Samsung details Android 4.0 upgrade plan for U.S. tablets and phones
Though the newest version of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich, has been available for a little more than six months, its availability has been extremely limited. Only 2.9% of Android users were running it first week of April, according to the Android Developer Dashboard.
Samsung on Tuesday released an updated list of the U.S. devices that will receive an upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich, bringing its total number of devices with the operating system version up to thirteen.
You can use the new link to Dropbox feature like Megaupload (kinda)
Popular file storage and sharing service Dropbox on Monday announced users can now share the contents of their Dropbox via a direct link that anyone can open, even if they're not a Dropbox user.
The feature is noteworthy because it deviates slightly from the traditional Dropbox sharing model. Instead of sharing files between Dropbox users, this feature simply links to content and makes it viewable.
Amazon launches beta of new site for commercial and industrial supply
Leading web retailer Amazon.com on Monday launched the beta of AmazonSupply, a new site dealing in tools, materials, machinery, office equipment, and supplies for business, industry, and commerce.
AmazonSupply launches with approximately 500,000 different items, which are separated into fourteen different classes: Lab & Scientific, Test, Measure & Inspect, Occupational Health & Safety, Janitorial & Sanitation, Office, Fleet & Vehicle Maintenance, Power & Hand Tools, Cutting Tools, Abrasives & Finishing, Material Handling, Materials, Hydraulics Pneumatics & Plumbing, Fasteners, and Power Transmission.
Canadians prefer BlackBerry, Kobo -- Americans favor Android, Kindle
This week, marketing research firm Ipsos published the latest edition of the Ipsos Reid’s Mobil-ology focusing on Canada's mobile device market. According to the data (collected for six months between August 2011 and January 2012), the Canadian mobile device market has shown continuous growth across the smartphone, tablet, and e-reader categories, putting it very close to the United States despite different brand preferences among consumers.
Here's a blow-by-blow look at how the Canadian device market differs from the United States according to Ipsos Reid's data.
Spotify for Android Ice Cream Sandwich launches in beta
Popular music streaming service Spotify has rolled out a beta of its first Android app optimized for devices running Ice Cream Sandwich.
The most current version of the app, available in Google Play, was built for Android Gingerbread, and no version was released for Honeycomb. Google Play says the Gingerbread version is compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich devices, but this is not strictly true, and installing the Gingerbread version didn't guarantee local playback or playlisting, so this beta is a ramp-up to a significant release for Spotify.
Intel's 'year of transitions' begins next week
Chipmaker Intel held steady in the first quarter of 2012, experiencing a dip in profits, but a very slight increase in revenue, beating the company's own expectations. Quarterly revenue was $12.9 billion, operating income was $3.8 billion, net income was $2.7 billion and earnings per share was $0.53.
"Q1 was a solid quarter and provides a great setup for year of important transitions based upon a foundation of growing process technology leadership," said Intel CEO Paul Otellini in the company's earnings call Tuesday evening.
Verizon Wireless agrees to sell off wireless spectrum pending $3.6B cable deal
Mobile network operator Verizon Wireless on Wednesday announced it will be auctioning off all of its 700 MHz A and B spectrum licenses if it can obtain the AWS licenses from SpectrumCo, a joint venture held by the United States' biggest multi-network operators: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox, and Leap Wireless.
Last December, SpectrumCo announced it would be selling 122 licenses in the AWS spectrum to Verizon Wireless for $3.6 billion so the wireless carrier could further build out its 4G LTE network, which currently resides in the upper C band in the 700MHz block.
Chrome for Android beta adds key features, broadens global availability
Last February, Google launched the first version of its Chrome Web browser for Android 4.0, undoubtedly one of the most significant applications that could be released for Android. While it was received with great fanfare, I said it was still far too early to call it a real winner due to a few missing features.
Tuesday, Google issued a major update to the young browser that added a few of those features, significantly advancing Chrome for Android against its competition.
Sencha Architect 2 is the new name for HTML5 UI tool Ext Designer
Developer tool and software company Sencha Inc. on Tuesday announced a new brand in HTML5 UI design and coding called Sencha Architect 2. The software is aimed at Web designers and users who want to create cross-platform HTML5 apps in a visual, drag and drop environment.
Sencha Architect 2 is an upgrade from the company's Ext Designer HTML5 layout product and can be used with Sencha's other products Touch 2 and Ext JS 4 to facilitate touch-based mobile app development or development of standalone desktop Web apps. Sencha says it dropped the name "Designer" because it no longer described the functionality of the software. It's moved from being a User Interface design tool to a more all-encompassing package that lets engineers and designers work together in the same environment.
As Nokia transforms into a smartphone company, performance disappoints
Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia on Wednesday issued an update on its financial performance for the first quarter of 2012, and lowered its outlook for the devices and services category, citing a few negative factors it is currently encountering.
Nokia's Lumia series, christened by the Lumia 800 which launched in November in Europe, and the Lumia 710 which launched in the US in December, has been performing quite well so far. Nokia says it sold more than 2 million Lumia devices since November at an average price of EUR 220. With the popularity of these devices steadily rising, Nokia says it is seeing sequential growth in Lumia sales.
SAP moves to acquire mobile enterprise app maker Syclo
Enterprise software company SAP on Tuesday announced it plans to expand its presence in mobile applications by acquiring enterprise app developer Syclo for an undisclosed sum. Syclo provides field service and mobile asset management solutions to industries like utilities, oil & gas, manufacturing and biomedical.
Syclo's SMART family of enterprise mobile applications already integrate with SAP's ERP and CRM products and include a dozen different categories: Work Management, Service Management, Inventory, Auditing, Inspecting, Scheduling, Task Managment, Asset Management, Sales, and so on.
Amazon rolls out in-app billing in Android apps, catches up to Google Play
Amazon on Tuesday launched in-app billing in its Android App Store, allowing developers to include for-pay content upgrades, subscriptions, and other purchase-driven features to their applications. The feature comes exactly one year after Google introduced in-app billing in the Android Market (now known as Google Play.)
Data from mobile app analytics company Flurry last year suggested that mobile games based on the "freemium" model earned two-thirds of all the revenue of the top 100 games. This business model is based on giving away the game, and keeping it free to play, but earning money through in-app purchases such as add-ons and content expansion packs.
Toshiba unveils the biggest Android tablet yet, Excite 13
Toshiba's first Android tablets, called "Thrive," were a bit thicker and boxier than their competitors; but at the Consumer Electronics Show 2012, the company revealed it had slimmed down its second generation considerably with the 10" Excite tablet.
Tuesday, Toshiba unveiled a new member of the Excite family that proves the company still has size in mind with its Android Tablets. The new Excite 13 has the largest LED touchscreen of any Android tablet yet.
The misunderstood 'digital native' has a two-minute attention span
There have been quite a few studies aimed at figuring out what makes the so-called "digital native" (i.e. children of the 90's who have had Web access and mobile technology their entire lives) tick.
Most of them arrive at some disparaging conclusion or other: "Digital natives are slow to pick up nonverbal cues," "Digital natives need help understanding search," and my personal favorite, "Beware the Digital Native!" (in which Enrique Salem, president and CEO of Symantec, says digital natives don't think about identity and security "the way we do.")
Facebook acquires mega-popular Instagram for a cool Billion
Just days after making its big arrival on the Android platform, popular photo-filtering social network Instagram will be acquired by leading social network Facebook.
The acquisition will give San Francisco-based Instagram approximately $1 billion in cash and shares of Facebook. The deal will close later this quarter.
Tim's Bio
Tim Conneally was born into dumpster tech. His father was an ARPANET research pioneer and equipped his kids with discarded tech gear, second-hand musical instruments, and government issue foreign language instruction tapes. After years of building Frankenstein computers from rubbish and playing raucous music in clubs across the country (and briefly on MTV) Tim grew into an adult with deep, twisted roots and an eye on the future. He most passionately covers mobile technology, user interfaces and applications, the science and policy of the wireless world, and watching different technologies shrink and converge.
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