Isis’ NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video)

Isis' NFC mobile payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City 3 carriers, 9 devices, 1 long way to go

To say that the launch of Isis has felt drawn out would be a mild understatement. The alliance first signaled its intentions two years ago, detailed its first markets one year ago and faced a last-minute delay. All the ducks are finally in a row, however, and residents of both Austin as well as Salt Lake City can tap to pay (or score discounts) at the "hundreds" of locations that accept NFC-based purchases through American Express, Capital One, Chase and Isis' own cash card. Launch day brings app- and SIM-enabled access for nine devices spread rather unevenly across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon: only the Droid Incredible 4G LTE is confirmed working for Verizon subscribers, while the rest are divided more equally between multiple Samsung Galaxies and HTC devices like the Amaze 4G and One X. Over 20 phones should be Isis-aware before the end of the year. It's a potentially strong start to one of the few truly cross-network mobile payment systems in the US, but we see a long road ahead before Isis gives Google Wallet some jitters -- there's legions of banks, cities and stores needed before Isis is widespread, and we're not counting on that ever-elusive universal hardware support.

Continue reading Isis' NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video)

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Isis' NFC payments go live in Austin and Salt Lake City: 3 carriers, 9 phones, 1 long way to go (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Isis makes October 22nd mobile payment launch official, vows 20 capable phones by year’s end

Isis Mobile Wallet demo

While we could easily see this coming, it's still good to hear the news more directly: Isis has confirmed that its delayed mobile wallet system will arrive on October 22nd. The company's marketing lead Jaymee Johnson tells us that the NFC-based commerce should start in the previously mentioned Austin and Salt Lake City areas. We haven't been given a formal device list, but "as many as" 20 smartphones should be compatible by the end of the year. We can think of at least four. More details will follow on the day in question, although we already know that the cash-averse will need an Isis app, a special SIM card and compatible SmartTap terminals at stores. That's a lot of conditions that have to be satisfied just to lighten the strain on our pockets -- all the same, we'll take it when the alternatives are moving slowly.

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Isis makes October 22nd mobile payment launch official, vows 20 capable phones by year's end originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 12:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile to kick off Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program on October 22nd according to leaked photo

T-Mobile to kick off Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program on October 22nd according to leaked photo

Mr. Blurrycam has struck again, and this time he brings us a launch date for T-Mobile's Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program by way of TmoNews. According to the image (which you can catch after the break), the Isis app will arrive on Google Play come October 22nd for folks in Salt Lake City, Utah and Austin, Texas to take for a test drive. Another image reveals that those who activate their mobile wallet could snag $10, and an additional $15 if they convert their Isis Cash card into a reloadable prepaid card. Call one of the two cities home and can't wait to put the NFC payment solution through its paces? You'll need an Isis SIM card and a Samsung Galaxy S III, S II or Relay 4G to partake in the festivities. For those outside the lucky cities, there's still no word on when Isis will fully launch.

Continue reading T-Mobile to kick off Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program on October 22nd according to leaked photo

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T-Mobile to kick off Isis Mobile Wallet pilot program on October 22nd according to leaked photo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile’s holiday roadmap leaked: LG Optimus L9, HTC Windows Phone 8X spotted

DNP TMobile's holiday roadmap leaked LG Optimus L9, HTC Windows PhoneX spotted

According to a leaked roadmap on TMoNews, the magenta carrier appears to have a few tantalizing offerings coming its way this holiday season. A curious BlackBerry handheld dubbed the Armstrong, a color refresh of the Samsung Galaxy S II, a possibly Android-flavored Huawei Summit and the LG Optimus L9 are all slated to launch just on or before Halloween. Going into the next month, we see the HTC Windows Phone 8X making the pre-Thanksgiving cut with a potential debut of November 14th. Notably absent are the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Nokia Lumia 810, but that doesn't mean they won't be there when December rolls around. Of course, this info didn't come through official channels, so we wouldn't bank on any of the handsets as holiday gifts just yet. Still, its nice to know they're coming, and you can get the full details on these and other devices at the source.

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T-Mobile's holiday roadmap leaked: LG Optimus L9, HTC Windows Phone 8X spotted originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Oct 2012 23:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 1st, 2012

Refresh Roundup: week of October 1st, 2012

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it's easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don't escape without notice, we've gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Continue reading Refresh Roundup: week of October 1st, 2012

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Refresh Roundup: week of October 1st, 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung rolling Jelly Bean out across most of its smartphone, tablet lineup ‘soon’

Samsung Jelly Bean

Now that Samsung has commenced beaming Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean OTA toward deserving Galaxy S III customers, it's announced a raft of other devices set to receive the buttery OS in the near future. On the list are the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and 10.1, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Galaxy S Advance, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Music, Galaxy Chat, Galaxy Ace 2, Galaxy Beam, Galaxy Ace Plus, Galaxy mini II and Galaxy S Duos. That should bring a bit of extra speed and smoothness to those devices, along with Google Now for search and Samsung's own flourishes from the latest TouchWiz UX. As for the rest of us, there's more than one way to skin a Smartphone -- or avoid skinning one, as the case may be.

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Samsung rolling Jelly Bean out across most of its smartphone, tablet lineup 'soon' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 08:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile now available for $299 without contract from Walmart

Samsung Galaxy S II for TMobile now available for $299 without contract from Walmart

If you've ever thought it was impossible to score an excellent smartphone alongside a prepaid plan, it's time to reconsider the assumption. Just like the Galaxy S II will soon arrive at Boost Mobile for $360, those willing to brave the crowds at Walmart will save some cash with T-Mobile's version of the handset, which now sells for $299 -- in comparison, T-Mobile currently sells the Galaxy S II for $550 outright. As one caveat, the phone must be sold with a no-contract plan of at least $30, but one can discontinue service whenever they desire. If your wallet is now tingling, you'll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile now available for $299 without contract from Walmart

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Samsung Galaxy S II for T-Mobile now available for $299 without contract from Walmart originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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T-Mobile’s latest Galaxy S II update silently removed ‘universal search’ feature

TMobile's latest Galaxy S II update quietly nixed 'universal search' feature

As you may or may not know, there's been an issue related to the universal search feature inside a region-specific batch of Samsung Galaxy S IIIs; with the Korean company going as far as "inadvertently" removing it from some Euro handsets a while back, before eventually bringing it back to life. Now, thanks to great, thorough inspecting by the folks from Android Police, it appears T-Mobile's S II flavor is the latest galactic slab to have such searching trait completely wiped out from the device. Apparently, this took place during the T989UVLH1 update from T-Mo a couple of days ago, but much to everyone's surprise, mentions of any "universal search" tweaks were nowhere to be found on the changelog. More importantly, how's it looking on your end? Do let us know in the comments below.

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T-Mobile's latest Galaxy S II update silently removed 'universal search' feature originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mild-mannered Samsung Galaxy S II update brings Isis mobile payment support


Mobile payments, those made from a phone and typically via NFC, haven't exactly had a huge impact on the average American consumer just yet, but look past that and you'll see a battle is brewing. Google had been making the most noise, with its Google Wallet, but today the competing service Isis just launched its first proper salvo. The T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II is currently receiving an OTA update (T989UVLH1) that, among a few other tweaks, enables support for Isis NFC payments, making it the first such device on the market. Many more are inbound from AT&T and Verizon as well, setting the stage for an epic virtual currency battle that only the peaceniks at the Mobile Payments Committee stand a chance of mitigating.

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Mild-mannered Samsung Galaxy S II update brings Isis mobile payment support originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves

Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from store shelves

Favorable infringement findings in hand, we knew Apple would seek injunctions to ban Samsung devices from being sold in the US. And now we know that Tim Cook and company are following up on that billion dollar verdict and are seeking to enjoin eight handsets from being sold. As you can see in the chart above, the Galaxy S 4G, four Galaxy S II variants, the Galaxy S Showcase, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Prevail are all on the chopping block. Why is Apple only going after eight of the twenty-something devices found to be infringing its IP? Well, most of them are no longer being sold, and we all know how Judge Koh just hates having her time wasted.

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Apple asks that eight Samsung devices be banned from US store shelves originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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