Hasta La Gadget!

Did we say Verizon would dole out $90 million in credits? It seems we spoke too soon, because the US Government is taking its cut of the carrier’s apology after charging for data that customers didn’t actually use. Verizon says it’s settled with the FCC for $25 million and will cut a check to the US Treasury, and put the remaining $52.8 million towards the bills of 15 million affected customers in the form of $2 to $6 credits each. Verizon’s not taking any blame in the matter, mind you, as it says the original data charges were “inadvertent” and caused by software pre-loaded on some phones. Yet another reason to ditch the bloatware, we suppose. PR after the break.

Continue reading Verizon sends $25 million settlement to FCC, credits customers $52.8 million for wrongful data fees

Verizon sends $25 million settlement to FCC, credits customers $52.8 million for wrongful data fees originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, well, look at what we’ve got here. It’s the promised OnLive MicroConsole TV adapter courtesy of the FCC. The MicroConsole itself, isn’t a surprise — the little box that replaces the PC or Mac and brings the streaming game service to the living room TV courtesy of an HDMI-out jack was first announced back in March with plans for a late 2010 retail delivery. What is a surprise is the discovery of an FCC test report for ZigBee 802.15.4 in addition to Bluetooth. The ZigBee mesh networking standard is most often targeted at RF applications requiring a low data rate like lighting, sensor, and power socket control nodes in home automation networks. So why the hell would OnLive be dabbling in ZigBee? OnLive’s site says that the MicroConsole uses Bluetooth to connect multiple wireless headsets. So maybe ZigBee is for the four wireless controllers (something we’ve seen before) the MicroConsole supports. We can’t say for sure, but a quick search of ZigBee’s product certification database turns up an ETRI VoZ (Voice over ZigBee) prototype capable of facilitating a ZigBee headset, microphone, and speaker. Perhaps OnLive is just doing some future proofing here or maybe they’ve got plans for some ZigBee enhanced gameplay. Unfortunately, the FCC test unit is listed as a pre-production “Pre-DV Sample” meaning it could still be awhile before the MicroConsole launches. FCC wireframe and label pictured after the break.

Continue reading OnLive MicroConsole TV Adapter clears FCC with ZigBee surprise

OnLive MicroConsole TV Adapter clears FCC with ZigBee surprise originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 04:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors of a 3.6-inch 800 x 480 Liquid Metal handset from Acer have been heating up in recent months. Now the aluminum handset said to be housing an 800MHz Qualcomm MSM7230-1 processor just cleared the FCC sporting GSM/EDGE 850/1900 and WCDMA Band II and V making it the perfect candidate for an AT&T launch. The listing also confirms Android 2.2 Froyo, GPS, Bluetooth, and 802.11b/g/n WiFi on the tested model S120 DVT2 (that’s Design Verification Test 2) prototype. With an October launch set for the UK, well, it won’t be long before we see this babe in North America. A bit of documentary evidence after the break.

Continue reading Acer Liquid Metal S120 spotted running Android 2.2 on AT&T bands in FCC

Acer Liquid Metal S120 spotted running Android 2.2 on AT&T bands in FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 01:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So the Pre 2 has been announced for SFR in France and Verizon in the States, along with an unlocked model for developers… but so far, we’d only seen one of the three in the FCC. Well, here are the other two: on the left, the P102EWW, and on the right, the P102UNA. Palm’s naming convention is a little strange, so it probably bears explaining again — the “P102” tells you that it’s a Pre 2, while “EWW” indicates CDMA and “UNA” indicates North American GSM / UMTS. From the UNA model’s filing, it would seem there isn’t any AWS capability on board, so users of T-Mobile are going to have to plod along at 2G speeds if they want to play ball. You know, Murphy’s Law and all.

Palm Pre 2 hits FCC in CDMA and North American GSM flavors originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, Vertu, where would we be without you? Richer, to be sure, but so very bored. Vertu’s QWERTY-packing Constellation Quest has just gotten the FCC’s stamp of approval, and in addition to the typical beauty shots the FCC includes, there’s also a detailed manual that shows the phone to be running some heavily skinned version of Symbian. The phone has HSDPA data and WiFi, and Vertu is even packing along a 32GB microSD card. There’s still plenty we don’t know about the phone, like when it will hit stores and how many arms and legs it will cost, but for now we’re just happy to have “cray Uncle Vertu” around for the party.

Vertu Constellation Quest shows up at the FCC, running Symbian and looking pleasantly outrageous originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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