Archive for July, 2010.
Chances are you’re a little sick of different carriers having different qualities of service in different areas of the country, and have probably wondered at some point: “Can’t we all just get along?” The answer is no, we can’t, but LightSquared is looking to launch something of an alternative. It’s starting a multi-billion dollar wholesale LTE deployment that will run coast-to-coast in the United States, covering 90 percent of the population by 2015. It will also mix that in with satellite connectivity somehow, pledging true nationwide coverage. Nokia Siemens Networks will be laying the groundwork, a $7 billion project that will surely be aided by that company’s recent acquisition of Motorola’s networking bits, and the total rollout is estimated to create 100,000 jobs — good news regardless of your carrier allegiance. Anyone who wants to offer connectivity to their customers can buy some bandwidth and pass it along, meaning we could see the rebirth of the MVNO. After watching the inspirational video after the break, we’re firmly sure that anything is possible.
Continue reading LightSquared does LTE and satellite connectivity wholesale, Nokia Siemens to do the heavy lifting (video)
LightSquared does LTE and satellite connectivity wholesale, Nokia Siemens to do the heavy lifting (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Virtual phone numbers aren’t exactly hard to come by these days, but TelCentris’ VoxOx looks to be doing a decent job of distinguishing itself with its newly announced offerings — and, for a change, it’s letting Canadians in on the act. The new options expand on the basic free virtual number included with VoxOx’s current service and, in addition to Canadian phone numbers, include numbers that are SMS and fax-capable for both inbound and outbound calls, and an optional “vanity” search for those willing to try their luck at snagging the phone number they’ve always wanted. Unlike Google Voice, you can also link as many virtual phone numbers to your account as you like, and you’ll get free iNum integration so you can be accessible from overseas at local rates. Of course, the numbers themselves aren’t free, but they are pretty reasonable — just $1.95 a month or $19.95 a year. Head on past the break for the complete press release, and quick demo video of the service from Telcentris CTO Kevin Hertz.
Continue reading VoxOx expands its virtual phone number offerings, lets Canadians play along
VoxOx expands its virtual phone number offerings, lets Canadians play along originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The name may sound like something out of a Final Fantasy game, but we hear it stands for Music On the Go, and today MO is doing the name proud by bringing a wide swath of streaming music to Android and iPhone. $10 a month gives you access to 7.8 million songs, and during a completely unscientific impromptu testing session, that number actually included a reasonable amount of most everything we’d want. Of course, you don’t get to keep any of the 320Kbps MP3 files, merely store local copies on your phone for as long as you pony up, and even on Android (where we take task switching for granted) the merest jump to web browser stops those tracks cold. (MOG says it’s working on it, at least for the iOS 4 version.) We were also disappointed to find out the MOG Radio feature is nothing like we were told — rather than a Pandora you can tune to specific artists, the feature just seems to filter your existing queue. Playback options were also lacking in this early version (like volume and jog sliders) but at least MOG’s got a slick, robust discovery mode, and with this many songs to choose from that’s a very good thing. Both versions should be live immediately with three-day, no commitment trials, and there’s a press release after the break if you still need more info.
Continue reading MOG arrives on iPhone, Android with 7.8 million songs but no multitasking mode
MOG arrives on iPhone, Android with 7.8 million songs but no multitasking mode originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When it comes to boring ‘ol text and images, there are plenty of formats that modern e-readers can manage — your EPUBs and OPFs and the like. But, when it comes to integrating multimedia content into a kind of next-gen e-book experience, the sort Wired is pushing on the iPad, things are rather less standardized. Sharp wants to be on the forefront of bringing that style of content together under a single standard: XMDF, or ever-eXtending Mobile Document Format. It enables video and animations and flashy presentation to be mingled in with the text, surely with the intent of distracting you from actually having to read anything. Of course, XHTML can manage all this stuff too, but it never was particularly great at the sort of precision text layout publishers crave, and presumably that’s also being addressed here. Naturally we’re a little more excited about hardware, and Sharp showed off two prototype readers measuring 5.5- and 10.8-inches respectively… though it didn’t have much to say about them otherwise. More details later this year, supposedly.
Sharp’s XMDF format looks to bring e-books into the next generation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As if waiting around until fall to get iOS 4 weren’t enough of a downer for iPad owners, the latest rumor we’re hearing is that they’ll have to pay a fee in order to do so. That’s right, for the privilege of waiting patiently to get some semblance of multitasking on your slate device, you’ll have to pony up the cash — or so the story goes. Stuff has it on strong authority from app developers in the know that Apple will be asking for a (relatively small) tithe from those wishing to update their iPads when the leaves start turning amber. We’d advise keeping the pitchforks stowed for now — at least until there’s some solid corroboration for this — but then it’s not like Apple hasn’t done this before.
Update: Apple’s iPad licensing docs have been known to carry a provision that the “next major iPad OS software release” will be free, although iOS 4 and the word “free” do not happen to coincide in the same sentence — overall though, that renders this rumor rather less likely to materialize.
Apple to charge upgrade fee for iPads moving to iOS 4? (update: unlikely) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 06:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Just a few weeks ago, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center learned a hard lesson. If you didn’t see the news reports, the N.Y.-based healthcare provider notified over 130,000 individuals that their records — including diagnostic information, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and other information of use to identity thieves — was potentially lost. The total impact to the institution is difficult to quantify. Obviously no organization wants the negative press. It’s the kind of thing that loses patients and makes the institution less appealing when trying to attract physicians.
There’s only one thing worse than the death grip that iPhone 4 owners face: a lack of good cases. I’ve been looking for decent case options since I bought my iPhone 4, and I’ve got to say, I think I could find a wild goose with less trouble. I thought I had basic requirements: thin hardshell case to cover and protect the backside glass along with raised edge coverage along the front to protect the face if I happen to place it face-down. The Apple iPhone 4 Bumper has the right idea for side and corner coverage, but there’s no real back protection, and I’m a big fan of full rear coverage.
Microsoft has put its Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system out for technical preview. “Starting today, thousands of prototype phones from Asus, LG and Samsung are making their way into the hands of developers over the next few weeks,” Terry Myerson, corporate vice president, Windows phone engineering, announced on the Windows Phone blog Sunday. There’s still some way to go before the OS is ready for release, Myerson said. “The software is pretty zippy, and the way it lets you back into and out of an application is pretty cool,” IDC’s Will Stofega told TechNewsWorld.
Threats to computer and network security increase with each passing day and come from a growing number of sources. No computer or network is immune from attack. A recent concern is the susceptibility of the power grid and other national infrastructure to a systematic, organized attack on the United States from other nations or terrorist organizations. Encryption, or the ability to store and transmit information in a form that is unreadable to anyone other than intended persons, is a critical element of our defense to these attacks.
There is a growing consensus that China will replace the U.S. as the world’s leading superpower in this century, just as the U.S. replaced Great Britain in last one. In the last century, it was the difference between world commerce and manufacturing capacity that mattered; now, the shift could actually be tied to technological advancement in areas like transportation and electrical power. If there is one thing that China and the U.S. have in common, it is the desperate need to get off fossil fuels.