After reporting Q4 2010 earnings yesterday, AT&T has published additional statistics on the number of mobile broadband connections the telecommunications company has facilitated in the last quarter. The company says that in terms of emerging devices (this includes non-phone wireless connections), 2 million connected devices were added to the network in the quarter.
Included in this category are what AT&T refers to as embedded computing devices, which are tablets, netbooks and laptops. AT&T says that more than 6 million connected devices have been added to the network over the past five quarters. The total number of emerging devices, including postpaid and prepaid embedded computing devices, connected to the AT&T network – both for consumers and businesses is nearly 11 million. → Read More
Remember that Disney-themed Android phone from Japan we blogged two weeks ago? At that time, Disney Japan didn’t release a lot of information, but now they did [JP], and they also showed the 3D device for the first time. → Read More
At this point most of us are feeling pretty cool about ourselves for at least retweeting the #Twitterrevolution, first in Tunisia and now in Egypt. But only when us Internerds watch mainstream television do we realize that pundits are trying to give the Bush administration and the Obama administration credit for events which might irrevocably change the landscape of North Africa and the Middle East as we know it.
Events that were, at least initially, mediated through Facebook and Twitter. → Read More
17x17x17 Puzzle Cube Makes Rubik’s Look Like Child’s Play Mommy Mittens: You Know, For Mommies An Ode To The Graphic Adventure Video: The Automatic Necktie-Knotting Kinetic Sculpture Photographers: You’re Now Officially Free To Shoot In Public Places And Outside Federal Buildings → Read More
Web-based affiliate management system and “incentive engine” Zferral has bought SaaS web app store Cloudomatic for cash and equity. Cloudomatic was founded by OnSwipe co-founders Jason Baptiste and Andres Barreto, who will continue on as advisors. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed. → Read More
Nokia this morning announced two deals with leading Chinese Internet companies SINA and Tencent, who will be integrating with Nokia’s Ovi Maps in China.
Millions of users of SINA’s microbloging service and Tencent’s massively popular online community QQ (636 million users and counting) will be able to share their location through Nokia mobile devices, check-in to locations and upload content tied to location, such as recommendations and reviews of restaurants, shops and movie theatres. → Read More
Last week we told you that T-mobile had announced their 4G variant of the near-ubiquitous Galaxy S. Well, for anyone that’s itching for this high-speed variant, I’m happy to tell you that today, T-mobile’s info page for the handset has gone live. There isn’t any new info given, but there is an option to sign up for notifications about the device. For those that can’t remember, the Galaxy S 4G will run Froyo (Android 2.2), and sport the same 4″ 800×480 Super-AMOLED display that we all know and love, but will be compatible with T-mobile’s HSPA+ 4G network, supporting download speeds of up to 21mbps. If you’re keen to sign up for more info, you can see the page for yourself here. [via Cell Phone Signal] → Read More
We’ve had more or less the same comment system since the early days of CrunchGear, but what with the mothership switching over to Disqus and our own system creaking under the weight of tens of thousands of posts, we’ve decided the time is right to make the switch. If there are some issues with your comments over the next day or so, we apologize, but we’ll try to make sure the transition is as smooth as possible. It’s working through the backlog now: OH GOD, it’s going to take forever! And incredibly, it converts the most recent comments last! Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Don’t worry, your old comments still live, and you can still comment in the meantime. Email us at Tips@CrunchGear.com. → Read More
We’ve heard for a while now that Cisco plans to put out a Flip camera with wi-fi built in, but so far the rumors haven’t produced an actual product. Until now. → Read More
Two million! Good for Samsung! Although I can’t say I’d advise anyone to buy one of these devices, the Galaxy Tab probably was the best (if not the most affordable) of the 2010 stopgap generation of tablets. The sales of the iPad dwarf this, of course (nearly 8 million in the same period), but hey, like they say, first is worst, second is best, and third is… HP, I guess. Seriously, though, don’t buy one until you see the sequel, which might be announced in like two weeks. [via Electronista] → Read More
Sony has announced the PSP2 (temporarily named the “Next Generation Portable”), perhaps the final boss of handheld consoles. It’s far more powerful than its destined competitor, Nintendo’s 3DS, and incorporates social and locational data, 3G, a monster 5″ OLED screen, and a number of other features detailed here. It is to be one of the linchpin platforms for the world’s most recognizable entertainment electronics company, a stomping ground for new games, media, and services. And I think it’s going to go down in flames. Why? It’s got its competitor beat on nearly every spec, it’s got the backing of droves of Sony fanboys, and million-selling franchises just waiting to be put on its crisp 960×544 screen. How can it fail? I’d say by not addressing the fundamental needs of a handheld gaming console and ignoring strong trends in the market. → Read More
Attention publishers and authors!
For a while I’ve been kicking around the idea of writing a semi-regular book review column here on TechCrunch. I don’t mean the pure “tech” books of the O’Reilly oeuvre, but rather works concerning digital culture and how technology is affecting politics, journalism, art and society as a whole. It would probably include the occasional novel too. And might – might – take the form of a very informal book club.
The idea is far from fully-formed – and I have to make sure it doesn’t clash with Andrew Keen’s excellent TCTV show which often features authors as guests. But if you’re a publisher or an author and you have a forthcoming book that might fit the bill, do please feel free to let me know – either via this handy web form or by sending a copy to me c/o TechCrunch, 410 Townsend Street (Suite 100), San Francisco, CA 94107.
Ebooks and non-US titles welcome. But if it’s self-published, it had better be good. → Read More
It was almost exactly two years ago that we first wrote about a company called Heroku. At the time, the Y Combinator startup was little more than a good idea: ease the development and deployment process a lot of other startups face by putting it in the cloud. Last month, Salesforce bought them for $212 million in cash. It’s no wonder that a new startup, StackMob, doesn’t mind being called a “Heroku for mobile”.
Truth be told, that is a pretty good way to describe what they’re doing. They’ve created a cloud-based system to ease the development and deployment of mobile applications. Or even more simply put, “we’re trying to solve the backend services for mobile applications,” is how co-founder Ty Amell phrases it. They want to be the single integration point for all the backend needs that an app developer may have. → Read More
A sure sign that things a changin’ over at RIM HQ, the keyboard-less Curve Touch — codenamed “Malibu” — has today leaked out into the wilds of the web, courtesy of CrackBerry.com.
This comes just a week after we spied a keyboard totin’ next-gen Curve, known internally as the “Sedona”, so those die-hard keyboard fans need not fret: mid-range Blackberry lovers will have a choice of hard and soft keyboards.
Any leak worth its salt also provides some specs, and this one — while only focussing on the CDMA version — is as artery hardening as you could hope for. → Read More
PS3 owners will be prompted to update their system to firmware version 3.56 today. Why is that? Hmm, could it possibly have something to do with Sony trying to prevent your from jailbreaking your system? Yes, obviously. (“This is a minor update that adds a security patch.”) If you update your system say goodbye to being able to hack your PS3 to pieces… for now, at least. And maybe for a good while, too, given that Sony has managed to win a restraining order against Geohot. → Read More
So, you’re a big Rubik’s cube buff. Can solve any cube in five minutes, think people who can’t are fools? Well, sounds like you need a new challenge. How about this 17x17x17 puzzle cube by puzzle designer Oskar van Deventer, and printed using Shapeways? Should keep you busy for a few years. Too bad it costs two thousand dollars, whaaat! → Read More
You hear that thumping? That’s my heart a-pitter-patterin’ over just what got dropped off at MobileCrunch HQ: the world’s first dual-core smartphone, the LG Optimus 2X. It’ll be a few days before I’ve had enough time with this device to weigh in with our official review — but in the mean time, enjoy our humble gallery of hands-on stills below. Let me know if you have any questions about this one, won’t you? → Read More
It happens, sometimes. I have what I think would be a fun idea for a joke, only to discover – often half-way through writing it – that someone else has already beaten me to the punch(line).
Today, for example, I wanted to write something about Demand Media’s IPO. Given the hideously cynical nature of their business, the dreck that passes for their content, the appallingly low rates paid to their writers (who have – apparently – created $1.5bn worth of value) and now a plagiarism scandal (wait – they don’t even write their own dreck?), it’s clear that Demand is a hideous company. In fact it’s absolutely no exaggeration whatsoever to say that buying shares in them is the web content equivalent of buying stock in Nestle Africa or stocking up on Fanta in the 1940s. I mean, yes, there’s clearly money to be made, but I wouldn’t want that kind of karma.
Still, the fact remains that – as I wrote in my Sunday column last week – Demand’s brand of SEO horseshit represents the future of web content. And with that in mind, I thought it might be a lark to put together a mock up of what that particular dystopian hellscape might look like. Say, the front page of NYTimes.com, as written by Demand.
Imagine, then, my disappointment on discovering that Danny Sullivan has beaten me to it. → Read More
Microsoft earnings just got released 10 minutes before market close, and aside from growing revenues 5% in the 2nd quarter to $19.95 Billion, their slides reveal some interesting numbers on their entertainment and gaming unit, mainly that they sold 8 million Kinects in the two months since launch.
Said Peter Klien about the Kinect’s success, “We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations. The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth.” → Read More
The world is watching in shock at the moment as reports continue to flood in of Egyptians having their Internet connection cut in addition having access to social media services like Facebook, Twitter and Blackberry shut down.
Along with The Arabist and CNN’s Ben Wedeman, Reuters is now reporting that users in Cairo are experiencing phone and Internet shutdown. “Egypt has shut off the internet,” read one headline. → Read More
