MobileCrunch |  |
- Google Acquires Digital Coupons/Incentives Platform Zave Networks To Bulk Up Commerce
- Baidu Looks To Leapfrog Google With Cloud-Based Mobile OS (Update)
- Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It.
- Samsung’s New Android UI Is Ambitious But Flawed
- Will The Next iPhone Be Thinner And Wider? A Gazillion Leaked Cases Say Yes
- TV Ad Pegs The Droid Bionic For September 8 Release
- Gartner, IDC: Windows Phone To Steal Second Place From iOS By 2015
- PhotoAppLink Ties iPhone Photo Apps Together, Makes Multi-App Editing Simple
- Nike Apologizes For Nike+ Issues, Promises Fixes, New Platform Soon
- AT&T Working On “Two-Track Plan” To Address T-Mobile Merger Concerns
- Samsung CEO, “We Don’t Want HP’s Garbage” — Or Something Like That
- Report: Intel To Kill MeeGo Development “Temporarily”
- Newly Launched IM+ Video Lets You Video Chat With Facebook Friends
| Google Acquires Digital Coupons/Incentives Platform Zave Networks To Bulk Up Commerce Posted: 02 Sep 2011 02:49 PM PDT  Since 2006, Zave Networks has been working on digitizing coupons and loyalty rewards programs with products like Zavers. With the rise of smartphones, the market has been exploding. Today, Zave Networks takes their cause to a much bigger potential audience: Google has just acquired them. As they have announced on their site, “When we had the opportunity to join Google, we felt it was the perfect fit for our company and the perfect opportunity to rapidly drive the deployment and use of our platform to the next level.” Says a Google spokesperson: "We're thrilled to welcome the Zave Networks team to Google. They have developed an impressive platform to connect consumers with coupons, special offers and reward programs for their favorite businesses, and we look forward to their joining our Commerce team." We hear that Zave will continue to offer their services to consumers, retailers, and marketers for now. But the play for Google here appears to be to bulk up their Commerce and Wallet products. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed. Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of...
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| Baidu Looks To Leapfrog Google With Cloud-Based Mobile OS (Update) Posted: 02 Sep 2011 02:47 PM PDT  Chinese search giant Baidu is reportedly developing a cloud-based smartphone platform in attempt to dip its toes into the mobile pool. Mobile internet users in China totaled 233 million in 2010, projected to reach 957 million by 2014. For some perspective, the total population of both the European Union and the United States was approximately 800 million last year. So in China, mobile is less of a pool and more of a vast ocean. This should be interesting. The company is calling its platform Baidu Yi, which translates to “Easy.” Similar to the Bing integration in Mango, this OS is all about search. Smartphones that run Yi will load up a search box within seconds of turning on the phone. Other components will load in the background, but users will be able to perform a web search almost instantly. The system will also offer up to 180 GB of cloud storage space. Sounds nice — but so did webOS. Will Baidu Yi fare better? Baidu isn’t the only Chinese company looking to get in on the OS game. Local players like Hangzhou-based Alibaba and Shenzhen-based Huawei have announced similar cloud-based platforms recently, but as far as local competition is concerned, Baidu seems unfazed. "To us, cloud computing is much more natural than to an e-commerce company or a telecom equipment maker because we have the capability to handle data, just as Google has, that's why they're so good at it," said Baidu VP Wang Jing to the Financial Times. Baidu certainly has taken a page out of the Google playbook. But just one. The current version of Yi is based on Android, but the Android you’d see in China isn’t our Android. In most cases (not Baidu’s), it’s called Ophone, a fork of Android, and it effectively removes Google from the picture. The core Android operating system is made up of a Linux kernel, licensed under GPL, with Apache middleware and user stacks. Major components of the upper layers, such as the Android Market, are Google’s to license. Chinese carriers gladly do without those core Google software products and opt to integrate their own or third-party replacements. In other words, Android’s success in China is a bit hollow, even if it is the basis for Ophone, and now Baidu Yi. What’s more, Mr. Wang mentioned that “it is possible that we [will] launch our own operating system in the future.” Google already has big problems in China, and Android getting left behind entirely (rather than marginally) by its biggest Chinese competitor would only make things worse. But how does Mr. Wang feel about our other hometown hero — Apple. The company has already tapped China Unicom’s 200,000 subscribers, and reportedly has plans to launch the iPhone with China Mobile, which has a user base topping 600,000. Apple only has four (non-fake) Apple stores in the country, but China is its fastest growing market in terms of sales. With those stats, it hardly seems as though Baidu Yi poses a threat. But nothing is ever as it seems. China is both an irresistible and incredibly dangerous market for American tech companies, and Apple faces a number of obstacles within the market. For one, the Chinese government requires special wireless internet technology (TD-SCDMA) on its mobile phones. And then there’s the massive black/grey market in China for iPhones and iPads. Baidu’s co-founder and CEO seemed to know back in March that Apple would be one of its main competitors in the mobile space. In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr. Li made mention of the new OS as compared to iOS. “Right now when you power on an iPhone, it takes 45 seconds before you can do anything,” he said. “In the future, one second, you turn on the device, and you can start using the box. That's our mission for the future of the internet.” His plan is to build an OS that uses search as the basis for everything. “The goal is to let people become increasingly dependent on the Baidu Box." And that’s all we really need: to be even more dependent on our smartphones. Good work, Baidu. Update: So it would seem that Baidu Yi has gone live. The OS features include an eBooks app called Yue, a Google-places style app called Shen Bian, Baidu-powered maps, and a music app called Ting. Check out the video after the jump to see Baidu Yi in action. [Image credit: The Register] [Video credit: MicGadget] Baidu is the largest Chinese language search engines. Baidu's mission is to provide the best way for people to find information online, including Chinese language web pages, news, images... Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer,... Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of...
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| Amazon’s Kindle Tablet Is Very Real. I’ve Seen It, Played With It. Posted: 02 Sep 2011 01:26 PM PDT  It’s called simply the “Amazon Kindle”. But it’s not like any Kindle you’ve seen before. It displays content in full color. It has a 7-inch capacitive touch screen. And it runs Android. Rumors of Amazon making a full-fledged tablet device have persisted for a while. I believe we were one of the first to report on the possibility from a credible source — the same person who accurately called Amazon’s Android Appstore. That source was dead-on again, it just took Amazon longer than anticipated to get the device ready to go. They’re now close. How do I know all of this? Well, not only have I heard about the device, I’ve seen it and used it. And I’m happy to report that it’s going to be a big deal. Huge, potentially. First of all, before every commenter asks, no, sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share. That was the one condition of me getting this information. So instead you’ll have to rely on my prose to draw a picture of the device in your head. Or you can just look at a BlackBerry PlayBook — because it looks very similar in terms of form-factor. So here’s what I know and what I saw: Again, the device is a 7-inch tablet with a capacitive touch screen. It is multi-touch, but from what I saw, I believe the reports that it relies on a two-finger multi-touch (instead of 10-finger, like the iPad uses) are accurate. This will be the first Kindle with a full-color screen. And yes, it is back-lit. There is no e-ink to be found anywhere on this device. Earlier this week, reports suggested that a 7-inch Amazon tablet could be released in October, with a larger, 10-inch version to follow next year. That’s somewhat accurate. As of right now, Amazon’s only definitive plan is to release this 7-inch Kindle tablet and they’re targeting the end of November to do that. The version I saw was a DVT (Design Verification Testing) unit. These have started floating around the company. It’s ready, they’re just tweaking the software now. If it’s not in production yet, it will be very soon. Originally, Amazon had planned to launch a 7-inch and a 10-inch tablet at the same time. But that plan changed this summer. Now they’re betting everything on the 7-inch. If it’s a hit, they will release the more expensive 10-inch tablet in Q1 2012. So how much will the 7-inch Kindle cost? $250. Yes, Amazon has been able to trim the cost of the device to half of the entry-level iPad. And it will be the same price as Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color, which this will very obviously compete with directly. Both have 7-inch color touch screens. Both run Android. And this is where things get really interesting. As anticipated, Amazon has forked Android to build their own version for the Kindle. Simply put: it looks nothing like the Android you’re used to seeing. The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It’s black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device. This includes books, apps, movies, etc. Below the main carousel is a dock to pin your favorite items in one easy-to-access place. When you turn the device horizontally, the dock disappears below the fold. Above the dock is the status bar (time, battery, etc) and this doubles as a notification tray. When apps have updates, or when new subscriptions are ready for you to view, they appear here. The top bar shows “YOUR NAME’s Kindle” and then the number of notifications you have in bright orange. It looks quite nice. There are no physical buttons on the surface of the device. You bring up a lower navigation menu by tapping the screen once. This can take you back home, etc. But the key for Amazon is just how deeply integrated all of their services are. Amazon’s content store is always just one click away. The book reader is a Kindle app (which looks similar to how it does on Android and iOS now). The music player is Amazon’s Cloud Player. The movie player is Amazon’s Instant Video player. The app store is Amazon’s Android Appstore. Google’s Android Market is nowhere to be found. In fact, no Google app is anywhere to be found. This is Android fully forked. My understanding is that the Kindle OS was built on top of some version of Android prior to 2.2. And Amazon will keep building on top of that of that over time. In other words, this won’t be getting “Honeycomb” or “Ice Cream Sandwich” — or if it does, users will never know it because that will only be the underpinnings of the OS. Any visual changes will be all Amazon. They are not working with Google on this. At all. There is a web browser (of course), and while it’s styled a bit to match the Kindle UI, it looks pretty much the same as the Android’s WebKit browser. Yes, it has tabs! And yes, Google Search is still the default (the Kindle also has its own search tool to find content on your device). Overall, the UI of this Kindle felt very responsive. You can flick through the carousel seamlessly. This is something Amazon has apparently been working on quite a bit, I’m told. And they continue to. Some of the page-turning touch mechanics still needed a bit of work in the version I used. I believe the visual web reading app Pulse will be bundled with the Kindle. A game like Angry Birds may be as well. Again, it uses Amazon’s Android Appstore, so all of the content accepted into that store will play well on this device. Apps, games, content, you name it. Amazon creating their own app store is starting to make a lot more sense, and looks potentially very smart (as anticipated). A few more bits about the hardware: I believe it is running on a single-core chip (though I’m not 100 percent sure). My understanding is that the 10-inch version, if it comes, will have a dual-core chip. I also believe the device only has 6 GB of internal storage. The idea is that this will be more of a “cloud device” for things like music and movies. The storage is meant for storing books and apps There were a few references to an SD card expansion, but I couldn’t find a slot on the hardware itself. This initial version of the device will be WiFi-only. Amazon is supposedly working with carriers to possibly product 3G-enabled versions (as they have with their other Kindles), but that won’t be the case at launch. I’m not sure what the battery life is like (I only played with it for about an hour), but I imagine it is very good and in line with other tablets — 10 hours or so. The back of the device is rubbery — again, it’s very similar to the PlayBook (it’s black as well). The power button is underneath if you’re holding it vertically (which is a bit odd — but it’s obviously to the side if you’re holding it horizontally). There’s a micro-USB port (presumably for powering the device as well). The speakers are of the top of the device (again, if it’s being held vertically). There is no camera. So why will people buy this device instead of a Nook Color? Well, beyond the deep Amazon services integration, there will be two other reasons, I believe. First, Amazon is going to promote the hell out of this thing on Amazon.com. Second, the plan right now is to give buyers a free subscription to Amazon Prime. The service, which Amazon currently sells for $79 a year, gives users access things like free unlimited two-day shipping, and no minimum purchases for free shipping. More importantly for this product, Prime users get access to Amazon’s Instant Video service. There will be more Kindle-related perks, I imagine. As far as the existing e-ink-based Kindles, all I’ve heard is that they’ll continue to co-exist with this new tablet (though the DX may or may not stick around). They’ll simply be the low-end, low-cost Kindles, whereas this new one will be the high-end one (at least until the 10-inch version comes out, if it does). One source said it doesn’t seem likely that Amazon is going to release a touch-screen e-ink Kindle, like the new Nook, anytime soon. But none of that is confirmed, it’s simply speculation based on the emphasis on getting this new tablet to market. Oh and one more thing: Amazon has been working on a multi-touch screen/e-ink hybrid tablet device. But that’s nowhere near completion, I’m told. So for now, this new Kindle will have to do. That’s all for now. I suspect even more information (and pictures) will start leaking out soon — again, the new Kindle is very close to being done. Not only is the device real, from what I’ve seen, it’s solid. I suspect it will be on many people’s holiday wish-list this year. Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep... Company: ANDROID Website: http://www.android.com In July 2005, Google acquired Android, a small startup company based in Palo Alto, CA. Android’s co-founders who went to work at Google included Andy Rubin (co-founder of...
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| Samsung’s New Android UI Is Ambitious But Flawed Posted: 02 Sep 2011 12:53 PM PDT  One of the beautiful things about Android is how extensively you can customize things. A quick peek in the Android Market reveals tons of widgets, skins, and launcher replacements, all ready to give the Android device in your life a fresh new look. Shockingly, Samsung has decided to throw their hat into the customization ring with its own launcher replacement called Pure Breeze, developed by their San Jose Mobile Lab. For the uninitiated, launcher replacements are applications that essentially redo an Android device’s UI, with some doing the job better than others. Samsung’s freshman effort, unfortunately, falls mostly into the latter category. Samsung says Pure Breeze is all about easy navigation between apps, and it does its best to streamline everything with that thought in mind (for better or worse). Pure Breeze’s homescreen equivalent is something the San Jose Lab calls “The Kite.” It’s much like your standard homescreen setup, save for a few crucial differences: it’s translucent (which is important), and there’s only one, very long page to scroll. That proved to be a bit of a roadblock for me in the early stages of use; I’d have to resist the temptation to swipe left and right to access other things because there was nothing there. The app drawer button is centered along the bottom of the screen, and does what it always has before. The difference here is that it comes with preloaded groups for apps, which can be accessed by swiping left and right. Apps can be easily moved in and out of these groups by holding and dragging them around. When pressing and holding an app’s icon, it can also be sent to the trash or to The Kite. Fair enough. When an app is opening, and the Home button is used to exit it, the translucent homescreen comes into play. It swoops in from a corner and covers it, leaving the app partially visible. This is what Pure Breeze is really about: hitting the Back key makes The Kite fly away again, leaving the user exactly where they were before. Hit the Back key again, and it will take you to the app opened just prior to that. Pure Breeze effectively creates a chain of apps that theoretically allows users to follow a trail back to wherever they left off. It sounds great, and for the most part, it works really nicely, but there are a couple issues. Chains can get long enough to overwhelm some less powerful devices, and the translucent homescreen can be awfully distracting when trying to find an app you placed on The Kite. Pure Breeze is just different enough that many users who pick it up will try to do their usual thing and wind up lost. There’s only one homescreen page, so be judicious in deciding what widgets to use. The Menu button, when pressed on the homescreen, brings up the Pure Breeze settings instead of the device menu. Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, but it seems like a too drastic a shift for so little payoff. The app chaining concept is a novel idea and works surprisingly well, but all the little missteps drag everything down. This is the San Jose Mobile Lab’s first release, and it’s certainly an ambitious one, but here’s hoping future versions will be better thought out. The app went live in the Android Market a few days ago, and is available in both free and paid versions.
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| Will The Next iPhone Be Thinner And Wider? A Gazillion Leaked Cases Say Yes Posted: 02 Sep 2011 11:31 AM PDT  The Internet is awash in purported iPhone 5 cases. Like most iPhone related rumors, it’s hard to decipher fact from fantasy, but the sheer amount of nearly identical cases seem to state that at least several manufacturing houses have the same iPhone dimensions. The image here is a iPhone 4 in one of these many cases. Look different? Yep, this case, and the many like it, are clearly for a phone that’s both thinner and wider. This isn’t the first whiff of this rumor either. A rather official looking iPhone 5 clone popped up a month ago that was just 7mm thick, 2.3mm less than the iPhone 4. It also shared the same design cues with a rounded edge, slightly convex back and a wider design. Now, not that any of us in the West truly understand the seedy underworld of Chinese gadget cloning, but it’s entirely possible that, at least from where I sit, these cases and clones are sourcing the same set of unofficial dimensions. Makers are betting that they have the right specs and so they are building out a massive supply ahead of the next iPhone’s launch. But leaked cases have been a major source of leaks for years, properly foretelling even the iPad 2′s existence. A wider but thinner iPhone would match the current trend of smartphones slightly larger than the traditional form factor. This is something might be something even Apple, who is generally a trend setter instead of follower, might not be able to avoid. But what about MG? He stated over and over again that the EVO 4G’s 4.3-inch screen made the device too big. Would he actually pass on the next iPhone if it’s wider? Shock! Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer,...
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| TV Ad Pegs The Droid Bionic For September 8 Release Posted: 02 Sep 2011 10:43 AM PDT  The Droid Bionic has been a long time coming. It was originally announced back in January at CES and it’s now September, but we’re willing to forgive the incredibly annoying wait for that dual-core LTE magic. Especially since it’s been all but officially confirmed that we’ll be seeing the Bionic on shelves on September 8. To start, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said the phone will launch in September. That’s not super specific, and we know this handset is all about being fashionably late, so it’s understandable if you’re still not convinced. But there’s more. A Verizon roadmap was leaked back in August that also verified that September 8 launch date, along with a Korean TV ad which didn’t necessarily show off the phone (at all), but did happen to flash a “September 8, 2011″ around the 21-second mark. Even though the Droid Bionic will be one of the most powerful handsets on the market, nine months is a really long time to keep people excited. Thus, Verizon has launched an augmented reality app-based scavenger hunt giving peeps the chance to win a long-awaited Droid Bionic. Six days, people. Six more days. [via PCMag] Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MSI) is a data communications and telecommunications equipment provider that succeeded Motorola Inc. following the spin-off of the mobile phones division into Motorola Mobility Holdings,... Verizon Communications Inc. delivers broadband and other wireline and wireless communication innovations to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s largest wireless network that...
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| Gartner, IDC: Windows Phone To Steal Second Place From iOS By 2015 Posted: 02 Sep 2011 09:45 AM PDT  Based on its history, you probably wouldn’t expect to see Windows Phone take off like a rocket. But apparently that’s what it’s going to do. Research out of Gartner and IDC says that Mango may grab a whopping 20 percent of the market by 2015, with the help of hardware partners like HTC and a little extra effort in the marketing department. Thus far, Windows Phone hasn’t had the best reception. In some ways this is deserved, as many of the big features on the Windows OS were rolled out much later than they were on rival platforms. Even the carriers seemed to discredit WP7 in store — a trend Microsoft was definitely not cool with. Windows Phone head of marketing Achim Berg said yesterday that IDC and Gartner’s 20 percent market share forecasts are actually conservative (shocker!), and he expects even greater success out of the platform. And the road to such success starts in Europe, with the launch of the HTC Radar and Titan on October 1. Microsoft has hired “hundreds of salesman” to help demonstrate the power of its newly refreshed platform, and plans to target the ladies and the youngsters to nab that 20 percent share. If you passed elementary math, you know there’s only so much market share to go around. If Windows Phone goes from a 4.3 percent share to control 20 percent of the market, that means another platforms growth is sure to slow. According to Gartner, Apple’s iOS will be the one to do so, growing from a 16 percent market share in 2010 to just 17 percent in 2015. Meanwhile, Android is poised to maintain control with growth from a 23 percent share in 2010 to a massive 49 percent in 2015, reports Bloomberg. What will make or break windows will be its app selection. HP’s decision to halt production of webOS devices will likely help with that, as a fresh batch of developers have just been abandoned. Still it’s got a long way to go to match the 425,000+ App Store apps that made the iPhone what it is today. Past that, hardware is also key here. Microsoft will have the support of big name hardware vendors like HTC and Nokia, along with Acer, Fujitsu and ZTE. That same divide and conquer strategy has obviously worked splendidly for Android, and with the promise we’re seeing out of Mango, WinPho is sure to do the same. Since iOS appears on only one phone — an incredibly popular phone, but one nontheless — it’s at a significant disadvantage going forward. Company: MICROSOFT Website: http://www.microsoft.com Launch Date: 4/4/1974 IPO: 13/3/1986, NASDAQ:MSFT Microsoft, founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, is a veteran software company, best known for its Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of...
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| PhotoAppLink Ties iPhone Photo Apps Together, Makes Multi-App Editing Simple Posted: 02 Sep 2011 09:31 AM PDT  Several iPhone app developers have teamed up to launch PhotoAppLink, a new open source initiative that aims to simplify photo editing by tying multiple photo-editing apps together. As you know, there are an incredible number of photo editing apps in iTunes today, and often, each especially excels in one particular area. For example, converting photos to black and white, cropping, compositing or writing on top of photos are all features of popular standalone apps. But what about when you want to make multiple edits using multiple apps? That’s a far more complicated process. And it’s the very problem PhotoAppLink aims to solve. Currently, in order to edit your photo in multiple apps, you have to save the edited photo to the camera roll each time as you move in between applications. But with PhotoAppLink-enabled apps, you can simply select another app to use from within your current app. From the PhotoAppLink interface, you tap the app you want to move to and it’s launched for you, photo edits intact. You can move back and forth between photo-editing apps, too, as you continue to work with your image. In order for this feature to work, a group of photo app developers got together and agreed to implement PhotoAppLink within their apps. Originally conceived by app development shops PocketPixels and CodeCrop, the feature is now live in Snap!, Color Splash, Simply B&W, PicTools, AutoStitch, TrueHDR, Juxtaposer, Click! and Photogene. Several notable developers have already committed to adding PhotoAppLink support in forthcoming updates, as well. Confirmed apps include: PaperCamera, PhotoToaster, ColorBlast!, Color Range and MobileMonet. Other interested developers can choose to participate in the initiative by grabbing the source library here on GitHub. Besides making it easy on end users to hop between apps (certainly a pain point for photo enthusiasts), the new feature will have the added benefit of increasing the opportunities for discovery through other, compatible applications. To this end, PhotoAppLink also includes a commissions program for developers, which pays out a percentage of the sale for new apps discovered and purchased through the PhotoAppLink interface. In addition to ease of use for end users and discovery for app developers, a third benefit is the feature’s potential for increasing user engagement within niche applications. For simplicity’s sake, users may have previously skipped using the better-functioning app in favor of a more basic “all-in-one” to avoid hassle. But by daisy-chaining apps together like this, it’s easier to use the best app for the job, while still saving time. You can see all the supported apps where PhotoAppLink can be found on the project’s homepage here: http://www.photoapplink.com.
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| Nike Apologizes For Nike+ Issues, Promises Fixes, New Platform Soon Posted: 02 Sep 2011 08:37 AM PDT  Jayme Martin, VP and GM of Nike Running, has emailed a letter to Nike+ users, apologizing for the platform’s performance over the past few months. He says that Nike is aware of a number of issues that have been affecting its users, including problems logging in, syncing devices, sharing runs and editing profiles. “Just like you, we hold ourselves to incredibly high standards,” writes Martin, “and right now Nike+ isn’t living up to them.” The letter also revealed Nike’s plans for a new Nike Plus platform that will resolve these issues as well as add more features. Nike+ is a comprehensive sensor-assisted platform for runners, which uses an accelerometer either strapped to the body in a watch, band or other gadget. It can also use the iPhone’s accelerometer in combination with an app which adds GPS details to the data it collects. With Nike+, runners can record the details of a run, including how fast they went, how far they ran, how long the run was, how many calories were burned and more. However, for the past several months, the Nike+ platform has been experiencing problems. Not all users have been affected, notes Martin, but clearly enough were to require this emailed apology. You can see some of the examples of the examples of the types of login and syncing issues users were experiencing here on Nike Running’s Facebook page, plus here, here and here (check the comments), for starters. And some of these go back further than just “a few months.” “Wow, this is embarrassing,” the Nike Running rep wrote on Facebook around three months ago. In fact, they even admitted that the Nike+ page wasn’t fully compatible with IE9, a browser that went public in mid-March, but had been available in developer previews starting in March 2010. Embarrassing, indeed. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with the Flash-based monstrosity that is the Nike+ website. Nike says that it has now resolved the issues related to the slow logins and login failures and has improved the ability to sync devices, log runs and post that information to Facebook. An updated version of the Nike+ GPS app (iTunes link) is arriving soon, too. In addition, Nike is promising a completely revamped Nike+ platform that will include better coaching, maps and challenges. The new platform will be “faster, more social and easier to use” and will launch alongside some other “really exciting new products and services.” No word on what those are just yet, but as a former (OK, occasional) Nike+ user myself, I’m holding out for an HTML5 site before I return. The full letter is below:
Nike, Inc. designs, develops, and markets footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products worldwide. The company offers various categories of shoes, including running, training, basketball, soccer, sport-inspired urban shoes, and...
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| AT&T Working On “Two-Track Plan” To Address T-Mobile Merger Concerns Posted: 02 Sep 2011 07:53 AM PDT  In spite of the antitrust lawsuit recent filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, AT&T has been hard at work to make sure their pending T-Mobile acquisition doesn’t fall apart. Sources close to the situation say that AT&T is reportedly working on a “two-track plan” to address the DoJ’s concerns and make sure the merger goes through. While Reuters can’t confirm with certainty the specifics of the plan, AT&T is said to be preparing itself to make concessions in an effort assuage federal fears that the merger will reduce competition and raise wireless costs. Among the concessions on the table are the sale of T-Mobile’s assets and the possible retention of T-Mobile’s value-oriented rate plans. While some sources say that AT&T is feeling confident about their new solution, other say that in order to make the deal work, AT&T may have to sell nearly 25% of T-Mobile’s network and customer base. That’s assuming they can wrangle up some buyers: while their regional assets will likely be snapped up fairly quickly by smaller carriers looking to grow out their coverage, their national assets have fewer potential buyers. Sprint and Verizon are the two main possibilities, but don’t expect it to happen anytime soon, as an acquisition like that could spark antitrust investigations of its own. Sprint was reportedly in talks with Deutsche Telekom about their own potential T-Mobile merger earlier this year, but even if they went for T-Mobile’s assets, the risk may not be worth the reduced payout. Speaking of payouts, AT&T would have to shell out $6 billion in compensatory fees to T-Mo’s parent company Deutsche Telekom if the deal falls through. There’s a lot on the line here for AT&T, and while they seem fairly sure in their approach, the Department of Justice may soon let the air out of their tires… again.
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| Samsung CEO, “We Don’t Want HP’s Garbage” — Or Something Like That Posted: 02 Sep 2011 07:08 AM PDT  The future of webOS is a little less uncertain now that Samsung’s CEO, Choi Gee Sung, grabbed rumors of buying HP’s webOS business by the cuff, laughed in its face and then coldly stabbed the rumor in the heart. Choi, in response to a report’s question about the recent analyst report, stated, "It's not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion,” and that Samsung would “never” pursue such a deal. After HP announced it was getting out of the webOS hardware game, several analyst released reports indicating that several key players were interested in picking up the fallen OS. These reports put Samsung as the main buyer, but that’s clearly not the case. Besides, while HP killed its webOS hardware division, the company isn’t abandoning software development — yet. In fact if HP spins off its PC business, this newly created company could revive the TouchPad along with other webOS hardware devices. Samsung is instead focusing on building out its Bada OS, which many of our commenters pointed out in our original post on the subject. The company just rolled out three new Bada handsets this week, including one with NFC capability. CEO Choi essentially reaffirmed that Android and Bada is Samsung’s future, not buying a second-hand OS. But with Samsung out of the picture, if HP was looking to off-load webOS, there are not many companies left to run with Palm’s fallen banner. HTC is firmly entrenched with Android, RIM is developing its next generation of BlackBerry smartphones around the QNX platform, Motorola will soon be owned by Google, and Nokia has lucrative deal with Microsoft. Who’s left? Maybe Tiger Electronics will buy webOS and remake the Game.com portable. I’d buy it.
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| Report: Intel To Kill MeeGo Development “Temporarily” Posted: 02 Sep 2011 07:08 AM PDT  It’s a tough environment out there for an OS. But a few have risen to the top of the food chain — most obviously iOS and Android. And at the very bottom, like an orphaned and endangered baby buffalo, sits MeeGo. Nokia has already fled from the burning platform, but now its only remaining parent, Intel, has reportedly decided to temporarily discontinue development of MeeGo. But for a platform with barely any traction and a comparatively weak portfolio of devices, temporarily could very quickly turn into forever. And so the slow death of MeeGo begins. Digitimes’ sources say that Intel will instead primarily focus on hardware, and plans to pair its products with either Windows Phone 7 or Android next year. Of course, Intel refused to comment with the standard “we don’t comment on industry speculation or rumors.” But Intel did say that “it remains committed to MeeGo and will continue to work with the community to develop and help meet the needs of customers and end users with open source.” It seems odd that Intel would “not comment on speculation,” only to deny the rumors in the same breath. As far as platforms go, MeeGo is actually a surprisingly smart little OS and may still have a little life in it yet. But if Intel let’s it sit idle, “temporarily” or otherwise, it’ll be dead and buried before you know it. A little under a year after MeeGo launched, Intel promised it was “not blinking on MeeGo,” despite the fact that partner Nokia had become distracted. Still, we sort of saw this coming. Intel doesn’t necessarily need MeeGo, as Android and Windows Phone are already supported by the company. Intel is best known for producing the microprocessors found in many personal computers. The company also makes a range of other hardware including network cards, motherboards, and graphics chips.... Nokia is a Finnish multinational communications corporation. It is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. They make a wide range...
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| Newly Launched IM+ Video Lets You Video Chat With Facebook Friends Posted: 02 Sep 2011 07:05 AM PDT  SHAPE Services, makers of the popular, cross-platform IM+ mobile instant messaging applications, is today launching its first video chatting app: IM+ Video. The new app, available here on iTunes, lets you video and voice call with your Facebook friends – and not just those using IM+. The VoIP calls made using IM+ are not restricted to Wi-Fi, as they are with Apple’s own FaceTime video calling feature, but work over Wi-Fi, 3G or Edge. In addition, the calls can be received by friends browsing the Facebook website, including those who aren’t using the IM+ application. After installing the app, you have to authenticate using Facebook Connect, which then brings you to a screen showing a list of your Facebook friends, both online and offline. To place a call or start a chat session, just tap your friend’s name in the list, then tap “call” or “chat.” If the friend is an IM+ user and is on mobile, a push notification is sent to initiate the video call. Otherwise, IM+ uses Facebook chat to send a link to an IM+ Video “webphone” (an online video calling interface). IM+ also offers a few different themes to customize the look of the application, but none are really all that attractive. Even the default interface itself is pretty bland and basic. But the app is offering something that Facebook itself hasn’t gotten around to yet, despite its Skype integration: support for video calling within its own Facebook-branded mobile application called Facebook Messenger. Although code found within this app seems to suggest that video chat is coming soon, it hasn’t arrived yet, which gives third parties like IM+ time to establish a user base. The IM+ Video app is free, and calls within the app are free. There are no ads or in-app upgrades offered either. Perhaps IM+ Video is starting off free so as to introduce users to other apps within the IM+ family, some of which are monetized either as premium downloads or through in-app purchases? Maybe. But according to SHAPE’s CEO Igor Berezovsky, decisions on how to monetize the new app are still forthcoming. An Android version of the app is also now in development, we’re told. Today’s video calling application was made possible thanks to SHAPE Services’ July acquisition of Hong Kong-based CrispApp, makers of the fone app, another a video-chatting application for iOS devices. SHAPE Services is the company behind IM+. Without any venture investments, started in 2002 from ground, SHAPE has grown to a highly profitable multimillion company with 50+ great shapers...
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