Rather than allow a potential bidding war to drive up the price, or having both parties walk away leaving Kodak without a way to secure needed financing, Apple and Google are said to have opted to team up on a joint, over-$500 million bid for 1,100 Kodak digital imaging patents. The consortium, which also includes several other companies (most notably Microsoft, though HTC and Samsung are rumored to be in as well), may accomplish multiple goals: helping Kodak, keeping the costs down, and (perhaps) heading off future litigation.
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Pandora, the leading internet radio service in the U.S., is now fully live in Australia and New Zealand. Following a web browser-only soft launch, the personalized radio service can now be accessed in full with smartphone apps for iOS and Android devices, in addition to the Web-based player.
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Yet another analyst firm has made its Apple prognostications for calendar year 2013. Investment firm Jefferies guessed that Apple is going to launch its highly anticipated television set in fall of 2013, bolstered by an "iPhone 5S" in June or July. The firm also believes a fifth-generation iPad will be be released in June with an IGZO screen.
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2 hours ago | Posted in: security
Hacking collective GhostShell has released 1.6 million accounts and records claimed to be from various company and governmental agency systems. A total of 37 different organizations are said to have been attacked by the group, with the resulting data being released as raw data dumps on paste sites such as Pastebin and PasteSite.
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The US Federal Trade Commission has continued its campaign against the collection and use of children's personal data. A report, released today, titled "Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade" takes Google and Apple to task for hosted applications failing to "provide any information about the data collected through the app, let alone the type of data collected, the purpose of the collection, and who would obtain access to the data."
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4 hours ago | Posted in: industry, Apple
Apple has filed for a trademark on the leaf in its logo, The Register says. The submission was made to the European Trademark Registry on December 3rd, using lawyers from a London firm called Edwards Wildman. If granted, the trademark would cover 10 different categories of products, ranging from things like computers and educational products to jewellery and shoes.
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Google announced a partnership today that will see the search giant working with DonorsChoose.org to provide Chromebooks at a special, discounted rate for teachers in budget-strapped classrooms. Under the new program, Google and DonorsChoose.org will be providing the Samsung Series 5 Chromebook for $99. That cost will include hardware, management, and support.
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Huawei intends to spend 70 million euro ($93 million) on a new research and development facility in Finland. The new location in Helsinki, Finland's capital city, is roughly 13 miles away from Nokia's headquarters in Espoo, will initially employ 30 staff and will swell to 100 over a five year period, and will bring the company's global R&D staff to over 70,000.
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Next month's Consumer Electronics Show may see the introduction of a new entry in Samsung's Galaxy line of Android-powered devices. That seems to be the takeaway from a new teaser video released by Samsung on Sunday, which doesn't give away much in the way of details, but definitely points to CES 2013 and contains imagery suggestive of a new Galaxy device. The video (shown below) promises viewers that "something new" will be revealed beginning January 8 through January 11 next year, the same dates for which the Consumer Electronics Show is scheduled.
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Apple may be moving to TSMC for processor production "earlier than expected," according to analysts with Credit Suisse. Quoting checks with equipment suppliers and other firms in Japan, China, and Taiwan, the analysts suggest that Apple could make the jump to a 28nm TSMC process as soon as the second quarter of 2013. Credit Suisse says that until now, it had only expected Apple to start placing orders with TSMC in late 2013 or early 2014.
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Research in Motion has updated BlackBerry Messenger to include free Wi-Fi calling between BBM users. BBM 7.0 with BBM Voice allows its users to make calls without using the cell network, such as in signal blackspots, and also lets users still send messages to one another while in the middle of the call, as well as other updates to the app.
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10 hours ago | Posted in: gadgets
Amazon is running a one-day sale on the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD, with customers able to save $50 on the new device. Customers can take advantage of the deal by going to Amazon.com and entering the promotional code FIREHD89 at checkout. The deal covers both the Wi-Fi only and 4G models of the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire.
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LG's Optimus L-Series smartphones have surpassed the 10 million unit sales mark, the South Korean manufacturer announced today. The sales figure marks what LG calls a "modest" milestone for it and its mobile devices business. The company attributes the overall success of the line to the distinct design features of the Optimus L-Series, which it says eschews the "me too" styling of some of its competitors.
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10 hours ago | Posted in: industry
Google's makeover and restructuring of the assets it acquired when purchasing Motorola Mobility continues apace, with the search giant reportedly considering offers from two firms to purchase Motorola Home Business, which sells set-top boxes and equipment to cable providers. According to sources close to the negotiations, Google is looking to get about $2 billion for the unit, which it is selling in order to narrow Motorola's focus toward higher-end smartphones, but the deal has been complicated due to Google's desire to retain equity and the unit's patents. Meanwhile, Motorola's South Korean offices are said to be closing next year, with the company shedding about 540 jobs.
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11 hours ago | Posted in: iPhone, iPad
(Updated with news of Apple fix) Police in Victoria, Australia have issued a bulletin warning people about an error in iOS 6 Maps which is leaving people stranded. The bulletin notes that during the past few weeks, rescue operations have been needed for a number of people using iOS 6 to drive to the city of Mildura. The firmware is instead leading people into a part of Murray-Sunset National Park over 40 miles away.
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Gaming peripherals manufacturer Roccat has started shipping its ISKU FX gaming keyboard. All keys on the keyboard are backlit, with 16.8 million hues of colored light to choose from, as well as automatic color-changing to match the action while playing a game, for example flashing red when attacked by an enemy. Online tank-based wargame World of Tanks has been announced as compatible with the lighting system, which keeps both the keyboard and Roccat's line of lit mice in sync with the game's visuals.
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