FiOS

Nintendo, Fios, US Cellular top Forrester's consumer rankings

Nintendo, Verizon Fios, and US Cellular are ranked highest for consumer experience, according to research firm Forrester (registration required).

The three took the top slots for their respective industries in Forrester's annual ranking of consumer goods and services. Forrester looked at 150 companies and asked 7,500 U.S. consumers these questions: How well did they meet your need? How easy were they to do business with? How enjoyable were they to do business with?

Nintendo did the best in these categories among the tech-related companies. The games and console maker scored an 83 when it comes to customer … Read more

Fringe benefits to Amazon Prime

Streaming you the top Friday headlines with the latest in 2D technology:

Amazon scored a licensing deal with Warner Bros. to offer more shows for Prime streaming, including West Wing and Fringe. Amazon Prime continues to step up the competition with Netflix. Prime costs $79 a year, which works out to be less than a year's subscription of Netflix.

The fight between Viacom and DirecTV is finally over. The 20 million subscribers of DirecTV can now access 17 Viacom channels, including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. On July 10, DirecTV turned off 26 Viacom channels over a payment dispute … Read more

Next Xbox could have glasses, new Kinect

Today we're shooting cowboys in the living room and bringing game shows to our tablets:

A leaked PDF document hints at what Microsoft could have in store for the next version of Xbox. If the 56-page document is true, the Xbox 720 has a planned release for 2013 and will play Blu-ray movies, 3D videos and it would work with special glasses for augmented reality gaming. The document also suggests the next version of the Kinect will track four people at once, have improved voice recognition and it could be split into two units on both sides of the … Read more

Need speed? Verizon offers 300Mbps Quantum Internet service

Verizon continues to define speed when it comes to home Internet service.

The carrier already has the further reach when it comes to super-fast 4G LTE service on the wireless end, and is pressing its advantage on the fixed-line side with Fios and a new top-tier 300-megabit-per-second service. In addition, it is boosting nearly all of its other speed tiers.

While much of the telecommunication industry's focus has shifted to the wireless end, Verizon continues to press its landline servce, particularly after the massive investment in Fios, the all-fiber network that covers a large part of its territory. The … Read more

Verizon: Capacity crunch coming to big cities next year

Verizon Communications, in justifying its planned acquisition of spectrum from the major cable providers, said today its wireless arm could suffer from a capacity shortage in its bigger cities as early as next year.

"We will need this spectrum in a number of significant markets by 2013, so there is no time to lose in making this spectrum available," said Randal Milch, general counsel for Verizon, in prepared remarks.

Verizon and Comcast, hoping to avoid the pitfalls that ended up killing the AT&T-T-Mobile deal, made their best case during a Senate hearing today. At stake is … Read more

Verizon reportedly taking on Netflix in online video biz

Verizon Communications is ready to get into the online video business.

The telecommunications provider plans to launch an online streaming video service that would take on Netflix, Hulu, and the traditional cable providers, Reuters reported today.

Such a service would mark a break from the company's past adherence to the pay TV model. As of the third quarter, Verizon delivers cable TV, along with Internet and phone service, to 4 million customers under its Fios offering. The new online offering would be rolled out to markets where Fios is unavailable, and will likely use its wireless arm's national … Read more

Verizon Fios TV app bringing 26 channels to Xbox 360

Verizon's live-television offering for Xbox Live is coming next month, the company announced today.

Starting in December, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download a Verizon Fios TV application to their Xbox 360 gaming consoles. Upon doing so, and as long as they're both Verizon TV and Internet subscribers, they'll be able to watch live programming on 26 channels through Verizon's service. Verizon didn't say which channels will be offered, but it did acknowledge that the selection will depend "on the customer's TV package."

Microsoft announced a wide-ranging television agreement last month … Read more

Verizon workers go on strike

Verizon Communications said it couldn't agree to a new contract with its workers, resulting in the first strike at the telecommunications giant in 11 years.

The strike began at 12:01 a.m. ET today as union leaders representing 45,000 workers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states decided to call a strike. A majority of the workers are field technicians or work in call centers represented by the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Verizon Wireless customers are unaffected by the work stoppage.

The strike is a result of a tough position Verizon … Read more

Facebook goes Places

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded: Update your Facebook Places Verizon on the iPad Google Chrome Web Store leaks Intel to buy McAffe Personal spy game with the iPhone