Mobile Miscellany: week of November 12th, 2012

Mobile Miscellany: week of November 12th, 2012

If you didn't get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we've opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This past week, we found new smartphones at Virgin Mobile, Fido and Wind, along with a hefty new round of LTE expansion from AT&T. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of November 12th, 2012.

Samsung Galaxy S II 4G arrives at Virgin Mobile for $ 370

Sprint's premiere phone of yesteryear is now available for no contract seekers at Virgin Mobile. Potential customers will need to buy the Galaxy S II 4G outright for $ 370, which combines a 1.2GHz dual-core Samsung Exynos, a 4.5-inch WVGA Super AMOLED Plus display, an 8-megapixel primary camera and Android 4.0. The phone is also capable of accessing Sprint's 4G WiMAX network, which is by no means speedy, but it's still a substantial improvement over its 3G EV-DO offering. The Galaxy S II 4G is also available at Sprint-owned Boost Mobile with the same $ 370 price tag. [Sprint PR]

Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL now available at Wind Mobile for $ 99 on-contract

Announced during February of this year at Mobile World Congress, there's no doubt that t he Huawei Ascend D1 Quad XL took it's sweet time to arrive in the marketplace. Its extended absence caused it to drop off the radar of many, but Canadian consumers can now grab the phone from Wind Mobile for $ 99 on-contract. The handset offers only Android 4.0.4, but to its credit, it's a mostly stock implementation. In all, shoppers will find a device that's powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core SoC designed by Huawei, along with a 4.5-inch 720p HD display, an 8-megapixel rear camera and a substantial 2,600mAh battery. At $ 500 outright, the phone could also be a unique option for T-Mobile customers to import, as it supports the carrier's HSPA+ bands. [MobileSyrup]

Sony Xperia Go comes to Fido for $ 300 outright

Sony's minuscule, rug ged, water-resistant smartphone known as the Xperia Go is now available at Fido for $ 300 without contract. Out of the gate, it ships with Ice Cream Sandwich, although Sony has already committed to an upgrade to Android 4.1. As for specs, the Xperia Go features a dual-core 1GHz processor, a 3.5-inch HVGA display and a 5MP rear camera that records video at 720p. [MobileSyrup]

AT&T lights up new LTE markets across the US

Residents in a number of cities across the US found themselves swimming in AT&T's LTE airwaves this week. So many, in fact, that it makes the most sense to just throw up the list. Here goes:

• Charleston, Columbia and Greenville, S.C.
• Columbus and Toledo, Ohio
• Corvallis and Eugene, Ore.
• El Paso, Texas
• Jonesboro, A rk.
• Mobile, Ala.
• Daytona Beach and Pensacola, Fla.
• Portland, Maine
• Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
• South Bend-Mishawaka, Ind.
• Bridgeport, Conn. expansion (in Fairfield County/Danbury)
• Detroit, Mich. expansion (in Monroe / Downriver)
• Denver, Colo.
• Louisville, Ky.
• Milwaukee, Wis.
• Provo and Orem, Utah
• Tacoma, Wash.
• York, Pa.
• Washington, D.C. expansion

[Mobile Miscellany photo credit: Thristian / Flickr]

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