July, 2013

• 9 July

  Sprint completes Clearwire buy at $5 per share

  

  As expected, Sprint has completed its acquisition of Clearwire. The company announced the news on Tuesday, saying that it now owns 100 percent of Clearwire. Sprint previously owned about 50 percent of the wireless company. Related stories Clearwire shareholders approve Sprint takeover Who wants ‘New Sprint’ shares? Not many Sprint shareholders Sprint initially offered $2.97 …

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• 9 July

  All Windows phones can now have Nokia’s mapping and transit apps

  

  Hoping to snag a few more paying customers — and offer an alternative to Google Maps — Nokia is bringing Here, its suite of mapping, turn-by-turn direction, and transit apps to all Windows Phone 8 smartphones. The apps will arrive in the Windows Phone Store by the end of the week. Nokia is adding a few new features to Here …

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• 9 July

  AT&T’s BlackBerry Z10 picks up 10.1 software update

  

  This BlackBerry Z10 is going to see a tweak or two. Josh Miller/CNET Related stories BlackBerry Z10 smartphone review All about BlackBerry 10 OS BlackBerry 10.1 OS ushers in new features BlackBerry Z10 owners on AT&T are about to get a long-awaited bump in the OS software running on their phone. After erroneously posting an update cycle earlier this summer, …

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• 9 July

  BlackBerry faces questions about U.S. competitiveness

  

  BlackBerry investors aren’t happy about its progress in the U.S., and let it be known during the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday. The company’s executives fielded a number of questions — and some not-so-veiled criticism — about the mixed response that the new BlackBerry 10 smartphones have received in the U.S. One investor went as far as calling the …

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• 9 July

  Amazon to fire up new Kindle tablets this year, says report

  

  Amazon plans to update its fleet of Kindle tablets by launching at least three new models this year, according to blog site Boy Genius Report. Citing “trusted sources,” the folks at BGR claim that the first tablet would be a new version of the 7-inch Kindle Fire. The screen size of the tablet would remain the same as the existing …

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• 9 July

  Samsung’s Galaxy S4 makes debut on C Spire network for $199.99

  

  Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 has added another carrier to its mix. C Spire announced Tuesday that the Android-based handset is now available to its customers. The Galaxy S4 comes in the customer’s choice of black or white, and is available for $199.99 with a two-year agreement. C Spire, which offers network connectivity around the U.S., but operates in four states, …

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• 9 July

  Flash quietly re

  

  Flash might be all but dead in the mobile space, but Amazon is considering whether it’s time to revive it. Speaking to All Things Digital in an interview published on Tuesday, Amazon’s Kurt Kufeld confirmed that his company has been quietly testing Flash support with Kindle Fire owners since February. The effort was offered under the guise of an “experimental …

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• 9 July

  Angry Trayvon game to shut down following complaints

  

  A game called Angry Trayvon has managed to anger enough people that the developer has promised to shut it down. Available through Google Play, Angry Trayvon depicts a man in a hooded sweatshirt walking through such areas as Brooklyn to complete “his world tour of revenge on the bad guys who terrorize cities everyday.” Players of the game can use …

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• 9 July

  Nokia Here sat

  

  Nokia is opening up its Here Drive and Here Transit sat-nav and maps apps to all Windows Phone 8 devices, not just Nokia Lumia blowers. Nokia’s maps, called Here, power various apps for Windows Phone as well as iPhone and iPad, offering voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation and offline maps for when you don’t have any Internet service. Sat-nag app Here Drive …

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• 9 July

  Android Jelly Bean finally beats Gingerbread in Google stats

  

  Android Jelly Bean is finally the most popular version of Android, according to Google’s official usage stats. Ending a years-long battle to make the most recent edition of Android the one that’s the most popular, Google’s data now shows 37.9 per cent of phones and tablets running the robot-powered OS are using 4.1 or 4.2 Jelly Bean. Perennial favourite Android …

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