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All posts tagged "cell phone"


Sunday, June 5, 2011

Using 2-step Verification and Application Specific Passwords to Protect Your Gmail Accounts

Posted by Nelson Ocampo in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 10:00 PM

http://www.wpcentral.com/applicatio...rts+(wpcentral)

"Security is always a cause for concern, whether it be with online banking or simply ordering a Domino's pizza. Passwords used online for applications or services are no different, especially with the amount of cyber crime occuring since the boom of the world wide web. Google have published an article on their blog outlining recent attacks being made on Gmail accounts and how users can protect themselves further."

While the video only mentions a few mobile OS's by name, you should also be able to use this on other OS's like Windows Phone. You just won't have the ability to use the Google Authenticator App at this time.


Thursday, May 12, 2011

US Wireless Capacity To Hit A Wall In The Next 24-36 Months?

Posted by Brad Wasson in "Windows Phone Talk" @ 06:30 AM

http://www.businessinsider.com/spec...sis-2013-2011-5

"According to the FCC, the United States is facing an imminent spectrum crisis, in which exploding demand from smartphones will soon overwhelm the nation's wireless capacity. The problem, the FCC says, is the lack of new spectrum being made available to wireless data carriers. Smartphone data traffic is growing so fast, the FCC says, that--if nothing is done--we will use up our available spectrum by 2013."

Image: Federal Communications Commission

If you are in any way dependent on wireless services then you will probably want to take note of this article. The Business Insider has posted an article citing statistics produced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which indicate the US is quickly running out of wireless capacity. On the current course, and without an intervention of some kind, by some point in 2013 we will hit a spectrum deficit wall. The FCC does, though, have a plan to recover under used spectrum capacity from various sources. Hit the Read link for additional data and commentary by the Business Insider.


Saturday, April 30, 2011

Win an LG Quantum Windows Phone 7

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Events" @ 10:00 AM

Just a quick reminder that we're running a free phone give-away: there's an unlocked LG Quantum up for grabs. It's fast and easy to enter; all you need is a YouTube account. Check out this post for more details.


Thursday, February 24, 2011

AT&T's Atrix 4G Hits Store; Nation Weeps for Joy

Posted by Kevin Jackson in "Android News" @ 07:30 AM

http://www.talkandroid.com/31171-th...s,+and+Updates)

"If you’ve been waiting patiently for AT&T’s dual-core monster, the wait is finally over. Head on over to your nearest AT&T store or online to get your hands on this 4-inch, Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, qHD touchscreen, 5 MP camera, VGA front-facing camera and lets not forget about the docking station and laptop dock available as well."

I have to say that I've been intrigued by these new dual-core phones which will be hitting the stores this year. In some ways it seems like a bit of overkill; my year old Nexus One with its single-core processor seems plenty snappy to me. One of the nice things is the wide range of accessories already available for this phone at launch.

The price of the phone ranges from $199 directly from AT&T, all the way down to a rumored $119.99 with an assortment of accessories at Costco, all with the obligatory 2 year contract.

So, how about it; are you ready to pull the trigger on this device or are you waiting to see what else is coming around this year? Will the hoopla over AT&T's 4G performance hurt initial sales? Let me know what you think in the comments.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Sprint Ups Data Rates by $10/Months on New Smartphone Plans

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 10:15 AM

http://hothardware.com/News/Sprint-...emium-Data-Fee/

"Ruh roh Shaggy, get ready to fork over an extra $10/month to Sprint to cover the wireless service provider's "Premium Data add-on charge to activations of smartphones." But don't worry, the additional funds coming out of your pocket is how Sprint shows it's "committed to providing its customers a great wireless experience now and in the future." Does that help ease the sting?"

This is going the wrong way - if carriers want more customers to get on board with ARPU-boosting data plans, they've got to get cheaper, not more expensive. Unless of course, due to spectrum constraints and an inability to actually cope with the data usage happening today, carriers like Sprint don't particularly want hordes of new customers signing up. I find that hard to believe - data service plans are one of the few areas of new growth for wireless carriers based on what I read.


Friday, December 31, 2010

HTC Ventures Into The Living Room

Posted by Nurhisham Hussein in "HTC Android Phones" @ 08:00 AM

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/30/...treamer-review/

"To say that HTC's Media Link is small is an understatement... It's so small that we thought that our friendly government import agents had stolen it from the box that had obviously been jimmied open for inspection while en route to our European test lab."

HTC's ambitions have lately started to venture far from its usual stomping grounds. The HTC Sense team for instance want to extend their UI design into consumer electronics, and some of you might remember the HTC Shift, a marriage between a UMPC slate and Windows Mobile. Here we have another sample of HTC's diversification strategy, albeit a logical one given their proven strength in smartphones. The HTC Media Link leverages on existing DLNA technology to allow wireless media streaming from your HTC smartphone to any DLNA ready screen. It's a neat device, especially for its size, and can act as a WiFi hotspot. Engadget's impressed with it, though they did note some weaknesses (compliance with other DLNA devices, the price) and they think its more suitable for road warriors rather than the home. Think it's suitable for you? Click through the link to read the review.


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Qualcomm's Next-Gen Snapdragon MSM8960: 5x Performance Improvement + Dual Cores

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone News" @ 09:48 PM

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4024/...nce-improvement

"Inside the MSM8960 are two next-generation processor cores, presumably out-of-order as Qualcomm is promising 5x the performance of the original Snapdragon chip (2x for the move to dual cores and the rest due to OoO, larger caches and other architectural tweaks perhaps?). Qualcomm isn't disclosing clock speed at this time."

A 5x performance increase, dual cores, and - can you believe this? - a 75% reduction in power. The details are sketchy on the power savings - it might be 75% less power at idle, or it might be under full load. And is that per core, or overall? It would be quite the feat to double the number of cores yet still use 75% less power. Regardless, it looks like there's some good hardware coming our way in the years ahead!


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

zBoost SOHO Cell Signal Booster Reviewed by Tested

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Windows Phone Accessories" @ 04:15 PM

http://www.tested.com/tested-zboost...booster/47-188/

Bad cell phone reception? The zBoost SOHO Cell Signal Booster might be able to help...emphasis on might. It really depends on where you're located, and whether there's enough signal to boost in the first place. Worth checking out if you're not having any luck getting your wireless carrier to tweak things in your area...


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sunny Days: Staying Connected with the Monaco Solar Cell Charger

Posted by Don Tolson in "Windows Phone Accessories" @ 07:00 AM

Product Category: Accessories -- Solar powered cell phone charger
Manufacturer: Monaco
Where to Buy: WirelessGround.com
Price: $79.95 USD (regularly, but may be on sale...)
Specifications: Battery Capacity: 1800mAh; Weight: 93.5 grams / 3.3 oz; Dimensions: 55.5 x 105.8 x 14.5mm.

Pros:

  • Convenient, lightweight;
  • Charges quickly in sunlight;
  • Suitable for almost any type of USB-powered device.

Cons:

  • Regular price is a bit high, but vendor seems to be having discount sales;
  • Depending upon the consumption of your unit, the battery may only provide one day of use.

Summary: There are lots of emergency power accessories and options available for phones, games systems, music players, etc. but most suffer from a common shortcoming -- lack of power when you need them most, far away from a wall socket. Enter Monaco, with a different spin on a solution. Instead of providing just a battery or set of solar cells, why not combine them into a single package - a wall or solar chargeable battery pack!

Read more...


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