Dell officially says goodbye to smartphones

Dell is quitting the smartphone business more or less for good, according to a report Thursday from Forbes.

Jeff Clarke, Dell's vice chairman and president of Global Operations and End User Computing Solutions, dropped the news Wednesday at the Dell World conference.

China became Dell's lone remaining smartphone market earlier this year when the Round Rock, Texas company stopped selling its smartphones in the U.S.

Now even China will have to live without Dell smartphones, and Clarke reportedly said Dell won't re-enter the smartphone market any time soon.

Building a business on Android

Dell smartphones are a thing of the past, partly because "it needs a lot of investments to really be successful," Clarke said.

The Android business, according to Clarke, is a "content play," meaning it's more about what you can sell on top of smartphone hardware than the hardware itself.

"Amazon is selling books and Google is making it up with search," he said. "So far we couldn't find a way to build a business on Android."

Hello, Windows tablets

Dell is reportedly in the fifth year of a transformation phase, with aims for now to focus on Windows tablets and laptop/tablet hybrids like the XPS 10, XPS 12 and Latitude 10.

These latest Dell devices all run Windows 8 or Windows RT.

But Clarke wouldn't leave it at that, perhaps ensuring his own words wouldn't come back to haunt him - "It doesn't mean we're not looking at Android."

"You should come and see what's in our labs," he added.

If Forbes doesn't take you up on that offer, Mr. Clarke, we'll be waiting by the phone.

Via Forbes

Samsung Galaxy S4 won't have flexible, unbreakable display after all

It's one of the less surprising rumours, but according to the latest reports the Samsung Galaxy S4 won't be sporting a flexible display after all.

There have been suggestions that the Galaxy S4 would be one of the first handsets to pack Samsung's bendy screen technology, making it almost unbreakable – but it looks like we'll have to wait a little longer for that particular technological treat.

According to an unnamed Verge source "flexible screens are still a while off", adding that no Samsung Galaxy S device will sport the new display in 2013.

No go for CES

We already assumed that the Samsung Galaxy S4 was unlikely to make an appearance at CES 2013, and the aforementioned source also said that it won't be unveiled at the Las Vegas based show.

It's also unlikely that Samsung will announce the S4 at MWC in February, with April looking the best bet at this moment in time.

So if you've read this far down the story and have a modicum of knowledge of how this industry works you'll have learned pretty much nothing in this story: sorry.

Little is known about Samsung's next generation flagship device, but rumours seem to point towards a 5-inch full HD display, more powerful quad-core processor and a higher-res camera.

From The Verge

BBC supercharges iPlayer quality for Android

Good ol' Beeb: just in time for Christmas it's made video streaming on your Google phone and tablet that much better.

The new update to the platform is designed to make sure those receiving Android devices from Santa won't be short changed in the experience of watching Strictly Come Dancing.

The first phase of the plan (which will come 'before Christmas') will see the stream optimised over Wi-Fi to provide smoother and higher quality streaming on Android devices.

After that the BBC has promised a two-tier approach to Android to deal with the issue of fragmented devices, meaning lower quality video streaming for the less powerful handsets but high quality video (matching that on iOS) for the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S3 and Google Nexus 7, which are capable of rendering the improved video.

Finally ready for the Jelly

The BBC is also promising support for Android Jelly Bean 4.2 before Christmas as well, meaning those new Nexus devices will be able to show Doctor Who when you've passed out and missed it on Christmas day.

In 2013 the Beeb is pledging to manage network quality better as well, allowing for improved quality when streaming over 3G, 4G and Wi-Fi, enabling it to 'bring parity' properly between iOS and Android.

It points to the stability of the range of iOS devices as the reason for the focus on Apple's products first, but has now pledged to invest more to make sure future updates will come to iOS and Android at the same pace.

Sadly, there's no news on being able to download BBC programming to your Android device, something that's been around on the iPad for a while now, but fingers crossed the security concerns surrounding that get addressed in early 2013.

From the BBC Blog

Microsoft adds SD card app installs plus other web store perks

Microsoft updated the Windows Phone store on Thursday to allow users to install Windows Phone 8 apps from an SD card, among other new and improved features.

The Windows Phone store update came on the heels of the first update to the Windows Phone 8 OS, called Portico, which improved the HTC Windows Phone 8X's SMS capabilities.

The latest Phone web store update also added easier app reinstallation, improving the functionality already available in the store's "My Phone" section.

In addition, the Windows Phone web store is now available in 37 more countries, bringing the total number up to 112 countries worldwide (the Windows Phone Store - the one you access on your device itself - is available in 191 countries).

New freedoms and old limitations

Windows Phone 8 users whose devices support SD cards will now find it easy to install apps even when Wi-Fi and data connections aren't available.

Apps can be downloaded to a computer from the Windows Phone web store (using the new "download and install manually" option at the top of an app's details page), then copied over to an SD card and installed to a Windows Phone 8 device manually.

Unfortunately, those apps can't be run from the SD card, only stored there and installed directly to the phone; those with storage space issues won't find a solution here.

Luckily, thanks to the changes Microsoft made to the "My Phone" section of the web store, users' purchase histories now include a "reinstall" button next to each downloaded app, making it easier to delete apps when you need the space and reinstall them later.

Universal search and more

In addition to the new SD card and re-installation functions added to the web store this week came a new universal search function, which allows users to discover apps, articles and more types of content with a single search query.

Microsoft Partner Group Program Manager Mazhar Mohammed described the Windows Phone web store update in a blog post on Thursday, writing, "The team worked hard this year to expand the Windows Phone Store to new markets and add improvements making it easier to find and download great apps and games."

"Our focus on improvement won't change in 2013, so please keep the suggestions flowing: we're listening, and looking forward to making the Store even better next year, " he added.

Channel 4 inks deal with Microsoft to bring 4oD to Windows 8

Channel 4 and Microsoft have announced a commercial partnership, which brings the on-demand 4oD app to Windows 8.

The free 4oD application is available to download from the Windows Store now and is the first of the major UK providers to launch on Microsoft's new operating system.

The app brings content from Channel 4, E4 and More 4, allowing users to catch up with the latest shows and the best from Channel 4's 30-year archive, including Father Ted and The Inbetweeners.

"The intuitive and visually captivating Windows 8 layout means that watching a programme, reading the synopsis in snap view and searching for other favourite programmes is truly discrete across all media forms: PC, laptop and tablet alike. Three views, one experience," said Channel 4 in a media release.

Cross-promotion

Beyond the launch of the app, which beats the likes of the iPlayer, ITV player and Sky Go to the new platform, C4 and Microsoft have come to a commercial arrangement to cross-promote their offerings.

Co-branded pre-roll apps will run across all 4oD platforms (online, Xbox 360, etc.) for the next three months.

Sarah Rose, Director of Commercial & Business Development at Channel 4 said: "This exciting collaboration has seen various teams at Channel 4 and other key stakeholders work closely together to deliver something that not only showcases our leading commercial VOD platform on Windows 8, but also Channel 4's ability to deliver a complete pioneering commercial solution."

Google axing 'less popular' products and features, saying so long to Sync

Google announced on Friday that it will shut down several "less popular" products, features and services as part of a "winter cleaning" effort.

Google Calendar will see several losses on Jan. 4, after which users will be unable to create new reservable times through appointment slots, though existing appointment slots in Google Calendar will continue working for a year after that date.

In addition, the Calendar Labs "Smart Rescheduler" and "Add gadget by URL" will be discontinued that same day.

Finally, as of today, U.S. users' ability to check their Google Calendars and create events via SMS will be eliminated, since, according to Google, most people just use Calendar apps at this point.

Goodbye to Google Sync

Google Sync, which provided users access to Gmail, Google Calendar and Contacts via the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, will be discontinued as well on Jan. 30.

According to Google Vice President of Engineering Venkat Panchapakesan, who wrote the Google blog post describing the upcoming changes, Google currently offers users access to the same data via other protocols, making Google Sync obsolete.

Existing connections will continue to work, but users will not be able to set up new Google Sync connections.

Google Sync will also continue to be supported for Google Apps for Business, Government and Education.

That's not all, folks

As of Friday, Google Calendar Sync will no longer function either, with Google Sync for the Nokia S60 and SyncML, a contacts sync service for older devices, stopping on Jan. 30 as well.

Finally, Google's Issue Tracker Data API, which let client applications view and update issues with Google Data API feeds, will stop working on June 14 next year, and Punchd, a digital loyalty card app on iOS and Android, will be discontinued on June 7.

Punchd merchants will no longer have to honor Punchd loyalty cards, though Google remains "focused on developing products that help merchants and shoppers connect in new and useful ways," Panchapakesan wrote on Friday.

"Last January, we renewed our resolution to focus on creating beautiful, useful products that improve millions of people's lives every day," he added. "To make the most impact, we need to make some difficult decisions."

"Technology offers us a way to make a big impact on the world," Panchapakesan concluded. "In 2013, we'll keep working hard to build a seamless, amazing Google experience for you."

Google axing 'less popular' products and features for 'winter cleaning'

Google announced on Friday that it will shut down several "less popular" products, features and services as part of a "winter cleaning" effort.

Google Calendar will see several losses on Jan. 4, after which users will be unable to create new reservable times through appointment slots, though existing appointment slots in Google Calendar will continue working for a year after that date.

In addition, the Calendar Labs "Smart Rescheduler" and "Add gadget by URL" will be discontinued that same day.

Finally, as of today, U.S. users' ability to check their Google Calendars and create events via SMS will be eliminated, since, according to Google, most people just use Calendar apps at this point.

Goodbye to Google Sync

Google Sync, which provided users access to Gmail, Google Calendar and Contacts via the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol, will be discontinued as well on Jan. 30.

According to Google Vice President of Engineering Venkat Panchapakesan, who wrote the Google blog post describing the upcoming changes, Google currently offers users access to the same data via other protocols, making Google Sync obsolete.

Existing connections will continue to work, but users will not be able to set up new Google Sync connections.

Google Sync will also continue to be supported for Google Apps for Business, Government and Education.

That's not all, folks

As of Friday, Google Calendar Sync will no longer function either, with Google Sync for the Nokia S60 and SyncML, a contacts sync service for older devices, stopping on Jan. 30 as well.

Finally, Google's Issue Tracker Data API, which let client applications view and update issues with Google Data API feeds, will stop working on June 14 next year, and Punchd, a digital loyalty card app on iOS and Android, will be discontinued on June 7.

Punchd merchants will no longer have to honor Punchd loyalty cards, though Google remains "focused on developing products that help merchants and shoppers connect in new and useful ways," Panchapakesan wrote on Friday.

"Last January, we renewed our resolution to focus on creating beautiful, useful products that improve millions of people's lives every day," he added. "To make the most impact, we need to make some difficult decisions."

"Technology offers us a way to make a big impact on the world," Panchapakesan concluded. "In 2013, we'll keep working hard to build a seamless, amazing Google experience for you."

Google Play Magazines officially launches in the UK

Android users in the UK can now buy magazines from the Google Play Store.

Google Play Magazines can be downloaded from the Play Store as a standalone app and is Android's answer to Apple's industry-changing Newsstand store.

The app, which was announced and launched in the States this summer, offers 30-day trials to titles like Total Film, Wired, GQ, Classic Rock, Future Music, Vogue and Esquire.

At the end of the 30-day subscription, the Google Play store will begin charging unless users cancel prior to the end of the trial. Single issues, back issues and yearly subscriptions are available for download.

Christmas bonus

Google will be hoping that all of those lucky Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 recipients this Christmas will launch themselves into digital magazine subscriptions from the app.

The selection of titles at launch is certainly adequate, but this should also inspire publishers who've enjoyed success on the iPad to offer their titles through Google's portal also.