Tech Industry

4,096 'Tech Industry' stories June 2007 - September 2014

Amazon announces massive Kindle refresh including new ‘Kindle Voyage’ and $99 Kindle Fire HD tablet

Stephen Hall Sep 17 2014 - 7:28 pm PT

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Following a big day of Apple news, Kindle has unleashed a massive refresh of its Kindle lines, including three refreshed Kindles and—interestingly—one completely new Kindle model. The lineup includes the company’s new flagship e-reader dubbed Kindle Voyage, a new entry-level Kindle that now packs a touch screen, an updated Kindle Fire HDX, and a new Kindle Fire HD, which is starting at just $99.

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Review: T-Mobile’s $25 Personal CellSpot is a no-brainer for Magenta customers and handover Wifi calling may even win some converts

Seth Weintraub Sep 17 2014 - 5:05 am PT

32 Comments

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In all of the hoopla over the new iPhone 6/Plus, T-Mobile in the US and EE in the UK got themselves a pretty big exclusive (for now). T-Mobile has been offering Wifi calling for years but it’s recently come to the iPhone – and with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, gets even better with cell/wifi handover. (T-Mobile partnered with Gogo to enable texting and voicemails on participating airline journeys as well).

Wifi calling, for some, may be the type of feature that makes or breaks a carrier relationship. With it, you can make calls anywhere there is a wifi signal. That means basements, country homes and even foreign countries are all now open to making and receiving calls from your carrier phone number…
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PayPal takes a swipe at Apple Pay security over iCloud celebrity photo leaks

Zac Hall Sep 15 2014 - 2:27 pm PT

56 Comments

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PayPal appears to be calling out Apple and its newly announced mobile payment service Apple Pay with an ad appearing in The New York Times print edition (via Pando Daily) indirectly reminding people of last month’s disastrous iCloud photo leak when a list of celebrities found their personal photos an intimate situations published on the web. The ad reads “We the people want our money safer than our selfies,” but PayPal isn’t without its own security issue in the past.

Apple already has over 500 million iTunes account with most having credit cards, the company says, and iCloud features like iCloud Keychain manage and utilize credit card data for auto-completing credit card information.
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HTC reportedly working on an iOS compatible camera to compete with GoPro

Mark Hearn Sep 12 2014 - 10:39 am PT

3 Comments

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HTC is reportedly working on a new GoPro-like waterproof camera that can be used to capture footage of extreme sports and other activities, according to Bloomberg. Such a device would be the company’s first camera that’s not permanently attached to a smartphone. Little is known about the unannounced gadget, however it’s said to feature a wide-angle lens, a 16-megapixel sensor and compatibility with both iOS and Android.

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T-Mobile unveils expanded WiFi calling capabilities, Personal CellSpot router, partnership with Gogo for in-flight texts

Chance Miller Sep 10 2014 - 1:54 pm PT

8 Comments

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During its Uncarrier 7.0 event this afternoon, T-Mobile revealed a handful of new announcements as part of its ongoing quest to lead the mobile industry. Firstly, CEO John Legere announced that every phone it sells from here on out will be capable of WiFi calling and texting. The company says that anyone who does not currently have a phone capable of WiFi calling can upgrade to a supported phone with the carrier’s Jump program. As the name implies, WiFi calling and texting allows you to make calls and send texts over your WiFi network, as opposed to over the cellular connection.

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T-Mobile guaranteeing best trade-in values on used smartphones and tablets

Mark Hearn Sep 8 2014 - 8:30 am PT

3 Comments

John Legere

T-Mobile announced a new promotion today that vows to offer consumers the best trade-in value for their old mobile devices. Just in time for tomorrow’s big announcement, the magenta-colored carrier’s new marketing ploy guarantees the best trade-in values for your used wireless equipment compared to offerings from Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.

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Dyson announces iPhone-controlled robot vacuum cleaner with 360-degree vision system

Ben Lovejoy Sep 4 2014 - 4:41 am PT

6 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OadhuICDAjk]

There’s no shortage of robot vacuum cleaners these days, but it looks like the Dyson 360 Eye – due for launch next year – could be the best one yet.

The 360 Eye uses Dyson’s cyclone technology, where centrifugal force is used to throw dirt out of spiral airflows, making it more powerful than anything on the market. But the clever part is the 360-degree camera system, which allows the device to accurately position itself by 3D reference points rather than the simpler 2D systems used in existing robocleaners.

The Dyson Link iPhone app will allow you to start, stop and schedule cleaning sessions, as well as monitor its progress remotely. The device’s firmware can also be updated via the app.

Dyson is launching first in Japan in the spring, with an international launch later in the year. Don’t expect it to be cheap …

Via TNW

McDonald’s to roll out NFC-enabled mobile payments ahead of iPhone 6 launch

Mike Beasley Sep 2 2014 - 4:57 pm PT

7 Comments

An internal memo sent to McDonald’s franchises this week indicates that the fast food chain is preparing to roll out a mobile payment platform on September 15th. According to the notice, employees are required to be trained on the systems by Monday the 15th and the hardware, which has already started arriving at some locations, must be installed and tested before that date.

It doesn’t seem likely that this is Apple’s upcoming iPhone-exclusive payment system, which the the Cupertino tech firm is already partnering with retailers to roll out, but will instead be a cross-platform NFC option using standard VeriFone hardware that already exists in many locations. That’s not to say the iPhone 6 won’t be able to take advantage of this, as the unannounced device is said to support NFC using chips made by XNP.

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Elgato announces Eve home automation integrated with Apple’s HomeKit, Avea smart LED lights and Smart Power batteries

Sep 1 2014 - 6:38 pm PT

7 Comments

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Everything has pretty much stopped in North America for Labor Day (except for perv hackers), but IFA 2014 is ramping up in Germany and Elgato is using this event to debut a new lineup of smart accessories. The announcement encompasses three major new products: Eve, Avea, and Smart Power.

Elgato Eve is easily the most compelling new product in this lineup. Through the use of several sensors, Avea monitors your home’s “air quality, temperature, humidity, air pressure, energy and water consumption.” These Bluetooth connected sensors report back to your iPhone or iPad via the Elgato Eve app. And here’s the best part, it will be fully compatible with Apple HomeKit…

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Countless celebrity nude photo leaks being blamed on supposed iCloud hack (Updated)

Stephen Hall Aug 31 2014 - 7:58 pm PT

53 Comments

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A plethora of reports are swirling around the internet that countless private celebrity photos have leaked (no, we’re not going to link you), and—what are as of right now baseless—rumors claim that someone found a vulnerability in Apple’s iCloud platform and exploited it to obtain the images. Of the celebrities reportedly involved are Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Avril Livigne, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Mary Kate Olsen, Hillary Duff, and many others.

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Sprint rolling out free international WiFi calling, iPhone support yet to be announced

Mark Hearn Aug 28 2014 - 9:46 am PT

2 Comments

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Today, Sprint announced a new international WiFi calling option that lets its customers place calls to the US from over 100 countries at no additional charge. The new feature is now available to Samsung Galaxy S4 owners via an over-the-air software update, however Sprint says that support will come to other devices (we’re assuming the iPhone) throughout the year.

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Dropbox dramatically cuts pricing to compete, 1TB now just $9.99/month

Ben Lovejoy Aug 27 2014 - 6:37 am PT

31 Comments

Dropbox has today slashed its pricing and doubled the maximum storage space from 500GB to 1TB. Up until yesterday, you’d have been paying $500/year for 500GB; today you can pay just $120/year (or $99/year when paying annually) for a terabyte.

The new deal finally brings Dropbox into line with Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. Apple users may want to hold off for now, however, with Apple’s new iCloud pricing – which includes iCloud Drive – expected to be broadly similar …
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Is this iPhone case company worth $2.5B? Goldman Sachs thinks so.

Mike Beasley Aug 26 2014 - 5:50 pm PT

8 Comments

From Reuters:

Otter Products LLC, the privately held company that makes the OtterBox protective cases for mobile phones, is exploring a sale that could value the company at more than $2.5 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

Otter Products, founded in 1998 by entrepreneur Curt Richardson and owned by him and his family, has hired investment bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc to manage the sale process, the people said this week.

Some private equity firms have expressed interest in the company, the people added, cautioning that no deal is certain.

Looks like smartphone case maker Otterbox may be looking to cash in on its success to the tune of $2.5 billion. That would be quite the sale, if anyone were to take them up on it. Otterbox itself acquired fellow case maker Lifeproof last year.

iPhone-connected August smart lock finally overcomes delays, begins shipping

Mike Beasley Aug 26 2014 - 2:31 pm PT

1 Comment

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf9DRZLEVTM]

The August smart lock system, which was originally announced in May 2013 and expected to ship in Q1 2014, has finally overcome shipping challenges and delays, the company announced today. The Yves Behar-designed device has already started shipping to a few buyers, and pre-order pricing has ended, bringing the price up to $249.99.

The August is one of many similar replacements for traditional keyed deadbolts that uses Bluetooth and a smartphone app to manage who can and can’t unlock your doors. Owners can add and remove authorized users through the iOS application, and the door will automatically unlock whenever the Bluetooth-enabled smartphone of one of these users comes within range.

Users who pre-ordered the August lock can expect to finally see some progress on their shipments within the next few months, according to CEO Jason Johnson. The device is available for purchase on the company’s website.

T-Mobile doubling tablet data and increasing the number of supported family plan lines

Mark Hearn Aug 26 2014 - 9:07 am PT

1 Comment

John Legere

Today, T-Mobile’s continued its aggressive marketing blitz, announcing a new promotion that doubles tablet data for its customers, along with an increase to the number of lines supported by its family plans. Starting on September 3rd for $10 extra per month, T-Mobile will match Simple Choice data allotments by up to 5GB, with the extra data bucket being available exclusively to your network-connected tablet.

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Kickstarter: iPhone-connected Starfish child seat sensor aims to save lives

Mike Beasley Aug 25 2014 - 3:03 pm PT

21 Comments

A Kickstarter campaign launched earlier this month is aiming to help save the lives of children across the country with an iPhone-connected, weight-activated child seat sensor called Starfish. The concept is fairly simple. The Starfish sensor pairs with your iPhone via Bluetooth, then fits under the padding of a child safety seat in your car.

Once the sensor detects a child in the seat, it creates a small geofence of about 20 feet. Anytime the paired phone leaves that geofenced zone, it receives a push notification informing notifying the user of the potential danger the child is in. If the notification goes unanswered for five minutes, the app automatically reaches out to an emergency contact and informs them of the situation.

The Kickstarter campaign runs for another 11 days (and ends on September 5th), but thus far hasn’t even reached half of its $15,000 goal. The retail price for the finished product hasn’t been revealed yet, but backers who pledge $40 or more will receive one. The shipping date indicated is expected to be December 2014.

You can back the campaign over on Kickstarter.

Jawbone UP activity tracker finds a new application – as an earthquake tracker

Ben Lovejoy Aug 25 2014 - 6:11 am PT

7 Comments

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Activity trackers can be a good way to monitor not only exercise but also sleep patterns – and now Jawbone’s UP device seems to have found a third application, as an earthquake tracker. The above graph shows the moment at which the magnitude 6 earthquake hit Napa, California, at around 3.20am …
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Next-generation M7 coprocessor, codenamed ‘Phosphorus’, reportedly shown in iPhone schematics (U: Likely expected barometer/air pressure sensor)

Benjamin Mayo Aug 25 2014 - 3:57 am PT

8 Comments

Update: Rather than being the next-generation M7 chip, the ‘Phosphorus’ chip shown in the schematics is likely the barometer/air pressure sensor 9to5Mac reported in June. A MacRumors forum member noted the likeliness. Original story below:

Following on from their previous reports, GeekBar is today highlighting a new set of schematics for a chip codenamed ‘Phosphorus’. The site claims the chip will serve similar roles to the M7 in the current iPhone 5s, but with additional functionality. It is very unlikely that Phosphorus will be used in official Apple marketing as it seems to be an internal codename for the chip.

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BlackBerry goes on the offensive, claims five ways BBM trumps Apple’s iMessage

Zac Hall Aug 22 2014 - 9:16 am PT

26 Comments

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Earlier this week a report from Wired noted security company Cloudmark’s claim that iMessage is host to nearly a third of all mobile spam messages due in part to email addresses being attached in many cases to accounts. In our coverage we noted that you can manually report such messages in addition to certain workarounds to avoid being bothered.

BlackBerry, however, is taking this report as an opportunity to remind you it still has a messaging service, BlackBerry Messenger, which it says is a more secure alternative to iMessage. In a recent blog post (via BGR), the handset maker goes on to list five reasons why its messaging platform is better than iMessage:
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Sprint announces new $60 unlimited service plan

Mark Hearn Aug 21 2014 - 9:45 am PT

12 Comments

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Breaking up is hard to do. Even if you were never officially together in the first place. Earlier today, T-Mobile announced a new promotion specifically targeting Sprint customers and in turn the Kansas-based carrier has announced a new plan for individual accounts and guess who it’s being directed towards? Starting tomorrow, August 22nd, new and existing Sprint customers can sign up for unlimited talk, text and data for just $60 per month.

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T-Mobile offering Sprint, AT&T and Verizon castaways one year of free unlimited LTE data

Mark Hearn Aug 21 2014 - 8:49 am PT

13 Comments

T-mobile

After an unsuccessful union with Sprint, T-Mobile is going after its former suitor’s customers, as well as its other competitors’ subcribers in the wireless world. Today, the magenta-colored carrier announced an aggressive promotional campaign that offers a free year of LTE data to castaways from AT&T, Verizon and of course Sprint.

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Q Design introduces QBracelet, a fashion accessory that charges your mobile devices

Sarah Guarino Aug 21 2014 - 6:00 am PT

11 Comments

New startup Q Designs seeks to help solve a problem that many people have: we sometimes need to power our mobile electronic devices, but we don’t want to carry external battery packs or bulky charging cases. Q Designs’ solution, the QBracelet, looks like an ordinary bracelet, but it is actually a high-tech charger that can juice up your electronic device discreetly.

The QBracelet will work with iOS and Android devices at launch. No cord is needed, since inside the bracelet’s clasp there is a lightning adapter for Apple products and a micro-USB port for Android devices.

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Sprint announces revamped family data plans with double data, individual plans coming soon

Mike Beasley Aug 18 2014 - 4:01 pm PT

13 Comments

Sprint has unveiled its newest family data plans in an attempt to win back customers that have fled to rivals AT&T and Verizon. The new plans offer twice as much data as the competition at about the same prices. It’s the latest move by the floundering carrier following the less-than-stellar reception of its recently-announced “Framily” plans.

The new plans allow up to ten lines with a shared data pool of 20 GB—paired an additional 2 GB per device as part of a limited-time offer—for a grand total of up to 40 GB of shared data through 2015. A pricing chart (below) breaks down how all of the charges in the new plans work, including an additional $10 per tablet and shared data packs of up to 60 GB.

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Like opening an Apple product: Here’s what Uber sends new drivers (Video)

Dom Esposito Aug 18 2014 - 11:30 am PT

17 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to become an Uber driver? It’s not a very magical transformation, but there’s a hiring process involved and they send out a pretty cool care package as well. Well, we were able to get a hold of an Uber driver starter kit and thought it would be neat to share the experience…

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