The prospect of faster LTE over AWS frequencies has made Verizon lick its chops since late 2011 , and now it’s finally starting to sate its speed-demon appetite. Big Red has confirmed to PhoneScoop that many of its “major markets” are now being graced with the fresh spectrum (Band 4, if you’re curious), which is expected to boost bandwidth, help its infrastructure cope with growth and improve reliability. While the carrier didn’t specify which areas are seeing the rollout, several reports indicate that the new frequency has arrived in parts of New York City. In particular, GigaOM reader Milan Milanovic has pulled down 80 Mbps on the new waves while in Midtown Manhattan, with uploads hovering around 15 Mbps. Of course, those speeds are sure to take a dive as more and more folks jump on the bandwagon. Milanovic says fellow network testers have seen Verizon activate AWS in Chicago and Los Angeles, but we’ve yet to spot speed test results for those areas. Before you get too excited at the prospect of increased bandwidth, keep in mind that only handsets with the appropriate radios can surf the AWS band. However, Verizon says an update for phones sporting the right hardware, such as the Galaxy S 4 , is due in the near future. There’s no word on how quickly AWS will spread throughout the wireless telco’s domestic empire, but we’ve reached out for a timeline and will update things here if and when we get one. Update: Verzion has passed along the following statement on LTE over AWS, compatible devices and software updates: As our customers’ wireless data usage continues to grow, AWS spectrum is being deployed to ensure the continued consistent reliability and capacity of our 4G LTE network. Verizon Wireless has begun activating 4G LTE service on its AWS spectrum in many of our major markets across the US. A limited number of devices are AWS capable at this time. We plan to push a software upgrade to other AWS-capable devices in the near future. [Image credit: Milan Milanovic] Filed under: Cellphones , Mobile , Verizon Comments Via: Droid Life Source: GigaOM , HowardForums , PhoneScoop

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Verizon’s LTE boosted in ‘major markets’ by new frequency, hits 80 Mbps down (update)

“An out of this world guitar playing experience.” That’s what Gittler promises from its aircraft-grade titanium axem and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production. Based on Alan Gittler’s original 1978 design, which is now housed at MoMA , it maintains the same simplified structure, coming from the mantra to strip away “all that is unnecessary and redundant.” That’s resulted in a guitar body that lacks both a neck and body — although an acrylic guitar neck can be added, if needed. Guitar enthusiasts that pitch $2, 000 into the Kickstarter coffer will land one of 250 “classic model” Gittlers, although they’ll have to follow that up with another $1, 995 payment to receive the instrument. There’s no volume controls, although the makers have managed to squeeze on knobs for both bass and treble. The funding goal stands at $80, 000, although it’s hard to put a price on good shredding. Filed under: Peripherals , Alt Comments Via: Engadget Japanese Source: Kickstarter

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Gittler’s all-titanium guitar has no neck or body, demands more than the intro to ‘Stairway’ (video)

Not sure that Google Maps for iOS is suggesting the best possible route? Thanks to an app update, you’ll know the truth at a glance. The new release shows miniature route previews with traffic overlays, making it easier to choose less congested (or simply more interesting) ways to get from A to B. Newcomers can also browse a new Tips and Tricks section for help, and there’s now full language support for both Arabic and Hebrew. Commuters just need to visit the App Store for the upgrade. Filed under: Cellphones , GPS , Mobile , Google Comments Via: AppleInsider Source: App Store

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Google Maps update for iOS brings in-line route previews, tips for beginners

Angry Birds Go! (they’re emphasis, not ours) is the next big entry in the Angry Birds franchise, first teased back in June by the Finnish bird-flinging game company. The game takes the “universe” of Angry Birds and applies it to downhill cart racing; it’ll even accept new karts in the form of telepods, the Skylanders -esque system first introduced in Angry Birds Star Wars 2 . As the teaser shows, players employ power-ups to take their birds, pigs, and other Angry Birds characters past opponents on a variety of downhill courses. Beyond it being an entirely new genre for the Birds , the game looks dramatically prettier than other Angry Birds series entries. We’ll get to see just how those fancy new graphics play out when the game arrives worldwide on December 11th for both iOS and Android devices. Head below the break for the debut gameplay trailer. Filed under: Gaming , Software , Mobile Comments Source: Rovio

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Angry Birds Go! is MarioKart with birds, arrives for free on iOS and Android December 11th

Ready for another Amped Wireless announcement? The company’s 802.11ac revolution continues with the APA-20 long-range access point. The unit promises to bring Amped’s trademark high-power WiFi know-how to your existing setup, promising to configure itself as soon as it’s plugged in. Available for pre-order from today, the APA-20 will set you back $190 and will ship to customers on October 29th. Filed under: Wireless Comments

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Amped Wireless announces APA-20 long-range access point

Don’t think that the NSA’s bulk communication data collection is focused solely on the communications themselves . The Washington Post has published more Edward Snowden documents which reveal that the agency collects large volumes of contact lists from email and instant messaging users around the world. While the NSA gathers the information on foreign soil, its method reportedly prevents it from automatically screening out any Americans in the list. The NSA and anonymous officials argue that American laws prevent analysts from accessing data unless they believe there’s a foreign target hidden with, but the strategy still has the government storing contacts for “millions” of people. Yahoo customers are some of the most common targets of this surveillance, as the company doesn’t normally encrypt webmail sessions. That’s about to change, however. The internet firm tells the Post that its webmail service will default to using SSL encryption on January 8th, catching up with Facebook and Google. Yahoo isn’t officially tightening its security in response to NSA activity, and using SSL won’t necessarily stop interceptions when spies frequently have workarounds . However, the upcoming encryption will at least complicate any snooping — whether or not it’s part of an intelligence operation. Filed under: Internet Comments Source: Washington Post (1) , (2)

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NSA collecting email and messaging contacts worldwide, Yahoo moves to encrypt webmail by default

It’s autumn, which means it’s time for Microsoft to come out with its latest and greatest update for Windows Phone. This year, however, the company isn’t pushing anything as drastic or significant as WP8 , and it even shows in the name of the refresh itself: GDR3. (GDR stands for General Distribution Release.) The update, which will begin rolling out in the coming weeks and “will continue over several months, ” doesn’t feature any improvements to the notification experience, but it delivers on a few important enhancements that are sorely needed — especially when it comes to hardware support. First, GDR3 will now offer Start screen support for screens between 5 and 7 inches, with resolution support now set at a maximum of 1080p (both of which lend credence to the leaks we’ve seen of the Lumia 1520 , Nokia’s upcoming 6-inch device). As an aside, we’ve confirmed with a Microsoft rep that this update won’t be adding support for full-on tablets, though we can’t rule out that possibility in a future refresh. Future Windows Phones can become much more powerful as well, now that the update adds support for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 quad-core SoC. On the software side, Microsoft is throwing in Driving Mode, which limits notifications on the lock screen and can be set to trigger whenever you connect a Bluetooth device. You can also close individual apps in the multitasking menu, lock your screen orientation and assign custom ringtones for text messages. Also, remember that annoyingly vague “other” category in the storage settings? GDR3 now breaks it down into more specific categories and lets you manage each one (excepting the system storage). Aside from these enhancements, Microsoft claims “hundreds” of other tweaks and fixes, many of which are under the hood. For a few more details, head below the break to look at the official blog post in its entirety. Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Mobile Comments

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Microsoft announces Windows Phone GDR3 update, adds 1080p and large screen support

There are a few things that make Doctor Who fans wince in pain, none more so than mentioning the BBC’s policy of deleting its archives of early ’60s episodes . However, enterprising fans have scoured the globe looking for film canisters, and all but 106 had been found — until now. Nine new episodes, including parts 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 of The Enemy Of The World as well as episodes 2, 4, 5 and 6 of The Web of Fear were discovered in Nigeria earlier this year. After being brought up to broadcast standard by the BBC’s peerless Restoration Team, both serials are now available exclusively on iTunes, until their DVD release, that is, for $9.99/£9.99 each. That should keep us amused until November 23rd , at least. Filed under: Home Entertainment , Portable Audio/Video , HD Comments Source: Doctor Who (iTunes)

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BBC releases rediscovered Doctor Who episodes as iTunes exclusives (video)

Microsoft said it would pay up to a $100, 000 bounty to researchers who found exploits in Windows 8.1 , and it’s putting its money where its mouth is. The company just paid the full hundred grand to Context Information Security’s James Forshaw for discovering a defense circumvention technique. While Microsoft wants a fix before it details the attack, it says that Forshaw deserved the full amount for being thorough — he’s describing a whole class of security threat, not just one flaw. Us end users may never fully appreciate the finding, but it’s good to know that the new OS will be that much safer. Filed under: Software , Microsoft Comments Via: The Seattle Times , The Verge Source: BlueHat Blog

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Microsoft pays $100,000 bounty for discovery of Windows 8.1 exploit