Posted on 11 March 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: HSPA, webconnect, Webconnect Rocket
T-Mobile has officially announced (again) the availability of the webConnect Rocket, its first HSPA+ data connect card. Available starting March 14th, the webConnect Rocket will run $99. Along with the announcement of their very first HSPA+ data card, T-Mobile has revised their webConnect data plans. Customers can now choose between an Even More webConnect data plan, which requires a life sentence two-year contract, and get 5GB for $60 per month or 200MB for $30 per month. Even More Plus fans can take advantage of slightly lower webConnect data plans which will charge $50 per month for 5GB or $20 per month for 200MB. Keep in mind that all plans have overage charges costing $0.20 per megabyte.
T-Mobile also stated that their entire network is now HSPA 7.2Mbps capable covering more than 273 cities and 206 million people. Also note that the HSPA+ network is only available in Philadelphia at the moment, but T-Mobile has plans to cover most of the network by the end of 2010.
For a glimpse at HSPA+ goodness, take a look at this preview and this one too!
Phonescoop
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Posted on 08 March 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: HSPA, Webconnect Rocket
Michael Oryl, the top dog over at Mobileburn.com, got his hands on a webConnect Rocket over the past month and took it for a spin on T-Mobile’s Philadelphia HSPA+ network. As expected, he came away pretty impressed with the range of test speeds. In optimal conditions, it peaked at speeds well above current offerings. Using the webConnect Rocket in an area of a “reported good, but far from perfect signal”, he hit download speeds of 5600Kbps and 1009Kbps up. What happened to the speed in a prime signal location? It was downright impressive. Download speeds maxed out during the trials at 6629Kbps and upload speeds at 3155Kbps. What happened when he tried to download a 100MB AVI file? Try getting ‘er done in 3 minutes 13 seconds. Of course, that’s under the most optimal conditions. With T-Mobile focusing on the backhaul and running a proper fiber network to its towers, hopefully those speeds will be available to all when HSPA+ launches nationally.
For the full speed report and a comparison to Wimax, hit the full article over at Mobileburn!
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Posted on 02 March 2010 by Stephen. Tags: 3G, HSPA, Idaho
Residents of Boise, Idaho are rejoicing! Thanks to T-Mobile, they are now experiencing 3G goodness! As someone who has had 3G for a while, I sometimes forget that not all of the country has 3G. Personally, I can’t wait for HSPA+ which T-Mobile is indeed promising. Currently, HSPA+ is only available in certain markets now. Get ready for 21Mbps! Let’s hope it comes soon.
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Posted on 16 February 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: HSPA, Webconnect Rocket
All jealousy aside, Kevin Tofel of JKontherun got a first glimpse at the Webconnect Rocket, T-Mobile’s first foray into HSPA+ USB modem goodness. In a word, “wow,” the speeds he experienced are everything we can hope for, with the best yet to come. At best, he saw 9.11 Mbps on the download side. Damn, that’s fast.
With plug-and-play installation, a microSD memory slot and speeds that will impress your mom, the Webconnect rocket should impress even the most stalwart T-Mobile user. While an HSPA+ rollout still may be months down the road for a large contingent of T-Mobile subscribers, the wait should be more than worth it. Though of course, if the USB modem isn’t your cup of tea, this is just a preview of what future HSPA+ devices should be capable of. Kevin does make note that all speeds are theoretical and it’s likely no one will ever see 21 Mbps of usage. Instead you are likely to only see half of those speeds, which for most users are plenty fast. Thankfully, you’ll still be faster than traditional broadband speeds with more than enough horsepower to meet your daily mobile browsing needs.
For the full results, take a glance at the full article on JKontherun.
Above image courtesy of JKontherun
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Posted on 16 February 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: HSPA, HTC HD2, webconnect, Webconnect Rocket
Having hinted last week that the HTC HD2 would come with something unexpected, this morning T-Mobile announced the HTC HD2 would come packed with an entertainment bonanza. Like Blockbuster On Demand for downloading movies on the device or Barnes and Noble downloadable e-reader content and last but definitely not least, Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen included on the microSD card. Any phone that comes with both Transformers movies is a must buy for me! Say what you want, but Michael Bay movies are just “explosively” fun. The best news? The HTC HD2 will be exclusive to Magenta making you the envy of HTC Sense lovers everywhere. This phone just can’t truly be enjoyed without 3G speeds but I’m doing a damn good job of trying! The bigger questions is when or if the HD2 will receive an update to Windows Phone 7 in the future but for the moment, enjoy its 4.3 inches of excellence! Officially expected to drop in March, we’re still expecting the 24th as the leaked retail slide showed.
Of course, not to be outshone by the HTC HD2 is the Webconnect Rocket, T-Mobile’s first HSPA+ USB modem capable of the 21Mbps speed we are all drooling over. Of course, the launch will have to wait a little for a footprint to use as the service is still only available in the Philadelphia area. We know that the east and west coasts are going to be the first areas where you will be able to fully enjoy data speeds that make DSL look like child’s play. The Webconnect rocket drops in March, though the exact date is unknown.
Full press release after the break!
Engadget
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Posted on 11 February 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: 3G, HSPA, Lexington
Well it has certainly been a while since we’ve seen or heard anything surrounding 3G launches for T-Mobile. Our attention has been focused on HSPA and HSPA+ services that we have all but lost sight that not everyone has received 3G service. Lexington, Kentucky is the first 3G launch is the first 3G launch in two months and we know that plenty of areas are still left. However, HSPA and HSPA+ still dominate our desires right now and the more we focus on those launches, the less focus we have on areas that are still hoping for 3G.
Hopefully, 2010 will see a nationwide rollout for T-Mobile giving all customers the opportunity to enjoy all that 3G has to offer.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in!
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Posted on 09 February 2010 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: 4G, GigaOM, HSPA, LTE
The folks over at GigaOM are lucky enough to to sit down with the T-Mobile powers that be and discuss current happenings and the HSPA+ network. First things first, that HSPA+ upgrade we’re all eagerly awaiting, will be hitting the East and West coasts before making its way inland. The obvious questions of who is first and when were met with non-answers but eluded to “major cities from Washington, D.C. to Boston” along with “major cities” along the California coast. Guessing that means us Floridians who happen to “technically” live on the coast *cough* will be patiently waiting along with the rest of the country. There is also a little bit of he said, she said with AT&T in this piece regarding who has faster backhaul and who is rolling it out faster. Since its AT&T though, we can count on them screwing it up somewhere and giving T-Mobile the advantage. With 7 percent of its towers set to 20Mbps of capacity, the next few weeks should that number rise to 25 percent and allow a significant portion of T-mobile subscribers some lovely data speeds when this service does indeed go live for all.
Of course, HSPA+ capable phones are as of yet unannounced but we can hope some serious muscle will be brought to bear in order to get a swift rollout of devices able to handle this network. T-Mobile isn’t alone in this HSPA+ venture, as 25 other carriers have already deployed the service so devices are already on the market. Though we should point out, we don’t know which of them if any T-mobile might bring to the masses here in the US. Could be none as T-Mobile could easily go to the manufacturers directly and specify handsets as it sounds only logical with the T-Mobile commitment to Android so entrenched that we’ll something along those lines first.
With LTE still a dream for many, T-Mobile has a lofty opportunity here to both push their own network as well as buying some time to perfect their own 4G solution.
Grab the whole article from GigaOM here.
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Posted on 05 January 2010 by Alex. Tags: 3G, HSPA
Today is the day you’ve all been waiting for! Although T-Mobile had promised us HSPA 7.2Mbps before the end of 2009, better late than never right? Today Phonescoop claims that, T-Mobile has officially announced that it has upgraded its entire 3G network to HSPA 7.2Mbps. T-Mobile also claims that its 3G footprint now covers some 200 million Americans. Along with the announcement, T-Mobile also stated that it plans to be the first U.S. carrier to deploy HSPA+ 21Mbps across its network by mid 2010. Now we can finally show AT&T who really has the ‘nations fastest 3G network’. I don’t know about you but it can’t get better than this, or can it? Are you guys getting super fast 3G speeds? Let us know in the comments!
Phonescoop
UPDATE: Try rebooting your handset to get the faster 3G speeds.
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Posted on 30 December 2009 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: 2009, 2010, Deutsche Telekom, Google Phone, HSPA, HTC HD2, iPhone, N900, Nexus One, PCmag, Sprint, T-Mobile iPhone
Update: I’m bringing this back to the front because as the news comes forward that T-Mobile is the launch partner for the Nexus One, where do you see T-Mobile going in 2010?
With the year ending in less than two weeks time, 2009 has been a rollercoaster for T-Mobile on any number of levels. To say that we all look forward to what will come in 2010 wouldn’t be enough of an understatement. The last few weeks have at least seen their share of exciting phone news and with that, a notion that T-Mobile may finally be ready to deliver handsets that deserve the hype they create. The Google Phone, X10, HTC HD2 and the N900 showcase the idea that T-Mobile and their off-the-beaten path AWS bands are not to be ignored. Also, through smooth negotiating or a desire to not be a part of the AT&T disaster train, handset manufacturers see promise in the T-Mobile customer base.
Read the full story
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Posted on 16 December 2009 by David, Managing Editor. Tags: HSPA, JKontherun, PCmag, Webconnect Jet
What appears to be an internal newsletter is currently being circulated to T-Mobile employees—a little self promotion regarding HSPA+. Mainly a cheerleader letter patting them on the back for recent testing results regarding HSPA+ services by two prominent tech bloggers, there is also a little dig at Clear. As hoped for, the test results came back quite favorably considering current market offerings and continue to increase the excitement and possibility of what faster data services could offer consumers. Not so much for Clear however, who was outgunned by T-Mobile on both the upload and the download, so much so that the friendly competition led to Clear packing it in early. Nice job Tmo, way to finally show off some of that 3G muscle through a spin doctored email.
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