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4,153 'Tech Industry' stories June 2007 - July 2014
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OECD data reveals one mobile Internet connection for every person in the U.S.

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 25 2014 - 4:54 am PT
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Data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reveals that there are now as many mobile Internet connections as there are people in the USA. While not everyone has a mobile data SIM or dongle, those with multiple devices make up for those left out, taking the average to a fraction over 100 percent.

Six other countries also manage to have more mobile data subscriptions than people, Finland topping the list with an average of 1.25 connections per person. The overall average across the 34 countries within the OECD grouping was 72.4 percent.

(via The Register)

Report claims Swatch and Timex partnering up on iWatch, but don’t count on it (Update: Swatch denies)

Avatar for Mike Beasley Jul 23 2014 - 4:53 pm PT
13 Comments
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<a href="http://www.swatch.com/en/watches/originals/new-gent/suow705-sprinkled" target="_blank">Swatch’s design style</a> clearly reflects Apple’s clean, uncluttered aesthetic

Update: Swatch has denied the claim, in a statement to Reuters.

A new rumor that popped up today from VentureBeat claims that Apple is working with Swatch and Timex to create different styles of its upcoming iWatch. The rumor puts Apple’s wearable plans in-line with Google’s: the Mountain View company makes the Android Wear software that powers hardware from a variety of vendors.

While it’s true that Swatch teamed up with Microsoft to create an ill-fated smart watch in 2004, it doesn’t seem likely that Apple is poised to join forces with any third party to create its own entry to this market. Here’s why…


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Samsung actually makes a solid ad, too bad new spokesperson Kelly Slater is an iPhone user

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 23 2014 - 7:35 am PT
15 Comments

Samsung’s latest ad entitled “Every Day is Day One” is really, really nice. The cinematography is top notch and the soundtrack makes it even richer (a cover of David Bowie’s “Absolute Beginners”). It features Samsung’s Galaxy phone and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smart watch without being embarrassingly tacky, and it was done in partnership with the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) as Samsung Mobile is a global partner.

The only issue is competitive professional surfer Kelly Slater cameos in the ad with his Samsung sponsorship clear in the shot seen above, and Kelly Slater is a proud iPhone owner just like you and me. 😎🌊📱

Despite the mixed affiliation, the ad really is a great one. More of this and less focusing on Apple might go a long way… you never know. Anyway, be sure to check out the full ad over at 9to5Google.


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Spotify CEO: Apple becoming a lifestyle company in all verticals, Beats deal not primarily for streaming service

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 21 2014 - 8:28 am PT
7 Comments
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apple-beats-music-1100x1100

In the weeks between the Apple-Beats acquisition first being reported as being in final talks and the two companies both officially announcing the deal, Billboard interviewed Daniel Ek, the CEO and co-founder of the streaming music giant Spotify, asking about his take on Apple becoming a subscription streaming music competitor through Beats Music.

At the time, Ek was reserved in saying too much about the proposition. “I don’t like speculating about things that haven’t happened,” Ek stated. He did, however, say that he always believed Apple would enter the streaming music space and doubled down saying Spotify is focused on “building the best possible product” while noting the service’s 40 million users with 10 million paid customers.

The Spotify CEO was interviewed last week at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference and once again asked about the Apple-Beats deal, this time with the acquisition being official:
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Lenovo says it can’t make a profit on Windows tablets under 10-inches

Avatar for Mark Hearn Jul 18 2014 - 9:32 am PT
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Lenovo’s $2.91 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility from Google is still pending regulatory approval, however it looks like the company is already mapping out a new strategy. Despite being one of the world’s largest PC makers, Lenovo is halting the development of Windows tablets under 10 inches in size and migrating its remaining inventory to markets like Brazil, China and Japan where there’s more of a need for low-cost slates.

Apple, in turn, has had a huge success with the 7.9-inch iPad Mini which quickly became one of its best sellers after its introduction almost 2 years ago.


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Asus reportedly sold more tablets than Apple in Japan during first half of 2014

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 17 2014 - 12:21 pm PT
12 Comments
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Image via <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml1LzNFn8kc">TechSmartt</a>

According to figures released by market research company BCN, Asus sold more tablets than Apple during the first half of 2014 in Japan. Asus’ market share rose 8 percent year-over-year during the first half of 2014, the report claims, giving it a 38.9 percent portion of the tablet market in Japan. Apple, on the other hand, holds a 36.4 percent share (via Nikkei). This is the first time Asus has ever held the top spot in Japan, according to the report.
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Senate bill passes bringing regulated post-contract cell phone “unlocking” closer to reality

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 16 2014 - 10:32 am PT
14 Comments
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iPhone users could soon finally be able to easily use any supported carrier at the end of their service contract without having to jump through hoops or use other means to unlock the device. That is if a proposed bill currently processing through Congress passes and becomes law.

The Hill reports that the mentioned bill, the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, cleared through the Senate after a vote on Tuesday through a ‘unanimous consent agreement’ and will next move to the House for a vote before potentially becoming law after first being introduced last year.
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E-Label Act wants to remove unsightly regulatory symbols from the back of your mobile devices

Avatar for Mark Hearn Jul 11 2014 - 3:06 pm PT
11 Comments

Those pesky regulatory symbols on the back of your smartphone or tablet may soon be going digital if a new bill being presented to the US Senate gets approved. The E-Label Act is a bipartisan bill that would give electronics manufacturers the option to use digital stamps instead of branding devices with government-mandated tattoos.


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Apple Maps senior engineering manager leaves role for job at Uber

Avatar for Zac Hall Jul 8 2014 - 8:31 am PT
3 Comments

Chris Blumenberg, a senior engineering manager at Apple who manages the Maps Apps and Frameworks team, has left the Cupertino, California company for a new role at Uber, The Information reports. Blumenberg’s time spent at Apple dates back over 14 years according to his LinkedIn profile, and his past experience includes building the original Maps app for iPhone as well as porting the Safari web browser to iOS.

Uber, of course, is a relatively new transportation company founded in 2009 which offers pickups in various cities which can be arranged by a mobile application. Interestingly, Google has in part backed Uber through its Ventures arm investing in the startup with $250 million last fall and adding Uber integration into its the Google Maps app earlier this year. Uber is also a partner for Google’s self-driving car program.

As you may recall, Apple first introduced its in-house Maps data in 2012, which was met with enough user complaints to prompt a publicly posted apology from Apple CEO Tim Cook, as it began the process of moving away from relying on Google’s mapping data.

Samsung misses analyst estimates, reports $7.1 billion in operating profit for Q2

Avatar for Chance Miller Jul 7 2014 - 5:36 pm PT
28 Comments
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Photo: ibtimes.com

After warning earlier this month that Q2 didn’t “look too good,” Samsung today released its earnings preview for the second quarter of 2014. The South Korean company reported an operating profit of $7.1 billion (7.2 trillion won), missing analyst estimates of $8 billion (8.1 trillion won). This comes out to a 24 percent drop year over year (via Bloomberg).


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Make sure your electronic devices are charged-up before flying to the U.S. – TSA requirement

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Jul 7 2014 - 3:53 am PT
9 Comments

 

If you’re flying (back) to the U.S. from overseas, make sure that all your electronic devices have enough juice left to power-up when you reach airport security, otherwise you won’t be allowed to take them on board due to a new TSA requirement.

The Transportation Security Administration said yesterday that it was requiring certain overseas airports flying directly to U.S. airports to increase security checks on electronic items in response to concerns about new al-Qaida attempts to use them as disguise for bombs.

While the focus appears to be on smartphones, it’s also possible that passengers will be required to power-up tablets and laptops also. Devices that won’t power-up will not be allowed on board, and passengers carrying these devices may be subject to additional screening.

The TSA has not revealed which airports are subject to the new requirements, but London’s Heathrow is known to be one of them.

Samsung borrows a line from BlackBerry, calls iPhone users ‘Wall Huggers’ in new ad

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jul 3 2014 - 9:43 am PT
119 Comments
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzMUTrTYD9s]

As Samsung has done with past TV commercials for its flagship Galaxy S5, its latest ad for the device again takes the iPhone head-on. The new ad, titled “Wall Hugger”, focuses on mocking the iPhone’s battery life while showing off the S5’s Ultra Power Saving Mode and removable battery features. And in usual Samsung-fashion, it also borrows a line from comments Blackberry executive John Chen made back in March… 
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T-Mobile expected to start offering accessories on equipment installment plans starting July 20

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jul 2 2014 - 12:54 pm PT
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According to a leaked internal T-Mobile memo, accessories being sold to eligible customers will qualify for an EIP (equipment installment plan) starting on July 20th (via TmoNews). Much more expensive smartphone accessories such as smartwatches and high-end Beats headphones are surely becoming more and more attractive to customers, and the un-carrier seemingly wants to give customers an easier way to get their hands on them.

The current EIP programs, which allow you to pay for your device typically over a period of 24 months will be coming to accessories in some form and should be presented to customers as “part of the complete solution” according to the memo. And customers may very well be enticed by the deal because that would mean that they’re able to walk out of a brick-and-mortar store with a lot of new product without having to pay much up-front.

Sadly, details on the program are still fairly scarce. While you’ll likely be able to finance a $299 Samsung Gear Two, it’s still unclear whether or not cheaper accessories will also be eligible for the program.

T-Mobile’s LTE footprint passes 230 million points of presence

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 30 2014 - 1:35 pm PT
2 Comments

T-Mobile held its un-carrier 5.0 (and 6.0) event a couple of weeks ago, and the company’s press release to go along with the event had T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray promising that the company would have an “LTE footprint north of 230 million pops by the end of [the] month.”

It appears that, just in time, the company has hit this goal. And in sarcastic and hilarious fashion, John Legere has taken to Twitter to confirm:

Along with its growing LTE network, the un-carrier 5.0 event brought a slew of other announcements including an iPhone 5s test drive program, free streaming for iTunes Radio and other music services, and the company’s own music streaming service dubbed “unRadio.”

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Los Angeles school district revisits failed plan to give students iPads, this time without the iPads

Avatar for Mike Beasley Jun 29 2014 - 8:39 pm PT
22 Comments

The school district that attempted to rollout iPads to its students last year—only to scrap the entire plan when the students proved too smart for the technical limits placed on the devices—will once again try to place technology in the lives of its students. This time, however, the iPad won’t be an option.

Officials said that many of the students weren’t comfortable on the Apple tablet, citing the screen size difficulty the students had doing all of their typing on the touch screen as one of the factors. This year’s lineup of tech tools includes a number of Windows-based laptops from various manufacturers, and the Microsoft Surface tablet, which sports a detachable keyboard.

The program will cost the district no more than $40 million and will operate in 27 different high schools. The contract has not yet been finalized but is expected to be very soon. Once it is, students and educators will test five different laptops (and the Surface tablet) to determine which ones should be used in the future.

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Google previews completely redesigned Android “L”, Android TV, ‘Android Auto’ CarPlay competitor, & more at I/O

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jun 25 2014 - 10:37 am PT
25 Comments

Google’s response to Apple’s WWDC kicks off today with the opening keynote address at the Google I/O conference and, like Apple, this time around Google gave a full preview of the next version of Android ahead of a fall release. Android “L” (we’re assuming a dessert name will be decided on later) introduces a completely new design language as well as major enhancements for battery life, a new Android Runtime to replace Dalvik, and integration with its Android Wear platform. We also got a look at its answer to CarPlay and Apple TV: Android Auto and an accompanying SDK for developers and a revamped ‘Android TV’ platform. Also new is the Android One program to help get devices into emerging markets and a Continuity like feature for Chromebooks and Android devices.

Google’s Sundar Pichai, who had some words about Tim Cook recently, also shared some numbers on Android that appeared to be in response to Cook’s comment at WWDC regarding Android switchers and the platform’s security. Google claimed it now has 1 billion 30-day active users and also shared that it’s now at 62% of the overall tablet market. That market is based on shipments, however, so to drive the point home Google gave us a number on usage: 42% of YouTube usage on tablets is Android. He also made reference to the fact that Android had many of the features that Apple just introduced– widgets, third-party keyboards– as far back as 2009. 

Head below for a roundup of all the news from 9to5Google:

Google announces Android ‘L’ with ‘Material Design’, developer preview coming soon

Google announces Android One program to create high quality, affordable smartphones in developing markets

Numbers from Google I/O: Over 1 billion 30 day active users, 62% of overall tablet market

Android “L” will include Factory Reset Protection (kill switch) and Universal Data Controls (privacy) to enhance security

Google announces Android Auto connected car platform

Google announces over 300 million active mobile web users

Google announces Project Volta & Battery Saver to vastly improve battery life on Android

“L” version of Android to drop Dalvik, introduce new Android Runtime with better performance, graphics

Android TV: Google’s next foray into the living room announced

OtterBox launches durable, fast charging Resurgence Power Case for iPhone 5/5s

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 23 2014 - 8:45 am PT
12 Comments
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OtterBox is adding a new collection of protective cases to its accessory lineup today with the introduction of its new Resurgence series. The Resurgence case is similar in concept to other battery pack case offerings from Mophie and similar case makers, but the Resurgence iPhone case boasts Military-rated drop protection (MIL STD 810G-516.6) as you would expect from an OtterBox case.

Superior protection isn’t the only extra benefit to OtterBox’s charing case. The 2,000 milliamp hour nominal lithium ion battery doubles your iPhone battery usage, and OtterBox says the Resurgence case will automatically stop charging your iPhone when your battery reaches full capacity. This auto-stop technology differs from other battery packs which continue to charge your device despite being full…
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Microsoft improves OneDrive storage limits & pricing as competing iCloud Drive approaches

Avatar for Mark Gurman Jun 23 2014 - 8:00 am PT
15 Comments
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Microsoft is making notable improvements to its storage offerings for its OneDrive cloud-based service. The company is announcing today that OneDrive storage at the free tier will be more than doubled, Office 365 storage will see a major increase, and that there will be storage price drops across the board. Here are the three main announcements in more detail:


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Mozilla developing streaming stick in bid to compete with AirPlay and the Apple TV

Avatar for Mike Beasley Jun 20 2014 - 10:25 pm PT
5 Comments

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0VUOfrycw]

Video gia GigaOm

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, is working on a stream stick set to directly compete with the Apple TV and other similar products, according to GigaOm. The device runs Mozilla’s own Firefox OS, originally designed for smartphones, and is apparently referred to as “Netcast” within the Firefox browser.

Unlike Apple’s current offering, the Netcast would allow developers to integrate the technology into applications on a wide variety of operating systems and hardware devices, including many platforms not currently supported by the Apple’s AirPlay feature. In a statement to GigaOm, Mozilla noted that anyone is welcome to work with Firefox OS and that hardware running that system does not necessarily have to come from that company.


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T-Mobile wideband LTE now in 16 US markets; VoLTE now covers 100 million people

Avatar for Stephen Hall Jun 18 2014 - 6:34 pm PT
3 Comments

Amidst a plethora of swearing and shaming of its competing cellular carriers, T-Mobile CEO John Legere took the stage tonight at the company’s un-carrier 5.0 event to announce that its wideband LTE is now available in 16 markets across the United States. Additionally, Legere announced that its voice over LTE service now covers 100 million people.

As noted in the press release for tonight’s announcements, T-Mobile now offers LTE (in at least 15+15MHz), in the following 16 markets:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Birmingham, AL
  • Columbus, OH
  • Dallas, TX
  • Detroit, MI
  • Honolulu, HI
  • Houston, TX
  • Jacksonville, FL
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • Mobile, AL
  • Orlando, FL
  • Portland, OR
  • Seattle, WA
  • Tampa, FL
  • Upstate, NY

And, as for VoLTE, the company has announced that service is now supported in the below listed locales:

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Austin, TX
  • Boston, MA
  • Chicago, IL
  • Dallas, TX
  • Houston, TX
  • Long Island, NY
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • New Jersey
  • New York, NY
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Seattle, WA
  • Washington, D.C.

World Cup players not allowed to wear Beats in stadium during games due to FIFA/Sony deal

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 18 2014 - 10:21 am PT
22 Comments
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Despite having what some consider the best ad celebrating the World Cup this year, Beats headphones cannot be worn by players in the stadium during the games or media events according to Reuters. The rule is implemented by FIFA, the international governing body over the sport, due to a licensing agreement with Sony which obviously competes with Beats in the headphones space. Despite the apparent ban this year, Beats has still been able to leverage the World Cup as an opportunity to pick up some product endorsements…
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Zolo, a new accessory maker, launches a crowdfunding campaign for modular cases, battery packs, and more

Avatar for Zac Hall Jun 17 2014 - 8:08 am PT
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A new modular accessory maker called Zolo is launching a 30-day crowdfunding campaign today through Indiegogo to help launch their new product ecosystem. Zolo’s accessories include cases, portable battery packs, and smartphone cases for the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy S5.

What makes Zolo’s products different is the use of magnets in each accessory (the company says these magnets do no harm your devices). All of Zolo’s accessories snap together to eliminate having to deal with loose cables and dangling battery packs. The company even offers cable clips to bring your existing cables into the Zolo ecosystem.

Early bird funding prices for Zolo’s products range from $13 to $35 with the power and protection pack shown above going for just $18 (not a bad price for a battery pack, case, charging cable, and cable clips). Zolo says their strategy for building a successful accessory ecosystem includes shipping products directly to consumers and skipping the markup required by retailers. Check out details for the power and protection pack as well as a video demo below and visit Zolo’s site and Indiegogo to help fund the campaign…
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