HTC delivers a unique experience with the design of the HTC One M8, so you would expect they would also deliver a novel experience with the case they’ve designed for the M8. Let’s take a look at the official HTC flip cover!
AT&T Introduces HD Voice in Select Markets
When you start or answer a call, you might notice that your phone drops from LTE to “4G”, 3G, or 2G (EDGE/1XRTT). Carriers are looking to improve call quality, and that means needing more “room” for a higher quality signal. The hottest area for growth right now is LTE, so it only makes sense to eventually push all communication over that single pipe.
Starting May 23rd, in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin AT&T will be rolling out their “HD Voice” service on the Galaxy S4 Mini. Similar to how Skype works, a digital signal will carrier voice communications over data instead of traditional voice channels.
The long term goal being a reduction in the various radios and frequencies built into each phone to support text and audio communication, and the ability for carriers to consolidate the number of towers supporting 2G, 3G, and LTE communications equipment. When all of the spectrum a carrier supports can be dedicated to one wireless standard, it should help improve connectivity for consumers.
The full PR is below. Continue reading “AT&T Introduces HD Voice in Select Markets”
Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law
It’s the first of a likely growing trend in consumer protection laws surrounding our technology.
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed off on the state’s “Kill Switch” law today, and the measure will go into full effect July of 2015. The law is aimed at devaluing the black and gray market for stolen smartphones. If a phone is reported stolen, there will be a process acted by the carrier which effectively renders the phone useless. The idea being, if a thief can’t easily profit from stealing a phone, they’ll be less likely to try and steal one.
While there’s always the potential for abuse with any system which can brick a phone, we’ve already seen companies like Apple institute similar features into the iPhone, preventing devices from being activated if they’re classified as stolen or missing. Continue reading “Minnesota Governor Signs Smartphone “Kill Switch” Law”
FCC Votes through “Fastlane” Rules for Public Comment
In a three to two vote today, the rules proposed by Chairman Tom Wheeler have been passed forward for a public comment and review period.
Amid a vocal backlash from the public and a number of large internet based companies, the original proposal which grants carriers and ISP’s the ability to negotiate in private individual and different rates for every company wanting to do business online, was altered slightly. However the core “Fastlane” propsal remained in place, effectively ending Net Neutrality.
“There is one internet. It must be fast. It must be robust. It must be open.” said Wheeler prior to the vote.
The ultimate irony considering these new rules would allow carriers to fragment how traffic is sent to their customers, forcing companies like Google, Netflix, Amazon, and others to pay extra to reach people who themselves are already paying the highest rates for broadband access in any developed nation.
Today’s vote does not mean the rules will be implemented, but that we now enter a four month session of public review and comment. Considering the public’s recent attitude towards this rule change, we can imagine that the comment’s will largely be negative. That didn’t seem to prevent the FCC from moving forward with these Fastlane rules however, where even Congressional Republicans were against the policy. If it appears Fastlane starts to become a reality, it’ll become a singular talking point in reclassifying the internet as “Common Carrier” utility, something businesses and conservatives absolutely don’t want to see happen.
The public can comment on the proposed rule changes on the FCC site here.
Review: Slickwraps Real Cork Skin for the HTC One M8
I love natural fiber cases and covers for our phones. There’s something really cool about the feel of it in the hand, and I think they age better than metal or plastic.
Slickwraps now offers a cover made out of cork! Let’s go hands on!
Related:
Slickwraps Glow in the Dark skin for Pebble Smartwatches.
Slickwraps Carbon skin for the HTC One M7
More info on Slickwraps.
Shop Slickwraps on Amazon.
HTC Unveils One Mini 2 Mid-Range Android Smartphone
Following in the footsteps of last years One Mini, the One Mini 2 continues HTC’s new design language found on the M8.
Shrinking the screen to a 4.5″ 720p display, the OM2 features a number of our favorite features from the M8 like Boomsound speakers, Blinkfeed, and Zoe. What’s different is an odd collection of specs.
First, we expected the camera would not be HTC’s new dual camera sensor setup which provides depth info to the M8, but it’s also not the same 4 Ultrapixel shooter we’ve seen since the M7. It’s a 13MP BSI sensor. Something of an odd move considering the lengths HTC has gone to in promoting Ultrapixels. There’s also no mention of OIS on board.
A Qualcomm 400 quad-core should be plenty powerful for most folks, and thankfully HTC has seen fit to add in NFC and a larger battery. That combo of efficient processor, Android 4.4, and a 2100 mAh battery should provide for noticeably better screen on time over the last Mini.
A MicroSD card slot will be appreciated by many, but OM2 owners will lose out on the M8’s IR blaster to use the phone as a universal remote, and it doesn’t appear to have 802.11AC WiFi either.
Continue reading “HTC Unveils One Mini 2 Mid-Range Android Smartphone”
Time Bending First Person Shooter ‘SuperHot’ now on Kickstarter
We posted about SuperHot last year, a standalone, free, indie game with a novel mechanic. Time only moves when you move.
Now it looks like the developers are looking to expand the concept and they’re turning to Kickstarter to raise funds for a follow up. In it’s first day, it’s already grabbed $88,000 towards it’s $100,000 goal. We can be fairly sure they’ll not only make that goal over the next 29 days, they might need to come up with some stretch goals…
The game’s design is currently very simplistic, but the developers absolutely nailed an eerie and interesting atmosphere. With an actual budget, they’re hoping to polish up the whole experience.
It’s a killer concept, and it’ll only take $14 to snag a copy of the finished product. We’ve got more info after the jump, or you can head directly to Kickstarter to support the project.
Continue reading “Time Bending First Person Shooter ‘SuperHot’ now on Kickstarter”
Windows Phone 8.1 Developer Preview Update: Bug Fixes & Better Battery Life
Before the Windows Phone 8.1 update goes live for all, it looks like Microsoft has a small update for folks running the Developer Preview.
There isn’t an official changelog, but Microsoft’s Windows Blog claims bug fixes and better battery life. A nice bit of polish as the phones I’ve run the Developer Preview on have all seen less run time since updating. Fingers crossed this handles background apps and multitasking slightly better as Battery Sense routinely tells me apps like Internet Explorer are running down battery. We can also hope this will clear up the issue some 1520 owners have complained about their devices not waking up quickly after the screen has been off for a while.
Following the update, we also saw some core apps had updates ready to go as well. Nokia Camera, XBox Music, Videos, and Games all had minor bug fixes rolling out.
If you’re rocking the Developer Preview, head to Settings and scroll down to Phone Update to get the latest and greatest. If you’re not running the Developer Preview, you can at least be sure that when the official update is released it will have been through quite a bit of trouble shooting.