Did Apple intentionally break an important piece of software on the iPhone, forcing users who wanted to keep using it to either upgrade their operating systems or purchase new phones? A new class action lawsuit alleges that it did, but the reason for the forced upgrade wasn’t to sell more phones. It actually has to do with patent law. [More]
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Parents Of Child Killed By Distracted Driver Sue Apple For Not Blocking FaceTime While Driving
By 12.29.16
On Christmas Eve 2014, a driver distracted by using FaceTime on his iPhone crashed into another vehicle on I-35 in Texas, killing the 5-year-old girl in the back seat. The child’s parents and her older sister — all also injured in the collision — are now suing Apple, alleging that the company was negligent in not deploying safeguards that would restrict the use of FaceTime while driving. [More]
Secure Messaging Scorecard Shows Just How Unprotected Your Online Chats Are
By 11.5.14
The Internet is a place where hundreds of millions of people go to write things they wouldn’t — or can’t — say in public, and many of the most private and secretive communications occur via the many instant messaging services available to consumers. But what you may not realize when sharing your personal thoughts (and images) with someone online is that the level of privacy and security on these services varies wildly from one to the next. [More]
AT&T Customers Will Probably Have To Wait Before Using Google Hangouts Over Cellular
By 5.20.13
If you’ve got an Android phone, you might have noticed that your pre-loaded Google Talk app has recently been updated and is now “Hangouts,” the name of Google’s video chat service. But if you’re an AT&T customer, you might have to wait a while before you’re allowed to use that app over the carrier’s wireless network. [More]
AT&T Decides To Open Up FaceTime Over Cellular To More iPhone Users
By 11.9.12
Facing criticism — and consumer complaints to the FCC — over its decision to limit the non-WiFi use of Apple’s FaceTime video chat app to customers who have shared data plans, AT&T announced yesterday that it will allow folks with the iPhone 5 (but without unlimited data plans) to use the app over its network. [More]
AT&T Customer Complains To FCC About Being Unable To Use FaceTime Over 3G/4G
By 10.18.12
AT&T customers who want to use the iPhone’s FaceTime video chat over a cellular connection need to switch over to one of the Death Star’s shared data plans. Unfortunately, since AT&T is the company that convinced the Supreme Court that forced arbitration clauses are an acceptable way to avoid class-action lawsuits, angry customers with unlimited data plans can’t get together to sue the company. But what they can do is file a complaint with the FCC. [More]
Advocates File Net Neutrality Complaint Over AT&T's FaceTime Policy
By 9.18.12
Last month, AT&T confirmed that iPhone customers who want to use the iPhone’s FaceTime video chat app over a cellular connection would need to belong to one of the company’s new shared data plans. At the time, several advocates raised concerns about whether or not this requirement violated the FCC’s Open Internet rules, and now these same groups have moved to file an actual complaint with regulators. [More]
AT&T FaceTime Policy Could Open Door To Carriers Restricting Which Customers Can Use Certain Apps
By 8.23.12
Late last week, AT&T confirmed that while iPhone users will be able to use the FaceTime video chat app over its 3G and 4G networks, customers would have to subscribe to one of the company’s new Mobile Share plans. This has obviously not been sitting well with critics who say its a violation of FCC Open Internet rules, and AT&T has attempted to explain its position on the matter. But the Death Star’s explanation only gives us more cause for concern. [More]
AT&T Won’t Deny It Plans To Charge Extra For FaceTime Calls
By 7.17.12
Some folks who are currently monkeying around with a beta version of the next iOS operating system for iPhones say they are getting a message from AT&T that seems to imply that the Death Star will be charging more — or at least separately — for subscribers who want to use the iPhone’s FaceTime chat over a cellular connection. [More]
