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- Engadget Podcast 282 - 02.24.2012
- Google's 'continuous gesture' patent application runs circles around copy and paste
- The Engadget Show 30: DJ Spooky, Google, Toy Fair and a pinball museum
- Whitman expects HP Windows 8 Intel tablet this year
- Acer's CloudMobile gets manhandled, sexy shell may hide Android secrets (video)
- The winners of the 2011 Engadget Awards -- Editors' Choice (and enter to win an unlocked Galaxy Nexus!)
- Google plans to sell off stake in Clearwire at a steep loss
- Intel joins the Document Foundation, pimps LibreOffice
- Dropbox app drops the beta: automatic photo upload goes official on Android, coming soon to iOS
- Nokia Belle earns corporate street-cred with Microsoft Office apps
- Nokia is the largest Windows Phone maker in the world, after one quarter
- Acer Liquid Glow: Glossy-coated ICS phone to show up at MWC
- Roll out the red carpet -- Distro Issue 29 presents the Engadget Awards
- Face-recognizing billboard ad identifies gender: no boys allowed (video)
- Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones
- Cirque's proximity and grip sensor knows your left from your right, won't let you turn up your car stereo
- ViewSonic adds ViewPad G70, E100 and P100 to its tablet collection
- ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich
- Apple chomps Chomp to improve App Store search
- ASUS Transformer TF101 Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out now in the US
- If God is a DJ, these are his decks (video)
- Apple releases EFI firmware updates for 2011 Macs, crushes bugs
- Apple says iCloud and MobileMe push email down in Germany, due to Motorola lawsuit (Update)
- TiVo software coming to Pace set-top boxes
- Sprint launches New Ventures arm, adapts ID and Zone apps for foreign markets
- Proton and Yes team up to offer Malaysia's first 4G-connected car, promise more to come
- FCC thinks ISPs should do a better job preventing fraud, theft
- Robot navigates, reassembles truss structures
- Apple patent application points to DJ-like beat matching, pairs iTunes with fist pumps
- Roku remote for iOS updated, easier navigation features in tow
- Hack enables fast refresh mode on Nook Simple Touch (video)
- 'Hugo' director Martin Scorsese, cast explain the advantages of shooting movies in 3D (video)
- The Engadget Interview: BlackBerry PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley
- Mozilla rumored to debut LG-made Boot to Gecko device at MWC
- Drexel University turns to 3D scanners, printers to build robotic dinosaurs
- TiVo releases Q4 results, announces transcoder and IP set-top box on the way
- Samsung demos new 32nm quad-core Exynos ahead of MWC
- LG's upcoming MWC lineup runs into some Italians, gets documented on video
- Everything Everywhere promises 'small-scale LTE launch' in UK by the end of 2012
| Engadget Podcast 282 - 02.24.2012 Posted: 24 Feb 2012 10:00 AM PST  Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Dana Wollman Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: Orbital - Never 00:06:13 - BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 review 00:24:04 - ComScore report finds 42 percent of US mobile users have smartphones, Android at nearly 50 percent 00:36:30 - NPD: Apple grabs over a quarter of the mobile PC business in Q4 2011 (including iPads), HP tops with laptops 00:41:28 - Verizon 4G LTE outage hitting parts of the US (Update: it's back) 00:54:33 - Google 'close' to picking new Motorola Mobility CEO, say the usual gang of sources 01:04:52 - NYT: Google to sell Android-based heads-up display glasses this year 01:12:03 - Skier saved from deadly avalanche by airbag backpack 00:15:00 - The winners of the 2011 Engadget Awards -- Readers' Choice Hear the podcast Subscribe to the podcast [iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace. Download the podcast LISTEN (MP3) LISTEN (AAC) Contact the podcast Send your questions to @tim_stevens. Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005) E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot com Twitter: @bheater, @tim_stevens, @danawollman This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Google's 'continuous gesture' patent application runs circles around copy and paste Posted: 24 Feb 2012 09:39 AM PST  You know the drill, you're browsing an article about volcanos on your phone and want to know more about Eyjafjallajokull. You've got two options, commit that bad-boy to memory, or fiddle with copy and paste. Well, Google not only feels your pain, but has some medicine for it too -- if a patent filing is anything to go by. The application describes a two-part continuous gesture for easier searching on touchscreens. Imagine drawing a "g" with your finger, then circling the text or image you want to search in one motion, and you'll get the basic drift. It's also indicated that different letters could be drawn to search different sites, "w" for Wikipedia, "y" for Yahoo and so on. The patent also includes methods to search for multiple words from the same text, or even words and images. Certainly it's not too much of a stretch to imagine this becoming a standard part of Android, but, as always, we don't know for sure. That said, chances are we'll still be typing out our Icelandic friend's name by the time we do find out. |
| The Engadget Show 30: DJ Spooky, Google, Toy Fair and a pinball museum Posted: 24 Feb 2012 09:00 AM PST The Engadget Show has just hit the big 3-0, and to celebrate, we're stretching out our legs in a more spacious locale. Yep, we're hitting the Times Center this month, but don't worry, we've got plenty of show to fill up the space. We'll be kicking things off by checking out February's hottest gadgets, including the Droid 4, AT&T's Galaxy Note, the PlayStation Vita and Apple's newly announced OS X Mountain Lion. Next up, Brian takes a trip to Toy Fair in NYC and comes back with a table full of some of the coolest products of the show -- helicopter flying and water pellet gunfire ensue. Then we head to Asbury Park, NJ to check out the Silverball Museum, for some Springsteen-worshiping pinball action, and Michael Gorman visits the Googleplex in Mountain View, to get to the bottom of Google Translate. We cap the show off with a performance and conversation with DJ Spooky, who tells us all about his iPad app and his latest project, The Book of Ice. Hosts: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater Special guests: DJ Spooky, Josh Estelle Producer: Guy Streit Director: Michelle Stahl Executive Producers: Joshua Fruhlinger, Brian Heater and Michael Rubens Download the Show: The Engadget Show - 030 (HD) / The Engadget Show - 030 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show - 030 (Small) Subscribe to the Show: [iTunes] Subscribe to the Show directly in iTunes (MP4). [Zune] Subscribe to the Show directly in the Zune Marketplace (MP4). [RSS MP4] Add the Engadget Show feed (MP4) to your RSS aggregator and have it delivered automatically. [HD RSS] Get the Engadget Show delivered automatically in HD. [iPad RSS] Get the Engadget Show in iPad-friendly adaptive format. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Whitman expects HP Windows 8 Intel tablet this year Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:46 AM PST  Looks like old Fujitsu isn't the only PC-maker looking to get into the Windows 8 tablet business before year's end. Addressing a conference in Northern California, HP CEO Meg Whitman let it be known that her company plans on pushing out an Intel-packing tablet running the new Microsoft operating system in 2012. How about a dual-boot webOS system, Meg? We can dream, can't we? |
| Acer's CloudMobile gets manhandled, sexy shell may hide Android secrets (video) Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:28 AM PST  |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 08:00 AM PST |
| Google plans to sell off stake in Clearwire at a steep loss Posted: 24 Feb 2012 07:36 AM PST  It was just under four years ago that Sprint and Clearwire brought together an impressive group of companies as part of a multi-billion dollar partnership to back the WiMAX service provider, but it's safe to say that things haven't quite worked out as planned in the years since. While Clearwire is of course still up and running, its WiMAX-based network has faced an uphill battle against other carriers' LTE-based networks, which even Sprint and Clearwire itself have been switching to. Now one of those partners, Google, has decided to offload its stake in Clearwire at a steep loss. According to an SEC filing, Google will be selling off its shares at a price of $1.60 each, or just over $47 million in all -- that's compared to the $500 million it spent to invest in the company. Not surprisingly, that has caused Clearwire's stock to take a bit of a tumble. As of this writing, shares in the Washington-based company were down almost six percent. |
| Intel joins the Document Foundation, pimps LibreOffice Posted: 24 Feb 2012 07:14 AM PST  |
| Dropbox app drops the beta: automatic photo upload goes official on Android, coming soon to iOS Posted: 24 Feb 2012 06:51 AM PST  |
| Nokia Belle earns corporate street-cred with Microsoft Office apps Posted: 24 Feb 2012 06:27 AM PST  Microsoft Apps for Nokia Belle GLOBAL – Great news for business users! From this week, you'll see the first instalment of productivity apps from Microsoft – christened Microsoft Apps – arrive on your Nokia Belle smartphone for free. Not only the new and exciting user interface with six home screens, new widgets and a whole host of exciting enhancements, Belle power users also reap the full benefit of the Nokia and Microsoft partnership with these business-friendly applications. The Nokia Belle update now makes it possible for just about anyone with a Belle phone to stay productive and connected to their work environment from just about anywhere. David Mason, who heads the product marketing team for Business Mobility, had this to say: "The idea of IT consumerisation is no longer just an idea – it's real and happening everywhere around us. People are making their own choices when it comes to deciding which smartphone they want to carry – at home and at work. And there's really no need for a separate phone just to check your work email. With all the right security policies, great devices and the right apps – especially when they were developed and tested by Microsoft – both you and your IT manager can stay happy." Here's what's included in the first instalment: Microsoft® OneNote™ enables you to create rich text notebooks using words and images. These notebooks are automatically synced with SkyDrive, so you'll never lose an important note again, and you can access them from all your Windows-enabled devices. Microsoft® Document Connection provides a single view to all documents in your device, attached in your emails and in SharePoint. See all your important documents in one glimpse and filter them by person, time and document type to find the one you are looking for. Microsoft® Lync™ 2010 Mobile gives you the ability chat with your colleagues using IM. Want to chat with the whole team? The multi-party chat is perfect for the job. Always keep the team up-to-date with your presence (online, offline, busy, and so on). Microsoft® PowerPoint® Broadcast lets you share your PowerPoint presentations from your PC via your phone. You can also combine these with Lync audio messages, too. With support for 48 different languages, wherever you are in the world, you'll be able to stay productive on your Nokia Belle smartphone. Microsoft Apps are available for the Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Nokia C6-01, Nokia X7, Nokia Oro, Nokia 700, Nokia 701, Nokia 603 right away, and later for Nokia N8, Nokia E6 and Nokia 500. The new productivity apps will be delivered to your phone via the software update app on your phone, and only once you've updated to Nokia Belle. So keep your eyes peeled for the notification. Also watch out for more exciting business news on the next instalment of Microsoft Apps in the coming months. For the first time ever, Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint will be made available as native applications in a smartphone, outside Microsoft's own platforms. |
| Nokia is the largest Windows Phone maker in the world, after one quarter Posted: 24 Feb 2012 06:04 AM PST  While we can't really say that we're surprised, Nokia has snagged the top spot for Windows Phone devices. Strategy Analytics reports that the Finnish smartphone maker now sits atop the global charts for the Microsoft mobile OS after being in the game for just one quarter. Nokia overtook HTC and Samsung to claim a 33% market share with 0.9 million out of the 2.7 million units shipped in Q4. Aided by the Lumia family's expansion to several new territories and the 36% growth of the platform overall for the quarter, the company has taken "an encouraging baby step forward." If you're itching for more details, hit up the source link below. |
| Acer Liquid Glow: Glossy-coated ICS phone to show up at MWC Posted: 24 Feb 2012 05:41 AM PST  The New Liquid Glow Smartphone - A handful of friendship and fun Acer presents its Liquid Glow smartphone at the 2012 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Based on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system, this smartphone brings the ultimate balance between style, performance and affordability - ideal for today's fun-seeking, social-networking youth. The Liquid Glow sports a 3.7-inch screen and portrays Acer's signature look with nice curves, chrome details, and a soft-touch casing combined to deliver the perfect size, grip and feel. This new smartphone will be available in a series of trendy colors: Sakura Pink, Alpine White, and Cat's-eye Black. Going a step further, the onscreen display style varies with the external color, making each smartphone a unique fashion statement. The Liquid Glow brings together the power and the convenience of Ice Cream Sandwich, providing a user-friendly interface along with widgets to easily stay connected, entertained and updated. It also works with the latest voice-input engine from Google, which guarantees a continuous "open microphone" experience and streaming voice recognition. The smartphone's 5 MP rear camera features an LED flash for low light, as well as panoramic image capture and touch focus. With Android Beam, photos can be shared by a single tap with another NFC powered Android device, without the hassle of launching application or pairing. What's more, Android Beam can also share anything like contacts, favorite apps, music or videos instantaneously through NFC. Please come and see the new Liquid Glow smartphone at Acer Pod, located inside the Google Android Booth, Hall 8 - 8C25. The Acer Liquid Glow will be available in early summer 2012. |
| Roll out the red carpet -- Distro Issue 29 presents the Engadget Awards Posted: 24 Feb 2012 05:15 AM PST  Distro Issue 29 PDF Distro on the iTunes App Store Distro in the Android Market Distro APK (for sideloading) Like Distro on Facebook Follow Distro on Twitter This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Face-recognizing billboard ad identifies gender: no boys allowed (video) Posted: 24 Feb 2012 04:44 AM PST  |
| Fraunhofer's Full-HD Voice brings high fidelity VoLTE to Android smartphones Posted: 24 Feb 2012 04:19 AM PST  Fraunhofer IIS Presents the World's First Full-HD Voice Calls on Android Phones over LTE at Mobile World Congress 2012 Interactive Full-HD Voice demo available on www.full-hd-voice.com. BARCELONA - Feb. 23, 2012 (MWC Hall 2.0, Booth 2E41) – Fraunhofer IIS, the world's renowned source for audio and multimedia technologies, presents the world's first Full-HD Voice mobile phone calls over an LTE network at Mobile World Congress. Full-HD Voice is the future of mobile communications, taking audio quality to a new dimension. For the first time, it enables mobile phone calls to sound as clear as talking to another person in the same room, at a quality level that is equal to that experienced by consumers on any other audio/video device. Visitors to the Fraunhofer booth can experience Full-HD Voice in a live demo using Android mobile phones in which the Full-HD Voice codec AAC-ELD has been integrated. These Android phones are connected to an LTE network provided by Fraunhofer HHI. Unlike in mobile communications, Full-HD Voice is already established in several VoIP, video telephony and conferencing systems. "Every day, millions of users already make Full-HD Voice calls over IP connections," said Harald Popp, head of the department Multimedia Realtime Systems at Fraunhofer IIS, "With the introduction of LTE, now is the perfect time to introduce Full-HD Voice to mobile communications as well. Our AAC-ELD audio codec is the perfect solution for all upcoming mobile Full-HD Voice services." Currently, the majority of phone calls are limited to 3.5 kHz. Emerging HD Voice services offered by some operators extend the upper limit to 7 kHz, whereas humans are able to perceive audio signals up to 20 kHz. The Full-HD Voice codec AAC-ELD gives access to the full audible audio spectrum available, offering more than four times the audio bandwidth of regular phone calls and at least twice the bandwidth of HD Voice services. In contrast to regular speech codecs, AAC-ELD also transmits also music and other audio signals at a quality level comparable with HDTV and BluRay – without increasing the bit-rates in comparison to today's phone services. For an interactive quality comparison and more information, visit http://www.full-hd-voice.com. |
| Posted: 24 Feb 2012 03:57 AM PST Cirque releases proximity sensing technology that discerns user grip and right / left hand Cirque's latest sensor is able to distinguish between left and right hand(s) of one or more users. Salt Lake City, Utah - February 23, 2012 – Cirque, the creator of the capacitive trackpad, has added Proximity Sensing with Grip Detection to its portfolio of sensor technologies. This technology allows a physical control to discern whether it is being approached by a user's left or right hand and whether or not the user is gripping the control. The ability to discern between a right and left hand allows electronics to become smarter and safer. This technology can be used to differentiate the hands of driver and passenger (pilot and co-pilot) or the right and left hand of a single user at a smart terminal. Automobiles with this technology will be able to deactivate functions that might be too distracting for a driver. Grip Detection enables controls to be configured to behave differently before and after the user first touches the control. Upon sensing touch input, these smart-controls will be able to change menus, displays, or any other configurable attribute. "Proximity Sensing and Grip Detection allows consoles to provide more customized interaction for users," says Doug Moore, Vice President of Input Solutions. "This technology is going to make automobiles, kiosks, medical terminals and a host of other consoles easier to design and use." A video demonstration of the Proximity Sensing with Grip Detection technology can be found on Cirque's YouTube channel, or at the URL: http://youtu.be/MvDOsAttOWY. |
| ViewSonic adds ViewPad G70, E100 and P100 to its tablet collection Posted: 24 Feb 2012 03:36 AM PST  Another ICS tablet in this lineup is the 9.7-inch ViewPad E100. While we're still waiting for its press shots, we're told that this slate packs a 1,024 x 768 IPS display, a 1GHz chip, and the usual selection of connectivity like HDMI, USB and microSD. All of this comes in a package weighing 620g and at 9.1mm thick. Last but not least, we have the Windows 7-powered ViewPad P100 pictured on the right, featuring a 10-inch 1,280 × 800 IPS display, a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom N2600 and a camera on both the front and the back. No deets on pricing and availability just yet, so stay tuned as we scan the MWC show floor next week. |
| ViewSonic goes dual-SIM with ViewPhone 4s, 4e and 5e, all packing Android Ice Cream Sandwich Posted: 24 Feb 2012 02:51 AM PST  If 3.5-inch displays aren't your cup of tea then you'll have to jump straight to the 5-inch ViewPhone 5e, but so far all we've been told is its 800 × 480 screen resolution. Could there be more in this dual-SIM beast? Stay tuned to our MWC coverage and you'll know as soon as we do. |
| Apple chomps Chomp to improve App Store search Posted: 24 Feb 2012 02:28 AM PST  |
| ASUS Transformer TF101 Ice Cream Sandwich update rolling out now in the US Posted: 24 Feb 2012 01:49 AM PST  Update: Outside the land of the free and the home of the Daytona 500? You may still be in luck, we're hearing it's out in Canada too, and the ASUS UK Twitter has confirmed today's the day across the pond as well. [Thanks, James, Rob & Udupa] |
| If God is a DJ, these are his decks (video) Posted: 24 Feb 2012 01:32 AM PST  |
| Apple releases EFI firmware updates for 2011 Macs, crushes bugs Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:48 AM PST  |
| Apple says iCloud and MobileMe push email down in Germany, due to Motorola lawsuit (Update) Posted: 24 Feb 2012 12:01 AM PST  Cupertino says it is has suspended push email via iCloud or MobileMe for users in Germany, due to "recent patent litigation by Motorola Mobility." Numerous disputes currently rage between the two companies, but this issue likely relates to a recent injunction Motorola won against iCloud. Push still works for Contacts and Calendars, but there's a page up on Apple's German support site (see the source link) telling people to use the Fetch settings on their iOS device to collect emails. There's a similar page on Apple's US site giving the same instructions to users who are travelling to Germany. Meanwhile, push email for OS X and via other service providers such as Microsoft Exchange Active Sync, is unaffected.Update: We've heard back from Apple and for its part, it is treating this as no big deal, focusing on the fact that it only applies to push email specifically and customers can still receive their emails other ways as mentioned above. As it is, it says this will affect only a "limited number of customers." Check after the break for the company's statement.
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| TiVo software coming to Pace set-top boxes Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:52 PM PST 
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| Sprint launches New Ventures arm, adapts ID and Zone apps for foreign markets Posted: 23 Feb 2012 09:49 PM PST  23 February 2012 Sprint Expands Global Reach with Creation of New Ventures Organization New organization drives open platform expansion into the international marketplace, including Mobile ID and Mobile Zone for international customers Sprint New Ventures Team will be on site at Mobile World Congress OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), February 23, 2012 - Looking for innovative ways to share the success of its existing mobile platforms and services, Sprint (NYSE:S) has created a New Ventures organization to focus on opportunities and new solutions with successful open ecosystems platforms to the wholesale and global marketplace. In the spirit of Sprint's continued commitment to an "open" mobile ecosystem, the group today unveiled open platforms Mobile ID and Mobile Zone, which are white-labeled variations of the popular Sprint ID and Sprint Zone applications. These platforms enable Sprint's International and Wholesale customers to replicate Sprint's success with the retail versions of the same services – driving enhanced customer engagement and revenue growth opportunities. The New Ventures goal is to deliver new business models and emerging opportunities that tap into the growth of the Android platform and the popularity of new applications and premium services to both drive revenue and increase overall customer satisfaction. "New Ventures, in partnership with Sprint's Product, Marketing and International teams, intends to help international carriers, OEM's and other partners improve efficiency, cut costs and drive revenue, while improving customer experience and satisfaction," said Mike Cooley, vice president, New Ventures - Sprint. "Sprint's Mobile ID and Mobile Zone platforms are just the beginning of the introduction of new capabilities specifically designed to accelerate and deepen consumer engagement with our partners, while encouraging consumers to purchase and interact with content and associate with brands." Mobile ID – Mobile ID delivers a complete mobile experience – centered on consumers', students' or businesses' interests or favorite brands – including applications, widgets, ringtones and wallpapers, all in a couple of simple clicks. With more than six million downloads in the U.S., Sprint smartphone users have already begun to harness the power of ID packs to create their own experiences while catering to different tastes and hobbies. Mobile ID enables personalization for the end user that offers access to a broad array of categories, allowing carriers around the world to deliver a successful customized application to defined markets and customer segments. Mobile Zone – Mobile Zone provides a messaging gateway for customers to access account information, learn about their device and discover new applications. Mobile Zone can enhance the user experience while improving carrier-to-customer interaction. An interactive and relevant mobile application, Mobile Zone allows users who are always on-the-go a way to manage their account and discover new content anywhere and at any time with news, suggestions, tips and tricks to getting the most out of their wireless service. Executives from the Sprint New Ventures and Wholesale Solutions teams will be attending 2012 Mobile World Congress February 27 – March 1 in Barcelona to showcase the aforementioned products. Please contact SprintWholesaleSolutions@sprint.com if you're interested in learning more about these solutions or other opportunities for partnership with Sprint. Sprint's Wholesale Solutions Group has a full suite of customizable solutions, including Global MPLS, which offers a flexible and scalable network foundation that enables customers to move to next-generation technologies, such as Fixed Mobile Convergence or Unified Communications; and Mobile Broadband on Demand, enabling end-users to purchase prepaid broadband by the day, week or month. Also available to Sprint Wholesale Solutions Group customers is access to reselling 4G, with faster download speeds and more bandwidth. Customers can choose from two very easy ways to deliver an MVNO wireless offering to market - Traditional Wireless Resale and Turnkey Back-office Wireless Resale. Go to sprint.com/wholesale to view the complete product portfolio, customer testimonials and white paper downloads. |
| Proton and Yes team up to offer Malaysia's first 4G-connected car, promise more to come Posted: 23 Feb 2012 08:57 PM PST  The first one may only amount to a MiFi housed in the dash (although that does come standard), but automaker Proton and Malaysian carrier Yes seem to have some fairly grand designs on 4G-connected cars. In addition to providing a WiFi hotpot for passengers, they eventually hope to use the 4G connectivity for a range of automotive-related applications, including vehicle diagnostics, security, and other location-based services. Notably for potential buyers, Yes's 4G coverage of Malyasia is fairly widespread, encompassing over 65 percent of the country's populated areas and the full 960 kilometer stretch of the country's North-South Expressway, as well as a "large portion" of its East-Coast Expressway. While details on those promised services or any future cars remain a bit light, that first one (the P3-21A sedan) will apparently soon be available. PROTON And YES Announce A Collaboration To Offer Malaysia's First 4G Internet Cars Posted on Feb 23, 2012 New Proton models in the future will have, as standard, high-speed mobile 4G connectivity utilising Yes 4G delivering seamless access to internet, high-definition multimedia content and much more. KUALA LUMPUR -February 22, 2012 - PROTON, Malaysia's national car maker, and Yes, one of the most advanced 4G networks in the world, today announced a collaboration to offer Malaysia's first 4G Internet cars. The two leading brands will collaborate in a partnership utilising each other's strengths in vehicle engineering and mobile internet connectivity to take advantage of new technologies, applications and services that will make high-speed mobile 4G connectivity a standard feature in future new Proton models. In the partnership, Proton customers will enjoy Yes as a new value-added standard feature in new Proton models beginning with the soon-to-be launched sedan, the P3-21A. The Proton cars will tap into the Yes 4G mobile internet network which currently covers over 65% of the country's populated areas. Yes is the only wireless network operator in the country that offers seamless 4G connectivity along the full 960km stretch of the North-South Expressway and a large portion of the East-Coast Expressway. "We would like to applaud PROTON for having the foresight to provide 4G connectivity to its customers. In today's world, high-speed mobile connectivity is just as essential as music players and air conditionings in automobiles. We are very excited to embark on the journey of making this vision a reality with PROTON. " said Dato' Yeoh Seok Hong, Executive Director of YTL Communications Sdn Bhd. "Yes is about bringing positive change and we are fully committed to providing better Internet for all. Our robust 4G network with its wide footprint brings high-speed 4G connectivity to both urban and rural areas serving users across the nation. This strategic partnership with PROTON will bring 4G connectivity to more Malaysians as Proton cars are indeed ubiquitous," added Dato' Yeoh. Up to five mobile devices can be connected to the car's micro wireless network at any one time providing high-speed internet access to users. In the future, PROTON and Yes aim to enable drivers with smart applications like remote real-time vehicle diagnostics, security and location-based services that will make the driving experience a safer, more convenient and enjoyable one. "The role of the automobile is diversifying and changing rapidly. It is no longer viewed solely for mobility purposes but is evolving into an extension of an individual's social and business circle. A fast wireless 4G connection in the car keeps you connected to this circle whatever your location may be. This initiative has been designed with the intention of offering Proton customers speed, mobility, convenience and greater productivity while on the road," said PROTON Holdings Group Managing Director, Dato' Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir. "It's not just about having the car 4G-empowered. We are now working to embed this technology into future Proton models. And this initiative is certainly in-line with our brand promise of being 'Commited To Be Better, as we are constantly seeking ways to enhance the ownership experience of a Proton car," he added. To mark this strategic collaboration, Yes and PROTON are giving away a one-of-a-kind, special edition Yes 4G internet enabled Proton Inspira worth RM100,000 as the main prize in the 'Win Malaysia's First 4G Internet Car' Facebook contest. This extensively customised Proton Inspira features a special paint job and limited edition 18-inch rims in addition to three units of Apple iPad 2 and a Yes Huddle 4G wireless mobile router, all mounted on specially engineered fixtures in the vehicle. The 'Win Malaysia's First 4G Internet Car' contest opens today and will run till 27 March 2012. For more information about the contest and full details of the special edition Proton Inspira powered by PROTON, visit www.proton.com |
| FCC thinks ISPs should do a better job preventing fraud, theft Posted: 23 Feb 2012 08:16 PM PST  |
| Robot navigates, reassembles truss structures Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:23 PM PST  |
| Apple patent application points to DJ-like beat matching, pairs iTunes with fist pumps Posted: 23 Feb 2012 06:41 PM PST  |
| Roku remote for iOS updated, easier navigation features in tow Posted: 23 Feb 2012 05:58 PM PST  Good news for folks who are enjoying the virtual hook-up between a certain line of miniature entertainment boxes and an iOS device. The Roku app's just hit version 1.1 and is bringing along some relatively fancy, but more importantly, useful features. Some of the new bits include a D-pad filled with buttons and shortcuts for apps like Netflix, Pandora and Crackle. Also, there's the inclusion of a new swipe-based remote -- which is optional -- that should help make navigating through applications a bit easier while you're lounging on the couch. You can grab the updated goodies now by heading to the App Store or hitting up the source link below. |
| Hack enables fast refresh mode on Nook Simple Touch (video) Posted: 23 Feb 2012 05:20 PM PST  [Thanks, Nate] |
| 'Hugo' director Martin Scorsese, cast explain the advantages of shooting movies in 3D (video) Posted: 23 Feb 2012 04:53 PM PST |
| The Engadget Interview: BlackBerry PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley Posted: 23 Feb 2012 04:00 PM PST  At the same time, the release of the 2.0 software has brought many of our outstanding questions to the fore: why weren't these features present in the first go-round? Why did the company take so long to flesh out its software? And lastly, when will we see some proper second-gen hardware? We sat down with PlayBook product manager Michael Clewley to discuss the slate's ups and downs, and how the revamped tablet stacks up in an increasingly crowded field. Was the unified inbox something you were shooting for with the first version of the OS? When we launched the PlayBook, we launched it with the BlackBerry Bridge as well to show that your two devices work really well together and you get that HD view into your smartphone. Obviously, that wasn't exactly what consumers wanted with the product, so from there we took the feedback and began working on it. We wanted to make sure that we take the product to the next level and not just deliver basic messaging, and that's what I think we've really done here. It's an overall integrated experience, not only with messaging, but with social. It goes across the device, so we wanted to make sure that that was an experience that would excite and delight users instead of just kind of meeting their expectations. So the messaging wasn't there in the first version because you didn't think that's what people wanted out of the device? Well, we wanted to make sure that the experience that we delivered for the PlayBook was something that BlackBerry users would find valuable. Again, the pairing of using your tablet with your phone to view email and keep that kind of view and synchronization in place is something we felt that would really excite BlackBerry users. But it seems that many users also just want an on-device built-in messaging application. That said, with 2.0, users are really excited about the new features in Bridge. Similar to how we've raised the bar with messaging, we've also raised expectations with the Bridge integration, with how these two devices work better together because of the remote control and because of the open-on features from your smartphone to your tablet. So you initially envisioned the PlayBook as more of a supplemental device to your smartphone? I think initially it was a great tablet for BlackBerry users to use as a companion to the smartphone, but what we've seen is that users who have the PlayBook love it just as much on its own. Are you finding that there are people picking up the PlayBook that aren't already BlackBerry users? For sure. I think that's why OS 2.0 is a big release for those users. It brings the built-in applications to those users and gets them that experience that comes goes with the BlackBerry. It brings native messaging, it brings the built-in contacts, the calendar to the PlayBook. The price has gone down significantly since release, but based on the initial MSRP, would it have made sense to position the PlayBook as a standalone tablet? Yeah, the PlayBook itself is a great device on its own, with lots of great applications. The browsing experience experience on the PlayBook is phenomenal, plus the content consumption experience is great. The thing that really resonated in the early PlayBook seven-inch form factor was the portability, plus the hardware that we have in the product. The dual-core 1GHz processor is still a valid hardware specification today, and it will be for a some time. It's powerful under the covers and it's what drew people to the product. Does that mean that it's going to be a little while before you have a new tablet device coming down the pipes? We never tend to comment on new hardware coming down the road. Now seems like the time. The first PlayBook was announced at CES 2011 and came out shortly after. Yeah, we had the big unveiling at CES 2011 and it launched in April of 2011, with our initial version of the software, which again, was a success for many users who appreciate the product and saw value in the product itself. So with OS 2.0, what we've done is essentially raised the bar with the value that it brings to the product, just giving it more holistic offerings. Does the 2.0 update keep it more competitive with the current batch of tablets? Yeah, not only do we have the built-in support for the applications I talked about, but it's a competitive platform for developers to bring applications to. We've seen a great influx of applications in the last several months, including apps that are built specifically for the PlayBook. We've seen titles like Angry Birds, Cut The Rope, Monopoly and Madden come to the BlackBerry PlayBook. With OS 2.0, we've also included support for Android applications, so Android developers can bring their apps and port their apps to PlayBook. It opens up, not only value for developers, but end users as they get more applications. The last area is the web. The PlayBook browser in OS 2.0 is just phenomenal. We're seeing some really great scores in the HTML5 tests, and it's very competitive even in the desktop browser space. So it's another great platform for developers, and again, when you get developers on the platform, the users benefit from having those applications. Is there a benefit, so far as you can see, for developers to develop an app on the native OS versus Android, if Android apps can be used on the device? The way we look at it is that the Android runtime is a way for developers that are new to the platform to get their feet wet. It allows them to see how successful they can be actually be to have an app on the platform. I'm sure you've heard this stuff recently, but even back at DevCon Europe, we did some myth-busting and BlackBerry developers tend to make the most money out of any other platforms out there today. What we have in terms of a development platform, whether it's native using QNX or whether it's web, we'll give you the best overall experience on a device. I want to make sure that we have a really great Android experience as well. We're not 100 percent compatible for all Android applications, but we're pretty good and that is again going to bring over those long tail applications for those who have never even touched the platform before. What are the specifics, as far Android app incompatibility? Our website tends to list what we do and don't support. Right now it's native APIs on Android runtime itself that are the big contenders. Why did the 2.0 update take so long to hit? We've been talking about [the promised update] for a while. We talked about it in an interview back in the summer. We first announced 2.0 on an investor call back in September. We wanted to make sure that when we actually released the product, we brought the right experience that was going to really wow users, and I think that's what we've really delivered here. Something that RIM can be proud of in general and that our users are gonna really enjoy. But you've been saying, "Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you PlayBook owners." Yeah, we wanted to make sure that PlayBook owners knew there was an OS update coming, and that we were listening to the feedback that we had gotten from them, and we're going to deliver on the experience to update what they're asking for. As far as the ever-dropping price point -- was the device over-priced in the beginning, or have the drops come as a result of increased competition? Yeah, I think that the tablet marketplace is still relatively new, but at the same time it's very, very competitive, so I think that the current price point and promotions that we're offering allow us to remain competitive in that market. In addition to that, with the feature set that we have now with OS 2.0, it really brings focus to the product and gives it a strong value proposition, so I think that this is an excellent opportunity for users to get a fantastic product. The low-end PlayBook is roughly the same price as the Kindle Fire with current promotions. What does this product bring to the tablet that other tablets don't? The big feature that we have right now is social everywhere. If you look back at BlackBerry, there's a lot of things that we do for users. The devices anticipate what your moves are. They give you the information before you know you need it, and I think that's what some of the things that we've delivered in OS 2. It's a really good device for someone who wants a really great tool, but also likes to have fun because we have a lot of really great applications. I would assume that enterprise functionality would be a pretty big selling point, as well. Definitely. With the launch of 2.0, we've also launched our next generation version of enterprise management. The next generation of BlackBerry Server, which is called BlackBerry Mobile Fusion allows you to not only manage your BlackBerry smartphones, but your tablet devices and enroll your tablets, push out applications, manage the tablets, make sure the data is being kept safe and secure, but also allow users to bring their own devices and continue to use them for fun while their using it for work as well. So this is an area where we're using the BlackBerry brand and trust and management and security to go further. So basically, you see it as a consumer tablet first with added enterprise functionality. With the introduction of Mobile Fusion, I would view it as a tablet that is for those who are working folks like the rest of us. They want to use the device not only for work purposes, but they want to use the device for fun as well. With BlackBerry Balance it allows the best of both worlds, so to speak. I can have work on my device but also have my games, it can have my Angry Birds, but I get my work email from my device and that data is kept safe and secure. But you think the tablet is competitive for those who want a non-work device. Hands down. The built-in functionality, the social integration and the apps -- we have 10,000 apps in App World specifically for PlayBook today, plus those apps built for Android. It's also a fantastic consumption device, whether it's media, video, music or reading, there's multitudes of ways to do this and the form factor again, portable, is great for on-the-go media consumption as well as reading. And that seven-inch form factor is beautiful for reading a book. Has the recent change in management done anything to impact the company's focus on the PlayBook? No. We said, back in the beginning of November that we were delivering in February, and we've delivered in February. So, again, we are focused on delivering great experiences to our customers and that's what we've done with OS 2.0. We are strongly committed to the PlayBook. |
| Mozilla rumored to debut LG-made Boot to Gecko device at MWC Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:28 PM PST  |
| Drexel University turns to 3D scanners, printers to build robotic dinosaurs Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:02 PM PST  3D printers, 3D scanners and robotics are usually more than enough on their own to get us interested in something, but a team of researchers at Drexel University have played one other big trump card with their latest project -- they've thrown dinosaurs into the mix. As you can probably surmise, that project involves using a 3D scanner to create models of dinosaur bones, which are then reproduced (at a somewhat smaller scale) using a 3D printer. The researchers then hope to use those to build working robotic models that they'll use to study how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals may have moved and lived in their environments. That work will start with a dinosaur limb that they expect to have completed by the end of the year, after which they say it will take a year or two to build a complete robotic dinosaur replica. |
| TiVo releases Q4 results, announces transcoder and IP set-top box on the way Posted: 23 Feb 2012 02:28 PM PST  Tom Rogers' statement:
TiVo Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year Ended January 31, 2012 -- Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2012 was $147.4 million; Net Income was $102.2 million -- Adjusted EBITDA was $21.0 million for the fourth quarter, exceeding guidance; Net Income was $7.2 million -- Total subscription growth was the highest quarterly increase in six years, 11% increase year-over-year to approximately 2.3 million subs; total increase of 234,000 subs in the quarter -- Service & Technology revenues increased 21% year-over-year in the fourth quarter -- Successful AT&T litigation settlement resulted in $215 million with potential for upside; bringing total consideration from intellectual property settlements to well over $800 million -- Continued progress on operator deals; Virgin Media, RCN, Suddenlink, Grande, and ONO continue to gain traction; Charter live in first market and testing in five additional markets -- Pace licenses TiVo user experience to port onto its set-top boxes; expands opportunity for TiVo to offer next generation platforms to small and medium sized operators in the U.S. -- Acquired AT&T U-Verse data for TiVo Stop||Watch(TM) ratings service to give TiVo the ability to increase representative sample of U.S. television viewing habits ALVISO, CA, Feb 23, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), a leader in advanced television services, including digital video recorders (DVRs), for consumers, television service providers, and consumer electronics manufacturers, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 31, 2012. Tom Rogers, President and CEO of TiVo, said, "This was a break-out year for TiVo on a number of fronts. First, we increased total net subscriptions by 234,000 in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly increase in close to six years, which led to an increase in overall net subscriptions of 11% year-over-year and we expect this growth to continue. Second, we extended our leadership position in the advanced television space by substantially increasing the number of major domestic and international operators that TiVo is now deploying with, including Virgin Media, Charter, DIRECTV, ONO, Suddenlink, RCN, and Grande. Third, we proved that our intellectual property has significant value, as consideration from two settlements has now totaled over $800 million to date. And finally, we translated this success into significant profit in the last fiscal year, highlighted by Adjusted EBITDA of $147 million and net income of $102 million. We believe that as we continue to execute on our operator deals, continue to drive value from our intellectual property, and continue to innovate in advanced television, we will be in a position for sustained growth." For the fourth quarter, service and technology revenues were $50.0 million, growing 21% compared to the fourth quarter last year. This compared to our guidance for service and technology revenues of $48 million to $50 million and $41.4 million for the same quarter last year. TiVo reported net income of $7.2 million, compared to guidance of a net loss of ($31) million to ($33) million and a net loss of ($34.4) million in the same quarter last year. Net income per share this quarter was $0.06 on a basic and diluted basis. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA was $21.0 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA guidance of a loss of ($21) million to ($23) million, and to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of ($25.8) million in the same quarter last year. Additionally, the fourth quarter included several items from the AT&T settlement, including $2.0 million of licensing fees in January, $54.4 million of litigation proceeds relating to past damages and settlement related expenses of $16.0 million. Rogers continued, "In 2011, TiVo demonstrated it has quickly become one of the global leaders in advanced television, not only in terms of the number of announced deals, but in terms of the number of active commercial deployments. This was evidenced by our increasing number of operator customers who rely on TiVo to provide the consumer facing elements of their video product to drive a competitive advantage. "To that end, our very successful deployment with Virgin Media continues to grow, during the quarter ended December 31, 2011 we added 270,000 new TiVo subscriptions, bringing the total number of Virgin Media TiVo subscriptions to 435,000. This is the third straight quarter we've seen significant subscriber growth from Virgin, a development that we believe is key to driving higher customer satisfaction and improved metrics for Virgin as well. "Additionally in Europe, our deployment with ONO, Spain's largest cable operator is off to a good start, and we expect the subscriber additions to accelerate as ONO begins to offer TiVo to its full subscriber fiber footprint, highlighted by the recent launch of TiVo in ONO's largest market. "In the U.S., continuing our great operator momentum from last fiscal year, we recently announced that Pace, the world's leading set-top box provider, has licensed the TiVo user experience to port onto its set-top boxes, enabling domestic cable operators to have access to the TiVo experience on a third party set-top box. We believe this will help our deal efforts, as Pace works with several prominent operators in the United States and other parts of the world and adds to our hardware porting efforts with Cisco and Samsung in Europe. "Additionally, we continue to make progress towards a rollout with Charter. We're live in Fort Worth and in field trials in five additional markets. We look forward to getting our product out to the Charter footprint. Additionally, DIRECTV is now available nationwide and should soon start to be marketed through a variety of DIRECTV promotional activities. Other U.S. deployments, such as RCN, which is now deploying non-DVR TiVo boxes, as well as Suddenlink and Grande, continue to progress well. "Further, our Comcast offering, which will enable access to Comcast's On Demand content on TiVo Premiere retail set-top boxes, is in market trial and will be launching in the near future in the San Francisco Bay Area with more markets to follow thereafter. With the inclusion of access to Comcast's On Demand service, TiVo subscribers will be able to enjoy more content spanning linear television, video-on-demand and over-the-top unlike any other commercially available experience. Also, Comcast will be offering professional installation, upon customer request, of TiVo Premiere boxes at no charge. Comcast will also promote the availability of Comcast's On Demand content on TiVo Premiere DVRs in each market where this is enabled. We believe this offering will positively benefit our retail efforts this coming year. "We believe our distribution successes have been driven by our conscious decision to invest heavily in our R&D to position us to be a leader in advanced television. Recently, we released enhancements to the TiVo user experience that will help enable quicker software deployments for our operator customers going forward as well as providing a crisper look and feel, improved whole-home capabilities and more fluid navigation on-screen. Additionally, we continue to make strides to bring the look and feel of the TiVo user interface beyond the DVR to other platforms such as non-DVR set-top boxes and tablets. "TiVo's audience research & measurement services continue to show that advertisers remain shackled to inefficient methods of measuring viewership, but those who are working with TiVo have discovered better insights into television viewing behavior that can be invaluable in the world of on-demand viewing. To that end, we made a significant step to enhance our research product by recently licensing set-top box data from AT&T U-Verse to allow us to expand our data set beyond the TiVo subscription base, giving us the ability to also incorporate non-TiVo whole home data into our offerings. We believe this addresses the desire of certain industry players who wanted TiVo data to incorporate information beyond TiVo boxes. We believe TiVo's viewing data is indispensable, given the rise of on-demand viewing, and will be even more so with a larger sample set, and we believe that this is an area where we can drive incremental growth in the future. "2011 saw the successful resolution of two significant legal battles for TiVo. The licensing arrangement we entered into with AT&T that will yield minimum payments of $215 million while providing for future upside as AT&T's U-Verse deployment grows. The settlements we reached with DISH Network and AT&T brings total consideration to us to more than $800 million. We are extremely pleased with both of these outcomes and believe the combined compensation underpins the enforceability of our intellectual property. Separately, we are pleased the court has lifted the stay in our case with Verizon, enabling this case to move forward, and we remain highly focused on enforcing our intellectual property as we have proven elsewhere." Rogers concluded, "As you can see, our efforts during last fiscal year translated into a very strong quarter and year both operationally and financially for TiVo. Over the past 12 months, we successfully demonstrated the value of our intellectual property, continued to attract the interest of operators around the globe to TiVo's advanced television solutions and TiVo's total subscription number moved to a strong positive trajectory. As a result, we believe TiVo is on the right path to sustained growth in fiscal 2013 and that these developments indicate a substantially improving path to profitability in the future." Management Provides Financial Guidance For the first quarter of fiscal 2013, TiVo anticipates service and technology revenues in the range of $53 million to $55 million. TiVo anticipates net loss to be in the range of ($18) million to ($20) million, and an Adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of ($8) million to ($10) million, which compares to Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of last year of $149.4 million, which included $175.7 million related to past damages from the DISH Network settlement. This financial guidance is based on information available to management as of February 23, 2012. TiVo expressly disclaims any duty to update this guidance. Management's guidance includes Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure as defined in Regulation G. TiVo has provided a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss) in the attached schedules solely for the purpose of complying with Regulation G and not as an indication that EBITDA or Adjusted EBITDA is a substitute measure for net income (loss). TiVo and Pace Announce Global Partnership Leading Provider of Set-Top Boxes and Gateways Worldwide Working With Leading Provider of Advanced Television Solutions to Provide Flexibility for Operators Implementing Advanced Television Strategies ALVISO, CA, Feb 22, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in advanced television services including digital video recorders (DVRs), and Pace (LSE: PIC), a leading developer of technologies, products and services for service providers, today announced plans to port TiVo's award-winning software to Pace's set-top boxes and gateways. This development will further enable operators around the world to quickly and cost-effectively deploy the renowned TiVo consumer experience to a selection of Pace devices. "This global partnership with Pace is another step in achieving our constant goal of providing the TiVo service to an ever-expanding audience," said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo. "The integration of TiVo's advanced television software with Pace's service provider optimized platforms will allow our mutual partners to offer TiVo's best-in-class linear and broadband TV experience with their choice of hardware. This answers strong interest from TiVo's growing list of service providers deploying the TiVo experience to their customers." Pace has licensed TiVo's Hardware Porting Kit and will work with TiVo to build a TiVo-verified platform which will provide operators licensing the TiVo solution the choice of utilizing Pace set-top boxes and gateways. To simplify operational integration and speed to market, the solution will leverage Pace's proven provisioning and device management capabilities and provide integrated high-speed data connectivity for broadband communications and content delivery. The solution will also harness TiVo's whole-home capabilities, such as multi-room streaming and support for both traditional set-top and IP clients, including TiVo's mobile and tablet applications. "We are thrilled to be working with TiVo as they have a great solution for operators looking to answer their customers' increased demand for advanced and hybrid TV capabilities," said Mike Pulli, CEO of Pace plc. "We've seen increased interest from all segments of our service provider business to integrate the TiVo solution. In working together, we will provide an offering which seamlessly marries the operator's television and Internet services in an elegant and easy to use product for their end users." Pace intends to offer implementations for both DVR and advanced gateway set-top boxes globally, with an initial product to be made available to cable operators in the Americas. U.S. operators currently deploying TiVo offerings to their customers include Charter, DIRECTV, RCN, Suddenlink and Grande Communications, and European operators include Virgin Media, the largest cable operator in the UK, and ONO, the largest cable operator in Spain. |
| Samsung demos new 32nm quad-core Exynos ahead of MWC Posted: 23 Feb 2012 02:05 PM PST  [Thanks, Vlad] |
| LG's upcoming MWC lineup runs into some Italians, gets documented on video Posted: 23 Feb 2012 01:36 PM PST |
| Everything Everywhere promises 'small-scale LTE launch' in UK by the end of 2012 Posted: 23 Feb 2012 01:12 PM PST
Everything Everywhere's spilled more details on its 4G hopes and dreams. That £1.5 billion investment is aiming to get a small scale LTE launch by the end of the year -- subject to Ofcom's say-so. The lucky epicenter of the future of mobile communications in the UK? That'll be Bristol, which will begin its trial on 1800MHz spectrum from April, ahead of a wider launch at the end of 2012. Everything Everywhere has already tested out 800MHz in Cornwall, which is apparently better suited to rural coverage. However, before we hit those dizzying fourth generation speeds, customers on the not-so-unholy union of T-Mobile and Orange will also benefit from more HSPA+ upgrades across the network. Coverage across the network-sharing carriers currently stands at around 60 percent, but Everything Everywhere aims to reach full coverage before the close of 2012. How's that London trial going, O2? Everything Everywhere announces major steps towards a 4G future Roll out of 3.5G HSPA+ 21, will mean faster speeds and improved network performance for T-Mobile and Orange customers Subject to regulatory approval by the spring, Everything Everywhere ready to roll out 4G this year New trial in Bristol to test 4G LTE using existing 1800MHz spectrum £1.5bn network evolution project progressing, with £1.4m being invested every day Everything Everywhere, the UK's biggest communications company, has unveiled significant progress in its network integration and evolution and outlined the path toward the roll out of 4G LTE. The roll out of a nationwide HSPA+ (3.5G) network – the latest milestone in the company's network evolution project – will provide 50% faster data speeds for T-Mobile and Orange mobile broadband customers. In addition, further trials of 4G technology across the country will continue to lay the foundation for a new digital backbone for Britain. The announcements underline Everything Everywhere's commitment to building a world class network for consumers and businesses across the UK. Olaf Swantee, CEO at Everything Everywhere, said: "Everything Everywhere's vision is to launch 4G for Britain as soon as possible, and the roll out of 3.5G HSPA+ and our 4G trials across Britain are major steps towards delivering on that promise. "The integration of the Orange and T-Mobile networks has already given our customers the widest 3G coverage in the UK – and I am pleased to say that with our advanced HSPA+ roll out they will also benefit from the fastest. "I am also very proud to announce that, subject to regulatory approval by the spring, Everything Everywhere will be in a position to begin the roll out of 4G before the end of the year. There is a great opportunity for the UK to have the 21st Century network that it so deserves, putting the nation on a level playing field with other parts of Europe, the USA and Asia." HSPA+ Network Upgrade The nationwide roll out of 3G upgrade technology, HSPA+ 21, or 3.5G has already reached 60% of the network and will be completed in Q3 2012. It will deliver an estimated 50% increase in data download speeds (and up to 100% faster for upload of pictures, music and video) for customers with compatible devices, allowing them to take traditionally fixed-line activities, such as HD video streaming, on the move. In addition to 3.5G HSPA+ 21, trials of HSPA+ 42, which offers significantly faster data transmission than even HSPA+ 21, are due to begin in Q2 with a goal to roll out the technology to customers in Q4 2012. Network Integration The first part of "the big switch-on", launched in 2010, saw Orange and T-Mobile customers share 2G signal to make calls and send texts in more places. In October 2011, 3G sharing was introduced, already benefiting over 9 million Orange and T-Mobile customers and resulting in 190 million calls and over 300 million MB of data being used on the non-host network. From mid-March with completion in mid-May, the final phase of this program will commence. Known as "Smart Signal Share", this will see a customer's smartphone or dongle always give priority to the best 3G signal from either network and allow seamless transfer between the two, meaning customers get access to a 3G signal more of the time. Superfast Backhaul Everything Everywhere's investment in mobile backhaul, including the introduction of Gigabit Ethernet, announced in December 2011, will also ensure T-Mobile and Orange customers benefit from the fastest and most reliable backbone network in Britain. The amount of mobile backhaul – the part of the network that connects each mast into the core network servers – is one of the main factors which determine the end speeds experienced by customers. Gigabit Ethernet delivers the highest standard of mobile backhaul, and will ensure Everything Everywhere continues to offer customers a reliable connection irrespective of increased usage of data intensive services such as VoIP, music or movie streaming on the move. Building a world-class 4G-ready network for the UK In addition, the UK's first 4G LTE trials over 1800MHz is due to take place in Bristol from April. The trial will provide Everything Everywhere with key learnings on the performance of 4G LTE over its existing 1800Mhz spectrum in both urban and suburban environments. The Bristol trial complements Everything Everywhere's live customer trial of 4G technology over 800MHz spectrum in rural Cornwall, launched in September 2011 and recently extended to July 2012. The Cornwall trial has demonstrated that 800 MHz is optimal for the roll out of 4G LTE in rural areas. |
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