Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration awarded Amazon an "experimental airworthiness certificate" to test its plans to use drones to deliver purchases to customers. The certificate allows drone use only within line-of-sight of a certified pilot, but that's not the only problem with the concept.See also: FAA deems Amazon delivery drones 'airworthy,' with heavy regulations
In fact, the quest for FAA approval is just a sideshow. The real problems with drone deliveries are practical, not regulatory. Don't believe me? Let's think about it for a moment (you won't need much more time than that…I came up with this list in just a few minutes, with only marginal help from a Google search):To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The last couple of months haven seen the launch of a clutch of new smartphones—and also new chipsets that aim to make the next generation of smartphones more powerful and simpler to recharge.Competition between chip makers is increasing, with companies spurring each other to improve smartphone performance. Here are some of the components and technologies that will help make it happen:Qualcomm’s next-generation processorsThe Snapdragon 820 will be the first processor to use Qualcomm’s homegrown ARM-based Kryo architecture—and also the first to use the company’s new Zeroth platform for adding machine learning capabilities. The company plans to make samples available to phone manufacturers in the second half of the year. Qualcomm will need to have the chips ready for mass production in the first half of 2016 to catch the next wave of high-end smartphone launches, or manufacturers may look elsewhere—as Samsung Electronics did this year, choosing to use one of its own Exynos processors for its Galaxy S6.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.CartoDB WordPressKey features: For WordPress users looking to add custom maps to webpages. CartoDB is the easiest tool for adding maps to a WordPress site for users to share maps with their posts. More info.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Amid reports that Apple is planning to roll out its own streaming TV service later this fall, we now have word regarding what Apple's fourth-gen Apple TV is going to look like.Reporting for Buzzfeed, John Paczkowski reports, that Apple plans to show off a completely revamped version of its Apple TV at WWDC sometime this June. And though previous Apple TV updates have been somewhat limited to internal upgrades, this one promises to be a doozy.First off, the next iteration of the Apple TV will reportedly include, at long last, an App Store. Just as the App Store significantly increased the value proposition of iOS devices, we can expect to see a similar transformation with respect to the Apple TV. Even more so when one considers the possibilities of using external controllers, or even one's iOS device, as a controller while playing games on a big screen HDTV.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google is adding a feature to Android’s smart lock that could significantly cut down on the number of times users need to enter a passcode to unlock their phones while they are out and about.On-body detection uses the accelerometer in the phone to detect when it’s being held or carried by a person. If enabled, the feature requires a passcode the first time the phone is accessed but then keeps the device unlocked until it is placed down.That means, for example, that someone walking down the street won’t have to unlock their phone every time they take it out of their pocket.The feature doesn’t appear to have been announced by Google, but it began appearing in some phones on Friday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In the hunt for more spectrum to offer higher wireless broadband speeds, mobile operators and equipment vendors are showing a growing interest in a new candidate.Huawei Technologies has laid the groundwork for speeds up to 220Mbps using LTE-Advanced at 3.5GHz. On Friday, the company said it has launched the world’s first device, a wireless router, that combines the speedy network technology with that frequency band.The amount of spectrum is one of the things that determines what speeds a network can offer. The 3.5GHz band is an ideal candidate for offering high speeds because it has a lot of spectrum available, according to Huawei. What the vendor does not mention is that using the higher band also means worse coverage than what mobile operators can offer with current networks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Orange’s move to work with Airtel to offer mobile money transfer between the Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso is just one step in an effort to expand its services throughout Africa.Orange Money customers in the Ivory Coast can now send and receive money to or from Airtel customers in Burkina Faso. Orange Money has over 13 million customers in 12 African countries, including Jordan. The partnership with Airtel, which runs its Airtel Money service in 16 African countries, is likely to trigger more internetwork and mobile money transfers.In West Africa, Orange Money International Transfer already serves users in Senegal, Ivory Coast and Mali, but the pact with Airtel fills a gap in the region.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)
HTC founder Cher Wang is taking over as company CEO, as the Taiwanese Android smartphone maker fights to revive its struggling business.Peter Chou, the previous CEO, will remain with the company, and lead its “Future Development Lab” to identify new growth opportunities, HTC said Friday.Wang, who was already company chairwoman, had been taking a larger managerial role in the last two years, so that Chou could focus on product development.On Friday, the board of directors and HTC’s executive team agreed to formalize that progression and name Wang as CEO to usher in its next stage of development, the company said.During Chou’s tenure, HTC became a major Android handset maker, but its market share and sales have since declined in the face of fierce competition from Apple, Samsung Electronics, and an emerging crowd of Chinese vendors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple should take notice of the partnership announced today at the Baselworld watch and jewelry conference, because Google has put together partners that could build a watch that even iPhone customers would want.
One can't dispute that Apple will sell a lot of watches. Just take a look at investment bankers UBS and Bernstein's forecasts. But if this Android Wear partnership is effective, it might be hard for Apple to achieve its optimistic forecasts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Today, Google and Pioneer announced three aftermarket stereo systems using Android 5.0 for entertainment, navigation, and communications. This partnership with Pioneer moves interaction with the mobile apps from the handheld smartphone to the dashboard display, with hopes of reducing car accidents from smartphone-induced driver distraction, which the National Safety Council recently estimated (PDF) causes one in four accidents.The announcement officially means Android Auto is out of beta and also foretells that smartphone-compatible cars will soon appear in car dealer showrooms. Hyundai announced at the LA Auto Show that it will deliver Android Auto on some of its 2015 model year cars, and Google has an extended list of car maker partners expected to introduce new 2016 model-year cars with Android Auto support.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s new net neutrality rules allow the agency to police future network management practices and business models rolled out by broadband providers, raising concerns among critics that an activist commission will inject itself into ISP board rooms.The so-called future conduct standard in the FCC’s new rules leave questions about what ISP practices the agency will allow, critics say. Following the FCC’s publication of the new rules last week, the future conduct standard has raised perhaps the most objections, other than complaints about the agency’s decision to reclassify broadband as a regulated, common-carrier service.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
With about a month to before the Apple Watch launches, Apple CEO Tim Cook sat down with Fast Company for a wide-ranging interview that touched on a number of pertinent topics.When asked rather directly about the perception among many that the Apple Watch still lacks an overarching use case, Cook articulated that similar pessimism colored previous Apple product launches.
With the iPod, the expectations for Apple itself at that time were very low. And then most people panned the iPod's price. Who wants this? Who will buy this? We heard all the usual stuff. On iPhone, we set an expectation. We said we'd like to get 1% of the market, 10 million phones for the first year. We put that flag in the sand, and we wound up exceeding it by a bit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Major weaknesses in mobile application development make enterprise data vulnerable to attack.That was the major conclusion from an IBM/Ponemon study released today which found large companies, including many in the Fortune 500 aren’t properly securing mobile apps they build for customers nor their corporate and BYOD mobile devices. (Read the entire study.)+ More on Network World: The 10 most common mobile security problems and how you can fight them +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Apple's iPhone and iPad long ago pushed out the BlackBerry as the corporate standard for mobile devices, in all but the highest-security environments. Google -- whose Android platform reigns outside the corporate world -- is now trying to push out Apple, with a new effort called Android for Work. And Samsung is upping the game with a new version of its own Android security suite, Knox.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Google botched its wearable, Google Glass, and now the director of GoogleX labs is openly talking about it.Astro Teller, Google's director of its research arm, GoogleX, was speaking to an audience at the South by Southwest conference in Austin on Tuesday when he said the company made mistakes with Glass.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 12 most powerful Internet of Things companies
Google, according to Teller, needs to work out its wearable's battery and privacy issues, and address miscommunications about the state of the project.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Building on the launch earlier this year of two low-cost Lumia phones, Microsoft has taken the price down even further for its latest smartphone.Also targeted at emerging markets, the Lumia 430 will be priced at US$70 before taxes, when bought without carrier subsidies, and represents Microsoft’s most affordable Lumia smartphone yet.In January, the U.S. tech giant unveiled the Lumia 435 and the Lumia 532 that are priced just a notch higher.Although limited in specs, the three phones strengthen Microsoft’s product offerings for a market segment in which low-cost Android handsets are dominant. Globally, Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS only had a 2.8 percent market share in last year’s fourth quarter, according to research firm IDC.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Sports!The 2015 NCAA tournament kicks off in earnest today, now that the play-in rounds are complete and the final 64 teams are set. There are more ways to keep up with the action now than ever before. Here are the video streaming options, mobile apps, and other tools to help you stay informed and up-to-date with the action.Obligatory streaming slideGone are the days of digging through message boards and clicking on suspicious URLs to try to find a live stream of NCAA tournament games while at work. The NCAA streams all of the action through its March Madness Live app, available on the web as well as on iOS and Android. And for those watching at work, March Madness Live has the "Boss Button," which, when clicked, opens a fake PowerPoint-style document complete with nonsense bar graphs that will make you look like you're actually being productive when your boss happens to walk by. Genius.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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 U.S. Federal Communications Commission has fined Verizon US$3.4 million over its failure to notify police and fire departments during a 911 service outage last year.Under the commission’s rules, Verizon and other carriers were required to notify emergency call centers of a six-hour outage that occurred in April. The outage involved multiple carriers and affected over 11 million people in seven states.Verizon’s portion affected 750,000 California residents who were unable to call 911 to reach an emergency operator at 13 call centers in northern California. The outage was the result of a coding error at a large 911 routing center.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here