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Personal communications

Uber faces new legal challenge, at home in San Francisco

It looks like Uber has yet another legal hurdle to surmount, this time on its home turf in San Francisco.

The popular ride-summoning startup, which has recently dealt with regulatory challenges in Washington D.C., New York, and Chicago, is now being sued in San Francisco by the city's cab drivers, who are claiming unfair business practices.

The fast-growing service, which allows customers to use smartphones to arrange transportation in several U.S. cities, announced last month that in the San Francisco market it was testing out a taxi service option within the Uber app, alongside its existing sedan … Read more

ZTE's Sprint Flash launches, has 12-megapixel camera

Sneaking under the radar, Sprint is offering a ZTE handset, known as the Sprint Flash, for $129.99 after users sign a two-year carrier agreement and send in a rebate.

The 4G LTE device ships natively with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and sports a 4.5-inch HD touch screen.

Under its hood is a 1,780mAh battery, which roughly translates to 8 hours of reported talk time. It's also equipped with NFC.

Perhaps most notable, however, is the Flash's 12-megapixel camera, which features single-motion panoramic shooting as well.… Read more

Verizon will offer free WP8 phone by end of year

In addition to announcing that its two Windows Phone 8 handsets, the HTC Windows Phone 8X and the Nokia Lumia 822, will be available starting November 13, Verizon will also offer one of its handsets for free by the end of the year.

According to The Verge, Tami Erwin, Verizon's chief marketing officer, said that a phone from the carrier's WP8 lineup will come "in at the free [price] point."

Currently, the HTC 8X retails for $199.99 with a two-year contract, and the Lumia 822 will be sold for $99.99 after discounts are applied.… Read more

Girl looks for cell signal, steps on rattlesnake nest

Sometimes, the little bars on your cell phone just aren't there.

It could be because you're somewhere remote and it doesn't pay for phone companies to put a tower there. It could be because you're somewhere remote and the locals believe a cell tower would blight their aesthetic pleasures.

Or you could be in the middle of San Francisco and have AT&T.

My guess is 16-year-old Vera Oliphant was probably in category one when she reportedly wandered around, trying to find a cell signal. She wanted to call her mom and text her boyfriend. … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II blasts off to Verizon

Verizon announced today that it'll offer the Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II, the sequel to the Samsung Stratosphere, in the "coming weeks."

The handset's equipped with 4G LTE data speeds, a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, and a 4-inch Super AMOLED touch-screen display.

It also natively runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and has NFC capabilities.

In addition, just like its predecessor, it has a five-row sliding QWERTY keyboard complete with numeric keys and four directional buttons.

Verizon will carry the device for $129.99 after users sign a carrier agreement and send in a $50 mail-in … Read more

In your FaceTime: Apple gets sued by VirnetX -- again

VirnetX, which has already won $368.2 million in damages, isn't quite done with Apple.

The patent holding and security software company, which earlier this week won an earlier suit against Apple in a Texas court, has now slapped the electronics giant with a new lawsuit. As in the prior complaint, VirnetX is accusing Apple of infringing four of its networking patents through the use of FaceTime.

Those patents, Nos. 6,502,135, 7,418,504, 7,921,211 and 7,490,151, cover advancements for secure communication over the Internet. That includes technology for creating a virtual private … Read more

Virgin Mobile to offer Galaxy S2 4G on November 15

Better late than never, right?

Virgin Mobile today announced that it will soon add the Samsung Galaxy S2 4G to its smartphone roster. Priced at $369.99, the top-selling handset of yesterday joins the no-contract carrier on November 15.

Lest you think that is a lot of money to part with, consider that Boost charges the same for its version of the Galaxy S2. Also, T-Mobile and Sprint are asking $499 for their models if you don't sign a contract. … Read more