Mobile

The FCC's chairman has given his thumbs-up to Dish Network's desire to enter the wireless market. But Dish is none too happy with the restrictions proposed.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said yesterday he would approve Dish's request to build its own 4G wireless network, the Washington Post reported. The federal agency, which opposed the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile last year, wants to see more competition in the wireless industry.

"If approved, these actions will promote competition, investment, and innovation, and advance commission efforts to unleash spectrum for mobile broadband to help meet … Read more

Apple is finally tapping into its own Passbook app by adding it as an option for store gift cards.

You can send someone a gift card either through the Apple Store app on your iPhone or iPad, or the Apple Store gift card Web page. In the Apple Store app, you'll need to scroll to the bottom of the home page and tap on the section for Apple Gift Cards and then choose the option to send an Apple Store Card by E-mail.

Either from the app or from the Web page, you can choose among blue, silver, or … Read more

More help has arrived for mobile device owners in New York without power or Internet access as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

Courtesy of Time Warner Cable, multiple vehicles outfitted with Wi-Fi access points and charging stations headed into areas of New York City as of yesterday. Anyone able to find their way to one of the vehicles could charge their smartphone, tablet, or laptop, and tap into a 4G Wi-Fi connection to get online.

The vehicles will make other stops in Time Warner's service area today. Affected New Yorkers able to access Twitter can see which areas are … Read more

Path, the social-networking app that helps family members and close friends stay in touch, is now making its way to the iPad.

According to Path, the app was built from the ground up and supports both landscape and portrait orientations. Path is especially excited about the landscape orientation, saying that it will provide a full collage of the day's events in a single pane, thanks to the iPad's larger screen screen size. Upon clicking on a photo in the collage of images and videos, users will get a full-screen view and see comments associated with it.

The iPad'… Read more

A mobile company that wants to change how you access data just raised a boatload of cash.

ItsOn announced today that it has closed a $15.5 million Series B round of financing. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz led the round. The firm was joined by investment company SV Angel.

ItsOn takes a unique stance on data usage by allowing customers to choose how much data they need and for what purpose. The company's Web site is shy about details on its service, but in a statement, ItsOn founder and CEO Greg Raleigh says that his firm's focus … Read more

Apple's iBookstore is going live in 18 new countries, according to AppleInsider and other tech blog sites.

Citing information from an Australia-based iBooks label, AppleInsider said that the countries in line for iBookstore are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Those 18 would bring the total number of iBookstore-supported countries to 50.

The expansion of iBookstore comes on the same day that Apple is expected to unveil the iPad Mini. The company also is reportedly aiming to push the education angle with its new tablet, … Read more

Color Labs, according to a representative authorized to speak on the company's behalf, is not closing down.

But for now, that's about all that's clear at the chaotic startup that is Color. Even the representative who issued that statement said he's dealing with the press only because the person who held that job just left the company.

His statement comes after Venture Beat this morning reported that a Color vice president had sent an e-mail to employees saying that Color was winding down. "Last week, the Board and major shareholders voted to wind down the … Read more

Color, a mightily hyped mobile application that tried for more than a year to gain a loyal fan base, has finally decided to close its doors, according to a report.

The company yesterday sent an e-mail to employees saying that its board and shareholders last week decided to "wind down the company," Venturebeat is reporting, citing a source. That e-mail, which was not published in its entirety, didn't say when the company will officially shut down its operation, but it did ask employees to immediately cancel "any existing commitments."

Color made a splash last year … Read more

A full 25 million mobile users in the Middle East can now use Wikipedia without worrying about data charges.

The Wikimedia Foundation and Saudi Telecom (STC) have teamed up to offer the free access through a program known as Wikipedia Zero. The goal behind this initiative is to help people in developing countries more easily get information through Wikipedia. Many users in these countries surf the Internet via mobile devices, so the Wikimedia Foundation tries to work with local carriers to eliminate data charges and other obstacles.

The foundation has given high priority to Arabic-language countries but has reached out … Read more