Ben's Blog World: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Moto X Pure Edition (XT1095) may soon get more LTE bands

There's been a bit of confusion over the Pure Edition of the new Moto X and the LTE bands it supports. The original specs as supplied by Motorola at the launch event are different what current is listed on Motorola's product page, and the XT1095 (Pure Edition) and XT1097 (AT&T) models no longer match up on banding.

Here's how the bands line up, as Motorola lists them today:

XT1095 (Pure Edition): Bands 02, 04, 17
XT1097 (AT&T): Bands 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 17
XT1096 (Verizon): Bands 02, 03, 04, 07, 13

What's interesting today is a post from Motorola forums manager Matt (aka Moto Matt), who writes that the XT1095 will see a software update to enable Bands 3, 5 and 7 on the Pure Edition of the Moto X.

That's notable because as it stands the XT1095 is effectively limited to AT&T and T-Mobile here in the States. Adding Bands 3, 5 and 7 will greatly increase the ability to roam overseas — which is exactly what you'd expect a SIM-unlocked phone to be able to do.

Bar Refaeli
Malin Akerman
Mila Kunis

Moto X Pure Edition (XT1095) may soon get more LTE bands

Here's how the bands line up, as Motorola lists them today:

XT1095 (Pure Edition): Bands 02, 04, 17
XT1097 (AT&T): Bands 02, 03, 04, 05, 07, 17
XT1096 (Verizon): Bands 02, 03, 04, 07, 13

Olivia Wilde
Megan Fox

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro with 6-inch QHD display now official in India

It's no secret that users in the Indian subcontinent love large screens, and today Lenovo is catering to that segment with the launch of the Vibe Z2 Pro – a high-end phablet boasting a 6-inch QHD display.

Bar Refaeli
Malin Akerman
Mila Kunis

Path Talk will call local businesses so you don't have to

Path Talk has launched a new feature called Places, where you can find a local business within the social networking app, and you can send an instant message to that business. That message actually goes to a Path Agent who will call on your behalf and do stuff like make a reservation, check store hours, or see if they have your size of shirt. Surprisingly enough, this service is offered for free in the U.S. and Canada.

Nicole Scherzinger
Katie Cassidy
Arielle Kebbel

Moto 360 back in stock at Motorola online store

Anyone who missed out on getting the Moto 360 before the online store ran out of stock should check again. Motorola has tweeted out that they've got a fresh batch available, but who knows how long that will last?

Avril Lavigne
Fergie

eBay to spin off PayPal into separate public company in 2015

eBay will spin off its online payment division PayPal into its own separate, and publicly traded, company sometime in the second half of 2015. eBay claims that keeping PayPal around beyond 2015 "clearly becomes less advantageous to each business strategically and competitively."

Katy Perry
Gina Carano
Britney Spears

eBay to spin off PayPal into separate public company in 2015

eBay acquired PayPal for $1.5 billion way back in 2002. In announcing today's separation, eBay said:

Creating two standalone businesses best positions eBay and PayPal to capitalize on their respective growth opportunities in the rapidly changing global commerce and payments landscape, and is the best path for creating sustainable shareholder value.

Devin Wenig, who currently serves as eBay's Marketplaces leader, will become the new CEO of the company when the PayPal spin off is complete. Dan Schulman, previously the president of American Express's Enterprise Growth Group, has been named as President of PayPal and is currently scheduled to be its CEO when the two companies part ways.

Do you think it is a good decision for eBay and PayPal to separate?

Source: eBay