Skype launches on Android phones

Skype launched its Internet calling application on Android mobile handsets, the company said on Tuesday.NEW YORK

Owners of Android-based mobile phones will be able to use Skype to make phone calls using either a WiFi or a mobile data connection.

Skype is already available for the iPhone. On Android phones, users can make free Skype-to-Skype calls and pay to call other land line or mobile phones.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9ILIMMG0.htm

Toshiba shows off glasses-less 3D TVs

Toshiba unveiled two 3D TVs today that work without special glasses.

The Regza 20GL1 is a 20-inch flat-panel display with 1,280x720 resolution. The Regza 12GL1 is a 12-inch flat-panel display with 466x350 resolution. Toshiba unveiled the models to coincide with this week's Ceatec electronics show near Tokyo.

Toshiba said that its 3D technology, which is currently best-suited for small displays, provides "nine different perspectives of each single 2D frame." The company added that those perspectives are then "superimposed" by the viewer's brain "to create a three-dimensional impression of the image."

The 3D effect is available within a 40-degree area in front of the set, Toshiba said. According to the Associated Press, viewers must also sit two feet from the 12-inch LCD and three feet from the 20-inch LCD to view 3D content.

The new LCDs are "first step into the 3D future in the consumer home cinema market," Toshiba European marketing chief Sascha Lange said in a statement. "But it will take several years to develop larger 3D TVs without glasses with screen sizes of 40 inches and more at a yet reasonable price point."

The possibility of viewing 3D content sans glasses is something that many consumers will welcome, though.

Last month, a survey about 3D TVs showed that 30 percent of people don't like the need to wear special glasses to view 3D content.

Although Toshiba is trying to make its name in the glasses-free arena, the company is already a player in the 3D TV market. It currently sells the WX800 line of 3D TVs. Both the 46- and 55-inch models of the WX800 require glasses.

Toshiba's 20GL1 and 12GL1, which switch from 3D to 2D mode, are scheduled to be released in Japan later this year. They will retail for about $2,900 and $1,400, respectively. The company has not announced plans for availability outside of Japan.

Verizon Wireless to Pay Millions in Refunds

Verizon Wireless said on Sunday that it would pay up to $90 million in refunds to 15 million cellphone customers who were wrongly charged for data sessions or Internet use, one of the largest customer refunds by a telecommunications company.

WebP: Google's new attempt at speeding up the web

In their latest attempt to make the web even faster, Google has devised their own image format to rival JPEG. Since forever, JPEG has been doing a great job of compressing photographic images — it doesn’t support transparency, like other formats, but it does what it was meant to do very well.

Google has determined that JPEG isn’t the best format for that anymore. WebP is a new compression that achieves an impressive average 30% reduction in file size for images. Google will be proposing an update for WebKit that will make viewing those images in a browser actually possible.

Now, I’m not complaining here — anything to make the web faster is good in my books — but I have a question. Why are we worried about fractionally speeding up the web when we live in a broadband world that’s just getting faster and faster anyway? The web is speeding up far more quickly from just network speeds improving than tweaking compression on files that are usually only used to show photographs online.

Sure, Sites like Flickr might see notable speedups — with each page showing several jpeg images typically — but most webpages largely use png or gif images (when you can’t do something in CSS).

I’ll stop whining now. WebP is still cool, and like I said before, anything to make the web faster is good in my books.

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By Garett Rogers | October 3, 2010, 9:26am PDT

Google Updates 'Car Home for Android' App

Car Home for Android is an application that provides lots of the tools drivers want at their fingertips when behind the wheel. Google on Friday rolled out updates to the app, including new features like shortcuts, icon colors, and a background wallpaper option.

"Car Home for Android turns your Android phone into a better driving companion by providing you with quick access to key applications on the go: GPS navigation, voice-activated commands, contacts, and more," Markus Mühlbauer, Google Automotive's manager of engineering and product, said on the Google Mobile blog. "We're releasing a new version of Car Home for Android which makes it easier to customize Car Home to get the information you need faster."

The app can now be automatically launched when linked with a special dock mounted on the windshield or when it's connected with Bluetooth. You can also customize for one-touch access to certain apps and phone information via "Add shortcut," as well as select personal wallpaper settings.

The free app is available in Android Market for phones running Android 2.2.

The updated app debuts at an opportune time. This week, several studies related to the dangers of distracted driving have been released. A study released Thursday by Vlingo revealed that 35 percent of drivers are using their phones to text while driving, and a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute found that bans on texting behind the wheel aren't decreasing collisions. As more data becomes available, the need for hands-free solutions will likely increase.

Microsoft sues Motorola over patents Cecilia Kang

Microsoft sues Motorola over patents Cecilia Kang

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Microsoft said Friday that it has filed a lawsuit against Motorola for allegedly infringing on nine patents to produce Motorola's Android smartphones.

The software giant said in a news release that the patents are related "to a range of functionality embodied in Motorola's Android software smartphone devices" that helps to synchronize e-mail, calendars and contacts; schedule meetings; and show signal strength and battery power levels.
Motorola said in a statement that it hadn't received the lawsuit but added: "Motorola has a leading intellectual property portfolio, one of the strongest in the industry. The company will vigorously defend itself."
The lawsuit underscores the intense competition among software manufacturers and device makers in the rapidly growing smartphone market. More people are browsing the Web via smartphones than regular feature phones, according to a survey released Friday by ComScore. Microsoft has struggled as Google's Android software, RIM's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone operating systems lead the market.

Microsoft's complaint was filed with the International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington state. "We have a responsibility to our customers, partners, and shareholders to safeguard the billions of dollars we invest each year in bringing innovative software products and services to market. Motorola needs to stop its infringement of our patented inventions in its Android smartphones," Microsoft said in a release.

Microsoft's move follows similar legal offensives over alleged smartphone patent infringements. This week, Apple sued Nokia in Britain, extending a back-and-forth legal battle between the companies on smartphone software. In March, Apple sued Taiwan-based HTC, the manufacturer of such Android phones as the HTC Hero and Google's Nexus One (which has been taken off the market), alleging that it had infringed on 20 Apple patents related to the iPhone's user interface, underlying architecture and hardware.