EBay Inc.’s online payments unit PayPal on Tuesday unveiled new software that will let people to use their phones to make payments, as well as a new platform that will make it easier for consumers to pay for digital media, music and games. Get the full story »
Filed under: Telecommunications
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Oct. 26, 2010 at 12:56 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Consumer electronics, Credit Cards, Retail, Software, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless PayPal software to let users pay with their phones
Oct. 25, 2010 at 5:46 p.m.
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Filed under: Computers, Software, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Retiring software chief to Microsoft: Move on
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Corp.’s departing software chief, has asked the company to move on from its roots as a computer-oriented company to imagine a “post-PC world” that relies on wireless devices and the Internet to function.
The call from Ozzie, who announced his retirement from Microsoft last week, is meant to galvanize the company, which has fallen behind Apple Inc. and Google Inc. in the rapidly growing phone and tablet computer sector that many now see as key to the future. Get the full story »
Oct. 25, 2010 at 12:55 p.m.
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Filed under: Consumer electronics, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Wi-Fi Alliance certifies next step in wireless
Mashable.com | The Wi-Fi Alliance has begun certifying devices as Wi-Fi Direct capable. Wi-Fi Direct will enable device-to-device connections using current Wi-Fi standards, allowing the devices to basically become their own hotspots.
Oct. 25, 2010 at 11:55 a.m.
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Filed under: Consumer electronics, Technology, Telecommunications Sprint’s Tablet is cheaper, but requires a contract
The Samsung Galaxy Tab. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)
Sprint Nextel plans to sell its iPad rival, the Galaxy Tab from Samsung Electronics, for a third less than the tablet computer’s price tag at Verizon Wireless. But the offer still comes with a catch that at least one analyst said would limit sales.
On Nov. 14, Sprint will kick off sales for the $400 Tab, seen as the most credible competitor so far to Apple Inc.’s popular iPad, which has been on sale for $630 since earlier this year.
But while Sprint customers will pay less up front, they may end up forking over more cash over time. The discount comes with a two-year contract requiring monthly service fees starting at $29.99 for two gigabytes of data downloads. Get the full story »
Verizon to offer $15 smartphone data plans
Verizon Wireless plans to introduce a less expensive–but restricted–data plan for smartphone customers next week, according to a person familiar with the plans, in a move that follows AT&T Inc.’s own offer of two tiers of pricing.
The nation’s largest wireless carrier by subscribers will offer a $15 monthly plan that gives customers 150 megabytes of data starting Oct. 28. But unlike AT&T, it will keep available its $29.99 monthly unlimited data plan. The change was first reported by technology news Web site Engadget. Get the full story »
Oct. 14, 2010 at 2:40 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Consumer electronics, Internet, Regulations, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless FCC weighs creating fund to boost broadband
A new fund could help bring high speed Internet to unserved and remote areas of the United States, U.S. telecommunications regulators said on Thursday.
The Federal Communications Commission proposed allocating universal service funds — fees consumers pay telephone companies to subsidize landline phone services for low-income and rural families — to create a “mobility fund” to expand broadband Internet to areas without service. Get the full story »
Oct. 13, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
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Filed under: Consumer news, Policy, Technology, Telecommunications FCC eyes an end to shocking mobile phone bills
Mobile phone companies would have to warn customers before they rack up eye-popping extra fees on their bills under rules that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will propose Thursday.
The FCC wants to curb so-called bill shock by making mobile phone companies send text or voice alerts to customers before charging them for services not covered by their plans.
“Our core goal is to make it easy for consumers to determine their destiny when it comes to their services and their monthly bills,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Get the full story »
Oct. 13, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.
Filed under: Advertising/Marketing, Cell phones, Telecommunications, Tourism SCVNGR adds mobile games, perks in Chicago
A mobile application that combines games and perks at local businesses is launching Wednesday in Chicago with the Chicago Office of Tourism and other area institutions.
SCVNGR is the latest location-based service to enter the Chicago market. These apps, which allow consumers to “check in” at local businesses, have become increasingly popular, thanks to the rise of companies such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Yelp and Facebook have also added location-based features to their offerings. The SCVNGR app is available for both the iPhone and Android-based phones. Get the full story »
Amazon to compete with Google on Android apps
Amazon.com Inc. plans to open a software-applications store for smartphones running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, putting it in head-to-head competition with Google’s own digital-app store.
According to an Amazon document for developers viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Amazon would take a 30 percent cut of sales, with the developers keeping the rest. The document includes a stipulation that the apps can’t be offered at a lower price elsewhere. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 4:03 p.m.
Filed under: Cell phones, Technology, Telecommunications, Updated, Wireless Verizon iPhone due early next year
Apple CEO Steve Jobs showing off the first version of the iPhone in 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Apple Inc. plans to begin making a new iPhone by the end of the year, and Verizon Wireless will begin selling them in early 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
AT&T is the sole U.S. carrier for the popular smartphone, and investors and consumers alike have long speculated over when Apple will expand distribution. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 1:53 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Computers, Technology, Telecommunications, Wireless Chicago part of Verizon’s year-end 4G rollout
Chicago is one of the 38 cities that will be included in Verizon Wireless’ launch of its 4G network later this year, the operator said Wednesday.
Verizon, which will use a fourth-generation network technology called Long-Term Evolution, said its Chicagoland network will extend from the Wisconsin border, to Tinley Park and Homer Glen to Lake Zurich, Hoffman Estates and Bolingbrook. Lake Michigan will form the network’s eastern border. Get the full story »
Oct. 5, 2010 at 5:09 p.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Telecommunications, Updated, Wireless Motorola to offer new Android phones for AT&T
AT&T Inc., the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, plans to sell three smartphones from Motorola Inc. based on Google Inc.’s Android software, potentially helping the phone maker depend less on Verizon Wireless, its most important U.S. customer.
The new devices, announced Tuesday, are aimed at a more cost-conscious audience than Motorola’s flagship Droid X device, which Verizon Wireless sells for $200. Get the full story »
Oct. 4, 2010 at 8:32 a.m.
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Filed under: Cell phones, Computers, Investing, Software, Technology, Telecommunications Goldman Sachs downgrades Microsoft
Goldman Sachs downgraded Microsoft Corp. on Monday to neutral from buy, and lowered its price target on the software giant to $28 from $32.
Among the reasons for the move, the broker cited “increased caution near-term on a more elongated PC refresh cycle” as well as the threat that some of the notebook market could be cannibalized by tablet PCs, where Microsoft Windows doesn’t yet have a presence. Get the full story »
