Tony Blinard of Keys2iPhone.com writes:
Not too long ago, iPhone enthusiasts rallied the White House with an online petition to legalize out-of-contract iPhone unlocking. The Obama administration cast its support that generated only a lukewarm response from the industry. Not surprising: the top three U.S. wireless carriers - Verizon, AT&T and Sprint - have relied on contracts to sell cell phones for over a decade. With Apple's introduction of iPhone - the most expensive smartphone in history - the carriers could then generate lucrative profit margins on each and every phone sold under contract. And to make sure the customers wouldn't 'jump ship', the carriers locked in all subsidized iPhones.
The HTC First smartphone, which is embedded with the Facebook Home application, looks unlikely to be seen in the UK.
There are also reports that sales of the device in the USA are being discontinued by the AT&T network.
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The eighth annual Millward Brown Optimor BrandZ Top 100 ranking of the most valuable global brands still has Apple at the top, despite a slight drop in the total value of technology brands.
Apple’s brand value was calculated at $185 billion, just 1% up from 2012. Google retained second place but closed the gap slightly.
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Podcast - 26th April 2013
In this special feature we're looking around the GSMA Connected City at Mobile World Congress 2013.
Mark Bridge and Grant Notman discuss machine-to-machine communications and the Internet of Things, meeting people who've worked with 4G-enabled cars, port logistics, connected houses, m-health and the GSMA's own app development programme.
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The Power Matters Alliance, which is committed to developing an open standard for smart wireless power, has announced that HTC, LG and Samsung have joined as members.
All three manufacturers have also used the rival Qi wireless charging technology in their devices.
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