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Archive for the ‘Cellphones’ Category

postheadericon European Union’s ‘One charger for all’ starts sampling, coming this year


It was way back in summer of 2009 that Nokia, Apple, RIM, and the rest of the mobile world agreed to make micro-USB the connector around which all future European chargers would be built. Since then, most of those companies have transitioned their hardware to micro-USB without further prompting, but the European Union is still pushing ahead with a universally compatible charger standard to make sure everything is nice and harmonized. The details of what's expected of these chargers were published in December and now the first samples of the new hardware have been produced. The EU expects all manufacturers to have chargers adhering to the new guidelines by the end of 2011 -- and if you're wondering about how Apple, one of the signatories to this agreement, will handle it, there's a note to say that adapters will be allowed on phones without a micro-USB port. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading European Union's 'One charger for all' starts sampling, coming this year

European Union's 'One charger for all' starts sampling, coming this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register  |  sourceEuropa.eu  | Email this | Comments

postheadericon European Union’s ‘One charger for all’ starts sampling, coming this year


It was way back in summer of 2009 that Nokia, Apple, RIM, and the rest of the mobile world agreed to make micro-USB the connector around which all future European chargers would be built. Since then, most of those companies have transitioned their hardware to micro-USB without further prompting, but the European Union is still pushing ahead with a universally compatible charger standard to make sure everything is nice and harmonized. The details of what's expected of these chargers were published in December and now the first samples of the new hardware have been produced. The EU expects all manufacturers to have chargers adhering to the new guidelines by the end of 2011 -- and if you're wondering about how Apple, one of the signatories to this agreement, will handle it, there's a note to say that adapters will be allowed on phones without a micro-USB port. Full press release after the break.

Continue reading European Union's 'One charger for all' starts sampling, coming this year

European Union's 'One charger for all' starts sampling, coming this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Register  |  sourceEuropa.eu  | Email this | Comments

postheadericon UN: worldwide internet users hit two billion, cellphone subscriptions top five billion

The UN's International Telecommunication Union predicted last fall that the number of internet users worldwide would hit two billion by the end of 2010, and it's now issued its full report that confirms just that -- 2.08 billion, to be specific. As the ITU's Hamadoun Toure notes, that number represents a huge leap from the mere 250 million internet users that existed a decade ago, and it means that roughly one third of the world's population now has internet access of some sort -- of those, 555 million have a fixed broadband subscription, and 950 million have mobile broadband. Just as impressive as that (if not moreso), are the number of cellphone subscriptions worldwide, which has now crossed the five billion mark. That's up from 500 million at the beginning of the year 2000, although the agency notes that it's only accounted for "subscriptions," and not individual users. Any way you slice it, however, that's quite a record of growth for the first decade of the 21st century.

UN: worldwide internet users hit two billion, cellphone subscriptions top five billion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @BryanAlexander (Twitter)  |  sourceITU, AFP  | Email this | Comments

postheadericon Verizon iPhone first hands-on! (update: video)

We just got a look at the Verizon version of the iPhone 4. Guess what? It's just like an iPhone 4! There's no custom pre-loaded Verizon software (like VCAST or some such bloatware), just that mobile hotspot tweak in the settings menu. There's also no Verizon branding on the phone, though that's hardly a surprise given Apple's hatred of all logos that aren't its own. The only real physical difference we can find are those tweaked CDMA-compatible antennas running around the edge -- four in all, placed symmetrically and bumping down the volume / mute buttons. Interestingly, the phone is running iOS version 4.2.5, so perhaps that mobile hotspot functionality will make its way over to other iPhones when they sync up on iOS updates. We did try a speed test, clearing the cache and loading various sites simultaneously on the Verizon phone and our AT&T device, and while there were variations in the load times, there were too many external factors to really make a judgment call just yet.

Continue reading Verizon iPhone first hands-on! (update: video)

Verizon iPhone first hands-on! (update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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postheadericon AT&T, Verizon, RIM get serious about security for mobile devices

As commonplace as smartphones have become, it's about time that carriers and manufacturers start getting serious about mobile security (and no, we don't mean iPhone tethers). According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Verizon is currently working with Lookout, a San Francisco-based company known for remote backup and geolocation apps for BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Mobile devices, while RIM has recently announced a little something called BlackBerry Protect, which promises to lock or even wipe a misplaced phone, pinpoint the thing on a map, and make regularly-scheduled wireless backups. By far the most ambitious plans in the article, however, belong to AT&T, which -- aside from recent deals with MobileIron and McAfee -- is currently opening a new mobile security lab in New York City. From here, the company will research malware, worms, viruses, and other threats as they develop in the mobile sphere. "Everyone is realizing that this is an uncontrolled environment," said AT&T chief security officer Edward G. Amoroso. "We don't want to have the same problems that we had with PCs."

AT&T, Verizon, RIM get serious about security for mobile devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments