Google topped tech headlines on Wednesday, unveiling what it called its “Knowledge Graph,” a Bing-like “snapshot” panel with results that appear closer to Wolfram Alpha’s own knowledge engine. Now, when a user searches for an “object” – such as the “Taj Mahal,” “Mona Lisa,” or “Leonardo da Vinci,” Google’s search results will try to identify the proper context for the search, identify key facts about it, and then lead onto related topics for further discovery.

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless said that users grandfathered into unlimited data plans will soon have to switch to tiered pricing if they upgrade their devices. Over the summer, Verizon plans to introduce data share plans, which will allow for multiple devices to be connected to the same account – whether that be families or small businesses. When that happens, bid adieu to unlimited data.

In other mobile news, a report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that Apple plans to give its next iPhone a larger screen. The newspaper reported that Apple has ordered screens from its Asian suppliers that are “at least” a half-inch bigger than the current 3.5-inch screens used on every other model of the iPhone thus far. Production for the new 4-inch screens is set to begin next month. For more iPhone news, see: Will China Mobile Finally Get the iPhone? and Zooey Deschanel, Samuel L. Jackson Ads Boost iPhone Buzz.

Also making headlines on Wednesday:

For more from Angela, follow her on Twitter @amoscaritolo.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Google’s Knowledge Graph; Verizon Nixes Unlimited Data; 4-Inch iPhone Rumors

Sprint & Verizon have dominated the Mobile Internet field since about 2004. They have gone back and forth several times in regards to who has the best coverage, pricing, broadband cards and so on. But, that said, they are fairly similar. They both cost $59.99 a month. They both use the same exact technology with the same top speeds. They both have a 2 year contract in order to get the Broadband Card for a decent price.

Recently, a new competitor has emerged that does offer something different. some for the better, some for the worse.

Let’s look at the advantages of Cricket Broadband first:

1) no Contract – Month to Month service

2) no credit checks and no deposits

3) only $40 a month for Unlimited service vs. $60 a month for Sprint or Verizon

4) Rev a service in most areas – up to 3.1 Mbps downloads, but in reality Cricket’s coverage is much more spotty than Verizon or Sprint. Actual speeds are usually 300Kbps to 1000Kpbs.

Now for the downsides:

1) Coverage Cricket is limited to only select cities in the USA. if you are a frequent traveler outside your home city, you will want Sprint or Verizon since they have MUCH more coverage throughout the USA. But, if you just want something that works in your city, and Cricket has coverage there, itcan bea decentchoice.

2) Customer Service. Cricket can be very hard to get technical support from – especially when it comes to a Broadband card.

3) Technical issues. We have heard of people having trouble getting on some websites, while other sites are no problem, in addition to slower that expected speeds for some customers.

bottom Line:

I would not recommend Cricket for frequent travelers, or for use in an RV as the coverage is just not there. However, if you are lucky enough to live in a city where Cricket offers service, then Cricket iscould be analternative for you. Just beware of the lack of coverage nationally and the problems you may face if technical issues arise.Verizon, while moreexpensive, is a much more stable and sure fire choice, especially if youare running a business or handling critical tasks with your service. Additionally, a benefit for either service is you don’t have to buy a $6 coffee to get unsecure WiFi internet at a cafe

Cricket Broadband Vs Sprint & Verizon Mobile Broadband – Which is Better?

The HTC One X is living proof that big processors and LTE don’t pair up easily in phones. this may offer a lesson in what to expect in the upcomingiPhone.

Qualcomm has cornered the market — at the moment — for putting LTE functionality and the processor on one piece of silicon. thus, we have the HTC One X (and reportedly the Verizon Galaxy s3) coming to Verizon with dual-core and LTE — not quad-core as some had hoped.

And we may be seeing a pattern: the same phone (e.g., the HTC One X) being announced in Europe with quad-core, then announced in the U.S. with dual-core.

What does this mean for Apple? Well, the current A5X chip in the third-generationiPad probably wouldn’t find a very happy home in the next iPhone if it’s packing LTE. the quad-core A5X is relatively big and uses lagging-edge Samsung manufacturing technology (which is one of the reasons it’s big).

Of course, things will improve if Apple is able to tap Samsung’s more-advanced 32-nanometer manufacturing tech. But will that be enough to package LTE and, let’s say, a more demanding A6 chip into the next iPhone? Remember, fitting quad-core (in the case of the A5X, quad-core graphics) into an iPad is not the same as shoehorning it into a smaller iPhone.

The problem is that Apple uses the same chip ecosystem as everyone else. And it’s not immune to the same manufacturing challenges that more seasoned chip companies like Nvidia, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm face.

“You have to compromise on the processor in the U.S. to get LTE right now. And I do think Qualcomm has is a compromised processor versus a quad-core Tegra,” said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.

“If you use a large-screen phone as a smalltablet there can be a [performance] penalty,” he said, referring to the dual-core Qualcomm S4.

That said, the Qualcomm Snapdragon in the One X isn’t exactly slow. “[It] is easily the fastest or among the fastest on the market today. Android feels very smooth and snappy on the AT&T One X. Applications load quickly, as do web pages,” said Anandtech.

And rest assured that the solution Apple comes up with for the next iPhone likely won’t be wanting in performance. But it will be interesting to see how Apple gets there.

Addendum: the upcoming iPhone will not necessarily need an A5X with quad-core graphics because there are fewer pixels, compared to the gen 3 iPad, to push around. But Apple will still need to deliver better performance and LTE in the same device. That’s the challenge.

HTC One X hints at iPhone 5 challenges

When Verizon Wireless started selling the iPhone, AT&T sounded a defiant note, saying that its customers would remain loyal. a year later, it’s clear that the Verizon iPhone has crimped AT&T’s stride.

Verizon, the country’s largest wireless carrier, had little problem attracting new customers before it started selling the iPhone. in fact, it was the only one that managed to keep up with AT&T’s iPhone-fueled growth.

But with the iPhone in its arsenal, the country’s biggest wireless company is getting bigger, while no. 2 AT&T’s growth has slowed precipitously.

On Tuesday, AT&T revealed that it essentially gained no phone subscribers on contract-based plans in the first quarter. That’s only happened once before: a year ago, when Verizon launched its version of the iPhone.

Contract-based plans are by far the most lucrative for a phone company, and the number of new customers is an important measure of growth.

AT&T gained a net 187,000 customers on contract-based plans in the January to March period, but these were almost all tablet users, brought in by the launch of the new iPad in March. Even on contract-based plans, tablet customers pay between $15 and $50 per month, whereas smartphone customers often pay more than $100.

Over the last five quarters, Verizon has added nearly three times as many contract subscribers as AT&T. Over the previous two years, the rivals split new subscribers nearly evenly.

AT&T gained a net 726,000 subscribers of all kinds in the first quarter, counting ones on no-contract plans and ones on non-phone devices like the Kindle. That was the lowest figure in eight years, and less than a third of the number of subscribers added in the same period last year.

Weak subscriber figures are usually good for a phone company’s earnings in the short term, since it doesn’t have to subsidize new devices.

The Dallas-based company’s net income for the January to March period was $3.6 billion, or 60 cents per share, up 5 percent from $3.4 billion, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet were on average expecting earnings of 57 cents per share for the latest quarter

Revenue was $31.8 billion, up 2 percent from a year earlier. It matched analyst expectations.

AT&T shares rose $1.11, or 3.6 percent, to $31.71 in morning trading. The shares are close to a four-year high of $31.97 hit a month ago.

–The associated Press

AT&T loses phone contract race to Verizon in first three months of 2012

Sprint plans to announce its Q1 2012 earnings on Wednesday, April 25th. we will be closely watching the company’s net postpaid subscriber additions for the quarter as well as the postpaid churn numbers to see if the management is making good on its iPhone plans.

The iPhone’s debut quarter at Sprint was a good one as the smartphone helped it post a net postpaid subscriber gain for the first time last year. That move, however, took a heavy toll on margins as the company posted its largest quarterly loss in three years. Sprint started offering the iPhone on its network at the start of the fourth quarter last year becoming the third carrier in the U.S. to offer the device after AT&T and Verizon.

With the holiday quarter behind us, we expect to see Sprint’s margins improve but it will be interesting to see how it manages balancing margin pressures with postpaid adds going forward.

See our full analysis of Sprint’s stock here

The iPhone conundrum

Sprint has been incurring heavy annual postpaid subscriber losses for a long time now, and its decision to carry the iPhone came as a solution to that problem. however, since Sprint was a tad late in jumping on the iPhone bandwagon, it had to make a huge upfront commitment of nearly $15.5 billion for the iPhone over a four-year period. This was a massive bet considering that the company already has a highly leveraged balance sheet, with about $26 billion in debt on its books compared to a market capitalization of only around $7.5 billion.

However, the wager seemed to have paid off as Sprint added 161,00o net postpaid subscribers last quarter. however the figure was lower than what Sprint had guided for at the start of the quarter. we will therefore be looking for any signs that management may have been overly optimistic with the iPhone deal or not, while taking into account that a majority of the postpaid churn will still come from Nextel’s legacy iDen network as it is gradually decommissioned.

Margin recovery

Although the iPhone helped Sprint post a net gain in postpaid subscribers, 40% of whom were new to Sprint’s network, the 1.8 million iPhones Sprint had to subsidize in the process cost it almost $630 million, or about $350 per phone. This brought the company’s OIBDA margins down by more than 700 basis points (7%) compared to the previous quarter. we expect to see a seasonal slowdown in smartphone sales compared to the holiday quarter, so margins should recover somewhat from the last quarter’s shock.

Also, the higher data ARPUs that the added smartphone customers will generate over the life of their contractual period (two years) should help margins in the long term.

LTE update

With Verizon and AT&T far ahead in the LTE race, we will be expecting an update on Sprint’s LTE plans. Verizon’s LTE network covers about 200 million Americans currently and AT&T’s about 75 million. Sprint needs its LTE network up and running in at least a few key cities before the iPhone 5 launches (which we expect will be LTE-compatible), otherwise it runs the risk of losing a lot of new potential customers to its rivals. (see Sprint’s LTE Plans are Coming up Short as iPhone 5 Approaches)

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Sprint Could Spring To $3.60 If iPhone Bet Pays Off

The Washington Capitals didn't secure their win until Braden Holtby squeezed one final shot in his glove as time expired in Game 4 Thursday night at the Verizon Center.

But the Capitals helped lay the groundwork for the series-evening 2-1 victory throughout the two days between Games 3 and 4 in Washington.

After all, what better place than the nation's capital to do a little lobbying?

Capitals coach Dale Hunter may have less than a year of experience behind an NHL bench, but he worked the officials like an expert. Hunter spent much of the two days leading up to Game 4 complaining about a variety of issues the Capitals had with how the first three games were called.

Hunter and the organization were not happy with the one-game suspension that Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom received for a match penalty after he cross-checked Rich Peverley in the face at the end of Game 3, especially since the Caps felt Backstrom, who missed 40 games this season with a concussion, had been targeted by the Bruins all series long.

"They were after the whistle and before the puck was dropped. They were doing stuff off the draw, like [Milan] Lucic going after Nicky's head," Hunter told ESPNBoston.com in Washington on Wednesday. "We've got to play through it and let the refs do their job. We just have to play."

Oh, but Hunter also made sure to note that the refs, or at least the linesmen, weren't doing their jobs very well. He complained that the Bruins should have been whistled for offsides before Zdeno Chara's game-winning goal with 1:53 to play on Monday.

"It was definitely offside," Hunter told reporters. "It was a bad call. It should have been called. It's important to get the calls right. every little decision on the ice is important."

On Thursday, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis got into the act on his blog.

"We can't let the officials play a role in our game planning – we need to remain disciplined and remember that the defending Stanley Cup champs will always get the benefit of the doubt," Leonsis wrote. "We need to rise above the noise and focus on signal; play tight defense – capitalize on Boston’s mistakes – score when we get a power play; continue to rely on strong play in net."

Of course, Leonsis ignores the fact that Boston was penalized more than all but two teams in the league during the regular season, their average of 13.4 PIMs a game almost identical to the 13.6 they average last season before winning the Cup. or the fact that while Lucic, Brad Marchand and Andrew Ference were all suspended during the season, no one was ever suspended for any offenses against a Bruin until Backstrom's one-game ban. That was despite Nathan Horton being lost for the year on a questionable hit to the head by Philadelphia's Tom Sestito, Peverley being sidelined six weeks after a knee-on-knee hit by Montreal's Hal Gill and Ference getting blindsided by serial offender Raffi Torres in Phoenix.

Still, the lobbying may have had an effect on Thursday, as Washington got the first three power-play chances of the game. the second proved a key turning point as Boston had dominated play until that point, but Washington snatched the momentum with five shots during the penalty and continued to pressure the Bruins at even strength.

The Capitals then scored the game-winner on their third power-play late in the second period when Alexander Semin scored after Patrice Bergeron was sent to the box for a hooking call that was marginal at best.

The Bruins didn't get their first power-play chance until midway through the third, and that proved to be their only opportunity of the night. Not that it would have made much of a difference, as the Bruins are now 0 for 12 on the power play in the series.

The Bruins will need to find a way to fix that power play. They also need to get on the power play and stay off the penalty kill. because despite what Leonsis might think, the Stanley Cup champs don't always get the benefit of the doubt, especially not when they're going up against powerful Washington lobbyists.

Have a question for Douglas Flynn? Send it to him via Twitter at @douglasflynn or send it here. He will pick a few questions to answer every week for his mailbag.

Washington Lobbying May Have Paid Off As Power Plays Help Capitals Even Series with Bruins – Boston Bruins – NESN.com

Houston will get access to a third provider of superfast LTE wireless data access when Sprint launches its new service here in about six weeks, a company executive said today.

That would put the launch date for Sprint’s LTE around mid-May. currently, Verizon and AT&T offer LTE wireless service in Houston, with download speeds often in the 20-30 megabits per second range, and sometimes higher.

Paget L. Alves, Sprint’s chief sales officer, said he expects pricing for the LTE service to be the same as the company’s existing 4G offering. Sprint currently brands its WiMax network as a 4G offering, but that service will eventually be phased out and replaced with LTE.

In early January, Sprint announced that Houston would be among the first four cities to get LTE service. Then, the time frame was less focused, with the carrier saying only that LTE would launch by mid-year. the other cities are Dallas, San Antonio and Atlanta. Sprint later said that Kansas City and Baltimore would also get LTE by mid-year.

In an interview this morning at the Hotel Sorella on Houston’s west side, Alves said that non-LTE customers would also benefit from the LTE conversion. changes in towers and improved infrastructure will mean stronger signals and more capacity for those using Sprint’s 3G network.

Alves also said that Sprint’s LTE service will be offered on an unlimited basis, as are its 3G and WiMax services. Sprint currently is the only major carrier still offering truly unlimited data access.

“Unlimited is the way we differentiate ourselves from our competitors,” Alves said. “And we’ll do everything we can do to maintain unlimited data as a differentiator.”

When Sprint launches its LTE service in Houston, it will sell four handsets and two mobile broadband devices – a personal hotspot and a USB data stick – that will work on the new network, he said.

Sprint will switch on its Houston LTE data network in six weeks

NEW YORK (AP) — a small Virginia-based cellphone company said Wednesday that it will start selling the iPhone, at prices that undercut the big carriers.

Ntelos Holdings Corp. will sell the basic model of the latest iPhone, the 4S, for $150 on April 20. That’s $49 less than what AT&T, Verizon and Sprint charge. Versions with more storage sell for $250 and $350, also $49 cheaper than the rivals. a two-year contract is required, with monthly service fees of $80 or $100, comparable to fees charged by others.

Ntelos is based in Waynesboro and has about 421,000 subscribers in Virginia, West Virginia and portions of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky under the nTelos Wireless brand.

It’s the fifth U.S. phone company to get the iPhone, after the big three and Mississippi-based regional carrier C Spire Wireless, which started selling it late last year.

Phone companies subsidize the iPhone, which costs about $600 wholesale. Selling it means shouldering a big upfront cost. Ntelos Chief Financial Officer Stebbins Chandor said the phone would start paying off in 2014.

A bigger regional phone company, U.S. Cellular, has said it turned down the iPhone because it was too expensive.

Ntelos CEO James Hyde said it needed the iPhone to fill a gap in its smartphone lineup and compete with other carriers. in the first quarter, the company lost about 5,000 subscribers from its contract-based plans, which are the most lucrative, while adding subscribers to cheaper prepaid services.

Ntelos shares fell 30 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $20.35 in midday trading.

Tiny phone company sells iPhone at discount

So you open up your browser and hop over to Google. You type in something like:

Who has the fastest mobile broadband?

3 sites that look very familiar pop up saying stuff like:

BroadbandAccess Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) network from Verizon Wireless has been enhanced with EV-DO Rev. A to deliver even faster data speeds and greater efficiencies. Fast downloads – typical speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Fast uploads – typical speeds of 500-800 Kbps.

With a Sprint Mobile Broadband Card, you get average download speeds of 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps, and 350-500 Kbps average upload speeds, peaking at 1.8 Mbps. Similar to DSL, and about ten times faster than using a dial-up modem

AT&T offers the broadband speed and responsiveness of BroadbandConnect.the latest 3G devices provide typical download throughput of 700 kbps to 1.7 Mbps for downloads and 500 kbps to 1.2 Mbps for upload

Ugh.

Just give it to me straight Doc. Speak English. how in the world is someone supposed to figure out who’s the fastest with this ‘can’t sue me’ lawyer-speak?

All the ranges seem to overlap. even looking at the maximum speeds, Verizon and Sprint look identical.until, that is, you realize they are only theoretical. A best case scenario that’s not too optimistic.

It’s just like your speedometer’s range that goes from 0 mph to 120 mph. just because 120 mph is on your dashboard doesn’t mean your rusty 16 year old Honda Civic Hatchback with the flashing engine check light is gonna make it.

The companies also know you can’t call them on it because ‘there are too many variables’. What were the road conditions like? how fast were you going? When last have you had a tune-up? What was the weather like? Do you know how many cell phone towers were in the area? how many satellites were positioned around you at the time? or my personal favorite ‘You were most likely roaming and we have no control over other networks’.

It’s like trying to get fresh organic vegetables at McDonald’s. It’s just not gonna happen.

It just is what it is my friend.

The only way down to the nitty gritty and feast on the raw truth is to get out into the wild. Outside of my own testing, I draw on the experiences of others from ComputerWorld, Gizmodo and jkOnTheRun. I’ll give you a quick chronological recap of what happened with each:

ComputerWorld – which 3G Network is the best? – 05/13/08

New York, new Jersey and Connecticut

(AT&T) Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881, (Sprint) Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 and (Verizon) Sierra Wireless USB AirCard 595U

Result: AT&T had the highest maximum speed (1.6 Mbps), average download speed (755 Kbps) and upload speed (484 Kbps)

Gizmodo – the Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test – 12/17/08

Austin, Boston, Chicago, new York City, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco and the Bay Area

AT&T’s Sierra USBConnect 881, Sprint’s Sierra Wireless Compass 597 and Verizon Wireless’s Novatel USB727

Results: Sprint had the highest national average download speed (1.4 Mbps) while AT&T (640 kbps) had the highest average upload speed

jkOnTheRun – 3G SpeedTest: EV-DO vs. HSDPA in Phoenix – 12/27/08

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Broadband Cards: Verizon Wireless USB727, AT&T USB Quicksilver

Results: Verizon had the highest download speed (2.1 Mbps) and upload speed (744 Kbps)

So here we’ve got 3 different tests all showing someone else as the winner. It’s hardly surprising. Mobile broadband speeds do vary from place to place. the only way to get a clear winner is to test in multiple locations, take a couple averages and then see who comes out on top.

Since Gizmodo’s test was the most comprehensive, it’s fair to say its also the most reliable. Sprint is kicking butt in the mobile broadband game. even if you only compare the tests Gizmodo performed in new York City alongside the tests ComputerWorld ran in NYC, Sprint still beats AT&T in download and upload speed.

Sprint is clearly the winner overall and provides serious competition in every location. If put together the fact that they’re the fastest, largest mobile broadband network, you’ve got a double whammy.

It’s no wonder that Andy Abramson of Working Anywhere recommends Sprint. He spends about $900 per month testing mobile broadband and wireless internet related services. seems like he might know a thing or two.

To beat a dead horse even further.

I’ve personally tested it over 1001 miles of highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta). I had my connection get dropped once.for 15 minutes total. That’s solid.

Now before we all start bowing down to the awesome network that is Sprint, ComputerWorld points out some things you should know:

Using this technology can be a bit like being on a roller coaster. I found that I could be screaming along at 1.1Mbit/sec. only to have speeds slow to a crawl at 20Kbit/sec. a moment later. That’s because, as with all cellular service, speed and reliability depend on a variety of conditions, such as how far you are from a cell tower, how many other users are connected in your vicinity and how much data they’re moving.

Who’s Got the Fastest Mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and AT&T Speed Tests

Computerworld – I like a lot of things about my iPhone 4. For starters, even though I live in a dead zone for both AT&T and Verizon, right out of the box my AT&T iPhone 4 got noticeably better reception than my original iPhone. That whole “antennagate” thing was overblown. Lots of phones drop bars if you grip them a certain way while in a weak signal area. (My new Galaxy Nexus does.) A simple iPhone 4 case prevented any loss of signal reception due to hand shielding.

I’ve always felt that the iPhone 4′s screen is too small. and the virtual keyboard is all but unusable to me. even so, it wasn’t the iPhone’s fault that I decided to shelve it in favor of a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. most of my frustration comes directly from Apple. After a long period of glasnost, Apple seems to be closing its ecosystem again.

CalDAV, really?

For example, after years of offering its SyncServices for calendar and contact syncing, Apple abruptly switched away from that service on the eve of the launches of both iCloud and Office 2011, falling back to CalDAV for calendar scheduling and syncing. The fact that Outlook 2011 for the Mac doesn’t appear to support CalDAV is Microsoft’s bad. Outlook 2011 does have support for Apple’s abandoned SyncServices (go figure). The problem for me is that to sync with your Macs, iOS devices and iCloud, your calendar data must reside in iCloud (not on your computer where you can back it up). and iCloud’s rendition of CalDAV isn’t “compatible” with third-party CalDAV implementations. as a result — shocker — iCloud can’t fully sync with Google’s CalDAV setup for Google Calendar.

To get Google Calendar and iCal to fully sync, I had pull down my data from iCloud to my computer and purchase a third-party utility called Spanning Sync, which costs $25 a year. it really irks me when end users are forced to pay a price because vendors are locked in mortal combat. Customer first? Apple apparently doesn’t care about that.

More surprises

Only a couple months later, my second Apple surprise occurred when I decided to migrate Apple Mail to Outlook 2011. That’s when I discovered that OS X Lion users are locked into Apple Mail for all intents and purposes. when you upgrade to Lion, you’re also upgrading Apple Mail’s mailbox format. Apple decided to quietly abandon its support for the .mbox standard used by a wide variety of email applications. Beginning with Lion, Apple Mail now uses its own proprietary mailbox structure. Guess what? Outlook’s email importer no longer works with Lion’s version of Apple Mail. and Apple doesn’t offer an exporter. Once again I’m stymied and stuck with Apple’s ecosystem because of careless or planned Apple lock-in.

I dumped my iPhone 4 for the Android Galaxy Nexus