Hasta La Gadget!

T-Mobile’s UnCarrier announcement event is taking place a little later today, but some bits of news have started to leak out ahead of time. First was the BlackBerry Z10, and now comes an LTE mobile hotspot, the Sonic 2.0. It’s T-mo’s first LTE mifi and can feed data to up to eight devices at a time. Not only that, it’s compatible with both Mac OSX 10.8 and Windows 8, plus Microsofties get the added benefit of compatibility with the Win8 Carrier application so users can easily access real-time data usage info for every connected gadget. As for the hardware, the Sonic 2.0 has a 1.77-inch color LCD on the front, a 3,000 mAh battery, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi and quadband LTE and 3G radios on board. There’s also a MicroSD card slot for simple file sharing of up to 32GB cards. It’ll be available by the end of the month, though we don’t yet know how much it’ll cost. Guess you’ll have to tune into our liveblog to find out.

Filed under: Wireless, Internet, Mobile

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Via: Laptop Mag

Source: T-Mobile

RM-917. It may not sound like much on the outside, but the model number and above picture correspond with the Nokia Lumia 521, T-Mobile’s version of the lower-end Lumia 520 announced at MWC last month. We still don’t have any details on when it’ll show up on retail shelves, but it’s at least made its way through one of the final barriers to entry: the FCC approval process. As you might expect, the docs are low on details, but the frequencies support 850 / AWS / 1900 HSPA+ / UMTS as well as quadband GSM / EDGE. To refresh your memory, the 520 will sport a 4-inch WVGA LCD panel, 512MB RAM, a 5MP camera, microSD storage and quite a few other respectable goodies. Head to the source if you’re a sucker for numbers and acronyms.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Nokia

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Source: FCC

Google has been a strong advocate of white space wireless as democratizing broadband access: its long-range nature can bring people online when the local internet framework isn’t always reliable, if it exists at all. The company is about to illustrate that potential through a new trial in South Africa. A trio of base stations at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town will supply ten nearby primary and secondary schools with internet access to prove that white space access can work without affecting TV signals. To make sure it won’t, Google is picking the safest frequencies from a database and is measuring the results for the sake of both nervous broadcasters and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. If all goes well, it (and similar efforts from Microsoft) should make a case for full approval of white space use across the country and deliver internet access to remote areas that risk being left by the technological wayside.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet, Google

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Source: Google Africa Blog

T-Mobile must not want to wait for a special event to lure customers through its doors: it just launched its revamped, decidedly UnCarrier-like plans a couple of days early. As became clearer this weekend, unlimited voice, text and basic data are now things you can take for granted on Magenta’s network. It’s only the cap on throttle-free data that determines how much you pay: rates sold through T-Mobile itself start at $50 for a basic 500MB of online use and climb in steady 2GB increments that each cost an extra $10 per month, up to a total of 12.5GB for $110. You can still get truly unlimited service if you want, for $70 — although you’ll have to bolt on a separate hotspot plan that the capped tiers get for free. Costs at resellers are expected to run slightly higher, but it’s still clear that T-Mobile is aggressively courting those of us who see internet access as the very reason to have a smartphone in the first place.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, T-Mobile

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Via: TmoNews (Twitter), The Verge

Source: T-Mobile

A little while back, we featured an unusual little interactive gadget called the iKazoo. This wireless device can be paired with iOS or Android gadgets, and can be used as a touch, voice or breath controller. At the time iKazoo was simply a concept, but now you can get in on the first pre-order, thanks to the iKazoo’s crowdfunding campaign.

This unique Bluetooth device can be used as a musical instrument, as well as a controller for games and other interactive applications. It’s got built into it touch, breath and optical sensors, all of which can be accessed via an open source SDK.

Early adopters of the iKazoo can get one of the controllers for $79(USD), but you’ll have to pledge $135 or more if you want the version with the optional motion control “Smart Writer Cap”, which also lets your iKazoo double as a stylus for your tablet. Find out more about the iKazoo fundraising campaign over on Indiegogo.