Microsoft planning 'next release' of Windows Phone for this holiday season

A new job listing over at Microsoft has revealed when the outfit is planning to serve up the next iteration of its smartphone OS. According to the post, work on the current version is being finished up and they're "getting ready for our next release targeting the holiday of this year." Presumably, the update will be part of the wider Blue umbrella of tweaks for Windows. Though a vague "next release" doesn't offer any details in terms of features, it's likely the OS will carry a significant set of changes as the team in need of a developer is responsible for the Start screen experience, the shell, first party apps and more.

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Via: WMPoweruser

Source: Microsoft

[From Microsoft planning 'next release' of Windows Phone for this holiday season]

ASUS Padfone 2 launching in the UK on March 1

Way back in October last year we first heard word that ASUS planned to bring the Padfone 2 to the UK in early 2013. It's now early 2013 and true to their word ASUS is indeed bringing the Padfone 2 to the UK on March 1 for £599.

For some it may seem an anti-climax given the recent unveiling of the Padfone Infinity at MWC. But, the Padfone 2 is still an impressive device packing a Snapdragon S4 Pro, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera and a HD Super IPS+ display. It isn't quite the powerhouse the new Padfone Infinity is, but the hardware specs are still impressive. And of course, the Padfone 2 will be around £200 cheaper than the Infinity.

Both white and black versions will be available, and several big name retailers will be picking it up including Amazon and Carphone Warehouse. The full press release can be found after the break.

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[From ASUS Padfone 2 launching in the UK on March 1]

Caterpillar CAT B15 smartphone offers a taste of rugged Jelly Bean

We've seen our fair share of rugged smartphones, but there's a certain amount of attention due when a heavy equipment builder like Caterpillar gets involved. Its newest smartphone, the CAT B15, undoubtedly has the survivability you'd expect from a company that makes bulldozers: the aluminum-and-rubber shell can survive 5.9-foot drops on to hard concrete, stay immersed in 3.3 feet of water for half an hour and keep working in temperatures between -4F to 122F. Just don't expect top-flight performance elsewhere. While we're big fans of the CAT B15 shipping with Jelly Bean, its 4-inch WVGA screen, dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 chip, 512MB of RAM and 5-megapixel camera won't have many of us giving up our faster, more fragile devices. The phone's £299 and €329 European prices (about $437) could still lead to the more accident-prone among us picking up a CAT B15 when it ships in March.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: T3

[From Caterpillar CAT B15 smartphone offers a taste of rugged Jelly Bean]

General Dynamics locks down Android, demos ultra-secure LG Optimus 3D Max

General Dynamics doesn't exactly make the sexiest gear in the world. But, it sure has this secure gadget thing on lockdown. The NSA contractor is moving to ensure that Android is as snoop proof as can be with its new GD Protected software. The heart of the system is a sandboxed virtual instance of Android that delivers the sort of security features demanded by governments and the military (and some particularly paranoid businesses). That isolated OS runs alongside a standard Android install that you can use for personal purposes, while keeping your sensitive data on the secure side -- not unlike BlackBerry Balance. There's two layers of encryption separating the virtual install from the standard one, along with hardware security provided by Fixmo. The company has worked with LG, the DoD and the USMC to build a customized version of the Optimus 3D Max to showcase how the software works. The device even has a dedicated button that lets you quickly and seamlessly switch between the personal and secure personas, indicated by green and red borders, respectively. If you're not really keen on equipping your foot soldiers with last year's mediocre LG handset (and have no need for super secure stereoscopic snapshots) then you'll probably be happy to hear that General Dynamics will be bringing GD Protected to the Galaxy S III as well. The platform has been integrated into Samsung's own security solution, dubbed KNOX, and will be available sometime in Q2 of this year. For a few more details, check out the video demo and PR after the break.

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[From General Dynamics locks down Android, demos ultra-secure LG Optimus 3D Max]

Google Now widget now live in latest Search update

Well that didn’t take too long. A day after spotting a Google Now widget in a support page, the Big G has updated its Search application that includes the new widget and a few new features.

Alone with the new Google Now widget, the updated Search application now includes the following for Android 4.1+ users

-Google Now widget for home screen or lock screen

- Movie passes from Fandango

- Movies now includes ratings from Rotten Tomatoes

- Real estate listings from Zillow when in the market for a home

- Music button when a song is playing in voice mode (US only)

- Support for US college sports

Nothing groundbreaking here, but things like Rotten Tomatoes rating when searching for a movie in Google now is pretty helpful, and the addition of US college sports should make a lot of people happy.

Google Now is a pretty awesome service, and it just got better! Head over to the Google Play Store and update now!

What’s you’re favorite feature? Sound off in the comments below!

[Via: AndroidCentral]

Google Now widget now live in latest Search update originally appeared on IntoMobile.com on 2013-02-13T20:55:15Z. FV1gMYsz9b5j

[From Google Now widget now live in latest Search update]

How a social media news stream turns the sealed-off World Economic Forum into a virtual event

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Igor Schwarzmann, co-founder of Third Wave, a Berlin based business consultancy for the digital world, and Adrian Rosenthal, Head of Digital and Social Media for MSL Group Germany, the PR network of Publicis Groupe.

Not too long ago, the World Economic Forum (WEF) was a rather secretive event in the snowy mountains of Davos, Switzerland, for the global elites, where heads of states mingled with industry leaders, thought-leading academics and influential journalists behind closed doors. Unfiltered impressions were as scarce as Dutch cheese in the Swiss Alps. What we

knew about Davos was transported to us via classical media outlets.

Davos in January is certainly still a sealed-off “miniature society,” where Merkel meets Cameron (almost 40 heads of state were invited), where Sean Parker throws parties attended by the likes of Marissa Mayer, Jeff Jarvis and Jimmy Wales, and where Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho entertains his readers – via his Twitter stream.

While the WEF thus certainly remains an elitist gathering – you have to be invited by a member of the WEF to become an official participant, and Facebook competitions to win attendance have unfortunately not been conducted to our knowledge – the formerly closed doors have been opened a bit, thanks to social media.

How the WEF has digitalized Davos

The WEF has declared this

year’s meeting to be the most digital to date. With the help of some of its partners, the WEF opened up a variety of channels to follow the event, sharing info graphics to their almost 130,000 fans on Facebook and Google+ (more than 1.7 million followers) or using the Forum Blog and guest authors like WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg to drive traffic to their sites and start conversations. Key sessions and press conferences were also live streamed on multi

ple channels and then put on YouTube.

The key element of the Forum’s social media activities, however, was clearly Twitter. The communications team handled the WEF’s Twitter feed, and with more than 1.8 million followers tweeting live from over 40 sessions and producing a constant stream of news, the hashtag #wef got into the global trending topics for the first time. According to numbers provided to us from the Forum, the official hashtag generated around 170,000 mentions during the Annual Meeting 2013, which resulted in almost 2 billion potential Twitter impressions. With weflive.com, WEF partner KPMG also built a hub collecting delegates’ tweets and featuring live infographics.

The turn towards a more digital Davos has also been sped up by the attendees themselves. “Davos 2013 has been the most transparent and inclusive annual meeting in the history of the Forum. And frankly, we would be mad not to tap into the potential of global leaders in technology, ICT innovation and startup culture or our own “technology pioneer” community to develop that even further,” says WEF communications specialist Georg Schmitt. As digital topics and questions about the future of the Internet have entered the agenda of the WEF, a different, younger and more tech-savvy breed of participants has become an integral part of the now always-on conversation at Davos.

The youngest participant was certainly a true digital native: 12-year-old Khadija Niazi of Lahore, Pakistan talked about how she uses MOOCs (massive open online courses) offered by institutions like Stanford University, the alma mater of Silicon Valley, to learn about topics such as astrobiology. Not that CEOs, politicians and academics haven’t adopted social media: Almost 30 percent of the 2,500 participants were active on Twitter and produced more than 20,000 tweets with the #wef hashtag. And while women accounted only for 17 percent of the delegates, they were responsible for more than a third of the social media activity at the WEF.

2013 saw first attempts to let users participate directly in the Annual Meeting via questions on the Facebook page or Twitter chats, which is something the WEF social media team wants to encourage: “The idea of public goods is often discussed in Davos, and we’ve tried to match up to that digitally - on lifestream, on video, in blog posts, and in status updates. The ‘Digital Davos’ user experience still has some way to go, but we hope this year it gave a sense of the meeting to everyone who couldn’t be present, and an opportunity for them to contribute to or critique the discussions,” concludes Adrian Monck, who heads the communications team of the WEF.

While the extensive Twitter stream from Davos has certainly been the key platform both for participants and observers worldwide to engage and interact, it will be interesting to see how Adrian Monck and his team will further develop the social media activities and thus deepen the modes of participation at WEF meetings. But we might not have to wait one more year to see how digital topics will shape and evolve the agenda, according to Schmitt: “In June, the Forum’s Middle East summit will take place in Jordan. Two years after the Arab spring, social media and the blogosphere in particular are an essential space for the Forum if we want to live up to the idea of a multi-stakeholder platform in that region.”

Source [Via TNW]

Social dating service Badoo launches an iPad app for its 172 million users

London-based social network Badoo has finally released its iPad app, adding tablets to its list of devices that the service can be accessed on. In doing so, the company says that it helps move it closer towards its goal of connecting “people around the world for flirting, dating and making new friends.”

Badoo says that it created the iPad app because it has become an important part of people’s lives. For many, the tablet device has practically been a part of every day life. It’s with you when you’re watching TV, reading a book, sitting at work, or even lying in bed. It’s because of this behavior that Badoo believes an iPad version is optimal for its service — now users can “keep up with their social life” on a much bigger screen anywhere they are.

The social network’s iPad app comes with several features specific to the device, including twin-panel layouts to make it easier to browse through profiles and engage other users. Additionally, it has a notification feature and standard aesthetics that users are accustomed to across other devices. Finally, as the service has users in 180 countries, it has undergone extensive translations and localizations to cater to everyone.

Badoo has more than 172 million members signed up from all around the world. It positions itself as a global service which makes it important that the service is available on a range of devices to suit various audiences. The iPad is hugely popular worldwide and, as we explained above, many users will prefer the opportunity to use the service on the larger screened device. Badoo is also available for the iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone, alongside its website

[VIA TNW]

iPhone and Mac Gmail app, Sparrow, acquired by Google

Sparrow, the elegant, delightful Gmail -- and general mail -- created for the Mac and brought over to the iPhone, has announced they've been acquired by Google. Sparrow CEO Dom Leca announced the deal on the Sparrow blog, saying in part:

Now we're joining the Gmail team to accomplish a bigger vision — one that we think we can better achieve with Google.

And in a more personal email sent out to users:

We will continue to make available our existing products, and we will provide support and critical updates to our users. However, as we’ll be busy with new projects at Google, we do not plan to release new features for the Sparrow apps.

That last part is the kicker from a user perspective, and immediately brings a few thoughts to mind:

1. Congratulations to Dom and the whole team at Sparrow. They made a great product and it got the biggest attention in the business.



2. Once again, a small team of indie developers coded circles around a big company, and just like Instagram and Facebook, and Tweetie and Twitter, the big company was smart enough to notice and pounce on it.



3. While it's still too early to tell about Instagram, Twitter absolutely destroyed any and all value Tweetie had, completely replacing the iPhone app, and leaving the iPad and Mac apps to languish as abandonware.



4. If Google were smart, they'd keep Sparrow as wholly-owned, in-house competitor to the lackluster Gmail for iPhone app, and rather than allowing it to fall into a slow, maintenance-mode driven death (which is sounds like it's doing), they'd keep it vibrant and in active development. They'd let Sparrow be Sparrow.



5. Sadly, given Google's abysmal track record with everything from Twitter-competitor Jaiku to the apps spun out of the Slide acquisition, it's probably better this way -- users get quick if brutal closure rather than false hope and drawn out disappointment.

Congrats again to Sparrow, and farewell!

Source: Sparrow blog

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[From iPhone and Mac Gmail app, Sparrow, acquired by Google]