mobility

The 411 on early-termination fees (FAQ)

If you are considering buying a new BlackBerry, Android phone, or Netbook from Verizon Wireless, you better make sure you won't want to break your contract early, as the penalty for ditching your service before the end of the contract has just gotten a lot steeper.

But what does Verizon's move to increase early-termination fees mean for the rest of the wireless industry? That's a good question.

Early-termination fees are not new to the wireless industry. For as long as wireless operators have been selling and subsidizing cell phones, they've required customers to sign contracts. And … Read more

Apple: 'Enterprise' is as enterprise does

Is Apple an enterprise software or hardware company? That's the question Gartner's Nick Jones asks, ultimately answering with "you have to have a pretty relaxed definition [of enterprise] before Apple fits it."

It strikes me, however, that "enterprise" isn't something you define. It's just what gets used within the enterprise.

With this definition in mind, Apple clearly fits the "enterprise" moniker, whether Apple wants it or not. As BusinessWeek reported back in 2008, the Mac is finding its way into enterprise computing, with or without the IT department's blessing. … Read more

Aha Mobile reads driver's traffic info, Facebook status

What frequent drivers need is a way to search for information while cruising without taking your eyes off the road. That's what Robert Acker, president and CEO of Aha Mobile, thought when creating his yet-to-be-released application for iPhone and Android.

Before they put foot to pedal, drivers will set up a dashboard of buttons, each representing an audio channel for everything from the traffic report for the road you're on, to a search for nearby bathrooms and cafes, music channel, and your Facebook news feed. As we saw in Acker's demo at the Under The Radar start-up … Read more

Analyst: Money transfer soon to be No. 1 phone app

If smartphones aren't already helping us navigate the modern world, they are certainly on track to do so soon.

In Gartner's top 10 predictions for how consumers will use their mobile devices in the year 2012, location-based services landed the No. 2 position, just behind money transfer.

There aren't many surprises on the list, released Wednesday by the analyst firm, though I would have expected to see gaming enter the top 10 consumer applications for mobile devices within the next two years, especially considering the firm previously predicted that mobile gaming revenue would experience a compound annual … Read more

More on mobile payment front: Boku steps it up

The simple concept of having virtual-good payments in games sent directly to your cell phone bill has gotten a lot of buzz--and stirred up a lot of rivalry. One of the start-ups looking to pull this off, Boku, announced Monday that it has signed on a dozen new gaming partners, both a few based on the Facebook platform and some others that are either Web-based or desktop downloads.

The partner companies are Waves, Cie Studios, Cyberstep, GameDuell, IGG, King.com, NHN USA, Ntreev, Outspark, PerfectWorld, Snap Interactive, and Zoosk. Most of them aren't household names: they're game manufacturers, … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1109: In the future we'll all be cats

IBM is working on an artificial brain they think they'll have done by 2019. And we figure once that happens, the robots will rise and we will become your pets. And like cats we'll think that we're in charge. In other news, Modern Warfare 2 beats Harry Potter to a pulp, and Verizon and AT&T are a'courting! Actually they're in court. Being sued.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1109

Modern Warfare 2 tops entertainment industry, not just games http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10400394-235.html… Read more

MobileMe: iDisk is full

Occasionally, when using one of the many great features included with MobileMe, users will encounter an error telling them their iDisk is full. The error may occur when copying files to your iDisk, syncing to MobileMe, using iWeb to publish your Web site to MobileMe, or using Backup to back up to your iDisk.… Read more

Apple KB Update: MobileMe "iDisk full" errors

Apple has issued a number of iPod and iPhone related knowledgebase updates in the past week, covering topics on how to activate the iPhones and transfer data between them, or purchase content. On the Mac side of things, the only new article is one on MobileMe iDisk Full errors and related problems.… Read more

Carriers to sell majority of mobile devices by '13

More mobile carriers are offering Netbooks as a way to lure new customers--a trend that's likely to surge and encompass notebooks as well.

By 2013, more than 60 percent of all mobile devices, including Netbooks and notebooks, are expected to be sold directly by wireless carriers, according to research released Wednesday by In-Stat. Almost 31 percent of notebooks alone will be sold through carriers, In-Stat predicts.

Bundling an inexpensive Netbook or notebook is a small price to pay for a carrier, which can then charge customers for a monthly data plan.

"In the U.S., carriers are charging … Read more