wireless

Connect to new Withings scale via smartphone or tablet

Connecting to a wireless scale through your computer is so first-quarter 2012. Now, if you're willing to drop $150 on the new Withings Wireless Scale WS-30, all you need is a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone or tablet to do the trick.

Withings, the French technology company best known for its sleek wireless scales for adults and babies alike, just announced its latest offering at IFA 2012 in Berlin and says the WS-30 will be available in Europe in late September (PDF). Its new (and free) Health Companion app, which helps users track not just weight and BMI (body mass index) but … Read more

What the mobile payment craze is really about: Coupons!

Your smartphone is going to get more adept at handling money, but maybe not in quite the way you've been imagining it would.

There's been a lot of talk lately about mobile payments and how new apps or NFC technology will let you pay for things with your smartphone. But the truth is that this market is less about finding a new way for you to pay for things and more about offering you an easier way to carry and redeem coupons and special offers.

What's the most successful mobile payment system to date? It's an … Read more

New Nokia Lumia 920, 820 to feature wireless charging

Nokia is expected to unveil Windows Phone 8-based devices this week that will feature wireless charging.

The Lumia 820 and 920 handsets will use inductive charging in which contacts on the device will line up with contacts on a charging pad, sources tell The Verge. Earlier today, Twitter user "Evleaks" posted a photo of what is purportedly one of the new handsets on the charging pad.

The phones, which will reportedly support the Qi wireless power standard, are expected to be unveiled Wednesday at a press event in New York.

Images of what is purportedly the 4.5-inch … Read more

LTE iPhone 5 might lure AT&T users to Verizon, says analyst

An LTE-enabled iPhone 5 may prompt AT&T customers to jump ship to Verizon, says Jefferies & Co. analyst Thomas Seitz.

In an investor's note out today, Seitz said that the new iPhone is likely to be LTE capable, a view shared by many analysts and Apple watchers. If so, Verizon stands to attract at least some customers away from AT&T.

Verizon's LTE network currently reaches around 230 million people across 337 markets, more than all of the other U.S. carriers put together. By year's end, Verizon is aiming to cover an additional … Read more

Phones will get all charged up about new Ultrabook feature

Intel is hoping that the relationship between your cell phone and a future Ultrabook will be nothing short of electric.

A post on the company blog today announced that Integrated Device Technology will develop and deliver the chipsets that will enable some future Ultrabooks to wirelessly charge certain devices. … Read more

IFA 2012: Big reveals for Sony, Samsung

Time to learn German for Wednesday's tech news roundup:

Tons of devices being unveiled at the IFA trade show in Berlin. The highlights from Wednesday include:

• Sony releases its first 4K TV, the 84-inch XBR-84X900. No official word on cost or availability, but expect to pay close to $30,000 to own one. Here's an explainer on what a 4K TV is, but no need to worry about new formats just yet. Afterall, what movies do you own in 4K? • Sony showed the Xperia S tablet, available Sept. 7 starting at $400. It has several TV-ready features, Android … Read more

Logitech UE rolls out new wave of headphones and wireless speakers

Logitech purchased the Ultimate Ears headphone line way back in 2008. Since then, slowly but surely, the UE logo has been creeping in as the upscale Logitech audio brand -- witness the UE AirPlay speaker from earlier this year.

As of today, the Logitech UE branding officially goes large with the introduction of seven new audio products. Among the new models are two mobile Bluetooth speakers, three new headphones with memory foam cushions, a noise-isolating in-earphone with four-armature speakers in each earpiece, and the next evolution of the Squeezebox Radio powered by Logitech UE's new mobile companion app.… Read more

Muve Music makes leap to all Cricket Android phones

After a year and a half of offering an unlimited smartphone rate with a built-in music download feature, Cricket Wireless will make its Muve Music plan standard on all Android phones, beginning September 2.

This is excellent news if you're a fan of the music rate, which wraps music software for downloading songs and ringtones into the monthly package alongside text, talk, and Web use.

In the year and a half since the plan launched in January 2011, a growing number of Android phones has featured the plan, then a $65 premium on no-contract handsets like the Samsung Vitality … Read more

Isis mobile payment venture to launch next month

ISIS, a joint venture between the wireless carriers to usher in a mobile-payment system, is poised to launch in two trial markets in September.

That's according to Doug Bergeron, CEO of Verifone, which makes the payment terminals that most mobile-payment systems rely on. Bergeron confirmed the month to CNET, although he declined to provide a specific date. Bloomberg earlier reported on ISIS' launch time.

Bergeron was optimistic about the prospects for ISIS.

"With the carriers on their side, they stand to have a very good chance to succeed provide the handset makers get NFC-enabled smartphones out as promised,&… Read more

First wireless back pain devices approved in U.S.

If you're in need of a little back pain relief and have $149 to spare, keep an eye out for the newly approved WiTouch by medical device developer Hollywog.

Putting a fresh spin on old tech, the device employs electrical stimulation (called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation -- aka TENS) to ease back pain. But unlike its predecessors, this one is wirelessly remote controlled.… Read more