Hasta La Gadget!

Finally. A bit of closure. AT&T has confirmed the long-lived speculation of its policy to unlock in-contract iPhones for our military men and women deployed overseas. To qualify for the complimentary service, active military members must have an account in good standing and provide the carrier with deployment verification — that’s it, no other hoops to jump through.

The revelation was made today as part AT&T’s new Device Unlock Portal, which allows off-contract iPhone owners to apply online to have their handsets unlocked. Previously, this unlock service was available only through the carrier’s retail outlets, online chat support or by dialing 611. As a quick rehash of the non-military policy, all users — either current or former AT&T subscribers — must have completed their contractual obligations to AT&T, and the phone cannot be flagged as lost or stolen. All those eligible should certainly apply for the service, as an unlocked iPhone is infinitely more useful when traveling abroad — a reality that deployed military members know all too well.

[Military photo via Shutterstock]

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

Confirmed: AT&T offers complimentary unlock of in-contract iPhones for deployed military personnel originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canadians have had fairly limited options for LTE-based 4G if they didn’t want to turn to the three main carrier brands: they could go to a Bell-owned Virgin Mobile, and that’s it. While there isn’t a truly independent LTE carrier yet, Rogers’ lower-cost Fido label has just taken its promised LTE access live to at least offer some competition among the smaller names in the field. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, St. John’s, Toronto and Vancouver can immediately hop on the network at speeds of up to 100Mbps. Bring-your-own-device users don’t have to pay a premium to get the faster speeds, although there’s currently little choice in hardware if you want to buy straight from the source: the lone LTE device on offer is Sierra Wireless’ AirCard 763S hotspot, which costs $50 on a two-year contract. The flexible rate data-only plan also isn’t the greatest deal, starting at $22 for a gone-in-five-minutes 100MB per month to $92 for 9GB. All the same, light data users in the True North will be glad to know they don’t have to be relegated to 3G to save a few dollars.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking, Mobile

Fido switches on LTE, gives Canadians a taste of slightly more budget-minded 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rumors about the new iPhone have basically everything but the screen shrinking. That includes the SIM card and its ejectable drawer. French site NoWhereElse scored some photos of what it claims is the new tray, alongside the 4S version for comparison. As you can clearly see, the new SIM slot is narrower and the insert has a slightly different cosmetic design. If the part turns out to be legit, it will hardly come as a surprise. Apple made a big push for a nano-SIM standard to be adopted over competing designs from Nokia, RIM and Motorola. If the rumors and Cupertino’s reliable refresh schedule hold up, you wont have to wait long to find out for sure. The next iPhone is expected to be announced next month. Hit up the source link for a few more photos.

The next iPhone’s nano-SIM cradle allegedly leaked originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poland and Germany could be the next two countries to get smartphone payments, powered by MasterCard and Deutsche Telekom. The SIM-based NFC solution will utilize the US bank’s ClickandBuy service for processing and will be available to T-Mobile customers, rolling out to Poland in Q3 of this year and Germany in 2013. This latest partnership comes on the heels of Vodafone’s pairing with Visa, which is also said to be making a push for the German market. What remains to be seen is whether or not there is in fact a demand for mobile payments — the technology has yet to take off in the US, despite an influx of funding and infrastructure from MasterCard and Google. NFC is no doubt the future of cashless transactions, but it likely remains a few years away from hitting the mainstream, with compatible devices still limited, on both the customer and retail fronts. Hit up the links below for a closer look at DT’s push to conquer the European market, one NFC-equipped SIM card at a time. Then jump past the break for a quick intro, compliments of Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann and MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga (the two seemingly random gentlemen that you may have noticed above as well).

Continue reading MasterCard and T-Mobile to bring NFC payments to Europe in Q3 (video)

MasterCard and T-Mobile to bring NFC payments to Europe in Q3 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 09:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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