Microsoft on Thursday announced a new round of challenges for its “Smoked By Windows Phone” contest series. If users with non-Windows Phone handsets can perform a variety of tasks faster than a Microsoft Windows Phone, they can win a limited edition Hunger Games PC (HP Folio 13 Special Edition) valued at $1,049.00. Even those who lose the challenge can still win, however, as Microsoft will be handing out unlocked Windows Phones to those willing to trade in their current smartphones. It should be ...

AT&T has a lot of work to do before its emerging 4G LTE network provides coverage that even approaches Verizon Wireless’s year-old LTE network. Verizon LTE covers more than 200 million people across 190 U.S. cities as of December 15th — though the network suffered a major network outage early Wednesday morning — and the carrier is committed to continuing its rapid expansion in 2012. While AT&T’s 4G LTE service is only live in a handful of cities right now, a recent study conducted by w...

BGR noted during our hands-on look at the LG Nitro HD that AT&T’s next-generation 4G LTE network has gone live in New York ahead of launch, and it looks like another market has gone live as well: Phoenix, Arizona. Our speed tests Thursday night on AT&T’s fledgling 4G LTE network were nothing to scoff at — we saw nearly 7Mbps down and about 9Mbps up — but AT&T subscribers in Phoenix will be excited to learn that early speed test results reveal blistering download speeds up to 40Mbp...

BGR exclusively reported last week that AT&T’s 4G LTE network has gone live in both Chicago and Atlanta, and at that time it was unclear if LTE was only available intermittently for testing or if the network had been soft-launched. Here we are a week later and the network is still live in both of these markets — and in the Dallas/Forth Worth area as well as in Houston, BGR has learned — so it is likely safe to say the latter is the case. More importantly in light of the fact that Labor Day is ...

Following BGR’s exclusive report on Monday revealing that AT&T’s 4G LTE network has gone live in Chicago, we have received new images confirming that the network is alive and kicking in Atlanta as well. A source has provided BGR with multiple images of AT&T’s 4G LTE service in action, and we have verified that the tester is indeed located in Atlanta, Georgia. Our source in Chicago had trouble finding full service, but Atlanta seems to be blanketed a bit better at this pre-launch stag...

AT&T’s 4G LTE network went live this past weekend in the Chicago area, and initial speed tests reveal impressive download speeds. AT&T has yet to announce the availability of LTE service in Chicago or any other launch market, but BGR has obtained exclusive images and speed test results from a source who has tested the network there. Ahead of an official launch, AT&T 4G LTE service is likely to be available only intermittently during testing, though it is also possible that Chicago has bee...

Verizon Wireless just sent us the 4G LTE-equipped version of Samsung’s flagship Android tablet, the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and we’re ready to deliver our initial impressions. First things first: this should go without saying at this point, but this puppy is ridiculously fast. Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is unmatched when it comes speed and latency — from the user’s perspective, it’s pretty much like being connected to a Wi-Fi network. A few quick tests performed just outside New...

A new page on T-Mobile USA’s website makes some fairly bold claims about the carrier’s premier Honeycomb tablet, the LG G-Slate. In comparing the sleek device to its steepest competition at AT&T and Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile says the G-Slate is “more than two times faster than the Apple iPad 2 on AT&T and Verizon, and three times faster than the Motorola XOOM on Verizon — and it’s less expensive, too!” At $399.99 with a 2-year data contract or $599.99 off contract, the...

During Microsoft’s MIX conference in Las Vegas, Windows Phone director Joe Belfiore took the stage to demonstrate how well Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 9 mobile browser can render HTML5 websites. He fired up a device running Microsoft’s new Windows Phone “Mango” update with IE9 installed and hardware acceleration, and then started an HTML5 speed test pitting the Mango device against the iPhone 4 and the Google Nexus S. Belfiore was so confident in the new browser that he gav...

While Verizon Wireless just announced two new 4G LTE devices that are going to serve up insanely fast mobile broadband speeds, Samsung’s 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is the first one in our hands. We’ve been rockin’ and rollin’ over Verizon’s 4G LTE network for a little while thanks to the new mobile hotspot, and we’re happy to report extremely fast speeds around 12Mbps down and 5.5Mbps up on average — the fastest speeds that the device is rated for. In terms of size, it’...

Following its announcement last month, LG’s Optimus 2X has become one of the most anticipated upcoming Android handsets thanks to the dual-core Tegra 2 processor buried within its sleek, slim case. Of course, all that will change on Thursday when new dual-core Android phones are introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but for the time being, all eyes are on the 2X. Zealous enthusiast blog Android Arena has uncovered a short comparison video that pits the Optimus 2X’s Tegra-fueled...

There’s nothing like starting a carrier flame-war to get you through the rest of the week is there? PC Mag has just finished a mobile broadband study pitting the data rates of U.S. carriers AT&T, Cricket, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint 3G and Sprint 4G against one another. Now, before we all get hot under the collar, the study parameters clearly state: We didn’t test voice quality, dropped calls or coverage areas; while those are very important measurements, these tests were all about mobi...

Some of you might be privy to a little bit of confidential BGR info, but for those of you who are not: I went to Chicago recently. In a car. Besides me harboring a hate for the entire of state of Pennsylvania, (because it’s ridiculously long to drive through) the trip was quite successful. One of the main reasons why I didn’t mind being in a car seven times longer than being in a plane was because I was blessed by two MiFi units; a Verizon Wireless unit and a Sprint unit. Plus, what better way to ...

Well boys and girls, welcome to the final installment of Carrier Wars — the series of features in which we call upon our readers who represent each of the four major US wireless carriers to report the 3G speeds they’re experiencing across the country. It’s been quite a trip but the fourth and final carrier, T-Mobile USA, is now accounted for, which means its time to line everyone up side by side and see where the chips fell. So sit back, relax and hit the jump to see how your carrier stacks ...