Verizon thinks you’re stupid
Although T-Mobile’s assorted “Uncarrier” moves have done a lot to undermine the wireless industry’s traditional two-year contract business model, Verizon still thinks two-year contracts are a wonderful thing, mostly because they’re guaranteed revenue for a fixed period of time. Because of this, it’s not surprising to see Verizon is doing its best to keep the two-year contract model alive by shamelessly trying to convince users that signing a two-year deal is in their best interests. However, Droid Life points us to a new Verizon promotion that really takes things to a whole new level of stupid.
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Samsung’s iPhone 6 ‘killer’ tipped to launch in the U.S. with at least two carriers
Samsung is expected to soon unveil the Galaxy Alpha, a 4.7-inch Android smartphone that’s supposed to take on the upcoming 4.7-inch iPhone 6. While the smartphone is not official, it’s specs have already been leaked and have shown that the Galaxy Alpha won’t be a Galaxy S5 version hidden in a smaller body. We’ve also seen a couple of image leaks that have shown us what the device will have to offer in terms of design. Furthermore, Phone Arena has uncovered more model numbers for the Galaxy Alpha, which suggest at least two U.S. versions of the handset are inbound.
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You won’t believe what happens when Comcast and TWC face actual competition
For the past couple of years, we’ve been alternately amused and horrified whenever cable company bigwigs have told us that we don’t really “need” fast speeds like those offered by Google Fiber, so why bother significantly investing in infrastructure upgrade? It turns out, however, that both Comcast and Time Warner Cable have quickly changed their tunes now that they’re feeling the actual heat of free market competition for the first time in years.
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Awesome smartwatch crowdfunding project raises scam alerts
Not too long ago, Kickstarter suspended a crowdfunding campaign for the iFind, a device that would have raised well over $550,000 despite not being able to share any details about the product with backers or show a functional prototype. It’s still not clear whether that was an elaborate scam or an actual product, but it looks like there’s one more similar product that’s raising scam flags during funding. With 17 days left in the campaign, the Ritot smartwatch has already passed $750,000 in funds on Indiegogo well over its initial $50,000 goal, but The Next Web revealed there are some issues with the campaign.
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GULP: Researcher finds that you can hack airplanes through in-flight Wi-Fi
Everyone loves in-flight Wi-Fi… until it allows a hacker to infiltrate the plane’s satellite communications equipment. CBCNews brings us word that security researcher Ruben Santamarta of IOActive is going to present new findings at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas this week showing how to use a plane’s Wi-Fi and even its in-flight entertainment system to hack into its satellite equipment.
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This knockoff iPhone 6 is so well done that you’ll mistake it for the real thing
Several iPhone 6 clones running Android have already been spotted online, and some reviewers have said that they’re so convincing that they could easily fool an unsuspecting buyers into thinking they’re getting an incredible deal on an iPhone 6. This is because, even though they have Android under the hood, they also have a complex skin on top that mimics almost every aspect of Apple’s mobile OS. One buyer who purposely obtained such a clone from China to give it a try while waiting for the real thing to launch shared his experience with it on Reddit.
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Moto X confirmed to receive Google’s gorgeous Android L update
Not long after Google unveiled its gorgeous Android L update at I/O 2014, a fake Motorola Facebook account claimed that the Moto X and Moto G would be updated to Android L in the future. A few days later, Motorola revealed the account was not genuine, and the information posted on it should be disregarded. However, the company did not say what handsets will make the jump to Android L until a few days ago, when a short “Yup” from Motorola’s Punit Soni cleared the waters, at least when it comes to the Moto X.
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One of the best console games of the last decade is coming to the iPhone and iPad
Over the past few years, the smartphone has become the most popular gaming platform in the world. Anyone with an iPhone has at least dabbled in free-to-play games, from Clash of Clans to the ubiquitous Candy Crush Saga, but there’s a growing premium market on the App Store as well, featuring ports of some of the biggest console games of the past generation. XCOM: Enemy Unknown made a successful transition to iOS last year and now 2K Games will be attempting to recreate the magic with BioShock later this summer.
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Future spies might not need to hear you to understand what you’re saying
Being able to extract audio from a soundless visual recording is something that intelligence agencies will likely one day use – if they don’t already do it – for their operations. Researchers from MIT, Microsoft and Adobe have managed to create an algorithm that can reconstruct audio “by analyzing minute vibrations of objects depicted in video,” like bags of chips found in the same room with a target, as well as other objects including aluminum foil, the surface of a glass of water, and the leaves of a plant.
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The hidden cost of Facebook’s Internet.org project
Facebook has joined forces with other tech companies to create Internet.org, an organization that wants to bring the Internet to developing markets. The social network believes that it’s doing the world a great service by trying to bring more people online, but the move will also help out with its quarterly bottom line, as the company would force more people to create Facebook accounts to enjoy Internet services in these markets. Author and New York Times journalist Evgeny Morozov doesn’t think that Internet.org is necessarily the best solution, as it ultimately comes with certain terms and conditions that may not be as obvious as first.
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