Latest news

The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has proposed to force ISP BT to slash its broadband and telephone prices, at least on a wholesale scale.

Ofcom submitted the proposals to the European Commission this week, says The Inquirer.

The proposals have BT cutting the price of three of its wholesale products, including "dropping the price of an unbundled line from £91.50 to £87.41 a year and further decreases the following year."

A shared unbundled line should be cut from £14.70 to £11.92 a year, with an additional decrease in 2013.

Finally, Ofcom wants BT's Openreach telephone line rental to drop in price from £103.68 per year to £98.81 per year.

Ofcom has proposed the cuts because of BT's almost complete monopoly on the copper line infrastructure in the UK.

The much-anticipated Chrome browser for Android has finally arrived.

Google has launched the beta of their popular Chrome browser for Android smartphones and tablets. Currently, Android uses its own variant of Chrome as the native browser, and there are many alternatives, including Firefox, Dolphin HD and Opera.

Says Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Google Chrome, on why it took 3 years to bring the browser over: "We didn't want to just push out Chrome light. Our goal was to get all of Chrome onto Android."

If you are already a user of the desktop version of Chrome, the browser should be a great addition to your phone. After logging in to your Google account (and signing into Chrome on your desktop), all your bookmarks will be synced over, and all pages you left open at home will open on your mobile device. Search terms and history will sync over, as well.

Following the take down of Megaupload, file-sharing site BTJunkie has decided to voluntarily shut down, as well.

The torrent search engine, which at its peak had 4 million active torrents, was one of the top 500 trafficked sites in the entire world.

Reads a note on BTJunkie's homepage: "This is the end of the line my friends. The decision does not come easy, but we've decided to voluntarily shut down. We've been fighting for years for your right to communicate, but it's time to move on. It's been an experience of a lifetime, we wish you all the best!"

The site's founder also confirmed to numerous sites that the recent legal actions against Megaupload and The Pirate Bay (as well as its owners) was the reason for the shutdown.

Among the "collateral damage" of the global takedown of Megaupload, the casualties keep on coming. Within a day of the shut down, FileSonic and Fileserve, two major cyberlockers, shut down all ability to share files, whilst also deleting files and banning major uploaders.

Citing data from measurement firms Omniture and mDialog, NBC says 2.1 million people streamed Sunday's Super Bowl XLVI.

The game, between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, also set the record for most watched TV event in U.S. history, beating last year's Super Bowl. An average total of 111.3 million people watched the game at any given time.

At 2.1 million, the game was the most-watched single sporting event online, and a nice bump from regular season games, which average 300,000.

Fans of football who did not have access to a TV for the big game were able to watch online via NBCSports.com or via NFL.com. In addition to the broadcast, the streams also had additional camera angles, in-game highlights, real-time stats and other enhanced viewing features.

Finally, the game was available on Verizon smartphones if you have the NFL Mobile app and a subscription. It is unclear if the figure includes the mobile viewers.

The partnership between Redbox and Verizon to offer a subscription streaming and disc rentals could represent the biggest competitive threat Netflix has ever faced.

A press release announcing the deal didn't offer any real details beyond a third quarter launch date and plans for multiplatform device support. A website setup to promote the new venture doesn't add any new information.

Since then, executives from Redbox and their parent company Coinstar have dropped some hints to FastCompany. While they seem to suggest the exact details haven't been worked out yet, it appears the Redbox component may be fairly limited. Coinstar CFO and interim Redbox CEO Scott Di Valerio explained:

As the debate in Europe over the Anti Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) heats up, a growing number of Europeans are protesting their governments for signing the treaty. Officials from 22 EU member states added their signatures to ACTA last month. It was finalized and signed by it's biggest backers, the US and Japan, last October.

What may be the most interesting aspect of the anti-ACTA movement is that the most widespread and loudest opposition, as well as the most effective, isn't in the UK, France, or other countries traditionally considered strongholds of democracy and freedom. Instead it is in areas where oppressive dictatorships ruled until late in the 20th century.

For most people in the US and more powerful European nations, widespread censorship is something of an abstract concept. In countries controlled by the Soviet Union after World War II the situation is much different. Many people in these countries grew up in an environment of state controlled media, no free speech, and rampant government corruption.

We have already seen organized protests in Poland, where several members of Parliament also staged a protest of their own. Last week Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk suspended the ratification process pending a more thorough analysis. The Warsaw Business Journal quotes Tusk saying, "Consultations about ACTA were incomplete. I am mad at my co-workers."

The phone had been originally expected to be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress 2012.

Last week, Samsung admitted it had to delay the launch of its Galaxy S III Android smartphone, but that the launch would be this quarter.

The latest rumor is the device will now get some face time at a special event on March 22nd in France.

If spec leaks are accurate, the device will have a large 4.6-inch 720p multi-touch display, run on Android 4.0 and a 1.8Ghz dual-core Exynos processor, have a 12MP rear camera and 2GB RAM. Each one of the features is practically unheard of in smartphones, currently, especially not together.

Furthermore, Samsung will somehow manage to squeeze all that power into a case that is just 7mm (0.28 inches) thick. Its predecessor is 0.33 inches thick, and the king of smartphones, the iPhone 4S is 0.37 inches.

Amazon has confirmed today it is slashing the price of its S3 storage for standard users.

Effective as of the last week but only confirmed today, the post says users will get a cheaper per GB rate, up to their first petabyte.

For example, your first TB of storage will now cost $0.125 cents per GB, down from $0.14. Overall, if you sign up for 500TB storage, you will see a 13.5 percent discount now.

Amazon currently has 762 billion objects stored in the S3 service, up 300 percent from 2010, says Giga.

Table of new discount:

Originally expected to be released in January, the $35 Raspberry Pi will be available by the end of the month, says the group working on it.

The Raspberry Pi is a mini-computer created by UK programmers. What makes the computer so impressive (besides its price tag) is the fact that it can play 1080p HD video with no issues. The devices are intended to promote the teaching of basic computer science in schools or at home. The company is looking to promote the Python programming language, alongside Basic and C among others.

For $35 you get a 3.3-inch wide board with a 700 MHz ARM11, 256MB RAM, HDMI-out, SD card slot, a USB port, ethernet, audio jack and Broadcom VideoCore IV GPU.

The initial production run is just 10,000 units, with manufacturing finishing on February 20th.

More info available here: Raspberry Pi News

Coinstar, the parent company of Redbox, has agreed to purchase the assets of NCR Corporation for $100 million.

NCR is the company behind the Blockbuster Express kiosks, Redbox's main rival in the business. The purchase wil bring Coinstar "DVD kiosks, certain retailer contracts, and DVD inventory from NCR's entertainment line of business."

Additionally, the two companies will "enter into a strategic supplier arrangement where Coinstar will purchase product and services from NCR" in the future.

Says Redbox president Scott Di Valerio: "We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with NCR. As the global self-service solutions leader, NCR has strong technology, manufacturing and servicing capabilities, and we look forward to leveraging their expertise as Coinstar continues to grow its core automated retail businesses and expands its offerings."

Adds NCR: "Through this agreement with Redbox, NCR will be better positioned to focus on expanding our business in our targeted industries. Additionally, this transaction affords us the opportunity to develop a long-term strategic relationship with Coinstar and partner on delivering new and innovative solutions to the market."

Netflix saw its stock rise today after The Verge posted a Best Buy survey that included the still-unconfirmed Apple iTV (HDTV) being linked to the streaming service.

Best Buy surveyed customers asking how they felt about a 42-inch Apple television for $1,499 including streaming services like Netflix and apps from YouTube and Flickr among others.

For its part, Best But says the survey was completely hypothetical: "The customer survey was a routine offer effectiveness survey conducted by one of Best Buy's research partners. Any brand reference was hypothetical."

Apple's long-rumored iTV is expected to finally be released this year, as even Steve Jobs said before he passed that Apple had "cracked" the nut that was holding the TV back.

As expected, the device will be run on iOS, support iCloud, be controllable from an iPhone or iPad and have a camera for FaceTime (and Skype).

Canalys has posted their Q4 2011 global smartphone research report and it appears that for the first time, ever, smartphones have outshipped PCs.

158.5 million smartphones were shipped during the quarter, for a total of 488 million on the year. The figure was a huge 63 percent jump from the 300 million shipped in 2010. PCs, on the other hand, only saw a 15 percent bump to 414.6 million units, including tablets like the iPad.

Says Canalys: "In 2011 we saw a fall in demand for netbooks, and slowing demand for notebooks and desktops as a direct result of rising interest in pads. But pads have had negligible impact on smartphone volumes and markets across the globe have seen persistent and substantial growth through 2011. Smartphone shipments overtaking those of client PCs should be seen as a significant milestone.

In the space of a few years, smartphones have grown from being a niche product segment at the high-end of the mobile phone market to becoming a truly mass-market proposition. The greater availability of smartphones at lower price points has helped tremendously, but there has been a driving trend of increasing consumer appetite for Internet browsing, content consumption and engaging with apps and services on mobile devices."

The developer has expanded into a hot market.

Crytek, the company behind the Crysis series, has announced the launch of Gface, their browser-based, social gaming platform.

The platform will be run by a newly created affiliate, also called Gface, says Joy.

Much like other social networks, Gface will make it easier for gamers to find casual (or hardcore) games, and find other people to play them with. Because the platform is in-browser, you will need to install a plugin dubbed "Seed Engine," which allows for the streaming gameplay with no further installation required.

Right now, the platform is in closed beta, but you can try to get in here: Gface Closed Beta

Verizon and Redbox parent company Coinstar have announced today that their oft-rumored streaming video, physical media disc joint venture is coming this year.

The service is unnamed, for now, and will not be limited to Verizon subscribers. The service will be national at launch, which is expected to be in the Q3 2012.

Verizon will supply digital streaming and digital video downloads on demand, while Redbox will continue to distribute physical discs through its thousands of kiosks.

The press release says "the download service will be multi-platform, offering video for PCs, phones, tablets, smart TVs, consoles - the whole gamut of video-capable devices to which Verizon already delivers some video services through FiOS."

There is no word on content partners for launch, most of which will be revealed later in the year.

Sony has announced today that the term "PlayStation Network account" will no longer exist as of tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow, Qriocity and PSN accounts will be replaced in title and become Sony Entertainment Network accounts instead.

Outside of the name there is no difference between the accounts, as the functions and features will remain identical. Your username, password and other profile details will remain untouched, as well.

Says Sony (via Joystiq): "The goal is for there to be one networked log-in for all Sony services. Changing the name 'PlayStation Network account' to 'Sony Entertainment Network account' helps clarify the unity between PSN and other Sony Entertainment Network services."

If you are a PSP owner, you will not see any change, as your login will still show as PSN account.