Hey, so forget what we said this morning about a news recap earlier in the day -- we’re happy to announce that, starting Thursday, we’ll be back to pushing out three full news items each weekday morning, plus the very news recap you’re reading each evening to catch up with the rest of the day’s events. All because you, the loyal MacLife.com reader, deserve it! So without further ado, let’s blast off into the rest of today’s news for Wednesday, February 8, 2012.
As rumored in the last few days, Amazon today announced a new deal with Viacom which will add 2,000 more titles to its Prime Instant Video service, encompassing the output from television networks MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land and VH1. Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced on the company’s home page that the new deal brings Amazon’s offerings to 15,000 titles, including kiddie favorites like Dora the Explorer, comedy like Hot In Cleveland and reality TV, including past seasons of The Real World and yes, even Jersey Shore. (Face it: There’s no escaping it.) As usual, Prime Instant Videos require a $79 per year subscription which also nets customers with free two-day shipping. Sadly, there’s still no sign of an iOS app for watching all this content, but you can find it on the Kindle Fire, Mac and PC computers, Roku boxes and internet-connected HDTVs or Blu-ray players.
Can you feel that red dot on your forehead, Skype? That’s the sharpshooters at Vonage Mobile marking you for death -- or at least stepped-up competition. According to The Verge, the Vonage Mobile apps for iOS and Android are now offering VoIP calls “typically 30 percent cheaper than Skype’s rates, based on per-minute rates to the top 50 countries called.” Best of all, anyone can use the app -- even without a traditional Vonage subscription, thanks to in-app billing in increments of $4.99 or $9.99, billed straight to iTunes or Android Market. What could be better than that? How about free calls to any number in the U.S. or Canada for a limited time, and the ability to use your mobile number for Caller ID on outgoing calls? That clicking you hear is other users rushing to download the free iOS app, we’re guessing...
Having trouble keeping up with all these iPad 3 rumors flying fast and furious? Apparently, so was the staff at Computerworld, who has just cooked up a “Crazy Apple Rumors Guide to iPad 3.” After a bit of background on how the iPad has grown over the last two generations, writer Jonny Evans lays out what we know so far: Better screen? Check. A6 processor? Check. Improved graphics processor? Check. Better camera? Check. LTE wireless support? Check. Will it be thicker or thinner? Check and check. (Say wha--?) Thunderbolt I/O? Maybe. Siri? Done and done. And on it goes, right down to NFC, 3D and Apple-supplied mapping. So when will we finally see all of this tablet goodness? How about later this month… or maybe next month. You know, those rumor mills just can’t be for certain...
As we reported yesterday, the Path iOS app was caught with its hands in the proverbial cookie jar -- in this case, uploading users’ address book data without being given express permission to do so. Today, co-founder and CEO Dave Morin has announced the company is moving quickly to right this wrong. While noting that no user data has ever been used for malicious purposes, Morin explains: “We believe you should have control when it comes to sharing your personal information. We also believe that actions speak louder than words. So, as a clear signal of our commitment to your privacy, we’ve deleted the entire collection of user uploaded contact information from our servers. Your trust matters to us and we want you to feel completely in control of your information on Path.” Furthermore, the promised Path 2.0.6 update is now available in the App Store, which now prompts users to opt in or out of sharing phone contacts, which is used to discover others you may know on the service. Hats off to the Path gang -- and fear not, we still love you.
Ars Technica is reporting that Apple wants to lead the charge for “standardized royalty rates” where 3G wireless networking is concerned. The problem stems from smartphone players such as Samsung and Motorola “leveraging patents essential to 3G wireless networking standards in lawsuits largely aimed at Apple” -- patents which were offered to standards body ETSI to “help create 3G standards on the condition that they be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.” Unfortunately, Apple’s chief IP attorney Bruce Watrous finds that the opposite is true, claiming “our industry suffers from a lack of consistence adherence to FRAND principles in the cellular standards arena.” The problem apparently stems from Samsung’s request for “a 2.4 percent royalty on the full retail price of every iPhone or iPad sold to cover its 3G-related patents, while Motorola has asked for 2.25 percent” -- amounts that Apple rightfully calls “unfair and unreasonable,” which is why the smartphone makers are suing Apple for patent infringement in the first place. “What Apple is arguing here is that the royalties should not apply to an entire iPhone or iPad, but rather to the basic hardware for 3G wireless radios,” the report explains, although there’s presumably no end in sight for the problem anytime soon.
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brandonwalkermedia
February 08, 2012 at 10:55pm
no offense but what about your LOYAL iOS NewsStand customers who never get there subscription "ON TIME" it is usually 12-22 days AFTER the print comes out?
