Hasta La Gadget!

While it’s a little later than expected, the free SMS emergency notification system has now gone live. Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages will be delivered to cell towers in affected areas, which will then broadcast them to all compatible devices in their range. While the system is looking to cover over 97 percent of the country, it’s being gradually rolled out across carriers. Sprint and Verizon are both apparently ready for action and while we haven’t heard about the status of T-Mobile or AT&T, the National Weather Service has stated that hundreds of smaller carriers haven’t yet enabled the broadcasts. However, not all phones — especially the more elderly bricks still in circulation — will work with the system. To check whether your weighty cellular still passes muster, hit up the compatible device list at the CTIA link below.

FEMA and National Weather Service launch Wireless Emergency Alert System originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 22:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. Cellular has confirmed to PC Mag that it’s “excited” by the prospect of carrying Windows Phone 8 handsets when they land later this year. A PR person even went as far as saying that WP8 “will be an important part of our lineup.” The move leaves Sprint, Cricket and MetroPCS as the only major-league holdouts for the new platform — or perhaps their PR departments just aren’t as bubbly.

U.S. Cellular pledges to carry Windows Phone 8 devices in the fall originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 09:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It turns out Foursquare’s massive 5.0 revamp was just the start of the changes, as the location sharing app unveiled a new twist with the launch its Connected Apps platform. Available as a developer preview, it lets the makers of apps like Untappd, Instagram or The Weather Channel connect directly with the Foursquare app. Many apps were already connected via the API, and once users upgrade to the latest version on Android or iOS their checkins pull information from those apps into Foursquare itself. That means they get things like the weather forecast on their first check in of the day from The Weather Channel, see what songs their friends have shared at a particular location via Soundtracking or beer recommendations from Untappd. Developers can get all the info on how it works at the overview, the rest of us can see the list of enabled apps on the official blog post.

Foursquare Connected App platform lets other apps interact with check ins originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NFC’s potential uses are numerous — contactless mobile payments, automated actions and content sharing to name a few — but aside from its scattered inclusion in a limited number of handsets in the US and overseas, we’ve yet to see it truly take off. Cue Orange France. The wireless carrier’s taking a non-traditional route to spur adoption by sidestepping manufacturers and bringing the near field communication tech to all 27 million of its subscribers directly. To do this, the operator’s implementing Gemalto’s UpTeq SIM, a secure NFC solution the company claims is on par with existing chip-based implementations. Going forward, the enhanced SIMs will be standard issue for new post-paid users throughout the carrier’s home footprint, while current subs will have to contact Orange to specifically request it. Head on past the break to check out the company’s official PR.

Continue reading Orange France begins nationwide NFC SIM rollout in the name of ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’

Orange France begins nationwide NFC SIM rollout in the name of ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s surely been a crazy couple of weeks for the folks at Google. The company clearly has more new features than it can shove into a couple of lengthy keynotes — like functionality for Play that lets users update and uninstall apps by way of the My Android Apps tab in the browser-based version of the store. Check the source link below to begin your cloud-based bidding.

[Thanks, Allen]

Google Play lets you update and uninstall apps from the comfort of your browser originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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