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ASUS Tablet 810 with Windows 8 transforms its way past the FCC
ASUS must want its Windows 8 tablet family to move together as one. The Tablet 810 has swung past the FCC just two days after a visit by its younger brother, the Tablet 600. While not what we'd call a stunning revelation, the filing for the 810 (as the TF810C) shows a WiFi-only device with the expected NFC for quick peripheral syncing. The 11.6-inch transforming slate is still devoid of a few key details in spite of having its wireless life laid bare -- namely, if and when it reaches the US. Clearing the approval hurdle, however, leaves few obstacles to ASUS being one of the first out of the gate with an Intel-based Windows 8 tablet after October 26th rolls around.
Archos Arnova GBook heads to the FCC, may have literary ambitions
Archos makes regular stops at the FCC. We know this. When it passes an Arnova-badged device called the GBook through the US agency, though, that piques our interest. The name immediately suggests a reading-friendly Android tablet in the vein of the Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet, but there's not much in the way of imagery and details to make a definitive judgment call. The hand-friendly small design and the 802.11n WiFi inside only fuel those suspicions, however. We don't see clues in the testing as to when the Arnova GBook might reach stores; that said, the looming back-to-school and holiday seasons may have some sway in getting the device to bookworms sooner rather than later.
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.
Nokia hits RIM with another triple-patent combo punch
In the law of the playground, he who has the biggest rep holds court. In the world of mobile, though, it's all about your quiver of patents. Nokia has its fair share, and already flexed its litigation-muscle against RIM (among others). Now, it's popping another three in the chamber in this latest filing. It's Germany, again, the Madison Square Garden of the mobile world -- more specifically Munich. FOSS Patents asserts that Nokia has a much stronger IP portfolio than RIM, but that Waterloo will still likely countersue. So, perhaps another added benefit of concentrating on a smaller number of devices? Less patent toes to tread on.
JBL's extra-tiny Soundfly BT wall outlet speaker gets spoiled by the FCC
JBL is known for its portable speakers, but an FCC filing has revealed that it's willing to make speakers that are almost inconspicuous. The Soundfly BT would represent your everyday Bluetooth speaker save for the very uncommon ability to optionally plug directly into a wall outlet, skipping the power cord. Shades of the previous-generation AirPort Express, anyone? There's not much mystery in other areas, but the 20W stereo output is unusually powerful for something small enough to hang off of a hotel room's power port. Between the manual and live photos, about the only riddles left are the Soundfly BT's official release date and price.
Apple still trying for water damage indicator patent, drop-prone device owners twitch (update: granted)
Apple has already sought to patent some elaborate water damage detection methods, but it's also a fan of the classics. That must be why it's still attempting to patent a water detection method that it's been seeking since December 2006, just a month before the iPhone went public. The concept is a simple one that you'll find in many iPhones (and other iOS devices) so far: water-reactive, color-changing tape positioned in a device such that the Genius Bar staffer can see that your device took a dive in the swimming pool without having to tear the phone open. Mercifully, the patent factors in a membrane to prevent an overly humid day from triggering a false positive. There's still no immediate clue as to whether or not Apple will receive the patent, which strikes us as odd for a technology that's been used in the field for so long -- not that the company has needed the USPTO's blessing to void the warranty (or offer a rare free replacement) for more than a few waterlogged iPhones over the past five years. Update: After a little fine-tooth comb inspection, we've found that this is the long-awaited granting itself, not just a continuation. Apple will be happy, although others trying to use a similar water detection system will be turning red... for reasons besides getting wet.
Mysterious, ZTE-made T-Mobile Aspect swings by the FCC
Sometimes FCC filings are rife with details. T-Mobile and ZTE aren't playing that game right now: a device has shown up at the US agency bearing only the T-Mobile Aspect name and a ZTE F555 model number. That already tells us that it's likely to have 1,700MHz 3G inside, but the rest is left to our imaginings. It could be anything from a humdrum basic feature phone to a hotspot or future smartphone. We're hoping it's something as sleek as the upcoming Athena, but it could be an adaptation of mid-tier devices like the Mimosa X or a Windows Phone like the Orbit. With most details under wraps, we'll have to sit tight until either an official launch or until more details slip. The only certainty is that ZTE isn't finished with the US just yet.
Ooma Linx extender makes a visit to the FCC, lets phones go the extra DECT distance
For a VoIP phone company, Ooma has been unusually quiet since it showed us the HD2 handset at CES this January. Thankfully, an FCC filing spotted by Dave Zatz has let slip that the company is getting chattier in the near future. As the helpfully provided manual tells us, an upcoming Linx adapter will let a conventional phone talk to a Telo base station over DECT. The goal is to let Ye Olde Wired Phone in the basement join the 21st century without having to move the Telo or otherwise jump through hoops -- it'll even bring your fax machine onboard, if you're still holding on to 1994. We can't glean from the clearance just when the Linx will be ready to shake the dust from our antiquated phones, but with all the documentation seemingly in order, the wait isn't going to be too long before that landline handset enters the modern world.
Sony patent filing for glasses would share data face to face, carry more than a hint of Project Glass
Google might not realize it, but Project Glass isn't alone in the patent race these days. Sony has quietly applied for a patent on a familiar-looking smart glasses system whose advantage over Mountain View would be an emphasis on things in twos. Eyepieces are the most obvious, but Sony is also keen on sharing data between two friends: transmitters on a pair of glasses would send personal info through a likely very uncomfortable glance at someone else with the same eyewear. If your friends are more than a little weirded out from sharing by staring, the proposed glasses could still pick up information from visual tags on posters, products and virtually anything else. There's even the obligatory connection to a watch for sharing data with the rest of the world. Whether or not the patent leads to Sony head-mounted technology more advanced than a personal 3D TV is still up in the air, especially with Google currently hogging the spotlight... not that existing, more conservative designs have ever stopped Sony from rolling out wild concepts before.
Samsung files patents for robot that mimics human walking and breathing, ratchets up the creepy factor
As much as Samsung is big on robots, it hasn't gone all-out on the idea until a just-published quartet of patent applications. The filings have a robot more directly mimicking a human walk and adjusting the scale to get the appropriate speed without the unnatural, perpetually bent gait of certain peers. To safely get from point A to point B, any path is chopped up into a series of walking motions, and the robot constantly checks against its center of gravity to stay upright as it walks uphill or down. All very clever, but we'd say Samsung is almost too fond of the uncanny valley: one patent has rotating joints coordinate to simulate the chest heaves of human breathing. We don't know if the company will ever put the patents to use; these could be just feverish dreams of one-upping Honda's ASIMO at its own game. But if it does, we could be looking at Samsung-made androids designed like humans rather than for them.
Sony Xperia Go makes a trip to the FCC, doesn't bring suntan lotion
Sony isn't wasting much time getting regulatory approvals. Just a few weeks after it brought the Xperia Go into the world, it's passing the toughened-up phone through the FCC for Uncle Sam's rubber stamp. Before you get visions of picking one up for Facebook updates on a canoe trip, be aware that it's the international version we're looking at: it can run on GSM and EDGE with US carriers, but the 900MHz and 2,100MHz HSPA bands are meant for 3G in other corners of the world. All the same, it does put the phone on the fast track to its scheduled international release in the summer. There's always importing if you've just got to have some weather-hardened Android 2.3 for a California vacation.
AT&T strikes a deal with Sirius XM to make 2.3GHz LTE a reality, pitches it to the FCC
AT&T has been a little more eager than usual to get spectrum after a certain big deal fell through, and we now know that Big Blue has been willing to bury a few outstanding hatchets to make that happen. The carrier has filed with the FCC to propose a deal with Sirius XM that would get its LTE-based 4G running on the 2.3GHz Wireless Communications Service (WCS) that, normally, satellite radio intersects. Rather than stay at an impasse, AT&T has agreed to a 5MHz dead zone on either end of Sirius XM's frequencies that would mitigate the risk of that Internet video stream colliding with Howard Stern. The provider still needs clearance to go ahead, and might not exactly get a resounding thumbs-up from WCS holder NextWave, which stands to lose more than a small piece of its airwave pie. An FCC all-clear would nonetheless raise the chances that AT&T keeps LTE flowing freely as subscribers pile on the network, even after the telecom behemoth conceded spectrum to T-Mobile.
Nokia patent filing uses steering wheel touch for media controls, turns your radio on with that lovin' feeling
Nokia has only ever had a fleeting involvement with cars, but if it brings a just-published patent application to fruition, the Lumia maker could be front and center for drivers. The technology it wants would detect vibrations in the steering wheel to let the driver control music, GPS and other components of the car's center stack just by touching particular spots on the wheel itself -- no overabundance of buttons here. Underneath, it would use temporal sensing to register input, and filtering would prevent the wheel from interpreting speed bumps as cues to turn on the stereo. Nokia's mobile know-how mostly comes into play through the option of using a mobile device like a smartphone to handle tasks rather than having to build something directly into the wheel. Given that the company is currently cutting everything back, it's more likely to license the patent out rather than trying to build anything itself, if anything happens at all. Should the patent eventually come to use, you could end up tenderly caressing the wheel for all your in-car media controls... just be sure to buy it some chocolate and roses first.
Apple files for a patent on an iPhone with swappable lenses, picky mobile photographers rejoice
Taking phone photography seriously is certainly possible. Short of tacking on a slightly ludicrous add-on case, however, you're normally stuck with whatever lens the phone designer deems fit. Unless Apple uses technology from a very out-of-left-field patent application, that is. The invention would make an iPhone's back panel removable so that owners could swap out lenses like they would with a DSLR or a mirrorless camera. Apple has even raised the possibility of a panel with two lenses built-in at opposite corners: to switch to a telephoto lens or a different filter, you'd only need to flip the panel around to use the additional glass. It's all quite wild, although it's for that reason that the patent might never get used. The company isn't a fan of replaceable parts, after all. But if the photographer for your future wedding shows up with nothing but an iPhone and a bag full of back plates, you'll know why -- even if you're still left scratching your head.
Samsung Galaxy Note with T-Mobile-ready 3G swings by the FCC (update: demo units?)
A T-Mobile-capable version of the Samsung Galaxy Note has been floating around in pictures, but official evidence has been hard to come by. Imagine our surprise when it saunters by the FCC with few disguises: going under a hinted-at SGH-T879 codename, the giant smartphone has passed through the agency with the needed 1,700MHz HSPA band for T-Mobile 3G while also supporting 850MHz and 1,900MHz 3G in the same breath. The wireless support leaves the possibility that the unit we're seeing here is for 1,700MHz Canadian carriers like Mobilicity or Wind Mobile, but earlier photos of T-Mobile branding and a browser user agent profile allude to the American provider having at least toyed with the idea of a Galaxy Note on its network. Fans of supersized phones have reason to cheer, then, although we have doubts revolving mostly around the T879's absence on a leaked roadmap for mid-2012 and the lateness of the arrival. It might be hard for T-Mobile to steer customers to a 2011-era Samsung phone when the Galaxy S III is on the doorstep. Update: Some more fuel for the fire: an inventory sheet reportedly leaked to TmoNews has more explicitly made the link between the T879 name and the Galaxy Note along with suggesting that demo units are in the queue. Although we wouldn't count on the rumored July 11th release being solid, there's enough to suggest T-Mobile is serious about getting its first phablet.
Qualcomm building babel-fish chip to support multiple LTE bands
Qualcomm has revealed that it's developing a new mobile radio that'll operate across multiple LTE bands. While dreams of a cross-network standard were burned to the ground last July, the chip company revealed that the MSM-8960 will connect to three frequencies below 1GHz and four above. Qualcomm has said that the hardware will make its way into handsets by the end of the year at the same time it voiced opposition to the FCC's plan to standardize the lower 700MHz band -- something the smaller networks feel is necessary to prevent them being squeezed out by the big three.
Archos Arnova 80 Cobalt sidles up to the FCC, leaves little to the imagination
Archos' line of Android tablets aren't really known for setting consumer tongues a-wagging; those honors are typically reserved for more bold-faced OEMs. As a low-cost alternative to pricier offerings, however, they make mighty fine sense. And one such slate's just swung by the Commission's gates, showing off its shiny black posterior, FCC ID (SOVAC80CO) and Arnova branding. The 80 Cobalt, as its referred to in the docs, appears to be a WiFi-only affair in keeping with its market positioning and, judging from its measurements, is likely to join the ranks of other 8-inch tabs. Hit up the source below to scour the dense fog of RF tests and legalese, if you're so inclined.
ASUS Transformer Pad TF300TL hits the FCC with AT&T-friendly LTE
ASUS isn't known for offering its tablets to North American carriers with 3G or 4G; an FCC filing for a cellular-capable Transformer Pad TF300 could be a clue at a break in the WiFi-only trend. Along with the usual wireless, a TF300TL variant of the Android 4.0 slate has stopped by the agency with the 850MHz and 1,900MHz frequencies needed for HSPA 3G as well as, best of all, 700MHz and 1,700MHz support for LTE-based 4G. All four are what we'd look for in an AT&T-oriented tablet, so don't be surprised if Ma Bell carries a 4G Transformer Pad before long. All but the 700MHz band would be handy for Canadian networks as well. There's no surefire evidence of when the tablet might make a more formal appearance, nor hints of whether or not it will keep the quad-core Tegra 3, although the slight spin on the regular TF300 formula could keep the wait short.
Kyocera Hydro bares all for the FCC
What's a spankin' new Android phone to do hot off its CTIA 2012 debut? Why, stop by the FCC for an inside-out coming out party. The Kyocera-crafted handset outlined in the docs looks to be the recently unveiled Hydro, as the device's model number -- C5170 -- matches that of the unit we got hands-on with in New Orleans. The filings don't spill much of the middleweight mobile's guts, but we were able to discern radios for CDMA 1900MHz, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth, as well as the existence of a 1,500mAh battery. We're still in the dark as to where this waterproofed, ICS-laden phone'll end up, but if our magic 8-ball's any indication, all signs point knowingly to Sprint. Hit up the source below to rifle through the RF tests for yourself.
MetroPCS and T-Mobile want Dish to give up half of its wireless spectrum, worry about AT&T and Verizon swooping in
Dish Network might not start up its LTE-based 4G network until as late as 2016, but that hasn't stopped MetroPCS and T-Mobile from jointly telling the FCC that the would-be carrier needs to make some concessions for small carriers to rest easy. Both of the complaints have a common proposal that would see Dish give up 20MHz of its 40MHz space in the 2GHz range to prevent the satellite giant from using its abundant airwaves as part of a cash grab: MetroPCS and T-Mobile are worried Dish will just try for a "windfall" and sell the spectrum it doesn't need to AT&T or Verizon. While it's not asking for a sell-off, the Rural Cellular Association is still jittery about concentrations of power and wants the FCC to make Dish hit certain build-out targets, offer roaming at wholesale rates and require FCC approval for any roaming deal that would go to Big Blue or Big Red. The big carriers' advocacy group, the CTIA, is unsurprisingly against build-out demands as "unduly burdensome." FCC officials have been silent by comparison, although the agency has encouraged spreading spectrum around and proposed its own expansion requirements. You'll likely see smartphones with 2GHz frequencies at some point in the future -- it's just a matter of whether Dish or someone else slaps its logo on top.
