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Friday Grab Bag: Dolphins with iPads, New NFL Game Times

June 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

The Miami Dolphins are the latest NFL team to jump on the iPad train as the team has adopted the tablets as an alternative to the huge binders that had been the traditional form of NFL playbooks. The team joins a growing number of NFL teams that have taken this approach including the Denver Broncos, Tampa Bay Bucs and the Green Bay Packers.

However the Dolphins are also apparently taking a hard line on players’ usage of the tablets. While they can surf the Internet to some degree, they will be fined as much as $10,000 for access unauthorized sites such as YouTube and Twitter, according to ProFootballTalk.

Microsoft buys Yammer for $1.2 billion
Microsoft has added corporate social networking developer Yammer Inc. into its corporate embrace with its $1.2 billion purchase of the startup. The company said that it intends to incorporate the tools, which have a Facebook quality, into its Microsoft Office group.

Yammer has seen strong acceptance to its technology and has 200,000 companies using its tools including major players such as Ford Motor Co.

Mobile users increasingly access Internet
The Pew Internet & American Life project has published an interesting study on the use of mobile phone use for Internet browsing and purchases. It found that 17% of cell phone owners use the phone as their primary device for cruising the Internet, and often their only tool used for accessing it.

The study found that 88% of US adults have a cell phone and that of these 55% of them use the phone to go online, a notable increase from the 31% Pew found when it last did a similar study in 2009.

NFL moves late kickoffs back 10 minutes
The NFL has moved the opening kickoffs for the late afternoon games from 4:15 ET start to 4:25. The move will help eliminate the overlap that occasionally occurs when the early game runs long, something that often seems to happen if the second game is the one that you have been waiting all day to watch.

This should also help now that the new overtime rules are in effect that could also lead to more overtime games as it will now make more sense for a coach to go for a tie in the waning moments of the game knowing that he has a shot at getting the ball and scoring in OT.

RIM delays smartphone after bad quarter
Beleaguered smartphone developer Research in Motion has reported that it had a worse than expected quarter with revenue at $2.8 billion with a loss of $518 million, its shipment of its flagship BlackBerry phones was only 7.8 million, down 41% from the same period a year ago.

The company plans to slash 5,000 jobs but still expects to have another bad quarter, predicting a loss for the current one as well. It has delayed the delivery of its next generation phone, the BlackBerry 10, until the first quarter of next year.

Judge halts Samsung Galaxy Sales in US
Apple won its latest round against rival Samsung when US District Judge Lucy Koh reversed her previous position and granted Apple’s request to prohibit Samsung from selling its Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States.

She said in the ruling that Samsung does not have the right to flood the market with products that infringe (presumably on Apple patents). Apple needs to post a $2.6 million bond in case the injunction is later to be found to be incorrect and so pay for damages inflicted on Samsung.

Samsung has not taken the ruling lying down and has already appealed. It has asked that the US District Court of Northern California suspend the order pending an appeal.

iPhone hits 5th anniversary
In June 2007 Apple launched its iPhone and has not had a need to look back as it has helped propel Apple to the powerful position it holds today as a company. In the five years of its life the phone has generated an estimated $150 billion in revenue, just from hardware sales, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Then of course there is the sale of peripherals, apps, software and services. Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple has shipped 250 million iPhones globally in that time.

Tablets usage as second TV continues to grow
NPD DisplaySearch’s latest Global TV Replacement Study has found that the use of tablets as a platform for viewing television and video has doubled over the last year, in part the usage has been driven by the overall growth of tablet sales, according to the survey.

While tablet usage as a second screen has edged to over 10% of consumers using one for viewing, it still has a ways to go to reach the level of laptops or desktop computers, which over 40% of consumers say they use for viewing purposes.

The All-Star Selection show is this weekend
For baseball fans the results of their ballet box stuffing will be found this Sunday when TBS hosts the section show at 1 pm ET. Still the show will not have the final rosters as MLB will then have five players from each league that fans can vote for to put one last person on the each team. The winner of the Final Ballot will be announced on next Thursday, July 5.

Filed Under: All Star Game, Apple, Baseball, Denver Broncos, iPad, iPhone, Lawsuit, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, NFL, PlayerLync, ProFootballTalk, Samsung, Tablets, TBS Tagged With: , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Google I/O This Week

June 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

Google’s Goggle I/O show is this week so expect to hear an onslaught of news from the company and its partners on all things related to Android, smartphones, tablets, Chrome and most likely a host of other issues that they are concerned with.

The show will be held from June 27 to June 29 at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center and most of the keynote sessions will be live streamed for those of you that are interested but don’t want to endure the cold of an SF summer. (editor’s note: 75 degrees here today, Oregon boy.)

One message I would like to hear is how it will deal with the growing fragmentation of its Android operating system. It seems that most of the major manufacturers are only now coming on board with Ice Cream Sandwich, and a new OS is expected this week.

The issue is important for a number of reasons but a major one is that continued fragmentation could lead to developers only focusing on Apple’s iOS and even Windows 8 when that OS is available.

Intel invests in touchscreen developer
Intel Capital was the lead investor in a EUR20 million investment funding round for touchscreen technology developer FlatFrog Laboratories. Invus was also an investor in the round. FlatFrog is developing technology that tracks light traveling inside the cover glass of a screen.

Apple dealt a setback in battle with Motorola
Judge Richard Posner, who is presiding over one of the major patent disputes between Apple and Motorola, has ruled that Apple cannot pursue an injunction against Motorola and has dismissed the case with prejudice.

Posner had previously indicated that this was the direction he was leaning in but relented to allow testimony from both sides of the case last week. Apple does have the option to appeal his ruling.


Apple moving ahead in Samsung patent suit
While losing an important round to Motorola, Apple is continuing to push ahead with its Samsung lawsuit and will have its request to have a court order blocking sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 heard this week.

The judge in the case has also said that she hopes to rule on Apple’s bid to block sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus smartphone at the June 29th hearing.

Microsoft says no to Motorola patent proposal payout
Microsoft has declined to accept the offer that Motorola made that would settle the patent dispute between the two companies that has threatened Microsoft’s ability to ship Xbox 360 consoles into the US and would bar some Android phones from Motorola as well.

Motorola was offering to pay 33 cents per phone that uses Microsoft’s ActiveSync software and wants Microsoft to pay it 50 cents for each device that uses Microsoft’s Windows operating system that uses Motorola’s industry standard video compression patent.

Mobile Carriers agree to alert travelers on roaming charges
Have you ever traveled in a foreign country and used your smartphone and had a slight heart attack when you got your bill at home with the huge roaming charges attached? Now carriers are going to do something about that.

What they are doing is to send you a message alerting you to the fact that your data plan has changed and new rates will apply. Among the 24 that have signed on are AT&T, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom-Orange, Hutchison 3 Group, SoftBank Mobile Corp., Verizon Communications, America Movil, and Vodafone Group.

Apple fined over 4G claims
An Australian court has fined Apple $2.27 million over its claims for its iPad that included unsupported promises of 4G support. After the charges were brought Apple changed its advertising and offered refunds. Apple now touts the device as WiFi+ Cellular.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Google, Intel Capital, Lawsuit, Microsoft, Motorola, Samsung, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , ,

Wave of Tablets on the Horizon

May 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I guess a toy store selling tablets targeted at children is a natural progression of life, and come to think of it after seeing several of my friends’ iPads being hammered on by 7-year-olds, it is now starting to make a good deal more sense.

Welcome to the Kurio7, a 7-inch tablet from Techno Source that will be first seen at Toys”R”Us and then hopefully move into greater distribution at a later point. A key selling point will be the built-in parental controls.

The customizable controls will help prevent children from downloading apps or visiting sites that they should not, and will allow them to surf safe sites on the Internet, read e-books and do the host of other functions that tablets are known for.

The tablet has built-in Wi-Fi and can support eight different logins, each with a different profile, password and controls. It comes preloaded with content that is targeted at children including games, videos and educational material.

Next Generation Transformer almost here
The Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700T, a 10-inch tablet that is the latest in this family is expected within the next few weeks as well. The TF700T lineup will come in two basic flavors, ones targeted at gamers and multimedia users and creators and those for communication and more traditional tablet functions.

The gaming version will feature a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 chip while for those looking for 3G/4G LTE connectivity it will be powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. It will feature an 8-megapixel camera on the back with LED flash, and a 2 MP front facing camera.

Pricing has not been yet released but it will be interesting to see where the company seeks to position the device. Its earlier version of the Transformer had very disappointing sales.

Google’s Nexus stats appear on benchmarking site
The as yet only rumored Google Nexus Tablet has not yet been announced but t appears that the devices abilities have been listed at benchmarking site Rightware. While the fact that Google was developing a tablet has already been announced by the company so far the details have not been made public.

According to the information the tablet will have a 7-inch display, will run the Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) operating system and will be powered by a quad core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The display will have a 768 x 1280 resolution and it appears to be manufactured by Asus.

This is very likely the tip of the iceberg — Apple has a rumored new iPad, there are rumblings of updated offerings from Amazon and then later this year the release of Windows 8 is expected to open the floodgates for a new batch of tablets.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Amazon, Android, Apple, Asus, Google, Kindle, Microsoft, Nvidia, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Facebook buys Karma

May 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Lost amid all of the noise about Facebook’s huge IPO was the fact that the company is continuing to address a shortcoming in the mobile app space. It has purchased a company called Karma that has developed an e-commerce platform as part of its overall presence.

The management team at Karma has already developed one successful app and the current focus, on gifting, seems to be a good match since Facebook has a huge amount of personal data on users and can now send alerts about anniversaries etc and recommend gifts and send users to Karma. The terms of the deal were not revealed in the announcement made on Karma’s blog but the company’s founders have had success in creating other successful apps.


Samsung’s Galaxy S3 sees strong preorder demand
Samsung, the leading smartphone developer in the world is about to see a nice spike in sales if reports are correct about pre availability demand for its Galaxy S3. According to a report from the Korean Economic Daily, forwarded by Mashable there is already a 9 million unit demand worldwide.

That is very impressive, especially considering the company’s factories can only crank out 5 million units a month, and I am assuming that is for all handsets not just this model. I hope they have been building the devices for the last few months.

China gives Google a thumbs up on Motorola
The long wait is over for Google with the company finally gaining approval for its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility. The approval, which came from China’s Anti-Monopoly Bureau, had followed a delay in which the agency had requested more information.

This approval was the last before the deal can go through and give Google access to Motorola’s huge patent portfolio and manufacturing capabilities. According to a report from the AP the deal has a condition- Google must make the Android operating system available for free to mobile device users for the next five years.

Motorola faces possible ban in US
To counter the good news coming out of China, Motorola was on the losing side of a judge’s ruling the Motorola did infringe on a patent held by Microsoft. The ruling came from the US International Trade Commission and has the result of banning Android-powered smartphones made by Motorola from being imported into the US.

While the ban will not go in effect until July, it is likely that Motorola will seek a licensing deal rather than eliminate the technology. With Motorola having recently won a ruling against Motorola regarding different patents they could just sign a cross licensing agreement, but right now no word on what its plans are.

Apple seeks to block Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 in US
If this sounds familiar well… Apple is following up a win in US Appeals Court that said a ban should probably have been imposed on Samsung for copying features from Apple’s iPad, Apple is now once again asking for that ban in the United States.

It could be a negotiating ploy since as has been reported here and elsewhere the two have been ordered into a settlement talks that will feature the top executives from both companies and it appears likely from this piece at Electronista that no action will occur until after the settlement talks are over.

EU regulations will apply to Android and iOS apps
Apps that are downloaded to devices running both the iOS and Android operating system are subject to the European Union’s Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, officials from the Information Commissioner’s Office said.

The rules regulate, but do not prohibit the use of technologies such as cookies and require that users provide informed consent. This will require the apps to inform the user that it is downloading a cookie and provide them with the option to not have them loaded in their device, according to an article in Computing.co.uk

Is a 10-inch Kindle in the works?
Increasingly rumors are surfacing that the next generation of devices from Amazon will include a model with a 10.1-inch form. The move would make it a more direct competitor to Apple’s existing iPads as well as to the rumored smaller iPad that has been talked about for months.

According to DigiTimes the pad is expected in the third quarter of this year and that at the same time the company is likely to kill its 8.9-inch pad that has been on the drawing board. Around this time Google is also expected to bring out a pad to help heighten the competition even more.

Apple loses round in e-book case
A United States District Court judge has denied petitions from Apple and several of its largest e-book publishing partners to dismiss a lawsuit against them. The lawsuit claims that the companies conspired to illegally price fix e-books. This case is similar to, but separate from the one filed by the Department of Justice against the same companies.

New Kickstarter project trying to get light on a dark subject
A company called Scrap Pile Labs has developed a docking cable for iPads and iPhones that has a built-in LED that allows for easy use at night. Called CordLite it is now seeking funding at the site Kickstarter and the developer is seeking to raise $70,000. If it succeeds the company expects to ship the cables in September.

While the initial focus is on Apple’ products the company said that it plans to develop for other platforms as well and has a microUSB cable in prototype but that production costs are scheduling issues it will be some time before that sees the light of day.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Facebook, FTC, Google, iPad, iPhone, Kickstarter, Mashable, Microsoft, Motorola, Samsung, Startup, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is here-Let the iPhone Comparisons Begin!

May 14, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Samsung is the leader in the tablet space- the non-Apple tablet space that is, and has expanded its offerings with the full size Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, a 10.-1 inch device that will naturally being comparisons to Apple’s iPad offerings.

However it seems that it is much more than just a competitor to Apple, it has to shone above the existing Android tablets and hold its own above the hope that will start coming from the Windows 8 tablet crowd.

The tablet uses the latest Android 4.0 operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich) is powered by 1GHz dual-core OMAP processor from Texas Instruments and has a 1280 x 800 display and has a 3.2 megapixel rear camera and a VGA front facing camera. An entry level model with 16GB of storage will have a $400 price tag.

It is doubtful that the big selling point for the tablet is going to be the hardware since it is pretty clos to what Samsung offered in its Galaxy Tab 10.1 but rather the full package which means lot of Samsung software and apps as well as the fact that it is $100 less than an iPad with the same storage at least a new iPad.

Among the software app that is included in the tablet are Peel smart remote, AllShare and Samsung Media Hub, and SoundAlive. In a review over at including Mashable the Peel app was rated pretty poorly, but there are a number of additional programs on the device as well.

Most sites that have reviewed the tablet give it at least a lukewarm approval rating, but I believe that Samsung should have shot for more. Its display is not as good as Apple’s nor is its camera. While it has a strong position in the Android space, it is about to face a huge wave of competition very soon.

PC World does a very nice job providing a roundup of what is expected throughout the summer, based on statements from the companies involved as well as rumors that seem to have some creditability. New or improved offerings from Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble and Amazon are all expected.

Then there will be the Windows 8 players sometime around the end of the summer. Hewlett-Packard has said it will be there as has Dell, although neither has said when. Then Microsoft’s new relationship with Barnes & Noble could bring that popular platform into the fold. Lenovo is making a major research and development effort n this area and could come in as an Android player, a Windows 8 or both with future offerings.

With this in front of it I am surprised that Samsung did not deliver a stronger offering although I suspect that this is a stopgap effort and that by the back to school season we may see yet another tablet from the company.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Asus, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, iPad, Kindle, Lenovo, Mashable, Microsoft, Nook, PCWorld, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Oracle vs Google Round 1 Almost Over

May 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

It seems that Microsoft is taking the next step in developing an ecosystem of apps around the next version of its operating system for smartphones with a developer conference at which it is suspected that the company will debut its Windows Phone 8. So save June 20-21 and plan on being in San Francisco.

iPad still hot as Kindle Fire cools?
Market research firm IDC has reported that Apple’s iPad tablet is still the tablet to own to most consumers as it gained market share in the first quarter of 2012, primarily at the expense of Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

The drop is rather sharp for Amazon, which at the end of 2011 it had a 17% market share which dropped to 4% in the first quarter. At the same time the iPad grew from 54.7% at the end of last year to 68%, according to the firm.

IDC said that it expected the drop because the iPad has international sales while the Fire is only available in the United States so that it was helped by the holidays and then the slump hit, but the drop was still larger than expected.

Did Kindle sales really die last quarter?
However its seems that the reports are overstated about the drop in Kindle sales, which while real to a degree seem to be overstated due to how the numbers are being looked at, or rather people are comparing apples to oranges.

Stephen Baker, NPD’s Group’s Vice President of Industry Analysts points out that people are mixing units shipped with units sold, and that not all of Amazon’s huge shipment numbers in the 4th quarter of 2011 were sold in that quarter, some of it leaked over into 2012, so that fewer units were shipped. To read his full comments go here.

Facebook buys another mobile developer
Facebook has purchased Glancee, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup that develops apps that help connect users with other people based on their location. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The app helps connect people by allowing them to examine profiles of people who are in their vicinity and who have either mutual friends or mutual interests.

Use you smartphone as a PC? Yes you can
While this is a bit old it is certainly interesting. Canonical is preparing to release a program called Ubuntu of Android that will allow users to connect a smartphone to a display and have a full Ubuntu desktop computer.

The two programs will work side by side, with the phone operating as a traditional Android phone. When connected to a monitor the Ubuntu OS takes over and the device displays a full desktop for the user.

The two will share data and services so that both run simultaneously on the device. With Canonical’s developer conference starting this week hopefully more information will come out about this effort.

Partial Verdict reached in Google vs Oracle Java battle
The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the jury has reached a partial verdict in Oracle’s lawsuit against Google. It is reported that there is still one issue that it is divided on and they were sent home for the weekend.

The Boston Globe reported that it sounds like the split might be permanent as the jury sent a note to the judge asking what would happen if they could not agree on a verdict and said that some jurors appear to not be willing to budge from their position, making a split likely.

An interesting side note in the case is the discussion that went on last week over how much money Google has actually made from Android, an issue that will go to the heart of any remedy if Oracle prevails in the case, and one that rival OS developers are watching with interest.

Google presented numbers in the case that reportedly showed what it had earned from the technology and the judge questions if those numbers were ‘manufactured’ for the trial. He asked for the original documents to be presented today.

This is just the first of two stages in the trial, it being concerned with Oracle’s claims of copyright violation and the second, which is expected to start immediately, will have to do with patent violations.

Samsung’s Galaxy S III is here
Samsung, the new king of handset sales has expanded its lineup with the release of the Galaxy S III smartphone as its new top of the class offering. I would say the long awaited release, but it has been less than a year since the Galaxy S II was released.

The phone features a 4.8-inch HD Super Amoled screen with 720p resolution. It will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB versions. According to market research firm NPD Group, Samsung already accounts for a quarter of all US sales of smartphones and now it looks like it might increase on that lead.

Apple’s iOS device sales by quarter
A look at Apple’s smartphone and tablet shipments by quarter from the Boston Globe.
Quarter ending March 31, 2012: 35.1 million iPhones, 11.8 million iPads
Quarter ending Dec. 31, 2011: 37 million iPhones, 15.4 million iPads
Quarter ending Sept. 24, 2011: 17.1 million iPhones, 11.1 million iPads
Quarter ending June 25, 2011: 20.3 million iPhones, 9.25 million iPads
Quarter ending March 26, 2011: 18.65 million iPhones, 4.7 million iPads

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Google, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsung, The Boston Globe Tagged With: , , , ,
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