Cellular

Smartphones top tablets as hungriest data gadgets

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

For carriers, the name of the game is data consumption. The more data consumed, the more revenue. For observers, data consumption also provides a clue to how new devices are used.

For the first time, smartphones are outpacing tablets as the "hungriest" mobile devices.

In 2011, tablets comprised two out of three of the devices consuming the most data. By 2012, all of the top three mobile devices were smartphones, led by the iPhone 5.

According to Arieso, a European company helping optimize networks to meet changing demand, iPhone 5 users consume four times as much data as the iPhone 3G users, and 50 percent more than the iPhone 4S owners. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S III and the HTC Sensation XL rounded out the most voracious devices in Europe...

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Cellular version of new iPad and iPad mini to go on sale in China on January 18

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Back in December, Apple rolled out the Wi-Fi only versions of both the 4th generation iPad and new iPad mini in China. The Cellular version was missing from the launch, however, and there was no word when it would land.

Then last week, Tim Cook confirmed that carrier-flavored versions of the two tablets would be available in the country in late January. And today, Apple delivers on that promise, announcing an official arrival date of January 18...

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Cook confirms cellular iPad mini coming to China late January

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 10, 2013

Tim Cook visited China for the second time since taking over as CEO of Apple in August of last year. In an interview with Chinese reporters, Cook officially confirmed that the cellular version of the iPad mini will arrive on the mainland in late January after the device gained a regulatory approval in mid-December 2012.

Both the iPad 4 and the Wi-Fi-only model of the iPad mini made a landfall in the country on December 7, following the iPhone 5's debut a week earlier which sold two million units during its opening weekend...

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AT&T’s LTE coverage doubles in 2012

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 16, 2012

Just in time for latest LTE iPads that Friday morning hit online and brick-and-mortar stores of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and Best Buy, the nation's #1 carrier AT&T announced its 4G LTE is now available in 24 new markets in the United States. More importantly, the company claims to have doubled its LTE coverage in 2012 versus the end of 2011.

Specifically its LTE now covers more than 150 million people in a total of 103 markets. As part of its ambitious $14 billion LTE network expansion project, AT&T's LTE will expand to 250 million people by year-end 2013 and to 300 million by year-end 2014...

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Fourth-gen LTE iPads reaching Apple Stores

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Making good on its promise, Apple has started stocking its U.S. retail outlets with cellular versions of the fourth-generation iPad with Retina display. According to web reports, Apple yesterday instructed its retail staff to stock these units and to wait until Mothership instructs them to begin sales because a launch date has not yet been communicated.

By all accounts, the company should officially start selling these tomorrow, November 16. In a media release announcing opening weekend sales of three million iPads, Apple noted that cellular versions of both the iPad mini and the fourth-generation model will be available in the US on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon "in a few weeks"...

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First LTE iPad mini pre-orders are now en route to US customers

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2012

During the September 12 iPad mini unveiling Apple vaguely indicated that the Wi-Fi + Cellular model would start shipping “a couple of weeks after the Wi-Fi models”. Then, when it started accepting pre-orders and announced opening weekend sales of three million iPads, the company reiterated that the cellular version of both the fourth-gen iPad and the smaller one will be available in the US on AT&T, Sprint and Verizon “in a few weeks”.

We’re now receiving reports that some customers who pre-ordered a Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad mini are receiving shipping notices from their courier service. Many are seeing delivery dates of this Friday, November 16, or the following Monday, with some deliveries reportedly set for as early as tomorrow, November 15...

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Apple puts a price tag on Motorola’s wireless patents: $1 per iPhone

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 31, 2012

In a response to Motorola's motion from yesterday seeking clarification on essential wireless patents (which include both cellular and WiFi standards), Apple has formally acknowledged its willingness to accept a license at a court-determined rate of up to $1 per iPhone through a license agreement on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

The figure entails worldwide sales of covered products, the iPhone maker said. Apple's position on FRAND licensing is that the industry should set FRAND rates in order to prevent companies asserting wireless standards-essential patents against its rivals by jacking up prices.

Motorola, which is now a wholly-owned Google subsidiary, wrote in the filing that Microsoft's FRAND contract case had explicitly committed to the conclusion of a license agreement on court-ordered terms. Is there finally an end in sight to this patent mess?

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Carrier update for iPhone 5 pushed to Verizon subscribers

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Have you noticed Verizon cellular data usage increments on your iPhone 5 while connected to Wi-Fi? If so, then you definitely want to apply a recently released carrier settings update, which was issued to Verizon subscribers to fix the issue.

The update will change the Verizon carrier settings from 13.0 to 13.1. Although, under most circumstances, cellular data should not be used while connected to a Wi-Fi network, that appears to be exactly what has been happening for some customers.

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Where’s my iOS Wi-Fi Plus Cellular toggle?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 11, 2018

Apple in early-August seeded iOS 6 Beta 4 to its registered developers. With it came a new feature in Settings, called Wi-Fi Plus Cellular. As Jeff explained in a lengthy post the following day, this toggle basically ensures that apps having trouble with WiFi can automatically switch over to cellular data. But why go implement and then remove this handy capability from iOS 6?

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Question of the week: your thoughts on AT&T requiring shared data for FaceTime over Cellular?

Jeff Benjamin ∙ August 18, 2012

When we first saw the message asking us to contact AT&T before we could enable FaceTime over Cellular, we knew something was up. Now the cat has been let out of the bag.

As it turns out, AT&T won't be charging for FaceTime over Cellular as if it were a separate feature, but it will require you to switch to their new shared data plan.

What do you think about this?

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A complete breakdown of iOS 6’s new Wi-Fi Plus Cellular feature

Jeff Benjamin ∙ Updated February 7, 2016

As we told you yesterday, Apple has incorporated a new Wi-Fi Plus Cellular option in iOS 6 beta 4. This new setting allows apps to use cellular data when there are issues with the Wi-Fi connection.

You can find the Wi-Fi Plus Cellular toggle in the General > Cellular panel, which is within the Settings app.

Once iOS 6 is formally released to the public, should you enable this option? Is there a risk involved when it comes to racking up extra cellular data charges with your wireless provider? We'll answer these, and other questions inside...

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