Earlier this month, a hacked carrier update for the T-Mobile iPhone 5 that brought increased data speeds was released by Joe Brown and Sky Zangas, two developers behind iTweakiOS. Now the duo have released a similar hack for AT&T devices, only this time, it’s not just for the iPhone.

The hacked carrier update also supports the iPad and promises to improve data performance on both LTE and HSPA+.

“Just like with the T-Mobile hack, this hack does the same,” Brown writes. “Band preferences were set to limit you to a certain band rather than the band giving off the strongest signal, when available, both with LTE and HSPA+.”

“This hack enables Release 9 DC-HSPA+ on the iPhone 5 and iPad 3, 4, and mini as well as enhancing LTE data and signal. Though AT&T is limited to HSPA+ 21, the device itself becomes more open to an increased amount of bandwidth thus allowing for better throughput of data and data connection. This is very convinient [sic] for users in areas that don’t yet have LTE coverage.”

Brown has put together a quick step-by-step guide on installing the update on the iPhone 5, the third- and fourth-generation iPads, and the iPad mini. You don’t need to have a jailbroken device for this to work — it all happens through iTunes.

If you’re an iPhone 5 user, faster data speeds aren’t the only reason to get this update:

This hack also includes a fix to any and all iPhone 5 users who have experienced degraded/weakened signal over the past couple to few months on the PCS 1900MHz and/or CLR 850MHz bands for HSPA+ as well as the APT 700MHz and/or AWS 1700MHz band for LTE.

To download the hacked update and follow Brown’s installation guide, click the source link below.

Source: iTweakiOS

This post was written by Killian Bell from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

AT&T shared a little bit of what goes into a portable network cells they put up at special events where bandwidth needs will be extraordinary. Remember, AT&T’s network is about 80% iPhones so this is important stuff. The setup above was what they used to cover a recent Los Angeles festival (read: Coachella).

This isn’t a test network; AT&T’s been honing their skills since they got caught with their pants down at SXSW in 2010 (back when AT&T was the only US iPhone carrier). Since then, with their mobile response team, they’ve been able to keep their network up and running at huge events with the addition of these ‘kits’ above.

The  network performance stats for this setup – some of which are staggering:

• Carried approximately 83 GB of data traffic during the peak hour on our in-event network
• Carried a combined 6,054 GB (or more than 6 terabytes) of data on our in-event network during the two weekends of the music festival (24-hour traffic totals, Friday-Sunday for two weekends).
• About 50 engineers were involved in planning, construction or onsite 24/7 monitoring.

Both the super multi-beam antenna and five-beam antenna are AT&T innovations that were conceptualized by L.A.-based AT&T engineers Bob Mathews and Gary Chow who discuss their work in the videos below:

Shown in this photo is AT&T’s super multi-beam antenna (mounted to a mast on the far left). The super multi-beam antenna has two rows with nine beams each – 18-beams total – and can handle as much as 18 times the network traffic capacity of a traditional single-beam antenna. Below the super multi-beam antenna is a five-beam antenna – which can handle as much as five times the network traffic capacity of a traditional single-beam antenna – and a single-beam antenna. The far left COW has a set of five-beam antennas mounted to it as well as a single-beam antenna. The far left COW, along with the middle COW and the right COW provide the radios needed to support coverage at the event. The vehicle next to the right COW (center right overall) supports the microwave dish that is used to bring increased backhaul to the event. The vehicle to the far right is an AT&T Mobile Command Post, where engineers on-site can meet to discuss network traffic movement and implement solutions at the event.

This post was written by Rob Shuster from 9to5Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Virgin Mobile has slashed 15% off both the 8GB iPhone 4 and the 16GB iPhone 4S on one of its prepaid Beyond Talk Unlimited data plans. The deal will get you a new iPhone — without a contract commitment — for less than $300.

That’s for the 8GB iPhone 4, of course, which is priced at $297.49 after the 15%. That’s not a bad price for a very capable smartphone — you would typically pay that for some midrange Android-powered devices.

If you’re happy to spend a little more for a newer model, then the 16GB iPhone 4S is $382.49 with the 15% discount.

Virgin isn’t the only provider offering some great iPhone deals at the moment. If you don’t mind signing a contract, then you can currently get an iPhone 5 for just $99 on Verizon (if you currently own an old feature-phone), and AT&T will give you one for free if you trade in your old iPhone 4S.

These deals come just months before Apple is expected to launch its next-generation iPhone 5S, which, according to recent rumors, could bring a better camera, a faster processor, and fingerprint scanning technology.

Source: Virgin Mobile

This post was written by Killian Bell from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Nokia has this morning announced its new Lumia 925, a Windows Phone smartphone with an aluminum frame that hopes to step up Nokia’s fight against Apple and Samsung. But does the Lumia 925 really have what it takes to compete with the iPhone 5, the Galaxy S4, the HTC One, and other high-end smartphones?

We’ve put together a spec-by-spec comparison to help you decide whether Nokia’s new flagship is worth the switch to Windows Phone.

Please scroll the table left and right to see all of its contents

	HTC One	Nokia Lumia 925	iPhone 5	Nokia Lumia 920	Sony Xperia Z	Samsung Galaxy S4 (AT&T)
Operating System	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean	Windows Phone 8	iOS 6	Windows Phone 8	Android 4.1 Jelly Bean	Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Display	4.7-inch LCD display (1920 x 1080)	4.5-inch OLED display (1280 x 768)	4-inch Retina display (1136×640)	4.3-inch AMOLED display (800×480)	5-inch TFT display (1080 x 1920)	5-inch Super AMOLED display (1080 x 1920)
PPI	467	332	326	332	441	441
Processor	1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600	1.5GHz dual-core	1.3GHz dual-core A6	1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4	1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro	1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600
RAM	2GB	1GB	1GB	1GB	2GB	2GB
Storage	32GB, 64GB	16GB	16GB, 32GB, 64GB	32GB	32GB + microSD slot	16GB, 32GB, 64GB + microSD card slot
Camera(s)	4MP UltraPixel + 1.3MP front	8.7MP PureView (rear) + 1.2MP (front)	8MP (rear) with f2.4 + 1.3MP (front)	8.7MP PureView (rear) + 1.3MP (front)	13MP (rear) + 2.2MP (front)	13MP (rear) + 2MP (front)
Wireless	UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, LTE, NFC	GSM, HSDPA, LTE, NFC	UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, LTE	HSDPA, GSM, LTE	HSDPA, GSM, CDMA, LTE	UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, LTE
Dimensions	134.9 x 68.1 x 9.14 mm	129 x 70.6 x 8.5 mm	123.83 x 58.57 x 7.6 mm	130.3 x 70.8 x 10.7 mm	139 x 71 x 7.9 mm	136.6 x 69.8 x 7.9 mm
Weight	143g	139 g	112 g	185 g	146 g	130 g
Battery	2,300 mAh	2,000 mAh	1,440 mAh	2,000 mAh	2,330 mAh	2,600 mAh

So, there you have it. If specifications are most important to you when buying a new smartphone, then the Lumia 925 isn’t going to be high on your list — not when it’s up against devices like the Galaxy S4, the HTC One, and the Sony Xperia Z. It just about does enough to battle the iPhone 5, however.

Even if you’re already a Windows Phone user, the decision to upgrade to the Lumia 925 doesn’t get any easier — particularly if you already have a Lumia 920. If you look at the comparison above, Nokia’s new handset isn’t a huge step up from its older model — they have similar processors, the same amount of RAM, and they run the same operating system.

The Lumia 925 does have a better rear-facing camera, but it has half as much storage as the Lumia 920, and there’s no microSD card slot. Arguably the biggest different between the two, then, is the Lumia 925′s new aluminum form factor.

This post was written by Cult of Android from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.

Mother’s Day is in just a few days, and if your way of saying “I love you” is gadgetry, then T-Mobile thinks they have the perfect gift for you by heavily promoting its deal to get an iPhone for $0 down.

The deal has been running since April 12th, when the carrier rebranded itself as “The Uncarrier”. T-Mobile will ramp up the promotion by displaying prominent ads Mother’s Day iPhone 5 ads in the top 20 markets, along with 3 National ads in USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.

T-Mobile’s Trade-In promotion allows customers to purchase an iPhone 5 with $0 down, by trading in an older iPhone. New and existing customers can trade in an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S and get some cash back to help lower the cost of the iPhone 5 so that you have a $0 down payment. You also get your monthly payment decreased from 20 bucks down to 15.

To get your trade-in value for the iPhone 4 or 4S your device must power on, not have a cracked screen, and there can be no other liquid damage or physical damage. They’ll even take Verizon CDMA iPhones along with GSM iPhones.

If you’ve got an older iPhone that’s in decent shape and you’ve been thinking of switching carriers or upgrading, T-Mobile wouldn’t be a bad choice. You can get the offer at any company owned T-Mobile store until June 16th.

Source: TmoNews

This post was written by Buster Heine from Cult of Mac.
You can view the original post by clicking here.