Showing posts with label Verizon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Verizon. Show all posts

Monday, 13 February 2012

Motorola, Verizon Holding October 18 Event; New Droid To Debut?

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Samsung may have had to postpone it's Unpacked event with Google, and while we'll have to keep waiting if we want to see what we're all expecting to be the Galaxy Prime along with Ice Cream Sandwich, it looks like we'll have product reveals from other manufacturers to deal with in the meantime, with Motorola just sending out invitations for an event it's throwing with Verizon scheduled for next week, October 18.

Motorola invites attendees to check out "the next big innovation" it's been working on. That sounds a lot like a product announcement, so what could it be? We've heard of a Droid 4 that's being developed, but it's much too early to expect that guy to show up. Far more likely would be the chance to see the Droid HD or Droid RAZR. We heard a rumor that the Droid HD (aka Spyder) was in fact the Droid RAZR itself. Previously, we had been thinking they were indeed two distinct models, and now hopefully this event will put that uncertainty to rest. Another hint this is the path Motorola is walking down: a reference to "spyder" in the invitation's filename.


Notice the razor blade in the clip? Hint, hint. And the formula for Kevlar (which is supposed to be used in the construction of the RAZR)?

Source: Motorola

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Verizon Unveils Samsung Stratosphere: First QWERTY LTE Phone

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There's been no real shortage of recent Samsung Stratosphere leaks going from pictures to manuals, specs and Verizon documents. The carrier finally made the phone official as its first QWERTY-enabled 4G LTE smartphone.

It packs a four-inch Super AMOLED display, 1GHz Hummingbird Application Processor, five-row QWERTY keyboard, 1.3-megapixel front-facer, five-megapixel main camera with autofocus and flash (720p HD playback and 480p recording), WiFi a/b/g/n, Mobile Hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0 and Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The Samsung Stratosphere will be available starting October 13 in Verizon Stores as well as online for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Source: Verizon

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Sunday, 12 February 2012

Verizon Motorola Droid X2 Update Available: Report

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The 1.3.380.MB870 software update for the Motorola Droid X2 on Verizon is reportedly available for download. We heard of the refresh last week along with some details of what it will contain and fix.

Among the changes are the fix for the keyboard which now remains visible during text input, characters are properly displayed during text entry, device will no longer lockup or reset when using the keyboard, charging indicator will display only when the device is plugged into a charger, home key functions correctly while the device is in the desktop cradle, successfully use the camera after unlocking the device, video quality has been improved for video recording and playback, and more. The firmware is reportedly available to download so make sure to check for its availability on your Droid X2.

Source: AndroidCentral

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Monday, 26 September 2011

Verizon Joining AT&T With September 27 Mango?

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Earlier today, we heard that AT&T would start pushing out Mango updates to its customers' Windows phone 7 handsets beginning next Tuesday, September 27. Though it's far from confirmed, there's a chance that Verizon could follow suit and get its update started on the very same day.

This tidbit comes courtesy of an online chat log with a Verizon representative. We're well-aware how unreliable such sources can be at times, so treat this rumor with the appropriate level of skepticism.

The chat log shows a user in the midst of a Windows Phone 7 discussion with a Verizon rep. The user asks, "do you know if it will be updated for Verizon same day as other carriers (Sept 27, i believe?)", to which the rep simply responds, "Yes, it will."

The log makes it look as if the user was in the process of asking about ordering a Trophy, so there's the very real possibility that an unscrupulous rep was saying anything necessary to close the deal. We'd like to think we're not that cynical, though, so we'll give this the benefit of the doubt until we hear anything else from Verizon either confirming or denying the news.

Source: WPCentral
Via: Mobile Tech World

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Sunday, 25 September 2011

Verizon Showing The Trophy Running Windows Phone Mango

pocketnow.com

Corey Online Media, LLC

Glen Mills, PA

United States of America

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Friday, 23 September 2011

Verizon Selling $100 Pantech Breakout LTE Android September 22

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We've been keeping our eye on the Pantech Breakout for a little while now, expecting it to launch as the first budget-priced Android using Verizon's high-speed LTE 4G network. Last week we heard that the phone would likely be released this week, on Thursday, September 22. With just a few days to spare, Verizon has finally announced the Breakout, confirming the September 22 launch rumor, and giving the phone a $100 on-contract price tag.

You may not be swayed by the Pantech brand name alone, but look past that to the Breakout's hardware, and you'll find some decent specs for what's becoming a mid-range Android configuration. The phone has a single-core 1GHz processor, four-inch WVGA screen, and five-megapixel rear and VGA front-facing cameras. Pantech includes an 8GB microSD card for storage, and will bring the phone to market running Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Verizon's confirmed one rumored ability we were hoping the Breakout would get: WiFi hotspot support for connecting up to 10 devices. Of course, you probably won't be using close to that many at once, but you have the feature there when you need it.

Pantech just started introducing Android phones to North America earlier this year with the Crossover on AT&T. Any opinions on how its efforts are shaping up so far? Would you buy a Pantech Android over an HTC or Motorola?

Source: Verizon
Via: Unwired View

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Get A Verizon Phone From Amazon And Receive A $50 Gift Card

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Motorola Droid Bionic, HTC Droid Incredible 2, HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Droid Charge, LG Revolution 4G are just a few of the phones you might be interested in purchasing if you consider signing a contract with Verizon Wireless.

If you do that at Amazon Wireless between September 16 and 11:59 p.m. PDT September 26, 2011, you'll also receive a $50 Amazon.com Gift Card code. The offer is valid for a new line of service and is valid for a purchase of any Verizon-bound smartphones. Amazon already has great prices on certain devices; couple that with the $50 gift card and you'll get yourself a great deal! Oh, the offer is limited to one per customer, but there are Android, BlackBerry and even Windows Phones in the package.

Source: Amazon Wireless
Thanks: Anonymous

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Thursday, 22 September 2011

Verizon And LG Announce The Enlighten, Available 09/22-29

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After the Verizon-bound LG Enlighten recently met its delay, the U.S. carrier and the South Korean phone manufacturer have just announced the phone. It will be available online at beginning September 22 and in stores on September 29.

The slide-out QWERTY-enabled Android is powered by Android 2.3 Gingerbread and a shy 800 MHz processor. The rest of the specs are mid-range too, with a 3.2-inch HVGA display, and a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera. There's also WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and a slide-out four-row QWERTY keyboard for fast typing. The price will be $79.99 after a $50 mail in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement and if you'd like an entry-level Android phone that comes cheap, look for it online and in stores this month.

VS700 Open
Source: Verizon Previous Page Next Page

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Sunday, 18 September 2011

Verizon Leak Prices Breakout, Confirms Stratosphere, Rhyme

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Pantech's Breakout has been looking like a decently-equipped Android that could let Verizon subscribers check out LTE without paying the premium price most Verizon LTE smartphones demand. Well, that's what we had been assuming, at least, since we hadn't gotten any real indication of what the carrier had in mind so far as a launch price. Now that info's leaked out, and it's well within the "affordable" range.

According to the docs, a full-price Pantech Breakout will only set you back around $360. Sign on for two years of service, and you'll walk out the door with one for just $150; that's not unreasonable for a 1GHz Android like the Breakout even without considering its LTE connectivity.

As for the HTC Rhyme and the Samsung Stratosphere, this leak confirms their presence in Verizon's database, but doesn't really give us any new information on the pair. The Rhyme is a 1GHz Android we used to know as the Bliss (the phone designed for women), and will arrive with HTC's latest Sense 3.5. Samsung's Stratosphere is another LTE handset like the Breakout, but a QWERTY slider this time; sadly, most of its specs are still unknown to us. Look for all three smartphones to show up at Verizon in the near future.

Source: Droid-life

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Verizon Google Nexus Prime Landing On November 3?

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Google Nexus Prime, Samsung Nexus Prime, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and so on... There are many names to it but in fact it's one device that the Android enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for. The pure Android phone will be allegedly landing at Verizon on November 3.

The information comes in a rather cryptic form: "Fore on the date Bruce Wayne?s true father did die; you shall in fact be able to buy in stores of red and black", tweets Tom Fleming. Well, Bob Kane, the creator of Batman (Bruce Wayne) did die on November 3 and the "red and black" store points to Verizon. Other than that, treat this as another Nexus Prime (or whatever it will be called) rumor.

Source: Twitter
Via: Electronista

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Verizon Motorola Droid X Getting 4.5.605 Keyboard Fix Update

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The last time the Verizon Motorola Droid X got an update it was version 4.5.602 back in August and it brought a cornucopia of fixes and improvements to the table. One issue still remained though: the keyboard bug.

According to rumors, Verizon is preparing to roll-out an update on September 19. It will be version 4.5.605 and its sole purpose will be to "resolve keyboard stability and usability issues in order to optimize performance during text entry". The update, even though it's only fixing a single issue, weighs 113MB and, according to those who had the pleasure of testing it, will fix the bug alright but will unfortunately introduce new ones. Let's wait it out and see if it's just an isolated issue or a general one (in which case we hope Verizon and Motorola sort it out before the roll-out process, even if it's delayed a bit).

Source: Motorola
Via: Droid-Life

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Friday, 16 September 2011

Samsung Publishes Verizon Illusion Render

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We've seen the Samsung Illusion for Verizon together with the Pantech Breakout LTE when renders of the two phones headed to Big Red surfaced on the internet. It now appears that Samsung itself has published an official press render of the Illusion phone, ahead of any other official announcement.

We're expecting the Illusion to land around the end of month but the specs aren't certain. Still, expect to see entry-level-like specs on the SCH-i110, like an 800MHz or even a 1GHz processor, HVGA resolution screen, and a three, maybe five-megapixel camera. Android 2.3 Gingerbread could be a nice addition and you can see Samsung's own TouchWiz user interface running on top of the Google platform.

Source: Flickr
Via: Electronista

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Thursday, 15 September 2011

Verizon LTE Adds 26 New Markets, Expands in 3 More

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Verizon Wireless is continuing to expand its 4G LTE service. Today the wireless carrier is reportedly turning on their super-fast wireless service in 26 new markets:
+ Fort Smith, AR
+ Jonesboro, AR
+ San Luis Obispo, CA
+ Santa Barbara, CA
+ Daytona, FL
+ Bloomington, IL
+ Champaign/Urbana, IL
+ Rockford, IL
+ Springfield, IL
+ The Quad Cities, IL/IA
+ Iowa City, IA
+ Shreveport, LA
+ Kalamazoo, MI
+ Saginaw, MI
+ Reno, NV
+ Las Cruces, NM
+ Fargo, ND
+ Canton, OH
+ Lima, OH
+ Mansfield, OH
+ Dyersburg, TN
+ The Tri-Cities, TN/VA
+ Austin, TX
+ Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX
+ Wichita Falls, TX
+ El Paso, TX

The following areas should also see expanded coverage:
+ San Francisco, CA
+ Indianapolis, IN
+ Cleveland/Akron, OH

If you're in one of these areas, please fire up Speedtest.net and let up know how fast your LTE speeds are.

Source: The Android Site

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Tuesday, 13 September 2011

LG Enlighten For Verizon Delayed: "Coming Soon"

Whatever happened to the LG Enlighten? You might be more familiar with the phone as the LG Gelato Q QWERTY slider. As of late August, the phone looked all ready to launch, but its expected August 25 release date came and passed without the model materializing. Did Verizon pull a Bionic at the last moment and send it back to the drawing board? A newly-leaked image suggests that the Enlighten launch is still a "go", though doesn't help us narrow-down just when it may be.

A picture taken from an upcoming Verizon catalog shows the Enlighten as "coming soon". At least that implies that any delay may only be temporary, and that we might hope to see the phone's release in the next month or so.

We're left scratching our heads as to why the launch was re-scheduled, but wouldn't be surprised to learn it was a strategic move on Verizon's part.

The Enlighten is powered by an 800MHz single-core processor, has a 3.2-inch HVGA screen, and a 3.2-megapixel flash-less camera. Not the most interesting hardware, sure, but we'll let the phone's price speak for itself once it arrives.

Source: Android Central
Via: VzBuzz


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Thursday, 8 September 2011

Verizon And Motorola Officially Launch the Droid Bionic

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It's always a pleasure to see phones being launched before the rumored launch date even if it's just a couple of hours early. Verizon and Motorola today officially announced the highly anticipated Motorola Droid Bionic, presented at this year's CES in January, then pulled for a facelift and now finally launched.

The phone will be available starting tomorrow, September 8, as the carrier's first dual-core phone to support 4G LTE. The Droid Bionic sports a 1GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM, 4.3-inch qHD display, eight-megapixel autofocus camera with flash and 1080p HD video capture, front-facing camera for video chat, HDMI-out, and 32 GB memory out of which 16 GB on board and 16 GB microSD card pre-installed (with support for 32GB cards). The phone runs Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread out of the box with add-on apps preinstalled like MOTOPRINT (print via Wi-Fi-enabled printers) and Adobe Flash.

The phone supports wireless charger and it will be available in Verizon Wireless Stores as well as online on September 8 for $299.99 with a new two-year contract. Accessory-wise, the Droid Bionic can be used with a lapdock ($299.97), HD Station ($99.99) and an Adapter for Webtop Application ($29.99). The Vehicle Navigation Dock will be available for $39.99 and the Battery Dock will be available for $49.99.


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Motorola Droid Bionic Now Available From Verizon

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After a long period of waiting -- since it was first introduced this January at CES and then went through a facelift procedure -- the Motorola Droid Bionic was finally introduced yesterday by the OEM together with the carrier.

As promised, the phone is available as of now and it goes for $299.99 with a two-year contract. If you decide to buy only the phone it will cost you $589.99 but you'll get a dual-core 1GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM, 4.3-inch qHD display, eight-megapixel autofocus camera with flash and 1080p HD video capture, front-facing camera for video chat, HDMI-out, and 32 GB memory out of which 16 GB on board and 16 GB microSD card pre-installed (with support for 32GB cards).

There's also a deal for you over at Amazon if you're into grabbing the Droid Bionic. They have it for $199.99 if you sign a two-year contract but the phone is only backordered so you'll probably have to wait a couple of days until you get it. Still, worth the $100 you save!

Source: Verizon, Amazon
Via: AndroidPolice

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Tuesday, 19 July 2011

IPhone rides Verizon to gain preference edge over Android

Apple, as many a commenter to our blog has pointed out, isn’t interested in market share so much as profits. But it’s finding increasingly that it might not have to settle for just one as it expands distribution, adds more improvements to its platform and looks at lower price points.

A new ChangeWave consumer survey found Apple has slightly widened its preference lead among smartphone owners preparing to buy a handset in the next three months. The survey of 4,163 consumers found 46 percent of smartphone consumers in June preferred to buy an iPhone, up slightly from 44 percent in March. Interest in Android also inched up from 31 percent in March to 32 percent in June. But it’s a sign that the iPhone could be headed for strong sales in the second half of the year as the next iPhone model launches.

Prior to this year, consumer preference for Apple was basically tied with Android: 36 percent for iOS to 35 percent for Android in December and 38 percent to 37 percent in September. What’s changed? Apple started offering the iPhone on Verizon Wireless  in February, basically doubling distribution for the handset in the U.S. That has helped spur on the iPhone and apparently slowed the rise of Android, as we’ve pointed out. And as ChangeWave notes, it has also hurt Motorola, who had relied a lot on Verizon in the past and whose consumer preference is now down by 4 points to 8 percent.

The iPhone still has runway ahead, especially if it continues to expand to more carriers and perhaps offers cheaper models. The iPhone has been outsold by Android over the last year even though it consistently has been preferred over Android by smartphone buyers in ChangeWave surveys. Now that it’s more widely available, more consumers are able to buy the device and more are also signaling their intent to do so. With fewer carrier restrictions, we may see a bigger lift as this preference lead translates into bigger sales, especially if Apple announces a deal with Sprint or T-Mobile.

Now, users can say one thing, but do something else when it comes down to buying. Android can be a very appealing choice when it’s being shown off by a sales person. Numerous models at cheaper price points can also help convince users to go with Android. That’s why Apple’s upcoming iOS 5 improvements are also a boost because they’re addressing some nagging issues like notifications, which are holding back the platform compared to rivals. That might have helped inch up consumer intent in June, following Apple’s unveiling of iOS 5 at the Worldwide Developers Conference. And if Apple can follow through on a cheaper iPhone model, something it said it’s interested in, it might further even the playing field.

What’s increasingly clear is that Android and iOS are in a race of their own right now. Preference for Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS fell to 4 percent in June, the lowest result since ChangeWave began its quarterly surveys in January 2008. In consumer satisfaction among existing users, iOS trumps the field with 70 percent of users very satisfied, compared to 50 percent for Android, 27 percent for Windows OS and 26 percent for BlackBerry. Interestingly, when Windows Phone 7 is broken out apart from the older Windows Mobile platform, its satisfaction rating is 57 percent, ahead of Android. That’s a sign that Microsoft has a strong platform on its hands that will only get better with the upcoming Mango update and Nokia support. It just needs to push harder on selling and marketing its devices.

As I said earlier, Apple doesn’t chase market share just for the sake of it, and is happy to suck down an estimated half of the handset industry’s profits. But with preference so high for iOS, there’s no reason why it can’t grab a bigger share. Will it eclipse Android? Maybe not when you consider all the different Android models available. But Apple has more levers to pull, and it’s showing it can goose sales if it wants to.

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Friday, 15 July 2011

IOS saps Android developer momentum with iPad 2, Verizon iPhone

Apple’s hold on third-party mobile developers has gotten stronger with the apparent help of the iPad 2 and Verizon iPhone, cutting into big gains from Android, according to app analytics firm Flurry. The latest numbers, taken from new app project starts, suggest that even with the fast advance of Android, developers still like their prospects on iOS, which is an important indicator of the strength of the platform.

Flurry, which looked at 20,000 Flurry apps that were added from January to June, said iPhone and iPod Touch had 57 percent of new project starts in the second quarter, up from 54 percent in the first quarter, while iPad projects went from 10 to 15 percent quarter over quarter. Android, meanwhile, slipped from 36 percent in the first quarter to 28 percent in the second quarter. That’s two consecutive quarter declines for Android, which peaked in the fourth quarter last year with 39 percent of new project starts.

The rebound in popularity of iOS seems to coincide with the Verizon iPhone, which has apparently also slowed some of Android’s sales growth. And it also seems to factor in the growth of the iPad 2. Apple has said it now has 425,000 apps on iOS, including 100,000 iPad apps.

Flurry’s Charles Newark-French said in a blog post that the Verizon launch of the iPhone helped swing the pendulum back in the favor of iOS after developers started jumping on the opportunity afforded by Android. He said the popularity of the iPad has also driven developers to the iOS platform.

Newark-French said Android developers are increasingly concerned about the cost of deploying on Android because of fragmentation, both for the operating system and with competing storefronts.

“With developers pinched on both sides of the revenue and cost equation, Google must tack aggressively at this stage of the race to ensure that Apple doesn’t continue to take its developer-support wind,” he said.

Android is still the second option for most developers, though with sales of Android units skyrocketing, many had started to prepare for a shift in their development strategies. But Apple still has the best monetization prospects, and it has only gotten better with more distribution of the iPhone and the growing strength of the iPad. Remember, this isn’t just a battle of smartphones; this is about ecosystems, and Apple is no slouch there. In fact, it still has an overall edge. Android will still keep coming, and if it can get its tablets to sell, it can offer a bigger target audience. But developers still aren’t completely convinced it’s time to bet on Android over iOS. Why should they be?

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Friday, 8 July 2011

Why Verizon should buy Hulu

The search for a Hulu buyer continues, with reports emerging that the company is making pitches to a wide range of media and technology companies. While much of the press so far has focused on the big technology companies — Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and the like — little attention has been paid to the other potential buyers. Verizon, in particular, seems like a good match for the company, as it has shown a willingness to invest in online video, but not at the expense of its traditional FiOS TV business.

Google and others in the tech world are all about innovation and disruption, but that’s not necessarily what ABC, NBC and Fox want from a buyer. With Verizon, they’d be getting a partner they’re already doing business with. More importantly, both Verizon and the broadcasters have the same interests, and neither will blindly support growth at Hulu at the expense of live TV viewing or fewer people paying for FiOS.

Verizon, therefore, is less likely to balk at crippling terms in Hulu’s recently renegotiated rights deals. Some reports suggest those deals could extend the time between shows being broadcast and becoming available online by up to a week, rather than being up on Hulu the day after they air.

There’s also the belief that broadcasters could start tying next-day access to Hulu shows to their cable subscriptions. Many cable networks already use pay TV subscriber logins to authenticate users, in a scheme referred to as TV Everywhere. But the latest talks suggest this TV Everywhere plan could be extended to broadcast TV.

While HD over-the-air signals for broadcast TV are free, many broadcasters have begun demanding pay TV operators pay retransmission fees for access to their shows, in the same way they pay per-subscriber fees for cable networks. As a result, those operators might demand Hulu begin authenticating its users in the same way cable networks do.

Google, Amazon, Yahoo and other tech companies might be opposed to such a requirement, as it could affect viewership on the newly acquired site, but it’s actually in Verizon’s best interests to support such a plan. After all, Verizon wants to sign up as many TV Everywhere users as possible, who could then view content from Epix, HBO, Showtime and other networks that have made their content available through the service.

One might ask what Verizon actually gets from Hulu. After all, if the telco is fine with certain rights requirements — like longer windows and authentication — that might limit growth and consumer adoption, and one could argue it’s not fully committed to growing the online video company as an independent business. If that’s the case, then why buy it at all?

For one thing, this type of move isn’t entirely unprecedented. Comcast purchased Fandango back in 2007 and used it for the basis of its Fancast online video portal, which later became Xfinity TV Online. And let’s not forget: Verizon is essentially an IPTV play, and has been supporting IP video for years. It has also recently made a number of moves that suggest it could begin getting a lot more aggressive in the online video space in particular. An acquisition of Hulu would merely supplement those already existing initiatives.

Take, for instance, its plan to allow subscribers to purchase video-on-demand titles through the program guide and watch them online or across a number of mobile or connected devices. Or its yet-to-be-released live streaming iPad app . Or its plan to make its streaming VOD service available to users that aren’t even FiOS subscribers, potentially pitting it against iTunes, Amazon Video On Demand and Walmart’s Vudu. These efforts show a willingness to jump into the online video market, and Hulu would be complementary to those services.

Then there’s Verizon’s Digital Media Services initiative. At NAB this year, it was being pitched as a way to simplify the delivery of broadcast video online, while also lowering the cost of distributing to as many devices and platforms as possible. It’s clear Verizon isn’t just thinking about online video to grow its revenues from the traditional TV or VOD perspective, but it’s also looking at its role as part of the broader ecosystem.

Now that we’ve discussed Verizon’s pros, let’s look at some of the other potential buyers — and why they wouldn’t make such a good fit. Of the aforementioned suitors, there are serious issues with each one:

Google is already knee-deep in its own work to transform YouTube into a destination for long-form professional and semi-professional content, and any combination of YouTube and Hulu is likely to face serious regulatory scrutiny.Amazon is Hulu CEO Jason Kilar’s former employer, and has invested in an online VOD and subscription video service. But it has shown no interest in ad-supported video, which is Hulu’s bread and butter.Microsoft has never invested heavily in digital media properties and seems unlikely to start now.Given Yahoo‘s recent history of acquisitions, it seems clear to most people that a purchase of Hulu could have disastrous results for the site.

In other words, there are plenty of reasons why Hulu might not work with some of the larger tech firms. But there are some very good reasons why a distributor like Verizon would want to buy into a startup like Hulu, even if it is potentially disruptive to the traditional TV business. That’s not to say a Verizon-Hulu mashup would be a slam dunk, but if Verizon were really committed to investing in Hulu’s business as a potential new growth engine, it could be an easy lay-up.

Photo courtesy of (CC BY 2.0) Flickr user Casey Serin.

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Wednesday, 6 July 2011

Verizon unplugging unlimited plans July 7

Updated. Thirteen months after rival AT&T stopped offering unlimited smartphone data plans, Verizon Wireless is ready to follow. New customers on or after July 7 will have to choose between four three tiers of monthly data, ranging from 75 MB to 10 GB of mobile broadband service. Existing Verizon customers can keep their unlimited plans, even when upgrading their smartphones.

The new tiered plans have been rumored for months — Verizon signaled its intent last year and confirmed it this past March — but have just been confirmed today. Fierce Wireless received confirmation from Brenda Raney, a Verizon media spokesperson. The new monthly plan costs and limits break down as follows, with a $10 overage for an additional GB of data:

75 MB for $10 (Update: per a correction to the original Fierce Wireless report, this plan is solely for non-smartphones, i.e.: 3G-capable feature phones)2 GB for $305 GB for $5010GB for $80

Depending on the service level, some plans are more expensive than the similar offerings from AT&T, while others are more attractive. A 2 GB data plan from AT&T, likely more than enough data for most casual smartphone owners, is $25 per month, or $5 less than what the same amount of mobile broadband will cost new Verizon customers. But heavy data users will do better with Verizon: It would cost $55 for an AT&T smartphone owner to have 5 GB of available data. And although 10 GB is overkill for all but a small percentage of current smartphone customers, AT&T would charge $105 for such capacity as compared to Verizon’s $80. AT&T wins at the very low end though: Instead of a paltry 75 MB from Verizon for $10 a month, $5 more nets 200 MB from AT&T. (Note: see update above, as the 75 MB plan from Verizon is for feature phones.)

Related to the new smartphone plans are details about Verizon’s LTE and mobile hotspot services. The Droid Life blog reported last week that customers with an LTE-capable device, such as the Samsung Charge or HTC Thunderbolt, will have to start paying for the 4G mobile hotspot feature; a service that has been free up to now. On July 7, in tandem with the new tiered data plans, customers will reportedly pay $20 per month to gain both an additional 2 GB of data and the ability to use the mobile hotspot functionality of the 4G smartphones.

Given the rising appetite for mobile broadband in the face of increased smartphone adoption, Verizon’s move was expected by many and considered inevitable by some. Coverage and network reliability are still key decision points for any mobile broadband service, but now customers on the two largest networks will be factoring in their varying data usage needs, and the monthly costs required to meet those needs. Sprint still offers unlimited data, and while T-Mobile offers “unlimited” plans, the carrier does slow network speeds after a tiered amount of data is reached in a month. With T-Mobile very likely to be consumed by AT&T, that may be a moot point, however.

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