verizon

Windows Phone: Verizon’s answer to the iPhone?

May 21, 2012 | By Surur

Its not just T-Mobile USA who needs good Windows Phones. In the first 5 minutes of this MarketWatch video we have some business-types talking about the reason why Verizon is being so bullish about Windows Phone 8.

They note that the iPhone can cost carriers up to double to subsidize ($400 vs $200-$250) and that is of course for the same revenue in terms of data plans and minutes, and that the carrier would love to introduce more competition.

While Verizon has so far not shown much support for Windows Phone 7, Verizon has already gone so far as to promise Windows Phone 8 handsets by the holiday season.

Thanks ylkwong for the tip.

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Nokia U.S. President says Lumia 900 selling out, again hints at Windows Phone 8 upgrade

May 9, 2012 | By Surur

Nokia’s U.S. president Chris Weber is pretty happy with Lumia 900 sales.

Nokia’s U.S. president Chris Weber seems to be in a good mood, and rightly so. According to him the Nokia Lumia 900 in US is continuing to sell out, delaying its launch elsewhere.

“Demand has been outstripping supply for the first couple of weeks, and we’ve been working hard to rectify that,” he said. “The demand for cyan [phones] is significantly outpacing supply. When you give people something different from a design perspective—colors, etc. —it really stands out, and consumers want that.”

He also spoke to increasing support in the carrier retail chain, something he has been checking on personally in the past four weekends at AT&T stores.

“Generally, we’re seeing very good support. It’s a work in progress,” he said.

He also hinted at future expansion to Verizon, saying:

“We’re not making any announcements, but we understand the importance of Verizon and we’re working hard to make that a reality.”

Most importantly however, when asked about Windows Phone 8 he hinted that an upgrade will be coming to existing customers.

“Both Nokia and Microsoft understand the importance for consumers to keep their devices fresh and updated. Without any announcements being made, we’re working to make sure people have fresh and updated experiences on any device they may have,” Weber said.

With new Windows Phone 7.5 being launched regularly recently, including the Samsung Focus 2 with LTE, it is becoming increasingly importantly for Microsoft to clarify the upgrade issue. Unfortunately we expect the first official mention of Windows Phone 8 to only come to on the 20 June 2012.

Via PCMag.com

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Verizon promise Windows Phone 8 handsets for the holiday season

April 23, 2012 | By Surur

Verizon Wireless has not exactly been supportive of Windows Phone 7 so far. Now in a surprise announcement Verizon’s chief financial officer Fran Shammo has told Reuters said the company wants a third strong software competitor in the mobile market and were prepared to do what it takes to make Windows Phone that operating system.

"We’re really looking at the Windows Phone 8.0 platform because that’s a differentiator. We’re working with Microsoft on it," Shammo said in an interview following Verizon’s earnings conference call.

Shammo said that Verizon Wireless expects to have phones based on the next Microsoft software in time for the 2012 end of year holiday shopping season.

Of course we have already seen evidence of such handsets in testing, with a prototype Windows Phone 8 handset Qualcomm Fluid showing up on the carrier’s network.

So far however the carrier only hosts one Windows Phone, the HTC Trophy, but possibly as a sign of their new commitment, has pushed out the latest OS updates to their lone handset recently.

Source: Reuters.com

Via Neowin.net

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Verizon To Really Support Windows Phone Atlast ? Talks About Need For A Third Mobile Ecosystem

April 19, 2012 | By Pradeep

Verizon, the second largest mobile operator in US was always underplaying the argument when it comes about Windows Phone. They developed a bitter relationship between Microsoft after the debacle of Kin mobile devices. After pulling Kin project from the market, Verizon released HTC Trophy Windows Phone device on its network last year and still its the only Windows Phone device on its network. Now speaking on today’s conference call, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo has told about the need of third mobile ecosystem.

He said,

“We created the Android platform from beginning and it is an incredible platform today that we helped to create, and we are looking to do the same thing with a third ecosystem,”

Shammo also added that they are ”fully supportive” of Microsoft. As per the reports and predictions from analysts, we can expect a Nokia Windows Phone 8 device on Verizon in Q4 2012. What do you expect from Verizon ??

Source: CNET

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Verizon beats Premier Partner AT&T to 8107 update roll-out

April 12, 2012 | By Surur

Verizon, who is not what one could call a friend to Windows Phone 7, has beat AT&T, Microsoft’s Windows Phone Premier Partner, to the punch in rolling out a post-Mango update.

Of course, to be fair, Verizon only had one phone to test the software on, the HTC Trophy, while AT&T has had about 8 Windows Phones on their network so far.

Either way, Verizon has finally delivered update 7740, 8107 and also a firmware update to the HTC Trophy, with users receiving toast notifications that the software is available.

Each update is being delivered as a separate Zune download, so expect to spend at least an hour in front of your PC.

Have any of our readers received the prompt? Let us know below.

Via WPCentral.com

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Verizon HTC Trophy getting the 8107 update

April 10, 2012 | By Surur

Verizon has indicated that it will be providing a software update for the venerable HTC Trophy, the only Windows Phone on their network. The device has been suffering the disappearing keyboard bug since the Mango update many months ago, and has not had any updates since.

According to Verizon’s PDF the update will:

Improved Voice Mail notifications when traveling outside the U.S.
Enhanced Cellebrite contact transfer performance.
Improvements in keyboard performance prevent keyboard from disappearing while typing.
Device is enabled with the Wireless Alerting System.
Improved device performance when downloading large software update files.
Original messages will be included when replying or forwarding an email via an Exchange 2003 server.
Improvements in text messaging performance.

All of course very welcome improvements, especially since the lone handset is expected to hold the Windows phone 7 flame high all the way until Apollo handsets hit the market later this year.

No date for the roll out has been announced yet.

Via WindowsPhoneDaily.com

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Microsoft offering Verizon HTC Trophy free with $35 cash back

March 25, 2012 | By Surur

We expect Verizon users will be stuck with the HTC Trophy for at least the next 6 months, but this does not mean Microsoft cant help push the now venerable device.

The Microsoft store is now offering the Windows Phone 7 handset for free with free shipped both to the buyer and back if they are not satisfied, and with a $35 Visa Gift card as cash back.

This does of course come in exchange for signing up for a $59.99 contract, but then nothing is truly free these days.

Having said that, the HTC Trophy is still a great device – I use mine every day and it has helped me so far resist any urge to upgrade to a newer handset. On Verizon’s store the handset still has a 4 1/2 star rating from close to 1000 reviews, just behind the iPhone.

Read more about the deal at the Microsoft Store here.

Thanks Jeremy for the tip.

6

Rejected Verizon Windows Phone gets a code-name–“Om”

March 5, 2012 | By Surur

At the end of December 2011 we posted that Verizon had rejected the Nokia Lumia 900 LTE, and would sit out Windows Phone 7 handsets until Apollo.

Today the Verge added a but more colour to the article, saying the handset was code-named “Om” and that Microsoft’s retail stores were poised to stock the device in January and early February until the cancelation.

There however remains rumours of a low-end Windows Phone with LTE for Verizon, and I think it would be silly for Verizon to force their Windows Phone fans to leave to AT&T by not carrying even one new Windows Phone for the rest of the year.

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Nokia Lumia 719 passes through Bluetooth SIG, possibly heading to Verizon?

February 20, 2012 | By Surur

Nokia-Lumia-719-Windows-Phone-B

The Nokia Lumia 719 is a handset which has long been rumoured, but which has remained rather enigmatic. The handset has popped up before on Windows Phone gaming and benchmarking sites, and has now passed through the Bluetooth SIG, which shows that the handset is definitely aimed at the USA, with ESPN and Univision included.

The screen size remains 3.7 inch and the camera 5 megapixel, suggesting the device will remain very similar to the Lumia 710 on T-Mobile. There is however rumours that the handset will feature LTE and is heading to Verizon, and also that it will be shown off at Mobile World Congress soon.

If those rumours are true we may finally see a second generation handset on Verizon, even if as always it is not a high end device.

Via Unwiredview.com

6

Verizon was in the running for a LTE Windows Phone, but turned it down

December 29, 2011 | By Surur

verizon We posted what was an unverified rumour 2 days ago about AT&T getting the Nokia Lumia 900 with LTE and Verizon not.

With Thurrott now revealing that Verizon will not be getting any LTE Windows Phone 7 units the rumour is now on a bit more solid ground, meaning the rest of it is probably also correct.

According to the rumour the Nokia Lumia 900 with LTE was pitched at Verizon, but the carrier turned it down. It seems now Verizon has turned down all high end Windows Phone 7 handsets.

Our anonymous tipster said the CDMA carrier may be back for a Apollo/Windows Phone 8 handset in the fall.

The rest is not from our source, but it seems Verizon does not have much faith in Windows Phone, and certainly not enough to stock a high-end handset. We suggest our readers who are thinking of buying such a device no longer waste their time on Verizon and move to AT&T, as certainly nothing will be forthcoming from them anytime soon.

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Verizon and AT&T testing a Nokia LTE Windows Phone

December 12, 2011 | By Surur

CNET is reporting US carriers AT&T and Verizon are testing a LTE version of the Nokia Lumia 800.

We reported earlier that Nokia is set to release the Nokia Lumia 900 on AT&T and Verizon, which, while it will resemble the Lumia 800, will feature a much bigger 4.3 inch screen and some other changes. It may be that this new story was shaken loose by that rumour.

CNET notes the lack of LTE support has been seen as a critical issue for the U.S. carriers, which are increasingly focusing on 4G devices and services. Verizon had earlier said LTE was critical for a Windows Phone on their network.

Support for the technology is expected in Windows Phone Tango with Nokia’s new handset expected to run the OS update also.

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel, Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney, and Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak all declined to comment.

Read more of our coverage on LTE and Windows Phone here.

Rumour: Nokia Ace coming to both Verizon and AT&T in Q1 2012

December 9, 2011 | By Surur

We have just received a hot tip about the upcoming Nokia Ace, confirming the leaked specs and also adding LTE to the mix.

The phone will apparently Nokia’s first LTE device, and the first they will be marketing in USA – sorry Lumia 710.

According to our tipster the hardware is ready to go, and the device is just waiting for the Tango OS. Nokia is pushing for a late-January release, while a mid-March release is more likely.

AT&T is guaranteed the device, but apparently Verizon is also pushing hard to be a launch partner.

The specs is as leaked earlier – 4.3" screen, 8megapixel camera, 16gb storage, Windows Phone Tango OS , 1.4Ghz CPU, LTE support.

Is this the device our readers will be waiting for? Let us know below.

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US CDMA/LTE Windows Phones coming at CES 2012?

November 7, 2011 | By Surur

LTE-symbol PCMag reports from Microsoft’s New York event that the delay in new CDMA Windows Phone 7.5 handsets was a timing issue.

Andy Lees said the lack of CDMA is "no limitation of the OS, it’s a timing thing between the operator and the OEMs."

What may be keeping CDMA Mango handsets back however may be lack of LTE support, but Greg Sullivan notes other manufacturers have access to the same LTE Mango update that Nokia does.

Nokia has already committed to building LTE Windows Phones, but other manufacturers are expected to follow soon.

"I don’t think there’s any kind of head start [Nokia] gets, but I think Stephen [Elop} was more aggressive in terms of getting out there with the news," Sullivan said.

PCMag, without noting a source, claimed Verizon Wireless is expected to announce a Nokia Windows Phone at the CES trade show in mid-January. The phones will likely support LTE also.

PCMag also tried to probe for a launch date for the next version of Windows Phone, but notes “Lees demurred, but couldn’t resist the hint of a smile when someone mentioned the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona in late February.”