Top Items:
Jesus Diaz / Gizmodo:
Android G2 Hands On: Close to Perfection — HTC and Google are getting closer to perfection with the new Android G2, the HTC Magic. Nice finish, great form factor. Check out our video, including the obligatory comparison with Apple's iPhone, and hands-on impressions:
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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.
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:
Music Ally, dot.life blog, Agence France Presse, Search Engine Watch, MarketingVOX, Gizmodo and TUAW
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:
Techdirt, Ars Technica, NewTeeVee, Digital Daily, Digits, Technologizer, Contentinople, Obsessable, DSLreports, Download Squad, Music Ally, The Register, IFPI, Pulse2, Mashable!, CrunchGear, TECH.BLORGE.com, Gizmodo, The Local, paidContent, TeleRead and Neowin.net, Thanks:salmosri
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Zach Spear / AppleInsider:
Apple absent from universal phone charger push — Although AT&T and several other iPhone partners joined an industry initiative to standardize mobile phone chargers over the next few years, Apple has yet to follow suit and may remain committed to its proprietary dock-connector interface .
Discussion:
Between the Lines, Reuters, Gadget Lab, GSM World, GottaBeMobile.com, The iPhone Blog, Electronista, BBC, Obsessable and TECH.BLORGE.com
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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.
Yahoo!:
Introducing Yahoo!(R) Mobile - Your Starting Point to the Internet — Improving Consumers' Ability to Use Their Phones to Discover, Stay Connected and Stay Informed — Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) today announced the upcoming launch of its new Yahoo! Mobile service - a highly-personalized mobile starting point to the Internet.
Discussion:
CNET News, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Between the Lines, Local Mobile Search, Profy and Unwired View, Thanks:profy
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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 …
Discussion:
Computerworld, PC World, Search Engine Watch, mocoNews.net, WebProNews, eWeek, TheAppleBlog, HotHardware.com News and 901am
Jon Swartz / USA Today:
New tech start-ups can rise from the economy's ashes — SAN FRANCISCO — It's boom — and bust — for Silicon Valley companies these days. Literally. — Facing their worst economic climate since the dot-com bust in the early 2000s, high-tech companies are treating 2009 with dread …
Discussion:
Mercury News
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
SEC Charges Research in Motion and Four Senior Executives With Stock Option Backdating — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 2009-27 — Washington, D.C., Feb. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Limited (RIM) and four of its senior executives for stock option backdating.
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.
Prince McLean / AppleInsider:
iPhone dominates Mobile World Congress 2009 without Apple — While reports have suggested that Apple may attend next year's CES to “sit amongst its competition” in consumer electronics, the company has elected not to attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress being held in Barcelona this week.
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Peter Kafka / MediaMemo:
MySpace's Google Gravy Train Set to Stop Next Year — Midway through next year, Google's $900 million, 3.5-year search advertising deal with News Corp. and MySpace expires. What are the odds that Rupert Murdoch's social network gets anything close to that with a new contract? — Very, very low.
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.
Discussion:
Local Mobile Search
Eric Savitz / Tech Trader Daily:
Google: The Case Against A Second Half Recovery — Time to take profits in Google (GOOG), advises ThinkEquity analyst William Morrison. — Morrison this morning cut his rating on the stock to “Source of Funds,” from Accumulate, and reduced his price target to $300 from $350.
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.
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 …
Alan Patrick / broadstuff:
DO FACEBOOK'S LATEST TERMS OF SERVICE CONTRAVENE THE EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION ACTS? — Looking at the brouhaha surrounding Facebook's latest TOS changes, I wondered if they contravened the EU laws on Data Protection. At first blush they probably do in a number of areas.
Thanks:bhc3
Liam Vaughan / Wall Street Journal:
Tech-Boom Flashback for Bankers — While much of the investment-banking community looks on the current crisis with a mixture of horror and bemusement, technology bankers have been here before. — When the dot-com bubble burst at the beginning of the decade, hundreds of technology companies folded and the flow of deals dried up.
Xeni Jardin / Boing Boing Gadgets:
South Park iPhone App a No-Show in Apps Store; Cartman Blames Kyle's Mom. — Remember back in October when I blogged about a new iPhone app from the South Park guys? Not sure what the whole story is on this one, but our friends at South Park tell us the app has long been completed — so, well, where is it?
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.
Mary Jo Foley / All about Microsoft:
Sign of the times: Microsoft holds ‘custom support’ pricing constant — Citing the “challenging economic conditions currently confronting enterprise customers,” Microsoft is planning to hold pricing constant on its “custom support” agreements through the end of 2009.
Leena Rao / TechCrunch:
Tech Layoffs Surge to 300,000 — Layoffs in the tech sector are accelerating. It took exactly three weeks for tech layoffs to surge to 300,000, according to our Layoff Tracker. Since late January, when the tracker hit 200,000 layoffs, another 100,000 job eliminations have been announced or completed.
Robin Wauters / TechCrunch:
SynthaSite Gets A $20 Million Boost For Simple Website Creation Software — There have been simple, browser-based website creation tools available on the market ever since the WWW turned mainstream, but there's clearly still a significant demand for this type of services, especially with the way the web is evolving.
Discussion:
VentureBeat
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:
Nokia, NEWSFACTOR, The Register, eWeek, IntoMobile, The Toybox, Reuters, Skype Journal, Mashable! and Voice on the Web
Brian Caulfield / Forbes:
How HP Mastered The Pain Game — CEO Mark Hurd's skill at making tough choices could comfort investors Wednesday. — BURLINGAME, Calif. - Wednesday would be a really bad day for Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Mark Hurd to break his winning streak. Central bankers around the globe are sweatily trying to revive faltering banks.
internetnews.com:
What Caused the Tech Sales Crash? — It wasn't consumers that slammed on the brakes, they just tapped them a little. — Earnings season for the past month has been more painful than a root canal with no Novocain. On earnings calls, one hardware supplier after another recounted sales …
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.
Peter Moore Blog:
Expanding Our Brand — As some of you may have seen, this morning we announced a multi-year licensing agreement to launch a new line of EA SPORTS-branded sports equipment beginning this fall. These youth training aids will utilize technologies such as infrared, motion and equilibrium sensors …
