Hasta La Gadget!

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

Tech company acquisitions often seek to reshape a company or even the entire industry. Buying Applied Semantics catalyzed Google’s rise to online advertising dominance. Apple’s purchase of NeXT transformed the former’s operating system’s roadmap. And HP’s merger with Compaq created a $40 billion powerhouse vendor of Windows PCs.

That’s not the case for “Googorola,” a portmanteau that the world formerly knew only as an Italian blue cheese often crumbled into steak salads. Indeed, Google’s recent announcement of its intent to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion may turn out to be the highest profile acquisition ever aimed at maintaining the status quo. Presaged by a blog post from Google’s chief legal officer and punctuated by lockstep statements by Motorola’s rival Android licensees praising legal protection, the blog post announcing the acquisition promised to “supercharge” Android. But the subsequent Google conference call regarding the merger reinforced that the “IP” Google seeks to acquire does not stand for “Incredible Phones.” Google seeks to invigorate Android simply by having the freedom to progress unencumbered along the successful path it already has largely staked out.

Continue reading Switched On: The accidental handset company, Part 1

Switched On: The accidental handset company, Part 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re stuck at home for the weekend like many of the people along the East Coast are due to Hurricane Irene, you may have thought to yourself that everything would be fine as long as you had your trusty 99-cent iTunes TV rentals, you may be disappointed to find that Apple has removed that […]

Apple has pulled the plug on TV episode rentals via iTunes, abruptly leaving customers with only the option of purchasing per episode — good thing you can watch those on your Apple TV streamed from the cloud — or a Season Pass where available. AllThingsD has a quote from spokesman Tom Neumayr indicating this was in response to customers that “overwhelmingly prefer buying TV shows.” Making the timing of the move particularly curious are once-again renewed rumors of an Apple HDTV and a WSJ profile of new CEO Tim Cook that indicates the company is “working on new technology to deliver video to televisions, and has been discussing whether to try to launch a subscription TV service.” Like Google, any move depends on its success in negotiating a new delivery model from the networks, who so far have been averse to anything that threatens their existing relationship with pay-TV providers. It appears 99-cent rentals didn’t move the needle, so we’ll wait and see what the folks from Cupertino have up their sleeve next.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple stops renting TV shows in iTunes, could be working on a new kind of video service originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This could be the back of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5. Source: MacPost.net

The iPhone 5 may not look all that different from its predecessor, the iPhone 4.

What is said to be a photo of an iPhone 5’s back cover has emerged, and it features a model number widely believed to be associated with the next generation Apple smartphone.

The image, first published by MacPost, shows a white iPhone back styled much like the iPhone 4. It bears internal model number “N94,” which according to previous reports is a model that supports T-Mobile’s 3G services and is not currently used by Apple. The cover also is labeled “EVT2;” the letters mean “engineering verification testing.”

The photo follows images of a supposed iPhone 5 that leaked in January, which show a device that looks remarkably like the iPhone 4. But many expect the new iPhone to have a slightly different look. A larger display, curved glass and a flat metal back have been rumored, and a number of iPhone 5 case mockups seem to verify. Inside, the iPhone 5 is supposed to sport an A5 processor like the iPad 2, and a beefed-up 8-megapixel camera.

Competing designs and a cryptic statement from new CEO Tim Cook) have some saying we’ll see two new iPhones later this year: An iPhone 5 and a more affordable iPhone 4S. We don’t think we’ll see two models.

So what about that “N94″ label? The AT&T iPhone 4 is labeled N90, while Verizon’s is labeled N92. BGR first noticed the N94 labeling in leaked photos that appeared in April. It’s obviously different than the two current models.

Based on the images we’ve seen so far, the N94 reportedly will include a different antenna design. It also will support T-Mobile’s network and feature an A5 processor — all features the iPhone 5 is expected to have.

For now, the iPhone 5 is expected to launch in October, possibly on Sprint’s network as well.

via MacRumors

This week on the Gadget Lab podcast, the crew talks about big Apple news, little Jawbone news and a few weird ways to touch your iPad.

First off, product reviews editor Mike Calore discusses the major event of this week with staff writer Mike Isaac, Steve Jobs’ resignation as CEO of Apple Inc. We all knew it was coming, but we don’t know what the company will look like as former COO Tim Cook tries to fill Jobs’ shoes.

Next up, Mike and Mike show off a software update for Jawbone’s Jambox, a portable boombox for MP3 players. Essentially, the update allows users to experience “3-D stereo sound” with the mere press of a button. It’s cool enough, but best of all, it’s a free update to a product that’s already been on the market for a year.

Staff writer Christina Bonnington stops by to show off a pair of gloves that will actually work with the iPad (normally, you have to take off your mittens for the screen to register your touch). And if you can’t afford the gloves, contributor Michele Travierso demos another…creative way of manipulating your tablet. Hint: It involves meat.

Like the show? You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or if you don’t want to be distracted by our unholy on-camera talent, check out the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio below:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #123

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0123.mp3