Have a Tab-ulous Holiday Season

The tablet computer has quickly become a more popular holiday gift than its parent, the laptop. According to Mashable.com, "79% of consumers would rather receive a tablet than a laptop this holiday season."

If, like me, you are still not done your holiday shopping, and you're having trouble coming up with a great gift for someone special - you're in luck! Car-Tel Communications has got you covered, with our great selection of the latest tablets available at all of our 10 convenient locations throughout the Delaware Valley region.

Still not sure if a tablet is right for you or those on your shopping list? Take a look at this very informative and fair article: "10 Reasons to Buy a Tablet (And 5 Reasons Not To)" on techcrunch.com.

MANNA's Pie in the Sky Fundraiser: A Huge Success

This holiday season, Car-Tel Communications participated as a pick-up site for MANNA’s Pie in the Sky fundraiser. Thanks to everyone who purchased a pie, the fundraiser was a huge success! Over $200,000 was raised, and every dollar goes straight toward MANNA’s mission of providing food and nourishment to individuals who are battling life-threatening illnesses.

We truly appreciate all of your contributions, and the invaluable work that MANNA does to improve peoples’ lives in our community.

AT&T's LTE Network

What's LTE Anyway?

Over the past year...
the LTE network revolution has been all over the news, but for the average smartphone/tablet user, all of these high-tech abbreviations might be a little confusing. LTE is one abbreviation you definitely want to know and understand; it stands for Long Term Evolution, and it is the new standard for speed in the network technologies of the future.


HSPA
The 3G technology that powers AT&T’s fast mobile broadband network today.
HSPA+
Technology that enables 4G speeds up to 4x faster than AT&T's already fast mobile broadband network.
LTE Long Term Evolution. Speeds up to 10x faster than 3G, with continuous improvement of speed, performance, and accessibility.



AT&T already has nationwide 4G coverage...
bringing faster speeds to more than 200 million Americans. With the introduction of 4G LTE, AT&T is also the only carrier that offers two layers of network technology that deliver 4G speeds: LTE and HSPA+. Why does that matter? You'll enjoy fast 4G speeds on both the HSPA+ network and on the LTE network where available. That means a smoother, more consistent 4G experience overall.

LTE is the primary technology behind 4G – the evolution of 3G networks. Where 3G made mobile data a reality, 4G will make it a much better one. LTE has been in development for around 10 years now, and has begun to see its first worldwide releases. AT&T has launched 4G LTE in 9 cities and plans to reach 70 million Americans by the end of 2011. That coverage will continue to expand in the next few years and is planned to be largely complete by the end of 2013. We anticipate LTE coverage in the Philadelphia area by mid 2012.

Boiled down to its basics...
...here is what LTE does:
• Much faster upload and download speeds than 3G. Under ideal conditions, LTE can easily reach download speeds of over 150 megabits per second, and upload speeds of over 80 megabits per second.
• More capacity than 3G – an LTE network can support more users in a single area.
• Larger cell size. A single LTE cell tower can cover up to 100km. While that size will be greatly diminished in a heavy urban area, it’s still a lot better than 3G.
• Compatability. LTE is designed to be compatible with existing standards.
• Ease of upgrade. Part of the reason it has taken so long to develop LTE is that it is planning for the future of network technology. The networks are being designed so that implementing upgrades further down the line will be much easier.

Because LTE is the new standard for 4G network speed and performance, purchasing a 4G LTE phone at your next upgrade is a smart investment for the future. Check out AT&T’s first ever 4G LTE Smartphones, the HTC Vivid™ and the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket™. As 4G networks continue their Long Term Evolution into the future, don’t be left behind.