Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories.  This week there’s plenty to cover:

• The Barnes & Noble Nook e-Reader gets official
• Windows 7 is here
• The Motorola Droid goes after the iPhone
• Apple updates the iMac, MacBook, and introduces the Magic Mouse
• RIM’s BlackBerry watch
• VW launches car via iPhone app
• Google’s music service

The best part about the show?  Topics move quickly, but if you don’t like a topic, just skip it.  Keep an eye on that timer to help you along.  Enjoy the show.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Just as Apple prepares to introduce the iPhone in China, they were hit with a lawsuit from Nokia alleging patent infringement. The suit pits the world’s largest manufacturer of cellphones against the maker of the most popular smartphone in history.  Nokia says Apple refused to enter into a licensing agreement, unlike the 40 other cellphone makers who use Nokia’s technology.

“By refusing to agree to appropriate terms for Nokia’s intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia’s innovation,” said Ilkka Rahnasto, Nokia’s vice president for legal and intellectual property.

The technology is multi-faceted and includes wireless data, security, encryption, and speech coding.  Nokia says it doesn’t want to stop iPhone sales, it simply wants to be compensated for the use of its patents.

Just last year Nokia reached a settlement with Qualcomm which required it to pay over $2 billion and arrange future royalties for use of Qualcomm’s 3G related technology.  The companies say they plan to develop phones and mobile devices together.  Apple has refused comment on the lawsuit.

Read [Wall Street Journal]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories.  This week there’s plenty to cover:

• Because you need it now, Amazon offers same day delivery
• Big fat 250 GB hard drive in the new PS3 Slim
• WikiReader puts an offline version of Wikipedia in your hand
• The great Sidekick meltdown of 2009
• Snow Leopard decides to delete your data.

The best part about the show?  Topics move quickly, but if you don’t like a topic, just skip it.  Keep an eye on that timer to help you along.  Enjoy the show.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories.  This week there’s plenty to cover:

• Wireless power from Powermat is here.  Will it make a difference?
• Google’s Android becoming the OS of choice for mobile phones.
• Verizon to buddy up with Google Voice.
• doubleTwist adds Amazon MP3 store, becomes a serious iTunes competitor.
• Flash is coming to almost every phone except one.

The best part about the show?  Topics move quickly, but if you don’t like a topic, just skip it.  Keep an eye on that timer to help you along.  Enjoy the show.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Over in the U.K., Apple iPhone exclusivity is over.  Welcome to the new world order.  O2 and Apple were like peas and carrots, but now Orange will also be able to sell the iPhone later in the year.  No specific release date was announced.  Imagine a place where you can have the phone you want with the service you want.  The U.K. might be that place for some.  O2 had the iPhone as an exclusive for two years.  In the United States, the original iPhone was launched on AT&T a little over two years ago.  How long before a non-AT&T iPhone in the United States?  A lot of rumors have placed that event in January 2010.  Will that come true?  We’ll see.

Read: [UK Press Association]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The latest in the cat and mouse game with Palm, the Pre, and iTunes now has Apple in the lead.  If you remember back, the last we heard was that iTunes 9 broke the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes over a USB connection, at which Palm quickly followed up by filing a complaint.  Of course, that complaint stated that Apple was misusing its USB vendor code and in turn was not treating Palm nicely.

Ultimately though, it seems that Apple is not doing anything wrong, that is at least what the industry group has determined.  It looks like it is back to the drawing board for Palm and this time they may have their work cut out for them.  In addition to siding with Apple, the group also let Palm know that they were not allowed to update the software on the Pre to include Apple’s USB vendor code.

Given that, a spokesman for Palm stated that they are still reviewing the letter and will respond if they deem it appropriate.  As far as Apple is concerned, as you may have expected, they have not released any comment or statement.

The sad part here is that this little spat between Apple and Palm is ultimately going to hurt the customers.  Granted the Pre can handle quite a bit over-the-air, however Palm touted the ability to sync with iTunes.  It looks like it may be time to throw in the iTunes towel and begin some work on alternative methods.

Via [PreThinking]

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Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories.  This week there’s plenty to cover:

• Apple updates nano, adds camera
• iTunes 9 drops with new features
• Palm Pixi announced and Pre price drop
• Moto adopts Android
• Sprint says call anyone, it’s on us.
• AT&T says call any 5 people.

The best part about the show?  Topics move quickly, but if you don’t like a topic, just skip it.  Keep an eye on that timer to help you along.  Enjoy the show.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Greetings, crackheads!  Time for another round of everybody’s favorite game: (shout it with me) Who’s on Crack.  Since we last spoke, more and more companies are showing they might be on the rock by taking some rather unusual steps.  Let’s dig right in:

• Apple makes a mistake (gasp)
• Sprint speedballs into loving everyone
• Ms. Wood calls me out for mocking Walmart shoppers
• The iTunes versus Palm Pre saga continues.  Dad is going to get on the phone soon.

Apple trips up iPods

This whole time, maybe it was Steve Jobs’ liver that drove him to make the right decisions?  Now that Jobs has had a transplant, Apple is no longer at the top of their game.  Their choice to leave off a camera is going to hurt iPod touch sales.

If we can agree that many iPod sales are upgraders, Apple’s decision to leave off the camera is going to hurt them.  By believing touch sales would hurt iPhone sales, the camera got left off of Wednesday’s announcement.  A lower model got the nod with the iPod nano receiving the camera.  Now many iPod touch users that would have run out to buy the next thing Steve sells, just aren’t.

Take Charlie Sorrel over at Wired’s Gadget Lab: “If Apple had piled the features onto the Touch, the decision would be made, and Apple would have $400 of my money. As it is, I think I’ll wait.”  That sentiment is echoed all over the net.  Whoops.

Sprint goes off wagon, gets delusions of grandeur

Sprint’s made a bold move to allow their most favored customers (the ones paying the most, of course) the privilege of calling any mobile number at any time for gratis.  Take that Fav Five.  Suck it A-List.  Sit on it, Friends and Family.  Sprint is going for the jugular. 

Imagine the meeting this came up in: 4:30PM on a Friday.  Jimmy is two beers in when his boss asks, “So if you ran the company, what would you do differently?”  Jimmy looks up at his peers, feeling the beer prop up his self worth and says with a half-smile, “Do what they are afraid of.”  Beer or crack - you decide.

The move goes so far as put Sprint back in the hunt.  Even more impressive, Sprint is throwing this at current customers for free, automatically.  Will Sprint force Verizon or AT&T to expand their offerings or will they let Sprint go this one alone and see what damage they can do.  As it stands now, Sprint looks more and more tempting.

People watching on the net

I love nothing more than to sit and watch people all day long.  Strike that, I like to sit and make fun of people all day long.  Now, the net helps my addiction and make it a little creepy - I don’t have to leave home to do it.

Thanks to sites like People of Walmart.  Our Heather Wood explains, “When you log on the site, you get the pleasure of seeing a collection of photos of real life Walmart shoppers.  Some examples?  An overweight woman in a motorized scooter with an ‘I Like It From Behind’ t-shirt, a car in the parking lot with Confederate bra decals, and a guy dressed up as Tony the Tiger roaming the aisles.”

The result: I just lost a half hour giggling at the site.  Combine this with Lamebook and you’ve got a fun lunch break.  Points to Heather for correctly pegging my humor: grade school.

iTunes kicks Palm to the curb, again.

There was this girl in high school I had a crush on.  I found her phone number and proceeded to call her.  After deciding she wanted nothing to do with me, she wouldn’t take my calls.  So I pretended to be someone else from class, that worked once. 

That anecdote pretty much sums up the Apple/Palm relationship so far regarding the Pre syncing with iTunes.  iTunes 9 again hangs up on Palm so what is next?

Well, back to my story, the next time I called, her dad got on the phone and suggested I find a better way to spend my time.  So, will we soon hear about Mr. Jobs picking up the phone and telling Palm to go take a hike?  Or will the role of “Dad” be played by the Apple legal team? 

After all, I didn’t call her back again after that.

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

So you’ve narrowed your choices down to the iPod nano, the Zune HD, and the iPod touch, but you have no idea which one to get.  Gadgetell has you covered.  We’ve got a flow chart to help make your decision! 

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The Apple event has come and gone and for the most part, we’re looking at evolutionary changes, not revolutionary ones.  The iPod nanos got the most new features with the addition of a video camera capable of recording VGA video, a microphone, FM radio, and a pedometer.  With the radio and pedometer, the iPod nano becomes even more workout friendly. 

The other iPods like the touch and the classic can handle more music and video thanks to larger capacities, but they did not see any external redesigns.  Apple is pushing the iPod touch as a gaming machine and dropped the price on the smallest capacity one to $199.  A new 64GB model was introduced at $399.  The pricing change looks to be to compete with Microsoft’s forthcoming Zune HD. 

iTunes got some new features that helps families with iTunes 9—it’s a lot easier to share and copy music between computers.  Apple also came out with “iTunes LPs” that are kind of a throwback—you’ve got photos, notes, and music.  For videos, there is “iTunes Extras” which gives you extra features, kind of like DVD special features on your downloaded video. 

iTunes 9 also brings app management for the iPhone and iPod touch so you can organize your apps on your computer instead of your touch screen device.  The Apple touch devices got some new features in software with the iPhone OS 3.1 which includes Genius for apps so now your phone can suggest apps the way the Genius feature could recommend music.  The biggest news might be that Steve Jobs returned to give the presentation. 

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple’s 09/09/09 event is only minutes away.  Don’t know what all the excitement is about?  Check with Appletell.com.  They’ve got the best coverage of Apple news going. 

• Live blog of the event
• The Apple Store is down
• iPod Touch prices drop
• Rumor round up: What to expect at today’s event

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories. This week there’s plenty to cover:

• Take Two pays out $20M for Hot Coffee
• Apple announced event for 09/09/09
• Gmail fails for 100 minutes, millions confused
• eBay sells majority share of Skype
• Opera 10 Released
• There can be only one Zune
• WinMo 6.5 coming October 6th
• NYU starts “Guitar Hero” themed course

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome back to InterrupTech where we catch you up on the most important tech stories.  This week there’s plenty to cover:

• Mac OS X Snow Leopard released
• Motorola’s upcoming Android event
• Sony’s Daily Edition eReader
• Nokia’s Booklet 3G
• Apple says they don’t know anything about the Google Voice app

The best part about the show?  Topics move quickly, but if you don’t like a topic, just skip it.  Keep an eye on that timer to help you along.  Enjoy the show.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

A very sloppy Photoshop job has a red-faced Microsoft apologizing.  The problem?  In an ad in Poland, they Photoshopped a white man’s head over that of a black one.  It was glaringly obvious because the designer forgot to change the man’s hands, resulting in a white man with a black man’s hands.  It’s not clear why Microsoft felt the need for the sloppy race change, but they promise they are looking into the incident and have yanked the ad.

The are other things about the ad that are very amusing.  The black man turned white is using - wait for i t -a MacBook!  Apparently while he wasn’t cool enough to remain the ad as is, he is cool enough for a Mac.  Microsoft again uses an ad showing people using their competitor’s hardware.

Back in January a MacBook Pro was prominently featured in their web ad for the Songsmith software.  Some Mac enthusiasts say Microsoft intentionally slips Apple hardware into its ads to generate attention.  I’m not sure if that’s the case this time or if it’s just a case of someone not bothering to really pay attention to the stock photo they chose - it also features a woman sitting in front of a monitor that’s not plugged in to anything!

Read [PCWorld]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Get caught up in a hurry with InterrupTech.  You won’t find endless chatter here.  We’ve got a timer to move things along.  This Week:

• Apple has two tablets?
• Windows Mobile to have two version?
• Navigation apps everywhere
• More navigation
• The Garmin Nuviphone is coming.  No, really.
• Sony revamps the PS3.
• RIM is the fastest growing firm according to Fortune.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Navigon’s MobileNavigator app for the iPhone has been out for a while now, however, today marks the first time it will be updated.  Navigon just received confirmation from Apple that their update will be available in the app store and all pre-existing customers can download it for free.  While it isn’t a groundbreaking update, it does allow for users to call the POI number and with the route planning upgrade, users can find multiple ways to different destinations.

For route planning, Navigon is “enabling users to plan a route with different destinations ahead of time.”  This way, they would probably save quite a bit of time.  The other update is quite interesting and will probably help a lot of folks who take advantage of MobileNavigator’s database of POIs.  Let’s say you are looking up how to get to a nearby restaurant in another town.  Rather than having to look up their number in the phonebook or online, the POI database will display the number and you can call it right away by simply pressing it.  Also, all numbers can be saved as a contact for future use.  For added convenience, the app only displays POIs in map view they think is needed.  Lastly, the update makes sure when playing music, the MobileNavigator takes precedence in volume. 

Now, if you already own this app, simply go to the App Store to download the update.  If you look to purchase this app, the App Store will already contain the update so you do not need to worry about updating after buying the app for your first time.  Normally, it costs $99.99, but from now to until August 31, Navigon will have the app on sale for $69.99.

Full Press Release below.

NAVIGON Provides Free Update for its iPhone Navigation App

Update adds new features such as route planning and a function that allows to directly call points of interest (POIs)

Hamburg/Germany, August 14, 2009 — NAVIGON AG, the leading innovator in the navigation market, today announced the availability of a free update for its North American version of the MobileNavigator for the iPhone.

The free update adds a couple of new features and enhancements to the MobileNavigator. NAVIGON’s route planning function known from the companies PND line enables users to plan a route with different destinations ahead of time. Taking advantage of the iPhone’s own functionalities, a call POI function allows to directly call the number of a POI such as a restaurant or hotel by simply clicking on the number.  It is even possible to save the number to the user’s contacts. Furthermore, the update provides an optimized volume control when navigating and using the integrated iPod function of the iPhone at the same time. It also allows to decide which POIs should be displayed in the map view.

All current users of the NAVIGON MobileNavigator will get notified by the App Store and can download the update for free. New customers who buy the software in the iPhone App Store will from now on automatically receive an updated version. “NAVIGON is committed to providing the best navigation solution for the iPhone and is constantly working on new features,” said Gerhard Mayr, Vice President World-Wide Mobile Phone & New Markets of NAVIGON AG. “Our customers can expect a lot more functions to come, and spoken street names (text-to-speech) is one of the next additions that will follow soon. Of course we are also looking into offering a powerful real-time-traffic service.”

The MobileNavigator transforms any iPhone 3G, equipped with the new Apple OS 3.0 operating system, and any iPhone 3G S into a complete navigation device. The software includes many of NAVIGON’s hallmark navigation functions such as Reality View™ Pro, Lane Assistant Pro, Speed Assistant and Day & Night Mode.

The NAVIGON solution sells for $99.99 and is equipped with maps of North America from NAVTEQ®. It will be available for a promotional price of $69.99 until August 31.

For more information and FAQs, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone. Images of the update can be found here: http://flickr.twi.bz/ab

You will also find NAVIGON on the following platforms:
Twitter: www.twitter.com/NAVIGON_.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NAVIGONcom
Facebook: http://facebook.twi.bz/Ob

About NAVIGON:
NAVIGON AG is a world-leading manufacturer of navigation systems. With its own portable navigation systems, and thanks to its partnership with reputable consumer electronics manufacturers, NAVIGON stands for high-quality GPS navigation on pocket PCs, PNDs and mobile phones. NAVIGON also provides professional navigation solutions such as driver-assistance features for the automotive OEM market. NAVIGON was founded in 1991, and employs over 400 workers in locations in Asia, Europe and North America. – NAVIGON. And the world is yours.

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

When Apple first announced the iPhone 3.0 upgrade and later when it debuted the iPhone 3GS it was happy to tout the new MMS features.  The feature would roll out immediately with 3.0 to most every iPhone carrier.  AT&T was the one exception, though at the time it was said MMS support would come by August.  Well, it’s now August and MMS is still nowhere to be found.  Cue lawsuit.

This particular lawsuit is a class action from Louisiana under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.  The suit complains that Apple “advertised heavily” the arrival of MMS on the iPhone.  Apple did make a big deal out of MMS support for the 3.0 upgrade, so that is no surprise.  There’s also complaints that AT&T was advertising the new iPhone’s ability to send MMS messages, which it still hasn’t implemented.

What doesn’t make sense is that the suit complains about AT&T not upgrading its towers to handle MMS.  AT&T can certainly handle MMS on every other phone on the network, it just doesn’t support the feature on the iPhone.  Presumably this is to prevent the network from collapsing (similar to why the SlingPlayer for iPhone only works on Wi-Fi).

The surprising part is that it took this long for someone to sue for lack of MMS on the iPhone.  It seems like such a standard service now.  It was always pathetic that the cheapest feature phones could send them when the iPhone couldn’t.  It seems like a bit of a waste to file a class action lawsuit, however.  Chances are Jobs is more annoyed about AT&T not supporting the new features than any of us are.

Read [TG Daily]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Get caught up in a hurry with InterrupTech.  You won’t find endless chatter here.  We’ve got a timer to move things along.  This week:

• Is the Zune HD a real competitor to iPod?
• Google CEO Eric Schmidt leaves Apple’s Board.
• Twitter meltdown.
• Palm Pre gets lots of apps, just not officially.
• RadioShack transforms into “The Shack”

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

If you’ve never heard of the USB Forum, don’t feel bad.  Palm has filed a complaint with the forum that alleges Apple is restraining trade.  It is an odd place for Palm to launch this kind of attack.

The USB Forum began in 1985 as a way to build support for similar connections.  Apple is a member of the Forum.  Palm aims to point out that Apple is misusing the standard of interoperability created by iTunes not allowing connection via USB to other devices, such as the Palm Pre.

It is an interesting move with no real precedent.  Apple altered iTunes to prevent the Pre from syncing with Apple’s product.  In response, Palm updated the Pre’s software to allow the Pre to pretend to be made by Apple (at least, that is what iTunes sees) and access was again granted.  Palm is looking to end this cat and mouse chase.

Palm is clearly saying iTunes syncing is important.  Palm strategy has been to convert iPhone owners and these owners carry their music organized by iTunes.  Connecting with that software is important to Palm and doing so in an easy-as-possible manner is critical.

The Forum, whose excitement is usually centered on releasing new USB standards, like 3.0 (woo hoo!), refuses to comment on the filing.  Some see the filing itself as a breach in the Forum’s intent while everyone else might like a shot at being connected to iTunes.  From the New York Times, Mike Abramsky, an analyst with the investment firm RBC Capital Markets.

“There isn’t much precedent for this case,” he said. “It’s breaking new ground. In my mind, ultimately the users are the arbiters in the outcome of these situations.”

This fight is just beginning.  Just wait until Apple lays down some patents!  This fight is going to go the distance.

Read: [New York Times]  Image courtesy of [iphoneblog.com]

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In a completely unexpected move, today (August 3, 2009), Google CEO Eric Schmidt has decided to leave the Apple Board of Directors he’s been a part of since April 2009.  While Google and Apple have seemed to look at the technology world from almost to completely different viewpoints, it seemed that Schmidt would remain on the Apple board for the foreseeable future.

It’s been known that Schmidt would remove himself from talks on the board when the conversation turned to something in which the two companies competes.  For a while, that was limited only to talks of the iPhone.  Recently, however, Schmidt has also had to remove himself from conversations about the Mac OS thanks to the recently announced Chrome OS.  As Apple CEO Steve Jobs says in the press release, “Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest.”

What’s not mentioned is the recent Google Voice/iPhone debacle.  It wouldn’t be surprising if Schmidt was upset about the app being rejected.  It would be even less surprising if Jobs grew to be infuriated when the FCC decided to step into the situation.  Schmidt probably wouldn’t have full sway to get the app put into the App Store, but one could assume he probably would have tried.

Also not mentioned is how this will affect the relations between Apple and Google.  Apple integrates Google service such as Maps and YouTube into both the iPhone and parts of its main OS, including iLife and iWork.  There is a small chance that those partnerships might be a bit strained going forward.  Apple wouldn’t (or at least shouldn’t) take those features out of future releases, but this situation casts a a shadow over possible future integrations.  Those integrations will always be available in Android, and presumably Chrome OS, however.

Read [Apple]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The world of tech moves fast.  If you don’t slow down, you might miss it.  This week, plenty of stories:

• The Palm Pre is all over the place.
• Blip.TV partners with TiVo, Roku, and plenty more.
• The official Google Voice app rejected by Apple’s App Store.
• iTablet rumors picking up steam.
• Kodak’s Zi8
• Firefox 4.0
• New Sony ebook readers coming.

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

To be clear: I was disappointed Apple did not approve Google Voice apps for distribution in the App Store.  I was more than disappointed—I began to see what I believe could be the unraveling of iPhone domination.  No matter the level of our frustration with Apple, government has no business looking into this.  If you were not aware, the FCC is looking into the rejection of Google Voice apps by Apple.  At a time when surely there are other things in Washington that might have a little more importance than an iPhone application, do we really have the time, money and resources to put into even an informal inquiry?  If the government answers to the people, can we not agree that there are more pressing matters?

Am I trying to shield Apple?  Ha!  They hardly need my help.  No, what is happening is Adam Smith’s invisible hand moving the market.  If consumers don’t like a product or its App Store approval process, they are free to purchase other products.  Today, competing mobile operating systems are more than up to the task, such as Android, BlackBerry, and webOS.

Can you see the invisible hand moving the market?  Absolutely.  Take a look around the blogosphere and you’ll find angry prosumers perhaps changing their mind on the iPhone.  Take TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington for example, he is done with the iPhone.  And the straw that broke the camel’s back?  You guessed it, the rejection of the Google Voice apps, now the subject of an informal inquiry into Apple by the FCC.  “I’m abandoning the iPhone and AT&T. I will grudgingly pay the $175 AT&T termination fee and then I will move on to another device.”

My economics studies led me to this obvious conclusion: educated consumers, making educated choices move the market.  Here we have blogs bashing Apple (rightly so) for rejecting something that excites a very small number of people (that ought to excite a bunch more).  We have several competing phones and operating systems more than ready and able to deal with Google Voice.

This not-formal inquiry comes during a time when the FCC is looking deeper at exclusive deals that keep exclusive phones on a particular carrier.  I’ve come out against this notion as well, fearing advanced development will diminish as the return to present such advancement declines with limits on exclusivity.  Or put another way, ideas stay on white boards instead of in retail stores because they can’t fiscally justify the results.

Without the government’s help, we’ve booted “Baby Shaker” off the phone.  With out the government’s help, we’ve gotten Skype on the phone (albeit limited).  We’ve seen apps like Eucalyptus rejected then accepted thanks to public outcry.  There is no reason to think we can’t do the same here.  Educated consumer make educated choices.  Apple needs to respect that or reap the consequences.

Source: [Wall Street Journal]

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RIM’s 1.1 update to its Blackberry App World has made it more like the Apple App Store.  The update includes a free and a paid top downloads list and new categories and sub-categories.  Also, customers can now sort search results by Newest, Highest Rated, Price (lowest/highest), Developer (alphabetical), or Application Name (alphabetical).  For those of you who need to temporarily remove apps for any reason, the update provides app archiving to an SD card or the BlackBerry’s internal memory - archived apps maybe reinstalled at any time.  If you are a new BlackBerry customer, you can download the update at Mobile.BlackBerry.com or BlackBerry.com/AppWorld.  If you are a current user, you will be notified via an alert icon on your BlackBerry App World icon.  Some of these updated features may seem pleasingly new to Blackberry users, but will be quite familiar to Apple users.

Full Story » | Written by Merlyn Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

For all the time we’ve been using cell phones, we’ve never had to worry about someone else trying to control them, unless they steal them, that is.  It’s just not something one would think about, especially not when using the iPhone.  Apple has a history of security with its desktops, so why not the iPhone?  Turns out they’ve been a bit lazy with the security updates.

Thursday, at the start of Black Hat, the annual cybersecurity convention, Charlie Miller, the man who was able to control an iPhone back in 2007 with a malicious website, and Collin Mulliner will show the latest issue they’ve found with the iPhone.  Turns out they can take full control of any iPhone through SMS messages.  The only thing the user would see is a single notification displaying a single block character.  At that point the phone is pretty much already hacked, with the only solution being to turn it off.

Miller alerted Apple to the security flaw months ago, as he does when he finds these vulnerabilities.  Apple, however, has yet to patch the SMS insecurity.  Apple has patched previous security flaws, most of which required some action by the user to even activate.  This attack, however, can be accomplished at any time as long as the iPhone is on and connected to the network, with no action from the user.  Seems like this would be something Apple would want to patch up as quickly as possible.

The iPhone isn’t the only phone with SMS vulnerabilities.  Many cell phones and platforms, including Symbian, which runs on about half the world’s phones, Windows Mobile, and Android (though Google has patched the flaws) will be shown to have similar vulnerabilities via SMS.  It could potentially lead to an influx of SMS worms eventually, unless companies patch them up.  Some have already begun sending SMS messages to malicious sites, though there is potential for much worse, as Miller and Mulliner are going to show us.

Read [Forbes]

Full Story » | Written by Shawn Ingram for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

A Google spokesperson confirmed Apple has rejected its iPhone application for Google Voice.  Sean Kovac’s awesome app GV Dialer was also removed from the store.  Apple has made a clean sweep of removing anything Google Voice related from its store, angering many users.

• “I have to register my frustration and disappointment.”
• “I’m getting tired of this AT&T/Apple control-freakishness.”
• “Wow, this is really messed up.”

In a quote from TechCrunch:

We work hard to bring Google applications to a number of mobile platforms, including the iPhone. Apple did not approve the Google Voice application we submitted six weeks ago to the Apple App Store. We will continue to work to bring our services to iPhone users — for example, by taking advantage of advances in mobile browsers.

So now, dejected and kicked to the curb, Google will build a web app to work around Apple’s wishes.  The expectation by many is that AT&T is behind this move, as Google Voice allows free SMS and calling that can shift calls off expensive mobile lines.  AT&T must be feeling the heat.

We’ve seen Apple fold on some apps that received an outcry from the public, but I suspect that isn’t going to happen here.  Google Voice has the potential to be a game changer in voice and perhaps Android and the Palm Pre (hopefully) will have to carry the banner forward.  A web app is going to limit what level of integration Google Voice can have with the iPhone.  As a Google Voice user and proponent, this is disappointing news.

Read: [TechCrunch]

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Although Steve Jobs once dismissed the idea of an Apple e-reader by proclaiming people don’t read, the rumors that Apple plans to release an internet tablet later this year has many believing it’s the company’s answer to Amazon’s wildly successful Kindle.  Sure, you probably could read books on it but it is really no threat to the Kindle at all.  Why?  Let’s look at some reasons.

Size

Part of what attracts avid readers to the Kindle is that it allows them to carry their entire library anywhere.  The new Apple tablet is said to have a 10 inch screen.  That’s even larger than the new Kindle DX.  The weight may also be a factor why people would stick to Amazon over Apple.

Screen

 
The Apple tablet is also said to have the same type of multitouch screen as the iPhone and iPod Touch.  A touch screen isn’t necessary for an e-reader and only adds to the fragility of the device.  The backlighting is another drawback.  Backlit displays cause eyestrain and fatigue, neither of which is conducive to long periods of reading.

Multifunction

From the description I’ve read, this new tablet is actually just a giant iPod Touch.  People who own e-readers like the fact that it does just one thing, display books for reading, and those displays do it well.  Okay, yes the Kindle has a very basic web browser built in, but its function is purely as an e-reader.

Price

The tablet is supposed to retail for $800.  The Kindle is $299 and the DX $489.  Enough said.

Frankly, I don’t see how this new tablet will even make a dent in the netbook market, never mind the e-reader one.  I don’t think Apple gave it near enough thought.  An actual MacBook netbook edition would have been a much better device to introduce!

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Last week was quite busy in the world of tech.  Get caught up in a hurry with InterrupTech.  You won’t find endless chatter here.  We’ve got a timer to move things along. 

This week:

• eBooks and Barnes & Noble
• RIM has new products, but does anyone know that?
• New iPod nanos to have cameras?
• Microsoft posts bad numbers, Apple posts good numbers
• Palm Pre continues the cat and mouse game with iTunes

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Users of iTunes who also use AVG as their anti-virus solution were given a rude surprise today when they tried to run the program.  They were blocked from doing so and AVG popped up with a “Threat detected” warning saying iTunes was infected with the small.BOG Trojan.  Nearly 300 posts from freaked out users flooded Apple’s support forum, and quickly turned to anger when it was discovered that AVG, in their brilliance, released an update that flagged over 180 files within iTunes as viruses.  The false alarm would have been harmless but AVG also prevents iTunes from working.  Reinstallation is also blocked.  Irate users who contacted AVG were ignored, and those that called Apple were told by customer service that Windows was to blame!

There are several ways to get around the mess AVG has caused.  I simply did a System Restore.  Choosing the most recent restore date didn’t work but choosing one 48hrs or so back did.  As soon as the restore completed I opened AVG, canceled the update it had immediately started downloading, and turned off automatic updating.  Other solutions include simply uninstalling AVG (which a lot of users have done and refuse to reinstall ever) and adding iTunes to the exception list within AVG’s Resident Shield feature.

Trying to contact AVG results in getting a canned autoresponse and basically being ignored.  I think they are going to greatly regret taking that route.  Their messed up update has angered a lot of people.  It’s outrageous to me that they obviously didn’t do any testing or QC before sending out the update.  There is absolutely no excuse for an antivirus program to flag and disable a very legit program, and even less of an excuse for them to be ignoring the problem, but then again AVG has always treated those of us who use its AVG Free software as second class citizens.

If you are having problems one of the solutions should work.  Once you’ve got iTunes up and running again, don’t update AVG until they’ve admitted to and fixed the problem or you may wind up with a broken iTunes again.

Read[Apple]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Another week, another round up of ideas that could use some time in a facility upstate.  This week, we’ll look at the craziness brought about thanks to: RadioShack, Barnes & Noble, Apple forces Google to go web app, and MS up APPL down.

RadioShack dreams big

RadioShack just announced that T-Mobile will be added to their stable of phone carriers they “handle”.  Our Iyaz wrote:
“Radio Shack has already stocked Alltell, AT&T, Nextel, and Sprint phones.  That only leaves Verizon out as the last major player not to be at Radio Shack.  Both T-Mobile and Radio Shack are promoting this deal saying that they will offer phones like the new myTouch 3G with Google and their ‘hottest exclusive T-Mobile handsets’ so don’t expect old clunkers at Radio Shack.”

Couple this news with the bit that leaked out yesterday from the Tour de France, RadioShack will sponsor Lance Armstrong’s team in 2010 and you get an interesting picture of what RadioShack thinks about themselves.  They are swinging big here and they’ve got over 4,000 stores in the US and PR.  But does their image of themselves match what we see?

From the far-too-loud ding-dong that I trip walking into the store, I feel like I am being assaulted.  Our local Shack is rather narrow, so there is nowhere to hide.  Browsing feels frowned upon, as if you need a reason to come and gaze at some connectors or power adapters.  Instead of a shopping experience, I get to feel how a deer feels in a big, wide open field.  Maybe the Shack, in their quest to become the mini-Best Buy, is going to change some of that, too?

Just how big is the ebook market?

That is the question Barnes and Noble looks to answer with their partnership with Plastic Logic on their new eReader.  With the Kindle fully in their sights, Barnes and Noble (B&N) hopes to leverage their billion or so (it seems) brick and mortar stores into a stab for eReaders.  Expected at a lower price, it could mean trouble for the Kindle.

Could the masses latch onto ebooks in a way the Kindle might have if it were priced $200 less?  Could a $99 price point start something big for ebooks?  Or is this niche only getting smaller thanks to both Amazon and B&N offering their ebooks on an ever-increasing number of mobile devices? 

Apple- “Sit Google.  Shake Google, Play dead Google.”

Like many of you, I’ve been waiting for Google’s Latitude to show up for the iPhone.  Yesterday, Google said “here you go: here is what Apple let us do.”  Say what?  Web app?  Apple’s wildly popular App Store says this is a bad move.  What is up with that?

Is Apple fending off a better and better Google Android by snubbing Google here?  Do we iPhone users have to suffer the slings and arrows of Apple’s sour grapes?  Seriously, without constant or even periodic updating Latitude on the iPhone is as helpful as herpes, or so I’ve heard.  Is Apple going to pitch a similar service for MobileMe or include this later in Google Maps (which Apple made)?

I don’t know but it is lame.  I’d like to slide-tackle someone at Apple over this, and I am a damn fine slide-tackler if I do say so myself.

Microsoft down, Apple up.  Simple: Blame the Mac and PC ads.

Mighty Microsoft dropped $3 billion or so, Apple reported their best non-holiday quarter ever (because deep down inside, you know nothing beats a holiday).  A tale of two economies?  Two diverging strategies? Zune vs. iPod?  Surface vs. um, iPod?  Nope.  Mac vs. PC.

That’s right, behold the power of John Hodgeman to at once mock the stodgy Microsoft but also make Justin Long look almost cool.  PC never says he is outmoded and outdated but the message is heard by all.  Why did this resonate with the companies performance?

Simple: HDTV.  TV is only viewed today in high-def on 42” TVs.  Everyone with less fire-power has given up on electronics and they know it.  So, the only TV viewers are affluent folks who get programmed to buy Macs, because nobody wants to be John Hodgeman.  In fact, according to NPD, $9 out of every $10 spent on computers above $1000 are spent on Macs.  Holy cow!  That is a lot of desire not to be John Hodgeman.  Sorry John.

Full Story » | Written by JG Mason for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Tsera is suing 23 companies including both Apple and Microsoft over a patent regarding interfacing with a touchpad.  In plain English, if a touchpad tries to make sense of your gesture-based input, Tsera may have the patent on that.  The patent looks like it is broad enough to cover the scroll wheel of an iPod and the Zune’s touchpad. 

Tsera is suing Apple, Microsoft, Bang & Olufson, Philips, LG, and more.  Will the collective might of their lawyers be able to get Tsera to go away?  I would expect some kind of out of court settlement to put this matter to bed. 

Back in 2006, Apple and Creative settled a patent infringement case where Apple paid $100 million to license Creative’s patented user interface.  Will Tsera be so lucky?

If you are curious, here is some of the patent language for your inspection:

[If a user inputs data] by tracing patterns with [a] finger on a surface of the touchpad. . . . A microcontroller within the device matches the pattern traced by the user against a plurality of preset patterns, each of which corresponds to a predefined function or command of the device.  If the pattern traced by the user is a reasonably close match to any of the preset patterns, the device performs the predefined function corresponding to the matched pattern.”

Read: [InformationWeek]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Welcome back to InterrupTech.  Catch up on the week’s most important tech stories in a hurry.  Unlike other tech shows, we’ve got a clock that tells us when it’s time to move on to the next topic.

This week we cover:

• Microsoft Office 2010
• Netflix to get bought by Amazon?
• Apple boots the Pre off of iTunes
• Palm releases the webOS SDK
• Google introduces official Google Voice apps

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

This is the time of year when everyone hits the road for vacations and family reunions.  That means having a lot of time on your hands - on long flights, bus rides, car trips, airport waits, and more.  Fortunately, there are a wide range of gadgets that provide top notch entertainment and can be helpful as you travel.  Here are our top 5 picks.

Amazon Kindle

Say what you want, but if you are a reader, you can’t get a better e-reader than this.  With a clear crisp screen in two sizes, great battery life, access to over 300,000 books, plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs, and free wireless internet access so you can grab a new read no matter where you are, the Kindle is a clear winner.  Avid readers know what a rush it is to be able to carry your entire library with you wherever you go!

iPod Touch

The ultimate gadget.  It’s a mp3 player, a personal video player, a PDA, an internet device, a handheld gaming device, an ebook reader, radio, and more, all in a sleek sexy package.  Load it up with tunes and videos, use the free Kindle or Stanza apps to read books, surf the web, consult a map, play with one of the 65,000 apps available - it just doesn’t get much better than this.  It’s also a much nicer way to carry around a travel guide.  Instead of looking like a tourist, you look cool.

SiriusXM Radio

Despite the rumors to the contrary, satellite radio is still alive and well.  If you’re taking a long car trip it’s the only way to go.  No more signal fade outs, poor reception, or having to find a new station to listen to all the time.  SiriusXM brings you a wide variety of commercial free music along with talk, sports, and children’s programming, too.  Get a radio for your car or truck or check out the free app for the iPod Touch and iPhone.

GPS

Driving anywhere?  You need GPS.  No more fumbling with maps or pulling over to ask directions.  Just make sure you pay attention to what it tells you or you may arrive at your destination with the words “recalculating route” permanently etched on your brain.  Make sure it’s loaded up with the most up to date maps of your area and those you intend to visit.

Mobile Phone

It goes without saying that wherever you go you need one.  Aside from the obvious safety factor, having a phone with you is just simply convenient.  Make dinner reservations, use it as an alarm clock, buy tickets to an event - you’ll find a million uses for it.  Is your vacation taking you out of the country?  Be sure to check your provider’s coverage map and international rates to avoid any surprises.

Roaming charges, especially for data, can add up.  I have a colleague who took a business trip to Canada and didn’t check.  He plugged in his air card and checked his email, watched some YouTube videos, streamed music, and downloaded a large Windows Update.  When he got home a $600 phone bill was waiting for him.  If you travel out of the country a lot, consider picking up a prepaid phone and SIM at your destination.  It’s usually a lot cheaper than using your own!

So there you have it.  What are your must have gadgets for traveling and why?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

App stores are starting to resemble opinions—everyone has one.  There is one store that is leaps and bounds beyond the competition, the Apple App Store, which just turned one year old and even moved its 1.5 billionth app recently.  Randall Bennett brought in Stuart Miles from Pocket-Lint and myself to talk about Apple’s App Store as well as Verizon’s brand new store on “TechVi.” 

Watch more episodes: [TechVi]
Read: [Pocket-Lint]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

What is it?

SnapWords is a game by Magnetism Studios that is meant to be played by lots of people.  It’s kind of like Taboo or Password.  Get a word on the game and try to get someone on your team to guess the word.  When your turn is over, hand your iPhone or iPod touch to the other team for their turn. 

The Good:

At $0.99, this is a bargain.  An official Taboo board game from Hasbro can run you $20.  SnapWords has a library of 10,000 words, timer, and score keeper all in one application.  A simple, but cool, feature is the ability to edit your score if you accidentally pressed the wrong button while playing. 

The Bad:

This is not a game you should play on the bus or a train unless you’re a big fan of annoying everyone around you.  There is no support for custom word packs, but this feature may be available in future editions of the game according to the guys at Magnetism Studios

The Crux:

If you’re a fan of party games, this is a fun little application.  I know it could be pretty useful while waiting for a table at a restaurant.  The lack of board game clutter is another plus - no parts to lose. 

iTunes Link: [SnapWords]
Company Site: [Magnetism Studios]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The latest entry in the book of frivolous lawsuits is one filed against Apple by an Illinois couple.  They are accusing the company of gift card fraud and they are seeking monetary damages for what they call Apple’s “wrongful, illegal and fraudulent acts.”  The charges in the suit include one count each of violating the Illinois Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Consumer Protection Statutes, and 2 counts of breach of contract.

The target of their outrage?  Apple’s decision in April to change the iTunes store pricing structure from a flat 99 cents per song to a one where song prices vary from 69 cents to $1.29. 

Yes, they are suing over a 30 cent price increase - but it gets better!  The couple is irate because they feel the value of the two $25 iTunes gift cards they bought in March of *2008* has been reduced due to the increase!  They said they been “denied the benefit of their bargain to purchase any song for 99 cents.”  You did read that correctly.

It’s about gift cards they bought a year ago!  Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?  If the value of the cards is so important to them why did they let a year go by without using them?

Here’s what I think the real story is.  They bought or were given some iTunes gift cards last year and forgot about them until recently.  When they noticed the pricing structure had changed they thought they might have found an easy way to make some quick cash.

I think a snowball has a better chance in hell than they do of getting any windfall from Apple though, and if they were to win any kind of settlement their lawyer would probably get most of it.  What do you think about this case?  Frivolous lawsuit or serious case?  Leave a comment and let us know!

Read[CNet]

Full Story » | Written by Sue Walsh for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Deja vu anyone?  Much like last year’s fiasco after the launch of the 3G, we are now again seeing server problems when customers are attempting to activate their new 3G S handsets.  It just ain’t happening.

Many customers, to their rather irate chagrin, are finding themselves getting the message, “Your activation requires additional time to complete. Due to the current activation volumes, it may take up to 48 hours to resolve your issue.  We will send a confirmation to [your email address] once your activation is complete.”

That’s not exactly what you want to see across your spiffy new screen that you paid all that money for, as well as waited all that time to receive, I’d wager.  But there’s not a heck of a lot you can do about it either.

It seems that the servers are caving under all the waves of consumers trying to activate their phones at once.  Thus, error messages galore.  Those lucky souls that activated their handsets before noon Eastern time Friday were able to do so for the most part glitch-free.  It’s just those people after that time that are running into trouble.

Apple does apologize for inconveniencing the customer, and says even with this setback the customer can proceed to set up their handset and check out features that don’t require access to the AT&T network. (I wonder if you are still paying for this connection even though you don’t yet have it?)  After consumers disconnect from iTunes, a message shows up on the iPhone 3G S screen saying “Waiting for activation: This may take some time”  (ya think??)

Hopefully once all the customers do get connected, they won’t run into any of the problems folks had after last year’s launch of the 3G, where thousands couldn’t function correctly or make calls, or kept getting knocked off line for extended periods of time.  Kind of makes the shiny apple appear a bit wormy.

via: appleinsider

Full Story » | Written by Jodie Andrefski for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that iPhone OS 3.0 landed the other day.  Apple’s servers really faced a challenge leading to some trending topics on Twitter.  Should Apple have been able to handle the load or are they just facing growing pains?  Gadgetell visited with TechVi to talk to Randall Bennett and CNET’s John Falcone about this topic. 

Watch more episodes: [TechVi]
Read John Falcone’s work: [Crave]

Full Story » | Written by Iyaz Akhtar for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The new iPhone 3.0 software gives a lot of extra functionality to apps.  As a result, MLB plans to use the iPhone’s streaming capability to allow for full game streaming straight to your iPhone or iPod Touch.  Basically, owners of the $9.99 app could listen to an audio feed, watch a Gameday update of the game, and view in-game video highlights.  There have been rumors of MLB supporting full streams of a game, but that hasn’t been confirmed until today. 

The iPhone 3.0 software begins rolling out to users today, so as soon as you upgrade your device, you can use the MLB At Bat to watch out-of-market games starting tomorrow.  The first game set to be streamed on the iPhone will be the Chicago Cubs-White Sox game at 2:20PM ET.  In addition, they will be streaming the Tigers-St. Louis Cardinals which takes place at 8:15PM ET. 

Unfortunately, they will only cover out-of-market games to start off.  Later on, they have plans to stream all games, which will definitely make or break people’s decision to purchase the app.  The concept of out-of-market games is simple, you can’t watch games by local teams.  Meaning if you live in New York, you can’t watch the New York Yankees or New York Mets, but you will be able to see any of the two games streamed by MLB daily (assuming it is not in your area). 

Now, the app will be able to stream games over 3G or Wi-Fi, which is a big plus.  The important question is how high quality is the stream over 3G?  If it is almost the same as Wi-Fi, MLB has hit a home run with this app.  Of course, that will not be known until tomorrow when users can start streaming games.  As a big baseball fan, if I owned an iPhone, I would definitely purchase the app probably when all games are covered as I would not receive the local games. 

Assuming the MLB At Bat app to be successful, I’m sure many other companies will create apps with live video streaming.  A Hulu app, anyone?  Be sure to let us know in the comments below if you plan on using the MLB At Bat app for live game streaming. 

Via [BusinessWeek]

Full Story » | Written by Natesh Sood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

Apple released a statement today that their new web browser, Safari 4 has been downloaded by both Mac and Windows users over 11 million times in just three days of its full version release.  Additional, data released by Apple indicates that at least 6 million of these 11 million downloads are from Windows users.

Safari 4 has been available in beta since February and Apple has touted the browser as the fastest and most innovative web browser ever to be released.  Early reports indicate that Safari 4 is very fast, mostly in part to the Nitro JavaScript engine that can load web pages up to three times faster than IE 8 and Firefox 3.  Users can get the Safari 4 download for free from the Apple website. 

However, detractors are saying that this 11 million statistic posted by Apple is bogus and doesn’t prove the success of the new version of their web browser.  The main reason?  Mac owners were automatically updated with the browser over the last couple of days.

Read: [PC World]

Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »

The newest version of the Apple created web browser Safari is now out of beta and available to Windows and Mac users.  Apple has added about 150 features to Safari 4 with highlights that include a VoiceOver screen reader, zoom text, full page zooms, ARIA support, scriptable plug ins and smart address field.

Safari 4 joins an already crowded web browser market as many of the top names have recently released their newest versions.  This includes Google Chrome 2.0, Opera 10 and Internet Explorer 8.  The beta version has been available for several months for Safari 4, but besides some minor graphics upgrades, the full edition has most of the same features. 

Safari 4 is definitely super fast, supporting the claims of Apple developers.  However, keep in mind that the speed will vary depending on your hardware and any other processes running.  You can now download the full version of Safari 4 from the Apple website.

Site: [Apple]

Full Story » | Written by Heather Wood for Gadgetell. | Comment on this Article »