Microsoft Surface Pro Costs More Than a MacBook Air… No Thanks.

Microsoft announced that Surface Pro will start at $900USD at launch for a 64GB version, while a 128GB version will run you $1000. Both models come with 4GB RAM, a USB 3.0 port, will have 4-5 hours of battery life (Intel drains much faster than Surface RT's SoC architecture), and run full Windows 8. That price also includes a fancy stylus, but not one of Microsoft's handy—and frankly, for this device, necessary—Touch or Type Covers. Those cost $120 and $130, respectively, meaning that to give yourself a true laptop replacement you're going to have to shell out at least $1020.
For some perspective, that means the base, 64GB, 10.6-inch Surface Pro with keyboard cover will cost more than a comparably spec'd MacBook Air.
That seems like a tough sell. Microsoft had always been clear that Surface Pro would be priced comparably with ultrabooks, but that implies a pretty broad range of prices. A range that Surface Pro, it turns, out, is near the top of. And while on the one hand you could argue that the innovative form is worth a premium over your standard 11-inch Dell, Microsoft's main concern right now should probably be getting Surface in the hands of the masses.
The company's biggest hardware challenge now, no matter how many dance-filled commercials it runs, is a knowledge deficit. Why take a flyer on a $1000 hybrid device when you know for a fact that comparable MBA or Zenbook performs well and costs less?
The Surface Pro might be the greatest technological marvel to come along since the rotisserie oven. Or it might be a disappointment. Either way, it's a leap of faith for buyers. In that sense, it's a whole lot like the original Xbox, another new entrant into a crowded field that was a longshot at best. Microsoft sold it at a loss for years, literal years, undercutting Sony and winning a massive install base in the process. And if Microsoft's already taking a massive hit on a $1,020 entry level price, well, maybe it was an ill-fated pursuit to start with. [Microsoft]

iTunes 11 is here and is really FAST.

It's FAST
iTunes is fast now. Which is crazy. iTunes hasn't been fast in years. But iTunes 11 feels legitimately lightweight and like something you wouldn't mind running all the time. That's a huge change. Search, scrolling, anything—in any view—is all lightning quick now.
Your Library Sidebar Is Gone
One of the biggest changes is how you get around in your Library. The old left-hand bar with Music, Movies, Podcasts, etc. is gone, replaced with a drop down in the top left of the app. The change frees up loads of screen space for more information, but also makes navigating to different forms of media slightly harder, so it's a trade-off. If you decide it's not worth the trade, you can get it back by clicking on View > Show Sidebar. You can get the status bar on the bottom back

Qantas Confirms: Passbook Support Incoming For Airline Boarding Passes

The Australian airline Qantas has recently announced that Passbook support for boarding passes is now available.
First reported by Australian Business Traveller on Tuesday, the news means that Qantas customers can take advantage of an “Add to Passbook” button when they receive digital boarding passes. As such, passes can be stored within the Passbook application, and scanned upon arrival at the departure airport.

Qantas Passbook passes
Passes change color depending on the user’s frequent flyer status, and multiple passes can easily be stored on a single iPhone.
However, this isn’t all Qantas has in store for for its iPhone-equipped customers. As Australian Business Traveller notes:
A Qantas spokesperson says the airline is “working on further developments to the app which will enable live updates to the boarding passes. We expect that this extension will be in place by late January 2013.”
Passbook is really taking off, don’t you think?

Ericsson Sue's Samsung.

Samsung seems stuck in a sue sandwich. It is embroiled in patent litigation with Apple across the globe, and now Ericsson is coming after it, as well. On Tuesday, the mobile network infrastructure manufacturer sued Samsung for patent infringement, claiming that the company continues to use its mobile technology patents even though its licensing agreement has expired.
Ericsson said the suit follows two years of failed negotiations with Samsung, during which the South Korean company sought to significantly reduce the licensing fees it pays to license Ericsson’s IP under so-called fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory (FRAND) terms.
“Ericsson has tried long and hard to amicably come to an agreement with Samsung and to sign a license agreement on FRAND terms,” Ericsson’s chief intellectual property officer, Kasim Alfalahi, said in a statement. “We have turned to litigation as a last resort.”
Samsung, for its part, says that it would like to license Ericsson’s patents on FRAND terms, but that’s not what the company is offering. “Ericsson has demanded prohibitively higher royalty rates to renew the same patent portfolio,” Samsung said in a statement of its own. “As we cannot accept such extreme demands, we will take all necessary legal measures to protect against Ericsson’s excessive claims.”
Better get those ready, Samsung, because Ericsson isn’t messing around here. It alleges that Samsung has sold “hundreds of millions” of unlicensed devices since the expiration of its previous agreement, and it’s seeking damages on all of them, as well as an injunction against the infringing products themselves.

Microsoft: Windows Phone 8 reboot fix. You'll have to wait till December.

Tired of your Windows Phone 8 doing random reboots? Microsoft is taking it's sweet time to fix the problem. According to a statement (below), an over-the-air fix is on the way sometime in December, reports All Things D. In the meantime, if you have a really bad case of the reboots, there isn’t much you can do other than bring your phone back to the store and try and arrange a swap. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more.

Nintendo Wii U Sold out at launch

Nintendo sold more than 1 million hardware units over the last week.
On the portable side, Nintendo sold more than 500,000 hardware units, including 250,000 3DS and 275,000 DS devices. Fils-Aime explained to CNET that the DS outsold the 3DS because of the "significant" deals retailers were offering on Black Friday.
Still, according to Fils-Aime, the 3DS "continues on record-setting pace" selling through more than 6 million units during its first 21 months on store shelves. During the same period, the original DS had about 1 million fewer sales.
The big story, however, is the Wii U, which launched on November 18. Fils-Aime explained to CNET that the Wii U's sales figures during the last week were essentially capped by the company's ability to get units to store shelves.
"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," Fils-Aime said. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately."
Shortages are certainly nothing new to those who tried to get their hands on the Wii after its launch in 2006. Each week, shipments would trickle in to local retailers, and consumers would stand on line hoping enough units were available for them to get a unit. Web sites were even created to give customers hints on where they could find a Wii. Fils-Aime doesn't necessarily expect a repeat with the Wii U.
"Wii was a unique phenomenon," Fils-Aime said. "You couldn't walk into a retailer and buy a Wii until spring of 2009. We've certainly learned many lessons from that and we are replenishing retailers more quickly this time around. We are looking to have as much product into retail as possible. It's driven by consumer response."

Barclays Bank rolling out 8,500 iPads!

Apples iPad is selling hot, UK based bank, Barclay’s has ordered a whopping 8,500 iPads to roll out across its branches in the UK. The order is believed to signify one of the largest roll outs of iPads in the UK finance sector according to The Channel.
A PR mouthpiece at Barclays told us that staff had demanded the reassuringly expensive pad over any other shiny devices - clearly there are a lot of fanbois in the bank's ranks.
She said the device will be used "to assist our branch colleagues to interact with customers, improving the customer experience".
"We investigated a number of different tablet options and in this instance, we concluded that iPads were the best solution for their specific needs. We are now starting to use these across Barclays branches in the UK," she said.
Barclay’s did not specify which model of iPad that it had ordered but if you based the purchase on the iPad 2 16GB model, you are looking at an order worth nearly £2.8 million or $4.4 million. Of course we expect that Barclay’s got a bit of discount for the size of that particular order.
The continuing use of iPads in the business sector must be a real blow to Microsoft who have always dominated the business world when it comes to computing. The just released Microsoft Surface may have been suitable for Barclay’s needs on the hardware side however the software side still has a long way to go before it could be considered a useful tool for business. We will have to see how that develops in the future.

Google Forgot About December

SOFTWARE
By Richard Devine  | Nov 18 2012 | 7:58 am  | 16 COMMENTS

With new versions released of Android, there's bound to be a few little bugs hidden within. While Google will test, test and test again, there's always likely to be something that slips the net, many of which most users never come across. What we find in Android 4.2 however, definitely belongs on some kind of blooper reel. They forgot December. 
Google Calendar is unaffected, so we're all good on that front. But, when adding events to profiles within your People application, there is no option to add dates in December. Loved ones birthdays, Christmas, New Years Eve, all don't exist, at least in this part of Android 4.2 anyway. If nothing else, it's pretty embarrassing. The issue has been reported to the Android bug tracker, and we can imagine that a fix will be rolled out in the not too distant future.

Windows Phone 8 Suffering Random Reboots and Battery Issues

Windows Phone 8 users are starting to report early issues across HTC and Nokia handsets. In a thread over at WPCentral with 143 replies, a variety of HTC 8X users report that handsets randomly reboot while in use. A thread on Microsoft's own support forums has also gained 50 replies complaining about the issues. The Verge can confirm that an 8X we are testing has rebooted on more than one occasion.
Nokia Lumia 920 users are also reporting random reboots and freezes, with some complaining of poor battery life too. In a thread on Nokia's support forums, a number of users appear to be complaining of lock ups and resets with the Lumia 920. Battery life issues have led to some users wiping their devices in hope of a quick fix, unfortunately that seems to have resulted in some devices left stuck on a Nokia splash screen. In our own experience with several Windows Phone 8 devices, we've found that disabling the tap + send (NFC) feature results in improved battery life. We have reached out to Microsoft, HTC, and Nokia to discuss the issues and we'll update you accordingly.

HTC Droid DNA Looks Like An Amazing Smartphone

HTC and Verizon have just announced the Droid DNA, a 5-inch sporting an incredible 1080p Super LCD3 display. Powering those pixels is the capable Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, familiar to us as the APQ8064 with 4 Krait cores running at 1.5GHz and last seen in the Nexus 4. For modem, the Droid DNA is using MDM9615 which makes this HTC's first Qualcomm Fusion 3 based device. The Droid DNA also includes ImageChip and the usual ImageSense features, and brings the 2.1 MP F/2.0 camera we saw on the HTC 8X as well. There's 2 GB of RAM onboard as well.
The style of the phone alludes to its Incredible forebears, but only in the bright red accents. The design is sleeker, with a smooth back and thin profile. On the long edges of the phone are large red grills, though stereo speakers are not in order. What is available to audiophiles, is a 2.55v built-in headphone amp, not a common find in a smartphone but something that will go a long way to improving the listening experience. 
Wireless charging is also being introduced to the Droid line for the first time. It's unclear whether this will be  on the increasingly common Qi standard, but if Brian's growing enthusiasm for the technology is any indication, this could be a popular feature. 
As is the norm, the HTC Droid DNA will be available on-contract for $199, and pre-orders start today with shipments expected by November 21st. We'll be hands-on shortly, and give some impressions of the device. 

Samsung Tech Going For Flexible Screens.

The Wall Street Jounall is reporting Samsung is heavily invested in flexible screens.
Samsung's display unit, Samsung Display Co., is in the last phase of development of flexible displays for mobile devices, which are expected to be released in the first half of next year, a person familiar with the situation said.
It is still unclear when devices using the technology will be available commercially, and Samsung declined to comment on how much it is investing in the displays.
Samsung Group's flagship company, Samsung Electronics Co 005930.SE -1.70% ., which makes products as diverse as semiconductors, television sets and smartphones, combined its liquid-crystal-display operations with its organic light-emitting diode joint venture, Samsung Mobile Display, earlier this year and turned it into Samsung Display.
The move to mass produce flexible displays comes as global smartphone and tablet makers look to differentiate their products to boost their profit margins and market share in the fast-growing markets.
Samsung's flexible displays will incorporate OLEDs, a display technology that the South Korean company is already using in its smartphones and television sets.
OLEDs are thin and can be put on flexible material such as plastic or metal foil. By using plastic rather than glass, they make the displays more durable and light. Flexible OLEDs have been in the development phase for many years, and companies including Sony Corp. 6758.TO -10.69% of Japan and LG Display Co. 034220.SE -1.71% of South Korea also have launched prototypes. However, manufacturers haven't been able to commercialize them or use them in devices due to technological barriers in mass production. Samsung hopes it will be first to bring the product to the market.
Samsung's push has taken on more urgency, because other display makers are also moving to introduce different screen technologies for cellphones and tablets. Sharp Corp. 6753.TO +2.63% of Japan and LG Display are already selling liquid-crystal displays with technology used for the screens of Apple Inc.'s AAPL -0.43% iPhone 5. The "in cell" technology makes the smartphone's screen thinner by integrating touch sensors into the liquid crystal display, eliminating the need for a separate touch-screen layer.
Samsung is able to invest heavily in the display business despite a supply glut of panels as its profits are soaring. In the third quarter, Samsung Electronics' net profit surged 91% from a year earlier to about $6 billion.
The vice president of Samsung's display unit, Lee Chang-hoon, said the company is currently sampling the displays with a few customers. Mr. Lee said the release date of a new product based on flexible displays hasn't been determined yet.
"The key reason for Samsung to use plastic rather than conventional glass is to produce displays that aren't breakable. The technology could also help lower manufacturing costs and help differentiate its products from other rivals," said Lee Seung-chul, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.
Samsung's success isn't guaranteed, however.
Sony said it has been researching the technology since 2002, though a spokesman for the company said Monday that it can't comment on when flexible displays will be mass-produced or commercialized. Two years ago, Sony showcased a 4.1-inch flexible OLED display.
"Samsung is still busy making the original glass-type displays for its latest Galaxy S III smartphones and Galaxy Note II devices, so profit-wise the new displays don't seem to be that attractive," said Julius Kim, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.

Microsoft DirectX 11.1 is Windows 8 Only!

We hope there weren't too many PC gamers clinging to Windows 7 for dear life, because Microsoft isn't about to rescue them with a near-term DirectX update. The company's Daniel Moth (and supporting documentation) states that DirectX 11.1 is exclusive "for all practical purposes" to Windows 8-based platforms, including Windows RT and Windows Server 2012 -- you can't leap forward in media support without a full-on OS switch. None of the changes are large enough to trigger any immediate envy outside of the occasional fan of 3D glasses, but they could pose problems for conservative gamers in the long run if games and other visually intensive titles start demanding 11.1 as a baseline. There's no known plans to port the code back or release a harmonizing version, either. We can at least take comfort in knowing that Windows 8 upgrades are cheap enough to be low-hanging fruit for all but the most Metrophobic.

Nokia "Here" Mapping System, it's cross platform.

Nokia plans an ambitious expansion of its mapping and location-based services platform beyond its own smartphones to competing devices running OSes other than Windows Phone 8, it said Tuesday.
The move is being backed with the acquisition by Nokia of Earthmine, a California-based provider of street-level 3D imaging data, and will see Nokia going head-to-head with Google, Apple, and dedicated mapping companies like TomTom.
"We want to give everyone with any type of device to ability to use this, the best location platform in the industry," said Stephen Elop, CEO of Nokia, speaking at an event in San Francisco.
Nokia will use the "Here" brand name across its location platform.
The company hopes that by expanding its platform beyond its own handsets, it will benefit from the greater scale of the service and in turn make its own service better.
Nokia's platform includes mapping and satellite data, 75 million searchable points of interest, car and foot navigation data, and public transport information.
Already mapping
Nokia has already taken some steps towards opening up its mapping database. It has worked with car navigation system makers and other IT companies including Amazon and Oracle to license its maps, said Elop.
"We will do much, much more of this," he said.
As a first step, Nokia will launch on Apple's iOS in the coming weeks, said Michael Halbherr, head of Nokia's location and commerce division. The iOS version will be based on HTML5 but will appear to users like a native application, he said. It will offer maps, navigation, live traffic, public transport information and more.
Nokia has already submitted it to Apple's App Store, where the company plans to offer it for free.
The iOS version will offer turn-by-turn navigation for pedestrians but not for car drivers.
"When we look at turn-by-turn, we look at it in a different way," said Thom Brenner, vice president of Nokia's location and commerce business, in an interview. "Safety is very important and we don't think HTML5 is good enough for what we want."
Brenner didn't say if Nokia was developing a native iOS app.
A Here SDK (software development kit) for Android will be available in the first quarter of 2013. That will allow developers to embed Here Maps and make use of Nokia's location information in their own applications.
However, while software makers will be able to develop Android apps that make use of the location services, the services will only be available on handsets from companies with which Nokia has a licensing agreement, said Brenner.

That means Nokia's platform will only expand to Android devices if other handset makers—the company's rivals in the competitive smartphone market—license the technology.
Nokia will also work with Mozilla to bring a Here Maps app to the Firefox OS.
"People today already own multiple connected devices, so to have a proper solution for the consumer we need to make sure it works everywhere," said Halbherr.

Nokia Here map creator
Internet users can check out Nokia's new platform by looking at here.com, a freshly launched website that offers maps, satellite images and data on landmarks and shops. In a demonstration, Nokia showed a map of San Francisco that included 3D buildings and allowed the user to zoom and rotate the map in a similar fashion to Google Earth.
A mobile version of the site is available for cellphones.
Nokia also said it will open up the augmented reality platform used in its Nokia City Lens software. Called LiveSight, the data and software engine allows cellphone users to hold up their phones to see a live view of the world around them through the phone's camera with locations marked and overlaid on the image.

Steven Sinofsky Is Leaving Microsoft

In shock news Steven Sinofsky, the President of the Windows Division at Microsoft, is out. Sinofsky is leaving amidst "growing tension between him and other top executives". He was once seen as the heir apparent at Microsoft, someone who could possibly become CEO.
Seeing Sinofsky's successful track record at Microsoft this is very surprising and news that absolutely stains the launch of Windows 8. Having the guy in charge of Windows 8 leave Microsoft, near the launch date of Microsoft's most important product? Not. Good. AllThingsD likens the move to Apple firing Scott Forstall:
Sinofsky, though seen as highly talented, was viewed at the top levels as not the kind of team player that the company was looking for.
Sinofsky previously worked in the Office division at Microsoft but took over as President of the Windows division after the embarrassing bungling of Windows Vista. He fixed it with Windows 7 and Windows 8. Sinofsky even had a hand of creating Outlook.com and Skydrive and was a big champion of Surface. Meaning: his resume at Microsoft was pretty fantastic and whatever happened behind the scenes had to be really serious for Microsoft to part ways with his talent.
Microsoft is saying that Julie Larson-Green will now lead all Windows software and hardware engineering and that Tami Reller, the CFO at Microsoft, will assume responsibility for the business of Windows. In a letter to Microsoft employees about the news of Sinofsky leaving, Ballmer says:
As we enter this new era, and with the successful launch of Windows 8 and Surface behind us, Steven Sinofsky has decided to leave the company. Steven joined Microsoft in 1989 as a software development engineer and has contributed to the company in many ways from his work as a technical advisor to Bill Gates, to leading the evolution of the Microsoft Office business, to his direction and successful leadership of Windows and Windows Live as well as Surface. I am grateful for the work that Steven has delivered in his time at our company.

More Microsoft Surface (Tablet) Problems.

There is more issues with Microsofts first crop of Tablets The Surface RT Models
Reports have been rolling into Microsoft with Splits appearing on the Keyboards and Audio issues. The company is investigating the problems, but has not yet confirmed it is able to reproduce them. A report in The Guardian notes that Touch Cover users are reporting some hardware issues too. A number of users have spotted that the Touch Cover edge appears to be fraying, exposing the wiring of the cover. we have seen units with the defect and Microsoft is shipping a replacement free of charge to affected users. A Microsoft support person admitted that the company is dealing with "a lot" of Touch Cover returns.The audio stuttering is another issue and will hopefully be sorted with a firmware update well have to see.

WIndows RT Tablets Windows 8 Serious Vulnerabilities..

It's been less than a month since Windows 8 and Windows RT-powered Surface tablets were launched and went on sale, but Microsoft is already warning that the two next-generation operating systems contain critical security vulnerabilities that are due to be patched this coming Tuesday.
Among the various flaws, versions from Windows XP (Service Pack 3) all the way through to Windows 8 are affected, including versions of the Office suite, and versions of Windows Server. Released only in September, Windows Server 2012 requires patching to maintain maximum security.
The latest vulnerabilities include three critical security vulnerabilities for Windows 8, and one critical security vulnerability for the Surface-based Windows RT operating system. These flaws are considered "critical" and could allow remote code execution on vulnerable systems. 




Among the flaws, a few patches will be delivered for Internet Explorer that will fix a flaw that allows drive-by attacks on vulnerable systems, such as if the user visits a malicious Web page through the browser. Older versions of Internet Explorer, versions IE6, IE7 and IE8, which run on Windows XP, will not be patched. 
The latest version of Internet Explorer 10, exclusive to Windows 8 and Windows RT machines, contains no vulnerabilities that Microsoft is yet aware of.
For Office, where a machine could allow remote code execution if a user opens a malicious Office document. Rated as "important," it requires user intervention -- in this case, the code can only run if the user opens up the document.
In all, the six patches will fix 19 vulnerabilities, and will be released through the usual channels in the coming days -- on so-called "Patch Tuesday."

Microsoft Office coming to Android and IOS Devices next year

Microsoft's Office for iPad, iPhone, and Android is a reality. Although Office Mobile has been rumored and reportedly spotted in the wild, Microsoft has remained persistently quiet about its plans for the product. The Verge has learned through several sources close to Microsoft's plans that the company will release Office versions for Android and iOS in early 2013.

Office Mobile will debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move. Like the existing SkyDrive and OneNote apps, Office Mobile will require a Microsoft account. On first launch, a Microsoft account will provide access to the basic viewing functionality in the apps. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, and edit functionality can be enabled with an Office 365 subscription.
Microsoft will allow iOS users to purchase an Office 365 subscription within the app, or let organizations distribute codes to enable Office Mobile editing for users. The apps will allow for basic editing, but we're told this won't go very far in attempting to replace regular full use of a desktop Office version.

A recent Microsoft press release from the company's Czech Republic subsidiary revealed that Office Mobile apps for Android and iOS would be made available from March 2013. We understand that Office Mobile for iOS will arrive first in late February or early March, with an Android version due in May.
We reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story and a company spokesperson says "Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

Windows 8 Activation Cracked By Pirates.

Pirates have cracked Windows 8 Activation system in spitete of Microsoft lowering upgrade prices. It seems no matter how cheap it gets there still will be users wanting to get things for free, and for them their will always be a hack or crack to bypass copy protection and activation procedures.
Unlike Windows 7 doing an activation crack on Microsoft Windows 8 is much harder as the operating-system features newer technology to detect and protect illegal activations. Like every other software out there pirates always find a way to beat the protection allowing mass pirating, and once again this has been done for Microsoft Windows 8.
The KMS Activator for Windows 8 is still the prominent method to crack Windows 8 and use it illegally, another variant of the same method seems to be out now as Windows.8.Activator.K.G.v1.11.2012-Genial7
which not only hactivates but also changes some files to make your computer look activated on all relevant screens.

Now, while pirates can activate and use illegal copies of windows 8 - it should be noted that these are not real cracks and work by exploiting the genuine Microsoft KMS activation service aimed for volume licensing. KMS activation method allows copies to Microsoft software's to be activated in bulk legally for 180 days. Similar to KMS activator crack for Windows 8 this new hactivation utility performs the same KMS activations (using an illegal or unauthorized server) which works by installing a service which autoruns on 179/180the day of hactivation to reactivate without user knowing about it. The only additional job done by this new utility is to change some files and make Windows 8 cosmetically report that it is fully activated hiding the real status of 180 days KMS activation.

Apple drops to 50.4% tablet market share BUT then it sells 3 Million iPads in 2 Days!

Update: To throw a spanner in the works Apple announces 3 Million iPads in 2 days quick someone re calculate!
Apple’s iPad sits at 50.4 percent market share in the third quarter of 2012, which saw a total of 27.8 million total units (update that by 3 Million) shipped worldwide. Rounding out the top three tablet manufacturers were Samsung at 18.4 percent and Amazon at 9.0 percent, both pushing ahead with their Android tablet offerings.
It’s important to underline that we’re talking about shipments not sales here. Keeping that in mind, the latest estimates come from IDC, which summarized its findings in the following chart:

The tablet market grew 49.5 percent year-over-year, but only 6.7 percent when compared with the second quarter of 2012. Android shipments, led by Samsung and Amazon, surged during the quarter, at the expense of iPad’s market share.
Apple lost 9.3 percentage points between last quarter and the third quarter last year, or put another way, 15.1 percentage points when compared to its market share in the second quarter of this year (65.5 percent). Still, at 50.4 percent, the company commanded over half of the tablet shipments last quarter. It’s worth noting that Apple’s share could translate to a higher return since it’s the only company that reports actual sales, not just shipments. On the flipside, Apple’s drop translated into the remaining top five tablet vendors gaining share during last quarter.
Samsung did the best, thanks to its Galaxy Tab and Note 10.1 products. The Korean company shipped 5.1 million tablets worldwide in the third quarter of 2012, gaining 11.9 percentage points year-over-year.
Amazon, which did not have a tablet in the third quarter of last year, gained 4.2 percentage points from the second quarter of 2012. The company announced new 7-inch and 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablets late in the quarter, and began shipping the new 7-inch HD version (in addition to a refreshed version of the original 7-inch Fire) in mid-September. It’s worth noting that Amazon only shipped its new offerings in the US last quarter, although it expanded to five additional countries this quarter.
The top five tablet manufacturers list was rounded out by Asus and Lenovo. Asus’ growth was backed by strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 device, which allowed it to gain 4.8 percentage points year-over-year. Lenovo’s gains were driven by strong shipments in China, but it only managed to grab an additional 0.3 percentage points.
Android may have dominated smartphones last quarter, but iOS is still winning in the tablet space. Google’s platform is slowly cutting into Apple’s marketshare, however, and this trend doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Will the iPad Mini save the day? We’ll see next quarter.

1 in 4 computers sold last quarter were tablets

IDC reported that 27.8 million tablets were sold worldwide in the third quarter of 2012 with Apple holding the majority even as other vendors, such as Samsung and Amazon, are catching up. But that’s not the story: Tablet sales have already approached nearly 25 percent of PC sales. As computer sales are in decline, sales of tablets rose 49.5 percent from the same quarter in the prior year. That’s more bad news for traditional computer makers.
To get a feel for the tablet vs PC market, I again looked to IDC for data on computer sales. Last month, it reported a total of 87.7 million personal computers were sold in the third quarter of this year; down 8.6 percent from the year ago quarter. That’s not a favorable trend, considering tablet sales grew nearly 50 percent in the past year. If you were to ignore the smartphone for this exercise — which has surpasses sales of the PC early this year — and do a quick calculation of the total tablets and PCs sold, 24 percent of the 115.5 “computers” were tablets in the last quarter.

Bear in mind that the existing tablet market only began in 2010 with the first iPad. In just three calendar years then, tablets have captured nearly a quarter of the PC market if you lump these devices together. One could argue that these shouldn’t be put together, but I’d disagree. In fact, I did just that in February, with a GigaOm Pro report (subscription required) explaining why the “PC” you buy in three years won’t be a PC but would instead be a tablet. And I’m not the only one seeing the trend: In August, Om pointed out that HP and Dell are on the road to nowhere as both companies missed out on the shift to mobile devices. Add analyst Horace Dediu to the list as well: He suggests tablets will outsell PCs by the fall of 2013.
As I’ve reiterated before with similar posts, I’m not declaring the PC “dead” by any means. There are still numerous use cases where a traditional computer is the best tool for the task. There will be for some years, if not decades, to come.
However, in this new mobile era, there are a growing number of people that simply don’t need a PC any longer. The smartphone with its ubiquitous connectivity and ability to fit in a pocket makes it a Swiss Army knife of applications on the go. And when you need a larger screen to more comfortably create or consume content, the tablet is filling the role of a PC more and more. Still not convinced? Wait for this holiday season and see which market grew more or had blow-out sales: tablets or PCs. My money is on the tablet, just as it has been for the past few years.

Windows Surface 32GB Tablets are only really 16GB.

When the Surface’s pricing and storage options were announced, it received praise coming with, at minimum, 32 gigabytes of internal storage. That’s twice what the low-cost, full-size, and current-model iPad sports, it was noted. However, once you nickel and dime your way through the amount of stuff Microsoft has installed on the device, you end up with a flat 16 gigabytes of open space.
How did that happen. Happily, Microsoft has compiled a chart. Here’s where all your space went:

Now, we could fire up our humor engine and crack a few fat jokes, but let’s avoid comedy for the moment.
Microsoft appears to have lied, at least accidentally. During its AMA session on Reddit, as reported by TNW at the time, the company made a very different promise in regards to storage space on the Surface:
How much space will you have left after Windows RT is installed on a 32GB RT model? – “After the OS, OfficeRT and a bunch of apps, you will still have more than 20GB. As you say, you can always add an SD card and while you cannot add apps there, you can get music, movies and photos there.”
20, as you will note, is more than 16. In fact, it’s 25% more, which is non-trivial in this case.
Chewing through 16 gigabytes is certainly a big deal, in that for most consumers, disk space is their primary storage method. Sure, with SkyDrive you have another 7 gigabytes in the sky, and the Surface can take externally added SD memory, but those are options that most consumers, I presume, will use far less frequently than internal, normal storage space.
Thus, the Surface is less usable, as the 32 gigabyte model only provides half that space to its user. TNW has asked Microsoft to comment on the discrepancy in its reported storage information. This post will be updated when we hear back.
For now, don’t expect to be dropping too many high-def films onto your new Surface.

Android Malware Up Massively.

Security firm F-Secure’s latest mobile threat report (for Q3) reports “a whopping 51,447 unique samples” detected in the third quarter, up from 5,033 in Q2 and 3,063 in Q1. The majority of the new Android malware detected by F-Secure in Q3 are designed to “generate profit from SMS sending activities or by harvesting information found on the infected device”, it notes — whereas earlier this year driveby malware was the most prolific. Commenting on Android’s security situation last month, a Google spokesman told me: “We are committed to providing a secure experience for consumers in Google Play.” Mountain View claims its data on Android malware shows a 40 percent decrease in “the number of potentially-malicious downloads from Google Play” between the first and second halves of 2011.
Google takes various measured to tackle malware. Earlier this year, when it introduced its app store scanning system — codenamed Bouncer – Hiroshi Lockheimer, VP of Engineering, Android  explained how it worked in a blog post
The service performs a set of analyses on new applications, applications already in Android Market, and developer accounts. Here’s how it works: once an application is uploaded, the service immediately starts analyzing it for known malware, spyware and trojans. It also looks for behaviors that indicate an application might be misbehaving, and compares it against previously analyzed apps to detect possible red flags. We actually run every application on Google’s cloud infrastructure and simulate how it will run on an Android device to look for hidden, malicious behavior. We also analyze new developer accounts to help prevent malicious and repeat-offending developers from coming back.
In addition to scanning for malicious code, Google’s security approach includes Content policies that Android developers must adhere to — also tightened up this summer — along with what it describes as “a multi-layered security model based on user permissions and application sandboxing”. Any apps that violate Google policies are pulled from Google Play — but of course that does not stop them being offered on third party app markets.
F-Secure notes that the release of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean included “a number of exploit mitigation features as part of an ongoing effort to improve security on the platform” (Engadget reported Jelly Bean adoption had reached 1.2 percent of Android phones and tablets as of September).
The Android malware identified by F-Secure is not broken down by app store source — so it’s not possible to determine what proportion comes from the Google Play store. “We can’t produce stats on the amount of malware from Google Play vs elsewhere as most of our samples come via anonymized sources,” Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure’s chief research officer, told TechCrunch.

The HTC 8X is the best Windows Phone Hands Down.

Theres a bunch of new Windows phone 8 phones to choose from but frankly there is the HTC Windows Phone 8X, and then there is everything else. This handset isn’t just better than the Windows Phone competition if you include all the other smartphones ranging from the Samsung Galaxy S3, iPhone 5's and what else you choose it's still better. The HTC 8X, is the only smart phone on the market that edges past the iPhone 5 in terms of sheer beauty. It’s better looking, and it feels better in the hand, while offering the same benefits of a thin and tall design. Since hardware design was the iPhone’s biggest advantage over previous Windows Phone handsets, this is a huge accomplishment.


Compared to other flagship Windows Phones, there’s no contest. The Lumia 920 is a honking beast of a machine that makes even the Lumia 900 look a bit tweenish by comparison. And the Samsung ATIV-S, despite a surprisingly thin form factor given the size of its screen, is plain looking. Not ugly. Just not interesting.


The HTC 8X comes in three brilliant colors— deep blue, red, and yellow—plus black, and as with the Lumia devices, the color isn’t painted on, it’s baked into the unibody design, and simply gorgeous looking. More to the point, it’s the opposite of the iPhone in hand-feel: Where Apple’s machine has harsh edges, the 8X is soft and wonderful.


Long-time readers know I’ve become somewhat obsessed about smart phone camera quality. I’ve been taking photos with this thing since Monday and the picture quality is superb, easily the best of any smart phone I’ve ever owned. An impromptu camera test pitting the 8X against an iPhone 5 on Tuesday was inconclusive: The shots were nearly identical, which I take as a good sign. But I’ll be doing a more detailed comparison of the cameras in the 8X, the iPhone 5 and the Lumia 920. You can stay tuned for that, but it doesn’t matter. The 8X’s 8 megapixel camera is absolutely good enough for me, and when you combine it with the form factor advantages, the argument is simply moot. The 8x is the best overall Windows Phone 8 handset. And the best smart phone, period.


HTC does include a handful of apps on the phone. One I find surprisingly useful is simply called HTC, and I use it primarily to glance at the time, since it features a wonderfully large clock display on its tile. But this app can also be used as the lock screen background, which I’m using too, and there it features the local weather, which is certainly useful too.
HTC also includes converter, flashlight, photo editing, and Yellow Pages, apps—nothing too exciting if you’re familiar with Nokia’s rich Lumia-only apps library—and of course you get the AT&T apps prebundled, most of which I uninstall.

From a tech specs perspective, the HTC 8X is fairly leading edge for a Windows Phone. It has a 4.3 inch screen with Gorilla Glass 2 running at 720p HD resolution (1280 x 720). It features a 1.5 GHz dual-core QUALCOMM processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of non-expandable internal storage, works with GSM/GPRS/EDGE and HSPA/WCDMA networks, and comes with GPS, digital compass, proximity, and ambient light sensors.
The HTC 8X also includes a built-in amp, and using it each morning to listen to music and podcasts as I get ready for work, I’m stunned by how loud and clear the internal speaker sounds. But it also includes Beats Audio: Plug in headphones or speakers and crank it up, because it sounds fantastic. This is the best-sounding smart phone I’ve ever used.


Battery life has been on par with my Lumia 900 this week in heavy usage. And for once, this is real world usage: I’ve dragged this thing with me to four cities this week and really used the heck out of the device.
It’s not perfect. The HTC 8x lacks micro-SD expansion, and some may pine for that or at least more internal storage. The side-mounted hardware buttons—power, volume, and camera—are flush to the device and sometimes hard to press.
And … I’m pretty much grasping at straws here, trying to come up with something to criticize.
This phone is awesome. And once you see one in person, and hold it in your own hand, you’ll get it: Apple’s tired, repetitive hardware designs have finally met their match and the other Windows Phone handsets have been put to shame. The HTC Windows Phone 8X is the obvious choice. The only choice. And you’ll want one too.

FTC recommending US government sue Google

The Federal Trade Commission has reportedly recommended that the US government pursue legal remedies against Google for violating antitrust laws. The review sprung from fears that Google is demanding sales embargoes against products that use patents required to be licensed under fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms (FRAND) terms rather than engage in the required good-faith negotiations legally required by owners holding standards-essential patents.
Google and fully-owned subsidiary Motorola Mobile are embroiled in many suits with Apple and Microsoft among others, each alleging that their patents are being infringed by other companies, generally involving smartphone and tablet technology. In most cases, the suits request that infringing products be prevented from sale in or import to the US. FTC Chariman Jon Leibowitz said in the middle of September that he expected a decision in the investigation to be reached by the end of 2012. Google declined to discuss the report, claiming that "we take our commitments to license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms very seriously."

When the Justice Department approved the Google acquisition of Motorola Mobility, and the Nortel Network patents by a group spearheaded by Apple and Microsoft, it said it would monitor for patent misuse by any of the companies. Apple and Microsoft pledged that they wouldn't prevent any FRAND licensing of standards-essential patents. Google promised the same, as long as good-faith negotiations for the patents were underway, but maintained the right to seek court relief if no agreement could be reached on licensing.

Critics argue that this exception has allowed Motorola (and by extension Google) to avoid negotiating in good faith and demand unreasonable terms. When negotiations fail, the company files suit and claims that potential licensees refuse reasonable terms.

Motorola has historically asked for 2.25 percent of the cost of an entire device that uses even one of its patents, and rather than a rate based on just the value of the patent. For example, the current requested rate for Microsoft's Xbox 360 is $4.50 of the $200 retail price per unit sold.

Previous demands for Windows' use of the H.264 patent asked for 2.25 percent of each PC sold, and not just the retail value of Windows. Conservative estimates by Microsoft have placed the amount they would owe for the video playback patent alone in the billions of dollars, assuming the average PC was conservatively worth $500. The rate Motorola demands is several orders of magnitude larger than the capped license fee maximum of $6.5 million per year demanded for the patent by the MPEG LA group.

Microsoft currently testing its own smartphone, says WSJ

Microsoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, Microsoft is currently testing a smartphone with Asian suppliers, although it's unclear whether or not the device will enter mass production. The phone reportedly has a screen size somewhere between four and five inches.
The Verge previously heard that while Microsoft was considering making its own flagship Windows Phone, such a device would be unlikely to see the light of day before the year is out. Indeed, Microsoft has gone out of its way to promote the efforts of hardware partners such as HTC and Nokia, and our sources tell us that any "Surface phone" would likely be deployed as a "Plan B" should Windows Phone 8 fail to gain significant traction. If the Journal's report is to be believed, however, this plan may be further along than previously thought.

Microsoft Sued Over Windows 8 Live Tiles Etc.

Microsoft surprised the world earlier this year when it moved into producing its own computer hardware with the Surface, but the company's plans may not stop there. According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, Microsoft is currently testing a smartphone with Asian suppliers, although it's unclear whether or not the device will enter mass production. The phone reportedly has a screen size somewhere between four and five inches.
The Verge previously heard that while Microsoft was considering making its own flagship Windows Phone, such a device would be unlikely to see the light of day before the year is out. Indeed, Microsoft has gone out of its way to promote the efforts of hardware partners such as HTC and Nokia, and our sources tell us that any "Surface phone" would likely be deployed as a "Plan B" should Windows Phone 8 fail to gain significant traction. If the Journal's report is to be believed, however, this plan may be further along than previously thought.