The Navy wants to deploy railguns on its latest destroyer

The US Navy's latest toy, a railgun that can fire projectiles at seven times the speed of sound, maybe be deployed sooner than thought. The original plan was to test it on joint high-speed vessels (JHSVs) in 2016, but the Navy is reportedly building...

Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations

Verizon CFO Fran Shammo

Most of Verizon's strategy talk surrounding its long-term LTE plans has conservatively aimed at upgrading all existing coverage areas to 4G by the end of 2013. If we're to believe a CFO Fran Shammo presentation, the carrier may have underpromised and overdelivered: the executive now expects LTE to reach the whole network by the middle of next year, or as much as half a year sooner than first thought. What prompted the quicker rollout wasn't mentioned, although Shammo was eager to point out a surprisingly strong reception to Verizon's (frequently mandatory) shared plans as well as the ample number of airwaves that came from a spectrum transfer deal with cable providers. Having a lot of customers on premium plans with the capacity to support them tends to help with faster expansion, we'd say. No matter the exact reasoning, the shortened schedule could underscore the advantage of Verizon's early start on LTE versus those carriers taking a more relaxed pace.

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Verizon CFO: LTE rollout should wrap up by mid-2013, months ahead of expectations originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft details its own Windows 8 rollout, lessons learned from ‘dogfooding’

Microsoft details its own Windows 8 rollout, lessons learned from 'dogfooding'

If a company won't use its own products, how can it expect others to? Many customers, especially on the enterprise side of the equation, are understandably a little wary of the drastic change that awaits them when upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 8. So, Microsoft decided to share what it has learned from its own experience dogfooding the new OS around the Redmond campus (and likely beyond). While the company is a little light on specifics of the low-volume rollout, it does highlight some of the features available to IT departments that should make transitioning easier. It even offers a few pointers along the way. Sure, there's plenty of back-patting involved, but tips like using IT Easy Installer to automate deployments and trim install times by half shouldn't be dismissed. There's also some information about its support system for early adopters which included a knowledge base called Pointers that helped highlight the most important issues needing to be addressed. For more details hit up the source link and get ready to embrace your inner IT nerd.

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Microsoft details its own Windows 8 rollout, lessons learned from 'dogfooding' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire starts building LTE network this month, wants to salve (and profit from) Sprint growing pains

Sprint hearts Clearwire

Clearwire doesn't have much time left before its promised LTE rollout goes live in early 2013, so it's with some relief that we know the deployment is getting underway. CFO Hope Cochran told those at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia Conference this week that construction of the first cell sites starts this month, with efforts truly swinging into full gear during the fall. The executive also reminded us of a very pragmatic reason why many of the 5,000 LTE sites due by June 30th will target high-traffic areas -- as Clearwire is only selling the faster data access to other providers, it should pocket more money in any regions where Sprint needs all the help it can get. Call it a virtuous cycle. Cochran certainly does: while Clearwire is free to make deals with others, Cochran says her company weighs any alliances against what it still considers a very special pact with Sprint. No doubt the 4G pioneer is hoping that it's making the right choices, as other carriers aren't waiting around.

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Clearwire starts building LTE network this month, wants to salve (and profit from) Sprint growing pains originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 07:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area

Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area

Sprint's LTE signal is well and truly out there, but it looks like roll-out is going smoother than the Now Network had predicted, appearing (though, not "officially launched") ahead of schedule in the San Francisco Bay Area. Tipsters have told Android Police that they've already managed to connect to the 4G network around both Palo Alto and Mountain View, reaching speeds of over 13MBps down and 8MBps up. Coverage doesn't yet extend across the whole of San Francisco, but bodes well for a swift roll-out -- and for Sprint fulfilling its promise of voice over LTE by the end of next year.

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Sprint LTE makes early appearance in Bay Area originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint LTE spreads its wings to four more areas by Labor Day

Sprint LTE spreads its wings to four more cities by Labor Day

Sprint may have played slightly fast and loose with its definition of a 15-city LTE launch this month -- some of those areas were mighty close to each other -- but it's taking that expansion a little further down the road with its next stage. Hand-in-hand with its second quarter results, the pin-drop network has outlined plans to revisit its 4G hometown in Baltimore as well Gainesville in Georgia, the Junction City-Manhattan area in Kansas and the Denison-Sherman region in Texas, giving them all LTE by Labor Day. The expansion will certainly please Georgian Galaxy S III owners; unfortunately, it still leaves many major cities fending with EV-DO 3G until later in the year, if not 2013. Maybe Sprint's Hitchcock-inspired nightmares are to blame.

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Sprint LTE spreads its wings to four more areas by Labor Day originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Qantas replacing staff BlackBerrys with iPhones, Australian flights may be held up by Tiny Wings

Qantas Airbus A380

RIM has already been feeling the sting of lost customers. That sting isn't getting any gentler, as Qantas just outlined plans to replace all 1,300 BlackBerry phones in the fleet with iPhones. As the airline explains to The Australian, a mix of cost overhead and employee feedback is steering the decision to wing it Apple's way. We also imagine Qantas may be facing the usual airline dilemma of having to replace large swaths of equipment after clinging to old technology for dear life. Naturally, the company is keen to reassure passengers that the security is up to snuff as well, and a Bring Your Own Device effort could see Android fly once it's approved. The time scale is indefinite enough that it's unlikely that we'll see the airline crew members distracted by a game of Amazing Alex on that next flight to Melbourne -- we only know that they'll be weaning themselves off of BlackBerry Messenger before too long.

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Qantas replacing staff BlackBerrys with iPhones, Australian flights may be held up by Tiny Wings originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jul 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSA: Sprint LTE goes live today, honest and for true (update: includes Missouri)

HTC EVO 4G LTE review on table

Sprint's decision to take its LTE live in Kansas City marked a short prelude to a full orchestral performance -- the carrier's upgraded 4G network is now official. Kansas City and St. Joseph in Kansas and Missouri, as well as 13 urban areas in Georgia and Texas, are taking the leap past WiMAX speeds as of today. Senior network VP Bob Azzi has warned the Kansas City Star that the current LTE access is still mostly for use outside until it expands to the 3G network's range, although he adds that there will be a coverage map available from July 16th onwards to let EVO 4G LTE, Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S III owners know when their phones reach full potential. Just remember that the real party starts in 2013, when Sprint hopes to both flick on voice over LTE and ramp up to extra-speedy LTE-Advanced.

[Thanks, Alex]

Update: As locals in the comments have helpfully reminded us, St. Joseph is in Missouri and just sits along the border with Kansas -- you know what they say about horseshoes, hand grenades and being close enough.

Continue reading PSA: Sprint LTE goes live today, honest and for true (update: includes Missouri)

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PSA: Sprint LTE goes live today, honest and for true (update: includes Missouri) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 11:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rogers details 28-city LTE upgrade for rest of 2012, RIM’s hometown included

Rogers details 28city LTE upgrade for rest of 2012, RIM's hometown included

Rogers' LTE network is old enough to mark its first birthday. Unless you happened to live in one of the seven largest cities in Canada during that time, however, you've largely been left out -- that status indicator on the Rogers version of the One X may as well have been a subtle form of mockery. To the delight of our friends up North, the carrier has detailed a much more aggressive LTE rollout for the rest of the year: a total of 28 more cities will get that sweet 4G nectar in the next few months. Most of these expansions will blanket the southern half of Ontario, but major cities in the Prairies, Quebec and the Maritimes will all get their fair share. Arguably, the most important upgrade is coming to RIM's home base of Waterloo; when the company is virtually betting its future on likely LTE-ready BlackBerry 10 devices, having widescale LTE to test against is a slightly important prerequisite. The full city list is available after the break.

Continue reading Rogers details 28-city LTE upgrade for rest of 2012, RIM's hometown included

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Rogers details 28-city LTE upgrade for rest of 2012, RIM's hometown included originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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