HTC Thunderbolt teardown photos released by the FCC

The FCC Teardown report on the HTC Thunderbolt has appeared online and it shows all the internals of the LTE driven handset. Looking at the various layers of the Thunderbolt, it’s really amazing how much can fit into such a thin, by comparison, package.Images show the 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, iNAND flash memory and SDRAM from Sandisk and Samsung respectively, and all the antenna including CDMA, EVDO, and LTE. In addition, there’s close ups of the Thunderbolt’s GPS antenna, Bluetooth, and WLAN Antenna’s as well.

In other Thunderbolt news, Amazon is putting the Verizon 4G LTE Thunderbolt on sale for $174.95 with a two year Verizon contract. A savings of $75 over the already low price of $249.99. The unsubsidized sale price still lists for around $669, a $30 price cut. That means that users can afford to add the extended battery and still walk away with a pretty good deal.

In addition to the 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, the Thunderbolt 4G enjoys a 2/4″ Super LCD multi-touch display, a pair of cameras including a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for video chat and an 8 megapixel rear facing camera for HD video recording in 720p. On board memory is courtesy of 8GB RAM and a 32 GB microSD memory card. Dual Microphones enable HTC’s noise canceling technology for clear calls in noisy conditions.

The Thunderbolt comes with Android 2.2 (Froyo) out of the box, but we reported today that it will be updated by late June.





  

• [via Wireless Goodness and HTC Media]

continue reading…

AT&T: T-Mobile customers will need new handsets

In a quote from an AT&T statement, it is being reported that T-Mobile users will have to get new phones in order to take part in AT&Ts 4G plans. This could largely be due to AT&T planning to transition all T-Mobile towers to a 4G network. This could be good, it could be bad. Good for middle customers who would like to get a new 4G phone but are stuck with another year or two on their contracts, bad in that it means people will have to lay out more money to pick up an AT&T handset and get locked into yet another two years with Ma Bell.

The spectrum they use for third-generation services, or 3G, will be re-purposed for 4G, which is faster.

That would leave current T-Mobile phones without 3G. They would need to be replaced with phones that use AT&T’s 3G frequencies. Ralph de la Vega, AT&T’s head of wireless and consumer services, said this will happen as part of the normal phone upgrade process.

“There’s nothing for them to worry about … it will be done over time, in a way that’s good for customers and good for AT&T,” de la Vega said in an interview.

So, while AT&T reps assure us that 4G plan will be phased in and customers won’t have to buy a new phone right away, the rather dead end point is, that sooner or later, they will. Course, with FCC approval of the deal expected to take about a year to complete, and the complete 4G transition several years on top of that. So, users in current contracts may be able to run out the clock and transition to a new carrier or phone anyway. But where does this leave current AT&T customers? Will the 4G phase in also mean that AT&T users will have to transition to a mandatory 4G handset as well?

AT&T rocked the wireless world with their surprise announcement yesterday that it would be buying T-Mobile USA from German carrier Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion in cash and stock. It also plans on spending over $8 billion to bring the entire T-Mobile network into the 4G realm. AT&T is working overtime making assurances to customers, and especially to the FCC who has to approve the merger, that the marriage of these two carriers will benefit users as they move to the 4G LTE spectrum. And could the FCC may be looking forward to 3G being vacated sooner, rather than later so another spectrum auction can occur?

“There’s nothing for them to worry about … it will be done over time, in a way that’s good for customers and good for AT&T,” de la Vega said. So, AT&T’s opinion seems to be it’s a win-win proposition.

• [via Yahoo Finance]

continue reading…