Nokia's N82 5-Megapixel Handset Launches Worldwide
Nokia is hosting a "virtual launch" of its high-end N82 handset today. So the device whose specs have been floating around since May will now actually be made available - it's just the fanfare and events that are virtual.
For approximately €450 before subsidies and taxes, the N82 supplies a 5 megapixel camera with a xenon flash and Carl Zeiss zoom, A-GPS, Wi-Fi connectivity, and standard 2 GB microSD memory. The candy bar-style handset is 112 x 50.2 x 17.33 mm and weighs 114 grams, with a 16.7 million color 240x320 screen.
Yahoo to Add Social Networking to E-Mail
Yahoo says that it plans to add aspects of social networking to its e-mail and portal in the future, according to an interview in the New York Times. Yahoo's community and communication chief Brad Garlinghouse called the new effort "Inbox 2.0." For example, instead of the typical way of displaying messages, the company is now looking into ways to decipher which messages are from people that you would most want to read.
From here, a user could find out more about the sender through a profile, and a news feed of what is happening with users, such as what they may be doing at current, when their birthdays may be and the like. Heavy users of Yahoo services would have a more extensive profile, as the feature would pull in information from around the Yahoo network "The inbox you have today is based on what people send you, not what you want to see," Mr. Garlinghouse told the NYT. "We can say, here are the messages from the people you care about most."
Company Sues 23 for Text Completion Tech
Delaware firm Autotext Technologies has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against 23 major technology companies including Apple and IBM, regarding predictive word processing.
Autotext is suing the following companies: Apple, AT&T, Helio, Hewlett-Packard, HTC America, IBM, Kyocera, LG Electronics USA, Microsoft, Motorola, Nintendo of America, Nokia, Nuance Communications, Palm, Qualcomm, Research In Motion, Samsung America, Sanyo North America, Sony, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Zi Corporation.
Germany Passes New Data Retention Laws
Germany's Parliament passed new data retention laws last week that require Web and phone providers to retain their logs for up to six months, despite the opposition of privacy advocates.
According to the law, the information within those logs could be used by law enforcement if they have reason to suspect criminal activity. Supporters claim it is also an anti-terrorism measure -- aimed at preventing another attack like those in London or Madrid.
Amazon Offers Freebie Deal for Blu-ray Movies
Amazon has begun offering a promotion that would allow customers to receive one Blu-ray move free when they buy another at full price. Although the sale is said to be for a "limited time," no expiration date was given. 72 movies in all are included as part of the deal, with prices on Blu-ray movies either $19.95 or $26.95. As would be expected, the least expensive of the two discs is counted as the free movie.
There have been reports that the discount has not been applied to some purchases, although Amazon.com said that those not receiving the freebie should contact the site to have their orders adjusted. In any case, such a move is not unexpected. With HD DVD now selling their players for as low as $98, pressure is on Blu-ray to answer back. While Blu-ray cannot match HD DVD on player price, it seems to have turned to its ever-growing catalog of movie titles to drum up sales.
WSJ Opens Up Site to Digg Users
In what may end up being just the first step in Rupert Murdoch's rumored desire to open Wall Street Journal Online content to everyone by removing the subscription requirement, the publication has inked an agreement with Digg to allow free access to articles submitted to the social news site.
Although articles must be "dugg" by Journal subscribers before they can be viewed by anyone else, the deal should bring a fair bit of new traffic to the WSJ. In return, Digg receives a boost of credibility by partnering with the Journal, and "Digg This" buttons will be placed on all the publication's stories, furthering Digg's reach.
Yahoo Settles With Shi Tao, Chinese Dissidents' Families
Twenty-one months after a Yahoo senior executive admitted to Congress his company probably should not have turned over private information on one of its customers in China to the Chinese government without first having checked to see what that phrase "State Secrets" meant in the telegram, Yahoo has settled a dispute with that customer's family, along with the families of two other dissidents with claims against the company.
"Plaintiffs and defendants hereby jointly stipulate to dismissal with prejudice of all claims made in this action," reads a company statement this morning, "based on a private settlement understanding among the parties." Not much else was said other than that Yahoo also agrees to pay the families' court costs.
Sweeping EU Telecom Reforms Proposal Will Include Telco Breakup Option
As BetaNews reported yesterday, the European Commission did indeed take up the matter of the creation of a centralized European Telecom Market Authority. Though despite evidence of what was believed to be at least substantive opposition, the proposal was apparently adopted after only hours of discussion.
Included in the proposal will be the option for regulators to force large incumbent telcos within a region or member country to split their business units, if necessary, to create an environment that encourages competition among alternative providers.
What Will IBM Gain by Acquiring Cognos?
Today, IBM's newly-acquired Business Intelligence and Management group Cognos unveiled a couple of developments that were no doubt deciding factors in its recent acquisition. Among them is a new accounting reporting tool that European customers will not only need but require, in the wake of regulatory changes.
First, the company introduced its new Cognos 8 Controller Performance blueprint, which is designed to help finance departments renew and improve closing, consolidation, and reporting processes.
XM Shareholders Approve Sirius Merger
XM and Sirius' proposed merger received near-unanimous support from shareholders, as the two companies announced they had cleared the next hurdle in becoming a single entity.
According to tabulations by XM, 99.8 percent of shareholders voted in favor of the transaction. The merger agreement calls for each XM shareholder to receive 4.6 Sirius shares for each share they own.
EU Opens Formal Inquiry Into Google + DoubleClick Merger
Having concluded a preliminary review into the ramifications of search engine and contextual ad provider Google merging with display ad and campaign management system provider DoubleClick, the European Commission has decided it will now open its formal "in-depth investigation" into the matter.
In a statement this afternoon, the EC stated its preliminary review concluded the merger, proposed last April, "would raise competition concerns in the markets for intermediation and ad serving in online advertising."
Tiny Patch Tuesday Brings Two Fixes
Compared with previous Patch Tuesdays, November's version was quite small with Microsoft releasing only two patches for the Windows operating system: one rated critical and the other important.
The critical patch addresses an issue with how the Windows shell handles URIs. A specially crafted URI could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code due to an error in the way it is validated.
Oracle Debuts its VM Virtualization Software Amid New Competition
You'd think there was a virtualization conference this week. But as it just so happens, three companies are vying for status in this growing market: market leader VMware, the perennial up-and-comer Microsoft, and a newcomer with a familiar ring to it: Oracle.
"The virtualization market is exciting right now, and we're glad to be a part of it," an Oracle representative told BetaNews at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. There, Oracle unveiled Oracle VM, a virtualization program promoted as three times as efficient against compositing products.
Yahoo Strengthens Global Mobile Presence
Yahoo solidified its stake in the mobile services space across both Asia and Latin America on Tuesday, with the company announcing deals and new services for consumers in both regions.
In Asia, the company struck deals with nine carriers to provide Yahoo-branded services to customers, as well as debuting a version of its Yahoo Go offering in Traditional Chinese to users in Taiwan.
Former FCC Chair Supports Satellite Radio Merger
XM and Sirius trotted out former FCC chairman Reed Hundt to drum up support for the proposed merger of the two services. Hundt served as chair from 1993 to 1997, and played a large part in formulating the licensing agreement and getting it approved. Hundt called the merger "pro-competitive" and said that the market had changed since the ground rules for the licenses had been laid down. Most notably, he said that apart, the companies were unable to mount serious competition to terrestrial radio as was initially feared.
The reasoning for the initial two licenses was that the business model was not clear at the time. "It was never the case that these service rules were intended to be written [in] concrete or, like the Constitution of the United States, changed only through an elaborate process," he said. Instead, Hundt said that the rules were intended to get the industry off to a good start, and make it competitive to traditional radio, which it so far has not successfully done.
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