Refresh Roundup: week of June 10th, 2013

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Mobile Miscellany: week of June 10th, 2013

If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week, the Lumia 925 touched down in Germany, a popular RSS client for Android broke free of its Google Reader shackles and BBM Channels received some sorely needed features. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of June 10th, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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Music licensing group BMI sues Pandora, deems radio station purchase a ‘stunt’

Music licensors didn’t waste any time in characterizing Pandora’s acquisition of an FM radio station as an underhanded attempt to cheat performers out of royalties, but the rhetoric has now hit the courtroom, as Broadcast Music Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the streaming service in the New York federal system. Key to the action — which casts Pandora’s move as “an open and brazen effort to artificially drive down its license fees” — BMI asks for a blanket determination of licensing rates for all music broadcast by Pandora. According to BMI logic, the lower royalty rates that terrestrial providers enjoy shouldn’t apply to the online segment of Pandora’s business. As the flip side to that argument, however, Pandora argues that it deserves equal footing with online competitors such as Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio service, which pays the terrestrial rates. It’s a murky decision, for sure. Hopefully the judge has a good supply of Advil.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: The Verge

Source: Billboard, BMI

Refresh Roundup: week of June 3rd, 2013

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile

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Mobile Miscellany: week of June 3rd, 2013

If you didn’t get enough mobile news during the week, not to worry, because we’ve opened the firehose for the truly hardcore. This week brought additional peeks at the purported Nokia EOS cameraphone, leaked screenshots of the BlackBerry OS 10.2 update and the arrival of a new budget smartphone from Huawei in the UK. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore all that’s happening in the mobile world for this week of June 3rd, 2013.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile

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ZTE phone for Sprint clears FCC, shows signs it’s the Vital

We’re starting to get a pretty clear picture of the smartphones that Sprint has in its pipeline, which include an LG Optimus F3, a new Windows Phone from HTC, the Moto X, the Kyocera Hydro Edge and the Sprint-branded Vital. In a buildup to the debut of the latter, a ZTE-manufactured handset has made its way through the FCC that carries plenty of telltale signs it’s the Vital. First and foremost, this one’s easy to peg as a Sprint smartphone, since it includes requisite CDMA support and compatibility with LTE Band 25. What’s more, while it’s difficult to nail down the handset’s exact dimensions, it’s clear that this one will be in excess of 60mm wide and over 130mm tall — a likely candidate for a 5-inch smartphone. An encouraging sign for Sprint-lovers, if this does indeed turn out to be the Vital, it’ll have a removable battery (and a very healthy 2,500mAh one at that). Sadly, FCC documents also reveal that the handset won’t offer connectivity to GSM / WCDMA networks, which means it’ll be unsuitable for use as a world phone. Nonetheless, the Vital might very well give stock Android fans a reason to cheer, and this FCC approval seemingly brings it one step closer to fruition.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint

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Source: FCC

Purported Galaxy S 4 Zoom flaunts its profile in multiple leaks

Samsung is no stranger to teasing its fans, and with expectations running high that it’ll introduce a true cameraphone — the Galaxy S 4 Zoom — in London on June 20th, you’ll have to forgive us for being more than curious for what’s in store. We’ve already seen a hint of such a device at the FCC, but now it seems that we may be looking at the hybrid phone / camera in all its eyebrow-raising glory. Thanks to SamMobile and TechTastic, we’re treated to purported renders and “in the wild” shots of the Galaxy S 4 Zoom, which line up with expectations that it’ll be based on the Galaxy S 4 Mini. If this is the real deal, in addition to similar specs, it seems that we can expect a dedicated shutter button on the righthand side, which is situated below a volume rocker that’s said to activate the camera’s optical zoom lens. On the opposing side of the cameraphone, you’ll find a dedicated tripod mount. Could this be an intentional leak in response to a similar outing from Nokia? Only time will tell, but we hope to know for sure in the coming days.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: SamMobile, TechTastic

Purported Galaxy S 4 Zoom flaunts its profile in multiple leaks

Samsung is no stranger to teasing its fans, and with expectations running high that it’ll introduce a true cameraphone — the Galaxy S 4 Zoom — in London on June 20th, you’ll have to forgive us for being more than curious for what’s in store. We’ve already seen a hint of such a device at the FCC, but now it seems that we may be looking at the hybrid phone / camera in all its eyebrow-raising glory. Thanks to SamMobile and TechTastic, we’re treated to purported renders and “in the wild” shots of the Galaxy S 4 Zoom, which line up with expectations that it’ll be based on the Galaxy S 4 Mini. If this is the real deal, in addition to similar specs, it seems that we can expect a dedicated shutter button on the righthand side, which is situated below a volume rocker that’s said to activate the camera’s optical zoom lens. On the opposing side of the cameraphone, you’ll find a dedicated tripod mount. Could this be an intentional leak in response to a similar outing from Nokia? Only time will tell, but we hope to know for sure in the coming days.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: SamMobile, TechTastic

Purported Galaxy S 4 Zoom flaunts its profile in multiple leaks

Samsung is no stranger to teasing its fans, and with expectations running high that it’ll introduce a true cameraphone — the Galaxy S 4 Zoom — in London on June 20th, you’ll have to forgive us for being more than curious for what’s in store. We’ve already seen a hint of such a device at the FCC, but now it seems that we may be looking at the hybrid phone / camera in all its eyebrow-raising glory. Thanks to SamMobile and TechTastic, we’re treated to purported renders and “in the wild” shots of the Galaxy S 4 Zoom, which line up with expectations that it’ll be based on the Galaxy S 4 Mini. If this is the real deal, in addition to similar specs, it seems that we can expect a dedicated shutter button on the righthand side, which is situated below a volume rocker that’s said to activate the camera’s optical zoom lens. On the opposing side of the cameraphone, you’ll find a dedicated tripod mount. Could this be an intentional leak in response to a similar outing from Nokia? Only time will tell, but we hope to know for sure in the coming days.

Filed under: Cellphones, Cameras, Mobile, Samsung

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Source: SamMobile, TechTastic

FreedomPop teases free phone service over Sprint’s network, due this summer

Oh, hell. FreedomPop might really be onto something this time. The company best known for doling out 500MB of free mobile data per month to hotspots, iPods and home routers will step up its game later this summer with a free phone service for Android users… with a few caveats, that is. To get by on the cheap, you’ll need to make do with a relatively scant 200 voice minutes and 500MB of mobile data in order to avoid overage fees, but to FreedomPop’s credit, it’ll include unlimited texting as part of the mix. What’s more, if you happen to go over your minute allotment, you’ll be charged a rather reasonable $9.99, which brings unlimited voice to the table. As you might’ve suspected, data overages are the biggest caveat to FreedomPop’s service, which can cost between $10 and $20 per gigabyte.

The service will operate over Sprint’s network, which brings access to EV-DO and WiMAX, and also leverages VoIP for calls. While it won’t be available at launch, FreedomPop tells us that LTE may eventually worm its way into the offering. Sadly, the company isn’t ready to discuss which Android phones will be offered (or at what price points). As another sticking point, there’s a chance that number portability won’t make it into the beta launch, but FreedomPop assures us that it’s in the works. Even with the constraints and risk of overages, it seems that FreedomPop could still be a workable (and very inexpensive) solution if you lean on WiFi for most of your data usage. In fact, company reps tell us that 50 percent of its customers are able to get by without incurring overages or monthly fees. Think you have the self-restraint to be among them?

Filed under: Wireless, Mobile

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Source: FreedomPop