You know, it’s like we’re experiencing deja vu all over again. Microsoft is no stranger to problems concerning holding a monopoly and not giving consumers suitable alternatives. Back in 2009, Microsoft came to an agreement with the European Commission that it would provide Windows users with the ability to choose between multiple web browsers instead of automatically defaulting to Internet Explorer.

And they did, until the Windows 7 Service Pack was released in May 2011. With that Service Pack, Windows users were once again left with Internet Explorer as the default web browser out of the box. This went against the agreement that Microsoft had with the EU. Now the European Commission has fined Microsoft for the cool sum of $731 million.

“A failure to comply,” writes Commission vice-president Joaquin Almunia, “is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly.” Microsoft says that it will not appeal the verdict and will just pay the fine. They “take full responsibility,” saying the “oversight” was due to a “technical error” and not because they just really want everyone to use IE.

[Source]

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The hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 will be unveiled in New York next week, but nobody knows exactly what the device is coming packed with. The talk about S4 featuring different chipsets for different regions is of course not new, but that rumor is still around.

According to a recent report, the Galaxy S4 might be launched in the US featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 600 chipset, while the device’s European version will get Samsung’s own Exynos 5 8-core chipset.

As you might not have forgotten, last year Samsung launched its S3 in the US with the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset inside because the Samsung Exynos chipset did not feature LTE. That may not be the problem here since the Galaxy Note 2 is proof that Samsung does not need Qualcomm to provide LTE. And also LTE will become more popular in Europe this year, so Samsung has to provide it with the European version of the S4 as well. So, LTE may not be the issue for the company.

Another suggestion is the heat issue. But if that’s the case, Samsung definitely won’t launch a device with known issues onto any market. So, most likely the problem is related to production. Just to remind you, the Samsung’s upcoming greatest device is expected to sell around 100 million units. The company might simply be incapable of making enough chips in time.

All these are just theories though and the best thing to do is to wait for a confirmation from the company. We will keep you updated as we learn more, so stay tuned to Mobile Magazine.

[Source]

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Realistically, all that extra plastic in a regular SIM card (mini-SIM) doesn’t do anything but take up space. That’s why Apple moved to the micro-SIM for its current line of iPhones, but even that isn’t small enough. Now, the nano-SIM has been confirmed and it’s 40% smaller than the micro-SIM.

The picture here shows the prototype from Apple. The nano-SIM is pretty much just the gold-plated connector portion and all that white plastic around it is how big a regular mini-SIM would be in comparison. And this standardized design has been adopted by the European Telecommunications Institute (ETSI). The nano-SIM measures just 12.3mm by 8.8mm and just 0.67mm thick. The “pop-out” design here would make these new SIMs more easily backwards compatible with other devices, in case that’s how the carriers wanted to go about doing things.

One difference between the Apple-submitted design and the one backed by RIM/Motorola is that the latter had “an extra notch to enable so-called ‘push-push’ mechanisms in SIM slots that wouldn’t necessitate a tray.” I like that idea, but it appears that Apple’s non push-push design was the winner.

[Source]

The post Europe Adopts Apple-Supported Nano-SIM Standard Format appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

People in Europe have been waiting for a while to enjoy the glorious speeds of 4G LTE. Although some countries in the continent will still have to wait a bit more for the launch of the network, Germany can celebrate since they will be getting the HTC Velocity, the first 4G LTE Android-powered smartphone in Europe.

Vodafone’s German arm will launch the device “sometime soon.” The Velocity is a variant of the HTC Vivid LTE handset that was released in the US on AT&T’s network in the previous year.

Similar to the Vivid, the Velocity comes equipped with a 4.5 inch qHD display with a resolution of 540 x 960 and a 1.5GHz dual-core processor. Although the screen is not as big as the one on the Galaxy Note, it’s more than enough for the first 4G LTE phone to arrive.

The handset features two cameras: an 8 megapixel rear facing camera with 1080p video capture and a front-facing 1.3 megapixel shooter to satisfy all your video chatting needs. The phone will run Android 2.3 Gingerbread and you can expect an update to ICS to arrive in the coming months. Other features include 1GB of RAM and 16GB of on-board memory.  The device will arrive in Germany first and we expect it to make its way to other parts of Europe later this year. But for everyone in the UK, you will all have to wait until the 4G auctions are completed.

[ source ]

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Shipwreck hunters have long since recognized that the Baltic Sea is a hot bed for finding interesting objects. Andreas Olsson, a sonar expert, says that they know of about 20,000 objects at the bottom of the sea, but he thinks “there may be more than 100,000.” And on a recent visit, Peter Lindberg thinks they found a UFO.

Well, it’s not exactly a flying object anymore, given that it’s sunken to the bottom of the sea, but it could be an extraterrestrial aircraft. And then, about 200 meters away from this original find, they’ve apparently found a “disc-like shape” that looks a little too much like the Millennium Falcon. That’s just visual evidence, though, and they haven’t excavatated it out of the water yet.

Check out the CNN video for more info.

The post Real Millennium Falcon Discovered in Baltic Sea? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Nokia 3720 Classic may look like any other number of budget-minded candybar style phones from Nokia, but it has received IP-54 certification for resistance to water, dust, and shock. Go ahead and use it by the pool, in the desert, or um, at the power plant.

The phone has been completely encased in durable materials, sealed away from the outside world as to protect the inner electronics. Even the battery cover is held in place with a screw, so bringing it to harsher work conditions should not be a cause for alarm.

Aside from its rugged and tough nature, the Nokia 3720 Classic also comes with an LED flashlight, 2.2-inch QVGA display, 2 megapixel camera, 20MB internal memory, microSD slot, and 2.5mm headphone jack. Look for it to sell for EUR 125 when it ships this summer. Choose generic gray or stand out with yellow.

Source: Slashphone

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