Hasta La Gadget!

Google sent a cease and desist letter to Microsoft back in May, demanding that the company take down its YouTube app as it did not comply with Google’s terms of service. Microsoft then worked with Google on an update, which was released only a few days ago. Today Google blocked the app once again, citing that it still violated terms of use. Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Antitrust, David Howard, writes in a blog post that Google has “manufactured” reasons for blocking its app so that Windows Phone users don’t get the same YouTube experience that they can get on iOS and Android, for which Google itself writes the apps.

Howard writes that when both companies were working together on the update, Google asked Microsoft to transition its app to HTML5, however Google’s own YouTube apps for iOS and Android aren’t built on HTML5. The plan was ultimately shelved, but Howard says that Microsoft has made a long-term commitment to Google to work on a HTML5 YouTube app. He further says that the roadblocks that Google is manufacturing are impossible to overcome and that Google is aware of this fact. In the end, Howard reiterates that Microsoft would be happy to collaborate with Google over any legitimate concerns that they may have and requests that Google stop blocking its YouTube app.

Microsoft Says Google Manufacturing Reasons To Block Its YouTube App original content from Ubergizmo.

Prior to unveiling the BlackBerry 10 platform in January, the Canadian manufacturer organized a few developer-focused events in order to get as many apps as it could for its nascent platform. Still most top apps that can easily be found on both iOS and Android are missing on BlackBerry, and there’s no doubt about the fact that one of the reasons BB10 has failed to take off is that most users are put off by the lack of decent applications. The company recently announced the formation of a special committee that is going to look into “strategic alternatives” for its survival, which might include partnerships, alliances or a sale of the company. As per a new report by Forbes, developers are likely to stay away from BlackBerry seeing as how it is now up for sale.

Citing iOS and Android as the top two platforms, by no means an overstatement, developers are now more likely to consider Windows Phone as the third go-to platform instead of BlackBerry. It was reported recently that WP has indeed passed BB to clinch the coveted third position in the global smartphone market. The report does seem to make sense, BlackBerry is now the lowest step on the ladder and might not serve enough value for developers to put their time and resources into developing apps for it. Ultimately its the company and the users that will suffer. From any aspect, things are certainly not looking up for the ailing Canadian manufacturer and the situation isn’t expected to improve anytime soon.

BlackBerry’s “Strategic Alternatives” May Drive Away Developers original content from Ubergizmo.

Those unofficial Amber ROMs you (briefly) considered toying with 10 days ago? History. Nokia has just announced that the honest-to-goodness, ready-for-consumption Amber code has been approved, and Lumia owners the world over will begin seeing it hit their Windows Phone 8 handset in the coming days / weeks. The software update is a fairly major one, delivering a wide range of new and improved features and apps, like Nokia Glance Screen with the standby clock and an even better imaging experience that mirrors the one found on the 1020. Users will be graced with a new FM radio player and improvements to Xbox music and the Internet Explorer browser, as well as improved image processing and the Nokia Smart Camera app (which debuted on the Lumia 925).

The Glance Screen acts a bit like the glanceable extras added to the Moto X, but sadly, it won’t be available on the Lumia 520 and Lumia 625, which have a smaller display memory. Longstanding Nokia loyalists will surely appreciate the addition of “Flip to silence” and “double-tap to unlock,” and those who rely heavily on Here maps will find future updates easier to install. The rollout starts now first for the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820 in selected countries as well as the Lumia 521, Lumia 810, and Lumia 928 in the US, while owners of the Lumia 520, Lumia 620, Lumia 720, Lumia 820 or Lumia 920 will likely have to wait until the end of September.

Update: There’s one more important tidbit: if you’re using a Lumia 920, 925 or 928, you also get the Nokia Pro Camera app.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia

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Source: Nokia Conversations, Nokia

This week the folks at Gartner have suggested that for the first time in history, smartphones have outsold feature phones. This includes the cellphones of the world, be they Samsung, LG, Nokia, or otherwise, just so long as they’re not considered “smart” with modern-day mobile operating systems like Android, Windows Phone, or iOS. This suggestion […]

We knew it was coming to Sprint this summer, and we knew it would run $150 (with a two-year contract and $50 rebate, of course) — and now the carrier’s given us an exact date: August 16th. (Not to say we didn’t already have our suspicions…) Samsung’s ATIV S Neo will become the Now Network’s second Windows Phone 8 handset this Friday. The 4.8-inch smartphone packs a 1.4GHz dual-core processor, an eight-megapixel camera and NFC-based ATIV Beam sharing. More info on all of the above after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung, Microsoft, Sprint

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