Here's a question: who remembers the pre-broadband days of web? You'd use a voice line, acoustic coupler, and a modem, right?Well, believe it or not, huge swaths of the global population might be about to revert back to this old method for sending data. Only this time it will be over mobile 2G networks instead of dial-up copper twisted-pair—and you won't have to wrap your acoustic coupler in a pillow to prevent stray noise corrupting the data transmission.Modulated sound wave
Startup Pangea Communications, presenting at Disrupt NY, reckons that the answer to a lack of data infrastructure for consumers in places such as Africa is to simply convert data into a modulated sound wave and then send the audio down existing 2G pipes to and from mobile devices. Any mobile device would work.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus incorporated what were arguably the most significant upgrades Apple's smartphone had ever seen. In addition to much larger screens, the iPhone 6 models also introduced to Apple Pay, Cupertino's take on mobile payments.Not surprisingly, iPhone 6 sales have been record-setting, which of course leads one to wonder what Apple has planned in order keep its iPhone sales momentum going strong.Well, thanks to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, we now know a whole lot more about what type of new features we can expect to see in Apple's next-gen iPhone models.One of the more exciting things about Apple's upcoming iPhones, according to Kuo, and originally relayed by GforGames, is that they will finally come with 2GB of RAM. With more RAM in tow, next-gen iPhones will likely run a bit smoother, a bit faster, and will be able to handle more intensive apps.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Mobile carriers Verizon Wireless and Sprint will pay a combined US$158 million[m] to settle complaints by two U.S. government agencies that they billed millions[m] of customers for unauthorized, third-pay text messaging services.Verizon will pay $90 million[m] and Sprint $68 million[m] to settle the so-called bill cramming complaints brought by the Federal Communications Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Along with other recent federal and state actions targeting bill cramming, the nation’s four largest mobile phone carriers have agreed to pay $353 million[m] in penalties and restitution in recent months, with more than $267 million[m] set aside to be returned to affected customers, the FCC said on Tuesday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Uber, known for its no-hassle, no-cash payment system for rides, will start testing cash payments in India in the coming week.The experiment will take place in the city of Hyderabad and marks a change from the credit card payment strategy that it has favored so far. It is the first time Uber will accept cash payments, the company said on Tuesday.Hyderabad was chosen because Uber has many drivers and riders in the city, whose population was estimated at about 8.6 million people by the U.S. government in 2014. People can select the cash option up front in the Uber app and pay the amount shown at the end of the ride, it said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Some of the “revolutionary concepts” NASA detailed this week in its 2015 Technology Roadmaps sound like they are straight out of James Bond’s Q Branch – the research division that creates all of the super-agent’s really cool technology.Amongst the myriad concepts outlined in the Roadmaps – which lay out the new technologies and directions NASA hopes will steer its aeronautics, science and human exploration missions for the next 20 years -- were six high-risk high-reward technologies the space agency says are so “far out” that exactly how they would be developed is a not clear yet, NASA said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Not satisfied with offering eight-core chips, Taiwan’s MediaTek has unveiled a mobile processor with 10 cores.On Tuesday, the vendor announced its Helios X20, a “deca-core” chip that it claims can offer better power efficiency and improved performance over competing processors.The cores of the Helios X20 are in three clusters, essentially packing together a dual-core chip with a pair of quad-cores. The dual-core cluster, which uses two ARM Cortex-A72 2.5 GHz processors, is meant to handle the most intensive tasks. The pair of quad-core clusters are designed for medium and lower-scale computing.MediaTek claims this configuration can help save 30 percent on battery life over traditional chips, while keeping the phone’s software running smoothly.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wireless hotspots that can deliver hundreds of megabits per second in real-world bandwidth will become more common as operators increase their investments in Wi-Fi networks.Not much has been announced, but a range of fixed, cable and mobile operators have already started or are planning upgrades to 802.11ac, the fastest Wi-Fi technology yet, according to market research company IHS. By this time next year a noticeable number of hotspots will use it, said research director Richard Webb, who is currently conducting a survey to pinpoint operator plans.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: How to use public Wi-Fi hotspots safely
Overall operator spending on Wi-Fi networks in 2015 is expected to increase by 88 percent year-on-year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With projections of more than 5 billion connected devices by the end of this year and growth to 50 billion by 2020, the challenges facing the Internet of Things (IoT) include a lack of standardization, security, integration, battery life, and rapid evolution. Wi-Fi, in its 16th year, is getting ready for IoT and will perhaps make the most suitable network for the technology.IoT may be a recent buzzword, but the quest for connected things is old. Very old. Caller ID, connected Coca-Cola vending machines, M2M, smart meters, RFID, AutoID, etc. The whole appeal of connected things has been efficiency and experience. And the desire for experience and efficiency is even greater today. We live in an experience era and have no patience. We expect 'great experience' and 'efficiency' around us. Only IoT can enable that. IoT is nothing but an intelligent and invisible network of things that communicate directly or indirectly with each other or the internet to enable experience and efficiency.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Samsung, one of the largest and most popular Android partners, has slowly been making inroads in enterprise. Last month, the company released its two new flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, which are identical except for the GS6 edge's curved display and slightly larger battery.Due to the popularity of Samsung's Galaxy S devices, it's easy to find GS6 reviews, but our evaluation is written specifically for business users — and the IT staffers who need to support them. I've been using both devices regularly for almost two months, though I gravitated to the GS6 edge. As such this evaluation is focused on the GS6 edge, though most of conclusions apply to both phones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
China’s smartphone market slows downThe world’s largest smartphone market may be losing its appetite: first quarter shipments of the devices in China dropped by 4 percent year over year, according to IDC. It’s the first time in six years that China’s smartphone market has contracted.IBM’s slimmed down Power servers aim at cloud, in-memory databaseIBM has brought out another round of Power8 servers, targeting private, public and hybrid clouds as well as in-memory database applications and analytics. The multipurpose servers include the four-socket Power E850 and the more powerful Power E880.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
New products of the weekOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.Barracuda NG Firewall on AzureKey features – Barracuda NG Firewall now supports new routing functionality in Azure with User Defined Routes and also works with ExpressRoute providing additional security, redundancy, and application aware traffic routing. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The world’s largest smartphone market, China, isn’t so hungry for the products anymore.First quarter smartphone shipments there dropped by 4 percent year over year, according to research firm IDC. It’s the first time in six years that China’s smartphone market has contracted, signifying that the country’s appetite for the handsets is reaching its limit.The number of shipments to China was still high, at 98.8 million units. IDC expects the market to remain flat for the rest of the year. To drive future growth vendors in the country will have to convince existing users to upgrade to newer phones, IDC said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here