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During an investors conference today, Verizon CFO Fran Shammo revealed that the carrier plans to launch shared family data plans by mid-year. There had been plenty of speculation about the new data offering, which Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam confirmed would start sometime in 2012. But the time frame has always remained vague and even with Shammo’s affirmation, he qualifies it still as a “long-term migration” that won’t happen instantly on launch. According to Shammo, Verizon had been studying the issue for about a year to determine if shared data plans would be beneficial for both the company and its customers. He did not reveal any pricing details, saying that it is a a very complex equation, which apparently they’re still working on to ensure a mutually satisfying pricing structure for both its business and for customers. He also emphasized that the day the new data plans are launched won’t mean that everyone gets to switch to this new account billing method. The process will be a long

The Android team predicted forking in the ecosystem, Google chairman Eric Schmidt said today at Mobile World Congress, taking the opportunity to snipe at Apple over the company’s litigious tendencies. ”We understood that this stuff would happen … and it’s fine” Schmidt said, explaining that while Google hoped that those manufacturers not sticking to the search company’s official guidelines for Android would realize the potential benefits, ”We don’t sue them… if you get my drift.” The Google chairman had been asked about the growth in Android devices, and whether that growth had been undermined in any way by the number of manufacturers using their own, customized builds of the OS. Not so, Schmidt insisted: that’s part of the open-source ethos, and something the Android team fully expected to happen. Schmidt’s comments echo those he made in mid-January, in which he suggested there was no such thing as fragmentation, only differentiation. At the time he suggested that “differentiation is

This week Google’s Eric Schmidt spoke to the whole world via the Mobile World Congress 2012, expanding on what he began earlier in the day on the fully connected earth. “To some degree the gap gets larger” Shmidt spoke on how developing nations get technology much slower, “but it does not negate the importance of getting these people information.” Speaking about low-cost computers and textbooks and everything along the lines of information for power, Schmidt noted that getting these people this information is vital and that “getting this information is life changing.” Schmidt continued to speak on the technologies that will come in the future that will advance to the point where society will ethically deem to allow it. Schmidt noted that he’d read that the average student texts 100 times a day and that Bowling Alone was a meme which noted how disconnected we were. Upon being questioned on where we can go from here, Schmidt made it clear that “you can turn it off” if you want. The quest

A life without internet access is a life equivalent to spending it incarcerated, Google‘s Eric Schmidt has joked atMobile World Congress today, quipping that “prison is no bandwidth” after a question from an Iranian attendee. Speaking during the Q&A section of his keynote session, Schmidt was asked whether Google would lift blocks on the company’s services in Iran. After a brief consultation with his lawyer, Schmidt said that such a move was impossible as it contravened US law. “Is that true?” Schmidt asked the off-stage Google legal beaver. When confirmed, he explained that the limitations were part of the laws in the US, apologizing for Google’s inability to act differently. “Would you take a stand about that?” Schmidt was asked, over whether Google would protest against the current laws. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like Google will be making a political stand, despite the fact that he himself agrees with the idea that access should be ubiquitous. “The internet and technology a

Samsung’s new Galaxy Note device is turning a lot of heads, not only because of its large display but also because of the “S Pen” that comes with it, turning it into more of a tablet/PDA hybrid than a traditional phone. The only problem with launching something like that is that it isn’t a universal accessory and so developers need to have intense confidence in that one product if they want to incorporate it. Well, that, or Samsung could just bribe them with the chance to win $100,000. From today until April 2, Samsung is encouraging developers to submit the best app they can come up with, using the S Pen peripheral. Those who are singled out as having created amazing apps will share a prize pool of more than $200,000, mostly in cash, with the grand prize winner taking home half of the entire kitty. Second prize is $50,000 and the third-place finisher will grab a cool $25,000. There will also be 10 “Honorable Mention” winners, each of whom will receive $2,000 and a Galaxy Note. Finally

Sony has announced the arrival date for its unusual dual-screen Tablet P, a small Android tablet with a clamshell form factor first unveiled in the fall of last year. We played around with the tablet back in August and have known that it would be heading to AT&T with 4G HSPA+ connectivity, but have heard little about the tablet since except for its UK launch. And now, Sony’s finally ready to bring it over to the states, starting March 4. The Sony Tablet P features a folding design with two 5.5-inch displays that can either combine as one larger display or function separately. For instance, you may be able to check email on one screen while you use the keyboard on the other screen. Therefore, Sony has its own interface running on top of Android 3.2 Honeycomb. The tablet uses an NVIDIA 1GHz Tegra 2 dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 4GB of onboard storage expandable with microSD. It also has a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, microUSB, and Blueto

Upon being asked a question about mobile payment – or being pitched an idea about doing peer to peer payments, as it was, Google’s Eric Schmidt responded with a treat of a forgone technology not oft, if ever, spoken about in public. It’s Google Bucks, and though it was only tested internally apparently, it was a peer-to-peer payment system that may well have been ready to take place in the real world had such a technology been rendered essentially useless via laws restricting payment in such ways. A fellow from Germany stood up and pitched a service wrapped in a question about what Google was currently doing with mobile payment, summoning giggles from the crowd simply because such a comment is not often made at a Q and A session such as this. Schmidt responded not with a push-off, but an excellent rebuttal which went like this: “There’s an issue with peer to peer money, that being that it’s illegal. Other than that it’s a great idea. There are some issues with peer to peer money. In mo

Google chairman Eric Schmidt has presented his vision of the future and technology, describing a world where people have their own personal robot that can represent them remotely and from which they can see a remote 3D visual stream. “We’re beginning to see science fiction become a reality” Schmidt said during his MWC 2012 keynote. ”Look at Star Trek or, my favorite, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy .” As Schmidt described it, people would have access to compact telepresence robots, small enough to carry in a bag and deploy at will. They would then be able to beam back a 3D picture to a portable 3D-capable screen, part of huge mesh networks of devices talking to each other. “We can look forward to a future of essentially unlimited speed and unlimited processing power … tiny, powerful sensors will be embedded in everything. By 2020, fiber networks will be deployed in every city.” Still, Schmidt also pointed out that technology is not delivered to every potential user equally, and highli

Eric Schmidt spoke this week at MWC about the growth of the mobile world, focusing on the developing world, the “digital oasis,” where access to the internet is still a rarity, but where technology will bring it to them at an exponential rate. “Smartphones do not have to talk to a central hub,” he said, “they can just talk to each other.” Using Bluetooth and other technologies you can use Mesh Networks to connect – “Mesh is a stepping stone for connectivity.” Schmidt continued hoever that “Noone is suggesting that technology will suddenly transform the social political and economic situations of peoples lives. But it certainly can improve them.” “It will redefine the relationship these people have with the world.” Schmidt spoke of Syria and the images coming out of war zones, the collapse of dictatorships, and the mobilizing (in a political sense) of communities around the world. “Smarter and more resourceful citizens are going to start demanding a better deal.” Schmidt began to speak

Apple has confirmed a press event on Wednesday, March 7, where we’re expecting to see the iPad 3 make its official, and much-anticipated, debut. Rumored for the first week of March for some time now, the event will kick off at 10AM PST in San Francisco, and we’ll be liveblogging it as usual! According to Apple’s invite, “We have something you really have to see. And touch.” Catch up with all the rumors and speculation around the new iPad after the cut. Rumors about the next-gen iPad’s specifications have been circulating even before the iPad 2 was revealed early last year. According to the latest batch of speculation, the tablet will be roughly the same size as the existing model, but feature a much higher resolution screen, running at 2048 x 1536 or double the current iPad 2. That would certainly fit with Apple’s “you really have to see” tagline We’re also expecting a new processor, though original expectations of a quadcore Apple A6 have since been thrown into question by signs of an

This week at MWC 2012, Eric Schmidt stood on stage with Hugo Barra, speaking about Chrome for mobile, a web browser that allows you to connect to your own profile. Barra took the opportunity to show off Chrome web browser on stage to show off the excellence of the browser in real time – fast as can be. He made sure to note that though this browser is working on a mobile platform, it’s still Android, and as he says, it doesn’t really matter that it’s mobile because “Android is a real operating system.” Barra went through several of the features we’ve already seen on the Chrome browser on the Android platform, showing off the cycling through of windows, the ease in switching between windows, and the speed of browsing of course. The importance of Chrome is easy to see on its own, but due especially to recent talks of security and privacy with the system, it was Schmidt that spoke to the tune of safety: “If you care about security, you should use Chrome, because its the best. If you don’t

Apple is reportedly working on a new audio file format that would enable “adaptive streaming” of music accessed via the iCloud and iTunes Match. This feature will allow music quality to automatically adjust between high and low to accommodate the bandwidth or storage constraints of a user’s portable device. According to The Guardian, the new file format also means that users could get “high-definition” audio to their iPhones, iPads, or iPod Touch devices, instead of AAC. A user with low mobile internet bandwidth may only be able to access small file types, but those on a fast connection would be able to download or stream studio quality music. An insider source claims that Apple has already asked a London studio to prepare audio files for the new streaming format, although it’s not clear whether the files convert into AAC in real time or if Apple simply converts the master copies into several different types of formats for iTunes. The new format could be announced during the rumored iP

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has taken the stage for his Mobile World Congress keynote, and he’s already started with the zingers aimed at rivals with some comments on Microsoft and others’ criticisms of Chrome. “If you care about security, you should use Chrome, because it’s by far the safest” Schmidt said, referring to recent controversy about the security of the browser. However, Schmidt wasn’t only talking about Chrome’s security advantages. “If you care about speed, you should use Chrome, because it’s the fastest. And if you don’t care about security or speed, then it’s free.” Google has come in for criticism in recent weeks, over suggestions that it used unofficial workarounds to bypass security in Apple’s Safari browser on iOS and on the desktop. Privacy watchdogs have also been frustrated at Google’s approach to user data, around its recently updated privacy polices. Chrome for Android was also discussed, launched in twenty new countries today.

Among everyone who visited Google’s nascent social network over the last few months, the average amount of time they spent there during the entire month was three minutes. Yeah, you read that right – three minutes out of the entire month. By comparison, those who visited Facebook spent an average of 405 minutes per month, or nearly seven hours. Of course, average numbers only tell part of the story. With a giant like Google, there are bound to be a huge amount of people who just pop in and pop out, but no matter how you slice it, three minutes is kind of pathetic. At this point, there is little reason to do any kind of social networking beyond Facebook, which is where all the content (social games, etc) is. Google+ does have some different features, like “Hangouts,” but it hasn’t done a good job of marketing these distinguishing differences. The problem is that Google has completely failed in trying to sell Google+ as anything that’s differentiated from Facebook. If you watched the mov

Sony’s PlayStation Vita next-gen portable gaming console recently launched in the US and seems to be doing quite well, despite previously nose-diving sales numbers following its release in Japan. The company announced today that PS Vita sales have surpassed 1.2 million units worldwide. That’s finally some good news for Sony, which has suffered an estimated $2.9 billion loss in revenue this past year. It appears that other markets are embracing the PS Vita with more love than its home country since Sony sold 578,812 units total in Japan since its launch last December, but has already sold more than 620,000 units abroad within the last two weeks. However, the recent February launch does include US, Europe, and Australia, so we would hope the figures would be positive in these large markets. Now Sony will have to maintain the momentum, something it failed miserably at with the PS Vita in Japan. The company admits to having learned its lesson and has scheduled a staggered release of major

Android is dominating here at Mobile World Congress 2012, and that means Google’s taking center stage for the bulk of the conference. In addition to their massive booth, the search giant also gets a keynote presentation all to itself, and it’s starting in just under half an hour. SlashGear is here to bring the latest news – whatever that might be. Google’s been pretty tight-lipped on the conference so far, though they might have some interesting surprises in store for us. The largest mobile manufacturers out there have been strutting their stuff, most notable HTC with its new One series. But LG, Asus, Samsung and the rest aren’t far behind. While we’re not expecting anything earth-shattering from Google (they’re more likely to save the big stuff for Google IO in the summer) there should be some impressive statistics and at least a few sneak peeks at what they’re working on. The hall is packed with press and industry types, straining at the ears to see what Google and the Mobile World

HTC’s new One X phone is the most sophisticated and technologically powerful phone by HTC yet (and HTC has put out some pretty monstrous phones). Because of that, Best Buy thinks customers will be all over it and has decided to already begin taking pre-orders for the device. You’ll need to specifically ask a Best Buy employee for the pre-order, as it isn’t advertised in the store. The One X will be powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, wrapped in HTC’s new Sense 4.0 interface, and it powered by a quad-core processor. It comes with a 4.7-inch display and is compatible with AT&T’s super fast 4G LTE network. In other words, it’s the kind of phone that you’d want to show off to your friends. There is no launch date or price to confirm at this time, though. That isn’t stopping Best Buy from taking your money, though. If you place a $50 deposit you’re guaranteed to get one when it launches, whenever that may happen to be. Of course, you can rescind your reservation at any time and g

Apple’s third-gen iPad will make its official debut at an event next week, according to new sources, lending further weight to earlier talk of a March 7 debut for the iPad 3. The information was reported by CNBC this morning; the company’s sources have been more than brief, only indicating that the iPad 3 will indeed have 4G LTE and be revealed next week. Still, there are a few surprises: they also say it has a quadcore processor, rather than the dualcore we most recently heard whispers of, and Apple is supposedly bringing it out to play at an event in New York rather than its traditional San Francisco haunt. Although a quadcore Apple A6 processor had been long suggested for the iPad 3, more recent leaks indicated Apple might be sticking with dualcore for the third-gen model. Details of an Apple A5X chipset emerged, scant but indicating a possibly faster dual CPU core and upgraded GPU; however, in recent days evidence of both A5X and A6 chips have been spotted in iOS 5.1 beta code. Eit

Google’s Mobile World Congress keynote is set to kick off in just over an hour, with chairman Eric Schmidt expected to drop the latest Android tidbits; it also gives Apple the perfect opportunity to steal focus from its arch-rival with a well-timed event invite. Apple is widely expected to unveil its third-generation iPad at a March 7 event, just seven days away. If the company is true to form, that means we could expect press invites to hit inboxes as soon as this morning. That would coincide neatly with Schmidt’s keynote speech, and certainly give Apple the opportunity to distract headlines and attention from whatever the Google chairman has to say. On the rumored agenda are details about Google I/O 2012, as well as the mysterious Android@Home hardware products that have cropped up in recent weeks. We’ve already said that Apple is likely to dominate Mobile World Congress this week as the company every Android device manufacturer and others will be compared against. If Apple really wa

Mac sales at the end of 2011 were substantially up from the previous year, and a closer look from analyst group Needham & Company reveals where the bulk of that growth came from – business customers. Specifically, Mac sales that were sent to businesses were up by 50.9%, according to analyst Charlie Wolf, and enterprise sales are also soaring. When it comes to corporate computers, almost everyone thinks of Windows. And that should still be the case. After all, Apple accounts for only 2.9% of all business computer sales worldwide. But back in 2010, that number was even smaller, just 1.3% So by the end of 2011 Apple more than doubled its presence in that market. And in the enterprise sector, Apple now commands 5.8% of the market. The reason for that expansion, Wolf says, is because Apple has worked to integrate Microsoft’s network environment into OS X, and the fact that Intel-based Macs can run Windows (though they’ve been able to do that since 2006). However, Wolf noted, that’s not

Apple’s Siri digital personal assistant is set to show up on the dash of select Mercedes-Benz models, with the news that the A-Class COMAND system is getting an upgrade for improved iPhone 4S interconnectivity. Dubbed “Drive Kit Plus for iPhone” the system allows users to navigate through their iTunes library via the A-Class’ Controller in the armrest, together with trigger Siri spoken voice commands to locate services, contact people in your address book, fire off text messages and more. In fact, all of the iPhone functionality can be used, even if drivers only have the basic Audio 20 system in their car. The iPhone 4S itself also gets recharged while plugged in, and its display is outputted to the in-dash screen. There’s also Garmin-powered real-time traffic data, with POI search and 3D mapping, in the Digital DriveStyle App. A car finder tool will automatically store the car’s location in a parking garage, too, and there’s AUPEO! Personal Radio for streaming entertainment and social

A design firm has created something that could put all those carnival photo kiosks to shame – a 3D photobooth. The creation uses three Canon 5D MKII cameras and four Macbook Pros, just to demonstrate how much power something like this needs. The result is a contraption that is able to instantly print 3D photos. Unfortunately, don’t expect one near your hometown any time soon. The firm, which called the creation “The Protobooth,” said in an e-mail to diyphotography.net, “We have no plans to commercialize the Protobooth. It was an internal project that we had a lot of fun creating.” Yes, like all good things, this won’t be turned into a commercialized product just yet. However, “That being said, everything we learned from this process has the potential to make its way into future projects.” So what’s the point? Just to prove it’s possible, apparently. When it comes to the expansion of 3D technology, pictures appear to be the one thing people gravitate to more than anything else. So perha

Perhaps the biggest addition out of the many new features in Windows 8 is its new ARM-based flavor, which Microsoft is calling Windows 8 WOA. They don’t want anyone to forget it, either: they’ve planned a showcase event at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the tech world is currently checking out the latest and greatest in smartphones and tablets… running on ARM. The press conference is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon local time, putting it between 6AM (PST) and 9AM (EST) in the United States. This won’t be the first time that Microsoft has displayed Windows running on the smaller, more efficient ARM platform. But with Windows 8 scheduled for a retail release this fall and the company committed to releasing WOA at the same time, development is coming down to the wire. Microsoft appears to be scrambling to get not only the software but its infrastructure ready, as the new interface and integrated Windows Store are essential parts of the all-in-one ARM devices. Microsoft has al

LG only revealed the Optimus 4X HD officially at Mobile World Congress this week, and already the quadcoreTegra 3 smartphone has been priced and dated for the UK. The handset will be priced at £380 ($602) pre-tax and subsidies, according to retailer Clove, and is expected to be in stock come June. However, there’s bad news for lovers of glasses-free 3D, with word that the UK won’t be getting LG’s Optimus 3D Max. LG hasn’t said why the UK isn’t getting the 3D version, but it’s likely a relatively safe assumption that mediocre sales of the original LG Optimus 3D did little to encourage the company to release the successor. That could be a mixed blessing of sorts, if our findings in our hands-on are anything to go by; the new Optimus 3D Max is thinner and generally smaller than its predecessor, but the 3D technology itself is still of questionable usefulness. Far more handy is the power of a quadcore chip, and the LG Optimus 4X HD certainly ticks the right boxes on the spec sheet. The Teg

Scientists have discovered the fossilized remains one of the largest penguins to ever roam the earth. The giant penguin stood 52 inches tall making about 4’4″ tall. By comparison the largest living species of penguins today is the Emperor penguin about 3’7″ tall. The extinct penguin lived somewhere between 24 and 27 million years ago New Zealand was mostly submerged. During that time, New Zealand would’ve been mostly rocky outcrops. The giant penguin is dubbed Kairuku and the first fossils of the penguin were found embedded in a cliff at Waimate in the South Island in 1977. Additional remains were discovered later and the first reconstructed penguin was completed in 2009. The ancient penguins could weigh as much as 132 pounds, which is twice the weight of the Emperor. The scientists describe the extinct penguin as “elegant” by penguin standards with a slender body, long flippers, and short thick legs. According to the scientists, the bird’s body allowed it to dive deeper and swim furth

Verizon has confirmed pricing and availability for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 LTE, which will hit the carrier’s 4G network on March 1. Fronted by a 7.7-inch 1280 x 800 Super AMOLED HD touchscreen, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 uses Verizon’s LTE network for high-speed mobile connectivity, and can share that pipe with up to ten WiFi clients in hotspot mode. It will be priced at $499.99 with a new, two-year agreement. Your money gets you a 1.4GHz dual-core processor and a 3.2-megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording; there’s also 1080p HD video output via HDMI. A front-facing 2-megapixel camer and 16GB of onboard storage – together with a microSD card slot – round out the key specs. Software-wise, there are some Samsung modifications to Android, and the Peel Smart Remote app is preloaded to turn the Galaxy Tab 7.7 into a universal remote-control. You obviously get Android Market access and the usual Google suite of apps like Gmail and Google Voice. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 hands-on: As for subsc

The Japanese asteroid probe Hayabusa was sent to an asteroid called 25143 Itokawa years ago. It was recovered in June of 2010. The probe returned more than 1500 microscopic grains of dust that are currently being investigated to learn all that can be learned about asteroids and what the conditions on an asteroid are like. Scientists studying these dust grains retrieved from the asteroid had been able to confirm some new findings. The new findings indicate that the asteroids are constantly reshaped by continual microscopic impacts for very high-speed objects such as tiny asteroids and other debris. The scientists have been looking at the size, mineralogy, shape, and geochemistry of five different grains of dust that were recovered by the probe. The smallest of the samples the team is working with measures a scant 40 microns. That is less than half the width of a human hair. The surface of these grains were covered in tiny fractures suggesting shocks from impacts to the asteroid. The spe

Hopefully this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, but HBO has announced that it will bring its streaming video service to the Xbox 360 in just a little more than a month. This would be the latest extension for the platform, which has already launched on set-top boxes like the Roku as well as Android and the iPhone/iPad. Of course, the service only works if customers have an existing HBO subscription with a participating provider. Among the non-participating providers is Time Warner Cable, one of the largest providers in the country and, ironically enough, owned by the same company that owns HBO. Nevertheless, those legal details will be resolved on their own time. For now, it’s a matter of getting the digital streaming platform on as many devices as possible, and the Xbox 360 is one of the most precious of all. Even though it’s nothing more than a single cable channel, HBO is remarkably seen as one of the key rivals to services like Netflix, because of its high-quality programming that is goo

Open source mobile platform and spiritual son of MeeGo, Tizen, has gained a new supporter in the shape of Huawei, jumping on board just as the Tizen team releases the SDK beta and source code. Huawei is the latest member of the Tizen Association Board, and apparently intends to release devices “for a range of markets” running the platform. Exactly when that will take place is unclear, however. “We are very happy to join fellow industry leaders on the Board of Tizen Association. Our ongoing goal is to work closely with our customers and partners to bring truly innovative handset propositions to consumers in all markets and the new Tizen ecosystem complements our existing areas of focus and provides fresh opportunity for tremendously strengthening Huawei’s brand name in the mobile segment” Glory Zhang, spokesperson, Huawei Device As for the SDK beta and source code, that includes an updated UI framework along with web APIs that promise to make development of web applications more straigh

Here at the NVIDIA Tegra 3 booth at Mobile World Congress Madfinger Games and NVIDIA are showing off their latest game for Tegra devices. SHADOWGUN: Deadzone will be their Tegra 3 multi-player third person shooter and is coming this March. Check out the hands-on video of this impressive game below. What they have on display for everyone to enjoy and demo is the NVIDIA Tegra 3 powered Transformer Primetablet displaying the new Deadzone over HDMI-out to the big screen. Then we got to enjoy some 1-vs-1 using wireless game controllers by Logitech for truly a console quality gaming experience. This was briefly shown at CES but things look even better on the big screen. The demo truly shows the power of the NVIDIA Tegra 3. Being able to play multiplayer 3rd person gaming with up to 8 players is quite impressive. Shooting others in the face and tossing grenades all sounds great right? SHADOWGUN: Deadzone will have deathmatch, team deathmatch and over 6 levels when it launches. The only issue

The newest Snapdragon processor is bringing its A-game to the tablet with the Mobile Development Platform smartphone MDP8660, and the benchmarks are in. This device represents the first hardware preview of the S4 processor made by Qualcomm and is in full working order in a reference platform design not unlike the other development devices we’ve seen from Qualcomm in the past. What we’re looking at here mostly is the processor itself, PCmag comparing it to the NVIDIA Tegra 3 and the TI OMAP 4, Anandtech comparing it to the previous model Qualcomm MDP with a dual-core Scorpion processor instead. Having a look first at the Linpack benchmark, this test a Java port of the classic Linpack memory bandwidth / FPU test, Anandtech showed how advanced this newest processor is over the previous generation which sits fourth on the list, but above many of your favorite devices from across the Android gamut. Compare this device with its S4 processor to the Google Nexus S (which sits at the very botto

Each year the Pwn2Own hacking contest takes place where security researchers from around the world are offered the chance to hack web browsers and other software for prize money. Over the last three years, the only browser to come out of the contest without being hacked has been Google’s Chrome. While Chrome has made it through the contest three times now, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer have all been hacked. Google is actually trying to lure hackers to attack its browser at this years show with the promise of $1 million in rewards. Hackers don’t even have to crack Chrome to win their share of that million-dollar bounty. Some of the money would be paid out for exploiting other bugs. Google is offering $20,000 to anyone who exploits hackable The big money comes if hackers are able to exploit Chrome specific bugs. For each hacked that involves a Chrome specific flaw; Google will pay out $40,000. If an exploit attacks bugs only found in Chrome, the payout is $60,000. Google is also

Streaming TV is about to get noisy, with the launch of MTV‘s new “Under The Thumb” app promising social entertainment targeted at the perpetually-connected, co-viewing regardless of distance, and super-streamlined multi display interactivity. Hitting iPhone and Android today, the app offers access to an on-demand catalog of MTV shows like Jersey Shore , 16 & Pregnant and Death Valley , which can be viewed on your smartphone – complete with instant messaging between viewers – and the ability to restream it direct to your internet-connected TV or computer, turning your phone into a remote control. Check out our hands-on first impressions after the cut. The app itself is free, and will be offered with a limited selection of free content as part of the basic “Tiny Thumb” package; there’s also celebrity news and other MTV highlights. €2.99 ($4) per month (or €29.99/$40 for the year) gets you the “Super Thumb” package, with more shows and full season access. Finally, those with MTV Mob

The chipmakers are coming out swinging this week at Mobile World Congress 2012, and as Qualcomm is proving today, they’re all going to bring us undeniably excellent devices throughout 2012 and beyond. Speaking on both the Snapdragon S4 processor and the Gobi modem, Qualcomm spoke this week on how their set of chips is able to out-do the competition with an integrated experience. Rob Chandhok, Senior Vice President and President of Qualcomm Internet Services and President of Qualcomm Innovation Center, Inc., as well as Serge Willenegger, Vice President of Technology spoke about both the upcoming S4 platform and Gobi’s 5th generation in kind. Stating with information on Superior Microarchitecture for thermal and power efficiency, we’re reminded instantly of Texas Instruments outline of OMAP 5 with their “Thermal Budget”, heat being the key in both cases. This is a good sign for every user as now that this heat factor is being pushed by several chipset makers as a big issue, our handsets

Shopping carts today are far from what you would consider high-tech. The highest tech shopping carts I’ve ever seen have simple calculators attached. Grocery store chain Whole Foods is working on the development of the shopping cart of the future, and this cart is very high-tech and so awesome. The cart has a Microsoft Kinect for Windows sensor attached. The cart will have the ability to identify shopper with a loyalty card and then follow the shopper around the store using motorized pushing action. That means all the shopper would need to do is walk, and the cart will roll along behind them. Meekly following behind the shopper isn’t all the cart will do, it also has the capability to scan the items the shopper places in the cart. Those items can be marked off the digital list for the shopper and then the cart will total the purchase and check the shopper out when they’re done shopping. Microsoft demonstrated a very early prototype, which is being developed by a company in Austin, Texa

Google is looking to the completion of its massive purchase of Motorola Mobility with the needed approvals in the US and EU granted. The company is also looking to replace the existing CEO with its own. Google is making moves to put walls between its Android team and Motorola Mobility according to Andy Rubin. Rubin says that he did “sponsor” the acquisition of Motorola Mobility, but that he won’t have anything to do with the company once the deal closes. Rubin went so far as to say, “[I have] nothing to do with it…. I don’t even know who’s running it.” When Rubin spoke about the Motorola acquisition at MWC 2012, he was asked if other OEMs would be disfavored while the Motorola team gains favor once the deal was finished. Rubin replied that with Android being open source it would be “physically difficult for me to advantage somebody.” I can see other phone makers becoming angry if Motorola begins to be selected to build Nexus devices over other companies. Firms that build Nexus devices

We have talked a bit about Android 5.0 and it sounds like an interesting operating system. There have been rumors floating around hinting at when the new version of the operating system will launch, with early rumors pointing to Android 5.0 as soon as this summer. At Mobile World Congress 2012, a Google VP of engineering for mobile, named Hiroshi Lockheimer has hinted that the launch will not be until this fall. Android 5.0 has been called Jelly Bean, but Google still hasn’t come clean with the desert it will be naming the next version of the operating system for. Jelly Bean does make sense in that alphabetically “J” is the next letter in the series. Android 4.0 is been on the market for a while now, and is doing well. Android 5.0 is expected to bring with it Android@Home. Lockheimer certainly didn’t confirm launch date, but statements he made they seem to point to this fall. However, he did note that Google is flexible on timing. Lockheimer also talked a bit about Android Beam, which

Now that smartphones are getting bigger, PC’s are getting smaller and FXI Tech’s Cotton Candy “world’s smallest PC” is here at MWC and has just received a small design change, new features, and Android 4.0 is up next. Coming in at about the same size of a pack of gum this dual-core powered PC will be available this March so we snapped a few photos of the new design and it streaming games using Ubuntu. We’ve seen the Cotton Candy before but the new design is simple, elegant and is a hardened drop resistant plastic that should also help with heat dissipation. Inside this tiny PC we have a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, ARM Mali-400MP GPU, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 and a micro-SD slot. On each side are the ports consisting of USB and HDMI-out for all types of use. Streaming movies, Android, Games and more to a display and hooking up wireless mice and more. If you’ve seen the Cotton Candy before you probably already know the specs. FXI has added a micro-USB port to the side as you can see fr

Patent battles are certainly nothing new in the technology industry, and they’re more common than most of the firms in the tech world want to think about. As Yahoo strives to save itself from pending doom, it’s looking at every weapon in its arsenal to fight off failure. One those weapons is its patent portfolio. According to the New York Times, Yahoo is now threatening social network Facebook with legal action over alleged patent infringement. According to sources, Yahoo contends Facebook is infringing on 10 to 20 of the patents it holds and it is trying to get Facebook to agree to license these patents. The patent in question covers technologies for advertising and personalization of websites as well as social networking and messaging. Yahoo is claiming if licensing fees aren’t paid; a lawsuit will be filed according to the sources. Facebook says that it’s still evaluating Yahoo’s claims. There is no indication when Yahoo and Facebook may have started negotiations on licensing fees.

Car companies are teaming more and more with technology companies to bring new features and more tech inside the vehicles they produce. This is a good or bad thing depending on which side of the distracted driving debate you fall. Some think more tech in cars is an opportunity for more distraction, and more accidents. Others think that more tech inside a car can help reduce distracted driving. Samsung and Toyota have announced at Mobile World Congress that they are teaming up to create a smartphone connected car solution. The two companies are working on a Samsung Car Mode Application in car solution to connect Samsung smartphones to the Toyota vehicle infotainment system. The integration will allow for a number of enhanced connectivity and multimedia capabilities inside the vehicle along with Internet services. The Car Mode Application will leverage safety using UX (User Experience) voice control tech. UX is the voice command technology that’s embedded within smartphones and allows ad

Touch tech is gaining an extra dimension, if Neonode has its way, with the company demonstrating its brand new Multi-Sensing system for 3D phone, tablet and other gadget manipulation at MWC 2012. Announced last week, the new finger-tracking kit uses light rather than physical touch sensors: in Neonode’s demo, you can reach through the frame and control on-screen graphics. However, Neonode envisages special cutaway sections showing up on tablets, phones and laptops, allowing us to more precisely interact with the device UI. Neonode’s existing system sits on top of a display and can track two-point multitouch as well as pressure; ereaders from Sony and others already use it. The company’s argument is that pressure sensing is far more intuitive than pinch-zoom, since you can use it to zoom in and out of on-screen graphics and grip the phone one-handed. It also supports more accurate stylus input than capacitive screens, without demanding a traditional active digitizer such as in Samsung’s