pop

Alcatel's 'Pop' quartet ushers entry-level specs (hands-on)

LAS VEGAS--With the four smartphones in Alcatel's One Touch Pop series, the handset-maker is going after the entry level smartphone market in the Asia-Pacific regions and the Middle East and Africa. One of the phones, the M'Pop, is headed to the U.S.

Launched at CES, Alcatel's Pop quarter starts off with the One Touch M'Pop, which is expected to reach the U.S. with an undisclosed carrier. This Android 4.1 smartphone has a 4-inch WVGA screen, a 5-megapixel camera, and a VGA front-facing camera. Like (almost) all the Pop phones, the M'Pop houses … Read more

Apple tweaks Lightning spec following Kickstarter project gone awry

Apple has changed course on a technical specification that recently put a third-party charging accessory out of luck.

The company today said it's now allowing its newer Lightning adapter specification to coexist with the older (yet still quite popular) 30-pin adapter in the same accessory.

"Our technical specifications provide clear guidelines for developing accessories and they are available to MFi licensees for free," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET. "We support accessories that integrate USB and Lightning connectors, but there were technical issues that prevented accessories from integrating 30-pin and Lightning connectors so our guidelines did … Read more

Apple reportedly pulls plug on project behind portable charger

The technology lab behind a Kickstarter-funded project to build a portable device-charging station announced today that it will refund its crowdfunded $139,170 to donors after Apple refused to license rights to its Lightning connector.

POP, a minimalist portable power station, was billed as "the intersection of charging design" and was expected to feature four retractable cords for charging a variety of devices, including iOS and Android devices. The portable charging station featured a 26,000 mAh battery capable of charging 10 iPhones, according to Junior Edison, the company behind the effort.

In addition to its portable convenience, … Read more

NASA takes on 'Gangnam Style' and wins

For those of you with a dirty wit, please lend me some patience before you fly off the rails when I say that a group of NASA interns made a "Gangnam Style" parody named "NASA Johnson Style."

Wondering what's with the song name? Well, NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center houses educational programs for interns and students aspiring to progress further into the field of space science. The eclectic group of youths created a parody video that plays off Psy's "Gangam Style" in a geeky way by amusingly attempting to "inform the public about the amazing work going on at NASA and the Johnson Space Center," says a related video description. … Read more

Share Karma's Wi-Fi, get free data

Friday's CNET Update is counting megabytes:

Today's tech news roundup looks at the Karma hotspot, which rewards owners with free data for sharing access with others. Karma gives 100 megabytes of data for every person who taps into the network, plus the owner gets another 100 megabytes that do not expire. Adding more data costs $14 for 1 gigabyte. Frequent travelers might find Karma appealing. FreedomPop is offering a similar concept for home broadband, giving free data every month and adding more to those that recommend friends.

Another startup wants to change how we watch broadcast television. Aereo … Read more

FreedomPop offers free home broadband

Wednesday's CNET Update wants to break free:

Freedom Pop is offering 1GB of free home Internet service every month with purchase of its router, which costs $90. Those that stream video or need more data can upgrade to 10GB for $10 a month, or pay-as-you-go for $5 a gigabyte. The service uses Clearwire's 4G WiMAX network. Free home Internet service can shake up the broadband industry, much like Skype changed the voice industry.

Also in today's news roundup:

- Facebook added new ways to access privacy settings.

- Microsoft's Surface tablet is now sold at Best Buy and Staples. … Read more

FreedomPop launches free home broadband

Expensive in-home Internet service may soon be a thing of the past, at least if FreedomPop has anything to say about it.

The startup, backed by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, today said it's now taking preorders for its FreedomPop Hub Burst home modem that allows users to access the high-speed Internet for free.

The company noted that the device, available for an $89 deposit, will ship next month. If a user decides to turn off the service within the first year, he or she can return the modem to FreedomPop and receive the deposit back. There are no contracts … Read more

PopSlate case adds second screen to iPhone 5

Look at your smartphone case. If it's plastic or rubber, it's way behind the times, man. You might agree with that sentiment after seeing PopSlate, an innovative iPhone 5 case with a rear 4-inch e-ink screen currently making waves on Indiegogo.

True to its name, PopSlate offers a customizable slate -- sort of like a second screen -- that enables the owner to display any picture(s) on the iPhone as a black and white image on the back of the phone case. To change images, owners can tap the back of the phone twice, or alter a pic through the related PopSlate app. … Read more

Kill mobile ads with Adblock Plus for Android

Released yesterday, Adblock Plus for Android offers a no-nonsense way to completely remove ads from your mobile computing experience. Simply download and install the app, and let it run behind the scenes. From there, you should notice that display ads, video ads, push notifications, and even many in-app ads are no more.

So far, I've seen AdBlock Plus kill ads on several Web sites, including Google, and within the ad-supported Pandora app. According to its developers, though, AdBlock Plus does not work when browsing with Firefox for Android, since Firefox does not support Android's system proxy settings.

Adblock … Read more