• cellular,  dish network,  satellite,  sprint,  wireless

    Dish Network Submits a $25.5B Bid for Sprint Nextel

    April 15, 2013 /

    In this morning’s First Look digest, ComputerWorld reports that Dish Network has submitted a $25.5B bid to acquire Sprint Nextel.  Dish’s bid represents a $5.5B premium over Japan’s SoftBank which is looking to spend $20B for a 70% stake of the struggling carrier’s business.

    Dish said its proposal is a superior alternative to the pending SoftBank proposal.

    “Sprint shareholders will benefit from a higher price with more cash while also creating the opportunity to participate more meaningfully in a combined Dish/Sprint with a significantly enhanced strategic position and substantial synergies that are not attainable through the pending SoftBank proposal.” said Charlie Ergen, chairman of Dish.

    [Via ComputerWorld.com…]

    Read More
  • android,  facebook,  galaxy s,  galaxy s4,  google,  htc,  htc one,  samsung,  social

    Facebook Home Goes Live on Select Android Handsets

    April 15, 2013 /

    If you are the type that just can’t get enough Facebook and you use a Google Android smartphone, you might be interested to know that Facebook Home is now available for download from the Google Play Store.

    Facebook Home provides deep Facebook integration into your Android-powered smartphone putting your friend’s status updates, notifications, and Messenger chats front and center so you always know what’s going on.

    According to BGR, compatible devices include the HTC One, HTC One X, HTC One X+, Galaxy S4, Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note II and of course HTC’s (2498) First. Unfortunately, Facebook Home is only available in the US right now and you must be running Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS or later.

    Want to learn more about Facebook Home?  Check out Facebook’s promotional video.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiqbNxRurFA]

    [Via BGR.com…]

    Read More
  • android,  google,  htc one,  sprint

    Sprint Begins HTC One Pre-Orders

    April 13, 2013 /

    Sprint has begun taking pre-orders for the black HTC One smartphone.

    HTC’s latest premium Android-powered smartphone will begin shipping for Sprint customers this coming Friday, April 19.  The best part?  If you pre-order online, the black HTC One will be a cool $99 when you sign a two-year service agreement.

    “BLACK HTC ONE COMING SOON 

    For a limited time, save $100 on this phone when you bring your number to Sprint on a new line of service. 

    Pre-order: Order online today, we’ll charge your card for your phone and we’ll do our best to get it to you before others get a glimpse on Friday, April 19. Ordering more than just this phone? Please complete your pre-order package checkout and come back to order additional items.”

    The One has all of the things you would expect form a modern Android phone:

    Google Android 4.1 OS
    2300 mAh battery supporting 19 hours of talk time
    4.7″ (1920 x 1080) display
    1.7GHz quad core processor
    2GB RAM, with 32GB of flash storage
    Dimensions: 5.4″ x 2.7″ x .37″
    Weight: 5.0oz

    The HTC One comes in two colors, black and silver.  From the Sprint website, it sounds like the black version is the one that is going on sale first with a lead in like “Black HTC One coming soon.”

    Personally, I like the silver model better, but the black one looks nice too.

    I recently had an opportunity to play with the silver HTC One at a recent press event that Sprint attended and it has an amazingly crisp and bright display.  For the few minutes that I was able to play with it, the touch screen seemed responsive and there was no hesitation from Android when scrolling or changing apps.

    This is the first Google Android-powered smartphone that made me think about switching from the Apple iPhone 4S.

    For more details about the HTC One, visit the Sprint website.

    Read More
  • microsoft,  windows,  windows 8

    Microsoft Pulls Security Update That Kills Windows 7 PCs

    April 12, 2013 /

     Microsoft, earlier today, sent out a report urging customers who have applied the MS13-036 security patch for Windows 7 based PCs to uninstall it.  It appears that MS13-036 can cause Windows 7 PCs to crash in such a way that the OS will need to be reinstalled for the computer to become usable again.

    Gregg Keizer, writing for ComputerWorld.com this afternoon writes:

    “The patch, which was originally issued Tuesday, has been pulled from Microsoft’s Windows Update service.

    But the company told users who had already installed it — or had it installed for them by Windows’ Automatic Updates — to remove it as soon as possible. “Microsoft recommends that customers uninstall this update,” the company said in a support document.

    Microsoft yanked the patch in response to widespread reports that it was generating the notorious “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) error message and by rebooting repeatedly, making the PCs useless.”

     If you have Windows 7, regardless of platform or architecture, I would suggest that you uninstall the patch, which you may have applied manually, or via Microsoft’s Windows Automatic Updates.  The reason why this patch is such a problem is it attempts to update the ntfs.sys driver that tells Windows how to read and write to the computers disk drive(s).

    Given all the latest news about customers sticking it out with Windows 7, Windows XP, and even Windows Vista, conspiracy theorists will probably think that this is a ploy to get people to upgrade to Windows 8.  Released last year, Windows 8 has seen a much slower adoption rate by consumers and businesses and has been recently blamed in popular media as a major cause for the sharp decline in new PC sales over the 2012 holiday shopping season and first quarter this year.

    [Via ComputerWorld.com…]

    Read More
  • app store,  apple,  chrome,  google,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch

    Google Updates Chrome Browser for iOS

    April 10, 2013 /

    Today, Google released a new version of their Chrome browser for iOS devices.

    When running on a compatible iPhone or iPod touch, you are now able to run Chrome in full screen mode by scrolling the entire screen up, pushing the URL toolbar off the top of the screen allowing you to interact with the web page.  To get the URL bar back, simply scroll down again.

    But I think that the more interesting update is Google adding the ability to print using their own Google Cloud Print service, or by sending your print job over the air to your wireless printer using AirPrint.

    Anti-paper, are ya?  No problem.  Google still has you covered because you can now also save any web page as a PDF document in your Google Drive.  That’s pretty nifty

    You can download the latest update from the App Store icon on your iDevice, or you can install Google Chrome from the App Store for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (link).

    Read More
  • android,  facebook,  google

    FaceBook Event To Feature New Android Home Screen Integration

    March 30, 2013 /

    After posting about a possible new Facebook smartphone yesterday, a new report today from the Wall Street Journal suggests otherwise.

    The Journal reports:

    “The social network is developing software for mobile devices powered by Google Inc.’s Android operating system that displays content from users’ Facebook accounts on a smartphone’s home screen—the first screen visible when they turn on the device, people familiar with the situation said.”

    The Journal goes on to report that hardware manufacturer HTC will be the first partner announced and that the social networking company is pursuing other handset.  Facebook has been investigating new ways to keep it’s users fixated  on spending more time interacting with the service as a means to extract more revenue from the sale of online ads.

    So the only question that I have is whether or not this feature will be baked into the new HTC One that is launching in a few weeks.

    The HTC One smartphone

    [Via WSJ.com…]

    Read More
  • apple,  cydia,  ios,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch,  jailbreak

    Another iOS MultiTask Redesign Concept

    March 29, 2013 /

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRt5qagkGBU]

    Not that long ago I was talking about Auxo, a jailbreak tweak for iOS devices that replaces, some say enhances, Apple’s implementation of multitasking on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

    A new concept video has been posted that builds on what Apple has done and blends it with the card based multitasking analogy that was developed by Palm for webOS.  We all know that I have a soft spot for Palm and webOS, so I encourage you to check out this concept video.  Let’s hope that Apple takes it, and what the Auxo folks have done, and builds in some to those ideas into iOS 7.

    Here’s a look at what multitasking cards looked like on Palm’s Pre running webOS.

    [Via iDownloadBlog.com…]

    Read More
  • amazon,  android,  apps,  facebook,  google,  kindle,  smartphones

    A Pair of Often Rumored Phones About to Get Real?

    March 29, 2013 /

    We have been hearing and reading rumors about smartphones from Facebook and Amazon for a long time now.

    The Facebook Smartphone

    Facebook phone rumors are nothing new.  I recall reading a TechCrunch story about it in 2010.  At the time, Facebook spokesperson Jamie Schopflin told Mashable that, “[T]he story, which originated in Techcrunch, is not accurate. Facebook is not building a phone.”

    That was then, and this is now, and judging by the “media only” event invitations that went out, something’s up.  I seriously doubt that Facebook would be holding a media event for a major new release of their mobile app for Android or iOS.

    The Amazon Smartphone

    Amazon smartphone rumors are a little bit more recent.  They didn’t start until people saw that Amazon could build a credible tablet beyond the Kindle e-reader as CNet talked about back in 2011.  Will we see the book-seller-turned-tech-giant CEO Jeff Bezos on stage later this year hawking a Kindle Fire smartphone?

    According to AppleInsider.com, DigiTimes has been at it again leaking information about Amazon’s Android powered smartphone shipping this year.  The rumors of a new Amazon smartphone flared up again when DigitTimes indicated that Amazon was witching from a 4.3″ display to the larger 4.7″ “phatablet” size.  Lending credence to that idea, that an Amazon smartphone is still be months away, is this little snippet that appears in the AppleInsider story:

    “Development of Amazon’s rumored handset reportedly remains fluid, and the retailer is said to be “working on or enhancing other specifications” of the device.”

    Take Aways

    So, what we can gather, if any of these rumors are accurate, is that both Facebook and Amazon are hard at work on their smartphone plans.  Facebook looks to be closer to the finish line as they are calling a major tech event next week.  It is unclear how Facebook would position a smartphone.  Would they view themselves as a premium brand go try to complete directly with Apple and Samsung on the high end?  Would they go after the smaller Windows Phone and BlackBerry market?  Or would they they to complete on the “free with a new 2-year contract” level?

    Amazon, still looks to be refining their device to get the most bang for the buck, which makes sense because the Kindle Fire isn’t about profit margins on the hardware, it’s about how much can the vendor sell with their own “a store that fits in the palm of your hand” smartphone.  With that in mind, I can’t see Amazon trying to position their phone any higher than the mid-market.  Since Amazon is more about selling things and content, it makes more sense to me that they would have their own phone on the low end side, and continue to develop their mobile apps for iOS, Android, and all the rest to maximize the number of people viewing the goods they have for sale.

    [Via AppleInsider.com…]

    Thanks to Mike C. for the tip…

    Read More
  • apple,  ios,  mac os x

    Does the new iOS Podcast App Foretell the Design Changes Coming to iOS

    March 28, 2013 /

    A few days ago, Apple released an updated version of their Podcasts app for iOS.  That app not only got me listening to podcasts again, but may foretell of the coming changes to iOS 7 and beyond.

    If you will recall, back in October of 2012, iOS chief Scott Forstall was pushed out of Apple’s inner circle, and the company.  You get to pick the reason; whether it was his personality, his management style, his vision for iOS, or his refusal to publicly apologize for the problems with Apple’s Maps app – a disliked replacement for Google Maps.  Whatever the reason, CEO Tim Cook ejected Forstall and put long time Apple hardware designer Jonathan Ive in charge of both hardware and software designs.  Known for his sleek and simple designs, we where left wondering how that might impact iOS.

    With the new Podcasts app, I think we’ve gotten our answer.  The new Podcasts app is still familiar, but looks much better.  Gone are the design elements mean to mimic real life items.  So the goofy reel-to-reel screen, that I kinda liked, are gone.  The new interface is flat, clean, and colorful, but not in the big splash of color kind of way that Microsoft has taken up with Windows 8 and Windows 8 Phone Metro look and feel.  I like the new feel.

    So what does this mean for iOS and future versions of Mac OS X?  I think we’re going to see a lot of small changes to Apple’s user interface, or UI, design language.  The tan leather and stitching we see in the Calendar app probably won’t be there much longer.  The charcoal grey linen backdrop that appears in the iOS Notification Center and the Mac OS X login screen may or may not go away too.  And personally, I hope the annoying Music/iPod app interface on the iPad goes away too. I really find that wood trim effect so annoying that I very rarely ever use the Music app on my iPad.

    What I don’t expect to happen is a complete redesign of iOS and Mac OS X this year.  This will be an iterative change spanning over many months.  I feel that while UI changes are important to keep the look and feel of iOS and Mac OS X on par, I think it is more important for Apple to be looking at ways to add new features that users will find helpful and a delight to use, and to continue the hard work of further integrating iOS, Mac OS X, and iCloud.  (Making iCloud easier for application developers to work with is also high on my list, but probably won’t be addressed this year.)

    Read More