| Moto X coming to other carriers "in days" Aug 23rd 2013, 17:51, by Robert Nelson AT&T launched the Moto X today and a bit earlier this morning we saw the MotoMaker customization site go live. While that all sounds good for AT&T customers — it likely leaves those with other carriers wondering when the handset will be available. We still need some carrier announcements for specifics, however there is a bit of good news coming from Punit Soni, VP, Product Management at Motorola Mobility. 
The news was short and simple. Punit said the developer editions and other carrier versions will be “rolling out in days.” Granted, specific release dates would have been nicer, but we will take a comment of days as opposed to weeks or months. With that in mind, we should clarify this coming in days bit deals with the Moto X itself and not the MotoMaker customizations. Aside from the Moto X handset, Motorola has also unveiled the Skip. This is a little gadget that you will wear attached to your clothing or a bag and it will provide a quick and easy (as well as secure) way to keep your handset locked without having to use a PIN code. Motorola will initially have the Skip available in gray and black and have promised more colors will arrive “later this fall.” Aside from the official Motorola accessories, we have also seen some Moto X goodies coming from Griffin. The news from Griffin arrived earlier in the month and they were offering a first look at a PowerDock and Navigation Dock. Griffin had said both items would be priced at $39.95 and both can be found on the Motorola Moto X page under the accessories category. While most of the carriers have yet to offer release date specifics for the Moto X, it would seem that now is a good time to start considering if this handset will be your next. With that in mind, you may want to check out some of our earlier Moto X coverage which included a full review as well as a walkthrough of the MotoMaker customization process. VIA: GigaOm |  | Amazon tipped to be testing Globalstar satellite networks for their devices Aug 23rd 2013, 17:21, by Cory Gunther Amazon has a wide array of devices ranging from Kindle readers, Fire tablets, and there’s plenty of talk surrounding a Kindle Fire smartphone coming soon too. This afternoon we’re learning that the company has been testing some unorthodox systems for wireless networks, running on spectrum from Globalstar, who isn’t your average cell network provider. 
According to sources with Bloomberg Amazon has been doing a range of tests with Globalstars wireless network and spectrums, which unlike most devices from Verizon and others, uses satellites for internet service and data connectivity. Amazon's Lab126 research facility has reportedly been running a slew of these tests in California, and this could end up being an Amazon-only broadband service for their range of products. With Google’s new Nexus 7 already here, and an LTE model coming shortly, Amazon better have something in their sleeve now their Fire HD has been topped, and this could be it. 
We saw big announcements in late September from Amazon last year, and we have a feeling they might be aiming for the same time frame this year as well. Lab 126 is where the Kindle engineers work, so this could be integrated in upcoming Kindles, as well as the Fire HD and their rumored smartphone. Being able to connect to wireless networks on an entirely different level could give them an advantage over the competition. This would give all their devices more range and opportunity than a regular WiFi network, and also be an alternative to carrier-owned 3G and 4G LTE services. We could see free, or extremely cheap internet and data services arrive with all their Kindle devices later this year. Sounds nice right? We’ll update when we learn more. VIA: VentureBeat | | Google Glass patent portfolio expands with latest from Hon Hai Precision Aug 23rd 2013, 17:16, by Robert Nelson Google has recently picked up some additional Glass related patents. This latest round comes by way of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., a company that many likely know better as Foxconn. Google has yet to issue a statement regarding the patent grab, however Hon Hai has offered a bit in terms of detail. 
According to what has been revealed, Google has purchase a portfolio of patent dealing with Head Mounted Display (HMD). These patents include technology related to augmented reality projection. Text from the Hon Hai statement mentioned these dealt with "a computer-generated image which is superimposed on a real world view.” Basically, augmented reality. While Google may put this to good use with Glass, this technology has been more commonly found in gaming and training simulation tools. As one would expect (especially concerned we have yet to hear from Google), the financials have yet to be revealed. A statement coming out of Hon Hai also touched on how they were uncertain as to whether Google would use this technology for Glass. Looking back and we also saw Google recently acquire a stake in Himax, a display maker for Glass. Google grabbed an initial 6.3 percent share with a future option to grab another 8.5 percent. That additional purchase will be priced the same as the initial 6.3 percent, however it would have to be completed within one year. This acquisition came towards the end of July 2013. Shifting away from the patent and acquisition talk and there has been plenty of Glass chatter lately. Just in the past few weeks we have seen word of Glass coming in priced at $299 and with a release set for some time in 2014. There has also been plenty of apps being shown off and even a recent update. Google rolled out the XE8 update earlier this month. VIA: Bloomberg | | Verizon HTC One bootloader locked down tight, again Aug 23rd 2013, 16:51, by Cory Gunther After months of waiting yesterday Verizon finally released their own version of the extremely popular HTC One smartphone. For whatever reason they made us all wait months for it, and once it finally arrived we were happy to find out it could be unlocked on HTCDev, which is HTC’s way of letting developers have access to their smartphones, should they choose. However, this wasn’t supposed to happen. 
As you all know, Verizon isn’t too friendly with the bootloader or modding community, and their phones always come locked down tight like the Alamo. When the HTC One arrived yesterday a few lucky buyers tried it on HTCDev and were extremely happy to see they were able to unlock the bootloader, as we confirmed here. We have bad news though this morning folks. Late last night someone caught wind of the situation and Verizon already shut down our fun. Checking out the comments (Thanks Bob F) we learned Verizon and HTC shut it down, and after trying ourselves we can confirm it no longer works. It works for other carriers, just not Verizon. The excitement only lasted a day, sorry folks. With that, we’re now stuck with a locked down HTC One on Verizon, and will have to wait and hope the modding and developer community at XDA or RootzWiki can handle this for us. Otherwise you’ll be stuck waiting for, and paying over the top for a Verizon HTC One developer edition, if we ever see one. If you got it unlocked while it was available, enjoy it. To everyone else, good look. | |
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