Mobiles

T-Mobile's Nexus 5 won't support Wi-Fi calling

The carrier has confirmed that the Google Nexus 5 will not support voice over a Wi-Fi network.

Available from the Google Play store, Sprint, and T-Mobile, the Nexus 5 is one of the most highly anticipated and low-cost Android phones of the year. For customers on T-Mobile who use a Wi-Fi connection to make phone calls, however, the carrier has confirmed with techvoo that the Nexus 5 will not support that feature.

Having a phone with voice-over-Wi-Fi technology comes in handy to make phone calls, particularly when you're in an area where reception is weak or inconsistent.

Several T-Mobile devices offer this service, from the high-end LG G2 and Samsung Galaxy S4, to the midrange Nokia Lumia 521.

The fact that the Nexus 5 will not be included on this list will be especially important to T-Mobile users living or working in areas with low-signal strength. However, the handset does offer other network features like HD Voice and 4G LTE.

It's also a reliable device with a bevy of great hardware specs, which include a zippy Snapdragon 800 processor, a razor-sharp 1080p screen, and the newest Android OS, KitKat. In addition, T-Mobile is offering it at about $100 to $180 cheaper than other flagships like the GS4 and the HTC One.

The carrier will sell the 16GB model online, beginning November 14 for $41.99 down, plus $17 a month for 24 months. It will hit its retail stores on November 20.

iPhone 5S, 5C arrive at US Cellular

The carrier is selling the 16GB 5S for $199 and the 5C for $99 with the standard two-year agreement.

US Cellular subscribers can now purchase the new iPhones.

The carrier, which launched the phones on Friday, is offering the iPhone 5S in all capacities from 16GB to 32GB to 64GB and in all colors from silver to gold to space gray. The 5C is available in 16GB or 32GB and in its full array of colors.

With the launch of the new phones, US Cellular is also selling the iPhone 4S for 1 cent with the usual two-year contract.Subscribers who pick up the 5S or 5C can select one of the carrier's new Shared Data plans, which provide unlimited voice minutes and texting and allow customers to share data among as many as 10 different devices.

The carrier's 4G LTE network is currently available in in 92 markets. Teaming up with King Street Wireless, US Cellular plans to expand 4G LTE coverage to 90 percent of its subscribers by the end of 2013.

Motorola wants to tattoo a mic on your throat

A patent application filed in 2012 by the Google-owned company and published Thursday details a wireless microphone that can be tattooed on the neck and connect to a smartphone.

Tattooed electronics? Commence conspiracy theory germination sequence now...

(Credit: US Patent and Trademark Office/Motorola Mobility)

For Motorola, the "touchless control" used on the Moto X could be just the beginning.

If a just-published patent application from Google-owned Motorola Mobility is any indication, the company is actually more interested in devices that you're always touching, like permanently. The patent, filed in 2012, details a wireless microphone that can be tattooed onto the throat.

According to the application:

The electronic skin tattoo can include an embedded microphone; a transceiver for enabling wireless communication with the MCD (mobile communication device); and a power supply configured to receive energizing signals from a personal area network associated with the MCD. A controller is communicatively coupled to the power supply. The controller can be configured to receive a signal from the MCD to initiate reception of an audio stream picked up from the throat region of the body for subsequent audio detection by the MCD under an improved signal-to-noise ratio than without the employment of the electronic skin tattoo.

So if I sit through a long inking procedure to turn my neck into a wirelessly powered and tethered microphone, the only major benefit I'll see in return is improved signal-to-noise ratio? I didn't even think a fancy bone-conducting Bluetooth headset was worth the extra expense. Would I at least get to choose my own tribal design for the tat?

What do you think? If this guy is willing to install his own Bluetooth health monitor sans anesthesia, does it make sense that we'll all soon be having our new smartphones installed by the local tattoo parlor?