Smartphone startup Jolla will open up sales of its Sailfish OS handset to pre-booking customers from today, the company has confirmed, with initial deliveries expected to begin in December. The new phone – which will also go on sale later this month at physical stores in Finland – is priced at the equivalent of around […]
The iPhone 5s has been available for several months now inside the United States, and here near the end of November of 2013 we’re seeing the first push of an unlocked, off-contract iteration of the smartphone. This device has been available off-contract inside the USA previous to today, but until now we’ve not seen the […]
Dropbox may be late to the iOS 7 app update party, but it’s making up for lost time with an abundance of new features in the just-launched version 3.0 release for Apple’s platform. The refresh brings the expected iOS 7-friendly look and includes AirDrop, making it easy to share links or whole files with nearby friends. It’s also easier to send files to other apps or save videos to the device library, and iPad owners can quickly open files in a full-screen view. If your cloud storage revolves around Dropbox, we’d strongly recommend swinging by the App Store for an upgrade.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Storage, Internet, Mobile
Source: App Store, Dropbox Blog
Among the many surprise costs that annoy cellphone owners, unwanted text message service fees can be the worst; they’re hard to stop, and not always worth the effort. Those fees may not irk many US subscribers after today, though — AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile now stop “problematic” premium SMS services from billing their customers. Donations and those all-important talent show votes will still go through. Verizon isn’t part of today’s announcements, although the company’s General Counsel William Petersen tells us that Big Red is already “winding down” premium SMS services. There’s a good chance that these shady messagers will simply change tactics, but they’ll at least have a tougher time scamming phone owners.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile
Source: Vermont Attorney General, T-Mobile
While the FAA has cleared the use of electronics on US passenger airplanes at all stages of flight, there’s still one major restriction in place: you have to shut off all cellular access. That rule may not exist for much longer if the FCC has its way, according to sources for the Wall Street Journal. The agency will reportedly use its December meeting to propose letting passengers make phone calls and use cellular data whenever they’re flying above 10,000 feet. Don’t be too eager to start chatting in mid-air, though. The FCC hasn’t publicly confirmed the proposal, and any new policy wouldn’t be mandatory — carriers could still ask for radio silence, and special equipment would need to be installed in order for each plane to communicate with towers on the ground. If implemented, though, the relaxed rules could make your phone’s airplane mode seem like more of a relic than a necessity.
Update: Chairman Tom Wheeler has issued a statement about the earlier report:
“Today, we circulated a proposal to expand consumer access and choice for in-flight mobile broadband. Modern technologies can deliver mobile services in the air safely and reliably, and the time is right to review our outdated and restrictive rules. I look forward to working closely with my colleagues, the FAA, and the airline industry on this review of new mobile opportunities for consumers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Wireless, Mobile
Source: Wall Street Journal, FCC
HTC’s One max phablet has landed at Verizon, with the 5.9-inch Android smartphone finally going on sale in the US. The oversized handset, which has a Full HD display and a biometric fingerprint scanner on the back for easier security, is priced at a not-inconsiderable $299.99 with a new two year agreement. That’s an expensive […]
It’s easy to think that Chinese smartphone makers are thriving solely on sales of ultra-cheap devices, but that’s only partly true. In many cases, they’re striking careful balances between features and pricing — handsets like the Vivo X3 tout sleek designs and big screens, but their modest processing power keeps costs in check. Oppo wants to bring that high-value philosophy to the rest of the world through the international version of the R819. For $349, it’s an exceptionally thin phone with perks you don’t always get at this price, including dual SIM slots and better support for custom firmware. However, it faces stiff competition from new rivals like the Moto G and Nexus 5. Is the R819 still worth buying when it’s not the fastest or cheapest in the pack? That’s what we’re here to find out.%Gallery-slideshow121950%
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
You’re to blame for the vast Nokia Lumia 1520. “Make a phablet” we kept asking Nokia, “give us a big Windows Phone to compete with the Galaxy Note.” That Nokia – and Microsoft – went off to the drawing board and returned with a hand-dominating 6-inch monster is a juicy sort of irony, then: this […]
Mobile writers just got a little more control over their masterpieces. An upgrade to Google Drive for Android now lets users find and replace text; they can also insert tables and named styles. A few file management tweaks are in store as well, such as a new two-column view on tablets and an option to rename scanned documents before they reach the cloud. Those eager to edit with the new Drive tools should receive the app update within the next few days.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Google
Source: Google Play
Americans pining after LG’s G Flex may not have to pick up the curvy smartphone from AT&T if and when it arrives stateside. A new FCC filing has revealed the LS995, a variant of the G Flex that’s likely destined for Sprint. In addition to sporting the same giant dimensions as the AT&T-friendly D959 model, the LS995 includes both CDMA as well as Sprint’s three native LTE bands (800MHz, 1,900MHz and 2,500MHz). It’s still not clear just when LG might release the G Flex in the US, but the rapid succession of FCC approvals suggests that the company is gearing up for a launch in the near future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint, LG
Source: FCC
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