WIn5t0n - Slashdot User

Submission + - Is Amazon's $499 LTE Kindle Fire A Mistake? (theverge.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Thursday September 06, 2012 @07:11PM

WIn5t0n writes: At its press conference in a Santa Monica hanger today, the massive web dealer Amazon unveiled a slew of new products, which ranged from a simple $69 dollar E-Reader to a $499 tablet. However, simple upgrades to its Kindle E-Ink E-reader line were not what had techies excited for the conference, as many had come out to the event in hopes of seeing a new Kindle Fire, or even a Kindle Smartphone. Those hoping for a phone were out of luck this time, but Amazon did have some interesting upgrades to its massively popular "Kindle Fire" tablet. The orignal Kindle Fire, which was praised for occupying 14% of the tablet market (the iPad still far ahead at 57%), featured a 7in touch display, dual core processor, and was WiFi Exclusive. Though these specs aren't anything to sneer at, the tablet was still considered underpowered and less useful than the iPad. Amazon, responding to these claims, issued major upgrades to the tablet today. The next gen tablet, dubbed the "Kinde Fire HD" features a 8.9in (254ppi) display, a front-facing HD camera, HDMI output, as well as bluetooth and an upgraded touch sensor. Under the hood, it's running on a TI OMAP 4470 processor, which claims to outpace nVidia's Tegra 3. However, one of the biggest upgrades to the tablet was the ability to add 4G LTE connectivity, providing you are willing to shell out a little extra cash and $49.99 per year. Those who want a Kindle Fire HD without 4G connectivity, WiFi Only, aren't going to have to dig to deep in their pockets, as the tablet is only $299. However, anyone who is planning on using their tablet outside of a Wifi hotspot will not only have to shell out another $200 ($499 total), but will also have to agree to a $49.99 per year contract if they want to keep connectivity. On the outside this sounds like a great deal, only $49.99 a year for LTE connectivity (the cheapest data plan AT&T offers is $15 per month), however it is in the fine print that you see the downfall of this offer. Though you are only paying 50 bucks for a year of LTE, your data usage is caped at 250mb a month, surprisingly little for the amount of data LTE uses. Those wanting to use their device and its full capabilities on the road may find it hard to due so within such a tight data constraint, and currently there are no plans to allow customers pay extra to get a little more data-per-month. Those who plan on using their tablet heavily may be forced to turn to the iPad, which offers tiered data packages and has the same $499 starting price, leaving Amazon's tablet out of a crucial market. With tablets replacing computers and phones all around us, does Amazon's 250mb per month data limit make the Kindle Fire HD a viable replacement for your current tablet, or a smart choice for your first?

Submission + - Twitter Mobile Ads Now More Profitable Than Facebook's (cnn.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Thursday September 06, 2012 @01:12PM

WIn5t0n writes: Facebook, which has had trouble in the past when it comes to mobile ad intergration, is facing even greater problem advertising problems now that Twitter, the lowly social network that has less than half the amount of active users as Facebook, is outpacing its US mobile ad revenues by more than 30 million dollars. With more and more people accessing social networks on their mobile devices, the mobile ad industry is due to skyrocket in the next few years. Facebook is already integrating new advertising features with its newly updated mobile app, which now features "Sponsored Stories" from advertisers in the users newsfeed. However, Facebook will still have make some major modifications to its mobile advertising strategy if it wishes to keep its revenue stream, and with its stock falling the pressure is on to make those changes fast. An interesting fact; Google still leads the US mobile advertising markets, raking in over 50 percent of all mobile ad revenue.

Comment Re:So (Score 1) 105

by WIn5t0n on Thursday September 06, 2012 @12:28PM (#41249481) Attached to: AT&T Promises To Expand LTE To More US Markets

Any chance they'll raise the data caps high enough to make LTE actually useful?

A water pipe that can fill a football stadium in 1 minute flat does no good if it will only dispense half a glass of water a month.

Currently AT&T has no plans to increase data caps for those using their 4G network. 3rd Gen iPad users have been running into this problem al lot.

Submission + - AT&T Promises To Expand LTE To More US Markets (theverge.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Thursday September 06, 2012 @10:54AM

WIn5t0n writes: Even though AT&T has now promoted itself to the "Largest 4G Network" (HSPA+), it is still lagging far behind in advancing its LTE Coverage. AT&T's largest competitor, Verizon, has turned up the heat on the company now that it claims to cover 75 percent of US population with LTE, while AT&T's network only fully covers a few cities. However, AT&T has recognized consumer unrest and has planned to expand its 4G LTE coverage into "48 new markets" by the end of the year. With the iPhone 5 (rumored to have LTE capabilities) likely to be in consumers hands by the end of this month, AT&T is now feeling the pressure to make sure its customers can take full advantage of their new phones on a faster network. The company's full rollout of 4G LTE coverage is not scheduled to be complete until at least 2013.

Submission + - Will Google Eventually Be Regulated (kernelmag.com)

Submitted by SquarePixel on Thursday September 06, 2012 @10:29AM

SquarePixel writes: Kernel magazine has an interesting article about Google and its misbehaviors along the years. It also suggests that Google can't continue this for long, but will be indeed regulated in near future. "Google reminds me of Adam, the cute, 100-foot-tall toddler in the 1992 Rick Moranis film, Honey I Blew Up the Kid. In case you missed it, Adam keeps stumbling over buildings, mistakes real cars for toys, and ultimately threatens the existence of Las Vegas". From Street View Wi-Fi snooping to illegal pharma advertising and privacy violations, Google keeps finding innovative new ways to get itself in trouble several times a year. "No private, unregulated company should have the kind of power Google has amassed. To leave power of this magnitude in the hands of corporate executives or, worse yet, inscrutable automated bots – no matter how benign, well-meaning and snoogly-googly they claim to be – is imprudent, if not insane."

Submission + - Amazon To Release Kindle Smartphone (cnn.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Thursday September 06, 2012 @10:28AM

WIn5t0n writes: With Amazon on the verge of announcing new kindle products at 1:30 ET (10:30PT) today from a hanger in Santa Monica, sources now say that the company is not only releasing a updated Kindle Fire (its popular tablet), but is also going to announce its entry into the cellphone market by unveiling a Kindle Smartphone. The phone, which will run on a modified version of the Kindle Fire OS or Android 4.0, is rumored to be using Nokia Maps and secondary software. However experts believe that the phone is still far away from being finished, and consumers will likely have to wait at least a month after its announcement to get their hands on one.

Comment More Information Regarding new ID system (Score 2) 104

by WIn5t0n on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @08:04PM (#41241577) Attached to: Apple Denies FBI Had Access To UDIDs

Sorry guys, this should have been in the original post but somehow (whether by my revisions or another's) it was left out. First of all the Apple representative has been identified as Natalie Kerris. Kerris, while discussing Apple's removal of the UDID, says this, "Additionally, with iOS 6, we introduced a new set of A.P.I.’s meant to replace the use of the U.D.I.D. and will soon be banning the use of U.D.I.D.” . So currently all devices are still operating with UDID's, and will continue too do so until the entire program is removed once the GM of iOS 6 is approved and released, probably around early October

Submission + - Spacecraft Departs Giant Asteroid En Route to Dwarf Planet (nasa.gov)

Submitted by

sighted

on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @07:51PM

sighted writes: "Today the robotic spacecraft Dawn, powered by its ion engines, left orbit around the giant asteroid Vesta and began its journey to the dwarf planet Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt. The event happened to take place on the 35th anniversary of the launch of the Voyager 2 mission to the outer planets."

Submission + - Kindle Fire 2 doomed from the start? (cnn.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @07:24PM

WIn5t0n writes: With less then 24 hours until its predicted announcement, the Kindle Fire 2 is already causing much media hype. After announcing just last week that all Kindle Fires were sold out permanently, Amazon, the company behind the successful line of Kindle e-readers, went on to announce a Kindle themed press conference scheduled for tomorrow 9/8. Rumors surronding the conference state that it will be the platform for the announcement of the next version of the Kindle Fire, Amazon's popular tablet, whose successor is presumed to be named the "Kindle Fire 2" The current generation Kindle Fire has been praised for its success against the industry hogging iPad, holding an estimated 14 percent of the market (2011), the most of any of Apple's competitors. (it should be noted that the iPad is still far in the lead at 57 percent of the tablet market). Though the Kindle's lower price point ($199 vs the iPad's $499) has kept it afloat, rumors of the announcement of a cheaper, smaller iPad Mini (slated for release in October) could hurt the "Kindle Fire 2"'s sales. Presuming Apple cuts the price of the iPad Mini to $249 (a mere $50 more than the Kindle), Amazon may start to find it hard to generate excitement over a tablet that is generally considered to be less powerful and not as hi-tech as Apple's. As cross-company products begin to get more and more similar it will be interesting to see how price point effects sales. Will the Kindle's reputation for being a decent, affordable tablet allow it to stay afloat? Or will a newly redesigned iPad Mini convince consumers to shell out an extra $50 for a little more oomph and aesthetics?

Submission + - Apple denies FBI had access to UDID's (cnn.com) 2

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @03:46PM

WIn5t0n writes: Just a day after the alleged leak of 12million Apple UDID's, both Apple and FBI have denied the story that Anonymous, a global hacking community, gained access to the files by hacking into an FBI laptop through a Java vulnerability. Earlier this morning the FBI claimed that, even though the agent cited in Anonymous's story is an actual FBI operative, neither he nor anyone else in the agency has or has had access to Apple device information. This afternoon Apple followed up on the FBI's statement, with an unidentified Apple representative claiming that, " The FBI has not requested this information from Apple, nor have we provided it to the FBI or any organization. Those willing to check if their device has been compromised can visit this link. , and follow the instructions in the document. It should also be noted that while the hackers claim to have accessed 12 million UDID's, only 1 million were publicly released. The Apple representative who made the previous statements also said that, "Apple has replaced the types of identifiers the hackers appear to have gotten and will be discontinuing their use" (CNN). Even though neither Anonymous nor the FBI/APPLE will admit where the data actually came from, it does appear that at least some of the leaked UDID's are legit and can be tied back to current, privately owned devices. So far no information besides the devices UDID, DevToken ID, and device name has been released, however the original hackers claimed that some devices were tied to details as exact as phone numbers and billing addresses.

Submission + - iPhone 5 Announced, Rumors Correct for 9/12/12 Conference (cnn.com)

Submitted by WIn5t0n on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @09:47AM

WIn5t0n writes: The rumors regarding Apple's latest release of the iPhone were once again true. Early this morning major news networks and press received a subtle email from the company which simply said, "It's almost here". The bulk of the email was taken over by a giant "12" in Apple's traditional stark black lettering, and upon closer examination it was easy to see that the 12's shadow formed the shape of a 5. Though rumors from earlier this summer toyed with the idea of the newest version of Apple's smartphone being simply named "The New iPhone" (following in style if the iPad 3), it now appears that Apple has ditched that and gone ahead to call the new iPhone the iPhone 5. No more information has surfaced regarding the popular speculations that the device will have a larger screen, faster processer, NFC technology, and a smaller dock connector (8 or 15 pin).

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