Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not often that we genuinely like what these big corporations are doing, so you’d better pay close attention here. We’ve caught wind of a Verizon patent covering the logistics of setting up and running a GPS-based classifieds service, which matches potential buyers and sellers of goods on the basis of their stated interests and location. Thus, next time you’re driving by the home of a carpenter, for example, you might be alerted of his contact details should you need some woodworking done. This seems like a legitimately useful expansion on the location services already available on GPS devices, but — as with the Nokia flexible display patent — the application was filed back in 2008 indicating that nothing is imminent. Still, at least it’s comforting to know that good ideas can fleet by carriers’ brain trusts when they’re not too busy talking trash about each other on TV.

[Thanks, Anand]

Verizon patents system for location-aware classifieds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Every decent DVR today supports remote scheduling via the web — well except Windows 7 Media Center — and Verizon’s FiOS TV DVR is no different. But of course web apps don’t compare to real apps like this new one for Android users. The new FiOS Mobile app features a guide for remote scheduling as well as VOD browsing so you can mark what you want to watch later, as well as parental controls and a free space indicator — something TiVo doesn’t even offer on the DVR itself. Of course there’s no way to actually watch content from your DVR, and we’re not surprised. Now before you get too jealous of Android users with Verizon’s FiOS TV DVR, we’d like to remind you that the FiOS DVR has a measly 160GB hard drive and no external disk support, and as you can see from the screen shot, FiOS users don’t have any free space left for new recordings anyway.

FiOS Mobile app comes to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 12:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon’s not known for simplicity when it comes to plan selection (actually, most carriers aren’t) — currently, individuals can choose from Basic, Select, Connect, and Premium plans in a variety of voice bucket sizes, each featuring different text message and data allowances. It looks like that’s about to change, though, on leaked slides showing that the current postpaid individual plan structure will be completely wiped out and replaced with just six options on the 18th of this month, down from 16 prior. Overall, the move is a trade-off — unlimited voice pricing will come down a whopping 30 percent, while data packages will now be required on all but the most basic handsets. Comparing all-you-can-eat packages from all the major carriers, this slots Verizon $10 below AT&T but still well above Sprint and T-Mobile, same as always. Prepaid is getting tweaked, too, with all postpaid plans magically turning into prepaid for $5 more per month minus Friends & Family numbers. It’s a thorough restructuring from a company that doesn’t move very fast or very often, and it’ll be interesting to see if (and how) the other guys respond.

Verizon simplifying plans, cutting voice costs, requiring data packages this month? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Jan 2010 19:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What you want for your Droid Eris: Android 2.1. What you’re actually getting: the tiniest of updates designed to fix just one bug. ROM version 1.17.605.1 is starting to make its way into the world via the phone’s over-the-air update mechanism, fixing an intermittent bad signal indicator when bringing it out of standby. Yep, that’s it — so there’d better be a much heartier update in the wings later this quarter as Big Red has previously promised.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

HTC Droid Eris gets an ultra-minor update originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By and large, LTE is LTE — it’s just fast wireless, really, and there’s not a lot to see. You know you want it, and you really don’t need to be convinced. Amazingly, though, Samsung managed to impress us at Verizon’s 4G demonstration area today with its three-pack of LTE-enabled devices, including a modified photo frame, ST1000 digicam, and a MID called “Pioneer” which we’re told is little more than a Mondi with LTE swapped in place of WiMAX. Unlike some of the other demos we saw in the booth, Samsung was using actual integrated LTE chipsets — the real deal, not a concept of what kind of stuff you could see in an LTE-connected world — and if it weren’t for the conspicuous “LTE” logo atop the ST1000, we would’ve been none the wiser. With the camera, you could instantly beam photos straight to the frame, and the Pioneer allowed you to shoot live video displayed immediately on the frame, all using an LTE base station as an intermediary. This stuff isn’t as fanciful as it seems — Verizon intends to have a couple dozen markets operating in 2010, and these are all examples of the kinds of things we could see if only Big Red decides to make it financially reasonable for us. Check out some pictures of the system in action in our gallery below, because let’s be honest: unless you’re lucky, odds are good this is the closest you’re getting to a live 4G network in the next few months.

Samsung’s LTE-equipped cameras, MIDs, and photo frames shill for Verizon originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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