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Being an Android smartphone user on Verizon means you’re used to some of the finer things in life such as great coverage, getting nickeled and dimed for everything imaginable, and being able to use both voice and data at the same time. Simultaneous voice and data has been available on most Android phones by coming equipped with two separate radios and maintaining separate connections to the 1x and EVDO or LTE networks. Verizon’s upcoming Moto X (2nd gen), set to launch on September 26th, will handle simultaneous voice and data quite differently from previous Android phones.
Verizon’s new Moto X will be the first Android device that requires Verizon’s Advanced Calling 1.0 to enable simultaneous voice and data connections. Oddly enough, the Moto X is not launching with Advanced Calling 1.0 support and will require a software update that’s slated for later this fall. The new Moto X isn’t being singled out here, this change and requirement will be coming to future Verizon phones as well.

Verizon’s Advanced Calling 1.0 enables VoLTE (Voice over LTE), think VoIP for cellular networks. This means if you make a phone call while on Verizon’s LTE network, your phone will no longer use the CDMA connection to place the call. Your call will go out over the LTE data connection instead. Thanks to the bandwidth available on LTE networks, your phone has a large enough data connection for all of your voice and data needs. Besides simultaneous voice and data, Advanced Calling 1.0 also adds high definition voice calls, 1-way or 2-way video calls, and 6-way conference calls. Of course these features are only available if you’re in Verizon’s LTE coverage area and are using a Verizon VoLTE-enabled smartphone.
While this might be a bit disheartening if you’re an avid user of simultaneous voice and data due to a pending future update that enables this functionality, Verizon is headed in the right direction. This is all part of their grand scheme to do away with their aging CDMA network. This is the first step towards the future.

Samsung’s J.K. Shin, one of several of the company’s CEOs, has confirmed in an interviewReuters that his company is preparing a faster variant of its Galaxy S4 in the near future, featuring support for LTE Advanced. What’s more, the new model could become available to some markets next month, and while the currently available versions of the S4 aren’t renowned for their lack of speed, it’s good to see Samsung continually looking to improve things.

Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 is currently atop the pile in the Android smartphone field, with some 10 million consumers turning out to purchase the handset in its first month alone. But far from simply enjoying what has been a very successful release, Samsung has been busily preparing a host of other devices to broaden its roster, including the Galaxy S4 Active, Galaxy S4 Zoom, and finally, the Galaxy S4 Mini. Are the Korean giants calling it a night there, though? Of course not.

“We’ll be the first with the commercial launch of the advanced 4G version of the smartphone,” said Shin in conversation to Reuters. The company has been looking to secure deals with a bunch of non-U.S. carriers for the launch of this new device, which will push the boundaries of current 4G LTE.

While some consumer markets have yet to see proper 3G support, let alone 4G LTE, the work has already been done on stepping things up even further, with advanced 4G offering up to three times the download speeds of your typical 4G network.

Shin also took the opportunity to tell the world that the Galaxy S4 is selling faster than its predecessor, the Galaxy S III, but it’s not as if we didn’t know that already. Despite some critics asking the question of why Samsung hasn’t bothered to create a device with polished build akin to the iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 925 or HTC One, consumers still seem happy with the current flagship.

On the topic of the faster Galaxy S4, Shin wouldn’t disclose the cost, but did seem to imply that it would come at a premium compared with the standard model. Considering that the Galaxy S4 is one of the priciest devices available, the this advanced 4G model will be a specialist purchase, but we’ll keep you updated should we hear anything more news on its availability.