verizon

Wireless charging still has strings attached

As obviously useful as wireless charging is, it suffers from a Tower of Babel problem with incompatible standards and competing interests keeping it from truly going mainstream.

But the industry may yet be inching toward some level of sanity. AT&T is seeking from its handset vendors a commitment to one standard of wireless charging, CNET has learned.

The standard, known as PMA, or the Power Matters Alliance, is spearheaded by Powermat Technologies and Procter & Gamble, two unlikely leaders considering their highest-profile products are the bulky iPhone charging covers that only true power-hungry users submit themselves to using. … Read more

New Verizon app untethers text messages from your cell phone

If you're tired of having to tap out texts on your tiny cell phone screen or keyboard when your nearby laptop offers the ease of a full-size QWERTY keyboard, Verizon Wireless has a new app that may be just your type.

Version 4.0 of the carrier's in-house SMS app essentially divorces its text messaging service from cell phones, letting customers send and receive text and multimedia messages from Web-connected PCs and tablets running iOS or Android.

The update includes a number of new features, but perhaps the one customers will find most appealing is integrated messaging, which … Read more

Should I take that sweet deal on the iPhone 4 or not?

A free iPhone sure sounds like a sweet deal. But when that iPhone is already three years old, is it really such an awesome deal?

That's the question I answer in this edition of Ask Maggie. A reader writes to me about an awesome offer from Verizon Wireless. She can get a new iPhone for nothing. All she has to do is sign up for another two-year contract. The problem is that iPhone is the iPhone 4 and that model is nearly three years old.

Also in this Ask Maggie, I help a reader figure out the best option … Read more

Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets Android 4.2.2

Verizon announced today that it's making the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software update available for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Verizon says it'll push the update in "phases," which means that you may need to exercise a bit of patience if your phone doesn't receive the update in the first round.

At long last, Verizon's "pure Google" Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally caught up with its Sprint counterpart in running the latest version of Android. Launched as the first Android device to run version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy … Read more

Cops: U.S. law should require logs of your text messages

AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and other wireless providers would be required to capture and store Americans' confidential text messages, according to a proposal that will be presented to a congressional panel today.

The law enforcement proposal would require wireless providers to record and store customers' SMS messages -- a controversial idea akin to requiring them to surreptitiously record audio of their customers' phone calls -- in case police decide to obtain them at some point in the future.

"Billions of texts are sent every day, and some surely contain key evidence about criminal activity," Richard Littlehale … Read more

Samsung Game Pad hints at Note 3

CNET Update needs bigger pockets:

Stories featured in Monday's tech roundup:

- Samsung says its new Game Pad accessory can fit a device with a 6.3-inch screen. But Samsung doesn't make a phone screen that big -- yet. Could this detail be a hint about the upcoming Note 3?

- Verizon wants to change TV fee rules by only paying for the channels subscribers are watching. And its not the only television provider trying to change the industry.

- Google Reader will soon be shut down, and Feedly is reaping all the benefits.

- Pinterest refreshed its design … Read more

Verizon looks to turn TV fee rules on their head

Verizon wants to change how it pays television providers for their shows, according to a new report.

The company, which operates Fios TV, is currently in talks with several "midtier and smaller" television companies to pay them not for the number of subscribers their channels can reach, but by the number of people who actually watch their shows, according to the Wall Street Journal, which interviewed the company's executives.

"We are paying for a customer who never goes to the channel," Verizon Fios TV chief programming negotiator Terry Denson told the Wall Street Journal.

The … Read more

The 404 1,228: Where we make eyes with the Samsung Galaxy S4 (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Samsung Galaxy S4 keeps calm, carries on with big screen, 8-core chip and, yes, eye tracking.

- The Galaxy S4's software up close.

- Samsung Galaxy S4 display looking good, expert says.

- Samsung Galaxy S4 landing on six U.S. carriers.

- Does Samsung's Galaxy S4 make the iPhone 5 look lame?

- Samsung Galaxy S4 offers optional wireless charging.… Read more

Redbox Instant launches video streaming to the public

Redbox Instant has made good on its promise to open its doors to the general public by spring. The video streaming service publicly launched in the U.S. today.

The new service is a joint venture between Verizon and Redbox that was first announced in February 2012. Redbox Instant will give new users unlimited streaming and four DVD credits for free for one month, according to the Web site. Once the month-long trial ends, the service will cost $8 per month.

Redbox Instant was rolled out in private beta in December, letting first-time users sign up for the service. It'… Read more

As Z10 preorders start, BlackBerry nets huge order for new devices

BlackBerry announced today that an "established partner" has ordered 1 million BlackBerry 10 devices. Though a company spokeswoman declined to name the partner in a phone call with CNET, the order is the largest single purchase in the company's history.

The news came just as Verizon Wireless revealed that it would start accepting preorders for the new BlackBerry Z10 beginning at 8 a.m. ET tomorrow. Devices will then arrive in stores and be available for direct purchase online two weeks later on March 28.

Big Red, which promised that it would carry the Z10 moments after … Read more