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Mobile – Facebook And Google Can’t Live With It And They Can’t Live Without It

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:20:58 +0000

Editor’s note: Guest author Keith Teare is General Partner at his incubator Archimedes Labs and CEO of just.me . He was a co-founder of TechCrunch. Follow him on Twitter @kteare . Facebook’s Week In Wall Street Hell This week Facebook did a virtually unprecedented thing. In the middle of its IPO roadshow it modified its S1 filing in reaction to questions it had been being asked by analysts. The modification I refer to stated that Facebook wanted to acknowledge a trend; that trend is the declining ARPU (average revenue per user) being seen in its current quarter. This trend is being driven, Facebook said, by the growth in its usage on mobile platforms and its inability to monetize those platforms in the same way, or at the same rate, as its desktop/laptop offerings. The previous iterations of the S1 had all contained the possibility of this trend. Even the likelihood of it. But the actuality of the trend was noted here for the first time in…

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HTC Titan II Review: Sometimes A Win-Win Is A Lose

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:50:07 +0000

Short Version I’ve been spending some quality time with HTC’s Titan II, and I would never call it a bad phone. But that’s not the question — good, bad, fast, slow, ugly, beautiful… they don’t matter unless I feel that I’d put down money and live my life with this device. And even though I expected this to be one of my favorites, I walk away from my review certain that I wouldn’t exchange cash for this handset. HTC is great at building quality hardware and Microsoft’s new mobile platform is fresh, different, and intuitive. But the way that the duo comes together leaves me unimpressed and disappointed, namely in the camera and the display. Past that, the thickness of the device paired with poor battery life does nothing to make up for these more minor disappointments. In essence, it’s simply not good enough. Let’s talk about why: Pros: Loving the hardware quality and design Windows Phone is smooth as butter The camera is excellent Cons: Pixel density is awful It’s pretty thick Battery life didn’t satisfy me Features: 4.7-inch 480

Refresh Roundup: week of April 16th, 2012

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 01:51:41 +0000

Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!

Official Android updates

ZTE Optik: This budget tablet on Sprint received a minor update to include new versions of Google+ and Play Music, along with new DRM software and a fix for SimCity. [Talk Android]
Motorola RAZR: Both Fido and Rogers are delivering Android 2.3.6 for this svelte smartphone. In particular, it’s said to bring performance and battery life improvements — with a special emphasis on the camera and WiFi — along with localization improvements and the ability to automatically upload pictures from the RAZR to the PC. [MobileSyrup]
HTC One X: Following the US release, HTC is now delivering its first update for the One X to those in Europe. Improvements to the battery life are at the core of this release. [Android Central]
T-Mobile G2x: The Magenta-branded handset from LG received a refresh to Android 2.3.4 during the week. Along with the new OS version, this package includes an updated baseband software and Google+. [Android Central]
HTC Sensation 4G: T-Mobile subscribers are no doubt anxious for the release of Android 4.0 for this handset, but sadly, they’ll have a bit longer to wait. The Ice Cream Sandwich update has been in limbo for a while now, due to the carrier’s quality control measures, and T-Mobile has now definitively confirmed that the upgrade won’t arrive in April. Better luck next month, maybe? [TmoNews]
Droid RAZR and Droid RAZR Maxx: Both Moto’s slim handset and its slightly bulkier brother are in line for an update from Verizon Wireless. The new software is said to bring enhanced stability, longer battery life and improved visual voicemail performance. It also introduces support for IPv6 and now properly displays 4G data connectivity. [Verizon Wireless (PDF)]
LG Spectrum: This update from Verizon Wireless brings Android 2.3.6 to the mix, improves web browser launch times and switches the default search engine to Google — for Bing lovers, there’s also an option to set the default search engine to one of your own choosing. The refresh also brings fixes for calendar reminders, improves visual voicemail and brings a heavy amount of updates to Verizon’s bloatware apps. [Droid Life]
Casio G’zOne Commando: Verizon’s rugged smartphone received new support for the Wireless Alerting System in an update that also brings GPS improvements and enhanced Push to Talk capabilities. The refresh also adds a factory reset option to the device, along with mass storage capabilities for Windows 7. [Android Police]
Samsung Galaxy S II: UK-based customers of Orange and T-Mobile will be glad to know that Ice Cream Sandwich is now available for Samsung’s current premiere handset. [TechRadar]

Unofficial Android updates, custom ROMs and misc. hackery

Motorola Droid Bionic: A clever individual known as Dan Davis has managed to port the Smart Actions from the Droid RAZR over to the Bionic. Better yet, the app works just fine without root privileges. [Android Community]
HTC One V: The handset manufacturer released the kernel source code for its entry-level smartphone this week. [Android Central]
Samsung Galaxy Tab: The CyanogenMod team began delivering nightly builds of CM9 for Samsung’s original Galaxy Tab. [Android Police]
HTC Thunderbolt: An update has leaked for the red-headed step-child of Verizon’s 4G lineup. It delivers a new baseband, includes support for IPv6, improves device stability and is said to resolve issues with the mobile hotspot. [Android Police]
Motorola Droid Bionic: Verizon is gearing up for an update to its first handset that featured both LTE connectivity and a dual-core processor. It’s said to bring improvements to the visual voicemail system, enable IPv6, reduce system lockups and address connectivity issues. [Droid Life]

Other platforms

BlackBerry PlayBook: RIM pushed out version 2.0.1 of the PlayBook OS, which comes with enhancements to the web browser, better support for Android apps and improvements to BlackBerry Bridge and video chat. [TechnoBuffalo]

Refreshes we covered this week

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HTC One S Review: Head-To-Head With The One X And iPhone 4S

admin — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:43:10 +0000

I’ve been fiddling around with the HTC One S for a few days now, and I have to say it’s stolen a little piece of my heart. The hardware is just about perfect, with a 4.3-inch qHD display and a slender aluminum unibody shell, and software like HTC’s Sense 4 overlay and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich only sweeten the deal. But, as per usual, there’s plenty to consider out there. The wide world of mobile only grows wider by the second, with hot new phones launching left and right. Just today, Sprint’s Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper landed on store shelves, and lest we forget that the iPhone 4S is ready and waiting while the One X is mere days away. So many options. To help, we’ve put the One S up against it’s greatest competitors, the HTC One X and the iPhone 4S, in …

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Nokia Lumia 900 Review: This One’s A No-Brainer

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:56:48 +0000

Short Version Guys, this one’s such a no brainer that I shouldn’t even have to lay it all out. But I will. The Nokia Lumia 900 is an excellent handset, comes packed with a fresh new operating system in the form of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango, and thanks to a nifty AT&T bill credit from Nokia , you can essentially get this $100 LTE-equipped phone for free until the 21st. Repeat: for free . Like I said, this one’s a no brainer. Features: 4.3-inch 480

How The Pebble Smart Watch Hit $2 Million On Kickstarter [Q&A]

admin — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:11:31 +0000

The Pebble smart watch – a clever little device that connects to your iPhone or Android device and, oddly enough, tells the time – was a twinkle in the eye of founder Eric Migicovsky just a few weeks ago. Now the product has reached $2 million in funding. And if that weren’t enough, InPulse , the company that makes the Pebble, only ever asked for $100,000 over the course of the entire project. It’s not only a testament to the watch itself, which from what I’ve seen is pretty damn cool, but a testament to the power of Kickstarter and crowd-funding in general. We decided to have a little chat with Mr. Migicovsky to figure out how this incredible success story came to be. Here’s what we learned: TechCrunch: Tell us about the team. Who are you guys and how did you come together on this? Eric Migicovsky: The core of the team is from the University of Waterloo. I studied system design engineering there. The Pebble is one of those classic four-year…

Kaz Hirai reveals ‘One Sony’ turnaround strategy, will cut 10,000 jobs

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:18:54 +0000

Freshly minted Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has revealed his plan to turn around Sony’s fortunes and as rumored, it includes significant cuts. Two days ago, the company revised its projections for the 2011 fiscal year to reflect a $6.4 billion loss. The One Sony plan includes reducing headcount by 10,000 in the 2012 financial year, a number that also reflects jobs leaving Sony as businesses are sold or otherwise reorganized, and will cost it 75 billion yen ($926 million) during 2012. Currently, the plan is to focus on digital imaging, gaming and mobile for growth, until those three make up 70 percent of its total sales in 2014. As far as its beleaguered HDTV business, it’s going forward with the plans announced during CES to streamline the product line, reduce its costs, and return to profitability by 2014. Looking forward, there’s slightly fuzzier promises to “develop and commercialize” OLED and Crystal LED technology. Beyond those the idea is to expand in emerging markets, as well as medical and 4K related technologies. There’s more details in the press release after the break and presentation slides linked below, we’ll let you know if there’s any more information revealed on a conference call later on today.

Show full PR text

Sony Transformation to Revitalize Electronics Business,
Generate Growth and Drive New Value Creation
“One Sony” for Change

Tokyo – April 12, 2012 – Sony Corporation (”Sony” or “the Company”) today announced a series of strategic initiatives to be introduced under the new management team established on April 1, 2012. By implementing a rapid decision-making approach that draws on the strengths of the entire Sony Group as “One Sony”, Sony aims to revitalize and grow the electronics business to generate new value, while further strengthening the stable business foundations of the Entertainment and Financial Service businesses.

Key initiatives to transform the electronics business are:
1. Strengthening core businesses (Digital Imaging, Game, Mobile)
2. Turning around the television business
3. Expanding business in emerging markets
4. Creating new businesses and accelerating innovation
5. Realigning the business portfolio and optimizing resources

By implementing the above measures, Sony will target sales of 6 trillion yen and operating income margin of 5% in its electronics business, and sales of 8.5 trillion yen, operating income margin of more than 5%, and return on equity (”ROE”) of 10% for the Sony Group overall, in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015 (”FY14″).

Details of these five core initiatives to revitalize the electronics business and drive new growth are as follows.

1. Strengthening core businesses (Digital Imaging, Game, Mobile)

Sony is positioning digital imaging, game and mobile as the three main focus areas of its electronics business and plans to concentrate investment and technology development resources in these areas. By growing these three businesses, Sony aims to generate approximately 70% of total sales and 85% of operating income for the entire electronics business from these categories by FY14.

Digital Imaging – Sony is reinforcing its development of image sensors, signal processing technologies, lenses and other key digital imaging technologies in which it excels, and plans to leverage these technologies in both its consumer products (such as compact digital still cameras, digital video cameras and interchangeable lens digital cameras) and broadcast and professional products (such as professional use cameras and security cameras) in order to further strengthen and differentiate Sony’ overall product line. The Company also plans to extend the use of these key technologies across a wide range of business applications, from security to medical, to further expand the scope of its digital imaging business. Sony will target total sales of 1.5 trillion yen and double-digit operating income margin from the consumer, professional and image sensor businesses by FY14.

Game – In the game business, Sony continues to deliver exhilarating entertainment experiences through PlayStation

The Meh-Too Crowd

admin — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 02:27:18 +0000

It’s been a while since I came to Google’s defense but I think it’s time to talk about what an absolute downer it is to dig through a lot of tech commentary these days. The most recent example came after the launch of Google’s Glass project, a HUD for future travelers that will let us connect to our world in a fairly non-obtrusive way. Arguably, the product is pretty pie-in-the-sky, but all things being equal, the potential device, even if it includes a small subset of the features we saw in the video, is pretty cool. Instead of oohing and guffawing and going back to, you know, living his life, Old Man Gruber took some time out to dump three links to examples of the potential problems Glass faces. He noted, quite rightly, that only the worst companies created flashy videos of non-existent tech. But this is Google. They have a lot of money. Even if they create a HUD display that doesn’t suck and that can connect to your Android phone, they could have something relatively cool on the market. I’m not saying they’ll sell a…

What Does A Post-UDID World Look Like For iPhone And iPad Developers?

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:07:30 +0000

This past week has been a big wake-up call for the iOS developer community. The need to move away from UDIDs, or an ID scheme that many developers rely on to power advertising and store data about their users, took on extra urgency after Apple issued a few app rejections related to UDID use over the past week and a half. Even though Apple told developers that it would deprecate UDIDs about six months ago , the community hadn’t yet converged on a good alternative. There is a lot of misinformation right now. Because Apple often communicates policy changes through one-off app rejections instead of publishing a clear and transparent notice to everyone, developers get incredibly aggravated by rumors. While being super secretive stokes consumer appetite for Apple products, it’s a ridiculously awful way to operate a platform that 700,000 apps rely on. Chartboost, which does direct advertising trades between developers, sent out an e-mail last night saying that the stories about UDID rejections are &#…

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At Y Combinator’s Biggest Demo Day Yet, Mobile Is Taking Over

admin — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:18:21 +0000

There are plenty of observations to be made about Y Combinator’s Demo Day. It’s the biggest ever, with 66 companies in this Winter class. It’s more diverse than past years, with many companies being led by women and people of color. And the audience, packed in at the Computer History Museum, is about as high-quality as you get at these sorts of things. It’s full of Silicon Valley elite, plus other investors and executives who have flown in from around the country and the world. But the thing that is sticking out the most is the nature of the products being launched. Out of the 39 companies presenting on the record today, 15 are mobile-first by my count. This shouldn’t be surprising, I suppose. Study after study is showing that feature phones, iPhones and Androids combine to reach millions more people than the web. And lots of top technologists are declaring that the companies of the future are going to be mobile before they hit the web. Still, Y Combinator began…

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