New Qualcomm deal opens the door for more Cyanogen-powered phones, and more for Monday, March 2, 2015

New Qualcomm deal opens the door for more Cyanogen-powered phones Kif Leswing Mar 2 2015, 6:44am PDT Cyanogen has quietly become the most important company working on Android not named Google. On Monday, it announced a new partnership with chip giant Qualcomm which will result in Cyanogen’s version of Android being pre-installed on Qualcomm’s reference designs. Given that Asian smartphone manufacturers often heavily […] Read More » Intel, Alcatel-Lucent unveil their cloud mobile network Kevin Fitchard Mar 2 2015, 6:42am PDT A year after forming their wireless partnership, Intel and Franco-American network builder Alcatel-Lucent say they’re ready to start moving the mobile network from the cell tower into the data center. At Mobile World Congress on Monday, the two took the wraps off a new networking architecture […] Read More » Yup: HP’s buying Aruba for about $3B Barb Darrow Mar 2 2015, 5:55am PDT It’s true: Hewlett-Packard is buying Aruba Networks, and its campus Wi-Fi expertise, for about $2.7 billion, exclusive of cash, both companies said early Monday. The per-share price is $24.67 in cash. From the press release: Together, and will deliver next-generation converged campus solutions, leveraging the strong Aruba […] Read More » So long Google+. Hello Streams, Photos and Hangouts Kevin C. Tofel Mar 2 2015, 5:48am PDT For the third time in a year, Google has a new leader for its social network, Google+. And in keeping with the trend of trios, Google+ is getting split into three different products: Streams, Photos and Hangouts. Google VP Bradley Horowitz is taking the reins of […] Read More » Google’s MVNO is launching in the “coming months”: Sundar Pichai Kif Leswing Mar 2 2015, 5:43am PDT Google’s long rumored move to becoming a wireless carrier took one step closer to reality on Monday. At Mobile World Congress, Google’s second-in-command executive Sundar Pichai confirmed that Google is working on a becoming a mobile virtual network operator, and revealed that the Google MVNO will […] Read More » How scientists are fighting antibiotic resistance Elizabeth Armstrong Moore Mar 2 2015, 5:00am PDT Since antibiotics were first developed at the start of the twentieth century, they have saved millions of lives (penicillin alone is estimated to have saved 200 million lives and counting), rendering a large number of deadly infections mere annoyances as people work their way through the prescribed dosages. […] Read More » Qualcomm has a fingerprint ID technology that uses ultrasound Kevin Fitchard Mar 2 2015, 3:34am PDT Qualcomm has developed its own fingerprint sensor for smartphones with the aim of tapping the increasing demand for biometric security on phones. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sense ID, announced on Monday at Mobile World Congress, isn’t the usual capacitive touch pad we’ve become accustomed to seeing on high-end […] Read More » Silent Circle shows off more powerful Blackphone 2 privacy phone David Meyer Mar 2 2015, 3:15am PDT The secure mobile company Silent Circle, which last week raised $50M and bought out the joint venture behind its Blackphone handset, has unveiled a new version of that device — though prospective customers have a bit of a wait on their hands. The Blackphone 2 will […] Read More » Microsoft’s new budget Lumias are all about the services David Meyer Mar 2 2015, 12:50am PDT Microsoft has unveiled a couple new handsets, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL, at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The phones themselves are pretty low-priced for their decent specifications, but what’s particularly interesting about them is the degree to which they’re delivery devices for Microsoft’s services. […] Read More » Alcatel-Lucent’s new network concept mixes Wi-Fi and LTE Kevin Fitchard Mar 1 2015, 11:15pm PDT Like many network equipment makers at Mobile World Congress this week, Alcatel-Lucent is pushing the controversial idea of carriers setting up shop in the Wi-Fi airwaves. But while Alcatel-Lucent is just as gung-ho as everyone else in the mobile industry about building LTE networks in the […] Read More » Samsung Pay has all the tools it needs to surpass Apple Pay Kevin Fitchard Mar 1 2015, 3:49pm PDT A lot of the features in the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, like curved edges and glass-and-metal design, are examples of Samsung playing catch-up on the latest smartphone trends, but Samsung’s new mobile payments app stands apart. Apple and Google may brought their contactless payment […] Read More » Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge: A new look for Samsung and a new wallet Kevin Fitchard Mar 1 2015, 11:26am PDT We were expecting a major reboot of the Galaxy S line, and that’s what Samsung gave us Sunday night at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, in the form of the S6 and S6 Edge. The two new phones represent a major and stunning redesign of the […] Read More » My thoughts on the iPhone 6 Plus, five months later Mark Crump Mar 1 2015, 10:00am PDT I lead a mobile sedentary lifestyle. I’m not someone who travels a lot or needs to visit multiple sites during a workday. I like, as George Carlin once said, to bring all my stuff with me. This has created its own challenges. Keeping multiple devices in sync […] Read More » For retailers the buy-or-build cloud decision looms large Barb Darrow Mar 1 2015, 9:18am PDT If you need proof that cloud deployment stories can touch off religious disputes, my recent report about @Walmartlabs deploying 100K cores of OpenStack to run the retail giant’s e-commerce operations is Exhibit A. This is, by any measure, a massive private cloud, and some readers were incredulous that would go […] Read More » Chromebook sales still on the rise Kevin C. Tofel Mar 1 2015, 8:00am PDT The latest figures from NPD, by way of BetaNews, show that Google Chromebooks are continuing to sell well in the U.S. The research firm estimates that in 2014 Chromebooks accounted for 14 percent of all laptop sales for both the commercial and retail channels; up 85 […] Read More » HTC launches Grip, a fitness band for Under Armour’s Record app Kif Leswing Mar 1 2015, 7:45am PDT HTC announced its long-awaited wearable on Sunday at Mobile World Congress. It’s called the Grip, and it’s a joint effort with Under Armour, the sportswear and now-fitness software brand. The Grip doesn’t run Android Wear or other any major smartwatch platform. It can serve phone or calendar […] Read More » No big changes for the HTC One M9, and that’s a good thing Kif Leswing Mar 1 2015, 7:45am PDT HTC revealed its next flagship, the HTC One M9, at Mobile World Congress on Sunday. Take a close look: If you’re not careful, you might end up mistaking it for its predecessor, the HTC One M8. It’s clear that the HTC One M9 is an evolutionary […] Read More » How to avoid long waits at the Genius Bar before you get there Geoffrey Goetz Feb 28 2015, 9:00am PDT Cracked screens, dead batteries and water damage — sometimes you simply can’t avoid a trip to the Genius Bar to get your broken Apple device back in working order. You may have heard the rumors that Apple is in the process of overhauling the way that Genius Bar appointments […] Read More » How I became my cat’s social media manager, and found a community in the process Signe Brewster Feb 28 2015, 8:02am PDT I last made an internet friend in middle school, when so few people used AIM that my real-life friends and I traded contact lists and began chatting strangers. One time a boy asked for my number and called my house. I panicked a few seconds in […] Read More » 5 reasons the FCC might be wrong about net neutrality Jonathan Vanian Feb 28 2015, 7:00am PDT This week the FCC passed new rules on net neutrality, which were essentially designed to limit the ability of internet service providers (ISP) to either slow down or boost the speeds of websites. While many experts praised the ruling, not everyone was thrilled by the outcome. Who […] Read More »