Hasta La Gadget!

We didn’t spot this one at CES where the phone-like RMC30D and standard remotes were the only options, but it looks like Samsung has an alternative Bluetooth remote planned for its Smart TVs (but not any Google TV products judging by that Yahoo! button on the remote side) that features standard buttons on one side and a full QWERTY keyboard on the other, much like the Boxee Box’s remote. Judging by the ruler in the remarkably unflattering FCC photos, this one appears to be a bit larger and it’s not immediately clear what that display on the QWERTY side is for. Obviously, if there’s any chance users will be logging into their various Twitter or Comcast/Time Warner accounts on the TV they’ll need something better than T9 to do it, but we’ll have to wait to get our hands on this one to know if it’s an improvement. Check the gallery for a few more pictures, we’d expect some kind of announcement on the RMC-QTD1 before Samsung’s 2011 line of TVs hit stores.

Samsung’s new dual-sided QWERTY remote for Smart TVs revealed by the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 23:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The FCC’s been looking to establish a nationwide public safety network since the early days of the infamous 700MHz spectrum auction, and while it never quite accomplished that task, the commission has made a small but important step — it’s unanimously decided that Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be the one ring that binds all future chunks of public safety radio band. Of course, this wasn’t a terribly hard decision for the FCC to make, as major commercial cellular carriers and a number of regional public safety agencies have already invested in LTE equipment for the 700MHz band… and the decision doesn’t yet specify a voice standard. All that’s been decided upon is how those countless packets of data will float over the air. How will disparate groups of first responders communicate with one another in the event of a national emergency? That’s what the organization is asking you right now — feel free to contact the FCC anytime within the next 45 days with your proposal.

Continue reading FCC unanimously approves LTE standard for nationwide public safety network

FCC unanimously approves LTE standard for nationwide public safety network originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 22:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mobile body area network (MBAN) technology has the potential to be a boon to the healthcare system of the future by enabling remote patient monitoring through disposable wireless devices — meaning fewer doctor visits for everyone and great news for latrophobes. Until now, MBAN was opposed by the Aerospace & Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) because it utilizes the same radio bands that aircraft manufacturers do when they’re testing new planes. AFTRCC didn’t want all that medical chatter “polluting their spectrum” but decided to get on board with MBAN when the health care industry promised to create a way to stop signals that disrupt aeronautical traffic. MBAN is a part of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan and purports to use short-length radio waves (not unlike Bluetooth) in the 2300 and 2400 MHz range to transmit physiological info to treating physicians — as opposed to other patient monitors that use web-based communications. MBAN would initially be used in hospitals but could later find its way into residential use by employing home entertainment systems (Wii Fit integration, here we come!) to collect and transmit data. With the FCC expected to decide on the final rules for MBAN later this year, the Intel Health Guide may have some company in the at-home patient monitoring business. We can only hope that the next time the aeronautic and health care industries combine forces, it will take the form of jetpack-wearing doctors making house calls.

Health care and aeronautics industries agree that FCC should set aside bandwidth for dedicated remote patient monitoring system originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s gone to the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC today to officially take issue with the net neutrality policy that the FCC laid out in the waning moments of 2010, saying that it’s “deeply concerned by the FCC’s assertion of broad authority for sweeping new regulation of broadband networks and the Internet itself.” The company’s extremely brief press release on the matter doesn’t detail where their issues lie, specifically, but they’d said back in December that they had concerns, so the move doesn’t come as a terribly big surprise. If we had to guess, the no-blocking rules surrounding wireless networks are certainly high on that list of concerns — Verizon and others have long said that wireless needs to be left largely out of the net neutrality debate — but we won’t know until we’re able to dig into the court case. Follow the break for the press release.

Continue reading Verizon appeals FCC’s net neutrality rules

Verizon appeals FCC’s net neutrality rules originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No huge surprise here, but the FCC just approved Comcast’s purchase of NBC Universal by a 4-1 vote. Details of the ruling aren’t out yet, but FCC chairman Julius Genachowski had been pushing for strong regulations forbidding Comcast from cutting itself sweetheart deals on NBC content or prioritizing its own video traffic on its pipes, so we’d assume that’s part of the agreement here. The only nay vote was from Commissioner Michael Copps, who said the deal “opens the door to the cable-ization of the open Internet.” Ouch. We’ll let you know when we find out exactly what the FCC’s actual conditions are — and keep in mind this deal won’t be wrapped until the Justice Department weighs in, which is expected to happen next week. Can we say it? Oh, we’re going to say it: stay tuned!

Update: That was fast, as Comcast/NBCU announced it’s received permission from the Justice Department as well. Check out the triumphant press release after the break or scour the official site for more details on what conditions may have applied. There will also be a conference call at 4 p.m. so let us know what else you may be interested in finding out before then. So far details include a promise of a “focused mechanism for online video providers to obtain access to certain NBC Universal content,” and that the newly formed entity will retain its economic stake in Hulu, while giving up its voting and board representation rights.

Continue reading FCC approves Comcast’s purchase of NBC (Update: Justice Department too, it’s done)

FCC approves Comcast’s purchase of NBC (Update: Justice Department too, it’s done) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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