Verizon’s $2 online and telephone payment fee to Be Looked By FCC

Verizon confirmed yesterday that it will tack on a $2 convenience fee when customers make a single-time payment online or over the phone using a credit or debit card. The news spread like wildfire across the tech blogs and eventually caught the attention of the FCC. The regulatory agency released a statement on Friday that states, “On behalf of American consumers, we’re concerned about Verizon’s actions and are looking into the matter.” I have to give the FCC credit for responding to Verizon’s upcoming billing change so quickly. Though the FCC isn’t launching an investigation, this response is a reminder to Verizon that the FCC is watching it closely. This close oversight may be enough to compel Verizon to rethink this change. We’ll...

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Verizon-bound Galaxy Tab 7.7 Passes the FCC

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 looked ready for a Verizon release after an appearance in the carrier’s inventory system, and looks even more primed for an LTE launch after a trip to the FCC. The Honeycomb-laden tablet was spotted getting its 4G radio and CDMA bands checked out by the federal entity, clearing the slimline slate for a US release. The Galaxy Tab 7.7 features a 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED display, dual-core 1.4GHz processor, and measures in at a mere 7.89mm thick. It could gain a few millimeters thanks to the addition of LTE, but the difference should be marginal at best. There is no indication of when we could actually see the Galaxy Tab 7.7 launch on Verizon. [via The Verge]...

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Huawei MediaPad clears the FCC en route to AT&T

The Huawei MediaPad isn’t anything new. It was spotted back in June on video and was quickly announced as a 7″ Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet rocking a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm processor and some 3G/4G radios inside. We’ve seen it at the FCC a few times in the recent past on its way to T-Mobile but today’s sighting showed the slate rocking AT&T US bands. More information and a full set of teardown pictures are available from the FCC filing. If the tablet looks familiar it’s because the Huawei MediaPad is actually available now in the US as the T-Mobile Springboard. According to the FCC filing and our friends from Wireless Goodness the MediaPad has just been cleared with AT&T bands, giving it the green light to possibly land on shelves...

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Pantech P4100 LTE tablet hits FCC and bound toward AT&T

Pantech recently had released the Breakout to Verizon earlier this year, and headed toward AT&T seems to be a tablet to run on their newly found 4G LTE network. The P4100 is only the model number of the device, but in due time we’ll find out its proper name. AT&T hasn’t advertised the P4100 officially, and if you hadn’t carefully been paying attention to the news then you wouldn’t know it existed. All we’ve seen of the P4100 so far are a couple of NenaMark benchmark tests. The device scored ~42.6 FPS, with a 1024×720 pixel density and 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm Adreno 220 CPU. It also sports a 7″ display, but as of now – that’s all we’ve got. However, we do know it will probably ship with Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) onboard; yet,...

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Samsung Galaxy Note with AT&T radios gain FCC approval

Back in September, the Samsung Galaxy Note was spotted at the FCC, and for those who have been meaning to get their hands on it, the good news is that the phone/tablet hybrid has recently gotten its stamp of approval from the FCC which means that it is primed for release, although when that is remains a mystery for now. The hybrid was spotted with AT&T’s radios, which could also suggest that it would be compatible with our neighbors in Canada, although many have speculated that it could indeed arrive on AT&T’s network, but until we see it for ourselves, we’ll take that piece of information with a grain of salt for now. The Samsung Galaxy Note will feature a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, a 5.3” HD Super AMOLED display, an 8MP/2MP...

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AT&T Galaxy Note Appears at the FCC

It looks like the Galaxy Note could be poised for an American (or North American) launch after all. The 5 inch slate meant for note takers and sketchers has shown up at the FCC with AT&T radios in tow, though these could easily be meant for Canadian carriers. Either way, someone in North America above the Mexican border will soon be able to own one of these. Now to play the waiting game. Head to the FCC to check it out. [Engadget]...

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Motorola DROID 4 visits the FCC

In what seems like the usual fashion lately for Motorola and Verizon we are about to witness another DROID powered smartphone hit shelves. Although the DROID 3 hasn’t been out but a few short months Verizon and Moto have a fully prepped and ready to go DROID 4 already in the pipes. If it feels like Motorola and Verizon have been churning out devices like mad lately — it’s because they have been. Today the DROID 4 has hit the FCC giving us more reason to think it’ll be here within a few weeks. It was recently spotted on camera and was initially leaked back in October. This 5-row QWERTY hardware smartphone rocking a dual-core and 4G LTE is quite the device — I’m just surprised Verizon is launching so soon. Just like we’ve seen in...

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus cruises through FCC with AT&T bands

With Verizon having exclusivity on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, many AT&T customers have been wondering when their favorite carrier will launch it. According to FCC filings, a Samsung G-Nex with model number GT-i9250T has just cruised though FCC with AT&T’s GSM 850, GSM 1900, WCDMA II and IV bands. As you all know, AT&T has been quiet about their plans to release their very own variant of the Galaxy Nexus. Maybe the fact that they asked their Google+ followers if they want the phone on their network was an indication that they’re already planning to launch it. And if they do, we have no idea when it will release. After all, Verizon hasn’t even announced when they’ll release the Galaxy Nexus. Can we say that there will be a multi-carrier Galaxy Nexus release at this point?...

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Sony Tablet P taken apart by FCC

The Sony Tablet P dual-screen tablet recently received an official FCC tear down – right on schedule before it makes its way over to the US. I’ve never seen the insides of a dual-screen tablet, but then again there aren’t that many to go by. From the photos included in the below gallery, it’s obvious the wireless components are laid out in the lower clamshell. To be honest, most of the pictures center around the wireless components and the rest show us the exterior we’ve already known. The battery is actually quite large at 3080mAh, and it looks to be built into the device. Like the ASUS Eee Pad MeMo, it’s quite a unique tablet. If priced properly, I see it doing fairly well. I’m actually surprised this clamshell hasn’t already made...

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Motorola XT615 drops by the FCC

Dear Federal Communications Commission: this doesn’t get said often enough. We love you. We really love you. Whether you’re tipping us about shiny new gadgets headed for the states, slicing up wireless spectrum like a holiday ham or keeping certain carriers from merging and creating an anti-consumer megagiant, your subtle influence on the mobile industry is much appreciated by those of us in the tech blogging world. Case in point: the Motorola XT615. This non-symmetrical phone has been spotted in China and Taiwan sporting a 9.8mm profile with a 4-inch, 854 x 480 screen, putting it in the upper end of the mid range. There’s been no word on a United States carrier just yet, but the version that the FCC is currently checking out is tuned...

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AT&T and T-Mobile withdraw FCC merger application

AT&T and T-Mobile have withdrawn their application to the FCC for their planned merger. Following the FCC’s decision to conduct a hearing on the validity of the proposed merger, the two companies have switched their focus to gaining approval from the Department of Justice. AT&T has also indicated it expects to book a pretax $4 billion charge in the fourth quarter for a break-up fee to T-Mobile should the deal fall through. "This formal step today is being undertaken by both companies to consolidate their strength and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice," the two companies said in a prepared statement.The Department of Justice sued to block the...

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Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet with 3G compatibility reaches FCC

Lenovo’s ThinkPad has been out for a good while, but as a WiFi only device. Adding 3G compatibility to practically all US carriers will help it reach a wider audience of consumers. Expect no changes in hardware or software for the new version, as it will be essentially identical; you’ll see the same NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM. The ThinkPad will support GSM 850/1900, CDMA 850/1900, and WCDMA II, IV, V bands. This will cover AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and many smaller networks. Unfortunately, it will not support any form of 4G technology according to the FCC. Considering the amount of competition in the current tablet market, 4G is a major player. [via SlashGear]...

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FCC calls for hearing on AT&T’s T-Mobile purchase

The road is only getting rockier for AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile. In addition to a Justice Department lawsuit attempting to block the merger entirely, the Federal Communications Commission (you know, that standardizing body that gives us so many juicy leaks) is calling for a hearing into the matter. The last time that the FCC called for a hearing was the proposed merger between DirecTV and Echostar, and that deal never went through. While most thought that the merger between two of the four major United States cell phone carriers would be rubber-stamped through the approval process, it looks like the United States government is preparing for a rare denial. With two major agencies and seven states apparently opposed to...

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Verizon 4G LTE finally clears the FCC

Whoa, it’s about time guys. We can now officially check “clear the FCC” off the list for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus sporting 4G LTE. The Galaxy Nexus sporting those Verizon 4G LTE bands has finally landed and received approval from the FCC. Could this be what the wait, silence, and possible delays have been for? Maybe now Verizon will rush to the streets and announce some sort of launch date. I’m still hopeful for a November release, but we’ll see. We’ve seen rumors regarding the Verizon version launching on the 17th, the 21st, or lately even sometime in December as everyone slowly has lost hope with Verizon and Samsung both being silent. Maybe you should just go out and buy the new DROID RAZR instead (just a thought). We’ve recently...

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Motorola Lapdock 500 clears the FCC, spotted with the DROID RAZR

We’ve seen plenty about Motorola’s Lapdock offerings but until the recently released Lapdock 100 they were proprietary and only worked with a single device. The new Lapdock 100 and 500 will be universal and will work across all future top end Android devices from Motorola. We showed you a little about the Lapdock 100 during our Atrix 2 review but today its bigger brother the 500 has cleared the FCC and is on its way to store shelves soon. During the Lapdock 500′s visit through the FCC it received a teardown and was even spotted with the beautiful new DROID RAZR. We have a few pictures to give you a better idea of what to expect from the new dock and there is plenty more from the filing itself. We even have some quick hands-on video...

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Acer Iconia A200 10″ Tablet stops by the FCC

Last week we spotted some information and a photo regarding this mystery tablet from Acer being called the A200. Today we’ve learned a few more details as its nicely made a quick pit stop at the FCC. We can confirm that this will be a 10″ tablet and from the images it appears to be quite thin too. Currently Acer offers the Iconia A500 10″ tablet and the smaller A100 7″ variant so we were expecting this to many fall in the middle, but after digging through the FCC filing this clearly will be a 10″ Android tablet and possibly around 7-8mm thin. That could make this one of the thinnest tablets around, and that would be a big improvement over the first series from Acer. No other details are known at this point, and the FCC has been...

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