOLED+ touchscreen, an 8 megapixel rear-camera, front-facing webcam, and an HDMI port.
Sprint today announced that its customers with Android-based smartphones can download and use Norton's Mobile Security Lite application for free. The application lets users remotely lock their lost/stolen device via the internet or SMS; scans file and app downloads for malware threats; and automatically downloads and installs security updates.
