certification
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HTC One will get KitKat certification in the US next week
Eighty-four days. That's how long it's been since HTC announced its intent to bring Android 4.4 KitKat to all North American versions of the One within 90 days. With just six days left to go on the countdown, HTC just tweeted on its US account that the final software has finally entered the hallowed carrier labs for testing and will be certified (and, we hope, rolled out) sometime next week. Of course, the process is now essentially under the control of individual mobile operators, so let's hope that they don't make liars out of HTC -- we've had Wednesday circled on our Sense calendars for quite some time now.
Verizon speaks out on Nexus 7 LTE activation, expects it will be certified 'shortly'
Despite the wide LTE support featured on the Nexus 7 2013's cellular modem-equipped model, early buyers have found Verizon won't activate it for a new line on the Big Red Network. The company responded officially on the matter today, explaining that its 4 - 6 week certification process must be completed first. The process apparently began in August, and spokesperson Debi Lewis said the company expects that to happen "shortly." The whole process is actually laid out on Verizon's website and shows how the testing is undertaken by a third party lab of the manufacturer's choosing -- feel free to read through it during the days / weeks your new Nexus 7 isn't connecting to LTE.
HTC's mid-range market strategy in China continues as 4.3-inch 301e gets certified
Lately, China's TENAA telephone certification center has been an even bigger tattletale than the FCC, and it just leaked another unannounced handset: the HTC 301e. While likely not coming to the US, the dual-SIM device is another cog in CEO Peter Chou's plan to grow its mid-range smartphone stable in China. It also has some One design touches, like the top speaker grill and two button design. Otherwise, it's scraping the bottom of the mid-range, with a 4.3-inch 480 x 800 screen, 1GHz dual-core CPUs, 512MB RAM, WCDMA 3G, 8GB of storage expandable to 64GB via microSD and a 5-megapixel camera. While that won't set anyone's hair on fire, it does show that HTC is serious about more than just flagships in China.
Skinny Huawei smartphone shows off 6.2mm profile in Chinese certification
The FCC isn't the only agency playing with devices we don't even know exist: its Chinese equivalent has recently had some hands-on time with an unknown Huawei smartphone, codenamed the P6-U06. Luckily, there are a few pics and specs to accompany the filing, which tell us it weighs 120g (4.2 ounces) and measures 132.6 x 65.5 x 6.18mm (5.2 x 2.6 x 0.2 inches), meaning it could be the super-slim P series handset a Huawei exec hinted at in January. It didn't materialize at MWC, but the same executive promised more was to come in 2013, possibly starting with this P6-U06. Those dimensions house a 4.7-inch TFT screen at 720p resolution, quad-core 1.5GHz processor, 2GB RAM, an 8-megapixel camera on the back and an unusually large 5-megapixel sensor in the shooter up front. Unsurprisingly, Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean is listed as the OS, while GSM / WCDMA radios suggest Asia as the target market (not to mention the Chinese certification). That's all we've got on the P6-U06 for now, but in lieu of official press shots, the handset strikes a couple more candid poses after the break.
MacTech, Microsoft team up to offer Office for Mac support credential
Got Macs? Got Office? For support personnel who want to show the world that they know which end of a pivot table goes into a stylesheet and how to upgrade PowerPoint for full compatibility with Exchange Server 2013*, your opportunity has arrived. MacTech's upcoming seven-city BootCamp II tour, which provides a full day of seminars for people supporting the Mac in small to medium size business and other contexts, now has a frontloaded (and free) certification option for Microsoft's new Office for Mac Accredited Support Professional credential. For a half-day ahead of the BootCamp, attendees can learn all about Office installation, deployment, troubleshooting and much more. While the Office credential program, including the final evaluation and certificate, is free, MacTech BootCamp II itself is $299 for early-bird registrants, $499 for regular registration. The tour kicks off in Seattle in early March, so check to see when it's coming to your neck of the woods. If you do sign up, be sure to use our TUAW reader affinity link to make sure you get your special benefit! *Yes, those are nonsensical support challenges. Congratulations, you passed the first quiz.
Yep, there's now a 'seal of approval' for the scientific accuracy of novels
Ever think that the mystery and sci-fi genres could use an extra shot of reality? Well, if the Washington Academy of Sciences has anything to say about the matter, you'll never again need to wonder if a novel is littered with misinterpretations and inaccuracies. The group -- which dates back to 1898, when it was co-founded by Alexander Graham Bell -- has introduced a seal of approval to inform readers whether a novel conforms to generally accepted scientific fact. Any willing novelist may submit their work to the organization, which then sends it through the peer review gauntlet. The certification program has been in place since June, but has flown under the radar before now. Since its inception, four novels have been certified by the WAS, and an additional book is said to be under review. Maybe once the word gets out, authors will know where to turn when they're looking to get the facts straight.
Windows Store starts accepting PEGI 18-rated games, gives Europeans a deeper catalog
If Europeans are irked by the Wii U's odd time-based shopping rules for mature content, they'll at least have Windows 8 as their refuge. As of today, Microsoft is accepting Windows Store submissions for PEGI 18-rated games: the move will let Grand Theft Auto IV, The Witcher and future adult-focused titles come to Windows' official shop in countries where PEGI holds sway. European players undoubtedly reap short-term rewards by getting quick access to the releases they'd previously had to locate in other channels. We're more interested in the long run, however -- when developers no longer have to guess at whether or not games will pass Microsoft's certification gauntlet in Europe, they're more likely to welcome Windows 8 with open arms instead of running in the opposite direction.
PS3 passes safety certification in China, valid to 2016
The PlayStation 3 received regulatory approval in China via the China Compulsory Certificate, which outlines safety requirements for participation in the Chinese market. Sony was granted the Certificate in July and it is valid through 2016.Consoles in general have been banned in China since 2000, though customers are able to purchase them as grey market imports – this means the consoles are legally bought and sold, though the transactions stem from third parties not affiliated with console manufacturers. Other consoles, such as China's own Eedoo, can be sold under the label of "home entertainment devices."Last we heard of Sony scoping out the Chinese PS3 market, it signed a letter of intent to implement training and R & D buildings in Guangzhou province, and hinted at developing games in the region. July's Certificate doesn't guarantee PS3 sales in China, but it's certainly a step toward a console incursion in the Asian mainland.
XBLA Minecraft's 'Skin Pack 3' features Half-Life and Awesomenauts skins
In addition to the recent 1.8.2 update for the Xbox Live version of Minecraft, there's even more content showing up soon. Specifically, a third character skin pack is set to come to the popular sandbox game. Like the first two packs, this one will contain quite a few new skins for Minecraft characters from other media, including content based on the Half-Life series and Awesomenauts. Sure, you could dig a hole as a dwarf, but why do that when you could do the same thing as a headcrab zombie?There's no information yet, unfortunately, on when the update or the skin pack are coming out; both still need to finish going through Microsoft's certification system. But we'll expect to hear from Mojang and Microsoft as soon as the skins are ready for purchase -- probably in just a few days from now.
Notch refuses to 'certify' Minecraft for closed Windows 8 platform
Markus 'Notch' Persson slammed Microsoft this morning for asking him to "help 'certify' Minecraft" for Windows 8. The Minecraft creator berated the company for, in his words, ruining the PC as an open platform. In his next tweet, Notch stated he'd prefer to not have Minecraft run on Windows 8 than to "play along," hoping such action might sway people away from the new OS.While Notch being outspoken on his Twitter feed is nothing new, his outburst contrasts with the love he showered on Microsoft when Minecraft launched on Xbox Live Arcade. However, Notch made his views on Windows 8 known last month in a Reddit Q&A: "I hope we can keep a lot of open and free platforms around. If Microsoft decides to lock down Windows 8, it would be very very bad for Indie games and competition in general. "If we can keep open platforms around, there's going to be a lot of very interesting games in ten years, mixed in with the huge AAA games that we all love."Windows 8 launches next month with a burly enough line-up, but now doubt hangs over whether or not Mojang's game will be compatible with the platform anytime soon.
Fusion Garage's Grid 10 just won't die, preparing comeback as Compal's Smart Pad PBJ40
Usually, once a gadget gets canned it either just disappears or it ends up stumbling back under a different brand. Because, you know, some unfortunate manufacturer may have an orphaned stock to get rid of, or maybe it doesn't want to waste the expensive tooling developed for the failed product. Either way, judging by a fresh NCC (Taiwan's FCC, basically) filing dug up by our brethren over at Engadget Chinese, it looks like the Grid 10 from the now-defunct Fusion Garage may well crawl out of its grave just like that. While there's still the "Grid 10" branding on the back of the tablet, the two-day-old NCC document recognizes Compal as the company brand (presumably it was Fusion Garage's OEM partner for this), and there's also a new but rather mundane name for the device: "Smart Pad," model "PBJ40." Sadly, there's not much else to look at here apart from the vanilla Android Froyo or Gingerbread (instead of Grid OS) sighting in the pics, as well as the Bluetooth and 802.11b/g/n WiFi mention. So the question is: what will Compal do with this Smart Pad? Resurrect Fusion Garage in Taiwan? Unlikely (though Chandra does like to surprise people). Offload the lot to Taiwanese carriers or stores? We'll bet our money on that.
Wi-Fi Alliance announces first Miracast-certified devices, full compatibility with Intel WiDi
Take note, because there's a new standard in realm of wireless video streaming and it's known as Miracast. Since the initial announcement, some very respectable manufacturers have chosen to support the specification, which includes Broadcom, NVIDIA and Texas Instruments. Now the Wi-Fi Alliance has announced the first round of products to be certified for Miracast, and as an extremely welcome bit of news, all Intel WiDi devices are supported by the latest standard. In addition to PCs, you can expect Miracast certification to be blessed upon devices such as smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and televisions. In the retail setting, all Miracast-certified devices will carry the more generic "WiFi Certified" badge (shown here), which also covers technologies such as WiFi Direct. You'll find the press release after the break, which includes the initial list of products and components that've already earned their credentials, along with statements of support from manufacturers such as LG, Samsung and Sony. Not to be left out, we also reached out to Qualcomm, which confirmed its support for the standard, along with its expectation to offer some of the very first products certified for Miracast. It seems that Apple's AirPlay now has some rather determined competition, indeed.
Bluetooth SIG releases certifications for fitness devices aimed at runners and cyclists
Fitness gadgets are great, but you never quite know what you're going to get when it comes to calorie counts, or a reading of how many miles you've run. That could change, though, thanks to a set of standards the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is adopting with regard to fitness devices. These two certifications, which apply to running and cycling gadgets, respectively, affect the way data (e.g., cadence, speed, distance) is transmitted to paired devices like smartphones, sports watches and cycling computers. As far as SIG is concerned, too, more standardization means OEMs will have an easier time bringing new products to market -- not that there's any current shortage of options to choose from.
WiFi alliance begins Tunneled Direct Link Setup certification, hopes to improve media streaming
You can thank the WiFi alliance for a number of things, and soon you can add TDLS to that list. That's Tunneled Direct Link Setup, if you were wondering, and it's a standard for creating direct links between devices. If this sounds familiar, that's understandable, but TDLS has its own tricks, like working in the background of a network to optimize performance, and it can even work over a WiFi Direct connection. For example two compliant devices can measure the signal strength on the network, and determine if a direct link would be better or not. TDLS also allows devices to communicate at the fastest standard available (802.11b / g / n etc.) even if this is superior to that available on the rest of your hardware. As this is a client-based protocol, you won't need to upgrade your access point either. If this hasn't got implications for better media streaming written all over it, we don't know what has. Especially as the certification is available to TVs, tablets, phones, cameras and gaming devices. There's only a handful of test products sporting the official approval at this time, but with names such as Broadcom, Marvell and Realtek in the mix, it shouldn't be long before it starts finding its way into front rooms and pockets proper.
Microsoft resumes publishing Windows Phone apps, all is right with the world
Everybody, you can stop panicking. Microsoft has solved the digital signing problem that prevented app installations on older Windows Phones, as promised, and the flow of new apps is back to a steady stream. It may take a day or two before new titles show up in earnest; developers whose work was in caught in submission stage limbo won't have to restart the process from scratch, however. The quick turnaround is no doubt good news for developers. We'd argue that it's equally good news for Microsoft, too -- there's no doubt that the crew in Redmond would rather not have to explain any lengthy publishing outages while it's onstage with Nokia next month.
Microsoft halts posting new Windows Phone apps after some refuse to install on older devices
Microsoft may face a few uncomfortable questions at Build this fall. A bug in digital signatures resulting from the Windows Phone Dev Center rollout is preventing a "small percentage" of apps in the Windows Phone Store, including not-so-insignificant titles like WhatsApp and Microsoft's own Translator, from installing on older phones that had to upgrade to Windows Phone 7.5 after the fact. While the company already has a fix in the works, it's performing some painful triage to keep the damage from spreading: it's putting the brakes on publishing any new apps until certificate signing is back under control. Microsoft doesn't yet know when it can open the taps once more, either. The momentary freeze won't stop downloads of already-published apps, but it's likely to leave a few customers jittery about resetting their phones -- and developers twiddling their thumbs.
Samsung SGH-i547 runs through certification gauntlets with quad-band LTE, shroud of mystery
Samsung is already cooking up a lot of mid-range phones for Sprint and Verizon in the near future. Why not throw an AT&T model on the stove? Based on a flood of certifications (and Samsung's own browser profile), the SGH-i547 will sit squarely in the mid-range of Big Blue's Android phones -- with one exception. Its 800 x 480 screen, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC won't rock most people's worlds, but the quad-band LTE still sticks out like a sore thumb despite other in-testing devices going the same route: the 700MHz, 850MHz, 1,700MHz and 1,900MHz bands may give the i547 more 4G support than AT&T-compatible 3G. We suspect the support is either an early sign of LTE futureproofing or for roaming on LTE networks as they go live around the world. Globetrotter or not, the i547 still has a lot left hidden under its kimono; we're expecting one or two more surprises before all is said and done.
Battleblock Theater is 'code complete' [Update]
Battleblock Theater, the long, long-awaited title from Castle Crashers developer The Behemoth, passed its code complete milestone just before San Diego Comic-Con kicked off last week, project manager Emil Ayoubkhan told us. We played a few rounds of Battleblock Theater at another fantastic installment of the Behemoth booth at the con. Battleblock Theater still has no set release date, and has a few more stages to complete before The Behemoth gives it one. Right now the speed of development is "all on us," Ayoubkhan said, and every day is one step closer to a final version. Update: The original story read that Battleblock Theater had passed Microsoft certification, and that The Behemoth planned to release it before the end of the year. We have received confirmation that this is not the current schedule, no matter how excitable anyone may have been at Comic-Con.
Sony Xperia SL shows up in Indonesian POSTEL database
The Xperia S is a mere six months old. Yet, rumor has it that Sony is already prepping a refresh, dubbed the Xperia SL. The handset surfaced at the Indonesian POSTEL site (which appears to be something akin to the FCC), bearing the model number LT26ii. That seemingly random collection of letters and numbers actually reinforces the suspicion that the SL will replace the S, which goes by LT26i -- for those fascinated by nondescript naming systems. What else can we tell you about the device? Well... a whole lot of nothing unfortunately. Chances are it will be mostly a minor spec bump -- perhaps a quad-core CPU and a better camera. For now, though, you'll just have to wait and play the guessing game with the rest of us.
HTC Connect certifies AV gear for your One series phone, Pioneer lines up
HTC is going on something of a certification tangent: it's following its PlayStation Suite approval with its own program, HTC Connect. Home AV equipment with the label promises to lift the standards for streaming media to or from one of HTC's devices. The rubber stamp will be limited at first to DLNA audio and video, but it should eventually include just about anything that doesn't involve a wire, such as Bluetooth, in-car media, NFC and wireless speakers. There isn't an immediate deluge of partners. HTC has scored a rather big ally, however: Pioneer's DLNA-ready receivers and wireless speakers this year, and beyond, will flaunt the HTC Connect badge. Don't brag about the media credentials of your One X just yet. Although the Connect seal of approval won't be needed for media streaming anytime soon, it will only be coming to the One series through an upgrade in the months ahead.
