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Huawei plans to trial 5G mobile internet at the 2018 World Cup

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Who needs to watch the football when you can check Facebook?

Huawei and Russian network operator MegaFon have teamed up to develop 5G technology in time for coverage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This will be two years before most people expect 5G to be widely available.

The agreement between the two companies will see them holding regular meetings to share progress on the standardisation of 5G technology, as well as working together to determine what needs to be done to create a 5G network.

A test area will be created to conduct 5G trials and pilot projects with a goal that by the end of June 2017 a 5G network will be created, which will be available to guests at the 2018 World Cup.

Ryan Ding, president of Huawei products and solutions, said: "with the help of MegaFon, we are confident of turning science-fiction-like service into 5G reality for citizens in Russia and soccer fans around the world, two years ahead of the industry's estimated 5G introduction date of 2020".

Huawei and MegaFon aren't the only companies using an upcoming sporting event as a goal to introduce 5G. Japanese network operator NTT Docomo has announced that it wants to have 5G services running in time for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Via Mobile World Live

Leaked docs reveal Apple's plans for Bluetooth Beats headphones

Monday, November 10, 2014

What will Apple and Beats produce next?

Beats released a pair of headphones - the Beats Solo2 - just as Apple was buying the company earlier this year, and now a follow-up appears to be in the works.

But while there's been a lot of speculation over the various ways Apple might change what Beats is about, a just-uncovered FCC filing suggests the iPhone 6 maker actually won't change much at all.

The FCC documents show a Bluetooth-enabled version of the Beats Solo2 released earlier this year.

But other than the addition of wireless capabilities, these headphones don't seem much altered from the earlier, wired Solo2.

There's also been some speculation on whether future Beats headphones will adopt Apple's lightning tech, but for now these appear to be sticking with microUSB so they can remain open-platform.

That may still change in the future, or Apple might even come out with iOS-exclusive variants on otherwise multi-platform headphones, thereby trying to please everyone.

Either way, while this new headset may carry Apple's branding, it appears the new Beats Solo2 will still definitely have the Beats DNA.

There's no clue as to when these will come out, so keep an eye out for announcements from Apple while we do the same.

Via 9to5Mac

Intel plans to conquer the lounge (and your office) with this little device

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

The first of many Intel HDMI dongles

The first Intel-powered HDMI dongle has gone on sale on a popular Chinese retailing website, and while it is still more expensive than other ARM-powered dongles, it is also far more powerful.

The device, called the Meegopad T01, is the first of many of its type that are likely to be built with an Intel Bay Trail Atom processor in the build up to Christmas.

At $125 (about £77, AU$142), it supports Windows 8.1, Android and Linux, making it a more compelling option for businesses who might be interested in using it as a thin client like the Dell Wyse Cloud Connect.

The rest of the configuration is reminiscent of what you could find in the Pipo W2 (or indeed in any recently announced Baytrail-based tablet) bar the display, the cameras and the battery.

There's either 1GB or 2GB of RAM, 16GB or 32GB onboard storage, a microSD slot, a HDMI port, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi, two microUSB plus a USB 2.0 port and a 10W PSU.

Intel is systematically going wherever ARM is going and offering a comparable alternative based mostly on its BayTrail Atom processor family.

Sprint has doubled the data on its shared business plans yet again

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Yeah it does

Sprint has doubled down on the double data offer that it debuted earlier this month, upping the ante yet again in its war against AT&T, Verizon and other US carriers.

Those three went on a data-doubling roll in late September and early October, doing their best to one-up one another with shared data plans.

AT&T offered plans starting at 30GB of data for $130, Verizon did much the same, and Sprint doubled that, offering 60GB for $130 (and up from there).

But now Sprint is offering even larger plans, according to a press release, giving customers 240GB for $400, 320GB for $540, or 400GB for $675 for up to 50 lines.

In addition Sprint users can now sign up 100 lines for plans with 600GB for $1,010 or 800GB for $1,350.

Like the previous doubled plans, these fresh rates are available for new and existing customers who sign up before October 31.

These customers will retain these rates indefinitely, but the plans won't be available for new sign-ups after Halloween.

The big question now is who will raise the stakes next - maybe T-Mobile can join the fray with a fresh trick? You know what, consider this an official call-out, pinkie. It's on.

Verizon backs off plans to throttle unlimited data users

Saturday, October 4, 2014

The company says it made the decision after "ongoing dialogue" about its network optimization plan.

Verizon won't be enforcing its throttling policy after all. Verizon

Verizon Wireless customers with a grandfathered unlimited data plan can breath a sigh of relief.

The nation's largest wireless carrier by subscriber base said Wednesday that it would no longer go through with its "network optimization" policy, which was its plan to limit the data speeds of its most excessive users.

"We've greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and we've decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans," the carrier said in a statement.

The decision comes amid criticism it faced from its base of unlimited data customers -- people who held on to their plans even as Verizon eliminated the option when it moved to shared and tiered data offerings -- as well as from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, who called the proposed change "disturbing." The policy, which already affects 3G customers, was supposed to go into effect for its 4G customers starting today.

Verizon has argued that it has the right to manage the network and temporary slow down the connection speed of a user who is hogging up a significant amount of bandwidth. The company said that unlike rivals such as T-Mobile, who will slow down the connection of a customer after they hit a certain limit, Verizon's throttling measures are temporary, and are lifted once the user is no longer hampering the connection for people around them. The company said only the top 5 percent of users would be affected.

The carrier has for years tried to get customers off the unlimited plans, forcing them to buy their own smartphones and stick with their existing plans in order to keep that perk. By signing a new contract, taking a subsidized smartphone, or moving to one of Verizon's mobile share plans or individual tiered data plans, the customer sacrifices the unlimited data part of the service.

While Verizon faced network issues late last year, the company has bulked up its network with additional spectrum that has helped alleviate capacity issues and increased speed, part of the "XLTE" campaign it has been pitching to consumers.

The decision, which will go over well with existing unlimited data customers, also comes amid intensifying competition in the wireless industry. The company earlier Wednesday offered a promotion to double the amount of data on certain tiers of family plan, following similar moves by AT&T and Sprint.

Here's the full statement:

Verizon is committed to providing its customers with an unparalleled mobile network experience. At a time of ever-increasing mobile broadband data usage, we not only take pride in the way we manage our network resources, but also take seriously our responsibility to deliver exceptional mobile service to every customer. We've greatly valued the ongoing dialogue over the past several months concerning network optimization and we've decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans. Exceptional network service will always be our priority and we remain committed to working closely with industry stakeholders to manage broadband issues so that American consumers get the world-class mobile service they expect and value.

Roger Cheng Roger Cheng is the executive editor in charge of breaking news for CNET News. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade. He's a devoted Trojan alum and Los Angeles Lakers fan. See full bio

View the original article here

HTC may have abandoned its smartwatch plans

Monday, September 15, 2014

Guess we won't be seeing this after all (credit: Evleaks)

Maybe the competition got too hot, or maybe costs were simply too high, but no matter what the reason, word is HTC's smartwatch is no more.

The company had been rumored all year to be developing its own Android Wear smartwatch, but now those plans have been canned, according to Pocket-lint.

The site's sources said the HTC smartwatch, which apparently won't be called the HTC One Wear, since it doesn't exist, is cancelled "for the time being," citing no one reason in particular.

However the sources said, "rising costs and a lack of wow factor" played a part in the One Wear's cancellation.

The HTC smartwatch rumors really began in earnest when the company itself said it was working on a wearable to be released in 2014.

We've caught glimpses of the watch here and there, but there's been little concrete information, and now it appears we may know why.

Competition in the smartwatch arena is indeed heating up, with companies including Samsung, Motorola, LG, Asus, Sony, and others all trying their hands at building a wearable people actually want.

But it's really Apple's mysterious iWatch - believed to be scheduled for arrival during a September 9 event - that may shape the smartwatch future.

Mozilla plans permission toggles in Firefox OS

Sunday, August 31, 2014

A prototype of the Firefox OS-powered Cloud FX phone. A future version of the operating system will include app permission controls. Stephen Shankland/CNET

Mozilla promises that a future version of its Firefox OS will offer the kind of customized app permission experience that Android has yet to provide.

Firefox OS is the mobile operating system based on the Firefox browser's engine. It runs on several lower mid-range devices such as the Flame, the ZTE Open, and the Alcatel OneTouch Fire, available in 15 countries, and the super-low end Cloud FX in India. Instead of native code, apps are built in HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript -- the same languages used to make websites.

Firefox OS 2.1, a future version, will ship with an advanced feature setting so that the "tech savvy and paranoid privacy enthusiasts" can tweak app permissions to their liking, Mozilla security engineer Frederik Braun said in a blog post.

"The typical list in the Settings app will then show you all the permissions an app has and allows you to set them to Allow, Prompt or Deny," he wrote. Firefox OS settings allow app developers to set three levels, unlike Android's binary On or Off.

The feature will allow the phone user to set configure specific app permissions more to their liking, so that the Alarm app, for example, doesn't necessarily have access to the GPS. However, an operating system architecture means that the planned app permission toggle will work only with apps installed from the Mozilla Marketplace. Built-in apps are locked as they are. Additionally, Braun warns that changing these settings could break an app, stopping it from functioning at all.

However, the feature is far from ready, and Firefox OS users won't see it for quite a while. How long? That's not clear, since the version of the browser-powered mobile operating system that permission controls is expected to ship in -- Firefox OS 2.1 -- is only listed on the Firefox OS release schedule as having a "code complete" date, not a public availability date.

Currently, Firefox OS 1.4 will be followed by Firefox OS 2.0, also with an unannounced availability, and then version 2.1 will follow.

View the original article here

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