HTC Flyer drops by the FCC again, this time with T-Mobile friendly GSM bands
June 12, 2011 No Comment
The WiFi-only HTC Flyer tablet touched down last month without a peep from Carly and pals, but those magenta-tinted marketing plans are looking far more likely now — a GSM-based Flyer just hit the FCC with support for T-Mobile’s 3G bands. Visually and functionally, it looks like the same savory slate we saw tested in April , except with the all-important 1700MHz frequency commonly used by T-Mobile for HSPA cellular data. There’s still no word on pricing or availability, but we’ve heard Sprint’s EVO View 4G variant pegged for June 24th , and rumor has it that T-Mobile could release the Flyer on the sixth of next month. HTC Flyer drops by the FCC again, this time with T-Mobile friendly GSM bands originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …US funds shadow networks, builds ‘internet in a suitcase’ for repressed protesters
June 12, 2011 No Comment
Whether a repressive government , a buggy DNS server or a little old lady is behind your internet outage, it can’t be much fun, but the US government sympathizes with your plight if you’re dealing with reason number one. The New York Times reports that the US State Department will have spent upwards of $70 million on “shadow networks” which would allow protesters to communicate even if powers that be pull the traditional plug — so far, it’s spent at least $50 million on a independent cell phone network for Afghanistan, and given a $2 million grant to members of the New America Foundation creating the “internet in a suitcase” pictured above. It’s a batch of mesh networking equipment designed to be spirited into a country to set up a private network. Last we’d heard, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had pledged $25 million for just this sort of internet freedom, and the New America Foundation had applied for some of those bucks — see our more coverage links below — but it sounds like the money is flowing fast, and in multiple directions now. US funds shadow networks, builds ‘internet in a suitcase’ for repressed protesters originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 12:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We’ve seen some tiny PCs , but the ( deep breath ) Habey SOM-6670 E6XX Tunnel Creek QSeven computer module ( phew …) has managed to impress even this crew of jaded tech bloggers. The tiny, Post-it sized board carries an embedded E600 series Atom processor which features the GMA600 integrated GPU — the same HD video decoding core at work in the Boxee Box and Logitech Revue. This little guy is capable of handling not one, but two 1080p videos at once. Don’t believe us? check out the video after the break — then apologize to Habey for doubting them. On the downside, to actually put some ports on this thing and connect it to a display, hard drive, keyboard, and mouse you’ll need a carrier board that adds quite a bit of bulk. Don’t concern yourself with it too much though, the SOM6670 isn’t exactly aimed at consumers. PR after the break. [Thanks, Bin] Continue reading Post-it sized computer does dual HD decoding (video) Post-it sized computer does dual HD decoding (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 11:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Six months ago, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek couldn’t tell us when his subscription streaming music service might launch in the United States, and that won’t change today, but apparently there’s not much left keeping $10 unlimited monthly music away. All Things D reports that Spotify has signed Universal Music Group to a US distribution deal, the third of the four largest labels to agree, and anonymous sources say the last remaining holdout, Warner Music, may also soon cave. Mind you, one of Spotify’s most intriguing new features just got shown up by iTunes in the Cloud , but when it comes to extra competition and consumer choice, we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Spotify signs UMG, only Warner stands in the way of US invasion? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 09:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Verizon’s already partnered with AT&T and T-Mobile on the Isis network , but it has fingers in another mobile payment pie — the Wall Street Journal reports that the carrier’s working with Payfone to let you put internet purchases right on your cell phone bill. Mind you, a previous partnership with BilltoMobile already did much the same thing, but Payfone should add more purchase possibilities and generally expand the potential offerings. Yes, perhaps direct carrier billing isn’t quite as exciting as Google Wallet’s brand of full-on NFC , but while you’re waiting for the world to catch up with the latest in payment technology, it’s something. Verizon teams with Payfone for one-click mobile web purchases originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 07:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Motorola hopes to rescue its tarnished MOTOBLUR UI with a name-change . We, however, think the rust runs deeper than that — and it seems we’re not alone. Virgin Mobile has decided to give its prepaid customers the “true Android experience” from now on, which means you’ll find no proprietary shell whatsoever sitting atop its new Motorola Triumph handset. Aside from a few bits of Virgin bloatware, the Triumph escapes with a relatively standard install of Android 2.2. Meanwhile, MOTOBLUR will still be foisted on pay-monthly customers who buy a Photon 4G or XPRT from Sprint, Virgin Mobile’s parent company. Some of them might like the shell and its add-ons, but others will be better off without such OS contamination . Virgin Mobile lets Android run Blur-free on the Motorola Triumph originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 04:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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You probably know the drill by now — Cupertino introduces a new product with a name that ostensibly belongs to someone else , and for better or worse that someone decides to take Apple to court. Today, it’s iCloud Communications charging out of the left corner to sock Apple’s iCloud square in the wallet. Arizona-based iCloud Communications appears to be a VoIP equipment and service provider, though in court documents it claims to be a cloud computing company as well, and claims that it’s been using the term iCloud (and the above logo) to sell such services since 2005. It’s asking the court to destroy all iCloud marketing materials, pay damages and even invalidate the iCloud trademark that Apple bought from Xcerion — the only registered iCloud trademark so far — but what’s probably going to actually happen here is a nice little settlement out of court. We’ll let you know if there’s any reason to break out the popcorn. [Thanks, Tamaine M.] iCloud Communications sues Apple for obvious reasons originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Jun 2011 01:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from reader Conception, who has a pretty hilarious story to tell. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com . “What is the best wireless headphones on the market (non-gaming headset — no need for microphone) for the cheapest dollar while listening to music / TV around my household and yard. One caveat is that I do not own an iPod, so they just need to work with a normal 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. What is really important to me is the fidelity of the sound, and hopefully distance away from the transmitter. It would seem to me that 900MHz is so last year, and I am tired of listening to my neighbor complain about her marriage when the unit I’m currently using picks up her phone calls. I am not afraid of paying $300 to $400 if need be but of course, the least expensive option is preferred.” Look, this man needs help. He needs headphones that play back music, not angered divorce calls. Please help by dropping some knowledge in comments below. Thank you. Thank you. Ask Engadget: best (non-gaming) wireless headphones? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 23:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Concord Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is starting to build a bit of a reputation for accurate Apple rumors, so you may be able to take this with a slightly smaller dose of NaCl: Kuo told AppleInsider that Cupertino’s allegedly ordered 380,000 of those new MacBook Air models with Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors on board, to be completed within the month. Of course, if Apple’s got its heart set on distributing silica scaffolding, it has to phase the existing Core 2 Duo variants out, and so the company’s reportedly finishing a final production run of 80,000 units now. If you happen to notice that your entire state is out of aluminum-clad ultralights, you know who to call! Apple boots Sandy Bridge-based MacBook Air into mass production? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Credit card applications via automated teller are all the rage abroad these days. That’s why Russia’s Sberbank is using Speech Technology Center’s voice recognition system in its new ATM to tell when you fudge your financials to get approved. Like a polygraph , the technology senses involuntary stress cues to ferret out fib-filled statements — only instead of using wired sensors, it listens to your angst-ridden voice. Designed using samples from Russian police interrogation recordings where subjects were found to be lying, the system is able to detect the changes in speech patterns when a person isn’t telling the truth. Of course, it’s not completely accurate, so the biometric voice data is combined with credit history and other info before the ATM can crush an applicant’s credit dreams. And to assuage the public’s privacy concerns, patrons’ voice prints will be kept on chips in their credit cards instead of a bank database. So, we don’t have to worry about hackers stealing our biometric info, but we’re slightly concerned that we’ll no longer be able to deceive our robot overlords should the need arise. Russian ATM uses voice analysis to tell when you’re lying originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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