A recent SEC filing seems to indicate that WiMax provider Clearwire is planning a new, pay-as-you-go cellular data service. The filing reads, Clearwire “plans to serve a new pay-as-you-go customer segment.” It’s unclear exactly what Clearwire has planned — if anything — but analysts speculate the move was prompted by MetroPCS’ impending entry into the pre-paid 4G market place. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said that his company has considered offering pre-paid 4G data services, but has yet to make a move; Sprint is the majority owner of Clearwire. Clearwire’s network is resold by Best Buy, Comcast, Sprint, and Time Warner; it is unclear how this move will affect the services offered by those companies.

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Commodore USA announces the PC64, an Atom-powered PC in a replica Commodore case originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Via a press release, Samsung is letting you know that its Galaxy S is “now DivX Certified for HD video playback at 720p resolution,” and that it is “the world’s first Android mobile phone that is DivX Certified for HD and the second overall DivX HD Certified phone.” DivX CEO, Kevin Hell, was quoted as saying, “We’re pleased that Samsung recognizes the importance of the DivX brand in providing their consumers with a seamless, high-quality entertainment experience.” To view movies in sweet, 720p HD, “consumers can load their video libraries of both standard definition and HD 720p movies [to] the DivX format on the internal and external memory.” There you have it. Anyone out there particularly fond of the DivX format?

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Last night, Business Insider sent foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley an email shortly after social networking giant Facebook announced the launch of their geo-location service, Places. The short email reads: “So is Facebook the location platform now? And is Foursquare an app on that platform?” Crowley responded with a few details about how his company will interact with Places, and their plans for the future:

No, we’re still a platform for location, specifically around sharing locations though check-ins, surfacing interesting things around you and using game mechanics to encourage and reward for certain actions and/or behaviors.

Facebook also launched a location platform, which appears to be mostly based on checkins (and common FB elements like comments/likes/photos).

We already allow users to publish their 4SQ checkins into the Facebook News Feed and we’ll eventually going to allow users to push them into the Facebook Checkin Feed.   I’d imagine we’ll prob pull FB checkins into 4SQ too.   We’re in the middle of a redesign and some new feature launches, so we’re going to get thru those before getting started on FB integration.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the two companies push each other and differentiate themselves while adding value to and growing their user-bases. What are your thoughts on geo-location social networks like foursquare and Facebook’s Places?

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iPads?! We don’t need no stinking iPads! Shantanu Narayen, Adobe’s CEO, was recently asked about his feelings on Apple’s iPad, more specifically the Cupertino company’s reluctance to allow Adobe’s Flash platform on their popular tablet. Mr. Narayen did not mince words when he responded to the inquiries, “Apple have made their choice, we’ve made ours and we’ve moved on,” quipped the CEO. Adobe’s chief continued: “There are companies that are choosing to provide a complete end-to-end experience and control every aspect of it and want all the business model gains from it. There are other companies that have chosen to say that the open eco-system is the way to go and that’s how you would contrast Apple and Google’s business models. We’re on the side of the open.” Before ending the interview Narayen said he felt that the whole situation was a bit overplayed and that his company’s “doors were open.”

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You can only humor someone for so long, and it seems as if Adobe is at its breaking point with Apple. Just three months after publishing a new ad campaign that sought to ease the tension between the two mega-corps, Adobe's CEO has been quoted as saying that his company has "moved on" from the whole ordeal. On one hand, we're glad to see Adobe focusing its resources on optimizing Flash for the myriad Android 2.2 devices that'll support its mobile player in the months to come, but on the other, it's a bit depressing to see Shantanu Narayen essentially give up hope that Jobs and Company will ever come to their senses. For example, have a listen at this, with "they" most certainly referring to Apple:

"They've chosen to keep their system closed and we'd rather work with partners who are interested in working with us. We believe in open systems. We believe in the power of the internet and in customers making choices and I think a lot of the controversy was about their decision at that point. They've made their choice. We've made ours and we've moved on."

Something tells us the FTC won't be so quick to follow suit. Oh, and if you're wondering how Adobe could just turn the other cheek here, the company's Anup Murarka just said at the Flash / Android event ongoing in San Francisco that Adobe has "relationships with 19 of the top 20 mobile manufacturers in the world." One is the loneliest number, or so we hear.

Adobe's CEO: 'we've moved on' from Apple's argument, and Flash still rules originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This morning while speaking in Boston, AT&T Mobility’s CEO Ralph de la Vega quipped that the net-neutrality agreement recently published by Verizon and Google was “good for the industry.” AT&T’s chief went on to say that the pact, “indicates that two companies from different industries can come together on a difficult issue.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation analyzed the joint proposal, saying: “It carves out exemptions from neutrality requirements for so-called ‘unlawful’ content, for wireless services, and for very vaguely-defined ‘additional online services.’ The definition of ‘reasonable network management’ is also problematically vague. As many, many, many have already pointed out, these exemptions threaten to completely undermine the stated goal of neutrality.” Whether you love or hate the Google/Verizon net-neutrality proposal, it has brought attention to this hot-button issue. An issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. What are your thoughts on the proposal?

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Yesterday, pre-paid wireless provider MetroPCS dropped a few more details about their first LTE phone and launch plans. MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist noted that the company’s first LTE device would be the Samsung Craft and that its price would be comparable to that of smartphones currently in its lineup. Currently, the most expensive device in Metro’s lineup is the BlackBerry Curve 8530, which retails for $279. Mr. Linquist also noted that netbooks and other non-smartphone devices were likely to appear on his company’s LTE network at some point in the future. MetroPCS will begin its LTE rollout in Las Vegas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Also of note, the CEO said his company would bolster their handset lineup to, “include a number of Android devices by the end of the year.”

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Ignoring RIM CEO Mike Lazardis' threat that this would lead to bigger things, the Saudi Arabian government went ahead and turned off the BlackBerry data services as of about 4am EST today. This has not made citizens happy. More »

Well well, what's this? We just got an invite to a joint RIM / AT&T event next Tuesday, and we'd guess that means we're about to see the official unveiling of the well-leaked BlackBerry 9800 slider with a side dish of BlackBerry OS 6. Either that, or RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis is going to explain how working two-way Gmail sync is a real problem that affects every smartphone and give us a tour of RIM's top-secret email integration labs, but yeah -- we've got our bets on new hardware. We'll obviously be there live covering every detail, so make sure to tune in!

RIM and AT&T event next Tuesday -- BlackBerry slider and OS 6 en route? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We're not certain how many screen suppliers Apple has at this point, but LG is certainly a major player, so our ears tend to perk up when the Korean manufacturer admits it can't stay ahead of the game. LG CEO Kwon Young-Soo told reporters the firm just can't keep up with incredible demand for the iPad's brilliant 9.7-inch IPS display, and suggested that Cupertino might actually have to slow international expansion as a direct result. "Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries due to tight component supplies and strong demand," he said, adding that even if the firm were to increase production capacity, supplies would remain tight through early 2011. Residents of Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and The Netherlands came in under the wire, but it sounds like there may be another wait for the rest of the world.

LG: 'Apple may have to delay launches of the iPad for some countries' originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"We are going to have to get off their drug..." is how former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins describes Dell's dependence on payments from Intel to meet their financial targets in messages to Michael Dell from 2004, released by the SEC. More »

Yesterday, During Amazon’s Q2 earnings call — where Amazon posted $6.57 billion in net sales, up 41% year-0ver-year — the online retailer announced that over $1 billion of merchandise was order on mobile devices. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, had this to say: “In the last twelve months, customers around the world have ordered more than $1 billion of products from Amazon using a mobile device. The leading mobile commerce device today is the smartphone, but we’re excited by the potential of the new category of wireless tablet computers. Over time, tablet computers could become a meaningful additional driver for our business.” And why wouldn’t they be excited. With the proliferation of smartphones and tablets that figure is sure to rise exponentially. Anyone ever ordered anything from Amazon on their smartphone?

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Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo was already a man in a hot seat and these latest numbers will do little to lower the temperature. Nokia's net profit for Q2 2010 was €221 million, which most companies would be happy with were it not for the fact that this company pulled in €380 million in the same quarter last year -- and that's with 2009, as Nokia's own report indicates, representing an economically tougher environment. Average selling prices for Nokia handsets used to be €64 back then, which dipped to €62 in the first quarter of this year, and is now at €61. Nokia says this has been caused by price pressures, "particularly in certain high-end smartphones," and though the change may appear small, a Euro's difference tends to be amplified when you're shifting upwards of 111 million units each trimester. For his part, OPK has said that the speculation about him being replaced isn't doing Nokia any good and he's determined that it "must be brought to an end one way or another." Guess we better keep an eye on this one then.

Nokia quarterly profits drop 40 percent year-on-year as CEO says speculation must end 'one way or another' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Though they probably won't look anything like Honda's adorable EV-N, the Japanese automaker's got some new technological vehicles up its sleeves -- in a speech today, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito formally announced plans to produce a plug-in hybrid competitor for Toyota's flashy new PHEV Prius by 2012, which rumor has it will sport an estimated fuel economy (when it's using fuel, we assume) of roughly around 140 miles per gallon. Better still, a completely battery-powered electrical vehicle will also go on sale by 2012, and you won't have to fly to Japan to try them out, as they're slated for the States as well. Hydrogen fuel cells are apparently still Honda's long-term solution, though the FCX Clarity received only a passing mention. In the short term, Honda's still circling the wagons around part-gasoline systems like the Civic (which will receive a Li-ion battery pack) and the Fit Hybrid, destined for Japan this fall.

Honda will bring plug-in hybrids, full EVs to United States in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse sat down with the Financial Times and re-confirmed the wireless provider’s option to pursue LTE if and when the time is right. According to Hesse, Sprint and Clearwire are in the enviable position of having access to ample 4G spectrum that is able to support LTE on top of the current WiMAX network. This over-abundance of 4G spectrum, and the possibility of deploying LTE, is causing analysts to re-consider the potential for a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. Rumors of a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile surfaced in 2008 but the talks reportedly stalled because the two companies use two very different and incompatible wireless technologies (*cough*Nextel*cough). If both carriers adopt LTE, a merger is more likely as Sprint would receive a boost from T-Mobile’s 33 million subscribers and T-Mobile would gain much needed access to 4G spectrum. Hesse acknowledged that there was a “logic” to the merger but failed to comment on the possibility that the two wireless providers are in discussions.

[Via Phonescoop]

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It looks like Fring's recent decision to block Skype access to its iPhone 4 video app was the final straw for Skype, who charges that VoIP network was in breach of the Terms of Use and EULA for the Skype API. "Over time," writes General Counsel Robert Miller, "Fring's mis-use of our software was increasingly damaging our brand and reputation with our customers." Although they've "been talking with Fring for some time to try to resolve this amicably," Friday's action is being called "disappointing [for] our customers, who have high expectations of the Skype experience." He goes on to say that "Skype will rigorously protect our brand and reputation, and those developers that do not comply with our terms will be subject to legal enforcement." Meaning, presumably, that in the case of more Fring shenanigans there will be some sort of red-hot legal action. For its part, Fring CEO Avi Shechter had this to say: "We are disappointed that Skype, who once championed the cause of openness, is now attempting to muzzle competition, even to the detriment of its own users." Which is all well and good, but we can hardly see how Skype is the problem here when you were the ones who locked out its users in the first place.

Skype says Fring violated its Terms of Use, 'damaging our brand and reputation' in the process originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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