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Friday Grab Bag: Look at Android 4.0

November 18, 2011 by

Major League Baseball makes Two Moves- Hate them Both
MLB has made moving to the American League a condition for the purchase of the Houston Astros by Jim Crane, a deal that was unanimously approved by baseball owners The team will move in 2013 and so there will be two 15 team leagues, with interleague games starting at the beginning of the season.

The second move is the creation of two more Wild Card spots for the playoffs. Ohh boy, I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for that one game playoff between the wild card teams before the real playoffs begin.

I guess Selig wants this as his legacy prior to his long awaited retirement. I thought turning a blind eye to a decade of steroid usage and then crying crocodile tears was enough of a legacy for the man.

A good look at next generation Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich technology
The good folks at Slash Gear have uploaded a walk through on some of the latest features that will be included in the new Android 4.0 operating system that is just now reaching users hands. The operating system has a range of features that will continue to create a clear differentiation between it and Apple’s iOS technology.

The first feature highlighted is the Active Voice Diction feature that greatly enhances an already existing feature of the phone. It allows for pauses from the speaker and types out what you are saying as you go along.

Another feature is the Face Unlock and unlock to camera. This technology allows the phone to automatically unlock when it views a preregistered face. There are still issues to this and it can be deactivated by the user. The device will also have a quick method to unlock the camera so that you can quickly take photos. Head on over and see all of their coverage of ICS.

Klip Raises $8min Series B Round-App Popular with Sports Fans?
Klip, a startup app developer that is creating an iOS App that enables users to capture, share and view mobile videos has closed its Series B funding round after raising $8m led by Benchmark Capital with Matrix Partners and Klip founder Alain Rossman also participating. This brings the total funding for the company to $10m.

The company, which launched its first App in September, will now have Bruce Dunlevie of Benchmark join Josh Hannah of Matrix Partners and Klip Founder/CEO Alain Rossmann on the Board of Directors.

The program has a range of automated features that allow users to easily record, ports and resend klips. Video can be easily accelerated for a quick look. In an interview with TechCrunch, founder Rossmann said that the use of hashtags is very important especially among sports fans where its use is very prevalent.


A solid look at Tebow’s Throws
The ever solid Football Outsiders takes a look at how Tim Tebow has progressed as a NFL quarterback this season. Tebow baiting has been growing as a popular sport and this appears to be one of the few well researched pieces on his games.

One thing that leaped out at me was the amount of time between snap and throw, which in the Miami game was 4.4 seconds but declined every week and was 2.5 seconds by the Kansas City game five games later. It also breaks down his results according t how long he holds the ball. I would love to see a chart like this for every NFL quarterback.

PCWorld Writer Claims not too late for Windows Phone-Or Not.
A recent column by Tony Bradley in PCWorld talks about why it is not too late for Microsoft to establish Windows Phone 7 as a serious player in the smartphone arena. While acknowledging that it is late to the market he sees positives from the company.

Bradley lists the ability to take advantage of the Microsoft ecosystem, to seamlessly integrate with that ecosystem and that Microsoft, by scrapping Windows Mobile and developing Windows 7 from the ground up helped it integrate new features that will differentiate it from its rivals.

For a counter point look no further than PCWorld columnist Joseph Fieber who wrote a week earlier that Windows Phone 7 is too late and has missed the boat. Not yet having had the opportunity to try Windows Phone 7 I am staying out of this one.

A Last Laugh-Password Edition
PCMag has released a list of the 25 worst passwords. Does anybody really use 123456? Aside from my Dad?

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Denver Broncos, Klip, Major League Baseball, NFL Tagged With: , , ,

Intel the Latest to Create Mobility App Fund

November 17, 2011 by

The company has a strong history of focusing funds on specific markets

Intel has created a $100 million investment fund called AppUp Fund that invests in a range of mobile companies and has already helped provide financing to two startups, 4tiitoo and Urban Airship. The fund will invest not only in app developers but also middleware, mobile infrastructure, and digital content.

Intel has created several funds such as this over the years including its $500 million Communications fund formed in 1999 and its recently formed $300 million Ultrabook fund. The funds are managed by Intel Capital.

Of course Intel is not just investing in any company. The ones that will get its blessing, and funding, are ones that advance the Intel architecture, something that is increasingly important for the company as it continues to see important platforms and products being built using processors from rivals such as ARM.

Just One of Many Players in Fund Space

There are other efforts at funding startups, and the number is growing with companies seeking to fund everything from efforts to create apps for a specific operating system like Android, or social media platforms like Facebook, and increasingly just to push the overall market.

There is the App Fund from VezTek that seeks to bring investors and inventors together, United Holdings Group’s Mobile App Fund that offers between $5,000 to $500,000 for developers in a range of mobile spaces from Enterprise, small business, B2B as well as social media and collaborative entertainment.

The Founders Fund and Accel Partners, original funders of Facebook, launched a $10 million fund in 2007 called the FBFund, although it is run a bit differently than others with Facebook executives participating in the vetting process.

First two Investments

One of the first two companies that have received undisclosed funding from Intel is Urban Airship, a Portland, Ore. developer of a platform that enables developers and publishers to target specific market segments with push notifications, subscriptions and geo-location info.

The second, with the snappy name of 4tiitoo, was founded in 2007 in Germany and is an open source developer that already has experience working with Intel. It developed the WeTab OS that is based on the MeeGo technology that was jointly developed by Intel, Nokia and the open source community. It is currently working on software solutions across all system layers from kernel development up to application development.

The amount of funding shows just how important major companies and venture capital firms see the emerging mobile app and social app markets. Expect this to lead to new innovations and a new generation of programs that can enhance all aspects of the user and business experience as related to the mobile space.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Google, Startup, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report Monday TechWatch: Is this Kindle for you?

November 14, 2011 by

Editor’s note: welcome to our Monday TechWatch feature, where we highlight gizmos, gadgets and devices that help deliver the mobile sports experience. Up today: a look at Amazon’s Kindle Fire.

Amazon’s much hyped Kindle Fire is about to make its long awaited splash in the market and its going to be a great success and its going to be a failure, just read the reviews. So to honor Johnny Cash we have a Ring of Fire today on tablets.

The Kindle Fire will be available tomorrow from Amazon-free shipping no less in 3-5 days!, with a $199 list price and a and is powered by a customized version of the Android operating system. But if you cannot wait the few days for it to arrive you can get into your car, drive down to Best Buy and pick up a model there.

Is the Kindle Fire an iPad killer?

Is the Kindle Fire an iPad killer? Probably not. Does a device need to be an iPad killer to be successful? No. This market looks to be huge and there will be room for a variety of tablets, in a range of forms and usage models, to find willing buyers. In fact market research firm IDC predicts that 62.5 million tablets will ship this year, and those won’t all be iPads.

One reason that the Fire will probably not be a iPad killer, or for that matter any other tablet killer, is that it will, at least initially, have little appeal to businesses. Non-Amazon apps are treated as second class in terms of where they are displayed, but also Amazon is not positioning the Kindle Fire as such a tool. However expect that to change in the future as its price and features apply pressure on its rivals.

While the Fire is the news of the moment Samsung, which has quietly been building very good Android-based phones and tablets gets a top review for its Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus from CNet reviewers who call the device the best 7-inch Honeycomb tablet.

If you are wondering what other uses a tablet are good for we recommend wandering over to look at what the good people at Ooyala have to say; they have been following online video viewership and compiling data for 5 years. In its first report on the topic Ooyala said that tablet users average 30 percent more viewing of online videos than PC users and completed watching 20 percent more than desktop PC users.

Seagate: Storage for Tablets

One of the big drawbacks that tablets have is their limited storage space. A 32GB capacity? Heck that will not cover 10 percent of my music collection. Well storage developer Seagate has a product that could fix this issue. The $199.00 GoFlex Satellite is a 500 GB drive that features a Wi-Fi radio so that you can connect wirelessly and stream music videos or whatever else your heart desires. There is a specialized app for iOS, while Android device users simply need to use their browser to operate. There are issues for Mac users so read the instructions carefully prior to purchasing.

Apple: Original iPod Nano Recall

Aside from tablet news, Apple has suffered from the battery draining issue caused by its recent iOS 5.0 update and now reports are coming in to say that the fix, version 5.0.1 does not fix the problem either. To add to the company’s problems it has been reported that Apple is now forced to recall the original iPod Nano due to heating problems.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Google, iPad, iPhone, Samsung, Tablets, Wi-Fi Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag — Jocks Twittering Guide Issue

November 11, 2011 by

No M&M’s in NASCAR
Kyle Busch will be forced to race in the last two Sprint Cup races without his primary sponsor as M&M’s pulls out. This is more of the aftermath of his cheap shot of intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series two weeks ago. Busch was suspended from racing in the Sprint Cup last week and fined $50,000 by NASCAR. I had always thought that NASCAR encouraged this type of driving, who knew?


Twitter offers advice to Athletes on how to use Twitter
Twitter, which clearly understands how interesting athletes can be on Twitter, has issued an advisory for them on its developer site. The social media company tells them to talk about what they are passionate about, use hash tags, reply back to followers and mention your team mates among other tidbits of sage advice. Also it tells them that if something controversial happens on the field Twitter can help clear the air- no mention that it can also shorten a career, or is that just my take?

Apple releases iOS 5.01 battery fix
Apple has responded to complaints that the latest release of its iOS operating system, iOS 5.0, unnaturally drains batteries of iPhones. The company has released iOS 5.0.1 that has been designed to fix that issue as well as including several other bug fixes for both the phone and the iPad including document syncing via iCloud and improved voice recognition for Australian users.

Will ESPN’s Longhorn Network force a College Playoff?
An Interesting piece from Businessweek discusses how the $300 million, 20 year deal between the University of Texas and the Walt Disney Co. (parent to ESPN for those that are still unaware) was a major tipping point in collegiate athletics. The move led to the huge rash of conference realignments and movements as everybody tries to position themselves to get as much of the money that is on the table for themselves and tradition be damned. I think this line from the article says it all- “It’s greed,” said William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University of Maryland system and co-chairman of the nonprofit Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. “There is so much money on the table that everyone is in a state of panic.”


This week in Lawsuit News
The patent wars continue unabated, which always makes for interesting watching as long as you are not personally at risk. First up is Microsoft which apparently has another target in its royalties pursuit, this time it has its eye on Huawei for Android patent license. Then there is the report that Google will be offering support to Android firms involved in lawsuits. Last but not least is the news that Apple continues Steve Jobs legal pursuit of Android developers for what it perceives as patent violations of its technology. Is this a great time to be a patent lawyer or what?

Major League Baseball to be Lockout Free?
The site MLBtraderumors.com covers a range of reports that indicate that MLB and the Players Union may be well on the road to reaching a new accord without the need for canceling the World Series or some other slap in the fans face. While the NBA is in lockout mode and the NFL just recovering from its labor war it is great news that at least one major league can work like adults well in advance of the expiration of the existing deal to forge a new one. I hope this does work out well.

Adobe throws in the towel on Mobile Flash
Adobe is facing the music and has announced that it will stop developing a version of its Flash technology for mobile devices. The technology has come under fire as Apple had banned its use in its iOS due to what it claimed was it did not meet the needs of a that space, a move that was later followed by Microsoft. At first Adobe fought back but now the company said it will turn its attention to HTML5 and will work with all of the major developers, Apple included, in that space.

From the “Just because it amuses me” Category
Nothing to do with sports, social media or technology but- Did you catch the photo in The Consumerist of a pig-shaped pork roast offered at Costco? Looks like it is ground and then molded pork scraps that are shaped like a baby piglet-somehow I am sure this will not make my dinner table anytime soon but who knows, it could make for a very interesting holiday gift!

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Baseball, ESPN, iPhone, NASCAR, NCAA Football, NFL, Twitter Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Jersey Voters Overwhelmingly Support Sports Betting

November 9, 2011 by

LeRoy's Sports Book in Las Vegas has a mobile sports betting application ready to go if Federal laws are relaxed

New Jersey voters overwhelmingly supported sports betting at Atlantic City Casinos and state racetracks, paving the way for a legal challenge to Federal restrictions against legal sports betting on mobile devices.

According to a Philadelphia Media Network report, the ballot initiative passed by greater than a two-to-one ratio. Republican Gov. Chris Christie says the initiative provides him ammunition to challenge the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act, passed by Congress in 2006, which prohibits all states except those that already allowed sports wagering to implement sports betting systems.

“With this referendum, we have an opportunity that gives the state more solid footing to challenge the federal ban on sports wagering outside of a few select places,” Christie said before he voted in favor of Public Question 1, according to Philadelphia Media Network.

The move is significant because reform to the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act and The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, passed by Congress in 1992, are needed in order to allow legal sports betting on mobile devices across the United States. Today, because of Federal law, an estimated $380 billion annually in illegal sports betting is conducted in the United States annually, according to National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Much of that is conducted through the online portals of offshore casinos, which are widely known to provide poor customer service and slow payouts.

New law would prove a boom for mobile device application developers. To date, Cantor Gaming, which operates the race and sports books of such Las Vegas casino powerhouses as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, the Tropicana Las Vegas, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and The Palazzo, and American Wagering, which operates a chain of race and sports books called Leroy’s, have released sports wagering applications that work in the state of Nevada. In addition, leading sports social media application developer PlayUp USA has similar capabilities through sister companies in international markets. Numerous other mobile sports application developers are also preparing sports wagering applications.

Research firm Gartner Group estimated that global mobile gaming revenues reached $5.6 billion in 2010, and predicted the market would grow to $11.4 billion dollars by 2014.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, Cantor Gamin, Live sports via mobile, Mobile sports pioneers, Sports Betting Tagged With: , , , , ,

Monday’s Tech Tidbits: Motorola Edition

November 7, 2011 by

Motorola goes Xoom Xoom
Motorola has added two Xoom models to its tablet offerings. Both Xoom 2 models run Google’s Honeycomb 3.2 version of the Android operating system that is designed for tablets. The Xoom 2 features a 8.2-inch display and the Xoom 2 Media Edition comes with a 10.1 inch display and runs on a 1.2GHz processor and includes 1GB RAM and 16GB of storage. They are now only available in the United Kingdom and Ireland with no announced U.S. release date.

Smartphone adoption in US approaching 50%
According to the latest mobile user survey from Nielsen only 43% of all U.S. mobile phone users have a smartphone, but the figure graphs higher with most younger age groups. While the 12-17 and 45-54 segments only have a 40% smartphone average, 62% of the 25-34 age group and 54% of both the 18-24 and the 35-44 age groups use a smartphone. The Android OS is the most popular with 43% of the market followed by Apple’s iOS with 28%.

New Motorola Tablet prototype outed.
Multiple sources are reported what they claim are the features for the pending Motorola Corvair, a 6-inch tablet that will be running the Android 2.3 operating system. What sets this device apart is that it is designed to work with a television, both as a remote control device but also use the TV as a display to mirror what is on the tablet’s screen. It is expected to be a low cost device the question will be will Motorola sell it on the retail market or work with cable companies to get it into users’ hands?

Apple losing patent fights with Google, Samsung?
A German court has dealt a blow to Apple, ruling that it has violated a pair of Motorola Mobility patents and forbidding Apple from selling any mobile device in the country. The ruling, by the Mannheim Regional Court prevents Apple from selling its popular iPad and iPhone products in Europe’s largest market.. Apple is suing three major Android developers, Samsung, HTC and Motorola and they in turn have launched legal counter attacks against Apple.


US Cellular to iPhone-No Thanks!
US Cellular said that turned down the opportunity to carry Apple’s popular iPhone but decided not to because it is too expensive, the company said. The sixth-largest U.S. cellphone company said that the terms were unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint. While Apple charges customers $199 for the entry level iPhone 4S, it charges phone companies $600. The companies are expected to make up the difference on service contracts.
http://www.reghardware.com/2011/11/07/mobile_internet_sales_to_hit_record_15_per_cent_of_total/

Mobile Devices impacting online sales
It is estimated that a full 15% of all web purchases will be made from devices that run either the Apple iOS or the Google Android operating system. According to research from IBM the two operating systems impact is three times what it was a year ago in terms of being the platforms used to make purchases. The two represented 11% of the market in October and the estimate is for the holiday season in the U.S. market.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, iPad, iPhone, Motorola, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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