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- Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results
- Fox offers Avatar extras for free to spur digital sales
- Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations
| Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results Posted: 17 Dec 2011 09:18 AM PST Sen. Al Franken this week said he is still "very troubled" by the technology deployed by Carrier IQ despite the fact that the company—as well as AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC—released details about how they use Carrier IQ software. "People have a fundamental right to control their private information," Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a statement. "After reading the companies' responses, I'm still concerned that this right is not being respected." Of particular concern was the fact that Carrier IQ was receiving the contents of users' text messages after say it did not, as well as the software's ability to collect online search data. "There are still many questions to be answered here and things that need to be fixed," Franken said. "We appreciate Subcommittee Chairman Franken's continued interest in protecting consumer privacy and look forward to our ongoing dialogue with the Senator to answer his additional questions," Carrier IQ said in a statement. Continue reading Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results Tags: al franken, att, carrier iq, htc, privacy, samsung, security, senator al franken, smartphones, sprint, t-mobile, trevor eckhart, Senator Al Franken ‘Troubled’ by Carrier IQ investigation results originally appeared on Gear Live on Sat, December 17, 2011 - 9:18:51
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| Fox offers Avatar extras for free to spur digital sales Posted: 17 Dec 2011 07:51 AM PST The studio behind the blockbuster Avatar is offering an unprecedented look into digital filmmaking, with downloadable extras that will allow a viewer to watch the motion capture actors or CGI in real time. Beginning on Dec. 20, customers can now download a total of six hours of extras via Apple's iTunes from Twentieth Century Fox, which include the three different views of the movie, plus a number of other extras that offer a real-time look into how the movie was made. The Avatar iTunes Extras Special Edition will cost $19.99 for a high-definition version, and $14.99 for the standard version; both include the movie as well as the extras. Apple will begin accepting preorders at 11 AM PT, a Fox spokeswoman said. Fox's motivation is to encourage consumers to get into "digital collecting" of digital movies, explained Aubrey Freeborn, senior vice president of marketing and product management for PPV, VOD and EST for Twentieth-Century Fox. The extras will be released to the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia on Dec. 20. Avatar is the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time. Continue reading Fox offers Avatar extras for free to spur digital sales Tags: avatar, blu-ray, fox, itunes, james cameron, movies, special features, twentieth century fox, vod, Fox offers Avatar extras for free to spur digital sales originally appeared on Gear Live on Sat, December 17, 2011 - 7:51:39
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| Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations Posted: 16 Dec 2011 09:49 PM PST At the Google I/O conference in May, many Android phone vendors and U.S. wireless carriers made a long-awaited promise: From then on, any new Android phone would receive timely OS updates for at least 18 months following launch, as part of the then newly christened Google Update Alliance. The back story: If you own an Android phone, you may have watched with frustration as a new version of the OS hit the market. It's almost never clear if your phone will ever get that upgrade—unlike with iOS or Windows Phones, which always get all upgrades (providing they meet the right hardware requirements). With Android, it seems to depend on the phone vendor, the specific model, the wireless carrier, the Android version itself, and whether Google sent the carrier an inflatable plastic food product as a token of its appreciation that week. Worse—and much to our chagrin—sometimes vendors make promises to customers before the sale that they don't keep once you own the phone. Many factors contribute to this. But custom versions of Android are the key culprit, either thanks to vendor-specific enhancements (like HTC Sense, Motorola MotoBlur, and Samsung's TouchWiz, though LG, Pantech, Casio, and other vendors do it too), or carrier-specific enhancements of a more dubious nature (such as unnecessary preloaded bloatware and changes to default apps). These changes require many programming hours not just to make in the first place, but to also support and upgrade down the road—resources the carrier would rather throw at making new phones to sell you. So the Google Update Alliance was a breath of fresh air. It sounded like everyone would finally come together, streamline their OS update timelines, and stop jerking around their customers. The thing is, while the Google Update Alliance ended up being one of the biggest stories to come out of Google I/O, we've heard almost nothing about it since then. You can bet we weren't just going to forget about it and pretend it never happened—especially after the release of Google Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), which is a huge leap in UI design and overall performance. Continue reading Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations Tags: android, android 4.0, android 4.0 update, android update alliance, droid, droid bionic, droid razr, epic 4g touch, evo 3d, evo 4g, exhibit 4g, galaxy s ii, google, google io, htc, htc rezound, ice cream sandwich, motorola, samsung, smartphones, sprint, t-mobile, Google’s Android Update Alliance not living up to expectations originally appeared on Gear Live on Fri, December 16, 2011 - 9:49:40
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