iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder

Ion iCadeThe Ion iCade, our favorite April Fools’ joke turned actual product, has just passed through the FCC and moved one step closer to retail reality. The arcade cabinet for your iPad had all its Bluetoothy bits laid bare and even brought along its user manual, in case you’re the type who bothers to read those sordid things. There aren’t too many surprises here except, perhaps, the inclusion of an Ikea-esque hex key — some assembly required. With the green light from the feds, though, that means the iCade is right on schedule for its May 31st release. If you want to ensure you nab one of the first batch, you can pre-order it now for $99 from either GameStop or ThinkGeek. And, while you wait for the blissful marriage of Atari’s Greatest Hits and Bluetooth joystick, you can peep the pics in the gallery after the break.

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iCade hits FCC, gets torn asunder originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elitegroup Elitepad S10 Windows tablet graces the FCC, could still use a makeover

Little-known Taiwanese manufacturer Elitegroup managed to make our friends at Engadget Spanish do a double-take at CeBIT, where the company was showing off the fast (and chintzy-looking) Elitepad S10. Now the 10-inch Windows slate has reared its highly reflective head in FCC documents and — what do you know? — it still boasts that 1.5GHz Intel Atom Z670 processor (not the Z760, as being reported elsewhere). Other specs include 1GB of RAM, flash storage, a 1.3 megapixel camera, WiFi, HDMI-out, and Bluetooth 3.0. Alas, though, that Oak Trail CPU might not be enough to solve the Windows tablet battery life conundrum — it promises a max of six hours of juice, if you’re lucky.

Elitegroup Elitepad S10 Windows tablet graces the FCC, could still use a makeover originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Nexus S 4G hits the FCC

Sprint still isn’t offering anything more specific than “this spring” for a Nexus S 4G launch date, but it looks like we may now at least be one step closer to a release. The Google-approved phone just turned up at the FCC this weekend under the guise of “SPH-D720,” which we’ve already had some indication was indeed Nexus S 4G’s model number, and which has also turned up on Samsung’s own site for the phone before being removed for one reason or another (see an image of the cached site after the break). As you can see above, the illustration also cuts a familiar outline, and the FCC tests reveal the presence of a Sprint-friendly WiMAX radio, which folks will hopefully be able to put to use sooner rather than later.

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Samsung Nexus S 4G hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 09 Apr 2011 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House of Representatives votes to block FCC’s net neutrality rules

Well, it looks like Republicans in the House of Representatives weren’t about to let this one slip past a possible government shutdown — they just passed a measure that seeks to block the FCC’s net neutrality rules by a largely party line vote of 240 to 179. That follows a House subcommittee vote last month but, as then, the bill still faces an uphill battle in the Senate and with the President, who’s expected to veto any such legislation if it somehow got to his desk. Not surprisingly, the rhetoric from both sides is only increasing following this latest development, with Democrat Rep. Henry Waxman saying the Republican bill would “end the internet as we know it,” while Republican Rep. Fred Upton argues that “the internet is not broken and this bill will assure that the FCC does not break it.”

House of Representatives votes to block FCC’s net neutrality rules originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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FCC mandates data roaming after 3-2 vote, AT&T and Verizon aren’t too happy about it

Good news for small cellular carriers, and bad news for big ones today — the Federal Communications Commission has decided to mandate data roaming by a 3-2 vote. Simply put, major carriers like AT&T and Verizon will be required to let you check your email and perform VoIP calls over their federally-licensed airwaves even if you’re actually paying a regional carrier for your cellular coverage instead — just as they’ve been required to do for voice and messaging since 2007. As you can imagine, Big Red and Ma Bell aren’t exactly jumping for joy at the news, with both threatening to slow expansion into niche markets if they’ll be forced to share their infrastructure. The victorious members of the FCC claim that this doesn’t constitute common carriage because the big boys still get to negotiate “commercially reasonable” rates. Considering that two dissenting commissioners say that it is, indeed, common carriage, though, and thus beyond the powers granted to the FCC, we imagine we haven’t heard the last of this debate. What happened to simply “incenting” the carriers to come to an agreement? Find statements from most every concerned party at the links below.

FCC mandates data roaming after 3-2 vote, AT&T and Verizon aren’t too happy about it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bluetrek Carbon headset hits the FCC, proves hard to damage but easy to disassemble

Bluetrek Carbon headset hits the FCC, is hard to damage but easy to disassemble

We’ve seen Bluetrek’s Bluetooth headsets be twistable, touchable, skinny, and smart. Now they’re going light — and fancy. The Bluetrek Carbon has hit the FCC, showing off a carbon fiber boom (pictured again after the break) and construction said to create an exceedingly light result. Looking at the FCC’s teardown photos it’s clear to see that the stalk there is actual carbon, not some lame appliquè and, with the body of the thing being barely wider than a micro-USB port, it shouldn’t look too gaudy hanging out of your head. There’s no mention of price or availability (the FCC doesn’t trouble itself with such matters) but we’re guessing you don’t have much time left to get your ear ready for this kind of piercing sophistication.

Continue reading Bluetrek Carbon headset hits the FCC, proves hard to damage but easy to disassemble

Bluetrek Carbon headset hits the FCC, proves hard to damage but easy to disassemble originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ubisoft’s Battle Tag lands at the FCC, we’re already out of breath

Remember when we just about passed out from exhaustion following a rather short demo of Ubisoft’s nouveau laser tag setup? Well, judging from its appearance over at the FCC, it looks like the RFID-packing Battle Tag is ready to play. Unlike some of our more fruitful dives into the commission’s archives, this one doesn’t uncover a whole lot about the product that we didn’t already know. Internal photos show an RFID reader, used to communicate with ammo packs for reloading, and a thorough examination of the game’s user manual revealed the accompanying software is compatible with Windows only. So, no, we won’t be exposing any big secrets here, but for laser tag aficionados, whoever they may be, today is a good day. A Battle Tag setup for two is now available via Ubisoft for $130.

Ubisoft’s Battle Tag lands at the FCC, we’re already out of breath originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon and MetroPCS objections to FCC net neutrality rules dismissed in case of premature litigation

The FCC wants to put new rules in place ensuring access to the web is, like justice, blind to where a person is coming from and indifferent to where on the web he is going to. Verizon’s first reaction to these new directives was to publicly decry them as overreaching, and its second was to file a lawsuit, one that was swiftly echoed by MetroPCS. Only problem with their plans? The rules haven’t yet been published in the Federal Register, which renders the legal challenges from the two eager mobile carriers “incurably” premature. Such was the determination of the US Court of Appeals, which refused to make a substantive ruling and just threw the cases out due to the technicality. Verizon isn’t discouraged, however, and promises to bide its time until all the dominoes have fallen into place before launching another legal attack. Hey, whatever keeps those lawyers in their fancy suits.

Verizon and MetroPCS objections to FCC net neutrality rules dismissed in case of premature litigation originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected

There are few things we enjoy more than seeing the glittery innards of a device splayed before us in the name of science — especially when it happens to be the CDMA version of Sony Ericsson’s Xperia Play. The Verizon bound phone made a cameo at the FCC today where it was subjected to — and passed — the usual battery of SAR tests before getting dissected. What’s intriguing about the pictures in the FCC report is that the CDMA model features the same combination SIM / microSD card slot as its GSM sibling. While some are theorizing that Verizon’s gaming handset might support LTE, we think it’s more likely that the Xperia Play uses a dual-mode CDMA / GSM radio and that the SIM slot will either remain empty and disabled in firmware or that the Xperia Play will be one of Verizon’s global offerings. Take a look at the gallery below and judge for yourself.

CDMA Xperia Play visits FCC, promptly gets dissected originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Galaxy Player 5 stops by the FCC, only takes the easy tests

Galaxy Player 5 stops by the FCC, only takes the easy tests

When you only have WiFi to worry about, testing in the foam rooms of doom at the FCC gets a little bit easier. Or so we’d imagine, anyhow. Samsung’s WiFi-only PMP, the Galaxy Player 5 (aka YP-G70, aka Galaxy Player 70), just got rubber-stamped by our favorite federal body, passing with flying colors. While we weren’t treated to any teardown antics, we do have the lovely sketch above showing you where you can find the FCC logo. It’s the thing on the pointy end of the red arrow above, a label that hopefully you’ll be able to see in person very soon.

[Thanks, James]

Galaxy Player 5 stops by the FCC, only takes the easy tests originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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