charging

Verizon Wireless said Sunday that it plans to refund consumers it wrongly charged for data usage, but the company still faces scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which has been investigating Verizon's practices.

On Sunday Verizon released a statement admitting that it had been charging 15 million of its wireless subscribers for data services they didn't intend to use. Verizon has estimated that the total charges, which took place over the past two years, amount to $50 million.

The FCC has been investigating Verizon's mystery data fees for the past 10 months, the agency said in a … Read more

EV battery-swapper Better Place announced today it's partnering with General Electric to recharge its business model.

The GE partnership will augment Better Place stations by offering GE's WattStation charging service in addition to Better Place's existing battery-swapping service.

The WattStation is a Level 2 electric-vehicle charging station with 240-volt chargers compatible with any standard EV--similar to the Ecotality Blink station and Coulomb Technologies ChargePoint station.

A GE WattStation, depending on the car, can fully recharge an EV battery in as short as four hours, according to GE.

Better Place currently offers a subscription service in which members … Read more

Earlier this year we reviewed the Altec Lansing Octiv Mini iPhone-iPod speaker and praised its compact size and attractive minimalist styling. Now Octiv is expanding the line with the dual-dock Octiv Duo, which is nearly double the size of its smaller sibling and costs about twice as much--a still affordable $99.

As with the Octiv Mini, Altec keeps things simple. After all, why build in a bunch of extras like an LCD for the clock, an AM/FM radio, or fancy alarm systems when they're all basically redundant to the impressive built-in capabilities of the iPhone or iPod Touch? … Read more

Wireless networks and Bluetooth keyboards can free people from some cable clutter, but Fujitsu believes new research could help whisk away some power cords, too.

Fujitsu said Monday that it's overcome design hurdles for a mechanism for wireless charging of electronic devices and that it plans to use the technology in products to be sold in 2012.

The general idea, which Intel, MIT, and other organizations have been researching for years, offers the prospect of a laptop or phone that charges when you set it on a desk or table, potentially getting rid of some cables and making travel easier. Fujitsu has bigger ideas in mind, too: transmitting power within a computer chassis and charging electric cars, for example. … Read more

Electric vehicle charging stations will connect three cities in Tennessee, in a project that backers says bridges the 100-mile limit of electric cars.

The Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday is hosting a one-day conference to unveil a "blueprint" for the charging infrastructure needed to support electric transportation for consumers.

Tennessee is one of seven regions in the U.S. participating in the EV project, which is managed by electric vehicle charge company Ecotality. The $230 million project, partially funded with $114.8 million in Department of Energy grants, intends to bring 15,000 Internet-connected charging stations to 16 … Read more

Coulomb Technologies unveiled its latest electric-vehicle charging station on Thursday morning in Detroit.

The Motor City is the first locale in Michigan to get a charging station for public use as part of ChargePoint America, a $37 million program to install public and residential stations throughout the U.S. to encourage adoption of plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.

ChargePoint is funded in part by U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Automakers Ford Motor, General Motors, and Smart USA are also partners on the project. The automakers have a vested interest in making … Read more

This summer's concert season has been brutal for the music industry, with cancellations and discounting galore. Blame the economy, blame the lack of marketable big-name artists on tour, but whatever the reason, concert ticketing giant Ticketmaster (which is owned by concert promoter and venue owner Live Nation) is responding.

In the inaugural post of Ticketology, the new Ticketmaster blog, the company has announced the end of a longstanding annoyance: service charges that get tacked on to the ticket price late in the buying process. Now, when you select a ticket on Ticketmaster's Web site, service fees are included … Read more

We've seen some good portable iPod/iPhone audio systems in our time, but Eton's Soulra is one of the more intriguing products we've come across in this category.

The unit has a rubberized aluminum body that the company says is splash-proof, and the speakers are sealed on the inside to provide "protection from sand, water, and other outdoor elements" (according to the company's press materials). On top of that, the $199 Soulra incorporates not only a rechargeable lithium ion battery but a "high-efficiency" solar panel that allows you to trickle-charge the unit … Read more

The San Francisco Bay Area is set to receive $5 million to install charging stations for electric vehicles throughout the area, the Department of Energy announced Wednesday.

The $5 million will cover the installation of 50 fast-charging EV stations along highways, 2,000 public stations for public parking lots and participating company-owned parking lots, and 3,000 residential charging stations.

Approval for the funds came through last week from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, a panel that oversees air quality concerns for the nine counties that make up the Bay Area. The funds will be … Read more