Hasta La Gadget!

Merely a day after FCC commissioner Robert McDowell announced his resignation, it appears that chairman Julius Genachowski is going to do likewise. Citing an unnamed FCC official and industry official, The Wall Street Journal reports Genachowski is expected to leave — presumably as his term ends on June 30th. Granted, the departure isn’t a shock to anyone who follows the roller coaster ride of Washington, but it’s bound to rekindle chatter about who is set to take his place.

Like most every other figurehead in politics, Genachowski has had his fair share of outspoken proponents and critics, but he has embedded himself into the world of consumer electronics in a way that few other chairmen have. From calling for hastened broadband rollouts throughout America to voicing concerns about the existing phone unlocking policy, Genachowski won’t soon be forgotten for his forthright opinions on matters that impact folks who frequent this site. As for the man or woman taking his place this summer? Looks like we’ll have to wait a bit for the answer to that one.

We reached out for more, and a spokesperson for the chairman declined to comment.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Comments

Source: Wall Street Journal, Reuters

It’s reported that the E980 is LG’s codename for the Optimus G Pro (considering that the E970 is the Optimus G), and while we’ve already reviewed the global variant, it sure looks as if AT&T is setting itself up to carry the handset here in the US of A. Arriving in the FCC’s database today is the item you see above, replete with LTE bands that match AT&T’s profile. Assuming it’s the G Pro, AT&T loyalists can get ready for a 5.5-inch, 1080p display, one of the fastest mobile processors on the planet, 2GB of RAM and a Jelly Bean-infused edition of Android. The only remaining questions? When, where, how much, and in what color.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, LG

Comments

Source: FCC

We all know the feeling of receiving robocalls. These are when you receive a phone call and the other end is an automated message advertising a certain product, or in this case, attempting to get your support for a specific political candidate. It turns out that some of these robocalls have been illegal, and the FCC is cracking down on it as we speak.

Robocalls are allowed on most landline numbers if certain rules are met, but they are strictly prohibited to mobile phones unless it’s for emergency purposes or the person receiving the call has given prior permission. The FCC has cited two marketing companies for making millions of robocalls to mobile phones illegally.

Robocalls were made from Dialing Services of Roswell, New Mexico and Democratic Dialing of Aurora, Colorado, both companies didn’t have permission from mobile phone users to call them. The FCC found that these two companies sent out millions of robocalls in 2011 and 2012, including the 2012 presidential election campaigns.

The maximum penalty for making illegal robocalls to mobile phones is $16,000 per call, which means that if each company made millions of robocalls throughout the past couple of years, they could end up owing billions of dollars in fines. It’s estimated that 4.7 million illegal robocalls were made from Dialing Services and 1.1 million by Democratic Dialing.

Chris Kolker, founder and CEO of Dialing Services, said that his company is “simply a service provider” that makes it possible for another company to make robocalls. He says that his company doesn’t make the calls themselves, and that they “inform customers about the laws, but [the company] cannot possibly police all of them.”

[via NBC News]

FCC lays down the iron fist on illegal robocalls is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

So, everyone knows that the next big thing in the smartphone world is the Samsung Galaxy S4 at this point in time, but does that mean other players are just going to keel over and give up? Obviously not! AT&T will be offering the Sony Xperia ZL to the masses soon, especially when we have seen it hit the FCC, which can only mean one thing – approval of this device at the FCC should see the Sony Xperia ZL being made available to the masses in due time, and our friends living in Canada are said to be on the receiving end of the Xperia ZL in April next month.

The AT&T-bound Xperia ZL will support LTE bands 2, 4, 5 and 17, not to mention HSPA over 1900, 1700 and 850MHz frequencies, but so far, no release date has been announced just yet, so we will just have to sit down and play the patience card. Just how much do you think AT&T will price the Sony Xperia ZL when they make it available over on their network?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Samsung Galaxy S3 To Get Some Galaxy S4 Features?, Facebook For Android Update Pushed Outside Of Play Store?,

Sure, the Galaxy S 4 made its grand entrance at Radio City Music Hall today, but now it’s had a low-key meet-and-greet with the FCC for government approval. The version offered up to Uncle Sam carries a 850 / 1900 GSM radio, 3G connectivity through 850 / 1900 WCDMA frequencies and support for LTE Band 5. Since AT&T’s main LTE squeeze is Band 17, what we’re seeing here is an international version of Samsung’s flagship that can roam portions of Ma Bell’s and Magenta’s network when it sets foot in the US. Folks waiting for a GS4 outfitted for an American carrier will have to wait ’till at least the end of April, but we’ll keep our eyes peeled for such a device visiting the FCC.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

Comments

Source: FCC