Mobility Digest » AT&T

ZAGG Adds New Product Offerings to AT&T Stores

Kristofer Brozio — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:21:27 +0000

I’ve reviewed a ton of products in my time doing this, but never any from Zagg so I don’t know anything about them really. From what I hear their stuff is decent, but have any of you had to chance to check any out? How is their stuff? Anyway, Zagg has just added a new products to the AT&T brick and mortar stores so you can walk right in and get what you want or you can order it from the online AT&T store too.

-ZAGG Inc. a leading mobile device accessories company, has expanded its AT&T® product lineup with the addition of the ZAGGsparq™ portable battery charger and ZAGGkeys FLEX™ gadget keyboard and stand. Beginning today, customers can purchase both products at AT&T retail locations across the U.S. and online at http://att.com/wirelessaccessories.

“We are excited to build on our agreement with AT&T by providing additional ZAGG mobile device accessories to AT&T’s retail and online customers”

Expanded product lineup:

ZAGGkeys™ FLEX is a versatile standalone keyboard accessory that delivers superior convenience and function for smartphones and tablet computers. Compatible with both Apple^® and Android^® devices, the ZAGGkeys FLEX allows consumers to add a keyboard to any smartphone or tablet through the use of Bluetooth technology. The ZAGGkeys FLEX retails for $79.00.

ZAGGsparq™ is a portable battery charger that carries multiple charges for any personal electronic device, including four full recharges for most smartphones. The ZAGGsparq provides two ports for most USB charged gadgets, including cellphones, handheld gaming systems, digital cameras, and tablet computers. The ZAGGsparq retails for $99.00.

“We are excited to build on our agreement with AT&T by providing additional ZAGG mobile device accessories to AT&T’s retail and online customers,” said John W. Melville, director of wireless sales for ZAGG. “The award-winning ZAGGkeys FLEX and ZAGGsparq help significantly expand the function and convenience of mobile devices, and appeal to customers using their devices on-the-go.”

ZAGGkeys FLEX was recently named an International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Innovations 2012 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree. ZAGGsparq was named a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree.

For more information about ZAGG and its product offerings, please visit ZAGG.com.

AT&T Combo Deal: Pantech Element and Burst for $250 on Contract

Kristofer Brozio — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:41:09 +0000

This is interesting, and if it’s still around next month when my contract expires I may have to grab it. AT&T has just put the Pantech Element and Burst on sale in a combo package for $250 on contract. You’ll have to get the #35 per month data package for the tablet but other than that I think the bill would stay the same if you’re upgrading. Then again it does say you have to get a 4G data plan for the phone, so I’m guessing my unlimited wouldn’t work here and I’d lose it… It doesn’t say to new customers only, so I’m guessing you could get it on contract renewal.

Sure neither at top of the line products, but if you’re looking for both a tablet and a new phone then this isn’t a bad deal I think. It is a waterproof tablet after all, so that’s got to count for something right?

Check it out here: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/packages/packages-details.jsp?source=IC0000000Q0PULy1&q_package=sku5590223&_requestid=38432

Via: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/23/psa-pantech-element-and-burst-get-bundled-together-at-atandt-25/

AT&T Launches New Data Plans

Kristofer Brozio — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:12:10 +0000

Here’s something interesting that supposedly is better for us AT&T customers, but I’m not sure about that. Data isn’t this expensive, and I don’t know why it has to be so costly but our cellular companies make it that way. How can one company offer unlimited data for a set price but another not?! Anyway, read on to see the new data plans AT&T customers can choose from..

AT&T today announced new data plans for smartphone and tablet customers that will launch this Sunday, January 22. The plans give customers more data and value.

The new smartphone plans include:

AT&T DataPlus 300MB: $20 for 300MB

AT&T DataPro 3GB: $30 for 3GB

AT&T DataPro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering

Smartphone customers needing additional data can pay $10 per additional gigabyte on the AT&T DataPro 3GB and DataPro 5GB plans; AT&T DataPlus users will receive an extra 300MB for $20.

The new tablet plans* include:

AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB

AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

Existing smartphone and tablet customers will have the choice of keeping their current plans or choosing one of these new plans, and the current $14.99 for 250MB plan for tablet customers will remain available.

To help customers determine which data plan best matches their needs, AT&T has helpful tools at www.att.com/dataplans – including a data calculator where customers can estimate usage for their typical data activity. Once smartphone and tablet customers are on a plan, AT&T keeps them informed of their usage levels by sending usage alerts as they consume data within their plan. For example, a smartphone customer with AT&T DataPlus 300MB will receive a text message when they consume 65 percent of their data bucket, plus two additional alerts as they approach the 300MB provided with their plan.

"Customers are using more data than ever before," said David Christopher, chief marketing officer, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. "Our new plans are driven by this increasing demand in a highly competitive environment, and continue to deliver a great value to customers, especially as we continue our4G LTE deployment."

Customers are encouraged to keep their device’s Wi-Fi turned on because data usage over Wi-Fi does not count against a customer’s monthly data plan. As an added value, AT&T smartphone and tablet customers have access at no additional charge to AT&T’s 29,000 Wi-Fi hotspots nationwide – the nation’s largest Wi-Fi network.** Customers can get more information at www.att.com/wifiaccess.

For more information, visit www.att.com/dataplans.

* Plans are for 30 days and automatically renew every 30 days, unless you cancel service prior to the start of the 30 day renewal. Overage rates only apply to postpaid tablet plans – not session based pricing – and include: $14.99 for 250MB with AT&T DataConnect 250MB; and $10 per additional gigabyte with AT&T DataConnect 3GB and AT&T DataConnect 5GB.

** Largest based on company branded and operated hotspots. Access includes AT&T Wi-Fi Basic. A Wi-Fi enabled device required. Other restrictions apply. See www.attwifi.com for details and locations .

Interview with Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore & Nokia’s Kevin Shields at CES 2012

Murani Lewis — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:50:26 +0000

WPCentral has conducted an extensive and rich interview with Joe Beliore (Microsoft) and Kevin Shields (Nokia). Topics covered are Lumia 900 design process, LTE importance, Windows Phone optimization for users, Carrier support and the push coming. If you haven’t viewed it yet it is truly a must see. This will be an interview that at the end of the year will be used as a reference.

Many thanks to WPCentral for such a great interview.

AT&T Samsung Captivate upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3

Doug Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:18:09 +0000

If you are a Samsung Captivate owner on AT&T then check out the new update that is now available for you. AT&T has just announced that Android 2.3, otherwise known as Gingerbread is now available. The AT&T Captivate, their first real Android device was very well received after much criticism for sticking too closely with Apple’s iPhone while other carriers like Verizon and Sprint were miles ahead with their Android offering. The Captivate, which is really a rebranded version of the Samsung Galaxy S device that started the massive success for Samsung in the Android market. Samsung later would follow up with an even more successful Galaxy S II. If you are holding out until the end of your contract to get the next best device, then take heart in that you can upgrade to Android’s latest operating system for their platform for at least a short period of time. Google’s Ice Cream Sandwich, version 4.0 has hit the street exclusively with their own branded device called the Galaxy Nexus, also made by Samsung for them. It appears that a handful of new devices will be able to update to version 4.0 but I would not hold your breath Captivate owners!

If you are interested in updating to Android version 2.3, then head on over to the update page for the run down on what you can expect during the process located on Samsung’s website here.

Nokia + AT&T at CES 2012 = Lumia 900 running on LTE

Rama Uppugunduri — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:50:47 +0000

I for one waiting for this for a long time. Today HTC also announced its first Windows Phone 7 LTE HTC Titan II which has some wow factors like 16 MP Camera. Now this, and Lumia with its stylish build will definitely bring Wow into the mouths of anyone looking for a new LTE phone once it is released. The super smooth Windows Phone 7 looks brilliantly awesome on both HTC and Nokia LTE phones that are announced in today’s shows. But Nokia will definitely make the people drool over its style.

Here are interesting things that definitely make one to crave for this phone:

1. The Nokia Lumia 900 allows data downloads up to 50Mbps on AT&T’s 4G LTE network.

2. It boasts a large, 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack display which offers a big, crystal clear and super-colorful screen indoors and out. The resolution is 800 by 480 pixels. (But HTC Titan II runs on 4.7” Super LCD with 800×480 pixels resolution). Yes, Super AMOLED beats Super LCD anytime, and the proof is Samsung Focus Vs. HTC Titan in this area.

3. Lumia 900 is powered by updated chipset from Qualcomm, 1.4GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8055 + MDM9200.

4. Bands supported are GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900/2100, LTE Band 4 (1700/2100) & 17 (700)

5. Its all in the battery power, Lumia 900 powerhouses 1840mAH battery and that will last for about 7hrs talk-time and up to 300hrs on standby and running on LTE (Android LTE phones make a note of it).

6. Lumia 900 intuitively provides the Nokia Maps and Nokia Drive that makes it separate from the rest of LTE phones either powered by Windows Phone 7 or Android. iPhone is in no where near this. Nokia Drive offers free, turn-by-turn, voice-guided navigation everywhere.

7. Nokia phones are known for their buildquality including Cameras that are housed in those phones. Actually Mega Pixel doesn’t make any sense if the lens is not at quality. On the back, there’s an 8-megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens and a dual LED flash. This model has a larger, f2.2/28mm aperture, allowing more light into the camera for faster performance, lower chance of motion blur and better low-light shots. You are talking about Nokia, not other. I think even HTC Titan II 16MP Camera doesn’t meet the quality of this 8 MP camera.

8. The video recording quality is at 720p (barely HD), most of Android phones offer 1024p HD recording. Having said that I think 720p makes sense in most of the cases. Lumia 900 supports hi-res video capture for 720p/30fps.

9. Unlike Nokia Lumia 800, this phone has a second, front-facing camera to give support for high quality video calls at 1MP supported by f2.4 lens and 30fps capture. Now, Microsoft has to release Skype for Windows Phone 7.

We will know more about Nokia Lumia 900 during the week and I can’t really wait to see an actual phone at local AT&T store. By then my Samsung Focus lines (2 of them) would be ready for contract and possibly my budget will allow me to capture both Lumia 900 and Titan II.

The complete technical specifications are:

Networks: GSM/EGSM 850/900/1800/1900, WCDMA 850/1900/2100, LTE Band 4 (1700/2100) & 17 (700)
OS: Windows Phone Release 7.5 – Mango Commercial Release 2 (Mango + LTE)
Memory: 512MB RAM
Storage: 16 GB internal memory (14.5GB user memory) + SkyDrive cloud storage
Camera: 8 MP Carl-Zeiss f/2.2 lens with 720p HD Video Capture at 30fps, and 1MP Front Camera with 30fps for Video Call.
Weight: 160g (5.6 ounces)
Dimensions: 127.8 x 68.5 x 11.5 mm (5 x 2.7 x .45 inches)
Display: 4.3” Super AMOLED with 800x480MP resolution.
Rest of the specs like GPS, Gyro, Compass, WiFi, BlueTooth and other are pretty standard in majority of Windows Phones.

Via: Conversations.Nokia.Com

Sony’s XPERIA ION 4G LTE headed to AT&T

Doug Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:07:29 +0000

Sony has belted out their first LTE device and it is headed to AT&T. The HD powerhouse XPERIA ION, will not only be 4G LTE powered , but also feature two HD Cameras with a 4.6 inch HD Screen with HDMI out support. I am always surprised about the amount of traffic that comes to Mobility Digest with the Sony XPERIA ARC a day since it seems that Sony doesn’t get a lot of carrier support here in the US but with specs like these, there is no wonder why sop many folks have them:

Key Features for Xperia ion:

4.6-inch HD Reality display with Mobile BRAVIA® Engine with HD resolution screen (1280 x 720), as well as rear (1080p) and front (720p) cameras for HD recording.
1.5GHz dual-core processor for fast browsing and content download, which can be stored on the internal 16GB flash storage.
12MP rear camera with Sony Exmor R™ for mobile with fast-capture to go from standby to first shot in less than two seconds.
HD sharing through DLNA, HDMI and BRAVIA Sync to quickly and easily stream content on other screens.

I have not gotten the opportunity to use the Sony XPERIA ARC but the videos and feedback on the Exmor R camera is nothing short of outstanding. And now with a 12 megapixel camera, it would not surprise me to see the Sony put the Titan II with it’s 16 megapixels camera down for the count in a camera battle royal.

Stay tuned for more on the Sony XPERIA ION heading to AT&T and let’s hope AT&T puts some muscle behind this device. I would love to see Sony cut into some of the dominance Samsung has been enjoying with it’s Android offering! Stay tuned for more from the CES Show in Las Vegas!

HTC Titan II coming to AT&T with 4G LTE loaded

Doug Smith — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 19:22:26 +0000

It was just 5 days ago when leaked pictures of the HTC Radiant, an almost exact clone of the HTC Titan except this version would have LTE on it made the rounds. Paul Thurrott mentioning that Windows Phones would not necessarily be waiting for the Tango update to roll out and that we would see LTE Windows Phones at CES. And now we have it from the Windows Phone Blog that we will be seeing the HTC Titan II heading to AT&T with 4G LTE.

Just some slight rear cover changes is all you’ll notice on the outside, and almost nothing on the inside except the LTE hardware. The Titan II will still be running a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor what has been incredibly fast on my Titan. Now here comes the shocker, the Titan II will not have the same 8 megapixel shooter on the rear , but will now sport a 16 megapixel camera that will feature: “a fast wide-angle lens (f2.6, 28mm), autofocus, and dual LED flash. Shutterbugs will appreciate extras like red eye reduction, image stabilization, a panorama mode for landscapes, and a burst shot mode for sports or kids”. Also included will be a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera and 720p HD Video recording. I am not a fan of how the current Titan compresses pictures when you send them, but at 16 megapixels, I would thing some compression would definitely need to happen! Don’t forget the 4.7 inch screen, but if you are like me, you are still blown away by 16 megapixel camera.

Stay tuned cause’ Ballmer hits the stage at 6:30 Pacific Time tonight and will hopefully elaborate more on the Titan II!

Nokia Lumia 900 (Ace) Early CES Leak Reveals Polycarbonate Unibody

David K — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:30:12 +0000

According to the NYT the Lumia 900 was going to have a metal casing to it, which for me was a disappointment. As someone who has had an HD2 and a ton of HTC devices that all look and feel the same (and are heavy even though they feel solid) I was hoping for something new and it appears that we’ll get that. Pocket Now can now confirm that the Lumia 900 will have a polycarbonate unibody. We’ll learn more about this shortly but what’s your take on this?

via PocketNow

So what are the Carriers actually testing?

Jim Szymanski — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:05:09 +0000

Earlier this week I was relieved to hear that update 8107 for Windows Phone was beginning to rollout to fix the “disappearing keyboard” bug, that I suppose was one of the 500 new features we got with the Mango update. That disappearing keyboard thing is one of those dark WP secrets that we fanboys (and girls, or maybe fanpeople) don’t talk about when touting how amazing our phones are. But it has honestly been a super PITA since it first appeared. Especially when the keyboard would vanish, after spending 5 minutes to write a thorough and concise response to an article on MD or other sites, while you were working on the final, “making my point”, sentence.

So I was a little more than dismayed when I read a couple days later that Microsoft is rolling the update out, “to those carriers who request it”. WTH! Anyone who has waited for a Carrier update knows what that means. I wonder what the current line in Las Vegas is for AT&T (and other US carriers) making this update available for any WP, and especially discontinued Gen1 devices. Of course there are reasons for not making the update available, first and foremost because they need to dedicate resources for “TESTING”. But we all know in mobile speak that means, “we want you to buy a new phone from us, preferably on contract so we can lock you in for another two years”.

Let me try to understand this. Microsoft released the highly touted, and long anticipated Mango update that every WP handset was eligible to receive. AT&T, along with every other Carrier, had many weeks, probably months to TEST this update before it was released to their customers. But yet they overlooked; the disappearing keyboard bug, the GMail syncing bug, the Exchange missing forwarded message bug, the voicemail notification bug, and the location allowed access bug. Ok, these are OS issues and I guess AT&T was not looking of them, but then what do they need to TEST in order to “allow” an update to be pushed through on their network. Why do these updates, which include bug fixes and features, need to be bundled? Why can’t Microsoft push bug fixes, that have absolutely nothing to do with the OEM or Carrier, stand alone and over the air. Why does AT&T have to test a bug fix, essentially a defect. Does your local car dealer TEST every manufacturer recall, and decide which one to make available. Help me to understand, please!

I have PCs, a laptop and a notebook, at home and at the office all running version of Windows, built by different manufacturers and using Bright House and AT&T as service providers for Internet/Data access. And I get updates from Microsoft every few days for each of them. Plus, if I check Windows Update, I often get updates for peripheral devices attached to these machines. Do Bright House or AT&T check these updates to make sure I still have an Internet connection after they are installed? No, why not?

Sure, I know that I can get this update manually by following Ramon’s well written directions here, but I have always been a stay between the lines kind of guy. I don’t install custom ROMs because every one I have read about fixes one thing and breaks or leaves off another. Basically, the only ROM I would be happy with would be one that I brewed myself. The Farmer Ted way of thinking. Now, I will be at my nearby AT&T store on March 18th looking closely at the Nokia 900/Ace and will most likely leave with one in hand, making my current Surround fair game for whatever I choose to do with it. But it does cause me to stop and think, do I really want to be at the mercy of my Carrier for another two years, “hoping” they “request” updates from Microsoft. I really can’t afford it, but an unbranded phone sounds better to me every day. Something to think about.