Images and details on the HTC Incredible have emerged from the depths of Android Forums today. Most notable is the loss of the bright orange backing which has been replaced with a matte black covering emblazoned with a Verizon Wireless logo. Internally, the Incredible is rumored to have 500 MB of RAM (320 available), an 8 megapixel camera, measurements of 117.5 x 58.5 x 11.9mm, and a blinding red interior with a matching red battery. Though it packs a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, the Incredible, just like the Acer Liquid A1, has been underclocked to 768 MHz, a battery savings measure which hopefully can be reversed once the handset has been rooted. Thankfully, the slowed down processor seems to have little effect on perceived performance as the Android 2.1 handset is reportedly “blazing fast”. If all these circulating rumors pan out, look for this handset to touchdown as soon as April or as late as May with Verizon Wireless. Hit the jump for a few more spy shots.

[Via Engadget]

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It’s inevitable, tiered data plans for mobile devices are coming.  It’s a reality that wireless providers and consumers are soon going to have to deal with. As phones add more features and become more data-centric, they tax wireless networks, and ultimately, the network provider’s bottom line. Verizon’s CTO, Tony Melone, had this to say when he was asked about unlimited data plans by the Wall Street Journal:  “As much data as you can consume is the big issue that has to change… It’s one thing to say all you can eat is gone, it’s another to have consumers worrying, ‘Can I stream this radio?’ That’s what we don’t want.” It is mildly comforting to know that Verizon’s CTO understands — you can get rid of unlimited data… as long as we can have unlimited data. One thing we’re sure of: when the first major U.S. carrier institutes a tiered data pricing policy, the others are sure to follow suit. You can look for this to roll out prior to Verizon’s first 4G handset dropping circa summer 2011. 

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Available today from Verizon Wireless is the long awaited Casio G’zOne Brigade. The Brigade keeps the rugged good looks of its G’zOne predecessors but shakes things up by debuting as a horizontal clamshell instead of the traditional flip phone. The Brigade also ups the specs of the G’zOne line by offering the following:

• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, flash, video capture and LED light function
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• Push to Talk
• Field Force Manager
• MIL-STD-810F standards for Water, shock, dust, immersion, vibration, humidity, salt fog, altitude, high and low temperature storage, and solar radiation
• GPS with support for VZ Navigator
• Front facing speakerphone
• Text to speech capability
• microSD expansion

The Casio G’zOne Brigade hits the shelves of Verizon Wireless at a rather pricey $249 after a $50 mail in rebate and two year contract, $319.99 after a $50 mail in rebate and one year contract and $419 full retail. It also comes with an optional $5 monthly PTT plan and is outrageously classified as a 3G Multimedia phone which will require a minimum 25MB data plan for $9.99 monthly. Anyone interested in a $250 feature phone with mandatory data?

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A leaked internal memo reveals that the nation’s largest carrier is trying to jump on the Apple bandwagon by encouraging its employees to push its MiFi device as an accessory to the upcoming iPad. The idea itself is worthy of consideration — save $130 by purchasing the Wi-Fi version of the Apple iPad and pair it with a MiFi to get 3G wireless connectivity on the go. What Verizon fails to mention is that the MiFi requires a two year contract and will cost $60 per month for the unlimited data plan, meanwhile the 3G iPad can rock on an AT&T unlimited data plan for a mere $30 per month. After five months of service, the $130 you saved up front is gone and that MiFi-connected iPad will cost you an extra $590 over the course of a two year contract. In this ongoing battle of network superiority, Verizon also can’t resist jabbing AT&T by asking “Why pay more for the 3G version and get 3G service on an overloaded network with limited coverage?” This bullet point, though, must have been written before the PC World article from last month was released. Much to the embarrassment of Verizon, the results from the latest carrier showdown reveal that AT&T’s network is passing with flying colors, while Big Red is showing a bit of strain under the load of Android. When April rolls around and you can pick out your iPad version what will you choose? The WiFi version with a MiFi or the 3G version that runs on AT&T?

[Via Business Insider]

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Let’s just say I would be incredibly surprised if this actually happened and the fact that the source of this rumor is BerryScoop – a non-Android site with little proven history – I can’t say I’m very confident in the potential they nailed this rumor. They claim that when the HTC Incredible lands on Verizon before the end of March around April 1st, they’ll be viewing it as their version of the Nexus One, and the HTC Droid Eris will be replaced and unavailable by April 1st face an “End Of Life” situation – meaning they’ll halt new orders on the device and let existing inventory diminish.

Here is a supposed screenshot of the HTC Incredible in their inventory system:

This doesn’t make sense to me. The Incredible and Droid Eris are two very different phones with different form factors for different people. I criticized the release of the Devour because it didn’t differentiate itself from the Droid enough and offer customers something different. Removing the Droid Eris from Verizon’s Android lineup would even further homogenize their offering with large touchscreen devices – that isn’t something everyone wants.

UPDATE: The guys at BerryScoop got a bit offended by this article and I’ve updated it to clarify some points they made. My point is that VZW just started offering the device in November and I couldn’t see them “giving up” on it after only a few months – especially when it differentiates their lineup. For that reason I’m not confident in the rumor itself being accurate but I could be wrong. Just providing my personal and immediate thoughts.

Last month we learned that Verizon Wireless was officially partnering with Skype to bring an unprecedented feature set to mobile phone users in America. Exactly what that would entail? We weren’t told – we were just told some sort of integration would make it all worthwhile and it wasn’t hard to guess the options. Now Skype and Verizon have published an animated infomercial that, while it doesn’t provide full details, gives us a better idea:

Verizon now lists which phones are compatible with their Skype mobile service – I’ve put three Android units all on top and all which work with Skype Mobile:

• Motorola Droid
• Motorola Devour
• HTC Droid Eris
• BlackBerry Curve 8530
• BlackBerry Storm 9530
• BlackBerry Storm 2 9550
• BlackBerry Tour 9630

It looks like instead of trying to get a per/application fee from customers, Skype may have gone the exclusivity route as they’ve pulled their app from several mobile OS app stores. Verizon may have pinned them down for an exclusive deal with a substantial contract – something of which I’m not sure we’ll ever know the details. But most importantly – does that woman’s voice in the above video make anyone else want to poke their eyes out?

[Via VZW]

Last month, Verizon Wireless and Skype announced their exclusive partnership in the U.S., along with their plans to bring Skype’s popular VoIP calling and messaging service to your Verizon cell phone. Now, through the miracle of animation — and the help of a woman with a really high pitched voice — Verizon and Skype are shedding a little light on how Skype integration will work on your phone. The video doesn’t get too in-depth, but we do learn that Skype calls will arrive to your Verizon Wireless handset just as normal calls do and the Skype application will run, always on, in the background. The two companies also confirm that Skype calls will not be charged against the minutes in your mobile plan and users of Skype Out will be able to leverage competitive international calling rates from their handset. This got us thinking: we don’t have enough Skype contacts to justify leaving Skype running all day chewing up battery life, but how about you? Do you have a Skype contact list full of friends you are itching to talk to?

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Usually, when an ISP posts service downlink and uplink speeds, you have to take them with a grain of salt. Like a 20 MPG rating on a Hummer H2, your real world results “may vary.” It is, however, a great sign when an ISP says their network tests were, “faster than we’ve ever suggested” and that their, “network team is shocked.” Those were the words Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson had to say about Big Red’s latest LTE network tests. Verizon’s Boston and Seattle LTE test networks are reporting speeds that range from 5-12 Mb/second on the download and 2-5 Mb/second on the upload. Verizon had initially quoted downlink speeds of 6 Mb/sec on its LTE network. Big Red says it is on track to light up its 4G network in 25-30 markets by the end of 2010.

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You would expect that 4G connectivity would beat 3G connectivity in terms of speed, right? Otherwise what’s the point in creating a next generation of equal or slower connections! Well Verizon Wireless took a few minutes out of their day to remind us about their upcoming LTE network and tell us that it is official – their 4G speeds are/will be faster than their 3G speeds. But not just marginally faster… significantly faster:

Trials in Boston and Seattle indicate the network is capable of peak download speeds of 40 to 50 megabits per second (Mbps) and peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 Mbps. The speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers’ current or promised 3G network speeds.

That is admittedly blazing fast but don’t expect those types of results on launch. Having thousands of consumers sharing bandwidth with good/bad spots and objects in the way and all the other variables Verizon says you can reasonably expect 5-12Mbps down and 2-5Mbps up.

Check out the full press release:

Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE Network Testing Promises Significantly Faster Speeds Than Current 3G Networks

Available to 100 Million Americans in 25 to 30 U.S. Markets by End of 2010

03/08/2010

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless announced today that its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network field trials in the United States have demonstrated wireless data speeds that are significantly faster than today’s 3G network speeds. Trials in Boston and Seattle indicate the network is capable of peak download speeds of 40 to 50 megabits per second (Mbps) and peak upload speeds of 20 to 25 Mbps. The speeds are significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers’ current or promised 3G network speeds.

Verizon Wireless has been testing its forthcoming 4G LTE network in both Boston and Seattle since August, 2009. Successful data calls involved streaming video, file uploads and downloads, and Web browsing, as well as calls with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to enable voice transmissions over the LTE network. Verizon Wireless engineers report LTE average data rates of 5-12 Mbps on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink in real-world environments and will offer Verizon Wireless customers mobile browsing speeds comparable to customers’ current, typical online Internet experience.

“Our LTE rollout plan positions Verizon Wireless to be a global leader in 4G LTE deployment. We are on track to deliver an outstanding wireless data experience to customers in 25 to 30 markets covering roughly 100 million people by year’s end,” said Tony Melone, senior vice president and chief technical officer at Verizon Wireless. “As device makers, manufacturers and others around the world begin to introduce newer and faster products to take advantage of these incredible new speeds, Verizon Wireless will be positioned to offer our customers new and exciting products on the nation’s first 4G LTE network.”

By leveraging its 700 MHz spectrum for LTE deployment in the United States, Verizon Wireless is capable of quickly deploying a high-quality wireless broadband network with excellent coverage and in-building penetration. Verizon Wireless is currently installing LTE equipment at existing cell sites and switching centers around the United States as part of its extensive, ongoing investment in its voice and data network infrastructure.

I’m really digging the “100 million Americans in 25 to 30 markets by end of 2010″ and I’m pretty sure that once a Verizon LTE Android Phone drops (maybe the Droid 2 for the holidays?), I’ll be on that sucker like white on rice.

Believe it or not, those other search engines are still out there. In fact, they even manage to show up in the least likely of places. But, it must be hard for these other engines when they keep getting forced into the shadow of another, far more colorful mechanism. About a year ago, T-Mobile signed their mobile browsing souls away to Yahoo!, but it looks like that agreement has ended, and the fourth largest carrier in the States has had a change of heart.

Instead, T-Mobile USA has gone ahead and signed up with the Mountain View-based company, also known as Google. In addition, they’re also partnering up with Medio Systems, to better index results of premium content like wallpapers and ringtones. The switch has apparently taken hold already, as Google is available now in their Web2Go, along with their mobile web homepage.

But all is not lost for the purple Y in the land of magenta. Yahoo! is still making their services useful for the carrier by providing access to Yahoo! services like News, Finance, Messenger, Mail, and Flickr. So apparently the split was mutual, at the least. We’re not really surprised by this, considering the push that T-Mobile has been making on the Android side of things. Sprint’s pushing Android as well (not as hard, but they’re trying), and they’ve got a deal going with Google as well. The main contender to that would be Verizon Wireless, which is still rocking Microsoft’s Bing as their primary search provider, but that’s not a surprise either. And AT&T? Well, they’ve still got the Yahoo! love.

[via unwiredview]

Skype users that own a Symbian-powered Nokia handset will have to go the extra mile to install Skype on their handset. As noticed following Wednesday’s debut of Skype in the Ovi store, Skype is reportedly not available for Nokia owners in the US. In response to an email from Venture Beat, Sravanthi Agrawal, a member of Skpye’s corporate communications team, said the following:

“Skype has made a decision in the United States to not promote the Skype for Symbian app through the Ovi Store. We did this so that we could drive more attention to the recently announced Skype and Verizon Wireless agreement. This was a marketing decision — plain and simple.

“Skype users in the U.S can still download Symbian by going directly to Skype.com.”

The supposed reason behind this removal is not surprising considering the controversy over the removal of the Windows Mobile version of Skype from Skype’s website, the removal of Skype from the Android Market, and the rumored delay of the 3G-enabled version of Skype for the iPhone. Unless this policy changes or is revealed to be incorrect, anyone unduly affected will have to search a little harder to find a version of Skype to install on their handset or sign up with Verizon Wireless.

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We don’t have a whole lot to go on other than a couple of emails that were bounced around by some curious customers and some rather knowledgeable reps, but it certainly looks to us as if Verizon has begun training at least some of its employees on an EV-DO variant of the Google Nexus One. A tentative release date was not mentioned as one has not yet been communicated down the chain of command, but apparently this sucker will be sold in Big Red’s retail stores across the country once it’s available. Again, this is about as far as confirmed as it gets and we’re merely passing it on to our readers because we love you guys and gals to death, so please don’t come kicking in our doors if it doesn’t exactly pan out. The actual Nexus One won’t be available in stores, just through Google’s webstore.

Thanks Kappy!

One of our Verizon Wireless connects just handed us some pretty interesting info: starting tomorrow, Palm devices on Verizon Wireless will not require a mail-in-rebate.

Our source said that this is a pretty telltale sign of the devices not performing well on Big Red as, “we make a ton of money off people not sending those rebates in.” We’d agree. So, if this all pans out, starting tomorrow, you’ll be able to pick up a Palm Pre Plus or Palm Pixi Plus on Verizon for $149.99 and $79.99 respectively, with instant rebates out the door.

Project Pink lives! With all the excitement over the Windows Phone 7 Series rollout, most everyone forgot about the Sidekick-inspired Project Pink phones. Everyone except for Microsoft and Verizon Wireless it seems, who have been planning for the launch of at least one and maybe two of these new handsets. While we have been drooling over the LG Panther, a third party marketing company contracted by Microsoft has been busy dressing up the rendered image of the Project Pink Turtle handset in glorious Verizon Wireless marketing garb. According to the leaked marketing materials obtained by Gizmodo, the oval vertical slider, otherwise known as the Turtle, will be launched by Microsoft with Verizon Wireless as a launch partner in an arrangement that may (or may not) be exclusive. The phone will focus on social networking and will run a novel OS that is not Windows Phone 7. The leaked document also hints at an application store for the Pink phone but details on the store’s platform and distribution model are unknown. That is what we have on the Turtle, hit the jump for the details on the rather unusual Pure.

Out of the depths of Microsoft’s Redmond campus comes two blurry photos of the Project Pink side slider known as the Pure. The Pure was spotted running a not-yet-seen before operating system that has the look and feel of Windows Phone 7 but it not Windows Phone 7. Described as a Zune-ified Sidekick that is “better than Android,” the Pure has a tiled interface with links to email, music, RSS feeds, and more. That mysterious application store once again rears its ugly head as the OS reportedly has a download screen which, unfortunately, is not yet populated with apps. Similar to the Turtle, the Pure is rumored to be headed to Verizon Wireless but is not mentioned in the marketing material that showcases the Turtle. Previous rumors suggest a Spring 2010 launch for the Project Pink phones so look for the Turtle and perhaps the Pure to get the official nod very soon.

Read [Turtle] Read [Pure]

Considering it’s only Thursday, we figured we’d inject some good news for your reading pleasure. Unless you really like the N900 and can’t wait to see MeeGo open up its repository for the device. If that’s the case, you’re probably already full of good news. But, if you’re a fan of T-Mobile USA, and love to hear about customer satisfaction results, this one’s for you. It’s a good thing you stuck around.

What we have here is the Wireless Retail Customer Satisfaction award, which makes this T-Mobile’s second victory in a row. Obviously, this award is sought after by all the major wireless carriers in the States, and it seems that T-Mobile, while victorious, had a pretty close race on their hands. Especially when it comes to Verizon Wireless. T-Mobile pulled ahead with an overall score of 723; and Verizon Wireless finished in second with 722. Even if this is T-Mobile’s second consecutive victory, these results should show them that this is a never ending race, and customer satisfaction is a goal never completely obtained.

Just like any other awards program, T-Mobile (and the rest of the carriers) were graded on several different parameters before the winner was chosen. The categories in this round were: retailer’s facility, sales staff, cost, merchandise display, and overall retail sales performance. This study did not include: phone selection, or how satisfied a customer was with their wireless network. So, as the title suggests, this merit is meant only for the retail side. That’s nothing to scoff at. While there are more and more people out there getting their phones online, the brick-and-mortar stores still play a vital role. Congratulations to T-Mobile USA, and here’s hoping that all the carriers continue to strive for that first place position: it only works out for us.