Hasta La Gadget!

After weeks of leaks and speculation, the iPhone 5c is finally here. Apple’s colorful new lower-cost handset slots below the iPhone 5s flagship and ships with iOS 7. This is the first time the company’s launched two new iPhones simultaneously. The 5c replaces the iPhone 5 in the middle of the lineup, and the 8GB iPhone 4s is now available free on contract. Unlike years past, the iPhone 5 doesn’t carry on as a second-tier device — it’s just gone. The 5c is built from steel-reinforced, colored-through, machined polycarbonate that’s coated in a glossy finish. Apple’s last plastic handset was the iPhone 3GS in 2009, but it only came in black and white. In contrast, the 5c arrives in a rainbow of pastel hues: white, pink, yellow, blue and green, along with a matching set of cases.

Spec-wise, the 5c is basically an iPhone 5 with an improved front-facing camera and global LTE support. The 16GB model costs $99 with a two-year commitment ($549 unlocked) and the 32GB version is $199 on contract ($649 unsubsidized) — as such it’s more affordable than the departed iPhone 5. While Apple’s clearly positioning the 5c as an aspirational product, we suspect it’s also less expensive to manufacture than the iPhone 5, which means the company gets to enjoy some higher profit margins. It’s obviously not the cheap iPhone some folks were expecting, and frankly, we’re not surprised — it’s an Apple device, after all. So does the 5c live up to the hype? Is it an improvement over the iPhone 5? Should you pony up for iPhone 5s instead? Let’s find out. %Gallery-slideshow85060%

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

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The back and forth continues. US International Trade Commission Administrative Law Judge Thomas Pender has made an initial ruling that some Samsung’s devices violate four Apple patents, including one iPhone design patent (the one you see above) and three software patents. Apple didn’t manage a clean sweep, as Samsung was cleared of treading on two more patents, but the verdict still carries the all-too-familiar potential for a trade ban if the ITC maintains the findings in its final review. It’s bleak news for the Korean company, which faced an initial loss to Apple at the ITC just last month — even though large swaths of the mostly Android-based Galaxy phones and tablets in the dispute have long since left the market, an upheld verdict gives Samsung one less bargaining chip in a protracted legal war.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung

ITC rules that Samsung violates four Apple patents covering design, touch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM may be banking on the release of BB10 and new devices to rejuvenate the flagging brand, but the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) isn’t waiting around, opting to end their contract after eight years together. ICE stated that RIM “can no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency,” and that it intends to purchase over 17,000 iPhones for its personnel at a cost of $2.1 million. Android was also interviewed for the role, but the agency decided that currently, Apple’s closed ecosystem was the best choice, offering “reliable, mobile technology on a secure and manageable platform.” While this isn’t the first group (or likely, the last) to drop the Blackberry, we’re wondering if the remaining million government customers in North America will stay loyal after this official stamp of disapproval. We imagine employees from other agencies might also care to make a case for switching — nothing to do with free iPhones, of course.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Apple, RIM

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement drop Blackberry for iPhone, employees get early Christmas bonus originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sweden is home to some of the world’s better known movie makers and some very high speed data connections, but it has only had so much love from movie streaming services that you’d think would be a natural match. Netflix is making that union a reality today through the launch of its Watch Instantly service in the country. Pay 79 kronor ($12) a month and you’ll get access to a mix of both international and domestic movies and TV shows on any device that can take Netflix in the country, which includes at least computers as well as Android and iOS devices. Other Nordic territories are still promised as coming soon; although that won’t be much help to Danes, Finns or Norwegians, we’re sure Swedes won’t mind having one more excuse to flaunt their cheap fiber internet access.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

Netflix streaming launches in Sweden, lets you get your Bron on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While Apple has flirted with biometric-based patents before, we’ve yet to see them implemented in real-world technology. That hasn’t stopped it from filing yet another one though, as the latest application reveals a fingerprint sensor apparently embedded into the iPhone itself. The patent describes a hardware “window” that can become selectively “transparent or opaque.” When transparent, it would reveal a component comprised of an “image capture device, a strobe flash, a biometric sensor, a light sensor, a proximity sensor, or a solar panel, or a combination thereof” as a method of unlocking the phone. According to the filing, the biometric sensor in question might indeed be a fingerprint reader. The document goes on to describe an alternative method using face or eye recognition technology that can be used not just for security purposes, but for possible e-commerce solutions like completing an online transaction. Of course, take any of these patent applications with a generous pinch of salt — we haven’t seen an Apple stylus yet, for example — but perhaps this is the reason Apple bought fingerprint sensor maker AuthenTec back in July.

Filed under: Cellphones, Apple

Apple files patent application for fingerprint sensor that can be transparent or opaque originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 04:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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