New York

Legal
April 19, 2012
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New York sues Sprint for $300 million over alleged tax fraud [updated]

By on April 19, 2012 at 11:40 AM.

New York sues Sprint for $300 million over alleged tax fraud [updated]

New York on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Sprint Nextel Corp looking to collect more than $300 million, Reuters reported. The wireless company is accused of tax fraud for deliberately not collecting or paying more than $100 million in taxes over the past seven years. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed the complaint in the New York State Supreme Court on Thursday. The tax suit, which is the first filed under the state’s False Claims Act, could require Sprint to pay triple the amount it is accused of underpaying. Since 2002, New York state has required mobile phone companies to collect and pay sales taxes for their mobile services. Schneiderman claims Sprint has underpaid and submitted false records since 2005, however, in an alleged effort to undercut its competition and offer cheaper rate plans.

UPDATE: Sprint has issued a statement, which can be found after the break. More →

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Software
January 18, 2012
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Apple to drive iPad adoption at schools with digital textbook tools

By on January 18, 2012 at 2:45 PM.

Apple to drive iPad adoption at schools with digital textbook tools

Apple may be working on bolstering its educational content in order to drive the adoption rate of iPads in schools. Apple is holding a press event in New York City tomorrow where we will no doubt hear more on what the company has planned for education. “Apple will raise a lot of awareness about digital textbooks and how education is going digital,” Osman Rashid, the CEO of e-textbook software firm Kno Inc. told Bloomberg. The latest reports suggest the Cupertino-based company will unveil “tools that make it easier to publish interactive textbooks,” Bloomberg explained. The new tools should allow writers to publish content on their own, which is similar to what Amazon’s self-publishing service currently provides. Sources speaking to Bloomberg said that teachers might be able to create lessons and workbooks for students and then have their classes complete the lessons on an iPad. More →

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mobile
November 4, 2011
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AT&T will activate 4G LTE network in New York ‘very soon’

By on November 4, 2011 at 4:40 PM.

AT&T will activate 4G LTE network in New York ‘very soon’

Speaking during the Mashable Media Summit on Friday, AT&T’s senior vice president of communications Larry Solomon confirmed that AT&T will activate its 4G LTE network in New York City “very soon.” AT&T’s 4G LTE network is currently live in Atlanta, Chicacgo, Dallas-Forth Worth, Houston and San Antonio, and the carrier plans to activate the network in Athens, Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. on Sunday, November 6th. AT&T recently revealed its first two 4G LTE smartphones and we took a hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid earlier this week. Both phones looked like terrific additions to AT&T’s smartphone portfolio, and we can’t wait to test them on AT&T’s 4G LTE network here in New York City. More →

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mobile
August 15, 2011
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Verizon granted injunction against picketers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware

By on August 15, 2011 at 5:35 PM.

Verizon granted injunction against picketers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware

Courts in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware have granted Verizon Communications injunctions against striking union workers who are picketing outside of its corporate offices and retail locations. Specifically, the injunctions are against members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Last week, Verizon filed lawsuits against the Communications Workers of America in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Massachusetts and accused the union workers of sabotage and harassment. 45,000 Verizon Communications employees, about 25% of the company’s workforce, went on strike on August 7th after the company failed to reach an agreement with labor unions over health benefit premiums. Managers are currently filling in for the strikers until a deal is reached, although at this point it appears negotiations could take a while. More →

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Computers
July 20, 2011
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MTA expected to approve Grand Central Apple Store next week

By on July 20, 2011 at 2:20 PM.

MTA expected to approve Grand Central Apple Store next week

We’ve been hearing reports that Apple would open the world’s largest Apple Store on one of New York City’s Grand Central terminal balconies since February of this year. Despite a report in May that the plan had been nixed, the dream of a 15,000 square foot store could finally become a reality. According to The New York Times, The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) board is expected to approve Apple’s bid later this week during a monthly board meeting. Apple really knew how to woo the MTA, too: buried deep in the article was a discussion about how the iPhone maker submitted its bid for the spot in “linen-lined boxes, as if it were a wedding present to transit officials.” We expect to hear more on Apple’s plans in the coming weeks. More →

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Security
July 19, 2011
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FBI raids ‘Anonymous’ hackers in New York

By on July 19, 2011 at 11:37 AM.

FBI raids ‘Anonymous’ hackers in New York

The FBI raided the homes of three hackers from the infamous hacking group ‘Anonymous’ in New York, Fox News reported on Tuesday. Reportedly, more than 10 FBI agents stormed the house of Giordani Jordan in Baldwin New York and took “at least one laptop from the premises.” Jordan is suspected to have been behind denial of service (DoS) attacks against a number of firms, including Mastercard and Visa. In addition, agents are also searching homes in Long Island and Brooklyn. The hackers are said to be in their late teens and early 20s. It’s unclear if the hackers were also part of the group LulzSec, which claimed responsibility for hacks against Sony, the U.S. Senate and the CIA. More →

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mobile
July 13, 2011
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Sprint, Clearwire, Time Warner Cable boost New York City’s 4G WiMAX footprint by 21%

By on July 13, 2011 at 5:01 AM.

Sprint, Clearwire, Time Warner Cable boost New York City’s 4G WiMAX footprint by 21%

Sprint, Clearwire and Time Warner Cable announced on Tuesday that the current 4G WiMAX footprint in New York City has been expanded by 21%. The network now covers an additional 91,363 people across the New York metropolitan area in Alpine, Bayonne, Elizabeth, Fair Lawn, Newark, Paramus, Secaucus and Union, New Jersey; and Hartsdale, New Rochelle, New York, Rockville Centre and Yonkers, New York. Clearwire’s 4G network currently covers more than 130 million U.S. residents, including a total of 11,927,000 people in the New York City area. Read on for the full press release. More →

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Business
July 12, 2011
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Nine states subpoena Sprint over opposition to AT&T’s T-Mobile acquisition

By on July 12, 2011 at 10:40 AM.

Nine states subpoena Sprint over opposition to AT&T’s T-Mobile acquisition

Sprint has received subpoenas from Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington regarding its opposition of AT&T’s planned $39 billion T-Mobile USA acquisition, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division also issued a subpoena. Sprint has been a staunch opponent of the deal and its CEO Dan Hesse has said the acquisition will “stifle innovation” in the U.S. wireless market. He also said that “clearly, purely, [Sprint wants] to win and block the merger,” when it was revealed that Hesse was working with 18 state regulators to block the acquisition. The deal is getting an in-depth investigation from both the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission. On June 22nd, AT&T’s General Counsel Wayne Watts said that the acquisition was on schedule for approval in March of next year. An AT&T spokesperson told Reuters that AT&T also received the same nine subpoenas. More →

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Legal
June 16, 2011
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Apple sued for infringing ‘iBooks’ trademark

By on June 16, 2011 at 12:36 PM.

Apple sued for infringing ‘iBooks’ trademark

Apple’s strategy when it comes to much of its i branding has been pretty consistent to date: steal a name, wait for its trademark owner to complain, settle. The Cupertino-based company did it with “iPhone” and again with “iOS,” for example, and now it looks like “iBooks” will play out the same way. New York publisher John T. Colby purchased assets belonging to publisher Byron Preiss several years ago, and included in that buy were more than 1,000 books published under the “ibooks” name. Apple does own a trademark for “IBOOK,” but this trademark covers a PC the company used to sell — the “iBook” — and not books or electronic books. “Apple’s use of the mark ‘iBooks’ to denote the electronic library that can be accessed via its iPad tablet computer and its iPhone is likely to overwhelm the good will of plaintiffs’ ‘ibooks’ and ‘ipicturebooks’ marks and render them virtually worthless,” Colby’s lawsuit states. More →

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mobile
June 14, 2011
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American Airlines offers Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets to first class passengers

By on June 14, 2011 at 10:31 PM.

American Airlines offers Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablets to first class passengers

American Airlines is starting to offer Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 units to its first class passengers as an entertainment option during several flights, Mashable is reporting. Apparently the tablet will be an option on flights between Los Angeles and New York, San Francisco and New York, Los Angeles and Miami, Boston and Los Angeles flights operated by 757s, and a few European and South American flights operated by American Airlines’ 767-300 aircraft. 6,000 tablets are being deployed in total, and American Airlines will offer passengers access to Wi-Fi during the trip. Hopefully AA at least loads the Tabs up with a few movies and some tunes, too. More →

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Services
June 14, 2011
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Cablevision increases free Optimum Wi-Fi to 15Mbps across NY/NJ/CT

By on June 14, 2011 at 9:45 AM.

Cablevision increases free Optimum Wi-Fi to 15Mbps across NY/NJ/CT

Cablevision’s Optimum Wi-Fi service, free for subscribers, has been extremely popular in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut tri-state area, giving customers access to fast Wi-Fi from tens of thousands of locations. Today, Cablevision is announcing that the company has bumped up speeds at all Wi-Fi locations to 15Mbps down and 4Mbps up — the same speeds home subscribers get with entry-level Optimum Online service. Over 500,000 people use Optimum’s free Wi-Fi service, and this move makes Optimum’s Wi-Fi faster than any 3G or 4G network, barring Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network, which we’ve seen trump those numbers from time to time. Additionally, Cablevision previously partnered with Time Warner and Comcast to allow customers of all three providers to roam onto all three provider’s Wi-Fi networks, so this change affects Time Warner and Comcast subscribers as well which is great. The full press release is after the break, and the new download and upload speeds are already available across the tri-state area. More →

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Events
June 9, 2011
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Live from Sprint and Motorola’s press event in New York City!

By on June 9, 2011 at 12:15 PM.

Live from Sprint and Motorola’s press event in New York City!

We’re here live and in living color at Sprint and Motorola’s press event in New York City where Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha will take the stage and presumably reveal what’s next from the two companies. Could there be some Android handsets introduced? Well, if you know Motorola, that’s probably a lock. The event is about to get under way, and all of our live coverage is after the break! More →

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Gaming
May 18, 2011
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Angry Birds creator Rovio sets 2-3 year goal for IPO

By on May 18, 2011 at 11:02 PM.

Angry Birds creator Rovio sets 2-3 year goal for IPO

Rovio Mobile, the firm behind the hit game Angry Birds, has set a goal to seek an initial public offering (IPO) sometime during the next 2-3 years, Reuters is reporting. The firm raised $42 million in Series A funding earlier this year, and its Angry Birds franchise has spread across multiple platforms including Android, iOS, webOS — and you can even play it in your web browser. As such, Rovio has increased its staff from 12 employees to 100 employees this year. “I see that this is only beneficial for us in terms of making the company more structured and more focused on creating it into a proper large organization, having grown from a company of 12,” Rovio’s CEO Mikael Hed said during the Reuters Global Technology Summit in Paris. In May, Rovio’s board chairman expressed interest in seeking an IPO in New York. More →

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