Record labels criticise Google over illegal downloads
An organisation which represents music labels around the world has criticised Google, claiming it has failed to deliver on promises to tackle illegal file-sharing. The IFPI said guarantees Google had made about copyright infringement 12 months ago "remained unfulfilled". It added that they had made "modest steps". In response Google declined to comment on what it called a "press stunt".
NewsBeat

Apple buys Israeli flash storage maker in $500m deal
Apple has bought Israel's Anobit, a maker of flash storage technology, for up to $500m (£319m), the Calcalist financial daily reported on Tuesday, following almost a week of speculation surrounding the companies. The newspaper said Anobit's management was in the process of gathering its staff to formally announce the acquisition by Apple. There was no announcement at the time of writing on either company's website. The purchase is the first by Apple of an Israel-based company.
Guardian

Amazon Planning to Buy RIM?
Research In Motion Ltd has turned down takeover overtures from Amazon.com Inc and other potential buyers because the BlackBerry maker prefers to fix its problems on its own, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Reuters

Samsung most popular smartphone manufacturer in the UK
The battle between Samsung and Apple for smartphone superiority continues. After an abundance of advertising, lawsuits and patents trying to outsmart the other, it looks as though Samsung will be named the most popular smartphone manufacturer in the UK, according to comparison website Broadband Genie.
CIO

Apple working on wearable computers with Siri?
Apple has encouraged us to wear its devices for a while now, especially with the new iPod Nano featuring a sleek watch face. Now, apparently, the engineers in Cupertino are working on more small devices that we can wear and integrate into our lives.
ITProPortal

Smart grid no gold rush for telcos
Telecom vendors are always on the hunt for new markets. Electric utilities are an important vertical, but their telecom needs have historically been basic. The prospect of big new investments in smart grid projects raises the prospect of this changing. However, don't expect an overnight gold rush.
Telecoms Europe

BBC iPlayer app's iPhone update adds 500k new users in a week
The BBC iPlayer iOS app has been downloaded 1.1m times in the week since it was updated to run on Apple's iPhone and iPod touch as well asiPad, says Daniel Danker, the broadcaster's general manager of programmes and on demand. "500,000 of those downloads were to users who had never installed the app before," says Danker, who adds that the application's new ability to stream TV shows and radio over 3G as well as Wi-Fi is also proving popular.
Guardian

TD-LTE evolves into mainstream contender
The influence of China Mobile has promoted TD-LTE from sideline technology to mainstream contender. This trend will only accelerate as operators run short of spectrum and start to look at the neglected, and web-suitable, TDD frequencies. Also, TD-LTE provides a migration path for Wimax operators who want to tap into the broader device ecosystem and economies of scale promised by LTE.
Telecoms Europe

Thief Steals Three Per Cent Of Blackberry PlayBook Tablet Global Shipment
More than 5,000 RIM Blackberry PlayBook tablets have been stolen in the US state of Indiana which is equivalent to three per cent of the whole global shipment of the tablet for the past quarter when RIM shipped 150,000 PlayBooks. Police said that a tractor trailer containing 22 pallets, each with around 240 tablets, was nabbed together with a truck while the driver went on a break at a stop.
ITProPortal

Determine your mobile subscribers’ QoE in real time
As the expectations of mobile subscribers continue to rise, swift resolution of network issues is critical. To reduce customer churn, network operators must be able to quickly identify the source of network issues. To minimize OpEx, the results of network analysis must be available in real time.
Total Telecom

Apple wins partial import ban against HTC
Apple has won a patent-infringement ruling that bans some HTC smartphones from the US starting next year. The US International Trade Commission, in a review of a judge's findings in July, said that HTC is violating one Apple patent related to data-detection technology and issued a limited import exclusion order that takes effect 19 April
Telecom Paper

AT&T Ends $39 billion Bid For T-Mobile
T&T has dropped its controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA, bowing to fierce regulatory opposition. AT&T said today that after a thorough review of options it has agreed with Deutsche Telekom AG to end its bid to acquire T-Mobile USA, which began in March of this year.
CDRinfo

Samsung details ICS upgrades: GSII and Note in Q1 2012
Samsung has officially confirmed the Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade schedule for its current line-up of smartphones and tablets, promising that the Galaxy S II and Galaxy Note will see Android 4.0 in Q1 2012. Eight devices are listed as in line for upgrades, including the Galaxy S II LTE and Galaxy R smartphones and the Galaxy Tab 10.1, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 7.7 and the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.
Slash Gear

Sky follows BT in blocking Newzbin2
The internet service provider Sky cut off access to Newzbin2 last week following a court order. It is the second UK ISP to block Newzbin2 after a High Court ruling earlier this year forced BT to deploy filtering technology to prevent its customers accessing the site.
The Register

Barclays raises target for Telefonica
Barclays has raised its price target for Telefonica from €12.50 to €13, but decided to maintain an underweight recommendation for the Spanish telecoms giant. Yesterday, HSBC downgraded Telefonica to neutral from overweight. This British firm attributed the downgrade to the slow down in its main growth market, Latin America.
Share Cast

Flash mob in London today promoting the Samsung Galaxy Note
We've just gotten wind that Samsung will be bringing a series of flash mobs to London's Victoria station tomorrow, 20th December 2011 from 10am in celebration of the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note.
Recombu

86 per cent of smartphone users ignore mobile ads
That, and more found in YouGov's 2012 consumer tech predictions. The online market researcher says 40 per cent of Britons own smartphones, which is set to rise to 68 per cent with the next device upgrade cycle. Despite this large share of the mobile space, marketers are in danger of failing with their campaigns, according to the report. More than three quarters ignore mobile advertising completely and 79 per cent describe the method as irritating.
Mobile Entertainment

Saudi prince buys $300m sliver of Twitter
A Saudi prince whose investment company claims to have a fondness for free speech has plopped $300m into the coffers of Twitter, the 140-characters-at-a-time social networking service widely touted as an enabler of this year's Arab Spring. "Our investment in Twitter reaffirms our ability in identifying suitable opportunities to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact," said billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal,
The Register

BT sues Google over Android
British Telecom is claiming billions of dollars of damages from Google in a lawsuit filed in the US which says that the Android mobile operating system infringes a number of the telecoms company's key patents. The lawsuit, filed in the state of Delaware in the US, relates to six patents which BT says are infringed by the Google Maps, Google Music, location-based advertising and Android Market products on Android. If successful, the suit could mean that Google or mobile handset makers will have to pay BT royalties on each Android handset in use and which they produce.
Guardian
 
Microsoft Windows 8 to ditch Flash support
Microsoft has confirmed that it will be dropping Adobe Flash support from its tablet version of Windows 8. This means that anyone using the Metro user interface will not have Flash support in the browser. Talking in a blog post Internet Explorer development head Dean Hachamovitch explained why Flash was no longer a realistic option. “Plug-ins were important early on in the web’s history. But the web has come a long way since then with HTML5.”
T3
 
Google Wallet app unofficially available for Galaxy Nexus
The talented people over at XDA-Developers have released an unofficial download for Google's swipe-to-pay service, Google Wallet. The app, which is cunningly known as Google Wallet, allows you to use your Galaxy Nexus as a way of paying for goods or services, thanks to built-in near-field communication (NFC) technology. As far as we know, the download means you can purchase goods from BestBuy and a number of other US retailers - we've unfortunalely not been able to see if the unofficial app works in the UK.
Know Your Mobile
 
UK Government Sets Deadline for Broadband Funding Bids
The UK government has set a deadline for English councils that expressed their desires to roll out high speed Internet connectivity. According to new and confirmed reports, the councils must apply before February next year to go ahead any further with their demand for government cash. The government had already sanctioned £530 million to equip UK's countryside with superfast broadband connections by the end of 2015.
IT Pro Portal
 
Smartphone Ads a Turn-off, says YouGov
Research agency YouGov has released its predictions for 2012 on consumers’ consumption and behaviour around smartphones and other devices.  The company notes that in the UK, 40 per cent of people own smartphones, increasing to 68 per cent within the next upgrade cycle. Smartphones’ increasing ubiquity and functionality, says YouGov, will result in increasing control and interaction with the real world, whether though smartphones, smart watches or other personal devices. Examples include interacting with TVs, tablets and even heating systems in the home, and outside of the home, with location- based marketing services, point of sale vouchers and special offers, targeted video billboards, and QR codes.
Mobile Marketing Magazine
 
Mobile Broadband pricing is set to decline by 60 per cent over five years
A new report published by Tariff Consultancy Ltd (TCL) called LTE Mobile Broadband Pricing 2012 finds that LTE Mobile Broadband pricing will fall substantially over the 5-year period to the end of 2016. LTE Mobile Broadband Pricing 2012 evaluates pricing from around 30 LTE Mobile Broadband providers which are mainly located in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific regions of the world. It finds that LTE is currently being promoted as a premium Mobile Broadband product based on a high theoretical download access speed.
Mobile Europe
 
Sony Ericsson releases Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS for Xperia mobile phones
Solely own Sony mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson has brought out a ROM image of the Google mobile ‘Ice Cream Sandwich' operating system 4.0.1, for developers to use on the Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray handsets. Sony Ericsson made public this news on their Developers World blog, in a post that reads: ‘To show our continuous support to the open developer community, and get your valuable feedback, we are today making an alpha ROM of Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.1) for Xperia [mobile phones] to download.'
IT Pro Portal
 
Apple Mini-iPad rumor cites Kindle Fire
Apple is "likely" to launch a 7.85-inch iPad before the fourth quarter of next year, according to a report in Taipei-based Digitimes. Now, why would Apple go against Jobs' wishes? "In order to cope with increasing market competition [from]...the 7-inch Kindle Fire...and the launch of large-size smartphones," according to the report. Displays will be provided by LG and AU Optronics (AUO), the report said, citing sources. Production is expected to begin before the end of the second quarter of 2012.
CNET
 
Whitehall: Govt-related private email, texts will be uncloaked
Messages in private email accounts, text messages and other messaging systems can be disclosed under freedom of information (FOI) laws if they relate to public business, the FOI regulator has confirmed. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published new guidance making it clear that FOI laws cover relevant information even when stored or sent on private accounts or devices. It said that this is not a change in the law but that it wanted to clarify its position.
The Register

Qualcomm details new Snapdragon S4 chipset and Gaming Portal
Qualcomm has officially unveiled its new Snapdragon S4 chipset, which the company claims offers eight times the processing power of the S1. During the past three years Qualcomm’s business has grown exponentially, outpacing even smartphone sales. The company now owns 35 per cent of the market as of Q2 2011. The Snapdragon S4 sets to build on that gain through the introduction of more processing power, improved power efficiency and built-in support for next-level technologies like LTE, HD Flash video and 4G speeds of up to 100mbps. Qualcomm also detailed the type of optimised software experiences users can expect from the Snapdragon S4 chipsets once they arrive in handsets. Rendering is up to 71fps, which should translate into silky-smooth performance on Android and Windows Phone handsets – but the difference will no doubt be most pronounced on Google’s platform.
Know Your Mobile

Disjointed European states create hole in mobile telecom industry
There is still no confirmed date for the 4G spectrum auctions in the UK. This market is now officially the laggard in the European telecom industry. That's a position made all the more damning by the fact that Europe as a whole is itself a long way behind the rest of the world when it comes to advanced mobile services. Delivering LTE – or 4G – services is complex. It requires specific radio spectrum, which is, arguably, among the most valuable commodities we have access to. That spectrum is owned by governments, and they have full control over when, how and to whom usage of the spectrum is licensed. The disjointed governments across Europe have failed in coordinating the licensing of spectrum. The effect is a kind of European infanticide. The continent was once a global leader in the mobile industry; it is now years behind the US, Japan and South Korea. Opportunities, innovation and jobs have been stifled by governments and regulators.
The Guardian

Nokia sets return to US smartphone market
Nokia will re-enter the US smartphone market next month with its first Windows-powered smartphone, the Lumia 710. The device, a low-cost handset aimed at the nearly 150m Americans who have yet to purchase their first smartphone, will go on sale on January 11 and cost $50 with a new two-year service agreement with T-Mobile USA. The handset is also one of the first in a new wave of devices to use the new Microsoft Windows Phone 7.5 software dubbed “Mango”. Under Stephen Elop, Nokia’s new chief executive, the Finnish company has pinned its future on the success of smartphones powered by the new operating system, and on re-establishing its presence in the US after losing market share to Apple’s iPhone and smartphones powered by Google’s Android.
Financial Times

Intel forms mobile business unit
Chip behemoth Intel appears to have finally stirred from its shambling strides forward and realised that a few people might be interested in mobile chips. For a while Intel has tried to plug the mobile hole in its dossier with Atom chips, which have largely not been up to the task. Now it admits that mobile requires a special department all of its own and has hired a bunch of suits who can set one up. According to Reuters, Intel is bringing together four divisions to create a mobile and communications unit and its public enema number one will be ARM. Chipzilla sent around an internal memo outlining how the company is combining four divisions to create a new Mobile and Communications group that will help it better compete in the fast-growing tablet and smartphone spaces.
TechEYE

MySpace drops from UK's 10 leading social networks
Former social networking behemoth MySpace has dropped out of the UK's list of the 10 most popular online social services for the first time, being replaced by the likes of Stumble Upon. Whilst the figures, compiled by Experian Hitwise, have played fast and loose with the term social network, the rapid decline of the sector's former powerhouse is evident with MySpace now being visited less frequently than the likes of Moneysavingexpert and the Moshi Monster website. "MySpace traffic has been on the decline for at least three years now but this is the first time the social network has fallen out of the Experian Hitwise top 10," said James Murray of chart tracking service Experian Hitwise.
T3

LG launches third mobile phone designed by PRADA
South Korea's second largest consumer electronics company Lucky Goldstar has announced the Prada phone by LG 3.0, which is the very first smartphone from the joint partnership. LG Prada 3.0 is the third handset collaboration between the two companies; following on from two mobiles, the KE850 in 2007 and the Qwerty keyboard based KF900 in 2008 - which were all feature phones. The new designer phone arrives as a classic black handset, with the clear and straightforward design philosophy that is synonymous with Prada. The Prada 3.0 has a 4.3-inch 800x480 Nova 800-nit bright touch screen, in a 8.5mm thin chassis with the Prada signature Saffiano back and only a minimal array of actual physical buttons.
ITProPortal

Apple forces Google to favor Motorola IP over android profits
When Google (GOOG) took the patent Cold War in Silicon Valley to a new level with a $12.5 billion bid for Motorola Mobility (MMI) at an over 60 percent premium, shares rocketed to near $40. But deal-enriched Motorola Mobility shareholders should be wary of signs from Google’s regulators and customers that could cut those gains by half. In addition, it’s unclear whether the Motorola Mobility deal is a lost financial and competitive opportunity for Google.
Forbes

Carrier IQ faces US probe
US federal investigators are looking into claims that software from Carrier IQ, which is installed on about 150m mobile phones, has been used to track user activity and send data to carriers without customers' knowledge. The Washington Post reported that executives from Carrier IQ travelled to Washington earlier this week to meet officials from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which is in charge of enforcing privacy laws to protect consumers, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Meanwhile, the FBI has denied that it has ever sought any data from Carrier IQ for any of its investigations – though its director, Robert Mueller, said it was possible that some data that the FBI had received from mobile carriers might have been collected by Carrier IQ's software.
The Guardian

The royal wedding rules Google's top searches
Prince William's and Kate Middleton's April nuptials attracted the fastest-rising number of Google searches in Britain last year. "Royal wedding" beat "iPhone 5" in the internet giant's annual survey of the most inquired about new terms. The Duchess of Cambridge was also one of the most Googled celebrities but finished behind Adele, whose album 21 dominated this year's pop charts. The singer was second in a category for the fastest-rising people behind Ryan Dunn, 34, the star of the US show Jackass, who died in a car crash. Other terms to show a sharp increase in interest included the computer game Fifa 12 and Groupon.
The Independent

HTC, Apple patent dispute ruling delayed again
Apple has a patent suit pending against HTC in the US that is aiming at trying to stop the import of some of HTC’s devices. The decision in the case has already been delayed once. HTC is now reporting that the decision in the suit was delayed again. The ruling was supposed to have been handed down today in the US via the ITC. The latest delay pushes publishing of the verdict to December 19. The ITC offered no reason for the second delay. The ramifications for HTC are major if Apple wins. HTC could be barred from importing some of its products into the US. HTC is also suing Apple for allegedly violating patents it holds as well. The original deadline for the verdict in the case had been December 6.
Slashgear

Mobile Search Set For Festive Boom
44 per cent of total searches for last minute gifts and store locations will be from mobile devices this holiday season, up from around 20 per cent in 2010, according to Google. Despite tough economic conditions, those advertisers who create mobile-specific advertising campaigns to target the smartphone user will have a happier Christmas than those who rely on traditional forms of Christmas marketing, the company says.
Mobile Marketing

Google donates half a million quid to Bletchley Park
Internet search firm Google has kicked £550,000 into the Bletchley Park restoration fund, which will go to improve the historical, world class code breaking facility. The firm has already lent the weight of its bank balance to Bletchley Park, when it was looking to keep some of Alan Turing's papers, and now Google has donated a decent chunk of the £15m it needs to begin the important work.
the Inquirer

NHS bosses must master Twitter, Facebook to halt staff antics
The author of recent guidance on using social media for nurses and midwives says NHS managers should be able to actively respond to issues around how their staff use social media. Andy Jaeger, assistant director of public and professional communications at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and author of recent guidance on social media, says that NHS managers must be better equipped to handle issues around social media.
The Register

Hitachi GST enters itty-bitty server disk fray against Seagate
Hitachi GST has announced a 900GB small form-factor drive, thus catching up with Seagate's Savvio. The Ultrastar C10K900 is a 3-platter, 2.5-inch enterprise-grade 6Gbit/s SAS drive that spins at 10,000rpm and holds 0.9TB of data - 300GB more than the C10K600. Hitachi says average seek times are as low as 3.8ms, and has a "random read/write operating power specification of 5.8W and idle mode of 3W".
Channel Register

Mobile payments more trusted than credit cards
Consumers believe that direct, carrier-billed mobile payments are more secure than using credit and debit cards for online digital purchases by a margin of almost four to one, according to research commissioned by PaymentOne.
Mobile Marketing

LTE networks to generate $265 billion by 2016
LTE networks are expected to reach global revenue of over $265 billion by 2016, according to analyst estimates. The biggest subscribers of LTE will be consumers rather than in the enterprise, says a new study by Juniper Research, but enterprise will make most of the dosh. Early adopters will be the higher end users who will be making the most of the connectivity, both in developed and developing countries.
Tech Eye

Google Street View Explores, Digitises Japan Tsunami
Google has decided to give its users a tour of the power of nature by digitally archiving the northeastern locations of Japan, which were the prime targets of the devastating tsunami and a massive earthquake in the month of March this year.
ITProPortal

Typosquatters target Christmas shoppers: Websense
As online shoppers rush to buy presents in the run up to Christmas, security researchers have put out a warning to beware of “typosquatters,” who prey on cack-handed typists that misspell domain and website names. In particular, customers of major high-street brands such as Argos, Debenhams, and John Lewis are falling victim to cybercriminals that target mistyped web addresses. With British consumers expected to spend £3.72bn online this Christmas, this typosquatting is becoming an extremely lucrative business.
Tech World

Web site owners are warned about cookies
Firms must do more to comply with cookie rules according to the Information Commissioner, who said that they must try harder.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published guidelines to help companies comply with cookie rules that we get the impression they have tried hard to ignore.
the Inquirer

HTML5-Friendly App Platform KonyOne Launches
Mobile platform provider Kony Solutions has launched KonyOne, which it describes as: "the only platform that enables a single application definition to deliver both native applications and mobile web (HTML5 and non-HTML5) across phones, tablets, kiosks and desktops". Kony has also introduced a number of enhancements to its platform, to increase the level of support for HTML5.
Mobile Marketing

Microsoft updates Azure as it readies to compete with Amazon
Software giant's cloud computing platform cuts cost of running large databases by two thirds. Microsoft Corp. expanded the capacity of its Azure cloud computing service and introduced other improvements that better position the company to compete with emerging offerings from Salesforce.com Inc. and others.
Total Telecom

Call recording is powerful cloud application
The cost of call recording is not a ppm and month fee, no hardware is needed. It has become an ideal product for resellers, easy to sell, easy to understand, low cost of support and a new ongoing revenue stream that does not adversely impact existing business.
Comms Business

China Mobile ranked as China's most valuable brand
The survey, commissioned by advertising giant WPP, calculated the value of China's top 50 brands based on business performance and consumer feedback.
BBC

Daisy Group Partners with compliant phones to deliver mobile recording solution
Demand for mobile recording has been ignited by new rules from the Financial Services Authority, which came into force on 14th November, requiring traders to record mobile communications. Daisy has also witnessed a growing requirement for this service from other sectors like the public sector and healthcare that record calls for liability protection and service quality assurance purposes.
Comms Business

'Superfast' broadband scheme expanded in Dorset
About 30,000 more homes and businesses in Dorset are to get super-fast broadband, BT has announced. Dorchester, Poole and Fernwood are the latest towns to be included the company's £2.5bn national super-fast fibre broadband programme.
BBC

Interview-Dish eyes T-Mobile if AT&T bid fails
Clayton told Reuters that Dish is serious about its ambitions to get into the wireless space, but said the company first needs to be awarded a wireless license by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. It would then have to wait for a final decision by the U.S. government on the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA before deciding its next move.
Reuters

Google, Motorola merger review in Europe delayed
European antitrust review of Google Inc.'s planned $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. has been suspended while regulators seek more data on the proposed deal from Google.
Total Telecom

A rare Apple compromise
Facing challenges winning over customers for its iAd mobile advertising service, Apple is softening its approach as it loses ground to Google Inc. in the fast-growing mobile-ad market.
The Wall Street Journal

Panasonic eyes European smartphone comeback
Japanese electronics vendor Panasonic has confirmed that it will be re-entering the smartphone space, with its sights fixed on the European market.
telecoms.com

AT&T/T-Mobile USA deal hangs in the balance as court mulls shutting down legal hearing
A US court will decide this week whether to proceed with the government’s suit to block the AT&T/T-Mobile USA merger, after the government requested that it should not go ahead.
Mobile Business Briefing

HP open-sources WebOS for next generation of devices
HP is to open-source its WebOS mobile operating system, the company has announced. The company said on Friday that giving away the WebOS software, which has been used in the TouchPad tablet and Pre smartphone line, would be made available under an as-yet-undefined open source licence. HP itself will continue to be an "active participant and investor in the project", it said. "WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable," recently-installed HP chief Meg Whitman said in a statement. "By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices."
ZDNet

UK next to get Google Wallet in time for the Olympics
There are some advantages to being the host nation for the Olympic Games and it looks as though getting Google Wallet may be one of them, with the search giant reportedly looking to bring its NFC payment project to London in time for the Games. To be ready in time for the July/August sports fest, French newspaper Les Echos suggests that Google Wallet will land here in the first quarter of 2012 (January to March). To this end, Google is currently said to be in talks with banks, distributors and retailer on our fair shores, setting up deals that will see contactless payments accessible to NFC-enabled handsets.
TechRadar

'Mayor of Silicon Valley' Robert Noyce gets Google doodle
Robert Norton Noyce, or Bob as he was known, has been honoured with a Google doodle on what would've been his 84th birthday. And it seems very fitting, considering his tech achievements. Noyce co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957, and then Intel in 1968. Noyce was the engineer credited (along with Jack Kilby) as inventing the integrated chip, which paved the way for the microchips that power today's computers and devices.
CNET

Government stumps up £75m to encourage SMB tech investment
The government is dangling a £75m carrot in front of SMBs to encourage them to invest in technology. Several incentives intended to spur companies to innovate and grow have been published as part of the government’s Innovation and Research Strategy, which reveals that funding to support technology innovation will be delivered by the Technology Strategy Board. Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “A good deal of the innovation that happens in the UK comes from SMEs and with innovation comes business growth. “This new package of measures will help to put these businesses at the forefront of the country’s economic recovery. This package enables the Technology Strategy Board to do even more to stimulate business-led innovation in its leading role as the UK’s innovation agency.”
CRN

$99 Android ICS tablet heading to US from China
Amazon's Kindle Fire may have wowed with its $199 price tag, but an Android tablet from China may drive the tablet price war even lower. Cut-price Android tablets from China are nothing new, and rarely a cause for concern on the part of big name electronics manufacturers. But according to tech site PCWorld, the $99 Novo7 tablet rocks specs that could see it snapping at the heels of the likes of Amazon and Samsung when it goes on sale in the States in the next few months.
T3

Foxconn tipped for next gen iPad production, starting January 2012
Terry Gou's manufacturing churn-house Foxconn is tipped to be producing Apple's next generation iPads as early as January and ramping up production in February. Other manufacturers are rumoured to be sending in parts and components for a new line of Apple tablets to OEM contractors and cutting down on shipping the innards of the iPad 2. Chinese sources are suggesting that the iPad 2 production lines will keep piecing the tablet together over the fourth quarter of 2011 - at up to 15 million units - but that will drop sharply in the first quarter of 2012 to as little as four million units.
TechEye

Killer music licensing deals crippling Spotify
Details of the draconian music licensing deals Spotify has been forced to agree to by record labels have leaked, amid suggestions that the streaming music service will never be profitable. The terms – which apply to other streaming media services as well, such as Rhapsody – conspire to undermine the streaming companies’ negotiating power, with such gems as huge upfront payments and payout deals based on the biggest income of either minimum subscriber fees, per-play costs or total company revenue.
Slashgear

Google launches tablet-specific ad formats
Google said in a blog that it has looked at how consumers engage with ads on tablets, and concludes that "they have higher expectations of ads on tablets, believing they should be more interactive and touch screen friendly." So it's come up with Rich Media Designs for Mobile, which lets advertisers create rich media banner ads using existing assets. And in search it has put Media Ads in beta this week. Media Ads bring video content directly into an ad on the search results page.  In addition to watching video game, TV or movie trailers, US consumers will also be able to view locally relevant movie showtimes within the ad. These new tablet-specific ad formats build on earlier launches including tablet-specific ad formats on AdMob and tablet-targeting in Adwords.
Mobile Entertainment

O2 starts an Apple iPhone 4S rental scheme
UK mobile operator O2 has announced it has started a rental scheme for the Iphone 4S smartphone. The service is called O2 Lease, which it claims is the UK's first smartphone leasing service. The system allows customers to rent specifically the Iphone 4S for a year without any upfront costs.
The Inquirer

Twitter redesigns its site, adding new ‘stories’ section
Twitter Inc. on Thursday announced a redesign of the micro-blogging service and new features to help widen its appeal. In the biggest announcement since Jack Dorsey, Twitter's creator, returned to the company as an executive in March, the company said that when people first sign up to use the service, Twitter will help them discover information that might interest them, based on their location and other signals.
Wall Street Journal

Cabinet extends G-Cloud deadline
The deadline for small IT suppliers to register for the Cabinet Office's G-Cloud framework has once again been extended. According to Computing.co.uk, the government office has added three weeks to the sign-up date because of unprecedented interest. Already more than 530 businesses have registered their intent to use the service. Suppliers now have until December 19th to register for the G-Cloud, which will provide them with a mechanism to award up to £60 million in government IT contracts.
BCS

Tap Zoo most lucrative app in 2011
Four freemium games made more money than Angry Birds on Apple's UK App Store in 2011, according to the company's annual Rewind charts. The chart shows Tap Zoo as the top grossing app for 2011, with Poker by Zynga second, Smurfs' Village fourth, Tap Pet Hotel fifth and Angry Birds sixth. The chart confirms that 2011 was a lucrative year for free-to-play games on the App Store, although there are some premium successes to report too.
The Guardian

Everything Everywhere announces £1.5bn network investment
UK communications firm Everything Everywhere, which owns and operates the British Orange and T-Mobile brands, has announced that it is to invest £1.5bn ($2.4bn) in a three-year network evolution programme. The project will accelerate the integration of the Orange and T-Mobile networks and ready them for LTE through the “implementation of 4G-ready technology following successful trials,” the firm said. The plan represents double digit growth in network investment from 2011 to 2012. T-Mobile’s 3G network has already been merged with that of UK competitor Three, as part of the two firms’ network management joint venture, MBNL.  Orange and T-Mobile have allowed each other’s users to roam across both 3G networks since October, with 2G roaming in place since 2010.
Telecoms.com

Google CEO explains why “Android is ahead of the iPhone”
Understandably inclined to take Android's side, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt declared at the LeWeb conference in Paris "Android is ahead of the iPhone now". After making the remark, which raised a few eyebrows in the MacBook, iPad and iPhone wielding audience, Schmidt later explained the reasons that led him to this conclusion "unit volume, Ice Cream Sandwich, the price is lower, there are more vendors." It is true that Android is an open platform, meant to attract app developers, however many (or even most) are still focused on working for iOS. Eric Schmidt believes that in the end though, high volume of Android shipments will convince programmers to consider Android a top priority
IT Pro Portal

Samsung gets Australia win, Apple appeal rejected
Samsung Electronics Co. has emerged triumphant from months of frustrating legal wrangling in Australia, with the country's highest court on Friday lifting a ban on the sale of its tablet computers in time for a few weeks of crucial pre-Christmas sales. Apple Inc. in April launched legal action against Samsung in the U.S. claiming its tablets and smartphones "slavishly" copied its iPad and iPhone. The two companies have since sued and counter-sued each other in a large number of countries including Germany, Japan, Italy, France and Australia. An Apple spokeswoman in Australia didn't comment specifically on Friday's decision, only repeating Apple's previous claim that Samsung's "blatant copying is wrong"
Total Telecoms

Panasonic back in the smartphone market
Panasonic plans to launch a smartphone in Europe in March and this will be the first step of a global rollout looking at 15 million unit sales worldwide in the year to March 2016, nine million of them overseas. This is fairly ambitious given that Panasonic walked away from the international mobile phone market five years ago after getting a kicking. Panasonic's mobile phone sales reached their peak in 2003 at 8.9 million units. It is worthwhile pointing out that when Panasonic walked away from the smartphone market it was before the Apple invasion when its main rival was clunky Symbian offerings from Nokia.
Tech Eye

Council of Europe issue free speech alert over cyber attacks and political pressure
The Council of Europe has issued an alert to European countries about the risk to free speech by cyber attacks and political pressure on internet platforms, internet service providers (ISPs), independent media, whistleblowers, human rights defenders and political dissidents. The Council's Committee of Ministers issued a Declaration expressing concern over pressure being exerted on internet companies and ISPs to tighten controls on internet content, which supports a recent EU Court of Justice ruling that ISP filters are prohibited under European law. The Council is also worried about the impact of cyber attacks, particularly Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, on advocates of free speech, which it sees as a relatively new way that this right is being violated. The Declaration asserted the usefulness of social networks, blogs, and other online communities for their role as social watchdogs that have the power to cause positive real-life change. This is likely a reference to the recent uprisings in several countries against oppressive regimes, including Egypt and Libya.
The Inquirer

Advertisers increasingly include Store Locator and App links
Advertising campaigns featuring store locator functionality and links to app download pages are on the rise, according to research by Millennial Media. The October SMART (Scorecard for Mobile Advertising Reach and Targeting) report, based on data taken directly from client's advertising campaigns, shows that campaigns that directed consumers to an app download page – rather than a website or landing page – increased 33 per cent month-over-month, making up 29 per cent of the total campaigns on Millenial's platform. Campaigns with a store locator function, meanwhile, grew 5 per cent month-over-month and made up 23 per cent of campaigns. This option was particularly popular with retail advertisers looking to drive foot traffic.
Mobile Marketing

Microsoft and HP sign four-year cloud cooperation pact
Microsoft and HP have signed a deal to offer joint cloud hardware and software configurations for sale over the next four years. Under the terms of the deal the slightly dynamic duo will offer three types of setup to resellers and direct sales: Private, hybrid and public. The first tranche of packages will go on sale in the US, UK, Australia and Canada by the end of the month, and globally shortly afterwards. The private cloud setup will see combinations of HP’s Enterprise Cloud Services to run Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, SharePoint Server 2010, and Lync Server 2010 in a walled garden, while the hybrid package has HP reselling Office 365 from its data centers. HP will also support Office 365 of Microsoft’s public cloud systems.
The Register

OnLive comes to iPad and Android with LA Noire
Cloud gaming firm OnLive is launching iOS and Android apps to enable its subscribers to play its catalogue of games on their tablets and smartphones, while also adding Rockstar Games' LA Noire to the service. The apps join OnLive's PC and Mac clients, as well as its OnLive Game System set-top box. The new apps will provide full access to all OnLive games and demos, with a choice of three control methods for touchscreen tablets. The Android version is live on Google's Android Market, but the iOS app has yet to be approved by Apple.
The Guardian

Microsoft shows off Windows Store
Software factory Microsoft is giving excitable developers their first look at its upcoming apps store for selling Windows 8 applications. The store, which will work like other apps stores from other companies like Google and Apple, is not open yet, but when it is users will be able to download apps from it and use them on their own hardware. Groundbreaking stuff. Although it is not open yet, Microsoft has a beta running and has asked a selected group of developers to submit apps to the Metro Store. It said these will appear in the beta version of its apps store. So far there are mocked-up images available to show off the store, and from here it looks like you will be able to download apps by Ebay, Evernote, and Disney, as well as games and the like.
The Inquirer

BBC iPlayer app made available on iPhone and iPod Touch
The BBC is rolling-out its global iPlayer app to Apple iPhones and iPod touches. The app for the catch-up service was initially made available for Apple iPads only in July this year and allowed users in 11 countries in Western Europe including France, Germany, Italy and Spain to watch BBC shows, such as Doctor Who, Top Gear and Eastenders as well as classic programmes including Fawlty Towers and Only Fools and Horses, on-demand rather than just catching-up on the shows broadcast over the last seven days.
PC Advisor

RIM Drops BBX phone name
A federal judge in New Mexico barred BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. from using the name "BBX" for its new operating system, forcing RIM to rename it—at least temporarily—and deepening uncertainty around the planned launch sometime next year of RIM's next-generation smart phone. The temporary restraining order applies only to a three-day technology conference taking place in Singapore this week. But the ruling is a significant legal setback for RIM's efforts to use the name. RIM, in a brief statement late Tuesday after the ruling, raised the possibility that it would abandon the BBX name altogether, after unveiling it just a few months ago.
Wall Street Journal

Why BlackBerry Messenger was rioters' communication method of choice
The free, secure BBM service was an easy way to share information on where riots were and what police were doing. Hours after the riots in Tottenham on Saturday 6 August had finally abated and London's streets had returned to relative calm, a message pinged out, first on to a few phones, then dozens, then hundreds if not thousands across north London.
The Guardian

Internet access is the 'fourth utility' and should be prioritised
Access to the internet needs to be a priority for our most deprived areas. Whether it’s online shopping, switching your gas supplier or filling in your tax return, anyone who has used the internet takes its benefits for granted. Yet the people who need that benefit most, Britain’s most socially deprived citizens, are most often those who miss out. Some estimates suggest that more than half of council and housing association tenants in England do not have access to the internet or have never gone online.
The Telegraph

AT&T on track to break smartphone sales record
AT&T, the second-largest US mobile network operator by subscribers, is on track to sell a record number of smartphones this quarter, based in part on the success of Apple’s new iPhone 4S. The company sold 6m smartphones in the first two months of the period, compared with the previous quarterly record of 6.1m in the 2010 third quarter. “We are selling over 100,000 smartphones a day,” said John Stephens, chief financial officer. Mr Stephens, speaking at an investor conference organised by UBS in New York, said: “We expected this to be one of our strongest smartphone sales quarters ever. What we didn’t know was that we would nearly break our smartphone sales record in just the first two months of the quarter.”
ft.com

Blackberry Milan with Blackberry 10 is leaked
Another Research in Motion (RIM) future handset has been leaked, the Blackberry Milan. RIM seems to be sticking with city names for its upcoming Blackberry 10 smartphones. The latest leak is the Milan, which will come with a slider Qwerty keyboard in a similar fashion to the Torch, according to Crackberry. Unfortunately details are thin on the ground with just the image to go by for the moment. The device does seem to have a large screen, possibly 4in or 4.3in, which could have a higher pixel density than the Apple Iphone 4S. The design is similar to the Blackberry London that was leaked last month with cut-off edges at the bottom but rounded corners at the top. Unlike today's Blackberry handsets the optical trackpad and physical buttons are gone, suggesting full touchscreen user interaction apart from the keyboard.
The Inquirer

Forbidden fruit? Forget Apple iPad - the Pope prefers Android
Most world leaders opt for iPads - British Prime Minister David Cameron is a particular fan. But it seems Pope Benedict XVI prefers Google's Android System instead. According to a Vatican news release, when the Pontiff switches on the Christmas lights in the Italian town of Gubbio, he will use a Sony Tablet S to transmit the command wirelessly - from his apartment in the Vatican.
Daily Mail

Technology: Will Google Wallet ever open on Verizon phones?
By asking Google to remove an app from a forthcoming phone for its network, Verizon Wireless has rekindled the debate over a compromise in the Federal Communications Commission's Net neutrality rules that Google and Verizon helped broker. The app is Google Wallet, which enables users to charge purchases to their credit cards by waving a specially equipped phone (such as Sprint's Nexus S) over a customized card reader. That, by itself, is nothing special;  I mean, how hard is it to swipe a credit card? But Google envisions a future in which merchants send special offers wirelessly to customers who walk into their stores, and customers automatically redeem stored coupons and earn loyalty points just by paying with their mobile phone. With a digital wallet that's continuously connected to the Internet, shoppers can have the same sort of interaction with local retailers that they do with merchants on the Web.
LA Times

Telecom Italia Sees Lack of Tech Savvy Hurting Cloud Growth
Telecom Italia SpA’s home country risks falling behind in the $68.3 billion market for computer- cloud services that allow clients to cut costs because of Italy’s information technology “illiteracy.” “It usually takes more time for a new technology to be accepted in Italy,” Simone Battiferri, who’s responsible at the country’s biggest phone company for cloud technology, said in an interview. “The level of IT literacy in the country is among the lowest in Europe.”
Bloomberg Businessweek

China's 4G standard closer to commercial use
China Mobile Vice President Li Zhengmao recently said at the 2011 GSMA Mobile Asia Congress that the new TD-LTE mobile standard successfully completed the Phase Iscale trial and it has met the conditions for commercial use. The standard achieved expected testing results in system construction, networkequipment as well as terminals and other aspects. At present, China Mobile is strivingto promote the Phase II scale trial.
People’s Daily Online

Telcos still struggling to beat cable theft
Britain is in the middle of a cable and metal theft epidemic – how is it affecting telcos and their customers? Much has been made of the spate of cable theft across the country in the last few years in the face of rocketing metal prices. Power cables and overhead train lines have been stolen, as well as traffic lights and signage on our motorways. The problem has become so bad that it is estimated the problem costs the economy £20 million a year.
CBR

The ICT Professional – Mark Langdale, BT
2012 is going to be the year of delivery for the Public Services Network (PSN) declares Mark Langdale, BT’s Director of PSN.“The PSN is at a really exciting phase the almost elephantine stage has become the almost byzantine one in terms of its structure. A year ago there was plenty of room for sceptics but in the last six months a rebooting has taken place, although it’s been a long hard slog.”
Public Technology

Africa: the new pot of gold for mobile telecoms
Africa's lag in land-based telecoms infrastructure has propelled the continent directly into the mobile age, opening up short-term growth prospects unparalleled in the world. Sector players have seen growth especially in mobile Internet andbanking services, as people use cellphone technology for lack of landlines or cable Internet.
Yahoo news

Govt. shares indigenous telecom tech with private sector
Broadband technology GPON, indigenously developed at the govt. of India’s R&D center is being shared with the private sector to enhance the country’s telecom backbone. Telecommunication services in India has been steadily improving despite bureaucracy. The rapid growth of the mobile private sector can take much of the credit in getting the papers moved around. Surprisingly state government telecom entities–BSNL & MTNL–have been keeping up with competition from the private sector. That’s not all that the government has been doing for the infrastructure.
ZDNet

Galaxy Nexus visual voicemail app now available, still no sight of the phone itself
Verizon Wireless has recently released the Galaxy Nexus visual voicemail app to the Android Market. Surprisingly, this comes earlier than the highly anticipated release of the Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone itself. The Android app lets you access and manage your voicemails so you won’t have to dial Voice Mail.
Gadgetell

AMD helping Android fans port to x86
A team of developers working privately to port the next version of Android to the x86 platform has been receiving a lot of support from AMD, but less from other key players. The project is seeking to port the Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) android-4.0.1_r1 release build to the x86 platform, and Chih-Wei Huang, one of the enthusiasts involved, told The Registerthat AMD had not only donated two tablets to the cause, but also has a couple of engineers helping out. As a result, the porting to AMD’s Brazos platform is now largely complete and the source code has been made available.
The Register

Class-action lawsuit filed against Apple, HTC, Samsung, AT&T, and more for Carrier IQ use
Delaware-based law firm Sianni & Straite LLP has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, HTC, Samsung, and Motorola, as well as US carriers AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. The lawsuit charges the above companies with breaching the Federal Wiretap Act with the pesky keystroke-sniffing software Carrier IQ, which is purported to sit on your phone and record every key you press, your location, and a range of other data.
Pocket Gamer

Dutch competition watchdog raids mobile telecom operators in cartel probe
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The Dutch competition watchdog says it has launched raids at a number of mobile phone operators as part of a probe into suspected cartel practices. Companies raided include T-Mobile and Vodafone.
The Washington Post