55.5 percent of Android phones now running 2.1 Eclair
Google has said today that 55.5 percent of all Android smartphones are now running 2.1 Eclair.
22.1 percent of Android users are still running 1.6 Donut and 18.9 percent are still using a variant of 1.5 Cupcake.
The numbers are moving quickly, however, as in May in the figures were 37.2 percent for 2.1, 28 percent for 1.6, and a huge 34.1 percent for 1.5.
Although it has not officially released the latest software update, 2.2 Froyo, to any device besides the Nexus One, Google says 3.3 percent of all handsets are running the advanced update, likely meaning a decent portion of Droid, Incredible, EVO 4G and other owners are running rooted devices with Froyo.
Froyo has been promised, officially, for the above mentioned devices, and others like the MyTouch 3G Slide and Samsung Galaxy S by the end of the year.
Steve Jobs is wrong about Blu-ray, says BDA
In 2008, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made headlines when he called Blu-ray “a bag of hurt.”
At the time, Jobs said: “Blu-ray is just a bag of hurt. It’s great to watch the movies, but the licensing of the tech is so complex, we’re waiting till things settle down and Blu-ray takes off in the marketplace.”
Two years later and Blu-ray is mainstream but Jobs is still anti-Blu. Last month he said the following: “Blu-ray is looking more and more like one of the high end audio formats that appeared as the successor to the CD - like it will be beaten by Internet downloadable formats.”
This week, the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association) has responded, saying Jobs is wrong in his assertions that Blu-ray is just for a niche market and that it will soon be replaced by streaming and HD downloads.
Says the BDA: “According to market analysis, Blu-ray has a rate of adoption very similar to that of DVD at the same seniority (18 million U.S. homes with Blu-ray in Q4 ‘10 vs the same numbers as the penetration of DVD in Q1 of the fifth year on the market). We agree that the Internet will increase its importance (for streaming and downloads) but we do believe that physical media like Blu-ray Disc will continue to dominate for many years, due to ease of use, high durability, and certainly the ability to deliver a high definition experience and quality available anywhere.”
Japanese man arrested for sharing TV shows via BitTorrent
Marking a first, an unemployed 31-year old has been arrested in Japan this week for sharing unauthorized TV shows via BitTorrent.
The arrest is the first ever in Japan for torrent use.
Shuichiro Tanaka of Saitama Prefecture was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s cyber crimes division for allegedly uploading and sharing TV shows.
The authorities said that from June 4th to 9th, Tanaka captured the programs using his computer then uploaded them via BitTorrent.
Over the course of the year, Tanaka allegedly uploaded 165 episodes of different shows such as “Waratte Iitomo” and “Genius! Shimura Zoo.”
When asked why he uploaded the shows, Tanaka plainly said: “I did it for people who missed the programs. Because there is a potential for viruses on Winny [another popular Japanese peer-to-peer file sharing program] and others, I used BitTorrent, which I heard police weren’t investigating.”
14 Million Americans don’t have access to broadband says FCC
In their most recent report on the status of broadband internet in the US, the FCC has finally admitted “broadband is not being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.”
Although this is the sixth Broadband Deployment Report to be issued by the agency since 1999, it is the first to reach this conclusion. Previous reports have been widely criticized for both the benchmark by which broadband was defined and the methodology for determining service areas.
For example, in the last report, from 2008, 200kbps downstream (download) speed was still considered broadband. Additionally, a single address capable of broadband service was equated to the entire zip code being served.
In the current report notes, “Our examination of overall Internet traffic patterns reveals that consumers increasingly are using their broadband connections to view high-quality video, and want to be able to do
so while still using basic functions such as email and web browsing.”
In order to more accurately reflect that reality the standard for broadband has been raised to 4Mbps downstream and 1Mbps upstream. Service areas were based on numbers from the National Broadband Plan, published earlier this year.
Using the new metrics resulted in a determination that 14 million Americans live in areas where broadband internet service isn’t offered.
More information on these changes can be found in Chapter 3 of that plan.
National Broadband Plan Chapter 3 Current State of the Broadband Ecosystem
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Google stops online sales of the Nexus One smartphone
Google announced last week that HTC had shipped out the last batch of Nexus One smartphones, and the phone would reach the end of its lifespan once Google sells the remaining stock.
That day has come and Google has stopped selling the devices, effectively ending their “superphone” experiment.
Google had offered the device for $530 unlocked or $180 with contract through T-Mobile.
Would-be buyers visiting the Nexus One online store are now greeted with this message: “Sorry, folks. The Nexus One is no longer available for purchase directly from Google.”
The Nexus One was supposed to “fundamentally change the way phones are sold,” but it never really did. Buyers were not satisfied with the 360 degree virtual tour of the phone, preferring to feel and actually see the device before purchasing it.
Netflix streaming is coming to Canada
Later this year Netflix will be expanding their Watch Instantly streaming video service, making it available to Canadian residents.
In addition to being the first service offered by the home video rental giant outside the US, it will also mark the first time they have offered streaming by itself. To date their streaming video offering has been an add on to their popular rent by mail DVD and Blu-ray service.
That’s not likely to be changing any time soon for US customers. When the plan for streaming outside the US was first mentioned last October, CEO Reed Hastings was clear that it was purely due to the logistical issues of shipping discs internationally.
And selling the exclusively online service to Canadians isn’t a sure winner either. Although Netflix has made some headway in licensing new releases and increasing their selection of recent TV episodes for streaming, such arrangements are still the exception.
Canadians interested in the service can go to www.netflix.ca and sign up for email notification when the service launches.
Sharp to enter crowded e-reader market
Sharp has announced today that they plan to enter the crowded e-reader/e-book market, hoping to take a piece while the market is still in its toddler years.
The company will offer an e-book distribution service by the end of the year, and a reader that will allow users to playback audio and video content.
Sharp has confirmed publisher backing in Japan “and overseas.”
The market has grown crowded over the past 24 months, with the launch of the iPad, Nook and updated Sony and Amazon devices.
Just in the last month, Barnes & Noble and Amazon slashed the prices on their popular devices to under $200.
Earlier in the month, search giant Google announced it was planning on launching an e-book service in Japan, as well.
Lenovo to release ‘LePad’ Android tablet by end of year
Lenovo, the Chinese PC giant has said today that it will release its LePad Android tablet by the end of the year.
Liu Jun, senior vice president and president at Lenovo’s Consumer Business Group, made the comments via an interview and the company later confirmed.
Lenovo’s decision should help the company get a good foothold in the Chinese market, which Apple has not focused on.
Adds Lenovo chairman Liu Chuanzhi: “If Apple were to spend the same effort on the Chinese consumer as we do, (Lenovo) would be in trouble.”
Earlier in the year, Lenovo began selling its own iPhone rival, the “LePhone.”
Apple has no plans for releasing the iPad in mainland China.
Nokia to purchase wireless-network equipment division of Motorola
Nokia Siemens has said this week it will purchase Motorola’s wireless-network equipment division for $1.2 billion in cash.
The company is a joint telecommunications venture between Nokia and Siemens and the division being purchased supplies carriers with equipment needed to build LTE, WiMax and 3G infrastructure.
Nokia says the acquisition will help it improve its position in the United States and Japan, two nations where sales have been low and brand recognition is low as well.
“First and foremost, this deal is about customers,” says Rajeev Suri, CEO of Nokia Siemens. “We expect to gain an incumbent position with many new customers and strengthen our position with others.”
With the acquisition, Suri says Nokia will establish new relationships with China Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and Clearwire.
The deal will close by the end of the year, and Nokia will bring on 7500 Motorola employees.
Microsoft finally confirms Kinect pricing
Although the Microsoft store and many retailers have had the motion control system priced at $150 for some time, the company had refused to confirm the price, officially.
Today, the mystery is no longer a mystery, as Microsoft has confirmed the official price is in fact $150. The system will ship November 4th as leaked, and will come bundled with “Kinect Adventures.”
Additionally, Microsoft has launched a new slim model of the Xbox 360, which will replace the current Xbox 360 Arcade model.
The new system will have 4GB of internal flash memory and matte finish and will launch August 3rd for $200.
As a bundle, you can get the new slim system and Kinect (with ‘Adventures’) for $300.
Kinect games will sell for $50.
