Google launched its own ambitious wireless network primarily in the U.S. on Wednesday in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile.
Calling it Project Fi, Google promised seamless wireless connections, initially for Nexus 6 smartphone users, whether they are within more than 1 million free and open Wi-Fi hotspots or within an LTE cellular network operated by Sprint or T-Mobile.
In a blog, Google
asked customers to sign up online to join an Early Access Program for the service. The service will initially be available on the Nexus 6 smartphone that Google builds with Motorola. Potential customers must request an invitation from Google on a separate site to get started.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most younger mobile workers feel guilty about using smartphones and smartwatches to do personal tasks while at work and for performing work at home when they should be taking care of their families or other duties.A new survey of 3,500 professionals -- mostly under age 34 -- conducted in the U.S. and five other countries found at least 58% said they have feelings of guilt in this hyper-connected world.ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: How to lure tech talent with employee benefits, perks
The survey, conducted by the Harris Poll for MobileIron, also found that 60% said they would leave their job if their boss didn't allow any remote work or restricted their ability to do personal tasks at work. The survey involved workers in the U.S. as well as France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK between December 2014 and January 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Nokia sold off its mobile phone business to Microsoft last fall, but now one of Nokia's remaining business units is eyeing a return to the consumer mobile phone market next year.Nokia Technologies, which controls thousands of technology patents, plans to re-enter the mobile phone market in 2016, according to unnamed sources cited by Re/code.Such plans would be ambitious, especially given the super-competitive global smartphone and feature phone market. It isn't clear precisely what Nokia Technologies is up to, and at least two analysts are skeptical it will work.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Smartphone makers are targeting the enterprise market like never before, unleashing a slew of third-party productivity and management apps for both end users and IT shops.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Verizon on Tuesday announced new technology to bolster its super-fast 100 Gbps fiber-optic network serving metro areas, but didn't reveal where the work will be done or other details.The vague announcement raised the question of whether Verizon is simply trying to show its competitive value against Google and AT&T, which have both announced fiber Internet services in a number of cities.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 5 free Ethernet tools you should check out
"I think Verizon is trying to play catch up to the others without saying it that way," said independent analyst Jeff Kagan. "The only question I still have is will Verizon be a real competitor or is this mostly just talk to cover their butts in the rapidly changing marketplace?"To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Samsung both giveth and (allows users to) taketh away.The South Korean device maker is, for the first time, giving its customers access to Microsoft services and apps in its newest smartphones and tablets. At the same time, Samsung is allowing customers to strip away apps and bloatware they don't want on the company's newest phones.Recent posts on the XDA Developers Forum indicate that many pre-installed apps on the upcoming Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones can be removed legally and easily. These apps include Gmail, Google + and YouTube; Samsung's own S Voice and S Health software; and Microsoft's OneNote, OneDrive and Skype, as reported by Forbes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
T-Mobile CEO John Legere gets laughs for his raunchy talk in public, but others are taking his announcement of simplified pricing with "Un-carrier for Business" seriously.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Apple hasn't called its upcoming Apple Watch "magical" as it did with the iPad in 2010, but its wireless components have some spellbinding features.Whether the embedded NFC (near field communication), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi elements contribute to the success of the Apple Watch sales is still an open question. Fashion and an array of apps could definitely trump the device's wireless tech.Why might the wireless tech not matter?So far, there aren't many NFC-ready point-of-sale terminals installed in the U.S. Likewise, there are relatively few hotel rooms that can be unlocked with a Bluetooth connection to the Apple Watch.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 12 most powerful Internet of Things companies
Wi-Fi access points and hotspots seem to be everywhere, but there is disagreement over how important Wi-Fi will be on the Apple Watch.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Federal Communication Commission's 400-page official order on net neutrality, released Thursday, will undoubtedly elicit lawsuits on various fronts once it is officially published in the Federal Register.Attacks are expected to range from whether current law allows the agency to legally act as it has to whether carriers feel they can be treated fairly in setting up services in the future. One of the biggest areas of dispute will likely revolve around the FCC's new authority to oversee interconnection deals struck between broadband providers like Comcast and content providers like Netflix.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
BARCELONA -- Internet.org, which is already offering free Internet service in six countries, has ambitious plans to connect to 100 countries in the next year."We like big, ambitious goals at Facebook," said Chris Daniels, head of Internet.org in a discussion with several reporters at Mobile World Congress (MWC).Facebook and several partners founded Internet.org two years ago; it is already serving 7 million customers in Columbia, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, India and Zambia. Many of those who were originally connected for free are now paying some fee for more advanced data services.Daniels, a vice president at Facebook in charge of Internet.org, said the conversion of free Internet users to paying customers is critical to the carriers who provide the Internet infrastructure that makes the service possible.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
BARCELONA -- Microsoft today announced two new Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1, which will be upgraded to the cross-platform Windows 10 later in the year.
The company gave news media at Mobile World Congress a brief glimpse of how Windows 10 apps, such as an Excel spreadsheet, maps and Outlook email, look on a smartphone display. Windows 10 is currently in a publicly available preview version and will be ready for official release later in 2015.
The new phones are the Lumia 640, with a 5-in. display, and the Lumia 640 XL with a 5.7-in. screen. The larger device ships in March and the smaller one in April, and both AT&T and T-Mobile will offer them. Pricing was estimated at about $178 for the Lumia 640 on LTE and about $245 for the Lumia 640 XL on LTE, but pricing will vary by market and operator, Microsoft said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Net neutrality has been debated for a decade, but the Federal Communications Commission's historic vote on Thursday signals only the beginning of further battles and likely lawsuits.
At issue is how best to keep the Internet open and neutral to all while still giving Internet service providers sufficient incentive to expand their networks to serve more customers and to support an exploding array of data-hungry applications as futuristic as holographic videoconferencing used for home-based medical exams.
The FCC voted 3-to-2 to create a series of sweeping changes, including three open Internet conduct rules that block broadband providers, both wired and wireless, from blocking or throttling Internet traffic. The rules also ban broadband providers from taking payments to prioritize content and services over their networks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Sprint and T-Mobile separately defended their smartphone and tablet unlocking policies on Wednesday following criticism from independent researcher Sina Khanifar.Sprint in a short statement said that as of Feb. 11, it had "implemented all six of the principles contained in the CTIA [Consumer Code] unlocking agreement, and we appreciate the FCC's recognition that the country's major providers have met their commitment."The FCC last week applauded carriers for meeting voluntary unlocking principals by the Feb. 11 deadline.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Sprint and T-Mobile don't fully comply with a series of voluntary smartphone and tablet unlocking policies, even though both companies were praised last week by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for doing so, according to an independent analysis performed by a former developer of unlocking software."Sprint and T-Mobile aren't delivering on half the commitments they made to the FCC," said Sina Khanifar, a Web developer who conducted the analysis on his own by comparing carrier unlocking policies with a voluntary Code the carriers committed to follow.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most Americans have no idea what net neutrality means or is supposed to accomplish, even though plenty has been written on the topic.And some people, even a few informed Internet activists, remain unconvinced that the current debate over net neutrality matters that much. They wonder whether the so-called Title II reclassification of Internet providers will really result in more affordable and available broadband.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 5 free Ethernet tools you should check out
What specifically is up for debate now is Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal to regulate broadband Internet providers like utilities by reclassifying them under Title II of the Telecommunications Act, among other actions. The full five-member FCC is set to vote on the issue Feb. 26.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Unlocking a mobile phone from a single U.S. carrier has caused consumers headaches in recent years, but seven major carriers on Wednesday met a voluntary, industry-created deadline to set conditions for unlocking to occur.Software locks on smartphones and other mobile phones prohibit users from using a device on another operator’s network, which makes it hard for someone to take a device loaded with apps to another carrier or to use the device when traveling abroad.Even though carriers have adhered to ways for consumers to get phones unlocked, the CTIA wireless industry group said that an unlocked phone isn’t necessarily an interoperable phone, since different carriers use different technologies and wireless spectrum bands.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Matt Hamblen