Microsoft to Bring Old Titles to Smartphones

A fake Blackberry app appeared on the Google Play Store and quickly attracted a lot of downloads. Blackberry had announced earlier in the summer that it was bringing its Blackberry Messenger service to Android and to iOS but did not say when. A cunning developer took advantage and uploaded a bogus app which was soon removed from the Google Play Store.

BBM is the popular Messenger service that Blackberry is bringing to both iOS and Android / © BlackBerry

The bogus application carried the name "Blackberry Messenger BBM". The first warning sign that the app was indeed a fake was the developer name which was listed at RIM. As many people know the company Research in Motion changed its name to Blackberry earlier this year.
Hundreds of thousands of users downloaded the app, which when opened promised that the BBM app would start working on June 27th. If that wasn't enough to convince a user that this app was not the real thing then the next screen should've given it away. The app would then ask for whether to allow the advertising network StartApp to install icons, bookmarks and other such annoying junk on your phone.
Blackberry has said that an app is coming but did not specify an exact date, choosing instead to be vague and say sometime this summer. No official date has yet to be announced as to when the app will be available on the rival operating systems.

UPDATE: Blackberry Messenger coming to your Android this summer

Hot off the heels of the BlackBerry Live developer’s conference that happened today a version of BlackBerry Messenger for Android and iOS has been announced. Later this summer, the new service will be offered free of charge.

The BlackBerry Messenger, BBM for short, is considered very popular and handy tool among BlackBerry users and has often been praised for its safety and reliability. As of this summer, there will be a version of BBM ported over for iOS and Android, with planned updates for advanced features such as group chat, split screen and channels.
As a provider of business solutions, Blackberry is especially keen on security and this would be a driving point that would help score points with users across the different operating systems. However, will Blackberry and BBM have what it takes to take on established services such as Whatsapp? Only time will tell.
What do you think? Is this something that will sway you away from Whatsapp and similar messaging apps?
UPDATE on June 6th, 2013: 
Confirmation of the date that Blackberry Messenger will be arriving to Android and iOS devices has dropped on T-Mobile UK's twitter page. Users of both operating systems can look forward (?!) to trying out the popular messenging service on June 27th, so just three weeks away.

Users will need to be running Android 4.0 and higher or iOS 6.0 to be able to use Blackberry Messenger on their device. While it's been a long time in coming, the once ridiculously popular messenging application that was unique to Blackberry devices faces strong competition against the likes of Whatsapp and Viber.

Chromebooks are coming to a store near (and far away) from you

Chromebooks have been available through online portals for some time now. If you ever wanted to get your hands on one, you could easily navigate over to Amazon, Best Buy, and even Google itself.  But soon you’ll be able to see these Chrome OS laptops popping up in retailers across the globe, in fact, in over 6,600 stores around the world.

Google has announced that the Chromebooks will now be available at select locations, including Walmart and Staples by this coming weekend. As well, other locations such as Office Depot, Office Max, Fry’s, and TigerDirect will start seeing these show up in the coming months.
In a more global perspective, Google has also focused over the pond with select locations being added in the UK, Netherlands, France, Sweden, and Australia. As with everything Google does, more locations are expected to be announced in the near future.
Well, that certainly puts Chromebooks in reach of more consumers by expanding their retailer base by almost three. As someone who likes to get a hands-on experience of a device before committing to buying, this will certainly be handy in the near future. I'm sure I'm not alone when it comes to that.

Samsung’s Mobile App Academy coming to several universities in the U.S

Samsung will host a two-day event called Mobile App Academy to encourage STEM students to come up with a cool mobile app idea. The event will be hosted at six different locations for 11th and 12th grade students where they’ll get access to many app developers and entrepreneurs to learn about development on mobile.

To spice things up, Samsung is offering $20,000 for the best app concept, followed by $10,000 and $5,000 for second and third place winners. Those taking fourth and fifth position will have to settle with the Galaxy S4 unit, which also goes to the students behind first three app concepts.

Samsung Mobile App Academies are coming to the following locations:

• June 26-27: San Francisco, CA, University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
• July 10-11: Atlanta, GA, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
• July 17-18: Chicago, IL, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC)
• July 24-25: Boston, MA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• July 30-31: Dallas, TX, University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas)
• August 7-8: New York City, NY, Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU Poly)

British Airways to allow passengers to use their phones moments after the plane has landed

We’ve already told you that FAA is looking into proposals to allow passengers to use their tablets and e-readers at all times during the flight. While we’re still not sure when such practice will become common among airlines, we are glad to learn that British Airways has started doing something to make life easier for mobile phone users.

Starting July 1st, BA passengers will be allowed to check emails, make phone calls, send and receive texts, or switch on other gadgets, immediately after the aircraft has left the runway. However, on departing flights, customers will still be required to turn off devices when the aircraft leaves the gate.

The move comes after the airline demonstrated to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) that this practice can’t harm the aircraft instruments in any way.

Here’s what Ian Pringle, British Airways’ flight training manager, had to say on this: “Customers will no longer have the frustration of having to wait until their plane has arrived at the terminal building before being able to use their mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices. Now they’ll have that extra time to phone ahead for that important business meeting, check their emails, or make sure someone is there to meet them at the airport.”

We applaud BA for taking this route and are hoping that other airlines will follow shortly with similar initiatives. 

Red HTC One launching in mid-July exclusively to customers of UK’s Phones 4u

British phone retailer Phones 4u has managed to get an exclusive launch window for the HTC One in “Glamour Red.” The sexy device is designed to make a “striking yet sophisticated statement,” and will be available in mid-July.

Inside, it remains the same powerful smartphone as the “classic” silver or black HTC One, sporting a fast Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor coupled with 2GB of RAM, 4.7-inch full HD screen, stereo speakers on the front with Boom Sound, durable aluminum unibody, Ultrapixel camera and a ton of built-in storage.

According to HTC’s President of EMEA Philip Blair, the red HTC One “demands attention, whilst maintaining the high standards set for sophisticated design and build quality.”

We tend to agree with that statement and can’t wait to see the red HTC One hitting other carriers’ offerings. We’ll let you know when this bad boy starts selling in other parts of the world. Stay tuned…

India Passes Japan To Become Third Largest Global Smartphone Market, After China & U.S.

India pushed past Japan to become the third largest global smartphone market in Q1, according to a new report by Strategy Analytics. The analyst notes it’s the first time ever that India has moved up into third place. The top two worldwide markets for smartphones remain China and the U.S.

Smartphone makers including Apple, Samsung and local Indian mobile maker Micromax (an Android OEM), are driving higher volumes in the country thanks to improved distribution networks, according to the analyst.

Strategy Analytics said India is growing four times faster than the global average,with 163% year on year growth across India in Q1, compared to worldwide smartphone volumes expanding 39%. It noted that India’s market is rising quicker than China (86% YoY), Japan (24% YoY), the US (19% YoY) — and “almost all other major countries”.

The rise of India as a smartphone powerhouse is not surprising — given its huge population, including a growing, wealthier middle class, and rising interest in owning consumer electronics — coupled with parallel smartphone saturation in developed markets such as Japan and Europe. Saturation in those mature markets means companies like Apple and Samsung have been shifting more attention to emerging markets to try to ensure they maintain their own growth.

Figures put out by analyst IDC yesterday suggest the mature Western European smartphone market shrank more than expected in Q1, with total shipments dropping 4.2% year on year to 43.6 million units. This European slowdown is having the biggest impact on Apple’s marketshare, with IDC noting that iOS continues to lose ground in the region, declining to 20% in Q1, down from 25% in the year ago quarter.

Although it’s losing share in Europe, Apple has been gaining in India. Back in March IDC noted Cupertino had jumped to second place for revenue share in India, taking a 15.6% share in Q4 last year, after getting smaller local retailers distributing its iPhones. Apple has also been offering amortized payment plans to help spread the upfront cost of buying its devices — to widen access to what remain premium priced products vs the Android-powered competition.

Although Samsung and Apple are among the “key brands” driving growth in India, Strategy Analytics said it’s domestic players rather than foreign firms which are growing fastest. It name checks Micromax, Karbonn and Spice (all Android OEMs) as three examples of homegrown mobile makers with a growth rate of between 200% and 500% on an annual basis.

The local market also has what it describes as an “extra long tail of Indian microvendors” — such as Lemon Mobile — that it says is surging at 1000%+ YoY. “They are almost all using Android software, which captured 89% share of the entire market in the quarter,” the analyst added.

The Xperia Z Ultra, Sony’s Mini-Tablet Sized Phone, Wants You To Talk Less & Watch More

Sony is steering its mobile ship into deeper waters with the Xperia Z Ultra. The 6.4-inch device (above, left) slots in the size gap between its former flagship handset, the 5-inch Xperia Z (above right), and its 10.1-inch Android slate, the Xperia Z Tablet. The Xperia Z Ultra might have more sensibly been named the Xperia Z Tablet Mini. Instead, Sony has hedged its bets with a name that doesn’t exclude either possibility: for some people this is a really big smartphone, for others it’s a highly portable small slate.

I got hands-on with the newest addition to Sony’s line up at a press event this morning. First impressions: there’s no getting away from the sheer size of this beast. The Xperia Z Ultra is a mammoth. It’s huge, crazy huge. It looks more like a mini tablet than a phone when you see it wielded in anger, which likely explains why Sony has felt the need to make a dummy handset accessory (powered by Bluetooth) so you don’t have to hold this slab up to your face. Doing that is going to invite ridicule unless you’re one of those Ballmer-sized business men with hands the size of dinner plates.

Even holding the Ultra in one hand feels a little ridiculous if you have smaller hands than average, like myself, but its slender profile (just 6.5mm) helps — meaning it doesn’t feel too palm-stretching. The main offsetting factor is a very lightweight feel. It’s surprisingly light in the hand (212g) for such a large device. You could happily hold it in one hand and not worry about getting wrist-ache. And if you can find a pocket on your person big enough to accomodate the Ultra it won’t feel like a drag, even if it drastically reduces your ability to bend.

Sony says the Ultra is about a third bigger than the Xperia Z (and has a third-extra in battery capacity too, so it’s still good for about one day’s use before needing a charge). And at 6.4-inches it’s considerably larger than Samsung’s 5.5-inch Galaxy Note II, and fractionally larger than Samsung’s newer phablet, the 6.3-inch Galaxy Mega. Rumours around the Galaxy Note refresh suggest Samsung is contemplating adding a 5.9-inch pane on the next iteration. Sony has evidently decided its worth making an even bigger splash with its own phablet foray. But with the Xperia Z already sitting on the cusp of phablet sizing, with its 5-inch pane, supersizing the sequel is the natural next step.

Sony talked up how consumer demand for bigger screens is growing — apparently as fast as the screens themselves are swelling. The likely reason for that, as I have previously argued, is that people are using smartphones for more rich media consumption and visual computing uses more of the time – fuelled by apps and high speed connectivity — rather than for talking on the phone. Screen size is therefore inflating to adapt to shifting use. And Sony reckons it’s well placed to capitalise on the momentum powering media consumption — thanks to its sprawling entertainment empire.

As with its other Xperia devices, Sony’s Android skin foreground access to this media content. Sony is hoping its content empire can become a differentiating force in the mobile devices space — and help it stand out in the crowded Android OEM segment. As with Sony other current Xperia devices, the Xperia Z Ultra is preloaded with its Walkman app providing access to music downloads and its Music Unlimited streaming service; Movies for video content, including access to Sony’s Video Unlimited store for renting or buying films; and PlayStation Mobile for accessing its games app store. There’s also Sony Reader for browsing and downloading ebook content.

Elsewhere, Sony has kept its Android tweaks to a minimum so there’s little getting in the way of enjoying Android 2.2 Jelly Bean as Google intended. The device felt slick and fast during my brief hands on, with no obvious signs of lag. The phone’s engine is a beefy 2.2 GHz quad-core chip (Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 processor) — possibly the first device to pack that CPU. It also includes 4G/LTE for high speed cellular connectivity.

The hardware design of the Xperia Z Ultra follows the same mold as the Xperia Z and Xperia Z Tablet. There are no showy embellishments. What you get is a clean, relatively blunt-sided high gloss slab (or at least it’s clean until you touch it, when the high gloss becomes a fingerprint magnet). The user’s eye is clearly intended to fall squarely on the screen — where Sony gets to really strut its stuff, by pulling in IP from its Bravia TV division to amp up the colour clarity and video playback experience on the handset. The Ultra is also the first device in Sony’s Xperia line-up to be badged with its latest Triluminos TV tech, which it said supports a greater range of colours.

The screen looked plenty bright during my hands on but as with other Sony mobile screen it’s not as saturated as Samsung’s high end AMOLED screens typically are. Sony opts for more true-to-life colourings with its display tech. The Xperia Z Ultra’s big, bright full 1080p HD pane obviously comes into its own for consuming video content. You can image the device being a handy travelling companion for watching TV shows and movies on the go, assuming you don’t want to lug around a full-fat tablet. Or for watching TV in the bath — being as the Ultra is waterproof. Gaming is also likely to work well with so much screen space for mashing virtual buttons.

The Ultra’s large physical size (179.4 x 92.2 x 6.5 mm) does mean typing can require two fingers to reach all the keys. But Sony has a software fix for that. It’s added a one-handed keyboard option which allows the user to switch from a screen-filling QWERTY to one which compacts into the right or left hand corner, depending on your choice (so that both right- and left-handed people can use it). So that’s pretty neat. You can of course further augment the Android keyboard experience by downloading alternative third party apps.

Sony has also added support for stylus input on the Ultra — presumably taking another cue from the Galaxy Note — for taking notes, sketching and for handwriting recognition. In a laudable move — especially for Sony, once the king of propriety accessories — there’s no specific stylus required here. You can draw on the screen with a pencil. Or even a fingernail.

To sum up, the Xperia Ultra Z feels like it has a lot going for it. Sony is refining its Android play to zero in on media consumption. And if it’s content you want to consume, then a 6.4-inch screen is exactly the sort of thing you’ll want in your pocket. Or, more realistically, in your handbag/manbag. Flagship smartphone screens aren’t getting any smaller either, so even if the Ultra feels like it’s pushing the screen size envelope a bit far right now, it’s unlikely to remain the biggest phablet in phablet-town for long.

Contentful, Out Today In Beta, Wants To Be The CMS For The Next Generation Of Screens

Contentful, a startup out of Berlin, is today releasing a beta of a platform that it hopes will be the future of how companies manage their content in a multi-screened world, where nearly any physical object has a shot at being a piece of “hardware.” It is also announcing a seed round of an undisclosed amount from Balderton and Zendesk backer Point Nine Capital to help further that vision.

A lot of us in the publishing world have pondered over the last several years about the most efficient and flexible way of creating content that can be easily edited and redistributed. Initially that challenge applied to new printing systems; then to print and web; then print and web and mobile phones; and most recently to print and web and phones and tablets.

But Contentful is not aiming to be another contender in that business. “We don’t want to replace WordPress or other CMS’s which publish content on the Web,” CEO Sascha Konietzke tells me. “Instead, we’re providing a solution to publish to all the new platforms and devices, and specifically applications, which require new ways to deliver content.”

That is to say: Contentful is taking that concept for an ever-expanding set of mediums/screens and applying it to any piece of digital information. That includes allowing content to be delivered over iOS, Android, interactive HTML5 and JavaScript, in a “presentation-independent format” that will work on all the different screens that we know now — from phones to Google Glass, smartwatches and cars — to those that we haven’t even seen yet.

And like those publishing CMS systems that concern us journalist types, Contentful had a precedent: Thriveventures, the company behind Contentful, had originally developed a product called StorageRoom, which helped take content from digital files and make it something repurposable in mobile apps — a service that picked up some 1,000 customers.

StorageRoom is not taking new signups and current customers on that platform are getting migrated to Contentful, Konietzke tells me, as mobile apps become just merely one type of screen among the many that consumers will use today and in the future.

Contentful falls into that same category of services out there that help enterprises take advantage of all the advances in the world of tech, without necessarily needing to be engineers to do so. (In one of the more recent developments in that area, Intuit bought Elastic Intelligence to provide its SME customers with a platform to help them easily translate their cloud-based data into applications without the need for extra developers.)

On the Contentful platform as it stands today, Konietzke notes, “We provide the interface for editors to manage the content, and powerful APIs and SDKs for developers to load the content into their apps on any platform. It’s then completely up to the developers to use their tools and templating frameworks of choice to create the actual presentation layer. Especially agencies love this, as they can create really compelling experiences and are not restricted by any existing template system.” But he adds that this is evolving to become more self-service. “Currently we’re already talking with mobile app generators, so that we also have ways for our customers to manage content and to create applications without an external or in-house developer.”

Apart from the cost and convenience factors, Contentful also points to one possible solution for another pain point in the modern world of connected devices: fragmentation. If one platform can be used to seamlessly and automatically translate data into any number of endpoints, that could make questions of tailoring apps for different specs a moot point — a Rosetta Stone for data, as it were.

Roberto Bonanzinga, the partner at Balderton Capital that led the VC’s investment in Contentful, seems to also bank on that idea. “A revolution in content is happening right now; how it is managed and consumed is changing forever,” he notes in a statement. “Contentful embraces this transformation and I am excited to be working with Sascha and his exceptional team to become the engine behind the future of content.”

Contentful today is also announcing an advisory board of big names that could point also to how it may be adopted and used longer term. The board includes Alexander Bruehl, former partner at Atlas Capital; Francesco Cesarini, Founder & Technical Director at Erlang Solutions; Daniel Heaf, Chief Digital Officer at BBC Worldwide; Karen McGrane, CEO of Bond Art + Science; Todd Tran, Head of Advertising EMEA & APAC at Rovio; and Michael Wolfe, serial entrepreneur and former EIR at Benchmark.

Telefonica To Give Windows Phone 8 An Extra Push To Try To Dilute Android, iOS

Microsoft continues to throw money down the Windows Phone well, perhaps buoyed by signs its ongoing marketing and platform support efforts are shifting the needle a few fractions. Today more evidence — presumably— of Ballmer’s money-throwing commitment to make its smartphone OS stick: carrier Telefonica has announced it will be collaborating with Microsoft to “promote and foster sales” of Windows Phone 8.

Microsoft has been shelling out to pay developers to port their apps to WP8, as it plays app catch-up with the rival Android and iOS ecosystems. It’s unclear exactly how much cash Redmond has paid out on this, or on WP8 marketing in general, but it’s currently running a promotion for which developers can get $100 per app submitted up to a maximum of $2,000 each if they submit a stack of apps.

Flagship apps — such as Angry Birds — are likely to have commanded much larger payouts to be ported over of course. WP8′s lowly marketshare means it’s likely not worth such developers’ while to support the platform. Or at least not without the sweetener of a substantial cash incentive.

Meanwhile Instagram, another big name app that still stands aloof of the Windows Phone ecosystem, has apparently been offered millions of dollars to port the app by Microsoft and Nokia. For whatever reason, it’s one app WP8 still lacks however.

Returning to the Telefonica-Microsoft love-in, the pair say this new “enhanced” marketing effort will initially run for a year, and will be targeted at six markets where Telefonica carrier brands operate: namely the U.K., Germany, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Chile. These markets appear to be ones where Microsoft’s OS has already managed to generate a little marketshare momentum. According to earlier Kantar data, for the three-month period ending February 2013, Windows Phone had a 6.7% share in the U.K., 6.8% in Germany and 5.9% in Mexico, for instance.

Telefonica declined to answer questions about how much money — its own and/or Microsoft’s — will be poured into this enhanced marketing effort, saying the information is confidential. The only question it would answer is which Windows Phone device is the biggest seller in most of its markets — and that device is the Nokia Lumia 920. Microsoft also declined to comment further.

It’s possible Microsoft is bankrolling the entire enhanced marketing program itself, although Telefonica says its motivation in helping to promote WP8 is to diversify the devices it offers to consumers and “improve the current balance of mobile operating platforms on the market, encouraging it to be more diverse and less of a duopoly”. For duopoly read: Android and iOS.

Why would a carrier want to encourage more diversity? Surely that just means creating more work and outlay for itself as it has to train its staff to sell different types of phones? There are plenty of reasons. With Android so dominant, power over development and direction of the mobile landscape is increasingly concentrated in Google’s hands. Carriers would obviously prefer they hold more of the cards, so that they can push their own over-the-top services to build the new revenue streams they need to as their traditional moneyspinners (talk and text) continue to decline.

Plus, if most of the phones run the same OS, there’s less incentive for consumers to buy a new device. Pushing customers to switch to something new is arguably a more compelling upgrade sell for carriers to foist on their customers now that smartphone hardware has become so similarly capable. A different OS — and WP8 does certainly look different to the two market leaders — gives them something new to try to pull the punters in. This is especially important in saturated markets like Europe where smartphone penetration (and Android usage) is so high.

Telefonica said it will be working with suppliers and WP8 mobile makers to “ensure the availability of high-quality devices” and “make their commercial offering available throughout the duration of this enhanced marketing effort with Microsoft”.

Smartphone market figures for Q1 released by analyst IDC yesterday named Windows Phone as now the third biggest smartphone OS in Europe, behind Android and OS, with a two percentage point increasing taking its share from 4% in Q1 2012 to 6% in Q1 this year. Despite being third, it is still very far behind, with Android hugely dominant — with a massive 69% share — while Apple’s iOS share shrunk to a fifth (20%).

After years of competition, Oracle teams up with Microsoft to bring its database software to the Windows cloud

Microsoft and Oracle announced a significant partnership on Monday to bring Java, Oracle Database, and other Oracle software to Microsoft's Windows Azure platform. The unusual collaboration will allow developers to simply spin up an Oracle Database on Microsoft's cloud platform with full support from Oracle. Java developers and businesses will benefit from the integration, allowing them to move legacy software that runs on a desktop straight into a cloud-based system.

The news is unusual as the two companies have been fierce competitors for years, with Oracle's Database software going head-to-head with Microsoft's SQL server. Oracle also hired private investigators back in 2000 to look through the trash contents of Microsoft supporters, with many branding the episode as "trashgate" at the time. It's clear that traditional software vendors are increasingly looking to the cloud as the future platform, and Oracle isn't afraid to bury old grudges to get there. The announcement comes just days before Microsoft kicks off its Build conference in San Francisco, where the company is expected to detail its latest developer offerings and improvements to Windows 8.1.

AT&T CEO compares Facebook's HTC First to Apple's failed ROKR experiment

AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega has told CNET that the carrier has sold all of its HTC First Facebook phones. While he declined to say exactly how many phones AT&T has sold, our sources revealed the phone was "disastrous" for HTC, and plans for a UK launch were scrapped last month. In response to poor sales, AT&T dropped the price of the First from $99 to $0.99, and according to de la Vega, the carrier has now cleared its inventory — the Facebook phone experiment is over.

WILL FACEBOOK GO IT ALONE LIKE APPLE?

Facebook's first foray into smartphones may not be for nothing. CNET quotes de la Vega comparing the HTC First to Motorola's "iTunes phone," the ROKR. Announced in September 2005, 16 months before Apple announced the iPhone, the ROKR is remembered by most as a tepid product that led the way for future success. Following an unsuccessful launch, Steve Jobs famously told his iPod team that he was "sick of dealing with these stupid companies like Motorola... Let's do it ourselves." Although the HTC First doesn't seem likely to go on sale again, Facebook will continue to offer its Home launcher for other Android phones, and appears focused on improving the experience before considering a return with another Facebook-focused smartphone.

Just as AT&T was the only carrier to sell the HTC First, it was also the sole US carrier to sell the original ROKR. De la Vega believes his company's early faith in Apple helped it get "the inside track" on the iPhone. "We have a great relationship with Apple just like we have a great relationship with Facebook," de la Vega says, "we look forward to working with them to make Home better."

Google Launches Cube Slam, An Open Source Pong Clone, To Show Off The Power Of WebRTC And WebGL

Google today launched Cube Slam, an open source pong clone that you can play against the computer or a friend in the browser. That by itself wouldn’t be all that exciting, but Google created this game to show off the power of WebRTC, Web Audio and WebGL.

For most people (or at least for developers),WebRTC is now synonymous with plugin-free video conferences in the browser and Cube Slam uses this to show you a live video and audio stream of your friend on a virtual screen while you’re playing.

Maybe more importantly, though, the game also uses WebRTC’s RTC Peer Connection and RTC Data Channel – two features most developers are probably not aware of – to send audio, video and all the “bits and pieces that keep the game in sync” back and forth between the two machines.

Google claims that Cube Slam is the ” first large-scale application to use RTC Data Channel, which provides an API similar to Web Socket, but sends the data over the RTC Peer Connection peer-to-peer link.”

Google Adds 1,000 New Locations From Asia, Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada To Street View

Google today launched a large update to Google Maps that adds more than 1,000 new locations from around the world to the service’s Street View feature. These include numerous locations that can’t be reached by car, including the cathedral of Seville, the canals of Copenhagen and the Singapore Zoo. Overall, it seems, this update focuses on locations from Asia, Europe, Latin America, the U.S. and Canada.

Google, of course, has long been expanding Street View’s reach beyond cities and rural streets, thanks to its backpack-like Trekker, tricycles and, most recently, its underwater Street View scooter. Today’s update, Google says, includes numerous historical landmarks and sports stadiums, but it’s also adding some ski slopes in Chile and other relatively unusual locations to its lineup.

Today’s large rollout hints at the fact that Google is speeding up its Street View imaging efforts. Until now, it would often announce some of these projects individually. Now, however, it’s adding a huge amount of locations from around the world in one launch, even though quite a few of them are probably a first for the Street View team.

All of this imagery, of course, is available on the web, as well as on Google Maps for Android and iPhone.

Google To Retire Chrome Frame For Internet Explorer And End Support Next January

Google just announced that it is retiring Chrome Frame, its open source plug-in for bringing Google Chrome’s JavaScript and rendering engine to legacy versions of Internet Explorer. The company cites the fact that legacy browsers like Internet Explorer 6 and 7 are now finally on the decline and that most people are now using modern browsers as the reason for this decision.

Google launched Chrome Frame in 2009 as a way for businesses to move some of their web-based apps to a modern framework without having to switch away from Internet Explorer. Back then, Google argued that this would allow developers to target modern technologies for their users while still retaining compatibility with their legacy apps.

Chrome Frame allows developers to set a tag on their pages to automatically prompt Internet Explorer to switch to Chrome Frame or — if the user doesn’t have Chrome Frame installed — direct them to the installation page.

Chrome Frame will be retired in January 2014, when Google will cease support and updates for it.

The company, of course, recommends that businesses that rely on Chrome Frame switch to a modern browser or to check out Chrome for Business, which now includes legacy browser support through an add-on, too. Given that this is an open source project, there is always a chance that somebody else will pick it up and continue to support it.

Google Makes Google News In Germany Opt-In Only To Avoid Paying Fees Under New Copyright Law

Google News in Germany will soon change. Starting August 1, it will only index sources that have decided to explicitly opt-in to being shown on the search giant’s news-aggregation service. Google News remains an opt-out service in the other 60 countries and languages it currently operates in, but since Germany passed a new copyright law earlier this year that takes effect on August 1, the company is in danger of having to pay newspapers, blogs and other publishers for the right to show even short snippets of news.

Publishers will have to go into Google’s News tools page to agree to be indexed by Google News. Publishers who don’t do this will simply be removed from the index come August 1.

Many of Germany’s publishers had hoped to force Google to pay a licensing fee for their content, but today’s announcement does not even mention this. Instead, Google notes that it is saddened by the fact that it has to make this change. On its German blog, Google argues that Google News currently gets 6 billion visits per month and that, if anything, it’s providing a free service for publishers that brings them more traffic.

One of the main issues with the “Leistungsschutzrecht” (how’s that for a good German word?) — the ancillary copyright law that the German government passed after large protests earlier this year — is that it’s not clear when a “snippet” becomes a snippet. The law doesn’t feature a clear definition of how long a snippet actually is (140 characters? 160? 250?).

Google always argued that the new law was neither necessary nor useful and that it wouldn’t pay for links and snippets. A number of major German publishers have already said that they will opt-in to being featured in Google News, but there is a good chance that quite a few will decide that they don’t need the traffic.

Microsoft’s new Windows Phone ad tells Apple and Samsung fans to stop fighting

Microsoft has created what I consider a brilliant new Windows Phone ad that tells Apple and Samsung followers to stop arguing with each other all the time. It’s true that the Android vs. iOS battle has evolved nowadays into an Apple vs. Samsung battle. Microsoft says, “Don’t fight. Switch.” and just buy a Windows Phone handset instead.

The ad takes place at a wedding. The groom’s side of the wedding all own Galaxy phones and the bride’s side all have iPhones. When someone with a Galaxy phone takes a picture, an iPhone user on the other side makes a snarky comment about how big it is. They start going back and forth until everyone at the wedding is throwing fists. Two people who seem to be working at the wedding stand calmly together as they use their Nokia Lumia 920 phones.

It’s not very often you hear the terms “Microsoft” and “brilliant new advertisement” together in one sentence, but this Windows Phone ad is really just quite well done. It gives off a good impression that Windows Phone is superior while all the inferior little brats argue, so to speak. I’m reminded of the “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street” episode of the Twilight Zone when the humans destroy themselves with their own fighting and finger-pointing while the aliens end up getting to sit back and watch effortlessly.

But enough chit chat. You can watch the Windows Phone ad in its entirety right here.

Device Shipments Up 6% To 2.4B In 2013, Driven By Android Smartphones, Tablets Amid More PC Decline

Gartner today has released its latest figures charting its overall predictions for how IT devices — from PCs to mobile handsets — are going to perform this year and in 2014. As in years before, numbers will continue to climb: in 2013, total shipments will rise 5.9% to 2.35 billion, and will rise again in 2014 to 2.5 billion units, driven by portable, often less expensive, but just as powerful mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android will account for just over one-third of all devices this year, and nearly half in 2014. It’s an Android world after all.

But continuing a trend we have been seeing for some time, personal computers — which kicked off the technology love affair for consumers — will not be the hardware reaping the most benefits from that growth. PC shipments will decline this year to 305 million units, Gartner says, before dropping again in 2014 to below 300 million (289 million).

Mobile devices will continue to replace PCs as consumers’ primary computing device, leading with smartphones, which will continue to be the most popular IT device sold. The 1.8 billion units in smartphones that that Gartner estimates will be shipped this year equates to about six times the number of PCs. And while tablets are still far behind both at only 201 million units, they will be growing the fastest, up some 68% on 2012. In comparison, mobile phone growth is 4.3%, actually slower than the overall average of 5.9%. And this is far from being a simple first-world trend or emerging market trend:

“Consumers want anytime-anywhere computing that allows them to consume and create content with ease, but also share and access that content from a different portfolio of products,” writes Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. “Mobility is paramount in both mature and emerging markets.”

“Shipments”, as we’ve pointed out before, refers to devices sent to channels for sales. Some analysts use the term interchangeably since these are estimates; and they are an important barometer for how sales are proceeding and users are moving. Indeed, in an example of shipping estimates at work, Gartner notes that the “sharp decline in PC sales recorded in the first quarter was the result in a change in preferences in consumers’ wants and needs, but also an adjustment in the channel to make room for new products hitting the market in the second half of 2013.”

The “ultramobile” group is an odd one and it will be interesting to see how this evolves. This is Gartner’s preferred term for the neither-here-nor-there category of hardware that includes devices like Chromebooks, tablet/PC hybrids and non-traditional “phablets”, and Gartner’s guess is that whatever impact they will have on sales will be to the detriment of tablets rather than PCs or smartphones:

“The increased availability of lower priced basic tablets, plus the value add shifting to software rather than hardware will result in the lifetimes of premium tablets extending as they remain active in the household for longer. We will also see consumer preferences split between basic tablets and ultramobile devices,” writes Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner. Specifically, in Q4, he notes that ultrabooks will hit the market built with Windows 8.1, equipped with new Intel processors Bay Trail and Haswell.

In any case, ultramobiles’ impact will be minimal for now. Out of the 2.35 billion devices shipped this year, only 20 million will be ultramobiles.

Perhaps more to the point will be the fact that cheaper smartphones and tablets will see another kind of pressure: the growth of software that will extend the life of these devices, which will mean users will be less inclined to spend money upgrading them.

“The increased availability of lower priced basic tablets, plus the value add shifting to software rather than hardware will result in the lifetimes of premium tablets extending as they remain active in the household for longer,” writes Atwal.

When it comes to platforms, there aren’t many surprises here. Android — which has been dominating the computing industry for a while now with very ubiquitous smartphones running on Google’s OS — will continue to ride that wave. This year there will be 866 million Android units shipped — or roughly one-third of all the devices that will be sent out for sale. Android devices will continue their climb, at a rate faster than that of overall devices. They will hit the billion-unit mark in 2014, with 1.06 billion Android-powered units, equating to just under half of the 2.5 billion devices sold that year.

As you can see from the figures above, Apple is not winning in terms of having the most ubiquitous platform — and it’s not even a close second contender. But interestingly, Gartner points out that it is the most successful at achieving a cross-device ecosystem.

“Although the numbers seem to paint a clear picture of who the winner will be when it comes to operating systems (OS) in the device market, the reality is that today ecosystem owners are challenged in having the same relevance in all segments,” writes Milanesi. “Apple is currently the more homogeneous presence across all device segments, while 90 percent of Android sales are currently in the mobile phone market and 85 percent of Microsoft sales are in the PC market.” What she also didn’t note is that while Samsung is the strongest in smartphones, there are dozens more making Android devices, and in PCs the picture is much the same. This points to how Apple may be better positioned to capitalize on making the best margins not just on their hardware, but also on the services that they lock consumers in to using across all of it.

Samsung, it should be pointed out, is a strong contender in all these categories as well, so it will not be surprising to see it making moves to offer more services that tie in their different devices together. The question remains, though, whether companies like Microsoft and Google who have been so far strongest in software will try to expand that more into hardware. Results so far have been mixed.

Apple to live stream WWDC 2013 keynote on the Apple TV and web

Apple is kicking off its WWDC 2013 conference today in San Francisco with a keynote speech slated to begin at 10am PT.
Like it did last year during its iPad mini event, the company will be live streaming the event on the Apple TV and over the web.

Apple today brought back its “Apple Events” channel on the Apple TV. Front and center in the channel is the upcoming WWDC 2013 keynote along with an invitation to tune in at 10am for a live stream of the event. The company also added the WWDC keynote to its event’s webpage. To stream over the web, you will need a Mac with OS X 10.6 or later and Safari 4 or greater. The web stream will also work on an iOS device.

WWDC 2013: 50 billion iOS apps downloaded, $10 billion paid to developers

Apple as always started out its WWDC 2013 keynote with some interesting numbers about the company and about the App Store. The big number this year was way up in the billions: iOS users have downloaded 50 billion apps from the App Store. Additionally, there are over 900,000 apps in the App Store, and 375,000 of them are optimized for the iPad.

How are those developers doing? Pretty well in general terms. Apple has paid out a total of $10 billion to developers since the App Store opened. $5 billion was paid out just in the last year alone. According to Apple, that’s three times more than all other platforms combined. When looking at app download share by revenue, iOS takes 74 percent, Android takes 20 percent, and the collective category of “other” takes 6 percent.

Some other notable stats: there are 575 million registered iTunes accounts most of which have credit card information added. That’s up from the 400 million announced at WWDC 2012. Plus, last year, there were 650,000 apps in the App Store compared to over 900,000 today.

These are pretty good numbers so far. Apple does usually save the biggest ones for big keynotes. WWDC 2013 is only just beginning so stay tuned!