Verizon Wireless launches a new entry-level smartphone in the form of TCL SIGNA priced at $79.99. For $10 more, it offers better features than Cricket Wireless’ ALCATEL APPRISE, which was released earlier this month. The phone is already on sale on the carrier’s official website and should be also available at its retail stores across the US.

The newly launched TCL SIGNA flaunts a 5.5-inch HD+ LCD panel with 18:9 aspect ratio and Asahi Dragontrail glass protection. Under the hood, it comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 429 chipset paired with 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage with support for microSD card up to 256GB.

The phone is available in a single black color and its body is made of polycarbonate with stipe patterns mimicking fiber carbon. The right side of the device houses the volume rocker and the power key, whereas the left side includes a dedicated Google Assistant key.

The handset sports a single 8MP rear-facing camera accompanied by an LED flash and a 5MP selfie camera. For connectivity, it comes with 4G LTE, dual-band WiFi 5, Bluetooth 4.2, 3.5mm headphone jack, and USB Type-C port. Further, like most devices, it features a solo bottom-firing speaker and dual-microphones.

Last but not least, it runs Android 10 with bloatware from Verizon and gets its power from a 3,000mAh battery.

UP NEXT: TCL announces NXTPAPER display technology for paper-like color display

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US carrier AT&T has launched its real 5G service in 12 markets and it can be accessed only by invitation. The 5G service requires the use of the Netgear Nighthawk 5G mobile hotspot that was launched a couple of months back. The speed of the 5G network was initially slightly faster than those achieved by the fake 5G network known as 5G evolution. However, AT&T on Saturday announced that it has been able to achieve a 5G mobile speed that surpasses 1Gbps. This makes the company the first U.S. carrier ever to achieve such. 

The is a milestone for the company which is the country’s second-largest wireless provider, behind Verizon. AT&T says a two-hour HD movie can be downloaded in 20 seconds at that speed. Isn’t that just amazing? Just this last December, AT&T’s 5G service had a download speed of 194.88Mbps, which is about one fifth as fast as the 1Gbps speed that the service recently was clocked at. At that time, the carrier’s 5G Evolution service, which is actually enhanced 4G LTE, had a download speed of 187.44Mbps. But an upgrade to its 5G network allowed AT&T to use a four-carrier aggregation of 100MHz carriers to increase the data capacity of its network, thus allowing it to reach faster speeds.

Read Also: The AT&T-NETGEAR Nighthawk Mobile Hotspot is the first Snapdragon 855 device

Speaking on this monumental achievement, Igal Elbaz, SVP Wireless Technology, AT&T stated; “Today, we were the first carrier in the U.S. to reach mobile 5G speeds surpassing 1 gigabit per second. We reached this milestone on our live 5G network in multiple cities using a commercial device, the NETGEAR Nighthawk 5G Mobile Hotspot…this is all part of our plan. We will continue to test and roll out the latest 5G technologies to our customers and they will continue to be the first to experience the latest and greatest versions of 5G.”

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Verizon Wireless may soon announce a “new” Nokia phone for its prepaid customers. The phone is the Nokia 2V but it is actually a rebranded Nokia 2.1 for the US carrier. The specs of the phone have surfaced online ahead of its official release.

The Nokia 2V has a 5.5-inch 1280 x 720 display. It is powered by the Snapdragon 425 processor and paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage. Don’t fret, the Nokia 2V, just like the Nokia 2.1, is an Android Go phone. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition) which is designed to work with low specs.

There is a single 8MP camera on the rear of the phone and a 5MP sensor in front for selfies. There is no fingerprint scanner or Face Unlock, so you will have to make do with a pattern, password or PIN for security. The Nokia 2V packs a 4,000mAh battery, a MicroUSB port with OTG support, Bluetooth 4.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

There is no info on when it will launch but that shouldn’t be far off seeing as its specs have appeared online.

(As suspected, this will indeed be sold prepaid, as the Nokia 2V.)

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 16, 2018

READ MORE: The Nokia 106 is HMD Global’s first phone in India this year

We first heard of a rebranded Nokia phone coming to Verizon last year from Evan Blass but he first said it was the Nokia 2.1V before confirming it would be called the Nokia 2V a few days later.

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The Nokia 2.1 launched in May alongside the Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 5.1. The smartphone is an Android Go device, unlike its siblings which are Android One phones. It has been revealed that HMD Global will launch a special version of the phone called the Nokia 2.1V for US carrier, Verizon.

The info was revealed on Twitter by Evan Blass and he shared a photo of the Nokia 2.1V’s rear which has a Verizon branding at the bottom. There isn’t likely any changes going on inside the phone, so we expect it to share the same specs as the regular Nokia 2.1 down to the OS which is Android 8.1 Oreo (Go Edition). However, we do expect it to have a number of Verizon apps pre-installed.

The Nokia 2.1 has a 5.5-inch HD screen with stereo front-facing speakers at the top and bottom bezel. It is powered by the Snapdragon 425 processor which is paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of expandable storage.

We haven't seen a Nokia-branded handset on Verizon since the Windows Phone-powered Lumias. Now it's poised to make an Android-flavored return, with the Nokia 2.1V. pic.twitter.com/GBLtB5KGrT

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) October 11, 2018

The phone has a single 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. There is no fingerprint scanner but it has a 3.5mm audio jack and a more than sufficient 4000mAh battery.

READ MORE: Nokia 3.1 Plus with 5.99-inch HD+ display and MediaTek P22 SoC launched in India

The Nokia 2.1V in the image above is the Gray-Silver version. We can’t say if it will be available in more color variants until it officially launches.

(Source)

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