Apple's iPhone 4 woes deepen as some see recall 'inevitable'
Apple continued to be on the losing end of a public relations battle Tuesday over a "Not Recommended" rating from Consumer Reports for its iPhone 4. Some industry watchers have gone as far as to suggest a recall is something the company may need to consider.
The latest round of bad news was courtesy of Wayne State University Professor Matthew Seeger, who told Cult of Mac that the brand image of Apple could be at risk and said the company will be forced to issue a recall.
China moves to end Internet anonymity by requiring real names
Text of a speech made by a government official in China back in April indicates the country plans to require Internet surfers in the country to use their real names. The transcript of the comments by the State Council Information Office's Wang Chen had been removed from the legislature website by Chinese officials.
It is not known why the government moved to scrub Wang's words, although it can be speculated it had to do with the likely unpopularity of such a move. The text was recovered by New York interest group Human Rights in China, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
Microsoft announces Windows Phone Live, integration with Zune
There is more Windows Phone news coming from Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference today, and this time, instead of focusing on developers, it is focused on the consumer experience. Microsoft's Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Andy Lees introduced a couple of major consumer-facing enhancements to Windows Phone today that extend functionality off of the phone's various "hubs" and into other connected services.
First, there will be a new addition to the Windows Live suite of Web services dedicated strictly to Windows Phone, appropriately named Windows Live Phone. Integration with Windows Live services has always been a strong aspect of Microsoft's mobile strategy, and was executed well even with the much derided Windows Mobile 6.5.
Blackberry Tablet confirmed, will support Flash
Rumors of a BlackBerry tablet have been circulating for months, and statements from Rodman & Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar on Friday have rekindled the discussion with a little bit more accuracy.
A source close to RIM confirmed to Betanews that Kumar's statements were accurate, including the screen size, and the dual camera setup. But they gave us a bit of additional information that the rumors haven't covered yet: Flash support.
New Apple FaceTime TV ads give me the creeps
Seriously, all four new FaceTime ads creep me out. I know they're meant to be sentimental, but they're simply too real. I feel like a voyeur eavesdropping on very personal interactions. It's a place I don't belong. It's not my moment to share. Apple posted the commercials to YouTube on July 9th. I only discovered them today.
There's a veiled, backhanded compliment to my creepy feelings. As an exercise in creating intimacy between two people and showing the endearing qualities a video call has over voice, the TV commercials are enormously effective. But to my watching, there's realism, and there's realism.
Microsoft's Windows Phone Developer Tools get a major update ahead of dev phone launch
At MIcrosoft's Worldwide Partner conference today, Andy Lees, Senior Vice President of Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft announced the beta of Windows Phone Developer tools has begun.
Back in March, the suite of Windows Phone development tools was launched as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) which included Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone, Windows Phone 7 Series Add-in for Visual Studio, a Windows Phone 7 Series emulator, XNA Game Studio 4.0, and a CTP release of Expression Blend 4. The CTP received an update in April, shortly after it was launched.
Fring calls Skype 'cowards,' Skype says Fring is damaging brand and reputation
Popular Social/Messaging/VoIP application Fring made serious waves last week when it launched a new version that supported two-way video calling over 3G for the iPhone 4. Apple's FaceTime iPhone 4 video chat, by comparison, only works while the device is connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Very shortly after launching, however, support for the face-2-face video chat was halted. Fring said the feature's unavailability was the result of a blockage by Skype.
Microsoft opens up Intune beta to 10,000 more testers
Reacting to the success of its launch in April, Microsoft on Monday said it would allow 10,000 more testers into its Intune computer management service. The offering gives small and midsize companies without a vast IT department the capability to manage their computers via a web-based connection.
When the Intune beta was first made available in April, the initial 1,500 beta slots were filled within 30 hours. The company decided to hold off until this weeks Worldwide Partner Conference to open up the beta again due to the gathering's planned focus on cloud computing.
Ballmer: Microsoft will push forward with new tablets, phones
All but admitting his company has fallen behind competitors, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told attendees of its Worldwide Partner Conference Monday that it plans to work hard to bring new tablets and smartphones to the market.
Ballmer's first task in his keynote address was to soften the concerns of partners, who have become more skeptical of MIcrosoft's ability to stay relevant. He said the company is still on track with Windows Phone 7, and that tablet computers from several partners are due within months.
Google provides a look at Android's highly customized future with App Inventor
For anyone with an Android phone and a great idea for an app but no experience with writing code, Google has announced the ultimate solution.
Today, Google began the beta phase of App Inventor, a graphical tool in Google Labs for designing custom Android applications. Users of the tool do not need to know anything about programming to be able to create an app, package it, and upload it to their USB-connected Android phone.
'Make it simple, stupid' should be the motto for the mobile Web
Ian Betteridge is spot on with today's post: "The era of simplified computing." Simpler defines the current PC market. Simplest defines the next computing paradigm -- anytime, anywhere, on anything, for which the cloud-connected mobile device is the major platform.
"I've come to see that we're entering a new era of computing, one where the paradigms and expectations of the world of the PC won't give us much guidance," Betteridge writes. "This new era is all about simplified computing, technologies where what's important is the ability to sit down, get something done, and put down the device. Fast, simple, and most of all requiring as little knowledge about the underlying technology."
Android growth may give Apple, RIM some pause
In the three month period ending in May, Google's Android was the only platform to measure market share growth according to data from research firm comScore. While Research in Motion and Apple still lead the way, both lost share during the period.
RIM had 41.7 percent of the platform market, down about a half a point from February. Apple's iOS came in second with 24.4 percent, down a full percentage point. Third was Microsoft's Windows Mobile, who fell nearly two percent to 13.2 percent for the period.
After five years, 64-bit editions of Windows make up nearly half of install base
64-bit editions of Windows have been available to OEMs and consumers for five years, and they have finally begun to exhibit command over the PC market, Microsoft reported today.
By June 2010, 46% of all PCs running Windows 7 were running the 64-bit edition. Three and a half years after Windows Vista launched, only 11% of users have installed the 64-bit version, considerably fewer than Microsoft claimed in 2008 when product manager Chris Flores told us "20% of new Windows Vista PCs in the U.S. connecting to the Windows Update were 64-bit..."
Ericsson: 70% of the entire world subscribes to a mobile service
Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson is responsible for all kinds of wireless equipment, from cell site infrastructure to consumer premises equipment to mobile broadband chips. So when they talk about the industry, it would behoove you to pay attention.
Today, Ericsson announced its estimate that the global mobile market contains over five billion subscribers, growing at a rate of 2 million per day.
Google is staying in China with 'unfiltered' services
Google's license to offer search services in China has been renewed after months of restructuring and negotiations with the Chinese government.
In 2005, Google first won a license to operate within China, but to remain available, it had to adhere to strict government oversight and censor search results. Queries related to human rights topics, or to Tibet and the Dalai Lama, for example, would redirect searchers to Government-run sites.
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