Late last month, a screenshot surfaced indicating that the Moto X would only be available to T-Mobile customers from the Google Play Store, something that followed a tweet by the carrier’s John Legere stating the Moto X would be available this month with a hint at JUMP, both of which followed a press release stating […]
Sure, you’ve heard of virtualized computing environments before, but a start-up here at TechCrunch Disrupt called PPL Connect is a platform that virtualizes your phone’s capabilities in real-time. That means you can make and receive calls and texts and access the photos and videos on your phone from any device with a web browser. It’s kind of like AirDroid, only you don’t need to have your phone with you or even have it turned on to make calls or receive texts once you’ve signed up. It’s a platform agnostic solution for a fragmented mobile world.
The magic happens via a localized app on your phone and Amazon cloud service to dish out your data where you need it. That cloud component both serves as cloud storage for your data and as a back-end VoIP relay station for calls and texts. Currently, photos, videos, contacts, calls and texts are what’s handled by the service, but the plan is to eventually fully replicate your phone’s capabilities. For folks who are concerned about putting your digital life in the hands of PPL connect, all transmissions to and from its servers are encrypted. And, the company is currently devising a fully encrypted system whereby the data’s only accessible with a single, user-owned key.
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software, Mobile
Source: PPL Connect, Google Play
Tomorrow an Apple event will play host to the launch of what’s expected to be more than one new iPhone device as well as the formal public release of iOS 7. This mobile operating system update to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch device family was introduced earlier this year at Apple’s yearly developers conference […]
IFA 2013 has come and gone, and with the Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, various super-sized (and often curved) TVs, and a number of superlative-toting smartphones, there was no shortage of geek appeal. As ever, the Berlin tech show saw a few key themes surface, and while not everybody is necessarily ready to snap a cellphone […]
Want the Moto X experience combined with T-Mobile’s inexpensive plans? Today’s your lucky day — sort of. Motorola is now selling the promised T-Mobile version of its flagship, but only through its website at an unsubsidized $600 price. And like the Model T, you’re limited to black; the company lists the white version as “coming soon.” If you’re not deterred by the limited purchasing options, however, you can pick up a magenta-friendly Moto X at the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google, T-Mobile
Source: Motorola
It’s not a good idea to hold your smartphone in your hand while driving. It’s better to have some sort of heads-up mount where you can quickly look at items on the screen without taking your eyes off the road. While there are tons of mounts on the market, most of the ones I’ve seen are difficult to install, or cause irreversible changes to your car or mobile gadget, or are inconvenient to attach devices to. Not so with iOMounts‘ iOauto Pro mounting kit.
Its adjustable bracket installs to your car in seconds, without any need to drill holes or screw anything in place. iOauto mounts use a heavy-duty magnet to hold your device in place, which means installing and removing your gadgets takes just a second. It’s strong enough to hold all smartphones (with or without cases), GPS units, or small tablets.
This is achieved by attaching a small adhesive metal disc to the back of your mobile device. The kit includes two of these discs, which are held in place with a very strong adhesive. The disc itself is very unobtrusive and about the thickness of a credit card.
You have the choice of attaching the disc directly to your gadget, though I opted for first sticking on one of iOmount’s removable vinyl stickers on the back of my iPhone’s Mophie battery case – just in case I ever want to remove it.
Each iOauto Pro comes with a car-friendly mounting bracket from ProClip. These are custom-made to fit individual makes, models and years of cars. In my case, the bracket attached neatly to a gap in the dashboard on the bottom edge, and hooked into the A/C vent on the top. Fitting the mount to the car takes seconds. There’s a small adhesive strip on each end of the bracket to help hold it in place, but it doesn’t leave any permanent marks.
Once in place in your car, attaching your device is just a matter of holding it in front of the iOauto until it clicks in place. This creates an unbelievably stable and strong grip for your gadget. With my iOauto mount in place, I took a couple of long road trips – at high speeds and with the top down on my convertible, and the bracket didn’t flinch. Not even Chicago’s most evil speed bumps or potholes made my phone move.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the iOauto Pro is its clever magnetic ball-joint style design. This allows you to position your device at whatever angle you want, or switch from landscape to portrait modes without detaching your gadget.
It works quite brilliantly. And if you’re wondering if magnets can damage your gadget, nope. As long as your device doesn’t contain a magnetic hard drive, you’re all good. Since 99% of today’s mobile devices use solid state storage, you should be fine.
The iOauto Pro is available now for $80(USD), including a ProClip mount for your vehicle of choice. There’s also a less expensive version that forgoes the angle control, but I think the extra $10 for the Pro mount is worth it, so you can angle your gadgets exactly how you like.
We’ve seen AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon commit to releasing the LG G2 this fall… but where’s Sprint’s version? Don’t worry, fans, the carrier hasn’t forgotten you. Sprint now says it will take pre-orders for the $200 Android flagship starting on October 11th, with a release “in time for the holidays.” In return for the wait, the provider is giving out free QuickWindow covers to everyone who pre-orders a G2 through its website. We doubt that the gift will quell the jealousy of Sprint customers whose friends get a G2 weeks in advance, but the more patient among those subscribers can register their interest at the source link.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint, LG
Source: Sprint
Remember when Samsung’s big-screened Galaxy Note line was considered niche? Those days are long gone. JK Shin now says that the company has sold more than 38 million Note smartphones since the original launched in late 2011. That’s 28 million more than Samsung reported a year ago; for context, Nokia has sold a total of 27.3 million Lumia smartphones as of its latest earnings report. Not surprisingly, Shin sees a bright future ahead for the Galaxy Note 3. He expects Samsung to sell over 10 million units of the third-generation handset, and history suggests that the tech giant could easily reach that goal despite an abundance of competition.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung
Source: ETNews
Checking on your baby’s vitals can be a tedious job, especially if your little bundle of joy is outside of arm’s reach, or even worse, not even in the same room. Sure – you could install a baby monitor to see what your baby is up to, but wouldn’t you like to know your baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels and overall body temperature? Now you can be the overly protective parent you’ve always wanted to be thanks to the Owlet. (more…)
The Owlet Baby Bootie Helps Monitor Your Baby’s Vitals From Your Smartphone original content from Ubergizmo. 
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Another week, another Lumia. This latest grenade thrown by Nokia in its continued assault on the smartphone market is the Lumia 625. Following up on its previous high-end devices — the good-looking one, the one with the fancy camera — the 625 is a soldier of lower rank. There’s already an army of budget Windows Phones that fill various niches, so what’s the deal? Well, despite the number on its dog tag, the 625 is far from a Lumia 620 variant: it’s a completely different phone. For starters, it sports the biggest screen of any Lumia to date (for now, anyway). Actually, make that any Nokia phone ever made. But the real reason it exists has nothing to do with the display size; it’s all about the 4G radio hiding away inside. Does LTE, plus a big screen and eyebrow-raising price tag, make it worth your while, though?%Gallery-slideshow79311%
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft, Nokia
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