CY.TALK Telecoms News Blog

Verizon to kill unlimited data plans for existing subscribers

Sara Nord — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:25:46 +0000

At an investor conference, an exec says the carrier is killing the plan for "grandfathered" customers and will force existing and new customers to sign up for a tiered "data share" plan on its 4G LTE network.

Japanese researchers transmit 3Gbps using terahertz frequencies

Ria Miller — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:25:07 +0000

The new “T-ray” wireless transmission system is similar to WiGig in that it requires line of sight and can transmit large amounts of ...

Almost 40% of New York’s 911 Calls Are ‘Butt Dials’

Ria Miller — Mon, 14 May 2012 06:56:49 +0000

Some 10,000 calls a day to the city's emergency response number are accidental, a new report estimates.

Government asks: when can we shut down wireless service?

Ria Miller — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:49:58 +0000

Nine months ago, a tremendous controversy began with a simple e-mail: "Gentlemen, The BART Police require the M-Line wireless from the Trans Bay Tube Portal to the Balboa Park Station, to be shut down today between 4 pm & 8," wrote Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) construction supervisor Dirk Peter on August 11, 2011. (The Transbay Tube runs beneath the Bay, moving people to and from San Francisco; Balboa Park is a residential city neighborhood.) "Steve," the note continued, "please help to notify all carrier

Mother’s Day Cubacel x2 Deal

Zara — Sat, 05 May 2012 10:25:12 +0000

Cysend.com offers you a unique possibility to send credit to prepaid Cubacel mobile of your mother in Cuba from the internet and DOUBLE her phone credit from 9 May to 12 May (23:59 Cuba time – GMT-4) 2012.

HelloFax Turns Google Drive Into a Fax Machine

Ria Miller — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 08:08:05 +0000

HelloFax’s Google Drive integration allows you to fax any document from Google Drive, as well as receive faxes from others in a special HelloFax folder within the drive.

Apple earnings, 2Q12: $39.2B revenue; 35.1M iPhones sold

Sara Nord — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:45:05 +0000

Sales for Macs came in at about 4 million units, a 7 percent increase; iPods, 7.7 million, a 15 percent unit decline.

Apple wants to turn ‘3G’ into ‘4G’ to solve iPad 3 speed disputes

Ria Miller — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 14:10:52 +0000

Apple is currently in a legal dispute down under with the Australian competition regulator, but is attempting a novel way of digging its way out of trouble: by trying to rebrand what “4G” actually means.

German court upholds ban on Apple “push” email

Sara Nord — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:16:19 +0000

Apple and Motorola - which Google Inc is in the process of acquiring - are engaged in global patent litigation, part of a broader legal fight over the smartphone market, with billions of dollars at stake.

Apple’s nonexistent iPhone naming scheme: Will next one be the iPhone 6, 5 or 4G?

Sara Nord — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:37:02 +0000

Now that the iPad 3 (yes, that is what Apple should call it) is out and available we are seeing even more rumors of the next iPhone.

Nokia Still Beats Apple Easily in the Mobile Browsing Market

Sara Nord — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:12:17 +0000

Sure, the iPhone and iPad are generally viewed as the most obvious mobile web browsing devices today, but a chart from StatCounter suggests that Apple is not dominating this space.

Many US police use cell phones to track: study

Ria Miller — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:37:16 +0000

Many US police departments use cell phone tracking, often without court orders, to find suspects and investigate criminal cases, according to a study released Monday.

China’s mobile phone subscriptions top a billion in 2012

Sara Nord — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 07:17:59 +0000

China said Friday it had broken the barrier of one billion mobile phone accounts at the end of February, as more people in the world's most populous country ditch fixed phones.

Apple hit by China Foxconn factory report

Sara Nord — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:19:11 +0000

An independent investigation has found "significant issues" among working practices at Chinese plants making Apple iPhones and iPads.

Siri Suit: Apple Sued Again Over ‘Deceptive’ Commercials

Ria Miller — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 16:24:09 +0000

Uh-oh. Looks like Siri is in trouble once again. Watch video.

Apple’s Siri ‘Rock God’ Commercial: How Accurate Is It, Really?

Ria Miller — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:23:58 +0000

Apple's Siri-centric commercials for the iPhone 4S are the focus of a controversy this week, as a man in New York is suing Apple for what he claims are "misleading" TV advertisements.

Free Apps Drain Smartphone Batteries

Sara Nord — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:37:27 +0000

Paying for your applications can make your smartphone battery last longer, according to research.

Cubacel: Super Cuba X2 Deal doubles your airtime

Sara Nord — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:35:02 +0000

From cysend.com send money to Cubacel prepaid mobile in Cuba and double your top up. Send 20/30/50 CUC get 40/60/100 CUC. Super Cuba X2 Deal will run from 19 to 22 March (Cuba time) 2012.

Orange resolves 3G data network problems

Sara Nord — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 18:21:14 +0000

The network's parent company - Everything Everywhere - said it did not believe the issue had affected users on its other network, T-Mobile.

F.C.C. Asks for Guidance on Whether, and When, to Cut Off Cellphone Service

Ria Miller — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:14:11 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing whether or when the police and other government officials can intentionally interrupt cellphone and Internet service to protect public safety.

Mozillaphone is 10 times cheaper than iPhone

Ria Miller — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:29:44 +0000

A powerful Latin American mobile operator will carry Mozilla's browser-based B2G OS, a challenger to iOS and Android, into Latin America. Deutsche Telekom is showing interest, too.

Demo of smartphone attack at RSA

Heidi Woodson — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:38:41 +0000

Hole in Webkit software used in browsers affects mobile and desktops but is more easily exploited on smartphones where security is limited, researcher says.

App helps blind to text

Ria Miller — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:12:00 +0000

Researchers at Georgia Tech produced the app - to be made available on Apple and Android devices - based on the Braille writing system.

Canonical: Ubuntu on Android smartphones

Sara Nord — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:39:06 +0000

Canonical has revealed Ubuntu for Android, a dual-OS concept that allows a smartphone to be used as a desktop when docked.

Germany: Apple suspends push email service

Heidi Woodson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:55:00 +0000

Apple has been forced to stop push email for iCloud and MobileMe users on iOS devices while they are in Germany. Push email allows users to see their messages on their devices automatically as soon as they are delivered.

Sentinel project shows GPS jammer use

Roger Morris — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:51:07 +0000

The Sentinel project, which has been running since January 2011, was designed to measure GPS jamming on UK roads. The project, run by GPS-tracking company Chronos Technology, picked up the illegal jamming incidents via four GPS sensors in trials lasting from two to six months per location.

Social messaging apps ‘lost networks $13.9bn in 2011′

Ria Miller — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 20:35:40 +0000

Analysis firm Ovum studied global use of popular services like Whatsapp, Blackberry Messenger and Facebook chat.

iPhone 4 antennagate suit: settlement reached

Heidi Woodson — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 12:34:42 +0000

Original iPhone 4 buyers can get either $15 or a new bumper case from Apple as part of a newly settled class-action lawsuit.

Cisco to challenge Microsoft Skype deal

Sara Nord — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:10:11 +0000

The networking giant said conditions needed to be set to ensure Microsoft would not block other video services.

Social apps pick smartphone contacts

Roger Morris — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:03:20 +0000

Twitter has admitted copying entire address books from smartphones and storing the data on its servers, often without customers' knowledge.

Google Motorola merger: EU and US approval

Ria Miller — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:13:32 +0000

US regulators have approved Google's $12.5bn (£7.9bn) bid for phone maker Motorola Mobility, hours after it won clearance from European authorities.

St. Valentine’s promotion: double Cubacel mobile recharge

Sara Nord — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:31:13 +0000

From cysend.com send money online to Cubacel mobiles in Cuba on St. Valentine’s day and double your mobile recharge: send 20/30/50 CUC - get 40/60/100 CUC!

Skype 5.8: full HD calls, facebook integration

Roger Morris — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:39:50 +0000

Skype for Windows version 5.8 is out, bringing several interesting features, including full HD video-calling, group screen sharing and Facebook integration.

Nokia Lumia 900: now you can pre-order it

Ria Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:45:25 +0000

If you live near a Microsoft retail store, you can now pre-order a Nokia Lumia 900 with a $25 down payment, the Verge reports.

Leaked Windows Phone 8

Heidi Woodson — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:16:33 +0000

Windows Phone 8 will be based on the same kernel as Windows 8, and will support multicore processors, NFC, and full device encryption according to a leaked video seen by PocketNow.

Motorola makes Apple sell iPads and iPhones in Germany

Sara Nord — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:25:45 +0000

Apple has pulled several iPad and iPhone models from its German online store after Motorola Mobility enforced a patent injunction against its rival.

Apple bug let spy on a stranger’s iPhone

Heidi Woodson — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:06:35 +0000

Every single iMessage to and from this man's iPhone—his friends call him Wiz—has been sent to us by accident. We know about his job, sex life, and address. Apple, you might want to fix this.

A phone which scan air for toxins

Roger Morris — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:32:36 +0000

What if you could use your phone to test the air for toxins? What if you could monitor your health simply by blowing on it? Sounds amazing, right? Nanosensor technology developed by NASA Ames is going to make that a reality.

Angry Birds CEO: piracy is an opportunity

Heidi Woodson — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:30:36 +0000

At the Midem conference in Cannes, Rovio CEO Mikael Hed announced, "Piracy may not be a bad thing: it can get us more business at the end of the day."

Top 10 tips for Facebook iPhone app

Sara Nord — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:12:48 +0000

Eager for a better way to manage your notifications or more quickly access your BFFs? Try these 10 handy hints to become Facebook iPhone app fluent.

BlackBerry London’s look leaked

Ria Miller — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:31:02 +0000

Looking strikingly similar to an iPhone, this new BlackBerry London is sleek and black with rounded edges.

How much Apple could buy with their money?

Ria Miller — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:08:45 +0000

Apple just had its biggest quarter in history - insane $46.33 billion in revenue. But do we really know how much money $46.33 billion is? It's hard to visualize, so this presentation and facts may help.

Get naked: don’t ruin your phone with a case!

Roger Morris — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:42:35 +0000

It's time to lose your cover for good, and let your phone roam free, nude, as nature intended. There are as many reasons to toss your case in the garbage as there are grains of sand on an ugly, gaudy, expensive beach.

iPhones and iPads are made of human costs

Sara Nord — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:22:42 +0000

Workers assembling iPhones, iPads and other devices often labor in harsh conditions, according to employees inside those plants, worker advocates and documents published by companies themselves. Problems are as varied as onerous work environments and serious — sometimes deadly — safety problems.

Nokia Windows tablet: should we expect it?

Heidi Woodson — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:17:16 +0000

The reinvention of Nokia is going slowly. So, shall its producers try completely unexpected step - Nokia Windows tablet?

Tablet stylus: a comeback?

Sara Nord — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:32:03 +0000

It seems like the company just might try to revive this old trend, much like those indie rockers and fashionable hipsters of New York City are bringing back bygone fashion trends many of us who lived through them the first time wish we could forget.

Size matters: compare smartphone proportions by sticking it up to the screen

Ria Miller — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:45:07 +0000

When you go to phone-size.com, it first asks you about the aspect ratio and size of your screen. Once you’ve enter that data, you can choose between dozens of the latest smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Google, BlackBerry, LG, HTC, Motorola, Sony and more. Then you can compare smartphones to your heart’s content.

Motorola Droid Razr Maxx: a massive battery

Roger Morris — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:20:55 +0000

Verizon and Motorola may boast that the Motorola Droid Razr Maxx, on sale beginning today, has a boosted battery capable of lasting a full day and night.

Too busy to call your mom? Hashtagmom will do that for you

Heidi Woodson — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:37:54 +0000

Looking to ease the anxiety for the mothers of the world whose brats kids are too busy to call is #hashtagmom. You check-in somewhere on Foursquare with the titular #mom hashtag, and it’ll do all the talking (or texting) for you.

iPhone multi-screen game: expand your playing space

Ria Miller — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:17:00 +0000

All of Apple’s iDevices — iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches — are a ton of fun, but for the most part that fun happens on a tiny screen. Now one gaming app is expanding the view with some fancy Bluetooth technology that allows a shared-screen experience across multiple devices.