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Airstream’s smart home away from home
When you think Airstream, the picture in your mind is of the Classic silver trailer. The iconic aluminum tube design has been relatively unchanged since the Airstream Clipper was introduced way back in 1936. But the interior has evolved over the years and in the latest top-of-the-line trailer, app-powered technology has found a home.
Turner had to stream Woods-Mickelson golf event for free due to glitch
Online pay-per-view events are increasingly common, but it's clear they still have some technical hurdles to clear. Turner's Bleacher Report was forced to offer a free stream for a much-hyped one-on-one golf match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson (simply nicknamed "The Match") when purchasing glitches threatened to prevent paying customers from tuning in on time for the November 23rd event. The company told Variety in a statement that it had taken a "number of steps" to fix the issue, including the free stream to please customers.
When does it make sense to cut the cord?
What do you do when your cable box is more useful for telling the time than delivering movies and TV? A decade-plus after Netflix added streaming video the internet is ready to take over for cable and satellite, offering more options and lower rates. Now that you're ready to pull the plug, there's a lot to consider, like who has what, what works where and how much everything costs.
Nokia shakes up its leadership to focus on 5G
As you might have noticed, Nokia's experiments outside its core networking business haven't gone so well -- its VR camera efforts floundered, and it sold its digital health unit after failing to capitalize on Withings' early successes. And now, the company is shaking things up to refocus on what it does best. Nokia is merging its mobile and wired network groups into a single Access Networks team that will help it "fully exploit" the potential of 5G. That group will have its own (as yet unnamed) president, but in the meantime it's changing its executive team.
Samsung is working on a Galaxy S10 with 5G and six cameras
If you thought the Galaxy S9 was a timid upgrade, you might not have much room to complain about its follow-up. Wall Street Journal sources claim Samsung is readying a full four variants of the Galaxy S10, including a 6.7-inch behemoth (nicknamed "Beyond X") that would support 5G and pack six cameras -- two in the front and four in the back. Samsung would reportedly unveil "at least" this headliner in mid-February, but its release would be tied to the availability of 5G networks. The company has apparently talked to AT&T, T-Mobile and Engadget parent Verizon (which might get some kind of exclusive) in addition to South Korean networks, but nothing is set in stone at this point.
Senators want answers from mobile carriers on video app throttling
If you have ever had a suspicion that your carrier might be slowing down your internet speeds while streaming videos, you aren't alone. Three US Senators -- Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- are pressing the four major carriers about alleged throttling practices documented on the Wehe testing platform.
Razer Phone 2 will be available from AT&T on November 16th
If you're in the US, you no longer have to buy the Razer Phone 2 online or visit a big-box store -- it could be available at a carrier shop around the corner. AT&T has announced that it will carry the gaming-oriented smartphone both online and at retail starting on November 16th. You'll have to visit a handful of stores in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle if you want to buy the device in-person on launch day, but it beats having to buy the device from the network sight unseen. And importantly, the carrier arrangement could soften the blow to your bank account.
Microsoft's Surface Go with LTE will be available November 20th
Microsoft is releasing the LTE version of its 10-inch Surface Go tablet later this month. It will be available in the US and Canada November 20th, and 21 other countries by November 22nd. Preorders open today in some markets.
House Democrats to investigate Trump actions against Amazon, AT&T
Now that Democrats are poised to control of the House of Representatives, they're planning investigations into the Trump administration's actions against technology companies. Inbound House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff told Axios in an interview that Democrats would investigate whether President Trump misused his power in attempts to punish Amazon and block AT&T's merger with Time Warner.
T-Mobile's internet TV box revealed in an FCC filing
T-Mobile is apparently still planning on launching its streaming TV service by the end of this year, and now Variety has spotted this box in an FCC filing. Dubbed the T-Mobile Mini in the document, it can connect via WiFi, Bluetooth or Ethernet, along with a USB port and HDMI in/out.
T-Mobile temporarily drops its prepaid unlimited data plan to $50
T-Mobile is the latest carrier to discount its prepaid unlimited data plan. For a limited time, the company is offering unlimited talk, text and data for $50 per month, which is $10 less than its T-Mobile Essentials Prepaid plan. The move comes after rivals Verizon and AT&T both recently knocked a few bucks off of their prepaid unlimited plans.
FCC will review how wireless carriers respond to natural disasters
With the recovery from Hurricanes Florence and Michael still underway, the FCC wants to know how well wireless networks will cope with the next crisis. The regulator is launching a review of the Wireless Resiliency Cooperative Framework, a voluntary pledge on the part of carriers to work together in maintaining service during natural disasters, raising public awareness and speeding up the recovery process. To that end, it's sending letters to carriers in the framework (including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Engadget parent Verizon) to summarize how they've implemented the alliance in the past two years, explain how they follow "best practices" and outline moments when agreements were changed or faced interference.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal over Obama-era net neutrality rules
Net neutrality just secured a court victory... unfortunately, it won't make much of a difference in the near future. The US Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a 2016 DC court ruling that upheld the FCC's Obama-era net neutrality rules, leaving the earlier decision intact. The brief notice didn't explain why the Supreme Court had rejected the request, but noted that conservative Justices Alito, Gorsuch and Thomas would have overturned the lower court's verdict. Chief Justice Roberts and newly sworn-in Justice Kavanaugh weren't involved in the decision due to respective conflict of interest issues and past involvement.
AT&T, Dish point fingers after HBO blackout
It's been less than six months since HBO (and the rest of what is now called WarnerMedia) joined AT&T, and now we have our first bonafide carriage dispute. Both AT&T and Dish blamed the other for HBO and Cinemax going dark on the Dish Network and Sling TV services, in the first such tiff of HBO's 40-year history.
ZTE's latest phones promise tall screens for under $200
You don't have too many choices in the US when it comes to tall-ratio smartphones on a budget -- the Moto E5 series is on the short list. ZTE believes it can expand your options a little further. It's launching the Blade Max View (above) and Blade Max 2s (below), both of which offer 2,160 x 1,080 LCD screens, decent 1.4GHz Snapdragon 435 processors and 32GB of expandable storage for $200 and $180 respectively. The Max View is definitely the better value of the two, as it touts dual 16MP/2MP rear cameras and stereo speakers where the Max 2s carries a single 13MP rear camera and mono sound.
California delays net neutrality law while federal lawsuit plays out
Last month, California's governor signed the state's net neutrality bill into law, legislation that restores the net neutrality protections the FCC repealed last year. However, the state was quickly hit with a lawsuit from both the Department of Justice and industry groups representing companies like AT&T, Charter and Verizon, which claimed the law ran afoul of the FCC's regulations. California's law was set to take effect at the start of next year, but the state has now agreed to delay its implementation and stay the litigation until a federal challenge to the FCC's decision is settled.
President Trump lays out national 5G strategy
Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum today that described his administration's push for a national spectrum strategy, one that it says should help promote spectrum access and efficiency. In his memo, the president noted the ever-growing importance of adequate wireless communication technology as well as his desire for the US to be a leader in 5G deployment. "It is imperative that America be first in fifth-generation (5G) wireless technologies -- wireless technologies capable of meeting the high-capacity, low-latency and high-speed requirements that can unleash innovation broadly across diverse sectors of the economy and the public sector," the memo said.
AT&T is beta testing its Android-based streaming device
AT&T previously acknowledged the existence of its DirecTV Now-oriented streaming box, but now it's getting close to a proper launch. The telecom used its quarterly earnings to confirm that the Android TV-powered media hub is in beta testing with an aim to trial the hardware in the first half of 2019. The carrier was unsurprisingly coy about details, but it stressed that there would be a "measured" rollout. Don't expect gigantic promotions or aggressive pricing.
AT&T's mobile 5G network to launch in 'next few weeks'
After months of talking about its 5G rollout plans, AT&T is finally close to making those plans a reality. As part of a conference call to discuss its latest earnings report, the carrier said its mobile 5G network would go live in parts of the promised 12 cities "within the next few weeks." Provided the company isn't being generous with its definition of "few," that suggests service will go live sometime in November. It had promised service by the end of 2018, but it sounds like the company isn't quite waiting until the last minute.
eBay's Instant Selling is a hassle-free way to sell your old phone
eBay has launched a new service that gives you a quick way to sell select phone models if you don't want to deal with Craigslist buyers. It's called Instant Selling, and the e-commerce platform says the whole process will only take you a few minutes from start to finish. The downside is you're not getting cold hard cash for your phone -- you're getting an eBay voucher that you can use to purchase items from the website. If that's not a dealbreaker (and you buy stuff from eBay regularly anyway), you might be able to get more for your device than what some trade-in programs offer.