Latest news

Samsung has made it official, Android 2.3 Gingerbread is headed to the Galaxy S, Galaxy Ace/Gio/Fit/Mini and the Galaxy Tab.

Gingerbread brings a few new features, including an updated user interface.

Samsung says 2.3 for the Galaxy devices will bring:

Faster Performance – Multimedia content now has a lower CPU consumption rate, while support for more powerful 3D Graphics enables an enhanced mobile gaming experience.

Upgraded Usability – The user interface has been improved, enabling faster access and control and a more intuitive user experience. Users will also benefit from improved copy-and-paste functionality.

RIM has confirmed that it is recalling 1000 BlackBerry Playbooks thanks to a software glitch.

The company says a few of the 16GB models "were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up."

Most the affected devices are still in the distribution channel, fortunately, but RIM says about 1000 have made it into consumer's hands.

If you are having issues, the company says: "In the small number of cases where a customer received a PlayBook that is unable to properly load software upon initial set-up, they can contact RIM for assistance."

The recall marks another setback for the tablet, which had good critical reception but has been panned for its lack of native email/calender/contacts apps.

RIM recently showed off the apps, as well as the ability to use Android Market apps with little visual difference than on an Android device.

Netflix has announced it has signed a multi-year agreement with Miramax to bring hundreds of films to its "Watch Instantly" streaming library.

A few of the more recognizable films in the catalog are "Pulp Fiction," "Shakespeare in Love," "The English Patient," "Good Will Hunting," "Bad Santa," "Scream," "Spy Kids," "The Piano" and "Kill Bill."

Starting in June, Miramax will add dozens of titles at a time "on a rotating basis."

The financials were not revealed but Netflix is expected to be paying over $100 million.

Says Netflix COO Ted Sarandos:

Netflix is thrilled to enter into this deal with the new team at Miramax. Existing relationships with management and a shared affinity for these great films make this an important deal for both companies and for our members, who will enjoy instantly watching movies from one of the truly great film libraries for many years to come.

From day one, we've been very clear about the importance of digital and our desire to respond to the significant pent-up demand for our films -- delivering to consumers whenever and wherever they want. This agreement is an important first step in our digital strategy. Netflix has always been a trailblazer, with a tremendous track record of innovation and quality customer service. We're thrilled to now be in business with them as we build and revitalize the proud Miramax brand.

Nokia has quickly shot down the rumor that Microsoft is ready to purchase the company's smartphone unit.

The rumor came from questionable Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin, who has hit some homeruns in the past but more recently has come under fire for sensationalist posts that have not come true.

Murtazin says that Microsoft is ready to buy Nokia's smartphone unit next week, with both company's "in a rush" to complete the deal by the end of 2011.

Nokia's Uk Communications Director Mark Squires has crushed the rumor quickly, however:

We typically don’t comment on rumors. But we have to say that Eldar’s rumors are getting obviously less accurate with every passing moment.

Mozilla has said today that it will begin auto-updating users of the no-longer-supported Firefox 3.5 next month to 3.6, if users have selected auto-updates.

The company says there are still 12 million users of 3.5, which debuted in early 2009.

Firefox 3.5 is no longer supported, and the last security patch was sent out last month.

Says Christian Legnitto, Firefox release manager:

We are treating the automatic update checkbox enabled as a 'Yes, I want Mozilla to keep me updated. Previously as a courtesy we had people opt-in between major versions due to the potential jarring nature of the update. We feel the difference between 3.5 and 3.6 is not severe and with 3.5 reaching end-of-life 3.6 is the security update for 3.5 users.

The Japanese government has confirmed that it has blocked Sony from relaunching the PSN in its country, citing security concerns.

Sony launched the PSN, after nearly a one-month absence, in Europe, Australia and North America over the last two days.

Says Kazushige Nobutani, Japan's director of media and content in the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry:

As of May 13, Sony was incomplete in exercising measures that they said they will do on the May 1 press conference.

The company has made considerable enhancements to the data security, including updating and adding advanced security technologies; additional software monitoring and penetration and vulnerability testing; and increased levels of encryption and additional firewalls. The company also added a variety of other measures to the network infrastructure, including an early-warning system for unusual activity patterns that could signal an attempt to compromise the network.

According to multiple reports coming out of China, Microsoft is set to partner up with search giant Baidu, as early as next week.

Baidu will take over the paid ads on Bing China, while Microsoft will provide all of the English results for Baidu.

In China, Bing is a very small player, taking less than 5 percent share.

Baidu is the giant, with 76 percent, while Google has a still-relevant 19 percent.

The deal is expected to be announced next week, possibly even Monday.

The U.S. ITC has ruled in favor of Eastman Kodak this week, claiming the company's camera technology does not violate Apple's patents.

Two of the patents were ruled to not be infringing while the third was "invalid." The decision will go to the six-member ITC for a final review.

Apple opened the case in April 2010, counter-suing Kodak after the camera patent company sued Apple and RIM over patents related to how images are previewed on smartphones.

Kodak's original complaint was also ruled against by the ITC, meaning there have been no winners in this ongoing dispute.

That ruling is headed to the ITC panel for final review, as well.

Earlier this year, Sony Ericsson sued Clearwire over its logo, claiming it is too similar to its own logo and therefore would confuse consumers, especially if Clearwire eventually came out with smartphones, like it planned.

Says SE:

Over the past year, Sony Ericsson grew concerned that Clearwire's logos were moving progressively closer to Sony Ericsson's registered logo. Since Clearwire also previously announced it would enter the field of mobile devices by launching a smartphone, Sony Ericsson brought the litigation in January 2011 and sought a preliminary injunction against Clearwire to prohibit its further use of the logos.

In response, Clearwire represented to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that it had no present intention to launch a smartphone. This representation effectively provided Sony Ericsson with much of the emergency relief it sought.

As of 10pm yesterday, Sony has partially restored the PlayStation Network and Qriocity, almost one month since it was shutdown following a security breach on April 17th.

Gamers can now play online, use the chat service and download music. All other services are still down, and the PSN is still completely down in Asia.

Following the attack, Sony confirmed that over 101 million users have had their personal data compromised, including names, profiles, addresses and credit card details.

Sony promised to return service on May 7th but could not as the Network continued to remain unsecured.

Bloomberg says the company "boosted security for PlayStation Network and Qriocity by increasing the number of firewalls between servers and adding software to monitor intrusions and system vulnerabilities."

Sony also added a new chief information security officer.

The company says all services, in all regions, will be fully functional by May 31st.

As a compromise for the downtime, Sony is offering all users 1 free year of identity theft protection and insurance, two free PS3 games, and a free month to PlayStation Plus.

According to Internet security expert John Bumgarner, Sony's computer networks are still not fully secured, even 28 days after hackers attacked the PSN and SOE, compromising the personal data of 101 million gamers.

Bumgarner says he found "a handful of security flaws" in the company's networks while studying its systems online. The security expert apparently found a "potential bonanza for hackers by using little more than a web browser, Google's search engine and a basic understanding of Internet security systems."

The expert knows what he is talking about, being the chief technology officer for the U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit and a U.S. military special operations veteran.

Over the past week, Bumgarner says that Sony did fix three of the five flaws he had found.

Several glaring flaws still remain, however, and that is without the expert trying to break into password-protected sites or exploit any vulnerabilities.

As a small compromise for the downtime, Sony is offering all users 1 free year of identity theft protection and insurance, two free PS3 games, and a free month to PlayStation Plus.

AT&T has confirmed a record break-up fee if regulators do not approve its proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA.

The carrier will pay $6 billion in fees and other benefits to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, a record by a large stretch, implying AT&T has a strong belief the deal will be approved.

Says a Deutsche Telekom spokesman (via Reuters):

$3 billion would flow directly in cash, but Deutsche Telekom would also receive spectrum and a national roaming agreement. The company did not put a value on that, but according to analysts' estimates the spectrum and roaming agreement would amount to $3 billion.

If it proves to be accurate, AandMe is reporting today that Amazon is working on a full family of Android devices for the holidays, including a smartphone, a 6-inch tablet and a 10-inch tablet.

The site says the rumor comes from an "industry insider with direct knowledge of the project. The information was shared with me in a recent face-to-face meeting and I believe the source to be trustworthy."

There are little other details because the rumors are unconfirmed, but the editor believes that Amazon may even consider a set-top box with Google TV, alongside the other devices.

In terms of pricing, speculation is the 6-inch tablet will match Barnes & Noble's $250 Nook Color, while the larger tablet will sell for $400 and the phone for $200 with contract.

Amazon could even undercut those prices by a decent amount by subsidizing the devices with ads (like the Kindle) or taking a short-term loss on the hardware in an effort to sell more apps, music, movies and especially, books.

According to Jeffries analyst Peter Misek, the upcoming iPhone will be called the "iPhone 4S," not the "iPhone 5" as anticipated.

The device will be released in September, adds the analyst, citing "industry checks."

Perhaps more notably, Misek says Apple will expand the smartphone to Sprint, T-Mobile and China Mobile, making it available to hundreds of millions of more potential customers.

The iPhone 4S will include better cameras, a dual-core A5 processor, HSPA+ support and some minor changes to the form factor, adds Misek.

This year, Apple is not expected to launch the iPhone at their June developer conference, instead they are expected to unveil iOS 5 and Mac OSX Lion.

Adobe has launched Flash Player 10.3 for Windows, Mac and Linux systems this morning, as well as for Android phones and tablets including Android 3.1 Honeycomb.

The company says the latest Flash Player update includes "improved stability, stronger security and user privacy protection, and new desktop audio/video capabilities for businesses and developers."

Adobe posted most of the new features of the improved software:

Media measurement (desktop only) – Measuring video usage just got easier. Using Adobe® SiteCatalyst® with Flash Player 10.3, developers can implement video analytics for websites with as little as two lines of code for the first time. Media Measurement for Flash Player allows companies to get real-time, aggregated reporting of how their video content is distributed, what their audience reach is, and how much video is played. Mobile support will be available in an upcoming release.

Acoustic echo cancellation (desktop only) – With Flash Player 10.3, developers can create real-time online collaboration experiences with high-quality audio for telephony, in-game voice chat, and group conferencing applications. Developers can take advantage of acoustic echo cancellation, noise suppression, voice activity detection, and automatic compensation for various microphone input levels. End users will be able to experience higher quality audio facilitating smoother conversation flow, without using a headset.