Hasta La Gadget!

Today Verizon‘s big CFO Fran Shammo has issued a few statements that are both good and bad, to say the least. During an annual investors conference Shammo stated that their new share everything plans were doing much better than expected, and seeing higher customer adaption then planned for. However he also mentioned a few things that should have us worried.

Later while talking about 4G LTE and unlimited data plans that we all so much adore, he mentions that unlimited data is basically going away. According to the report he actually said, “Unlimited is just a word, it doesn’t really mean anything.” We have a feeling T-Mobile begs to differ since they recently launched their “truly unlimited data plans” that truly have no limits, or throttling.

Then, according to CNET, he took this even further by saying, “The whole unlimited thing is going by the wayside.” What exactly does that mean? Well it’s sorta taken out of context because he’s saying that in regards to consumer use, which he said isn’t nearly as high as what they think they’re using.

An interesting note is he actually also stated that many customers are going off of their grandfathered unlimited plans in favor of the Share Everything plans offered. Although this basically just means that more people are using more than one device, or have more than one family member on a plan and are actually enjoying the shared options. Verizon’s unlimited plans have technically been long gone for a few months, but we’re not too excited with the way things are starting to sound.

Once T-Mobile gets their 4G LTE up and running next year, if they continue to offer unlimited options the others might have to do the same. Thoughts?

[via CNET]

Verizon: Share everything plans better than expected – Unlimited data is fading away is written by Cory Gunther & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Now that iOS 6 has arrived on Apple tablets and phones, users at large are getting their hands on the company’s new Maps app for the first time only to find at least a few things out of place. The lack of navigation for public transportation was a known limitation going in, but misplaced landmarks, geographical oddities and suddenly blank areas where Google Maps had an abundance of tags (all being cataloged by The Amazing iOS 6 Maps Tumblr, as seen above) have some users bristling. A spokesperson for Apple tells All Things D that it expects things to improve as more people use Maps (check out the entire statement after the break), but is that enough? Hit the poll selections below to let us know if the new experience is truly a move in the right direction.

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Continue reading Apple says it’s ‘just getting started’ on Maps for iOS 6, are you willing to wait? (poll)

Filed under: Software, Mobile

Apple says it’s ‘just getting started’ on Maps for iOS 6, are you willing to wait? (poll) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For reasons I’ve never been able to discern, some people really seem to get a kick out of sharing every bit of banal minutia that peppers their daily lives.

Should you happen to fall into that category (and if so, why?), you may be glad to know that the folks at Looxcie have just announced the Looxcie HD, a new addition to its long-running series of super-portable wearable video cameras.

The basics remain the same as just about every other Looxcie model before it — the HD can connect to iOS and Android smartphones (running the companion app, naturally) via Bluetooth, and can transfer recorded video snippets to them for easier distribution. As the name suggests, the biggest new addition for the dedicated lifecasters among you is the ability to record video in full 1080p, a far cry from the 480p video that its predecessors were capable of capturing. Also new to the package is the inclusion of a Wi-Fi radio, as well as improved low-light performance for when those late night raves just beg to be captured on video.

A recent update to the service saw the addition of live broadcasting to Facebook and other Looxcie users, but the video quality for live streaming takes a hit — resolution still tops out at 480p for that, but that’s arguably a small price to pay when you get to live-stream your daring trip through the mall food court. C’est la vie, I suppose.

What really leaps out at me is just how big the Looxcie HD is compared to its forebears. While previous iterations of the Looxcie hardware were small enough to fit only somewhat cumbersomely on a person’s ear, the new HD model is (sadly) just big enough to make that unfeasible. Still, there are some upsides to be found: the newly-designed enclosure is weather-resistant, and it houses a larger battery (1200mAh, to be precise) than the model that came before it. The HD is actually more reminiscent of devices like the GoPro series these days, but that’s hardly a bad thing unless you were really keen on strapping one of these to your head.

If the concept of sticking a camera on your baseball cap and taking on the world has piqued your interest, the Looxcie HD is now up for preorder — prices start at $279, and jumps pretty quickly depending on the mount package that catches your eye.

We have an super cool president—last year he bought the chefs at Pennsylvania Ave. some homebrewing kits, which yielded what the brewmasters thought was some really delicious beer. And now, hail to the chief, the White House has released the recipes for the official Honey Porter and Honey Ale so you can make them at home. More »

Well this is interesting: it seems that a lot of iDevice owners were quick on the uptake with iOS 6 when the new mobile OS launched yesterday. A new report from analytics firm Chitika (as reported by TechCrunch) says that in the first 24 hours since the release of iOS 6, 15% of iOS users have already downloaded it. That’s a significant bump up from the adoption rate of iOS 5, which only managed to arrive on 20% of devices after the first five days.

The Chitika report also compares the adoption rate of iOS 6 to the roll out of Jelly Bean, which currently only resides on 1.5% of Android devices two months out from release. It seems a bit silly to compare the adoption rates of iOS 6 and Jelly Bean though, considering that Android manufacturers push the Jelly Bean updates instead of Google, whereas Apple has direct control over the push to iOS 6. Still, if you’re one of the folks who loves the platform wars, there are your side-by-side stats.

A separate independent report from Chartboost shows the same results that Chitika got, with 15% of Apple devices updating to iOS 6 in the first 24 hours (NOTE: both images in this post are from Chartboost). Chartboost’s report goes a little more in-depth, showing that iPhone users are the quickest to adopt, with 17% of iPhones now running iOS 6. By comparison, 13% of the iPads roaming around out there have updated to iOS 6, while only 9% of iPod Touches have updated. The vast majority of iDevices are still running iOS 5.1.1, but that’s bound to change in the coming days and weeks.

iOS 6 boasts a number of improved features of iOS 5, but one of the new features that is causing some controversy is the new Apple-developed Maps app for iOS 6. We’ve seen many complaints about Maps in iOS 6 today, but aside from that, most people seem to be happy with the update. What do you think of iOS 6 so far? Are you one of the many having issues with iOS 6 Maps?

iOS 6 updates hit 15% of devices in first 24 hours after release is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.