iPad 2 Arrives in 25 More Countries This Friday March 25th.

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Press Release:

Available in Hong Kong, Korea & Singapore in April

CUPERTINO, California—March 22, 2011—Apple® today announced that iPad® 2, the second-generation of its third post-PC device, will go on sale in 25 additional countries this Friday, March 25. iPad 2 will be available at Apple retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers at 5 p.m. local time, and online through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com) beginning at 1 a.m. Apple today also announced that all models of iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April.





“While competitors are still struggling to catch up with our first iPad, we’ve changed the game again with iPad 2,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re experiencing amazing demand for iPad 2 in the US, and customers around the world have told us they can't wait to get their hands on it. We appreciate everyone’s patience and we are working hard to build enough iPads for everyone.”





iPad 2 features an entirely new design that is 33 percent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than the original iPad, while maintaining the same stunning 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. iPad 2 features Apple’s new dual-core A5 processor for blazing fast performance and stunning graphics and now includes two cameras, a front-facing VGA camera for FaceTime® and Photo Booth®, and a rear-facing camera that captures 720p HD video, bringing the innovative FaceTime feature to iPad users for the first time. Though it is thinner, lighter, faster and packed with new features, iPad 2 still delivers up to 10 hours of battery life* that users have come to expect.





Pricing & Availability

iPad 2 with Wi-Fi will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK on March 25 for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) the 64GB model. iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G will be available for a suggested retail price of $629 (US) for the 16GB model, $729 (US) for the 32GB model and $829 (US) for the 64GB model. iPad 2 will be available in Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and additional countries in April, and in many more countries around the world in the coming months. Further international availability and pricing will be announced at a later date.





iMovie® and GarageBand® for iPad apps are available for $4.99 (US) each from the App Store℠ on iPad or www.itunes.com/appstore. The Smart Cover is available in a range of colors in vibrant polyurethane for $39 (US) or rich leather for $69 (US).





*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

Press Contacts:

Trudy Muller

Apple

tmuller@apple.com

(408) 862-7426



Janette Barrios

Apple

jbarrios@apple.com

(408) 974-7608

CTIA 2011: Cobra Electronics announced the launch of an Android version of its iRadar app.

WordlWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Cobra Electronics announced the launch of an Android version of its iRadar app April 4 during the CTIA Wireless 2011 Showstoppers event.





The iRadar detection system represents a new level of evolution for radar detection devices, which work in conjunction with new mobile technologies.





Just like the iPhone version, iRadar for Android improves on the old radar detectors by offering new methods for warning drivers before they’re caught violating traffic laws. For example, it uses the phone’s GPS when approaching photo-enforced intersections and the like. Both versions will also have a new feature allowing drivers to identify personal traffic traps and share them with the community.





So, beyond the obvious reasons like boosting sales, it’s to iRadar’s benefit to expand to new platforms and bring in new users since the community-sharing aspect would constantly increase its value.

CTIA 2011: appMobi Releases Mobile Web Services Creating Most Comprehensive Mobile App Ecosystem Available

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

appMobi platform provides everything required for the development, testing, distribution and monetization of cross platform native and Web apps

appMobi® (http://www.appmobi.com) today announced the addition of four new mobile Web services to its comprehensive Platform as a Service (PaaS) mobile app ecosystem solution. Through its free cross platform developer toolkit, the appMobi XDK, appMobi now provides mobile application and Web developers the most complete integrated set of hosted tools and services.



appMobi’s new set of mobile Web services – including 1Touch™ frictionless payments, pushMobi™ multimedia push notifications, statMobi™ mobile analytics, and LiveUpdates™ over-the-air app updates – join a comprehensive suite of tools enabling any developer to create engaging and monetizable mobile apps, enable mobile commerce and analyze usage.



The appMobi XDK provides integrated tools for fully testing and publishing HTML-based code as either native apps or as WebApps. Through the XDK, appMobi’s mobile Web services are uniformly available to mobile Web, Apple iOS, Google Android and BlackBerry developers. Apps built with the appMobi XDK, whether native or not, can all utilize native device features, such as the accelerometer, camera, GPS and file system. With the addition of these new mobile Web services, developers can use the appMobi XDK to easily augment existing apps or build new apps that go well beyond the capabilities of currently available apps:



1Touch Frictionless Payments – Selected as a finalist in the 2011 CTIA E-Tech Awards, the 1Touch payment technology enables “single touch” in-app purchases within apps or websites through a highly-secure mobile wallet on the device and a few lines of HTML code. Though Apple’s “Paid Subscriptions” and Google’s “One Pass” systems make purchasing virtual goods easy within an app, they don’t address the buying of physical goods, nor do they work on the mobile Web. 

appMobi’s 1Touch complements these app stores with one touch purchasing of physical or virtual goods either from within apps or via the mobile Web. 1Touch integrates with payment gateways such as Authorize.Net and PayPal, and also with carrier billing. 1Touch brings the ease and convenience of secure frictionless payments to the entire mobile space and finally opens the mobile market to merchants selling physical goods. 

pushMobi Multimedia Push Notifications – Push messaging is a proven and powerful way to engage users through mobile apps, alerting them to news, information and messages. With pushMobi, appMobi has evolved push messaging to a new level, delivering rich media messages that can include video, audio and HTML5 content. The pushMobi online dashboard (which integrates with any ad campaign management software) lets content providers target groups of users based on device, geography, demographics and other criteria.



statMobi Mobile Analytics - Advertisers and webmasters depend on analytics to measure the effectiveness of campaigns and content. statMobi provides app developers with the first comprehensive set of analytic tools for measuring app usage, both online and offline. statMobi mobile analytics tracks app starts, clickstreams, push messaging reception and response, and payments made, among other data points. statMobi continuously captures metrics even when a device is offline during app use, then sends them once the device is back online. statMobi is the only “always-on” mobile analytics tool.



LiveUpdates OTA App Updating – Apps created using the appMobi XDK can now push new content, features, bug fixes and new versions over-the-air right to users’ devices, without requiring an app store update. With LiveUpdates, developers can better ensure that their users have the latest content and newest versions of their apps.



appMobi is at the vanguard of mobile application innovation. At Mobile World Congress in February 2011, the company unveiled MobiUs™ – the first-of-its-kind mobile Web browser technology. Mobius allows developers to create Web applications – or WebApps – that exceed the functionality possible with native apps produced without the appMobi XDk, putting the entire World Wide Web on equal footing with app stores as the distribution channel for discovering, downloading and interacting with mobile apps.



Download the appMobi XDK at http://xdk.appmobi.com.



Attendees of CTIA WIRELESS 2011, held March 22 to 24 in Orlando, Florida, can stop by appMobi’s booth 3196, located inside the Apps World section of the exhibit floor for a demonstration of the entire appMobi PaaS.



About appMobi

appMobi® provides highly integrated cloud-based tools and services for supporting large-scale developer communities and creating and operating complete mobile application ecosystems. By leveraging the commonly used Web programming languages of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and the open Web, appMobi’s development tools allow app developers to “write once” and publish anywhere, either native app stores or via the Web. appMobi’s turnkey, white label platform-as-a-service offering enables carriers, device manufacturers, and brands to create mobile app ecosystems under their own brand. For more information visit http://www.appmobi.com.

Press Contact

John Sidline

Mobility Public Relations

+1 503 946 3311

appmobi@mobilitypr.com

CTIA 2011: LG Mobile phones introduces the LG Wireless Charging Pad (WCP-700)

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

LG Wireless Charging Pad features industry leading charging efficiency

LG Mobile Phones announced today the LG Wireless Charging Pad (WCP-700). Featuring a sleek and sharp design, LG Wireless Charging Pad is poised to revolutionize wireless charging as we know it. With inductive coils built into the battery doors and internal contacts, advanced wireless charging technology allows for a cord-free power source - alleviating the need for external connections that limit the phones usability.



LG Wireless Charging Pad provides industry leading wireless charging and ergonomics. For easy and intuitive use, LG Wireless Charging Pad features audible and tactile feedback when a phone is placed on the pad, as well as multi-colored LED lights to indicate charging status. Taking the hassle out of charging your wireless devices, LG Wireless Charging Pad also sports a compact, sleek design to easily accommodate an on-the-go lifestyle.

Key features:

• Visual, audible and tactile feedback – allows user to see, feel and hear when the phone is placed properly on the pad

o Power LED - Blue = Plugged in

o Battery LED - Orange = Ready to Charge

o Battery LED - Flashing Green = Phone is Charging Correctly

o Battery LED - Solid Green = Phone is Fully Charged

• Slim and sleek design – allows for convenient storage, taking up minimal space

• Effective Range – 7mm from center of placement guide

• Dimensions – 6.29”x3.54”x0.39”

Pricing and availability:

• The LG WCP-700 will be available in early April for $69.99.

About LG Electronics, Inc.

LG Electronics, Inc. (KSE: 066570.KS) is a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, mobile communications and home appliances, employing more than 93,000 people working in over 120 operations around the world. With 2010 global sales of 55.8 trillion Korean won (USD 48.2 billion), LG comprises four business units – Home Entertainment, Mobile Communications, Home Appliance, and Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions. LG is one of the world’s leading producers of flat panel TVs, mobile devices, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators. LG has signed a long-term agreement to become both a Global Partner and a Technology Partner of Formula 1™. As part of this top-level association, LG acquires exclusive designations and marketing rights as the official consumer electronics, mobile phone and data processor of this global sporting event. For more information, please visit http://www.lg.com.



About LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company

The LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company is a leading global mobile communications and information company. With its cutting-edge technology and innovative design capabilities, LG creates handsets that provide an optimized mobile experience to customers around the world. LG is pursuing convergence technology and mobile computing products, while continuing its leadership role in mobile communication with stylish designs and smart technology. For more information, please visit http://www.lgmobilephones.com.

Verizon to issue Tens of Millions in refunds for erroneous data charges.

As reported on CNN.com Verizon will be issuing tens of millions of dollars in refunds to customers that were erroneously charged for data usage that they did not initiate.

This has nothing to do with the VerizonMath data rate quoting issue that I was involved with, but is very interesting nonetheless.

I've often wondered about the implications of software glitches, and this one is a doozy. It's probably been hurting Verizon's bottom line for some time even just in customer complaints, customer service calls and customer dissatisfaction (assuming individuals were not able to get the charges reversed). It is tangentially related to my situation in that the CS feedback should really be a priority that is investigated and reacted to early, such that these types of problems are handled when the costs are low (nip in the bud) rather than the typical brush it under the rug and hope it will go away mentality. I can't help but think that if this problem had been caught when the refunds would have amounted to a few million that Verizon's net costs would have been significantly less. Administering millions of refunds has to be a costly process. I wonder if they will issue the refunds including interest.

PS: thanks to Chris for bringing this to my attention.

Nokia launches C6, C7, E7 at Nokia World

Nokia, the world's largest cellphone maker, has unveiled three new smartphone models, trying to claw back market share at the lucrative top end of the sector.

The new models -- E7, C7 and a new version of the C6 -- all come with large touchscreens and use the latest Symbian software. They were unveiled in London.

Nokia C6 comes with a new display technology known as ClearBlack Display (CBD). CBD is said to offer improved outdoor visibility. The display gives users another choice when choosing between Super-LCD, AMOLED and Apple's Retina Display. The smartphone has an 8 MP camera, supports WebTV and has free Ovi Maps.

Nokia C7 is a lighter, thinner version of the C6. The smartphone offers largely all the same features as C6. Both the smartphones have a 3.5-inch screen and 8GB of onboard storage. C7 is expected to be priced at approximately 335 euros. While Nokia C6 is expected to be available for 260 euros.

Nokia E7 is a business smartphone boasting of a 4 inch touchscreen CBD display and a slide-out four-row keyboard. E7 comes with an 8 megapixel camera and 16GB of on-board storage. The smartphone is able to shoot and edit 720p video and offers18 days of standby time and up to 9 hours of talktime.

Business features of E7 include support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Communicator Mobile and Microsoft Share Point Server.

Nokia E7 is likely to be priced at 495 euros.

Nokia still controls around 40 percent of the global smartphone market volume, but has lost out to Apple and Research in Motion's Blackberry in the fatter-margin market for the most expensive cellphone models.

"The products are a clear improvement from the N97 but we know they are not where Nokia needs to be yet, and any other promise around 'we are working on it' would have not convinced anyone," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. "A new CEO and the old guard stepping down might give investors more confidence that things are really changing."

DROID by Motorola

The DROID by Motorola for Verizon Wireless is a touch screen, QWERTY slider smartphone that has gained early attention for its super fast speeds. Featuring Google’s Android 2.0 operating system, the DROID has a desktop-like web experience and is fully customizable with apps downloaded from the Android Market. The integrated GPS and eCompass can be used with Google Maps and other location-based apps, geo-location web search, and even geo-tagging photos. Beyond geo-tagging, the DROID’s DVD-quality 5.0 megapixel camera/ camcorder also has auto-stabilization, flash, zoom and editing tools. Share your videos and photos online or via multimedia messaging. The DROID by Motorola can do everything you want a smartphone to do, and some things you’d never expect