Hasta La Gadget!

While it’s only the nation’s eighth largest carrier, US Cellular is said to be well on its way to covering 87 percent of its customer base — that’s more than 3,800 additional cities and towns — with the sweet speed of LTE by the end of 2013. In a statement released today, the carrier said “select cities” in California, Kansas and Nebraska will see US Cellular-flavored LTE for the first time. They include Lincoln and Omaha in Nebraska, Manhattan in Kansas, and Eureka and Ukiah in California. Existing LTE areas in Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin will expand to other cities as well. That’s an increase of about 26 percent since its last LTE outbreak, though US Cellular has not yet revealed the exact timeline of these rollouts just yet. In the meantime, we’d check US Cellular’s 4G coverage map to see if you’re in one of the speed-blessed zones. Just don’t hit that F5 button too often, eh?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: Fierce Wireless

Source: US Cellular

Google Now holds a place for artwork, but it hasn’t had much visual variety outside of major cities — there’s only so many times you can see a generic mountain landscape before boredom sets in. To our (admittedly mild) relief, Google has quietly spiced up the area for certain users. At least some of us running Jelly Bean now see an optimized version of the latest Google Doodle while we’re busy dictating a search. Not everyone who’s technically capable is seeing the Doodle at this stage, so don’t be disheartened if there’s still a generic backdrop. If the daily image becomes more ubiquitous, though, we’ll have an extra reason to come back to Google Now for more than just weather or sports scores.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google

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Source: Android Central

Apple’s iOS and Microsoft Exchange Server have been cronies for quite awhile now, but since iOS 6 there’s been some issues. The latest rift is a version 6.1 recurring calendar event bug that causes “excessive communication” if you respond to an exception error. Cupertino’s identified the problem and says a fix is incoming, though it didn’t specify exactly when — and iOS 6.1.1 just hit devices to fix network connectivity issues, so it may not be imminent. Meanwhile, Apple advises that you not respond to the exception and to disable, then enable any Exchange calendars that run amok — which should keep you BYOD-ing in the interim.

Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Apple

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Via: The Verge

Source: Apple

Mountain View has silently been updating Google Now for a while — throwing in a pedometer, some travel tools and even limited desktop support. A premature update to the feature’s support page has revealed what’s next: widgets. The proposed tool promises to give your Now cards a suitable abode on your device’s home or lock screens, presenting a summary of your card selection at a glance. A single tap will dive directly into the full Google Now experience, offering you a better look at the corresponding deets. We aren’t sure when or even how this feature will land, but it’s sure to be a welcome addition when it does. After all, it’s all about getting the right information at the right time.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Google

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Via: Android Central

Source: Google

Rogers has had an unlocking policy in place for awhile, but it isn’t what most would call reasonable: an unlock isn’t even an option until the contract is over, which could involve a 3-year wait and obsolete hardware that isn’t worth the effort. Logic is about to prevail, thanks in part to pressure from proposed CRTC guidelines on customer rights. A policy change in March will see Rogers unlock devices as long as they’ve been on the network for at least 90 days, delivering freedom while the equipment is still relevant. Subscribers will just have to swallow the $50 fee, although that’s a relative bargain next to buying outright.

The provider is also making a gesture of goodwill to those who frequently cross into the US through a new roaming add-on launching this spring. Border-hoppers will have the option to pay $8 to get a quick, 50MB hit of data for one day. It’s not quite the revolution the carrier claims when many of us could blow past the limit within minutes — Instagram, anyone? Still, it’s good enough for emergency directions or an email check among those of us who won’t commit to a permanent roaming plan.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Source: Rogers