30 September 2013

Android Tablets Surpass Apple iPad in Marketshare

This has been building for some time and will accelerate over the next 3 years --

Android overtakes Apple's iPad in tablet marketshare, approaches in revenue...
Apple Insider
Android overtakes Apple's iPad in tablet marketshare, approaches in revenue ... Apple's iPad and iPad mini are still the most popular tablets in the world, but ...

Apple Insider


Android overtakes iPad in tablet race - NBCNews.com: "The iPad, long the best-selling tablet in the world, has received a check to its dominance: Android has taken the lead in both tablets sold and in the money people paid for them."
Apple has a Samsung problem
Ninemsn
It seems that it wasn't all too long ago when Samsung (NASDAQOTH: SSNLF ) was mocking smartphone leader Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) lines in its “next big ...

Online Gadget Store


China to Open Door Wider for Foreign Tech Firms
Wall Street Journal
BEIJING—China outlined a plan to allow foreign firms to offer some Internet services in the country and ended a more than decade long ban on the sale of videogame consoles as part of new rules issued Friday for a free-trade zone in Shanghai. According to a ...


2 great new Surface tablets unveiled: Why I won't be buying either one | ZDNet: "The "about 2lbs" Microsoft is listing for the Surface Pro 2, which is the same as the Surface Pro, is too heavy for tablet use as far as I'm concerned. The times I've played with the Surface Pro clearly demonstrated that the tablet is too heavy and bulky for typical tablet use."

Finding Microsoft's New CEO - WSJ.com: "Mr. Thompson, a seasoned 64-year-old tech executive, will have to convince critics that he and fellow outside directors won't rubber-stamp the views of Bill Gates, Microsoft's legendary chairman, co-founder and biggest individual stockholder. "I have enormous respect for Bill," Mr. Thompson said in an interview Wednesday. "But I didn't accept the role on the board or the role as the lead independent director to be Bill's pawn.""

Apple's Sales of New iPhones Off to a Fast Start

EDGEOnTheNet
Apple's rivals have been gaining market share by selling less expensive phones running on Google Inc.'s free Android software. Those nagging worries are the ...

The Guardian

Microsoft justifies costly Xbox One console, discusses console's ...

Gamenguide
The fact that Microsoft's Xbox One is set to retail for $100 more than Sony's ... With about a month left for the console's final release, it seems like Microsoft is ...

Gamenguide

Microsoft Keeping Close Eye on SteamOS, Steam Machines

Tom's Hardware Guide
In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Microsoft corporate vice president Phil ... of these titles -- if they're purchased through Google Play or Amazon's Appstore ...


Microsoft, Nokia deal: Delhi High Court order dials trouble for Nokia ...

Financial Express
Microsoft, Nokia deal: Delhi High Court order dials trouble for Nokia in India... The India leg of Nokia's global sale to Microsoft Corporation could run into trouble, ...

Financial Express

Microsoft sees game market in China

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
BEIJING – Microsoft Corp. is forming a video-game venture with a Chinese... Microsoft and BesTV New Media Co., a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group, ...

Paste Magazine

Is Apple iOS 7 Making Users Sick?

InformationWeek
Apple's recently released mobile operating system iOS 7 is making some people ... Meaningful Use regulations and start asking: Is my site as useful as Amazon?


Apple and AT&T settle class action for unlimited data claim - Engadget

Mariella Moon
Apple and AT&T settle class action for unlimited data claim of original iPad ... Microsoft outlines 66,539 account requests from law enforcement during first ... Amazon.com ... Man Stunned After Finding Picture Of His Late Grandma On Google.Engadget RSS Feed 


Steve Ballmer's Tearful Goodbye to Microsoft - AllThingsD

Mike Isaac
Trending – Intel Looking for Help from Amazon or Samsung to Keep Its Web TV Project Alive · Mike Isaac. ethics statement ... But you can't deny that the longtime Microsoft chief has got heart. ... I can't believe Apple isn't moving faster to create a larger iPhone screen. ... 


Apple to pay AT&T iPad 3G owners $40 in unlimited data lawsuit

Cody Lee
Apple to pay AT&T iPad 3G owners $40 in unlimited data lawsuit. By Cody Lee, Sep 29, 2013 ...DOJ: Apple used in-app purchases as club against Amazon ...

iDownloadBlog.com 

Microsoft Received 37,196 Requests For Data From LEAs | Ubergizmo

Adnan Farooqui
Microsoft has released a new report today detailing the number of requests it has received from various law enforcement agencies from around the world.Ubergizmo 


How To Transfer Your Contacts from iCloud to Google Contacts
Chad Kirchner
Thankfully both Apple and Google support the vCard standard for contacts which makes it incredibly easy to move from one ecosystem to another. Also, doing it ...

Gotta Be Mobile

Sayonara, silicon? Engineers build first carbon nanotube computer
Los Angeles Times
Tech soothsayers have long predicted the demise of computers as we know them today, as their shrinking sizes approach the limits of silicon's ability to take the heat. Now, researchers at Stanford University — in the heart of Silicon Valley — have tossed the ...

LexisNexis breach reveals 'secret questions'
USA TODAY
SEATTLE – The systematic theft of records from three major U.S. data aggregation companies could well turn out to be much more damaging to consumers than any previous large-scale theft of credit card data. "This is a much bigger deal than a regular credit ...

Valve reveals haptic game controller for release in 2014
BBC News
Games developer and publisher Valve has shown off its Steam Controller, the final part of its strategy to bring its PC-based platform to the living room. The controller offers two trackpads which provide "haptic" feedback capable of delivering various physical ...

MLB tests Apple's iBeacon location service (pictures)
CNET
CNET took a trip to Citi Field to get a sneak peak at location-based services powered by Apple's iBeacon, a new feature found in iOS 7. A greeting pops up as you get to the front walkway of Citi Field. The greeting is triggered by a nearby beacon that detects ...

6 Pieces Of Evidence For Water On Mars: Video
Discovery News
The ace team at Discovery Lists teamed up with Discovery News ahead of Thursday's big "water on Mars" discovery announcement to produce this brilliant video. Continue reading →. Read More » · Human · Psychology · Genetics · Health · Evolution · Life ...

Forest Fragmentation can lead to 'Ecological Armageddon', Researchers Say
Nature World News
Many species of birds and animals will soon disappear due to the increased fragmentation of tropical forests around the world. Tropical forests are hotspots of biological diversity and currently occupy about 6 percent of earth's land surface, which is less than ...

Why Did Apple Just Hire A Nike Shoe Designer?
Fast Company
Why Did Apple Just Hire A Nike Shoe Designer? One thing we do know: Ben Shaffer was not a top FuelBand designer for the athletic company, as reported by sources hungry for iWatch fodder. By: Austin Carr. If you believe the rumors, Apple just poached top ...

What 'likely' and 'extremely likely' really mean in climate-speak
The Globe and Mail
Climate scientists announced Friday that they now believe it is “extremely likely” that warming of the Earth's climate is caused by humans, marking a rise in confidence from “very likely” in 2007. What do these terms actually mean? The authors of the ...


Sonar Noise Behind Whale Deaths
Discovery News
The deaths of over 100 melon-headed whales, which stranded on the shores of a lagoon in northwest Madagascar in 2008, were likely primarily triggered by a form of sonar being deployed by an ExxonMobil survey vessel, according to a scientific review ...
more technology news below



29 September 2013

Facebook Ads Annoying?

Apparently so --

Facebook Admits Its Ads Are Too Annoying | MIT Technology Review
Facebook says its ad targeting technology has irked its users and will be upgraded....
Web - MIT Technology Review


Google Faces Fine for Not Complying With French Privacy Demands

Bloomberg
Google Inc. (GOOG) faces a fine for failing to make changes to its privacy... Google informed France's data-privacy regulator that it contested findings that its ...

IBNLive

Microsoft received 37000 end-user data requests in first half of year

PCWorld
Judges and police investigators are on track to submit about the same number of requests to Microsoft for end user data this year as they did in 2012, according ...

ZDNet

Apple maps route to AK airport runway reactivated

Boston.com
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — To the chagrin and worry of Alaska transportation officials, Apple reactivated maps app directions Friday that guide drivers to the ...

Alaska Dispatch

Martha Stewart Slams Apple Customer Service in Twitter Rant ...

E! Online
No action yey," she added. "Maybe I have had a good entrepreneurial idea? Apple Now? Like same day delivery from Amazon? I think I am on to something....

CIO Today

Apple Fixes iOS 7 Bug; Google Revamps Search; Gates Calls Ctrl+ ...

PC Magazine
Apple Fixes iOS 7 Bug; Google Revamps Search; Gates Calls Ctrl+Alt+Del a 'Mistake' ... to the forefront of the candidates to become the new CEO of Microsoft....

WPTV

What Google's Calico Means For Healthcare

InformationWeek
With CEO Larry Page's announcement last week that Google will be investing in Calico, a healthcare company, came a flurry of speculation from every corner of ...


Amazon, Apple face more international taxes in Europe

USA TODAY
Such as the "data tax" on Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, about to be proposed by ...MICROSOFT: Microsoft's Surface Pro 2: So Right, but So Wrong....


Apple iPhone 5s carries US$199 BOM and manufacturing cost, IHS ...

HispanicBusiness.com
Apple's new flagship product- the iPhone 5s- features some cutting-edge ... "In addition, it is very interesting to see that Apple continues to collaborate closely ...


Google's five weirdest projects from its first 15 years

Christian Science Monitor
The Google doodle Friday depicts a bunch of letters cluttered around a birthday ... The game, of course, is a kind of birthday party for Google, which turns the ripe ...

Christian Science Monitor

Google at 15: Hiring Marissa Mayer, Employee #20

Bloomberg
Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Heather Cairns, Google's fourth employee and Ben Legg, CEO at Adknowledge and former COO of Google Europe recall the hiring of ...


Apple Patent Tips System for Autographing E-Books | News & Opinion | PCMag.com: "The patent focuses primarily on e-books, but also notes that Apple's technology could be used in other digital formats, like music albums, movies, and applications. Additionally, the "autograph" can extend beyond a signature to include text, audio clips, images, photo albums, videos, or other media."

How is technology revolutionizing health care? — Tech News and ...
By GigaOM
Health tech innovation will take center stage in New York City this Nov. 14 and 15 at the New York eHealth Collaborative's Digital Health Conference as a who's who of New York's health IT ecosystem gather to network and discuss health ...
GigaOM


From TEDxToronto to the trenches, a glimpse of technology's future ...
By Daniel Bader
A thousand or so delegates, and a few lucky media folk, packed themselves into a comfortable, soporific theatre in downtown Toronto yesterday to hear a.
MobileSyrup.com

Valve reveals the hackable, touch-enabled Steam Controller - Gizmag
By Jonathan Fincher
Jonathan grew up in Norway, China, and Trinidad before graduating film school and becoming an online writer covering green technology, history and design, as well as contributing to video game news sites like Filefront and 1Up.
Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine

Linn Introduces New Technology with Exakt Loudspeaker
By HomeTheaterReview.com
Linn has introduced a brand new technology that the company is implementing in the company's Klimax speakers. The new Exakt technology moves the source inside the speaker itself.
HomeTheaterReview.com

Apple's advanced fingerprint technology is hacked; should you ...
Less than 48 hours after the iPhone 5s went on sale, a group of German hackers claimed to have lifted a fingerprint and created a fake finger that could spoof ...
www.zdnet.com/apples-advanced-fingerprint-technology-is-ha...

North Korea 'has technology to build uranium-based nuclear bombs ...
Pyongyang thought to be mastering production of components for gas centrifuges needed to make such bombs, say experts.
www.theguardian.com/.../north-korea-uranium-based-nuclear-...

Book News: Apple Seeks Patent For Digital Book-Signing Technology
Also: University of Toronto faculty members disown David Gilmour; a new poem by Helen Mort; Teju Cole remembers Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor.
www.npr.org/.../book-news-apple-files-patent-for-digital-book...

Technology in the America's Cup: Against all odds | The Economist
BY SOME measure, it was the most spectacular match-sailing series ever and one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history. Down by 8-1 a week earlier ...
www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/.../technology-americas-c...

Stanford engineers build computer using carbon nanotube technology
A team of Stanford engineers has built a basic computer using carbon nanotubes , a semiconductor material that has the potential to launch a new generation of ...
phys.org/.../2013-09-stanford-carbon-nanotube-technology.ht...

more technology news below



28 September 2013

BlackBerry Loses Nearly $1 Billion in Quarter

BlackBerry has been talking "spin" for so long, it doesn't even recognize when it's "done" --

BlackBerry Loses Nearly $1 Billion in Quarter - NYTimes.com: "Facing an uncertain future and a highly conditional takeover bid, BlackBerry said on Friday that it lost $965 million on sales of $1.6 billion during its fiscal second quarter. . . ."

BlackBerry shares sink on bid doubts, T-Mobile stops stocking its phones | Reuters"Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu said he doubted financial sponsors would be comfortable with $3 billion of debt, given the only collateral BlackBerry could offer is its patent portfolio, which he valued between $800 million and $1.5 billion. "We believe the Fairfax initiative is unlikely to come to fruition and see the next valuation floor for the stock at $5," he wrote in a note to clients."

Google unveils major overhaul of its search engine
USA TODAY
Google's changes are a big deal because so many other companies rely on ... Google unveiled a big revamp of its search engine Thursday that affects 90% of ...

Telegraph.co.uk

Google must face suit over scanning of messages in Gmail, judge ...
Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Jose federal judge has ruled that Google must face a lawsuit that accuses the tech giant of illegally opening and reading the contents ...

ZDNet

Microsoft wants to scan your JavaScript libraries
PCWorld
Microsoft wants to help web application framework developers tackle one of their thorniest problems, that of testing their libraries to ensure they work correctly ...

eWeek

Apple updates iBookstore for authors with enhanced versioning ...
Apple Insider
Those who'd like to see the difference these file size limits make can download the free samples from Apple and Amazon. Keep in mind, though, that the ...

Apple Insider

Microsoft vows greater financial transparency with new reporting ...
PCWorld
Microsoft has said a new way of reporting its financial results will be better... The new structure under which Microsoft will now report its quarterly financial ...

PCWorld.co.nz

Apple manager says job transfer to US tainted by 'butt' complaint
Irish Independent
WWII vet hired by Brad Pitt goes on google to see who he is ... A SENIOR manager at computer giant Apple said he was haunted by a complaint that he had ...
USA TODAY
Apple's introduction of the iPad tablet in 2010 completely disrupted the PC market, and the subsequent onslaught of Google Android-powered models certainly ...

TechSpot

Facebook, Google seen dominating ad wars
MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. are poised to dominate a growing online advertising arena that's increasingly being defined ...

Business Insider

Is Apple ripe for another massive stock buyback?
Fortune
FORTUNE -- In April, Apple (AAPL) announced what is apparently the largest share repurchase program in the history of capitalism: $60 billion before the end of ...

Apple Insider

Apple should be forced to conform to a standard charger, say EU ...
PCWorld
Apple should be forced to conform to a standard charger, say EU politicians. Apple may be forced to abandon its proprietary 30-pin dock charger (shown above) ...

Android Community

Jony Ive on Apple's Design - Voices - Voices - AllThingsD
Voices
Apple's Mission. September 26, 2013 at 11:59 pm PT ... Is Ford's Alan Mulally Now in the Lead to Be New CEO of Microsoft? Kara Swisher in News. Stir Kinetic ...AllThingsD

Source Of Space Weather That Spawns Northern Lights Discovered; Satellites In ...
Headlines & Global News
Researchers may have found the source of satellite-damaging space weather and the brilliant Northern Lights. Solar storms can cause extensive electrical blackouts and satellite failure. A new study suggests the phenomenon is caused by solar energy that is ...

more technology news below



27 September 2013

Quickoffice Replaces Office on Smartphones and Tablets

Who cares about Microsoft Office anymore? -- if you need it on your iPhone or iPad (or Android tablet or smartphone) just get the FREE Google Quickoffice -- 

Google makes Quickoffice for Android and iOS free for all, bringing Microsoft Office editing to the mobile masses - The Next Web: "As we’ve said before, however, Windows Phone and BlackBerry users are out of luck. Google is simply not interested in supporting either platform. Meanwhile, you can bet it will continue to improve Quickoffice for Android and iOS."

Quickoffice for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on the iTunes App Store: "This free app from Google lets you create and edit Microsoft® Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations on your iPhone and iPad. Once you sign in with your Google Account, work can be saved in Google Drive, which gives you up to 15GB of free storage and lets you access your files from any mobile device or computer. "

Download Quickoffice for Android: http://goo.gl/Y5TQxz 

Dell drops Windows RT, only Microsoft remains selling the OS - Neowin: "That leaves Microsoft as the only current Windows RT hardware maker, as it continues to sell the Surface RT tablet and will launch Surface 2 on October 22nd."

T-Mobile US will no longer stock BlackBerry in stores | Reuters: "T-Mobile US Inc, the No. 4 U.S. wireless service provider, plans to stop carrying BlackBerry Ltd smartphones in its stores and instead ship the devices directly, according to an executive for the company."

Google same-day delivery makes public debut
San Jose Mercury News
Google same-day delivery makes public debut ... smartphones, which can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple (AAPL) App Store. ... Google joins eBay (EBAY) and Amazon in the race to win the local commerce market by ...

NBC Bay Area

Microsoft And Oracle Say: Come To Azure Cloud
InformationWeek
Bygones are bygones, as former database rivals Microsoft and Oracle link arms to ... At the same time, the rise of Amazon Web Services showed what had been ...
Washington Post
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A glitch in the Apple Maps app on newer iPhones and iPads guides people up to a runway at a major Alaska airport instead of sending ...

Washington Post

Microsoft sails past Oracle in bringing Java SE to the cloud
PCWorld
While Oracle CEO Larry Ellison focuses his attention on the America's Cup sailing race, Oracle is rushing to keep up in another race, the one to get its Java SE ...

SDTimes.com

Google, at 15, perfects search for the next big thing
USA TODAY
While much-older tech rivals Apple and Microsoft fend off questions about their innovation chops,Google is as inventive and financially stout as ever. Google ...
Wired
Google is asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a recent ruling finding Google potentially liable for wiretapping when it secretly intercepted data on open ...
Apple Insider
Apple tech lets fans collect digital autographs on ebooks, movies and music ... A peculiar Apple invention landed on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's desk ...

Apple Insider

Apple's IOS 7 Is a Potent Upgrade: Rich Jaroslovsky
Bloomberg
Apple users who don't like change may initially have a tough time with iOS 7 and its ... It's certainly a challenge to Microsoft (MSFT)'s Skype andGoogle's voice ...

Apple Insider

Amazon's Ad Business Makes Twitter's IPO Look Puny
Wired
Twitter hasn't publicly revealed its revenue, and Amazon doesn't specifically break ... After all, Google and Facebook — not to mention Yahoo, Microsoft, Barry ...

New York Daily News

Amazon adds power, 'Mayday' button to new Kindle
GlobalPost
Amazon upped the ante in the tablet wars Wednesday, unveiling upgraded Kindles ... version that competes with smaller devices like Apple's iPad mini, and an 8.9 inch ... Amazon calls a Fire OS operating system, which builds on Google's Android ... The news came just two days afterMicrosoft announced upgrades to its ...

NDTV

Google Search app for Android updated (update) - Engadget
Donald Melanson
Today's the day for updates to Google's Android apps. ... Next. Amazon Prime is the first subscription video service with an offline option, on Kindle HDX ... Eddy Cue intros new Appleinternal iTunes channel to tout work by ... The Engadget Show 45: Security with Cory Doctorow, John McAfee, Microsoft, the EFF and more!
Engadget RSS Feed 
Casey Chan
Google Fiber--which for most of us is an idea better than any dream we've ever had--is expanding. After blessing Kansas City with superlightspeed Internet, ...
Gizmodo 
Glenn Gabe
If a website gets hit by Google Panda, small fixes won't be effective. Panda absolutely can strike again, and if it does, webmasters might find themselves in a ...
Search Engine Watch - Latest

more technology news below



26 September 2013

Surface, Surface 2, Surface RT, Surface Pro 2? Anyone?

How about "none of the above" --

Surface 2 branding, specs, and pricing: Wrong, wrong, and wrong | Microsoft windows - InfoWorld: "The prices on the new 2's are way, way, way too high. Surface 2 with 2GB of RAM and 32GB SSD costs $449. That's $50 less than the launch price of the Surface RT, but we all know how well it sold....The Surface Pro 2 pricing defies imagination as well; $899 for a 4GB/64GB Pro 2? You gotta be kidding me. All the way up to $1,799 for an 8GB/512GB model -- yes, still with an i5 processor, integrated graphics, and so-so screen. Add to that $120 for the cheapest keyboard/cover, up to $200 for the battery-supplemented cover, and you're looking at a cool $2,000 for an 8GB/512GB Surface Pro 2 -- with Office not included." (read more at link above)

Amazon unveils Kindle Fire HDX
The Hindu
Amazon is refreshing its line-up of tablet computers with new devices called... compared to 48 percent for Apple's iPad and 8 percent for Samsung's Galaxy line, ...

The Hindu

Google fixes lengthy, widespread Gmail glitch
PCWorld
Affected users endured email delivery delays and difficulties downloading attachments due to a still unexplained bug first acknowledged by Google at around ...

CIO Today

Google Chrome to block and banish plugins built using popular ...
PCWorld
Google Chrome to block and banish plugins built using popular NPAPI architecture ... supported by browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome,Apple Safari, ...

eWeek

Google yanks sketchy iMessage clone for Android from app store
Computerworld (blog)
Google confirmed that it yanked the app for violating its store policies. ...The Android app was designed to let users piggyback on Apple's iMessage service to ...

Waterbury Republican American

YouTube gets the yuck out in comments cleanup
CNET
YouTube video comments can be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, butGoogle is arming uploaders with Google+ comment moderation powers....

Brisbane Times

Microsoft's SkyDrive stumbles, becomes latest glitchy cloud app
Computerworld
Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service began malfunctioning on Tuesday afternoon, a day after Google's Gmail got tripped by a network breakdown....

eWeek

Google lets you lock your lost Android remotely
HispanicBusiness.com
Google's new feature can be found in the Android's Device Manager, which will ... Google's move provides users a service available from a number of mobile ...

NDTV

Amazon to take on 15000 new seasonal UK staff for Christmas crunch
The Guardian
Amazon to take on 15,000 new seasonal UK staff for Christmas crunch. Online retailer to ... The Amazon distribution warehouse just outside Milton Keynes....

The Guardian

Microsoft's big draw for Oracle on Azure: Simplified licensing
InfoWorld
Consequently, one way to simplify the costs of server products --Microsoft's included -- is to obtain them as a pre-licensed part of a machine image. Amazon ...

Economic Times

Google Science Fair wins include BC teen's body-heat-powered ...
CBC.ca
Australian Viney Kumar, Canadian Ann Makosinski of Victoria, B.C., Elif Bilgin of Turkey and American Eric Chen, left to right, took home trophies at the Google ...

Vancouver Sun (blog)

Amazon Updates Kindle Fire Line - NYTimes.com
By DAVID STREITFELD
A day after Microsoft announced plans for its new Surface tablets, Amazon refreshed the Kindle ...Apple sold about $33 billion worth of iPads in the last year.
NYT Bits 
John Paczkowski
A 96-acre parcel of land adjacent to the site of Apple's Prineville data center has ... and Other Features Make New Kindle Fire Tablets Uniquely Amazon (Video).
AllThingsD

How BlackBerry buyout could bear fruit | Technology | The Guardian: ""This is a break up story," says Benedict Evans, mobile expert at Enders Analysis. "There is nothing a new owner is going to do to make people start buying BB10 devices in enough volume to be viable. They should have built on top of Android two years ago.""

Exclusive: Google same-day delivery makes public debut Wednesday - SiliconValley.com: "The public launch makes Google's once-exclusive service available to everyone who wants same-day delivery from San Francisco to San Jose, and signals that the Internet company may have found the formula to solve one of the most challenging problems in retail. "

more technology news below



25 September 2013

Mobile Is Now A Mature Business

Mobile (smartphones, tablets) mature? Apple will slowly recede as a premium product enamored by users trapped in the Apple ecosystem, while Android (the free, open source mobile OS by Google) will form the basis for ever more commoditized hardware devices -- even in the US, your new smartphone in less than 18 months will most likely be made by Xiaomi or some other Chinese or Indian manufacturer -- and cost less than $150 off contract, unlocked!

BlackBerry Never Had a Chance: Mobile Innovation Is Over | Wired Business | Wired.com: "....A collective “meh” accompanied the unveiling of the iPhones 5s and 5c, which boasted only incremental improvements over the iPhone 5. And yet Apple says it sold 9 million of these devices upon their official release this past weekend. The total blows away the old record and promises more big profits for Apple. These customers didn’t flock to the phones because they wanted a fingerprint sensor or a slightly better camera. The reality is that Apple’s new models are synced with cell phone contract cycles. After two years, contracts have expired, and our two-year-old phones have taken a beating. A phone with slightly better features at the same subsidized price meets consumers where they’re living...."

BlackBerry Won't Be the Last Victim of "Disrupters"- BlackBerry Loses $1 Billion: Disrupters Win - Barrons.com: "...The future for BlackBerry now looks increasingly like an asset sale, a leveraged buyout, or sale to another tech firm, though no one can quite figure out who would want it . . . the company may have burned through $500 million in the quarter . . . The lesson of BlackBerry, and similarly, of Nokia (NOK), once the biggest smartphone maker in the world, is that when franchises are displaced by newcomers, those franchises never come back. That fact explains the lackluster performance of, for example, Microsoft...."

BlackBerry Buyout Offer Raises Array of Questions - NYTimes.com: "...Just as unclear is how a buyout would be financed. Fairfax did not say how much cash it was prepared to put toward the deal, or how much debt it might expect BlackBerry to take on in a buyout. BlackBerry is largely debt-free and had about $2.6 billion in cash at the end of the last quarter, leaving just a couple of billion dollars needed to conceivably strike an acquisition...."

Google adds remote lock and password reset features to Android Device Manager | The Verge: "...Android users can now remotely lock down a misplaced or stolen device from the web. Google has rolled this critical feature into Android Device Manager, which launched last month with location tracking and remote wipe functionality. Now the web tool lets you lock any Android smartphone running version 2.2 of the operating system and above. To do so, you'll simply need to set a new password to be entered once the device is recovered. . . ."

Nokia Admits Giving Misleading Information About Elop's Compensation - Forbes: Elop had "a major incentive to sell Nokia’s core business to Microsoft."


Microsoft Adopts Plan to Keep Executives During CEO Shift
Bloomberg
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is altering its compensation plan so that the company can use special equity incentives to retain executives during a transition to a new ...

Times of India

Microsoft did not break antitrust laws in dealings with Novell, court ...

Deseret News
Microsoft Corp. did not violate antitrust laws two decades ago in its dealings with ... Microsoft Corp. did not violate antitrust laws two decades ago in its dealings ...

Deseret News

Microsoft Sets Up China Venture to Develop Games

Wall Street Journal
BEIJING—Microsoft Corp. and a Chinese company plan to invest up to $237 million in a joint venture in China to develop "family games and related services" as ...

ARNnet

Apple's a tasty phishing targets for scammers

PCWorld
Spam volumes took a usual seasonal drop in August, but phishing spiked, including a noticeable interest in hijacking Apple accounts. Spam averaged 67.6 ...

CIO

Google buys more buildings in Silicon Valley

San Jose Mercury News
MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Google (GOOG) over the last few weeks has struck deals to rent or buy more than 1 million square feet of offices in Santa Clara County, ...


Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablet gets a price cut in India

NDTV
The tablet runs a highly customised version of Android 4.0.3, with apps available through Amazon's Appstore instead of Google Play store. Kindle Fire HD ...

NDTV

Google's Native Client dilemma: A faster but fragmented Web?

CNET
Google wants a Web that looks very different from today's. ... and even Microsoft these days agrees that standards are the way to advance Web programming....


Apple Makes Good On Breaking Bad iTunes Season Pass Holders ...

Forbes
Like a ton of other iTunes users, I was less than happy when I realized my purchase of Breaking Bad “Season 5″ Season Pass last year didn't actually include ...

BBC News

Apple unveils new iMac range

ZDNet
Summary: Apple has updated the iMac range with new improved processors, graphics, ... Apple has announced an updated iMac range complete with better ...

Apple Insider


more technology news below



24 September 2013

BlackBerry, Fairfax, Letter of Intent

This may be the "best way out" for BlackBerry -- 

BlackBerry Enters into Letter of Intent with Consortium led by Fairfax Financial - Press Releases: "Barbara Stymiest, Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors, said: “The Special Committee is seeking the best available outcome for the Company's constituents, including for shareholders. Importantly, the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium.”"

BlackBerry Strikes Deal to Sell to Fairfax-Led Investor Group for $4.7 Billion - WSJ.com: "BlackBerry said its board of directors "approved the terms of the letter of intent," and that a consortium including Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital Markets, intended to take the company private.The transaction is expected to be completed by Nov. 4th, but it is subject to six weeks of due diligence and BlackBerry is entitled to "go-shop" the company during this period . . . Last Friday, BlackBerry pre-announced dismal second-quarter results, including plans to write down almost $1 billion in unsold phone inventory. . ."

BlackBerry Makes Risky Bet on Services - WSJ.com: "Executives responsible for buying smartphones and the software to manage them say BlackBerry faces long odds.Tracey Rothenberger, chief operating officer of Ricoh Americas Corp., Malvern, Pa., said that fewer than 500 of the 9,000 smartphones he manages for the printer and copier maker are BlackBerrys. The remainder are made by Apple or powered by Google Inc.'s Android software. "For me, it's kind of 'game over' for them," he said."

Apple Sells 9 Million IPhones in Debut Weekend
Businessweek
Apple Sells 9 Million IPhones in Debut Weekend ... Apple Inc. (AAPL:US) sold 9 million iPhones in the weekend debut of two new models, almost double the ...

Toronto Star

Google Seeks Ruling Copying Books Without Permission Is Fair
Bloomberg
Authors and a trade group oppose the project, claiming Google has taken away their ... Google's competitors such as Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. also ...

Apple Proves Critics Wrong
Forbes
Then, the order queue would melt away, often heading over to Microsoft ... Even the Google Google ecosystem can't boast of an explosive launch like that. Apple ...

Microsoft takes second swing at tablets with new Surface 2 lineup
Computerworld
"We only set out to make them better," said Panos Panay, the Microsoft general manager who leads the Surface team, in a roll-out in front of an invitation-only audience of reporters and analysts in New York City on Monday. The Surface 2, a renamed and ...
New York Post
Google was just one of handful of players in online advertising alongside Yahoo!, AOL and Microsoft. Looking back, despite the positive results recently under of ...

Times of India

Microsoft beams Internet into Africa -- using TV 'white spaces'
CNN
Microsoft is not the only company rolling out white spaces projects in Africa. In late March, Googlelaunched a similar pilot project bringing wireless broadband to ...

Apple Executive Could Be Key to Google Calico Success
eWeek
By choosing Arthur D. Levinson, Apple's chairman, to run its new Calico venture, Google shows it's serious about a renewed effort in health care, industry ...

eWeek

Valve fires up SteamOS, its bid for living ...
CNET
In a highly anticipated announcement, the creator of the Half Life series and Steam gaming portal details its strategy for dominating the living room with a Linux-based OS designed for televisions.

Pandora gets thumped as iTunes Radio debuts
MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc.'s announcement that it already has 11 million unique listeners for its new iTunes Radio service appeared to have an impact on Pandora Media Inc. as the leading Internet radio company's shares slid almost 11% ...

Surface Remix Project: hands-on with Microsoft's crazy new DJ tool
The Verge
Microsoft has big plans for the Surface, its Touch Cover, and all those new sensors, but only one crazy new idea is actually on display today at the company's event in New York City. That's the Surface Remix Project, which is part modified Touch Cover and ...

ZDNet
Summary: Is Apple moving its Mac desktop and laptop lines to ARM processors ... We've seen the trouble with Microsoft's hybrid PC/tablet, its dual Windows 8 UI ...

gearburn

Microsoft's calling? Beware of this scam
Philly.com
HELLO, MISS. This is Microsoft tech support and we have detected a serious virus in your computer and we need you to log on right away so we can help you....

Look who Apple's Tim Cook is following on Twitter
CNN
Apple CEO Tim Cook has said so little about his private life that when he joined Twitter and started ...

Times of India


more technology news below



technology news - Google News

Amazon News

Apple News

Facebook News

Google News

Microsoft News

Yahoo News

BBC News - Technology

CNET News - Business Tech

Engadget

NYT > Technology

PCWorld Latest Technology News

SAI: Silicon Alley Insider

TechCrunch

Digits

Alive in the Cloud