Mobile

AT&T is dropping overage charges for mobile data plans. Instead of charging extra fees, it will slow down the connections of users who exceed their monthly data allowance. The move is accompanied by a general price rise, though it will only ... affect new customers or those existing customers who choose to change plans. The change makes AT&T the last of the three biggest carriers to drop mandatory fees for customers who go over their monthly data cap, an issue that became even more important as truly unlimited data plans were phased out across the industry. T-Mobile dropped overage ... (view more)

Varying attitudes around the world to cellphone use are reflected in two new policies. India is to mandate 'panic buttons' in cellphones, while a German city has taken drastic measures to keep phone users safer. The Indian rules begin to take effect ... next January when all cellphones on sale will have to include some form of panic button. The measure is designed to deal with growing fears for safety on the streets, particularly among women. Officials reportedly concluded that while cellphones make it much easier to call for help than in the days of relying on payphones, the process of ... (view more)

A new manufacturer plans to sell ultra-secure smartphones for as much as $15,000. They won't be the most expensive ever made, but will be the costliest outside of gimmick "luxury" handsets. Sirin Labs, a company based in the United Kingdom and ... Israel, has raised $72 million in investment funding. It plans to launch its first handset in a dedicated retail store next year. (Source: reuters.com ) The company has released relatively little detail about the handset, but has been working on it for almost three years. It says the big selling point is that it will offer military level ... (view more)

A Google-owned app aims to tell you the right time to leave on a car journey based on current traffic. It's something of a chicken and egg situation though, as the more people who use Waze, the more accurate it gets. Waze was developed by an Israeli ... company and bought out by Google in 2013. Unlike most GPS navigation tools, it doesn't work solely by databases of roads. Instead, it gathers anonymized information from users about their journeys, measuring exactly how long they take to cover a particular route and where they are being held up. The idea is to use this crowdsourced ... (view more)

Microsoft's goal of having Windows 10 used on just about every form of computing device has taken one step forward. Manufacturers have already incorporated it into a phone and even a portable stick. Acer, the company that helped establish the idea ... of the netbook as a way to run 'real' Windows on an ultra-portable device, has announced what it is calling the first PC Phone. At first glance, the Jade Primo looks like a high-end smartphone running Windows mobile; however, it has fairly impressive specifications, including a Snapdragon 808 Processor, a full 1080p HD 5.5" AMOLED ... (view more)

Yahoo is testing a system that could use your ear as a way to log in to a smartphone. It's designed as a cheaper and more practical alternative to using fingerprint recognition. Biometric identification has become more popular in recent years as a ... way to increase security, rather than relying on passwords or other inputs that could be guessed or hacked. The concept of biometrics has become ever increasingly mainstream, especially with the latest models of iPhones that include a fingerprint scanner. In fact, Barclays Bank has a system for online customers that scans the pattern of finger ... (view more)

Facebook has begun rolling out its free video and audio call service to other Facebook users via its Messenger app. It's arguably the biggest challenge yet to the Skype audio and video calling platform, which is now owned by Microsoft. Facebook ... began offering video calls back in 2011, when it partnered with Skype but has since developed its own technology. The new call service works in the dedicated Facebook 'Messenger' app, which is available only on smartphones and tablets and does not work through the Facebook website. Last year, Facebook removed the messaging feature from its main ' ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I just read yesterday's survey article entitled ' Are Smartphones a Vital Tool in 2015? ' and was intrigued with its findings. Personally, I don't own a smartphone because I cannot afford to pay for ... the data plans. I would like to know, is there a cheap mobile device that I can use that is similar in size to a smart phone, but doesn't use a mobile data plan? " My response: Yes. You can use a small sized tablet (around 8 inches or so) but it's not very mobile in the sense that won't fit very nicely in your pocket. As such, I think best choice ... (view more)

Twenty years ago, ordering a pizza online was virtually unheard of, but in 1994, the first-ever online pizza transaction took place . The idea proved to be way ahead of its time, but eventually caught on and more restaurants followed suit. In recent ... years smartphone apps have been developed so that mobile users can order their favorite foods on the go. Flash forward to today, and now Domino's and Pizza Hut have both reached agreements to allow customers to place orders through unconventional means -- by using smart watches and dashboards on high-tech cars. Domino's is no stranger to ... (view more)

Smartphone dating app maker Tinder, Inc. has sparked controversy after announcing it would start charging based on age for its newly revised premium services. Users in the US will have to pay $9.99 a month if they are under 30 years old, and $19.99 ... if they are 30 or older. In the UK, the price difference in age for the same service is almost quadrupled. The move has not only outraged older customers, but ignited accusations of cynicism with the suggestion the people behind the app want to make it full of younger, and theoretically more attractive, singletons. How Tinder Works Tinder is a ... (view more)