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If you’ll recall, AT&T was quick to inform users after WWDC that it would not be supporting FaceTime over Cellular on all of its data plans (you’ll need a Mobile Share plan for it to work) when it launches as part of iOS6 on the 19th. Now Verizon has responded, confirming in its iPhone 5 press release that the feature is welcome on any data plan allowance. Of course, your usual data restrictions will still apply so we wouldn’t leave those 720p backside illuminated cameras streaming for too long. If you’re the type to set your watch by iPhone launches, the press release also mentions Friday at 3AM ET is the time when they’ll be available for preorder on the website, check the rest of the details after the break.

Continue reading Verizon Wireless confirms FaceTime over cellular on all data plans

Filed under: Mobile

Verizon Wireless confirms FaceTime over cellular on all data plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 23:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s time to have a chat about what the iPhone 5 didn’t bring to the table this week now that the dust has settled – somewhat – after the big Apple reveal. Two features you might be wondering about – and one that you might never have heard of – for the iPhone 5 that we’ve had questions about are these: NFC, Wireless Charging, and Localized Haptic Feedback. We’ve discussed the first two extremely briefly right after the press conference was complete, while the third has still been weighing on our minds even without a lot of your questions for us on the device in the end.

One of the main objectives the designers of the iPhone 5 had in mind was the overall thinning of the device. The final product is, as the video you’re about to see will show, precise down to tiny, tiny details throughout the iPhone 5′s hardware build. The features we’re about to speak about here are not included on the iPhone 5 for their own unique reasons, but the technology being… well… fat – is one of the main reasons why they’re not included on this device.

NFC

We’d heard some weeks ago that NFC was set to be included on the iPhone 5, and even heard a rumor that said an iPhone 5 with NFC embedded was created – but the final word is this: the infrastructure surrounding NFC as a technology being used in the wild just isn’t strong enough. Even more important than the fatness of the architecture that’d be needed for the iPhone 5 to work with NFC is the idea that the technology just isn’t mature enough.

If there’s any shadow of a doubt that a feature will not be usable in a short amount of time after it’s included on an Apple product, it will not be included. One example of this is the MacBook and its inclusion of HDMI-compatible hardware. You didn’t see HDMI compatibility on Apple products until a large enough cross-section of media-makers and hardware developers adopted the technology – and no, I nor we know any specific numbers in this situation.

Wireless Charging

If you keep up with all the gadgets and gizmos that get released no matter what manufacturer makes them here with SlashGear, you know that Nokia released a couple of devices recently – the Lumia 820 and 920 – that work with wireless charging. This technology is another one that requires some bulk and weight – and of course, an added cost for production. When you weigh these simple elements against the positive factors involved in wireless charging, they simply do not add up – not for the iPhone 5, anyway.

One of the biggest reasons for this is simply the fact that you cannot charge your device wirelessly and hold your device while using it at the same time. At the moment, Nokia’s chargers, while awesome in an of themselves, are certainly larger than a simple USB-wired charging solution. It’s not as if this concept is new – the idea that you can hold your device while charging if it’s not wireless – but it still holds true through the iPhone 5.

Localized Haptic Feedback

If you’ll look way back to March of this year you’ll find an Apple patent outlining Localized Haptic Feedback for their iPhone line. To keep it simple: this technology connects an array of piezoelectric actuators to the device’s display, each of them able to give you vibrations localized to the point where you’re touching your screen. This is just one of several different ways you can do this, but the end result is the same.

Apple simply isn’t going to include a system like this unless it’s necessary for the device to function. More important than that, Apple won’t include a system like this because it’d simply weigh too heavily on the battery – why use up battery time for a system that shakes your finger so precisely it seems like magic? At the moment, the ends do not justify the means.

Have a peek at our Apple portal for more info on the iPhone 5 and let us know what you think of these features – especially what it means to you that they’re not included in this release. Also be sure to check out our iPhone 5 hands-on experience to get close – real close!

Why the iPhone 5 needs no NFC, wireless charging, or localized haptic feedback is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Intel was fast to promise a port of Jelly Bean to Atom-based smartphones. We were left in the dark as to when that port would be ready, but mobile group general manager Mike Bell has put that to rest for PCWorld with news that the Medfield-native Android 4.1 build is both complete and running on Intel workers’ devices — including his. Before dreaming of Google Now searches on an Orange San Diego, though, we’d warn that the usual delays apply. Bell notes that phone makers and the carriers still need go through the lengthy process of signing off on any upgrades. Existing owners will no doubt find it frustrating to be so close and yet so far, although the limbo at least proves that Intel-based hardware isn’t being held back relative to its competition; ARM-running phone manufacturers are in the same boat.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Intel wraps up Jelly Bean port for Atom smartphones, can’t say when devices get it originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 22:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EVGA has introduced a new E-ATX motherboard to its range, the Z77 FTW. Based on Intel Z77 Express Chipset, the board supports for Intel LGA1155 processors and features four DDR3 DIMM memory slots (up to 32GB RAM), five PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots and one PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slot. In terms of connectivity ports, it has four SATA 6.0 Gbps, four SATA 3.0 Gbps, six USB 3.0, ten USB 2.0 and two Gigabit Ethernet. Pricing and release date are still unknown at the moment. [EVGA]