Verizon

In an about-face, Xfinity Mobile will offer discounts on additional unlimited plan lines

Comcast’s wireless service, Xfinity Mobile, is changing the pricing structure on its unlimited plans. The company will now discount additional lines on its unlimited plan: a single-line plan will still cost $45 per month, but additional lines become cheaper the more you add. With four lines on a plan, you’ll pay $30 per month per… Read more

Sony announces the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III with variable telephoto lenses

Sony is announcing two new phones today, the Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III. Both are the latest in Sony’s campaign to redefine the Xperia brand as a kind of sibling to its well-regarded Alpha digital cameras. As such, the camera system is once again the main focus, and Sony specifically is touting… Read more

The FCC wants you to test your internet speeds with its new app

The Federal Communications Commission has released a new speed test app to help measure internet speeds across the country, available on both Android and iOS. The FCC Speed Test App works similarly to existing speed-testing apps like Ookla’s and Fast by Netflix, automatically collecting and displaying data once users press the “start testing” button. According… Read more

Verizon is recalling 2.5 million hotspots that could overheat and cause burn or fire damage

Verizon said Thursday it is working with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to recall 2.5 million hotspot devices after an investigation found the devices’ lithium-ion batteries could overheat and pose fire and burn hazards. The Ellipsis Jetpack mobile hotspot models MHS900L, MHS900LS, and MHS900LPP were imported by Franklin Wireless Corp. and sold between April… Read more

Yahoo Answers will be shut down forever on May 4th

Yahoo Answers, one of the longest-running and most storied web Q&A platforms in the history of the internet, is shutting down on May 4th. That’s the day the Yahoo Answers website will start redirecting to the Yahoo homepage, and all of the platform’s archives will apparently cease to exist. The platform has been operating since… Read more

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 foldable phone just got $200 cheaper

Samsung is dropping the price of its ultra-premium Galaxy Z Fold 2 5G by $200, bringing the foldable smartphone down to $1,799.99 compared to its initial $1,999.99 launch MRSP. Even after the price cut, the Z Fold 2 5G will still cost you more than flagships from pretty much all of Samsung’s competitors, but it’s… Read more

Verizon says it will shut down its 3G network — for real this time — on December 31st, 2022

After years of delays, Verizon says it will finally shut down its 3G CDMA network at the end of 2022 — and the company means it this time. Verizon initially targeted 2021 for the shutdown and later revised with a more ambitious goal of 2019. That didn’t happen, and as recently as January 2021, the… Read more

Codename: Urban Legends is a taste of what Niantic thinks 5G could do for AR gaming

Pokémon Go developer Niantic has unveiled Codename: Urban Legends, which it describes as “a multiplayer demo experience that offers a glimpse into the future of AR and 5G networks.” The game revolves around casting magic spells to kill monsters and rescue allies. It’s similar to Niantic’s previously released games, but the trailer includes a unique… Read more

The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro can now use Verizon’s 5G network

The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are now certified for use on Verizon’s network, which means Verizon customers will be able to use the phones with the carrier’s 5G network; without certification, the phones would be limited to LTE. The news was announced today by a Verizon representative, but the timeline is a little unclear…. Read more

Area-codeless local calls will largely go away in October — but for a good reason

In many places, you can call up a neighbor or local pizza parlor just by dialing seven numbers, as long as you have the same area code — but that ability will soon be going away, in order to make the National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Crisis Lifeline easier to reach. If you live… Read more

Motorola’s Ready For brings a DeX-style desktop to the Edge Plus

Motorola is expanding its Edge Plus flagship phone with a new, desktop computer interface called Ready For. Similar to Samsung’s DeX, Ready For allows users to plug their smartphone into a larger screen (using either a USB-C to USB-C or USB-C to HDMI cable), allowing the Edge Plus (and presumably, future Motorola phones) to be… Read more

Companies can silently reroute your texts to hackers, sometimes for just $16

There’s a newly discovered attack on SMS messaging that’s almost invisible to victims, and seemingly sanctioned by the telecom industry, uncovered in a report by Motherboard. The attack uses text-messaging management services that are aimed at businesses to silently redirect text messages from a victim to hackers, giving them access to any two-factor codes or… Read more

PSA: T-Mobile will start sharing customer info with advertisers unless you opt out

T-Mobile will soon put a new privacy policy into effect that will allow it to share certain kinds of customer information with third-party advertisers. Starting on April 26th, 2021, all customers will be automatically opted in to the new program, as spotted by The Wall Street Journal. Customers who don’t want to participate will need… Read more

Verizon is once again giving you a reason to turn 5G off

Verizon 4G appears to be getting even better than its nationwide 5G network, according to new tests conducted by PCMag’s Sascha Segan. After last week’s tweet suggesting that users turn off their phone’s 5G to conserve battery life, there seems to be a multitude of reasons for Verizon customers to stick with 4G right now…. Read more

T-Mobile saw Verizon telling people to turn off 5G and thought ‘why stop there’

T-Mobile has been busy hawking its 5G network, recently spending many additional billions to expand it, which makes it kinda awkward that it’s also been caught telling users to turn off 5G to save battery life (via Sascha Segan). Didn’t Verizon just make this same gaff mere days ago? It sure did. But instead of… Read more