The Google Rumor Roundup: mobile that matters

Posted on by Jules Wang

Well, it was bound to come, right? Tomorrow’s the day that we come and get our love from Google and that event should entail all the rumors we have cluttered around our desks at Pocketnow.And while plenty of these devices, like the long-awaited Google Home and Google WiFi, will definitely take us to the future, there are a couple of things we’d like to focus on for our purposes here.The PixelsWatching these two phones evolve from being multiple codenames to ...

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T-Mobile promotes 2G for IoT with deal for AT&T users

Posted on by Jules Wang

Since AT&T is about to do away with 2G forever at the end of the year and T-Mobile, amazingly enough, won’t be until 2021, the Un-carrier thought of maybe roping in a few extra subscribers with new Internet of Things technology with its old, old wireless standard.It is offering AT&T customers with IoT data services free SIMs as needed to switch their devices to T-Mobile’s ...

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Nest Apple Watch support finally happens

Posted on by Jules Wang

If you own both an Apple Watch and a Nest Thermostat, the two can finally interact with each other.The Nest app for iOS, version 5.6, now lets you adjust the temperature settings from your wrist, something Android Wear has had for a while. On the phone and tablet side, you can now track Dropcam Pro activity in 1080p (with automatic quality ...

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A positive FCC decision on 5G opens up 11GHz of free spectrum

Posted on by Jules Wang

The FCC has unanimously ruled that carriers have an open sandbox to play in as they muster efforts towards 5G in the US.Specifically, spectrum above the 24GHz mark will be purposed for 5G with 3.85GHz of licensed space in the 28GHz, 37GHz and 39GHz bands. A continuous, unlicensed swath between 64GHz and 71GHz has opened up, the same swath that unlicensed Wi-Fi is experimenting in right now. The commission is seeking public comment on allocating eight more bands above the 95GHz line.Satellite operators ...

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Telcos will put 5G in EU in 2020 if Commission loosens on open internet laws

Posted on by Jules Wang

Telecom companies in Europe are warning the European Commission that if net neutrality laws aren’t revised to benefit their returns, the deployment of 5G technologies will take until long after 2020.The EU’s current 5G Action Plan aims to have its 28 member countries covered in usable spectrum by the year. However, in a manifesto, 22 companies including ...

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Bluetooth 5 announced with eight times bandwidth

Posted on by Jules Wang

As teased for months and months now, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group is releasing Bluetooth 5, a wireless standard that doubles the speed of its last major iteration as well as quadruples the effective range and increases capacity eightfold.It’s the standard’s big joust into the Internet of Things, competing with

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Report says Google Home is powered by Chromecast

Posted on by Jules Wang

The Amazon Echo uses its Alexa assistant software to help it talk to a whole bunch of things. From the interconnected lights to the interconnected thermostat in your home to the Amazon warehouses, it needs some language to talk about turning them on and off and it needs some range ...

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Google’s project Chirp said to go after Amazon’s Alexa

Posted on by Jules Wang

Alexa had made a lot of friends over the past several months. It’s with that kind of platform that Amazon has been able to sell its Echo products like hotcakes. Heck, other companies can sell Alexa products, too. You can even

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Intel cancels upcoming Atom mobile processor for 5G

Posted on by Jules Wang

The only phone of recent we’ve reviewed that had an Intel Atom processor inside was the ZenFone 2 from ASUS. It was a well-run phone thanks to the chipset, but the Atom didn’t really appear in any other high-profile devices. It’s rumored that ASUS has moved on from Intel SoC in developing its next flagship.A continued dearth of business wouldn’t be good for Intel, so ...

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Nest CEO wants to address work culture with Alphabet over lunch

Posted on by Jules Wang

Nest has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. In addition to disappointing financial returns and making ill will from the acquisition of Dropcam along the way, The Information has been reporting on multiple cases of just plain bad work culture that would have heads at HR spinning.Tony Fadell, CEO of the troubled IoT company, decided to make himself available to staff at Google and Alphabet to ...

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Nest may be disappointing Alphabet when it comes to cash

Posted on by Jules Wang

Would Alphabet put down what Google picked up? Or will things change to a major degree? Either Amazon has become the Internet of Things hub or Nest is stuck in a tide pool where a slow rise just isn’t enough.In 2014, Google had purchased the smart thermostat-maker for $3.2 billion. The terms of purchase allowed key employees to retain their positions ...

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The Amazon Echo listens to anyone – even NPR

Posted on by Jules Wang

I’ve had the repeated pleasure of meeting the Boston Globe’s Hiawatha Bray — he writes his Tech Lab column for the newspaper — and have appreciated his “big picture” stories on innovation. He gets into the nitty gritty, too: last time I saw him on my way home, he was toting a Moto X for review.It’s with that cred that NPR’s Rachel Martin invited Bray for a segment a couple weeks ago on Weekend Edition Sunday about the

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Amazon may have won IoT as Nest connects to Echo, Fire TV

Posted on by Jules Wang

Google may have taken the early bird to get Nest, but it seems that one of it’s first major flights will connect to a hub of Amazon’s.In a few weeks, the Nest Learning Thermostat will make its first connection with the Amazon’s Alexa voice assistance service, featured on the Amazon Echo, Fire TV and, likely, the company’s latest Echo ...

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Mozilla cuts the rope on mobile Firefox OS support in May

Posted on by Jules Wang

The struggle to keep alive an underdog operating system in the mobile space is ever-present. Jolla is under immense financial stress partly because of that struggle.  It’s one that’s preventing Microsoft from going anywhere. Some companies, like HP, dare not to give it the time of day.However, Mozilla has actually succumbed to ...

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The future of Bluetooth: what to expect and why you should care

Posted on by Joe Levi

Back in 1994, Ericsson (who would later merge with Sony) “invented” Bluetooth. Back then out devices were connected by one of a few technologies: RS-232 “COM Ports”, Parallel Ports, and SCSI. USB was still being worked on. Ericsson’s vision was to replace the serial RS-232 cables with a new, wireless standard. Bluetooth was born.Uhura knew about Jawbone before Jawbone knew about Jawbone.Bluetooth is a wireless communication standard using the 2.4GHz band (which ...

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