MobileCrunch |  |
- Is This What Android 4: Ice Cream Sandwich Looks Like?
- Next Generation 911 Will Support Text, Photos, Video, And Data
- Leaked Samsung Road Map Reveals Big Screens And Bada Phones
- OKCupid Integrates Location Based Dating Into iOS And Android Apps
- Mobile Q&A App Opinionaided Raises $4.3 Million From SoftBank And Others
- Rumor: Windows Phone 7 Mango To Launch On September 1st?
- Leaked Sprint Flyer Reveals BlackBerry Bold 9930, Torch 9850 Pricing
- Android Patent Trouble Worsens: Motorola Considers Collecting IP Royalties
- Snapette Wants To Be The Foodspotting For Fashion
- Apple Patent Filing Could Put Plan and Carrier Changes In Your Pocket
- Live Blog: HTC’s “Major Announcement”
- Gartner: Android OS Sales Top iOS, RIM and Nokia
- The Motorola KORE: Just A Heart Rate Monitor?
- AT&T Joins Sprint In Offering Mobile Security To Customers
| Is This What Android 4: Ice Cream Sandwich Looks Like? Posted: 11 Aug 2011 03:21 PM PDT  Google has been awfully protective of their latest version of Android, but thanks to the folks over at RootzWiki and Android Police, we may have our first ever glimpse at Ice Cream Sandwich. As always, keep those grains of salt handy — they claim their source is solid, but there’s no guarantee this isn’t just a smartly skinned Nexus S. We reported a few months ago that Ice Cream Sandwich would have a revamped UI, and these images seem to confirm that statement. One thing to note right out of the gate is that it seems to be much more spaced out: the distances between app icons and their names have increased a bit, and though the change is minor, it makes the whole layout more open. This could be a hint at the hybrid phone/tablet nature that Ice Cream Sandwich is shooting for. The notification bar is probably the biggest change, with room for bigger icons and updates. The app drawer also seems to have undergone a facelift, with different headers for apps and widgets, and an integrated link to the market for easy access. And you probably noticed the neon blue highlights; apparently Google is sticking with Tron as their design inspiration. Both sites sport different changelogs, but in short, the IRK36b build packs the following:
If this is in fact a fake, it’s a pretty convincing one. It’s admittedly an early build, and pixels will certainly shift between now and the release date, but it seems quite possible that Ice Cream Sandwich will ultimately look like this.
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| Next Generation 911 Will Support Text, Photos, Video, And Data Posted: 11 Aug 2011 02:06 PM PDT  Nobody ever wants to be in a situation that requires emergency services, but when you are, that whole "dial 911" thing really helps. Sort of. In truth, our emergency response system is pretty outdated when we consider all the various forms of communication that have basically become mainstream. But luckily, FCC Charmain Julius Genachowski recently announced that a five step plan is in place to bring text, photo, video and data support to the Next Generation 911 service. "It's hard to imagine that airlines can send text messages if your flight is delayed, but you can't send a text message to 911 in an emergency," said Genachowski. "The unfortunate truth is that the capability of our emergency response communications has not kept pace with commercial innovation — has not kept pace with what ordinary people now do every day with communications devices." That's pretty sweet news considering there are plenty of situations in which phone support just wouldn't cut it. Let’s say you are in some sort of bank robbery hostage situation (knock on wood). You can’t just whip out the old smartphone and yammer on to the cops about the masked gunmen. But a text sure would help, and anyone who’s young enough to have had a cell phone in class with them knows that sneaky text messaging isn’t all that difficult. Another hypothetical: You’re at the convenient store one night perusing through the ice cream selection when a robber pulls out a gun and grabs all the money from the register. You know he’s going to run for it, but if you could just snap a pic or a grab some video, the cops might actually find him. In a few years, photos and videos sent in through the next-gen 911 service could be one of the best methods of catching criminals. The service won't roll out for another five to ten years, but in the meantime dialing 911 will do just fine.
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| Leaked Samsung Road Map Reveals Big Screens And Bada Phones Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:33 PM PDT  It had to be translated from two different languages, but a road map from Lithuanian retailer Mobili linija has surfaced that appears to outline some big new devices that Samsung has waiting in the wings. Well, some of them are big, anyway. The report reveals a number of entry-level devices that will pad Samsung’s portfolio, but at the top of the heap is the GT-I9250. Running on Ice Cream Sandwich, it sports an impressive 4.65-inch Super AMOLED display running at 1280 x 720 and a pixel density that rivals even the iPhone 4. No word yet on what kind of horsepower it’s got under that hood, but considering the phone’s other specs, it won’t leave users wanting for much more. The GT-I9220 retains its brother’s high resolution Super AMOLED display, and crams all those pixels into a pocket-busting 5.29-inch screen. The I9220 also sports an 8-megapixel camera and a 1.4 GHz processor, but is left to make do with Android 2.3.3. Rounding out Samsung’s 9200 series is the I9210, another Gingerbread phone with a 4.5-inch, 800 x 480 display and support for 4G — a solid device by any measure, but it’s made to look shrimpy compared to its brethren. Not ones to give up easily, Samsung engineers also seem to be working on two new Bada devices: the entry level S5380, and the flagship S8600 (codenamed “Wave III”). Bada device sales have been surprisingly brisk, but unlike their Android offerings, Samsung’s Bada seems unlikely to pick up much traction in the U.S. Samsung’s plan of saturating each mobile market segment seems to be continuing unabated. The original road map has been pulled from Mobili linija’s site, but the cached version still works for all of you that want to dig further into Samsung’s plans. [via SlashGear]
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| OKCupid Integrates Location Based Dating Into iOS And Android Apps Posted: 11 Aug 2011 01:00 PM PDT  Online dating site OkCupid is making a big move today in the mobile space—the service is adding location-based functionality to its Android and iOS mobile apps. For background, OkCupid singles tend to be younger, which is one of the reasons why IAC’s Match.com decided to buy the dating startup for $50 million earlier this year. The use of mobile apps for dating and even meeting friends is definitely on the rise, and it seems that the future of this industry could lie in mobile platforms. Co-founder Sam Yagan agrees, and says that Grindr, a dating app for Gay men, helped pioneer this. But there’s still room left for innovation in other markets, he says. Which is why OkCupid is bringing location to the mix with the latest version of its mobile apps. You can now broadcast if you are free, want others to join in plans and more. The bonus of OkCupid is that you can set up the feature to only send these broadcasts to people who are personality and interets matches for you in your location. Other functionality includes the ability to chat with other people nearby, share photos, and more. If OkCupid finds a good match for you in their database for someone who lives nearby, the app will recommend the potential date. You’ll also be able to browse all your matches nearby. There’s no doubt that the trend of matching people based on their interests and location is catching on. Andreessen Horowitz-backed LikeALittle is a startup that is also playing in this space. And it would make sense for more dating apps to start including location in their mobile offerings.
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| Mobile Q&A App Opinionaided Raises $4.3 Million From SoftBank And Others Posted: 11 Aug 2011 12:00 PM PDT  Mobile Q&A service Opinionaided has raised $4.3 million in funding led by SoftBank Capital and BlueRun Ventures with General Catalyst, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mark Wachen, Jonah Goodhart, Karl Jacob, ENIAC Ventures and Vince Monical participating. This brings the company’s total funding to $5.3 million. Opinionaided’s free iOS app allows users to get advice and opinions on the fly. Within the app, users can input a question, determine a category (i.e. relationships, politics) and submit it for other Opinionaided users to answer. You can also publish your questions to Facebook and Twitter. After a question is posted, fellow Opinionaided users can comment on the question and the app will calculate the percentage of users that responded positively or negatively. From there, consumers can reply back to the comments or create a new question for peers to vote on. To date, Opinionaided’s users have delivered 125 million responses to consumer questions since launch last year. As we reported in June, the app is seeing an average of 73 responses per question asked. And users are spending nearly 3 hours in the app per month. The startup is also announcing a new version of its iOS app, which includes a new UI, and allows users to post questions via SMS, Twitter and Facebook. Localmind also offers a a mobile Q&A service. Opinionaided is a platform that helps users get opinions from friends, family, and the public in the flow of everyday life. The platform includes an iPhone app, website,...
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| Rumor: Windows Phone 7 Mango To Launch On September 1st? Posted: 11 Aug 2011 11:53 AM PDT  If recent reports hold true, Microsoft may be preparing to release their long-awaited Windows Phone Mango update sooner than expected. Based on information from “trusted sources,” Pocket-lint reports that Mango’s official rollout will begin on September 1, ahead of the generic “Fall” launch window Microsoft had previously announced. Aside from providing the date, Pocket-lint’s sources were unable to confirm much else. Although Microsoft has stated that all current WP7 devices will receive the Mango update, the particulars of the release schedule are still up in the air. It’s entirely possible that users of some devices will get immediate access, while others may be relegated to the wait-list. Still, even just the date seems to speak volumes. Microsoft’s timing here is no coincidence: Europe’s largest consumer electronics show will begin the very next day. The Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin (or IFA for short) will be playing host to tons of new gadgets, and new Mango-powered devices may well be among them. The software update was finalized back in July, and given Windows Phone’s European popularity, it wouldn’t be a shock for new Mango devices to come out of the woodwork at IFA. With manufacturers like HTC and LG having committed to making new Mango handsets, there may be a few surprises on the show floor yet.
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| Leaked Sprint Flyer Reveals BlackBerry Bold 9930, Torch 9850 Pricing Posted: 11 Aug 2011 10:06 AM PDT  Ready to get “back to cool”? Apparently $250 will get you a brand new BlackBerry Bold 9930 from Sprint, according to a leaked flyer obtained by BGR. Although, as per usual, a two-year agreement is required. Along with Bold 9930 pricing, the flyer also points to pricing details for the upcoming BlackBerry Torch 9850. Priced at $150, the Torch 9850 will probably do pretty well considering its a relatively low-priced full touchscreen device, and the first for RIM. We're not sure if $250 is a bit too high for the Bold 9930 based on specs, but only a full review can clear that up. Speaking of specs, the Bold 9930 is a touch-and-text device, meaning it sports a capacitive 2.8-inch 640×480 touchscreen up top, with a physical QWERTY keyboard down below. The phone touts a 5-megapixel shooter capable of video capture in 720p, but unfortunately no front-facing camera for video chat. Under the hood you'll find a single-core 1.2 GHz processor powering the BlackBerry 7 OS.
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| Android Patent Trouble Worsens: Motorola Considers Collecting IP Royalties Posted: 11 Aug 2011 09:05 AM PDT  No doubt you've heard about Google's ever-increasing struggle with patents, namely that it can't protect Android. If it's not Apple going after Samsung and HTC directly, it's Oracle, Microsoft and Apple stealing away Nortel/Novell patents. It's gotten so bad that Microsoft and Google entered into a rather public spat over Twitter and Google's own blog, where Google finally fought back and accused other companies of trying to "strangle" Android with "bogus patents." In short, Google has some major Android problems on its hands, and the gravity of the situation just intensified quite a bit. Motorola, who has long been one of Google's key Android partners, happens to have a pretty massive patent portfolio. You'd think that would work in Google's favor, since at least one of its major partners can hold its own against the likes of Apple and Microsoft. Yeah, not so much. Motorola has actually hinted, and subsequently more-than-hinted, that it may "potentially collect royalties" with its patent trove, rather than just defend itself, reports Unwired View. During a keynote at Oppenhimer Technology & Communication's conference, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha said, "I would bring up IP as very important for differentiation (among Android vendors). We have a very large IP portfolio, and I think in the long term, as things settle down, you will see a meaningful difference in positions of many different Android players. Both, in terms of avoidance of royalties, as well as potentially being able to collect royalties. And that will make a big difference to people who have very strong IP positions." Here's the thing: Out of our three major Android manufacturers — Samsung, HTC, and Motorola — Motorola seems to be the one with the least growth, despite the fact that it's been around the longest. That's not to say that Motorola is performing poorly. Quite the contrary actually, seeing Mobile Devices revenue growing 44 percent year-over-year. But compared with the exponential growth of Samsung and HTC, that isn't much to brag about. As HTC and Samsung continue to succeed, Motorola must "differentiate," as Mr. Jha notes. Collecting royalties from competitors isn't exactly differentiating the brand, but it will shake up the way these companies are positioning themselves. The only problem is that Motorola may blow itself up in the process. If it drops a bomb on other Android manufacturers, and starts yet another costly web of patent wars among its competition, Motorola effectively hurts Android as a whole, and thus, itself. Motorola is a telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It is a manufacturer of wireless telephone handsets, also designing and selling wireless network infrastructure equipment such as cellular transmission... 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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| Snapette Wants To Be The Foodspotting For Fashion Posted: 11 Aug 2011 09:00 AM PDT  Foodspotting has emerged as a popular way to to share photos of your favorite foods and dishes with your friends. Today, Snapette is trying to take Foodspotting’s model and apply this to fashion. The startup, which is part of the 500 Startups accelerator program, is launching is a free iOS app that allows women to discover and share photos in-store products by location and recommendations. You can snap photos of your favorite bag, top, shoes accessory, pair of jeans or other fashion item, choose your location, comment on where you found the product (i.e. what store), and post this to Snapette. And other users can browse products near their current location or by their favorite store, or brand. Women can also see what items are trending globally, or by their specific location. And other users can comment on photos and share tips and recommendations. Each user has a "virtual closet" profile page that collects and showcases photos of items they've Snapped, Like and Want, and you can also post your ‘Snapettes’ on Facebook and Tumblr. In a separate section of the app titled Collections, Snapette features the boutiques in NYC, LA, SF and London. The startup has actually partnered with select retailer partners to provide Snapette users with an exclusive view of these stores' current product offerings.
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| Apple Patent Filing Could Put Plan and Carrier Changes In Your Pocket Posted: 11 Aug 2011 08:52 AM PDT  According to a patent filing unearthed by AppleInsider, Apple may be looking to give their customers with a new kind of control: control over their current carrier. Titled “Method and Apparatus for Using a Wireless Communication Device with Multiple Service Providers”, it (longwindedly) describes how a phone could locally store several different carrier configurations profiles and allow users to swap them on a whim. Apple outlines several embodiments of the system, but the most compelling are the first two. Long story short, they describe how it could be possible to change your plan and even carrier (hardware-willing) right from your phone. A device could store different price plan options as identifier values: once you chose one of those values, the correct carrier configuration kicks in. Imagine being presented options for T-Mobile and AT&T — if you chose the identifier for a 450 minute AT&T plan, the phone would automagically be set for AT&T service. The patent even takes the concept further by introducing a ranking system, in which a mix of identifiers would determine which carrier config is enabled. Going back to the previous example, if you decided that you wanted a low number of minutes, and a high data cap, the device could select whatever plan would be the best fit and configure itself for that carrier. Another embodiment of the system deals with international use. A iPhone loaded with the right carrier configurations could start off in the U.S. (AT&T), hop on a plane to Canada (Rogers), and make a connecting flight to Spain (Movistar). At each step of the way, the iPhone could easily be configured with the correct data and MMS settings, making for a seamless usage experience. It should go without saying that this may not make it to a working phone. While I’d love to see a carrier-agnostic blank slate of an iPhone, Apple seems to have a penchant for patenting really cool ideas and sitting on them.
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| Live Blog: HTC’s “Major Announcement” Posted: 11 Aug 2011 08:27 AM PDT  Late last night, HTC announced that they had a “Major News Announcement” to share this morning. With HTC having made some of the finest smartphones we’ve ever seen (like the Thunderbolt, the 7 Pro, and the world’s original Android device, the G1), anything they consider “major news” is probably worth tuning in to. So, what might they announce? Thanks to some late night leaks, we’ve got a pretty good idea — find the details, along with our live notes from HTC’s teleconference, below. Refresh the page to update notes. 8:26 a.m: I’m waiting on the call now. The call is scheduled to begin at 8:30 A.M pacific. 8:27 a.m: Based on some news that broke late last night, we’re expecting HTC to officially announce that they’ve formed a strategic partnership with Beats Electronics, makers of the Beats By Dr Dre line. It’s likely that HTC will be announcing that they’ve acquired a majority stake in the Beats line, with an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 8:31 a.m: Still on hold. This is probably the smoothest smooth jazz I’ve ever heard. 8:35 a.m: 5 minutes later, we’re still jammin’ away to some sultry jazz tunes. Pretty sure HTC forgot about us here. 8:37 a.m: To be clear, today’s press call wasn’t supposed to have been cancelled due to bits of the news breaking last night. HTC confirmed to everyone last night that the call would still go on, with additional details discussed. 8:38 a.m: Here we go! They’ve brought us into the call. Peter Chou (CEO of HTC) and Jimmy Iovine of Beats are leading the call. 8:39 a.m: Peter Chou: We’re very excited to announce this partnership. We plan to bring “studio quality” sound to handsets. 8:40 a.m: “Quality of design has always been a very high priority for HTC. When we met with Beats, we were very impressed with their knowledge and technology in the music area…. The team at Beats really understands music, and really understands the music experience.” 8:41 a.m: “With this strategy, with this investment, we’re able to bring the best people from two sides to make a very deep integration of Beats technology in the software, and the hardware. This is a great opportunity to take the mobile experience to the next step. Mobile phones — the smart phones — are very powerful. It makes it easier than ever to enjoy music… but the sound quality hasn’t caught up yet. This is an opportunity for us to provide great sound quality” 8:42 a.m: Yeah — so far, no new details. Just a lot of talking about how awesome the partnership is. 8:43 a.m: Jimmy Iovine is now on the call 8:44 a.m: “When a record is made, millions of dollars are spent on getting that emotion into music. When you then take it and put it on CD, and then MP3, you lose that emotion. [Because of these Mp3s, and bad earbuds], we’ve lost approximately 2 generations of sound.” 8:45 a.m: According to Jimmy Iovine, Beats went to HTC to ask them to invest. 8:46 a.m: Iovine: “Why Apple works so well, is because they have a head. What Steve Jobs does, the company follows. I’ve found that here with Peter.” 8:47 a.m: We’re moving into Q&A. 8:48 a.m: “What will this deal do to enhance the phone? Are consumers really looking for sound quality?” Jimmy Iovine: When we started Beats, people told us “no one cares about sound”. 3 years and 8 million headphones later, we’ve completely penetrated headphone sales between 12 and 20 years old. We brought it to them with culture, but it made them realize that quality matters. You’ll find that over the next few months, ALL phone companies will upgrade their sound quality. HTC will be first. Peter: This partnership is built on the idea that amazing sound is the key to an amazing mobile experience. 8:51 a.m: Will these be about headphones sold with the phones, or tech built into the phones? Peter: It’s not just purely the handset, it’s going to be a “holistic experience”. We see the possibility that we can create a lot more exciting innovations in the market place. [Didn't... really answer the question, there.] 8:52 a.m: “Why did you invest in Beats, rather than just license it?” Peter: We believe to create innovation, we have to have the two companies be working together day and night. 8:53 a.m: Can you confirm that this is a $300 million investment? Peter: Yes. This is a $300 million investment. 8:54 a.m: Jimmy Iovine on the size of the investment: The valuation that we came up with here.. was from March. Since then, Beats sales have doubled, but we kept the price the same [because we like HTC]. We, as in the music industry, HAVE to get to phones. This expedites that. 8:58 a.m: What, if anything, does this partnership do to your relationship with HTC? Jimmy: I talked to Todd [Bradley] and he was thrilled for us. It’s in HPs best interest to continue building out the brand, and our goal is to fix sound everywhere — but we’ll have an exclusive relationship with HTC in phones. (Sounds like Beats will continue to work with HP and other brands in computers, but will work strictly with HTC in phones) Aaaand they’ve just ended the call. The primary interesting bits here: HTC confirmed that the investment was, in fact, $300 million, for their 51% stake, while Jimmy Iovine disclosed that this valuation was built back in March and that Beats tech in phones will likely be an exclusive to HTC. Thanks for tuning in, everyone! HTC Corp, (TAIEX: 2498) produces smartphones running the Android and Windows Mobile operating systems for themselves and as an OEM to other manufacturers. Since launching its own brand in...
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| Gartner: Android OS Sales Top iOS, RIM and Nokia Posted: 11 Aug 2011 08:05 AM PDT  Gartner just released its new mobile device sales for Q2 2011, and reports that Google and Apple are the “obvious winners” in the smartphone ecosystem. The combined share of iOS and Android doubled nearly 62% in the second quarter of this year, up from just over 31% in same quarter last year. Google’s mobile operating system now accounts for 43.4% of all smartphone sales, up from 17.2% Q2 2010. And Apple reached 18.2%, up from 14.1% at the same time. However, Symbian is now at 22.1%, down from 40.9%. Nokia and RIM are both suffering, actually, with Nokia’s sales in the channel dropping due to decreasing demand for Symbian, but also inventory management issues in Europe and China. RIM, meanwhile, saw its share of the smartphone market drop to 12% in Q2, from 19% one year ago. According to the analyst firm, worldwide sales of mobile devices grew 16.5% from this time last year, to reach 428.7 million units. Sales of smartphones were up 74% year-over-year and accounted for 25% of the overall sales in Q2 2011, up from 17% in Q2 2010. “Smartphone sales continued to rise at the expense of feature phones,” said Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner. In mature markets, she noted that people were choosing Android over feature phones, in part due to manufacturer and carrier promotions. By Vendor When looking at the mobile phone sales by vendor, Nokia is still on top, with 22.8% of the overall mobile market. But the next quarter may see Nokia’s share falling. "The sales efforts of the channel, combined with Nokia's greater concentration in retail and distributors' sales, saw Nokia destock more than 9 million units overall and 5 million smartphones, helping it hold on to its position as the leading smartphone manufacturer by volume," Cozza noted. "However, we will not see a repeat of this performance in the third quarter of 2011, as Nokia's channel is pretty lean." Samsung achieved growth, thanks in part to the new Galaxy S II, which is selling well – 5 million sales by the end of July. However, its overall share dropped year-over-year, and grew only marginally quarter-over-quater, Gartner said. RIM’s smartphone market share dropped from 19% a year ago to 12% and it lost its #5 spot in the overall mobile device rankings to ZTE. RIM will have struggles ahead, too, Gartner believes, as it attempts to transition from BlackBerry 7 to QNX. Apple continued to “exceed expectations,” said Gartner, even though the iPhone 4 is about to be replaced with a newer model. Part of its growth came from the 42 new carriers in 15 new countries it entered last quarter, bringing its total countries to 100. By the end of Q2, sales to end users reached 19.6 million units. And in China, Apple is the 7th largest mobile phone vendor, and the 3rd-largest smartphone vendor.
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| The Motorola KORE: Just A Heart Rate Monitor? Posted: 11 Aug 2011 06:44 AM PDT  While we were fairly certain that Moto was going to go all KORE on its tablet line last week, it looks like KORE is just a trademark for a heart rate monitor and headphones combo that works with Motorola phones. Bums-ville.
The KORE could also be a music player/fitness device that appeared a while back, which would definitely make it more interesting then just a pair of headphones. This is all just conjecture and kremlinology, obviously, so we shall see.
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| AT&T Joins Sprint In Offering Mobile Security To Customers Posted: 11 Aug 2011 06:29 AM PDT  You're all aware of the increase in "hacktivism" and malware we've been seeing over the past few months, and as it turns out, the carriers are aware of it, too. Just yesterday, Sprint announced the availability of its McAfee security apps for Android, and today AT&T is looping in Juniper Networks for its new mobile security platform. Though it's not quite rolled out yet, the first phase of AT&T's security platform will be the launch of its AT&T Mobile Security app, which will be based on Juniper's Junos Pulse client. The app won't launch until later this year. According to the release, the application will help keep both personal and enterprise phones safe by offering control and monitoring of apps and enabling anti-virus and anti-malware on the phone. The truth of the matter is you can never be too secure when it comes to technology, especially with our banking and personal contact information all stored away in our smartphones. There are already plenty of anti-virus and anti-malware apps available in both the Android Market and the App Store, along with various other application stores, but it's definitely good to see the carriers get involved.
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