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What are consumers saying about Apple's new iPad?

2012-03-09T06:22:00.002-08:00

"I like the old one, so the new one has to be better," she says. "Better resolution, better camera. I have to have it."

Apple announced its latest iPad here Wednesday, simply calling it the new iPad but trumpeting its crisp Retina display, a 5-megapixel camera and its ability to run on the faster 4G LTE wireless networks. Lines are expected at Apple Stores when the tablet goes on sale next Friday, but how long they'll be is anyone's guess.

The upgrades from the iPad 2 to the new model are more modest than in the past — including the sharper resolution that Apple calls "Resolutionary," faster processing power and the camera's ability to shoot video in full 1080p high-definition. Is that enough to get consumers to ditch their iPad 2 and first-generation iPad for the new one? The answer is mixed.

"I'm an iPad 1 user," said Ted Brockwood of San Francisco. "So I'm all over the new display. I'm going to trade in the old one as fast as possible."

Mario Kroll, also of San Francisco, thinks the better graphics will be great for video games. "Now you can take your big HD TV with you." But as an iPad 2 user, he's not sure whether the better graphics will be enough of a sell to make him ditch the old one. Dylan Novicky, an aerial theatrical stagehand, wasn't impressed. The new features, to him, were "not that spectacular." What would it take for him to want to buy it? "Give me free wireless," he said, "and I'd be the first in line."

The entry price for the new iPad remains the same as the previous model, $499 for a Wi-Fi only version with 16 gigabytes of storage. IPads that can run at 4G speeds start at $629.

Monthly data plans for the iPad start at $14.99 for a 250 MB plan at AT&T Wireless and $20 for a 1 GB plan at Verizon Wireless.

Katie Small, who works at the Macy's here, says she is "tempted" by the new features, but not sold. She's interested in the better graphics and the introduction of the iPhoto image editing app, "but I don't know if that's enough to make me want to buy the new one."

Eugene Steptoe, who works on the fabled San Francisco cable cars, says he has no choice but to buy the new iPad. His wife will want the new one, and they'll have to stand on line next week to get it. "She always wants the latest," he says.

And Mick Steier, a 15-year-old tourist from Omaha, says he was sold on the iPad 2, and he's even more jazzed to get the new iPad. "It's cool," he says.

Meanwhile the iPad 2 could get a boost. Apple cut the price $100 to $399. While that's still much higher than Amazon's tablet competitor, the $199 Kindle Fire, the smaller price gap could hurt Fire, says Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. "Their strongest sales point was price."

Android and iOS 91% Of All Mobile Ad Traffic, Kindle Fire 33% Of All Tablet Use

2012-03-06T06:19:00.001-08:00

The onward march for Android and Apple continues apace, and leaves a big question mark for how other platforms can hope to compete, at least in the U.S. market: New figures out from Jumptap indicate that in the month of January, the two combined made up 91 percent of all smartphone traffic on its U.S. mobile ad network — representing a new high for the two most-dominant mobile phone platforms.

But while Apple has seen a huge jump in smartphone users following the launch of the iPhone 4S last year, Jumptap’s figures indicate that in tablets it has a strong competitor in the form of the Kindle Fire, which now accounts for 33 percent of all tablet traffic on the network.

While these numbers do not exactly speak to how many Kindle Fire devices there are in use compared to iPads (we have a bit more on that subject here), it does point to the fact that people are using their Amazon devices for a whole lot of ad-based services.

Jumptap’s numbers indicate that while Apple (at 32.2 percent) and Google (at 58.8 percent) are dominating across its U.S. ad network of 95 million monthly users, the weak appear to be getting weaker: RIM’s BlackBerry platform is at a “new low” of 6.7 percent share of impressions, while Symbian accounted for 1.4 percent of impressions, and Windows Mobile for even less: 0.5 percent.

Jumptap’s prediction is that despite gains that Microsoft may make as a result of Nokia’s new line of Windows Phones, collectively the bottom three will not have more than 10 percent of impressions at any point this year. Still, that is actually leaving room for some growth…
In tablets, Amazon is proving to be a strong competitor, at least in the area of usage. In January, it accounted for 33 percent of all tablet traffic, and as you can see from the table below, that share has risen quickly over the last three months, outpacing even the growth of tablet traffic itself. Apple’s share, meanwhile, is at its lowest in four months, at 48 percent. Ditto the collective force of all of the other tablet makers.

This is a key point, because it indicates that those who are buying the Kindle Fire are also buying into the whole service-led proposition behind it: content is something that Apple has, up to now, been able to say that it does better than any other Android tablet maker, but Amazon’s mix of its appstore apps, plus offerings of streamed content and more besides appears to be giving that idea a run for its money. That also indicates to developers that this is a potentially strong platform to develop for.

What remains to be seen is whether Apple has another “new launch” effect in the coming months, as a result of its news on Wednesday. It’s expected that Apple will reveal a new iPad and in the process could see the same effect on the tablet market that the introduction of the iPhone 4S had on its market share in smartphones last quarter — when, by most accounts, its share jumped quite significantly compared to those of other device makers.

Kindle Fire is ‘deceptively powerful’ says author

2012-02-29T06:21:00.001-08:00

Computers, as the late Steve Jobs liked to say, should be easy enough for “mere mortals” to use without a degree in computer science or having to wade through a thick manual.

That’s even truer for consumer gadgets, but the reality can be quite different with users struggling with basic features, much less many of the more advanced features, vendors sometimes tout with great fanfare.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet has quickly established itself as the number two player in the tablet market dominated by Apple’s iPad. Analysts and reviewers have credited the Kindle Fire for broadening the market with its low price of $199 and the portability that comes with the 7-inch size of its display -- versus the iPad’s larger 9.7-inches.

But critics have also pointed to usability and performance issues that are among the topics author Peter Meyers addresses in the just-released Kindle Fire: The Missing Manual, published by O’Reilly.

Meyers says the Kindle Fire is “deceptively powerful” because it doesn’t look like much until you turn it on.

“It’s a small black slab with one button,” he said in an interview with TabTimes. “But once you’ve turned it on and entered your account information, you immediately have access to all the ebooks, music and TV shows that Amazon offers, plus the more than 10,000 apps they’ve hand-picked -- most of which tend to be free or cost only a buck.”

Unlike Amazon’s Kindle ereaders, Meyers says the Kindle Fire is truly a multipurpose tablet.

Why a “missing manual?”

Like most consumer electronics, Amazon includes a pretty bare bones pamphlet with the Kindle Fire that goes over basic functions. There’s a longer PDF document users see when they turn on the device, but Meyers says that too is pretty limited.

“It’s things like, hit this button to turn the device on; it doesn’t give you information like how you can get movies from the app store or how you can access missing features that I cover in the book, which is 280 pages,” he says.

For example, Meyers says 'Missing' covers how to get get your photos into the Kindle Fire and how to use apps like Quickoffice and Documents to Go to get Word, Excel and PowerPoint editing and viewing features on the device.

“I’m not saying you’d want to give up your notebook, but you can go on a road trip with these apps on your Kindle Fire and comfortably get work done,” says Meyers.

Google hints of Android 5.0 release

2012-02-28T06:15:00.001-08:00

Pattern of earlier releases suggest fall, but Lockheimer says Google wants to be 'flexible' on timing

Google isn't offering much information about the forthcoming Android 5.0, even though there are rumors saying that the new version of the operating system will be available on a smartphone by early summer.

It's more likely that it will be rolled out in the fall, based on comments made by Hiroshi Lockheimer, vice president of engineering for mobile at Google. He spoke with Computerworld at Mobile World Congress here on Monday.

"After Android 4 comes 5, and we haven't announced the timing yet, which we're still sorting out," Lockheimer said. "There's a lot of engineering work behind it still, and there's also just the question of how to time it."

Lockheimer added: "In general, the Android release cadence is one major release a year with some maintenance releases that are substantial still." That statement would suggest a fall 2012 time frame for the release of Android 5.0, given that Android 4.0 was released last November, he acknowledged.

Nonetheless, Lockheimer added a caveat: "Having said that, we're flexible. The [timing of releases] is not what drives us, but what does is innovation and offering users a great experience."

Lockheimer wouldn't divulge the dessert that will be used as a code name for Android 5.0, which follows Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS), as Version 4.0 is known. Google is already getting suggestions for sweets that begin with the letter J, he said. Earlier versions of the mobile operating system were called Cup Cake (1.5) , Donut (2.0), Eclair (2.1), Froyo (2.2), Gingerbread (2.3) and Honeycomb (3.0).

Google is still enjoying the success of Android 4.0, a version that was well received by developers and users. At MWC, the large Google exhibit area, located in the back corner of a major exhibition hall, was crowded with visitors who wanted to see dozens of Google partners show off their ICS-related applications.

One Google partner, Wyse Technologies, uses Android Beam technology in ICS to run its NFC software, which is designed to initiate file transfers between devices.

Wyse employees placed one Galaxy Nexus phone near another Galaxy Nexus phone to give the second device permission to access a file kept in the cloud or on a PC. The actual download of the file to the second phone was sent over Wi-Fi, but a 3G network or other wireless signal could be used. NFC is too constrained to transfer the actual file, they said.

Lockheimer said Android Beam has led to dozens of other applications, many of them sold in Android Market, including an app that allows two users to share a video by bringing two NFC phones close together, even when the clip is in midstream. StumbleUpon demonstrated a similar technology at its booth inside the Google exhibit area.

Lockheimer listed several improvements in Ice Cream Sandwich that have been popular with users, including data-usage and battery-usage meters and widgets on the home screen.

While ICS was center stage at Google's booth, many users have expressed frustration that the operating system's new features are not yet available on devices running older Android versions. Lockheimer acknowledged that there is frustration over receiving ICS upgrades in a timely manner, which was why the Android Upgrade Alliance was announced at last year's Google I/O conference. The premise of the group was that phone manufacturers and wireless carriers would provide timely upgrades of devices during their first 18 months on the market.

"The alliance is definitely making a difference," Lockheimer said. "We're making the upgrade process better and are passionate about it.... There's a lot of progress being made toward making upgrades smoother."

But "getting upgrades to users is very complicated," Lockheimer added. "By the time you add up all the players, it's a big pipeline, a big assembly line, with lots of parts. Everyone needs to be working in tight coordination."

Lockheimer wouldn't divulge any specific directions for the next version of Android. "Things we will add in the future are around simplicity and power [simultaneously]," he said. "That's an ongoing theme at Google, and increasingly so." Those simultaneous directions are meant to satisfy both sophisticated users and beginners to Android, he explained.

"We're proud of our work in the OS, and we want to offer a polished experience [in the future] that's even faster and smoother." he said. "We call that 'butter,' which can take many forms." Future versions of Android, he quipped, "should run even faster and smoother, and even butter-er."

Android was founded on the principle of openness, which means it has been customized by carriers and manufacturers alike, so those groups can provide unique features to differentiate themselves, Lockheimer noted. Google is satisfied that some users want plain vanilla Android on their smartphones and tablets, while other users, carriers and device makers want the added layers that support customization, he added.

"Having both traits [of plain vanilla and highly customized Android phones] is a strength of Android," Lockheimer said. "How did Android get here? It was through openness. And by the way, you can customize it. As long you don't mess with its compatibility, you can customize it. That's the secret of our success. [Device makers and carriers] don't all want to do the same thing as one another; they want to innovate."

At the same time, Lockheimer said Google is well aware that "some users prefer our true Google experience," which is one reason that Ice Cream Sandwich includes the ability to strip off many apps and functions added by manufacturers and carriers.

"If you prefer plain ICS, you can disable the [added] apps," he said. "One slice does not fit all. This way, you can have your cake and eat it too."

Google and Facebook in White House sights

2012-02-24T05:56:00.001-08:00

The White House has called on internet firms to develop stronger privacy protections for consumers.

The move comes amid worries that browsing information is being tracked and given to advertisers.

State attorneys in 36 states recently sent a letter of concern over Google's plan to share personal information across its products.

As part of the announcement, the firms' ad networks said they would support a "Do Not Track" browser option.

The US has advocated since 2010 for "Do Not Track", a one-click option to prevent information gathered while web browsing being shared with third parties.

Bill of rights

In a statement, President Barack Obama outlined a "consumer privacy bill of rights".
The White House said internet users should have the right to limit the context in which information was collected, should be allowed to correct information and should have the right to transparency in privacy policies.

Companies like Google and Facebook have signed on to develop guidelines based on the "bill of rights", enforceable by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

"American consumers can't wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online," Mr Obama said.

"As the internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy."

Privacy complaints

Privacy advocates will be involved with the development of the new guidelines, but some remain concerned about the firms' ability to self-regulate.

"The real question is how much influence companies like Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook will have in their inevitable attempt to water down the rules that are implemented and render them essentially meaningless," John Simpson, who works on privacy issues for Consumer Watchdog, told the New York Times.

Marc Rotenberg, the executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the announcement "the clearest articulation of the right to privacy by a US president in history".
However, he told Reuters news agency there were "real concerns about implementation and enforcement".

The FTC has taken previous action against Facebook and Google over privacy complaints, both of which were settled in 2011.

While US legislators have argued that online tracking should be curtailed, little has been done.
Any guidelines developed by US officials in concert with internet firms would be enforceable by the FTC once agreed on, but would not necessarily apply to companies that did not sign on

Netflix Tweaks DVD Only Rental Plan

2012-02-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Netflix has abandoned last summer’s ‘streaming only’ scheme, and reversed its decision to drop its mail-order DVD subscription service. It used to be that North American Netflix users could buy into their DVD rentals for $7.99 a month, or have a broadband streamed service for the same sum, or have both for $9.99.

That changed in July 2011, when Netflix separated the two systems without any discount for joint access. It said its DVD home rental scheme would morph into Qwikster, and be a totally separate system. The decision saw 800,000 US subscribers drop their service in Q3, and resulted in some considerable criticism for co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. In October, it stated that Netflix would remain the market-facing name and that Qwikster was to be abandoned.

Santosh Hedge, director of Engineering at Netflix, in a blog, stated that the DVD rental service is back up and running, and at $7.99, the ‘old’ price.

Netflix has tweaked its disc-only subscription plan to make it easier for people who are not interested in the company's streaming service to sign up.

Effective last week, a new Netflix user can sign up for a DVD-only plan starting at $7.99 per month. This allows the user to have one disc out at a time; the Blu-ray option requires an additional $2 a month.

What's different from the old plan is that the disc-only user no longer has to first sign up for a streaming service and then switch over to the disc plan. Netflix said at its company blog that many people were confused by the requirement to first sign up for a service they never planned to use.
Some analysts have speculated that Netflix's tweak is a sign that the company realizes that it has been ignoring the DVD audience in favor of catering to the streaming crowd. While Netflix has made it clear that it believes that streaming is the future, DVD and Blu-ray rentals still bring in more revenue.

Netflix is offering a one-month free trial of the DVD-only plan for eligible customers.

Android Jelly Bean tipped for mid 2012

2012-02-16T05:56:00.000-08:00

Android 5.0 Jelly Bean may arrive as early as Q2 2012, supply chain sources claim, with Google apparently integrating Chrome OS functionality for dual-boot tablets and netbooks. Those aren’t the search giant’s only dual-OS ambitions, however; insiders tell DigiTimes that Google is pushing Android 5.0 and Windows 8 hybrids to its manufacturing partners, for notebooks, netbooks and tablets that offer the best of both platforms.

Although Google is yet to comment significantly on whether Ice Cream Sandwich has met its expectations in the market, it’s clear that Android 4.0 is yet to gain a significant foothold. According to Google’s own stats, as of February 1 2012 only 1-percent of devices were running ICS, with the majority still on Android 2.3.x Gingerbread.

The dual-booting Android 5.0 Jelly Bean and Windows 8 machines will be able to hot-swap between the two platforms, the sources indicate, rather than demanding a reboot each time. That would give users the opportunity to use Android for its web-centric functionality and speed, while switching to Windows would offer the various legacy and business apps many users still demand. Update: It’s worth remembering that Microsoft’s Windows 8 hardware requirements apparently block second OS installation on ARM-based PCs by users, thanks to a locked Secure Boot system, though it’s unclear whether OEMs are permitted to do so before the hardware leaves the factory. [Thanks Richard!]

Google is supposedly seeing Android 5.0 as a second chance at the notebook and netbook markets, Chrome OS failing to grab attention as expected, though the tipsters warn that the response to Ice Cream Sandwich has left some partners “conservative” about the new platform.

Part of Google’s challenge is encouraging timely OS updates among vendors. Motorola revealed its timescale for upgrading US Android devices yesterday, with most not expected to see Ice Cream Sandwich until Q3 2012 or later.

Samsung wins against Apple, Galaxy Tab still on sale

2012-02-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

Apple continues to stuggle to convince courts that Samsung's tablets are copies of the iPad

The changes Samsung Electronics has made to the Galaxy Tab 10.1N are enough to no longer infringe on Apple's intellectual property rights, a judge at the district court in DA1/4sseldorf, Germany, decided on Thursday.

The verdict was expected, since the court delivered the same preliminary decision in December.

Samsung welcomes today's ruling, since the court has denied Apple's request to stop the sale of the GALAXY Tab 10.1N. The tablet remains available to consumers in Germany, a spokesman said via email.

Apple can appeal the verdict, but didn't want to comment on its plans.

Last year, the court blocked German sales of the original version of Samsung's 10-inch tablet, after Apple argued that its design is too close to the company's registered Community Design for its iPad. That verdict was recently confirmed by the higher regional court in DA1/4sseldorf.

To circumvent that ruling, Samsung modified the appearance of the tablet to create the Galaxy Tab 10.1N, which Apple also attacked through legal channels.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1N has a new bezel and speakers on the front of the device, and Samsung is confident that the company can demonstrate to the court its distinctiveness compared to the iPad, a Samsung spokesman said via email when Apple filed the motion to have it blocked.

The verdict means that Apple has lost cases related to the design of Samsung's tablet in Germany, the Netherlands and Australia. Germany was the only country where Samsung had to change the design to appease the courts.

Apple vs. Android: The War Without End

2012-01-23T05:58:00.001-08:00

Apple’s attacks on Android have backfired. Should the company call a truce?

Steve Jobs’s hatreds are nearly as famous as his innovations: buttons, styluses, complicated remote controls. He loathed nothing more, however, than Google’s Android—a total rip-off, in his opinion, of Apple’s work. “I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” he vowed, according to Walter Isaacson’s recent, hefty biography. Armed with his company’s arsenal of patents, Jobs threatened “thermonuclear war.” He sued the three leading Android handset makers—HTC, Motorola, and Samsung—in countries all around the world, seeking to have their products banned.

But nearly two years after the first salvos were fired, Apple’s war on Android has ac-complished almost nothing. And it’s starting to look as if Apple’s patent portfolio isn’t nearly as lethal as Jobs seemed to think.

Three of Apple’s claims against Motorola recently got tossed out by the International Trade Commission. Many of Apple’s claims against HTC and Samsung failed as well, and the two claims that were upheld were both easy to work around. Samsung simply widened the frame on its Galaxy Tab, and HTC removed a tiny software feature that lets you tap a phone number in an email and pull up a menu of options. Meanwhile, Android keeps growing and has become the top smartphone platform. Samsung has leap-frogged Apple to become the biggest smart-phone maker in the world.

“They’re losing momentum. They’re at the point where the walls start to crumble a little bit,” says Kevin Rivette, a patent attorney and managing partner at 3LP Advisors, a consulting firm that specializes in intellectual property. Apple, he says, should be “looking long and hard at how to cut deals.”

Apple’s strong market position means it could still demand favorable terms from Android players—especially after a robust fourth quarter in which iPhone sales blossomed while Android sales wilted. The company could license its patents and collect royalties on every Android handset sold, as Microsoft has done with top Android phone makers. “The problem is, what happens when you start losing in court? It gets a lot harder to do licensing deals,” Rivette says.

Jobs, clearly, operated from a more emo-tional standpoint. He didn’t want to collect licensing fees from his rivals—he wanted to stamp them out altogether. Now Apple’s new CEO, Tim Cook, faces a difficult choice: should he pursue the visceral path of total war set out by his passionate (but now deceased) predecessor, or should he take a more pragmatic route and sue for peace? Cook’s decision could determine Apple’s fate in the mobile market. It will also demonstrate what kind of company Apple intends to become in the post-Jobs era.

Mark Zuckerberg lashes out at SOPA, PIPA

2012-01-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, took to his social-networking site yesterday to speak out against SOPA and PIPA, which Zuckerberg called "poorly thought out laws."

SOPA and PIPA protests reached fever pitch yesterday, as hundreds of thousands of Web users raged against two proposed bills that have been criticized as heavy-handed and intrusive. Among the protesters? Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
In a post to his Facebook wall, Zuckerberg called SOPA and PIPA "poorly thought out" and encouraged readers to get in touch with their local representatives.

"The internet is the most powerful tool we have for creating a more open and connected world. We can't let poorly thought out laws get in the way of the internet's development," Zuckerberg wrote. "Facebook opposes SOPA and PIPA, and we will continue to oppose any laws that will hurt the internet. The world today needs political leaders who are pro-internet."

As of this writing, the post had been "liked" by almost half a million Facebook users, and garnered close to 100,000 shares.

Of course, as Chris Taylor points out over at Mashable, if Zuckerberg really wanted to protest SOPA, he would do more than post a rant to his Facebook wall. Facebook chose not to follow in Wikipedia's footsteps, which imposed a blackout yesterday. Or, Facebook could have copped a move from Google, and display some sort of protest art on the Facebook homepage.

"So why hasn’t it? Doubtless the main argument against such a move is financial," Taylor admits. "Facebook made about $4.25 billion last year; by that reckoning, a single day of outage would cost the site nearly $12 million in revenue. Advertisers would be furious; space they bought in good faith would either be blacked out or appear next to blacked-out text."

Money is an issue, sure. But more pressing is what the world would do if they couldn't idly flick through pictures from the birthday party of their third cousin, twice removed...

Bing overtakes Yahoo! for second place behind Google

2012-01-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

New figures have shown that Yahoo! has finally been overtaken by Bing in the US search engine marketing, according to an article published by Search Engine Watch.

Having launched just over two and a half years ago, Bing now has a 15.1 per cent share of the search engine market – compared to the 8.4 per cent on its launch.

The figures, released by comScore, saw Yahoo! slip into third position during 2011. Its share of the market fell from 15.1 per cent to 14.5 per cent.

Google – a site popular for search engine marketing initiatives – built on its lions share of the market, with 65.9 per cent of searches made in the US conducted via the site – representing an increase of 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, 18.2 billion searches were made during December – an increase of two per cent compared to November’s figures.

Google conducted 12 billion of those searches; Bing 2.7 billion with Yahoo! coming in just behind with around 2.6 billion searches.

Ask and AOL conducted 531 million and 287 million searches respectively.

MySpace isn’t dead yet, still bigger then Google+

2012-01-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

MySpace, the grand daddy of social services is still wheezing along, comScore says in its latest social media report. In fact it is bigger than Tumblr and Google Plus.

I have no idea where (and why) MySpace is getting so much traffic – still. Infact, people spend more time on MySpace, a dying platform than on Google Plus says a lot about the latter.

Compare the time spent on Google Plus and Facebook and realize that Google is climbing what is essentially the side of a glass building. Also, did you notice Pinterest just cracked the top ten list!

Facebook Apologizes for Deleting Abortion Post

2012-01-04T05:56:00.000-08:00

Facebook apologized Monday to a reproductive rights activist who posted detailed written instructions for a Do It Yourself abortion.

The apology said the instructions were deleted on accident because they were mistakenly thought to be in violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
“”Our policies are enforced by a team of reviewers in several offices across the globe,” Facebook explained in its apology. “This team looks at hundreds of thousands of reports every week, and as you might expect, occasionally, we make a mistake and remove a piece of content we shouldn’t have.”

Rebecca Gomperts wrote the original post and works at Women on Web, an abortion rights group based in the Netherlands. She said Facebook deleted her original post — along with a screenshot she posted of the warning they sent to her after the original post was deleted.
“We are very happy to report that Facebook reversed its censorship of Dr. Gomperts post on how to use misoprostol for safe abortion,” the woman’s group posted on Monday. “Thank you to everyone who contacted Facebook and posted the information on your own sites in solidarity!”

Gomperts has re-posted the “how to” abortion piece on her Facebook page. The World Health Organization sanctions the instructions, which prescribe misoprostol (an ulcer drug) and mifepristone to terminate a first-term pregnancy.

This is not the first time a technology company has run afoul of pro-choice campaigners. In December, Apple’s Siri was accused of being anti-abortion after it emerged that the voice recognition assistant wouldn’t give users a list of abortion clinics when asked.

Do you think Facebook should be able to delete certain types of content? If so, which topics should Facebook not allow?

The 'Official' Siri Android App Tricked 1000 People

2012-01-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

A Siri knock-off made by Official Software appeared in the Android Market for a few hours over the weekend, reports IT Portal.

It was installed in 1,000 Android devices before Google noticed and removed not only the fake Siri app, but all apps by Official Software.

There are still a few Siri clones in the Android Market, but FierceDeveloper reports that this one most likely got Google''s attention for unabashed use of copyrighted Apple content.

Facebook gives Hackers White Hat debit cards.

2012-01-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

A few companies pay money to bug hunters. But Facebook is giving out something more unique than just a check. Some security researchers are getting a customized "White Hat Bug Bounty Program" Visa debit card.

The researchers, who can make thousands of dollars for reporting just one security hole on the social-networking site, can use the card to make purchases, just like a credit card, or create a PIN and take money out of an ATM. As the researchers find more bugs, Facebook can add more money to the account.

Facebook wanted to do something special for the people who are helping the company shore up its software and keep hackers and malware out.

"Researchers who find bugs and security improvements are rare, and we value them and have to find ways to reward them," Ryan McGeehan, manager of Facebook's security response team, told CNET in a recent interview. "Having this exclusive black card is another way to recognize them. They can show up at a conference and show this card and say 'I did special work for Facebook.'"

Besides holding cash value, the White Hat card may proffer other advantages. "We might make it a pass to get into a party," for instance, McGeehan said. "We're trying to be creative."

Facebook launched its bug bounty program in July, following in the steps of Mozilla and Google. The minimum a researcher can make for reporting a bug that is eventually confirmed is $500, and there is no maximum. Researchers have to follow Facebook's Responsible Disclosure Policy and not go public with the vulnerability information until the hole has been fixed.

The most Facebook has paid out for one bug report is $5,000, and it has done that several times, according to McGeehan. Payments have been made to 81 researchers, he said.

Recently, "someone came to us with a bounty-worthy ticket and they said they didn't want the bounty," he said. Instead, the researcher wanted the money--$2,500--to go to a charity and for Facebook to match it. Facebook agreed, McGeehan said.

Brian Krebs, who first wrote about the White Hat Visa, reports that recipients have included Szymon Gruszecki of Poland and Neal Poole, a junior at Brown University who will be an intern at Facebook next summer.

And Charlie Miller, a researcher at Accuvant better known for finding holes in iOS 5 and Safarithan Facebook, also has received a White Hat card. "Facebook whitehat card not as prestigious as the SVC card, but very cool ;) Fun way to implement no more free bugs," he tweeted.

Facebook has plans to leverage the knowledge and skills of the researchers beyond just providing the bug bounty incentive.

"Whenever possible we're going to try to load-in White Hat researchers into products early--as soon as (they are) in production," McGeehan said. Thus Facebook "will get an early warning on anything they find."

Google in 2012

2011-12-27T10:54:00.000-08:00

Much of the news regarding Google in 2012 will be generated outside the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters

(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

It may be a measure of Google's dominance that some of the most important events for the company next year will likely take place in courtrooms and government offices.

The Web giant is under investigation both domestically and abroad for allegedly abusing its powerful position as the leader in Internet search. And rivals are suing Google and its partners as the company expands into markets where they're already competing.

So even as Google works to improve its search engine and bolster emerging businesses such as its Google+ social network, it will be worth keeping tabs on the regulators, lawmakers, and judges who will play a significant role in the company's business going forward.

Here are five things to look for in 2012:

1. Antitrust decisions in the U.S. and EU

Regulators both in the United States and abroad are closing in on Google. The Federal Trade Commission began a "formal review" of Google's strategies for building its search business, as well as the tactics it's used to bake search into its Android mobile operating system. The European Commission is investigating whether Google has unfairly manipulated search results by lowering the rankings of competing services and elevating its own offerings in unpaid results. And the Korean Fair Trade Commission is gathering information about Google allegedly limiting access to rival search engines on its Android mobile operating system

Those inquiries may well come to a head in 2012. It seems likely that U.S. trustbusters will want to resolve the matter before the presidential election, in part because the possibility of a new administration could lead to a different approach with regard to applying antitrust law to search.

European regulators have been looking into Google's tactics for more than a year now. That investigation is said to be approaching a ruling. The European Commission is also reviewing Google's pending bid to acquire Motorola Mobility, and regulators there recently suspended that review until Google produces additional documents that the agency said are essential to its evaluation.

The challenge for regulators, if they determine that Google has acted unlawfully, is coming up with an appropriate solution. They could make it more difficult for Google to acquire companies. The bigger fear for Google, if it gets slapped, is a remedy that restricts its conduct regarding search. That may well mean some sort of regulatory structure over the way Google generates search results.

2. Google steps up patent defenses

Google continues to be embroiled in patent litigation. Oracle has sued Google, while Microsoft and Apple have either sued or threatened to sue companies that make devices that run Google's Android and Chrome operating systems. Google has largely struggled to combat the challenges, leading the company's chief legal officer, David Drummond, to blog about "a hostile, organized campaign against Android by Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and other companies, waged through bogus patents."

Whether Android infringes on patents will ultimately be decided by the courts. But the biggest challenge for Google is that it's put itself in the vulnerable position of having a relatively tiny patent portfolio with which to defend itself. That's because, in intellectually property litigation, a company with a patent threatens to sue, or actually sues, another company that it believes has infringed on its innovation. The common defense is for the accused company to find one of its own patents that the accusing company has infringed upon and threaten a countersuit. That gives it the ammunition to propose cross-licensing deals that keep both companies out of court.

Google's thin patent portfolio has made it a bigger target. That's one key reason, Google Chief Executive Larry Page said, why the Web giant is purchasing Motorola Mobility. Sure, the company is a key Android customer. But it's also a huge holder of mobile-device patents, something that should help Google protect itself against future litigation. Google will likely continue to acquire patents in the new year to bolster its defenses.

3. Making search more social

Bradley Horowitz, one of the top Google+ executives, recently said, "We've shipped the 'Plus,' now we're beginning to ship the 'Google.'" His point is that simply creating the social networkwasn't the goal. The company is busily weaving other Google properties and technologies--such as YouTube, videoconferencing, and integration with the Android mobile operating system--through it.

But watch for Google to use the knowledge it gleans from those on the social network to make search more relevant. The more Google learns about users, through the comments or companies that they click on the "+1" tab, the smarter Google search results can be for those users. There's a good chance that users will want to read news articles, for example, that their Google+ connections have liked. The more Google+ learns about users, the more it can translate that information into more relevant search results.

Ultimately, Google is aiming to do more than provide Web surfers with links. It wants to answer their questions. Right now, it can predict what queries users are after before they finish typing the words. It can provide weather forecasts and answers to mathematical equations rather than simply issuing links. Going forward, Google wants to anticipate searchers' needs without them having to explicitly ask each and every time. Google+ will help give them more tools to do so.

4. Further Android fragmentation

Google's mobile-phone fortunes have soared on the back of its Android mobile operating system. Since launch in 2007, Android has leapfrogged Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iOS to become the most widely used smartphone operating system. But with several device makers creating Android phones and tablets, and even tweaking the operating system to fit their needs, the user experience often varies from device to device.

Take the slick Motorola Droid Razr, a trim, snappy phone that runs Android 2.3, dubbed Gingerbread. Shortly after it debuted, Google released Android 4.0, known as Ice Cream Sandwich, and Samsung released the Galaxy Nexus, running the latest version. The Droid Razr? It's still on Gingerbread. Eventually, it will get Ice Cream Sandwich. But it's unclear when.

Fragmentation isn't a problem until one version of an Android device can't run the latest operating system, or a cool new application designed for it. Google acknowledged the challenge at its I/O conference in the spring, saying it would work with manufacturers and wireless carriers to develop guidelines to help get updates to devices more quickly. But it's not really clear that Google will take the issue seriously because the Android market continues to grow.

5. Chrome market share climbs

A little kerfuffle emerged earlier this month when Web research firm StatCounter noted thatGoogle's Chrome 15 was more widely used in the last week of November than Microsoft'sInternet Explorer 8. The tumult, of course, is caused by the fact that Internet Explorer has long been the browser leader. And when you add up all the versions of IE in use, it's far and away the top browser worldwide.

But there's little doubt that Chrome share is on the rise. And that's crucial for Google because the browser gives the company the ability to push the Web standards it favors as they emerge. What's more, Google seems to be moving beyond the notion, floated when Chrome launched in 2008, that its browser was primarily about enabling people to see Web pages faster.

These days, Google is encouraging developers to create Web apps for Chrome that users can get through the Chrome Web store. Already, users can add Angry Birds, a scoreboard from Major League Baseball, and Rdio's music streaming service. As Chrome grows, expect that business to follow.

The Guide to Android Ice Cream Sandwich

2011-12-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

Ice Cream Sandwich adds some delicious upgrades, but it still requires a bit of a learning curve. We’ll walk you through the good, the bad, and the ugly of Google’s latest version of Android and provide some tips to get you all set up with the new OS.

After months of waiting, the Galaxy Nexus (and by extension, Android 4.0, aka “Ice Cream Sandwich”) is finally here. We’ve already done an extensive review of the hardware, so here we will be looking much more closely at Ice Cream Sandwich. Whether you are an Android veteran or a smartphone first-timer, this new version of Google's mobile operating system has a few things you should know about before getting started.

Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) is the biggest update to Android since the OS launched, and the changes are pretty significant. They aren’t too dramatic for people used to Android, but people new to the OS may have some difficulties starting out. While Android 2.x was perhaps not the easiest OS to master, once you got the hang of it, it was rather straightforward. ICS, on the other hand, was designed to be easier to use, but even long-standing Android users will have to spend some time learning its ins and outs.

Here's one issue: Not all icons are clearly labeled, so it can be difficult to know what a button does in a particular app. The new Calendar app, for instance, has a small unlabeled square (it looks like a small calendar) that takes you to the present date. Other than pressing the button, you have no visual cues to tell you what that icon actually does. This isn’t the same Android that we’ve all come to know, but rather a new OS that carries on the Android legacy.

A Fresh New Look

Android's new user interface looks great.ICS is by far the most visually appealing version of Android that I have seen to date. The holographic interface in Android 3.0 (Honeycomb)has been passed on to ICS, though it doesn’t translate that well on a smaller display. On a tablet, the holographic interface looks as if it has some depth, but on a phone it appears extremely two-dimensional. ICS, however, adds a few new colors to Android’s repertoire, swapping out the old green and gray for a vibrant blue.

Text is also much easier to read thanks to use of the new high-resolution font Roboto. Roboto was designed to be used on HD displays, and is a massive step up from the old Droid Serif in Android 2.x. The font looks a lot cleaner than the one used on Honeycomb, and complements the holographic UI quite nicely.

One of the biggest interface changes concerns the use of software navigation buttons for Android smartphones. Pre-Honeycomb Android devices all used hardware buttons for basic navigation (Home, Menu, Back, Search), while software keys were exclusive to Honeycomb tablets. The Galaxy Nexus has a buttonless design, and chances are high that we will be seeing more Android phones that take advantage of ICS software buttons.

The software keys include Back and Home, with the Menu and Search buttons replaced by a Recent Apps button (more on that later). While software keys work fine on a larger-sized tablet, I was initially worried that the software keys in ICS would be too easy to hit by accident on a smartphone. Fortunately, this was not the case, and not once in my time with Ice Cream Sandwich did I ever accidentally exit out of an app because of any of the software buttons.

One issue I do have with ICS is centered on the nestled menus. Whereas in previous versions of Android the menus would all appear in the same spot, ICS has you hunting around the screen looking for the three dots that indicate a menu drop-down. Again, not a big problem, but it makes navigation inconsistent from one app to another. In general, it seems menus appear in either the top-right or bottom-right of apps, the exception being that older apps will have the menu icon appear down next to Recent Apps.

Features Galore

Recent Apps makes it easy to jump back and forth between applications.More than just a pretty face, ICS also adds loads of new features to the Android OS. As mentioned earlier, you now have a Recent Apps button that allows you to quickly jump from one app to another. When you press Recent Apps, a carousel with the last 15 apps you’ve opened will pop up. You can either tap an app to go to it, or swipe it left or right to close it. It works extremely well and quickly became one of my favorite things in ICS.

Another handy new feature is the ability to resize widgets to your liking. You do this by holding down a widget, then dragging the sides until the widget is as big or as small as you’d like it to be. Certain overlays andAndroid Honeycomb tablets have had this resizing feature for a while now, but for the first time, it's a built-in part of the native OS. Widgets have also been relocated to the app drawer, making them easier to find and easier to preview.

As I’ve elsewhere described, almost all of the core apps have received major redesigns. Gmail more closely resembles the desktop version, and it’s now much easier to attach photos and other files onto emails. Your inbox is also available for offline viewing (should you not be able to connect online), and a new context bar on mobile makes it easier to quickly compose new emails and delete the ones you no longer want.

The Calendar app was tweaked so you can view multiple Google Calendars at once, and now you can pinch to zoom in or out of events to see more details about them. The old Music app has been replaced with Google’s new Music app that is tied to its online music service. You can still play local files, but now you also have the option to stream content from your online music library to your device. And though it was just recently updated to support video chat, Google Talk now lets you sign in using multiple Gmail accounts. As someone who uses Google Talk on a daily basis, this makes it a lot easier to switch between my work account and my own personal Google Talk account. The Gallery can do some rather robust editing, and the camera now includes a very-easy-to-use panorama mode.

The People app in ICS is much more colorful than its predecessor.The Contacts app, now renamed the People app, got the biggest update. While the Contacts app in Android 2.x was a rather bland affair, the new People app is a colorful hub for keeping track of your friends and family. If you have a social networking app installed (like Facebookor Twitter), the People app will find your friends that also use that service and display their status updates on their contact card.

Unlike in previous versions of Android, the People app is not tied in directly to the Dialer. Instead, the app behaves like an address book and houses all of your contacts from across all of your services. The only concern I have is that Gmail automatically saves any email address that you send messages to as a contact in the People app.

Before you sync your Gmail contacts to your Android phone, I would recommend disabling this option on the desktop version of Gmail and purging any unwanted contacts that the service may have already created.

One last thing to note is that the People app does not contain the option to filter contacts based on those that have phone numbers. Instead, a filtered list of contacts with phone numbers can be found beneath one of the tabs in the dialer app.

Face Unlock allows you to use your face to unlock your phone or tablet.Face Unlock and Android Beam were two features that sounded great in theory, but in practice didn’t play out all too well. Face Unlock lets you unlock your phone by using facial recognition software, but it has one too many bugs to make it really useful. Face Unlock was difficult to use outside on sunny days, because bright sunlight obscures your face to the camera. Face Unlock can also be tricked by either a picture or someone who closely resembles you. An option exists to improve Face Unlock by having the phone identify you while wearing glasses, with or without facial hair, or while in different settings. Face Unlock is not an entirely foolproof security measure (Google even warns that it’s not as secure as a PIN or a lock pattern), but it’s still a novel way to interact with your phone.

Android Beam is supposed to make it easier to share data between devices using near-field communications (NFC). After several botched attempts, I finally managed to send my contact information to a coworker who also had a Galaxy Nexus. The instructions for Android Beam are quite vague, and it seems to behave differently in each app. To use Android Beam, you must first make sure the feature is turned on under the Settings. Once you’ve done that, open the app you’d like to send data from, and simply hold your phone against another NFC device to begin a connection. Your phone should make a noise to announce the pairing, and then you just tap the screen to begin transmitting content. I was unable to send a photo from my gallery, but otherwise the contact card transfer went off without a hitch. It’s another interesting piece of ICS that still seems to need a bit more work.

The Best Android Experience

Even with its quirks, Android 4.0 still provides one of the best Android experiences to date. Performance will vary from device to device, but overall it’s one of the most stable mobile OSs that I’ve ever used. ICS is fast, and in my time with it I never had anything crash or stutter during regular use. It just works. While I may not completely agree with all of the design changes in ICS, the update brings a level of polish that makes Android feel much more modern. It will be exciting to see the next generation of Android phones and tablets--and to see exactly how Ice Cream Sandwich will look and feel on them.

Google+ Hits 150 Million Users

2011-12-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

Jumps to the number three spot in the world of social networking

According to data collected by GlobalWebIndex, Google+ has skyrocketed in the past few months and can now boast over 150 million actives users.
From GWI:

When we looked into it further, we didn’t find anyone else who had any type of figures and Google has been suspiciously quiet since their Q3 financial statement that gave us that 40 million user number.
We did find, however, anecdotal evidence that supports GWI findings on the active Google+ user base. Firstly, there was this conversation with Don Dodge, a Developer Advocate at Google, where he states that “Any numbers you’ve heard are way low.” There are also people such as Paul Allen who are tracking the numbers of last names on Google+ to estimate subscriber figures. Allen says that Google+ subscriber numbers were growing at 2 million a day in September 2011 based on his methodology, meaning there are much more than 40 million Google+ users.

Back in September, the aforementioned Paul Allen used his model to estimate that Google+ had 50 million users.
In November, he estimated that Google+ was attracting 349,000 new users daily.

If Google+ really has broken the 150 million active user mark, where does that place it in the realm of other popular social networks? According to GWI, in third place wordwide:

There have been a few things that have happened with Google+ that could explain the meteoric takeoff. YouTube and Google+ became more integrated, for one. YouTube got the Google+ hangouts feature, and Google+ got the YouTube search feature built onto the main stream page.

Google+ launched Pages for businesses, which has thus far been a success. Allen attributes the uptick in new signups to the pages launch.

Google also built Google+ signup into its brand new Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. The Galaxy Nexus just launched with ICS, and many other Android devices are in queue for an upgrade.
As Google continues to push Google+ and build it into all aspects of Google, the user count will only climb higher. Is it possible that by this time next year, Google+ could be closing in on Facebook-type numbers? Let us know in the comments.

RIM tells Amazon to take a hike

2011-12-21T06:14:00.000-08:00

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com, while Microsoft and Nokia considered a bid for the troubled smartphone maker, according to sources.

Amazon hired an investment bank this summer to review a potential merger with RIM, but it did not make a formal offer, one of the sources told Reuters.
It is not clear whether informal discussions ever led to specific price talk.

A RIM investor who declined to be named said the company was now essentially up for sale.
"This story puts RIM in play, because shareholders are going to put it in play," the US-based investor said. "It's over. This is now a company where the activists are in charge."
Battered shares in the Canadian smartphone maker jumped 10% in after-hours Nasdaq trade after the Reuters report.

But RIM's market value has plunged 77% in the past 12 months to value it at about $6.8bn (£4.3bn) – below its "book value" of assets – following a series of disappointing quarterly reports, delayed phone launches, weak sales of the PlayBook tablet and other missteps.
The shares tumbled last week on weaker-than-expected quarterly results, which saw profits crash by 70%, and the announcement of a delay in the launch of the new BlackBerry 10 phones until late 2012.

RIM's board wants co-chief executives Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie to focus on trying to turn around the business through the launch of new phones, better use of assets such as BlackBerry Messaging and restructuring, two sources told Reuters.

RIM and Amazon declined to comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Microsoft and Nokia, which have teamed up to produce phones running the Windows Phone software, explored the idea of a joint bid, and that senior executives from all three companies "frequently meet to discuss ways to enhance their partnerships".

One source confirmed to Reuters that Microsoft and Nokia had explored the idea of a bid.
While RIM could strike technology licensing deals and other kinds of commercial partnerships to boost revenue, an outright sale or joint venture is not thought to be on the cards for now.
"They have had approaches from folks who have wanted to have discussions," said one head of technology investment banking at a Wall Street bank. "The issue is it is hard to find a value that makes sense with a falling knife."

Activist shareholder Jaguar Financial has called for a sale of RIM as a whole or in separate parts, such as the handset business, the network services operation, or the patent portfolio. It is due to have a key meeting with RIM early in January over its management.
RIM's managers have told interested parties they do not want to sell or break up the company, the sources told Reuters.

After last week's news, the board instructed the co-CEOs to set aside any options for a sale, one person briefed on the situation said.

"Selling the company or an economic joint venture is probably not in the cards right now," the source said. "Until you stabilise the platform, people are going to be very nervous about spending $10bn or more."

Some potential corporate and private equity suitors are holding out for RIM's valuation to fall further, sources said.

The Wall Street Journal said that RIM had approached Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone seller, and HTC, the biggest seller of Android phones in the US, about licensing its forthcoming handset operating system, now due late in 2012

But it added that RIM shows no signs of abandoning its handset business.

The sources told Reuters that Amazon and RIM are still discussing ways to expand their commercial ties, which include a service launched last year to make Amazon's music catalog available to some BlackBerry users. RIM recently launched a service called BlackBerry Music which offers music to handset owners.

Amazon launched the Kindle Fire tablet in November, which, along with the content the company can package with it, is seen as a potentially formidable contender to Apple's iPad and iTunes store.

Amazon does not make smartphones, but recently there have been rumours that it might extend into that space to round out its offering. Amazon has $6.3bn in cash reserves, so any bid for RIM would have to be debt-funded or use a cash-and-shares offer.

As for RIM, it feels it could better leverage its assets, such as the BBM instant messaging and the network operation centres that allow for messages to be processed, the sources said.
RIM could also look at licensing out its QNX operating system after the late 2012 launch of BlackBerry 10, which will be the first smartphones using that software, to give handset makers an alternative to Google's Android operating system.

RIM's co-CEOs have spent months listening to ideas from investment bankers, strategic parties and private equity firms. These discussions are now viewed as distracting for management, sources briefed on the situation said.

One of them said the board has backed both Lazaridis and Balsillie, but is of the view RIM needs to develop a "deeper bench" of executives.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus is here

2011-12-15T05:58:00.000-08:00

The wait is over: The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy Nexus will be available in the U.S. starting Thursday.

The smartphone -- the first device to run Android's Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest version of Google's mobile operating system -- will be sold at Verizon Wireless stores and online for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement, a Verizon spokesman said. It will run on Verizon's 4G LTE network.

Verizon, Samsung and Google said the Galaxy Nexus "brings an entirely new look and feel to Android," according to a news release posted on Droid Life. It offers customers a redesigned user experience with improved multitasking, notifications, near-field communications and a Web-browsing experience with "blazing speeds."

"The lock screen, home screen, phone app and everything in between have been rethought and redesigned to make Android simple, beautiful and useful," the companies said.
Here are some of the phone's features:

-- Redesigned user interface: Software navigation buttons, a first for Android smartphones, and a dedicated recent apps button to make multitasking easy.

-- Face unlock: Use state-of-the-art facial recognition to unlock the Galaxy Nexus.
-- Android Beam: Share Web pages, apps, contacts and YouTube videos with friends by tapping two compatible phones together.

-- Redesigned camera: Introduces panorama mode, 1080p video capture, zero-shutter lag for instant photo capturing and effects such as silly faces and background replacement.
-- People application: Browse friends, family and co-workers, see their photos in high-resolution and check their latest status updates from Google+ and other social networks.
-- Cloud services: Keep email, contacts, photos, music, browser bookmarks and other data synced to the cloud, available across multiple devices so customers never lose important data.
-- Google Music: Upload up to 20,000 songs to the cloud and stream it instantly on Galaxy Nexus and from the Web for free.

Customers who purchase a Galaxy Nexus will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 monthly and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly for 2 GB of data.