Verizon buys 122 wireless spectrum licenses from Comcast, Time Warner Cable for $3.6 Billion

US mobile operator Verizon today announced it is to boost its wireless coverage across the U.S with the $3.6 billion purchase of 122 advanced wireless services licenses from cable giant Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks.
Whilst the U.S Government is set to open its wireless spectrum to mobile operators, Verizon isn’t taking any chances and has moved to secure more bandwidth for its 4G LTE services so that it can continue to serve its expanding network of customers and offer reliable and fast data downloads.
As part of the deal, Comcast will receive $2.3 billion from the sale, with Time Warner Cable receiving $1.1 billion – both of which own around 95% of the company SpectrumCo. Bright House Networks, which owns 5.3% of the company, will receive $189 million.
Following approval of the deal, each of the companies will enter several agreements to sell each other’s products and services:

Through these agreements, the cable companies, on the one hand, and Verizon Wireless, on the other, will become agents to sell one another’s products and, over time, the cable companies will have the option of selling Verizon Wireless’ service on a wholesale basis. Additionally, the cable companies and Verizon Wireless have formed an innovation technology joint venture for the development of technology to better integrate wireline and wireless products and services.

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NEC announced waterproof Medias PP N-01D Android smartphone

If there was yet another phone from Japan that the rest of us around the world wouldn’t mind getting our hands on would be the NEC Medias PP N-01D. This Android smartphone has been announced for release on NTT DoCoMo’s network for the 9th of December and assuming NEC’s plans to launch their phones internationally is still on track, there’s a good chance we might be seeing this phone launch stateside in the future.
So what can NTT DoCoMo subscribers expect from the Medias PP N-01D? Well for starters it will sport a 4” OLED 480×800 display, a 1.4GHz processor under the hood, a 8.1MP CMOS camera, 2GB of internal storage, e-wallet function, a digital TV tuner, infrared connectivity, water and dust proof and Android’s Gingerbread 2.3 on board. It will also sport a 1,700mAh battery that NEC is particularly proud of since it boats 630 hours of standby time and 380 hours of talk time.

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HTC Rezound headphone problems appear to be isolated

Just yesterday we reported that there were some complaints regarding the HTC Rezound. A quick recap for those who may not have been aware – there were complaints that suggested interference or static when listening to music or audio while using headphones together with the HTC Rezound. While there are indeed complaints from several HTC Rezound owners, the problem appears to be less widespread than what was initially thought. According to HTC:

“HTC has received a very small number of calls related to audio on the Rezound, but nothing that so far points to a broader issue. We’re continuing to monitor it closely but currently believe the few calls we’ve received are isolated cases.”

Whatever the problem might be, kudos to HTC for jumping on the matter right away. For now it appears that the problem is isolated to a couple of handsets, so if you were planning on getting your hands on the HTC Rezound, it looks like you’re in the clear for now.

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CyanogenMod Gives CM9 Progress Update (Don’t Look Now, Original DROID Owners)

Cyanogen’s updated the community on their progress with developing the latest version of their highly-revered custom ROM, CyanogenMod 9. Right now, devices with TI OMAP4, Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660/7X30, and Samsung Exynos will be the focus.
Over time, they hope to get all devices back to the Qualcomm QSD8250 ( Nexus One chipset) up and going with some Ice Cream Sandwich. Some tablets with Tegra 2 will also be getting support, such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the ASUS Transformer.
Oh, and as for that original Motorola DROID? Well, that phone is just long at the tooth now – it’s quite too old for this tasty treat. Sorry folks, but most of you should be due for upgrades to the Galaxy Nexus anytime now so you’re in good shape regardless.
For the time being, Nexus S owners can dig into the current version of CM9 themselves if they want a sneak peak at what’s to come for many devices. Look under Koush’s section of ROM Manager to get going. [Cyanogen, thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

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Android app for detecting Carrier IQ launches

If you are one of the Android using masses that worries Carrier IQ is tracking what you do on your smartphone you will want this new app. The app has launched and is called Voodoo Carrier IQ Detector. The app does exactly what the name implies and will run and figure out if your smartphone has the Carrier IQ software running on it.

Apparently right now there are a few caveats to the app, namely it admits in the app that the results are not all that reliable yet. The reason reliability isn’t there is that the app is only just released and apparently only partially finished. The image you see here is taken from a Galaxy Nexus we have in our possession.
Google has said that Carrier IQ isn’t on the Nexus and while the reliability of the app is suspect right now, it shows no indication of the maligned software installed. If you are the developer sort, the source code for this app has been made open source so you can help refine and improve the app.
[via SlashGear]

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE SpeedTest Caught On Camera [Video]

Okay, don’t hate me for another Galaxy Nexus post but I wanted to get one more in for the night. Our Verizon tipster has once again uploaded another video for us to drool over — this time demonstrating the speed of the Galaxy Nexus’s 4G LTE connectivity. If you like Speedtests as much as I do then have a look at the video where speeds in this user’s area peak at about 8Mbps indoors, with only 2 bars of coverage. Can’t touch that Verizon 4G, yo.

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Verizon Galaxy Nexus Receives Final Android 4.1.0 Update – Ready For Primetime

Verizon has just finished pushing out the latest (and most likely final) update for the Galaxy Nexus bringing up the firmware to version 4.1.0. The radio (baseband) version seems to be the main reason for the update which should, in theory, improve performance of the device. Also included was the addition of a new screen saver for Gnex which could be the “Dreams” feature we told you about yesterday. This newest OTA signals we’re nearing the end of Verizon’s vigorous testing for the device so let’s hope this is the final piece needed to appease them. We’ll let you know when we have more information but for now, rest assured knowing we’re close… real close, folks.
[AndroidForums via MyDroidWorld]

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Motorola DROID RAZR MAX Revealed In EXIF Data – Updated RAZR Headed Our Way?

The boys over at Pocketnow have been poking around some EXIF data and discovered a new device popping up in some of the pics. Something being called the Motorola DROID RAZRMAX. I know what you’re thinking — there’s no way there could already be an update in the works so soon after the original’s release. Well, tell that to Droid 3, Bionic and Droid X users who saw (and are seeing) sequels to those devices a few short months after they were released. Keep up. Motorola and Verizon move fast around here.

So what could this device be? Well, there’s no saying for sure. Some are speculating that it could be little more than a slightly thicker DROID RAZR with a higher capacity battery given someone’s chat with a Verizon employee confirming the device. I propose — given the current trend of HD displays — we could be looking at that Chinese RAZR that was leaked a few weeks back with a 720p screen. “Max resolution?”
For all the DROID RAZR owners out there, would you be upset if a newer version of your device was released in a few short months? I, however, prefer to see the glass as half full. I mean, would you rather be on a carrier who releases new/updated devices once a year?
[Via Pocketnow]

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Samsung Galaxy Tab ban extended in Australia

We had just received word two days ago that Samsung had prevailed over Apple from the Australian court ruling’s temporary ban. So much for that. It turns out court orders have banned the tablet another week from sale, more specifically until December 9th. The case remains open because the High Court of Australia was forced to extend the ban until it heard Apple’s special leave application.

It seems as if Apple is just prolonging the ban even though their leave application will be turned down; and if I were in their shoes I suppose I would do the same. Apple has probably thrown a ridiculous about of money towards this case and it would be foolish not to get the most out of it. The extension is most likely to delay Samsung’s tablet sales – and this late into the holiday season that means a lot.
I’m just ready to know the final outcome, and of course here at Android Community we’re rooting for Samsung! So many tablets have similar dimensions to the Apple iPad these days, and if they plan on going after all of them then they’ll just look silly. It’s obvious they picked Samsung to pick on because of their tablet’s success.
[via The Sydney Morning Herald]

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