Google+Facebook+iPhone: 09/14/11

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Why Its Motorola Purchase Really Shows Google’s Market Weakness

When Google (GOOG) first offered to acquire Motorola Mobility(MMI), its bid was significantly lower than the final $12.5 billion. But over a few days, Motorola CEOSanjay Jha got Google to up its offer by a third, even though the company had no other suitors.

According to patent analyst Florian Mueller, fear was the motivator. Because its phones were so important to the success of Google’s Android, Motorola had some logical options that would have done heavy damage to the operating system. Combine this with some other market factors, and you might start wondering if Google’s free product strategy will really buy it the lasting brand and business advantage the company thought it would.

Four problems for Google

According to Mueller, it comes down to the patent litigation thatApple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) have brought against Motorola, as well as other Android hardware vendors. Motorola probably had a better defense than any other vendor except Samsung. Given that Motorola needs to do business and continues to lose money (making litigation even more painful), the company might have taken any of the four following tactics:

Droid RAZR to Combine Motorola’s Two Most Iconic Brands?

Could Motorola be looking to capitalize on two of its most recognizable brands by introducing a device known as the Droid RAZR? Let’s take it as a huge rumor for now, but a test photo (above) from the supposed device’s camera has surfaced with EXIF data claiming the name. Now, EXIF data can sure enough be faked, but there is reason to believe a Droid RAZR could be real.

Aside from the fact that the pairing makes almost perfect sense, there is the glossed over handset known as the Motorola Slimline (seen above) to ponder. The only mention of the device comes from a Motorola website redesign leaked back in the spring. But that mention included a render of the device (seen below), and in hindsight it does look mighty RAZR-y. The original feature phone was known for its slim profile, and it would follow that a device codenamed the Slimeline could be easily rebranded under the RAZR name.

AppFairy.com Adds Top 50 iPhone Apps Section that's Updated Daily

Spring Lake Park, MN (PRWEB) September 14, 2011

From the best medical iPhone apps to the best entertainment apps, from the best ebook apps to the best iPhone travel apps, the best iPhone apps are now in one place that's updated daily with the latest and greatest. AppFairy.com, the go-to site for unique iPhone app listings, was recently enhanced with a brand-new Top 50 Apps section, updated every day. The site offers the best in free iPhone apps as well as paid apps.

AppFairy.com allows users to search by price, category and word for easy use, and also offers free newsletter subscriptions.

"Anyone who owns an iPhone knows both the excitement of downloading a great app and the frustration of spending time searching for and downloading bad ones," said Jed Lampi, owner and founder of AppFairy.com. "AppFairy.com is kind of like the tooth fairy in that in rewards you with the best information and best iPhone apps by category."

Users can search by 20 different iPhone app categories in the regular listings and in the new Top 50 iPhone apps section: books and ebooks; business; education; entertainment; finance; games; healthcare and fitness; lifestyle; medical; music; navigation and GPS; news; photography; productivity; reference; social networking; sports; travel; utilities and utility apps; and weather apps. In addition, AppFairy.com offers Top 10 articles on a variety of iPhone topics.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/09/14/prweb8788745.DTL#ixzz1XxaRQ8Lb

Apple bans satirical iPhone game Phone Story from its App Store

Apple has never hidden the fact that it has a stricter censorship policy for iOS apps than for other forms of entertainment. The debate about whether this is unfair is heating up once more this week, however, after it removed an iPhone game called Phone Story from its App Store.

The game was released by Italian developer Molleindustria, whose mission statement is to "reappropriate video games as a popular form of mass communication" and "investigate the persuasive potentials of the medium by subverting mainstream video gaming cliche".

In Phone Story's case, that took the form of four mini-games about the "troubling supply chain" behind smartphones – all smartphones, not specifically iPhones – including coltan extraction in Congo, outsourced labour in China, environmental waste in Pakistan, as well as the mania for gadgets in the West. One of the mini-games sees workers leaping from their factory building: a clear reference to suicides and attempted suicides by workers at Apple's manufacturing partner Foxconn.

Sprint Said to Plan Unlimited Data Offer With Apple's IPhone

Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. will offer Apple Inc.'s iPhone next month with unlimited data service plans to distinguish itself from rivals AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless, according to people familiar with the matter.

Sprint, the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier, plans to begin selling the device in mid-October under a deal with Apple for the next model, the iPhone 5, said the people, who wouldn't be identified because the plans aren't public. Becoming the country's only operator to offer the device with unlimited data service for a flat fee may help Sprint draw customers from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which already carry the phone, they said.

Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kansas, is struggling to compete against larger rivals and has lost money for 15 consecutive quarters. The addition of the iPhone to Sprint's lineup will help it win customers, said Matthew Thornton, an analyst at Avian Securities LLC.

“It's a competitive disadvantage if your two larger competitors have the iPhone and you don't,” Thornton said in an interview. “Getting the iPhone closes that gap.”

Michelle Leff Mermelstein, a spokeswoman for Sprint, said the company doesn't comment on products or services it hasn't announced. Natalie Harrison, a spokeswoman for Apple, declined to comment on rumors or speculation.

Hands-On with Turntable.fm’s iPhone App

If you aren’t playing with Turntable.fm’s addictive, online group-listening service, you’re missing out. But on the other hand, you’re getting more work done than the rest of us.

Now you can take Turntable.fm to go with its new iPhone app. It provides all the features you’ve come to know and love in the browser-based version — creating and joining listening rooms, virtual DJing, chatting and social media integration — in a pint-sized capacitive touch screen form.

Turntable.fm is one of a number of music streaming services to attract a following in recent years. Spotify, which has Android and iPhoneapps, is one option. Rdio, which offers offline syncing, has iPhone and iPad apps. AndPandora remains a classic in the music discovery space.

The layout and user experience of theTurntable.fm iOS app is much like that of the Turntable.fm website.

After opening the app for the first time, you log-in through Facebook, like with the web version, before arriving at the familiar main screen: A tidy list of rooms with the name, the song playing there, the number of people listening in and the number of DJs. You can search for a specific room or create your own.

Apple Bans Phone Story Game That Exposes Seedy Side of Smartphone Creation

Apple has removed an iPhone app called Phone Story — a darkly satirical mini-game collection that exposes the ugly side of smartphone production — from the App Store, perhaps after realizing that the subject matter hit a little close to home.

It comes from provocative indie developer team Molleindustria, which is well-known for making probing titles that take on big forces like oil barons (in Oiligarchy, a global strategy game about depleting the planet’s resources) and the Catholic Church (in the self-explanatory Operation Pedopriest).

Its latest release, “an educational game about the dark side of your favorite smartphone,” sets its targets directly on Apple, as you follow a new iPhone’s release from mines in the Congo, through the oppressiveFoxconn factories and to planned obsolescence in a gadget-obsessed West.

For Phone Story’s “Suicides” mini-game, for example, you play as net-bearing medical staff who are attempting to catch workers as they throw themselves from the roof. The real-world Foxconn in Taiwan saw 14 successful suicide attempts in 2010, and three so far in 2011.

Samsung Prime rumored to be announced in October

At the moment there are currently two rumored “Prime” devices under Samsung’s name – the Nexus Prime which is supposedly the third handset in the Nexus series, and the Droid Prime, which is supposed to be Verizon’s answer to the Samsung Galaxy S2 handset. According to Phandroid who received the tip from one of their readers, a Samsung Prime is indeed in the works and is expected to be announced next month after the rumored iPhone 5 launch.

The iPhone 5 is currently rumored to be announced at the end of September and expected to be launched in October, which means if the email exchange above is true, an announcement of the Samsung Prime will be somewhere around then as well. Apparently the email was an exchange between Phandroid’s reader and his/her close friend that works at Verizon.

James, Wade roast each other via Twitter

The dog days of summer have the Miami Heat roasting — each other, that is.

As the NBA lockout drags on, players are finding new and creative — although not always productive — ways to pass the time, and a lot of the time it involves social media in one way or another.

Tuesday night, Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade got in on the action when they engaged in a Twitter war, firing barbs back and forth and cracking jokes about each other in front of more than 4 million combined followers.

Most of Wade's tweets concerned James' appearance — especially his ever-receding hairline:

• "What does men PLATFORM shoes and @KingJames LINING have in common?? They both gone and ain't NEVER coming back.."

• "What does Dirk jumpshot and @KingJames LINEUP have in common??they both have hella ARC in the corners.."

• "Yall couldn't think I was done-Wht does Morgan Freeman & @KingJames have n common?? They both been OLD-since we've known of em.."

LeBron didn’t take long to fire back, and he made Wade’s feet the butt of his jokes:

THE OTHER WOMAN CONFESSES: ‘SWIZZ BEATZ AND I WERE ‘SEXTING’ EACH OTHER’

The other ball has finally dropped in the texting scandal between Swizz Beatz and up-and-coming singer Christina Elizabeth. As we previously reported, the married hip-hop producer and the 23-year-old woman were exchanging salacious text messages to each other.

After being barraged with questions on Twitter, Elizabeth issued a statement on Bossip to explain her side of the story. She basically admitted of having a sexual tryst with Swizzy while he was married to his then ex-wife Mashonda. She also revealed that she was indeed “sexting” with Swizz despite the fact that he is now married to R&B songbird Alicia Keys.

Elizabeth says in her statement:

Recently, we’ve been contacting each other (as you’ve all seen), but I haven’t physically seen him. We were making plans to, but I had to work and I wasn’t going to take off work to go see him. I live on my own, I have responsibilities and I strongly believe that if you are not contributing to those responsibilities, there is no reason for me to neglect them to entertain you. I am a very independent individual and the people who know me will tell you that I would never hold my hand out and ask for anything and if I do, I have a very hard time doing it.

Even though Swizz offered and offered and offered to buy me things, the only thing I accepted was plane tickets to go see him. He’s a wonderful man and I had a great time with him as well as a great relationship. Of course he’ll deny the whole thing and of course Alicia will stand up for her man. It’s understood.

Killed for Tweeting: Mexico's Drug War Has Two More Casualties

Twitter has become deadly serious in Mexico, where two people were allegedly murdered for denouncing a drug cartel on the social network.

In Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, a man and a woman were found hanging from a bridge by their hands and feet. Examination of the body showed signs of torture, and the pair is thought to have been beaten and killed by a powerful local drug gang, then displayed to send a message to citizens who might want to publicly renounce the group.

Attached to the bodies were two signs, one of which read "This happens for... denouncing," according to CNN. One of the notes also had the names of two blogs, Al Rojo Vivo and Blog del Narco.

Blogs that report on Mexico's drug war have been threatened in the past, but this is the first time a person has been murdered over a tweet in the country.

The Mexican government has begun to take Twitter very seriously, especially after an August 25 prank-gone-wrong. Two users posted false reports that a drug cartel was attacking an elementary school in Veracruz, sparking a very real panic, as well as 24 car accidents, in the city. The pair has been arrested and charged with terrorism and sabotage, and they could face up to 30 years in prison.

UK player: Terrorist not behind 9/11 "accident"

CBS/AP) Shortly after the killing of Osama bin Laden, American football player Rashard Mendenhall caused an uproar when he took to Twitter to cast doubt about what really happened on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now a British football player has followed suit.

The Associated Press reports that Liverpool is investigating striker Nathan Eccleston for comments he posted on Twitter regarding 9/11. One of the tweets read: "I aint going to say attack don't let the media make u believe that was terrorist that did it."

He also made a reference to O.T.I.S., which can mean Only the Illuminati Succeed. (Conspiracy theorists believe the Illuminati steer governments and corporations to essentially control major events worldwide.)

The tweet followed another posting in which he called the attack an "accident."

"R.I.P all 9/11 victims my thoughts are with their family's and all those that was affected by this tragic accident!" Eccleston wrote.

The comments were removed from Twitter, and Eccleston then tweeted: "If you don't like what I have to say un follow me !!"

After Deadly Kabul Siege, NATO Takes on Taliban... on Twitter?

After fending off small arms and rocket fire from Afghan insurgents for nearly 20 hours around the U.S. embassy in Kabul Tuesday, NATO forces decided they weren't done with Afghan militants and took others on again just hours later -- on Twitter.

"Re: Taliban [spokesperson] on #Kabul attack: the outcome is inevitable. Question is how much longer will terrorist[s] put innocent Afghans in harm's way?" said the Twitter feed @ISAFmedia, a usually subdued stream of NATO announcements.

At least 11 civilians, including three children, were killed in the crossfire, the Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said. All seven militants -- who U.S. officials suspect were with the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network -- were killed. Six members of NATO's ISAF were injured and Kabul's police chief told ABC News five Afghan policemen were also killed.

Facebook Mimics Twitter, Offers A "Subscribe" Option So Strangers Can Get Your Status Updates

Facebook is rolling out a new feature called, "subscribe," which is a lot like Twitter's "follow" functionality.

With subscribe you can get status updates from someone that you're not friends with on Facebook, as long as they allow it.

One of the great things about Twitter is that (for the most part) you can follow celebrities, journalists, or industry figures without having their permission. You get to see what they're up to, what they're reading, and so on.

With Facebook you couldn't get that. Now you can.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-subscribe-2011-9#ixzz1XxTnxQKd

The (patent) fear factor in the Motorola-Google deal

We’re getting more details about Google’s $12.5 billion bid for Motorola thanks to a filing by Motorola with the SEC. The document outlines how Google ultimately offered $40 a share for Motorola, a 60-percent premium over the share price at the time, even though it was the only one negotiating with Motorola.

The document suggests Google was eager and anxious to buy up Motorola, going from initially offering a bid in the high $20s to low $30s. And it sounds like Motorola may have capitalized on Google’s eagerness by upping its demands and insisting the company must be bought whole instead of making a deal for Motorola’s patents.

But the real story, argues patent analyst Florian Mueller isn’t that Motorola squeezed Google for more money; it’s how and why it was able to. Mueller said Motorola was, in essence, threatening Google with a number of dire consequences to Android if Google didn’t buy up the manufacturer. Ultimately, he said, it wasn’t simply about the patents, which he’s argued in the past are of less value, or Google’s interest in getting into the hardware business. It was about responding to these veiled threats and ensuring Motorola didn’t undermine the success of Android by following through on its threats.

Mueller has been a sharp critic of Google and was criticized for reading too much into recent documents suggesting Google might favor Motorola to the exclusion of other Android manufacturers. But he’s got some very compelling thoughts on the dynamics of this deal and timing of the various moves. Here’s a look at the threats as identified by Mueller:

Facebook on D.C. hot seat over kids' privacy

The appearance by Facebook officials follows one last week by Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, who also met with members of Congress about privacy issues.

Anytime you go online or use your cell phone, there's a good chance that someone, somewhere is sharing your personal information with a stranger.

"There's a lot of tracking of where you surf on the Internet," says former Clinton White House adviser Peter Swire. "Lots of different advertising networks and other people are keeping track of that. There's nothing illegal about it, and that troubles many lawmakers."

"We shouldn't be debating this," contends Rep. Ed Markey (D, Mass.), who chairs the Congressional Privacy Caucus. He's introduced legislation to prevent companies from sharing personal information on children.

"It's just about making sure kids get to grow up in an electronic oasis that does not come back to haunt them and their families," Markey says.

But many tech companies and social networking sites fear too much regulation could get in the way of new technology and put the U.S. behind the tech curve.

Mo. Senate passes revision to teacher-Facebook law

(AP) JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri senators have overwhelmingly passed legislation revising a new law that restricts teachers' online conversations with students.

The legislation would repeal a law barring teachers from using websites that give "exclusive access" to students, such as sending private messages on Facebook. Senators voted 33-0 Wednesday to send the bill to the House.

The Missouri law was placed on hold last month by a judge because of free-speech concerns. Gov. Jay Nixon then added the measure to a special legislative session that began earlier this month.

Here's Why AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft Are Teaming Up to Fight Facebook and Google

Like rival nations banding together to fight off an alien invasion in some bad science fiction movie, AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft are setting aside their competitive differences and teaming up to take on their own existential threats: Facebook and Google.

The three portals have formed an alliance to sell some of each other’s ad inventory, according to All Things D’s Peter Kafka. The arrangement allows them to benefit from each other’s excess demand. The idea for it came out of Yahoo and a company it recently bought, 5 to 1.

Why would three companies that would love to put each other business agree to help each other out on ad sales? This chart, showing the breakdown of U.S. display ad spending since 2008 (with projected totals from 2011 and 2012), explains it pretty handily.

‘Dirty Dancing’ Joins Facebook to Release Game

Baby’s out of the corner and on Facebook.

The chance to “have the time of your life” with Johnny and Baby is a click away, thanks to a new “Dirty Dancing” game now available on Facebook.

The new “Dancing” game, released by Lionsgate and the social media giant, is based on the iconic 1987 movie, offering fans the opportunity to play as managers — and caretakers — on Kellerman’s resort. Players can build the resort, organize activities, choreograph dance routines, spread romance to guests through pink “romance waves” — all to tunes of the legendary soundtrack.

Social media has generally proved kind to the “Dirty Dancing” franchise. More than 200,000 fans have registered to play the game, designed by Toronto-based Social Game Universe, since its release Tuesday, and a Facebook fan page for the movie about the forbidden romance between bad boy dance instructor Johnny Castle and naive Baby counts 10.9 million fans. A September 2010 post made on the first anniversary of actor Patrick Swayze’s death broke the Guinness World Record for the number of social media responses in a 24 hour period — 10,260 comments commemorated the actor, according to Guinness World Records.

“Dirty Dancing is that rare movie that resonates with each new generation and continues to expand upon what is already an extremely loyal and active group of people who can’t get enough of this coming of age story,” said Anne Parducci, Lionsgate’s executive vice president in a statement.

“We wanted to create a game that would not only capture the essence and aesthetic of the “Dirty Dancing” film but also offer Facebook gamers an opportunity to experience it in a whole new way,” said Nathon Gunn, CEO of Social Game Universe. “By enabling players to partner with their Facebook friends to generate love and romance at Kellerman’s, they can add their own unique spin to the game, creating a different social experience for each player.”

Facebook Updates Android App with More Privacy Controls

If you liked the recent changes Facebook made to improve privacy, then you'll want to upgrade immediately to the latest version of the social network's app for Android smartphones.

The app boasts an improved sharing tool that lets users add privacy controls on posts, matching features available on Facebook’s website. Matching the controls gives users the opportunity to create a consistent experience when moving between the mobile and online versions of Facebook.

Also in line with Facebook's online changes, the app permits users to restrict who can see a posting. Not only can that help a person avert embarrassing situations, but it also allows users to tailor their postings so they're viewed by people who will find them relevant.

The new version of the app also lets you tag friends and places in posts, as well as in photos, and sports a redesign of the profile page and of Group Walls.

In addition, photo browsing has been improved. You can now browse through images by swiping them. And the Messages and Notifications features have been made better, too.

On Facebook, Twitter, influence can become profit

Musicians Taylor Swift and Kanye West have millions of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. But there's a difference between their abilities to get people to buy something or believe in something, just as there's a difference between JetBlue's social media strategy versus that of US Airways.

I call it the new ROI – return on influence. And the new ROI can affect the old ROI – return on investment – so directly that, increasingly, companies are starting to pay attention.

I've worked with companies from DoubleTree by Hiltonto Nike to enhance their brands via social media. This same approach works for people, too. Three years ago, I developed "Random Acts of Shaqness." These were social media stunts designed to help basketball great Shaquille O'Neal bridge the virtual and physical worlds to connect with his fans. Shaq used social media to share his exact physical location with fans. The first fan who could find and tag him was rewarded with tickets to a game or an autographed jersey.

Facebook Smart Lists One-Up Google+ Circles

One feature that helped differentiate Google+ from Facebook is Circles, the function that lets users assign friends, family, colleagues and others to different groups.

Facebook, which has long had Friend Lists and last fall launched its Groups feature to assign users to groups, launched more granular sharing tools to target specific groups of people with which to share information.

"Want to see posts from your closest friends? Or perhaps you'd like to share a personal story with your family—without also telling all your co-workers. With improved Friend Lists, you can easily see updates from and share with different lists of friends," explained Facebook product manager Blake Ross, who created the Mozilla Firefox browser.

One of the pains involved with lists is, well, creating them and keeping them up-to-date. Ross and his team created "Smart lists," which create themselves and stay up-to-date based on profile information a user's friends have in common.

Facebook's Smart Lists include work, school, family and city. Friends who attended the same college or work for the same company would instantly appear on a smart list, which will have its own News Feed of photos, status updates and other posts from the people on the list. Users may also manually add or subtract names from their smart lists.

Also new to Friend Lists are close friends and acquaintances lists, which will show status updates and pictures from best friends in one place. Users must manually populate these lists, similar to the way they add or subtract contacts to Circles on Google+.

Facebook Launches Subscribe Button for Following Anyone’s Public Updates

Facebook has launched a Subscribe button that lets you follow the public updates of others, regardless of whether you’re Facebook friends.

The new subscription options are part of Facebook’s effort to give users more control over their Facebook accounts and their News Feeds. “Facebook has always been working on giving users more control,” said Facebook Product Manager Naomi Gleit.

Starting Wednesday, users will begin seeing a Subscribe button alongside the “Message” and “Poke” button on Facebook profiles. The button gives you a way to follow the content others are posting without actually becoming Facebook friends with them. In a lot of ways, it’s like following somebody on Twitter.

This button works a bit differently based on whether you’re looking at a friend’s profile. If you subscribe to the profile of somebody who is not your friend, you will get access to his or her public status updates in your News Feed. You can fine tune what type of updates you see. For example, you could subscribe to my Facebook Page and choose only to see my status updates and ignore my game or photo updates.

Shocker: Analyst Sees 'Unprecedented' Demand for iPhone 5

If the never-ending rumors about the iPhone 5 aren't proof enough, people are extremely interested in Apple's next-generation smartphone. An analyst has now weighed in on that chatter, and predicts "unprecedented" demand for the new iPhone.

In looking at a recent report from ChangeWave, RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky has increased his fourth quarter iPhone and iPad sales estimate to 12.5 million from 10.5 million. The report signals "unprecedented iPhone 5 demand and strong back-to-school iPad buying intentions," according to Fortune.

Of the 2,200 people surveyed by ChangeWave, 31 percent were somewhat or very likely to buy the iPhone 5, up from the 25 percent who said the same ahead of the iPhone 4 launch. About 66 percent of existing iPhone users want to upgrade to the new iPhone.

If Apple expands the number of carriers offering the iPhone, meanwhile, 54 percent of Sprint subscribers and 53 percent of T-Mobile subscribers said they would lean toward the iPhone when buying a new smartphone.

10 Reasons Why iPhone 5 will be Beaten by Samsung Galaxy S2

Samsung Galaxy S2, the smartphone touted by some as an "iPhone Killer," is finally coming to the United States this week after becoming the best-selling Samsung phone ever.

Galaxy S2, which runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS and sports Samsung's TouchWiz UI, is coming to Sprint's network on Sept. 16 as Samsung Epic 4G Touch version, while AT&T would launch Galaxy S2 version on Sept. 18.

The Samsung smartphone comes with an 8-megapixel camera with flash and can record HD video in 1080p offering the richest video content on a smartphone. The phone also has the front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chat.

All the versions of Galaxy S2 will get 4G treatment, offering data speeds up to four times faster than what is expected in Apple's forthcoming iPhone 5. T-Mobile and Epic 4G Touch version of Sprint has 4.52-inch display screen whereas AT&T version retains 4.3-inch screen of original Galaxy S2 version sold worldwide.

The Sprint and AT&T version of Galaxy S2 is powered by a dual-core 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 Mali-400MP GPU Orion chipset, while the T-Mobile version will be powered by a 1.5 GHz dual core Qualcomm APQ8060 processor. The phone comes in 16/32GB internal memory configuration with 1GB RAM.

As for Apple Inc.'s iPhone 5, most features are attributed to the realm of rumors but some are more likely to be in the phone than others. For sure, the iPhone 5 will feature the latest iOS 5 operating system, the A5 processor found in the iPad 2, an 8-megapixel camera and a slimmer and thinner design.

Apple’s iPhone 5 is seeing “unprecedented demand” ahead of its release, which is rumored to come in October, according to a recent survey conducted by RBC Capital Markets. The data showed that 31 percent of the respondents were very/somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5, significantly exceeding the pre-launch iPhone 4 demand of 25 percent.

In the second half of 2011, the heated battle will be between the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S2. Both of these smartphones are right up there in the hype clouds, and hopefully they can both live up to it.
Here is a look at 10 reasons why the Galaxy S2 will score over the iPhone 5.

Carriers Get IOS 5, IPhone 5 Coming

Apple plans to send the master build of iOS 5 to carriers for approval on September 23, evidence that the iPhone 5 is coming in October.

According to BGR, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company will request carriers approve iOS 5 by October 5. The Gold Master build of iOS 5 is Apple’s finished product, and will only undergo further retooling if carriers have problems running it on their networks.

Carrier approval is the final step before Apple can install the platform on the hundreds of thousands of reported iPhone 5 devices being manufactured by Foxconn.

The company would likely make the update available a few days later on iTunes if Apple receives final approval of iOS 5 on the date expected. AppleCare workers are being told to prepare for a large influx of iOS-related calls starting on Monday, October 10, which means iOS 5 could be available less than a week after approval.

Samsung vs. Apple patent fight spreads to France

Apple and Samsung's international patent dispute has spilled over into a new battleground -- France.

Samsung has disclosed that it had filed a lawsuit in France against Apple in July, alleging that the iPhone and iPad infringe on three of its mobile technology patents pertaining to how gadgets connect to 3G networks, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.

The first hearing in the suit is to take place in a Paris district court in December, the AFP said.

The French suit is just one more example of the escalating rivalry of Apple and Samsung over the increasingly important and competitive markets of smartphones and tablet computers.

Last week a German court upheld an August ruling that sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 be banned in Germany until an Apple-initiated patent suit there can be resolved. The same court also temporarily banned the unreleased Galaxy Tab 7.7 from being sold in Germany.

The patent fight got its start in April after Apple sued Samsung in San Francisco, arguing that its lines of Galaxy Tab tablets and Galaxy phones infringed on some Apple patents as well as the look and feel of the Apple iPad tablet and iPhone.

Samsung fired back with a patent suit of its own in Seoul, where it's based, alleging that the iPhone and iPad infringe on a handful of its patents.

Logitech Unveils Wireless Headset, Boombox for Smartphones, Tablets

Logitech is building its catalog of wireless products with two new devices for smartphones and tablets: the Logitech Wireless Headset and Logitech Wireless Boombox, both of which provide personal and public audio listening experiences.

The Wireless Headset is a Bluetooth stereo headset with an over-the-ear headphone design and a flip-down boom microphone for voice calls. According to Logitech, its rechargeable battery can keep the headset running for up to six hours. Stereo Bluetooth headsets are fairly common, but they usually come in the form of ear buds, and the over-the-ear headset design is seldom seen with wireless smartphone accessories.

The Wireless Boombox is another Bluetooth audio device, meant more for playing music to everyone in the room instead of keeping it to yourself. The boombox has a listed range of up to 33 feet and, like the wireless headset, has a battery that can keep it going for up to six hours. It features eight different drivers to cover a wide range of frequencies, though Logitech hasn't stated the drivers' size or the boombox's total power.

U.K. Ad Authority: Apple, Not Samsung, Has Thinnest Smartphone

Last time we heard from the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority, they had blocked Motorola from claiming that their Atrix handset was the world’s most powerfulsmartphone since its processor is slower than the Galaxy S II’s. While they came down on Samsung’s side that time, that isn’t the case now: they have ruled that the iPhone 4, and not the Galaxy S II is the world’s thinnest smartphone.

First, a little background: Apple has been referring to the iPhone 4 as the world’s thinnest smartphone in advertising and promo materials for a while now, but a rival for the crown popped up when the GSII was released. Samsung’s svelte new model is indeed thinner at certain points, measuring in at 8.71mm at its thinnest. It’s a considerable enough difference from the iPhone 4′s 9.3mm depth that it would’ve been a clear victory were it not for the Galaxy S II’s 9.91mm thick hump.

Women use Facebook more than any other Android app

It’s widely known that Facebook is the most popular third-party app on most, if not all, mobile platforms. When it comes to Google’s Android platform though, the first mobile media rankings from Nielsen (July 2011) paint a more interesting picture.

The research firm determined each apps active reach – the percentage of Android owners who used an app within the past 30 days – by analyzing the data from on-device meters on thousands of Android smartphones. Aside from the Android Market app itself, the five most used apps among US Android users 18 years and older were as follows (in order): Google Maps, Gmail, Facebook, Google Search, and YouTube.

This list means that Facebook was overall the third most-used app on Android, and the first most-used third-party app on Android (the other four are all made by Google). It had a 73.5 percent reach, compared to 90.5 percent for the Android Market. The rankings change quite a bit, however, when we break them down to male and female.

Enterprise Mobility: Intel CEO Otellini Outlines Google, Mobility Plans at IDF

SAN FRANCISCO—Intel CEO Paul Otellini, during his keynote at the Intel Developer Forum here Sept. 13, stressed the idea of a computing continuum, an idea he first brought up at the IDF event in 2009. Computing now is focusing on the user experience and the need for a consistent and secure experience that spans across the multiple devices the user has, from smartphones to tablets to PCs. Energy efficiency and battery life are keys to that experience, and are a continuing focus of Intel's efforts, Otellini said. In addition, Intel is continuing to push its way into the mobile computing space currently dominated by low-power chips from ARM. Intel is promoting its ultrabook concept of a device that marries tabletlike features—including long battery life and instant-on—with the capabilities of traditional notebooks. Intel also got a significant boost in its ambitions to muscle into the smartphone space when it announced a partnership with Google, which will optimize future versions of its Android mobile OS for Intel's low-power Atom platform. (Photos courtesy of Intel)

Why Zagat Might Be a Smarter Purchase for Google Than Yelp

By now you’ve heard the news that Google has purchased Zagat Reviews. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Zagat, it has a worldwide set of reviews that travelers have relied on for decades to choose the right restaurant. Google famously flamed out in its bid to buy Yelp in 2009, and has finally added the restaurant reviews it has craved. Not everyone thinks that Zagat was a worthy relacement for Yelp. One wag was quoted in TechCrunch as saying, “If you were losing to Wikipedia would your next move be to buy Encyclopedia Britannica?“

As big a fan as I am of the snarky comment, however, this one doesn’t ring true for me. I totally understand how Yelp reviews are very important and I see why Google went after them first, but I am left wondering whether Google ended up far better off than people think, perhaps even better off than if they had bought Yelp.

First, regardless of whether they bought Yelp or Zagat, Google has desperately wanted to have its own reviews to add to its local offerings and now they have them. What’s more, I believe that Zagat reviews have a better brand image than Yelp’s. Whatever advantage Yelp might have had in cachet over Zagat was that Zagat might have seemed old school, but now that Google owns them, you can bet they can overcome any dowdy image that might have dogged them. How long before you see a Zagat app on Android that allows you not only to search for restaurants but to be one of the raters yourself?

Then, there is the question of the price. That same TechCrunch article linked above pegs the price at somewhere below $66 million, because there is no government review needed for acquisitions under that price. Contrast that to the half-billion dollars reportedly rejected by Yelp. Even if you print money the way Google does, having an extra $400+ million to spend on other things can’t hurt. They could buy six more content companies the size of Zagat, for example and still have some change left over.

After failed Roku partnership, Netgear eyes Google TV

Netgear is evaluating the use of Google TV for future digital living room products,according to a report from Slashgear. A company spokesperson told the website that “as a platform it’s not there yet.” However, that won’t stop Netgear from taking a closer look at the TV operating system, especially now that the release of a big update based on Honeycomb and access to the Android Market is imminent.

Netgear is no stranger to the online video set-top-box market. The company briefly teamed up with Roku last fall, bringing co-branded Roku boxes to retailers in time for the holiday season. However, the honeymooon between the two companies was apparently very short-lived: A Roku spokesperson told us recently that the partnership with Netgear ended “last year.”

The router maker is now trying to corner the market for media players under $100 with its own product dubbed NeoTV, which offers access to some 100 content sources, including Netflix and VUDU.

So why is Netgear looking at Google TV despite having just built its own platform? Access to the Android Market could be a boon for anyone releasing products for this market, and a built-in web browser will give users access to a wide range of additional content.

Google bid against itself for Motorola Mobility

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Almost immediately after Google lost the bidding for a package of Nortel patents that the search giant dearly wanted, it moved on to Plan B and contacted Motorola to see what it had for sale. Less than six weeks later, Google's blockbuster acquisitioncame together -- but only after Google raised its purchase price. Twice.

In a regulatory filing submitted Tuesday, Motorola Mobility breaks down in startling detail the timeline and milestones of Google's $12.5 billion takeover deal. Patents were what originally piqued Google's interest because it wants to arm up for Silicon Valley's ongoing patent war. But it didn't take long for Google to come around to Motorola's view that if Google wanted the patents, it should buy the whole company.

Google Flight Search vs. Kayak

On Tuesday, Google unveiled Google Flight Search—a competitor to Kayak,Travelocity, Expedia and other airfare-shopping sites.

This is the first real fruit borne from Google’s purchase of ITA Software, a flight and airfare-information company that Google bought in July of 2010. Since ITA sells flight information to a number of travel sites (like Kayak,Orbitz and Hotwire), after scrutiny of the deal by the Justice Department, Google had to make assurances that it wouldn’t keep ITA’s best parts for its own uses.

For a quick comparison, I ran a few searches on Google Flight Search and Kayak. Here’s what I found:

Google is faster. Pages loaded about eight seconds faster on Google than they did on Kayak. This may not seem like a lot, but when you’re doing repeated searches and adjustments and reloads, it’s noticeable.

Google is simpler. The default view you get when you search for a flight on Google are all the outbound flights. When you select one, you then see the return flights that are available with that outbound ticket. This is better than Kayak’s presentation, because Kayak shows pairs of flights for the destination and date you’ve selected. With that view, you get all the 9:30 a.m. flights listed with all their matching return flights. There’s a lot of redundancy. Google’s simplified view is better.

Google to let users opt out of location data collection

In a bid to play nice with European regulatory authorities, Google announced yesterday that it will soon launch an opt-out option for owners of wireless access points the company uses to gather smartphone location data.

"Even though the wireless access point signals we use in our location services don't identify people, we think we can go further in protecting people's privacy," Google global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer wrote in a blog post. "At the request of several European data protection authorities, we are building an opt-out service that will allow an access point owner to opt out from Google's location services. Once opted out, our services will not use that access point to determine users' locations."

Google has come under fire as of late for its collection of location data from wireless access points. The issue relates to problems with GPS on smartphones. According to Google, since GPS is not always available, and many applications, including Google Maps for Mobile, require location data to work, the company, like many others, must use another method to determine a person's location. Since location data from cell towers isn't "very accurate," Google says, it has instead decided to access "publicly broadcast Wi-Fi data from wireless access points to improve our location-based services."

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20106029-17/google-to-let-users-opt-out-of-location-data-collection/#ixzz1Xwglstwh

Epson MegaPlex Projectors provide big screen viewing for iPod, iPhone, and iPad

Epson has launched a pair of new projectors that are aimed at the users of Apple iOS gear like the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. The new projectors are both in the MegaPlex line and there are two models. The two models include the MG-850HD and the MG-50. Both of the projectors share some of the same features. Both of them have a rear dock where the Apple gear sits to send the video out to a much larger screen.

The projectors are aimed at different user types including the home theater fan and professional user that might want to give presentations completely from their tablet or smartphone. Both of the projectors use 3LCD technology inside. The 850HD projector supports up to 720p resolution and has a brightness of 2,800 lumens. The MG-50 is a 540p resolution projector with 2,200 lumens of brightness.

Read more at http://www.slashgear.com/epson-megaplex-projectors-provide-big-screen-viewing-for-ipod-iphone-and-ipad-14179645/

Turntable.fm has an iPhone app, hooray!

(CBS) - Now you can take Turntable.fm, the addictive music streaming service, on the road with its new iPhone app. If you're not on Turntable.fm, here's how it works: Users simply pick a music venue to join. There, they can listen to music, discover tunes and chat with other members. Plus, the coolest feature, by far, is playing DJ. During stints in rooms, users take turns DJing. But beware, room residents can vote your songs "lame" and if enough of them say that, the player will skip your song entirely. If you fear bad-music-taste shame, luckily, your Turntable.fm self is represented by a cute avatar of your choosing. Essentially, no one has to know it's you unless you log on with your Facebook account, that is.

iPhone 5 Release Looms; Demand Unprecedented (PICTURE)

Excitement is running high ahead of the October launch of the iPhone 5, higher perhaps than it has been prior to any iPhone launch. To wit, a new study that shows unprecedented demand for the next iteration of Apple’s smartphone.

A survey of 2,200 consumers taken in August by ChangeWave for RBC Capital Markets shows 31 percent of respondents very or somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5 — significantly more than the 25 percent who said they were very or somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 4 ahead of its launch. And that percentage is quite a bit higher among current iPhone owners; 66 percent of existing iPhone users say they are very or somewhat likely to buy the iPhone 5.

In other words, we could see a very large iPhone upgrade cycle, come October — large enough that RBC has raised its estimate for fiscal 2012 iPhone sales to 110 million, up from 105 million

Motorola Mobility invests in OVP Ooyala

Ooyala, the white-label online video platform that already has raised some $44 million in financing since its launch in 2007, today said Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI) has invested an undisclosed sum in the company.

Last September, Ooyala raised $22 million--it actually had a second closing then to accommodate additional investor interest--and used the funding to expand its APAC presence. Just a couple of months later, it scored a big win with Yahoo Japan.

So far, there has been no indication what the funding from Motorola Mobility will be used for, but Ooyala has been aggressively playing in the mobile space, especially with tablets and smartphones.

Ooyala CEO Jay Fulcher, in an email, said he couldn't go into detail about the investment, except to say "this last round was all about increasing our pace of innovation, continuing to build and expand our footprint around the world and roughly doubling the size of our employee base over the course of 2011."

Wallace Pai, Motorola Mobility's vice president of corporate development and ventures, told CNET that Ooyala's recently launched Ooyala Everywhere initiative, which gives content owners the tools to deliver their products to multiple screens, fit well with MM's plans.

For Ooyala, which recently landed ESPN's business, the deal with Motorola fits its mission as well.

Read more: Motorola Mobility invests in OVP Ooyala - FierceOnlineVideo http://www.fierceonlinevideo.com/story/motorola-mobility-invests-ovp-ooyala/2011-09-13#ixzz1Xwfe4uBA

Google bumped up Motorola offer by $3 billion

Google upped its original offer to acquire Motorola Mobility by 33 percent, or about $3 billion, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday.

Last month, Google announced it had signed a deal to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

According to a Motorola filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google senior vice president of mobile, Andy Rubin, contacted Motorola Mobility Chief Sanjay Jha in early July to discuss possible responses to the recent $4.5 billion purchase by Microsoft, Apple, RIM, and others, of Nortel Networks' patent portfolio.

Google's behind-the-scenes reaction to the patent auction seems to follow what the company has said publicly. In announcing the Motorola deal in mid-August, Google CEO Larry Page said the Nortel patent acquisition was further proof that "companies, including Microsoft and Apple, are banding together in anti-competitive patent attacks on Android."

Motorola's SEC filing shows that Google wanted to do more than just complain. According to the filing, senior management at both companies, including Page, had conversations about the Nortel acquisition and patent litigation, as well as how both Google and Motorola could protect themselves. One of the "strategic options," Motorola noted, was its acquisition by Google.

According to the filing, Motorola then started the process of accepting a bid from Google, including hiring financial advisers to assist management.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20105943-17/google-bumped-up-motorola-offer-by-$3-billion/#ixzz1XwfDuF8n

Epson MegaPlex Projectors Offer Big Screen Viewing for iPod, iPhone and iPad Mobile Device Users to Share Movies, Photos, Music, and More

LONG BEACH, Calif., Sept. 14, 2011 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Epson America today announced its innovative new line of portable, combo projectors, the MegaPlex MG-850HD and MegaPlex MG-50. Equipped with a high-quality, high-brightness projector, stereo speakers and a built-in dock for iPod®, iPhone® and iPad®, the versatile MegaPlex family delivers easy-to-use, big screen viewing to home theater enthusiasts and professionals virtually anywhere – whether inside for a movie-like setting, at the office in a conference room or even outdoors.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110914/LA68023)

MegaPlex MG-850HD and MegaPlex MG-50 make it easy for consumers to watch movies, view presentations, share photos, or enjoy content saved on portable devices on a big screen. Easily project, play and charge an iPod, iPhone, or iPad, or share high quality imagery from a variety of other media devices, including smartphones, PCs, tablets, gaming consoles, and more.

"MegaPlex is the ideal big screen projector for the new digital lifestyle. Enabling consumers to share multimedia content from their iPod, iPhone, iPad and a wide assortment of other digital devices, MegaPlex is changing the way movies, gaming, slideshows, presentations, music, and more are viewed by eliminating the confinement of a smaller screen," says Jason Palmer, product manager, Epson America. "With the high-quality, versatility and portability of Epson's MegaPlex solutions, consumers can literally dock their iPad, iPhone or iPod, click and immediately share multimedia content on a big screen wherever they may be."

Both solutions are powered by 3LCD technology to deliver reliable performance and rich, vibrant colors. The flagship MegaPlex MG-850HD offers 720p high-definition resolution and high brightness of 2,800 lumens of color and white light output (1) – ideal for big screen viewing in both dark and lighter settings – while the MegaPlex MG-50 features 540p resolution and up to 2,200 lumens of color and white light output.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/14/3908782/epson-megaplex-projectors-offer.html#ixzz1Xwa8OVn9

Banned From The App Store: An Anti-iPhone Game Complete With Foxconn Suicide Mini-Game

In the video game world, little can do more to send your sales soaring than being banned in one way or another. Be it because a country’s government got upset over how their people were depicted (a la Modern Warfare in Saudi Arabia) or because the developers slipped in a naughty little easter egg thereby triggering a recall (like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas’ infamous Hot Coffee scene), that little bit of taboo can be all it takes to rule the charts for weeks.

That is, unless you’re selling your game exclusively on the iOS App Store, in which case you’re totally boned… unless your goal was to spread a message, in which case it’s back to being the best thing you could have hoped for.

Such is the case for Phone Story, a blatantly anti-iPhone game that managed to wiggle its way into the App Store for a whole seven hours before someone pulled the plug. Why, you ask? Amongst other things, making a mini-game out of the Foxconn factory suicides.

The game was made by Italy’sMolleindustria. Their tag line pretty much sums up their mindset: “Radical games against the dictatorship of entertainment.“

Molleindustria seems to have four main qualms with Apple and the iPhone, with each given its own mini-game:

‘Jew or Not Jew’ iPhone app riles French anti-racism groups; calls for Apple to remove it

PARIS — A French anti-racism group has threatened to sue Apple over an iPhone application called “A Jew or Not a Jew?” that allows users to consult a database of celebrities and public figures to determine whether they are Jewish or not.

SOS Racisme said the application, sold for 0.79 euro cents ($1.07) on the Apple Store France, violates France’s strict laws banning the compiling of people’s personal details without their consent.

Under the French penal code, stocking personal details including race, sexuality, political leanings or religious affiliation is punishable by five-year prison sentences and fines of up to €300,000 ($411,870).

Such laws were enacted in the decades following the Holocaust, which saw some 76,000 Jews deported from Nazi-occupied France to concentration camps. Fewer than 3,000 returned alive.

In a statement, SOS Racisme called on Apple to remove the app the from its online store and be more vigilant about the applications it sells.

Apple France and its European headquarters did not immediately return several calls for comment.

The head of leading French Jewish group CRIF, Richard Prasquier, echoed SOS Racisme’s call for the immediate removal of the application.

China Telecom plotting $235M marketing campaign for Apple's iPhone 5

Carrier China Telecom is reportedly gearing up for the launch of Apple's fifth-generation iPhone by planning a rumored 1.5 billion yuan ($235 million) marketing campaign.

Citing local publication Southern Metropolis Daily, The Next Web reported on Wednesday that China Telecom has begun preparing its sales staff for Apple's anticipated fifth-generation iPhone, and expects to begin accepting orders at the end of September. Official sales are expected to begin in October, as has been rumored.

The third-largest carrier in China is rumored to have a 1.5 billion yuan budget to spend on marketing the iPhone 5 when it goes on sale. China Telecom is now bigger than America's Verizon Wireless, making it the largest CDMA-based carrier in the world.

Apple began work on its own, official iPhone 5 advertising spots in August ahead of the anticipated October launch of its next handset. Filming for the television spots took place in Los Angeles with Apple's long-time ad agency TBWAChiatDay, sources toldAppleInsider.

Numerous reports have pointed toward China Telecom offering Apple's iPhone by the end of the year, a deal that has been viewed as a $9 billion revenue opportunity for Apple, with about 15 million potential high-end smartphone subscribers available. IN all, the carrier had 108.4 million subscribers at the end of June, representing 12 percent of China's total market.

Currently, China Unicom is the only official iPhone carrier in China, but numerous reports have indicated both China Telecom and China Mobile will gain access to Apple's handset by the end of 2011. China Mobile is the largest carrier in the world, with more than 611 million subscribers.

Android surpasses Apple in EU markets

Google Inc.'s Android has passed Apple Inc.'s iOS as the second top smartphone platform in the top five European Union markets, according to Internet marketing research company comScore.

According to comScore Europe vice president for mobile Jeremy Copp, Android's increasing popularity played a large part in a "significant growth" in smartphone adoption from 2010.

"Although Symbian continues to lead the EU5 smartphone market, Android is gaining fast and recently passed Apple to become the second most popular platform. Network operators, publishers and advertisers looking to effectively reach the European mobile audience must pay close attention to the continued growth of Android in the region, as it will likely have far-reaching implications for the mobile media landscape," he said in a news release.

The five leading European markets are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

According to comScore, nearly one in four smartphone users in EU5 reported using smartphones running on the Google Android platform in July 2011.

HTC had the highest market share among mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), accounting for 34.6 percent of Android devices used across the region in this period, followed closely by Samsung with 31.7 percent of Android devices.