Internet & Media

Sony prepping for Walkman refresh

Sony is preparing to launch an update for several of its high-end Walkman devices, according to FCC certification documents filed last week by the company.

The unannounced music players include models in the Walkman A and S series, which have had advanced features in the past such as an OLED screen, long battery life, and noise-cancelling technology. The Japanese company often refreshes its line of portable music players around this time each year.

What is most surprising could be the introduction of the Walkman A series in the U.S., as it sold in other major territories around the world for several years but has been missing stateside for several product cycles.

What we know is that Sony will offer four models of the luxury audio/video player: NWZ-A864 (8GB), NWZ-A865 (16GB), NWZ-A866 (32GB), and NWZ-A867 (64GB). The A867 would be the highest-capacity PMP Sony has ever offered in North America.

CNET has also learned that the refreshed A860 series Walkman will feature a large OLED touch screen, noise-cancelling technology, and integrated Bluetooth 2.0. There is no indication that Wi-Fi will be integrated. … Read more

WhitePages goes Android first with latest app

When WhitePages launches its Localicious app on today, it will be in the Android Market rather than in the iPhone App Store.

There's a simple reason for that. Although WhitePages still sees iPhone owners as a key target, Apple's approval process is just too difficult to time a launch around. As evidence, the Seattle company notes that one of its apps, a reverse phone look-up directory, has been in Apple's hands for the past two months awaiting approval. So, this time around, the company decided to go Android first.

"I think we are going to see a lot of people start to ship Android first," WhitePages Chief Operating Officer Kevin Nakao told AllThingsD. "You can't be held hostage."

Localicious isn't the first app that WhitePages did first for Android. The company also has launched a Caller ID app for Android after finding, like others that wanted to offer such a service for iPhone, that Apple wouldn't allow the needed access.

Even when Apple does approve apps, it generally doesn't give a clear enough time frame to fully plan a launch, Nakao said.

"Marketing an application becomes increasingly important given the number of apps that are being published," Nakao said, noting that the company wants to time its product launches with a PR campaign as well as mobile, Web and social media advertising campaigns. "Since apps can still get tied up in the iOS approval process, it makes this marketing planning almost impossible." … Read more

Facebook exec: Google is blocking my book

Last year, Paul Adams rose to prominence as the Google designer who detailed an idea for grouping social contacts that's now the core "circles" feature of Google+.

Since January, though, Adams has been working for Google's social-network rival Facebook, and he's not happy that Google blocked a book called Social Circles he'd written on the subject.

Yesterday--two weeks after Google+ launched--Adams described why he left Google for Facebook. It wasn't because of the book, though.

The main reason I left was that there was an opportunity at Facebook that I felt I couldn't turn down...Having said that, there were other factors that made my decision to leave for a competitor easier. Google is an engineering company, and as a researcher or designer, it's very difficult to have your voice heard at a strategic level. Ultimately I felt that although my research formed a cornerstone of the Google social strategy, and I had correctly predicted how other products in the market would play out, I wasn't being listened to when it came to executing that strategy. My peers listened intently, but persuading the leadership was a losing battle. Google values technology, not social science. I also moved because the culture had changed dramatically in the few years I was at Google. It became much more bureaucratic and political.

But the book clearly is a sore point. "Google blocked me from publishing my book," Adams said flatly. … Read more

Ad-supported Kindle 3G drops to $139

Not too long ago, Amazon was offering the 3G version of its Kindle With Special Offers for $164. Now, thanks to a sponsorship from AT&T, that price has dropped to $139.

"Kindle 3G is more convenient--customers never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hot spot--they simply download and read books anytime, anywhere. Kindle 3G customers read 20 percent more books, and take advantage of twice as many special offers," says Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos is a press release. "A big thank you to AT&T for helping to make the … Read more

Kobo takes aim at Kindle in Germany

Amazon and Barnes & Noble are the clear leaders in e-books and e-book readers in the U.S., but the race is just getting under way internationally, where the digital book market is still very much in its nascent stage.

Canadian upstart Kobo, which is currently well behind the e-book leaders in the U.S., has always had a global strategy, and is now launching in Germany, with an e-book store that offers 80,000 German-language titles and a total of 2.4 million e-books. By contrast, Amazon currently offers around 25,000 German-language titles.

As part of the launch, Kobo has developed free German-language apps for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android, with a PlayBook app coming soon. A German-language version of Kobo eReader Touch Edition will be available in stores in Germany in August. … Read more

Google's 2nd quarter results: What to watch for

Google's second-quarter results are widely predicted to be in line with expectations, but there are a bevy of strategic wild cards to watch. To say Google has multiple balls in the air would be a vast understatement.

The company is set to release results after market close tomorrow. Wall Street is expecting Google to deliver second quarter earnings of $7.86 a share on revenue of $6.55 billion. Gross margins are expected to be 77.06 percent. Analysts are increasingly worried about Google's spending plans, and those concerns aren't likely to dissipate.

However, Google+, the company's new social network, … Read more

Angry Netflix subscribers--so, who has a better deal?

First off, I'm going to say it: I told you so.

Two weeks ago, I wrote that people who watch a lot of movies via Netflix's streaming service are starting to find holes in the selection. In some genres, such as action films, the titles are bottom of the barrel. I predicted that this was going to become a bigger issue in other movie categories as people started working their way through the library.

I had no idea that Netflix was only going to exacerbate the problem by making it more expensive to rent DVDs. Sure, subscribers can … Read more

Facebook launches app for 'Every Phone'

Facebook is embracing the reality that not everyone is on a smartphone.

Consumers using standard mobile phones can now download the social network's Facebook for Every Phone app. According to the company, users will be able to see their News Feed, check for messages in their Inbox, and view photos. Users can also upload images and find friends from their contacts list.

Much of Facebook's growth can be attributed to mobile devices. The social network's co-founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, said last week that the site now has 750 million active users. A whopping 250 million active users … Read more

Google+ will let users conceal gender

The Ford Motor Company has officially decided that its gender is not male. Nor is it female. On the Google+ social networking site, Ford lists it as "other."

That may not exactly be incorrect, but the bit of corporate awkwardness was the result of Google making two interrelated design decisions: first, gender can be only male, female, or other. Second, whatever gender is selected must be public.

Until now. Google announced this evening that gender could be hidden from public profiles, a move that likely comes as a relief to ABC News Radio (other), the Austin American-Statesman (ditto), … Read more