The final chapter of the Carrier IQ saga has yet to be written, but at this juncture, even the rosiest of rose-tinted observers would be hard pressed to find a silver lining. The specter of federal investigation looms larger by the day. Implicated carriers and manufacturers are washing their hands with Macbethian fury. Al Franken is on the verge of going Al Franken. And at the epicenter of all this sits Carrier IQ — a California-based analytics company that has already gone to great lengths to defend its innocence. First, it sought to discredit Trevor Eckhart’s ostensibly damning research with a cease-and-desist letter. Then, CEO Larry Lenhart flatly denied Eckhart’s findings with an impassioned YouTube address. In recent days, the company has markedly softened its stance, arguing that its apps are only designed to meet operator demands and to “make your phones better.” Now, Carrier IQ has elaborated upon these arguments with a more detailed breakdown of how its software functions, and a more substantive defense of its practices. Head past the break to read more.

Continue reading Carrier IQ VP says software poses no threat to user privacy, backs up his argument with metaphor

Carrier IQ VP says software poses no threat to user privacy, backs up his argument with metaphor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Dec 2011 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we heard that Brammo was hitting the dirt in a Las Vegas motorcross race we had horrific visions of a bright green Enertia with knobby tires struggling in the dirt, pitching its rider over the bars on the first yump it encountered. Thank goodness we can now say with confidence that is not the case. The company has announced it has not one but two new models coming, both specifically designed to handle questionable terrain. The Engage is a full-sized dirtbike, available in both motorcross (offroad) and supermoto (onroad, mostly) variants, and is just a few letters short of a beautiful marketing tie-in. It starts at $9,995 for the on or off road racing versions and then steps up to $11,995 for the street-legal SMS Super Moto, which you can see above wearing some pre-production bodywork. There’s also the Encite MMX Pro, a more hardcore racing version that lacks a price. More details and a video after the break.

Continue reading Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds

Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When we heard that Brammo was hitting the dirt in a Las Vegas motorcross race we had horrific visions of a bright green Enertia with knobby tires struggling in the dirt, pitching its rider over the bars on the first yump it encountered. Thank goodness we can now say with confidence that is not the case. The company has announced it has not one but two new models coming, both specifically designed to handle questionable terrain. The Engage is a full-sized dirtbike, available in both motorcross (offroad) and supermoto (onroad, mostly) variants, and is just a few letters short of a beautiful marketing tie-in. It starts at $9,995 for the on or off road racing versions and then steps up to $11,995 for the street-legal SMS Super Moto, which you can see above wearing some pre-production bodywork. There’s also the Encite MMX Pro, a more hardcore racing version that lacks a price. More details and a video after the break.

Continue reading Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds

Brammo announces Engage and Encite electric motorcycles, taking it to the dirt with six speeds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 07:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s a pair of interesting iPad 3G hacks for your lazy Sunday — first, Apple’s tablet is apparently unlocked out of the factory, so trimming a T-Mobile SIM to micro SIM size will get you up and running on EDGE with no further hassle. Not terribly useful in the States, but good news for Europeans who’ll have several carrier options right out the gate. Secondly, MuscleNerd of the Dev Team has discovered it’s apparently possible to send text messages from a jailbroken 3G iPad using a T-Mobile or non-iPad AT&T SIM — the stock AT&T SIM restricts SMS and calls, apparently. Check videos of both hacks after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading iPad 3G works on T-Mobile, can be hacked to send text messages

iPad 3G works on T-Mobile, can be hacked to send text messages originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 May 2010 15:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The other day whilst replying to an SMS on my Palm Treo Pro I thought why am I restricted to “so many” characters per txt?

Don’t I have too much time in my day lol

It is so easy to go over (20-25 cents a txt) when you send an SMS and sometimes that 2nd or 3rd one manages to get in there even when it is only a few characters long

I logged into Facebook this morning and found a friend posted this article, kind of weird actually but I’ll take it convenient start to the week

Why text messages are only 160 characters?