Starting next week, Sprint customers can purchase a Zte Peel, which will add 3G capabilities to the Apple iPod Touch.
The Peel attaches to 2G and 3G Touches.
User slide their Touch devices into the the Peel and instantly connect to Sprint’s 3G data network by pressing a button.
There are many texting applications in the App Store as well as Skype so the iPod Touch can be used as a bulky smartphone of sorts, as long as you are willing to pay $30 a month for 1GB of 3G data bandwidth through Sprint.
The Peel itself costs $80.
“ZTE PEEL unlocks the wonderful user interface and Web experience of Apple’s popular iPod touch and transforms it into a powerful mobile device using the Sprint 3G network,” adds Fared Adib, vice president-Product Development. “When combined with Sprint’s 3G network, ZTE PEEL turns an iPod touch from a portable device limited by the availability of Wi-Fi to a mobility tool free to browse the Web and use applications anytime, anywhere while on Sprint’s 3G network.”
Result for: bandwidth
T-Mobile has confirmed today that they will begin throttling smartphone owners that use excessive amounts of data.
Subscribers that hit over 5GB of bandwidth per month will have their speeds throttled at that point.
The carrier says the rule will affect less than 1 percent of its 35 million subscribers.
Reads the announcement:
“Beginning on October 16, T-Mobile will begin to reduce data speeds when a customer reaches 5GB of usage in a billing cycle, in accordance with T-Mobile terms and conditions. This change should only affect extreme data users (less than 1 percent) and is being made to ensure that all subscribers receive the best Web performance available by limiting the number of extreme data users on our network.
The majority of T-Mobile customers should not be affected by this change. The new 5 GB threshold limit, which is equivalent to approximately 125,000 yahoo.com page visits, is enough bandwidth to satisfy most customers’ Web and data needs.
If a customer happens to reach the 5GB limit, they will receive a free text message informing them their data speed will be reduced. Customers will continue to have Web browsing capabilities but at slower speeds, which will be determined by their device type. Once their new billing cycle begins, data speeds will no longer be restricted.
Customers can track their data usage through My T-Mobile, MyAccount, or the SIVR.”
While subscribers may be upset by the news, it is important to note that Verizon and AT&T no longer offer unlimited data plans, and charge by the MB for any overages over their most expensive 5GB plans.
Result for: bandwidth
Yesterday, complaints began surfacing online that AT&T was “capping” upload speeds for iPhone 4 users, slowing upstream bandwidth to a crawl in Metropolitan areas such as New York City and Boston.
Today, the wireless carrier has blamed software from Alcatel-Lucent for the issues, saying a fix is in the works.
Additionally, the company says only 2 percent of users are affected by the defect.
Lucent declined to offer a timetable for the fix, and would not reveal which areas were being affected.
Customer complaints have been filed from NYC, Central Jersey, Boston, Orlando, Seattle, South Jersey/Philly, Columbus, Cleveland, West Houston, Phoenix, Northern Colorado, St. Paul/Minesota, Suffolk County/Long Island, Quad Cities, South Jersey, Denver, Detroit Metro, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Fairfax, and Minneapolis, so far.
