AllThingsD » CDMA

Sprint Says LTE-Equipped Windows Phones Are Coming, but Not Until Next Year

Ina Fried — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:57:42 +0000

Sprint confirmed on Tuesday that in 2013 it will have new Windows Phone models capable of working on its LTE network.

“Sprint and Microsoft are partnering to bring Windows Phone 8 to Sprint’s customers — operating on its 4G LTE network — next year,” the No. 3 carrier said in a statement, without offering further details.

AT&T and T-Mobile have been pretty big backers of Windows Phone, while Sprint and Verizon have taken a back seat. The initial Windows Phone 7 devices didn’t run on their CDMA networks and even when there were models available, neither carrier put much behind the products.

With Windows Phone 8, Verizon is putting a stronger effort into Microsoft’s phone operating system, offering devices from HTC and Nokia, among others.

China Certifies iPhone 5; Just One More License to Go

John Paczkowski — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:45:59 +0000

Apple’s new iPhone 5 has cleared the second-to-last hurdle standing in the way of its debut in China.

China’s State Radio Management has approved two versions of the iPhone 5 for use on the country’s wireless networks. The first — the A1429 — is believed to be compatible with China Unicom’s 3G network; the second — the A1442 — is compatible with China Telecom’s CDMA network.

These approvals are the second round of certifications the iPhone 5 needs to be sold in China. The country’s Quality Certification Center approved the device late last night, granting Apple the required certification necessary to sell it. Now Apple needs only a network access license from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the iPhone 5 will be clear for sale in the world’s most populous country.

It would seem, then, that the device is on track for a Chinese launch in the December quarter, just as Apple CEO Tim Cook promised during the company’s last earnings call on Oct. 25. Good news for Apple, for whom China is becoming an increasingly important source of revenue. Assuming, of course, Apple is able to ramp up production enough to satisfy demand for its latest iPhone in the fast-growing market. Recall that Apple underestimated Chinese demand for the iPhone 4S when it first debuted. Remarking on sales of the 4S in Greater China this past summer, Cook conceded that Apple could have done a better job forecasting that market’s appetite for the device.

“We felt we were betting bold, as I think many of you would have thought if you would have known what we were doing,” Cook said of the 4S rollout plan for the country. “But as it turns out, we didn’t bet high enough.”

Two Networks, One Company: T-Mobile Explains Why Its MetroPCS Deal Can Work

Ina Fried — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 16:00:26 +0000

When T-Mobile announced its deal this week to acquire MetroPCS, one of the first concerns raised by outsiders was the fact that today the two companies use a different type of network technology.

T-Mobile’s network has evolved from the type of system used by AT&T while MetroPCS has historically relied on a CDMA network similar to those used by Verizon and Sprint.

That has some analysts and investors worried that the combined company could face the kind of hurdles that Sprint saw in the wake of its Nextel deal — a combination that, years later, still forces the company to operate two incompatible networks.

But T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray says the key is that both companies have been moving toward a similar next-generation LTE network. Indeed, Ray says the combined spectrum will allow the company to offer a much stronger network in key cities than the two carriers ever could have done solo.

The key, he said, is that T-Mobile plans to quickly migrate MetroPCS customers to phones that use T-Mobile’s network.

“This isn’t about integrating these two networks,” he said in an interview Friday. “It’s about moving MetroPCS over to a bigger and stronger converged network.”

With Nextel, Sprint acquired a set of customers dependent on features that it couldn’t match on its own network. But Ray says there is no feature MetroPCS customers are used to that T-Mobile can’t immediately match on its own network.

From the day the merger takes effect, T-Mobile plans to start selling phones that use the MetroPCS brand but run on its network technology, with a goal to fully migrate users to its network within a couple of years, eventually decommissioning the CDMA network to free up more spectrum for LTE.

Ray said the hardest part will be moving MetroPCS customers over to T-Mobile’s network as quickly as possible.

The technology pieces are relatively straightforward here,” Ray said. “I don’t see any big technology barriers we need to knock down.”

That said, T-Mobile is already involved in a pretty big technological undertaking as it looks to turn on its LTE network by the second half of next year. It’s part of a $4 billion network modernization effort that it kicked off this year after its failed bid to sell itself to AT&T.

MetroPCS is actually somewhat ahead on this front, having already launched LTE along with a number of low-cost LTE devices. The company is also ahead of some major carriers in testing delivering voice in addition to data over the newer network.

T-Mobile, meanwhile is the last of the four major carriers to move to LTE, following Verizon, AT&T and Sprint, which is just now expanding its LTE network.

Even before it has LTE, T-Mobile is working to offer up more iPhone-compatible HSPA+ service in hopes of attracting existing iPhone owners to bring their device onto its network. Currently T-Mobile USA doesn’t sell an iPhone and yet has 1 million or so customers, even though they are limited to very slow 2G data speeds.

“There’s a lot of work ahead,” Ray agreed, but said much of it has more to do with logistics and execution than major technology risk.

[Shutterstock/GTS]

Time to Consider Prepaid Mobile?

Lauren Goode — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 13:00:23 +0000

When people in the U.S. hear the term “prepaid mobile,” they might think of cheap phones with limited service options for people with bad credit.

But that’s slowly changing. While some wireless companies say the bulk of their prepaid customers are still low-income consumers looking for a value plan, an increasing number of customers who would normally qualify for phone contracts are now considering no-commitment plans.

This week, I’ll answer some common questions about prepaid mobile, based on my research of nine U.S. brands. While you won’t be able to get a fancy smartphone at a low price, and most plans still aren’t catering to heavy data users, there are some good reasons to reconsider prepaid.

Who Offers What

The “big four” — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless — all offer prepaid phones and services. Sprint offers prepaid through three brands: Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Assurance, a government-subsidized program that provides free phones and plans for customers in dire financial situations.

Other well-known U.S. prepaid carriers include U.S. Cellular, MetroPCS and Leap Wireless’s Cricket.

[ See post to watch video ]

Monthly prepaid plans range from $25 to $80 a month. Cricket, for example, offers 300 voice minutes and unlimited text and mobile Web (which is different from data) for $35 a month. Boost is known for its $50 unlimited plan with “shrinkage” — which means that for every six nonconsecutive, on-time payments, a customer’s bill can be reduced by $5. At Verizon Wireless, $80 will get you unlimited voice and text and one gigabyte of data, with each additional megabyte of data costing five cents.

Generally, you can’t roll over unused minutes from month to month.

Data service is available through prepaid plans. But beware: Some carriers boast “unlimited data” offerings, and in some cases, this is just for feature phones, while data services for smartphones require additional plans. Also, the carriers may reduce your data speeds when your usage increases significantly.

Many wireless carriers now offer access to 4G networks with prepaid plans. But as with contract plans, it depends on whether the device you’re using is 4G compatible — and what type of 4G network your carrier has. AllThingsD’s Walt Mossberg offers a good explainer of 4G here.

Getting Equipped

In most cases, you’ll pay full price for the phone. The carriers and their retail partners offer deals and promotions from time to time, but since you’re not committing to a contract, the phone isn’t subsidized. Phones can range from $20 on the low end to $650 for something like the iPhone.

Speaking of the iPhone: It’s now available with prepaid plans. Cricket made waves a couple months ago when it began to offer a 16GB iPhone 4S for $500 and an 8GB iPhone 4 for $400 with its $55 monthly plan. Sprint’s Virgin Mobile also sells the iPhone without a contract. The 16GB iPhone 4S will run you $650, and the 8GB iPhone 4 costs $550, while plans range from $30 to $50 a month.

You can also purchase or activate an iPhone that is GSM-compatible (GSM stands for Global System for Mobile Communications, a specific type of digital cellular network) through AT&T’s GoPhone plans, but AT&T doesn’t offer data plans with this, so you’ll have to use Wi-Fi to browse the Web on this plan. Verizon currently does not offer the iPhone with a prepaid plan.

As for newer Android smartphones, AT&T offers the Samsung Galaxy S III without a contract, for $550. To name a few others: U.S. Cellular offers the Samsung Galaxy S II for $400. MetroPCS offers the Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G for $450. Boost Mobile offers the HTC Evo Design 4G for $299, while Virgin Mobile sells the HTC Evo 4G for $300. In many cases, customers must go with higher monthly plans or choose ones that include data in order to get these smartphones.

For Windows Phone 7 fans, T-Mobile sells the Nokia Lumia 710 for $300 without a contract.

You won’t have much luck using your unlocked phone with a prepaid plan. The carriers are getting zero commitment from you to begin with, so a lot of them won’t accept unlocked phones these days. Also, your phone may be technically incompatible with the wireless network.

T-Mobile, however, allows a user to bring in any unlocked, GSM-compatible phone to use with its prepaid plans. AT&T says customers can come in with a GSM-compatible Android device and it can be activated, though again, compatibility varies by phone type and some smartphones may be connected to Wi-Fi only.

Payment Explained

None of the carriers I spoke with require credit checks for someone to get started on a prepaid device. To qualify for Sprint’s Assurance program, however, potential customers must prove they are in need of the financial assistance (most people already getting government assistance will be eligible).

There are several ways prepaid customers can replenish their phones. They can buy a new prepaid card, which looks like a gift card, at wireless and electronics stores, pharmacies and big-box retailers like Walmart and Target; they can refill at prepaid-branded kiosks and pay up online; they can also call their provider’s customer service line directly from the phone.

While most carriers don’t charge any kind of activation fees for prepaid plans, it’s good to ask before you buy. U.S. Cellular, for example, charges an activation free (between $20 and $50) for customers who opt in to cheaper prepaid plans, though the company says it will often waive that. Be sure to check the fine print on international calls and roaming charges, as well.

Also, just because you’re going prepaid doesn’t mean you’re exempt from taxes that are normally affixed to your phone bill. Some carriers, like MetroPCS and AT&T, bundle most of these fees into monthly plans. In other cases, there will be an extra cost. It’s not uncommon to have an e911 fee — a monthly charge for Enhanced 911, which funds computer upgrades for public-safety communications — applied to your bill. Also, you’ll pay the standard point-of-sale tax on a prepaid card if you buy it in a retail store or pharmacy. For example, my $30 Boost Mobile card actually cost me $32.66.

Playing the Number Game

Most companies offer a grace period, usually between 30 and 90 days, in which your prepaid phone number can stay inactive. But then your number gets thrown into the wireless purgatory known as the “cooling pool,” and shortly thereafter it will be reissued to another customer.

The one exception I found was through Sprint’s Boost and Virgin Mobile brands, which allow those serving in the military to keep their numbers for up to two years without having to replenish or keep their account active.

Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S III Selling on Amazon for $800

Lauren Goode — Tue, 22 May 2012 13:18:12 +0000

Just can’t wait for the Galaxy S III smartphone, Samsung’s successor to its popular Galaxy S II?

Thanks to Amazon.com, you can now preorder it on the e-commerce site for $799.99.

For those unfamiliar with the hotly anticipated phone, here are some of the details: It’s got a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen, runs Android’s 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, has an eight-megapixel rear-facing camera as well as a front camera, and a quad-core 1.4 GHz processor. It also has “S Voice,” clearly inspired by iPhone’s Siri app, allowing a user to control certain functions on the phone using his or her voice. The phone is available in white and “pebble blue.”

But even if it’s a great phone — and even if Amazon’s Prime shipping applies — we have to say, that’s a pretty steep price to get a phone in advance of its release through carriers.

And, as the Amazon listing notes, the unlocked phone — which means its not tied to a wireless network — is “compatible with 2G GSM 850/900/1800/1900 and/or 3G UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA 850/900/1900/2100 wireless networks.”

What does all that gibberish mean? Basically that compatibility with certain wireless networks will be an issue. The Samsung Galaxy S III being sold through Amazon is a GSM phone, which means it won’t work on Verizon or Sprint’s networks. It’s not fully supported by T-Mobile, and while it will work with AT&T’s HSPA+ network, this device won’t work with LTE or 4G networks. (Even the Amazon listing encourages buyers to check with their network providers before purchasing.)

If you don’t mind being tethered to a carrier and would rather have a 4G/LTE-ready version of the phone at a much cheaper price, you’ll probably want to wait out the month, as the phone is expected to come to the U.S. sometime this summer. And at least you’ll know that it will work with your wireless network.

Network-Hopping iPhone 4S Not Without Its Restrictions

Ina Fried — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 03:53:00 +0000

The fact that a single iPhone 4S works on Sprint, Verizon and AT&T would seem to open up so many possibilities for users who want to transfer service providers at the end of their contract or even switch back and forth when they travel.

However, because of both business reasons and technical limitations, that flexibility isn’t what one might think.

In order to work on a CDMA network, an iPhone 4S has to be activated on a CDMA network at time of purchase (and switching a device even between Sprint and Verizon is harder than one would think).

That limitation also means that, although Apple is selling an unlocked iPhone 4S, it is really only an unlocked GSM version, the kind used by AT&T. And, like prior unlocked iPhones, while they can work on T-Mobile USA, they will run only at 2G speeds because T-Mobile’s fastest networks use a band that is different from that of AT&T and not one supported by the iPhone.

These issues also crop up when using the iPhone as a “world phone.” While an iPhone 4S activated on Sprint and Verizon can roam onto GSM networks, such as those used in Europe and parts of Asia, an iPhone activated on AT&T won’t necessarily be able to run on CDMA networks outside of the U.S., such as those in Korea.

There can also be business rules imposed on how easily the iPhone (or any phone) can be made to run on other carriers’ networks. Some of those policies can continue even after a contract has ended, as Apple notes in the fine print of its technical specifications for the new iPhone (and as pointed out by Danny Sullivan, on his blog).

“The iPhone model you purchase is subject to your wireless service provider’s policies, which may include restrictions on switching service providers and roaming, even after conclusion of any required minimum service contract,” Apple states.

While arcane and perhaps irrelevant for those who don’t travel much and plan to stick with one carrier, such considerations are worth pointing out, especially as the iPhone 4S goes on sale at midnight.

Sprint Could Sell Six Million iPhones in 2012

John Paczkowski — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 10:35:05 +0000

With Sprint reportedly set to join Verizon and AT&T as Apple’s third carrier partner in the U.S. this fall, Apple is poised to sell more iPhones than ever before. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says a Sprint deal like this could raise iPhone sales growth from 30 percent to 37 percent in calendar year 2012.

Using some back-of-the-napkin math and iPhone sales at Verizon as a baseline, Munster figures Apple could sell an additional six million iPhones in 2012 via Sprint.

“We believe in the first two quarters, Verizon sold 4.6 million iPhones,” Munster said in a note to clients. “We are modeling for Verizon to sell 12 million iPhones in the first year of having the iPhone. In other words, we expect 11 percent of phones sold at Verizon will be iPhones (~CY11). If 11 percent of Sprint’s phones sold in CY12 were iPhones, that would add ~6 million iPhones to our estimate, increasing our overall CY12 iPhone unit estimate by 5 percent, from 111 million to 117 million.”

That’s if the iPhone does show up at Sprint this fall; at this point the consensus is that it’s likely.

As Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair explains, it’s been widely thought that once AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity deal with Apple expired and Verizon began selling the device, Sprint would follow with its own CDMA iPhone offering.

“It does appear that a 2011 launch of the iPhone 5 at Sprint will actually happen,” Blair told AllThingsD. “The key is the company’s relatively recent support of CDMA at Verizon. So now that the company is supporting both GSM and CDMA and no longer has an exclusive deal with AT&T, there is no barrier to adding Sprint as a distribution channel, and addressing Sprint’s 50-plus million subscriber base would provide a nice boost to quarterly shipments. My view is that iPhone availability at the carrier is likely to be announced late September when Apple announces the new handset, followed by early October availability. For years, Apple has had a multicarrier strategy in place in nearly every other part of the world outside of the U.S., and now the U.S. is catching up.”

PREVIOUSLY:

Apple Launching iPhone 5 in October

Will Sprint Get an iPhone for the Holidays?

IPhone 5′s Big New Features: Sprint, T-Mobile

More iPhone news

IPhone 5's Big New Features: Sprint, T-Mobile

John Paczkowski — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:25:06 +0000

Further corroboration of rumors that the next iteration of Apple’s iPhone will be more of a refinement of its predecessor than an overhaul.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Peter Misek too says the device will be largely similar to the iPhone 4, but with significant improvements under the hood.

“We believe the likelihood of the iPhone 5 launch in September including LTE [Long-Term Evolution] is now remote,” Misek said in a note to clients. “According to our industry checks, the device should be called iPhone 4S and will include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support.”

These specs are essentially the same ones Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported back in April, so Misek’s not particularly telling us anything new, with the exception of one very interesting detail. He expects Apple to launch the the iPhone 5/4S on a handful of new carriers, Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Telecom among them.

“Industry checks indicate AAPL has or is about to announce new carrier deals in time for the holidays with T-Mobile and Sprint,” Misek wrote. “Additionally, we believe another China carrier could launch the iPhone in the next 12 months. On Apple’s last earnings call, management responded to a question about launching the CDMA iPhone at other carriers as “we are constantly looking and adding where it makes sense, and you can keep confidence that we’ll continue to do that.”

For Apple iPhone, CDMA Means Capturing Developing Markets in Asia

John Paczkowski — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:05:45 +0000

The Verizon iPhone was likely just the first step in Apple’s broader push into the CDMA handset market. And while the company stands to reap the most benefit from that first partnership, there are plenty of other opportunities abroad for CDMA market success.

J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz figures Apple could rake in as much as $6 billion from CDMA iPhone sales through Verizon, and half that through carrier partners overseas, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We expect the iPhone’s relative growth to moderate over time, but in the next 18-24 months, we see incremental growth opportunities in both Asia- Pacific and the U.S., specifically in CDMA-based networks,” he writes. “Apple just began to penetrate this opportunity with its Verizon iPhone launch in February, and we think that the incremental CDMA market penetration can be a multi-year phenomenon for the company.”

I’d say so, considering there are some 564 million CDMA subscribers worldwide, of which Verizon’s 95 million comprise just 17 percent. So where will Apple bring the CDMA iPhone next? Moskowitz thinks the company will focus its efforts where CDMA adoption rates are highest: China, India, Japan, and South Korea. And, in all likelihood, it’s probably close to hammering at least a few of these deals out.

Apple is widely rumored to be negotiating a CDMA iPhone deal with China Telecom. It’s also said to be in talks with Reliance and rival CDMA carrier Tata Teleservices in India. Assuming Apple finalizes some, if not all, of them in the next year, what kind of sales and revenue can we expect from them? Moskowitz expects Apple to sell 10 million CDMA iPhones through Verizon in calendar 2012 for $6 billion in revenues. Overseas, he expects the company to capture about 10 percent of the CDMA market in 2012, which would generate approximately $3 billion in revenue.

That’s a nice boost to Apple’s bottom line and to the iPhone’s growth trajectory, which may well continue to outpace that of the broader smartphone market–if Moskowitz’s numbers pan out.

[Image credits: iFixit and JP Morgan]

Exclusive: Apple iPad 2 Event Set for March 2

Kara Swisher — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:00:15 +0000

To those who care intensely about this kind of stuff–which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem–Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, according to multiple sources.

As in, iPad 2! Or, as BoomTown is now officially nicknaming it: iPad Too!

Analysts expect the iPad 2 to be thinner than its predecessor and feature an improved display, as well as front-facing camera and Facetime video chat support. And some reports suggest it will be powered by one of Qualcomm’s multimode chips and will run on both GSM and CDMA-based networks around the world.

In its last earnings calls, Apple said it had sold nearly 15 million iPads, since it went on sale last spring.

This is a very big deal, although Apple will be facing increased competition with the launch of a passel of tablets coming from numerous manufacturers, most of which are using the Honeycomb version of Google’s Android mobile operating system.

According to several sources close to the situation, the Wednesday date in a little more than a week is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events.

In that case, the venue is likely to be the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

It’s not clear when Apple will begin sending out its famous invites for the gathering, but I am guessing soon, in order to get the Apple faithful to the proper level of froth.

(The image above is from one of my favorite previous save-the-dates.)

Now that this date is confirmed–at least by me!–the next round of speculation will be around whether Apple CEO Steve Jobs will appear or not. Sources said he is considering it.

He is currently on leave to deal with ongoing health issues, although has been sighted all around Silicon Valley at various places. In addition, Jobs sat right next to President Barack Obama at a high-profile meet-the-tech-moguls dinner in the area last week.

In other words: Let the media frenzy begin!

Microsoft to Add Multitasking, Internet Explorer 9 to Windows Phone Later this Year

Ina Fried — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:00:42 +0000

Microsoft announced on Monday plans to fill in some of the key gaps from the initial Windows Phone 7 release with two updates due out this year.

The more interesting of the updates is the second one–a major release–due later this year. In a Mobile World Congress keynote, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer plans to demo only a couple of features of the release, including improved multitasking, simultaneous game play with an Xbox as well as the addition of the company’s Internet Explorer 9 browser.

An earlier update, now due out by March, brings the long-awaited copy-and-paste features to the operating system as well as some performance tweaks and support for CDMA networks.

Windows Phone unit President Andy Lees told Mobilized that the new release later this year should answer critics who worried that Microsoft wouldn’t be able to innovate fast enough to catch up or leapfrog over features available on rivals such as iPhone and Android.

[ See post to watch video ]

“Part of what we are doing is sharing technology across the company,” Lees said in an interview. In other examples, Microsoft is showing a demo of how a user on the phone might play a game throwing balls at someone playing with an Xbox or Kinect. Microsoft also plans to allow sharing of Office documents directly between phones, Windows PCs and the cloud-based Windows Live service.

Moving the full IE9 browser over to the phone will allow for hardware acceleration and other features that had not been possible on phones in the past, Lees said. For battery and other reasons, Lees said that the new release won’t support Adobe’s Flash, but Lees said it is not a religious issue for him, and that the company may add such support down the road.

“We’re not allergic to Flash,” Lees said. “It’s not in this update, but we’re not making some particular statement that it will never be there.”

Microsoft also plans to announce that it will integrate Twitter into the People hub in much the same way that the initial release brings in Facebook updates.

The update later this year will be the one adopted by Nokia in its first Windows Phone, Lees said. Nokia announced last week, of course, that it plans to make Windows Phone its primary smartphone operating system going forward.

As for early reaction to the Nokia move, Lees said the response has been positive, both from mobile operators as well as from phone makers, even those that now find themselves with a new competitor.

Lees said that basically all of the companies that make Windows Phone devices also make phones for Android and have plenty of competition there as well. Lees said that, if anything, Nokia’s move could spur some device makers that were on the fence about supporting Windows Phone 7.

“We have had other [phone makers] approach us who were talking to us and have now increased their, should I say, level of focus,” Lees said.

As for Nokia CEO Stephen Elop’s comments that the amount of money flowing to Nokia from Microsoft is measured in billions rather than in millions, Lees said that one must consider that the deal includes partnerships around search and services as well as the amount of marketing and other support being directly provided by Microsoft.

“We’re not talking about specifics,” Lees said. “But it’s a sizeable opportunity.”

Update: 4:00 pm Barcelona time: I finally made it in after being stuck in a massive crowd (see image). Ballmer’s keynote is slated to begin shortly and I’ll add live updates shortly.

4:06 pm: Ballmer has taken the stage, talking about rapid pace of change in industry and for Microsoft.

Talks about first update, the copy and paste one, which will come in first two weeks of March.

4:09 pm: Ballmer said most of smartphone competition the same–a “sea of icons” that lead to applications that lead to actions. Windows Phone is easier and simpler, he said. “With Windows Phone it’s easier to see information at a glance,” Ballmer said.

4:12 pm: On to new stuff, in the “near future in 2011, we will bring multitasking to Windows Phones” Ballmer said.

Ballmer is talking IE9. “We need to give people the full Web on their phone, like we do on the PC,” Ballmer said. (Wouldn’t that also include Flash, Mobilized wonders?)

4:15 pm: Apps are great, Ballmer said, but not enough. “It’s often too hard to find what you want when you want it,” he said. That, he said, is why Windows Phone also has task-specific hubs like People, Pictures, Office, Music and Video.

4:16 pm: Interesting note, Ballmer has again touted 93 percent customer satisfaction number, but no new sales figure.

4:19 pm: Windows Phone exec Joe Belfiore comes onstage to demo the new features coming to Windows Phone later this year.

4:26 pm: Both updates will be available for all Windows Phone 7 owners, Belfiore said.

4:30 pm: Belfiore showing an IE9 demo highlighting its hardware acceleration feature. In the demo, Belfiore shows IE9 for Windows Phone allowing 50 fish to rapidly swim around in an aquarium demo. He then shows the same demo on an iPhone 4 with the fish barely swimming.

4:32 pm: A few demoes fail. Streaming video doesn’t work because of connection issues. “This is preliminary not final code,” Belfiore said. “We’ll get all these kinks worked out.”

On to multitasking…

4:36 pm: Press-and-hold back button lets users access the new multitasking and see tiles for recently run apps.

Also shows Slacker playing with other tasks. Until now, only Microsoft’s own Zune could play in the background, not third-party apps.

4:39 pm: Last demo is the Xbox one showing Kinect game being played with the phone. Shows a “tech preview” of Windows Phone being used as a companion in Kinect’s dodgeball/breakout game.

4:42 pm: Ballmer back and talking about the ecosystems and Microsoft’s interaction with device makers and mobile operators as well as growth in the number of mobile apps for Windows Phone 7.

“We’re off to a strong start,” he said. “We know we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Ballmer said the company knows it needs both scale and variety.

4:44 pm: Now he’s talking Microsoft-Nokia deal.

4:47 pm: Ballmer invites out Nokia CEO Stephen Elop,

Elop calls the deal “a natural partnership,” in which Nokia will bring the global reach and scale that Microsoft needs, while giving Nokia a needed in back to the North American market, where it has struggled badly.

Elop repeats now well-worn point that Microsoft-Nokia will offer mobile operators a third viable choice to iPhone and Android.

4:51 pm: Ballmer makes the same point Lees made in our interview, arguing that the Nokia deal will even help other Windows Phone device makers by giving the ecosystem a needed level of scale.

“Today, customers are falling in love with Windows phones,” Ballmer said, adding that the company is investing to further popularize the phone, including new features.

Verizon iPhone Lines Inversely Proportional to Verizon iPhone Rumors

John Paczkowski — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:25:09 +0000

After the nearly interminable buildup to the iPhone’s launch on Verizon–the years of anticipation, rumors and speculation–you’d think the device’s official debut would be given a fervid reception by the folks clamoring for it. You’d think eager buyers would be camping out in front of their local Apple Store. You’d think Verizon Stores would literally be overrun with frustrated AT&T iPhone users looking for relief.

But evidently that’s not the case.

Pre-orders were huge, of course, cutting down the need for people to go out to a store, so early reports from around the country revealed a far more sedate response to a long-awaited event that ironically seems pretty uneventful. Fifteen minutes before the the Verizon iPhone went on sale, there were just eight people in line at Apple’s flagship store in New York, according to CNNMoney. At a lower-Manhattan Verizon store, 21 people queued up to buy the iPhone.

The scene was largely the same around the country, according to other reports: 20 folks at a Gainesville Verizon Store, 10 at another in Plainview, a dozen in Milwaukee, a “few dozen” in Lincoln, Neb.,. And before you the blame cold temperatures for the modest turnout, consider this: The line in front of Apple’s Stockton Street flagship store in San Francisco this morning was just two people long. Said News.com’s Marguerite Reardon, “Upon arriving here about five minutes (before the 7 a.m. opening of the store), there were literally more Apple Store employees, police officers and reporters–each–than people in line to buy iPhones.”

So, a pretty staid turnout for a device that’s generated such monomaniacal interest for so long. That said, it’s important to remember that Verizon isn’t launching the iPhone into a market with a vast untapped demand for it. In reality, most folks who absolutely had to have an iPhone bought one from AT&T. And those who refused to leave Verizon to do so likely pre-ordered one last week. In the end, the lines (or lack thereof) we’re seeing today have very little to do with how big a seller the iPhone will be for Verizon (and for proof of that, one need only look to foreign markets with multiple iPhone carriers). Sales estimates vary pretty widely, but many suggest Apple will sell between 9 million and 13 million iPhones through Verizon this year–a big boost no matter how you look at it. The big lines will return with the debut of iPhone 5.

PREVIOUSLY: Verizon’s iPhone Sales So Amazing They Can’t Even Put a Number On It

[Image Credit: Christine Bartolucci ]

Hello World (iPhone)

John Paczkowski — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 12:00:31 +0000

So those rumors that had Apple developing a “World iPad” based on one of Qualcomm’s multimode CDMA-GSM chips? There may be something to them after all.

An iFixit teardown of the CDMA iPhone 4 headed for Verizon reveals a world mode chip in the device’s innards: Qualcomm’s MDM6600, which supports CDMA and EVDO network standards as well as GSM and HSPA+. It’s the same chip used in the Droid Pro, Motorola’s “global ready” Android phone.

In other words, Verizon’s CDMA iPhone isn’t a world phone–but it could have been, given a SIM card and some additional engineering. Which makes it likely that the next iteration of the iPhone will be. And if iPhone 5 proves to be global ready, iPad 2 likely will be as well, as Wedge analyst Brian Blair, who first floated the idea of the World iPad, notes.

“This is the proof of my thesis, I think,” he said of iFixit’s findings. “This is a dual–band GSM/CDMA chip that I believe will not only be in a “World iPad” in April as I mentioned last Fall but I also expect it will be in the new iPhone 5 in June. It makes sense for many reasons: but the main one is that Apple engineers will only have to design a product one time, same guts and parts for GSM as for CDMA.”

[Image credit: iFixit]

Verizon iPhone Has New Antenna Design

Andrew Morse and Don Clark — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 00:04:35 +0000

Apple Inc.’s iPhone for the Verizon Wireless network contains a newly designed version of the antenna that was associated with dropped calls on the original device, according to a company that disassembled the handset.

The new iPhone 4 model, as expected, also includes a chip from Qualcomm Inc. that allows the device to work on Verizon’s network, which is based on a technology called CDMA, or code division multiple access. But iFixit, a gadget repair site in San Luis Obispo, Calif., found that Apple selected a chip model from Qualcomm that can support multiple wireless technologies.

Read the rest of this post on the original site »

2011 Forecast Calls for 76 Million iPhones With Chance of 32 Million iPads

John Paczkowski — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 16:18:23 +0000

With the hard launch of the CDMA iPhone at Verizon now just three days away, analysts are tweaking their sales forecasts to reflect its impact. The latest to issue an upward revision: Susquehanna’s Jeff Fidacaro, who raised his price target on Apple this morning to reflect strong pre-sale demand for the Verizon iPhone and a significant increase in its production.

“Our proprietary checks in Apple’s supply chain suggest slight increases to our production forecasts for CY1Q11,” Fidacaro said in a note to clients today. “Our read on CDMA iPhone production shows a ramp up from prior forecasts and positive revisions for the GSM iPhone as well. Early indications from the Verizon presale of the CDMA iPhone were [also] strong. Thus, we are raising our iPhone shipment estimates substantially.”

Fidacaro had been looking for Apple to ship 17.7 million iPhones in the March quarter and 70.5 million in fiscal 2011. Now he’s forecasting 19.8 million and 76.7 million–a 92 percent increase year-over-year.

That, along with a significant upward revision to his iPad shipment estimates, driven by the presumed debut of iPad 2–32.1 million in fiscal 2011, up from 27.3 million (a 330 percent increase year-over-year)–prompted Fidacaro to raise his price target on Apple to $465 from $445.

Spare change for Apple shares?

Verizon to Butcher Speeds of Data Hogs

John Paczkowski — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:00:26 +0000

What an odd coincidence. Verizon Wireless introduced a new policy today that gives it the right to throttle the data speeds of its heaviest bandwidth users–just as it began accepting pre-orders for the new CDMA iPhone.

The policy is effective immediately and is intended to ensure that average data users aren’t negatively affected by the inordinate data consumption of just a few users. Says Verizon, “If you use an extraordinary amount of data and fall within the top 5 percent of Verizon Wireless data users we may reduce your data throughput speeds periodically for the remainder of your then current and immediately following billing cycle to ensure high quality network performance for other users at locations and times of peak demand.”

What constitutes an “extraordinary amount of data”? Verizon doesn’t say, but I’m sure its subscribers will know it when they hit it, because their speeds will drop for almost two billing cycles.

And to think that just a few weeks ago, Verizon was talking up its plan to offer iPhone buyers a $30 unlimited data plan. Evidently it applies to the amount of data only, not the rate at which it’s downloaded.

Verizon says the shift in policy has nothing to do with the looming debut of the iPhone (“There’s nothing magic about the timing.”), which is widely known to tax carrier networks. But the timing here makes it hard to believe. This is Verizon bracing itself for the iPhone data deluge.

Verizon Upholds Tradition of Bumpy iPhone Launch

John Paczkowski — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:30:03 +0000

“We’ve been working on this for a very long time. We expect unprecedented demand, bigger than anything we’ve ever seen before. We feel good about being able to handle it.”

– John Stratton, Verizon Wireless COO.

AT&T must be snickering into its cornflakes this morning (okay, perhaps it’s more of a hollow chuckle). Verizon began taking pre-orders for the forthcoming CDMA iPhone this morning and is suffering some of the same issues for which AT&T has been taken to task in the past (though AT&T’s problems were substantially more severe).

I received multiple reports from eager buyers whose purchase attempts were thwarted by infuriatingly slow page loads and/or error messages. Twitter is full of similar notes. This despite Verizon’s claim that the iPhone’s launch on its network would go flawlessly. “We are not going to have any flaws on the execution of the iPhone launch,” Fran Shammo, president and CEO of Verizon’s telecom and business unit, said ealier this year. “We’ve been preparing the network for the last year anticipating the launch of the iPhone.”

Well, perhaps a few flaws, as Verizon Wireless conceded this morning. Still, nowhere near as bad as the ones that troubled AT&T, which had to issue a formal apology.

“We have been processing orders all morning and most customers are not experiencing problems,” spokesperson Brenda Raney told me. “On balance this has been a smooth availability launch. In instances where customers get an error message, they tend to be specific to that individual versus a system wide issue. For example, if customers on a Family SharePlan log in and use a mobile number other than the one belonging to the primary account holder, they will get an error message. We are working to address that now.”

Of course, “on balance” doesn’t help if you are the one who has waited for years for the Verizon iPhone and find yourself unable to order one.

PREVIOUSLY:

AT&T Now Dropping iPhone Calls and iPhone 4 Pre-Orders

Apple: Sorry We Sold So Many iPhone 4s Yesterday

Time to Cut AT&T Some Slack, iPhone Users?

[Error Image Credit: Business Insider]

Interview: T-Mobile CEO Philip Humm Embraces Role as Challenger to Verizon, Sprint and ATT

Ina Fried — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:30:40 +0000

When Philip Humm meets with the other CEOs of T-Mobile subsidiaries, he is often the odd man out. While the others can boast of their 30 percent market share and compare notes on how their iPhone is selling, Humm can’t really relate.

T-Mobile has a fraction of that market share and no iPhone to speak of. Instead, T-Mobile USA is trying to operate as a feisty underdog. It’s a role that Humm said he not only relishes, but one that is also a natural fit for his company, which was born with the 2001 acquisition of VoiceStream, a scrappy regional carrier.

“The organization is going back to its roots,” he said in an interview last week. “VoiceStream and later T-Mobile really started in the market as a challenger. They started with big buckets of minutes at the time and later with unlimited minutes. These are things which, in a sense, are coming back now.”

While Verizon and AT&T are shifting away from unlimited plans and Sprint is hiking the cost for smartphone data rates, T-Mobile says it plans to offer lower rates in an effort to win back market share. From its $10 entry-level data rates to unlimited family plans that can save hundreds of dollars per year, Humm said the company is putting its money where its mouth is.

“We are a very good value,” Humm said.

But before Humm can win over customers, he knows he must start with the company’s own employees, some of whom became disenchanted as their company saw itself slow to move to faster networks and embrace the latest technologies.

Humm is currently traveling around the U.S., spending each Wednesday through Friday from now until April meeting with workers in different key markets.

“In the beginning of the week I pick up my job slip from my assistant,” he said. “[I learn] ‘Where do I have to fly this week?’” Last week he stopped in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. This week he is due in Texas.

In each city, Humm outlines the plan and shows off the company’s combative ads, which feature a young man as the iPhone, hobbled by the slow speed of its networks. T-Mobile, meanwhile, is a beautiful young woman, riding fast and free on T-Mobile’s network. So far, he said, the message has resonated with the company’s employees.

There is more to do than just cut prices. In the absence of an iPhone, T-Mobile needs to do a better job of embracing Android, he said. And that doesn’t necessarily mean doing a lot of customization work, as it and others have tried to do, or spending a fortune building its own brand, as Verizon has done. Humm said that T-Mobile can have a good Android strategy, in part by just being open and quickly adopting the work done by Google and others.

“It is key for us to maintain the strong relationship we have with Google and to be very fast with Google, testing and then launching improved operating systems,” Humm said. “I don’t think it is our most important duty to really tailor all the things in a complicated way.”

One of the areas for improvement in the market is just staying current with Google, both with new updates and in offering timely upgrades for existing customers. The company is in the process of launching a new program called Reinvent, Humm said, that will do just that.

T-Mobile is also working aggressively to speed up its networks. Although it lacks the spectrum to immediately move to an all-new technology like the Long-Term Evolution network being adopted by Verizon and planned by AT&T, T-Mobile is working quickly to roll out faster versions of its existing network. That solution may only be a stop-gap, but it can offer some pretty good speeds for the next couple of years, anyway.

The company also wants to embrace new categories of devices, such as tablets. The company plans to have a 7-inch Dell Streak very soon, to be followed by a Honeycomb-based tablet from LG.

“I do not see a reason why a customer should not have two devices minimum,” Humm said. However, that is tricky when doing so requires two separate data plans and tablets require customers to plunk down $500 or $600 on top of whatever they paid for their smartphone. Lowering the up-front and monthly costs is key to broad adoption of multiple cellular-equipped devices, Humm said.

And it’s not that Humm wouldn’t like one of the options to be an iPhone.

“We never said that we would not like to have an iPhone,” he said. “We think the iPhone is a great and iconic device.”

He notes that the company has been very clear to go after the companies offering the iPhone and their networks, rather than against the iPhone itself.

“The potential of the iPhone is by no means realized on the network it is running,” Humm said, adding that things won’t improve when it comes to Verizon because it will run only on that carrier’s older CDMA network.

As for when or if the iPhone might ever come to T-Mobile USA, though, Humm has no answers.

“It really is a question to ask Apple,” he said.

Dispatches From the Supply Line Stoke iPad, iPhone Chatter

John Paczkowski — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:44:53 +0000

With the first-year anniversaries of the iPad and iPhone 4 fast approaching, and both devices destined for an update per Apple’s annual mobile device refresh cycle, the Apple rumor mill is undergoing a refresh of its own.

Supply chain sources tell China’s Economic Daily News that Apple has lined up four new component suppliers for the iPhone 5, which they claim is scheduled for a summer launch. Meanwhile, Taiwanese trade pub DigiTimes is reporting that Apple recently bolstered its printed circuit board (PCB) supply chain in preparation for the next iteration of the iPad. Where the company once used just three PCB suppliers for the device, it’s now using seven. Not a surprise, really, given the 14.8 million iPads Apple sold in 2010. DigiTimes’ sources claim they’re scheduled to begin small-volume shipments next month, before going all out in April. Which jibes nicely with that annual refresh cycle I mentioned earlier and rumors of a spring launch.

As I’ve noted here before, the iPad 2 is expected to be thinner than its predecessor and manufactured with the same unibody approach Apple’s been using for the MacBook. It’s also expected to feature an LCD backlit display, a front-facing camera and Facetime video chat support. Finally, some reports suggest it is powered by one of Qualcomm’s multimode chips and will run on both GSM and CDMA-based networks around the world.

Sprint: Collateral Damage in the Verizon-AT&T iPhone War

John Paczkowski — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:30:36 +0000

So much for Sprint’s tentative comeback. The company’s no longer hemorrhaging subscribers and money like Dan Aykroyd’s exsanguinating Julia Child, as I once joked–at least not as badly as it was. But that could change now that Apple has added Verizon as a second iPhone carrier in the States.

Not only will the Verizon iPhone likely draw new wireless subscribers away from Sprint (and T-Mobile, for that matter), it will boost its churn rate as well. Compounding that effect will be AT&T’s reaction to its loss of iPhone exclusivity and its efforts to hold on to subscribers it fears might defect to Verizon. As Bernstein Research analyst Craig Moffet noted today, AT&T’s not going to stand idly by as Verizon woos away its customers.

“Already in 2Q and 3Q 2010, AT&T partially pre-empted Verizon’s iPhone introduction by upgrading a massive number of its iPhone subscribers, so as to lock them into new 2-year contracts,” Moffet observed in a note to clients today. “This amounts to a massive re-subsidization of existing subscribers, sacrificing margins for subscriber retention. When the actual iPhone introduction at Verizon occurs, AT&T is likely to react further, with more aggressive phone subsidies, incremental advertising, the introduction of other compelling devices, and possibly with price cuts.”

And when it does, Sprint’s share of industry gross additions will inevitably decline.

There’s a wild card here, though: The special event that Sprint has planned for February. If what the company shows off there truly is the industry first it’s promising (and let’s be clear: It’s almost certainly not going to be another CDMA iPhone), perhaps it will indeed make the “impossible possible”–helping Sprint limit subscriber churn in the face of the Verizon iPhone.

When That Call Comes In, an iPhone Hotspot Is Not So Hot

Ina Fried — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 21:47:52 +0000

Don’t get me wrong–the addition of a mobile hotspot feature on the Verizon iPhone is a notable benefit.

However, those ready to throw away their MiFi should remember that there’s an important caveat: Because the CDMA network doesn’t handle voice and data at the same time, the hotspot works only when you aren’t talking on your iPhone.

If a call comes in while people are connected to the iPhone-created hotspot, data access ends until the call is done.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Boy Genius Report says that the hotspot may not remain a Verizon exclusive. The enthusiast site says that the next version of the iPhone operating system will add support for the hotspot feature. However, to actually be used in such a manner, hotspot capability will also have to be enabled by one’s wireless carrier.

AT&T iPhone customers will certainly remember that the iPhone supported tethering to a computer well before the company enabled the feature for its customers.

An AT&T representative said the company is “exploring” the possibility of such a feature but declined to comment further.

Analysts Go Out on Limb, Predict Verizon iPhone Will Be Big for Apple

John Paczkowski — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:41:57 +0000

Verizon’s announcement of the forthcoming debut of Apple’s iPhone on its network this morning was met with a flurry of analyst notes all saying exactly the same thing: 2011 is going to be a very, very strong year for the iPhone.

After all, the CDMA iPhone Apple’s built for Verizon promises to expand the company’s addressable market domestically and abroad. The device isn’t exclusive to Verizon, which means Apple’s almost certainly going to pursue additional partnerships with CDMA carries in other parts of the world– China Telecom and SK Telecom, for example.

“We see this as the single biggest lever Apple has to pull in calendar 2011,” said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who raised his iPhone unit estimates by 2.5 million because of the Verizon deal.

JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz took a similar view, suggesting that the Verizon iPhone could boost Apple’s EPS by at least $1.25 per annum. “For Apple, we believe that this new carrier relationship will be a major catalyst for U.S.-related iPhone sales over the next 18-24 months,” he wrote. “In our view, Verizon’s wireless network offers a higher quality user experience compared to AT&T’s. We expect that this dynamic will drive a significant numbers of subscribers to switch to Verizon, in addition to the adoption rate of the iPhone by existing Verizon subscribers.”

At Standard & Poor’s, Clyde Montevirgen wrote that the deal more than doubles Apple’s U.S. market opportunity and said he expects incremental unit sales of 7 million via Verizon in calendar 2011.

UBS analyst Maynard Um issued this bullish call: “Apple has set itself up for a solid year of iPhone sales. Today’s agreement with Verizon Wireless should provide additional momentum to already strong iPhone unit growth. We also expect the company to launch the iPhone 5 this summer which would serve as another catalyst for this product segment. We currently expect AAPL to ship 67.3mn iPhone units in CY11.”

And finally, over at William Blair, analyst Brian Nugent offered a few observations about the Verizon iPhone’s effects on other industry players (beyond AT&T), specifically Research in Motion and Qualcomm. For RIM, he views it as a clear negative. “While dependence on Verizon has declined significantly in the last year, Verizon still accounts for roughly 10% of RIM’s sales (by our estimate),” he said. “An iPhone at Verizon will further pressure RIM’s market share and net subscriber additions in the United States, and could hurt its average selling prices and gross margin.”

But for Qualcomm, it’s a boon. “Although we view the introduction of the iPhone at Verizon as positive for Qualcomm (which we believe is the baseband provider in the iPhone), given that Qualcomm has over 95% of Verizon baseband share, today’s announcement may not be material to the company in the near term,” he said. “On a longer-term basis, we view today’s announcement as the beginning of a closer working relationship between Apple and Qualcomm that may potentially extend beyond the Verizon handset deal.”

PREVIOUSLY:

AT&T: Verizon iPhone? Whatever.

Verizon iPhone: What, AT&T Worry?

Why Verizon’s iPhone Won’t Be So Bad for RIM

How Might the Verizon iPhone Differ From the iPhone 4 (Besides Being Able to Make Calls)?

Tired: Speculating About Verizon iPhone. Wired: Speculating About Verizon iPhone Sales.

Verizon iPhone to Debut With Unlimited Data Plan

Apple CEO Likely to Appear at Verizon iPhone Event

Verizon Event Set for Tuesday–iPhone Time

AT&T: Verizon iPhone? Whatever.

John Paczkowski — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:45:11 +0000

AT&T was quick to react to Verizon’s iPhone announcement, though it wasted very few words on it.

“For iPhone users who want the fastest speeds, the ability to talk and use apps at the same time, and unsurpassed global coverage, the only choice is AT&T,” the company said in a terse e-mailed statement, stressing the differences between the two companies’ networks. Remember, AT&T’s UMTS network allows the use of data and voice simultaneously. Verizon’s CMDA network doesn’t–at least not yet. So, initially, Verizon iPhone users won’t be able to use the Web or check email while on a call–something AT&T iPhone users have long been able to do.

Here’s Apple COO Tim Cook giving a non-answer to a question about the data/voice issue. Or rather, the same answer he gave throughout the event: Verizon customers really want the iPhone.

Translation: You guys wanted a Verizon iPhone and now you have one. Ok? Now stop whining and leave me alone.

[ See post to watch video ]

PREVIOUSLY:

AT&T: Verizon iPhone? Whatever.

Verizon iPhone: What, AT&T Worry?

Why Verizon’s iPhone Won’t Be So Bad for RIM

How Might the Verizon iPhone Differ From the iPhone 4 (Besides Being Able to Make Calls)?

Tired: Speculating About Verizon iPhone. Wired: Speculating About Verizon iPhone Sales.

Verizon iPhone to Debut With Unlimited Data Plan

Apple CEO Likely to Appear at Verizon iPhone Event

Verizon Event Set for Tuesday–iPhone Time

The Biggest Surprise About the Verizon iPhone: It's a Mobile Hotspot

Ina Fried — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:24:47 +0000

There weren’t a ton of surprises with the Verizon iPhone. In most respects it is identical to the iPhone 4, though it does feature a slightly different antenna design than the one configured for AT&T. Verizon’s version has four notches in its external antenna–one more than AT&T’s. Evidently, that was an adjustment made for Verizon’s CDMA network and not a new fix for the problems that gave rise to antennagate.

It’s running on Verizon’s older CDMA network and not the new 4G LTE network nor is it a so-called “world phone” that can run on GSM networks in other countries.

The biggest deal so far is that it can act as a mobile hotspot, allowing several PCs or devices to share its wireless connection. It can connect up to five devices.

Verizon said it won’t reveal service pricing for the iPhone or how much the hotspot service will add, if indeed there is an additional charge.

Update: 12:15 p.m. ET: A Verizon representative said that the company always charges extra for the hotspot feature, though it is not detailing if pricing will differ for the iPhone 4. The company currently charges $20 a month for 2GB of data for using its phones as Wi-Fi hotspots.

As for the feature itself, it is located as an option under the iPhone settings menu.

Three Things to Watch For at Verizon iPhoneapalooza

Ina Fried — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:06:05 +0000

Although there doesn’t seem to be much mystery about what will be unveiled on Tuesday, there are some important details not yet known about the inaugural Verizon iPhone.

4G or 3G, World phone or CDMA-only?
A key question is which networks the Verizon iPhone will support. Supporting the carrier’s 4G network could help the Verizon iPhone get faster data and make calls and receive data at the same time, but would also likely drive up the cost and hurt battery life. As Apple has in the past been content to let other phone makers be the first on a given network, many analysts expect this iPhone not to support Verizon’s just introduced–and still limited–LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network. Also, will Verizon and Apple have accepted the added cost to build in support for non-U.S. networks to allow the phone to work in countries that don’t support Verizon’s CDMA technology?
What features distinguish the Verizon iPhone from the iPhone 4?
Although many expect the Verizon iPhone to largely resemble the iPhone 4, it is unlikely to be a clone of its AT&T sibling. The differences will shape the battleground between AT&T and Verizon as the two battle over current and future iPhone customers. Unlimited data use appears to be one thing in the Verizon iPhone’s favor. Network speed could go either way, depending on whether there is 4G support in the Verizon device.
Details, details, details.
How much will the phone cost? Will current Verizon customers be able to switch to the iPhone for the same price as new customers? What about those who have recently bought another phone–will they have to wait until their full contract is up? Will Verizon have managed to get any of its apps pre-loaded. There are all kinds of fun little details that should give us pixel-stained wretches plenty to get all lathered up about. And oh yeah, when can everyone get their hot little hands on the darn thing?

For answers to all this and more, AllThingsD will have live coverage starting just before 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.