BROWSING: smartphones

Snapdragon 675 designed to bring premium features to mid-tier smartphones The premium smartphones of 2015 are now the mid-range smartphones of 2018, Qualcomm SVP and GM of Mobile Alex Katouzian told attendees of the 4G/5G Summit last week in Hong Kong. "The flagship devices, the...

Fifteen years ago, my favorite wireless phone was a smartphone called Palm. Then as the years passed the Palm was not updated enough, my new favorite wireless phone was a smartphone called Blackberry. Then came the Apple iPhone and Google Android rush which changed...

Is new 5G SoC a first look at Snapdragon 855? As it continues to drive device support for 5G, Qualcomm this week announced it is sampling its next-generation 5G SoC to OEMs. While the San Diego company didn't name the 7-nanometer system on a chip,...

Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories! One is the...

U.S. cell sites up nearly 5%; IoT devices grew 20% YOY, says CTIA's annual State of Mobile report U.S. mobile data use continues its inexorable upward climb, setting a new annual record with 15.7 trillion megabytes of data sent over wireless data networks last year,...

Wearables boost net adds, IoT revenues up 13% YOY for Verizon Verizon reported net losses in mobile phones and tablets running on its network during the first quarter, but those numbers were more than offset by growth in other types of connected devices...

House and Senate intelligence officials reportedly involved in decision According to a new report in the Wall Street Journal, AT&T has backed out of a deal with Huawei to sell the Chinese technology company's smartphones in the U.S. Unlocked Huawei devices are already available in...

For a $500 5G NR smartphone, Qualcomm could charge up to $16.25 for access to patented technologies The 5G NR (New Radio) standard is crystallizing and is expected to be finalized with 3GPP Release 15 in mid-2018. The result of an industry-wide collaborative process, the...

Deloitte survey of mobile usage trends sees high penetration among the young; fast growth among elders Mobile device usage patterns are jelling into a natural "etiquette" for device use that includes heavy use and frequent checking of devices -- but some usage appears to have...

Apple touts iPhone 8, iPhone X and a cellular Apple Watch Apple continues to cater to the high-end smartphone customer, introducing its iPhone X (pronounced "ten") yesterday with a price tag of a whopping $1,000 and going full Dick Tracy by enabling cellular connectivity on...

LTE to 5G Evolution: Key device upgrade considerations for increasing efficiencies in the network The network evolution to LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro) are essential enhancements for extending the lifespan of LTE, and critical steps for ensuring a smooth transition to 5G. Not...

So, your smartphone got wet and now it won’t work. What should you do? I spoke with David Naumann who started a company called DryBox. He says don’t try and fix it yourself, don’t try and turn the phone on and don’t stick it...

Why are smartphone product designers getting it so wrong? Maybe they are using their own personal preferences. Maybe they got some bad data. It doesn’t matter. They are wrong. The entire wireless marketplace does not want huge screens and giant smartphones. A slice of...

T-Mobile US' next "uncarrier" move may be a flashback to the days of carrier-exclusive devices, with published reports claiming that the operator has plans to release a series of three lower-cost smartphone options. Android Authority reported that T-Mobile will launch three REVVL phones, the first of...

Samsung uses Galaxy S8 device launch event to highlight greater connectivity and IoT support. NEW YORK – The vision of "mobile" being only a cellphone is narrow, stated Samsung Mobile Chief DJ Koh during his presentation at the company's Unpacked 2017 event held this...

Samsung keeps shooting itself in the foot. Between their burning Galaxy smartphones a few months ago, their washer and dryer problems and today’s pending bribery scandal, Samsung is under extraordinary and increasing pressure that could likely impact anything with the Samsung brand. This crisis...

T-Mobile US attracts the most customers in 2016, while Verizon excelled in retail churn. Editor’s Note: Welcome to Analyst Angle. We’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics in the wireless industry. All four nationwide carriers...

Nokia will reintroduced their best-selling handset from back in their heyday. Hopefully this new device will be updated with improvements to its screen, features and speed. The Nokia 3310 was always a feature phone, not a smartphone. So, what’s the point in this smartphone...

A flood of network performance information this week for Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile added more mud for consumers to wade through. Hello! And welcome to our Friday column, Worst of the Week. There’s a lot of nutty stuff that goes on...

Signals Research Group conducted 4x4 MIMO testing that showed a 55% speed boost on a live T-Mobile network using Samsung devices. Claimed performance advantages of complex multiple-input/multiple-output antenna technologies appear to have been validated by recent network performance testing conducted by Signals...

More precise antenna tuning can help a smartphone take advantage of new technologies and new spectrum resources. Editor’s Note: In the Analyst Angle section, we’ve collected a group of the industry’s leading analysts to give their outlook on the hot topics...

Wireless industry heavyweights Cingular and Verizon battle for market’s No. 1 position, while Sprint named a leader for its cable JV … 11 years ago this week. Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to...

Baby boomers may not be as young as they once were, but their bandwidth demands match those of younger generations. Baby boomers are the rock-n-roll generation that was raised on television. Named for the post-World War II “baby boom” of 1946-1964, this was the first...

PwC’s Strategy& division looks at the impact the removal of smartphone subsidies and new era of used devices and trade-ins is having on carriers and OEMs. The domestic cellular market has witnessed a wave of new operating models highlighted by the push from...