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Leaked: How Best Buy and ATT plan to combat the Verizon iPhone

iPhone no verizon 4g

We just received a few very interesting tidbits in our tips box this evening as it pertains to the Verizon iPhone and how Best Buy is training their employees to encourage customers to stay with AT&T. As you can see in the document above, which we've confirmed is straight out of a Best Buy playbook, you can see that Big Blue is looking to talk down the Verizon model. What we haven't confirmed is the reason why--is Best Buy not going to be selling the Verizon iPhone at launch? If not, it would make sense that they'd wanna downplay the phone that they aren't selling so that they can continue moving phones that they actually stock.

Specifically mentioned is the fact that Verizon spent all of CES touting their 4G network, while the iPhone is a 3G device that will "still be puttering at EVDO speeds." Kind of odd, since the AT&T phone does the same (although AT&T's GSM is faster than Verizon's CDMA.)

We've got one more image out of Best Buy's playbook after the jump. Oh, and it looks like AT&T is gonna try and entice customer to stay by changing up the costs of their text messaging plans.

[Thanks, JD!]

Click to continue reading Leaked: How Best Buy and ATT plan to combat the Verizon iPhone


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Jon Stewart weighs in on the Verizon iPhone announcement

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Handhelds, Videos,

John Stewart lives in New York City, one of the areas with notoriously bad AT&T coverage. As seen in the video above, he is very happy about the announcement of the Verizon iPhone. As Stewart puts it "Those us in the iPhone community have sacrificed one thing for the ability to carry around every photo we’ve ever taken, or video we’ve taken, or song listened to, or have a compass. We have sacrificed the ability to make phone calls."


Will you buy the Verizon iPhone?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Handhelds,

Verizon Wireless has finally scored the iPhone! The iPhone 4 will be available from Verizon on February 10th, and we wanted to know how the news affects you. Are you a Verizon customer who's been waiting for the iPhone to come to your network? Are you a fed up AT&T customer who is looking to switch ASAP? Maybe you're glad to see the announcement, but don't plan on buying until iPhone 5. Whatever it may be, hit up our poll and let us know.


Verizon iPhone can act at a Wi-Fi mobile hotspot for up to 5 devices

iphone 4 verizon hotspot

We mentioned this in the announcement post about the Verizon iPhone 4, but it's worth repeating. The Verizon iPhone, which was running iOS 4.2.5 at today's demo, includes a mobile hotspot feature. What this means is that you can enable a feature that would allow the iPhone to act a a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, similar to a MiFi or other Android devices. When acting as a hotspot, you can connect up to five devices to the iPhone, taking advantage of its connection to the Verizon network. There were no details on what the feature would cost, or how much bandwidth would be allowed, but it's definitely nice to know that the feature is coming.


Verizon iPhone 4: Available February 10 for $199

verizon iphone 4

This morning Verizon officially and formally announced the availability of the iPhone on their Verizon Wireless network. "Today we're partnering with a giant of the industry, and that's Apple." At a special press event dedicated to the announcement, the company said that they've been working with Apple for two years, the last of which was spent testing a CDMA version of the iPhone to ensure that it would perform as expected on the Verizon network. The Verizon iPhone 4 will launch on February 10th (pre-orders for existing Verizon Wireless customers start on February 3rd,) and it will cost the same $199 that AT&T charges, with two-year contract.

One significant difference that Verizon is offering that AT&T doesn't--the Verizon iPhone 4 will act as a mobile hotspot, allowing up to five devices to tether to the phone over Wi-Fi to use its data connection.


HTC Thunderbolt to be first Verizon 4G LTE smartphone?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, CES, CES 2011, Handhelds, Rumors,

 

HTC thunderbolt

Verizon Wireless is set to unveil a half-dozen 4G LTE smartphones at next week's Consumer Electronics Show. Will the first device it shows off be the HTC Thunderbolt?

Droid Life on Tuesday posted photos of the HTC Thunderbolt, which it says will be Verizon's first 4G LTE device. The site didn't have any details on specs except to note that it looks a lot like the Desire HD. The device features a kickstand and Google branding.

Verizon said it has no comment.

Click to continue reading HTC Thunderbolt to be first Verizon 4G LTE smartphone?


Bleeding Edge TV 369: A look at the Samsung Galaxy Tab

 

We have a Samsung Galaxy Tab in and wanted to give you guys a look at the first major competitor to the iPad. The Galaxy Tab is a 7-inch Android tablet available from Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and soon AT&T. It sports a 7-inch display, and in all actuality, just feels like a really big Android phone. Hit the video above for the full scoop.

Big thank you to JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Microsoft Kin returning to Verizon?

Posted by Patrick Lambert Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Rumors,

kin returning to verizon

A few months ago, Microsoft introduced the ill-fated smartphone called the Kin. The small feature phone was available on Verizon in two different form factors, and was then canceled faster than any other phone before. It became known as the least successful smartphone ever. Yet, a recent leak of a Verizon internal communication suggests that both devices are coming back to Verizon soon. But this may not be such a bad move. There was nothing wrong with a Kin perse, as the device felt solid, and it was fully integrated with social networks, as a modern feature phone should be. The main issue was that it was sold by Verizon as a full smartphone, with expensive data plans, when it shouldn't have been. According to the leaked papers however, it seems that Verizon may be willing to change their tune on that point. Will this make the Kin a success, or is it's time passed already? We'll see soon enough.

Read More | PPCGeeks

Verizon offers unlimited data plan

Verizon just announced a new plan for mobile users that distinguishes it from it's past offers, as it's the first time in a while that the biggest network in the US offers a truly unlimited data plan. Customers in select areas are reporting receiving the offer by mail. For $70 a month, one would get 450 minutes, with unlimited text and data. According to Verizon, this is a promotion, so there's no telling if this plan will hold for a long time. Still, this is a first move which hopefully other carriers will start following, as we users download more and more data on our iOS and Android phones. If you're already a Big Red customer, this may be worth looking into if you're a heavy data user.

Read More | Verizon

Verizon V CAST coming to Android handsets

v cast android

According to a Verizon statement, the Droid Incredible will receive an update soon that will include the V CAST apps. Here's the statement:

"Verizon Wireless will begin pushing a software update to the DROID Incredible next week. The update includes software enhancements that will pre-install V CAST Apps on the phone. We said earlier this year that we'd be expanding V CAST Apps to the Android platform, and the DROID Incredible is the first Android phone with the store. Developers continue to submit apps, and as a reminder, V CAST Apps allows carrier billing, so customers who purchase applications through our store will see those charges on their monthly bill. For more information about the update customers can go to www.verizonwireless.com/droidincrediblesupport."

It's worth noting that in the past, the Verizon apps have been unremovable, even though many users consider them to be of little use. It's too bad that such an open system like Android is being forced to host such carrier specific modifications. So look for that update hitting your device soon if you're using a Verizon Android device!


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