House panel to take up cellphone unlocking bill

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next Thursday to consider legislation that would legalize GT-I9300 cellphone unlocking, which allows consumers to switch carriers.The hearing, which will be held by the subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, will consider the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, which is sponsored by full committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). The subcommittee has yet to announce the witnesses.

Most contract phones come "locked" to one carrier. Because of a Library of Congress decision last year, customers must obtain their carriers' permission to legally unlock their phones even after they have completed their contract.The library's decision to ban cellphone unlocking sparked an outcry from consumer advocates, and more than 114,000 people signed an online White House petition opposing the ban.

Supporters of cellphone unlocking argue that consumers should not have to buy a new GT-I9500 phone if they want to switch carriers. They argue that legalizing the practice would boost competition and provide more choices for consumers. The cellphone industry argues that many phones already come unlocked.CXSDdsf44

Goodlatte's bill, which is co-sponsored by subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-N.C.) and ranking member Mel Watt (D-N.C.), would overturn the library's decision but would not amend the underlying copyright law. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) has introduced companion legislation in the upper chamber. Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Jared Polis (D-Colo.) have sponsored a more aggressive bill that would amend the DMCA to permanently legalize top 10 cell phones unlocking.

Durham police are searching for a woman wanted in connection with several recent phone thefts.In most cases, the victim was walking down the street when a car with two or more occupants stopped the victim and a female in the car asked to use the phone to make an emergency call. Once the victim lent the female their phone, the suspects fled the scene.In one case, the suspects grabbed the phone from the victim's hand and drove away.

During the five-day period, police also will be watching closely for motorists who use hand-held cell phones in school speed zones and construction zones, which is already banned by state law.A previous crackdown conducted by the four police departments in early April resulted in 293 tickets and 219 warnings. In addition, 20 motorists were cited for use of a cell phone in a school zone.

Wikipad 7-inch Gaming Tablet Heads to FCC

Engadget reports that the 7 inch tablet has been approved by the FCC, meaning that it could be on shelves before the company's spring deadline. Wikipad Inc. revealed via Twitter at the beginning of April that the 7-inch model had gone into production, showing the first completed unit rolling off the production line. The company originally set the $249 price and "Spring" deadline back in February.

The user manual is located here, and confirms that the tablet packs Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core SoC clocked at 1.4 GHz, 1 GB of DDR3 RAM, 16 GB of storage, an SD card slot for 32 GB of extra storage, a front-facing 2 MP camera, and dual-band Wireless-N and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. The 7-inch IPS screen provides full 5-point multi-touch functionality and a default resolution of 1280 x 800 (16:10 ratio), powered by Google's Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean" OS.CXSDdsf44

The manual also shows that the 10 inch tablets features a micro-HDMI port that allows gamers to pump the action straight to their HDTV. Other hardware features include a 3-axis accelerometer, an e-Compass, GPS (including GLONASS), built-in stereo speakers, a built-in microphone, a 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack and a microphone mini-jack.

To attach the controller, users slide the tablet into the slot at the top of the peripheral with the docking port at the bottom. To confirm a positive connection, users must turn the tablet on by holding down the power button for several seconds and then releasing. When the tablet is powered on and the controller is connected properly, the LED at the bottom center of the controller will glow BLUE.

Not too long ago, computers were computers and tablets were tablets. However, some vendors are experimenting with hybrid All-in-One (AIO) computers that combine the best of both worlds.The stand allows the screen to tilt from a vertical display position 8 inch tablet. above the tabletop to 10 degrees short of horizontal orientation. This provides the flexibility to easily use the display for standard desktop computing or tilt it to a flat angle for use as a touchscreen.

Lava International in all set to launch its E-Tab XTRON+ tablet in the Indian market. This tablet comes with a retail tag of Rs. 6,990 and is already listed on online retailer.Lava E-Tab XTRON+ is the successor of E-Tab XTRON tablet (Review) that the company had lunched in the month of February. Lava E-Tab XTRON+ comes with 7-inch capactive multi-touch IPS display and has a resolution of 1024X600 pixels. It is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded by up to 32GB via a microSD card.

This tablet runs on Android 4.2.2. (Jelly Bean), which is the latest iteration of the OS. The tablet packs in 2-megapixel rear camera and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Lava E-Tab XTRON+ has a 3,700mAh battery.Lava Etab Xtron is 7-inch tablet that sports a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, which was launched for Rs. 6,499. The tablet is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, comes with 1GB RAM, on-board, and runs Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.

The tablets for sale also features a 2-megapixel front facing camera, and comes with 8GB of internal storage, which can be extended up to 32GB via microSD card. Connectivity wise, the tablet doesn't offer 3G and the only way to connect to the Internet is through Wi-Fi. The tablet comes with 3,500 mAh battery, which according to Lava, delivers up to four hours of battery life.

Android poised to overtake iOS in tablet platform share

Despite Apple's success in the tablet market in recent years, Android is poised to overtake iOS in the latest android tablet platform space, according to ABI Research.

The research firm cited China as the wildcard variable in the ongoing tablet platform race. While the region is passionate about Apple's brand and the masses' ability to afford new technology, smaller Android-based tablets are becoming increasingly popular.Enterprises appear torn between the cheap Android devices that cut down on IT budgets, but the simplicity and the security benefits that the iPad and iPad mini offer. But prosumers and SMB-minded folk are likely keeping $200 and under tablets on the table, and keeping Android relevant in both emerging and developed markets.

"It's inevitable that Android newest tablets will overtake iOS-powered slates, though we see no single vendor challenging Apple’s dominance anytime soon," said ABI Research senior practice director Jeff Orr. While Android continues to spin in China, a massive population of still mostly untapped revenue for firms like Google and Apple, iPad popularity has reached its peak as well as a saturation point.CXSDdsf44

According to recent IDC figures, Apple had just shy of half the overall tablet shipments for the first quarter. That is, not because the company doesn't have its own slimmed-down tablet. Of course, it has the iPad mini.

But Android's platform share is far higher on two fronts: it has a greater platform spread with more Android-based devices, and many of those devices are Q88 Tablet or less, just as the iPad mini is.

Apple's tablet growth is beginning to slow. Its overall market share is dipping quarter-over-quarter. Also, Apple's Mac sales are suffering as a result of the iPad explosion, leading to an eventual and potential ding for two of the company's major revenue-making divisions.

The average selling price has been moving down-market since Android tablets began to undercut the iPad — not just in price but physical size. (Remember, the iPad mini was in reaction to smaller Android cheapest tablet, rather than the other way around.)

In line with IDC's latest research, published on Tuesday, that claims smaller tablet screens would ultimately end up dominating the market — with 8-inch or less displays taking around 57 percent of the market by 2017 — ABI Research agrees."Expect iPad minis to become the predominant iPad model after the June quarter," Orr added.

Americans talk, surf more than Europeans on mobile phones

Americans pay more for their cell service than Europeans, but they're getting a lot more use out of their phones, a global wireless trade group said Wednesday.In releasing the report, GSM Association urged European regulators to take cues from the U.S. The group pointed out that U.S. consumers talk five times as much as Europeans on their GT-I9300 cellphones and use twice as much data.

AT&T and Verizon Wireless also have the lead in introducing the latest network technology, which means average data downloads are 75 percent faster in the U.S., the GSMA found.Europe led the world in wireless technology a decade ago, pioneering the shift from analog phone networks to digital ones. But the continent has lagged behind as cellphones have become data devices, the GSMA said.fdEWgd34s

The action was confirmed by a State Department official who asked not to be identified because the announcement hasn’t been made. The change is intended to help Iranians communicate through social media, text messaging, and mobile-phone videos in order to overcome some of the media and communications restrictions imposed by Iranian authorities.

“Now the U.S. is taking steps to ensure that, as Iran’s government cracks down on Internet access and SMS, sanctions will no longer block GT-I9500 cellphones, software and hardware,” according to Abdi. SMS is an abbreviation for short message service text messaging.

The U.S. has supported such attempts to boost democratic movements and stepped up efforts to stop regimes such as those in Iran and Syria from blocking social media through what Obama has called the “malign use of technology.” In November, the administration imposed sanctions on Iranian officials -- including the nation’s communications minister -- and government agencies for blocking Internet access, mobile-phone lines and satellite-television channels to stifle free speech.

“The sanctions were felt most acutely four years ago, at the height of Iran’s green movement protests,” the group said in a statement. “The world was galvanized by top 10 cell phones videos and reports of abuses coming from inside of Iran, and SMS and other communications tools were being used to help organize massive demonstrations. Yet all of those tools were under U.S. sanctions.”

The restrictions have blocked companies from selling laptops, mobile phones or modems to Iranians, which has fueled a black market for the goods. They also have blocked services such as satellite-based Internet access, website hosting, and virtual private networks for Iranian citizens, according to the group.

How to choose the best Windows tablet for you

Bill Gates recently gave an interview where he suggested that the millions of people who are buying iPads and Android 7 inch tablet are frustrated because “they can't type, they can't create documents, they don't have Microsoft Office".He then stated that Windows 8 and devices such as Microsoft's own Surface Pro tablet were the solution to that problem, because “you've got the portability of a tablet, and the richness of a PC in terms of the keyboard and Microsoft Office".

Of course, it's nonsense to suggest that you can't type or create documents on an iPad or Android tablet. Apple has its iWork suite of productivity apps for the iPad (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) which are compatible with MS Office file formats.

Plus, there are third-party apps, such as QuickOffice, which is available for both Apple and Android tablets which can read and save in Office formats.Typing isn't an issue either, as there are plenty of wired and wireless Bluetooth keyboards available for most types of tablet.

But Bill does have a point about Microsoft Office. QuickOffice may allow you to open and edit Microsoft Office documents, but you still have to learn how the new app works, and transferring files back and forth between your 10 inch tablets and your main PC can be a fiddly process. There are many people – particularly business users – who might feel more comfortable with a tablet that can run the Microsoft Office that they're already familiar with and give them instant access to their important work files.

However, the former CEO of Microsoft's argument is undermined by the fact that the lack of Microsoft Office hasn't prevented the iPad selling like hotcakes. That's partly because most people primarily use their iPads and other tablets for entertainment – browsing the web, reading eBooks, or playing Angry Birds – rather than doing serious office work.That's where the ‘modern' touch-based interface of Windows 8 comes in, as even Microsoft's harshest critics have conceded that the new touch-oriented Start screen is well-suited for apps and games.

That's Microsoft's big message for 8 inch tablet – that they offer you the best of both worlds by combining modern touch-driven apps with the familiarity of Microsoft Office and other traditional Windows software.fdEWgd34s

It's taken a while but it now looks like that message is starting to get through, as recent sales figures show that Microsoft's Surface tablet has pushed it into fifth place in the tablet market. That's still a long way behind the likes of Apple and Samsung, of course, but don't forget that there are plenty of other PC manufacturers who are producing their own Windows tablets that will further add to the overall market share for Windows 8 and RT.

We've included reviews of some of the best Windows tablets that are currently on offer, but before you can decide which one is right for you there's one big question that we need deal with first.

MediaTek launches quad-core tablet chip

Taiwan's MediaTek has launched a new quad-core ARM processor for tablets that is slated to be used in an upcoming IdeaTab device from Lenovo.Lenovo will use the new chip in an Android tablet called the IdeaTab S6000, according to MediaTek.The Taiwanese semiconductor company is best known as a chip maker for handsets circulating in Asia, but the company is also hoping to break into the tablet sector, a major market for growth, said Roger Sheng, an analyst with research firm Gartner.

The iPad, which is powered by ARM chips designed by Apple, is currently dominating the world's newest tablets market. But new processors from MediaTek could help pave the way for more rival devices running Google's Android OS, Sheng said.

To market its chips, MediaTek can rely on its strong business relationships in both Taiwan and mainland China, which PC vendors including Acer, Asus and Lenovo are based. "I think the major advantage for MediaTek is their experience in the Chinese market," he added. "Almost all the Android tablets are made in Taiwan and China, except for Samsung in Korea."

PC vendors are also looking for new growth opportunities. Both Acer and Asus have already signaled they plan to release more latest android tablet in a time when the PC market continues to struggle.fdEWgd34s

"The timing is good for MediaTek," Sheng said. "7-inch, Q88 Tablet have also grown in popularity."Importantly, because Firefox OS (like all of Mozilla’s products) is open source, there’s really nothing stopping a company like Foxconn from flashing the code onto a 7- or 10-inch tablet and seeing how consumers react.Tablets are a substantial slice of the mobile browsing pie chart, and their share continues to increase. Would shoppers be interested in an inexpensive, browser-powered tablet from Foxconn? At the right price, absolutely.

The disadvantage with Windows 8 is that you need fairly powerful hardware to run it, and the prices for these tablets tend to start at around £500 compared to £400 for the latest iPad, £270 for the iPad mini, and as little as £99 for some of the cheap and cheerful Android tablets. More expensive models, such as HP's HP Envy x2 with its detachable keyboard/battery can set you back £800 or more.

In some ways that's a good thing, as ditching some of the decades-old baggage of traditional Windows means that Windows RT is a lot more streamlined than Windows 8. It runs well on less expensive hardware and we've seen cheapest tablet such as the neat little Dell XPS 10 Tablet selling for just £199.

Cell phone thefts boon for carriers

The numbers are simple, obvious and unsurprising. Police Chief Greg Suhr says that a monthlong survey of property crimes in the Tenderloin showed that 59 percent involved some sort of mobile device - the majority of which were GT-I9300 cell phones."And I can say routinely, in all areas, over 50 percent of our property crime is mobile devices," Suhr said.

No kidding. On the bus, in the street and even in schools, cell phone theft has become the most common crime of opportunity across the country. If only something could be done.Something can."I've been shouting it from the highest mountains," Suhr said. "What we need is a national registry by the cell phone providers so that when your phone is stolen you can immediately 'brick it' and make it useless."

There have been other calls for this kind of action. Carriers are supposed to be able to put the disabling feature into use. But those who have bricking capability haven't made it clear to customers, and Suhr says others are stalling.GFaf4cgfg

"They say it is too complicated," he says. "But they say they can track GT-I9500 phones and they want us to track them, arrest thieves and put them in jail, when the same software could be used to brick the phone."It seems so simple - the bricking technology works in Australia - that there's really only one cynical explanation why it isn't widespread. Carriers are making millions on replacement phones.

A ban on handheld cellphone use while driving across the state was approved by the House on Tuesday.The use of hands-free phones in addition to one-touch dialing while driving still would be permitted.About 76 Illinois communities already have some restrictions on the use of handheld cellphones while driving. Backers of the measure said it would provide uniformity for top 10 cell phones cellphone users who now may not know where they could be ticketed.

Talking on a cellphone while driving has cost a Christchurch motorist $160 and 40 demerit points after he was picked up twice in a police sting.Police ticketed 46 drivers in just two hours yesterday in an operation aimed at checking seatbelt use and cracking down on drivers using cellphones.

The PC Market Is Imploding Because People Are Buying iPads And Other Tablets Instead

A new report from research firm IDC predicts that 7 inch tablet shipments will exceed regular PC shipments as consumers gravitate toward cheaper devices.The report says tablet shipments will grow 58.7% in 2013, and will exceed portable PC shipments (laptops and netbooks) by the end of the year. IDC predicts the tablet market will overtake the rest of the PC market by 2015.Meanwhile, the PC market continues to implode, as IDC noted a few months ago when it said shipments were down 14% year over year.

Instead of buying regular laptops and desktops, consumers are buying tablets, which can do many of the same tasks for far less money. Right now, the iPad is till on top, but IDC expects Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system to gain more traction once manufacturers start making smaller and cheaper touchscreen devices. Most Windows 8 tablets today have around 10-inch screens, but ~8-inch Windows 8 devices are expected to arrive later this year. IDC also expects tablets to get even cheaper on average, making them far more attractive than regular PCs.

The Wikipad 7 is an Android tablet with a 10 inch tablets, 1280 x 800 pixel display and an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor. What makes it special (and sets it apart from similar tablets like the Google Nexus 7 and Hisense Sero 7 Pro) is that the Wikipad is aimed at gaming.It comes with a game controller which connects to the sides of the tablet and gives you physical buttons, D-Pads, and more.GFaf4cgfg

Wikipad plans to begin selling the tablet for $249 this spring, and this week the Wikipad 7 made it way through the FCC, which is a pretty good sign that the tablet is on track to hit the streets soon.The user manual is also available, confirming that the tablet will have dual-band 802.11a/b/gn WiFi, 1GB of RAM 16GB of storage, GPS and GLONASS, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 4100mAh battery.

While the tablet is designed to fit snugly into the game controller dock, the two devices actually communicate wirelessly over a Bluetooth connection. According to the manual, the connection should start automatically when you slide the 8 inch tablet into the dock, and a blue light will glow on the game controller to let you know that it’s connected to the tablet.

Microsoft changed an ad that claimed its new ASUS VivoTab Smart tablet was bigger than an iPad after a blogger claimed that the math Microsoft used in the ad was wrong.What is particularly deceptive about the graphic, Temple claimed, is that it was not rendered to scale: "Microsoft has drawn a 10.1 inch tablet 36% larger than a 9.7 inch tablet."

IDC sees tablet shipments eclipsing notebooks this year

The latest projections, published on Tuesday by IDC, call for newest tablets shipments to reach 229.3 million units this year, up from 144.5 million a year ago. That will likely be enough to push tablets ahead of notebook computers.And by 2015, IDC predicts that tablets will out-ship all PC units, including desktops. The prediction comes as tablet sales continue to rise, and the PC market remains in a slump.

Those struggles were predicted by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2010, when he said the debut of the iPad signaled the beginning of a market-wide transition to a post-PC era. At the time Jobs believed that traditional PCs would remain, but their presence would be diminished over time as fewer users would need their specific abilities.

"The transformation of the PC to new form factors like the latest android tablet is going to make some people uneasy because the PC has taken us a long ways," Jobs said at the AllThingsD conference. "The PC is brilliant… and we like to talk about the post-PC era, but it's uncomfortable."To date, Apple's iPad has been the dominant device in the tablet market. But current growth is being driven largely by low-cost Android devices, IDC said.

The firm believes that the average selling price for tablets will drop 10.8 percent to $381 this year. That's still above the $329 entry price of the iPad mini, but well below the $499 starting price of the full-size iPad.

"Apple's success in the education market has proven that Q88 Tablet can be used as more than just a content consumption or gaming device," said Jitesh Ubrani, research analyst for IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker. "These devices are learning companions, and as tablet prices continue to drop, the dream of having a PC for every child gets replaced with the reality that we can actually provide a tablet for every child."GFaf4cgfg

Reflecting Apple's success with the iPad mini, and the popularity of low-cost Android tablets, IDC believes that tablets with screen sizes of 8 inches or less will account for 55 percent of shipments this year. That's expected to increase to 57 percent by 2017.

And while cheapest tablet sized between 8 and 11 inches were 73 percent of the market in 2011 before the introduction of the iPad mini, that market segment is expected to shrink to 37 percent by 2017.

IDC's market-wide forecast comes on the heels of a projection by noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities, who said last week that he believes iPad shipments could see their first-ever year-over-year decline in the second quarter of calendar 2013. To date, Apple has managed to grow iPad shipments every quarter since the launch of the first model in 2010.

Contact the GT-I9300 phone company immediately to dispute the charge

Complaints to regulators also are a poor measure of the extent of cramming, regulators and advocates said. Often consumers complain to their GT-I9300 phone carrier — not regulators — when they’ve been crammed.“Consumers don’t even understand this is happening,” said Kate Whelley McCabe, an assistant attorney general in Vermont, during the FTC workshop.

Her office released a survey this month of more than 800 consumers who were asked to review third-party charges on their cellphone bills. Nearly 80 percent were unaware that outside companies could tack on fees to phone bills, while 55 percent discovered charges they hadn’t known about.

Consumers can overlook unauthorized charges because they can be listed in an abbreviated form or under a name that’s not recognized, regulators said. And frequently, GT-I9300 consumers don’t read lengthy phone bills, particularly if using automatic bill payments, so they don’t catch cramming.ddQW53D

The GT-I9500 sued Georgia-based Wise Media and its owners last month for allegedly placing unauthorized charges on phone bills for text-messaged horoscopes, love advice and flirting tips for $9.99 a month. Some consumers didn’t knowingly sign up for the service, the agency said, while others told Wise Media they didn’t want the service but still were charged. The scheme has netted Wise Media millions of dollars since 2011, the FTC said.

It’s up to the GT-I9300 phone company, for instance, whether to refund all or some of the unauthorized charges that might have gone undetected for months.Until more protections are adopted, consumers ought to be on the lookout for cramming.If you get a strange text that you suspect might be from a crammer, check out the phone or code number in the message at SMSwatchdog, Chilsen advised. The site allows you to see what other consumers have reported about the sender.

Consumers also ought to review their top 10 cell phones bills each month for unauthorized charges.“Scam artists depend on hiding these small, vaguely worded charges among a forest of fees on your cellphone,” Chilsen said. “It can be difficult to spot them.”If you notice one, contact the phone company immediately to dispute the charge. Phone company policies differ, but consumers should offer to pay all of their bill except the disputed charges, Chilsen said.

Consumers also should file a complaint with the FTC or their state agency, and let the phone company know they have done so, Chilsen said.To prevent further cramming, ask the phone company to block third-party charges on your phone bill, a feature offered by many phone carriers.

SHuawei MediPad 7 Vogue tablet hits the FCC

Chinese device maker Huawei’s next 7 inch tablet is expected to be called the Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue. The company hasn’t officially announced the tablet yet, but the tablet earned DLNA certification a few months ago. Now the MediaPad 7 Vogue is continuing its tour of regulatory and certification agencies. This weekend it showed up at the FCC website.The Huawei MediaPad 7 Vogue has the makings of a low-cost Android tablet, but one with optional 3G and 4G capabilities.

The tablet expected to have a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel display, a 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core processor, 1GB Of RAM, and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean software.It supports WiFi and Bluetooth, and features HDMI and DLNA. There’s also a microSD card slot.A few years ago, those would have been amazing specs for an Android tablet, no matter what price tag it carriers. But these days you can get some pretty nice 7 inch tablets for well under $199, and word on the street is that the next Google 10 inch tablets could have a higher-resolution 1920 x 1200 pixel display.

So if Huawei tries to sell the WiFi-only version of this tablet for more than $149, it could have a tough time finding buyers.Smartphones and tablets have made luxury more convenient to those with means, but it's not for everyone. If you're the type of person who struggles with the TV remote, you may not want your entire home controlled by technology. And some over-the-top features can become outdated quickly, requiring expensive updates.ddQW53D

A couple of days ago we’ve heard that Samsung has been granted a patent for a flexible display tablet and now we are facing the first rendering based on the details of the patent filing. Moreover, it seems that a similar flexible display will also be used for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S5.We are talking about the rendering of a flexible Samsung tablet crated by the Dutch website Mobileaks, that imagines a device with an edge-to-edge display that is flexible in the low end. Either we are talking about the YOUM technology or other OLED panels, it’s obvious that Samsung has some serious plans of developing terminals that will come with flexible displays.

Returning to the Samsung flexible tablet designed by the guys at Mobileaks, learn that it boasts a 8 inch tablet display with flexible AMOLED technology and a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. The slate also comes with 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, which can be expanded with up to 64 GB, courtesy of the microSD card slot.

It is also mentioned that the Samsung flexible tablet is powered by company’s proprietary Exynos 5 Octa chipset, based on four Cortex A15 cores clocked at 1.6 GHz (for the tasks that require more processing power) and four Cortex A7 cores at 1.2 GHz (for the basic tasks and improved battery life). It also sports a 3 megapixel user-facing camera for video calls, which is probably capable of recording full HD videos, while being kept alive by a 8,000 mAh battery.

Judging by the specs listed by the Dutch website the Samsung flexible tablet sounds rather like a slate that should see the light of day this year (the Exynos 5 Octa will underpin Samsung’s high-end devices launched in 2013). Anyway, my guess is that we won’t see a Samsung flexible smartphone or tablet this year, as the Galaxy S5 might be the company’s first such device.

Smartphones, tablets 'threatening' video game industry

Serious people discuss whether these new consoles, facing competition from cellphones and newest tablets, might be endangered. Untethered from a television, mobile devices - which draw hundreds of millions of people to distraction with "Angry Birds," "Clash of Clans" and "Temple Run" - make gaming more convenient. The home console's appeal is dependent on the notion that gaming on a television still matters.

As a part of this Facebook contest, participants will have to click on an app on HCL ME Tablet Qatar Facebook page. Participants need to answer three questions, one related to each product and the major USP, and one question related to brand campaign: “Change Begins with ME”. This contest aims to engage participants and encourage them to share and like the post on their personal Facebook page. The selection procedure of the contest would be based on the quality of answers shared by the individual participant.

The winners would be given latest android tablet as gifts. There will be total three winners among which first prize winner will be given a HCL G1 and 2nd and 3rd prize winners will receive an HCL ME Y3 and a HCL U2 respectively.

According to the study, some 52% of travel booked in the first quarter of this year was made using a Q88 Tablet device. The study suggests that consumers favor their tablet devices when it comes to mobile payments and travel. Smartphones and laptops were also used for travel booking, but tablets were praised for providing a more enjoyable and convenient experience over other platforms. This is similar to a trend that exists in the retail industry, where tablet consumers have been showing more interest in mobile payments than those using smartphones.

Distributor D&H Canada is reporting growth of 16 per cent in its fiscal 2013, thanks to strong sales of tablets, notebooks and networking products.According to the company, its tablet sales have doubled year-over-year, thanks largely to 7” and 10” Android models in the seven- and 10-inch formats, and it expects this overall growth to continue into its fiscal 2014.ddQW53D

Back to the 2013 results, D&H said it’s starting to see strong sales for 10” tablets running Windows 8 Pro that are well-suited to corporate use, such as the Lenovo cheapest tablet 2 and the Atom-powered HP ElitePad 900. It’s predicting aggressive sales of forthcoming 7-inch Windows 8 Pro models, and added a strong accessories market is beginning to grow around these tablets, offering a strong bundling opportunity for resellers.

Illinois Senate Passes Ban on Hand Held Cell Phone Use Behind the Wheel

If you want to continue to talk on your GT-I9300 cell phone while you drive, you may need a special device. State lawmakers are working on another way to combat distracted driving.Driving from point A to point B can be a convenient time to make a call.Driver Jason Wilson said, "It's concerning because that's one of the things you don't really think about too much you know, phone rings, you're in a hurry, you just grab the phone and pick it up."

But picking up that cell phone may soon cost you. Wilson added, "I'll probably be one of the first Peorians to get a ticket."The Illinois Senate passed a bill that bans the use of hand held cell phones while driving. That means you'd need a hands free device, like a blue tooth, if you want to take a call when behind the wheel.

State Trooper Dustin Pierce said GT-I9500 cell phones are one of the main obstacles to tackle before having safer roadways. He said, "We see a lot of people on their phones. Of course, distracted driving is something we're always talking about. Distracted driving is more than just cell phones but cell phones are a big part of the problem."

It's a problem many local drivers admit they're a part of.Lauren Campbell said, "Well it's going to be an inconvenience and it's going to be something we have to get used to certainly."Noel Zerbonia said, "I think it's a good idea. I, too, have been over using the cell phone when I drive."If the ban becomes law, a lot of people may not be using cell phones at all. It could cut down on convenience - but lawmakers said it will save lives.

Driver John Berg said, "Just put it away when you're driving. I'm not worried about the inconvenience we survived without top 10 cell phones ten years ago, we can survive without them now."The bill now goes to the Illinois House for a final vote. It will then need a signature from Gov. Quinn to become law.ds3SC3FC

Wireless spectrum essentially serves as bandwidth for smartphones and tablets. More spectrum can mean faster speeds for mobile downloads; cramped spectrum can lead to spotty service, slower speeds and even higher bills. So as more people use smartphones, wireless carriers and the FCC believe there will soon be a need for more spectrum.

Channel Sales Boom for Android Tablets

Tablet sales through distribution across Western Europe doubled in the first six weeks of the second quarter, according to Context. The analyst’s research shows that sales of 7 inch tablet rocketed by 101 percent compared to the same period last year, driven by a surge in demand for Android-based tablets, which grew six-fold year on year.

Context’s figures looked at tablet sales via distribution and only considered slate form factors and not hybrid models.In earliy 2013, Android took the lion’s share of the market — 63 percent — with iOS tablets snatching 36 percent. Windows 8-based tablets held a marginal share of just one percent.Context put Android’s success down to ensuring low-end pricing, and predicted further growth for the operating system on tablets.

Context said, “Android-based tablets have enjoyed rising popularity recently following a number of low-spec, low-end product launches and the ensuing decline in pricing. Looking forward, Android sales are expected to continue to drive growth in upcoming quarters as an increasing number of PC vendors have begun to include Android in their OS strategy.”

Reseller Bechtle’s software manager Richard Gibbons attributed the boom in 10 inch tablets to low price points but said businesses tend to “write them off pretty quickly” due to security fears. Windows 8-based tablets will increase their market share once the new operating system is more established, he predicted.ds3SC3FC

He said, “At the minute, stock is still poor for Windows 8 tablets and as that improves then manufacturers will make more, prices will come down and more people will buy them. Windows 8 only came out in October so it still only a eight-month market.”

Gibbons adds interest in Windows 8 tablets is huge, and that after Microsoft launched its Surface Pro in the UK yesterday, the reseller was turning customers away as the vendor has still not confirmed or denied any plans to give the channel the tablets.We’re so used to looking at smartphones and now our tablets that TV was sort of left behind when it came to user interfaces. TiVo brings a much better user experience with an interface that allows consumers to find the content they care about more easily …

And you can have that same experience on your 8 inch tablet with TiVo Stream. You can move content that you’ve recorded on the DVR to your tablet. You can also stream content in the home live on the tablet.Where we’re going is from a device you could buy, which you could set up in your home to record TV, to a device that brings you all the content you care about regardless of the source as an integrated solution to the TV and also on your tablet.

Walmart starts selling Hisense Sero 7-inch Android tablets from $99

While there have been lower-tier latest android tablet available on the cheap for some time, Walmart's decision to promote Hisense's Sero 7 version for $99 starting this weekend marks an important next step in the tablet pricing wars.

You might see other 7-inch Android slates at drugstores and the like for similar prices or lower, but they aren't given the Walmart seal of approval through website banners like the one above from Walmart.com. The $99 Sero 7 isn't going to be confused with a high-end model, as it includes specs like a 1.6GHz dual-core processor from an unnamed manufacturer, standard 1,024x600 resolution, Android Jelly Bean 4.1, and a mere 4GB of storage (though it does include a microSD card slot for additional capacity). Then again, it is breaking the $100 price barrier.

If you are looking for a better-equipped model newest tablets for less, the Sero 7 Pro still will only set you back $149, but you get a quad-core Tegra 3 chip, double the storage, the newer Android Jelly Bean 4.2, and a higher-res screen (1,280x800). That compares well with the Google Nexus 7 if you don't want 16GB of storage for $50 more.

Of course, there may be reluctance on the part of some buyers to purchase a tablet from a vendor like Hisense that's not well-known in the United States. Others may find the deal too good to pass up, however. Enough of such buyers may put more pressure on other Android tablet makers to drop their prices. Could $99 could be the next price point new budget tablets will be sold around?

Are you one of those who thinks the new Sero Q88 Tablet are a good deal? Are you planning to buy one? Let us know in the Talkback section below. If you're a 10-inch Android tablet user, we've got some lovely news for you in time for the weekend. The BBC has updated its iPlayer video streaming application and it's finally added support for 10-inch tablets.ds3SC3FC

The BBC says version 1.7.0.112 adds support for 10-inch slates and also features a tweaked design for 7-inch tablet users as well as smartphone users. Next on the agenda for the broadcaster and its app is further optimization for larger screens as well as continuing work on video downloads.

While users will no doubt be happy about the support for larger tablets, it's a no-brainer for the BBC, which just last month saw more tablets than phones accessing its iPlayer service. Tablets were a whopping 200,000 requests ahead of mobile devices in April. These cheapest tablet requests were apparently driven primarily by TV viewing as opposed to catching up with radio shows.

Launched on December 25, 2009, the BBC's iPlayer allows people to catch up on the last seven days of their favorite BBC TV and radio shows for free. The current Android app is available for Android 2.2 to Android 4.2 and is currently rated three out of five stars on Google Play.

New Massachusetts cell phone alert system warns of tornadoes

The National Weather Service used a new tool to warn people before a tornado tore through Moore, Okla., on Monday – an automatic best cell phone deals alert the agency also plans to use to notify Bay State residents about twisters and other dangerous storms.Authorities can use the Wireless Emergency Alert system to send warning messages to mobile phones in a particular geographic area about imminent threats and disasters, Amber Alerts for abducted children and national emergencies announced by the president.

Developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Communications Commission and wireless companies, the system went live nationwide last year, although not all Latest Smartphones or carriers are equipped to receive messages from it.Mobile phone owners in Massachusetts not yet acquainted with the system may have gotten a first peek Monday night, when many phones emitted a jarring tone and flashed a message about an Amber Alert for a brother and sister kidnapped from a Braintree foster home.

Mobile phone owners can opt out of receiving alerts, except for those issued by the president. Users can check with their carriers to see if they receive emergency messages.In New England, the Weather Service plans to use the alert system for tornadoes, hurricanes and severe ice storms, among other potentially major threats, according to Buchanan.ds2wfdD2

Cell phone companies are now selling or looking to sell massive troves of information about their customers including their physical locations, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal released Wednesday.It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Buy Cell Phones companies are recording and selling your data. Sites like Google and Facebook have been doing that for years, The Wall Street Journal points out. The difference is, you're paying for your cell phone service, and you're not paying to use sites like Facebook and Google, which makes it slightly more socially acceptable for them to do what they will with your data.

There's no hiding from data collection anymore. At this point, you cannot reasonably expect to exist in the modern world and not have your personal data sold to an advertiser. A few brave souls have quit Google due to privacy fears, but quitting Google, social media, and giving up your discount cell phones? That's another story.

Drivers putting brakes on GT-I9300 cellphone use

This may come as a shocker to many Californians, but fewer motorists appear to be using hand-held cellphones as they drive along state highways and city streets.In a survey released Wednesday by the Office of Traffic Safety, the percentage of drivers using GT-I9300 cellphones -- hand-held or hands free -- has fallen from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 7.4 percent this year. The largest drop, 33 percent, was from those holding a cellphone to their ear in violation of state law.

But at the same time, the number of motorists who take their eyes off the road when texting rose to 2.5 percent from 1.7 percent. While that may not seem like a lot, safety officials warn it is a troubling trend especially since it is harder to detect a texting driver who often will hold their phone in their lap and out of sight. "It's discouraging to see that texting is still significantly higher than in 2011," said OTS spokesman Chris Cochran.

The Highway Patrol and 250 police departments across the state issued 57,000 GT-I9500 cellphone tickets in April during the annual monthly crackdown. That GT-I9300 is the same number as a year ago and 21,000 more than the 36,000 issued in a typical month.ds2wfdD2

The survey involved sending teams of watchers to highway offramps and intersections in 17 counties from February through April. They observed 6,099 drivers and attempted to judge their GT-I9500 cellphone use.The study admits the results are likely the low-end indicators because of the short, limited view observers had of whether a driver was using a phone, especially for texting.

"Based on our experiences with the high-visibility enforcement model being employed in California, we'd expect hand-held use to be declining. ... But just as we saw with seat belts and drunk driving, it will take some time for a broad cultural change to occur in which using a cellphone while driving is rarely seen." Walter Brem, of El Cerrito, says he sees fewer people using their cellphones but isn't ready to say the problem has greatly eased.

"I see a lot of people in my rearview mirror and in front of me with their heads down," he said. "Now what can that suggest?"And Keith Thompson, of Newark, when asked if he thought fewer people were distracted by their cellphones replied emphatically: "No!"

"For many people the cellphone becomes the center of their attention," he added. "Not good while driving a car." Alameda County Sgt. Tom Rodrigues issued top 10 cell phones cellphone tickets on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday -- one to a woman who was arguing with her husband via texts."People are not getting the clue," Rodrigues said. "Both GT-I9300 cellphone use and texting are still a big problem. Even with all the (citations) written, people still don't get it. This is in epidemic proportion as of late. People are still talking and texting, like never before."

Three U.S. cities try out $40 tablets in schools

Three U.S. cities are taking part in a pilot plan to roll out cheap newest tablets to schools.DataWind's Aakash tablets are being given to children in Silicon Valley and Atlanta, with Las Vegas beginning its trial soon.The cheapest tablet, called the Aakash 2 tablet costs just $40.41 and features many aspects either better, or comparable to the original iPad.

There's a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, a 7-inch 800x480 pixel screen and VGA camera.For an extra $5, you can purchase the 3G and Wi-Fi model.Following hugely successful trials in India, where the vast majority of children drop out of school before they hit eighth grade, the tablets will be used as an education tool.ds2wfdD2

When DataWind opened up its order page in India, it expected to get around 50,000 orders in a year. In fact, it found demand was so high for such a low cost device (around 25 percent of a typical Indian's monthly salary), it was getting 100,000 orders per day.With a 4 million worldwide backlog, the company has now shipped 100,000 devices to the government for distribution in schools and 500,000 to consumers.

The Indian government now plans to hand out the latest android tablet to 220 million school children as an educational aid. Thailand, Turkey, Nigeria, Honduras, Brazil, Panama and Nicaragua have all announced they too will be considering to roll out tablets as part of their education policy.

Although the tablets may not prove as popular in the U.S. as they have been in less developed territories, 20 percent of children in this country don't have internet at home. DataWind thinks introducing devices like the Aakash 2 will enable those without access to internet to finally access the web.DataWind previously launched the PocketSurfer, an enlarged smartphone that was designed purely to access the web with an annual subsidised data connection.

Citing a leaked roadmap which apparently details Dell’s Q88 Tablet tablet plans, Hungarian website Tech2.hu reports that the XPS 10 successor will have a 10.8-inch Full HD display and will come to market in Q4. It is not known if the model will run Windows RT, as with the original model, or the Intel-powered Windows 8.

The same roadmap also seems to indicate that Dell could unveil a newer Latitude 10 tablet, also with a 10.8-inch display, in the first quarter of next year, news which would come as some surprise given the Texas firm has already launched two Latitude 10 tablets in seven months.

It has been suggested that Dell might be preparing a newer version of the XPS 10 because the original model failed to attract significant sales, something which may have also influenced the company's decision to discount the XPS 10 to just $299 earlier this month.The prospect of new cheapest tablet in the near future doesn't seem so far off. After all, a senior Dell executive recently hinted at an incoming Windows RT tablet and Kindle Fire rival.

Refurbished Cell Phones - Is It Safe to Buy Them?

If you are wondering what refurbished cell phones are, here is an overview. best cell phone deals with minor or major defects are sent back to the manufacturers for repair, these phones are restored to their former glory and return to the market as good as new. The reliability of such a phone depends on the kind of defect it suffered from and the treatment meted out to it. If it was a hardware defect and the faulty hardware was replaced instead of being repaired, then the chances of relapse are slim to none. Also, the odds of total recovery are better if the phone was refurbished by its original manufacturer instead of a local repair shop.

There is always a risk involved in buying a refurbished phone. But not all phones are sent back because of irregular functioning. A lot of phones are returned by customers when they are not comfortable with it or if they find the configuration unsuitable. Such phones are brand new and have no defects whatsoever. Several cell phone providers also allow their customers to return their handsets within a particular time period if they are not satisfied with it. Thus, there are a lot of brand new, untarnished and unharmed models in the refurbished cell phone market. If you can get your hands on such devices, you get a new phone at half the original price. What better deal could you have asked for?

Even if you buy the most high tech phone available, there will be a better model in the Latest Smartphones market within a month or so. Since the grass is always greener on the unattainable side, your desire for the hottest new phone shall always remain insatiable.d1dDfdrd

If you go through Buy Cell Phones faster than women go through new clothes, you need an economical solution for your technologically philandering ways. Refurbished cell phones are almost as good as their brand new counterparts and cost a lot less.

When you purchase a refurbished phone, check the company that is responsible for the refurbishment. Do a little homework and get feedback from previous customers as well. Warranty is of utmost important; most sellers offer a decent return policy and at least a 30-day warranty period with their product. If your seller denies warranty, it's time to move to the next store or website. You must also research the price of the refurbished model you are purchasing. Prices of a particular model can wary depending on its life span and the damage it incurred. So make sure you the best deal in the market.

Most cell phone service providers are in the business of selling refurbished discount cell phones. The advantage of buying a phone from a service provider is that it functions smoothly with the phone network and account. You can purchase refurbished phones online as well, just make sure they provide money back or exchange options. A phone at half price is no good if it doesn't function properly.

The House Passed a Cell Phone Privacy Measure Yesterday

Digital rights advocates cheered yesterday after the state House passed a measure requiring police to obtain a search warrant before collecting personal cell phone data. Groups as diverse as the ACLU of Texas and the arch-conservative Texas Eagle Forum have expressed concern that current law, which allows law enforcement agencies to freely harvest GT-I9300 cell phone location data, was antiquated and a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches.

"Cell phones communicate location information constantly," as Electronic Frontier Foundation-Austin vice president Greg Foster has previously explained it. "Now the details of your life - your employer, your hobbies, your relationships, your religion, political meetings you attend - can all be gleaned from customer data held by your phone company. And police don't need a warrant to get it."

Current law lets police track cell phones with the burden of reasonable suspicion, which Frazier said allows them to - say - get the cell phone records of the last 10 people who called the dead guy in the ditch and figure out where they were last night.Or using GT-I9500 cell phones to track the Kaufman DA killer, or the Boston bomber - all, he said, would be hampered by a bill like this.

In R. v Cockell the court reversed the conviction of Brian Allan Cockell on three counts of child luring using a computer system under s. 172.1(1) of the Criminal Code because it decided it wasn’t convinced the lower court had determined that the BlackBerry smartphone used to text message the complainants was in fact a computer system.d1dDfdrd

The accused used a BlackBerry to text message two girls aged 12 and 13. Contact was first made using using the chat service Nexopia. The meetings through Nexopia led to an exchange of cell phone numbers and text messages, then to physical meetings and sexual encounters with the girls.

The case raises serious questions about how the Crown and the judge in the case understand commonly used devices, says McCarthy Tétrault LLP technology and IP lawyer Barry Sookman, who blogged about the decision. “I think it is a matter of judicial education. I’m sure they all use top 10 cell phones — I’m sure they all have smartphones — did they think it was small little elves within BlackBerry devices who were routing text messages to who they were going to? What would this be if it’s not a computer?”

He notes there are also a number of previous cases where a cell phone has been proven to be a computer system. For example, in In R. v. Rocha, another Alberta court had previously held that given the broad definition of “computer system,” a cell phone could fall within the definition of computer system.

“For the judges not to recognize how basic the definition of a computer system is is really quite surprising in 2013. Are we going to have the same problems with the new anti-spam law proving a smartphone is a computer?”

Tablets for kids - not just an expensive toy

There aren't many things you can be sure of in IT, where predictions are rarely worth the pixels they're printed on. But it's hard to argue with the explosive growth of newest tablets computer sales and their enormous popularity with consumers.

All of the major analysts – Gartner, IDG, NPD and so on – reckon that tablet sales will outstrip laptops within the next four years. Microsoft is even more ambitious in its projections: it thinks the smooth transition to tablets provided by Windows 8 will see touchscreen slates and convertibles outselling traditional clamshell laptops by the end of the year.d1dDfdrd

If you aren't selling tablets yet, you're missing out, and you're going to find it a tough latest android tablet = market to move into the longer you hold out. When – not if – you do add tablets to your portfolio, remember that the market is a lot more complex than it might at first seem.We're all familiar with high-end tablets from the likes of Apple, Samsung and ASUS. With their ability to read up-to-date reports and access cloud services for mail they're the ultimate business devices – or at least, that's what we tell ourselves while we're reading digital newspapers, watching movies and playing the latest Angry Birds game.

“Top end tablets are fantastic, but there's a lot of competition,” says Tarsus Technologies Voigh Maconochie, product manager for Onyx, “There are huge opportunities for creative resellers at the other end of the spectrum. Cost-effective Android tablets have massive potential in an educational environment or as a single purpose device.”

So long as the tablet in question has access to Google's Play Store for apps, says Maconochie, it doesn't matter how expensive or highly specified it is. There are hundreds of Q88 Tablet to help children with their schoolwork, from maths quizzes to tracing letters to learn letter shapes. And for older kids, there's unfettered access to the web via a WiFi network to help them with their homework too. Add a Bluetooth keyboard, and an Android tablet is faster and more responsive than a more expensive netbook. Plus, the battery life is much better too.

Another opportunity for tablet sales is to replace single purpose devices. Android tablets excel as e-readers, of course, but when a low end in-car GPS system with a 3.5-inch screen costs the same as a 7-inch Onyx tablet with turn-by-turn directions built in, it's hard to justify the former over the latter.

How can you be sure betting on affordable cheapest tablet is the right thing to do? If the rumours are true, a certain company is looking to capitalise on exactly this market with the recent release of a smaller and lower specified version of a very successful current tablet – and where they lead, you'd be wise to follow.

Germs lurking on your Latest Smartphones?

Think about all the gadgets around us that we touch all the time -- best cell phone deals, iPads, Androids, keyboards. But did you ever think about what is on those devices that you can't see?

They're filthy, disgusting and downright nasty looking. But, germs are everywhere, including your cell phone. In fact, some experts, say every square inch of your cell phone has 25,000 germs.Exactly what do you think is lurking on your cell phone?

3 On Your Side wanted to know just how dirty are our Latest Smartphones and other things we touch. So, we partnered up with Stan Kikkert, a germ expert at Mesa Community College. He said, "There are a couple of them that seem to have more counts than others."

Kikkert provided us with swabs and sterile petri dishes. Then we got to work swabbing. First, we started with cell phones. Then, we moved on to an ATM and swabbed the buttons. We also swabbed a picnic table, an elevator button and finally the handle on a trash recycling bin. Then, we took our samples back to Kikkert. Our samples were placed in an incubator for about 48 hours.ds11SW44S

Then, it was time to see what was on the cell phones we swabbed. And what we discovered was surprising. Kikkert observed, “You’re getting a little bit of counts, not tremendous we are getting looks like a little bit of diversity too, some bacteria, mold and a couple of fungi on some of these as well."

Kikkert says the Buy Cell Phones cell phones were not as germy as you might think and says there could be a good reason for that. "Some of them are newer phones and there could be coatings and things on those phones that may be inhibit microbial growth."

That's good news but what about the other things we swabbed?"The ATM has quite a bit of counts on here," said Kikkert.It's probably no surprise we found germs and bacteria on the ATM buttons, but the germiest items included the handle people used to throw away their recyclable items."Looks like a lot of fungi actually in this particular case but there's definitely some bacteria and stuff growing as well," explained Kikkert.As it turned out, the things with the fewest germs was, believe it or not, the elevator button and picnic discount cell phones where bacterial growth was surprisingly low.

Illinois company making millions off of government cell phone program

News 4 continues to dig into an exploding government program that’s been riddled with fraud and abuse: free cell phone service provided by the government.Blind and living off Social Security, Bethalto resident Theresa Hale qualifies for the government funded GT-I9300 cell phone service.But she insists she never ordered one or gave anyone permission to sign her up to the program, but she got one anyway.

“I don’t want someone making money off my poverty, sorry it’s just not right,” said Hale.She received the cell phone from Ptel, or Platinumtel Communications, which is based just outside of Chicago.Hale said she’s never heard of the company and has no idea how they got her name and address.According to federal records, Ptel has collected a whopping $23 million in federal funds since June of 2011.Since Hale’s phone came from them, News 4’s Chris Nagus went looking for the CEO, Omar Ahmad.

Back in Bethalto, Hale is familiar with the government-sponsored cell phone program and the problems we have revealed.Ptel has been a big part of the problem in Illinois.The FCC’s own review nailed the company for more than 28,000 duplicate GT-I9500 phones in Illinois alone.But not only does the company continue to collect close to $1 million a month in federal funding off the program, they’re asking the FCC to expand to nine more states plus Washington D.C.According to an email from Ptel, Hale or someone with her personal information signed up and say they have the last four digits of her Social Security number on file.Hale’s son has a free government phone but he says it’s with a different carrier, not Ptel.Ptel said Hale can return the phone, and if she doesn’t use it the government won’t be billed.

Current law lets police track cell phones with the burden of reasonable suspicion, which Frazier said allows them to – say – get the cell phone records of the last 10 people who called the dead guy in the ditch and figure out where they were last night.His argument to police: That if you have no probable cause to be tracking a A7100 cell phone, you shouldn’t be doing it. If you do, then what’s the big deal?ds11SW44S

Attorney Daniel Rodrigeuz said he will release cell phone video of the alleged beating death of David Silva that was confiscated by deputies.Kern County's sheriff is defending the seizure of cellphone video of deputies beating a man who later died.Hours later, detectives confronted two witnesses who videotaped the confrontation and seized their mobile phones. On Monday, Sheriff Donny Youngblood said that the phones were seized through a search warrant as part of the investigation.

The detectives later confronted her mother, Maria Melendez, outside her daughter's home and ordered her to turn over her I5 MTK6577 phone."My mom is disabled and has a lot of doctor and medical numbers stored in her phone," Quair said. "But the detectives didn't care, and they told my mom to write all her contacts down on a piece of paper, and while she did, they watched her like hawks."

Can Windows 8 thrive on small tablets?

Folks looking for a Windows 8 companion can find it in Acer’s Iconia W3, an 8.1-inch newest tablets running Microsoft’s operating system. The Iconia W3, spotted on Acer’s Finland site by SlashGear, doesn’t appear to have a confirmed price tag or availability just yet.

Iconia W3 landscapeWhile Microsoft Windows 8 tablets have generally been sized at 10.1-inches or larger, the company is rumored to be working on a smaller Surface tablet. That would mean it relaxed the hardware requirements an allow for a device such as the W3, which will offer an optional keyboard to help with text input. Will the market support these smaller slates?

Folks looking for a Windows 8 companion can find it in Acer’s Iconia W3, an 8.1-inch latest android tablet running Microsoft’s operating system. The Iconia W3, spotted on Acer’s Finland site by SlashGear, doesn’t appear to have a confirmed price tag or availability just yet.

Iconia W3 landscapeWhile Microsoft Windows 8 tablets have generally been sized at 10.1-inches or larger, the company is rumored to be working on a smaller Surface tablet. That would mean it relaxed the hardware requirements an allow for a device such as the W3, which will offer an optional keyboard to help with text input. Will the market support these smaller slates?ds11SW44S

I’m sure to hear contrary opinions on this, but what Q88 Tablet would make the W3 more appealing would be for the tablet to run only the Metro interface and apps. (Ironically, none of the W3 product images even show the desktop, which I think is telling.) Of course, Microsoft doesn’t offer a Windows 8 license with just that part of the platform. I wish it did and did so at a reduced price since one would give up access to legacy Windows apps. In that case, and at the right price, I’d be far more interested in the W3.

Sure, one could buy the device and simply ignore the desktop completely. But you’re paying for it in the product price, which includes the cost of a Windows 8 Pro license. If Microsoft wants to allow partners to make small tablets, a better strategy would be to go Metro only at a lower license cost and truly embrace the touchscreen tablet market.

In an annual survey at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., 73% of students reported using a smartphone in 2012 as compared with 27% in 2009. About 30% of the university's students reported owning a cheapest tablet.Michael Hanley, director of Ball State's Institute of Mobile Media Research, believes that student tablet ownership will rise to somewhere from 40% to 50% by next year.

Living without a cellphone

Two weeks ago, I tried packing in the dark so I could leave a hotel room in Germany at 4:30 in the morning without waking my son Christopher. I did a really good job with one exception – I left my best cell phone deals.

I figured it out at about 30 minutes later when sent iPad text messages to Christopher back in the hotel and my wife, Mary Lyman, who was back in Alexander City, letting them know that I would be out of touch and asking Christopher to please mail the phone back to me in dfD2FSS Alabama.

For a brief moment, I thought about taking a taxi back to the hotel and racing back in time to make the flight, but I chickened out.So for the better part of two weeks now, I’ve been without a cell phone.

For someone who is dependent on a smartphone, it’s been amazingly easy, even pleasant. I’ve had time to plant my garden, work in the yard, cook more … all without the constant interruption of Latest Smartphones calls, text messages, meeting alarms, What’s App notices (our family’s personal Facebook) and most of all, the ability to constantly check emails.

The problem is that in the newspaper business, lots of people and companies who I don’t know send in press releases, requests, news tips, letters to the editor … as well as the normal business emails and discount offers on Victoria’s Secret miracle push-up bras. So I can’t mark nearly as many senders as “junk” as I could if I was working in another business. I guess I could mark Victoria’s Secret as junk, but I don’t really want to.

So my smartphone stays very busy.After 12 days without a smartphone, I’ve been surprised at what I have missed the most.- Contacts – It’s amazing how many phone numbers I don’t know by heart. It’s easy to borrow somebody’s cell phone, but if you don’t know the cell number of the person you want to call – like your son – there’s no reason to bum a phone.- Weather forecast – I look at this at least once a day, sometimes more- Telephone – One for actually Buy Cell Phones when you’re not sitting beside a landline. - Calculator – I use this all the time.

Digital recorder – I use this all the time, too.- Webster’s Dictionary – It’s easier to use the phone than spell check on a computer.- The ability to Google for reference – I’ve been stymied a number of times when I wanted to learn something and couldn’t.- Alarm clock – I almost missed the BRHS senior class photo at 7:15 Friday morning because the alarm wasn’t around to wake me. Of course, I could have used another alarm clock, but I just don’t think about that anymore.

Here’s something else I’ve learned: when I’ve told folks I don’t have a cell phone, I’ve gotten two very distinct reactions. People my age and older say, “I bet that’s nice.” People in their 20s get a horrified look on their face and say something like, “Oh my God! What are you going to do?”

The answer is easy – I function just like I have for most of my life when there were no discount cell phones. And I keep an eye out for the postwoman’s truck to come down the street at lunchtime.

Big GT-I9300 cellphone carriers unite on anti-texting ads

The country's four biggest GT-I9300 cellphone companies are set to launch their first joint advertising campaign against texting while driving, uniting behind AT&T's "It Can Wait" slogan to blanket GT-I9300 and radio this summer.AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile will be joined by 200 other organizations backing the multi-million dollar ad campaign.

The campaign is unusual not just because it unites rivals, but because it represents companies warning against the dangers of their own products. After initially fighting laws against cellphone use while driving, cellphone companies have begun to embrace the language of the federal government's campaign against cellphone use by drivers.dfD2FSS

GT-I9300 and Verizon have run ads against texting and driving since 2009. In 2005, Sprint Nextel Corp. created an education program targeting teens learning to drive.

"Every CEO in the industry that you talk to recognizes that this is an issue that needs to be dealt with," A7100 CEO Randall Stephenson said in an interview. "I think we all understand that pooling our resources with one consistent message is a lot more powerful than all four of us having different messages and going different directions."

Beyond TV and radio ads, the new campaign will stretch into the skies through displays on Goodyear's three blimps. It will also include store displays, community events, social-media outreach and a national tour of a driving simulator. The campaign targets teens in particular.

AT&T Inc. calls texting and driving an "epidemic," a term it borrows from the federal Department of Transportation. The U.S. transportation secretary has been on a self-described "rampage" against cellphones since his term began in January 2009.

Stephenson said that "texting while driving is a deadly habit that makes you 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash." The figure refers to a 2009 government study of bus and truck drivers. It GT-I9300 isn't based on crashes alone, but on the likelihood the drivers showed risky behavior such as lane drifting or sharp braking, sometimes culminating in a crash.dfD2FSS

The unified ad campaign comes as some researchers are starting to say that while texting and driving at the same time is clearly a bad idea, it's not contributing measurably to an increase in traffic accidents. The number of accidents is in a long-term decline, and the explosion of texting and I5 MTK6577 smartphone use doesn't seem to be reversing that trend.In the 2009 government study, texting, email and surfing on the cellphone was a factor in about 1 percent of crashes, well below epidemic levels.

Samsung’s Newest Tablet Offers Thinner Bezel, Rear and Front Camera

The release of the company’s latest tablet device follows the much-hyped launch of another product in the Galaxy family, the Galaxy S 4 smartphone. The handset features a larger, richer display than the Galaxy S III — 5 inches and a resolution of 1,080 by 1920 — as well as an eight-core processor and a 13-megapixel camera.

The household penetration rate of newest tablets is up 17 percent year over year, according to the research study “A Tale of Two Techs — Smartphone and Tablet Adoption and Usage,” conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association. Among tablet owners, 92 percent browse the Web and 83 percent use their tablets to check email, the report found.

Global tablet shipments reached 40.6 million units in the first quarter of 2013, with Google’s Android platform securing an impressive 43 percent global share, while Apple iOS devices, including the iPad and the iPad Mini, maintained their strong market leadership, accounting for nearly half (48 percent) of latest android tablet shipped, according to the latest report from IT research firm Strategy Analytics…

That's where the Strategy Analytics data enters the equation. The firm found that 3 million Windows 8 tablets were sold in the first three months of 2013, and that the OS commanded 7.5% of the tablet market. This number is by no means a home run; Apple sold 19.5 million iPads during the same period, and Android is poised to surpass Apple for the industry's overall lead. But based on separate estimates released in March by market watchers Net Applications and StatCounter, Win8's 7.5% share of the tablet space is around double its overall market penetration.dfD2FSS

Windows 8 defenders have argued that the Q88 Tablet is best enjoyed on touch-enabled devices. With PC sales down, however, many Win8 licenses have been installed, to lackluster effect, on previous-generation hardware. That the OS's tablet momentum evidently outpaces its overall growth by such a wide margin reasserts this notion. As a Windows 7 replacement, in other words, Microsoft's newest offering hasn't performed well. But as a foray into the tablet space, Windows 8 has actually fared decently.

There are many reasons to expect this growth will continue. One is Windows 8.1, a forthcoming update, previously code named Windows Blue, that is expected to improve many of the UI's most divisive elements, including potentially reinstating the Start button and more smoothly integrating its traditional desktop environment with its tactile-themed Live Tiles UI.

Small tablets are another avenue for sustained growth. Win8's current tablet share has been amassed without an entrant in the industry's fastest-growing race: the market for small, cheapest tablet, currently dominated by the iPad Mini, Nexus 7 and similar models. But Microsoft has acknowledged, after months of rumors, that 8-inch Windows 8 tablets are coming. Outgoing Intel CEO Paul Otellini suggested these new products will be priced aggressively. Between Windows Blue and a slew of new devices, the platform should only expand its reach into the mobile arena. The question is, by how much?

Did The Theatergoer Who Smashed The Cellphone Go Too Far?

Yesterday's story about an irate theatergoer who smashed an obnoxious audience member's best cell phone deals struck quite a nerve, not just on Gothamist but on websites around the world... wide web. And although most of us declared cell phone tosser Kevin Williamson a hero, others were uncomfortable with glorifying what was, on one level, an act of violence. The Washington Post's Alexandra Petri argued that, "

In that case, maybe Williamson should be also congratulated for not squeezing off a few rounds? Others have suggested that Williamson was right to snatch the cellphone but wrong to destroy it—what he should have done is brought it to the theater's management and let them deal with it. (One of the show's producers worries he could have seriously injured someone, a fair point.) That, we have to agree, is probably the MATURE thing to do. But it wouldn't have made for a very fun blog post.

So what is to be done about this nagging problem? NYC passed a law in 2003 making Latest Smartphones use in theaters illegal, but it's not enforced. Can't theaters just install cell phone jammers like they do in Russia? The FCC says no. But Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress has a simple solution: require audience members to check their cell phones upon entering, like the movie theaters sometimes require at advanced screenings for big blockbusters.dsSDfdd3

A man was walking near 10th Avenue South and South King Street around 7:10 p.m. May 13 when two women asked to use his cellphone, and he agreed.But, when the victim tried to get his phone back, one of the women put it in her pocket and handed him a different but similar-looking phone, according to the police report.

When the victim pointed out that wasn't his Buy Cell Phones and he would like his back, please, one of the women reportedly pulled out a knife and told him he better take the impostor phone.The victim was afraid he was going to get stabbed, so he ran to a nearby business and called 911. Officers found the women in a wooded area commonly used by narcotics users, drug dealers and prostitutes. They were booked into King County Jail for investigation of robbery.

According to the report, the man pulled out a large handgun (which may have been a replica of a German Luger) and demanded the victim's discount cell phones, saying, "I'm not messing around."The victim told officers she would have given the man her phone. But, when she pulled it out, he turned it down, possibly because it is quite old and worth little to nothing.

When the other person with the victim pointed out to the man he was being watched by someone from an apartment balcony, he ran off. The same man may be responsible for stealing a cellphone from a University Village store 15 to 20 minutes later.

Don't want to be tracked? Turn cellphone off, says magistrate

Don't want your location to be tracked on your cellphone by police? Just turn the GPS off, otherwise you've got no expectation of privacy, a federal magistrate said recently in a ruling. The GT-I9300 calls the decision an "opinion straight from the Twilight Zone," as well as a violation of the Fourth Amendment's protections against illegal search-and-seizure.

The case involves a New York doctor who was recently arrested and indicted by the federal government for illegally distributing oxycodone, a prescription medicine for pain. Among the various ways the doctor was tracked by law enforcement, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, was via the GPS signals from his cellphone.dsSDfdd3

"Although the A7100 agents requested a search warrant and the judge found that there was probable cause to believe that the cellphone location data would assist in the location and apprehension of an individual for whom there was already a valid arrest warrant, the judge later published a 30-page opinion further stating that he didn’t think the government needed to seek a search warrant in the first place," writes Chris Soghoian of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.

The opinion by U.S. magistrate Gary R. Brown notes that the defendant in the case could have turned off his phone if he didn't want to be tracked."Cellphone users who fail to turn off their cellphones do not exhibit an expectation of privacy and such expectation would not be reasonable in any event," Brown wrote.

He also cited "business practices in the IT industry" that make phone users like the defendant not only "aware that their I5 MTK6577 cellphone may be tracked and this information may be provided to authorities, but they expressly agree to these terms before operating the cellphone."Phone users today, he said, know they are being tracked by advertisers or apps.

"There's a big difference between an individual sharing that information with a friend or advertiser and the government being able to collect that information without the user's consent," Soghoian told NBC News. "The judge seems to think that individuals should lose their expectation of privacy in all cases."

Amie Stepanovich, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center Domestic Surveillance Project, told NBC News, that it is "not practical or reasonable to require individuals to turn off their cellphone to prevent law enforcement from accessing a stream of location data."

Nokia execs express interest in tablets

BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) CEO Thorsten Heins and a senior Nokia (NYSE:NOK) executive expressed varying degrees of support for newest tablets. The comments are notable considering some research firms predict that tablet connections will generate billions of dollars in revenue for wireless carriers--but currently most tablet users in the United States continue to rely on Wi-Fi connections, according to the NPD Group.

Speaking Tuesday at a session with reporters at a BlackBerry conference in Orlando, Fla., Heins said the company is exploring the future of tablets and is investing R&D dollars into those projects. His comments seemed to contradict statements he made in an interview last month, in which he said, "In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore."

In an interview with CNET, Heins sought to clarify his stance. "The industry got stuck on the term latest android tablet," Heins said, adding that, despite his earlier comments, he does see a role for larger-screen devices. "We want to create something that's easier to use."

Echoing what he said in April, Heins said that perhaps a smartphone running BlackBerry 10 could power a larger screen, and that while the company is looking into such a project, he did not seem to indicate the firm will come out with a new tablet anytime soon. "The pure hardware play isn't making a lot of sense today," he said.dsSDfdd3

The company's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, built on software that predated BB10, has not sold well, especially compared to Apple's industry-leading iPad (NASDAQ:AAPL). BlackBerry sold around 370,000 PlayBook tablets in its most recent quarter, compared to more than 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBook sales in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, Jo Harlow, Nokia's head of smart devices, said at an event to unveil the Lumia 925 that, "We're very interested in tablets and that's an area we're looking at." However, she said she didn't have any more news to share on future products. Nokia has remained on the sidelines in the Q88 Tablet market, and CEO Stephen Elop has said Nokia will only produce a tablet if it can do something unique with it. There has been speculation that Nokia will produce a tablet running partner Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 8 platform.

While tablets continue to be very hot products in some respects--Apple sold 17 million iPads in its most recent quarter, for example--they continue to rely mainly on Wi-Fi networks rather than cellular networks. According to NPD Connected Intelligence's Q1 2013 Connected Home report, fully 80 percent of the 60.8 million tablets in the United States can only connect to Wi-Fi networks. Among the 20 percent of 3G/4G-enabled tablets in market, just over half (11 percent) have an active 3G/4G data plan. Further, NPD found, 83 percent of tablet owners mostly view video on their tablets at home, so usage is happening where Wi-Fi networks are prevalent and already available.

Cellular-capable cheapest tablet will generate a total of $20 billion for wireless operators in 2017, according to a recent report from research firm Strategy Analytics, due in large part to operators' efforts to encourage subscribers to activate LTE connections on tablets through shared data plans.

Cell phone users ‘have no legitimate expectation of privacy’ – judge

A federal judge recently ruled that if someone has their cell phone turned on, their location data does not deserve protection under the Fourth Amendment, meaning law enforcement can track individuals without a search warrant.dsDF34fcd

New York magistrate judge Gary Brown decided in favor of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents who were seeking his approval over a warrant on a doctor who they suspected was being paid for issuing thousands of prescriptions. The warrant would have compelled the physician’s Latest Smartphones company to provide real-time tracking data from his cell.

Brown, certainly to the delight of police, issued a 30-page brief outlining his opinion that, by carrying a cell phone, someone is essentially waiving their Fourth Amendment right to due process.

“Given the ubiquity and celebrity of geolocation technologies, an individual has no legitimate expectation of privacy in the prospective of a cellular telephone where that individual has failed to protect his privacy by taking the simple expedient of powering it off,” Brown wrote.

“As to control by the user, all of the known tracking technologies may be defeated by merely turning off the phone. Indeed – excluding apathy or inattention – the only reason that users leave cell phones turned on is so that the device can be located to receive calls. Conversely, individuals who do not want to be disturbed by unwanted telephone calls at a particular time or place simply turn their Buy Cell Phones off, knowing that they cannot be located.”

He goes on to suggest that because there are smartphone applications available that allow users to locate people in their area with similar interests, cell phone customers should not expect their inherent right to privacy to be observed.

“Given the notoriety surrounding the disclosure of geolocation data to retailers purveying soap powder and blue jeans to mall shoppers, the police searching for David Pogue’s iPhone and, most alarmingly, the creators and users of the Girls Around You app, cell phone users cannot realistically entertain the notion that such information would (or should) be withheld from federal law enforcement agents searching for a fugitive.”

Exactly how common this practice is throughout the law enforcement community is unclear but it has widely been reported that a Michigan police force tried to gain information about every single discount cell phones within the proximity of a labor protest.

How closely do you check your cellphone bill?

Millions of Americans use GT-I9300 cellphones but we don’t all pay close attention to the charges on our bill. You should because the FTC said you may be getting ripped off. The widespread practice is called “cramming” and the FTC is getting more and more complaints about unauthorized charges piled on consumers' cellphone bills listed under generic titles like "subscription charges."

The illegal billing is becoming a big problem and now the government is ramping up its crackdown."One month of it being a little higher and we didn't think anything of it and it wasn't until three months of it being consistently higher that we finally looked into it and discovered we had been cramming victims," said Christie Hicks, a Chicago attorney who was the victim of the cramming scam.

Consumers can pay for services by having it tacked onto their A7100 .In the days following Hurricane Katrina, text donations were billed to cellphone users with their permission. But the FTC said over the years, some companies with shady practices have taken advantage of the feature, capturing cellphone numbers through websites or mobile apps.dsDF34fcd

"Malicious software that's downloaded on your phone after you download an app and that gets your phone number and somehow you’re signed up for some kind of service," said Hicks.Once the questionable companies get your best cell phone deals, they cram on the charges.

"You had to actually dig through all 50 pages to find a single line that had this $9.99 charge on it," Hicks explained.Wise Media, the company Hicks said crammed her, is the first the has gone after, filing a lawsuit in federal court.

The agency said Wise Media made millions and much of it was from unauthorized charges. Wise Media denies cramming customers and said the fees were for subscription services. An attorney for the company said customers who requested a refund received one.But the FTC said this is just the tip of the iceberg and they plan to go after other violators, asking tougher questions for cellphone companies who they said get a cut of the charges.