Hasta La Gadget!

Italian regulator AGCM is clearly on a short fuse with Apple. After issuing a €900,000 fine ($1.1 million) to Apple for not properly offering the free 2-year warranty required by national law, the agency is now warning the iPhone maker that it could face a temporary exile — and we don’t mean to Elba. On top of an additional €300,000 ($377,490) potential fine, Apple now faces as much as a 30-day shutdown of all its Italian business for allegedly doing too little to tell customers they don’t always need AppleCare for extended coverage. Having lost its appeal on the original fine, Apple’s main buffer is a 30-day window to address the complaints before the hammer drops. We have yet to see if Apple will tweak its policies in time, but it’s hard to believe the American firm will risk even the momentary closure of an important European wing.

Apple may get the Italian boot, has 30 days to push a 2-year warranty for locals originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Things aren’t looking good for RIM, but the company needs to move ahead if it wants to try to survive in such a competitive market. BlackBerryOS have gotten their hands on RIM’s roadmap going forward, which shows several BlackBerry devices planned for release. The first is the elusive 4G version of the BlackBerry PlayBook. Rumors have indicated that this device has been on the cards for a while, and the slide shows it’ll hopefully be landing in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, two BlackBerry 10 devices will be released in the first quarter of next year, the London and the Nevada. We’ve seen hints of both devices previously, with the London being an all touchscreen device and the Nevada sporting a portrait QWERTY keyboard. Interestingly, those devices will launch in Europe before heading to the United States.

After that, the BlackBerry PlayBook will see an update to BlackBerry 10, with three new devices planned. The first is a device codenamed “Nashville”, coming in Q2/Q3 2013; then, a 10-inch PlayBook codenamed “Blackforest” will make an appearance in Q3; finally, another BlackBerry device called “Naples” will land in Q3/Q4. The exact details surrounding Nashville and Naples aren’t clear.

It’s good to see RIM is thinking ahead, but the company will be facing strong competition from every direction. RIM recent financials showed a $518 million loss, with the company announcing a delay of BlackBerry 10 to the first quarter of next year and an additional 5,000 jobs needing to be cut. Year on year, the company saw a 43% drop in revenue.

[via Electronista]

Leaked BlackBerry 10 roadmap reveals 2013 plans is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

There’s no shortage of navigation outdoors, and even a little bit of help indoors, but there’s been precious little aid for the blind indoors — leaving them little choice but to move cautiously or get outside help. Fujitsu and Japan’s NICT have crafted a system that gives the sightless a greater level of autonomy inside through ultrawideband-based impulse radio. A grid of UWB radios positioned around a room gauge the distances between each other and transmit the data to a PC, which then talks to the traveler’s Android phone. The device then gives spoken directions based on a 12-o’clock system and far subtler distances than GPS can manage: the positioning is accurate to within a foot. While the indoors navigation is only just getting a demo this week, it’s already being refined to detect objects in the room as well as to help even the fully sighted. If Fujitsu and NICT have their way, buildings ranging from hospitals to malls will have their own turn-by-turn navigation. For some, the freedom of movement could be a life-changer.

Fujitsu, NICT create indoor navigation for the blind using ultrawideband, Android phones, kind hearts originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 00:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC has been fighting to get a better relationship with US carriers lately, and it may have just chosen a clever (if roundabout) approach: hire one of their executives. As of today, AT&T’s former phone portfolio VP Mike Woodward is now HTC’s president of its North American division, reporting directly to worldwide sales head Jason Mackenzie. The new position won’t necessarily get him any privileged access, but it certainly gives HTC someone who’s well versed in what carriers want out of a device launch. We’ll have to wait awhile to see what Woodward’s strategy will be; suffice it to say that the company wants more One X-level anticipation and fewer of those bumpy, Inspire 4G-like releases.

Continue reading HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president

HTC picks former AT&T exec Mike Woodward as North American president originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Another day, another mobile payments system, and this time it’s Deutsche Telekom and MasterCard inking a deal to roll out first a card/tag approach, followed by a true mobile wallet. The deal will see Poland get the system initially, later this year, followed by Germany; the initial system will use cards and tags for more low-tech payments, but in early 2013 that will be joined by a smartphone-based system.

Meanwhile, the mobile wallet service will also be thrown open to other issuing banks and partners, and both firms have broader European intentions that cover more of the carrier’s 93m mobile customers. The MasterCard product will be issued by ClickandBuy.

Unlike some systems, Deutsche Telekom and MasterCard will use a SIM-based approach for their mobile wallet. Functionality will include a text message receipt of each transaction, though we’re guessing that there’ll be some sort of phone app for checking balance and shopping history too, depending on platform. Coupons will definitely be supported, and the carrier will be installing NFC-enabled payment terminals in stores so as to boost the number of places the system is accepted.

Mobile payments continue to be the nut to crack, with various approaches to the marketplace. Google is reportedly working on its second-gen Wallet system, while Windows Phone 8 will include support for mobile payments over NFC. MasterCard is already working with other partners, most recently demonstrating the PayPass payment system on the Galaxy S II.

However, it could take Apple’s entry to the ecosystem to make a dent in it. The iPhone 5, expected to be launched later in 2012, is believed to include NFC for mobile payments.

MasterCard and Deutsche Telekom reveal Euro mobile payment plans is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.