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LG confirms it's shutting down its mobile business
LG is shutting down its struggling mobile business after failing to reverse years of losses.
Senators push for investigation into CBP use of phone location data
Democratic lawmakers want an inspector general investigation into US Customs and Border Protection's use of location data.
Verizon could carry OnePlus phones beginning in 2020
Verizon may soon carry OnePlus phones. According to Android Police, sources say Verizon and the Chinese manufacturer signed a deal and that the phones could arrive in 2020. It's unclear which model (or models) that would include, but PhoneArena claims the OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren Edition will be a Verizon exclusive in the US.
Federal judge rules Qualcomm violated antitrust rules
Roughly five months after the Federal Trade Commission and Qualcomm entered the courtroom over charges that Qualcomm engaged in anti-competitive behavior, a federal judge has sided with the FTC. In a decision shared Tuesday night, US District Judge Lucy Koh stated that Qualcomm violated antitrust laws, The Wall Street Journal reports. In her decision, Koh said the company charged unreasonably high royalties for its patents and eliminated cell phone chip competitors.
eBay offers low-cost wireless plans to go with your phone purchase
eBay is a popular marketplace for cell phones, and now the company wants to give purchasers the option of pairing those devices with a cellular plan when they check out. It is partnering with Red Pocket Mobile to offer low-priced wireless plans to all eBay customers who purchase a cell phone.
Canada rules that all new cellphones must be unlocked
Canadians pay some of the highest wireless rates of any G7 nation, and to add insult to injury, they often have to shell out $50 or more to unlock cellphones when switching operators. However, the nation's wireless regulator, the CRTC, has now ordered carriers to unlock devices for free and decreed that all new smartphones must be sold unlocked. The move was prompted by excoriating public criticism on unlocking fees after the CRTC requested comment on new wireless rules.
The Engadget Podcast Ep 34: Intergalactic
On this special all Samsung edition of the Engadget Podcast host Terrence O'Brien is joined by executive editor Dana Wollman and senior editor Chris Velazco. First all three will debate some of the most burning questions surrounding South Korea's biggest phone manufacturer. Should Samsung be using resources to build yet another virtual assistant? Is there anyone who wants to use their phone as a desktop? And, most importantly, can the Galaxy S8 save Samsung from itself? Then Chris Velazco will paint a picture of the event on the ground, before the crew dives deep on the finer point of the S8's design, interface and audio pedigree. Then, on The Wind Down, we discover that Dana failed to do her homework and Chris is contemplating picking up Dungeons & Dragons.
CDC: Nearly half of American homes no longer have landlines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new survey Tuesday, showing that nearly half of all American households now use only cell phones rather than older landlines. In total, 47 percent of the 21,000 households queried were cell-only, 41 percent use both, just 8 percent use just a landline, and 3.4 percent have no phone at all. Accounting for demographics, the results are even more staggering -- 71 percent of 24-34 year-olds use only their cells. Additionally, renters were far more likely to not have landlines than landlords and people living with non-family members went cell-only 85 percent of the time.
Black Friday foot traffic doesn't peak when you think it does
The day that practically every retail worker loathes with a passion is almost upon us: Black Friday. To get an idea of just how much of a nightmare shopping is on the day after Thanksgiving, Google turned to foot traffic data based on aggregated, anonymized mobile location history info gathered last year. Perhaps most surprising is that stores apparently aren't at their busiest during doorbuster deals in the wee hours, but between 2PM and 4PM -- the early-bird deals are actually when store traffic is at its lowest across the board. What's more, only certain types of stores see their traffic at their highest on that first shopping day of the holiday season: consumer electronics and cellphone stores. Malls, department stores and "superstores/discount stores" (likely places akin to Costco and Sam's Club)? They're typically busiest the last Saturday before Christmas.
Stingray phone surveillance tools can also record your calls
It looks like the Stingray tools law enforcement agencies have been using to track cellphones are even worse than we thought. They also have the ability to record your calls and access your text communications, according to Justice Department documents obtained by the ACLU. As Wired points out, that's something privacy advocates have long suspected, but these documents are the first to prove that. To refresh, Stingray devices are used by law enforcement to mimic cell towers and trick nearby phones into connecting to them, which gives up their locations. The documents note that you can also use the devices to wirelessly flash a phone's firmware and use a cellphone as a bug. Given that these documents are from 2008 though, it was most likely referring to flashing older cellphones, and not complex smartphones. Now the documents don't mean Stingray devices were actually used to record calls, they just give us a clearer sense of their abilities.
Sprint's delivery service arrives in Las Vegas and six other cities
Sprint continues to expand its in-home sales and service effort, making a trip to its retail stores a thing of the past. The carrier's Direct 2 You home delivery option is heading to seven more cities: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Salt Lake City. This means that if you're in those locales, the in-store experience comes to your home or office to save you a trip. Direct 2 You not only drops off your shiny new handset, but a Sprint employee can walk you through the setup, transferring contacts and answer any questions that may arise. The free service began back in April and is already available in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and other major US cities. Sprint says it plans to take Direct 2 You to even more cities in 2016.
Microsoft's 5.7-inch Lumia 950 XL is liquid cooled and $649
While the Surface Pro 4 may garner the bulk of the attention from today's Microsoft event, the folks in Redmond had other stuff to reveal, too. Those other announcements include a pair of smartphones, one of which is the supersized Lumia 950 XL. Thanks to a handful of leaks, we already had an idea what the handset would look like and some details of its spec sheet. The 950 XL features a larger OLED screen than its sibling, measuring 5.7 inches at 518 ppi. It also offers 32GB of storage that you can expand via microSD card up to a whopping (theoretical) 2TB. There's a 20-megapixel camera with a Zeiss lens around back with triple LED RGB natural flash, optical image stabilization and a dedicated camera button as well, continuing to leverage the photo chops from Nokia. That wordy flash description basically means people will look more natural in photos where you have to employ said feature. And, of course, all of that runs on Windows 10.
Sprint's unlimited data plan increases to $70 a month on October 16th
If you're been eyeing Sprint's Unlimited Plan for an endless supply of data, you'll want to act quickly. The carrier is increasing the cost of its unlimited data option by $10 a month on October 16th, upping it from $60 to $70. The announcement comes in the form of an "act now" promo of sorts from Sprint, offering those who are interested a chance to opt in before the price hike. The company says that in addition to those who switch over by October 15th, customers who are currently on the $60 unlimited tier will be able to keep the current rate after the changes go into effect. What's more, the monthly cost will stay put, even when getting a new phone, as long as plan requirements are met and selected financing options are available with the data option. Sprint is offering the iPhone 6s for $1/month when you trade-in too, pairing it with unlimited data for $61 for a limited time. [Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Nextbit's cloud-friendly phone is heading to Sprint, too
After adding Verizon to its list of carriers last week, Nextbit announced today that its Robin phone would be available on Sprint as well. When it was first announced, the cloud-focused handset was only available for AT&T and T-Mobile customers, but the company tacked on two more networks since. This means customers on all four of the big-name carriers in the US will be able to pick up a Robin. With a week to go, Nextbit has raised over $1.2 million (and counting) via Kickstarter for the project. When the campaign ends, backers will be able to choose between the GSM or CDMA version of the device via a survey. Nextbit also revealed what would be included in the box with an image of the matching quick charger, charging cable and SIM pin. If you're still considering one, you'll have to commit $349 to secure it in the next seven days.
Google's next phones will reportedly be the Nexus 5X and 6P
We've seen a few snapshots of the upcoming Nexus phones and now we may have an idea what they'll be called. Droid Life reports that the pair of Google phones, one made by LG and the other by Huawei, will carry the labels of Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P (yes, six pee), respectively. The LG device is said to house a 5.2-inch display while the Huawei handset is rumored to carry a 5.7-inch inch screen, hence the 5 and 6 designations. We won't have to wait too long to find out, though, as reports indicate that Google is hosting event on September 29th where the duo is expected to be revealed alongside a new Chromecast. And, of course, a look at the latest version of Android Marshmallow. Hopefully we'll also find out what Huawei has tucked under that camera hump, too.
Verizon's 18GB shared data plan costs $100
If Verizon's previous 12GB bucket of shared data wasn't big enough for your needs the company's got a new tier to (hopefully) help you out. Big Red's now offering 18GB for $100 a month and calling this new tier XXL, as Android Central points out. Of course, you'll have to shell out $20 per connected line, but what's a touch unexpected is that this promotion is only available for a limited time. This naturally still includes unlimited talk and text and if it proves popular, it probably wouldn't be a stretch to imagine the carrier keeping the new tier around. [Image credit: Associated Press]
Apple helps you prep to pre-order a new iPhone
Anxious to get your hands on one of those shiny new iPhones? You're not alone. And while you may be waiting a few days to have one in hand, pre-orders open up this weekend. To help prep for the rush, the company is allowing eager US customers to enter some personal info ahead of the pre-order window opening, so when the time comes, all you'll have to do is select your carrier, model and storage options before hitting submit. Entering your details will also tell you how much you'll be parting with to secure the phone you're after. Of course, Apple also has a new carrier-free upgrade plan that gets you a new iPhone every time a new one becomes available after 12 monthly payments. That option starts at $32 for the 16GB iPhone 6s. If you haven't set your reminder yet, pre-orders open up at 12:01 AM PT (3:01 AM ET) September 12th.
Google offers a way to check your Project Fi invite status
If you signed up for Google's Project Fi phone service, Mountain View now offers a way to check your invite status. TechCrunch reports the company alerted those who signed up via email about the new feature that displays an estimated wait time after you log-in on the Project Fi site. Its usefulness seems to vary, though, as some folks are seeing 3-4 weeks or 4-8 weeks while others are told to check back later for an estimate. Google said it would take until the middle of the summer to get all of the invites sorted, so those folks may see an update soon. Looking for a quick refresher on the service? We've got you covered right here.
Nokia CEO says the company will design and license phones again
When a deal with Microsoft allows it to do so in 2016, Nokia plans to design and license phones again. In what comes as no surprise, the company's CEO told Manager Magazin that it would look for interested parties to release the devices when the time comes. "We will look for suitable partners," said CEO Rajeev Suri in an interview. "We would simply design them and then make the brand name available to license." Nokia sold its devices and services business to Microsoft last year, but it can begin to license mobile gadgets to other companies next year. If you'll recall, it already released the familiar-looking N1 tablet in China post-acquisition. Of course, Nokia still owns its Here mapping tech, which has reportedly drawn interest from automakers and transportation companies like Uber. While the devices may carry Nokia's aesthetics, keep in mind that the Lumia, Asha and X brands all belong to Microsoft. A company would pay Nokia for the design work and rights to use the name, but those recognizable labels are off limits. [Image credit: Stilgherrian/Flickr]
Daily Roundup: Apple outsells Samsung, Microsoft invests in Android and more!
Apple sold as many phones as Samsung did last quarter; Microsoft is investing in Android; and SkyMall might be saved. Head past the break to find all of today's top stories in the Daily Roundup.
