Hasta La Gadget!

Unlike regular mobile networks, virtual operators — or MVNOs — have none of those expensive cellular infrastructures to worry about. Newcomer, Solavei, (which rides atop T-Mobile) is using this freedom to focus in on its business model. Just out of beta, the provider is offering unlimited voice, text and data for $49 per month, or free. Free? Well, if you’re silver-tongued enough to talk friends and family into signing up, too, you’ll get $20 kickback a month for every three — or “trio” as the marketing calls it — that you convince. There are other bonuses and chances to earn money — all obviously aimed at spreading the network’s audience, and offsetting the lower overheads. You can also use your own unlocked phone, or buy one of the three that Solavei currently offers (HTC One X, Wildfire S and ZTE Origin). This isn’t the first time we’ve seen such philanthropic approaches, and it might smack a little bit of MLM, but if your after an all-you-can eat mobile deal, and have a large group of friends, this could be a nice little earner. Still not sold? Perhaps the feel-good corporate video after the break will switch that up.

Continue reading Solavei MVNO will pay you when your friends sign up, $49 a month all-in for those without any

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Solavei MVNO will pay you when your friends sign up, $49 a month all-in for those without any originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Sep 2012 06:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LTE handsets? Sprint’s got ’em. And while the carrier’s network deployment may be, well, a bit lacking at present, plenty of Now Network subscribers have been happy to pick up devices boasting the speedy technology. Speaking at a conference in New York, CEO Dan Hesse noted that Sprint has moved some one million LTE devices — a number that’s likely to keep growing, as the carrier continues to roll out coverage.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

Sprint marks 1 million LTE devices sold originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ping, Apple’s foray into music-centric social networking, hasn’t seen much in the way of updates since it was announced two years ago, and now the folks in Cupertino are set to shut it down on September 30th. Struck with the sudden urge to sign-up for the service and take it for a spin before it goes offline? You’re out of luck. Visiting the network’s home in iTunes reveals that Cook and Co. are no longer accepting new members. From here on out, you’ll just have to find other avenues to keep tabs on what tunes are playing within your social circles.

Filed under: Internet, Software

Ping going dark on September 30th, no longer accepting new members originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Syabas has announced the latest iteration of its Popcorn Hour media player, the A-400. Like the models before it, this is a networked player that allows for easy media playback (especially in the case of local content), but unlike the models before it, this one can boast support for 3D video. It also brings a number of “studio-quality” video processing features to the table, including adaptive detail and contrast enhancement along with adaptive debanding.

You can connect the A-400 to your network through its Gigabit Ethernet port, but a Wi-Fi dongle is also available separately if you want to go wireless. The A-400 comes equipped with an SD card slot, an HMDI 1.4 connector, and an eSATA port to make local media playback easier, and you can upgrade the player with a 2.5 or 3.5-inch HDD or SSD to turn the A-400 into something of an external storage device for your content. Not too bad, but the media player seems to be lacking a Blu-Ray drive, a feature that will be sorely missed by some.

Once you’ve got your A-400 connected to the Internet, you can access the Syabas Apps Market, which contains “over 90 free and premium TV apps,” just in case you find your streaming options to be lacking. The whole thing is run by Sigma Design’s Dual Core 800Mhz SMP 8911 chipset, which should give you the power you need when you take advantage of the A-400′s 3D playback capabilities. As if that wasn’t enough, it seems that Syabas is considering tossing a USB 3.0 port into the mix before the player launches.

As for when that will be, we don’t have a specific answer yet. The Popcorn Hour A-400 is slated to launch in Europe sometime next month, and will come sporting a price tag of €289. For the moment, it seems that this is only scheduled for a European launch, but it probably won’t be long before the A-400 makes its way to the US. Stay tuned for more information.

Popcorn Hour A-400 media player unveiled by Syabas is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

If you’ve ever thought “Hey, my internet is pretty slow, maybe I can get a second line and combine them into one big, zippy connection!” then you’re not alone — those of us who are broadband-deprived need all the help we can get. But a quick tour through Google will show you the difficulty of doing that process, called “bonding,” at home. So, Connectify has proposed Dispatch, software that lets you easily combine your WiFi, ethernet and 3G/4G into a single, fat pipe, at a reasonable cost. The company brings along wireless sharing know-how from its Hotspot product to the project, and promises that with every connection you combine, you’ll get a corresponding bump in throughput. Also, the system will automatically failover to a good connection if one goes on the fritz, and even switch automatically between WiFi and 3G/4G to maximize speed and save money.

To prove the tech, the company combined all the available open WiFi networks in a neighborhood along with a tethered Verizon mobile phone, and were able to create an impressive 85Mbs connection, as the video below the break shows. So far, Connectify has vacuumed up $30K for Dispatch toward the $50K objective, with about two weeks left. So, if you’re desperate for more speed, or just want to trump your neighbor’s bandwidth by stealing his WiFi and melding it with your ADSL, check the source to see how to pledge.

Continue reading Insert Coin: Connectify Dispatch lets you put all your internets together into one big internet (video)

Filed under: Internet

Insert Coin: Connectify Dispatch lets you put all your internets together into one big internet (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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