Smartphone Straight Talk

The fact that modern smartphones still actually make voice calls may well come as a surprise to many users happy to use their mobile devices as pocket-sized computers. Carriers, on the other hand, seem content to keep the "phone" in smartphone. AT&T's Randall Stephenson told an investor conference this week that he sees a time in which carriers offer up data-only options for subscribers -- a time that may well come in the next two years or so. The CEO said he'd, "be surprised if, in the next 24 months, we don't see people in the market place with data-only plans." It's hardly an announcement, but it certainly comes from a guy who knows a thing or two about where the industry is headed.

AT&T CEO predicts data-only plans within two years originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Could it be? Is AT&T addressing bill shock by simply trying to make international data roaming costs reasonable? From the looks of its new Data Global Add-On deals, that might be the case. The baseline price is up from last year at $30 per month, but you'll get 120MB of data for your trouble -- an amount that used to cost $50. The next step up not only costs less than before, at $60 versus the old $100, but ups the data ever so gently to 300MB in the process. AT&T's maximum allotment is still a relatively modest 800MB, but at $120 a month, it's a lot easier to swallow for a European vacation than the earlier $200 for the same data cap. The real advantage for all three may be the overage rate: rather than bill by the byte, AT&T is now charging $30 for every 120MB over your limit, so you won't have to fork over the equivalent of a car payment just because you couldn't resist posting to Instagram from the Alps. We still think dedicated international services like Xcom Global (or an unlocked phone and a prepaid SIM) are the most efficient ways to go, but the carrier-bound among us will catch a big break when the new international plans take effect June 1st.

Continue reading AT&T cuts prices on international data roaming, goes easier on overages

AT&T cuts prices on international data roaming, goes easier on overages originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starting tomorrow June 1st, international travelers on AT&T will be paying less for their data service while overseas. The wireless carrier announced today that it’s lowering the prices of its global data plans which will now be tiered as follows:

• 120 MB for $30 monthly (down from 125 MB for $49 monthly)
• 300 MB for $60 monthly (down from 275 MB for $99 monthly)
• 800 MB for $120 monthly (down from 800 MB for $199 monthly)

Travelers should consult AT&T’s rate calculator before they jump on the plane. Savvy customers will take the time to compare AT&T’s prices to those offered by the local carriers at their destination. Sometimes, it’s cheaper to get a prepaid SIM from a local carrier, than it is to add a global plan to an existing AT&T account. If you stick with AT&T, customers should keep a close eye on their consumption to avoid costly overages.

[Via AT&T]

AT&T slashes the cost of its international data packages originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2012-05-31T15:50:02Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

We must be smack-dab in the middle of audio week, because even GSM giant AT&T is bestowing the fantastic phonic prizes for your possible procurement, with four Beats Bundles up for grabs. What is this bundle of Beats? It's a set of wireless over-ear headphones (on the right) alongside your very own Beatbox portable audio player (left). Of course, AT&T is putting this all together to celebrate the launch of its five-episode web miniseries, "Daybreak," which debuts tonight immediately following the finale of "Touch" on Fox and runs for five weeks. So make sure you hook us up with a comment below and check out the show tonight. Good luck!

Continue reading Engadget Giveaway: win one of four Beats Audio bundles, courtesy of Daybreak!

Engadget Giveaway: win one of four Beats Audio bundles, courtesy of Daybreak! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AT&T has made some changes to its Data Global Add-On packages. Beginning tomorrow, June 1, AT&T will unveil a new tier of data packages for subscribers who travel outside of the United States.

These are the new data package tiers:

• 120 MB Data Global Add-on package for $30/month
• 300 MB Data Global Add-on package for $60/month
• 800 MB Data Global Add-on package for $120/month

* The overage rate for all packages is $30 for 120MB.

That’s steep given that most AT&T customers pay $30 domestically to get 3 GB of data each month, but it is costly to make roaming agreements with carriers in other countries (and very lucrative for carriers to jack up the price on customers). It typically makes more economic sense to buy a pre-paid SIM from a local company and pop it into your AT&T phone, but that might not always be an available option based on your travel plans.

AT&T subscribers who opt to use the new international plans will get a slightly better rate on roaming data. AT&T has international data service in 135 countries for which the plans apply; pay-per-use data rates will apply if data is consumed outside of the pre-approved countries. Visit Att.com/Global for more information on data options when traveling abroad.

“We want our customers to experience the same level of wireless connectivity while traveling abroad as they do at home. Whether they choose to surf the Internet, use GPS on their device, respond to emails, or update their social network status, we are making it more affordable than ever for them to enjoy data services internationally.”

- Mark Collins, senior vice president, Data and Voice Products, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.

Related Stories

• AT&T family data plans in the works says CEO
• Verizon says you CAN keep your unlimited data plan, but you will pay full price for new phones
• Verizon will force 3G customers to lose unlimited data when upgrading, questions remain for 4G users

HTC-branded crates have been trickling through customs for ten days already, following a total clamp-down earlier in May, but it's only now that they're able to pass through without lengthy extra checks. The manufacturer says it has "completed the review process with US Customs" and that it is "confident that we will soon be able to meet the demand for our products." That obviously raises the question as to why the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE devices were held up in the first place. The ITC had earlier ruled that HTC infringed on an Apple patent about data detection, concerning a handset's ability to recognize and move around personal data, for example between the contact entry and the calendar, and it had given HTC until April to remove that feature. HTC agreed to that, but it appears customs officials initially needed to check every box to ensure that products arriving in the US were of the compliant type. Meanwhile, the LTE part of the EVO 4G is still waiting for its luggage.

Customs stops delaying HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE devices after 'review' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The wait for the Sony Xperia Ion in the US has been a long one, but that summer release feels considerably closer now that the Android flagship has swung by the FCC. As we'd hope, the Ion is passing through in full AT&T regalia, carrying the 700MHz and 1,700MHz 4G LTE bands it needs to run on Big Blue -- albeit with a legacy Sony Ericsson label. Along with the expected 850MHz and 1,900MHz HSPA 3G frequencies, we're also seeing an odd instance of 1,700MHz 3G that would normally be reserved for T-Mobile. Given that there isn't matching 2,100MHz support, we're more inclined to see the 1,700MHz block as related to AT&T spectrum refarming or other, more practical purposes than as a ghost of attempted mergers past. An FCC approval still doesn't provide any direct clues as to the release date, although removing that one major hurdle gives AT&T the option of launching sooner in the summer rather than later.

Sony Xperia Ion hits FCC with AT&T LTE intact originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 May 2012 17:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of May 21st, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 May 2012 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ready for Samsung's latest entrant to the Windows Phone game? Hopefully you answered "yes," because we're about to take you through an in-depth look at such a device: the Focus 2. Around the time that we United States-based Engadgeteers were lusting over Nokia's Lumia 800 and getting to know the HTC Titan, Samsung introduced its Focus S and lower-tiered Focus Flash WP7.5 handsets. Redmond's hardware restrictions haven't exactly changed much since then, begging the question as to how the Focus 2 fits in as a late follow-up to the original Focus from back in 2010. The bulk of the answer, of course, is LTE. This handset is the only other Windows Phone aside from the Lumia 900 and HTC Titan II to feature such connectivity on Ma Bell's network. That, and it's priced at just $50 dollars on a two-year commitment. Is it a veritable steal like the Focus Flash proved to be, though? Join us past the break where we'll lay it all out.

Gallery: Samsung Focus 2 review

Continue reading Samsung Focus 2 review

Samsung Focus 2 review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While we're no champions at "pin the tail on the donkey" we're pretty sure we're close to the mark with this one. An FCC report for a new Samsung phone bearing an SGH-I747 model number? Sporting HSPA+ and LTE bands that play nice with AT&T, Rogers, Telus and Bell? While it's not explicit, if this doesn't sound like the GSIII coming to town, we don't know what does. After all, it's not like we didn't know it was on its way.

Samsung phone lands on the FCC table, GS-three guesses which one originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 May 2012 09:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.