at&t

HELSINKI, Finland -- I came here to listen for a death rattle.

It was a late Monday morning in late November when I arrived, and there was no sunlight. None. The sky was gray, bleaching out the city's colorful buildings. I asked the cab driver whether it would get any brighter, but he wasn't confident. The sun comes up late in the day and fades early in the afternoon this time of year. As even the Finns concede with a stoic chuckle, it's depressing.

Unsurprisingly, it's considered the worst time of the year to travel to … Read more

Part digital camera, part smartphone, the 4G Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Camera could be the start of a new generation of digital cameras. And as of this week, both Verizon and AT&T sell it.

On the one hand, Samsung could find some advantage in branching into the digital camera realm early before the trend really takes off. On the other, reaching outside its core technologies into new territory could prove a major misstep for the Korean electronics giant.

Touted as the first 4G LTE camera in the world, the Galaxy Camera deserves a bit of attention. With features such … Read more

The holiday season may be in full swing, but that hasn't stopped AT&T from keeping busy. The carrier announced today that it has expanded its 4G LTE data network to seven additional metropolitan areas.

Ma Bell's most advanced cellular network now covers Reno, Nevada; Richmond, Virginia; Allentown-Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Hattiesburg and Starkvillle, Mississippi; Moscow, Idaho; and Pullman, Washington. That's not a bad day's work. Still, while AT&T says it now blankets 3,000 cities more than its arch-rival Verizon with 4G, an area that includes over 160 million people. That claims AT&… Read more

Competing with HTC's Droid DNA, Pantech could introduce a 5-inch 1080p HD smartphone at CES 2013 in January, according to a rumor that surfaced today.

Details of an unannounced Pantech handset called the Vega IM-A860 for now have spilled online, apparently via a Wi-Fi Alliance certificate. The document suggests that the Vega will carry a 1,920x1,080-pixel full HD screen, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor with an Adreno 320 GPU, and support for 4G LTE.

CNET reached out to Pantech, however, the handset maker declined to comment for this story.

If history is an indicator, Pantech could … Read more

AT&T flipped the switch on four new LTE markets in its expanding 4G network.

Starting today, customers in Auburn, Ala.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nashua, N.H.; and Wilkes-Barre, Penn., will begin to see LTE coverage.

These additions bring AT&T's LTE count to 113 markets with coverage extending to over 160 million people.

AT&T still trails behind Verizon, which claims coverage of over 440 cities and 200 million residents.

AT&T helps you track your city's progress in an infographic below.

If you're looking for an Android device with a touch of style and at a price that likely won't bust your budget, the $49.99 HTC One VX may do the trick. This midrange handset has just joined AT&T's roster, apparently on sale today. … Read more

Soon there will be more than just one way to contact 911.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today that the four largest wireless carriers in the U.S. have agreed to fast track a service that will let people text the emergency 911 line.

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile have all signed on and major deployments are planned to roll out in 2013 and the service should be fully available nationwide by May 15, 2014.

"Access to 911 must catch up with how consumers communicate in the 21st century -- and today, we are … Read more

If the rumors are true, real, honest-to-god 4G in the United States could be on the way sometime in the next 7 to 12 months. FierceWireless reports on word from AT&T's annual meeting with analysts that it will be "firing up" new "LTE Advanced" service across its network in the second half of 2013.

What is LTE Advanced? Well, it's a lot like 4G LTE, only more, um, advanced.

See, in the old days of mobile broadband -- like, all the way back in 2011 -- carriers started marketing services they called 4G, but in the real world, they really only offered speeds one-tenth or one-twentieth those of the actual 4G standard, which is meant to deliver download speeds in the range of 100Mbps. That means we were suddenly able to download full songs out of the air in mere seconds on these new 4G services. … Read more

AT&T is hoping for a happy holiday when it comes to smartphone sales.

The wireless carrier is selling smartphones at a record pace -- 6.4 million already in the first two months of the quarter, according to Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's mobility arm. De la Vega, speaking at an investor conference today, said he now expects to sell 26 million smartphones this year, 1 million more than previously expected.

"What we're seeing is tremendous response in the marketplace," he said. "Excitement is at all time high. I … Read more