U.S. Carriers and FCC Come to Agreement Over Consumer Unlocking of Mobile Devices

The five major U.S. carriers have come to an agreement with the FCC over a set of voluntary industry principles to make it easier for wireless customers to unlock their devices and switch from carrier to carrier if they wish. The CTIA — the industry trade group representing AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon in the matter — says it will recommend the principles be added to the group’s “Consumer Code for Wireless Service” and the carriers will commit to implement them within 12 months.

The terms agreed to include [PDF]:

– Disclosure: Each carrier will post on its website its clear, concise, and readily accessible policy on postpaid and prepaid mobile wireless device unlocking.

– Postpaid Unlocking Policy: Carriers, upon request, will unlock mobile wireless devices or provide the necessary information to unlock their devices for their customers and former customers in good standing and individual owners of eligible devices after the fulfillment of the applicable postpaid service contract, device financing plan or payment of an applicable early termination fee.

– Prepaid Unlocking Policy: Carriers, upon request, will unlock prepaid mobile wireless devices no later than one year after initial activation, consistent with reasonable time, payment or usage requirements.

– Notice: Carriers that lock devices will clearly notify customers that their devices are eligible for unlocking at the time when their devices are eligible for unlocking or automatically unlock devices remotely when devices are eligible for unlocking, without additional fee. Carriers reserve the right to charge non-customers/non-former customers a reasonable fee for unlocking requests. Notice to prepaid customers may occur at point of sale, at the time of eligibility, or through a clear and concise statement of the policy on the carrier’s website.

– Response Time: Within two business days after receiving a request, carriers will unlock eligible mobile wireless devices or initiate a request to the OEM to unlock the eligible device, or provide an explanation of why the device does not qualify for unlocking, or why the carrier reasonably needs additional time to process the request.

– Deployed Personnel Unlocking Policy: Carriers will unlock mobile wireless devices for deployed military personnel who are customers in good standing upon provision of deployment papers.

Carriers reserve the right to decline an unlock request if they have a reasonable basis to believe the request is fraudulent or the device is stolen.

In a statement issued after the agreement was announced, the CTIA noted that “unlocking devices may not necessarily mean full interoperability since devices that work on one provider’s network may not be technologically compatible with another wireless provider’s network” and that unlocking a device may enable some functionality but not necessarily all.

Early this year, the Library of Congress ruled that it was illegal for certain mobile phone owners to unlock their phones unless specifically authorized by their carrier. This past September, the Obama administration filed a petition with the FCC, asking that carriers be required to unlock mobile devices. This voluntary agreement between the FCC and carriers would appear to forestall the need for legal action by either Congress or the FCC.

Instagram Updated With ‘Instagram Direct’ Private Photo and Video Sharing [iOS Blog]

Instagram for iOS has been updated to version 5.0, adding the company’s Instagram Direct feature that was announced this morning. Instagram Direct is designed to allow users to send photo and video messages to private groups.

The update brings a new icon to the top right corner of the home feed, which includes an inbox listing photos and videos that have been sent to each user. Photos can be privately sent by selecting a new option to send a “Direct” photo to one or more people. Direct photos include read receipts, along with support for commenting and likes.

While photos and videos sent from followed users will appear automatically in an inbox, other Direct images from non-followed users will appear as a request that can be accepted or denied.

Along with direct photos, Instagram 5.0 also includes bug fixes and performance enhancements.

Introducing Instagram Direct!

We’re excited to introduce Instagram Direct, a new way to send photo and video messages to your friends.

Now you’ll see a new icon in the top right corner of your home feed. Tap it to see photos and videos that people have sent directly to you.

To send your own photos or videos, choose Direct instead of Followers once you’ve edited your post. When you’re done editing, just choose the people you want to share with.

Today’s update also includes bug fixes and performance improvements

Instagram can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Foxconn and Apple Make Strides Towards Improving Work Hours, But Still Violate Chinese Limits

The Fair Labor Association has published a final status report on the working conditions at Apple supplier Foxconn, finding that Foxconn successfully reduced working hours to comply with the Fair Labor Association’s standard 60 hour work week, but failed to meet the Chinese legal limit of 49 hours per week and at times, exceeded the legal limit of 36 hours of overtime per month.

Today’s report follows an initial audit that took place in February of 2012 and a later agreement in March where Foxconn agreed to examine worker pay and implement stricter control over working hours while also improving working conditions.

Over the course of 2013, the Fair Labor Association visited three Foxconn facilities in Longhua, Guanlan, and Chengdu, with Foxconn providing full cooperation and unrestricted access to both facilities and workers during the verification process. Along with improving working hours, Foxconn also made moves to install additional exits and bathroom facilities.

FLA assessors verified that workers at the Longhua and Chengdu facilities worked no more than 60 hours every week between March and October; the same was true in the Guanlan facility with the exception of seven weeks during this period when working hours exceeded 60 hours. The assessment found that between March and October 2013, on average more than half of the workforce had worked beyond the Chinese legal limit of 36 overtime hours per month in all three facilities.

FLA assessors found that no interns had been engaged at any of the three facilities since the January 2013 verification visits and that the internship programs had been concluded at all three facilities. Assessors also verified that construction of additional exits and toilets was underway at the three facilities, with completion slated for the end of the year.

The Fair Labor Association expects Foxconn to continue to monitor its employee working hours to ensure compliance with the 60 hour work week while also making progress towards reaching a 49 hour work week. While the FLA will no longer be monitoring Foxconn, Apple is required to continue monitoring labor compliance, reporting back to the FLA each year.

Apple tracks working hours for its supply chain employees and also maintains a Supplier Responsibility section on its website, publishing yearly reports. The company has pledged to prevent excessive work hours, unethical hiring policies, and the hiring of underage workers at the factories that supply Apple with parts.

Throughout the year, various Apple suppliers have been continually accused of poor working conditions. In July, Pegatron was accused of having poor living conditions, and unethically holding worker pay. Pegatron was further accused of labor violations earlier this week, following the death of a fifteen-year-old factory worker in October.

Along with working with the Fair Labor Association to ensure safe working practices at factories, Apple also formed an academic advisory board for its Supplier Responsibility program in July, tasked with studying Apple policies and conducting research on labor standards in Apple’s supply chain.

Apple takes violations to its policies seriously, and in January, the company dropped Pingzhou Electronics as a supplier after it was found to be hiring multiple underage workers.

Fleksy’s Predictive Touch Keyboard Comes to iOS Apps with New Developer Tools

Fleksy today announced that its predictive touch keyboard is now available for iOS developers to incorporate into their apps through an SDK, allowing developers to replace the default iOS keyboard with Fleksy’s popular alternative keyboard.

Fleksy’s keyboard includes a number of features including sophisticated prediction and autocorrection, as well as swipe-based functions such as space and delete. The Verge has more on the launch:

Bringing Fleksy to other iOS apps is not without its challenges. Unlike Android, which is open to all sorts of third-party keyboard creations, Apple gives you its keyboard and nothing else. Developers can build their own special keyboards on an app-by-app basis, though it’s uncommon. Google’s done that with a handful of its iOS apps, while Wolfram Alpha’s special search app keyboard takes up nearly the entire screen with custom buttons. Although it was rumored Apple was considering opening up to third-party keyboard makers, ultimately it didn’t. But it did throw developers a bone by simplifying its software tools, says Fleksy founder Ioannis Verdelis.

“With every new version of iOS the work required on our part to build a keyboard SDK has reduced significantly,” he says. “We’re [now] doing stuff on iOS that integrates the keyboard deeper than it’s ever been integrated.”

Fleksy’s iOS SDK initiative launches today with four apps:

– BlindSquare: Combines location and FourSquare information to assist visually impaired users in their daily lives [Direct Link]

– GV Connect: Phone and SMS client for Google Voice users [Direct Link]

– Launch Center Pro: Application launcher with shortcuts for frequently accessed tasks [Direct Link]

– Wordbox: Clean and simple text editor [Direct Link]

Fleksy plans to continue work with select app developers to bring its keyboard to their apps, eventually moving to open up the program to all interested developers.

South Korean Court Dismisses Samsung’s Patent Lawsuit Against Apple

A judge representing the Seoul Central District Court in South Korea has dismissed a Samsung lawsuit stating that Apple had infringed on three of the company’s patents, removing the opportunity for Samsung to receive monetary benefits and impose a sales ban on the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, reports Reuters. The verdict comes after a August 2012 ruling by a South Korean court declaring that Samsung and Apple had violated each others patents, ultimately resulting in the sales ban of some older products from both companies in South Korea.

A judge at the Seoul Central District Court said Apple products such as the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPad2 did not violate Samsung patents on short message display methods and messaging grouping features.

The court ruled against a sale ban on the products and threw out Samsung’s claim for 100 million won ($95,100) in damages.

“We are glad the Korean court joined others around the world in standing up for real innovation and rejecting Samsung’s ridiculous claims,” Apple Korea spokesman Steve Park said.

In the same ruling, the court also fined Samsung 25 million won (approximately $23,785) for violating the “rubber banding” patent that enables a visual effect when scrolling through a document on a touch-screen device.

Last year, Samsung was ordered to pay Apple a total of $1.05 billion after a U.S. jury found the South Korean company guilty of willfully violating multiple Apple patents. Back in March, Judge Lucy Koh struck $450 million from the $1 billion awarded to Samsung after deciding the jury may have miscalculated the damages due to a misunderstanding of patent issues.

A retrial held last month found Samsung liable for $290 million in damages. The company replying to the verdict by filing a motion to halt payment, requesting a reevaluation of the validity of No. 7,844,915 covering Apple’s “pinch-to-zoom“ gestures. The motion to stay the damages however was denied, with a reevaluation of the pinch-to-zoom patent still set to take place.

‘The Room Two’ Now Available for iPad [iOS Blog]

Developer Fireproof Games has released The Room Two for iOS devices, which acts as a follow up title to Apple’s 2012 selection for iPad Game of the Year, The Room. Much like its predecessor, The Room Two centers around puzzle-based gameplay as the player attempts to solved a general mystery left behind by a scientist, traveling through various locations in search of various clues. The game also includes iCloud syncing and Game Center Support for saves and leaderboards respectively, as well as dynamic sound effects that adapt to the game environment.

Welcome to The Room Two, a physical puzzler, wrapped in a mystery game, inside a beautifully tactile 3D world.
The much anticipated sequel to ‘The Room’, Apple’s Game of the Year 2012 and recipient of a BAFTA award, is here at last.
Follow a trail of cryptic letters from an enigmatic scientist known only as “AS” into a compelling world of mystery and exploration.

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The Room Two is a $4.99 download for the iPad and is available now. [Direct Link]