Top Items:
Enigmax / TorrentFreak:
50% of Charges Against Pirate Bay Dropped — What has been shown in court today is that the prosecutor cannot prove that the .torrent files he is using as evidence actually used The Pirate Bay's tracker. Many of the screenshots being used clearly state there is no connection to the tracker.
Discussion:
Contentinople, Technologizer, DSLreports, Ars Technica, Computerworld, Music Ally, Download Squad, The Register, Mashable!, The Local, Neowin.net, Gizmodo, paidContent, p2pnet, Threat Level, blogs.telegraph.co.uk …, The Monkeys Ball and Slashdot, Thanks:salmosri
RELATED:
Vodafone:
Vodafone and HTC unveil Android-powered HTC Magic — Vodafone extends world-class range of Internet phones with latest Android™-powered smartphone from HTC — HTC Magic smartphone exclusive to Vodafone customers initially in UK, Spain, Germany and France (SFR) and non-exclusively in Italy.
RELATED:
Jason Palmer / BBC:
Second ‘Google phone’ is unveiled — Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Barcelona — A second phone based on Google's operating system Android has been unveiled by Vodafone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. — The touchscreen HTC Magic will feature a 3.2 Megapixel camera …
Discussion:
Search Engine Watch, Agence France Presse, dot.life blog, Music Ally, Gizmodo, MarketingVOX, TUAW, TeleRead, PSFK and Slashdot
Richard Wray / Guardian:
Universal mobile phone charger unveiled — The mobile phone industry plans to introduce a universal charger as part of a drive to improve its previously patchy environmental record. — The plan from industry body the GSM Association (GSMA) is just one of a raft of “green” announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
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Marguerite Reardon / Webware.com:
Skype strikes deal with Nokia — BARCELONA—Skype is racking up deals with mobile handset makers here at GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009. — On Tuesday, the company, which is owned by eBay, announced a partnership with Nokia, the largest cell phone maker in the world, to put the Skype Internet calling software onto its phones.
Discussion:
CNET News, eWeek, The Register, Nokia, IntoMobile, Mashable!, Reuters, Voice on the Web, MobileCrunch, VoIP Watch and Crave
RELATED:
Greg Sterling / Search Engine Land:
Yahoo Reorganizes, Rebrands Mobile Offerings As “Yahoo Mobile” — In Barcelona at the GSMA Mobile World Congress event, which has been mostly about new handsets so far, Yahoo announced what it's calling “Yahoo Mobile.” I haven't yet been able to talk to anyone at Yahoo about this …
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John Markoff / New York Times:
The Cellphone, Navigating Our Lives — The cellphone is the world's most ubiquitous computer. The four billion cellphones in use around the globe carry personal information, provide access to the Web and are being used more and more to navigate the real world.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes / Hardware 2.0:
Worst. Windows 7. Piece. EVER! — Over on Slashdot is perhaps the worst piece on Windows 7 that I've see so far (I find it hard to believe that this one will be beaten anytime soon ...). … OK, just a few points worth making: — Someone messes about with Photoshop in order to crack it …
Erick Schonfeld / TechCrunch:
Microsoft Updates Windows Mobile To Make It More Like The iPhone. (My Phone, Anyone?). — Once again, Microsoft is throwing some flattery Apple's way by following its lead. Earlier today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft announced the latest version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5.
RELATED:
LG:
LG Brings Its Stylish New 3G LG-X120 Netbook to Barcelona — Barcelona, Spain, February, 16, 2009 - LG Electronics, a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, today announced the launch of its smart and stylish new netbook, the LG-X120.
QUALCOMM:
Nokia and Qualcomm Plan to Develop Advanced Mobile Devices — ESPOO, FINLAND AND SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - February 17, 2009 - Nokia and Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM) today announced that the two companies are planning to work together to develop advanced UMTS mobile devices, initially for North America.
Discussion:
RCR Wireless News, dailywireless.org, Unwired View, SlashGear, All About Symbian and Phone Scoop
Caroline McCarthy / CNET News:
Sirius XM agrees to $530 million Liberty Media stake — Troubled Sirius XM Radio announced Tuesday, following reports, that it will accept an investment from cable giant Liberty Media. — The investment, which will save the satellite radio company from bankruptcy or a hostile takeover …
Discussion:
Silicon Alley Insider, PR Newswire, Digital Daily, Tech Trader Daily, Epicenter, Technologizer, paidContent.org, Electronista and Gearlog
Verne Kopytoff / San Francisco Chronicle:
Google-backed film is Oscar contender — Roll out the red carpet and air kisses for Google. — On Sunday, the Internet company will find out if a film that its philanthropic arm conceived of and bankrolled has won an Academy Award for best short documentary.
Discussion:
Network World
Pat Pilcher / New Zealand Herald:
Guilty by accusation copyright protestors paint it black — A protest campaign against the Copyright Amendment (New Technologies) Act appears to be gaining momentum as protesters, including high profile UK celebrity Stephen Fry, black-out photos on Twitter, Facebook and various other social networking sites.
Discussion:
The Register
Martin Peers / Wall Street Journal:
Future Shock for Internet Ads? — What does the Internet display-ad market have in common with Zimbabwe? — Both are printing nearly-limitless amounts of their main currency, vastly diminishing its value and undermining their future. The currency, for Web sites, is their ad inventory.
Discussion:
WebProNews
Jenna Wortham / Bits:
Offerpal Media Raises $15 Million to Peddle In-Game Ads — For most casual gamers on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, tricking out their avatars is almost more fun than playing the game. — One way to build an impressive inventory of virtual goods is by earning them through hours of game play.
Discussion:
VentureBeat, GigaOM, MarketingShift, paidContent.org, Virtual Worlds News and Inside Facebook
GamesIndustry.biz:
Rare restructures to simplify development process — Microsoft Game Studios' Rare team is to restructure, with the possibility of a number of redundancies at the Viva Pinata studio. — As part of Microsoft's wider restructuring announced last month, the company plans to shift focus …
Guy Griml / Haaretz:
Microsoft in talks to acquire local startup 3DV Systems — The first Israeli exit of 2009 is hitting the road. Software giant Microsoft is negotiating to acquire the Israeli startup 3DV Systems for about $35 million, despite the alarming condition of the global economy and grim forecasts of more pain to come.
Sascha Segan / Gearlog:
AT&T CEO: Dell Will Build a Smartphone — At a panel at Mobile World Congress today, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph De La Vega just said, “Dell announced they're entering the smart phone market.” That's a quote. — This confirms many rumors that have been floating around …
The Official Google Blog:
From the height of this place — I originally wrote this email for internal consumption; Presidents' Day here in the US and President Obama's recent inaugural address got me thinking about the future of the Internet, Google, and the challenges that lie ahead.
Amol Sharma / Wall Street Journal:
Verizon May Offer Landline Plan for $5 — In a sign that the recession is forcing phone companies to take bold measures to hold onto landline customers, Verizon Communications Inc. is considering a $5 monthly voice plan that would let customers receive calls but dial only 911 and Verizon customer service.
