Mac OS X Unwired: A Guide for Home, Office, and the Road
by Tom Negrino and Dori Smith
Today's wireless news from around the Web:
Macworld Is Weird Now
(source: Gizmodo)
EU gives Sony green light to buy out Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson
(source: MobileBurn)
The European Union has given Sony the go ahead to purchase Ericsson's share of the Sony Ericsson joint venture. Sony initially announced its plans to purchase Ericsson's half of the company for 1.05 billion EUR (US$1.47 billion) and re-brand it under its own name back in October, and it even showed some Sony branded mobile phones at CES 2012 earlier this month. Now that it has been given approval for the buyout, Sony can go ahead with its plan to transition the brand completely within the first half of this year.
Read the full story here.
Wifi + Zigbee Demo Smart Grid Interoperability
(source: Daily Wireless)
The Wi-Fi Alliance and ZigBee Alliance got together this week in a public demonstration of interoperability between Wi-Fi devices and ZigBee-enabled smart energy meters at DistribuTECH in San Antonio. They were promoting the new Smart Energy Profile 2.0, designed for energy meters. The multi-vendor demonstration established Wi-Fi device connectivity to both Wi-Fi and ZigBee meters, [...]
Android Smartphone Round-Up: December/January Edition
(source: MobileCrunch)
We took a break from the Android round-up in December because, well, to be honest I was on vacation. But January gave us a few extra smartphones and the holidays are over, so we're back. What we've got for you today leans into more expensive turf, and unfortunately, our favorite Android devices for the past two months are also exclusively at Verizon, so Big Red subscribers should pay attention.
Without further ado, these are our favorite December/January releases of the Android persuasion: The Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the LG Spectrum, and the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx.
Enjoy!
Wunderlist - the Best iPhone App Ever this week
(source: MobileBurn)
There is no shortage of to-do list apps for the iPhone, but the one that keeps grabbing our attention and to-dos is Wunderlist by 6Wunderkinder. Wunderlist's attractive looks, easy syncing, and cross-platform capabilities make it an obvious choice for the Best iPhone App Ever...this week.
Read the full story here.
North Carolina Launches White Space Network
(source: Daily Wireless)
The world’s first commercial White Spaces network launched Thursday in North Carolina. So far, the FCC has only approved one white spaces device — a 1.5-lb. rectangular-shaped radio from Florida-based KTS Wireless. The KTS device, used in the Hanover NC network, is a small, last-mile, transmitter. It uses the company’s frequency agile radio which received [...]
Video: Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX (Verizon) video tour
(source: MobileBurn)
The Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX for Verizon Wireless is a 4G LTE Android smartphone that sports a massive 3300mAh battery. It also features a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, a 4.3-inch qHD resolution Super AMOLED Advanced touchscreen, and a 1080p HD capable 8 megapixel camera. It does everything the original DROID RAZR does, just for a much longer time.
Watch the video here.
Former Palm boss Jon Rubinstein makes his exit from HP
(source: MobileBurn)
All Things D broke the news today that former Palm CEO and spearhead of the development of webOS, Jon Rubinstein, has left HP. Rubinstein became a part of HP in 2010 when HP bought Palm in its entirety for $1.2 billion.
Read the full story here.
Face.com Launches KLIK, A Real-Time, Facial Recognition Camera App For iPhone
(source: MobileCrunch)
Facial recognition company Face.com has just released a new mobile application that takes advantage of its technology to identify the faces of your friends in photos. Called "KLIK," the app is a real-time, facial recognition mobile camera app for iPhone that automatically identifies your friends by name before or after you take their their photo.
CertiVox Unveils PrivateSky SIX Platform
(source: Wireless DevNet)
CertiVox, an information security company, today unveiled a revolutionary breakthrough in information security: PrivateSky Secure Information Exchange (SIX) platform
Reshaping the Mobile Industry at Future of Wireless 2012
(source: Wireless DevNet)
Olaf Swantee, Paul Taylor, Matthew Postgate, and Professor Christopher Lowe from the University of Cambridge are among the high profile keynote speakers announced today by Cambridge Wireless to address the Reshaping of the Mobile Industry
Smarter Agent Announces New MLS to their Mobile Real Estate Application
(source: Wireless DevNet)
Smarter Agent, the leading mobile real estate application in the US announced today the addition of 2 Real Estate Multiple Listing Services, MLSs, to their real estate mobile application listings, bringing total MLSs to 356
Rajant Corporation to Showcase Wireless Communications Solutions at 2012 Mine Site Automation
(source: Wireless DevNet)
At the upcoming Mine Site Automation & Communication Forum in Tucson, Rajant Corporation will demonstrate how its family of Kinetic Mesh Networking solutions are leveraged throughout the U.S. to enhance mine safety
Mobile App Developer i4software Launches a Reinvention of the Video Camera at MacWorld
(source: Wireless DevNet)
Mobile app developer i4software has reinvented the Video CameraThis all-in-one application allows users to seamlessly shoot, edit, and share videos from the live camera view
Nokia, Samsung lead phone shipments to new heights in 2011
(source: MobileBurn)
Mobile phone shipments hit a record 1.6 billion units in 2011 according to a new report by Strategy Analytics. Leading the charge were perennial stalwarts Nokia and Samsung, but Apple's smartphone business contributed a significant amount as well.
Read the full story here.
Google tells Android developers to do away with the menu button...again
(source: MobileBurn)
If the disappearance of the menu button on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich hardware wasn't enough of a hint for developers, Google has now flatly said that it suggests that developers stop using the menu button functionality in their apps. Instead, it suggests that they use the ActionBar methodology for additional app functions, as introduced in Android 3.0 Honeycomb and continued in Android 4.0.
Read the full story here.
RIM’s New CEO Backtracks: “There Is A Lot Of Change”
(source: MobileCrunch)
On Monday of this week, RIM's new CEO made a statement that set off a bomb on the blogosphere, and I'm not sure he understood its repercussions at the time. "I don't think any drastic change is needed."
If you've been paying attention to RIM and its numbers, you know that what the company desperately needs is change. Sales are declining, platform market share is dwindling, and the BlackBerry brand, to a large extent, has lost the power it once had behind it. So in a recent interview with CrackBerry, Heins made sure to clarify exactly what he meant by "no drastic change is needed."
Apple Overtakes Samsung As World’s Largest Smartphone Vendor In Q4
(source: MobileCrunch)
According to the latest report from Strategy Analytics, Apple has now overtaken Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume. Apple achieved 23.9% market share during Q4 2011, narrowly beating out Samsung's 23.5% share.
In addition, Apple shipped 37 million units in Q4, again going neck-and-neck with Samsung and its 36.5 million units shipped during the same time.
Apple beats Samsung in Q4 smartphone shipments, reclaims top spot
(source: MobileBurn)
According to a new report released by research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple has overtaken Samsung as the number one smartphone manufacturer in the world after losing the title in the third quarter. Strategy Analytics' research upholds what many have already assumed thanks to Apple's record holiday quarter.
Read the full story here.
Samsung loses to Apple again in German patent case
(source: MobileBurn)
A court in Germany has dismissed another patent complaint related to 3G and UMTS technologies levied against Apple by Samsung. Just a week ago, the same court denied one of Samsung's earlier patent complaints, which was also related to the same technologies.
Read the full story here.
Samsung Telecommunications sees smartphone shipments rise 30 percent in Q4 2011
(source: MobileBurn)
This morning mega-corporation Samsung Electronics posted its quarterly and year-end earnings and performance figures. The giant electronics conglomerate showed record high revenue of 165 trillion KRW ($147 billion) for 2011, which is up 7% compared to 2010.
Read the full story here.
Disney, Q-pot Choco, Honey Bee: Japan Gets 3 Extra-Cute Android Phones
(source: MobileCrunch)
Android adoption is growing rapidly in Japan, with local handset manufacturers doing everything they can in order to meet the demands of customers in all segments of the population. One particularly attractive target group seems to be women, given how many Japanese companies say they design Android phones specifically for female users.
Here are three recent examples.
Is a New Magsafe Data Cable Going To Replace Apple's 30-Pin Connector?
(source: Gizmodo)
Tim Cook Says Apple Cares About Its Supply Chain Workers, Honestly
(source: Gizmodo)
WiMAX Forum Gets New President
(source: Daily Wireless)
Today the WiMAX Forum announced that effective February 1st, 2012, Ronald Resnick will retire from his role as the President of the WiMAX Forum. “Mr. Resnick has been a valued part of the WiMAX leadership for the past eight years,” said Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, Interim Chairperson of the WiMAX Forum. “The WiMAX Forum would like [...]