Hasta La Gadget!

The Sony XPERIA Z has already seen a release of sorts in the USA with the variant by the name of XPERIA ZL, but that’s not stopping the company from pushing a T-Mobile Z, it seems. An FCC listing appearing this week shows the original XPERIA Z coming up T-Mobile with 4G LTE abilities that match the carrier perfectly. This release would put Sony in a strange place as the XPERIA ZL is what was assumed to be the hero iteration of the device in the states earlier this year.

With the release of an XPERIA Z for T-Mobile, this would be another rare push by Sony to have a smartphone on a carrier with a contract here in the USA. Generally an XPERIA device will be released in the states off-contract only, allowing users to choose their carrier and their data plan without contractual obligations as such.

If the Sony XPERIA Z is released to T-Mobile in the near future, it’ll be put in indirect competition with the XPERIA ZL and direct competition with the Samsung GALAXY S 4 as well as the HTC One, both of which are being carried by T-Mobile this spring and summer. Sony’s hero efforts will need, therefor, a price point that’s less or equal to what these devices offer at least due to the much more active advertising efforts of the competition.

Have a peek at SlashGear’s review of the Sony XPERIA Z as it exists internationally, and stay tuned as we review the Sony XPERIA ZL for the USA as well. It’ll be up to you, if you’re Sony-addicted, whether you want to be attached to one or the other. Both will work with T-Mobile, mind you, but only one will be working with the network’s upcoming 4G LTE connectivity roll-out. The FCC listing discovered by Engadget this week shows the XPERIA Z to be working with T-Mobile-specific 4G LTE radios.

XPERIA Z appears at FCC with T-Mobile LTE compatibility is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Over six months ago, a joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon called Isis launched a trial of its nascent mobile payment service in Austin and Salt Lake City. Not only was its debut already delayed, we also haven’t heard more than a peep from the company since. CEO Michael Abbott, who is the keynote speaker at ETA 2013 in New Orleans, has opened the discourse but still isn’t giving many specific details on the future. When we asked him about his company’s expansion plans, Abbott simply told us that “when [we’re] ready, we’ll start putting it out in different places and see where to go from there.” In essence, he views progress in the mobile payments field as a constant evolution, which often involves taking smaller steps to accomplish a greater purpose. You can find the full quote below the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Crowd funding is gaining all sorts of popularity these days, and tons of people are signing up with Kickstarter and Indiegogo to attempt to fund their projects. Recently, game studios have taken a liking to the madness, specifically Cloud Imperium Games who has raised over $9 million from crowd funding alone for its upcoming space-based title Star Citizen.

Over 170,000 people have contributed money to the project, which was started by gaming designer veteran Chris Roberts, who is behind classic games like Wing Commander. The game raised over $2 million on Kickstarter, with the remaining funds being donated directly on the Star Citizen website.

As for the developer’s reason to go with crowd funding, they cite that “the internet is the great equalizer,” and used examples like Minecraft, Riot Games, and Wargaming.net for not needing a publisher, but rather just die-hard fans willing to pay for a game and support the developers throughout the project.

They continue by saying that they’re essentially throwing themselves “on the mercy of the PC gamers” who share the same vision and passion for the PC as they do. Without a publisher, the game will cost less and it’ll be more “creatively pure.” As for a time frame on when to expect the game to arrive, Star Citizen is expected to enter the alpha stages toward the end of the year.

[via GamesIndustry.biz]

Star Citizen surge shows how crowd funding is shaking up studios is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While you are riding into work on your daily bike commute, why not charge your phone? There’s a bit more to it than that, but ultimately that is exactly what the Siva Cycle Atom does. A brilliant idea.

Reaching their KickStarter goal of $85,000 after only a week, the newly funded Atom is on display on the floor of Hardware Alley at TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2013.

The Atom is a generator, complete with a detachable battery, that is fixed to the rear of your bicycle. As you pedal away, the generator is charging the attached battery. However it can also directly charge your phone too, using a smart switching system that goes back and forth between the device and the battery.

For example, if your phone is hooked up to the device it will directly charge your phone while you are pedaling, however when you come to a stop, your phone will automatically draw from the battery to keep you topped off.

Once you reach your destination, you simply detach the 1300mAh battery and take it with you for extra juice for your smartphone.

Dogs have long been touted as being man’s best friend. Aside from companionship, dogs can save human lives, depending on their training, by sniffing out bombs, transporting medicine (remember Balto?), and helping the blind ‘see.’ Given all the joy and help that dogs give humans, it’s only fitting that humans give back to them as well.

Take the case of Naki’o, an adorable dog that lost all four paws to frostbite when abandoned as a puppy.

Image Credit: Rick Wilking/Reuters

He did fine as a pup, but began having difficulty supporting his weight as he grew bigger. So his loving owner, Christie Pace, searched for alternatives to help Naki’o out. She explained: “I have a soft spot for rescue animals in general. I was looking for something different, unique. I wanted to make more of a difference than a regular dog. I knew I could help him out.”

Pace set up a fundraiser to get prosthetics for Naki’o from OrthoPets. But when the animal hospital saw how well the pup did with his initial fittings, they set him up with a complete set of prosthetics, free of charge.

Image Credit: Rick Wilking/Reuters

I guess you could say they have a heart of gold. Oh, and a little bit of trivia: Naki’o is the world’s first ever dog to be outfitted with custom prosthetics on all four legs!

[via The Star via Metro News via Dvice]