Nov 15
The newly crowned chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, is clearly an ambitious man: he’s on a crusade to get carriers to allow phone unlocking.
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Nov 15
The Google Play Store is host to many an interesting piece of software or app, and most of the time, you will find that one app is far more useful than the others. For those who have heard about the FCC Speed Test, we are pleased to say that this particular app has already appeared on the Google Play Store today, which will be kind of similar in nature to the Speedtest.net app. I guess having some kind of variety is always a good thing, don’t you think so? After all, with Speedtest.net being a staple on the app market for some time already, it is nice to see the FCC come up with an alternative for the masses. The FCC Speed Test will rely on information that has been collected via the app, where this information will then help it hunt down select patterns as it builds out a “map of mobile broadband” that will span through multiple states.
How about privacy concerns, and how will the FCC address them? The FCC has mentioned that “privacy is paramount,” which is why they will ensure that “significant measures” will be taken so that it will be nigh impossible to identify the volunteers who use the app. With the FCC Speed Test app, you will gain privy to real time performance data and historical records, in addition to participating in the FCC’s Measuring Broadband America program. I wonder what is the impact on your device’s battery life when you run the FCC Speed Test app all day long in the background. [FCC Speed Test App]
FCC Speed Test Debuts On Google Play Store original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Nov 14
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler tells carriers to get on board with his plan to let people unlock their phones… or else
Posted in: Today's Chili
Congress, the White House and the FCC’s new chairman Tom Wheeler have all come out in favor of setting our phones free, but the telcos who can actually grant our handsets liberty have been slow to heed the governmental call. Because of that, Wheeler sent a veiled threat letter to the CTIA imploring it to amend its Consumer Code to include a policy ensuring our rights to get our phones unlocked once we’re off contract. Apparently, the FCC has been working with the CTIA for eight months to craft a policy that requires telcos to:
- provide a clear, concise and readily accessible policy on unlocking
- unlock mobile devices for legitimate owners of those devices once their service contract has been fulfilled
- notify customers when their devices are eligible to be unlocked and/or automatically unlock those devices for free
- unlock devices or provide an explanation of a denial of any unlock requests within two days
- unlock devices for military service men and women upon deployment
The two sides are in agreement with four of the five requirements, with the only sticking point being the bit about service providers having to notify us when our devices are eligible to be unlocked. Tom Wheeler, however, isn’t willing to see The Wireless Association’s side of things because “absent the consumer’s right to be informed about unlocking eligibility, any voluntary program would be a hollow shell.” Furthermore, he wants the new unlock policy put in place before the holidays this year, whether by the CTIA’s voluntary or the FCC’s regulatory action. Looks like we’ll be getting phone freedom for Christmas this year. We like the sound of that.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: FCC letter to CTIA [PDF]
Nov 14
FCC launches speed test app for Android, looks to collect mobile broadband performance data
Posted in: Today's Chili
As expected, the FCC has launched a Speed Test app that measures mobile broadband performance for Android devices. Available as a free download from Google Play, the app runs periodically in the background and performs tests when you aren’t using your handset. There is a manual test option, for those of you steeped in the ways of Speedtest.net.
According to the FCC, the app is a “first step towards evaluating mobile broadband network performance, arming consumers with information to make fact-based, informed decisions about their wireless providers.” In practice, data gathered from FCC Speed Test will help build out visualizations and maps that compare speeds and technologies across the country. Android users can hit up the Google Play link below to try it out. iPhone users, meanwhile, will have to wait till early next year; the FCC says it will submit an iOS version by late 2014.
Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Mobile
Via: Phone Scoop
Source: Google Play, FCC
Nov 11
iTrainer Mini Hits The FCC
Posted in: Today's Chili
If there is one particular mantra that we have all come to hear concerning the smartphone, it would be this, “There’s an app for that.” I suppose it rings true to a certain extent, and when it comes to the iTrainer Mini which had appeared on the FCC recently, that particular mindset is reinforced even further. The iTrainer Mini from Trainer Golf Limited happens to be a rather small device that is attached to your golf club, where it will “talk” to both iOS as well as Android-powered smartphones over a Bluetooth connection. This Bluetooth connection would enable users to monitor their club head speed, swing tempo as well as swing path. When fed with such information, the iTrainer Mini will then be able to provide a prediction of the golf ball’s path, depicting an estimate of the distance along the way.
In the FCC filings, they do feature images of the iTrainer Mini in addition to a user manual which will showcase screenshots of the device’s iOS and Android interfaces as you can see above. For those who are interested in bringing their game of golf to a totally whole new level, you are welcome to do so for $250 a pop.
iTrainer Mini Hits The FCC original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Nov 10
Just the other day Verizon officially announced the Ellipsis 7 tablet, a tablet designed for the budget-conscious shopper in mind. Well it looks like Sprint might have a budget tablet of their own that could compete with Verizon’s own offering, although at this point not much is known save for the fact that it recently made its way past the FCC. According to the FCC filing, the device in question is made by ZTE and sports the model number, V72C. It has been speculated that the processor will be a MediaTek processor and the tablet will feature a 7” display.
While the tablet appears to support 3G connectivity, it does not appear that it will have 4G LTE, so if you’re in the market for a cheap LTE tablet, this device might not be the one for you. It is possible that this ZTE tablet could be the successor to last year’s low-budget ZTE Optik that was released on Sprint’s network. Either way we’ll keep our eyes and ears peeled for more information, so if you’re in the market for a budget Android device, be sure to check back with us at a later date to see if there are any more details that can be had!
Mysterious ZTE For Sprint Spotted At The FCC original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Nov 09
The FCC will be rolling out a new free app for Android next spring that lets users submit speed data to the agency for analysis, the Washington Post reports. The app is part of a broad-based effort to gauge actual download and upload speeds by mobile devices on the four major carriers and CTIA-The Wireless […]
Nov 06
An FCC listing for a Wi-fi only edition of the Sony Xperia Z Ultra has appeared today, rolling with what appears to be essentially the same specifications as the original, coming at this point with no mobile data connectivity. You’ll find the Sony TS-0010 coming with support for Wi-fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac as well NFC, GPS, […]
Oct 24
Two HP Slate Tablets Hit The FCC
Posted in: Today's Chili
The folks over at the FCC have been on the receiving end of a couple of tablets from HP, which means we could be looking at new Slates in the coming holiday season. For starters, there is the HP Slate 10 HD tablet that will run on a Marvell PXA986 processor, where it will be accompanied by a 1,280 x 800 pixel display. Hmmm, that does not sound quite right, especially when you have the “HD” bit in its name. In other words, the HP Slate 10 HD tablet is a 10” Android-powered tablet that will target the budget conscious, while sporting some HP extras such as Beats Audio. The HP Slate 10 HD is tipped for a November rollout.
As for the other tablet, it does seem to be the HP 10 1900, and that is about all we know about it other than the fact that it supports cellular data on GSM and WCDMA networks, alongside connectivity options such as 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0. Other specifications that we know about the HP Slate 10 HD is that it will arrive with a microSD card slot, front and rear cameras, and Wi-Fi-only or 4G models.
We do wonder just how these tablets will shape up by the time they hit the market, as their previous round of tablet releases did not exactly light up the industry.
Two HP Slate Tablets Hit The FCC original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Oct 21
While the folks over at Barnes & Noble might be working to alter their Android tablet strategy, they have not quite yet forgotten about the NOOK digital bookstore alongside the hardware that will be able to read such eBooks. In fact, it has been brought to our attention that Barnes & Noble could very well roll out a new eReader in due time, not to mention the possibility of additional new tablets being in the pipeline even as you read this.
Why do we say this? Oh yeah, perhaps the appearance of a next-generation NOOK over at the FCC website might have something to do with it. While this upcoming NOOK eReader might resemble something that the company is offering at this moment, there will be at least one improvement. This improvement would be the apparent inclusion of 4GB of internal memory, which is more or less double of what one would find within a NOOK Simple Touch or NOOK Simple Touch With GlowLight. Assuming 2GB is enough space to stash around 1,000 eBooks, then doubling that amount would also see up to 2,000 eBooks stored on the new NOOK device. Needless to say, we await with bated breath for additional information on the device to be released when it becomes official.
New Barnes & Noble NOOK Arrives At The FCC original content from Ubergizmo. 
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