Phoenix Technologies, remember those guys? Yeah, us either. Not that we really minded its instant-on OS or anything, but considering that full-fledged operating systems can boot up in under a minute on most machines, they’re kind of a hard sell. Unles…
Take this for whatever it’s worth (which isn’t a whole heck of a lot without any official confirmation from any of the parties involved), but the New York Post has it that the Justice Department’s inquiry into Apple‘s iTunes practices may in fact be growing. ‘Course, it’s not exactly surprising to hear that authorities are now investigating every nook and cranny of Apple’s tactics thanks to Steve Jobs’ public thrashing of Flash and his sly insistence that the world shun Adobe while hugging HTML5, but we’ve still yet to hear from the DoJ and Apple about what exactly is going on within Cupertino. At any rate, the Post notes that a number of “sources” have confirmed that the inquiry is growing, most notably to include “how the iPhone and iPad maker does business with media outfits in areas beyond music.” We’d heard whispers that things may be getting just a bit too dictator-ish in the developers Ts and Cs, and now it seems that the DoJ is “asking questions about the terms that Apple lays out for computer programmers who want to develop apps for the iPad.” It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but we can bet devs (and end-users, frankly) are hoping and praying for less restrictions in the future.
DoJ’s inquiry at Apple purportedly expanding beyond iTunes practices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Take this for whatever it’s worth (which isn’t a whole heck of a lot without any official confirmation from any of the parties involved), but the New York Post has it that the Justice Department’s inquiry into Apple‘s iTunes practices may in fact be growing. ‘Course, it’s not exactly surprising to hear that authorities are now investigating every nook and cranny of Apple’s tactics thanks to Steve Jobs’ public thrashing of Flash and his sly insistence that the world shun Adobe while hugging HTML5, but we’ve still yet to hear from the DoJ and Apple about what exactly is going on within Cupertino. At any rate, the Post notes that a number of “sources” have confirmed that the inquiry is growing, most notably to include “how the iPhone and iPad maker does business with media outfits in areas beyond music.” We’d heard whispers that things may be getting just a bit too dictator-ish in the developers Ts and Cs, and now it seems that the DoJ is “asking questions about the terms that Apple lays out for computer programmers who want to develop apps for the iPad.” It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but we can bet devs (and end-users, frankly) are hoping and praying for less restrictions in the future.
DoJ’s inquiry at Apple purportedly expanding beyond iTunes practices originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 May 2010 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It’s all just noise right now, but the United States Justice Department is purportedly having a “very preliminary conversation” with Apple regarding the company’s music business, wondering in particular if anything it’s doing (or has done) would violate antitrust legislation. According to unnamed sources familiar with the situation, DoJ staff seem most interested in whether or not Apple’s dominance in the market enabled it to unfairly prevent Amazon’s music service from exclusively debuting new songs. Beyond that, details of the investigation are few and far between, but it’s coincidentally coming down on Cupertino when its iTunes numbers are on the up and up. The latest NPD research figures show that over a quarter of the music purchased within the US is now procured through iTunes — 28 percent, if you’re looking for specifics, which is up 4 percentage points from Q1 2009. Meanwhile, Amazon has pulled into a tie with Walmart for second place, which may or may not coerce Wally World to ditch its morals and finally start stocking that uncensored version of My World 2.0.
DoJ making preliminary inquiries into Apple’s music endeavors while iTunes dominance continues originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 10:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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My, talk about a breath of fresh air. Canadian wireless subscribers have long since dealt with inhumane three-year contracts on mainstays like Rogers and Bell, signing over their cellular soul on a whim in order to get a marginally subsidized phone and a guaranteed bill for 36 months. We’ve heard for awhile now that Mobilicity was jonesing to change things up in the Great White North, and change it has. Shortly after receiving an all-important green light from the CRTC, the company has gone live with mobile service in Toronto, with a number of other large Canadian cities to follow in the months ahead. What’s most unique about the service, however, is that every single plan it sells is unlimited in nature, and there’s nary a contract to be found — you simply pick the phone you want, the plan you want, and then you pay upfront. It’s most akin to the various prepaid options here in the States (Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile, etc.), but still — it’s a lovely alternative to have if you’re a Canuck. Unlimited calling and texting can be had for just $35 per month, while $65 per month nets you unlimited everything (including global texting, US long distance calling and data usage). The phone selection ain’t half bad either, with the only major “gotcha” being that extra roaming fees can apply if you use your mobile outside of metro Toronto (or in the future, away from the carrier’s specific coverage cities). Hit up the source link to get the facts straight from the horse’s moose’s mouth.
[Thanks, Endi]
Mobilicity launches service in Toronto: all plans unlimited, no contracts to speak of originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 04:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Oh sure, having Boxee nailed down to the desktop of your PC is fine and dandy, and that Boxee Box will ensure that the same experience is enjoyed by all who plant their fundament in front of your HDTV. But we all know what you’re after — lemon drops. And a mobile version of Boxee. In a post today by the company, it expressed outright joy in inking a deal with Vindicia in order to bring a payment processing solution to the platform; slated for implementation “by the end of the summer,” this CashBox add-in would enable users to purchase “premium content” from Boxee’s programming partners via credit card, gift card or PayPal. It’s a vital step in Boxee finally finding a revenue stream (something it confessed to needing on a previous episode of The Engadget Show), and better still, “Vindicia’s flexibility makes it possible for [Boxee] to enable payments on its website and across mobile platforms like the iPhone, Android and iPad.” Yeah, those are the company’s own words right there, and in case you still aren’t believing your eyes, chew on one final quote:
“Boxee’s eventual expansion to these platforms will pave the way for universally accessible content no matter where a user is (we love this idea!).”
Huzzah!
Boxee for iPhone, iPad and Android all but confirmed in Vindicia payment processing deal originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 20:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apple promises to fix iPad WiFi issues in future software update originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Fresh off its world-dominating streak in the desktop graphics market, AMD set sights on notebook territory; now, according to “people familiar with the matter,” the company’s scored a big win there, too. Sources told Reuters that the chipmaker’s notebook CPUs will power 109 different laptops over the months to come, compared to only 40 laptop models last year. It seems part of the newfound success is attributable to HP — which announced twelve mainstream ‘tops just last week — but we’re more interested in the mysterious quad-core Phenom II X4 machines leaking out the likes of Acer and Dell. What can we say? We’re suckers for a surprise, especially of the portable, multi-threaded variety.
AMD to ship chips in 109 laptops this year? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 May 2010 22:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Backing away from a previous position, are we Nintendo? Just a month after Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime claimed that the iPhone OS (you know, that operating system used on the iPod touch, iPhone family and the iPad) wasn’t a “viable profit platform for game development,” along comes the company’s president to say that, in fact, Apple is the primary “enemy of the future.” That’s according to Times Online, who says that the Big N’s CEO (Satoru Iwata) feels that the battle with Sony is a “victory already won,” and who clearly believes that the next wave of gaming won’t be of the traditional sit-on-your-coach-and-slam-buttons variety. ‘Course, the PSP never has been able to hang with the DS family, but even the Wii has a ways to go before it catches the mighty PlayStation 2 in terms of global sales. Going forward, the company is purportedly looking to revive the element of “surprise” in Nintendo products, but it might be best served by simply catching up to the competition and supporting this wild concept known as “HD gaming” over “HDMI.”
Nintendo CEO: battle with Sony is over, Apple is the ‘enemy of the future’ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Guess what kiddos? That recession that harshed your mellow all last year is officially over and done with… according to the Consumer Electronics Association, anyway. Based on a new report put out today by the CEA (you know, that organization that sets up CES each year?), the average US household spent $1,380 on consumer electronics over the past dozen months, which represents an increase of $151 from last year. The report also found that the average household spent 12 percent more on CE devices over the past year, and individual consumer spending shot up 10 percent year-over-year. Other tidbits included: ladies spent more on CE wares than the did last year (but still trail the guys overall), and the average home reported owning 25 consumer electronic products, up from 23 in 2009. We’re also told that 86 percent of all US households own at least one computer, making it the third most owned CE product behind TVs and DVD players. Oh, and as for those pesky netbooks? 12 percent of US households own one of those, while 58 percent own “laptops” of some sort. Head on past the break for the full skinny — we hope you’re in the mood for good news, ’cause that’s all you’re getting.
[Image courtesy of TooMuchNick / WireImage]
Continue reading Shocker: CEA’s spending report finds Americans buying more technology
Shocker: CEA’s spending report finds Americans buying more technology originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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