Tech Industry

• Tech Industry
• legal
• Government
• unlock
• unlocking

Bill allowing smartphone unlocking approved by the House of Representatives, set to become law

9to5 Staff Jul 25 2014 - 12:27 pm PT

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After the decision last year to make unlocking smartphone and tablet devices illegal, the US House of Representatives today voted yes to allow the practice to become legal once again. This is already the second time the government has voted on this issue, as just a few weeks ago the US Senate approved the legislation to move on to the House. The final step in getting the law approved is the President’s signature, which should come with little delay as he has already spoken out in favor of the bill.

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• Tech Industry
• Verizon
• Data
• 4G LTE
• throttling

Verizon to begin throttling certain unlimited 4G LTE customers

9to5 Staff Jul 25 2014 - 11:06 am PT

8 Comments

Verizon has been throttling unlimited 3G data subscribers for years now, but never 4G LTE users. Until today, when they announced this morning that beginning October 1st, the top 5% of 4G LTE data users who coincidentally meet a series of other factors will get throttled. According to DroidLife, a recent report showed that over 20% of Verizon data users were still on an unlimited data plan, so it’s no surprise that Verizon would want to push these users to a tiered data plan.

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• iPad
• iPhone
• Tech Industry
• Smartphone
• United States

OECD data reveals one mobile Internet connection for every person in the U.S.

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)

• Tech Industry

Gallery: Beats’ exotic 105,000 sq ft office in California

9to5 Staff Jul 24 2014 - 1:58 pm PT

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Early last year, Beats announced it would be renovating an abandoned warehouse in Southern California to become its newest office. Located in Culver City, just minutes from Los Angeles, the area purchased measures in at a whopping 105,000 square feet and reportedly sold for upwards of $20 million.
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• iPhone
• Apple News
• Tech Industry
• Samsung
• Samsung Galaxy

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

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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• Tech Industry
• Microsoft
• Windows
• Microsoft Windows
• Tablets

Lenovo says it can’t make a profit on Windows tablets under 10-inches

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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• Tech Industry
• FCC
• Senate
• E-Label Act

E-Label Act wants to remove unsightly regulatory symbols from the back of your mobile devices

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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• AAPL Company
• Apps
• Apple News
• Tech Industry
• Google

Apple Maps senior engineering manager leaves role for job at Uber

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.

• Tech Industry

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

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.

• T-Mobile
• Tech Industry
• Accessories
• un-carrier
• EIP

T-Mobile expected to start offering accessories on equipment installment plans starting July 20

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
• Tech Industry
• General
• LTE
• neville

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

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:

Neville confirmed we hit 230M POPs of LTE! Met our goal but still going! Where you at @Sprint? I hear you’re running behind. #sprintlikehell

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 28, 2014

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.”

• iPad
• Tech Industry
• Education
• tablet
• Laptop

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

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.

• Tech Industry

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

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