Which new smartphone will be summer's first big hit?

Which new smartphone will be summer's first big hit? Samsung's Galaxy S III, the HTC One X, a new iPhone, or perhaps a sleeper smartphone could wind up being the gadgets we talk about in the months to come. by Eric Mack May 8, 2012 9:00 AM PDT

(Credit: CNET) Summer smartphone season kicks off this month with CTIA in New Orleans, but the big phone makers have already started revealing the touch-screen goodies they hope will become your latest addiction. I sifted through the recently announced devices and a few that we're still expecting to try and picked the ones most likely to be remembered four months from now -- either as a mega-success, or the tech punch line of summer 2012. We already know of three blockbuster phones that will be available before most schools are out this month -- Verizon's Droid Incredible 4G LTE from HTC is official; a quad-core Samsung Galaxy S III has been unveiled in Europe and already booked its summer trip to the States we hear, and HTC's flagship Android phone is also here in the form of the HTC One X. Those are the three leading contenders for sweet summer phone of the year, but there's always room for surprises and surprising sleepers. As always, summer here in North America will get started with Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, leaving room for an early iPhone 5 debut. There could also be some sort of Nexus bonus at Google I/O later in June. Finally, there's the possibility that some of the more quirky concept phones out there might break on through to the mainstream. While the Nokia 808 PureView with its 41-megapixel camera isn't slated to be released in North America, perhaps there's an until-now silent majority of cameraphone fanatics craving hard core specs that will clamor for it. And what about that Asus Padfone we've been hearing about for months that converts into a tablet and then into a laptop with the right docking equipment? Summer's a great time to take a convertible for a spin, after all. Flip through the slideshow below for my quick takes on the early contenders for top phone of the season.

Nokia to offer more mobile apps for Lumia phones

Nokia to offer more mobile apps for Lumia phones PayPal, Angry Birds Space, Box, and Time magazine are behind just some of the apps Nokia has in store for its Lumia Windows Phone users. by Lance Whitney May 8, 2012 9:37 AM PDT

The Windows Phone Marketplace will soon be home to more apps for Lumia phone users. (Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Nokia has cooked up deals with a host of developers to lure more apps to the Windows Phone Marketplace for Lumia smartphone owners. Announced at CTIA Wireless 2012 today, the new partnerships with several leading app developers are aimed at offering more relevant apps for Lumia users. Games are hot on the list, with Angry Birds Space soaring onto Lumia phones. Though no launch date was revealed, Nokia said it's working with Angry Birds creator Rovio to design games specifically for Lumia devices. Electronic Arts is also joining the Windows Phone party, slated to offer such games as FIFA, Madden NFL, NBA Jam, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Mirror's Edge, and Yahtzee. Among entertainment apps, an AOL Entertainment Hub will offer exclusive access to 55,000 radio stations, streaming music, and movie trailers, among other content. Sports fans will soon be able to tap into an ESPN Hub with Live Tile updates of the latest scores and coverage of tennis games, NASCAR racing, and the 2012 Olympics. A Windows Phone version of ESPN Fantasy Football will reach Lumia owners this fall. Late next month, live coverage of the PGA Tour will also find its way onto Lumia phones, providing scores, highlights, and player information. Related stories Hands-on with the HTC Evo V 4G FCC chairman defends decision to squash AT&T/T-Mobile deal Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on Boost Mobile's first 4G phone: The HTC Evo Design 4G HTC Evo Design 4G now available on Boost (photos) A dedicated PayPal app will launch for Windows Phone, letting Lumia owners pay for items on the go. An app from cloud storage site Box will debut this summer, giving Lumia customers mobile access to their online files. And deal site Groupon is upgrading its Windows Phone app to offer users personalized, location-based deals. In the news department, Time and Newsweek's Daily Beast will join the Windows Phone Marketplace with dedicated apps, both taking advantage of the Live Tiles feature to deliver the latest news. With interest and sales hot among Apple and Android devices, Nokia and Microsoft have been working hard to woo more developers to the Windows Phone platform. That investment seems to be paying off. The Windows Phone Marketplace has been growing at a healthy pace. It is currently home to about 80,000 apps, up from just 50,000 at the end of last year. "We are focused on delivering great, locally relevant apps, and importantly, those which offer unique, exclusive and original experiences," Marco Argenti, senior vice president for Nokia Developer Experience, said in a statement. "With Nokia Lumia smartphones now available in 48 markets, developers are rapidly recognizing the business opportunities and creating their best work for our consumers."

Apple wins patent for 4G MacBook connectivity

Apple wins patent for 4G MacBook connectivity The company's patent relates to the way the antenna is housed in the computer, which in this case, is in a cavity behind the bezel. by Don Reisinger May 8, 2012 9:44 AM PDT (Credit: Apple)

A new patent Apple has been awarded seems to hint that the company is considering bringing 4G connectivity to its MacBook line. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published a patent Apple won related to the way in which a 4G antenna is housed in a laptop. The invention describes how a 4G antenna can be hidden in a "conductive cavity" located behind the upper bezel around the computer's screen. Apple argues that the placement of the antenna at the top of the computer can enhance the likelihood of securing a strong signal, though the company did leave it open to placing the antenna in other cavities around the device. Patently Apple was first to report on the patent. Related stories The wait for a Mac with 3G/4G continues Apple wants its 3G MacBook prototype back Apple secures 25 patents, including iMac, iPad Smart Cover Apple wins patent for iTunes Store user interface For years now, rumors have suggested that Apple is at least considering bundling mobile connectivity with its notebook line. Last year, a North Carolina man came across an Apple prototype notebook featuring an antenna that allowed users to connect to 3G networks. Soon after trying to sell it on eBay, Apple demanded its prototype back, prompting some to wonder if mobile connectivity would indeed make its way to its MacBook line. Although the patent might lend some hope to those who believe Apple will launch 4G connectivity in the MacBook, patents are by no means a smoking gun. Major companies like Apple file for a host of patents every year, and in many cases, never end up using the technology they develop. This could very well end up in that bin. Beyond that, Patently Apple found that the iPhone maker secured a host of other patents today, including one related to event processing of Web pages in iOS. Apple also was awarded six design patents related to an iPad keyboard dock, the iPad Nano's display module, and others. Apple declined CNET's request for comment on the patent.

iPhone 4S reaching out to three more regional carriers

iPhone 4S reaching out to three more regional carriers Bluegrass Cellular in Kentucky, Golden State Cellular in California, and Nex-Tech Wireless in Kansas will be getting custody of Apple's flagship phone come May 18. by Lance Whitney May 8, 2012 10:27 AM PDT

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET) Mobile subscribers at three more regional carriers will soon be able to pick up the latest iPhones. Kentucky's Bluegrass Cellular, California's Golden State Cellular, and Kansas' Nex-Tech Wireless are next on the regional list to carry Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. Among the three carriers, Bluegrass Cellular and Nex-Tech Wireless spilled the most beans. Both confirmed on their Web sites that on May 18 each would start offering its customers all three models of the iPhone 4S, and at prices $50 less than those charged by the three nationwide carriers. The 16GB version will sell for $149.99, the 32GB for $249.99, and the 64GB for $349.99, all with the usual two-year contract. Both carriers will also offer the iPhone 4 for $49.99. As futher incentive, Nex-Tech Wireless subscribers will get unlimited data and messaging as part of the package. Bluegrass Cellular users will also receive unlimited messaging but will be restricted to 3GB of data each month. "Bluegrass Cellular is pleased to offer iPhone 4S to our customers throughout the Bluegrass service area nationwide," Bluegrass Cellular president and CEO Ron Smith said in a statement. "We will give iPhone customers unparalleled service as they experience this amazing device and its unique features and applications on our network, wherever they go. Golden State Cellular was mum about the iPhone on its Web site, but the carrier is offering the same models and prices and targeting the same launch date as the other two, according to AppleInsider. All three join five other regional carriers who launched the new iPhone last month. Such carriers typically provide better prices and plans to their local subscribers than what Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint offer their customers.

Limit your participation in Facebook social ads The new generation of Facebook ads allows marketers to tailor their pitches based on your Facebook profile, interests, location, friends, and Web activities. by Dennis O'Reilly May 8, 2012 10:28 AM PDT What makes Facebook worth $100 billion? (Likely somewhat less, as Suzanne Vranica and Shayndi Raice explain in the Wall Street Journal.) Topping the list is the revenue-generating potential of the company's upcoming Premium ads and other new advertising programs. Facebook, Google, and just about every other big-name Web service make their money by selling what they know about you to advertisers and other third parties. The companies claim they don't sell personally identifiable information to third parties, but one way or another, information about their users is the services' bread and butter. The more the companies know about you, the more the advertisers know about you, and the easier it is for the advertisers to get you to do what they want you to do. The Facebook Data Use Policy explains all the company's sources of information about its users. Of course Facebook records what you do on the site, but it also gleans information from the device you use to sign in: We receive data from the computer, mobile phone or other device you use to access Facebook. This may include your IP address, location, the type of browser you use, or the pages you visit. For example, we may get your GPS location so we can tell you if any of your friends are nearby. In some way, shape, or form, what Facebook knows about you is converted into a commodity of value to advertisers. The resulting ads persuade you to take some action, most likely to buy something. A Facebook advertiser is also hoping you'll click the Like button, post a comment, or even better, share the ad with your Facebook friends. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This is capitalism, after all. The only thing missing is awareness among Facebook users of how their personal information -- identifiable or not -- is being used by Facebook's advertisers. People may not know that when they click a Like button, post a comment, or share a link on a company's Facebook page, they may become part of an online ad network. The Facebook Ads settings let you limit your participation in social ads, but it may simply be too soon to opt out entirely. How much do you really need to share about yourself? The Facebook for Business site describes the user information the company shares with advertisers: Think about the profiles (timelines) of the people you want to reach with your ads, and select criteria based on what your audience is interested in, instead of what they might be looking to buy. You can target by: Location, Language, Education, and Work Age, Gender, Birthday, and Relationship Status Likes & Interests: Select Likes & Interests such as "camping," "hiking," or "backpacking" instead of "tents" or "campers" Friends of Connections Connections No Facebook user could be faulted for wanting to restrict how much Facebook and the company's advertisers know about them. The easiest way is to limit the personal information in your profile. Consider that your friends and family already know you pretty well. If you use your Facebook account for work, don't include anything in your profile, timeline, and elsewhere that you wouldn't gladly share with your boss, your boss' boss, your boss' boss' boss, etc. While you can create subgroups within a profile and restrict access to profile data, it's safer to have two separate profiles for work and nonwork. Use the drop-down to choose who can view your Facebook profile data.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) To edit your Facebook profile, click your name to open your profile and click the Edit Profile button in the top right. (Note that your name, profile pictures, networks, user name, and user ID are always public.) Use the drop-down menu to the right of an entry to change who can view the information (public, friends, list, only you), or click Custom for more options (friends of friends, specific people or lists). Run through the profile categories in the left pane and remove or limit access to your personal info. When you're satisfied with what your sharing and with whom, click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the window.

The custom view options for Facebook profile data include friends of friends and specific people.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) Keep in mind that "Only me" actually means "only me and Facebook and anyone Facebook decides to share it with -- in the aggregate, of course (cough, cough)." This may cause you to think twice about including in your profile more personal information than is absolutely necessary. Many, many Facebook users want to share their profile information with the public. They may also want to attract as many Facebook "friends" as they can. Even the most public of Facebook profiles can be kept private to an extent. The simplest way to limit the audience of a status update is by clicking the Friends button on the bottom right of the text box and choosing one of your lists of friends (the menu's options are the same as those shown above for editing profile entries). Facebook's privacy options include a social-ad opt-out Facebook regularly tweaks its privacy settings. At present, the three options shown when you click Home > Privacy Settings are Public, Friends, and Custom. Click Custom to change the default privacy setting for your posts to friends of friends, specific people or lists, or only you. Enter the people you don't want to see your posts by default in the "Hide this from" text box. Finally, click the Save Changes button. Change who sees your Facebook status updates by default via the Custom Privacy Settings dialog. (Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) The "How you connect" settings below the default options let you customize who can look you up by name, e-mail address, or phone number, and who can send you messages and friend requests. The options under Profile and Tagging restrict who can post on your wall, who can view the posts, whether you want to review posts and tags before they appear, and whether you want to activate Facebook's auto-recognition feature for images other people post. Related stories Facebook readying new premium ads? Facebook IPO: the growth wild card Facebook: ads help keep us free Click Edit Settings next to Ads, Apps and Websites. The simplest solution is to choose "Turn off all apps" under "Apps you use." You can also change the information individual apps can access or delete apps one at a time. To prevent your friends from dragging information about you along with them when they use apps, click Edit Settings next to "How people bring your info into apps they use." Uncheck everything and click Save Changes. Make sure instant personalization is disabled unless you want to participate in Facebook's partnership with such sites as Bing, Yelp, Pandora, and Rotten Tomatoes. You can also enable or disable public search. The first of the two options under Ads lets you opt out of a feature that the company hasn't yet enabled: giving third-party applications and ad networks permission to use your image and name in ads. To limit your participation in Facebook's social ads, click "Edit social ads settings" at the bottom of the window. Choose "No one" next to "Pair my social actions with ads for" and click Save Changes.

Opt out of Facebook's social ads by choosing "No one" on the Facebook Ads page. (Credit: Screenshot by Dennis O'Reilly/CNET) If only it were that simple. The era of social ads is just beginning. We don't know what we're opting into or out of. One of Facebook's new ad initiatives is Facebook Offers, which targets local deals, as CNET's Charles Cooper described in a post from last month. Also in the offing are Logged Out ads that play a video ad when you sign out, and Reach Generator, which promises to ensure the advertiser's posts are received by nearly all of the company's Facebook fans. What Facebook will look like this time next year is anybody's guess. Something tells me the ads will be more prominent, one way or another. The logical next step: a paid version with no ads, a music and video service, etc. Either that or people get sick of the ads and choose to socialize elsewhere. Maybe 900 million monthly users isn't the insurmountable lead it appears to be. Then again, any company that has caught the attention of one-eighth of the planet should not be underestimated.

The future of clean tech? Try hacking code

The future of clean tech? Try hacking code The idea of the "cleanweb," or using IT to deal with energy and resource problems, gains ground among entrepreneurs and VCs at weekend hackathon. by Martin LaMonica May 8, 2012 4:00 AM PDT

Hacking to save the planet. The team from Divya Energy does last-minute touches before demoing its app for calculating savings from solar panels. (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) BOSTON--Internet, meet clean tech. A weekend hackathon here showcased the promise -- and limits -- of applying mobile and Internet software development toward efficiency. To advocates, the "cleanweb" will succeed where clean tech fell short. The Cleanweb hackathon, held in a warehouse-turned tech incubator in South Boston, on Sunday afternoon finished up a day and a half of furious coding by about 80 programmers, with some spending the night to finish their demos. The 16 teams presented a very varied set of applications but they have one thing in common: they all seek ways to use natural resources more efficiently and improve consumer convenience. The top prize was $11,000. The winning entry and crowd favorite was a funny video game called Michael Tyson's Punch House, which creates an animated arcade game out of electricity data. A person submits his or her household against a randomly selected home of the same size to compete in real time over which uses less electricity. Rematches are available or the matches can last for longer periods, its creators said. The source of the data was Green Button, a simple voluntary standard created by the Department of Energy and now used by a growing number of utilities for formatting electricity usage history. Second place went to Ride With Me, an app that lets people arrange car-sharing using a Facebook log-in and friend networks. Third place went to Divia Energy, which developed a solar panel energy-savings calculator for its online marketplace to get bids on solar installations. See the full list of "hacks" hosted on Hacker League. Given that ad hoc groups of people created these apps over a weekend, you wouldn't expect venture capitalists to hand over big checks to any of the teams on the spot. But some of the ideas had potential to be more fully developed, particularly those that used Green Button or other public sources of energy data. Utility data has remained largely untouched for decades beyond simply billing customers and cleanweb apps often try to use that data and other sources in new ways. For example, one hack at the Boston hackathon allowed people to quickly compare utilities in markets with competition. Another project called ActiveGreenScore is a social app to track how much users walk and bike versus driving. Making good on clean tech Many of the sponsors for the event were venture capital companies, a reflection of how clean-tech investing has dramatically shifted in the past few years away from expensive, hardware-centric companies. In the wave of green-tech investing that began last decade, many VCs backed solar, biofuel, or electric vehicle startups without always having a clear plan for commercializing their inventions. One of the main challenges with investing in these manufacturing-oriented businesses is the cost to scale up the company after the product has been designed.

The Ride With Me app lets people arrange car-sharing using a Facebook log-in and friend networks. (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) High capital requirements has forced some generalist venture capital firms, which dabbled in green tech, into retreat. Then the failure of solar company Solyndra and the partisan attacks on national, clean-energy policies spooked large institutional investors as well, venture capitalists say. Cleanweb companies are created with the same idea of making energy cleaner and improving the environment as previous clean-tech companies. But instead of taking on difficult materials science or manufacturing challenges, they are focused on specific niches, whether it be renting out an apartment, helping consumers find energy-efficient appliances, or bartering locally grown food. Related stories How to save green tech from crashing VC attention shifts from green tech to Internet Cleanweb hackers get busy with energy data The cleanweb "makes good on clean tech," said Blake Burris, the chief coordinator of Cleanweb Hackathon, which is organizing hackathons in Houston, Paris, Boulder, Colo., and Santa Clara, Calif., in the coming months. Instead of developing yet-another photo-sharing or Foursquare app, people can tackle big societal challenges, such as transportation, using technology from mobile, gaming, and social media, he said. There have been two other cleanweb hackathons in San Francisco and New York. This weekend's hackathon showed a high level of energy and enthusiasm from participants and organizers. With enough clever and creative apps, bridging Internet technologies with clean tech could have a big impact.

Andreessen Horowitz bets $10M on customer loyalty startup Belly

Andreessen Horowitz bets $10M on customer loyalty startup Belly The Chicago startup is going for Groupon-like scale, launching today in New York and Boston. by Paul Sloan May 8, 2012 4:30 AM PDT

The rush to replace paper loyalty cards with app equivalents is on, and one of the hottest in the race -- Chicago-based Belly -- has just won a big nod of support. Venture firm Andreessen Horowitz is investing $10 million in Belly, which the company will use to conquer new markets and keep up its pace of signing on more than 100 local merchants per week. Belly, which is currently available in six cities, today is launching in New York and Boston. The $10 million investment, a series B round, comes with some star power. Andreessen Horowitz partner Jeff Jordan, the former CEO of OpenTable, is joining Belly's board. Jordan knows a thing or two about building a business that requires people on the ground in each market, signing up local businesses one by one. "The Net has unleashed unprecedented price transparency across both online and offline worlds," Jordan writes in a blog post about his firm's investment in Belly. "...Merchants are desperate to find ways to compete outside of direct price competition." In his post, Jordan talks about the "Seinfeld" episode in which Gorge's wallet is exploding with loyalty cards from businesses throughout Manhattan -- an image that should soon seem outdated. George's fat wallet is the problem that Belly -- and rivals like Stampt and Offermatic, among others -- are trying to solve. Part of Belly's earlier $2.87 million in funding came from the guys at Lightbank who backed Groupon, a company that also knows how to create super-charged growth. Belly founder and CEO Logan LaHive takes issue with any comparison to Groupon, which, incidentally, also won funding from Andreessen Horowitz. He says his team is not about creating a "one-time blitz" deal for a merchant, but instead works with each business to design a loyalty program that matches its culture. The aim is to create a stronger relationship between the a small- or medium-sized business and its customers. "Our core focus is driving customers back to the store," said LaHive. As a result, these are not your standard "Buy 10, get 1 free" offers. LaHive likes to point to the offer at AlleyCat Comics in Chicago, where, after 50 purchases, you can punch the proprietor in the gut. There's a Ben & Jerry's shop in Washington, D.C., at which 200 visits earns you an ice cream date with Jerry himself. And after logging 75,000 points (or 15,000 visits) at Bagelsmith in New York, you get to arm wrestle the owner for a percentage of the business. Jordan highlighted some of the reasons Andreessen Horowitz is betting on Belly: The team has signed up more than 1,4000 merchants and 200,000 consumers since launching in last August. The product is elegant and uses emerging trends; every merchant gets an iPad that customers see at the register and can check-in on. Andreessen Horowitz believes a large, connected network of merchants and consumers will lead to opportunities beyond loyalty programs. Other markets Belly is already available in include: Chicago, Austin, Milwaukee, Madison, Wis., and Phoenix, Ariz.