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| Samsung Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note to Receive Android 4 in Q1 2012 | |  Samsung's Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets will receive an upgrade to Android 4 or Ice Cream Sandwich in early 2012, the company has announced. The first two devices (as previously announced) to receive the upgrade will be Samsung Galaxy S II and Samsung Galaxy Note, and this should occur sometime in the first quarter of 2012. Other devices will "soon follow," says Samsung. The full lineup of ICS-upgradeable devices at this point includes the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S II LTE, Galaxy Note, Galaxy R, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7, and Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Samsung will give out separate announcements for each device, detailing OS update schedule for individual markets. Other manufacturers have announced ICS upgrades for their flagship smartphones as well. HTC recently announced that Ice Cream Sandwich is coming to several of its smartphones in early 2012. Motorola's Droid Razr will get to the latest version of Android in early 2012. |
| IBM Says We'll Have Mind-Reading Computers Within Five Years | | Monday, December 19, 2011 9:37 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  Keyboards and mice may seem like clunky artifacts of the past within the next five years, pushed aside in favor of the ultimate user interface: the human mind. That's according to IBM, which just published its "5 in 5" forecast: a prediction about five innovations that will fundamentally change our world within the next five years. The most head-turning prediction: we'll be able to use the power of our minds to operate machines. This isn't telepathy, so those hoping to get a real-time stream of thoughts from an individual had best look to shows like Heroes or Bablylon 5. What IBM envisions is using a simple brain-machine interface (BMI) that can detect different kinds of brainwaves and tell a computer to respond a certain way. Extremely simple versions of the technology already exist in products like the Star Wars Force Trainer, which includes a headset that's based on electroencephalography (EEG). More advanced versions of the technology have been beneficial to the disabled at operating computers. Now IBM wants to take the tech mainstream. Big Blue says it's working on technology for people to use their brains to interface with their everyday devices, like phones and PCs. "Just think about calling someone, and it happens," IBM promises in this video: Rounding out the other four technologies that IBM sees exploding in five years: passwords become replaced by multiple biometric scans, people will help power their homes simply by moving around, the digital divide will be eliminated by the wide accessibility of mobile technology, and spam will actually evolve into something useful. The thrust behind IBM's predictions isn't just to pick the technologies that are the most promising, but also to find the ones that have the potential to reach the mass market. |
| Apple Wins Patent Victory Over Android, but Does It Matter? | | Monday, December 19, 2011 8:03 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  Apple was just handed potentially its biggest victory yet in its ongoing patent lawsuits with Google Android. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled today that Android devices that display phone numbers in a specific way should be banned for violating Apple's patents. The ruling potentially bans phones like the HTC EVO 4G, Droid Incredible and T-Mobile G2, starting in the spring of 2012. The parts of the patents the ITC refers to deal with how the phone interprets a phone number in unstructured documents (like the text of an email) and then automatically making that text clickable with a link that launches the phone's dialer app. The ITC ruled that any HTC phones that use the feature were violating Apple's "data tapping" patent. The ruling effectively bans HTC from selling those devices beginning April 19, 2012, although units sold before then will be unaffected, and HTC will be able to import refurbished products in order to honor warranties on those phones until December 19, 2013. HTC, however, may end up being completely unaffected if it can develop a software workaround that doesn't violate Apple's patents, or simply remove the feature via an update. HTC appears to be opting for the latter solution. In an emailed statement, the company told Mashable, "We are very pleased with the determination and we respect it. However, the '647 patent is a small UI experience, and HTC will completely remove it from all of our phones soon." It may be a small part of the experience, but as Florian Mueller at FOSS Patents observes, it's a feature the smartphone-buying public has come to expect. Removing it puts HTC at a competitive disadvantage. The ruling is a big symbolic victory for Apple, since it deals with how Android itself works, not actually software specific to HTC. It also theoretically gives Apple free reign to go after any Android manufacturer it cares to with the same patent. However, the president can veto the ruling within 60 days, though it's an option that's rarely used, says Nilay Patel at The Verge. Would the absence of the feature -- phone numbers in the text of emails or other documents that link to a smartphone's dialer -- make you choose Apple over Android? Or is this small potatoes? Let us know what you think in the comments. |
| The AT&T T-Mobile Deal Is Officially Dead | | Monday, December 19, 2011 5:20 PM | Peter Pachal |
|  AT&T said today it was abandoning its plan to acquire T-Mobile. In a statement, AT&T said it had agreed with Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's owner to end its bid to buy the company for $39 billion. AT&T said it had thoroughly reviewed all its options -- which amounted to pressing ahead with its proposal against antagonistic government regulators and a wary public, trying to breathe life into stalled talks with third parties to revamp the deal, or killing it entirely -- and decided simply to trash the original plan. AT&T's decision forces the company to pay T-Mobile $4 billion in a "break up" fee that was agreed upon when the deal was first struck. AT&T said it would add the charge to its fourth quarter financials for the 2011 fiscal year. It also said it was entering a "mutually beneficial" roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom. AT&T says the termination of the deal would harm consumers since the merger would have been an "interim solution" to the shortage of wireless spectrum. Spectrum is the lifeblood of the wireless industry, and all carriers want to acquire more or have the government open additional parts of the public airwaves for auction. "To meet the needs of our customers, we will continue to invest," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO, in the statement. "However, adding capacity to meet these needs will require policymakers to do two things. First, in the near term, they should allow the free markets to work so that additional spectrum is available to meet the immediate needs of the U.S. wireless industry, including expeditiously approving our acquisition of unused Qualcomm spectrum currently pending before the FCC. Second, policymakers should enact legislation to meet our nation's longer-term spectrum needs." The FCC began the recent chain of events that led to the deal's downfall when it concluded the acquisition would diminish competition and recommended a hearing in front of an administrative law judge. Reacting to AT&T's official scuttling of the deal, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski issued the following statement: "The FCC is committed to ensuring a competitive mobile marketplace that drives innovation and investment, creates jobs and benefits consumers. This deal would have done the opposite. The U.S. mobile industry leads the world in mobile innovation, and we agree with AT&T that Congress should pass incentive auction legislation that will unleash new spectrum for mobile broadband." |
| Flirting With Danger: More Drivers Texting on the Road Than Ever | | Monday, December 19, 2011 4:38 PM | Samantha Murphy |
| 
Despite various state law bans and nationwide awareness campaigns to prevent texting from behind the wheel, the amount of people texting while driving is actually on the rise, a new study suggests. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the percentage of drivers who sent texts and use mobile devices while on the road has jumped from 0.6% in 2009 to 0.9% to 2010. The news comes as automakers and legislators try to bring more awareness to the dangers of distracted driving. In fact, the National Transportation Safety Board is working to make cellphone use from talking hands-free with a headset to texting illegal in all 50 U.S. states. Although each state can make its own laws on the issue, the recommendation from NTSB is expected to hold a lot of weight. SEE ALSO: Please, NTSB, Don't Ban Cellphone Calls From Cars The latest findings from the NHTSA study indicate that 3,000 people were killed in car accidents in 2010 due to distracted drivers. Although the study classified distractions as talking and changing the radio to using a mobile device, it noted that reading or writing texts increases the chances of an accident by 2,300%. The NHTSA also said that drivers who use mobile devices in any capacity are four times more likely to have an accident and injure themselves or others. Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the U.S., and 16% of young drivers involved in fatal accidents were driving distracted. "Using a cell phone while driving is the equivalent of having a blood alcohol concentration level of .08%, the legal limit in most states," the NHTSA said in a statement. "Using a cell phone can reduce the brain activity associated with driving by 37%." In July, a study from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) highlighted the impact that cellphones and other gadgets can have on car crashes and found that as many as 25% of U.S. car crashes are associated with drivers distracted by tech devices. Should using technology from behind the wheel be banned in all states? Is there a safe way to use tech on the road? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. |
| Study: Employees Fall for Email, Social Media Phishing Attacks at Work [VIDEO] | | Monday, December 19, 2011 4:22 PM | Mashable Video |
|  A recent study surveyed multiple companies and found that 43% of their employees clicked on simulated bad links that led to phishing attacks and malware. "Manydon't realize just how susceptible their employees are to phishing attacks, or they think their existing security measures are sufficient to handle external threats," said Stu Sjouwerman, the CEO of KnowBe4, the company that conducted the study. "But the fact is that security breaches can and do happen every day, and the consequences can be devastating to a company's reputation and finances." Watch the video above to learn more. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, edfuentesg |
| The Giftinator: The Ultimate Way to Find Your Man a Last-Minute Gift | | Monday, December 19, 2011 3:04 PM | Matt Silverman |
|  Face it: You need a cool, last-minute gift for the special guy in your life. Boyfriends and husbands love tech toys, but chances are your man already owns the smartphone, tablet or game system of his choice. What he will enjoy are media, accessories and unique offerings that only our precious Internet can provide. Enter, The Giftinator. Think of it as Chutes and Ladders for grown-ups who procrastinated in their holiday shopping. Start at the top and follow the flow to find the perfect tech gift for your man based on his passions, current gadgets and skill level. When you land on a gift idea, hover over it with your mouse for more information. You'll find links to our reviews, videos of the products and websites where you can seal the deal. This fantastic interactive layer comes to you courtesy of our friends at ThingLink.com. Go on, try it out, and report back in the comments with any great gift ideas you've got for your guy. Graphic designed by Emily Caufield. |
| Why Defensive .XXX Registration Is Only the Beginning of a Branding Nightmare | | Monday, December 19, 2011 2:38 PM | David K. Mitnick |
|  David K. Mitnick is the founder and president of Domain Skate, LLC, an Internet company that focuses on domain name arbitration disputes. This post was co-authored by Howard Greenstein. If you did not know about ICANN's decision to release the .xxx gTLD (global Top Level Domain) earlier in the year you probably do now. You may have been surprised to receive a barrage of emails from various registrars like GoDaddy and Register.com hawking domains in the Internet's new red light district (unless you are already in the adult entertainment business). The comprehensive email and marketing campaigns that the registrars have unleashed to publicize the .xxx registry can only lead one to assume that existing adult entertainment industry has been clamoring for this new slice of the web, or that ordinary folks are quitting their jobs and starting new careers as adult web site entrepreneurs. However, as Mashable has previously pointed out, neither seems to be the case. SEE ALSO: XXX Domains: An Obvious Failure That article explains the .xxx gTLD has led to a virtual stampede by legitimate businesses and institutions to defensively register their names in the .xxx domain in order to protect those names from falling into the wrong hands and being used with adult content. The Salt Lake Tribune reported earlier in the week that Brigham Young University has purchased several domains in the .xxx registry. Some believe this unintended (though eminently foreseeable) consequence of the .xxx registry has made it an epic failure. I agree, and yet there's more for brand managers at companies of all sizes to think about. Some of the commercial success of the .xxx gTLD is attributable to defensive registrations -- a unique form of Internet extortion whereby legitimate institutions are forced to pay for .xxx domains even though they have no intention of ever using them. According to the .xxx registry, there have already been over 160,000 .xxx domain registrations as of December 12th. Back-of-the-envelope calculations indicate that at about $100 a domain (based on public one year pricing at GoDaddy) that's a windfall of roughly $16 million for registrars, with about $29,000 going to ICAAN. Thus, in a perverse twist, the .xxx registry's commercial success is being funded in part by the non-adult entertainment world because the .xxx gTLD has the unique potential to damage a brand. A Wake-Up Call The .xxx gTLD is just the tip of the iceberg as the Internet readies itself for the launch of ICANN's new gTLD program on January 12, 2012. Brand owners will have to be ready, just as with the .xxx launch, to make sure they can grab those assets they deem most valuable when there are suddenly hundreds of new gTLDs foisted on the marketplace. It will also be important for corporate counsel and IP attorneys to brush up on the UDRP process, by which companies can file complaints when parties register domains which are identical to or include their company trademarks and variations. What can be done now to prepare for this? Action Items Identify valuable marks in your company's trademark portfolio that you will want to protect and that are worthy of obtaining defensive registrations. Designate someone in your organization or an outside attorney/consultant to follow the latest extension applications with ICANN so you can stay in front of the curve and identify those extensions that may be relevant to your business before your corporate names/assets are lost to third parties or squatters. Create a budget that will be dedicated to obtaining these assets, and figure out who will be responsible for registering names on your behalf. Begin thinking comprehensively about your company's Internet strategy and make sure that going forward, future product/trademark development is done with an eye toward co-existing in an expanded Internet. You don't want to be surprised by the new global Top Level Domain program, and you don't want to be scrambling when a relevant TLD launches. Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ToolX |
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