That being said, the details are official (as opposed to rumor) however there has not been any specific dates offered up in terms of when. Instead, what we have is some more general, but equally nice news. According to the Readability Twitter account, the Android version is “looking very sweet” and coming “very” soon.

As for the iOS version, that was noted as being “equally sweet” and “in Apple’s hands.” In other words, it sounds like Readability for iOS has been submitted and is simply waiting on the final approval. Either way, we expect both to be available in their respective app stores soon.

Otherwise, in terms of the iOS app, it looks like one will be arriving for the iPad and iPhone (iPod touch). Or at least that is how it seems based on a question that was posed on Twitter. The question was simple and asked the latest status in regards to the iOS app. The response; “they’re” in Apple’s hands. Of course, that could just mean a universal.

Either way, Readability is a great ‘read later’ type of service which (for those who may not be familiar), is described as follows;

“Readability is a free web and mobile app with a simple purpose: to deliver a great reading experience. It turns virtually any web page into a clean, comfortable reading view. You can also sync articles for reading later as you surf around the web.”

And lastly, no mention of what (if anything) the apps would cost however given the service is currently free to use, we suspect that the apps could also be free. Then again, making the comparison to a similar service — Instapaper is free to use however the iOS app is priced at $4.99.

The change was effective on February 12^th, and was revealed to the public via a leaked AT&T memo that circulated around the internet. This is just the second recent price hike by AT&T. The company raised the price of their data plans for smartphones last month.  As you can imagine, the increased upgrade fee is unpopular with customers. AT&T had this to say to tech blog Engadget about the price hike:

Wireless devices today are more sophisticated than ever before. And because of that, the costs associated with upgrading to a new device have increased and is reflected in our new upgrade fee. This fee isn’t unique to AT&T and this is the first time we’re changing it in nearly 10 years.

Sprint also increased their upgrade fee last September, causing a similar controversy among Sprint customers. Sprint charges $36 for a phone upgrade, while T-Mobile charges $18 and Verizon charges nothing for trading up to a new phone. It’s worth saying here that these are administrative fees for changing your device, not the actual cost of the phone you’re upgrading to.

What do you think? Are these little fees a rip-off, or is AT&T right in increasing them? Tell us your take in the comments section.

According to the WSJ, the smaller iPad would be cheaper and has the goal of helping Apple keep its dominant market share in the tablet market. There are a number of 7- and 8-inch Android tablets out there, not to mention the 7-inch BlackBerry tablet. While some Apple fans who are used to the 9.7-inch screen of the original iPad may think that these smaller tablets lack screen real estate, the smaller size and increased portability of these little tablets is pretty nice.

The WSJ hypotheses that the 8-inch iPad would help Apple better compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Tab products and the Amazon Kindle Fire. Both of those products are smaller, cheaper alternatives to the iPad, and both Samsung and Amazon have gone after the high price of Apple products in new marketing campaigns. A new Amazon TV commercial highlights the fact that you can get a Kindle reader and two Kindle Fires for the same price of the base $500 iPad.

The late Steve Jobs was critical of the sub-10-inch Android tablets, saying that the screen was too small to have a great experience, but it wouldn’t be the first time that Apple went back on something that Jobs said. Jobs said in 2003 that tablets were a “third computer for rich people”, and that Apple had no interest in making them.

Apple certainly has had success selling low-cost variants of their popular products. The iPod Nano was introduced to compete with the lower priced MP3 players following the success of the original iPods, and it ended up being one of the most popular MP3 players in history. Certainly, an “iPad Nano” or whatever the 8-inch tablet could help solidify Apple’s success in the tablet market and fend off the competitive pricing from the Kindle Fire and other, cheaper Android tablets.

After folks noticed the Houston price hike, both Digital Spy and The Daily Mail were quick to blame Apple for the profiteering, with the Spy saying that Apple should be ashamed of itself for trying to make a buck on the singer’s death. But, it took another UK newspaper to set the record straight. The Guardian reported that Sony Music Entertainment, Houston’s record label, raised the wholesale price of Houston’s songs and albums after her death. Apple did raise the price the consumer sees, but only after Sony raised their price.

In fact, it’s being reported that Sony Music raised the price of Houston’s music collection just 30 minutes after news broke that the singer was dead. Supply & demand, one supposes. According to Reuters, Sony Music executives and those responsible for the Houston estate will meet in New York this week to plan what to do with the Whitney Houston music catalog. You can probably expect a lot of commemorative anthologies, released both digitally and physically.

What do you think? Was Sony right to raise the price of Whitney Houston’s music so soon after her death? Tell us your take in the comments section.

Google is going to see its latest dream come through, it will build its own Android hardware, both smartphones and tablets, not to mention getting its hands on a very important patent treasure chest to be used at its discretion against Apple, and anyone else that threatens Android. And Google is paying through the nose for Motorola Mobility, an impressive $12.5 billion, a lot more than we would have anticipated.

Motorola managed to came back from the dead when it chose to make Android devices only and to abandon its previous mobile device lines. It’s also the company that created the first genuine Apple rival, the original Motorola Droid, a turning point in Android’s history. But that doesn’t mean the company is profitable, or that it can face Apple, or any of the other Android device makers by itself. During the last quarter alone, Motorola shipped 18.7 million smartphones and a measly 200,000 tablets, losing $70 million in the process. This is what Google is paying $12.5 billion for.

Motorola did sign a deal with Intel to make Android devices based on Intel’s new mobile chips, and at the time I did say that this is in earnest a Google-Intel partnership considering that Google may soon own Motorola. A different rumor says that Google is going to launch its first Nexus-branded tablet this year, and considering all of the above, I wouldn’t be surprised if the device was an Intel-based Motorola-made Google flagship Android tablet. Which is what could happen with the fourth-gen Nexus smartphone too later this year. I’m sure all the other Android device makers will not mind having to fight against Google too now that the merger has been approved. Or will they?

One other important aspect of the whole Google-Motorola deal is the special mention of FRAND patents from the EU. These are very important right now as Apple is engaged in a fierce battle against Android on three fronts, against HTC, Samsung and Motorola. The latter could be soon investigated for antitrust practices when it comes to its offensive patent-based lawsuits against Apple, with Samsung facing a similar investigation in the region. Here’s what the official press release from the European Commission says about FRAND patents:

Access to standard essential patents is crucial for all market players. It is for this reason that standard setting organisations require the holders of standard essential patents to license these patents to any interested third parties on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (“FRAND”) terms. The absence of such licences would hinder competitors or indeed the entire industry to the detriment of consumers and innovation. The Commission’s guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements adopted last year (see IP/10/1702 and MEMO/10/676) make clear that commitments to license on FRAND terms are crucial to ensure access to standardised technology for all interested parties.

Moreover, Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission’s Vice Presidnet of Competition Enforcement had this to say about the matter:

“Today’s decision does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google with regard to the use of these standard essential patents. Our decision today is without prejudice to the legality under EU antitrust law of Motorola’s past and Google’s future actions. However, the question whether Motorola’s or Google’s conduct is compliant with EU antitrust law cannot be dealt with in the context of the merger procedure.”

Will Google be able to turn Motorola in a profitable company and sell through it millions of new Android devices? Call me a pessimist but I hardly think that will be the case. Care to disagree?

An earlier story claiming Apple will properly unveil the iPad 3 during a special media event scheduled for sometime during the first week of March is now confirmed by a second source. And this time around we have a date for you, March 7.

Moreover, iMore also reveals various specs and features for the upcoming iPad 3, Apple’s future flagship tablet part of a brand that will surely continue to kick ass in the tablet business for the company this year, with no clear rival rising from the Android tablet pack – we’ll not even count the Galaxy Tab 2 as a serious contender.

According to the publication, the iPad 3 will feature a 2,048 x 1,536 Retina Display, a quad-core A6 system-on-a-chip and “possibly 4G LTE networking.” Other features could include better cameras, from 5- to 8-megapixels on the rear, to FaceTime HD on the front. In other words, there’s nothing new here, since we’ve seen these specs and features mentioned before.

The Retina Display seems to be almost a certainty, an iPad 3 feature that we’ve seen in various rumors for quite a few months now. But we’re certainly interested to see whether the A6 chip will offer quad-core or dual-core capabilities, since there are rumors that support both versions. As for 4G LTE, considering that we’ve recently seen leaked AT&T micro SIM cards for 4G LTE devices, mainly iPhones and iPads that will be sold by the carrier this year, we’d expect Apple to finally support LTE in its 2012 line of iOS devices.

What we don’t have at this time is an actual release date for the next-gen iPad. The iPad 2 was announced on March 2 and launched nine days later on March 11. A similar scenario could occur this year, starring the iPad 3, naturally. So if Tim Cook & Co. will indeed unveil the device on Wednesday, March 7, we could see it hit stores on March 16.

Are you lining up your cash to buy the device already?

Basically,iBuyPower is stepping up their Chimera 4, their Paladin XLC, and Erebus models with the Intel Core i7-3820 processor. The reports we’ve got say that this not only ramps up the total clock speed (all the way up to a really rather surprising 3.6 GHz), but also offers up a higher efficiency experience, giving faster load times, smoother overall operation, and a variety of related bonuses like quad channel memory, improved hard drive transfer speeds, and better performance in a multiple GPU setting.

And naturally, this is only part of the picture, as it’s one component in an overall large package, which provides a variety of customization options for the user, and as you’d expect, does so at pretty substantial prices. While iBuyPower’s new hardware is “priced similarly” to the older, slower gear, Intel desktops out there started at $679, which is actually pretty reasonable, until you start looking at the various options you can get loaded on. Start getting into the higher-end X79 chipsets, for example, and you’re looking at a minimum of $1259.

Still though, one thing is abundantly clear: iBuyPower wants to put some punch in your desktop–or laptop–gaming PC, and they’re well on their way to doing exactly that by way of some impressive new processing capability. The question remains, though, just how much heavy iron can they move in an overall depressed market, even with these new processors? I find myself skeptical of iBuyPower’s chances, especially since people are already on the lookout for ways to cut costs, not to add more of them on. And with Ivy Bridge processors making their way to shelves soon, even this boost may not be enough to make iBuyPower worth considering.

But what do you guys think here? Think iBuyPower’s new line of processors will give them an edge in the market? Or is the gaming PC market a little too rich for most people’s blood these days? No matter what you think about this one, we  always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and let’s talk gaming PC!

They’re considering, at last word, a purchase of somewhere between 63 and 18,000 (which is an absolutely enormous range that makes little sense, but then, it is the government we’re talking about) “iPad 2 or equivalent devices” to serve much the same purpose that they currently do in commercial flights. Specifically, reduce the weight and workload of pilots and flight crews by providing manuals and charts in easy to access (not to mention super lightweight) digital format.

And of course, by doing that, they in turn reduce the amount of weight that has to be taken on flights. Earlier reports suggest that manuals, navigation charts and the like can weigh up to 40 pounds, so pulling 40 pounds out of the cockpit can pay off big dividends in the form of fuel savings, and thus, cash savings as well.

If the Air Force goes with the iPad 2, and goes with it in the upper range of the forecast, it will reportedly represent one of the largest such purchases the government has ever made. While I’m not a big one for government spending, I like this idea just fine; spending a big wad today to save money for years to come, well, that strikes me as less an expense and more an investment.

But what do you guys think of this one? Is it smart for the Air Force to purchase a passel of iPads? Or do you think this is more pork-barrel waste spending from the folks who bring it our way so often? No matter what your thoughts on this one, head on down to the comments section below and tell us what you think!

Strange name, I know, but the 8-Bitty is a small wireless device that works with, once again, your iPad (though it will also work with your iPhone, as well as some Android devices) to provide you with a thoroughly eight-bit style gaming experience. The 8-Bitty itself has the classic rectangular shape of an original NES controller, and about the only thing separating the two is a new color scheme for the 8-Bitty, as well as two extra buttons. The 8-Bitty will work with all the games that the iCade itself will work with, and do so for significantly less investment in time, space and cash.

The 8-Bitty, currently making the rounds out at Toy Fair 2012 out in New York, is set for release later this year and will drop for $24.99 once it does hit. A pretty small price to pay, really, for retro gaming at nearly its most absolute, especially when you compare it against the original iCade, whose monster cabinet is still selling for around $80-$100 depending on where you shop.

Though admittedly you don’t get that same arcade-style experience, an experience which has significantly dwindled in recent years, you do get that arcade-beating-style experience, the kind that most arcade owners likely thought would never actually manage to surpass their own offerings back when they first started showing up.

But what do you guys think on this one? Figure the 8-Bitty can offer up a retro gaming experience at a decent price? Or do you figure that’s a bit much to ask for what amounts to a wireless gamepad? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

That being said, given this offer is only available for a limited time lets get the expiration date out of the way right in the beginning — the sale will end on February 14th. The details of the offer are coming by way of the dealnews website where they break it down as follows;

“Participating Walmart retail stores offer the 14.6-oz. Kindle Fire 7″ Android Tablet, model no. B0051VVOB2, together with a $50 Walmart Gift Card, for $199.”

In short, buy a Kindle Fire from Walmart (at the regular price) and you will also get the $50 gift card. Sounds like a solid deal for someone that had been wanting a Kindle Fire. And especially so for those who wanted a Kindle Fire and also shop at Walmart on a regular basis. After all, that would essentially give you a $50 savings on your next visit.

Otherwise, the Kindle Fire is new (as opposed to being a refurbished unit) and brings features to include a 7 inch display with a 1024 x 600 resolution, Wi-Fi connectivity and 8GB of internal storage. And speaking as someone who has played with a Kindle Fire — it may not be the perfect tablet, however given the price and the available content (especially for Amazon Prime subscribers) — it is a fairly solid offering. Just to clarify though, the Amazon Prime subscription will come at an additional cost of $79 per year and give you goodies such as the ability to borrow a Kindle ebook per month, unlimited Amazon Prime Instant Video streaming and free two-day shipping on thousands of items from Amazon.com.

And as we would expect given the availability in the regular Android Market as well as on other platforms — Dolphin Browser HD is available for free. This browser is touted as being the “fastest, easiest and most fun mobile web browser” and while we have not done any scientific testing — we sort of agree. Otherwise, some of the highlights in terms of features include tabbed browsing, the Speed Dial and the Webzine. Of course, the Gestures make browsing and navigating rather nice. Breaking these down a bit further and we have the following;

• Gesture – Let your inner artist out and create a personal Gesture (symbol) to access the mobile and desktop websites you use the most.
• Webzine – Fast Web page loading, with no ads. Dolphin Webzine simplifies the way you read your favorite mobile content, from news to blogs and websites.
• Speed Dial – Visit you favorite mobile and desktop websites on the go with one touch.
• Tabbed browsing – No need to toggle between screens, tabbed browsing lets you open and switch between Web pages fast as lightning.
• SideBars – Make the best of mobile interface via Dolphin SideBar.

Moving past the features and into the basic details — the Dolphin Browser HD app arrives as version 7.2, measures in as a 6MB file download and comes by way of Mobotap Inc. And lastly, while the default Nook web browser seems to work well enough, given the Dolphin Browser HD is free — we suggest giving it a shot.

There’s a few advantages for educational customers here. The 13-inch MacBook Air being offered on the educational store is the same price (the aforementioned $999) as the 11-inch MacBook Air being sold on the regular Apple Store for the rest of us slobs. The bigger screen is just about the only advantage you’ll get, as the specs are pretty much the same as the base MacBook Air (1.5Ghz Intel i5 Processor, 2GB of RAM, 64 GB of SSD storage).

If you’re an IT professional a school looking to buy MacBooks in bulk, then Apple is offering some bundles. According to TUAW, Apple is asking $4,995 for a five-laptop bundle. The 10-laptop bundle will cost you $11,399 and a 20-laptop bundle will set you back $21,599. Both the 10- and 20-pack bundles have a bit higher unit cost than buying the individual laptops – that’s because Apple is throwing in a free AirPort Extreme WiFi hub and laptop cart with charging stations if you buy those bigger bundles.

Apple has always done well in the educational market, so it remains to be seen if these MacBook Airs will sell well to teachers, students and schools. The MacBook Air’s biggest advantage is its ultra-thin size, not necessarily its performance or durability. It’s hard to imagine IT departments at schools going all in for these expensive MacBook Airs when you could get more iPads or Windows laptops for less.  For college students whose school has an online educational Apple Store (where you can purchase Apple products at discount educational pricing), then certainly this $999 MacBook Air will be a hot item, one imagines.

Let’s run down the specs of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. It, well, looks to be a pretty top notch Android tablet. As mentioned, it’s running Android 4.0, and will come with a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It will be offered with 8, 16 and 32GB of Memory and will come in both WiFi and 3G models.

You can expect all the usual refinements from a Samsung tablet, like the TouchWiz interface as well as the Samsung Hub media store with all the movies and TV shows it offers for sale.

They’ve announced it for the UK and the Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark). The UK will be getting it first in March, but pricing was unannounced for that country. The Scandinavians will be getting the tablet a little later in March, but pricing was announced for those countries. It differs from country to country, but prices were running about the equivalent of $450 for the WiFi version and $550 for the 3G version.

No word from Samsung on the possibility of a US release, but considering that US carriers and customers have been loving Samsung’s Android tablets and phones, you have to expect that this little 7-inch killer will be coming to America soon. Especially considering Samsung’s new focus of taking Apple head on and rumors of a 7-inch iPad coming from Apple.

Check out the Samsung press release below.

Samsung’s new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers optimal multimedia experiences in life

February 13, 2012

Samsung expands the GALAXY Tab range with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) powered by the AndroidTM 4.0 and a 1GHz dual core processor

Prague, February 13, 2012 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today introduced its first line-up of tablets for 2012 with the launch of the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0), expanding the choice of tablets to customers. Light and portable, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) is the ideal personal on-the-go device, available in 3G and WiFi versions. Starting from UK, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will be launched in global market from March.

“Two years ago, Samsung GALAXY Tab began to offer customers more possibilities on the go. Since then, Samsung has actively enhanced our tablet line-up with several tablets in different sizes,” said JK Shin, President of IT & Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics. “The new GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) will provide people with delighted multimedia experience and allow efficient communication.”

Samsung’s first Android 4.0 Tablet

Samsung’s first Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)-powered tablet offers a variety of new and improved Android OS features. An upgraded Android Market enables access to more than 400,000 applications which can be enjoyed across phones or tablets. Furthermore, a more intuitive user interface includes the ability to swipe-control applications as well as a wholly redesigned app gallery for easier sharing of content. The new OS’s vastly faster performance and response times across multiple applications is further enhanced by HSPA＋ 21Mbps or WiFi connectivity.

Additionally, Android 4.0 includes a selection of embedded Google applications that enables users to quickly launch sites and applications that they use frequently; meanwhile, the innovative Face Unlock feature unlocks the tablet through unique facial recognition software.

A complete experience with enriched multimedia content

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) offers users easy multimedia access, playback and sharing experiences with Samsung Hub services. Samsung’s Music Hub provides a full music store solution with access to over 17 million tracks. Additionally, the Readers Hub provides the user with access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazines and over 2,000 newspapers in 51 languages, while the Game Hub instantly connects users to the latest game titles. Samsung is also introducing the Video Hub, which offers over 1,000 film titles for purchase or rent, and provides reviews, trailers and recommendations for easier content selection using the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0).

Complementing the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s multimedia offering is Samsung’s upgraded Touchwiz user interface that features Hub widgets for one-step access to users’ content in Hubs; the device also presents S Suggest, a new service offering recommendations of apps suited to users’ tastes directly on a home screen.

The GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s superb multimedia experience is further boosted by Samsung’s AllShare Play, a new content-sharing service available for the first time on any Samsung mobile device. AllShare Play allows users to play or live-stream their multimedia content on their GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) from PCs, other Samsung smart devices as well as third-party web storages. Users can also easily transfer content to other devices or directly to web services.

Better Communication Capabilities

Connecting socially has never been easier with GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0)’s built-in powerful communication capabilities.With the voice call capability, the GALAXY Tab 2 (7.0) can be used just as easily as a phone, affording users the handy convenience of a second device in case they misplace their primary phone. It also lets users to spontaneously arrange multi-party video calls via Google＋ hangouts, as well as engage in group chats or micro-communities to collectively chat or share content. In addition, ChatON, Samsung’s cross-platform communication service, connects all phone users of any platform into a single community. ChatON uses phone numbers instead of ID and passwords, and provides easy instant messaging and group chatting in various formats-images, video, voice, contacts-to make messaging simple and intuitive.

Speaking at a recent earnings call, Hesse said that the death of the AT&T-T-Mobile deal had created “many more options for Sprint than we would have had if the merger had gone through”. According to a Forbes article, Hesse wouldn’t speculate on what those options are, other than talking about T-Mobile’s lucrative AWS spectrum. AT&T primarily wanted T-Mobile’s spectrum in order to help build out their 4G network.

Remember that Deutsche Telekom was looking to sell T-Mobile US to AT&T primarily because T-Mobile US has been a money sink for the German telecom giant, and they’re facing a potentially expensive upgrade to an LTE network sometime this year or next. By selling T-Mobile US to AT&T, DT would of washed their hands of the struggling cell carrier.

T-Mobile may be open to a merger with Sprint. According to Forbes, T-Mobile US CEO Philipp Humm said that the company was looking for smaller deals in scope. Remember that the AT&T-T-Mobile deal fell through after it looked like it would get blocked by the US FCC and Department of Justice. A smaller deal would be more likely to get approved by the government.

Would a combined Sprint/T-Mobile mean that T-Mobile customers would finally be able to get their hands on the iPhone? Any Sprint or T-Mobile customers have an opinion on the possibility of a Sprint/T-Mobile merger? Tell us about it in our comments section.

According to Reuters, more than 25,000 demonstrators marched the streets in various Eastern European cities. but not only, including Warsaw, Prague, Bucharest, Vilnius, Paris, Brussels and Dublin.

But what is ACTA and what does it do? ACTA is a trade agreement whose purpose is to stop counterfeit goods, generic medicines and copyright infringement, which are all noble intentions if you’re not looking at the fine print. We’re mostly interested in copyright infringement, which is what spawned laws like SOPA and PIPA in the first place, and which could ruin the Internet as we have it today. We, TFTS, have not, do not and will not encourage copyright infringement, but at the same time we can’t support such laws/agreements that would significantly affect our online freedoms.

ACTA indirectly encourages online censorship and surveillance, as Internet Service Providers will have to keep track of one’s actions online, all in the name of stopping any copyright infringements. Building on that, we’d have a scenario similar to SOPA and PIPA, in which the user would be at risk of facing various consequences for the most unexpected events, which is something we wouldn’t want to go through. The video below best explains how an innocent activity like recording a video at a party where a song is playing could get you in trouble after sharing it with your friends online since, after all, you’re not allowed to use the song in any form of content under ACTA. But of course, the consequences of ACTA can be far worse:

In other words, ACTA, at least the way it’s formulated right now, would simply trash some of our most basic freedoms; freedoms which our forefathers, or even our fathers in certain instances, have actively pursued. The same civil rights and liberties should be enforced online and treaties like ACTA should be only signed after the people have been heard. In many instances that’s not the case, and many governments around the world have signed the document without hosting a public debate first. Countries like Germany and the Czech republic have postponed ratifying the ACTA treaty, and hopefully other governments will reconsider their stance on ACTA at least until a better copyright infringement law is devised.

What is your opinion on ACTA?

Many people were surprised to see the iPod come to life, but Apple soon proved it was right to create such a device coupled with an accessible and affordable digital music store for the masses. Driven by Jobs’ passion for music, the iTunes music store now offers over 20 million tracks, including all the albums from The Beatles, one of the most important additions to the store, and one of Jobs’ last completed music projects.

Therefore, we were not surprised back in December to hear that The Recording Academy will honor Steve Jobs with a Special Merit Grammy Award, The Trustees Award, which was accepted yesterday by Apple’s Senior Vice President of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue. Here’s the speech he gave when accepting the award on behalf of Jobs:

On behalf of Steve’s wife, Laurene, his children, and everyone at Apple, I’d like to thank you for honoring Steve with the Trustees Grammy Award. Steve was a visionary, a mentor, and a very close friend. I had the incredible honor of working with him for the last fifteen years.

Accepting this award means so much to me because music meant so much to him. He told us that music shaped his life…it made him who he was. Everyone that knows Steve knows the profound impact that artists like Bob Dylan and The Beatles had on him.

Steve was focused on bringing music to everyone in innovative ways. We talked about it every single day. When he introduced the iPod in 2001, people asked “Why is Apple making a music player?” His answer was simple: “We love music, and it’s always good to do something you love.”

His family and I know that this Grammy would have been very special to him, so I thank you for honoring him today.

The Trustees Award, which honors contributions to the music industry in other areas than performance, was also awarded to Rudy Van Gelder and Dave Bartholomew, a jazz recording engineer and a band leader, respectively. On a different note, counting this special award, this is the second time Apple is honored by The Recording Academy after previously winning The Technical Grammy Award back in 2002.

Inevitably, new mobile devices unveiled at MWC will be immediately compared with available, and future, Apple mobile devices, especially the upcoming iPad 3 which will probably cast a long shadow over the event. While we wait for the third-generation tablet to be unveiled, alongside its main Android rivals which could be announced just a few days before the iPad 3 becomes official, we’re being hit with a plethora of new iPad rumors. One of them says that Apple is in “crunch mode” working on the apps that will be demoed on stage and on the new iPad 3 ads that will surely air during the show and thereafter. The Next Web reports:

Apple’s pre-event weeks are often spent soliciting demonstrations from many app developers and preparing demonstrations of those apps for the live event. Our sources tell us that this selection process is continuing at an increased rate as Apple looks to finalize the lineup for the iPad 3. There is also emphasis on graphics-oriented applications with high-definition assets, which appears to be in line with the new iPad featuring a ‘Retina’ display.

In addition, some apps that Apple is impressed with are being forwarded on to its long-time advertising partner TWBA/Chiat/Day for possible inclusion in the initial iPad 3 commercial spots. This process is entering its final phase as well, with the company on a tight deadline to deliver assets for playback during the presentation and later, television broadcast.

We’ll be thoroughly covering the iPad 3 event, but in the mean time keep us bookmarked for more next-gen iPad news, rumors and reports. As for the iPad 3 rivals, we’d certainly be surprised to see one emerge at MWC 2012, but one can always hope.

Anyone already planning to buy the iPad 3 next month?

We’ve seen the first LTE smartphones and tablets debut last year, most of them, if not all of them, being Android devices. Apple has explained at the time that the then-current state of the LTE chips was not satisfactory for its needs, although the fact that LTE adoption among consumers was very limited when the statement was made is probably another reason that explains why the company seemed never interested to make the iPhone 4S its first LTE device ever.

But things will change this year, as Apple’s next-gen iPad and iPhone are reportedly going to be LTE-ready thanks to a new, slimmer Qualcomm chip that will be employed by both devices. The company has not confirmed such plans yet, but with the iPad 3 media event scheduled to take place in the first week of March, we’ll probably find out more details about Apple’s LTE plans very soon.

In the mean time, today we see the first 4G LTE micro SIM cards from AT&T getting leaked, a move that indirectly implies the upcoming iPad 3 and the sixth-generation iPhone 5/6 will indeed come with LTE support. Furthermore, Apple’s smartphone and tablet are the main devices that use a micro SIM card on AT&T’s network, if not the only ones, so we certainly expect the company to confirm LTE support starting with its 2012 generation of iOS devices in the weeks to come.

In addition to 4G LTE, the iPad 3 and iPhone 5/6 are likely to also offer support for AT&T’s HSPA+ network, also labeled as fake 4G. The iPhone 4S, while lacking an LTE chip, does come with such fake 4G powers, which make AT&T iPhone 4S units the fastest iPhones in the U.S. since neither Verizon nor Sprint offer HSPA+ support.

Anyone excited to buy an LTE-enabled iPhone or iPad?

7. Capacitive Touch Screen Gloves

Terrific if you live in a colder climate, one thing you quickly learn in such an environment is that your hands need covered. And that’s not always conducive with touch screens. Better yet, you can get extra schmaltzy and pull the “cold hands / warm heart” gambit. And these are especially good for either front as they’re made with touch screen fibers in the fingers, allowing you to not only wear the gloves, but also interact with the touch screen. Best of all, they’re only $15.99 out at ThinkGeek.

6. Ballistic iPhone 4S Case

If your lady has an iPhone 4S, you know she’s put a lot of cash into it, and a lot of hard work just to get one. What better way to say “I care about the things you care about” than giving her one of the best multi-layer protection setups yet in the Ballistic iPhone 4S case? While the sentiment is certainly there, there’s no denying that a Ballistic case will do a nice job protecting your lady’s iPhone against drops and weather conditions, so it’s worth adding to the shopping list.

5. Kindle Fire

This one works delightfully on several levels. Is she a reader? It handles ebooks smoothly. Does she like mobile computing? This is a light-grade tablet. Or do you just want to get sappy? Tell her she Kindles that Fire in your heart and watch the misty-eye effect kick in. A Kindle Fire’s got just about every possible facet of gift-giving awesome you could want in your Valentine’s Day, so take advantage of the sheer array of possibilities!

4. A MP3 Player Mix Tape

This is a concept that’s steadily coming into vogue, and the perfect example of absolute customization. See, these days, MP3 players aren’t pricey. Some of them even serve double duty as USB sticks. And when you pre-fill them with your songs of choice, easily had at any of a variety of music sites, it only gets better. Couple a good shopping value together with the opportunity to make an emotional impact and that spells a smart move in the making.

3. Membership to your MMO of choice

A video game for Valentine’s Day? The hell you say!  It’s not so outlandish as you might think, as it’s been discovered that ladies like video gaming as much as guys do…okay, maybe not as much, but the numbers are closer than you’d think, and for different reasons. See, for many of the ladies, gaming is an opportunity for a social experience. And an MMO is a great opportunity for gaming to get social. Plus, it’s a game that she doesn’t have to stand around and watch you play–rather, she can play too. And if she’s playing right along side you, that’s a much, much different story.

2. Dave Barry’s A Complete Guide To Guys

Guys, we are not an open book to the ladies. In fact, much of our way of life confuses them about as much as theirs confuses us. And if you’ve ever wanted to make an impression, what better way than to hand over a complete guide to us? And let’s face it, guys, if you’ve read Dave Barry’s book, you know it’s not only funny, but it’s also disturbingly accurate. Everything from a description to our responses to the appearance of other guys in a public restroom to our relative confusion over the concept of relationships in general, Barry provides all the details you could ever want to know. And what better way to say “I love and trust you” than to hand over a primer to our most universal secrets? There’s only one way better that I can think of, and that way is…

1. 3D Chocolate Printer

A 3D printer is an impressive enough gadget by itself. It takes plastic, or resin, or even powdered metal and creates three dimensional representations of objects. With a 3D printer, you can actually create most anything you want, as long as you have the necessary instructions for it. And now, there’s currently research going on–this one might take a while to get to you–into 3D printers that use chocolate. And with that, you’ll be able to custom make anything out of chocolate. Anything. The possibilities stretch out before you, as anything you can think to make a chocolate replica of could be done with something like this.

And so, there you have it; seven great possibilities, both now and in the future, for great gifts for Valentine’s Day. Special thanks to our friends out at ThinkGeek, who dropped us a line on special Valentine’s Day gifts for the geek in your life. And for those who think this list may be a bit skewed, fear not: I consulted actual females in the list’s construction, who found it for the most part worthwhile, but acknowledged that the actual mileage on these gifts will vary.

And of course, for every one I managed to include, there are several others that I missed. So help out your fellow gadget buffs down in the comments section; what hits have you had as far as Valentine’s Day gift giving goes? What gifts have fallen short of the mark? No matter what your experience has been, head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

all pics copyright their owners.

The current reports coming out of those always-popular “sources familiar with” whatever it is is being discussed at the time say that the MacBook Pro is about to get a serious slimming down, such that it looks more like the MacBook Air. To accomplish this slimming down, they’ll be using things like unibody casings, removing some components like the optical drive, and replacing some others like throwing over the hard drive in favor of much slimmer solid state storage.

They’ll be starting the revamping with the 15 inch model, later stepping up to the 17 inch version once the 15 inch version has had its run completed, and will heavily feature Thunderbolt and Intel’s upcoming line of Ivy Bridge processors, making these look like some pretty standout pieces of hardware indeed.

The change, meanwhile, comes in the face of a rather unlikely business environment, in which the overall market is contracting, but Apple is seeing its sales increase. Plus, while the original MacBook Pro is actually outselling the MacBook Air, the gap between the two product lines has reportedly been on the decline, meaning that the Air is gaining ground while the Pro is just beginning to lose traction.

I have to admit, I like this idea myself; it’s been kind of an odd dichotomy between the two, with the Pro representing the power user segment and the Air looking to win on aesthetics and a lower price, but getting the Pro’s capability in with the Air’s looks might be a real winner. Add to that the fact that the economy hasn’t been slowing Apple down much at all, and you’ve got a pretty good recipe for an exciting laptop race coming up.

But what do you guys think about this one? Do you think that the Pro would sell better if it looked more like the Air? Or do you think that the Pro’s differences made it more appealing, and it should retain those differences? No matter what you think, we always like hearing from you, so hit the comments section below and tell us what you think!

Pacific Crest’s Chet Bartley, according to reports, went into the Kindle Fire’s suppliers and what he came out with was word that Amazon was likely working on a larger version of the popular ereader / tablet, as evidenced by new orders that look like they’re geared in that direction. Of course, you can’t build anything without having the necessary components to do so, but component surveys have been wrong before, so this news should come with the appropriately-sized grain of salt.

Bartley’s report further suggests that, should Amazon actually drop a nine inch Kindle Fire on the market–which it would likely do before summer gets going in earnest–it would bump Kindle Fire sales up from the expected 12.7 million units clear up to 14.9 million, a pretty good hike both objectively and percentage-wise.

The timing of this report is also very interesting, especially as we just got word that Amazon was firing up its “poolside reading” ads again for the Kindle Fire, detailing how much the Kindle Fire can do that the iPad 2 can do, just at a substantially lower cost. And if a new Kindle Fire is in the offing for the not too distant future, it would be a pretty smart move timing wise. Amazon’s already put out the word via its advertising directly comparing the Kindle–and Kindle Fire–to the iPad line, making it clear they mean to compete on price, but also making it clear that the Kindle / Kindle Fire combo is no slouch in the features department. So a new iPad, followed up by a new Kindle Fire, would allow Amazon to carry on with the same strategy, just with different names.

So what do you guys figure here? Another analyst haring down the bunny trail on incomplete information? Or an all too likely battle plan for Amazon in the coming months? No matter what your take on this one, head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think!

That being said, these offers all seem simple enough in that they will all require two-year agreements. Otherwise, beginning with the double data offer, the one appears to be rather simple;

“For a limited time, get twice the data for the same low price when you buy a new 4G LTE Smartphone.”

The only fine print we can see in this aspect, the double your data offer only applies to plans that are 2GB or higher. In other words, you can get 4GB of data for $30 or 10GB of data for $50.

In terms of the other Valentine’s Day offer, lets just say that some of these deals seem better than others. For example, one of the nicer ones involves the 16GB Droid RAZR — in black, white or purple. This handset is priced at $199.99, however it comes as BOGO which means if you buy one you will get another for free.

Some of the other deals include discounts on certified pre-owned Galaxy Tab tablets including the 16GB and 32GB 10.1 inch models which are selling for $279.99 and $379.99 respectively. And if you are willing to pick up a (now older) 7-inch Galaxy Tab, that one is available for free as a certified pre-owned device.

That all being said, those interested in picking something up from Verizon this Valentine’s Day can hit the source link at the bottom of this post to check out the complete list of deals.

Apple, at last report, pulled the white MacBook laptop from its shelves back last July, but it was still possible to lay hands on the devices as they sold to the educational market, as well as, sometimes, a refurbished model. But now it’s out of stock most everywhere you look, and at last report, Apple has already told resellers that the MacBook in white has reached that somber occasion of “End of Life”.

Normally the refurbished model of white MacBook sold for $849, and Apple was billing it as a budget alternative for schools (which seems like a bit of a long shot anyway given the equivalent pricing in, say, Windows-based laptops), but it’s reasonably clear why Apple’s pulling the plug on the laptop.

With iBooks 2 and iTunes U now available, it’s likely that Apple wants people getting away from the white MacBook and into the iPad, which would actually be an even more budget alternative than the laptop was, especially if schools buy in bulk to equip all their kids with the devices. It’s a move that makes more than a little sense for Apple in general, and while it may be a bit sad to see the white MacBook go, it’s likely to be replaced by better and more interesting hardware, especially with those two new apps out and running for the education market.

But what do you guys think here? Figure Apple just pulled the white MacBook to make way for iPads backed by their new software geared toward the education market? Or do you figure there’s another reason in play for the removal of the white MacBook? No matter what you think here, we always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section and let’s talk white MacBook and end of life!

But that being said, there appears to be another voice control app that has come available for iOS devices. More specifically for iOS devices aside from the iPhone 4S. The app is called SpeakToIt Assistant and for lack of a better description, it brings Siri-like functionality to the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

SpeakToIt Assistant is available by way of the iOS App Store and is priced at $1.99. The app requires iOS 4.0 (or higher) for use and is currently sitting at version 0.2. Just one note on the iPad compatibility, while it is supported and will run — it is not a universal app and therefor is a doubled up iPhone version.

According to the iOS App Store listing, here is what you can expect from SpeakToIt Assistant;

“Speaktoit Assistant is a virtual buddy for your iPhone or iPod that uses natural language technology to answer questions, find information, and connect you with various web services, such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Evernote, and many others.”

Otherwise, it was also noted that you will be able to speak in an “everyday language” and perhaps a bit more important — the Assistant will “constantly improve” so that it becomes “smarter every day.”

Those who download the app will be able to set the Assistant as a man or woman (see the screenshots included in this post) and will be able to get information such as maps, news searches, image searches, weather reports, currency conversion and “much” more. And last and perhaps what we feel would be the most useful, the Assistant is able to compose emails and text messages as well as update your status on social sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Anyway, the Acer Aspire One D270 comes as one of the first netbooks with this processor and it looks like pre-orders are beginning to surface here in the US market. Recently listed pre-orders include online retailer Adorama as well as Sears. The netbook is priced at $279.99 with both retailers and as of this point in time — neither have anything as to when this model will begin shipping.

In terms of the specs, the processor clocks in at 1.6GHz and the display is a 10.1 inch WSVGA Acer CrystalBrite LED-backlit display. The Aspire One D270 is running Windows 7 Starter and also packing Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3600, 1GB of RAM and a 320GB 5400 RPM hard drive along with the usual suspects such as Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Ethernet, HDMI, a 5-in-1 memory card reader, microphone, headphone jack, webcam and three USB 2.0 ports.

Additionally, those who make the purchase can expect to find a 6-cell 4400 mAh battery with a promised run time of up to 8 hours. And last in terms of the specs, the Aspire One D270 measures in at 1.01 x 10.17 x 7.28 inches and weighs in at 2.87 pounds.

Bottom line here, this is certainly not going to be a powerhouse machine but at the same time it should be more than sufficient for someone looking to get the basics done — you know email, web surfing, Facebook, Twitter and the like. With that, we will certainly keep an eye on these pre-orders (as well as any others that come available) to see if we can narrow down a shipping date.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a pretty important government agency that monitors, researches and studies the weather and Earth’s oceans. They operate the National Weather Service and should be known by everybody as “the hurricane people” for they work they do in monitoring hurricanes. The news that they’re changing to Apple products comes via a leaked memo written by Joseph Klimavicz, NOAA’s CIO.

The company will be furnishing their workers with new iPhones and iPads, although they’ll continue to support BlackBerry devices until May 12, 2012. There’s no word on when NOAA’s people can expect to get their iPads, but the leaked memo was dated February 3, 2012. The news was broken by LoopInsight.com.

Government agencies have usually continued to favor BlackBerries because of their reliability and rock-solid security when it comes to email. I suspect that NOAA won’t be the last government agency to switch to the iPhone and iPad for its mobile phone needs.

What do you think? Is it cool that the government is giving iPhones to its meteorology, or should it be spending our tax dollars on other things? Tell us what you think in our comments section.

Google’s free cloud-storage service will be called Google Drive according to the report, and seems likely that it will be attached to Google Docs or affiliated with Google Docs, Google’s cloud-based office productivity suite. According to the WSJ, Google Drive will allow people to store files, photos and videos on the internet.

There’s no word on how much storage Google Drive will offer, but with all the bandwidth and server farms that Google has, you have to imagine that it’ll probably be a fair bit. Google will be directly taking on Dropbox, in addition to Apple’s iCloud service and Microsoft’s SkyDrive service. Although the report doesn’t mention it, you have to expect Google Drive will have integration with Android and Chrome OS – allowing people using Android phones, tablets or Chrome netbooks to easily access their files stored on their Google Drive account. This would bring parity on with Apple does with the iPhone and iCloud.

No word on how this will affect Dropbox. The company has been growing by leaps and bounds and was called “one of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups” by the WSJ. The company allegedly turned down an acquisition offer from Apple in 2009.

What do you think? Are you excited for Google Drive? Do you think it’ll be better than Dropbox, or are planning to stick with the ‘box? Tell us about it in the comments setion.

While Office 15 is yet to be available in a public beta – it has just hit the Technical Preview stage – the new collection of productivity apps has been revealed in a video during which Microsoft was demoing Office 15 beta on an ARM-based device running Windows 8. What’s interesting about Windows 8 on ARM is that it will offer support for the desktop version of Office 15 apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. At the same time the company is also working on a native Office 15 version for touchscreen- and ARM-based devices that will run Windows 8. In addition to Office 15, Windows 8 on ARM will offer users a complete desktop mode experience that comes with File Explorer, Internet Explorer 10 desktop and other Windows desktop features. And while the desktop Windows versions so far are not ideal for tablet use, it will certainly be interesting to see how Windows 8 feels like on future tablets. But unlike Microsoft, developers won’t be able to port X86/64 apps to Windows 8 on ARM. Instead they’ll just have to create new apps for future Windows tablets that will support the new Metro UI.

As for Office 15, it’s clear from the video above, and the images in the gallery below that Microsoft is reinventing its productivity suite. Gone is the ribbon menu, or at least it’s very well hidden across the shown apps, which suggests that Microsoft may have something simpler in mind. Whether its Word, Excel or PowerPoint, the company is focusing on content rather than on a cumbersome menu. On the other hand, considering the complexity of Office apps, we’re certainly expecting all the menus, and then some, to be still there despite the minimal layout we see in the images below.

While it’s going to be interesting to see how Microsoft reimagined the Office experience to make our lives easier, we’ll certainly have to patient and keep waiting to actually be able to test it out. Microsoft is expected to release the Windows 8 beta at some point in the following weeks, quite possibly during MWC 2012, and we certainly hope it’s coming with Office 15 on board.

And while we’re at it, when will the iPad and Mac OS X versions of Office 15 be launched?

Technology Business Research Ezra Gottheil has it on good authority that the upcoming 9.7-inch iPad 3 will offer the following set of specs and features:

• Retina Display resolution – 2,048 x 1,536 or double the resolution of the iPad 2
• Faster dual-core system-on-a-chip rather than a quad-core processor – a faster A6 chip
• Siri support

These are expected features for the iPad 3, which have been revealed in various other reports, so far so we’re not surprised to hear one more analyst mention them, especially since analysts don’t always get things right.

Gottheil also expects Apple to keep selling the iPad 2 alongside the new iPad 3 model, with pricing expected to drop to $400 “for an iPad 2 with Wi-Fi only and 16GB of flash-based storage space.” That’s also something we have heard more than once in the recent past, and we wouldn’t be surprised to hear Apple is interested in keeping around a top-selling device after seeing the same thing happen with older iPhones a few months ago.

A cheaper iPad 2 will be a great competitor to entry- to mid-level Android devices, including the Kindle Fire that has been selling very well during the past quarter, but would Apple also need to make a smaller iPad 3 to better compete against smaller tablets? I don’t think that’s the case, but here’s what Gottheil said:

Gottheil went out on a smaller limb for another pair of predictions, saying that he expects Apple to roll out a smaller 7-in. iPad — though not at the upcoming event — and perhaps tout a specially-designed wireless keyboard-case accessory for its tablet.

“I believe that’s always been in the plan” said Gottheil of a small iPad, contradicting past comments by Jobs, who had rejected seven inches as too small for a tablet. “Actually that’s a good form factor for some users, and although they will also charge a premium above other similar-sized tablets, they want to protect that price flank.”

During last year’s iPad 2 announcement event, Apple quickly dismissed existing rumors that a new device will launch at some point in the fall by saying that 2011 was the year of the iPad 2, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the company hinted that 2012 will be the year of the iPad 3, the regular size. Would you buy a 7-inch iPad 3?

While there aren’t that many smartphones sporting NFC support, those that do have it, including the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus may have a serious problem. Once rooted, the devices can be hacked by people with the right knowledge, to reveal the PIN of Google Wallet, which would give those people access to the stored credit cards.

Since the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus are among the preferred devices used by Android developers, it’s likely that those units usually get rooted. Naturally there’s no security risk when Google Wallet is not used on the device. There’s no risk when Google Wallet is enabled either as long as the device is not stolen by a third-party specifically interested in getting access to the user’s Google Wallet account.

Google is aware of the issue and it’s trying to fix it, and there is a way to resolve the matter, moving the PIN verification, which Google Wallet requires to grant access to the stored credit cards, to the secure element of the NFC chip in the device. Once that’s done, a simple “brute force attack” would not work anymore. That however is easier said than done as Google will have to relinquish any responsibility for the Google Wallet PIN to the banks:

The next issue was much more significant. Basically, by moving the PIN verification into the SE itself, this might constitute a “change of agency” responsible for keeping the PIN secure. The fear is that Google might no longer be responsible for the security of the PIN, but rather the banks themselves. If this is in fact the case, then the banks may need to follow their own policies and regulations regarding ATM PIN security which obviously, and rightly, receive a great deal of scrutiny.[…]

At present, the decision is in the banks’ hands. They may actually choose to accept the risk imposed by this vulnerability rather than incur the financial and administrative overhead of allowing Google to release a proper fix (and thereby potentially put the banks on the hook for the PIN security).

In the mean time, here’s what Google Wallet users can do to prevent hackers from getting access to their credit cards once the rooted phone would be stolen:

1. Do Not “Root” the Cell Phone – Doing so will be one less step for a thief.
2. Enable Lock Screens – “Face Unlock,” “Pattern,” “PIN” and “Password” all increase physical security to the device. “Slide,” however, does not.
3. Disable USB Debugging – When enabled, the data on mobile devices can be accessed without first passing a lock screen challenge unless Full Disk Encryption is also enabled.
4. Enable Full Disk Encryption – This will prevent even USB Debugging from bypassing the lock screen.
5. Maintain Device Up-To-Date – Ensure the device is current with the latest official software. Unfortunately, users are largely at the behest of their carrier and cell phone manufacturer for this. Using only official software and keeping devices up-to-date is the best way to minimize vulnerabilities and increase security overall.

Has anyone suffered such a Google Wallet attack?

In fact, according to AllThingsD, the iPad 3 special media event will take place in the first week of March, although a clear date is not available at this time. Once it becomes official, the iPad 3 should hit stores in the following days or weeks, just like it happened with the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S which were launched right after their official announcements:

Sources say the company has chosen the first week in March to debut the successor to the iPad 2, and will do so at one of its trademark special events. The event will be held in San Francisco, presumably at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Apple’s preferred location for big announcements like these.

No word yet on a street date for the iPad 3 (assuming that’s what it’s called), though my guess is retail availability will follow roughly the same schedule as that of the iPad 2: Available for purchase a week or so after the event.

The publication also notes that Apple will not schedule any “unusual” press event in February, as it was previously rumored. What’s also interesting to note is that Samsung will not hold any press event during MWC 2012, which is quite surprising and significant since it means the South Korean carrier will not announce any new major mobile device, whether smartphone or tablet. With Samsung not ready to announce any new device at MWC, the eyes of the mobile ecosystem will surely be focused on Apple’s upcoming event.

By comparison, last year the iPad 2 was announced on March 2 and sold nine days later, on March 11. And Samsung unveiled one Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 version (10.1v) at MWC 2011 in February, before the iPad 2 announcement, and a second one at CTIA 2011 in March after the iPad 2 launch, with the second device a lot more similar to the second-generation tablet.

Specifically, the Scosche bassDOCK is going to bring together speakers–2.1 channel, 40 mm speakers, specifically–and a three inch subwoofer, and put it all together on an iPad dock that will let you display the iPad itself at your choice of portrait or landscape modes. You’ll also be able to not only charge your iPad with this at a 10 watt connection, but you’ll also be able to use the iPad while it’s charging, meaning that you can hook it up, watch a movie with those extra speakers from a couple feet off, and then take the iPad and go without losing any charge off the battery and possibly even gaining a bit in the bargain.

And, as our tipsters told us, it now works with not only the iPad, but also the iPad 2. Though whether or not it will work with the iPad 3 now rumored to be coming our way in just a matter of weeks remains to be seen.

For those interested in getting a little more audio into their iPad experience, you’ll be able to pick these up right now for $149.99. This in turn seems a bit on the pricey side to me, but then again, being able to turn your iPad of choice into an alarm clock that might actually wake you up does leave me at least a bit tempted. Though if it doesn’t work with the iPad 3, still likely to emerge soon, there may not be much point in picking this up right away, especially if you have plans to upgrade.

But what do you guys think about this one? Figure that the Scosche bassDOCK is going to provide the kind of sound experience you want from your iPad? Or do you think this is $150 worth of nothing special? No matter what you think, head on down to the comments section below and tell us what you think about the Scosche bassDOCK!

And sure, those who are looking for a long list of new features may be disappointed here, however when it comes to enhancing the browser performance, touch response and data connectivity — we deem it worthy. That being said, the update for the 8.2 and 10.1 inch tablets are (almost) identical.

According to the details coming from Verizon, the update measures in at 83.8MB in size and should take about 20 to 30 minutes to download and then another 10 minutes to install. As we always find, those with a tablet in hand looking to update — you have two options. Sit back and wait for the update notification to arrive (the route we suggest) or the get it now approach. If you are looking for the latter, grab your XYBOARD and navigate to Menu -> Settings -> About tablet -> System updates to get the process started.

As for the changelog, here is what you can expect to see after the update has been applied;

Device Features

• Enhanced browser performance to improve scrolling.
• Improved Touch Response.
• Maintain data connection when switching between Wi-Fi and the Verizon 3G and 4G LTE networks.
• Successfully connect to 4G LTE network and see the 4G LTE indicator.
• The Daily application now comes preloaded.
• Device is now capable of Global Roaming.

Email & Messaging

• Successfully open links in email messages without device needing to reboot.

Accessories

• Keyboard function supported in docking station.

The update for the 8.2 model will bring the software up to version 1.6.0M_279-MZ609 and the update for the 10.1 model will bring the software up to version 1.6.0M_279-MZ617. And lastly, as for that one small difference. That point comes in with the second item listed on the changelog. The 8.2 inch reads as listed above and the 10.1 inch reads as follow;

“Improved Touch Response that includes Stylus enhancements.”

That being said, the lucky folks that will be able to take advantage of the Telus 4G LTE network (assuming they have a capable device) will be those in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener, Waterloo, Hamilton, Guelph, Belleville, Ottawa, Montreal, Québec City, Halifax and Yellowknife.

And while we are fairly certain that those not included in that above list of cities will be disappointed, rest assured in knowing that more coverage is coming this year. In fact, Telus has stated that they plan to have additional coverage rolled out to “more regions across Canada” and will have service for “more than 25 million Canadians by the end of 2012.”

With that, touching back on the compatible devices. Telus already has the Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE available along with a few more devices that will be coming soon. The next LTE device launch date will come with the network, on February 10th. The 10th will bring the LG Optimus LTE smartphone and the Novatel Ovation MC679 4G LTE Mobile Internet Key. And lastly in terms of new devices, the Samsung Galaxy Note will be available on February 14th.

For those worried about data plans, here is what Eros Spadotto, TELUS executive vice-president of Technology Strategy and Operations had to say;

“We’re listening to our customers and working hard to give them clear and simple service terms with no surprises. Consistent with this approach, our current rate plans will apply to our 4G LTE customers. We are not introducing a new rate plan or charging a premium to enjoy our new network.”

The report broke this morning in the Wall Street Journal. The news is that the US Justice Department will approve Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the consumer electronics side of Motorola, which spun off from Motorola Solutions (the infrastructure hardware company) in early 2011.

Despite the report that the US DoJ was approving the deal, the WSJ writes that US and European authorities are concerned about the amount of patents that Google will hold in the mobile space. Motorola has a very comprehensive patent portfolio, firstly from being the company that actually invented the mobile phone, and secondly from their acquisition of patents from the ill-fated Nortel Networks, a Canadian tech company.

As several Motorola patented technology became industry standards recognized by the IEEE, Motorola agreed to license the patents under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-describable) terms. As Google inherits these patents, they are expected to continue to offer FRAND patent licenses in good faith. Google, like Motorola, is a member of the IEEE Standards Association which comes up with the technical standards that rule the consumer tech industry (USB, WiFi, etc.)

Tell us, what do you think? Is Google buying Motorola a good thing, or will Google’s Android empire just get too big? Tell us what you think about the $12.5 billion deal in our comments section below.

The commercial, which we’ll embed below, shows a man with an iPad walking by a woman with a Kindle reader at a pool. iPad man is impressed by the Kindle reader’s $79 price, but says he can watch movies and TV shows on his iPad. The woman points out that her kids have two Kindle Fires, which can do the same thing. Then, she drops the heavy-hitting marketing line of the commercial: The two Kindle Fires plus the Kindle reader (at $129 and $79 respectively) are still cheaper together than the $500 iPad. I don’t work on Madison Avenue, but that’s a pretty strong argument to me.

We’ve seen a lot of Android tablets in the past few years, and despite some early issues, they’ve actually gotten quite good (thought they all obviously lack the iOS App Store). Despite that, none of them have managed to gain any sales traction on the iPad, save for the Kindle Fire, which Amazon is aggressively pricing. They’re losing money on every Kindle Fire sold, in favor of hoping to get it into hands of customers and making money back on sales from the Kindle Store, Amazon Instant Video store and the Amazon Appstore.

It seems the other tech companies are really starting to take swings at Apple. Last year, the Motorola Xoom’s initial marketing campaign mocked all the “Apple sheep”. Samsung’s recent ad campaigns have been making fun of all the people waiting in line for new iPhones and whatnot, and now this Amazon commercial is pointing out the fact that Apple products are pretty darn expensive. It looks the advertising companies representing Apple’s biggest competitors are starting to go directly at Apple.

What do you think about this commercial? Does it make a strong case for the much cheaper Amazon Kindle Fire?

Path explained that it’s uploading the users’ Contacts to its server to make it easier for them to share stuff with their friends and family. Furthermore, the company has deleted all the contact details stored on its servers and updated the application, which now requires users to opt in for this contacts storing feature.

But how is it possible for iOS app to access the contact details of your friends and family without actually notifying you that such an action takes place in the background? Can any developer do it without you knowing?

Apparently Apple’s iOS security features do not protect the privacy of your Contacts app, and various apps can store all those details on their servers, which then can be used for various marketing initiatives. Dustin Curtis explains:

I did a quick survey of 15 developers of popular iOS apps, and 13 of them told me they have a contacts database with millons of records. One company’s database has Mark Zuckerberg’s cell phone number, Larry Ellison’s home phone number and Bill Gates’ cell phone number. This data is not meant to be public, and people have an expectation of privacy with respect to their contacts.

It’s certainly surprising to hear that the contacts stored on the iOS device could also be copied to remote servers without the user knowing about it. Even if the intentions of developers are honorable – such as getting feedback for their app in order to further improve it – I’d still like to know whether they want to access my Contacts app or not. And in most cases I’d probably refuse access.

Apple is yet to comment on the matter, but something tells me this error from Apple’s part – a huge one – will be fixed in a following update.

After Microsoft criticized Google’s initiative in a series of newspaper ads and after we’ve seen the EU asking Google to postpone the privacy policy changes we now see the Electronic Privacy Information Center sue the company in the U.S. because of the proposed changes:

A lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center alleged Google violated a settlement agreement reached with U.S. regulators last March that requires consent from the user if Google collects information under one privacy policy and then changes the policy.

The group is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction compelling the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to enforce the consent order.

“The Court must act now to prevent irreparable injury to EPIC and the public,” EPIC said in its court filing.

EPIC says that Google’s privacy policy changes will actually benefit advertisers, and therefore Google, as future ads will be better tailored to Google Account holders based on the aggregated data that those advertisers will be able to access. And that will happen without Google specifically asking for permission:

The group also challenged Google’s claim it is not collecting any new information. Aggregated data would give advertisers access to information about users that they were not privy to before, such as logged-in users’ YouTube search histories, EPIC said.

“Thus, Google will share new or additional information with third-party advertisers without first obtaining ‘express affirmative consent’ from Google users,” EPIC charged in court documents.

Naturally, Google says that the upcoming changes will not affect the way users control their privacy and the way personal data is collected and shared across Google services. But then again, that’s the kind of defense we’re expected to hear from Google.

We’ll be back with more news about Google’s new privacy policy changes, in the mean time let us know what you think about the move.

With the new privacy policy in place, Google will be able to use all your personal data from various Google services that you use in order to offer you a better Google experience, including ads specifically tailored to your needs, which is how the company is making its cash nowadays.

In addition to these policy changes, the company is interested to learn how the average user is using the Internet – apparently it doesn’t know that yet contrary to our believes – and Google will pay you to help shed more light on the matter. The company is conducting a special survey, with selected participants being rewarded $25. That’s not cash and that’s not upfront. Google will pay you $5 for signing up and then $5 in monthly installments using Amazon gift cards:

Google is building a new panel to learn more about how everyday people use the Internet.

The new project is called Screenwise. As a panelist, you’ll add a browser extension that will share with Google the sites you visit and how you use them. What we learn from you, and others like you, will help us improve Google products and services and make a better online experience for everyone.

What’s in it for you? Up to $25 in gift cards. Our panel management partner, Knowledge Networks, will give you a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card code instantly when you sign up and download the Google Screenwise browser extension.1 Then you’ll get additional $5 Amazon.com Gift Card codes every three months for staying with it.2 It’s our way of saying “Thank you.”

To be eligible to join, you must be 13 or older, have a Google Account (or sign up for one), and be ready to use the Google Chrome browser.

Are you going to let Google in your online life for $25? What is the right price for your privacy?

The picture shows the back case of the iPad 3, which is fairly similar to the one found on the iPad 2 model but does have a few notable differences including a different logic board, a bigger battery, a new camera and a bigger LCD:

A. You can see here that the mounts for the logic board are very different, which means the logic board shape will be different allowing for . . . .

B. More battery. The width of where the logic board sits on the iPad 2 appears much larger than that of the iPad 3. We have long heard that the iPad 3 was going to provide longer battery life, and this back housing seems to support that. [Ed: Actually, this could be to compensate for the additional power draw of the screen and possibly a faster processor]

C. The camera is different. It is hard to make a judgment just by looking at the casing, but what we can expect is a different camera on the iPad 3 than what we had on the 2.

D. LCD will be different than what we have had before. Whether or not it will be the super screen we have seen reported will have to wait. But the different mounting does mean that the LCD has been redesigned at the very least.

Another report says that the iPad 3 will not feature a quad-core processor as previously rumored but that it will offer an improved GPU. The iPad 3 is expected to offer a Retina Display resolution, feature that will require additional resources when it comes to processing and graphics power, RAM and therefore battery juice. Would a dual-core processor combined with an improved GPU be enough to offer a seamless Retina Display performance?

From a different point of view it’s worth remembering that Apple is not interested in beating Android rivals when it comes to its devices’ hardware capabilities, so we wouldn’t be surprised not to see a quad-core A6 chip inside the iPad 3 (and iPhone 5/6 ?) at a time when more and more quad-core Android tablets and smartphones will hit stores.