When Apple released the iPhone in 2007, they released iPhone OS (later known as iOS) with it. The device and the operating system necessitated each other. The two were birthed into the world together on the same stage. More »
US Cellular may not have the biggest 4G LTE network, but it’s working on expanding the service to more of its customers. The carrier announced today that they’ll be expanding their 4G LTE network in several states in the US, as well as introducing LTE to brand new states, including California, Nebraska, and Kansas.
States that currently have US Cellular’s 4G LTE service that will see an expansion include Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Currently, the carrier’s LTE coverage covers 61% of its customers in the US.
Some of the cities that will receive US Cellular’s 4G LTE coverage include Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; Manhattan, Kansas; Eureka and Ukiah California. As far as what other cities are on the list to get the upgrade, US Cellular didn’t say, so cross your fingers and just hope that it’s your city that gets the faster service.
US Cellular currently offers 10 devices with LTE capabilities, including the Samsung Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II, as well as several Motorola devices. Unfortunately, there’s no word on when US Cellular will start knocking out its list of cities to get LTE, but we’re guessing we should be seeing steady roll-outs all year long.
US Cellular to cover 87% of its customers with LTE in 2013 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It’s certainly no surprise that Android and iOS are gobbling up most of the smartphone market share nowadays, with a few stragglers like BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Of course, if you needed proof, IDC has it. The research firm reported that iOS and Android have a combined 91% market share when it comes to smartphone operating systems.
As far as how each operating system is doing, IDC’s report shows that Android’s Q4 2012 market share was 70.1%, while iOS took hold of 21%. BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Linux, and “Others” accounted for the remaining 8.9%, with BlackBerry coming in third at a measly 3.2% for the quarter. However, perhaps one of the most interesting facets from the statistics are the changes from this time last year.
During Q4 2011, Android had 52.9% of the market share, with Apple at 23%, so Android saw a big jump while Apple had a slight loss. However, BlackBerry dipped big time, going from 8.1% last year to 3.2% this year. Of course, that’s not a huge jump, but when you only own a slight portion of market share, each loss is crucial.
In total, smartphone shipments topped out at 227.8 million during the fourth quarter, which is a substantial jump from last year’s 160.8 million during Q4 2011. Of course, that’s not too surprising, given that smartphones are taking over. Samsung remained a big player this time around as well, accounting for 42% of all Android smartphones for the quarter.
[via Android Community]
iOS and Android combine for 91% of smartphone market share is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
As great as your smartphone is, there are plenty of things you just don’t want to look at on there; you’d rather have them on that big ol’ computer screen of yours. Now Bump, which previously let you throw data from phone to phone, is here to help by making it ludicrously easy to get pictures, links, or whathaveyou from your phone to your computer. More »
Whether it’s a phone carrier charging you for services you don’t need or a cashier pushing pricey protection plans for your tablet, the tech-world is filled with Mobile Madoffs trying to con you out of your hard-earned cash. Fortunately, you don’t have to be the victim of information superhighway robbery. These are the 10 worst gadget rip-offs and how to avoid them. More »
A company from California called AOptix has landed a deal with the Department of Defense for a biometric identification system that it produces. This biometry identification system loads on a smartphone and is shown in the image below embedded in a mockup device. The tool hopes to allow soldiers in the field to record facial features, iris scans, and other details of suspicious people up close or from a distance.
The Defense Department awarded a $3 million research contract to the California company to examine its Smart Mobile Identity biometrics identification package. The contract is over two years and at the end of the contract term the Department of Defense wants to see research to validate the concept the company is offering. Under the contract, AOptix will provide the DOD with the hardware peripheral and software solution able to turn commercially available smartphones into biometric scanning devices.
The hardware and software combination should be able to turn the industry available smartphones into something capable of scanning and transmitting data from the eyes, face, phones, and voice of a person of interest. Current systems the US military uses for recording biometric data require a soldier to bring the camera system very close to the subject. The new Smart Mobile Identity system has some ability to record this biometry data at a distance and has better specifications than the current Handheld Interagency Identity Detection System in use today.
The company plans to produce an accessory solution that will wrap around an existing phone to add biometry capabilities. The company hasn’t fully described the peripheral but does note that it shouldn’t impact the phones form factor significantly. The company goes so far as to say that a smartphone using its sensing device would weigh under a pound and only need one hand to operate.
[via Wired]
Defense Department signs deal for a smartphone tool to scan biometrics is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
SoftBank today revealed their new ARROWS smartphone, the ARROWS A 201F, made by Fujitsu. It runs SoftBank 4G which is their ultra-speed data communication service (up to 76Mbp).
It runs a 1.5GHz Quad Core CPU, Android 4.1, and high-def 4.7 inch HD (1,280 x 720). It also covers NFC, One-Seg, is waterproof and dustproof, Bluetooth, and infrared data communication. With its 13.1 mega pixel, you can take beautiful pictures and full HD movies. 2,420mAH battery allows a long battery life.
There are …
Valentine’s Day—that cherished celebration of love and its joyful bounty—is just around the corner. But for the lonely-hearts littered across the country, seeing couples enjoying all the love and the happiness and the not-being-perpetually-alone-for-eternity can, perhaps, pour a little salt on a long-standing wound. More »
HP is looking into getting back into the mobile hardware game, according to a new report from ReadWrite which the Verge says is being confirmed from their own sources. HP famously bought webOS and then brought a tablet to market based on that Palm-developed platform, the TouchPad, which ended up being a dismal failure that the company shut down very quickly.
HP had also launched a smartphone, the Veer 4G based on webOS, but that also proved ineffective at capturing the attention of consumers. The company is apparently still looking to get back into the hardware game after a hiatus spanning a couple of years, however, with a new tablet featuring an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor, which ReadWrite pegs for an imminent announcement, and is also considering Android-based smartphone for future development. Verge reports that the timeline sounds good, but scheduling could change for a tablet launch.
After HP CEO Meg Whitman took over, she announced that the company would ultimately offer a smartphone to keep up with the fact that for many in the developing world, such a device is now their first and maybe only computer. That launch isn’t planned for 2013, however, Whitman later stated.
But back in late 2011, Whitman did make statements to the effect that HP could create webOS-powered tablets again in 2013. While these reports suggest webOS is likely off the table, HP could stick to Whitman’s target plan of fielding a tablet device based on a mobile OS this year, but one based on Android instead of its own product, which it has since open-sourced.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that HP would dip its toes back in the mobile hardware pool even after suffering such a reversal the first time around. The fact is that mobile is where the computing industry is going, and Apple’s iPad is almost singlehandedly propping up the sagging fortunes of traditional mobile PC form factors like notebooks. And HP missed earnings expectations in Q4 2012, thanks in part to a continuing “decline in hardware.”
A tablet isn’t a panacea for HP, however. The Android tablet market still has yet to find a champion that can compare to the iPad’s popularity, and there is plenty of competition out there for buyer attention. Fielding a device that impresses above and beyond what’s already out there, at a price point that turns heads is a basic requirement for Android tablet success at this point, from HP or from anyone else.
You have a vintage car, but you have normal ears and want a sound system that’s up with the times. RetroSound’s new classically styled Model Two in-dash radio runs like a new-fangled modern setup because it is a new-fangled modern setup, with Bluetooth and all. More »
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