Weekend Wrap-Up: FCC Votes Yes for Net Neutrality; Pebble Time Smartwatch Unveiled
When doesn’t an Apple announcement receive top billing? When the week is full of big news regarding the open Internet and an Apple competitor in the smartwatch space. But don’t worry — we’ll fill you in on the date and time for Apple’s smartwatch event, and we’ll even tell you about a new product coming from Tinder tomorrow.
Now, let’s get to it.
FCC Votes 3-2 for Net Neutrality, Classifying Internet as a Utility
We knew the vote was coming, and approaching the date, we even knew which way the majority of the commission was leaning. But that didn’t make the vote itself any less important. The FCC voted on Thursday in a 3-2 decision to classify the Internet as a utility, enacting rules that ban access providers from blocking or otherwise discriminating against certain types of traffic. The landmark ruling doesn’t go into effect immediately, however; FCC commissioners will work to nail the final rules down before they’re released to the public.
Pebble Unveils ‘Pebble Time’, the Latest Iteration of its Smartwatch
Remember that countdown we told you about a few days ago? We had a feeling it would lead to new hardware from Pebble, and we were right. Pebble unveiled a new model of its popular smartwatch on Tuesday called Pebble Time. The Time, currently up to $11,708,377 on Kickstarter, features a color screen, and even includes a microphone for voice commands. The watch is expected to start shipping in May 2015.
Apple Sends Out Invites for March 9 Event
“Spring Forward.” Two words, short and sweet — but you know the tech community is reading a million things into them. The general consensus is that Apple will use the March 9 event to give a more thorough presentation of its Apple Watch, which we saw in its very early stages back in September. Our own Jeff Weisbein even believes that the company could open the door for pre-orders on that day. Apple will be live streaming the event at www.apple.com/live/ beginning at 10 AM PST, so be sure to tune in.
‘Tinder Plus’ to Launch This Monday
If you’re a Tinder user and you don’t like ads, I have some bad news for you — they’re coming. The good news? Tinder is reportedly launching a premium service tomorrow for $10 a month that will eliminate ads and offer a few other perks, too. These other add-ons include the ability to change your location (for whatever reason), as well as rewind your previous swipe (in case it was made in error). Keep an eye out tomorrow for Tinder Plus.