Verizon Wireless launching 4G broadband in 38 cities and 60 airports

by Scott Carmichael on

Forget 3G – that technology is so 2005. The new buzzword is clearly 4G. And while Verizon is by no means the first to be able to claim being first with 4G, their plans are mighty impressive. The Verizon 4G technology is based off a system called LTE – which is on track to becoming a worldwide standard for 4G.

4G will deliver speeds between 5 and 12 Mbps – around 4-7 times faster than current 3G speeds. The first Verizon LTE markets will launch before the end of 2010, and most major cities in the nation are on target to getting their share of coverage.

But better yet – Verizon clearly understands the needs of travelers, because in addition to the 36 metro areas, they’ll also be launching their coverage at 60 airports. The full list of cities and airports can be found after the jump. Nationwide coverage is expected to be complete by 2013 – a very ambitious target.

There is of course some bad news – none of the handsets, modems or smartphones on the market at the moment support LTE – so expect to drop some more cash on a new piece of equipment. Also, given the massive investments required for these networks, don’t be surprised if you are asked to pay a surcharge for all that extra speed. Still, if the promise of these speeds is even partially made true, we are in for some really productive times while we sit at the airport streaming Family Guy off Hulu.

To learn more about LTE and the technology behind this new network, head on over to the Verizon LTE information center.
Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Major Metropolitan Area Deployment

  • Akron, Ohio
  • Athens, Georgia
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Baltimore, Maryland
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Cleveland, Ohio
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Dallas, Texas
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • Houston, Texas
  • Jacksonville, Florida
  • Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Miami, Florida
  • Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • New Orleans, Louisiana
  • New York, New York
  • Oakland, California
  • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Phoenix, Arizona
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Rochester, New York
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • San Diego, California
  • San Francisco, California
  • San Jose, California
  • Seattle/Tacoma, Washington
  • St. Louis, Missouri
  • Tampa, Florida
  • Washington, D.C.
  • West Lafayette, Indiana
  • West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Verizon Wireless 4G LTE Initial Commercial Airport Deployment (Airport Name, City, State)
  • Austin-Bergstrom International, Austin, Texas
  • Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal, Glen Burnie, Maryland
  • Bob Hope, Burbank, California
  • Boeing Field/King County International, Seattle, Washington
  • Charlotte/Douglas International, Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Chicago Midway International, Chicago, Illinois
  • Chicago O’Hare International, Chicago, Illinois
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Covington, Kentucky
  • Cleveland-Hopkins International, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Dallas Love Field, Dallas, Texas
  • Dallas/Fort Worth International, Fort Worth, Texas
  • Denver International, Denver, Colorado
  • Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  • George Bush Intercontinental/Houston, Houston, Texas
  • Greater Rochester International, Rochester, New York
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Atlanta, Georgia
  • Honolulu International, Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Jacksonville International, Jacksonville, Florida
  • John F. Kennedy International, New York, New York
  • John Wayne Airport-Orange County, Santa Ana, California
  • Kansas City International, Kansas City, Missouri
  • La Guardia, New York, New York
  • Lambert-St. Louis International, St. Louis, Missouri
  • Laurence G. Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts
  • Long Beach/Daugherty Field, Long Beach, California
  • Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, California
  • Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Metairie, Louisiana
  • McCarran International, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Memphis International, Memphis, Tennessee
  • Metropolitan Oakland International, Oakland, California
  • Miami International, Miami, Florida
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul International/Wold-Chamberlain, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Nashville International, Nashville, Tennessee
  • New Castle, Wilmington, North Carolina
  • Newark Liberty International, Newark, New Jersey
  • Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International, San Jose, California
  • North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
  • Orlando International, Orlando, Florida
  • Orlando Sanford International, Sanford, Florida
  • Palm Beach International, West Palm Beach, Florida
  • Philadelphia International, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Phoenix, Arizona
  • Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, Mesa, Arizona
  • Pittsburgh International, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Port Columbus International, Columbus, Ohio
  • Portland International, Portland, Oregon
  • Rickenbacker International, Columbus, Ohio
  • Ronald Reagan Washington National, Arlington, Virginia
  • Sacramento International, Sacramento, California
  • Salt Lake City International, Salt Lake City, Utah
  • San Antonio International, San Antonio, Texas
  • San Diego International, San Diego, California
  • San Francisco International, San Francisco, California
  • Seattle-Tacoma International, Seattle, Washington
  • St. Augustine, Saint Augustine, Florida
  • St. Petersburg-Clearwater International, Clearwater, Florida
  • Tampa International, Tampa, Florida
  • Teterboro, Teterboro, New Jersey
  • Trenton Mercer, Trenton, New Jersey
  • Washington Dulles International, Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
  • Will Rogers World, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
  • William P. Hobby, Houston, Texas

Skype for Android arrives in the marketplace – WiFi calling only when in the U.S.

by Scott Carmichael on

Unless you were using a Verizon Wireless device, you’ve not had the chance to use Skype on your Android phone. Thankfully, that changed this morning when Skype released their app to the world, including those of us not on Verizon.

The Skype app allows for free Skype to Skype calls, as well as paid calls to mobile and landline phones. The new Skype client for Android works on 3G and WiFi outside the U.S. and WiFi only within the U.S.

The application itself is free, and you get a free EUR0.09 credit, worth one call to a phone anywhere in the world.

The application itself is well made – it can sync with your existing contacts and stays active in your notification drop-down, ready to alert you to incoming calls or messages.

Inside the app, you can change your profile, set your status and purchase Skype add-ons. Search for “Skype” in the Android marketplace to find the app.

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Daily Pampering: ECTACO’s Multilingual talking electronic dictionary and phrasebook

by Melanie Nayer on

Forget about paying for language lessons, books on tape or private instruction so you can learn to say “Where is the bathroom” in Russian. Now there’s a speaking portable pocket translator that will do all the work for you.

“How do you say…?” is a thing of the past, thanks to ECTACO’s Multilingual Talking Electronic Dictionary and Audio PhraseBook. This $799 speech-recognition tool will help you speak like a local in most languages. Well, assuming you have the intellect to speak the language properly.

There are thousands of voice activated phrases already inputted into the database, and a full text translator will allow you to interact with people in your target language without having to learn the language. The best part? It speaks (so you don’t have to)! All 14,000 voice-activated phrases are spoken in a real human voice to facilitate understanding and includes a massive human-voice talking dictionary.

The ECTACO Partner Alpine 8C900 Grand Multilingual Talking Electronic Dictionary and Audio PhraseBook also comes with a GPS module attached to help you find your way wherever your travels take you, and a C-pen scanner allows you to upload and translate any text directly into your handheld phrasebook.

Now you can practice conjugating your verbs while you travel! Your high school Spanish teacher would be so proud.

Want more? Get your daily dose of pampering right here.

Wearcast – New iPhone app offers the weather forcecast – and fashion tips!

by Scott Carmichael on

When it comes to weather apps, there really is no shortage of basic forecasting programs in the App Store. Thankfully, there is still plenty of room for innovation, something you’ll find in Wearcast – a weather app with fashion sense.

The application uses a weather algorithm developed by CBS meteorologist Lonnie Quinn, and fashion illustrations by Alejandro Cardenas. The end result is a reliable forecast, and a very quick way to see what you’ll need to wear to survive the weather.

The app supports worldwide weather locations, can display temperatures in C or F and show fashion for a boy or girl. Even through the fashion on display may not entirely match your wardrobe, it does give a very quick overview of what to expect outside.

I’m quite impressed with the artwork – it doesn’t try to dress you up too much (or make you look like a dork) and the forecast appears to be quite accurate. Wearcast is available in the App Store for $1.99. Check out the web site for the app to learn more about its features.

Accor hotels adds TripAdvisor reviews to its hotel sites

by Melanie Nayer on

While hundreds of hotels prepare to file a lawsuit against user-generated review site TripAdvisor.com, Accor hotels has decided to take another approach: promoting TripAdvsior.

The hotel group added feeds to TripAdvisor reviews on the homepages of each of its more than 4,000 hotels worldwide. The links include both good and bad reviews, along with the hotel’s overall rating on the site and a link to read user review. The hotel is even offering links to the official review on the TripAdvisor site.

Claire Wearne, Accor’s director of marketing, quality and consumer products, tells The Sydney Morning Herald that the decision to work with TripAdvisor is a nod to the importance of user-generated content. “We appreciate that the decision making of our guests is no longer limited to the information in our brochure,” she says. “We understand that they are making decisions based on valid information from other users.”

We want to hear from you. Is this a good move from Accor? Or, could TripAdvisor reviews do more harm than good?

[via HotelsMag.com]