Apple advised the FCC against adopting a requirement that all service providers implement a standardized opt-out menu for wireless emergency alerts, in replies to the FCC in docket 15-91. Commissioners approved revised rules for alerts in September, over a partial dissent by Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, and sought comment on additional rule changes (see 1609290060). Instead of mandating what the opt-out menu will look like, the FCC should “allow the best consumer experience based on different companies’ hardware, operating systems, and user interfaces,” Apple said. The maker of the iPhone also said the FCC shouldn’t rely solely on third-party applications to implement additional alerting functionality. The National Weather Service said geotargeting of alerts isn’t accurate enough and must be improved. “The NWS supports the public safety agencies who overwhelmingly agree on the need for device-assisted geo-targeting that matches the geocode, circle, or polygon defined by the alert,” the agency replied. The NWS also reminded the FCC it repeatedly has urged a requirement that carriers include an interactive map showing the recipient’s location relative to the alert originator’s defined threat area. A coalition of groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing said alerts should be made available in American Sign Language (ASL). “For many individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, and deaf with mobility issues, there simply is no adequate substitute for ASL,” the coalition said. “Contrary to popular public perception, ASL is not derived from English, nor any spoken language. Instead, it is an independent linguistic system with morphological and grammatical complexity comparable to or exceeding that of spoken languages.” Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the National Association of the Deaf, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network and Association of Late-Deafened Adults were among those who signed the comments. Wireless carriers urged the FCC to proceed with caution. The “proposed improvements” are “premature in many instances and unworkable in others,” AT&T wrote. “Imposing upon the voluntary WEA participants a set of requirements that they cannot satisfy can only cause the Participating Cellular Mobile Service Providers to reexamine the nature of their commitment to the system.”

Q3 was a “landmark quarter” for the NextRadio FM-reception smartphone app, Emmis CEO Jeff Smulyan said on a Thursday earnings call. NextRadio developer Emmis landed adoption of the app on the Samsung Galaxy S7, the top-selling smartphone in the world and one that’s sold by all major U.S. carriers, Smulyan said. “Stay tuned for announcements about NextRadio being adopted by other manufacturers.” Emmis also just reached a renewal agreement with Sprint that keeps NextRadio pre-loaded on the carrier’s Android devices, he said. “That’s our first renewal and Sprint was our first partner, and we’re happy about that.” NextRadio has surpassed 25 million listening hours, but “the reality is this is still the early stages,” he said. “We have come an awfully long way since this project started.” Emmis thinks NextRadio “is the catalyst that our industry needs,” he said. But landing NextRadio on the iPhone remains the toughest nut to crack, Smulyan said. “We have a whole game plan” for winning Apple’s support, but nothing “definitive,” he said in Q&A. Emmis defied the “skeptics” when it won NextRadio adoption among all the major U.S. carriers after Sprint, he said. “We won’t rest until we are in every smartphone, and we’ve got to get Apple.”

ZTE launched at CES its Blade series of smartphones for the U.S. market, starting with the no-contract Blade V8 Pro, said the company in an announcement. The company is positioning the unlocked Blade V8 as a smartphone with high-end features at an affordable price. Features of the $230 smartphone include a fingerprint sensor, Dolby Audio, dual-lens 13-megapixel camera, dual SIM slot, Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 technology and expandable storage. The 5.5-inch phone will be available through B&H Photo, Newegg and Zteusa.com, with shipping slated for Jan. 18.

Kodak is booking the High Roller Ferris wheel behind The Venetian in Las Vegas for a “sunset spin” Friday during CES to showcase the “low light” photographic capabilities of its Ektra smartphone for the first time to U.S. audiences, the company said in an email. Kodak recently began shipping the Ektra in Western Europe at 449 euros ($473), targeted to photographers (see 1610210039). Kodak representatives didn’t answer queries about the Ektra's U.S. availability and pricing. Kodak’s brand licensee, Bullitt Group, is manufacturing the Ektra and will participate in the High Roller event, Kodak said.

Though Samsung as a policy doesn’t comment on pending litigation, “we stand behind the safety of the millions of Samsung phones in the U.S.,” spokeswoman Danielle Meister Cohen emailed us Wednesday. Eight models of Samsung smartphones “pose a grave safety threat" to the American public, as the Galaxy Note7 did, but remain on the market unencumbered by recalls or other corrective actions, alleges a federal class-action complaint filed Friday in California (see 1612260003).

Oklahoma lawmakers will take up a bill next year that would ban handheld use of cellphones and other electronic devices while driving. Texting while driving already is illegal in the state. Sen. Ron Sharp (R) filed legislation last week that would toughen state law aimed at preventing distracted driving. “Drivers are still getting distracted by their phones and other electronic devices and there’s no reason to be using them while driving except in emergencies,” Sharp said in a news release.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau circulated for commissioners a notice seeking comment on the 2010 review of hearing aid compatibility regulations, said a notice posted by the FCC last week. The FCC said in a 2011 document in docket 10-254 the agency had committed in 2008 to initiate a review of the hearing aid compatibility rules for digital wireless services and handset. “In this review, we will comprehensively evaluate the operation of the current hearing aid compatibility rules and their success in making a broad selection of wireless phones accessible to people who use hearing aids and cochlear implants, as well as in making information about those phones available to the public,” the FCC said at the time.

LG will bow four K series smartphones for the mid-range market at CES, said the company in an announcement. The phones bring features from high-end models to a broader audience including a 120-degree wide-angle front camera lens, 2.5D arc glass design and a rear fingerprint scanner, said the company. It will also debut the third-generation Stylo 3 smartphone with a fiber-tip stylus that’s said to simulate the feel and feedback of a pen when users write on the screen.

Chinese panel makers shipped more than a million active-matrix OLED smartphone displays for the first time in Q3, IHS Markit said in a Thursday report. Though Chinese makers account for less than 2 percent of the global AMOLED smartphone panel supply in terms of shipments, surpassing the million-unit mark in a single quarter “shows significant improvements in their manufacturing technology,” IHS said. Total shipments of AMOLED displays for smartphones set a record of 101 million units in Q3, it said. Samsung Display continued to hold the dominant share by far with 99.7 million units shipped, it said. But three Chinese panel makers -- EverDisplay Optronics, Tianma Micro-electronics and Govisionox Optoelectronics -- collectively shipped 1.4 million units for Q3, a significant increase sequentially from the 590,000 units they shipped in Q2, IHS said. Many Chinese smartphone makers are planning to adopt AMOLED panels in their devices, it said. “This gives Chinese display suppliers a great opportunity to gain more orders, improve their mass production yield rate and enhance their product reliability.” It’s forecasting AMOLED display penetration among Chinese smartphone brands will increase from 8 percent in 2015 to 13.6 percent in 2016. “However, due to the tight supply of AMOLED panels from Samsung Display, many domestic smartphone brands are turning to local Chinese panel makers,” it said. “Chinese panel makers are still too small to threaten Samsung’s dominant position, but they still play an important role as a second or third source for major smartphone brands in China,” IHS said. Moreover, as Samsung Display shifts its focus to flexible OLEDs, Chinese panel makers “are expected to expand their shares in the rigid OLED panel market,” it said.

Turn, which helps sellers target digital advertisements to consumers, agreed to settle FTC allegations it deceived consumers by tracking them online and through mobile apps even after they tried to opt out, said the commission in a Tuesday news release. Commissioners voted 3-0 to issue the administrative complaint and accept the consent agreement, which will be published in the Federal Register soon and subject to public comment through Jan. 19. After that, the commission will decide whether to make the proposed order final. The FTC alleged Turn's privacy policy said consumers could block targeted ads through blocking or limiting cookies on web browsers. But the company "used unique identifiers to track millions of Verizon Wireless customers, even after they blocked or deleted cookies from websites," said the commission. Turn's opt-out mechanism applied only to mobile browsers, but even users there couldn't block tailored ads, the agency added. The consent order bars Turn from misrepresenting the extent of its tracking and the ability of consumers to limit or control the company's use of data. It directs the company to offer an effective opt-out mechanism. In a blog post, Turn General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer John Wolf Konstant wrote that the company agreed to the order to avoid a "lengthy and costly litigation process." He said the company complies with laws, industry standards and regulations and takes consumer privacy "seriously" since it was built to avoid collecting personally identifiable information.