The United States Treasury didn’t print any $10 bills last year. Shocking, but true. It’s because we use less and less cash every year. Which doesn’t mean we’re going to be a cashless society anytime soon. That’s great. More »
WTO says China’s rare earths export controls violate international rules, US applauds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Change may be afoot over at Hasselblad, now that the high-end camera maker has been acquired by Ventizz Capital Fund IV — a private equity firm based in Switzerland and Germany. Neither party disclosed any financial details, but Ventizz said it will implement “no major structural or key management changes” at its newly acquired company. It remains to be seen whether or not this acquisition brings about any changes at the strategic level, though Hasselblad CEO Larry Hansen said his company is looking forward to exploring “brand new markets” — including, we hope, the “sub-$10,000” one. Full PR after the break.
[Thanks, Rene]
Continue reading Hasselblad acquired by Ventizz Capital Fund, will explore ‘brand new markets’
Hasselblad acquired by Ventizz Capital Fund, will explore ‘brand new markets’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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VeriFone’s new Payware Mobile Enterprise for Tablets looks a little Square originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google’s legal woes are piling up in a hurry. French search engine 1PlusV is suing El Goog over alleged anti-competitive practices, less than a week after the Federal Trade Commission opened a formal inquiry into similar accusations levied stateside. The suit, set to be filed in a Paris court this week, claims that Google uses its market dominance to bury rival search results while unfairly promoting those for its own services. According to 1PlusV, Google “black-listed” 30 of its vertical search engines between 2007 and 2010, making it difficult for the firm to compete. The company is also complaining about having to adopt Mountain View’s technology in order to use AdSense and, in total, is seeking €295 million (about $418 million) in damages — the largest damage claim Google has ever faced in Europe. 1PlusV operates the legal search group EJustice.fr and, along with Microsoft, helped spur an EU antitrust probe against Google last year. The company says its forthcoming lawsuit represents the “logical” next step in its ongoing antitrust crusade, while Google issued a brief statement, saying it “look[s] forward to explaining this.”
Google to face €295 million French lawsuit over alleged anti-competitive practices originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The board hopes to bring the program back within the next fiscal year by charging it up with $17 million worth of rebates. It’ll create more opportunities to get some of these rebates, while simultaneously extending the duration of the CVRP by decreasing the maximum amount to $2,500 (about half of the previous maximum). If you’re doing your math correctly, that equates to more than 6,000 total rebates that’ll be up for grabs — opposed to the 1,400 first-rounders who were awarded the rebates already. With luck and some economical upturns, Californian volt-heads can cruise into 2012 with their non-petrol-deficient wallets a little bit fuller.
California’s zero-emissions rebate program ironically runs out of green originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 03:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Zoosh. That may or may not be what an ultrasonic payment sounds like to a dolphin, but it is definitely the name of a new mobile wallet technology developed by Silicon Valley start-up, Naratte. While Google and other major players have focused on traditional radio-based NFC, Naratte has been quietly testing its ultrasound system instead, motivated by the fact that it can work on ordinary handsets without the need for specialized NFC circuitry. Two phones can “zoosh” each other using nothing but their built-in microphones and speakers, so long as they’re both running the necessary app. Moreover, Naratte claims that cash tills can be upgraded to hear the sweet jangle of ultrasonic cash for just $30 — around a third of the cost of installing radio-based NFC hardware. So who knows? The last time you came this close to ultrasound was probably just before you were born, but one day you might find yourself using it to buy diapers. Scary.Zoosh does mobile payments using ultrasound, no NFC chip required originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It looks like Google will be able to bid on Nortel’s patent portfolio after all, now that the Department of Justice has weighed in on the matter. According to the Wall Street Journal, El Goog’s $900 million bid has passed a governmental antitrust review, just a few days ahead of next week’s auction. Rivals like Microsoft, AT&T and Verizon had previously filed complaints with the DOJ, arguing that the sale of Nortel’s 6,000 patents would give an unfair advantage to the auction’s winner by providing it with a fresh arsenal for patent-infringement lawsuits. Google, however, claims it needs the portfolio to defend itself against legal challenges, since it has comparatively few patents to its name. The DOJ apparently sees nothing illegal with this argument, having determined that singular ownership of Nortel’s intellectual property would pose no threat to market competition. This is obviously music to Google’s ears, but the battle isn’t over yet. Sources tell the Journal that both RIM and Apple are interested in filing their own bids for the patents, and have already begun discussing the matter with the Justice Department. None of the companies involved have commented on the story, but it’ll all go down on June 20th, when the auction finally gets underway.
US DOJ greenlights Google’s $900 million bid for Nortel patents; Apple, RIM also interested originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Acer lowers forecast for tablet, notebook shipments, blames limping European economy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Continue reading Starbucks rolls out mobile payment app for Android users, java junkies
Starbucks rolls out mobile payment app for Android users, java junkies originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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