Mark Hearn is a nerd's nerd if ever such a thing existed. Covering the mobile scene for several years, he also has a love for film, sports, gaming and just about anything related to technology. Highly opinionated, you'll often find him sharing his two cents in some dark corner of the Internet.
By Mark Hearn |
Mobile payment systems were designed for convenience, but the overall landscape has been a fragmented mess. Major carriers such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile joined forces to create ISIS, while Sprint sided with Google Wallet. The division among major U.S. carriers seems to have, for…
By Mark Hearn |
A few weeks ago, the Nexus 7 was selling like gangbusters. While high sales are always good for business, ASUS began struggling to meet the massive consumer demand for the popular bargain-friendly tablet. Online advertising firm Chitika reveals that supply issues have delayed the Nexus 7’s…
By Mark Hearn |
Another day, another docket of hired expert witnesses in the Apple v. Samsung (who copied what). First up was Apple’s hired-expert Kent Van Liere testifying that many consumers aren’t able to tell the difference between Samsung phones and the iPhone or between iPad and Samsung…
By Mark Hearn |
Sure, we’ve already seen the Huawei MediaPad 10 FHD in action, but there’s nothing like seeing approval from the FCC to reassure that things are moving along smoothly. As a reminder, the Huawei MediaPad 10 features a 10.1-inch (1920 x 1200) IPS display, a 1.2GHz…
By Mark Hearn |
Google announced on Friday that it will begin downranking websites that receive high volumes of valid copyright infringement notices. Google is taking these actions in an effort to help users find legitimate content. For example, if you’re searching for a TV show, Google wants its…
By Mark Hearn |
Samsung could be planning a fourth color installment for its flagship Galaxy S III smartphone. Pictured above is what appears to be a black Galaxy S III that was pulled from Samsung’s Facebook page. The reason we say “appears to be” is because, if you’ve…
By Mark Hearn |
A recent FCC filing by Samsung has pulled back the curtain on a mysterious tablet listed as the “GT-P8110.” Slim on details, the listed documents reveal 16GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, and NFC. Unlike Samsung’s current tablet lineup, which has more of…
By Mark Hearn |
If you’re an Android fan, there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the words “software update available” flash across your screen. Unfortunately, if you’re a custom ROM user, this experience might not be quite as common. That’s all about to change. A powerful new tool called…
By Mark Hearn |
Mobile app maker Vringo announced on Thursday that it will acquire a portfolio of more than 500 worldwide patents and patent applications from Nokia, including 109 issued U.S. patents. “Thirty one of the 124 patent families acquired have been declared essential by Nokia to wireless…
By Mark Hearn |
During its presentation at the recent Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH) conference, Disney Research unveiled “REVEL,” a technology capable of adding virtual textures to common everyday objects. According to a report, from MIT’s Technology Review, REVEL uses a tactile effect known as “reverse electrovibration.”…
By Mark Hearn |
A Sprint customer in the Boston area managed to gain access to the carrier’s new LTE services. This lucky individual noticed that his phone was connected to Sprint’s LTE network after applying a Mobile Station ID (MSID) update. Pictured above are screenshots of his HTC…
By Mark Hearn |
Now that Sprint’s LTE network is finally up and running, you would think that the carrier would be solely focused on LTE-capable handsets. However, this isn’t the case. At CTIA this past May, we went hands-on with the Kyocera Rise and, thanks to a trusted source, we can…
By Mark Hearn |
Sprint recently dropped the online price of the iPhone 4S by $50. So far, the Now Network has been the only major carrier to give Apple’s latest iPhone a permanent price cut. However, a purported internal document received by MacRumors is claiming that Apple stores…
By Mark Hearn |
HTC will reportedly hold an event during the third week of September to unveil its first wave of Windows Phone 8 devices. This claim lines up with a recent rumor that suggests Nokia has a similar agenda, which could place Windows Phone 8’s launch slightly…
By Mark Hearn |
Last May, GameStop launched a website for what appeared to be its first steps toward offering its very own wireless service. Referred to as “GameStop Mobile,” the service was listed as an AT&T-powered MVNO that would allow customers to purchase SIM cards connected to…
By Mark Hearn |
The latest update to the Windows version of the Google Chrome browser bolsters Flash security features. Google and the Adobe team have added sandbox protection to Adobe Flash Player, which isolates the plug-in by restricting access to the computer’s filesystem. Sandboxing greatly reduces the…
By Mark Hearn |
If you’re on a strict budget, but would love to have a new smartphone and tablet, then have we got a deal for you! A trusted source has shared details about an upcoming promotion: a free ZTE Optik tablet with the purchase of a new…
By Mark Hearn |
Microsoft opened registration for its Build 2012 developer event on Wednesday. Much to the software giant’s satisfaction, discounted early bird registration has completely sold out, but fear not, interested parties can still register. In addition to opening the floodgates to eager developers, Microsoft used this…
By Mark Hearn |
Android powered photography is currently limited smartphones, but things could soon be changing, as Polaroid plans to release an Android-based camera and Samsung is also rumored to have a similar product in the works. In addition to these two photography heavyweight firms, Nikon is reportedly…
By Mark Hearn |
Google will soon release an update to its iOS search application. Akin to the search features recently introduced in Android 4.1, the new search app offers vocalized responses and understands natural speech patterns, such as “what’s the weather like today?” The application’s user interface will…
By Mark Hearn |
Imagine being able to safely roll-up or fold your smartphone or tablet when packing for a trip. While this thought seems like a pipedream now, between the recent advancements in flexible displays and a newly developed bendable battery, it could very well soon become reality.…
By Mark Hearn |
In July, AT&T unveiled its optional Mobile Share data plans, it appeared that Big Blue had one-upped Verizon’s Share Everything plans by offering customers up to 20GB of data. However, all may not be, as it seems. According to ComputerWorld, Verizon does in fact have…
By Mark Hearn |
Microsoft announced, on Tuesday, that it is licensing its Extended File Allocation Table (exFAT) technology to Sharp for use with its Android handsets. exFAT is a successor of Microsoft’s FAT32 file system and is commonly used across multiple consumer electronics and software platforms such as…
By Mark Hearn |
MetroPCS may only be America’s sixth largest wireless carrier, but it’s definitely the country’s first to offer Voice over LTE (VoLTE) services. Not usually known for being the first to bring new products to market, MetroPCS announced Tuesday that its first VoLTE-capable handset, the LG…
