The Motorola Droid legacy is about to receive its latest iteration, the Droid 4. This 4G LTE, slide-out keyboard device is undoubtedly one of the most awaited in Verizon’s network, especially for all the keyboard lovers out there. We were expecting this bad boy to hit the streets last December, but rumors indicate that the [...]]]>

The Motorola Droid legacy is about to receive its latest iteration, the Droid 4. This 4G LTE, slide-out keyboard device is undoubtedly one of the most awaited in Verizon’s network, especially for all the keyboard lovers out there. We were expecting this bad boy to hit the streets last December, but rumors indicate that the release was pushed back. But this time around all stars are lining up, and it looks as though the device will be released next week.

The first, and most important sign is the fact that the Motorola Droid 4 has recently showed up at the Droid Does website. Such instance is usually followed by a release, very soon. In this site, we can see all the main features and specs, as well as sign-up for more information.

If you have not heard of the specs, they include a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, 4-inch qHD display, Android 2.3.5, 8 MP rear-facing camera (1080p recording), front-facing camera (720p recording), 4G LTE connectivity and a 5-row slide-out physical keyboard. Also, remember that this phone will be getting GSM global roaming capabilities. All the travelers out there might be interested in this.

Its appearance at the Droid Does website definitely makes the Droid 4 a bit more exciting. But it tells us nothing we don’t already know. The specs and features have been known for months now. What we want to know is when and for how much we will be able to get this piece of technology in our hands. For such details, we have to turn our heads to the rumor wagon.

Just yesterday, our buds from Droid-Life received a tip that confirmed a February 9 release date. Rumors also state that this bad boy will go for $199 on a 2-year contract, which is not a bad price compared to the other new 4G LTE devices.

That was all good and dandy, until this morning, when Droid-Life got another tip. This time it is a screenshot from Verizon’s equipment guide, and it states that the Droid 4 will be launching on February 10 instead (image below).

But whether it is the 10th or the 9th, odds are that it will be coming very soon. Get ready to let your flying fingers type away at 4G LTE speeds, texting demons! This bad boy is finally getting here. Is anyone signing up for this one?

The Motorola Droid 4 has been the worst kept secret. After a plethora of leaks and rumors, this keyboard-friendly 4G LTE device has finally become official. Motorola and Verizon have released a press release confirming all the specs and features we already knew.

In a nutshell, the Droid 4 has a 4-inch [...]]]>

The Motorola Droid 4 has been the worst kept secret. After a plethora of leaks and rumors, this keyboard-friendly 4G LTE device has finally become official. Motorola and Verizon have released a press release confirming all the specs and features we already knew.

In a nutshell, the Droid 4 has a 4-inch qHD screen, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB on-board memory (supports microSD cards of up to 32 GB) and comes with Android 2.3.5. Don’t freak out yet; Motorola is promising an update to Ice Cream Sandwich soon. This smartphone is also great for keyboard lovers, since it has a full 5 row QWERTY slide-out keyboard. And with 4G LTE connectivity, your waiting time will be decreased substantially.

So, there you go. It is now official, and the Droid 4 should be hitting the streets in “a few weeks.” Motorola should have this bad boy on the showfloor, so be sure we’ll be getting some hands on time later this week. Stay tuned.

Will any of you guys be willing to sign up for the first Motorola Droid with 4G LTE combined with a slide-out keyboard?

Verizon’s 4G network is proving to not be the “most reliable,” after all. While it certainly has been about the fastest in the US for a while, Verizon’s LTE network is not as dependable as we would hope (at least yet). A sudden rush of reports are proving that we are once again in a [...]]]>

Verizon’s 4G network is proving to not be the “most reliable,” after all. While it certainly has been about the fastest in the US for a while, Verizon’s LTE network is not as dependable as we would hope (at least yet). A sudden rush of reports are proving that we are once again in a Verizon network outage, and it looks like it is a nation-wide issue.

This would be the third time that Big Red’s 4G users are left without data this month, making for a not-very-merry holiday season. We can certainly understand issues here and there. For a company that claims itself to have the “most reliable 4G network”,  this is unacceptable.

Taylor (Galaxy Nexus) and I (Thunderbolt) are currently not getting any data at all (0G), and many others are reporting 3G or 1X connectivity. Either way, reports are coming from all over the country, as well as multiple devices. So if you have been wondering what is going on with your data speed, just know that you are not alone.

We have contacted Verizon about the matter, and will report back to you as soon as we find out what is going on with our G’s. As for now, let’s see how many of our readers are having issues. Let us know what network speeds you are getting, where you are from, and what device you own.

Could it be that too many of those 3.7 million new Android users purchased a 4G device over the holiday, and we are overloading the network?

Rumors of the Motorola Droid 4 came out very quickly after the Motorola Droid 3 was released. So much that all of us were wondering what was going on. It has only been about 6 months since the Motorola Droid 3 was released, and leaks of the Droid 4 started coming in months [...]]]>

Rumors of the Motorola Droid 4 came out very quickly after the Motorola Droid 3 was released. So much that all of us were wondering what was going on. It has only been about 6 months since the Motorola Droid 3 was released, and leaks of the Droid 4 started coming in months ago. After realizing that we would soon be seeing another successor to one of the most popular Android devices in existance, rumors pointed towards a December release for the latest member of the Droid family. Since then everything has settled down, and we haven’t talked much about this smartphone in a while. A new set of details has been spreading around these past few days, though.

The Droid 4 looks promising, with all the specs that we would expect from a good device in late-2011, including support for Verizon 4G LTE. Not to mention the fact that the design is looking pretty sexy, assimilating the look of the Razr (but with a keyboard).

Possible release dates included December 8th and the 22nd, both of which have come and gone without a word from Big Red. A sudden appearance of the Droid 4 at the DroidDoes website (click on the image to the right for details) a couple of weeks ago had us all thinking that the day was coming. While the site was quickly pulled, we realized that Verizon is probably setting things up to include the Droid 4 in their website, which would mean that the device is probably not too far from being released. The 22nd definitely seemed like a great day for all the keyboard-lovers looking for a good Christmas present. ^[1]

The day has come, and is quickly leaving with no Droid 4 for us today it seems. And it is unlikely that it will be announced today/tomorrow, and released on a Friday (especially one so close to Christmas). We can assume that the device will not be here for in time to find itself under the Christmas tree.

What gives, right? We could wait a bit more. Or at least we thought it was “a bit,” until yesterday’s new rumors hit the internet. It seems like the Droid 4 might be pushed back for a February release.^[2] Yes, the same February during which most of the CES super phones might be released. True, the Verizon 4G LTE market is a bit saturated right now, with the Motorola Droid Razr, HTC Rezound and the Samsung Galaxy Nexus all released in the last few months. February, though? Where is the love for the keyboard-lovers?

We know it is pretty hard to part from that physical keyboard. And with options becoming scarce, some might still want to wait for this bad boy. If you want to see more of this device, what appears to be official images of the device in multiple angles have recently leaked.^[3] Take another look at it, and think of the idea of using that upgrade for another smartphone, because this one isn’t coming in a while.

What do you guys say? Are you willing to wait until February for the Droid 4, or have you moved onto other devices?

After the long, very long awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus release for Verizon, customers started reporting issues with the 4G LTE network. Verizon has acknowledged the problem, and says that it is working on a fix via a software update. It seems like the fix is not as big as we expected, though.

It seems [...]]]>

After the long, very long awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus release for Verizon, customers started reporting issues with the 4G LTE network. Verizon has acknowledged the problem, and says that it is working on a fix via a software update. It seems like the fix is not as big as we expected, though.

It seems Big Red has reached out to the guys at Computerworld, mentioning that the fix does not actually improve the signal strength in our shiny Galaxy Nexus devices. This update will simply change the way the system displays the bars, making the device display signal “the right way” (with more bars).

Verizon goes on to say that the Galaxy Nexus does not actually have a signal problem, but there is a conflict in the way that this specific device translates signal into bars:

There is no issue with the performance of the device. There is a difference in the way the signal is translated into bars on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus compared to other smart phones. A future software update will adjust the signal strength indicator to more closely match other Verizon Wireless devices.Verizon Wireless

This statement is parallel with certain claims that have been popping out online. AnandTech happens to have one of the best explanations to the Galaxy Nexus signal issues dilemma, and they state that this device is actually better than most of the other 4G LTE smartphones out there. The only issue is that the bar meter displays the signal in another way. The signal for 3G and 4G networks works very differently, and there is no reason why both networks should use the same meter system.

There are still many users claiming actual issues, though. Including 4G LTE dropping out constantly, and being switched to 3G. Whether this is an actual problem with the device or not, we will see. For now, though, the only change will be in the way that the bars are displayed.

What is your experience in the matter? Does 4G LTE seem fast, even if the signal doesn’t show up as very strong? Do you get dropped out of 4G speeds?

Verizon customers across the country are waking up finding themselves confused and distraught this morning. Okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but Verizon is currently experiencing a nationwide data outage on both its 3G and 4G LTE networks, leaving Verizon’s customers with no access to their precious interwebs.

This is not the first time Verizon’s [...]]]>

Verizon customers across the country are waking up finding themselves confused and distraught this morning. Okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but Verizon is currently experiencing a nationwide data outage on both its 3G and 4G LTE networks, leaving Verizon’s customers with no access to their precious interwebs.

This is not the first time Verizon’s had problems with their data network this month. Prior to the launch of the Galaxy Nexus superphone, the LTE network was experiencing some problems that were quickly remedied. Hopefully Verizon will be able to fix their network quickly. We’ve reached out to Verizon for an update, but have not heard back from Verizon as of press time.

Is everyone out there on Verizon having connectivity issues this morning? Sound off below. Or, if you need some entertainment this morning, be sure to check out the VZW Support twitter feed, which is updating very quickly this morning.

Update 9:29am: Some users out there are reporting that LTE is coming back online for them. Still no data connectivity on my Galaxy Nexus here in Minneapolis, on either 3G or 4G.

Update 10:51am: I have data… sort of. 3G appears to be back, and it appears 4G LTE is back online for many (though still not here in Minneapolis).

Update 11:00am: Verizon has issued the following statement. “Verizon Wireless 4G LTE service is returning to normal this morning after company engineers worked to resolve an issue with the 4G network during the early morning hours today.   Throughout this time, 4G LTE customers were able to make voice calls and send and receive text messages. The 3G data network operated normally.”

3G data operated normally? Tell that to my Galaxy Nexus, which had no LTE OR 3G connection from 7am to just now.

After all the hype and waiting, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally been released in the US and is available for purchase straight from Verizon. We know many of our readers have been waiting for this moment and probably have this device in their hands right now, or are about to. There are [...]]]>

After all the hype and waiting, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally been released in the US and is available for purchase straight from Verizon. We know many of our readers have been waiting for this moment and probably have this device in their hands right now, or are about to. There are many reasons to want this device, but one of the biggest incentives is the fact that a Nexus phone is known to have a more open ecosystem, meaning it is much easier to unlock the bootloader.

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a bit different, though. It comes with Ice Cream Sandwich, one of the most (if not the most) revolutionary updates the Android OS has received. Android 4.0 has much to be excited about, and even the CyanogenMod team has mentioned that some of their “extra” features have been taken off the custom ROM, since Ice Cream Sandwich is now incorporating them. This means that, more so than before, users are considering not installing any custom ROMs on their devices in favor of the Stock ICS UI.

We’re reaching out to our readers to see what their opinion is on this matter. We’d like to see how many of you are going to stick with stock, or if you’re loyal to the custom ROMs developer community. One of the main advantages of following the developer community is that updates come out much faster, but this wouldn’t be an issue with a Nexus device. (They are the first to get updated). At the same time, many of you may like the extra juice that some developers add to your device.

Unlocking the bootloader will allow you start messing with your smartphone as you please (rooting, flashing custom ROMs and kernels, etc.), and it’s very easy to do with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Our friends from Droid-Life have posted a video that demonstrates how this is done, as well as a detailed step-by-step guide. The process is very simple; the bulk of the process is setting up the SDK, ADB and drivers.

As always, there’s a disclaimer. Before doing this, you should realize that customizing your device (this includes unlocking the bootloader) may void your warranty and/or brick your device if not done carefully. If you choose to do so, the responsibility is solely yours, and you may be on your own if something goes wrong.

Check out Droid-Life’s video to see how to go about unlocking the Samsung Galaxy Nexus bootloader, and let us know what you think. Will you be unlocking the bootloader to play around with your phone, or would you rather stick with stock this time? If you’re doing it, is it mainly for rooting? Do you think installing custom ROMs is necessary with Ice Cream Sandwich already on your device and updates coming in a timely fashion?

Here’s some disappointing news for the masses that are waiting on Verizon’s version of the Galaxy Nexus. Today Verizon took the time to issue a special press release to announce that the already available Droid RAZR will be coming in a new color variant tomorrow, but they failed to mention their most highly anticipated [...]]]>

Here’s some disappointing news for the masses that are waiting on Verizon’s version of the Galaxy Nexus. Today Verizon took the time to issue a special press release to announce that the already available Droid RAZR will be coming in a new color variant tomorrow, but they failed to mention their most highly anticipated phone of the year: the Galaxy Nexus.

Pretty much everyone thinks that the Galaxy Nexus is (was?) going to be available tomorrrow, December 15, but then again those same folks (including us) were convinced it would arrive December 9 and that never happened.

We took the time to call several Verizon Wireless stores in the area, and they were all mum about the Galaxy Nexus release date. It seems they have been fielding quite a few calls about the device, because they instantly knew what I was talking about. The official word coming from Verizon stores is that corporate has still not sent them a release date and they don’t expect it to go on sale tomorrow.

Rumored launch dates so far have included Nov. 3, Nov. 10, Nov. 13, Nov. 17, Nov 21,Nov. 27, Nov. 29, Dec. 8, Dec. 9, Dec. 13, Dec. 15, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.

At this point, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus launch is becoming quite comical. It wouldn’t surprise me if the phone gets pushed back to early next year. Like many of you out there, I really want to buy this phone, so please prove me wrong Verizon.

Update: For what it’s worth, we have received several emails from our readers that said their local Verizon stores are still gearing up for a December 15 launch. Still nothing official from Verizon PR though.

It seems to be happening again;Verizon’s 4G LTE network is experiencing issues nationwide. There’s no specific area or device with issues, though. People from all over the country, with all different devices, have been reporting that their 4G devices are not accessing the 4G network, leaving them stuck with 3G speeds — some even [...]]]>

It seems to be happening again;Verizon’s 4G LTE network is experiencing issues nationwide. There’s no specific area or device with issues, though. People from all over the country, with all different devices, have been reporting that their 4G devices are not accessing the 4G network, leaving them stuck with 3G speeds — some even with 1x.

This may be caused by a SIM card issue that arose last night. Users were getting SIM card error messages such as, “SIM card authorization error,” and “The SIM Card may not be authorized for LTE service. Please Power down the phone and contact Wireless Provider Customer Service.” ^[1]

Déjà vu hit our team. Do you guys remember the last 4G LTE outage, when the Samsung Droid Charge was delayed? It’s said that the delay was caused by the lack of 4G; Verizon didn’t want to make a bad first impression. We seem to be witnessing something similar. While all evidence pointed towards a December 9 release for the Galaxy Nexus, things have suddenly turned around.

Verizon has responded with this comment regarding the 4G LTE outage:

Verizon Wireless engineers have been working to resolve an issue with 4GLTE service that is affecting some customers’ 4G devices. 3G data and voice devices are unaffected. All customers’ voice calls and text messages continue to go through. In the past 24 hours, some 4GLTE customers have reported their devices are operating on 3G data service where they would normally get 4G. Some have reported no issues, others that data access is either intermittent or unavailable. We are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.Verizon

Could it be that, after getting everything ready and telling all representatives the release would be this Friday, Verizon has decided to delay the release due to connectivity problems? Maybe so. There is another theory running around the interwebs, though.

Verizon seems to be accused of violating a federal requirement, due to the fact that Verizon is not allowing Google Wallet to be used on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus (yet). Verizon is prohibited from “denying, limiting, or restricting the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice.” ^[2]

There are accusations pointing towards the idea that Verizon might be doing this to bolster a service they will be offering, caled ISIS. Big Red has tried to defend itself by mentioning that they are not exactly blocking Google Wallet and feel it is more of a security issue, but the investigation/arrangement might be still going on. This could be another cause of delay.

Whatever the reason is, Verizon customers are not having a good day. That shiny Galaxy Nexus will not be in our hands as soon as we expected, and if you happen to own a 4G device, you might be having issues with the network. And it seems like it is quite a big percentage of users.

Are any of you experiencing problems with Verizon’s 4G LTE network? I have an HTC Thunderbolt running on 3G, in San Diego, CA. What about you?

One of the biggest concerns for smartphone early adopters is that extra data fee popping up in monthly bills. Smartphones have become easily accessible, with options varying from free to $300 devices, but those fees are what people do not like to see. A great alternative carriers have been looking at is shared family data [...]]]>

One of the biggest concerns for smartphone early adopters is that extra data fee popping up in monthly bills. Smartphones have become easily accessible, with options varying from free to $300 devices, but those fees are what people do not like to see. A great alternative carriers have been looking at is shared family data plans. Such offerings should break the boundaries that stop consumers from purchasing a smartphone, and Verizon seems to be planning shared data plans for next year.

Verizon Communications CEO Lowell McAdam has spoken up at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, mentioning that shared data plans is something Big Red has been considering. And these data plans might be showing up next year, in 2012.

I think in 2012 we will see it.

We have been working on this for a couple of years. Getting to one bill and getting to account-level pricing is our goal.Lowell McAdamVerizon Communications

Now that we have moved into tiered data plans, it only seems fair that the limited gigabytes be used as pleased. It is already possible to share family minutes, as well as texts for some carriers. As we move on to a smartphone friendly world, the same should apply to data. There is no doubt that extra fees have been stopping customers from purchasing devices.

Newcomers are not the only ones backing off. As technology consumers/enthusiasts, we are also interested in tablets, USB internet dongles, WiFi hotspot devices, and even laptops. Would we want to pay $30+ for each one of these devices, though? Of course not. Shared data plans would allow us to get rid of such limitations, allowing us to use our purchased gigabytes as we best see fit.

What do you guys think? Would you use more internet devices if family data plans were available? Do you think people would be less hesitant to purchase a smartphone/internet device?