Hasta La Gadget!

Watch out, Richard Yu! Not long after the China launch of the 6.1-inch Huawei Ascend Mate earlier today, the notorious @evleaks tweeted out the above two press shots of an Ascend G700, as well as referring to an old tweet from the often reliable @paopao0128 (of Blog of Mobile fame) who suggested the G700 will feature Android 4.2, a quad-core MediaTek MT6589 SoC (as opposed to the quad-core Huawei HiSilicon K3V2 chip on the Ascend Mate and the Ascend D2), an “HD” LCD (our money’s on 720p only, like the leaked G710) and both WCDMA and TD-SCDMA flavors.

Another fresh G700 leak we found shows a hands-on photo obtained from Sina Weibo (which has since been deleted, but it’s also right after the break), and it also mentions that the phone will have a 5-inch display plus 2GB of RAM. There’s no info on pricing, but the careless leakster on Weibo reminded us that the budget-minded G series devices never go over ¥2,000 or about $320 unsubsidized. To put that into perspective, the quad-core, 5-inch full-HD D2 is currently available for almost twice as many yuans. Well, it shouldn’t be long before Chinese consumers get yet another 5-inch device to stuff their pockets.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: @paopao0128 (Twitter), @evleaks (Twitter), Baidu Tieba

We can’t say that most attempts to replicate the landline experience with a wireless link have panned out — Verizon Hub, anyone? AT&T is wagering that it can overcome some of that hesitance with new prepaid tiers for Wireless Home Phone. Those who plug their wired phones into the $100 cellular hub can now pay only for those times they want pseudo-traditional service, whether it’s $20 per month for unlimited US-wide calls or $15 for 1,000 minutes of international long distance. It’s hard to make a case for the new Wireless Home Phone option when many of us already have cellphones, but we can see its uses: think snowbirds or apartment dwellers who want a cheap, traditional phone option that will follow them around for a few months at a time. If you haven’t (or can’t) cut the cord entirely, AT&T may have the next best thing.

Filed under: Wireless, AT&T

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Source: AT&T

You can’t completely pigeonhole Skype when it serves both as a partial substitute for traditional phone service and an instant messaging service with voice and video on top. Unfortunately, French telecom regulator ARCEP doesn’t trade in ambiguities. It’s launching an investigation into Skype after the Microsoft-owned division reportedly ignored requests to register itself as a telecom provider in the country. The authority is concerned that Skype is offering phone service without following local laws, including requirements to offer emergency calls and avenues for legal wiretaps. We’ve reached out to Skype for its side of the story, although there’s no certainty that ARCEP will have to take action, regardless — Skype has long disclaimed that it’s not a full phone replacement and won’t work for true emergencies. If France asks for compliance, however, Skype may have to either solve a seemingly unsolvable problem or face withdrawing at least some of its services. We wouldn’t count on always having VoIP in Versailles.

Update: A Skype spokesperson answered back, and the company’s view is clear: it doesn’t believe that its service fits the definition of a communication provider under French law and thus doesn’t have to be registered. Skype adds that it’s been talking with ARCEP and plans to keep that up in a “constructive” fashion, although there clearly hasn’t been much progress on that front. Read the full response after the break.

[Image credit: Alexandre Vialle, Flickr]

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Via: New York Times

Source: ARCEP (translated)

A patent application has just revealed that Google is going to be implementing rear-touch controls for its future Android smartphones. The patent is similar to a patent filed by Apple in 2006, which it planned on using to implement the rear-touch feature in its future iPads. However, it’s been 7 years since Apple was granted the patent, and yet there are still no iPads with rear-touch controls. Perhaps Apple will begin production on that project now that Google is gunning for it too.

The rear-touch controls will allow users to navigate through various content. They will be able to flip through pages in a magazine or an e-book, navigate through their music selection by skipping or replaying their songs, scroll around through web pages, and more. There are a ton of possibilities that can come with rear-touch controls, and most will be utilized in order to create a much more pleasant one-handed user experience.

While Google has just received its patent, and Apple had the patent since 2006, they’re still way behind Sony. Sony was the first to implement rear-touch controls in its PlayStation Vita device. The device utilizes the rear-touch feature in many games. The touch-pad is used in many games to perform tasks like lobbing grenades, performing silent kills, controlling the camera, selecting multiple targets, navigating through maps, and more.

Google will not be limiting rear-touch controls on just Android smartphones however. It says that it may bring it to its Android tablets and Chromebook as well. Hopefully Google follows through with implementing its rear-touch controls, unlike Apple. We could see the use of rear-touch controls be used in so many ways other than just flipping a page. Developers would probably have a field day with the feature, integrating it within their apps and their games for a much better user experience.

[via Patent Bolt]

Google patents rear-touch controls 6 years after Apple is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
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Admittedly, many of us here at Engadget have never really had the opportunity to touch a Vertu phone (KIRFs don’t count, of course), as the pressure of stepping into a posh Vertu store without the cash can be rather unnerving. That said, over the weekend Vertu launched its Android-powered TI in Hong Kong, and the British company was gracious enough to let us get up close and personal with all four flavors of its latest luxury device. Verdict? Well, please kindly ask your butler to read on after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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