Thursday, December 13, 2012

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Apple Patents Intelligent Call Waiting With Custom Hold Options And Celeb-Spotting Facial Recognition Top
apple-phone-ios6Two new patent applications published by the USPTO today describe a couple of pieces of tech that both help make mobile devices smarter, albeit in very different ways. The first is a facial recognition system that can identify people and things using vector-based "faceprints" picked up from photos, and the second is a call waiting system that can provide inbound callers with a lot more than just a repeated tone to let them know they're still on hold.
 
With DoJ Suit Still In Play, Apple And Four Big Publishers Settle Price Fixing Probe In Europe Top
ibookstoreGood news for Amazon, and for consumers on the lookout for bargain prices for e-books in Europe. Apple, along with the publishers Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Hachette and Holtzbrinck (Macmillan), have reached a settlement over e-book pricing in Europe. That deal had become the subject of an antitrust probe initiated in December 2011: the European Commission believed it gave Apple and the publishers an unfair advantage over how they priced e-books. Ironically, the biggest winner in this antitrust settlement might be the biggest e-book retailer of them all, Amazon.
 
Sprint Looks To Buy Out Remainder Of Clearwire For Around $2.1B Top
clearwireEarlier, it was rumored that Sprint was considering a buy-out of the remaining 48 percent of Clearwire shares it didn't own, after the pending Softbank investment in its company promised to deliver it enough cash to negate the adverse effect of taking on Clearwire's money-losing financials. Now, Bloomberg reports that Sprint is indeed looking to buy, in a deal worth about $2.1 billion according to the carrier.
 
With An IPO On Its Radar, Lending Club Adds Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers To Its Heavyweight Board Top
434px-Lawrence_Summers_Treasury_portraitToday, Larry Summers became the latest prominent name to endorse Lending Club -- the fast-growing peer-to-peer lending company that aims to connect creditworthy borrowers with smart investors -- as the former U.S. Treasury Secretary joined the company's growing, star-studded board of directors. The economist, also known for serving as the 27th president of Harvard University and as the Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama, joins names like John Mack, the ex-chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, and Kleiner Perkins Partner Mary Meeker.
 
SpotHero Raises $2.5M From Battery, Lightbank To Help You Reserve Parking In Garages Top
sptheroParking garage reservation startup SpotHero has raised $2.5 Million in funding led by Battery Ventures with 500 Startups, David Cohen's Bullet Time, e.Ventures, OCA Ventures, New World Ventures, Lightbank, & Draper VC also participating.
 
U.S. Federal Agency That Switched From BlackBerrys To iPhones Has A Rethink: Plans To Test BB10 Devices Next Year Top
blackberry10-layersSome good news for embattled smartphone maker RIM: the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has said it plans to test BlackBerry 10 devices next year. ICE had previously announced it would switch its staff from BlackBerrys to iPhones but now plans to begin a pilot program on RIM's new line of BlackBerry 10 smartphones and BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 early next year.
 
PayPal Tests Partnership With Gifting App Wrapp To Add Mobile Payments Users In Sweden Top
wrappPayPal is testing a new partnership with Wrapp, a social gifting service as a way to gain new users in Sweden. As we've reported in the past, Wrapp lets friends give, receive and redeem digital gift cards using mobile devices, and allows friends to contribute to gifts given by mutual friends.
 
Khosla Ventures Retains Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates As Advisors To Help Portfolio Companies Navigate International Issues Top
RiceHadleyGates LLC | TeamKhosla Ventures is announcing a strategic relationship with RiceHadleyGates LLC, a consulting firm started by Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Rice and her business partners will help Khosla's portfolio companies navigate both global and domestic regulatory, public policy and political environments.
 
Nokia Says Class Action Lawsuit Over Windows Phone Is Now Dismissed, No Compensation Paid Top
Nokia-Lumia-510-3Nokia may be struggling to reach a critical mass of users to adopt its Windows Phones instead of Android or iPhone devices, but today it got a little light relief in its bigger battle: it's had a class action suit over its choice of the Windows Phone platform formally dismissed, with no compensation paid.
 
BBC Reaches 1M Downloads Of Its iPlayer Radio iOS App; Android Coming In 2013 Top
iplayer radio appSome music to the BBC's ears: the UK broadcasting giant today said that it has passed the 1-million-download mark for its iOS iPlayer Radio app -- launched two months ago as part of the corporation's big push into digital to drive more revenues and hold on to its audience as they scatter for the hills of apps, Spotify, Netflix and other OTT services.
 
Research: UK Smartphone Penetration Hits 58%, Tablets At 19%. Brits A Nation Of Online Shoppers: £1,000+ Now Spent Online Per Year Top
ipad-mini-tvResearch by Ofcom suggests the U.K. leads international markets for mobile device adoption and usage, driven by mobile social networking. Internet shopping on mobiles is also on the rise, while the U.K. leads for online shopping generally -- with Brits spending £1,000+ per year buying stuff online. The rate of on-demand online TV viewing is also at world leading levels in the U.K.
 
Google Extends Magazines To The UK Google Play Store; Next Stop Europe? Top
google play magazines ukA little sweetening of the deal for would-be Android holiday tablet and smartphone and buyers in one part of the world: today Google announced that it is expanding its Magazines section of Google Play apps to the UK. Some Android users started to notice the store appearing yesterday; today is the formal launch where it will be available to everyone.
 
As Seen On TV: Virtual Fitting Room Metail Gets Dressed Up For ITV's This Morning Top
PreviewFile.jpg.ashxMetail, the virtual fitting room startup, has scored somewhat of a coup. Kicking off today, it's partnering with the UK television broadcaster ITV as part of a fashion segment on the channel's day time show This Morning. Along with potentially exposing the startup's tech to millions of viewers, even if it is largely hidden behind the TV program's own branding, the move suggests that Metail may have a 'second screen' string to its otherwise B2B retail bow.
 
'European Square' iZettle Expands To Spain, Taking Total Markets To Seven Top
Spain_flag_readerThe mobile payments landgrab is on in Europe. Today, iZettle announced that it is now open for business in Spain, taking its total number of markets to seven. The company, which has received $46.7 million in backing from companies and VCs that include MasterCard and American Express, is now able to take mobile payments by way of a dongle attached to an iOS or Android device in Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom and Germany.
 
U.K.'s First 4G Network To Expand To 17 More Towns By March 2013; Carrier EE Also Upgrading 3G To Fastest Variant: DC-HSPA Top
Screen Shot 2012-12-13 at 08.29.15EE, the carrier behind the U.K.'s first 4G network, 4GEE, has announced its rollout will expand to 17 more towns by March 2013. It will also increase the network density in metropolitan areas already covered by its 4G rollout. In tandem it's upgrading its 3G network to fastest variant DC-HSPA and upping the capacity of its mobile backhaul to Gigabit Ethernet.
 
Cabulous Rebrands As Flywheel, Plans Major Marketing Push To Bring E-Hail To Cabs Across The US Top
Screen Shot 2012-12-11 at 10.54.30 PMMobile transportation startup Cabulous launched in 2010 with plans to bring Uber-like e-hailing to taxi fleets throughout the country. And while it's been fairly successful in getting cabs signed up and attracting new customers, the company has decided to rebrand as Flywheel, and will be making a big marketing push around the new name in urban markets like New York City and San Francisco.
 
Gift Guide Review: Golla's Carter Sling Camera Bag Top
Golla Camera BagMy first encounter with Golla bags happened at the Mobile World Congress in 2012. Their vibrant display at the event was hard to ignore. Even now, it's hard to ignore the breadth of designs and options they give you for protecting and toting your personal gear. They sent over their Carter Large Pro Sling Camera Bag for review and I must say there is a lot to like about it.
 
New Voxeet Mobile Apps Offer Stereo HD Sound For Conference Calls With No Audio Bridge Top
voxeetVoxeet has new apps for the iPhone and the Android that provide stereo HD sound for conference calls without any audio bridge. I had a demo last week and I was definitely impressed. My Android HTC Sensation has awful sound quality.
 
Amazon Kindle Might Finally Arrive In China Following iOS And Android App Launches Top
amazon-chinaThe long-anticipated release of Kindle devices in China may finally become a reality. On Wednesday, the Kindle iPhone and iPad apps launched in the Chinese App Store; the Android version is also available for download. Meanwhile, Amazon China's Kindle bookstore is now stocked with about 22,500 Chinese language titles.
 
Michael Dell: 64,000 Servers From Number One Position Worldwide And An Official Commitment To OpenStack Top
michaeldellMichael Dell said onstage at his Dell World keynote today that Dell is No. 1 in market share for servers in North America and Asia and 64,000 servers from the number one spot worldwide. Dell did not cite a source for the number one spot claim. There is no public statement about the total. I was told to ask IDC Analyst Matt Eastwood about the numbers. So I did. Eastwood replied to me on Twitter: “Dell’s #2 in server units & #2 in x86 server revenue. They are #3 in server rev overall (pesky mainframes).” Dell has been steadily gaining in server sales. It was the only server company to see increased share in the third quarter in a market that is showing an overall decline in sales. Eastwood’s remark about mainframes refers to the big bucks that companies like IBM still get for selling its big boxes. Dell counts market share by shipments, not revenues. In terms of revenues, IBM is in the top spot with $3.5 billion in revenues and HP comes in second with $3.3 billion servers sold. Dell does $2.1 billion in sales. Servers get packed into racks as dense as hens in a chicken factory. Every few days, a technician walks the aisles, plucking the dead ones that died in the heat of the server room. Servers are a commodity. They’re cheap and provide little margin for Dell and the other vendors. But Dell did not invite a few thousand people to Austin this week for Dell World just to sell servers. Dell wants to sell solutions. That’s where OpenStack enters the picture. Today, Dell made it official in its support for the DIY open cloud effort. Dell will build its private and public cloud platforms on OpenStack. As a first step, today Dell is releasing a technical preview of its private cloud, Dell Cloud Dedicated, with OpenStack. So where does this put Dell? Well, it’s not going to copy Amazon Web Services, as it appears HP is trying to do. Instead, look for Dell to dress things up for customers so they don’t have to do it all themselves.
 

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