Screen Grabs: The Mentalist takes the iPad to new heights

Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com.

Well, it sure looks like The Mentalist went all out for its season finale, stacking not one, not two, but five iPads on top of each other in some sort of makeshift surveillance system (with an extra one the desk for good measure). Apparently, the show had a shocking twist ending when it was revealed that the surveillance cameras being monitored were actually in the Big Brother house.

[Thanks, Tim]

Screen Grabs: The Mentalist takes the iPad to new heights originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Customer Sues AT&T Over ‘Rigged’ Data Charges

AT&T last year discontinued unlimited data plans for iPhones and transitioned to a tiered pricing structure. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

An iPhone customer has filed a lawsuit against AT&T, claiming that the telecom company is overcharging him for data services.

Filed by Patrick Hendricks in the Northern District of California, the lawsuit seeks class-action status, alleging that AT&T is committing unlawful and fraudulent business practices by regularly overbilling customers for data transactions.

“AT&T’s billing system for iPhone and iPad data transactions is like a rigged gas pump that charges for a full gallon when it pumps only nine-tenths of a gallon into your car’s tank,” the complaint says (pdf).

This lawsuit emerges as the broadband industry gradually shifts toward limited data plans, putting a price on a fixed amount of internet usage. In recent years, AT&T, Comcast and multiple small internet service providers abandoned unlimited data plans in favor of tiered pricing structures.

Wired.com’s Ryan Singel, who has extensively reported on the broadband industry, says the reasoning behind the shift to capped data is not to reduce costs — bandwidth costs are extremely low and keep decreasing — but rather to mitigate network congestion due to limited infrastructure.

AT&T in June 2010 transitioned to tiered data pricing for the iPhone, and Hendricks’ lawsuit suggests that AT&T exploits limited data plans by charging for invisible data transmissions that aren’t visible to the customer.

Hendricks’ lawyers claim that they consulted an independent firm that conducted a two-month study with iPads and iPhones and found that AT&T was overstating web server traffic by 7 to 14 percent, and in some instances by more than 300 percent, to inflate charges.

The lawyers also claim that the firm conducted another test, in which it purchased a brand-new AT&T iPhone and immediately shut down all apps and disabled push notifications and location services. The firm left the phone untouched for 10 days and found that AT&T billed the test account for 35 data transactions, totaling 2.3 megabytes of usage.

An AT&T representative told Wired.com that Hendricks’ complaint made incorrect claims. The company provided the following statement to Wired.com:

Accurate billing is clearly important and, unfortunately, there have been some incorrect claims about our data usage billing practices. We properly charge for all data that our customers send and receive, including data activity that runs in the background on smartphones and other powerful data devices. Data usage for emailing, downloading applications, browsing the web, downloading a video or streaming music is all applied to a customers’ data plan. So are real-time updates to applications, such as weather updates, sports scores, or stock tickers. Particularly for smartphones, tablets and other advanced mobile devices, applications are often constantly running in the background and engaged with our network. And, AT&T captures your data activity nightly to create a bill record in our systems. This will appear on your bill to be a late night “charge,” but in fact, the time stamp reflects the time that your device established a connection to the network, not the time that you sent or received data.

Wired.com checked an iPhone billing statement and did not discover any erratic charges that would support Hendricks’ claims. However, this account was tied to an unlimited data plan.

It’s worth noting, however, that in the tests cited in Hendricks’ complaint, the phone’s cellular signal was not shut off, which would still allow for some data transmissions to occur in the background, such as network diagnostics, as well as transmitting information about data activity for billing to AT&T. Therefore, that part of the test seems questionable.

iPad and iPhone customers: Do you think AT&T has overbilled you for data? Respond in the poll below, or post your observations in the comments section.


3M announces Cloud Library e-book lending service for ’21st century’ libraries

Both Amazon and Sony have already hopped aboard the e-book library lending train and now, it looks like they’ll have to make room for 3M, as well. Yesterday, the company announced a new Cloud Library e-book lending service that will allow users to browse and borrow digital books directly from their iPads, Nooks and Android-based tablets. Under the program, 3M will outfit local libraries with its own software, hardware and e-book collection, which bibliophiles will be able to access via special apps, or 3M’s new eReaders, which will be synced with available digital content. The company is also planning to install so-called Discovery Terminal download stations in libraries, allowing visitors to leaf through the collection from a touch-based interface. Thus far, both Random House and IPG have signed on to the initiative, though licensing details remain murky. There’s also no word on when or where the service will launch, but 3M’s Discovery Terminal and iPad app will be on display next month in New Orleans, at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. Full presser after the break.

Continue reading 3M announces Cloud Library e-book lending service for ’21st century’ libraries

3M announces Cloud Library e-book lending service for ’21st century’ libraries originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Explosion at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant kills two

An explosion occurred at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant earlier today, with reports claiming several workers have been injured. The Taiwanese company has yet to release a statement regarding figures and the cause of this tragedy, but according to 21st Century Business Herald, witnesses saw lightning hit the A05 building before the explosion took place — it is believed that this is a case of dust explosion, and security guards were allegedly warning evacuees that the smoke was toxic. At the time, hundreds of workers were present in the affected workshop which houses an iPad 2 assembly line. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.

Update: Sina Tech is reporting two deaths and sixteen injured people, with three in critical condition. We’ve also added a video from the scene after the break, courtesy of Sohu.

Update 2: Apple has provided a statement to All Things D, saying:

We are deeply saddened by the tragedy at Foxconn’s plant in Chengdu, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families… We are working closely with Foxconn to understand what caused this terrible event.

Continue reading Explosion at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant kills two

Explosion at Foxconn’s Chengdu plant kills two originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 11:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink M.I.C. Gadget  |  source21st Century Business Hearld  | Email this | Comments

Apple’s Tiny SIM Card Could Help Gadgets Slim Down

Apple's iPhone includes a small tray that holds the SIM card. Photo courtesy of iFixit

Apple wants future iPhones and iPads to be even thinner, according to a report, and to do that, the telecom industry will need to use smaller SIM cards.

That’s what Reuters heard from European carrier Orange, at least. The publication claims that Apple proposed to standardize a thinner SIM, and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has yet to make a decision.

It’s clear with this plan how fixated Apple is on details. A smaller SIM would only help decrease an iPhone or iPad’s thickness by a tiny amount, according to iFixit, a repair company that has studied the evolution of Apple’s components for years.

“They’re optimizing for fractions of millimeters here,” said Kyle Wiens, iFixit’s CEO, in an interview with Wired.com.

If the telecom industry agreed to adopt a smaller SIM card, other smartphone and tablet manufacturers would likely adopt the standard as well to make their gadgets thinner, too.

Apple’s iPhone 4 and iPad both already use a smaller SIM card, the Micro SIM, a standard developed by ETSI. The Micro SIM has the same thickness as the larger, full-size SIM, but includes enhancements to better communicate with networks — so it’s unlikely that Micro SIM helped reduce thickness of the products.

For years, Apple has been hailed as the leader of industrial design in the technology industry, often being the first to introduce products with tightly packed, cutting-edge form factors, such as the iPod, the iPad and the MacBook Air. Pushing for a new, thinner SIM standard is an example of how Apple plans ahead for future designs.

Adoption of a new SIM standard would be a slow process, according to ETSI, and could take up to a year or more. iFixit’s Wiens agreed.

“One thing to keep in mind is how long these standards take to get through,” Wiens said. “They’ve got to plan for their needs a couple years out. Getting all the carriers on board will take serious time, so it makes sense to start early.”

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RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video)


We don’t often jailbreak our iPhones to test apps, but a facial recognition unlock tool seemed a worthy excuse, so we gave it a shot. RecognizeMe uses the front-facing camera in your iPhone 4 (and iPad 2, eventually) to unlock the phone for its owner. Unfortunately, it also unlocked the device for Brian Heater (center), our resident 900 number enthusiast, and Bianca Bosker, Huff Po‘s tech editor and our only other friend in the newsroom. The app includes a setting for verification threshold, so we played around with that, trying a dozen times to get the app to ignore Brian, but even at 80 percent it was recognizing both of us (65 percent was the cutoff for Bianca). Bumping the threshold up to 100 percent finally locked Brian out, but at that level, the device wouldn’t unlock for anyone, making it totally secure — and totally busted. Verification took a full 25 seconds to timeout (compared to 5-15 seconds to grant access at lower levels, depending on lighting conditions), so using this app requires p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e. At this point, RecognizeMe is a $7 gimmick that might impress your grandmother (assuming she doesn’t ask to try it herself), but if you need to keep your device under lock and key, a tried-and-true passcode is still the way to go.

Continue reading RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video)

RecognizeMe unlocks your jailbroken iPhone using your face, anyone else’s (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 12:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iDVM Digital Multimeter collects voltage readings on your iDevice, shares them with whoever cares

This, dear reader, is the iDVM Digital Multimeter — the world’s very first iDevice-enabled voltmeter, from Redfish Instruments. Designed with auto technicians, electricians and engineers in mind, the iDVM uses an ad hoc wireless network to connect to any iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, allowing users to record voltage, resistance and current directly from their palms. Once you’ve purchased the multimeter and downloaded the accompanying iDVM app, you’ll be able to gather electrical measurements from up to 30 yards away from your target, log data over extended periods of time and export your findings in spreadsheet or graph displays. The rechargeable battery-powered device can also read your measurements back to you, which should make you feel slightly less lonely while digging around your car’s engine at 3 am. We’re still not sure why anyone would want to juggle their iPhone while chasing down a shorted wire, but if you do, the iDVM starts shipping on June 1st, for $220 — which could buy you about 40 less complicated multimeters from Harbor Freight. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading iDVM Digital Multimeter collects voltage readings on your iDevice, shares them with whoever cares

iDVM Digital Multimeter collects voltage readings on your iDevice, shares them with whoever cares originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink BusinessWire  |  sourceRedfish Instruments  | Email this | Comments

Apple, Samsung Win Praise for Display Technologies

Apple's iPad (left) next to Samsung's Galaxy Tab. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Apple and Samsung this week won awards for display technologies on their mobile devices.

Apple’s iPhone and iPad earned gold Display of the Year and Display Application of the Year awards from the Society for Information Display. Both devices received praise for their usage of in-plane switching technology, in which crystal molecules are oriented so their motion is parallel to the panel, instead of perpendicular to it. The result is a very wide viewing angle — up to 180 degrees — with brilliant color.

Apple’s iPhone 4 high pixel-density “Retina Display” is reportedly manufactured by LG Displays, which is also the main supplier for the iPad’s display.

Meanwhile, Samsung earned silver awards for displays on its Galaxy S smartphones, as well as its on-cell touch active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display technology. Samsung’s displays gained applause for using Super AMOLED technology, in which pixels emit their own light so the display does not require backlighting, to “deliver very high performance and exceptional display quality,” according to the society.

Also, Samsung’s on-cell touch technology integrates the touch sensor into the display itself, rather than putting the sensor on a separate piece of glass and laminating it on the display, which allows the display to be thinner and more responsive, the society said.

“[The award winners] demonstrate the remarkable contributions made by the display industry to broaden and enhance the lives of people,” said Bob Melcher, chairman of the SID Display of the Year Awards committee, in a press statement.

Display technologies take on an increasingly important role in the gadget industry as the newest mobile devices continue to shed physical keyboards and buttons in favor of touchscreens. Today, a smartphone’s display is as important as the software that runs beneath it.

Many display experts agree that Apple’s gadgets lead the game in the display industry thanks to their usage of in-plane switching, but Samsung’s AMOLED displays are not far from catching up.

“While OLED is still a relatively young display technology that has not yet been perfected to the performance levels of the very best mature LCDs [such as those on the iPhone and iPad], the Galaxy S is already an impressive display for an upcoming and rapidly evolving technology,” said Raymond Soneira, a display expert at DisplayMate, who has done independent testing on various displays.

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Apple proposing smaller SIM standard?


It looks like the Micro SIM (announced with Apple’s first iPad last year) is destined to shed a few more grams, an Orange spokeswoman said — contradicting an earlier rumor claiming that Apple is trying to kill off the chip altogether. SIM cards in their current form have been in use for over a decade (a Micro SIM is simply a standard chip without the extra plastic), and today’s devices look nothing like the cell phones of 2001, so it’s no surprise that the SIM we’ve come to love and loathe has run its course. If adopted only by Apple devices, however, a new form factor would be an incredible setback for iPhone unlockers, since an unlocked device is useless unless multiple carriers offer a compatible SIM. Apple has submitted its proposal to ETSI with support from Orange, which says we may even see the smaller SIM sliding into devices next year.

Apple proposing smaller SIM standard? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 17:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink MacRumors  |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

Slacker intros Premium Radio subscription service, makes Radio Plus look like Basic Radio

Internet radio provider Slacker is bulldozing the thin line dividing itself from subscription-based music services today, with the launch of Premium Radio. The new pricing tier joins the existing gratis Basic Radio and ad-free Radio Plus plans, adding an all-you-can-eat music model akin to services like Rhapsody and Rdio. Subscribers who shell out $9.99 a month receive all of the features of the $3.99 Radio Plus users, plus unlimited access to eight million songs, letting them listen to what they want, when the want, and generally play god with the site’s existing radio services. Premium Radio also gives you on- and offline access to music on a number of mobile devices, including the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android, and BlackBerry handsets — not to mention unlimited bragging rights to all of your broke friends who are still rocking the Basic Radio plan. Don’t feel too bad for ’em, though — at least they didn’t get suckered into slotRadio.

Continue reading Slacker intros Premium Radio subscription service, makes Radio Plus look like Basic Radio

Slacker intros Premium Radio subscription service, makes Radio Plus look like Basic Radio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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