| Sprint confirms that LTE phones can enjoy unlimited data on Everything plans Apr 3rd 2012, 22:31  The formal unveiling of LG's Viper this morning may not have piqued your interest, but Sprint loyalists hellbent on maintaining access to an unlimited plan may want to take a second look. Initially pointed out by TechHog, and confirmed to us today by a Sprint spokesperson, the carrier's impending LTE data network will indeed be included on its existing Everything plans. In other words, the Viper -- as well as any other LTE smartphone, Galaxy Nexus included -- will be able to surf the LTE superhighway without limits. To date, the "unlimited" nature of Sprint's data remains a huge differentiator in a world full of hamstrung options, tiers and throttles, and it'll certainly be used to get the attention of heavy users in the months ago. We also reconfirmed that Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio are on track to receive LTE in "midyear 2012," with "other markets following in the third and fourth quarters." Huzzah! Sprint confirms that LTE phones can enjoy unlimited data on Everything plans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink TechHog | | Email this | Comments | | Sprint begins employee training for Galaxy Nexus, launch looks imminent Apr 3rd 2012, 22:00  First it appeared in a slipped ad, and then on The Engadget Show during CES. More recently, Sprint's variant of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus was spotted coasting through the FCC, and now it's practically a lock to launch between three and six weeks from now. We've received word that Sprint has initiated employee training specifically for the Galaxy Nexus and Android 4.0, which will enlighten staff on the benefits of the handset, ICS and Google Wallet. Those involved with the training have to wrap things up within the next fortnight, leading us to believe that it'll make its way into retail outlets in late April or early May. In related news, the coursework also makes mention of enabling LTE on a heretofore unannounced "LG Fury" -- presumably not to be confused with the similarly titled handset from ZTE. Unfortunately, details beyond the name on that guy are nowhere to be found, but we'll be digging for more in the days ahead. Update: We've since stumbled upon a full slide deck of the training guide, and while there's nothing too surprising here, we are seeing that early units will ship with LTE turned off by default, though the company will change that at an undetermined time in the future. Call us crazy, but it sounds like Sprint may start hawking these prior to its LTE network being fully active. Continue reading Sprint begins employee training for Galaxy Nexus, launch looks imminent Sprint begins employee training for Galaxy Nexus, launch looks imminent originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Facebook inks partnership with Opower, looks to socially compare home energy usage Apr 3rd 2012, 21:18 Google passed, and Microsoft reckoned it had better things to do, but Zuckerberg's Castle is seemingly willing to pick up where those two left off. In what may go down as the strangest Facebook decision since the rejection of Valentina Monetta's video as best in the whole wide world, the company is launching a new social energy app that'll tap into technology from the National Resources Defense Council and Opower. Initially, the app will reach some 20 million households, and it's designed to help eco-curious Earthlings compile and benchmark usage data to see how their home stacks up against others. Within territories with utility participation, people can connect their utility account directly to the app to track progress and share energy saving accomplishments with friends. Unfortunately, the whole process looks rather manual for now, and privacy overlords will no doubt question the motives for requesting even more information from Facebook users; that said, it's totally possible to engage in the Opower tracking sans a Facebook account. To get going, give those source links a look. Facebook inks partnership with Opower, looks to socially compare home energy usage originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Facebook, Opower | Email this | Comments | |