Best Buy Offers 3G and 4G Mobile Broadband
Posted by Jesse Ward on Monday, August 2, 2010 · 
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Best Buy is joining forces with Clearwire. Beginning in 2011, Best Buy will offer a new 4G tier for its recently introduced Best Buy Connect mobile Internet service.
Launched just a few weeks ago, Best Buy Connect currently rides on Sprint’s 3G network, and offers plans with and without contracts, starting at $29.99 for 250 megabytes. The service is available for Gobi-embedded laptops or netbooks. The company has set up separate Best Buy Mobile stores and has carved out prominent parts of its store devoted to selling service plans. Read more
Rumor: Verizon to Launch Usage-Based 3G Pricing
Posted by Jesse Ward on Friday, July 23, 2010 · ·
Update: John Killian, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Verizon, reported on the carrier’s annual earnings conf call that VZW has no no immediate plans to migrate to usage-based data pricing plans. However, Killian said Verizon is studying the possibility of adding such plans for 3G.
Verizon Wireless is planning to introduce new usage-based mobile data pricing plans on July 29, according to a post at Engadget. The tech blog cited an unnamed source which offered few details except that Verizon is preparing to announce the pricing changes at the end of this month.
Numerous media outlets have repeated the 3G usage-based pricing rumor, but Verzion has declined to comment. However, just yesterday, Verizon business development executive director Jennifer Byrne was quoted in media reports stating that new Droid X users are consuming 5X the amount of data as compared to other device users, perhaps laying the groundwork for the yet-to-be confirmed pricing changes. Further, Verizon executives have repeatedly noted that the carrier likely will release 4G usage-based data pricing when it launches its LTE network in the fourth quarter.
AT&T paved the way back in June when it switched from a flat-rate pricing scheme to a usage-based model for mobile data. Analysts have speculated that other carriers might follow suit. Of note, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA have indicated they have no plans to change their current pricing structures.
For more, view the Engadget post.
Verizon’s Nexus One Dead?
Posted by Kevin McGuire on Monday, April 26, 2010 · ·
In January, Google confirmed the arrival of its highly anticipated phone, the Nexus One. Available on T-Mobile initially, then on Verizon this spring, the Android based device was Google’s first foray into selling its own device, rather than just its OS. It was a dramatic shift from Google as software to Google as hardware, and techies were split as to if this was a good thing for the industry.
Popular tech blog Engadget is reporting that Verizon will not be getting the Nexus One. In a recent post, they say, “We just heard back from Google — the Verizon Nexus One is dead; long live the Incredible.” Google’s official statement:
We won’t be selling a Nexus One with Verizon, and this is a reflection of the amazing innovation happening across the open Android ecosystem. Verizon Wireless customers who want an Android phone with the power of the Nexus One can get the Droid Incredible by HTC.
PC World Ranks AT&T Top 3G Network
Posted by Kevin McGuire on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 · ·
We’ve seen the ads with both Verizon and AT&T each claiming that they have the better 3G network. But whom were we to believe? According to PC World, the winner is A&T.
Interestingly, AT&T fared poorly in the same series of tests last year. It’s average 13 city download speed was just over 800 kbps. But after a concerted effort to enhance their network (fueled I would guess by data demand and bad press), AT&T has achieved an 84% improvement over 2009. The tests show that AT&T now boasts 13 city average download speeds of over 1400 kbps, besting the nearest competition by 67%
