LaptopMemo | Tech & Then Some » WTF

WHAT: Google Removes Galaxy Nexus From Its Support Pages (updated)

Stefan Etienne — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:04:17 +0000

Updated: Apparently according to Google, this has nothing to do with Google Wallet. In fact, it has to do with CDMA tech and other stuff. Also, Google will continue to support the Galaxy Nexus’ firmware updates. Whew.

This is beyond our imagination. Google has removed the Verizon Galaxy Nexus from its support pages perhaps due to the Google Wallet fiasco/delay, where Verizon has seemingly been unable to allow Google to add Wallet support to their version of the Galaxy Nexus. Furthermore, the phone (model codename “toro”) has disappeared from Google’s list of downloadable factory ROM images; all mentions of toro are “archived, for reference only.”

This all essentially meaning that Samsung and Verizon are now responsible for future updates and the Galaxy Nexus is no longer support for Android development.

This is not supposed to happen.

Via: Droid-Life

BT Has Sued Google For Almost All Their Services

Stefan Etienne — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:35:07 +0000

In the latest lawsuit against Google, British telecom provider, BT has sued Google for nearly everything they do. This mass patent infringement case by BT states that just about Google does infringes upon some older patents BT owns, which of course will result in months of dispute, back and forth. Products include Google Search, Android, AdSense, Gmail, Google+, Google Docs, Google Music, and Google Maps (yeah, it’s pretty nuts). It’s time to see where this transpires. Via: The Guardian, Gizmodo

Netflix Kills Qwixster Before It Even Started

Stefan Etienne — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:22:03 +0000

With much hype and negative press about Netflix’s move to seperate its DVD rental and online streaming services into two different companies — Netlfix for streaming and Qwixster for DVDs it comes to everyone’s surprise that Netflix is cancelling its plans and is keeping DVDs hosted at Netflix. Right now they’re giving very little explanation as to why they decided to cancel the service, but “oh well”, they gave very little explanation when they started the whole Qwixster concept to begin with. PR after the cut.
Via: Netflix Blog

DVDs Will Be Staying At Netflix.com

LOS GATOS, Calif., October 10, 2011 – Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today said it will not rename its DVD-by-mail service and that its US members will continue to go to the Netflix website for both unlimited streaming and unlimited DVDs.

Netflix said in a Sept. 18 blog post that its DVD by mail service would operate at Qwikster.com. Instead, U.S. members will continue to use one website, one account and one password for their movie and TV watching enjoyment under the Netflix brand.

“Consumers value the simplicity Netflix has always offered and we respect that,” said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. “There is a difference between moving quickly — which Netflix has done very well for years — and moving too fast, which is what we did in this case.”

Netflix today informed its U.S. members in personal emails and a post on the Netflix Blog on www.netflix.com

The New HTC Rhyme Is A “Lady Phone” From Verizon

Stefan Etienne — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:15:27 +0000

Men get DROIDS and women get — Rhymes? No, no, no. The HTC Rhyme has a single-core 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA Super LCD screen, 768MB RAM, and a 5 megapixel camera (no front-facing or LTE). On top of all of the silly stuff, the HTC Rhyme will come with a LED charm indicator that plugs into the 3.5mm headset jack, so that a woman could place it on her purse and would be notified of incoming calls or texts. It would also come with a pair of headphones and an alarm clock. It’s an insult really. Not even a dual-core processor.

At the very least it will come with the latest version of Sense on Android 2.3 “Gingerbread” — Sense 3.5, which isn’t seen on the newer, more powerful dual-core smartphones HTC has been releasing recently. The UI is much cleaner and otherwise there aren’t many other changes to speak of. The HTC Rhyme is debuting on Verizon in only one color on September 29th for $199.99 on contract, and a silver version is headed overseas in October.

This is so silly of you, HTC.

U.S. Government Aims To Block AT&T’s T-Mobile Acquisition

Stefan Etienne — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:47:37 +0000

The United States government sees the AT&T $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile would “substantially lessen competition” in the U.S. wireless market. The U.S. Justice Department field the complaint on Wednesday, and the government is asking for a declaration that the proposed merger would violate U.S. antitrust laws, effectively blocking the deal. They also wet on to say that “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market”.

AT&T’s main gain from a successful acquisition would be to blanket the United States with T-Mobile’s wide 4G HSPA+ service, and to further coat those signals with 4G LTE service. But at the moment, AT&T’s chances don’t look too bright. Via: Bloomberg