IBLOG SPACE

There are more than just a couple of mobile operating systems out there in the world, believe it or not ladies and gentlemen, and if Samsung has anything to say about it in 2012, you’ll know the third heat to be Bada. We’ve had our hands on a few devices late this year running Samsung’s own personal brand of operating system, each of these devices with the lovely “Wave” name attached to them, and we’re to understand today that an update will be coming to a handful of these devices inside 2012. Hopefully it’ll be early on in the year as the last time we heard the Bada 2.0 update was swinging through was inside 2011, and that’s no longer looking too likely. This update to the small set of handsets that’ll be getting it, namely the Wave I, Wave II, Wave 723, Wave 578, and Wave 575, will bring about not only a better UX and UI framework for your everyday working experience, but big enhancements like multi-application execution and background launching of apps. This update will also be appr

The web browser with the cutest icon on the planet, no disputes necessary, has been released in a Beta version of its ninth iteration – Firefox 9 Beta is it’s name, and new features and stability is its game. What you’ll be getting here is first and foremost a brand new Type Inference, this significantly improving JavaScript performance and therefor your entire web-browsing experience across the board. You’ll also get improved standard support for such gems as HTML5, MathML, and everyone’s favorite: CSS, amongst a slew of additional features. For those of you working in Apple’s Mac OS X Lion environment, you’ll now have improved theme integration in-browser. You’ll also have the ability to two-finger swipe inside windows if you’re using Lion, a feature that until now was only available in a stable form inside Safari. You’ve now got improved support for text-overflow and a brand new support for font-stretch. Stability issues have been taken care of in several hush-hush ways, and you’ll

IBM has released its sixth-annual Five in Five predictions of the top five technologies that will become commonplace within the next five years. The predictions include self-powered homes through recycling kinetic energy, the replacement of passwords with biometric data, and mind-controlled devices that obey your thoughts. Researchers at IBM are working on ways to connect the human mind to computers and smartphones, such that phone calls can be placed by simply thinking. IBM has been working on bioinformatics headsets that can read electrical brain activity and recognize facial expressions and see this technology applied first in gaming and entertainment within the next five years. The company also sees recycling kinetic energy, such as capturing heat from a computer, walking, jogging, or cycling to be able to help power homes, cities, and workplaces. It believes that passwords will be a thing of the past, with computers being able to use eye-sensing or voice recognition technology to

QR codes are becoming increasingly popular in a variety of settings. In 2010, Calvin Klein introduced the QR code on Billboards in Downtown New York and L.A.Those with smartphones have been able to do a quick Google search to get the desired information on a product, for example, but there was that extra stop required to type our search into the browser and then trudge through websites to get what we were looking for. The use of these codes negate the middle steps and allow for quick, easy access of information. Well, that’s not all these codes are good for. Bosch has taken QR codes to the next level, permanently. He decided to ink his forearm with a unique code. This tattoo is indeed random. So random that when it is scanned you may end up with a weather forecast, video of a dancing child or a tweet. Each time the QR code is scanned, something new will appear on the screen. Bosch actually isn’t the first person to have a “technologically advanced tattoo”. A stunt done by Ballantin

The US International Trade Commission has just ruled in favor of Apple’s patent claims against HTC, banning some HTC devices from sale and importation to the US. The decision comes after ITC found that HTC violated two claims on one of Apple’s patents. This final patent infringement ruling will not take effect until April 19, 2012. The patent violated is #5,946,647, which is a system level patent involving analyzing and linking data structures. This makes the ruling all the more interesting as it indicates that Android as a whole violates the patent, rather than HTC’s specific implementation. The ITC released a statement on the ruling: “Notice is hereby given that the U.S. International Trade Commission has found a violation of section 337 in this investigation and has issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting importation of infringing personal data and mobile communications devices and related software. The Commission has determined that exclusion of articles subject to this order

With everything moving more towards digital format – TV Shows, Movies and now games, brick and mortar will slowly become a term of the not-too-distant past. Services such as Steam and Origin have made it easy to purchase games and download them directly to your PC. Going digital is definitely the way of the future and GameFly is preparing. In preparation of all things digital, GameFly made a smart move this year in purchasing the download site Direct2Drive. What once started as a mail rental service, GameFly has expanded greatly in services offered. GameFly’s acquisition of Direct2Drive meant a joint library of titles as well as the ability to offer digital downloads. A joint library of titles means an expansion of GameFly’s current offerings, or more games! The spawn of this merger of catalogs is called Unlimited PC Play. Today is the day PC users have been waiting for – the public beta of GameFly’s PC client has launched. GameFly members can download the new client and gain access to

The AT&T and T-Mobile merger deal is officially dead. After months of seeking FCC approval and facing several road blocks, including a lawsuit from the DOJ, AT&T has finally succumbed to defeat and issued a statement today announcing that it is dropping its proposed bid to takeover T-Mobile for $39 billion. Earlier today, there were reports that the deal was souring as AT&T could not negotiate selling off enough assets to make the deal more agreeable to the opposition. And now the merger is confirmed dead with the below statement from AT&T: “The actions by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice to block this transaction do not change the realities of the U.S. wireless industry. It is one of the most fiercely competitive industries in the world, with a mounting need for more spectrum that has not diminished and must be addressed immediately. The AT&T and T-Mobile USA combination would have offered an interim solution to this spectrum shor

In an attempt to raise greater awareness for Samsung Apps, Samsung is offering Galaxy device users 16 free games. The goal, according to Samsung, is to make Samsung Apps an exclusive destination for it’s users. The App Store to iOS users is what Samsung Apps is to Samsung smart device users. What better way to raise awareness than offering free stuff? Although Samsung Apps doesn’t seem to be hurting in any way – they surpassed 100 million downloads ten months after launch of the store, this latest promotion will greatly increase this number. The first device to gain access of Samsung Apps was the Samsung Wave in June 2010. Now with access in over 120 countries and over 13,000 apps, Samsung Apps is making a name for itself. Which apps that will be available for free may depend on the type of Galaxy a user has. For the Galaxy Note you can expect games such as Air Penguin, Samurai 2, Artillery Brigade and about 9 others. Galaxy S II and Galaxy S Wi-Fi 5.0 will have the option of downloadi

Out in the wild in this modern world of ours, we’ve got but two kinds of people: those who are willing to move forward into the mobile arena of computing, and those who just don’t understand – or are completely unwilling – Google aims this month to start erasing the gap with Android Training. This program is one that works with a collection of classes that’ll teach users to both understand and, more importantly, build applications in the Android operating system. You’ll be able to do everything from optimizing an application for battery life to designing the most effective navigation the world has ever seen. These classes are set to start by informing beginners on what Android is all about and how they can start in on the world of app developing. From there they’ll go into the things like battery life, audio playbook, and designing effective navigation systems. You’ll find that the classes (which end up being not much more than well-constructed blog posts when it comes down to it), are

Sony’s much anticipated PlayStation Vita portable gaming device has just launched in Japan over the weekend and the company has already issued an apology along with a software update. New owners have been reporting problems with unresponsive touch screens and system freezes, among other issues of which users have begun tweeting and posting their experiences in videos to YouTube. The system freezes appear to occur when users attempt to do a system update. And when the PS Vita freezes up, it cannot shutdown for some despite holding down the power button. The touch screen has been reported to be unresponsive at times and there are also reports that the PS Vita cannot shutdown during online play and cannot power up after charging. It’s not certain if the majority of new PS Vita owners experienced these issues, but it seemed widespread enough and Sony may have been aware of these issues since it quickly released a software update along with an apology. With the PS Vita not due here in the U

When a new Nexus device is released by Google and whatever manufacturer Google has teamed up with, Samsung in this case, they also release a Ninja Unboxing video — this time they’ve gone another step further, releasing a full 8-bit pixelated video game to go with it. The Ninja Unboxing series has gone on now for over a year, each of the three videos available for the watching here and now as well. This newest unboxing features both a video and a game to go with it, one where you’re the Ninja in charge of accessing the box containing the Galaxy Nexus, equipped with no less than Nexus Power to aid you in your quest! Head up and down the screen to access your opponents, kicking and screaming as you beat them down one by one. As you do so, know that Google is inviting you into the Galaxy Nexus for a good time, even though the Ninjas aren’t necessarily included in the actual device. Have a peek at the video collection here before you do so: Then you’ll be able to head to the Android Market

Pong Research has released an iPad case that it claims to boost your iPad’s 3G signal and reduce your exposure to the radiation emitted by your iPad’s 3G antenna. The case costs $100, but does it really work? ArsTechnica’s Jon Phillips visited an FCC compliance lab to observe actual testing of the case and found that it does what it says. He also gives an interesting explanation for those of you curious how it works. Gleaning from FCC docs, Phillips reveals that the iPad 2 with 3G features a proximity sensor that dials down the power of the 3G radio when it detects that a user is close to the sensor. It can dial down the power by as much as 75 percent, which means a much weaker 3G signal strength and slower data speeds if something is close to the sensor, especially when the sensor is covered up by a case. This use of the proximity sensor in tandem with 3G power is to protect users from the electromagnetic radiation emanating from the 3G antenna. Hence, users may notice that when they

Inside the Galaxy Nexus you’ll find Google’s newest mobile OS: Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and with it in combination with the advanced lens setup on this devices’ 5-megapixel camera, you’ll find a set of abilities that no Android has had before. This plus the Movie Studio app introduced first for Android 3.0 Honeycomb, you’ve now got the ability to make the video you’re about to see, filmed and produced with the Galaxy Nexus controlled by none other than your humble narrator. You’ll see facial recognition gone wild and a set of effects that, though basic, make for a video editing environment thats perfectly powerful for a smartphone. There are three different parts of this hands-on video, the first showing off the quality of the video camera on its most powerful settings. Inside a house moving back and forth between close and far shots, switching from light reflecting to light projecting (via an HDTV,) and in and out the window. At the end of this segment you’ll see our two stars

Despite what you may have heard at the end of last week, the vote for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is not delayed until 2012 nor is it delayed “indefinitely” – instead members of Congress hoping to run the act through a vote without any more internet-based campaigns to stop it have secretly rescheduled for the middle of this week. This blacklist legislation is also known as the PROTECT IP act in the Senate, and what today’s news means is that the Judiciary Committee that was said to have convened until the end of January to re-work the act so that it better fit with the wants and needs of the VAST majority of free internet users is now going to vote this week instead. Opponents of the act will not be pleased. It was in a TechDirt article that it first seemed to appear in comments that the vote had been re-scheduled not long after the first re-scheduling to make the vote in a quick and silent manner. CA-49 worker and House GOP watchdog Darrell Issa noted once that the vote would li

When it comes to connecting devices, especially mobile ones such as smartphones and tablets connecting to speakers, computers, and smart cars, there’s one name that rings true almost without fail: Bluetooth – and this week the team at NFC Forum have made a push for their own technology to make the process of pairing with Bluetooth even easier. What they’ve got for the public now is a guide which tends to both manufacturers and developers that goes into detail on what they’ll need to do to pair Bluetooth-capable devices using NFC technology. If this seems overly complicated to you, don’t worry, you’re not alone. What pairing your NFC and Bluetooth capable devices together involves is a process that’s much simpler, or so they say, than pairing devices with just Bluetooth. Where now you need to enter codes on both devices, sync and confirm, NFC-laden devices are set to make this process as simple as a single tap. How they’ll explain away the idea that you’ll be able to control any device

When you pick up an iPad 2, you know you’re in for a great experience in all forms of working with the tablet form factor – in software, in hardware, and in camera-wait, the camera is terrible – that’s why when the Disney-branded Sakar AppClix camera came up this week in our news barrel, we payed attention. What this camera does is attach to the bottom of your iPad in the iPod 30-pin port and acts as a camera that begins to bring you into a reasonable space for shooting photos and videos. While the iPad 2′s camera was never one to win any awards for quality, Sakar may well bring the art back to iPhone levels with none other than Mickey Mouse himself. This camera is 7-megapixels strong, has a 1.5-inch LCD display for one reason or another, and has a microSD card slot for those of you not planning on instantly transferring your pics over to the iPad. Indeed you do not have to have the camera attached to the iPad to take photos, but if you want to hold the most awkwardly broad shooter in

This week LG has revealed that they’ll be releasing a Magic Motion Remote Control inside the first quarter of 2012, one that’ll work perfectly with your future 3D Smart TV also from LG. You’ll see instantly how enjoyable the controller itself is to use once you lay your eyes on the image of the lovely whispering lady holding it here in the post. Of course she’s not doing that for nothing: the controller is able to work with traditional pointing, voice recognition, magic wheel, and magic gestures, all of them for ultimate channel changing power! You’ll be able to work with the brand new voice recognition system to bring you in to simple changing of channels and functions, primarily used in demos to search for programs you may want to watch on your big screen TV. Once you find what you want, you can use the device’s wheel to select your favorite program and hit play. If you’d on the other hand just like to find your recently viewed videos, you’ll be able to use magic motion gestures to g

The holidays are coming, and what better way to feel festive than winning a Nokia Lumia 800 courtesy of Three UK. The carrier has given us one of Nokia’s flagship Windows Phones, running Mango on a 3.7-inch ClearBlack AMOLED display and clad in a seamless polymer chassis, to hand over to one lucky SlashGear winner in the UK. Three UK has included a Pay As You Go SIM pre-loaded with all-you-can-eat data so you’ll be free to stream, download, tweet and surf the web without ever worrying about the cost – there literally are no limits. That’s perfect for Nokia’s preloaded apps, like Nokia Music and Nokia Drive, offering subscription-free streaming music as well as turn-by turn navigation. For more on Three’s unlimited internet, check out  all the details . If you want to stand a chance of winning the Lumia 800, taking part is simple: 1. Add +SlashGear (url: http://goo.gl/EI0yz) to your Circle(s) on Google+ 2. Comment in this article: this will count as your entry, and note that you may on

Everyone knows the name Mark Zuckerberg as the person who founded the social networking site Facebook. Facebook and the real Zuckerberg are suing and being sued by another man who has changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg. The suit isn’t over the name change, but over a company the new Zuckerberg started to help game the Like system that Facebook uses. The new Zuckerberg was originally called Rotem Guez before he had his name legally changed this month. According to Facebook the new Zuckerberg and his company that sold “likes” on Facebook to companies wanting to get more. The business at the source of the suit is called Like Store. The new Zuckerberg is in turn suing Facebook alleging that the company had no business shutting down the profile he had on Facebook for the Like Store. I don’t see this going well for the new Zuckerburg in court.

Skype is offering free airport WiFi access in more than 50 locations between December 21 and 27, promising an hour’s worth of complementary browsing, VoIP calling or video chatting for holiday travelers. The offer uses Skype WiFi, the company’s wireless connectivity system, to log into airport hotspots across the US. Skype is, unsurprisingly, hoping that users will take advantage of that WiFi access to make a voice or video call. However, if you’d rather just check Facebook, send a few tweets or even check the latest tech headlines on SlashGear, you’ll be able to do that too. The full list of participating airports is below, and you’ll need the latest version of Skype for Windows, Mac or iOS in order to get online free. Those outside of the US are out of luck, however.

Details on two of HTC‘s 2012 smartphone flagships have been reportedly revealed, including an Ice Cream Sandwich uber-phone and a 4.7-inch AT&T LTE Windows Phone, as the company apparently pares down its offerings from 2011′s gush of devices. The HTC Elite will be an Android 4.0 device for AT&T, BGR‘s sources tell them, potentially launching as the “HTC Congressional” complete with Beats Audio in the first half of April. It will be preceded by what may well be the first LTE Windows Phone, scheduled for the beginning of February. The name of the handset is unknown, though it’s expected to launch on AT&T in the US. It will have a 4.7-inch display, like the HTC Titan - resolution unknown – and is supposedly set to be released on February 5, indicating a CES 2012 reveal is likely. However, whereas 2011 has seen HTC pepper the market with handsets in the – perhaps desperate – hope that some of them will find favor, 2012 will supposedly see a more reserved, careful company. Q1 is

The PS Vita is available for those that pre-ordered in Japan and the folks at Kotaku Japan got their hands on the new portable to give it a go. They took digital and retail version of the games and compared how quickly the games loaded for each version. With the Vita you can buy some games as digital downloads or get them at a retail store on a little cartridge. According to the testing Kotaku found that there was a big difference in how quickly the games loaded and were ready to play between the two versions. The digital download version loads up to four seconds slower than the retail version of the game. Kotaku tested two games to be sure there wasn’t some sort of glitch on one. Both Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Army Corps of Hell showed the retail version loaded faster. You can check out the test videos below to see for yourself. I’d go for the retail versions of the games after seeing these tests.

Google will begin promoting what could be the first official Nexus tablet within the next six months, according to chairman Eric Schmidt, the latest stage in the “brutal competition” between it and Apple. “In the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality” Schmidt told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sea, while also confirming that Google plans to leverage its voice recognition technology to better challenge Apple’s Siri. Schmidt was at pains to praise Apple co-founder Steve Jobs for his work in transitioning the tablet from vertical and enterprise markets to a consumer-centric product. “Steve Jobs was the Michelangelo of our time” he told the newspaper, “[he] realized the revolutionary potential of the tablet and has created an amazing product like the iPad.” However, “our companies compete” he continued, “it is capitalism.” Exact details of the upcoming tablet were not revealed, and it’s unclear whether the slate will be specifically branded with Google’s Nexu

Apparently, all the folks that work for Google in the London and Zurich offices are getting a really nice Christmas gift from the search giant. The workers in the locations are being given a customized version of the Galaxy Nexus smartphone. The customization isn’t just software on the phone. The custom Google phones have a special back plate that has Android and G+ icons all over it. All the workers had to get in a line to get hands on their new smartphones. I wonder if Google is covering the mobile service as well. It’s not clear at this point if all Google employees everywhere are getting the Galaxy Nexus, but that is the assumption. The backplate is extra geeky. I wonder how many of these smartphones will turn up on eBay in a few months. These are cool Christmas gifts, yet another reason working at Google would be really cool.

When it comes to how many folks use a given app there are several companies that track that data. One of those firms is AppData reports TechCrunch. The company has been tracking the official Facebook app for iPhone and Android devices and has found that Android is beating the iPhone app in one metric. According to the company, the Android app is beating iPhone for daily active users. The stats firm has found that the Android app is ahead of the iPhone app for the first time ever in daily users. The Android app over the last few weeks has 58.3 million daily active users. The iPhone app has 57.4 million active daily users. Android was also first to get Timeline access showing that Google tends to favor Android development first, which is no surprise. The daily active user stat is apparently more important than the number of users that are using the apps monthly. The iPhone has more monthly active users at 99.1 million while the Android app racks up 85.4 million 

AT&T‘s strategy to sell off assets until regulators looked more fondly at its T-Mobile USA acquisitions have stalled, it’s reported, with the carrier simply unable to shed sufficient weight to sway the deal in its favor. Execs at the two carriers had hoped that, by scything off more than 30-percent of T-Mobile USA, the US Justice Department might soften its stance on potential anti-competitiveness concerns about the deal; however, negotiations with Leap Wireless and Dish Network stuttered over the past two weeks, the WSJ reports, amid the growing realization that it still wouldn’t be enough to fully convince the agency. Last week, AT&T and T-Mobile USA owner Deutsche Telecom said they were examining “whether and how to revise our current transaction.” The pair had been criticized by US District Court Judge Ellen S. Huvelle overwithdrawing the FCC application yet still pushing for a fast-track hearing from the Justice Department, suggesting it was a waste of time. Although the F

A few days ago, we mentioned that the Asus Transformer Prime had hit Clove in the UK for pre-order. At the time, the 32GB and 64GB tablets were expected to ship in January. As of today, there has been a change in the pre-order status of the Prime. Clove is updating people on the TF201 model and pricing on the 32GB version of the tablet. Last week the 32GB version of the tablet with the keyboard accessory was up for pre-order at £550.80 with VAT. The price with VAT has now been cut back to £499. If you pre-ordered the tablet at the higher price last week, you will get the new lower price. No orders are being charged until they ship. The card details take when you pre-order are to make shipping quicker according to Clove when the tablets arrive. Clove still hasn’t confirmed the exact ship date on the tablets yet. As for the 64GB version of the tablet, Clove will leave it on the site but pre-orders are canceled at this time. The tablet ship date has slipped to Q2 2012. People that pre-ord

Seagate has announced that it is chopping the warranties that it offers on some of its hard drives down to size. Seagate says that the reason it is cutting warranty length is to be consistent with the industry. Other major HDD makers like Western Digital have cut warranty length recently as well. This warranty shortening may be a response to reduced profits in the HDD industry in the wake of flooding in Thailand that has lead to shortages. The warranties will vary in length depending on the drive families in use. The Constellation 2 and ES.2 drives will have a 3-year warranty. The Barracuda and Barracuda Green drives will have a 1-year warranty. The Barracuda XT and Momentus XT will have a 3-year warranty. The 2.5-inch Momentus HDDs will offer 1-year warranties. The SV35 series for video surveillance will get a 20-year warranty as will the Pipeline HD Mini and Pipeline HD. Seagate notes that mission critical and retail HDDs will not be affected by the warranty change. Seagate says it i

Google has improved its Google+ social network, tackling circle overflow with new “graphic-equalize” controls over what shows up in your stream, tweaking notifications and photos, and improving how brands can control their business pages on the site. Up to 50 administrators can now be assigned control over a Google+ brand page, rather than just one as originally allowed, with an improved notifications system that keeps all managers up to date.

The latest version of Bluetooth is 4.0 or Bluetooth Low Energy. This allows Bluetooth connectivity with a lot less power drain. The first app to take advantage of BT 4.0 is up on Kickstarter seeking the money for the hardware component to launch. The app and hardware is a kit called Find my Car Smart. The app is already on the App Store for 99 cents reports MacRumors. The idea is that the app and hardware combo will help you to find your car when you park it without any issues. Using the USB BT 4.0 dongle that is the hardware part of the kit and the app, you can find where your car is, how far you are from it, and how long you have been parked there. The system was seeking $10,000 in funding to create the hardware portion and get it to market. It still has 25 days to go and already has raised $18,712. The app is already available, but it won’t work without the hardware portion. For $25, you get the Find My Car Smart Device and the app. If you plunk down $30 you get the hardware device,

Apple‘s engineers are experimenting with wearable devices, insiders claim, including a curved glass iPod intended to be worn on the wrist and controlled using Siri voice commands. The “very small group of Apple employees” are part of an industry-wide push for wearable tech, the NYTimes reports, using the now-ubiquitous smartphone as a data-crunching hub. The relative size of the team Apple has working on the iPod-bangle project is probably an indicator that it’s not high on the company’s agenda for release. Still, the iPod nano has at least in part jumped the gap to become a legitimate “wearable” itself: with the latest model, Apple added a variety of user-selectable watch faces, meaning the iPod can be used with one of various third-party wrist straps as a timepiece replacement. It’s not clear what wireless technology Apple might use, though the company did add Bluetooth 4.0 support (aka “Bluetooth Smart Ready“) in its recent iPhone 4S. There are also systems like ANT+ and Nike+ which

Nokia‘s multi-million efforts to push its Windows Phone based Lumia 800 still hasn’t resulted in strong holiday sales, according to the latest UK stats, with Apple’s iPhone continuing to dominate the mobile market. Although the newest iPhone 4S was an unsurprising success, sales tracking firm GfK says, the aging iPhone 3GS still managed to make it into the top 15 handsets chart despite dating back to mid-2009. Android was also a winner, with Samsung’s Galaxy S II a particular star. In fact, Samsung’s GSII took the number two spot in UK sales in the week to December 9. The Korean company has been running an advertising campaign sniping at Apple and Apple fans, something analysts have suggested has helped the company sneak ahead of its Cupertino rival in so-called buzz metrics. Still, five of the top fifteen devices were versions of Apple’s iPhone, with the Lumia 800 apparently failing to get into the top ten in either November or December, according to GfK. In fact, the analytics firm r

The manufacturing industry in China is huge with some of the big names including Pegatron and Foxconn building computers and gadgets for numerous companies like Apple and many others. Foxconn was hit earlier this year with a series of plant explosions over a several month period that lead to the death of some workers. Today Pegatron has announced that one of its subsidiary plants in Shanghai, China had a small explosion over the weekend. The explosion happened at a plant belonging to Riteng Computer Accessory Co, and 61 workers were injured in the blast. Of those 61 workers, 23 needed to be hospitalized for observation. None of the injuries are reported to be life threatening. According to Pegatron, the plant where the explosion occurred was new and was not in operations yet. A portion of the plant had started trial production and was being inspected. Safety concerns continue to circle around Chinese plants where industrial accidents are not uncommon.

Tragicomic tablet firm Fusion Garage has lost its PR company, frozen sales of its Grid10 slate and has left pre-order customers waiting for their purchases for months, in what looks like it could be the company’s final gasp. After significant downtime over the weekend, Fusion Garage’s site and online store now merely says “We are running out of stock” when trying to place a new order; meanwhile, the firm’s PR agency has dumped them over zero communication with existing customers. “Unfortunately, none of our efforts have resulted in any communication from the company to the customers. Given all of this, we don’t have any other choice but to cease working with FG effective tomorrow.” Fusion Garage PR company In the Fusion Garage forums, meanwhile, pre-order customers and the few to have already received their Grid10 tablet have turned up news that the company’s lawyers have resigned over lack of payment. It appears the company is unlikely to deliver either the price-slashed Grid10 or the

If you have a new Galaxy Nexus and you aren’t happy with the fact that Google Wallet isn’t offered for the smartphone, you need to check out this port. Some of the devs on XDA-Developers have been able to port the app to the Galaxy Nexus without having to root the device. The port involves installing the app as an APK. The only thing you need to change on your Nexus is to turn on the ability to install apps from non-android market locations. The only big drawback is that the port will only work on devices in the US so if you try to install outside the US it may not work for paying for things. The app is region locked on the handset. There is still no official reason why Google Wallet isn’t supported on the Nexus just as it is on other high-end NFC packing Android devices. The speculation still points to Verizon developing its own mobile payment system. The Nexus port version of the Google Wallet app will give the user $10 in their pre-paid Google card when they register. Last week a se

Christmas is nearly here with only a few more days before Santa comes slinking down chimneys all over the world. Apparently, Apple has Santa using Siri to find out how cold it is along his route. I’ve often wondered about the viability of an open-air sleigh for high altitude, fast flying. The Christmas commercial is actually kind of cool. Santa asks Siri how to get to the next house and a few other things as well. The part of the commercial where he asks how my day looks and is told you have 3.7 billion appointments is my favorite. It’s clear that Apple is pushing the iPhone 4S heavily for the holidays, and I would wager the smartphone will end up being a very popular gift this year. Siri is an interesting feature of the smartphone, and one of the features that hackers are trying to port to other iPhone models. In iOS update 5.0.1 last week the code that is needed to port Siri was left unencrypted making itlegally possible to port the virtual assistant without violating copyright. You

The yearly race for inclusion in the iOS App Store before Apple’s holiday lock-down is on, with iPhone and iPad developers desperate to get their titles in front of Christmas recipients of new gadgets. The eight-day downtime kicks of on Thursday 22 this year, the NYTimes reports, with not only new submissions for App Store inclusion being put on ice until staff return, but the download charts as well. Getting your app on one of those charts – and among the first to be considered by new iPhone, iPod touch and iPad owners – can mean big money returns. Last year, Electronic Arts (EA) managed to scoop several of the coveted chart positions with a well-timed $0.99 sale on many of its iOS games. The strong demand in the days prior to the holiday lock-down meant the producer was a fixture on the charts across Christmas. This year, EA says it will be offering 36 new games and updates for the holidays, with titles like The Sims FreePlay the culmination of as much as two years of forward plannin

Uncontrollable mobile porn on BlackBerry handsets has prompted UK communications regulator Ofcom to demand RIM account for its smartphones’ security, summoning the Canadian firm to a smut summit. “It was brought to our attention that there was a problem” an Ofcom spokesperson told The Telegraph, “to do with the way in which the BlackBerry operating system works”; it’s suggested that the secure browsing functionality on BlackBerry devices allows underage users to bypass the usual carrier blocks on pornographic content. RIM will have several mobile operators to share the stage with at the summit, as Ofcom attempts to find a workable solution to the sexy oversight. The company is said to have already fashioned a system of its own, which was offered to UK networks, though only one – T-Mobile UK – apparently adopted it. On non-BlackBerry devices, content considered only suitable for adults – including not only pornography but mobile gambling and more – is blocked, usually requiring either a

Twitter has secured $300m in funding from Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, with the well-known tech backer – who counts Apple shares among other firms in his portfolio – grabbing a “strategic stake” in the microblogging platform. “Several months of negotiations” culminated in the deal, which values Twitter at around $8bn overall Businessweek reports, and comes on the heels of a comprehensive redesign unveiled last week. That redesign, splitting different elements of the Twitter experience into separate sections, also frees up more room for advertising potential. Meanwhile, Twitter has streamlined its brand page options in what’s being seen as a more pointed attempt to take on Facebook for commercial presence. Last month, the company bought a mobile security and encryption specialist, Whisper Systems, in a move believed to be a sign of Twitter ramping up its privacy settings and positioning itself as a more secure messaging service. Alwaleed has built a comprehensive portfolio

Facebook for iPhone has been updated to support Timeline, bringing the iOS app up to speed with its Android and mobile web cousins. The new v4.1 app, a free download [iTunes link], works on both iPhone and iPod touch, though an iPad version is still in the pipeline. and brings the visual history of your Facebook engagements – and those of your friends – to the smartphone screen. According to Facebook, you’ll need to have already set up Timeline on your desktop before you’ll be able to view and edit it on the iPhone app. Currently it’s an opt-in process, with new users given seven days to fettle their page – and get rid of anything too incriminating – before it goes live. However, the social network has confirmed that eventually Facebook Timeline will be a mandatory upgrade for all of its users. iPad support, meanwhile, is “coming soon” though no exact release schedule is given. Facebook for iOS v4.1 also adds improved friends lists, subscribers and subscriptions control when mobile, a

Apple has reportedly ramped up its TV strategy, outlining a Siri and motion controlled television system in recent meetings with media executives and fleshing out its wirelessly-enabled smart TV set. The company has been courting several of the larger media companies, the WSJ‘s insiders tell them, selling the benefits of a cross-platform system that could recognize viewers whether they were using their TV, a tablet or a phone. However, the talks have fallen short of entering the negotiation phase for actual content licensing. That, it’s suggested, is a sign that the so-called Apple television or “Apple iTV” is still some way out from the market. Previous reports have suggested that the company will test the waters with a TV tuner enabled “smart screen” based on the iMac early in the new year, with a three-model-strong line-up of dedicated televisionstipped by the end of 2012. Right now, though, Apple is reportedly talking up the benefits of place-shifting and other technologies in the

UK communications provider British Telecom (BT) has become the latest firm to sue Google over alleged Androidpatent infringement, claiming the search giant “willfully infringes” on six tech patents it holds. “BT brings this action to recover the just compensation it is owed” the company states in the suit filed in the US District Court of the District of Delaware last Thursday, “and to prevent Google from continuing to benefit from BT’s inventions without authorization.” According to BT, Google Maps, Google+ and other services all borrow from its IP portfolio,FOSS Patents reports, and says Google still refuses to pay. The six patents cover various technological elements, from automatically provisioning services based on connection type, through augmenting navigation information with real-time data on traffic and POIs, and DRM-style technology, such as how the Android Market determines whether users are permitted to download apps they’ve previously bought. Some of the patents BT is whee