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22 Feb 2012 22:45

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Tech: Open-source fans, here you go: Ubuntu for Android ahoy!

  • After months of rumors, Canonical has unveiled Ubuntu for Android, a version of the ultra-popular Ubuntu Linux kernel that boots from Android mobile devices. We’ll let the video do the rest of the talking. source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2011 14:56

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Biz: Apple scores court victory against HTC, Android in patent case

  • A bad day for HTC smartphones: While it didn’t represent everything Apple had sought to secure through the legal process, today’s court ruling against HTC struck a blow, and moved along Apple’s bid to prove Google’s Android operating system copied the iPhone. This was, you may remember, a rather intense preoccupation on the part of the late Steve Jobs — the ruling held that some of Android’s data collection software was, in fact, an infringement of Apple’s patent rights, and will cause some HTC phone models to be blocked from sale in the United States starting next year. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Dec 2011 20:04

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Tech: Apple admits they used Carrier IQ too, but only if it was enabled

  • We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.
  • A statement from Apple • Discussing the quickly-becoming-a-big-deal Carrier IQ situation, in which an obscure diagnostic company allegedly had its data-tracking app on a millions of phones — without consumers knowing. At first, was unclear if the software was on Apple’s tightly-locked phones, but last night, it became clear that it was — although, unlike in the case of many Android phones, it wasn’t enabled by default and otherwise difficult to enable. And with the next iOS update, it’ll be gone entirely. Still, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Oct 2011 12:09

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Tech: Samsung ships more smartphones than Apple does these days

  • 27.8 million number of smartphone units Samsung shipped in the past quarter, way up from the prior quarter
  • 17.1 million number of smartphone units Apple sold in that quarter, down a bit from the prior quarter source
  • » A fast ramp-up for Samsung: Samsung entered the smartphone market in earnest just last year, and suddenly they’re bigger than Apple. How the heck did that happen? Well, Samsung gained a rep as having the best execution for mobile devices outside of Apple, and as a result, they were able to grow quickly. But it’s entirely possible that Apple could still top Samsung in the next quarter — part of the reason their sales are down is that they took longer than they usually do to iterate to a new iPhone. The iPhone 4S, it’s worth noting, is selling pretty well. (Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story claimed that both numbers reflected sales; as it turns out, Apple’s number reflects sales, while Samsung’s number reflects shipments, according to clarification MacWorld gathered from Apple and Strategy Analytics, the company that put out the report these numbers were based upon. We apologize for the confusion.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Sep 2011 09:58

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Tech: Amazon’s Kindle Fire: What it has and doesn’t have

  • included Amazon’s foray into the whole tablet thing (photo here) will be a totally affordable $199 and based on a slick Android-based interface that’s been face-lifted specifically for this freakin’ tablet.
  • missing It’s only 7 inches — a bit small for you iPad fans — and lacks such amenities as a microphone or camera. On top of this, the device is wifi-only — no 3G. Is no 3G a deal-breaker, guys? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Aug 2011 20:10

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Tech, World: A growing market: Kenyans buying $80 Android phones left and right

  • This isn’t the fastest Android phone you can buy. Nor does it have the largest screen — in fact, at 2.8 inches, it’s downright tiny. And battery life is reportedly so short that it can cause problems for those without nearby electrical sources. But the Huawei IDEOS has a major advantage for Kenyan consumers — it costs just $80 without a contract. The result? In a country where 4 in 10 people live on less than $2 per day, they’ve sold in the hundreds of thousands. The moral of the story? There is a huge market in the developing world for phones like these — region-specific apps, too. Other companies, including Apple, are rumored to be trying for this market. But can they hit an $80 price point with their phones? That’s the real question. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Aug 2011 10:04

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Biz, Tech: Google to buy Motorola Mobility: More on the blockbuster deal of the day

  • $12.5 billion to buy a key seller of Android phones
  • 17,000 number of issued patents the mobility side of Motorola owns, which would now be Google’s; Motorola split in half back in January
  • 7,500 number of patent filings made under Motorola Mobility’s name; these patents are almost as valuable to Google as the phones source
  • » Google stocks didn’t react well: While an argument could be made that this is a great move for Google, investors appear to be at least somewhat spooked, with Google’s stock currently down despite the more positive market at large. Is it because the company has never really had any sort of success in the hardware business? And what does this mean for HTC or Samsung or all the other big Android makers?
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Jul 2011 14:29

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Tech: What combines alligator skin, titanium and Android innards?

  • If you said this ungodly-expensive phone, you’re right! Watch-maker Tag Heuer, known for its high-style time-telling machines a little more than its ability to make a phone you’d actually use, decided to make a phone that only Gordon Gecko would use. This $6,750 monstrosity of Swiss engineering, called the Tag Heuer Link, doesn’t even have decent specs for a smartphone — an outdated version of Android, just 256 megabytes of internal storage (most smartphones start at 16 gigs), an average camera and a fairly-standard screen. But hey, it’s expensive and stylish! And there’s not an similar iPhone 4 case available for purchase online! If we were Bud Fox, though, we’d probably just stick with a white iPhone 4. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Jan 2011 10:49

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Tech: Google Goggles: Tough Sudoku puzzles now thing of the past

  • When IBM defeated chess, they needed a supercomputer. According to this promotional clip for Google Goggles, all Google needs to topple Sudoku is a cell phone. Train rides are about to get a heckuva lot more boring, guys. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Nov 2010 11:00

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Tech: Sales-wise, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab holds its own with iPad

  • 600,000 number of Android-based Galaxy Tab units the company has sold in its first month of launch
  • 1 million number of iPads that sold in the first month of ITS launch; they’re now hovering around 7.2 million source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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