Saturday, May 28, 2011

MobileCrunch

MobileCrunch

Link to MobileCrunch

PSA: Get Everything Off Your Old T-Mobile Sidekick By June 30th, Or It’s Gone

Posted: 27 May 2011 04:39 PM PDT

As we found out a few months back, all of the old T-Mobile/Danger Sidekicks out there are headed for greener pastures early next week. Come May 31st, the ol’ Danger data servers will given a belly rub, one last defrag, then will be unceremoniously taken out back and shot.

Here’s something we didn’t know, though: if you’ve still got any important photos, contacts, calendars, or notes on that Sidekick floating around in your sock drawer, you’ll want to get them off your device by May 31st. After that point, any Sidekicks that completely lose power (say, if the battery drains to 0%) will lose access to that personal data. You’ll still be able to pull it down from the myT-Mobile backend until June 30th, at which point all that stuff is gone forever. The number for that cute chick you’ve been promising yourself you’d call for like 3 years now? Poof!

Always remember, folks: clouds don’t last forever.

(Note: Don’t worry about any of this if you’ve got the new Sidekick 4G. Name aside, those have very little to do with the old Danger-built models, and aren’t affected by this stuff. Bet T-Mobile’s customer service team is just loving explaining that.)

Microsoft Has Made 5x More Money From Android Than They Have From Windows Phone 7

Posted: 27 May 2011 02:07 PM PDT

Depending on how you’re counting (whether or not you’re including slightly varied models or not, for example), Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 partners have released either slightly over or slightly under 10 different handsets since the platform’s debut.

In that same time, how many Android phones has Microsoft released? Zero. Of course, no one would really expect Microsoft to release an Android phone, of course — but get this: Microsoft has likely made around 5x more money from Android than they have from Windows Phone 7.

Confused? Don’t worry — it’s a weird one.

You see, back in April 2010 Microsoft and HTC got into a little legal battle over a few patents which Microsoft claimed HTC was infringing with their Android phones. It never evolved into a formal lawsuit, because HTC turned around and offered to pay a licensing fee. That fee, according to a report from Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, is $5 per device.

At the same time, Microsoft has been licensing out Windows Phone 7 to handset manufacturers at a cost generally believed to be around $15 per device.

Last time they shared numbers, Microsoft said they’ve sold 2 million Windows Phone 7 licenses. 2 million multiplied by $15 per device works out to $30 million.

HTC, meanwhile, has sold roughly 30 million Android phones. So, what’s 30 million multiplied by $5 per device? $150,000,000.

Yep. Without building a single Android phone, Microsoft has very likely racked in $150 million from Android. And that’s just from their deal with HTC, mind you — it’s entirely feasible that they’ve got similar deals with the other Android-building big-guns (like Samsung, or LG), and that such details just haven’t trickled out yet.

[via the incredible asymco]

HTC ThunderBolt, Google Nexus S 4G And More For Free On Amazon Monday

Posted: 27 May 2011 01:38 PM PDT

Memorial Day isn't usually a gift-giving holiday, but Amazon's Memorial Day sale may put you in the mood to treat yourself. Almost 20 4G phones will be listed for free (with a contract, of course) on Amazon's site on Monday, including some pretty top-of-the-line devices like the HTC Thunderbolt, Samsung Droid Charge, LG Revolution, and Google Nexus S 4G.

If you choose to forego the Android route, a new Windows phone will get you a $25 gift card from the web retail giant, while a game-centric Sony Ericsson Xperia Play purchase will get you $10 in Amazon Appstore credit. Amazon's Appstore has had a tough go thus far, getting slammed with a suit by Apple over the similarity between their stores' names. But the real struggle will be enticing customers to switch from the Android Market, which boasts 294,000 applications as of May.

[via Mobiledia]

RIM Plans “Vigorous” Defense For “Meritless” Class-Action Suit

Posted: 27 May 2011 11:38 AM PDT

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) is not having the best year so far. The April launch of RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook received mixed reviews, to put it nicely, of what many called a "half-baked" product. And just a few days earlier, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis shut down an interview half-way through after a BBC reporter pushed questions on Indian security. Today, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dropped a cherry on top of that unlucky sundae, in the form of a class-action suit.

The lawsuit accuses RIM and certain executives of providing materially false and misleading statements with regard to the company's financial condition and business prospects. "Specifically, the company failed to inform investors that its aging product line and inability to introduce new products to the market was negatively impacting the company's business and margins," the legal document read. The allegations cover a period between December, when RIM reported its third quarter results, to April. The suit seeks unspecified damages on behalf of a group of shareholders during this period.

Named in the suit were RIM's co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, along with CFO Brian Bidulka. RIM released a statement this morning promising to "vigorously defend" itself against the suit, allegations the company deems to be "without merit."


Do You Prefer Cell Phones Over Sleep? You’re Not Alone

Posted: 27 May 2011 07:00 AM PDT

Our obsession with our smartphones has grown into a full-blown addiction, according to a new survey in the iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report. According to iPass, one of every three mobile workers get up regularly throughout the night to check email on their phone, and nearly half of those surveyed admitted that they couldn't sleep without a smartphone within reach.

And loss of sleep isn't the only obstacle our phone addiction brings with it, as a little under one third of respondents said that their domestic partners were upset by their incessant use of technology. And that's most likely a low-ball figure, as a good chunk of those surveyed were probably either single, or somewhat oblivious to the fact that their partners were upset.

The report claims that our mobile obsession, at least within the workforce, started when people began to value speed over quality. In many executive circles, the employee with the first response was considered to be a better worker than his more thoughtful colleagues. According to the survey, 40 percent of respondents admitted to interrupting a meeting to take a call.

Even those of us who don't partake in the corporate America lifestyle know how annoying it can be to try having a conversation with someone whose main priority is their current SMS exchanges. What's funny is that, along with the 40 percent who admit to interrupting meetings for phone calls, an additional 40 percent agree that doing so is unacceptable behavior.

[via The Register]
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)