MobileCrunch |  |
- Beijing Set To Roll Out Massive Free Public WiFi Network This Month (But There’s A Catch)
- Leaked Timeline Points To Post-Black Friday Galaxy Nexus Launch
- Mobile Startup Incubator Tandem Opens New “MobileHome” In Silicon Valley; Now Accepting Applicants
- GarageBand Arrives On The iPhone And iPod Touch
- Sprint Inks Deal To Become Official Wireless Carrier Of San Diego
- Verizon Doc Points To November 10 Launch For The Droid RAZR
- Google’s GoMo Launches To Help Businesses Go Mobile
- AT&T Announces Availability And Pricing For New BlackBerry Line-Up
- Pontiflex Brings Its “Signup” Mobile Ads To iOS5, Android Tablets
- Samsung Asks Apple To Hand Over iPhone 4S Source Code
- iPhone 4S Continues World Tour, Hits 15 New Countries On November 11
| Beijing Set To Roll Out Massive Free Public WiFi Network This Month (But There’s A Catch) Posted: 02 Nov 2011 02:52 AM PDT  At the end of this month, China’s capital city will begin rolling out free WiFi service in various hotspots across the city. The “My Beijing” wireless network, as it is to be called, is backed by three of the country’s largest telecom companies, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, and will provide 2Mbps broadband WiFi to approximately 60 percent of Beijing through some 90,000 access points that the municipal government plans implement over the next few years, according to China.org. The WiFi service will be free to use during the three year pilot program, at the end of which the government may change the model and begin charging individual users or businesses for access — although these terms have not yet been finalized. Of course, as is often the case, there’s a catch. The Chinese government tightly (some would say oppressively) regulates Internet access throughout the mainland. As the Guardian reported in July, the government has been further clamping down on cafes, hotels, and other businesses offering WiFi to its customers, in some cases requiring these businesses to install surveillance software to monitor Web activity. There has even been the threat of fines or termination of their WiFi service for businesses who do not install the software. While those strict measures had not yet reached Beijing at the time the article was written, by controlling the Beijing’s new WiFi service, the government can now ensure that it is able to impose its own surveillance standards on users. In this case, in order for “My Beijing” users to gain access to the network, they will be required to enter their mobile cell numbers. Obviously, with the implications of this measure, there has been some harsh criticism. Users rightly worry that offering up their mobile number to gain access could put their personal information at risk, and furthermore, that the state would then be able to monitor browsing history, web activity, etc. Or, on the flip side, that their mobile numbers will not be sufficiently protected, exposing them to potential harm from spammers or from those looking to sell their numbers to advertising companies and so on. If those in control have users’ phone numbers, promotions and ads could easily end up being later forwarded on to the users’ mobile devices, i.e. potential spamming galore. And, as they should be, with the Chinese government having control over what could be the largest municipal WiFi network in the world, citizens are worried about the level of restrictions and surveillance that could end up being baked into the city’s WiFi access. It would be one thing if a business or group of businesses were controlling this large network, but considering the Chinese government’s track record, Big Brother-level supervision of the network’s traffic wouldn’t exactly be far-fetched. However, according to a report by China Daily, an employee in the Beijing branch of the China Mobile Communications Corp (one of the telecoms backing the WiFi network) said that the requirement of inputting a mobile number to log on will “help trace those whose online activity might endanger social security”. A senior official official at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology added that the free WiFi will be put in place to “enhance social wellbeing” and that logging on with a mobile number is simply a way of enabling “identity authentication”. With coverage planned for 60 percent of Beijing through 480,000 WLAN access points and more than 6,000 hotspots over the next five years, in the big picture this is a laudable move on behalf of the Chinese government to bring free Internet access to a sizable chunk of the near-20 million Beijing residents. It represents the largest initiative in terms of coverage (and number of hotspots) in China to date and will certainly be one of the largest municipal WiFi networks in the world. On the flip side, it remains to be seen just how tight surveillance and supervision will be for the network. If restrictions remain as stringent as they have been in the past, and security proves to be subpar, the network could end up being a pyrrhic victory for the residents of Beijing.
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| Leaked Timeline Points To Post-Black Friday Galaxy Nexus Launch Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:52 PM PDT  Few devices have inspired a following quite as devoted as the Galaxy Nexus, and those fans will be glad to know that a recently leaked Verizon document pegs Samsung and Google’s latest collaboration with a post-Black Friday launch window. According to a handful of Droid-Life’s sources, the Galaxy Nexus is slated to launch the week after Black Friday (which I’m sure is rough news for people who work in wireless retail), a notion which is supposedly corroborated by an image of a Verizon timeline (below). It’s tough to tell exactly what we’re looking at here, but it appears to be a promotions schedule that lays out when each of Verizon’s handsets will get their holiday marketing push. It looks like the Droid RAZR will be part of Verizon’s holiday spotlight through Christmas, while the poor Rezound has to make do with a mere two weeks in the limelight. Meanwhile, marketing efforts for Samsung’s entire portfolio (Galaxy Nexus included) seem to kick off right after Thanksgiving, and could run straight through the holidays alongside the RAZR. Given that Verizon probably paid a pretty penny to nab the Galaxy Nexus before anyone else in the U.S., it comes as no surprise that it too may be getting a pronounced promotional push to drive sales. The timeline doesn’t offer concrete confirmation (Verizon could easily start their marketing efforts in advance of the launch to build hype), but the timing certainly seems to make sense. A post-Black Friday launch means people are already geared up to make some purchases, and it gives Verizon enough time to promote the Galaxy Nexus in the run up to your gift-giving holiday of choice.
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| Mobile Startup Incubator Tandem Opens New “MobileHome” In Silicon Valley; Now Accepting Applicants Posted: 01 Nov 2011 01:45 PM PDT  You may not have heard of Tandem Entrepreneurs, the incubator and capital fund that officially launched in July, but for entrepreneurs focused on the mobile space, they’re worth checking out. What’s different about Tandem, as we wrote in July, is that founders Doug Renert and Sunil Bhargava don't consider themselves VCs. Instead, they’ve brought together a host of entrepreneurs with decades of startup experience among them to provide resources in an incubator that specifically targets early-stage mobile startups. The incubator works hand-in-hand with its founders on everything from strategy and product design to user acquisition and employee recruiting, seeding each company with $200,000 in a convertible note in exchange for 10 percent common equity. Put simply, Tandem wants to become Silicon Valley’s mobile industry incubator and, as part of that mission, it’s today opening the doors of its collaborative workspace, called “The MobileHome”. The new digs in Burlingame will serve as a starter home to Tandem-backed companies, including the newest class of mobile startups that will be admitted in January 2012. Those interested in applying for the incubator’s winter class can apply here. The deadline is December 1st. Unlike other well-known incubators like Y Combinator and TechStars, Tandem hand selects and supports just a handful of entrepreneurial teams at a time. Out of over 1,000 applications received for its summer class, Tandem chose just three teams, all of which are working at the new site and will be attending the launch event in stealth mode. For its winter class, Tandem will be accepting 8 entrepreneurial teams; the small size of its classes, the incubator believes, help it deliver higher returns and success rates for its startups. Current startups participating in the incubator include Playhaven and Juice In The City. Tandem will be hosting a launch party for its new offices, and the first 20 TechCrunch readers can gain entry to the event by emailing info@tandemcap.com. For more on Tandem, check them out at home here. Financial-organization: Tandem Entrepreneurs Website: tandementrepreneurs.com Tandem is made up of a few entrepreneurs who have founded companies and taken them to liquidity. They now invest their time and money in others' early stage software and Internet startups through Tandem. The Tandem team does not consider itself a VC firm. They refer to three primary types of capital that are required to make a startup successful – Financial Capital (money), Human Capital (sweat) and Social Capital (friends). Tandem explains that VCs bring mainly financial capital, some...
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| GarageBand Arrives On The iPhone And iPod Touch Posted: 01 Nov 2011 09:34 AM PDT  GarageBand, Apple’s music creation app, is now available on the smaller screens of the iPhone and iPod Touch, after its introduction on the iPad earlier this year. Like the iPad version, the new app has Touch instruments like keyboards, pianos, organs, drums, guitars and basses. It also allows you to plug in your electric guitar to record music or a mic to record vocals. GarageBand’s “Smart Instruments” let you choose from a new library of custom chords, which is an update from the older iPad-only version. It also includes sound effects, a Sampler that creates an instrument from the sounds you record and over 250 professional loops you can use as backing for your songs. You can use the built-in Mixer to fine tune tracks’ volume (solo/mute, adjust pan, reverb, echo), arrange and mix your song with up to eight tracks, trim and place musical regions and more. Songs can be shared from the app and exported to your Mac or PC for additional editing on the desktop. As for what’s new with this release (version 1.1), Apple lists the following features: • Create custom chords for Smart Instruments The new GarageBand, now a universal app, is $4.99 here in iTunes.
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| Sprint Inks Deal To Become Official Wireless Carrier Of San Diego Posted: 01 Nov 2011 09:14 AM PDT  Sprint is no stranger to forging big-name partnerships — the NASCAR Sprint Cup comes to mind — but this time the folks in Overland Park have struck a deal with a rather unexpected party. Sprint has just announced that after nine months of competition, they have been named the official wireless provider of San Diego, California. According to the terms of the deal, Sprint will provide more than 3,000 devices to municipal staff, from their EVO series of Android phones to BlackBerrys to mobile broadband modems. Interestingly enough, iPhones don’t appear on the list of supported products, though I suspect more than a few staffers lobbied long and hard for them. Sprint, also looking to continue their focus on going green, is working to create a recycling program for all of the municipal government’s used wireless devices. In exchange for their devices and service, Sprint stands to pick up a cool $2.6 million over the course of the city’s two-year contract. The San Diego municipal government has the option to extend the deal for up to another three years if needed, though given the strength of their competitors, it’s tough to say if Sprint can remain the most worthwhile option for the city over the next five years. Still, Sprint has gotten a lot of mileage out of their government contracts over the years, and the addition of San Diego to the list adds to Sprint’s recent string of victories. In addition to breaking single-day sales records with the iPhone 4S, Sprint also reported solid Q3 financials a few weeks back.
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| Verizon Doc Points To November 10 Launch For The Droid RAZR Posted: 01 Nov 2011 09:01 AM PDT  Remember that one time Motorola and Verizon announced the new Droid RAZR, but failed to offer up any in-store availability dates? A date as vague as “November” can only tide over the masses for so long, which may be why Verizon “passed along” this internal document (full-size below) to Droid-Life, which details in-store availability across “all channels” on November 10. The beastly 4G-LTE packin’ RAZR will go for $299.99 on-contract. In similar news, UK retailer Clove had originally listed RAZR availability for November 1, but then changed it to “the week commencing 7 November,” reports Pocket-Lint. In other words, it’ll probably arrive in customer hands by the 10th. As a refresher, the Droid RAZR boasts a 7.1mm waist line making it the world’s thinnest smartphone, or so says Motorola. It packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Android 2.3 Gingerbread (with a promised update to Ice Cream Sandwich), and support for Verizon’s 4G LTE network. You’ll find an 8-megapixel shooter on the back capable of video capture in 1080p, along with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing cam for video chat. Along with its 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED 960×540 display, the phone also ships with a Kevlar fiber casing along the back, to withstand the “back pocket test.” 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 serves nearly 102 million customers nationwide. Verizon’s Wireline operations include Verizon Business and Verizon Telecom, which brings customers converged communications, information and entertainment services over Verizon’s fiber-optic network. Company: Motorola Mobility Website: motorolamobility.com Motorola is known around the world for innovation in communications and is focused on advancing the way the world connects. From broadband communications infrastructure, enterprise mobility and public safety solutions to mobile and wireline digital communication devices that provide compelling experiences, Motorola is leading the next wave of innovations that enable people, enterprises and governments to be more connected and more mobile. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) had sales of US $22 billion in 2009
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| Google’s GoMo Launches To Help Businesses Go Mobile Posted: 01 Nov 2011 08:48 AM PDT  As was previously leaked, Google is now launching its new GoMo service, which aims to help businesses easily create a mobile-friendly website. The website for the service was discovered earlier this week, but the details sat behind a password-protected front page. Today, Google is making GoMo available to the public. On HowToGoMo.com, business owners can enter in their current website’s URL to see what the site looks like on mobile. GoMo will then make suggestions and recommendations on how the site could be mobile-optimized. GoMo will also show examples of great mobile websites for inspiration and point to a list of mobile site developers who can help design a better experience. Of course, Google itself provides this service through its recently updated Google Site Builder, which it is happy to link to. But credit to Google: it doesn’t make it the top link – that goes to Atmio, Inc. and DudaMobile, both of which sit above Google in the list. (Of course, that’s only because the list is in alphabetical order.) The list of providers can also be filtered by service type (DIY, Full service), cost and timeframe to build. GoMo is really more of a marketing effort and a push to get business owners to go mobile the latter which fits into Google’s overall goal of getting more websites on the (mobile) web so Google can expand its advertising reach. Still, as a consumer struggling with the quite often non-mobile web on a tiny smartphone screen, it’s good to see something like this come about. 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 online tools and platforms including: Gmail, Maps and YouTube. Most of its Web-based products are free, funded by Google’s highly integrated online advertising platforms AdWords and AdSense. Google promotes the idea that advertising should be highly targeted and relevant to users thus providing them with a rich source of information....
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| AT&T Announces Availability And Pricing For New BlackBerry Line-Up Posted: 01 Nov 2011 08:28 AM PDT  Despite RIM’s successive screw-ups (including a massive server outage that left thousands of customers without BBM or internet service… twice), there are still some hardcore BlackBerry fans out there. If you’re one of them, feel free to breathe a sigh of relief because the only news I bring you today is the announcement of three new BlackBerry models for AT&T: the BlackBerry Bold 9900, the BlackBerry Torch 9860, and the BlackBerry Curve 9360. Then again, it’s not even noon yet. The BlackBerry Bold 9900 looks and feels very similar to its predecessors. It packs the standard QWERTY keyboard RIM clings so tightly to, along with a 2.8-inch touchscreen display. A 1.2GHz processor is under the hood along with 768 MB of RAM, 8GB of on-board memory, a memory card slot, and support for AT&T’s 4G network. You’ll also find a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of video capture in 720p, with BlackBerry 7 OS running the show. The phone has earned MasterCard’s PayPass NFC certification, along with the Curve 9360. The Bold 9900 will go for $199.99 on-contract on November 6. Up next, we have the BlackBerry Torch 9860, the first all-touch BlackBerry to hit AT&T. It sports a 3.7-inch touchscreen, and almost all the same specs as the Bold 9900, save for the PayPass certification. The Torch should be an interesting addition to BlackBerry’s lineup, seeing that many die-hard BlackBerry owners normally cite messaging (and thus, the full QWERTY keyboard) as the deal-maker. At the same time, a buttonless world is upon us, as the tech world tries to get as touch-sensitive as possible. The Torch 9860 will go for $99.99 on-contract on November 6, the same day as the Bold. Last, but not least, we have the BlackBerry Curve 9360, with its flash-enabled 5-megapixel camera capable of video capture in 720p. The phone boasts a 2.44-inch display along with an 800MHz processor, while BlackBerry 7 OS runs the show. AT&T says that a version of the phone will be available without a camera, but hasn’t specified whether or not the price goes down on that model. The Curve will launch later than the other two, going for $29.99 on-contract on November 20. Government officials and enterprise customers will get first dibs, on November 14.
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| Pontiflex Brings Its “Signup” Mobile Ads To iOS5, Android Tablets Posted: 01 Nov 2011 07:38 AM PDT  Mobile advertising Pontiflex is releasing an update to its AppLeads Smart SDK today, which brings its online “signup” platform to iOS5 devices and Android tablets, including the Kindle Fire. Previously, the system worked on older versions of iOS and Android smartphones. These signup ads are a different type of mobile advertising – one where the click-through is not the goal, but getting the customer to opt-in to hear more from the advertiser in question, is. Signup ads let customers interact with the ad without leaving the app. For now, that means entering in a zip code and email address, although Pontiflex is working on a version of the product that would introduce a social element to ads. For example, consumers could “like” the advertiser on Facebook or even share the ad with their friends. (Don’t laugh – some people really do share ads. Heck, some even blog about ads they like.) The possibility for social sharing increases when the advertiser is pitching a great deal, coupon, discount or sale, of course, which they likely would do. Pontiflex says it now has just under 1,000 applications running its ads on iOS and sees 4 million sign-ups per month. Some big-name advertisers are participating in the platform, including 1-800 Flowers, Southwest Airlines, Sak’s, Barney’s, Kimberly-Clark (Huggies) and others. As consumers interact with the ads, the algorithm, which takes into account 27 different types of signals, learns from that interaction, and guesses which ads the consumer would be most interested in seeing. Pontiflex is backed by New Atlantic Ventures, Tribeca Venture Partners and RRE Ventures. It has raised $14 million in funding to date. For a demo of AppLeads in action, go here.
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| Samsung Asks Apple To Hand Over iPhone 4S Source Code Posted: 01 Nov 2011 07:16 AM PDT  If Apple was a melody and Samsung was a beat, their legal battle would be the song that never ends. On the whole, the war has lasted more than six months, spanned more than half the continents, and is still only in its formative stages. Final decisions have yet to be made in almost all of the cases, and in predictable fashion, the duo are igniting new battles at what feels like a daily rate. This time, Samsung is asking for some juicy deets in its Australian counter suit against Apple. After Apple won a preliminary injunction on the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Samsung vowed to get more aggressive. And so they have, filing for a preliminary injunction against Apple’s brand new iPhone 4S. In doing so, Samsung has requested the source code for the iPhone 4S, as well as details on Apple’s subsidy deals with Australian carriers. Samsung’s argument is that the iPhone 4S infringes three patents it holds, all concerned with 3G wireless technology and the transmission of mobile data. However, the patents in question are standard essentials patents, which means the technology they cover is a necessity industry-wide, rather than a specific brand innovation. In that case, Samsung is required to offer FRAND (Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory) licensing terms, which, according to Samsung, Apple refused. Apple, on the other hand, says its covered by a third-party licensing agreement made by Qualcomm on the MDM6610 chipset, reports SmartOffice. Still, Samsung asserts that whatever licensing deal is in place may not extend into Australian turf. In other words, this dueling duo can’t seem to get their licensing deals straight, or are at least doing a helluva job making it appear that way to the judge. Speaking of the judge, the same judge that ruled in the Apple vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab case is taking the reigns here: Judge Annabelle Bennett. She listened this morning as Samsung counsel Cynthia Cochrane asked for the iPhone source code, along with subsidy agreement details in order to make a case for a sales ban. “If subsidies are given for the iPhone 4S, there are less to go around for my client’s products,” said Cochrane. Samsung is looking to get the subsidy numbers from Vodafone, Telstra and Optus, the three major carriers in Australia. Meanwhile, Apple is looking for advice from counsel before agreeing to hand over the source code, which is a pretty solid idea. Who knows what infringing features Samsung will find in there? In any case, this is much less of a blow to Apple than the Galaxy Tab sales ban is for Samsung. The iPhone 4S is “a horse [that has] already bolted,” according to Apple’s lawyers. The iPhone, in particular, tends to sell fast directly at launch, presumably because people want as much time as possible with the “new” iPhone before Apple tosses something better into the market. Plus, if you don’t move fast for a new Apple product, it usually sells out. Despite Samsung’s 4S sales publicity stunt, Apple lawyers are indeed correct in saying that the iPhone has already left the building, while the GalTab never even made it to shelves. Past that, if Samsung can’t find any further infringement (should Apple offer up the source code), then the case will most likely result in FRAND licensing deals between Samsung and Apple. That is, if Apple’s Qualcomm deal doesn’t hold up. Summarily, Apple has more than a few lines of defense against this attack, and if Samsung wants more than a headache out of this, it’ll surely be an uphill battle. The case will continue on Friday, November 4. 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, Inc. to Apple, Inc. in January 2007. Among the key offerings from Apple’s product line are: Pro line laptops (MacBook Pro) and desktops (Mac Pro), consumer line laptops (MacBook) and desktops (iMac), servers (Xserve), Apple TV, the Mac OS X and Mac OS X Server operating systems, the iPod (offered with...
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| iPhone 4S Continues World Tour, Hits 15 New Countries On November 11 Posted: 01 Nov 2011 06:41 AM PDT  While most of the furor over the the new iPhone has died down around these parts, Apple has announced that a few new markets will be able to get their proverbial hands on the iPhone 4S very shortly. The 4S is poised to hit 15 new countries by November 11, including major Asian markets like South Korea and Hong Kong. Outside of Asia, the 4S is slated to hit Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, and Romania. A very sincere sorry goes out to all you folks in Albania, El Salvador, Guatemala, Malta, Montenegro and Panama — unlike the other countries on the list, you won’t be able to lock in your iPhone 4S pre-order come November 4, so you’re pretty much stuck slugging it out for one at your favorite local iRetailer. Apple just recently released the iPhone 4S in 22 additional countries, so they seem to be well on their way to executing the “fastest rollout ever” as promised at their launch event. That’s got to be grin-worthy news for Apple’s top brass, but they can’t stop to breathe just yet — they still need to deliver the 4S to around 30 more countries by the end of the year.
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