Last month, word got out that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was looking to go after Apple over the name of its wireless iPad model: iPad Wi-Fi + 4G. Soon after that, a handful of other countries joined them.
You see, folks are getting upset because Apple's LTE tablet doesn't actually use LTE in any countries outside of the US and Canada. So they want Apple to change its name. And Apple met with the ACCC this morning to talk about it...
LTE coverage is becoming an increasingly hot topic for Apple users here in the US. After waiting more than a year to utilize the high-speed 4G technology, Apple made its latest iPad LTE-capable. And it's likely that its next handset will be as well.
So which carrier has the best LTE coverage in the US? Verizon — by a long shot. And it's not showing any signs of slowing down. PhoneArena is reporting that Verizon has just lit up LTE in several areas in California, and in Reno, Nevada...
As noted by Cult of Mac, AT&T has announced that it has added two more major markets to its high-speed LTE network. The carrier flipped the switch this morning for its next-generation network in both St. Louis and Staten Island, NY.
The news comes just a week after AT&T activated LTE in Indiana and Bryan-College Station, Texas, reiterating its commitment to rolling out its long term evolution network to 12 new markets before the summer...
Yesterday, we informed you of a bunch of Wi-Fi connection issues some owners of the new iPad continue to experience with their device, including intermittent connectivity, slow data speeds and inability to see Wi-Fi networks. Unfortunately, more network-related woes have been discovered.
Since last week, an unknown subset of international users have been reporting trouble connecting to 3G cellular networks with their 4G LTE iPad. Interesting enough, Apple appears to have deleted a thread at their Support Communities website that by this morning has already ballooned to well over a hundred posts.
Here's what folks are saying...
Excluding some regional carriers such as nTelos (which begins carrying the iPhone on April 20), Sprint remains the only major wireless carrier in the United States with an unlimited everything plan. Unlike others, Sprint's iPhone customers are enjoying unlimited data. Not surprisingly, the carrier would love to retain this key differentiator as it's prepping to finally roll out 4G LTE.
According to a new report, a Sprint spokesperson has now confirmed that the carrier is planning on offering unlimited data when their 4G LTE network goes live. 4G LTE support is all but given for the upcoming sixth-generation iPhone. Even with Sprint being terribly late with 4G LTE deployment, this is still good news for future iPhone customers.
The speed increase offered by 4G LTE technology over 3G HSPA+ is substantial. And if the new 4G iPad is anything to go by, unlimited data could sway those prospective data-hungry customers.
As promised last month, carrier AT&T this morning confirmed plans to roll out its 4G LTE network in new markets, beginning April 8. Of the planned twelve cities, the carrier will turn on 4G LTE in three cities this coming Sunday: Muncie and Bloomington, Indiana, as well as Bryan-College Station, Texas.
AT&T is still lagging behind rival Verizon Wireless when it comes to 4G LTE coverage. Not that their iPhone customers care - that is, until a sixth-generation model with 4G LTE support arrives later this year - but those with a 4G LTE iPad 3 might want to take notice.
Apple's doing lots of clarifying lately, that much is clear. Just this day, the company finally tweaked the problematic "4G" wording for the new iPad in Australia and clarified warranty coverage options in the European Union.
In both these instances, Apple moved only following regulatory pressure or when threatened with class-action lawsuits.
So, if you live in Australia and felt misled with Apple's "4G" iPad marketing in the country, you're in for a treat. Hop over to the iPad specs page on the Australia online Apple store and see an added line stating the device "is not compatible with current Australian 4G LTE networks and WiMAX networks".
Uh-oh, it looks like Apple is now facing additional probes by consumer watchdogs in other countries around the world for misleading 4G iPad buyers with false advertising. Yesterday, Apple of California was forced to bow to the pressure from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over the matter and is now offering refunds to those consumers believing they were misled.
According to the latest news reports, the company is now facing similar investigations in Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Both the Swedish Consumer Agency (SCA) and UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have now been confirmed as looking into complaints...
Well that didn't take long. It was just this morning that we reported that the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) was taking legal action against Apple for "misleading" Australian customers with its 4G iPad advertising.
The Commission feels that since the tablet isn't compatible with Australia's 4G networks, Apple shouldn't advertise it as a 4G device. Apparently the Cupertino company agrees, because it's already offering some customers refunds...
Well this isn't too surprising. TheNextWeb is reporting that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced plans to file a lawsuit against Apple in the next 48 hours regarding its "misleading" iPad WiFi + 4G advertising.
As most of you know, the wireless version of Apple's new tablet is indeed compatible with 4G networks here in the US and in Canada. But in other countries, including Australia, the slate is limited to 3G data speeds and, if available, HSPA+...
When used as a personal hotspot only over Verizon's 4G cellular connection, the new iPad gets more than 25 hours of run time, AnandTech found out in their battery life testing published this morning. This is better than your average MiFi device by at least a factor of five. Matter of fact, it gets exactly an hour less in hotspotting tests compared to WiFi benchmarks, which falls in line with Apple's official specs.
The Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime beats Apple's third-generation tablet when hotspotting in Normal, Balanced and Power Saving profiles. With that in mind, the ability to use your iPad as a personal Verizon hotspot for more than 25 hours is certainly welcome news in a string of negative reports alleging issues with the tablet's much-improved 42.5Wh battery.
Now that Apple has finally ventured into 4G territory with the new iPad, it's inevitable that the next iPhone will follow suit, right? If the latest rumors hold any weight, it sure would seem that way.
While we think it's a no brainer that we'll see 4G LTE in the next iPhone, we've received a tip that makes us feel a lot better about the possibility.
The following information definitely confirms that Apple is working on a 4G capable iPhone. This new evidence, along with the successful launch of the new iPad, makes us feel 99.999% sure that the new iPhone will feature 4G capability. Full details inside...