This week at CTIA 2013, Verizon announced a partnership with Latino-centric mobile carrier brand Viva Movil – and they did it with the company’s top shareholder Jennifer Lopez. Speaking about how the Latino population is up at 50 million strong – and growing – Verizon’s own chief operating officer Marni Walden made it clear: this company wants to expand through an exclusive partnership with Viva Movil.
This past week we noticed a bit of an oddity in how AT&T handled the video chat element in Google's new "Google+ Hangouts" app on cellular data: in effect, it didn't work. Asking AT&T about the situation, it was discovered that they had a policy in place for pre-loaded apps working with video chat, making it clear that it's the OS makers (Google and Apple) and the device makers (Samsung, BlackBerry, LG, HTC, Apple), that were responsible for enabling pre-loaded apps to be able to work with cellular data for video chat. Today, AT&T makes it clear that Apple, Samsung, and BlackBerry will be making a big change by June for all their pre-loaded apps.
Read The Full Story
This week at a fireside chat during Google I/O 2013, Mary Lou Jepsen – currently the head of the Display Division at Google X – let it be known that “there’s no more silicon in Silicon Valley – it’s all iPhone apps.” She quickly added – “or Android apps, I should say.” An overarching theme from her set of words in the extended chat made it clear: she’s not satisfied with the current atmosphere for hardware innovation, particularly when it comes to startup funding.
Earlier this month, we heard word that the US Department of Defense would be approving Samsung and Apple devices for use with Pentagon employees and other military and Defense Department personnel. Samsung gained approval first, and now Apple devices have gotten security clearance, allowing even more options to choose from when it comes to choosing a device to use at the Pentagon.
Read The Full Story
Intel's now-former CEO Paul Otellini, who retired today, discussed the lost opportunities that resulted from passing on providing chips for the iPhone, something that he says would have made the world "a lot different" if he had gone with his gut feeling rather than what the numbers indicated. In the same vein, the company's new CEO Brian Krzanich said at Intel's annual shareholder's meeting that the company will bolster its mobile focus.
Read The Full Story
eBay updated its iOS app today with a few new features, including a new look and feel to the user interface, as well as the ability to check out multiple items at the same time using the shopping cart in the app. However, one of the more impressive features is the ability to register for an account through the mobile app by simply scanning your driver's license.
Read The Full Story
Rumors of the next-generation iPhone aren't slowing down, especially when we're expecting the new device at some point this year. Close-up photos of a few parts that are said to be going in the iPhone 5S have been leaked, and they suggest a major internal overhaul is underway that's set to make room for more parts and features.
Read The Full Story
This week at Google I/O 2013, a new application has been introduced to take on cross-device and cross-platform communication: Hangouts. This system expands on what’s existed inside Google+ with a Hangout, turning chat both text and video to come with a user wherever they go. This system allows for saving of conversations, photos, video, and media of all types, sharing made as smooth as it has been inside Google+, now here on the web, in Android, and in iOS all at once.
Kickstarter always seems to have some interesting project underway that I want to own. The latest project to surface is yet another device that I would like to have in my house called the tim-E, and it is designed to work with your iPhone. The device is a robot alarm clock and bedside companion that uses your iPhone or the iPod Touch for its head and face.
Read The Full Story
Home automation is one of those technologies that a lot of people find interesting, but perceived complexity and cost keeps a lot of people from actually checking it out. Home automation allows you to do all sorts of things such as control lights or outlets at your home when far away or when nearby. I think most of us could appreciate the convenience of being able to turn off the lights upstairs when you're in bed downstairs and don't feel like getting up.
Read The Full Story
Flipboard has updated its iOS app to add even more features on top of the recently-updated 2.0 version that was released on iOS and Android not too long ago. Today's update brings new profile pages, a new "Friends" category, improved sharing that now comes with SMS support, and the ability to save an image to your camera roll by tapping on it.
Read The Full Story
This week we’ve had the opportunity to have a look at Tech21′s Impact Shield smartphone screen protector technology in the form of it’s iPhone 5 and Samsung GALAXY S 4 iterations. This product works with three layers of shielding, each of them working with slightly different features for an overall 80 percent lessening of impact by objects aimed at your smartphone’s screen.
![JH Audio JH16 Pro with Freqphase Custom In-Ear Monitor Review [2013]](http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/P2111170-sg-320x80.jpg)
