1 hour ago | Posted in: industry
Faced with the prospect of tens of millions of idle retail square footage from closures and relocations, Sears Holdings has generated a new division to market closed Sears and Kmart stores as a home for data centers, wireless tower locations, and disaster recovery locations. The new initiative leverages the nearly seventy percent of US citizens that live within 10 miles of a Sears or Kmart location to make the locations appealing to big data, wireless carriers, and industry.
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2 hours ago | Posted in: industry
According to sources discovered by both Reuters and Bloomberg, US regulators are looking into the possibility of a new antitrust probe against Google. This new action would investigate complaints that the search engine breaks laws in how it markets and sells some advertising across the Internet.
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Google has released a beta version of Chrome 28 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. The most significant change is in the Windows release, where a native notification center for apps and extensions has been turned on. These can include not only text and images, but optional actions such as making a phone call or sending email. Notifications can appear even when Chrome is closed. Google is promising Mac notifications "soon."
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The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has completed its patent infringement investigation against Microsoft. The ITC has declined to review a final initial remand determination issued by the presiding judge, ending the case in Microsoft's favor. Today's move was primarily administrative, with the actual ruling having happened earlier this year.
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4 hours ago | Posted in: iPod, iPhone, iPad
Google wants to submit an All Access app for iOS, but is still working to find something Apple will accept at the App Store, say 9to5Mac sources. What disputes the companies might have are unmentioned, but they could conceivably involve things like the revenue split from in-app purchases, and/or features that may violate App Store guidelines.
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AT&T Wireless has started billing customers $0.61 per month as a mobility "administrative fee." The new charge came into effect May 1, and has been applied to all consumer bills, in addition to business accounts where the user pays the amount due. The new fee will add nearly $500 million to AT&T's coffers in a year.
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Verizon has officially launched Verizon Cloud for iOS devices, as well as a broader slate of Android phones. The iOS app is designed primarily for the iPhone, but can still be run on the iPad and iPod touch. Newly-supported Android phones include devices like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC Droid DNA.
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5 hours ago | Posted in: iPhone, iPad
A new Macotakara report claims to have learned details about several upcoming Apple products, beginning with the rumored low-cost iPhone. The site says it has heard conflicting views from two sources on colors; one alleges that the phone will come in navy, white, gray, and gold orange tones, while another mentions white, pink, green, blue, and yellow orange. In both cases, black is omitted.
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Pioneer Electronics has deployed two new smartphone connectivity options for the car with two versions of its next generation AppRadio 3 smartphone connected in-dash receiver -- the SPH-DA210 and the SPH-DA110. Both AppRadio 3 models feature compatibility with MirrorLink enabled smartphones in addition to the current AppRadio compatibility with both iOS and select Android smartphones.
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Apple has wasted no time filing with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding the landmark ruling from May 22 enjoining a standards essential patent holder from enforcing a potential ITC-ordered sales embargo. Apple's filing with the court summarizes Judge White's decision, and calls Samsung's conduct "even more egregious" than that of the cited case's patent holder.
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6 hours ago | Posted in: industry
The Media Ratings Council has awarded full accreditation to Apple's iAd, the first mobile ad platform to achieve that status, says Advertising Age. The accreditation reflects iAd's compliance with standards set by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and the Mobile Marketing Association. That includes accurate reporting of data such as taps, visits, views, impressions, conversations, and average time spent.
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Microsoft will be releasing an updated version of its Kinect for Windows sensor next year. Following on from the launch of the Xbox One and its inclusion of a new Kinect interface, the add-on for computers will have a number of matching improvements and a new software development kit, thanks to its shared technology set with the console version.
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7 hours ago | Posted in: peripherals
BotObjects, the creators of the ProDesk3D printer, has opened it up for pre-orders. Billed as the world's first full-color 3D desktop printer, the ProDesk3D is going on sale in two different versions, one in orange and a limited edition version with blue coloring and extra equipment, with the first shipments due to be sent by the first of October.
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Brother has rolled out a new range of digital color all-in-one devices aimed at small business users. The MFC-9000 series of printers all use a 3.7-inch color touchscreen display with WebConnect and offer Wi-Fi connectivity, with the MFC-9340CDW flagship model providing a print rate of 22 pages per minute for both mono and color documents.
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Just in time for Father's Day, WaterField Designs has unveiled their new fine leather Finn wallet. This is the ultimate wallet for securely carrying cash, credit cards and even a cell phone. Electronista has two to give away, read on to learn more about this wallet, and how you can enter to win.
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9 hours ago | Posted in: iPhone, Apple
Apple has been granted 26 new patents this week, two of which could end up being used in a future iteration of the iPhone. The filings from the US Patent and Trademark Office show Apple as owning patents for a push-to-talk (PTT) system, as well as one for a double-sided touch panel that could help the company make an even thinner smartphone.
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