The Senate voted late Wednesday to confirm a new commissioner to the Federal Communications Commission. Geoffrey Starks, a Democrat nominated this past summer, was confirmed in a unanimous voice vote. The Senate also reconfirmed Republican Brendan Carr. Both will serve five-year terms as commissioners. The agency, which is supposed to consist of five members, has been …
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Apple is pausing sales of some older iPhones in Germany during a patent fight with chipmaker Qualcomm. On Dec. 20, the District Court of Munich found that Apple infringed Qualcomm’s technology for power savings in smartphones and ruled that the iPhone maker must halt sales of the device in Germany, according to Qualcomm’s release. Apple said in a statement at …
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The Federal Communications Commission will shut down most of its operations on Thursday, if President Trump can’t reach an agreement with Democrats over the federal government’s partial shutdown. The FCC said Wednesday that without funding it will cease most activities as of midday Jan. 3, “other than those immediately necessary for the protection of life or property, performing other excepted …
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When one of the biggest “innovations” in smartphones in 2018 was the addition of a notch on the display, you know the industry has hit a rut. With fewer big technical leaps between generations, there’s plenty of evidence that consumers are starting to hit the snooze button on upgrading their phones. A year ago, smartphone sales fell for the first …
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Good phones drop all the time, but when I glance back at 2018’s greatest hits, it’s clear that this year brought us something special. The parade of top models from tried-and-true hitmakers Apple, Samsung and Google include the iPhone XR, Galaxy S9 and Pixel 3. These gems went beyond premium phones into midrange and budget devices, and even into innovations from …
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If the Galaxy S10 comes out with superfast 5G connectivity and an in-screen fingerprint reader, you can likely thank Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 855 processor. Qualcomm is the world’s largest supplier of mobile chipsets, and its latest 855 will drive major Android devices in 2019, a roster that’s likely to include flagship handsets from Samsung, Google and LG. At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Technology …
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It seems like 2019 will be the year displays break the mold: Not only will our phones start to fold, reports indicate that LG’s amazing rollable TV will also ship next year. According to Bloomberg, the company is expected to start selling the TV in 2019. While the technology is a rollable OLED, you probably don’t want to roll it …
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If you live in one of a dozen US cities, you can tap into AT&T’s 5G network this week. The carrier, locked in a race with Verizon and other network operators to move to the next-gen wireless technology as fast as possible, is turning on its network on Tuesday. But until 5G phones arrive in the first half of 2019, …
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Phone manufacturers and carriers alike have promised to make 5G mobile data a reality in 2019. But when will we actually get 5G-compatible phones? Perhaps as soon as February. Both Samsung and LG are reportedly announcing their 5G phones at Mobile World Congress (MWC), according to The Korea Herald. MWC is the industry’s largest annual trade show, and it’s currently …
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Samsung could launch the Galaxy S10 on Feb. 20 and put the phone on sale March 8, according to a new report from Gizmodo UK, which says it was approached by “a source at a major tech retailer”. The rumored launch date, a Wednesday, would put the Galaxy S10’s launch the week before the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in …
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