Social Q&A site Formspring has experienced a dip in monthly unique visitors, as the two-year-old startup transitions out of the role of hot newcomer. The company is looking to aggressive mobile web and app development and an updated design to get the growth back on track. Read more »
Verizon plans milk as much revenue off of its 3G and LTE networks as possible, becoming the “premium” mobile data operator, but its plan could backfire. Despite the increase in 4G sales, Verizon is still primarily a 3G operator, and 3G doesn’t justify its steep prices. Read more »
In a note to investors today, Sterne Agee’s Shaw Wu discussed his company’s expectations for Apple’s earnings call Tuesday afternoon, which were up once again from earlier predictions. Wu’s revised estimate joins a chorus of rosy outlooks about the Mac-maker’s performance. Read more »
How ubiquitous is Nokia’s iconic ringtone? An easy but inadvisable way to find out is to leave your phone’s ringer on during a concert recital and see what happens when a call comes in. See how Slovakian violinist Lukas Kmit deftly handled the situation. Read more »
Apple spent the most on semiconductors in 2011, beating out Samsung and HP to take the crown. HP dropped from the top spot, thanks to overall weakness in the PC market, while Apple soared upward on the rising tide of smartphones, tablets and the MacBook Air. Read more »
Apple has been dealt another blow in its ongoing legal patent war with Samsung. A Dutch appeals court ruled Tuesday that an appeal by Apple against a lower court’s decision from August 2011 is invalid, and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 does not infringe on Apple’s iPad design right. Read more »
Intel’s wireless ambitions go beyond smartphones and tablets. It’s set its sights on the guts of the mobile network as well. By embracing a new network design concept called Cloud-RAN, Intel believes it can reshape wireless networks to make the best use of its chips. Read more »
Sony Corporation unveiled its next-generation back-illuminated CMOS digital image sensor on Monday, which boasts a stacked design that saves space, lowers power requirements and increases quality, all of which adds up to a veritable mating call for Sony component customer Apple. Read more »
Well, it’s 2012 and our iPhones still somehow don’t come with built-in pico projectors. But at least Epson has a new app that lets you wirelessly connect to a projector to display your slide shows, quarterly earnings forecasts and vacation photos. Read more »
Research In Motion’s new CEO, Thorsten Heins, held his first conference call on Monday morning, reiterating his view that the company is not in need of a major shakeup but instead some improvements in processes, marketing and consumer focus. Read more »
Toronto-based Polar Mobile, which provides a digital media distribution platform powering the apps of some of the biggest media companies in the world, including Conde Nast, Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal, announced a new $6 million funding round on Monday. Read more »
It is not a surprise that when you walk and text, you see a massive drop in viewing your surroundings, but did you know that when walking and texting or talking on the phone at the same time, your speed of walking declines by 16 percent? Read more »
CES is over, so here’s what wowed Matt and Kevin in terms of tablets, smartphones, Ultrabooks and other mobile devices. Plus Matt has pulled the SIM card from his Samsung Galaxy Nexus and put it in the…. you’ll have to listen to find out! Read more »
Yes, it’s possible for IT departments to manage the consumerization of IT without stopping it. Huddle’s Andy McLoughlin offers a simple approach that allows corporate IT departments the flexibility to give employees choices about mobile devices and the control to ensure that networks are safe. Read more »
What if consumers actually enjoyed signing contracts? What if carriers just gave away phones — all of them — for free? John S. Wilson of Policy Diary imagines a world where carriers could entice consumers into signing four- or five-year contracts, with the right perks. Read more »
Android was everywhere at this month’s CES, but many products don’t hit retail shelves for months. Acer broke that tradition, releasing the A200 tablet this week. It should see Android 4.0 soon, just like the Xoom recently did. Plus my pick for app of the week. Read more »
Android devices have long been known for their laggy touch experience. Has this changed with the latest Android flagship? Not quite. Here’s a video that uses a developer option to show the lag, as well as new technology that could minimize it in the future. Read more »
The fourth quarter may have lacked a dominating big-event product announcement like Q3’s Facebook platform extension or Q2’s unveiling of Google+, but the NewNet world continued to buzz along. In the battle for mind share, everyone wanted to be a platform. Meanwhile, consumer and social technologies continued to gain momentum, and new vehicles for content and service discovery presented both challenges and opportunities for NewNet companies. And it is hard to ignore the overcrowded but growing world of daily deals. This quarterly report analyzes these trends and others, and it also provides a near-term outlook of trends, technologies and companies to watch in 2012. Companies mentioned in the report include Amazon, Facebook and Socialcast. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
China is closing in on the 1 billion mobile connections mark, according to a new Wireless Intelligence report. China has always been a world power in wireless, but it’s set to become more significant still as its huge population embraces mobile data services. Read more »
Virgin Mobile will begin to reduce the mobile broadband speeds of smartphone users on March 23, following a similar path as T-Mobile, AT&T and others who have offered unlimited plans. Facing huge demand for mobile data, the days of truly unlimited plans appear numbered. Read more »
Wikipedia’s website may have been dark yesterday in protest of SOPA, but now there is a new official Wikipedia app for Android 2.2 and up devices. You could use the mobile web for Wikipedia, but four key features make this app worth the download. Read more »
Personal security app Guardly, which launched back in April 2011 on the iPhone and iPod touch, announced Thursday morning that it will now offer a special program for students at 67 universities and colleges across Canada, designed as an extension of on-campus security measures. Read more »
Apple had a record-breaking day in trading Wednesday, closing at an all-time high of $429.11 per share, after peaking earlier in the day at 429.47. Its market cap rose to just shy of $400 billion, and currently rests at $398.82 billion. Read more »
Motorola officially announced on Wednesday that it’s now upgrading its Xoom Wi-Fi tablets to the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, effective immediately. Google Android version 4.0.3 will be an over-the-air software upgrade, starting today, in stages, for all Xoom tablet owners. Read more »
In October, Google debuted Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, to unify tablets and smartphones. But does it really accomplish that? It’s too early to tell, but the current version has some inconsistencies noted by Jason Perlow, and I can’t disagree with him. Read more »
New data from app analytics firm Localytics suggests the best way to make in-app purchase pay is to build loyalty and engagement, which can result in more revenue overall than a quick sell. Localytics found that loyal users generate 25 percent more in-app purchases. Read more »
IOS’ year end surge has helped close the gap on Android in the U.S., with December sales hitting 44.5 percent of all smartphones, just behind Android at 46.9 percent, according to new data from Nielsen. Android and iOS continue to separate from fast-fading BlackBerry. Read more »
A newly granted Apple patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday describes a system through which your clothing could talk to your iPhone to help it create tailored workouts that know you better than you know yourself. Read more »
Apple has filed suit against Samsung once again in Germany, aiming to have sales of 10 of the Korean company’s smartphones halted. In a separate newly filed suit, Apple also targeted five models of Samsung tablets. Apple is targeting design rights with its latest suits. Read more »
After my Gmail account was hijacked last year, I looked into Google’s two-step verification process. It relies on your having your smartphone with you, even when logging in on a PC. Here are two ways to use your smartphone to better protect your Google account access. Read more »
Adding T-Mobile support to the iPhone may sound simple, but it’s a much more difficult task than it appears. New bands don’t just necessitate new antennas, but a complete phone redesign. T-Mobile’s Apple moment may come with the iPhone 5, but don’t hold your breath. Read more »
Pioneer’s new $599 AppRadio2, a smart, 7-inch capacitive touch display radio supports both iOS and Android phones. It includes an external GPS, rear-camera input, and of course, smartphones with compatible apps. Looks like a great way to get Pandora, Waze, or Rdio integrated with your car! Read more »
Is the PC “dead”? Of course not, but if you don’t see the trend moving away from local / desktop computing and towards mobile / cloud computing, you’re missing the sales figures for each market: Nearly 50 percent of recent device sales are mobile. Read more »
This week had me running around the CES event, where Android 4.0 was everywhere. New tablets with multicore chips impressed me — and could even be notebook replacements — plus a few smartphones looked incredible. Apps may start looking better to due to a Google initiative. Read more »
A new report from Bloomberg says Apple’s next iPad has indeed begun production. The new iPad will have a sharper screen, according to the new report, but also “LTE access,” something we’ve yet to hear much about in early iPad rumors. Read more »
There’s a trend building, and it’s not good for the PC industry. It’s not tablet and smartphone growth — although that’s part of the trend — but virtualization on mobile devices. This allows remote PC access from a tablet, for example, and could hurt already slowing PC sales. Read more »
On the day Apple was set to sell the iPhone 4S for the first time in China, huge crowds gathered outside the Shanghai and Beijing stores. At the Beijing store, crowds became so unruly Apple had to close the store and SWAT teams were called in. Read more »
Verizon is putting LTE chips in TouchTunes’ new digital karaoke machines, but that’s not all. At CES, Verizon seemed determined to embed its latest wireless network technology into anything that could conceivably need an Internet connection, including ATM machines, robots and photo booths. Read more »
Given my love for 7-inch tablets, I had to swing by Huawei’s booth at the Consumer Electronics Show. The Chinese company is showing off its MediaPad tablet with Android 4.0 and beautiful IPS display. Here’s a look at the light, thin and capable 7-inch slate. Read more »
