Hasta La Gadget!

Ah, France, the land where your boss is no longer allowed to contact you by email once you have clocked out from the office. Of course, a whole lot of that remains as theory, as enforcing it is going to be a whole lot trickier than expected. While Japan is the country with the highest number of vending machines per capita, this does not mean that other countries, too, are able to have some of the more unique vending machines to serve the masses. Take France for example – Operator Free Mobile, famous for their extremely cheap phone contracts, will enable one to pick up a contract from a vending machine kiosk in a matter of minutes.

Such a machine will follow up your registration by spitting out a mini-, micro- or nano-SIM card that has already been activated, where all you need to do then is to place it into an unlocked phone and you’re good to go. Of course, this is not the first SIM card vending machine in the world, but it happens to be a unique one simply by the fact that it offers an all-inclusive, ready-to-go package from a major mobile carrier. That ought to count for something, no?

France Offers Phone Contract Via Vending Machines , original content from Ubergizmo, Filed in Cellphones, sim,

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You still can’t power on your smartphone across the pond in London and expect to pay the same fees you do back in New York, but several offerings make it cheaper to get online across the globe. One of our favorites, KeepGo (formerly iPhoneTrip), has been our preferred method for browsing the web in Canada, Cambodia, and everywhere in between. But daily rates do add up, and that service requires that you swap in a separate SIM, tucking your primary card away until you’re back on your contracted network’s home turf. KnowRoaming, a new player in this space, has an even more appealing option, however. That firm’s SIM “stickers” include all the electronics in a thin film that you can attach to any SIM card using the included applicator. The sticker sits dormant in your unlocked phone when you’re at home, but once you cross a border, the service prompts you to jump onto a local network, bypassing your original SIM in the process.

Filed under: Wireless

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Source: KnowRoaming

HTC is getting into the Developer Edition trend — a compromise necessary since CEO Peter Chou’s plan to stop locking bootloaders entirely didn’t stick — as it’s announced tonight that a variant of its new One that will be available with both SIM and bootloader unlocked. Due to arrive in the US at the same time as the standard carrier versions, it will keep the same powerful specs and slick design (no, the case is not transparent) we loved in our review, but without the restrictions. One thing it’s missing? AWS HSPA/WCDMA access, which should limit its opportunities on T-Mobile until it rolls out LTE service. The price is $649 up front and it will ship in “limited quantities,” so we’d figure that’s just one more thing to keep in mind before the next Galaxy S is announced on Thursday.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, HTC

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Source: HTC Blog

Being based in Canada means that I’m often traveling for work, and that means fiddling with SIM cards. A new Kickstarter project from the same people who brought you the X-Wing joke campaign proposes to make keeping track of those SIMs and navigating international border-crossing much easier, with a simple design that adds a couple of simple twists to a basic low-profile iPhone case design.

Unlike the X-Wing squadron project, the SIMPLcase, as creators Simon Kwan and Ed Dean call their latest project, isn’t a joke. It’s a minimalist case (which adds just 3mm to the iPhone 5 at its thickest point) that houses a SIM tray capable of holding up to three SIMs (in addition to the one inside your phone) as well as an ejector tool. It also has a groove in the back which, combined with any credit, debit or ID card, helps transform it into a basic stand for propped-up portrait or landscape viewing.

The SIM and ejector tray is rubber to better grip those tiny fiddly components and make sure they don’t get lost, and the cases all ship with an ejector tool compatible with the iPhone in case you’ve misplaced your original (it’s remarkably easy to do). And while the initial project will be designed for iPhone 5, there also exists an iPhone 4/4S prototype, which the guys plan to put in production should there prove to be enough demand to justify it.

Ed and Simon know a thing or two about tripping around the world. They met working in the same shared office space in Shanghai, after growing up in London, England and Boston respectively. Both have ample experience in graphic design and product development, and first-hand knowledge of supply chain logistics, meaning they have the know-how to deliver on their project timeline of a June 2013 anticipated ship date.

Is there enough demand out there for an iPhone case aimed specifically at world travelers? That remains to be seen, but given that SIMPLcase is only looking for $20,000 in backer money, with pre-orders starting at just $12 and including free shipping anywhere in the world (cheaper than a lot of brand-name slim cases), I don’t think they’ll have that much trouble selling out the first batch, if only to satisfy the needs of people like me who perfectly fit the niche market they’re targeting.

Sometimes, a patent grant is less about the technology itself than what it could mean for others. Case in point: a newly granted Apple patent for a “mini-SIM connector.” The design complements earlier work and represents a straightforward approach to a SIM slot that prevents damage from inserting the card the wrong way and ejects the card through a plunger system. By securing the patent, however, Apple gains a bargaining chip in phone technology disputes, especially for SIM-related tussles; companies are less likely to start a fight if Apple can return fire. The claim doesn’t give Apple a lock on subscriber modules by any means, but it could lead to other adopters treading carefully.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

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Source: USPTO