Sprint launched its Direct 2 You service, which provides on-site wireless sales, consultations and customer service (see 1506290070), in seven new cities, it said in a news release Tuesday. Direct 2 You is now available to customers in Charlotte, North Carolina; Cincinnati; Las Vegas; Nashville; New Orleans; Pittsburgh; and Salt Lake City, Sprint said. "We're excited to see such positive customer reaction to Direct 2 You, and we plan to expand its reach into new communities," Vice President Rod Millar said.

The Copyright Office (CO) anticipates releasing its ruling on proposed exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201’s ban on the circumvention of technological protection measures (TPMs) Oct. 28, a spokeswoman confirmed Thursday. CO officials have been considering 27 proposed Section 1201 exemptions (see 1505140070 and 1505260050), including a new cellphone unlocking exemption and several other jailbreaking exemptions. A proposed exemption that would allow security researchers to circumvent TPMs on vehicle software has drawn renewed interest in recent weeks following the EPA’s claim in late September that Volkswagen had used software in its diesel vehicles between 2008 and this year to reduce emissions toxicity during emissions tests (see 1509220060).

Verizon’s existing wireless advertising programs -- Relevant Mobile Advertising and Verizon Selects -- will be combined with the AOL Advertising Network starting in November, wrote Verizon Chief Privacy Officer Karen Zacharia in a blog post Wednesday. “The combination will help make the ads our customers see more relevant to them, and therefore more useful, across the different devices and services they see.” Verizon is changing how its programs operate, including who receives the Verizon advertising identifier or Unique Identifier Header (UIDH), which is essentially a string of random characters that's transmitted with unencrypted Internet requests over the Verizon Wireless network, Zacharia said. UIDH doesn’t contain or transmit personally identifiable information; doesn’t broadcast Web browsing information to advertisers or others; and when the AOL and Verizon programs are combined, will be transmitted only to entities that are on a preapproved white list, she said. Verizon’s advertising approach is “in line with best-in-class industry standards for privacy protection,” Zacharia said. “Our customers will continue to have choices about whether or not to participate in these programs.”

T-Mobile and Verizon don’t agree on everything, but they’re united on the benefits of LTE-unlicensed, representatives said in a meeting with Brendan Carr, aide to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. The carriers reported on a meeting, held along with Qualcomm, to make the case there's ‘”broad” industry consensus on "the remarkable consumer benefits of LTE-U,” said a filing in docket 15-105. “We emphasized our longstanding support of unlicensed spectrum and our strong commitment to Wi-Fi,” they said. “We explained that LTE-U is based on 3GPP’s [3rd Generation Partnership Project] current standards … and fully complies with the FCC’s Part 15 regulations.” In a second filing, this time joined by the Competitive Carriers Association, they reported on similar meetings with Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, and Johanna Thomas, aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Earlier, they met with Louis Peraertz, aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn.

Verizon said LTE-Unlicensed is no threat to Wi-Fi and won’t even use 2.4 GHz, the main Wi-Fi band. The comment came in a public explanation of why it wants to move forward quickly on LTE-U that it posted Monday in an FAQ document on its policy website. Why the rush to deploy? Verizon asked. “The work currently underway with LTE-U is providing real-world experience that will help improve the next versions of the 3GPP [3rd Generation Partnership Project] standard,” Verizon said. “But more importantly, because Better Matters. Consumers don’t want to wait for better, they want it now. LTE-U provides a better mobile experience, and it won’t adversely impact Wi-Fi or other unlicensed technologies. There is no reason to delay providing consumers with a new option for better service.”

CTIA updated its Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment, responding to a request by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, it said Friday. At a June 11 meeting of the FCC Technological Advisory Council, Wheeler said he would ask CTIA to include in its voluntary industry code language that would require consumers to opt out of safeguards that come with their smartphones (see 1506110037). The revised document takes Wheeler’s request into account, CTIA said Friday. “New models of smartphones first manufactured after July 2016 for retail sale in the United States will, if technically necessary, make readily available to the authorized user an option that allows the authorized user to enable or disable the anti-theft solution at any time that the smartphone is connected and is in the authorized user’s possession,” the revised commitment said. The revised commitment “is the latest example of how America’s wireless industry takes on tough issues and works together to develop the best solutions for their customers that balances the needs of users while still providing the flexibility for companies to innovate,” CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a news release. “It’s clear that these initiatives are working since smartphone thefts have declined in cities across the country.” CTIA said it also developed a list of apps “to locate, erase and/or lock, many of which are free, for the various operating systems” and is offering “step-by-step video instructions on how to set up a PIN/password on various mobile devices.” “CTIA and its members understand that smart-device theft remains a serious problem," Wheeler said in a statement. "I am hopeful that this new voluntary commitment will make a meaningful difference for consumer safety." Apple, Assurant, Asurion, AT&T, BlackBerry, Google, HTC America, Huawei Device USA, LGE Mobile Research U.S.A., Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, Samsung Electronics America, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, Verizon and ZTE USA signed off on the anti-theft commitment.

Google unveiled two new versions of its Nexus phone, both of which use the Marshmallow mobile platform. The Nexus 6P is the first all-metal-body Nexus phone, built in cooperation with Huawei and crafted from aeronautical-grade aluminum, Google said in a Tuesday blog post. It starts at $499. The Nexus 5X is an updated version of the popular Nexus 5, developed in cooperation with LG, Google said. It starts at $379. They're available for pre-order on the Google Store from several countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Japan, and come with a free 90-day subscription to Google Play Music, the company said.

The FCC released a memorandum of understanding with the Colombian Ministry of Information Technology and Communications agreeing to cooperate to fight mobile device theft. To “foster a vibrant and legitimate market for mobile devices,” rules need to “ensure consumers are protected from purchasing stolen devices,” the Monday memo said. The U.S. and Colombia said they plan to work with carriers to block activation or use of devices that have been identified as being stolen. They also pledged to take steps to disrupt the market for stolen handsets and share data on stolen handsets with other nations.

BlackBerry CEO John Chen won’t yet tip his hand on pricing or distribution details about the Priv, his company’s first Android smartphone, Chen said on a Friday earnings call. “You'll have to wait for a little bit on that one,” Chen told a questioner who asked about the Priv’s gross margin and anticipated selling price. Chen conceded he “kind of jumped the gun" to announce the Priv as he did Friday “because it's leaking everywhere and I didn't think that it makes total logical sense for us to have this conversation when it's leaking everywhere and I won't talk about it.” Chen wanted only to confirm “that we are bringing our security know-how onto the Android ecosystem and we built a phone with the help of a lot of people, including working with Google,” he said of BlackBerry’s proprietary Enterprise Mobility Management security platform. BlackBerry has been “working on this strategy for a long time,” but “unfortunately it leaked, so I think it's best to let everybody know,” Chen said. BlackBerry has a pricing strategy in mind for the Priv, and “we are working with literally all the major carriers” to bring the Priv to market later in calendar 2015, he said: “The distribution strategy, you have to wait a little bit on that because we do have some choices.” The Priv, with a curved, “all-touch” screen, is BlackBerry’s “answer for former BlackBerry users who missed the physical keyboard” on BlackBerry devices, but also have come to rely on the ecosystem of apps available through the Google Play store, Chen said. The phone derives its name from “the BlackBerry core mission of protecting our customer's privacy,” he said. “That's how we thought about it.” Chen thinks the Priv’s “key takeaway here” is that BlackBerry continues to lead in the industry in mobile security, “and now we are bringing the BlackBerry security know-how into the Android ecosystem,” he said. “We can address a larger and growing segment of the enterprise space and we believed we could be a leader in this space.” Chen answered with a firm “absolutely” when asked whether it’s more “cost-effective” to bring the Android-based Priv to market than a BlackBerry 10-based device. That's because “a lot of the drivers” for the all the Android chipsets “are already in place,” he said. “I don't have to spend any time managing money for drivers,” he said. “I also don't have to do anything regarding the apps ecosystem, or the API surrounding that,” he said of Google’s application program interface protocols. “So all I need to do is to concentrate on security and the privacy features and add it to that ecosystem,” he said.

Just three days into the launch, Apple has sold more than 13 million iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus smartphones, “a new record,” the company said in a Monday announcement. The iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will be available in more than 40 additional countries beginning Oct. 9, including Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Taiwan, Apple said. They'll be available in more than 130 countries by year-end, it said. “Sales for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus have been phenomenal, blowing past any previous first weekend sales results in Apple’s history,” CEO Tim Cook said.