IBLOG SPACE

Google has ditched its stake in Clearwire, selling off its 6.5-percent of Class A stock in the WiMAX carrier for $47m, well below market value. The news was confirmed in a SEC filing today, with a separate letter from Google revealing that Google is looking for $1.60 per share, while Clearwire stock is currently selling for $2.27. Sprint and Comcast will have first dibs on the stock, according to the terms of the investors’ agreement. Google has given no specific reasons for why it wants to exit Clearwire at this point, though the carrier’s WiMAX fortunes have not exactly proved glowing in recent months. A general shift toward faster LTE by AT&T and Verizon, among others, has led to suggestions that WiMAX has had its day. “Google periodically rebalances its investments based on its goals and its evaluation of market conditions” Google letter to Clearwire Clearwire itself lent weight to those rumors when it announced plans for LTE development of its own back in August 2011. A later

A rumor is floating around that Apple is seriously considering removing the now standard docking connector off all dockable iPhones, iPads, and iPods. The rumored replacement is the so-called micro dock that would take up less space inside the iPhone. If the docking connector takes up less space, that leaves more space for critical components. Possibly, the most critical component inside a smart phone is the battery. The space that isn’t taken up by other hardware can be absorbed for larger battery. A larger battery means more runtime and happier users. This is particularly important when you consider the iPhone 5 with all the rumored hardware improvements that will slurp more battery power. Rather than moving to a smaller docking connector, I wish Apple would move to inductive charging along the lines of some accessory cases on the market. I would like to see Apple completely do away with that docking connector and move to wireless inductive charging and synchronization via Wi-Fi, gra

Acer has outed its latest smartphone, the Acer Liquid Glow, a 3.7-inch Ice Cream Sandwich handset which follows the Galaxy Nexus‘ example and includes NFC support. Set to make its official debut at Mobile World Congress next week, the Liquid Glow has a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, though full specifications are not yet clear. Acer isn’t saying what resolution the display runs at – nor indeed whether it’s LCD or AMOLED – and we don’t know what processor is at the heart of the Liquid Glow either. In fact, the company is more keen to talk about the smartphone’s aesthetic, with a soft-touch casing that comes in “Sakura Pink”, “Alpine White”, and “Cat’s-eye Black” with matching on-screen themes. Android Beam – using NFC to exchange contacts, links, app shortcuts and content – is present, along with all the other features which s impressed us about Ice Cream Sandwich. However, Acer has oped to fit the Liquid Glow with dedicated touch-sensitive buttons for home, search, back and ap

Google will add a “Do Not Track” button to its Chrome browser, the search giant has conceded, after being challenged to put its software where its mouth is over online privacy. The new system will allow surfers to avoid having their viewing habits used to tailor advertising and more, as part of an industry-wide shift to make privacy controls more visible. The decision follows several high-profile criticisms of Google’s approach to user privacy, as well as the Obama Administration’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights being revealed. “We’re pleased to join a broad industry agreement to respect the ‘do-not-track’ header in a consistent and meaningful way that offers users choice and clearly explained browser controls” Google Senior Vice President of Advertising Susan Wojcicki told Bloomberg in a statement. The exact nature of the “Do Not Track” control is unclear at this stage, though Google already offers an “Incognito Window” option in Chrome which does not store a history of sites visited

Samsung is cooking up a bezel-free smartphone for release by Q3 2012, according to unnamed company execs, tentatively called the Samsung Galaxy B. The smartphone, presumably Android-powered, has a large AMOLED panel with no bezel on the sides of bottom, according to a report in the Korean-language Maeli Business Newspaper, and only a small section at the top for the earpiece and a front-facing camera. Exactly how Samsung has achieved the bezel-free design is unspecified, though the unnamed company execs claim it has been a work-in-progress since sometime last year. Other specifications are similarly mysterious, beyond the promise of a large screen. It’s possible that this is the much-anticipated Galaxy S III, though certainly far from confirmed at this stage. That handset, initially expected to be officially revealed at Mobile World Congress next week, will in fact follow on in a separate announcement sometime in the first half of this year. Samsung is yet to hint at specifications, th

A new study released by company called Validas claims that data throttling on wireless data plans does nothing to alleviate data congestion on the wireless network. AT&T and others have long claimed that throttling is done on the top users of bandwidth on its network to ensure bandwidth is available for everyone. However, after extracting data from 55,000 cell phone bills that belonged to AT&T and Verizon Wireless customers in 2011 the result show throttling isn’t doing anything. According to the study, subscribers on unlimited plans for Verizon Wireless use less data on average than those who are on tiered plans. Unlimited and tiered users on AT&T saw unlimited users consume slightly more than half a gigabyte more than tiered users on average versus median use. Considering the slight differences between tiered and unlimited plan users’ data consumption, why is it that the unlimited users are the ones at risk of being throttled? The crux of the study seems to be that claims

Check out the image below this paragraph. No, that isn’t some dude planking in a really weird warm-up suit on the side of the mountain in South Africa. What you’re seeing is a daredevil that goes by “The Birdman” as he flies from a much higher point on that mountain range to the ground below using a specially designed wing-suit to allow him to glide/fly, sort of like a flying squirrel. What this particular video shows is The Birdman, whose real name is Jeb Corliss, very, very nearly filming his own death. Corliss jumped from a peak and glided a good distance to a point lower in the range where a cameraman was going to film him pass by. The problem was Corliss had lost more altitude than expected and right at the point where he should’ve cleared the ridge; his legs slam into solid granite. If you watch the video at the end the story, you will see Corliss tumbling briefly as he fumbles to get his parachute open as the ground rushes up at him. Seconds after deploying his parachute, Corlis

ViewSonic has outed its Mobile World Congress line-up of smartphones and tablets, and with the Android-powered ViewPhone 4s running a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 display it’s clear the iPhone 4S is the company’s key target. The ViewPhone 4s matches Apple’s smartphone with a 326ppi IPS display, but squeezes in twin SIMs and a copy of Ice Cream Sandwich, along with a 5-megapixel camera and a front-facing VGA webcam. It’s not the only new ViewSonic device, though; read on for more. ViewSonic has two other smartphones, each less obviously “borrowing” from Apple’s spec sheet. The ViewSonic ViewPhone 5e, shown below, has a 5-inch WVGA display and runs Android 4.0, as well as accommodating twin SIMs. It has a smaller sibling, the 3.5-inch ViewPhone 4e, with an HVGA display, 650MHz processor, dual-SIM support and an FM radio, in a 10.3mm thick body. Then there are the tablets. ViewSonic has three models to show, kicking off with the ViewPad G70 we saw earlier this week. That has a 7-inch 1024 x 600 cap

If you are a Dropbox user, the Android app has a new feature that I think you’ll like. The new feature gives you the ability to automatically sync photos you take with your smartphone to the Dropbox storage account. The coolest part is unlike some other applications that offer this capability; Dropbox allows you to upload any size photos. That means if your camera can shoot eight megapixel still shots, you don’t have to wait for them to be resized before you can upload. You keep all that resolution, which is a big deal if you might want to print the photo later. The app also has a setting to let you choose if you want upload photos when using either your data plan or Wi-Fi and another setting for using Wi-Fi only. Dropbox now also offers the ability for you to upload photos from your Windows computer each time you insert a memory card or flash drive. This is a cool feature, but you can bet you’ll use your 2 GB of storage space quickly once you start uploading lots of video and photogra

The “Retina Display” purportedly from Apple’s iPad 3 has surfaced again, with notorious teardown merchants iFixit doing their level best to get the pixel-blessed panel up and running. The screen – put under the microscope earlier this month, and seemingly revealing its 2048 x 1536 resolution - presented no shortage of issues, however, with a completely different connector from that used in the current iPad 2. Still, iFixit trained its microscope on the panel again, finding a far denser collection of pixels that seemingly re-confirms original suggestions of Retina Display style doubled resolution. The layout seems to match with what’s used in the iPhone 4S’ Retina Display. Unfortunately, the cable change proved too challenging to get the panel working: even with partial connections it failed to light up. The image below shows the two connectors – iPad 2 on the left, rumored iPad 3 on the right – with suggestions that it could have different power requirements among other things. That im

If you are the owner of some of the Sony Xperia smartphones that are on the market such as the Arc S, Neo V, and Ray, good news is afoot. I’m sure you already know that Sony has promised that it would offer Android 4.0 for all of its 2011 model Xperia devices. That promise is finally coming true for some owners that use the Xperia Ray, Neo V, and Arc S devices. Sony is offering early access to the beta software for those devices giving you an official Ice Cream Sandwich ROM to play with. The ROM isn’t limited to developers or specifically selected beta users either; anyone can downloaded and apply it to their phone. However, Sony does recommend that only advanced developers use the software. That likely means that there is no support should things go wrong for your device. You need to grab Sony’s official bootloader to load the beta ROMs up. Naturally, using the bootloader will void your warranty. Still, there will be a bunch of hours of the smartphones the flock to get the new ROM. If

Apple has reportedly acquired app search specialist Chomp and will use the company’s team and technology to rework the App Store to make discovering new software more straightforward. Chomp – which currently offers iPhone, iPad and Android app discovery tools, as well as powering Verizon’s Android app search – will be entirely subsumed into Apple, TechCrunch‘s sources say, with reports that high-level execs have already joined the iTunes team. According to 9to5 Mac‘s sources, Chomp CEO Ben Keighran and CTO Cathy Edwards are already at their new roles within Apple, in the iTunes marketing team and iTunes engineering team respectively. The Chomp technology will be used to help power a significant App Store and iTunes overhaul, it’s suggested, making it more user-friendly and faster. That will apply not only to apps but to music and video within the iTunes store, it’s claimed, with Apple describing the update to its partners as “a much more engaging experience.” Although Apple’s download

Apple has disabled iCloud and MobileMe push-email support in Germany, after Motorola convinced a court the cloud sync service infringed its patents, though the Cupertino firm offers both a workaround and the assurance it will fight the ruling. Detailed in an Apple support document, the workaround involves switching to timed email checks for those in Germany, rather than getting their new messages as soon as they’re received. Update: Official Apple statement after the cut However, push support for contacts and calendar sync will continue to operate as before. German users will also get push email when outside of the country, as Motorola’s injunction only applies to that single location. Apple says it “believes Motorola’s patent is invalid and is appealing the decision” in the German courts, but it seems Motorola is confident enough to stump up a €100m bond to have it enforced. Still, if Apple can have it overturned, Motorola may be forced to pay significantly more than that in damages.

Google‘s own-brand tablet will go into production in April, it’s been claimed, with the presumably Nexus slate packing a 7-inch 1280 x 800 touchscreen and likely running Android 4.0. However, it’s unclear whether the Google tablet will be a budget competitor to the $199 NOOK Tablet 8GB or a more premium device, DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim told CNET. Initial production is expected to run to around 1.5-2m units, the analyst claims. A 1280 x 800 display would already elevate the Google tablet above the NOOK Tablet and Kindle Fire, which each use 1024 x 600 LCD screens. The higher resolution is more in keeping with existing Ice Cream Sandwich based slates on the market, and might indicate Google sees its tablet as more akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 7.7, a more premium model which prioritizes a slimline chassis and high-quality Super AMOLED Plus display. That would also fit in with comments by Google chairman Eric Schmidt back in December, at which time he teased that the company was

Apple’s iPad trademark headaches continue, with Chines foe Proview suing the Cupertino company in the US, along with accusing it of using a fake company to con Proview into believing it would not present competition in the market. Proview filed its suit at the Santa Clara Superior Court on February 17, Proview spokeswoman Alice Wang confirmed to the AP, citing Apple’s use of the iPad trademark in the Chinese market. The company claims it believed it was negotiating with an IP developer, which would not offer hardware competition for sales in China. According to Proview, rather than negotiating directly with Apple, it believed it was discussing the potential trademark sale with “IP Application Development Ltd” (IPAD), an entity it claims Apple established specifically for the purpose of misleading the discussions. IPAD, Proview alleges, insisted that it would not be competing with computing hardware, such as Proview’s own iPAD computer device, Reuters reports. Apple’s own evidence cited

Apparently Asus really knows the definition of “soon.” The company announced earlier today that it had begun issuing upgrades of the Android-powered Transformer TF101 tablet in Taiwan, bringing Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the device. This sparked a flurry of interest, but most US consumers didn’t take much note since there was no indication of how quickly the update would make its way stateside. Asus noted that it would start rolling out Ice Cream Sandwich to Transformer tablets in other regions “soon after” it tested the waters overseas. Well, it looks like that process was pretty successful because in a follow-up message on Twitter, the official Asus account wrote a message that the US rollout will happen tomorrow, February 24. Talk about “soon.” When it comes to Ice Cream Sandwich, there haven’t exactly been a lot of success stories. In fact, the two most noteworthy devices that started rolling out upgrades – the Transformer Prime tablet and the Nexus S phone – had to pull the

There’s no shortage of things to be on the lookout for at next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but one thing most people haven’t been talking about is that an important company might be taking a walk on the Windows Phone side even though it has been a staunch Android supporter so far. The idea of a Windows Phone-powered Sony phone first came to light when a supposed picture was leaked. Of course, at the time, it was referred to as a Windows Phone-powered Sony Ericsson phone, but now that Sony has bought out Ericsson’s share in the mobile joint venture, Sony may be interested in taking the division into new directions. Android has, of course, been the saving grace for the company. Prior to adopting Android, Sony Ericsson was struggling and consistently posted quarterly net losses. When it switched to Android, it said that move would be exclusive. Of course, all bets are off now that it’s just Sony. We’ve also heard rumors that Sony might be working on its own proprietary mobi

Best Buy has apologized for the fact that pornography managed to show up on a 55-inch TV in its store two days in a row. The retailer said it did not know who was responsible for the salacious content, but said it was due to someone hacking into the store’s Wi-Fi network. One shopper was quoted as describing the images that appeared on the screen as “extremely, extremely pornographic.” A police report was even filed by an offended customer. The customer said Best Buy was guilty of “dissemination of pornographic material.” The local police where this situation occurred, in Greenville, South Carolina, will investigate. A police spokesperson said it will need to see the images in question to determine whether or not a law was actually broken. The woman who made the complaint said she felt “extremely violated.” There were also children in the store who were exposed to the content. A statement from Best Buy’s corporate office was sent to the local CBS affiliated, saying, “Two individuals ac

Everybody knows that Photojojo makes the strangest, most interesting, and indeed some of the highest quality oddities a camera enthusiast can buy – and today they’ve upped the ante for hipsters working with the iPhone. Grab you iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S, slide on the first piece of the cast, pop that into the second bit, and bam, you’ve got your very own retro-style analog camera that looks and feels relatively similar to the real thing, but with iPhone quality in the mix! You’ll be able to tap the shutter button to take a photo, use a real viewfinder, and mount it on a tripod! And the whole thing is pretty darn customizable. This unit works with Photojojo’s collection of Magnetic Cell Lenses which include Fisheye, Wide Angle/Maco, and 2x Telephoto. The tripod mount is removable, the whole setup is lightweight, and there’s no blockage of any of your physical buttons or charging dock. The shutter button lines up with your volume up button which, as you know, works as a shutter button on its

Nintendo has apparently been in discussions with some of the top players in the world of content creation and distribution to make the Wii U much more than just a game console. In fact, it seems Nintendo may have ambitions as strong as Microsoft, as the Wii U may be able to run live streaming TV content from cable companies and individual cable TV networks. A report from Adweek cites numerous unnamed sources as saying Nintendo wants to make streaming video an integral part of its next generation console, something that could potentially play very well with the touchscreen controller that is a focal point of the Wii U. Players could potentially watch a video on their Wii U controller while someone else is watching TV, essentially turning the controller into its own makeshift tablet. It’s a stark contrast to the Nintendo of the early 2000s, which said it was a dedicated gaming company and its machines were to be dedicated to gaming only. It was with that mindset that the original Wii was

In the most recent quarter, Dish Network managed to add 22,000 new subscribers, a feat it says was accomplished by its acquisition of fledgling retail chain Blockbuster. If you are still living in the 1990s, what you probably picture from reading that statement is a bunch of promotional standees in Blockbuster stores offering a special Dish Network subscription package. Nope, the brick-and-mortar section of Blockbuster is very much dead weight, but Dish’s marketing of the company’s online service seems to be working. Customers who sign up for Dish get three free months of Blockbuster’s online system, which gives them access to more than 100,000 movies and TV episodes, in addition to DVDs by mail at a rate of one disc at a time. Even after the three months, the service only costs $10 per month and it’s conveniently added to customers’ Dish Network bills. That’s much cheaper than a comparable offering from Netflix. Of course, when you talk about Blockbuster you need to talk about those f

In the world of Xbox Live profile censorship, we’ve seen people get banned because they listed the actual name of their hometown (e.g., Fort Gay), we’ve seen gamers axed en masse because of a so-called “software error,” and we saw gamers unable to express their sexual identity in their username (a stance that has since been reversed), and here’s a new one to add to the pile – a man whose Xbox Live username was deemed too offensive for the online community, even though it’s just his last name. We’re talking about one Christopher Gooche. He registered the Xbox Live name “Gooche” way back in the days of the original Xbox, in 2004. For the last 7+ years he has been making friends and collecting achievements with that name. Then, all of the sudden, he got a message from an Xbox Live representative while playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. He was asked to change his username. Apparently “gooche” is also used in a slang and profane context. His profile will remain intact, but the username

At Sunday’s Academy Awards, many of the nominees are films that were made available in 3D. In fact, we could probably be pretty safe in saying that more 3D movies will win Oscars this year than any previous year. And we’re not the only ones who are noticing this. Wolfgang Puck, who is the official chef at the Governors Ball (the biggest after-show party for award show attendees), created what he calls a “3D dessert.” We know what you’re thinking: what the heck is a 3D dessert? We’re not even sure ourselves, but apparently if you look at the confection while wearing a pair of 3D glasses, it has the illusion of jumping out at you. That’s what Puck says at least. And yes, people who attend the Governors Ball will receive a pair of 3D glasses. Do you need any other affirmation that 3D has taken over Hollywood? Interestingly enough, while there are certainly enough 3D movies on the Oscar ballot, some of the top nominees like The Descendants and The Artist were notably not shot in 3D. In fac

Attention anyone with an Android phone or tablet – sign up for a Box account right now because you’ll get a whopping 50 GB of cloud storage absolutely free. This special offer is only available for the next 30 days, and it is definitely not just some gimmick. Box is not a free cloud service, but with all that’s been happening in this space recently, the company decided this was the way to get a jolt of attention. Between Amazon’s Cloud Drive and music-playing service, and Apple’s nascent iCloud platform, cloud storage is becoming more popular than ever. In addition, Google is reportedly working on a user-friendly cloud drive project and Microsoft will certainly make Windows 8 as cloud-friendly as possible. Where does Box fit in with all this? It was an early pioneer in the market and has targeted a very niche market until now. The Android announcement comes as the company has updated its Android app, making it fully compatible with Ice Cream Sandwich. Box even worked directly with Goog

Earlier this month, Netflix launched an original program starring Steven Van Zandt (of The E Street Band and “The Sopranos” fame), called “Lilyhammer.” The show details Van Zandt’s character’s life in Lilyhammer after he was forced to turn on the mob. There are some who say that the show is fun and worth watching, while other critics say it’s a disappointment. As for me? Well, I’m not here to evaluate a new show. Instead, I’m here to tell you that Netflix’s decision to produce its own original programming is its best idea yet. If you’ve been watching Netflix news over the last several months, you know that the company has faced some trouble inking deals with content creators. Starz has not wanted to play nice, HBO is doing all it can to take Netflix down, and countless film studios are trying to get every last dime out of the streaming provider before they hand over their movies. The only logical step, then, is for Netflix to supplement its content with original programming of its own.

So the next time you move into a new home or apartment, one of the questions you may be asking yourself is whether you want to go with cable, satellite….or Google. Yes, according to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, the search giant is looking to move into the incredibly rigid territory of paid TV service. The company has filed for TV franchise licenses in Missouri and Kansas. Of course, Google is not the only one trying to hone in on the market that has been one of the strongest oligopolies in recent corporate history. For example, Microsoft has struck deals to offer live TV on the Xbox 360 and there are mobile apps that offer the same thing. It’s a huge difference, though, because at least for now, those options still require users to be a paying cable subscriber before they can get access to live streaming TV. Google’s most recent attempt to gain dominance in the living room failed, as the company’s Google TV software has not only failed to attract ambitious support from TV manu

You digital maniacs of music can dash out to the online store right this second and unload because Numark has officially started shipping their N4 four-channel DJ controller with built-in mixer and timecode. This beast has more capabilities and features “than any other controller in its class” along with high-resolution 14-bit MIDI for responses so tight you’ll have to loosen your belt a bit. And with the price this unit is selling at, you’ll have to put your eyeballs back in your head before you start tapping and turning, believe it! This device has four decks of software control as well as a mixer that works without or with a computer in tangent. The N4 comes with Serato DJ Intro software as well as a four-deck version of none other than Virtual DJ LE, and is created “with the mobile DJ in mind,” so says Numark Product Manager Chris Roman. Up top there’s a collection of large touch-sensitive panels, four decks of software control with looping and effects controls, and a USB audio int

President Obama’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, announced this week, is the latest dip down the personal information rabbit hole, potentially taking us another step further closer to legislating users out of responsibility. Described as a consumer rights safeguard, it encompasses “Do Not Track” systems in browsers, safe storage of databases containing personal information, ensures what’s collected is done with respect for the context of the service, and tries to insist on simple explanations and accountability. Yet we’ve not heard about what in fact is most needed: provisions for straightforward controls that everyday users can rely on to monitor and adjust the balance of information sharing. [Image credit: Shawn Allen] I’ve written before about the privacy conundrum, and how it has become a buzzword to be used in clubbing companies rather than something users give legitimate thought to. Taking ownership of your own data – and who you entrust it to – isn’t something that can be legi

Among several new mobile chips we’ll be seeing at Mobile World Congress next week, will be Samsung’s new Exynos chips. The company teased the first samples at the ISSCC event this week and is expected to showcase two of these next-gen processors at MWC. Although one of the models still uses quad ARM Cortex-A9s, it’s built on an improved 32nm process, which should mean both faster speed and longer battery life. The new quad-core Samsung Exynos chip is expected to be 26 percent faster, while using 34 to 50 percent less power. Each core can be shutdown independently to conserve energy depending on the tasks at hand. The Exynos 4412 model can run from 200MHz to 1.5GHz, and will include four ARM Mali graphics cores, a 64-bit Neon media engine, and a dual-channel memory controller. The Exynos 4412 is said to be powerful enough to support a phone with an integrated projector and a 1080p 3D display. It will directly compete with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 quad-core processor for a place in tablets and h

It appears that this year will be no exception to the rule that Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest venues for device releases all year long, and today’s announcements are certainly not lacking in the LG department. The manufacturer behind such future products as the LG Optimus Vu and Optimus 3D Cube are being reported today to be amongst Mozilla’s launch partners for their own web-based mobile operating system Boot2Gecko. This system is the same one we gave a very alpha hands-on to earlier this month – and the idea that it’d be ready to launch this year is, for lack of a better word, unbelievable. The idea that Mozilla would launch a mobile operating system the way they’re saying they will is more than just exciting, it’s revolutionary: not only would Boot2Gecko be open like no operating system has ever been open before, it would be able to run inside any web browser. Analysts are saying that this system is essentially what Google’s Chrome is but much lower tech. Underneath th

Google continues to expand the reach of its social network and announced today that it is integrating Google+ Circles into Google Voice, its free VoIP PBX-type of voice calling and voice message management service. The integration allows you to assign different answering rules for each of your Circles. In Google’s words, this allows you to direct calls from your “Creepers” Circle directly to voicemail, calls from your “College Buddies” Circle to hear you rap your voicemail greeting, and calls from your “Family” Circle to ring through to your mobile phone. The integration certainly encourages the use of both Google Voice and Google+, allowing folks who prefer calling to connect even better, while still offering many controls and options. The new feature can be customized under the Groups & Circles tab in your Google Voice settings. However, settings for the feature are only available in the Google Voice desktop version for now and it’s not clear when Google may introduce the feature

This week it appears that one lucky fellow has found his way into the LG repository of unrevealed products with a touchy-feely look at each and every one of the Mobile World Congress 2012 devices. You’re about to get a glimpse of no less than the LG Optimus LTE, the LG Optimus L7, LG Optimus 4X HD, LG Optimus 3D Max, LG Optimus L3, and of course the LG Optimus Vu, each of them captured by Telefonino. Each of these devices have been announced previous to this event, but this is basically the first time we’ve seen each of them “in the wild” as it were. Very briefly let’s go through and see a fun new point or two on each of these devices before we see them in person next week in Spain, starting with the LG Optimus L7. With the LG Optimus L7, you’ll see the line’s newly minted NFC capabilities in full working order – also the three-button nature of the device, with one physical button in the middle and two haptic buttons on either side lighting up. Next with the LG Optimus L3 you’ll notice

Curious how much your iPhone actually costs Apple to manufacture? Asymco analyst Horace Dediu claims that each iPhone costs about $30, and that’s on the high side and greater than previous estimates of $8 per unit. His estimate was deduced from new details revealed by an ABC Nightline report that was given unprecedented access to the facilities of Apple’s main manufacturing partner, Foxconn. According to the ABC report, each iPhone takes 24 hours to produce, including 6 to 8 hours for component burn-in and software testing. The show also revealed that each worker on the production line makes roughly $1.78 per hour. The production process includes both human labor and some robotic automation, but the lack of more automation may be due to more cost and less flexibility. With this information, Dediu calculated that labor costs for each iPhone would be between $12.50 and $30. However, this labor cost is a very small part of the overall cost structure for the iPhone, accounting for only 2%

This week the folks at Lumus have revealed their newest technology embodied in any number of projected 3D display eyewear. Whilst running around CES 2012 like mad chickens with our heads cut off just weeks ago, we made it our mission to find only the most radically awesome designs and projects on the floor, one of them being the Lumus optical engine. What Lumus is showing off today is a very similar engine made to work not only in glasses, but in motorcycle helmets, visors, and all manner of odd face-friendly devices and objects. This newest engine is able to be integrated into ski goggles, prescription glasses, and all sorts of lenses such as binoculars and monoculars – and the whole thing weighs in at just 10 grams. That’s .35 ounces for the OE-21 sensor that, at this scale, will be great for any and all augmented reality situations. When we saw Lumus solution back at CES 2012, it was a much more intense application, ranging all the way back to a 10-feet and an undeniably impressive

Apple had its first annual shareholder meeting without the late Steve Jobs today. The company didn’t make any major announcements at the event, but did address some longtime shareholder issues regarding the implementation of a majority-voting standard. Apple CEO Tim Cook was on hand of course for a few statements and a shareholder Q&A session, but dodged any questions related to the much rumored Apple television set. Many large companies have already adopted the majority-voting standard, something that Apple has been resistant to despite the push by shareholders. Apple has been operating under a plurality vote standard that requires directors to obtain only a majority of the votes cast, disregarding those who failed to vote on their shares. Beyond the issue of the new shareholder voting policy, a variety of questions were fielded by Cook regarding the company’s direction. Shareholders questioned Apple’s commitment to education, the company’s lack of interest in owning its own music