Roger Cheng

MWC 2017: Our final thoughts (The 3:59, Ep. 189)

Nostalgia ruled at last week’s Mobile World Congress trade show. While planet’s biggest phone show traditionally showcases the latest from the mobile industry, it was an update to a 17-year-old phone that got people excited. A reboot of the old candy-bar Nokia 3310 hogged most of the headlines, even overshadowing new Nokia smartphones. The lack …

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Not just speed: 7 incredible things you can do with 5G

You can’t walk around Mobile World Congress without 5G slapping you in the face. If there’s a phenomenon that’s dominated this week’s trade show besides the return of a 17-year-old phone, it’s the reality that the next generation of cellular technology has arrived. Well, at least it’s real in the confines of the Fira Gran Via convention center in Barcelona. …

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Moto Z, this is your mission: Make Motorola relevant again

The Motorola identity crisis is over. Last year was a confusing time for the business. First, there was the plan to phase out the Motorola name in favor of “Moto by Lenovo,” its Chinese parent. Then there was the question of how the Lenovo brand would co-exist with Moto. With a new leadership team, things have changed. The business will …

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How you can get Verizon’s 5G broadband service

Who says 5G is all hype? Verizon, after all, is set to launch a field trial of the super-fast service in 11 markets across the US this year. It’s not full cellular service like 4G LTE, but instead a replacement for home broadband. It’s supposed to be 10 times faster than even Google Fiber, which offers internet connections as fast …

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BlackBerry returns with 3 possible new phones in 2017

The BlackBerry KeyOne may soon see some siblings. TCL isn’t wasting time building up its portfolio of phones using the BlackBerry name. The company plans to release as many as three phones this year, TCL Communications Nicolas Zibell said in an interview on Saturday. The company is working on an all-touchscreen version, a spiritual successor to the DTEK 50 and …

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FCC head Ajit Pai: I want faster, cheaper broadband for all

Ajit Pai wants to make it clear: There’s a new chairman in town. The newly christened chairman of the Federal Communications Commission likely won over the telecom-centric audience at a keynote session during the Mobile World Congress trade show on Tuesday. In his prepared remarks, Pai laid out a vision of light-touch regulation and reversing the policies of his predecessor, …

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AT&T undercuts Verizon, T

Now playing: Watch this: Jumping on AT&T’s cheaper unlimited plan? Not so fast… 2:46 AT&T just fired the latest salvo in the unlimited data wars. The Dallas telecommunications giant unveiled two new unlimited data plans. The first is Unlimited Choice, a stripped-down plan that comes with unlimited data at a maximum speed of 3 megabits per second, standard definition, and …

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Samsung event sees Greenpeace protestors drop in

The Galaxy Note 7 troubles continue to haunt Samsung. Samsung has spent the last few months recovering from the recall and scrapping of the Galaxy Note 7, whose batteries had an uncomfortably high tendency to overheat and catch fire. Greenpeace protestors drudged the issue back up on Sunday at a Samsung event in Barcelona with a demand to know what …

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Nokia 3310 phone is back. And yes, it comes with Snake

The good news: The throwback Nokia 3310 candy bar phone is one of the most buzzed-about items at the Mobile World Congress trade show. The bad news: The throwback Nokia 3310 — and not the new Nokia phones — is one of the most buzzed-about items at the show. The Nokia 3310, which originally launched at the turn of the …

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This ‘Gigabit’ phone is 5G hype’s jump

Pop quiz: When is a phone not a phone? When a company is trying to tap into the ever-increasing hype over cutting-edge 5G wireless technology. That’s what ZTE tried to do on Sunday with the debut of its “Gigabit Phone” at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. ZTE touts the device as the world’s first phone capable getting a 1 gigabit …

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