Sprint 4G Overdrive – Firmware Update
Another firmware update (1.07) has been released by Sprint for the Sprint Overdrive. The update promises to bring:
* Better Wi-Fi usage and throughput, especially when used with devices with a power save mode like the iPhone, iPod Touch and Windows XP.
* More stable downloads over 3G connections.
* Fixes to the Wi-Fi driver to prevent freezing & crashing.
Why The 4G Phone Will Kill Pay By Minute Calls
4G phones are coming and both WiMAX and LTE variations of the service will soon be able to deliver high quality voice calls over an IP network, rather than a standard mobile phone network. That means that rather than pay by the minute, we could soon be paying a flat rate for all 4G calls.
It’s the like the difference between using Skype and a normal pay as you go landline.
Analysts predict flat rate mobile phone calls on a 4G phone will be commonplace within three years. Even if mobile operators would prefer to continue charging by the minute, the availability of flat rate services like Skype and TruPhone via their own 4G network means they’ll have no choice but to offer flat rate phone calls themselves.
4G WiMAX Coverage – Billion by end of 2011
The WiMAX Forum reports that 4G WiMAX technology is expected to extend coverage to one billion mobile phone users by the end of next year.
Even by the end of this year the WiMAX Forum says 4G WiMAX coverage should reach around 800 million phone users.
WiMAX technology is currently in use in 147 countries and is available to 620 million people. A further boost to the numbers will come this year when Clearwire and other US mobile phone companies launch 4G in large metro areas like New York, San Francisco and Houston.
Ericsson Breaks 4G Speed Record
Mobile phone company Ericsson set a world record at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona when it showcased a LTE / 4G phone with a download speed of 1 GB per second.
The high download speed is possible by combining two types of 4G technology: Multi Carrier technology and Multiple Input Multiple Output.
Ericsson has already signed commercial contracts with five major mobile phone operator – AT&T, Verizon and MetroPCS in the US, TeliaSonera in Norway and Sweden and NTT DoCoMo in Japan.
Samsung Line Up 4G Netbooks
Samsung has been proving that the Mobile World Congress isn’t just about 4G smartphones. It’s been showing off a number of shiny new 4G netbooks including the much talked about Samsung N510.
The netbook contains built in LTE 4G network support making it one of the first 4g nebooks. Other specs include a 1366 x 768 resolution screen, 1GB of RAM and a 160GB harddrive.
Samsung plans to release other 4G netbooks later this year including the N210, N220 and NB30.
Clear 4G Car
Clear is demonstrating its 4G service inside an experimental 4g car -a Ford Flex – at the Chicago Auto Show. The demo aims to showcase an average download times of 3 -6 Mbps with a peak download speed of 10 Mbps via the Clear Chicago 4G network.
Clear is working to expand its current 4G network beyond Chicago with launches due this year in New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston and San Francisco.
4G Phone Calls: Clear As MP3
Phone calls on your mobile 4G phone could sound as clear as an MP3 or CD.
At the Mobile World Congress the inventor of the MP3 format, Fraunhofer, will demo 4G phone calls in stereo CD quality over a 4G cell network. As well as improving the quality of phone call audio, the innovation could bring a welcome quality boost to audio and video streaming services that phone operators offer.
Fraunhofer says its new AAC Enhanced Low Delay codec gives CD quality audio with very low coding delays and bit rates. It’s said to even perform well under adverse network conditions.
Such a boost in phone call quality could make mobile conference calls much easier to understand and less painful to attend. But then maybe there’s no technology that can do that…
NTT DoCoMo To Demo 4G Phone
Japanese mobile phone company NTT DoCoMo will demo a prototype 4G phone based on LTE technology later this month, according the company’s handset partner NEC.
The 4G demo will take place at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which starts on February 15.
While 4G modems are starting to go on sale around the world, voice 4G phones have yet to appear in the marketplace. NEC says NTT DoCoMo will demo streaming high resolution video across a 4G network at the Mobile World Congress on a 4G phone joint developed by Fujitsu, NEC, NTT DoCoMo and Panasonic.
