Motorola tablet taps Nvidia for 3D

Motorola's upcoming tablet packs relatively powerful Nvidia 3D silicon, confirming a demo Nvidia did a year ago at the Consumer Electronics Show and underscoring the importance of graphics in future tablets.
The Motorola prototype running Google's Honeycomb, the next version of Android, was shown at the D: Dive Into Mobile in San Francisco Monday.
"We're taking advantage of the 3D processing power. The particular processor is Nvidia. Their dual-core 3D processor. These guys really know 3D," said Google's Andy Rubin when showing off a new 3D version of Google Maps, which is due for cell phones "in a matter of days." The new version of Google Maps for Mobile will draw using vector graphics, which can result in more responsive mapping because less bandwidth is required. Google Maps will also allow buildings and locations to be rotated via a touch interface. His discussion of the tablet was streamed from the conference (see video, right).

That processor would be Nvidia's Tegra 2, of course. That chip is one of the first to pack a dual-core Cortex-A9 ARM processor with a graphics chip that delivers mobile "3D game playability and a visually engaging, highly-responsive 3D user interface," according to Nvidia.

Motorola's tablet was first revealed via an Nvidia demo at last year's Consumer Electronics Show. At that time, an Nvidia representative characterized the device as a Motorola-Verizon tablet and said it contained an Nvidia Tegra 2 processor.
The tablet's 3D capability that Rubin praised shows that Nvidia's expertise in 3D may give it a leg up on competitors. And it certainly puts Intel on notice, which has not emphasized 3D to date in its mainstream Atom processors targeted at small devices like tablets.
And a wave of tablets is about to break packing dual-core chips from Texas Instruments (OMAP 4) and Qualcomm (MSM8660), according to Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Rodman & Renshaw, all packing enhanced 3D processing. "[Nvidia] is fairly competitive but the offset is Qualcomm, which has most of the wins in new tablets," Kumar said, adding that TI will also be in a few high-profile designs.

iPad 2 to start shipping as early as Feb

Apple Inc's next iPad tablet will start shipping as early as the end of February from electronics maker Foxconn Electronics' factories in China, DigiTimes reported on Tuesday.

The report, citing unnamed sources from Taiwan-based components makers, said Apple originally planned to start mass production of the new device, known as iPad 2, in January.

Those plans were postponed since the device's firmware, or set of software instructions that are programmed into the device's hardware, was still being tested, according to the report.

The iPad 2 will mainly be supplied by plants in Shenzhen belonging to Foxconn, the parent company of Hon Hai, DigiTimes reported. An initial shipment of 400,000 to 600,000 units are expected.

An Apple spokesman declined to comment.

Apple sold 4.19 million iPads in the fiscal fourth quarter. That was lower than markets expected, but analysts expect sales to ramp up this holiday season as Apple resolves supply glitches.

Apple updates iPhone operating system

The newest version of the operating system that powers iPhones, iPads and the iPod touch - iOS 4.2 - is ready for installation.

IPad users will notice the biggest changes, since this is the first ever update for that machine's operating system. It will allow multitasking on the tablet computer, so multiple applications can run at once with the possibility of transferring data between them.

IPad users have also missed out on the themed folders for sorting apps that iPhone users have been able to enjoy for a while.

The new Mail software can aggregate several accounts into one inbox, while a Game Center offers a sampling of simple online games.

But there is something new for the iPhone - AirPrint, which allows printing via a wireless connection. Initially, the function will be supported by multiple HP printers. To download and install the system updates, the devices have to be hooked up to a computer running the iTunes programme.

Tablet and e-reader buying advice

This holiday season, it will be hard to enter a store without setting eyes on a tablet computer or an e-reader. In both categories, big-name manufacturers — along with some you might not have heard of — are jumping on the bandwagon, trying hard to undercut each other with lower-priced gadgets.
It doesn't help that so many of them claim to do the same thing. The iPad dominates the field, but there's a slew of contenders that all run Google Inc.'s Android software, which is already common on smart phones. Meanwhile, the smaller tablets look almost indistinguishable from some new e-readers that hope to unseat the Kindle.
So which to buy? Here are the best options and some advice for figuring out which is the right choice for the person on your list.
E-readers:
Amazon Kindle (Wi-Fi only: $139; 3G: $189)
Pros: The Kindle's display, which measures 6 inches diagonally, uses "electronic-ink" technology, which makes it easy to read books, newspapers and magazines in direct sunlight. It falls somewhere between an iPhone and an iPad in size and weighs half a pound, making the device from Amazon.com Inc. thinner and lighter than Barnes & Noble Inc.'s Nookcolor, its strongest rival. The Kindle also lasts longer on a charge: up to one week with Wi-Fi on and two to three weeks with it turned off.
Cons: Screen is gray-scale only. The pages are slow to turn, and zooming and scrolling don't work. Lacks a built-in light source. Clunky built-in Web browser. Doesn't accept books from public libraries.
Barnes & Noble Nookcolor ($249)
Pros: Displays books and magazines in color. The brightness of the 7-inch touchscreen can be adjusted for comfortable reading in a wide range of lighting conditions. Besides a large library of books, magazines and newspapers, Barnes & Noble sells children's books with built-in narration tracks. Some books can be lent to friends, who can download Barnes & Noble's software for free to read them.
Cons: Children's books are expensive — $8, compared with child-friendly iPad apps that cost about $2. The screen is too small for comfortable reading of magazines. At 1 pound, it is twice as heavy as Amazon's Kindle, although still lighter than the iPad. Its battery life (eight hours with Wi-Fi turned off) is relatively short, although still sufficient for a round-trip flight across the country.
Tablets:
Apple iPad (Wi-Fi only: $499-$699; 3G: $629-$829)
Pros: Has the same intuitive interface as the iPhone and iPod Touch, but optimized for the iPad's larger 9.7-inch display. Syncs with the popular iTunes software, whose store sells music, movies and e-books. Up to 10 hours of battery life. There are more than 300,000 apps available in the app store; more than 40,000 of them were designed specifically for the iPad, making this the most versatile tablet, by far. All models connect over Wi-Fi, while 3G versions can use AT&T's cellular network, whose plans in the U.S. cost either $15 or $25 per month and require no long-term contracts.
Cons: It is relatively large and weighs about 1.5 pounds, so it's not as easy to use one-handed as a smaller tablet such as Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy Tab. Lacks a camera for video chatting. Students will find fewer textbooks available in Apple Inc.'s iBooks than in Amazon's Kindle store.
Samsung Galaxy Tab ($399 with two-year contract; $599-$649 without)
Pros: The Tab runs the same Android software that can be found on many a smart phone. Solid build quality and brisk performance. It is a bit smaller than the iPad and about half its weight. It has dual cameras, something the iPad lacks entirely, allowing people to video chat, record HD movies and snap still photos. The Tab's display is sharper than the iPad's.
Cons: The Tab's 7-inch display makes for a less immersive movie-watching experience than the iPad's larger one. Many Android apps weren't designed to fill the Tab's larger screen. Video chat can be slow over both Wi-Fi and 3G cellular networks. The Tab only costs $399 if you commit to a two-year contract with Sprint or Verizon Wireless, which let the Tab run over their 3G networks. Verizon Wireless and AT&T sell the Tab with optional contracts, but it costs more up front ($599 on Verizon and $649 on AT&T). Monthly data plans range from $25 to $60.

Computer-shy CPI-M now logs on to Facebook

Their party was once vehemently against the introduction of computers and modern technology in India as it would mean loss of jobs for the proletariat, but West Bengal's ruling Marxist leaders are now swearing by the revolutionary reach of social networking sites like Facebook.

With the state gearing up for assembly polls next year, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) is eager to reach out to as many people as possible, particularly the younger generation.'It is a social networking site. I use it to remain in touch with my friends and comrades. It's true that I may be tagged in someone else's album. It is true to an extent that it is being used as a means of propaganda and communication,' admitted Students' Federation of India (SFI) state secretary Kaustav Chatterjee, one of the young faces of the party. SFI is the student wing of the CPI-M.

Front-ranking party leaders like Sujan Chakraborty, Moinul Hassan, Samik Lahiri, Manab Mukherjee and state Industry Minister Nirupam Sen are regular visitors on Facebook.The site is not only being used to reach out to the young generation but also to serve as a podium of propaganda against archrival Trinamool Congress and its chief Mamata Banerjee.

The wall of Manab Mukherjee's Facebook account, for example, includes articles related to the alleged Maoist-Trinamool violence against CPI-M workers, and a picture of Mamata Banerjee chatting with the pro-Maoist tribal body People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) convenor Chhatradhar Mahato.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, the CPI-M was burning with ideological fury against computers, saying it was a bourgeoisie conspiracy to take away jobs from the hapless proletariat.

But the party, which has ruled Bengal since 1977 and was famously derided for being 'on the wrong side of history', has taken a remarkable U-turn. The CPI-M now showcases the information technology sector as a success story in its industrialisation efforts.With the CPI-M-led ruling Left Front going through tough times following a series of electoral debacles recently, the communists are leaving no stone unturned to rebuild their dwindling support base. Even if it means camping on digital highways.

However, leaders maintain that joining Facebook is their personal decision and there was no party diktat. 'It's not a party decision, it's my individual decision to join Facebook. I am using it as an effective tool of two-way communication where the young generation can reach out to me and I can also reach out to them,' state Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee said, taking pride in his friend list of 104.'I do have a Facebook account, but frankly speaking I don't have much time to visit the site. I do it for personal reasons. But I think if we can use Facebook as an effective communication tool, then it will be really helpful,' CPI-M state committee member Sujan Chakraborty told IANS.

State committee member and former Lok Sabha member Samik Lahiri said he used his Facebook account primarily to stay in touch with friends, but sometimes people ask questions regarding current issues.Kaustav Chatterjee agreed that Facebook is partially used for political campaigns, but claimed his party had never opposed computers per se.'But it is not true that we were against computers. At that time we had said we are not against computers, but automation should not trigger a layoff,' said Chatterjee, whose profile album has pictures of the slain comrades of the CPI-M.

Analysts say CPI-M leaders joining social networking sites was a welcome development, but it was too late.'It's good they have now realised that computers are not our enemy. If you see the current situation, the CPI-M boasts of the IT sector, which is based on computers. But I don't feel they'll be able to attract the young generation by joining social networking sites,' noted economist Dipankar Dasgupta told IANS.'The younger generation has seen the CPI-M from its birth and the anti-incumbency factor is highest among the group. So the Marxists will not reap dividends by canvassing through sites like Facebook. Actually, it's too late for the CPI-M,' political scientist Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury told IANS.

Apple''s iPhone sales range has outdone BlackBerry

Apple's iPhone range has outdone BlackBerry, as one of the world's biggest mobile phone companies, new figures have suggested.

Apple shipped 14.1 million handsets during the most recent financial quarter, up 91 per cent on the same quarter last year, according to analysts at Strategy Analytics.

Bumper sales of Apple's flagship iPhone 4 has seen the company outperform Research in Motion, the Canadian company that makes the BlackBerry range of smartphone devices, reports the Telegraph.

RIM shipped 12.4 million units during that period, an increase of 46 per cent on the same quarter last year.

The reversal of fortunes has prompted some industry experts to question whether the popularity of the BlackBerry could be on the wane, as other devices match the mobile emailer for efficiency and usability.

A total of 327 million mobile phones were shipped worldwide during the third financial quarter of this year, up from 291 million on the same period last year.

Strategy Analytics said that growth had been less than expected and slightly down on the first six months of the year, but blamed this on component shortages and ongoing economic volatility, which "slightly constrained volumes".

Strategy Analytics said this figure represented just a two per cent annual growth on the same figure last year, but was the ninth consecutive quarter in which the troubled Finnish company had grown volumes above the market average.

Samsung promotes chairman's son Lee As president, shares hit record

The son of Samsung Electronics Co.'s chairman has been promoted to president in a reorganization of top management posts at the conglomerate the giant technology company anchors.

Lee Jae-yong, 42, who is being elevated from executive vice president at Samsung Electronics, would retain his chief operating officer title, Samsung Group said in a statement Friday. Samsung Electronics is a major force in the global electronics industry, where it holds the top spots in memory chips and flat screen televisions and ranks No.

2 in mobile phones behind Finland's Nokia Corp. The company is also the flagship corporation of the Samsung Group conglomerate, which consists of dozens of other businesses including shipbuilding, construction, leisure and finance.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee's father founded the Samsung Group in 1938. The move to promote Lee Jae-yong, who also goes by Jay Y. Lee, was widely expected after Lee Kun-hee, 68, said last month that his son was set to move up the ranks.

Investors appeared to welcome the news, sending shares in Samsung Electronics 3.3 percent higher in late morning trading to a record 887,000 won ($775). The announcement came about 30 minutes after trading started Friday.

Samsung Electronics has at least 10 executives with the title of president, according to the group. Lee Jae-yong's promotion, however, has been closely watched given that he is a member of the conglomerate's founding family and widely expected to eventually to succeed his father.

The promotion of Lee and other executives was an "organizational realignment to better prepare for the future in the rapidly changing business environment of the 21st century," the statement said. Lee Jae-yong "is expected to continue to strengthen the competitiveness of Samsung's strategic businesses and to lay the foundation for Samsung's future new growth businesses," the statement said.

Lee Jae-yong, who has previously served as chief customer officer and vice president for strategic planning, graduated from South Korea's elite Seoul National University with a degree in East Asian history and has an MBA from Japan's Keio University. His father is a graduate of Japan's Waseda University.

Google to put digital books on Android

Google Editions
Smartphones as eReaders are effectively changing the way we consume media, educate ourselves and build up our personal knowledge base. Google’s (GOOG) been animate about transferring as much printed content to the digital realm for a decade now, and the Android is helping to take things to a new level. Google Editions is an upcoming browser-based, digital bookstore, perfect for large screen Android phones and tablets. Similar to other eReader libraries and stores, you’ll have a central account for accessing purchases and downloads, with outlets on your PC, MacBook, and Android devices. Google Editions is expected to launch in the coming weeks.

App ratings go live
Ratings are becoming a big part of mobile apps, as they grow too numerous to track on an individual scale. Google’s answer to Apple’s (AAPL) stricter app policies is a self-imposed ratings system, marking apps for mature, teen and wider audiences. Announced last week, the new ratings system went live for developers yesterday, ushering in a compromise that really puts the pressure on Apple to streamline its app regulations.

Music apps sync the beat
An industry already familiar with audience ratings is music, which is picking up steam on the Android Market lately. A series of releases, and even a price hike for Grooveshark’s VIP service, indicates significant growth in this area. Winamp has updated its Android and desktop apps to support wireless syncing, while doubleTwist’s new AirSync feature offers a similar function.

iPhone, Android neck-and-neck as ‘most desired’ smartphone in U.S.A

Looks like the days of RIM ruling the U.S. smartphone roost are drawing to a close: A new survey finds that the iPhone has pulled even with BlackBerry among current smartphone owners. When it comes to which smartphone OS is the "most desirable," though, it's iPhone vs. Android, not iPhone vs. BlackBerry.
Just a couple of months ago, the researchers at Nielsen found that BlackBerry was still the U.S. smartphone king with 31 percent of the market; the iPhone was nipping at RIM's heels with 28 percent and Android was in third place — with a bullet — at 19 percent.
But the iPhone platform managed to snap a 27.9 percent share in Nielsen's latest survey, compared with BlackBerry's 27.4 percent share.

Android continues to gain ground. Its smartphone market share climbed to 22.7 percent — up a couple of points from Nielsen's figures in August, and up an eye-popping 14 percentage points since January. Rounding out the list is Windows Mobile at 14 percent (a figure that doesn't include Windows Phone 7 devices, which had yet to be released at the time of the latest Nielsen survey), the Symbian OS (think Nokia) at 3.4 percent, Linux at 3.3 percent, and Palm with a slender 1.3 percent.Beyond taking a reading on how the major smartphone platforms are faring with current users, Nielsen also asked handheld owners a second question: Which smartphone OS is at the top of your wish list?

The overall winner of "most desired OS" among "likely" smartphone upgraders — by a whisker — was the iPhone, with 30 percent of the vote. Android had 28 percent, BlackBerry 13 percent (bad news for RIM), Windows Mobile 6 percent, "other" 4 percent, and "not sure" a healthy 19 percent.Narrow the range of answers to just smartphone owners, though, and the results change, with the iPhone getting bumped up to 38 percent, while Android held steady at 28 percent. The BlackBerry OS got a 2-point boost among current smartphone users, to 15 percent.

On the other hand, it turns out most "feature phone" (i.e., non-smartphone) owners would prefer trading up to an Android phone, with 28 percent of feature-phone users saying they'd like to go the Android way, versus 25 percent for the iPhone and 25 percent for "not sure."Filter the results by age, and we find that the younger you get, the more you want an iPhone or an Android handset, with 35.9 percent and 32 percent of those ages 18 to 25 wanting an iPhone or an Android device, respectively. Those figures steadily shrink with age, and by the time we get to those 55 or older, only 26.4 percent "most desire" an iPhone, or 20.3 percent for Android.

The most popular smartphone OS choice for those 55 and up is "not sure" at 27.8 percent, versus just 12.2 percent for those between 18 and 24.There's also a gender divide when it comes to the "most desired" smartphone OS: Women prefer the iPhone (30.9 percent) to Android (22.8 percent), whereas more men are pining for an Android device (32.6 percent) than an iPhone (28.6 percent).

So, which smartphone do you own right now — and which smartphone OS do you most wish you were using?

Verizon to launch 4G data network, USB modems on December 5th

Verizon Wireless has finally coughed up some details about its upcoming, long-anticipated 4G network, with the carrier naming the first 38 cities — from New York and Miami to San Francisco and Los Angeles — to get speedy LTE coverage, starting Sunday.
A total of 110 million North American users — or a third of the U.S. — will be bathed in Verizon 4G coverage when the network goes live December 5, with Verizon execs promising that it will expand its 4G footprint to encompass its current, much larger 3G coverage area by 2013.
Expect data speeds up to 10 times faster than on Verizon's current 3G network, CTO Tony Melone promised during a conference call Wednesday. Downlink speeds between 5 and 12MBps should be "the norm," along with upload speeds in the 2-5MBps range, and latency rates that are about half as long as those on Verizon's existing 3G network, Melone said.
Among the cities on the list: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. (You can check out a map of the entire list of cities right here.)
Verizon also has a pair of new, 4G-ready USB modems ready to go: the LG VL600 and the Pantech UML290. Both will cost $99 after a $50 rebate and with two-year contracts, with the LG modem available on launch day, while the Pantech device will arrive "very soon" afterward.
And what about other modems, or the first 4G LTE smartphones and tablets? We'll have to wait a little longer for those, according to Verizon's Melone, who added that more devices — including smartphones, hopefully — will be revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in January and launched by the middle of next year. (No mention was made of a 4G iPhone, incidentally.)
So, what are we talking in terms of 4G data plans? At launch, expect a pair of options: a $50-a-month plan capped at 5GB of data (which is $10/month cheaper than Verizon's equivalent 3G broadband plan), or $80 a month for 10GB, with both plans including an overage fee of $10 per extra GB.
Verizon 4G users will be able to check their data use with Verizon's desktop modem client, and they can also get text alerts warning them when they've used 50 percent, 75 percent, 90 percent, and finally 100 percent of their monthly data allotments.
Verizon will be the latest of the big U.S. wireless carriers to go the 4G way with its data network. Sprint already has about 68 cities covered with its own 4G network, which is based on WiMax technology rather than the LTE standard.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile has 80 major U.S. markets covered by HSPA+, an enhancement to 3G technology that the carrier has gone ahead and labeled as 4G. AT&T also has a large HSPA+ network, and it's planning on launching its own LTE-based network next year.
Of course, what constitutes a "true" 4G network is a matter of debate. The International Telecommunications Union has stated that nothing less than 100Mbps download speeds for mobile devices would be required for any network to claim the 4G moniker. That means that none of the big four U.S. carriers actually has a 4G network yet — or at least, not in the eyes of the ITU.
No matter, though, says Verizon's Melone, who calls the carrier's new "4G" network a "real, generational step up," adding that "whether we call it 4G or something else is irrelevant." Well, OK then.
So, will you be signing up for Verizon's new 4G LTE network come Sunday, or are you going with another network — or will you simply wait until 4G coverage is available in more cities?
Correction: The headline for this post originally read that Verizon's 4G network would go live on Dec. 8; in fact, it's set to launch Sunday, Dec. 5. Apologies for the goof.

WikiLeaks site kicked off Amazon's servers

Amazon forced WikiLeaks to stop using the U.S. company's computers to distribute embarrassing State Department communications and other documents, WikiLeaks said Wednesday.
The ouster came after congressional staff questioned Amazon about its relationship with WikiLeaks, said Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut.
WikiLeaks confirmed it hours after The Associated Press reported that Amazon's servers had stopped hosting WikiLeaks' site. The site was unavailable for several hours before it moved back to its previous Swedish host, Bahnhof AB.
WikiLeaks released a trove of sensitive diplomatic documents on Sunday. Just before the release, its website came under an Internet-based attack that made it unavailable for hours at a time.
WikiLeaks reacted by moving the website from computers in Sweden to those of Amazon Web Services. Amazon has vast banks of computers that can be rented on a self-service basis to meet surges in traffic.
But that move exposed WikiLeaks to legal and political pressure.
"WikiLeaks servers at Amazon ousted. Free speech the land of the free--fine our $ are now spent to employ people in Europe," the organization said Wednesday in a posting on the Twitter messaging service.
"If Amazon are so uncomfortable with the first amendment, they should get out of the business of selling books," WikiLeaks said in another tweet.
Seattle-based Amazon.com would not comment on its relationship with WikiLeaks.
"The company's decision to cut off WikiLeaks now is the right decision and should set the standard for other companies WikiLeaks is using to distribute its illegally seized material," Lieberman said in a statement. He added that he would have further questions for Amazon about the affair.
As an organization, WikiLeaks has no firm geographic base, but founder Julian Assange sought to establish residency in Sweden to take advantage of laws protecting those who funnel information to the media. However, authorities rejected his application for a residency permit.
Swedish police are now seeking to arrest Australian-born Assange based on allegations of sexual assault stemming from his stay in the country. Assange has denied the charges.
Swedish police issued an international arrest warrant on Wednesday, though they haven't filed formal charges. Assange's whereabouts are unknown.

Japanese carrier to give away iPads

Japanese carrier Softbank is promising to subscribers starting early next month — but there's a two-year catch involved.
Softbank's "iPad for Everybody" promotion begins December 2, reports MocoNews, with those who sign up set to get their very own 16GB iPad 3G, which retails here in the U.S. for a cool $629. (The 16GB Wi-Fi-only version of the iPad sells for $499.)
That's not the end of the story, though. Users who sign up for a "free" iPad through Softbank will also have to sign a 25-month contract that involves a 4,725-yen monthly 3G data fee, which, based on the latest exchange rates, comes out to about $56 a month.
Do the math ($56 a month, times 25 months) and that comes out to about 118,125 yen — or $1,400 — over two years. Yikes.
On the other hand, 25 months of AT&T's 2GB, $25-a-month iPad 3G plan would cost you $625 (not counting taxes and other fees, of course), while a 16GB iPad 3G goes for $629 — bringing the 25-month total to $1,254, or nearly $150 less than the Softbank deal.
That's not an entirely fair comparison, though. For one thing, Softbank is offering unlimited monthly 3G data for its iPad subscribers, while both AT&T and Verizon (which is offering the Wi-Fi iPad bundled with a MiFi wireless hotspot) are capping their no-strings iPad 3G plans. There's also the relative strength of the yen to consider, which complicates straight-ahead currency conversions when it comes to comparing international products and services.
Still, as with the steeply discounted smartphones sold by wireless carriers here in the States, there's no question that a "free" iPad from Japan's Softbank isn't really free — and indeed, it may end up costing users about as much as they would have paid for an iPad up front.
Softbank isn't the first carrier to offer the iPad 3G at a discount, as MocoNews points out. Both Orange and T-Mobile in the U.K. are offering £200 iPads (about US$320) with two-year contracts, while Orange France will serve up a two-year-contract iPad for 279 euros.
Neither AT&T nor Verizon Wireless are offering discounted iPad deals yet, although it's worth noting that the iPad's newest competitor — the 7-inch, Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab — recently went on sale on Sprint and T-Mobile for a subsidized $399 with two-year contracts. The full retail price of the 3G-enabled Tab: a hefty $599.
Competition with the Tab could be one reason that overseas carriers are offering the iPad for a discount in exchange for a two-year service agreement, although MocoNews has another theory: an effort by Apple to boost the iPad's user base in Japan before its iAd mobile advertising platform makes its 2011 Japanese debut.
What about you — would you rather pay full-price for an iPad (or the Samsung Galaxy Tab, for that matter) up front, with no strings attached, or at a discount with a two-year contract?

Now iPad has real Xmas rival in "Galaxy tablet"

Millions of people around the world will be glued to their iPad or other tablet computer instead of watching yet another re-run of a movie on TV.
Samsung Electronics says it has sold over 700,000 of its Galaxy Tab device in the six weeks since its launch and believes at least a million will be in people's hands by the end of the year.
But that's still miles behind the iPad, which only went on sale in South Korea -- Samsung's home turf -- for the first time on Tuesday.
Apple has sold more than eight million of the gadgets since it went on sale in April but could have sold more, experts say, were it not for problems making enough to meet demand.
Sony, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM), Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Dell, Asus, Acer -- most of the big global brand names in the technology sector have a tablet computer on the market or in the pipeline.
Technology research firm Gartner last month said sales of tablet computers are expected to soar from nearly 20 million units this year to 55 million next year and over 208 million in 2014.
The Galaxy Tab has a seven-inch (18-centimetre) touch screen -- significantly smaller than the iPad's nearly 10-inch display. But Samsung says it will introduce "new tablets of different sizes in the near future".
Apple's first generation iPad does not have a camera, does not function as a phone and the company does not allow the Flash video standard on the gadget.
These are all big advantages for Samsung, the company says.
"The Tab sets itself apart from other similar smart media devices by featuring optimal portability, Flash support, dual cameras and phone-call functions," Samsung Electronics spokesman Nam Ki-yung told AFP
"Owning a Tab is like having your personal library, entertainment system, office workstation and e-learning resources rolled into one device -- that snugly fits into your pocket."
While Apple has its own App store where iPad owners can buy software and games to run on its array of gadgets, Samsung and most other tablets run on Google's Android, with apps available from the Android Market store.
Sales in tablet computers should see exponential growth in the next 12 months, analysts say.
"Tablets are basically new creatures," Young Park, a tech analyst for South Korea's Woori Investment and Securities, told AFP.
"So this is a brand new market which is set to grow substantially. It will be interesting to watch how the market evolves over the next year or so.
"As more and more tablet devices come onto the market, that will inevitably eat into Apple's lead."
Sales of tablet computers, Hong Kong-based Young believes, will remain steady during the run up to Christmas but will not increase significantly.
"A tablet computer such as Apple's iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab is hard to give as a Christmas gift," Young said.
"The main problem is most of them require a subscription with a network and you have to sign a 12 or even 24 month contract. That makes it difficult to give as a surprise. Plus, they're not cheap."
The cheapest iPad costs 499 dollars in the US while the top model is priced at 829 dollars. Samsung's Galaxy Tab costs around 600 dollars, when bought without a subscription to a network.

Motorola Company is spin off mobile unit in early 2011

Motorola company is spinning of its mobile unit from the rest of the company effective January 4, 2011. Motorola’s mobile unit—that includes handsets and set-top boxes—will continue to do business under the name Motorola Mobility, while the remainder of Motorola will change its name and do business as Motorola Solutions.
“Today’s announcement marks another important milestone toward the upcoming separation that is expected to benefit Motorola, its stockholders, as well as each company’s respective customers and employees,” said Motorola co-CEO’s Greg Brown and Sanjay Jha, in a joint statement. “We look forward to taking advantage of the opportunities before us as we begin the new year as two independent, publicly traded companies.”
Brown will continue as CEO of Motorola Solutions, while Jha will become CEO of Motorola Mobility. Motorola Solution’s primary businesses will be in systems like communications equipment uses by public safety and emergency workers, barcode scanners, and walkie-talkies.
Motorola stockholders will receive one share of Motorola Mobility stock for every eight shares of Motorola common stock they hold as of December 21, 2010. Immediately after that distribution, Motorola will perform a one-for-seven stock split on Motorola common stock—meaning every seven shares of Motorola common stock will become one share of Motorola Solutions. The Motorola Mobility stock distribution and reverse stock split for Motorola Solutions are intended to lift the share trading price for both companies. Motorola’s shares have been trading for between $7.50 and $8.50 for most of 2010, up from a 25-year low of $2.98 in early 2009.
Motorola originally announced its plans to separate its mobile unit into a separate company back in 2008.

Apple iOS 4.3 To Arrive Mid-December

No sooner did Apple release version 4.2 of iOS than version 4.3 may be soon to follow. The next update to Apple's iOS, in fact, may arrive within the next three weeks, and Apple lovers could have Rupert Murdoch and News Corp to thank, in part, for the haste.

That's according to the Apple blog Macstories, which referenced "reliable sources" as saying that iOS 4.3 will be needed to support new recurring revenue subscriptions in iTunes. What that means is that iTunes users will be able to set up paid subscriptions for iPhone or iPad apps—such as the so-called iNewspaper app said to be in development from Apple and Murdoch's News Corp.

The Macstories source suggests iOS 4.3 will be primarily a maintenance update, resolving bugs and boosting performance instead of bringing new features to iOS. Availability, according to Macstories, could be as early as Dec. 9, which is around the same time the News Corp. project is said to be going live. Apple, of course, has confirmed nothing specific on either front.

Apple's iOS 4.2 release was loaded with updates, including a number of long-awaited features for iPad, such as multitasking, folders, Game Center and enterprise management.

Japan iPhone craze attracts global app developers

The iPhone's popularity in Japan is cracking open an industry long thought inaccessible to outsiders. For years, the typical Japanese cell phone built to operate on a network hardly used anywhere else in the world has been stuffed with quirky games and other applications that cater to finicky local tastes.

That helps explain why Japan's mobile phone industry earned the nickname "Galapagos" drawing parallels to the exotic animals that evolved on the isolated islands off South America and why cell phones are called "galakei," which combines "keitai," the Japanese word for cell phone, with Galapagos. Foreign developers of applications for phones didn't give the Japanese market a second thought because of its insularity.

But that is changing as the iPhone, for which tens of thousands of applications have been created, dominates Japanese smartphone sales. Everywhere one turns, on commuter trains and urban cafes, people are tapping away at their iPhone screens in a relatively rare Japanese embrace of technology that isn't homegrown.

Azusa Furushima, a 22-year-old college student, who has an iPhone in a glittery Hello Kitty case, says she already has about 35 apps, including those for dieting and practicing typing. American and other foreign developers for the iPhone now have eyes on this potentially lucrative market.And Japanese users, thanks to galakei culture that has long had services that charged small fees, such as "i-mode," are used to paying for their applications. "Japanese are well-educated.

They will pay for applications," said Brian Lee, a manager at Taiwan-based Penpower Inc., which sells an app for digitally organizing business cards."A lot of developers are coming into this market." Japanese developers, previously trapped into targeting galakei, in turn have a chance for a piece of the global iPhone pie, which topped 3 billion application downloads globally in less than 18 months, according to Apple.

Apple takes 30 percent of the application sales, but the rest goes to developers. Apple doesn't give iPhone sales breakdowns by country.But Japan makes up a significant chunk of the 70 million iPhones sold worldwide so far, including a record 14.1 million last quarter. Smartphones, mostly iPhone models which top sales rankings, make up 16 percent of Japanese cell phone sales of 35 million a year, according to Gfk Marketing Services Japan, which track such data.

Finnish developer Rovio Mobile, behind the "Angry Birds" game, which has racked up 27 million global downloads in a year, introduced a Japanese-language version a month ago. The game, which features bubbly headed peevish birds that fight pig-like creatures, has been No.1 in iPhone games in the U.S. and 70 other nations. Hopes are high to move up from No.6 to No. 1 someday in Japan as well.

Erin Gleason, spokeswoman for Foursquare, a popular location-based mobile application, says the service, which has more than 4 million users worldwide, is arriving in Japan soon, although she said details won't be disclosed until early 2011. "We will be focusing on internationalization in the next couple of quarters, and we feel that Japan is an important market for us," she said.The growing sales of smartphones running the Android operating system from Google Inc. are expected to expand the application business even further, from not just Softbank Corp. the only carrier to offer the iPhone, to giant rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. Japanese electronic maker Sharp Corp.is even bringing out Android mobile devices called Galapagos in a tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation that underlines the Japanese electronics maker's ambitions for global appeal. Cashing in on the iPhone fad comes in all sizes.

Hawken King, a 32-year-old Briton, who founded a tiny venture in Tokyo called Dadako, which means "brat" in Japanese, is doing all right, selling his product to just 20,000 iPhone users around the world. About half of them are American, but a third are Japanese.His 115 yen ($1.40) "Facemakr" allows people to easily and smoothly create avatars, or facial likenesses, on iPhone's touch panel, choosing images of noses, eyes and hairstyles. Developers like King say the success of the iPhone has evened out the playing field, allowing for a diverse range of products, rather than a winner-take-all or carrier-controlled market, which in the past favored established companies over newcomers.

"We'll soon see a wave of outside prospectors flooding in for the gold in the hills of Omotesando and Harajuku," predicts Mark Hiratsuka, director of Snapp Media, an independent mobile application promoter, referring to the Tokyo areas equivalent of Silicon Valley. "Right now, only the very smartest developers are aware of the potential here.

Scientists strain to 'hear' gravitational waves

Researchers have brought the world one step closer to 'hearing' gravitational waves - ripples in space and time predicted by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century.

The research, conducted at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California, tested a system of lasers that would fly aboard the proposed space mission called Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA.

The mission's goal is to detect the subtle, whisper-like signals of gravitational waves, which have yet to be directly observed. This is no easy task and many challenges lie ahead, reports the journal Physical Review Letters.

Just as a boat sailing through the ocean produces waves in the water, moving masses like stars or black holes produce gravitational waves in the fabric of space-time.

A more massive moving object will produce more powerful waves, and objects that move very quickly will produce more waves over a certain time period.

The new JPL tests hit one significant milestone - demonstrating for the first time that noise or random fluctuations in LISA's laser beams can be hushed enough to hear the sweet sounds of the elusive waves, according to a NASA statement.

'In order to detect gravitational waves, we have to make extremely precise measurements,' said Bill Klipstein, study co-author and physicist at JPL.

'Our lasers are much noisier than what we want to measure, so we have to remove that noise carefully to get a clear signal. It's a little like listening for a feather to drop in the middle of a heavy rainstorm.'

The JPL team is one of many groups working on LISA, a joint European Space Agency and NASA mission proposal, which would launch in 2020 or later, if selected.

Twitter lacks 'clear long term vision' says new CEO

London, Twitter, the microblogging website, currently lacks a clear long-term vision, new CEO has admitted.

Dick Costolo, formerly the chief operating officer of Twitter, took over as the company's chief executive officer last month.

"I am working on clarity around that at the moment. I am currently trying to define what Twitter's purpose is in the long term. We will be able to be more specific on that answer in the near future," the Telegraph quoted Costolo, as saying when asked for his long term vision of the company's purpose.

Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder and chairman, added that it was difficult to try and define Twitter's function and purpose, as so many of its uses had been defined by its users over the past four years.

"It is hard to speak about Twitter's vision without factoring in how much of its purpose has been defined by its users over the years. Users came up with so many parts of the service, such as the 'hashtag' [which allows people to link to a subject or an event] as so many people use it in so many different ways.

"Twitter needs to continue being a good listener and recognise that the service has been redefined by lots of people, tweet by tweet, but also come up with its own priorities," he said.

His other areas of focus, as well as defining Twitter's long-term game plan, are ensuring that the service can successfully scale globally, from a technological point of view and prioritising the key countries to expand within. (ANI)

Online bargain-hunting spreads beyond Cyber Monday

Early discounts may have taken some of the shine off Cyber Monday but the key online holiday shopping day is still expected to attract bargain hunters who may not have had their fill over the weekend.

Cyber Monday -- a term coined five years ago for the day many people return to work after Thanksgiving and make online gift purchases on their computers -- remains a prime shopping day online. But its novelty has now been partially eclipsed by e-commerce promotions earlier in the season, including on Thanksgiving itself.
Retailers from BestBuy.com to Walmart.com and Staples.com have even opted to offer Cyber Monday deals one day early, on newly coined "Cyber Sunday."The key is versatility, online experts say, as well as making sure shoppers heading to the Web always find something to inspire them to click on a sale.John Thompson, senior vice president and general manager of BestBuy.com, said Cyber Monday remains a "really viable marketing concept," but smart retailers must offer choice.

"There's demand out there, but you have consumers spending their time differently," he said. "If you don't have one group that shops early, you'll have those who say 'I'll enjoy my Thanksgiving and those same deals or as-good deals will be there Cyber Monday.'"Marketing firms say tactics have changed in luring consumers to buy online. Whereas in prior years a full email inbox of online deals awaited those back at work on Monday, the offers now increasingly come on Black Friday if not before.Disneystore.com, for one, had a "record sales day" on Thanksgiving, according to Jim Fielding, president of Disney Stores.U.S. online sales were up 33 percent on Thanksgiving this year, according to web analytics firm IBM Coremetrics.

Just as many promotions are sent via email on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, as on Cyber Monday, according to Responsys. And half of retailers planned to send email on Cyber Sunday as well as on Thanksgiving, the interactive marketing firm found.PayPal, the online payments unit of eBay, said its first holiday spike in payment volume came on November 15. On Black Friday, total payment volume, or the total value of goods sold, rose 27 percent versus last year. Online deals will continue throughout the holiday season. Amazon.com, the largest online retailer, said its Black Friday deals would last all week, while Target.com and eBay have set up daily deals through December.

BEST DEAL?

Despite the e-commerce selling season that now extends before and after Cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving is still a prime focus of retailers.Nine out of ten retailers planned to offer a promotion for Cyber Monday, Shop.org and BIGresearch found in a survey. That was more than the nearly three-quarters of respondents in 2007."Retailers have built it into the consumers mind: 'Here's the day you'll get the best deal,'" said IBM Coremetrics' Chief Strategy Officer John Squire.Although some experts say the top online sales comes later in the season -- analytics firm Comscore, for one, found 2009's heaviest spending day fell on Dec 13 -- Squire said Cyber Monday was the best-performing day, with a 30 percent jump in U.S. online sales.

"You will see a similar type of gain on Cyber Monday (this year)," said Squire. "The big treat is what happens on Cyber Sunday for those retailers who give those deals."Bullishness in advance of Monday was evident as Amazon shares closed at an all-time high last Wednesday leading into the Thanksgiving weekend, accompanied by options trading at over twice the average daily level.On Tuesday, comScore raised its forecast for U.S. online holiday spending for the second time, saying it now expects an 11 percent rise over the 2009 holiday.The new spending outlook should bring total holiday e-commerce spending to $32.4 billion, comScore said.Online sales, while still growing, make up a mere 7 percent of the overall U.S. retail pie, according to comScore.

Leaked US cables reveal sensitive diplomacy

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of thousands of State Department documents leaked Sunday revealed a hidden world of backstage international diplomacy, divulging candid comments from world leaders and detailing occasional U.S. pressure tactics aimed at hot spots in Afghanistan, Iran and North Korea.
The classified diplomatic cables released by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks and reported on by news organizations in the United States and Europe provided often unflattering assessments of foreign leaders, ranging from U.S. allies such as Germany and Italy to other nations like Libya, Iran and Afghanistan.
The cables also contained new revelations about long-simmering nuclear trouble spots, detailing U.S., Israeli and Arab world fears of Iran's growing nuclear program, American concerns about Pakistan's atomic arsenal and U.S. discussions about a united Korean peninsula as a long-term solution to North Korean aggression.
There are also American memos encouraging U.S. diplomats at the United Nations to collect detailed data about the U.N. secretary general, his team and foreign diplomats — going beyond what is considered the normal run of information-gathering expected in diplomatic circles.
None of the revelations is particularly explosive, but their publication could prove problematic for the officials concerned. And the massive release of material intended for diplomatic eyes only is sure to ruffle feathers in foreign capitals, a certainty that prompted U.S. diplomats to scramble in recent days to shore up relations with key allies in advance of the disclosures.
The documents published by The New York Times, France's Le Monde, Britain's Guardian newspaper, German magazine Der Spiegel and others laid out the behind-the-scenes conduct of Washington's international relations, shrouded in public by platitudes, smiles and handshakes at photo sessions among senior officials.
The White House immediately condemned the release of the WikiLeaks documents, saying "such disclosures put at risk our diplomats, intelligence professionals, and people around the world who come to the United States for assistance in promoting democracy and open government."

It also noted that "by its very nature, field reporting to Washington is candid and often incomplete information. It is not an expression of policy, nor does it always shape final policy decisions."
"Nevertheless, these cables could compromise private discussions with foreign governments and opposition leaders, and when the substance of private conversations is printed on the front pages of newspapers across the world, it can deeply impact not only U.S. foreign policy interests, but those of our allies and friends around the world," the White House said.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley played down the spying allegations. "Our diplomats are just that, diplomats," he said. "They collect information that shapes our policies and actions. This is what diplomats, from our country and other countries, have done for hundreds of years."
On its website, The New York Times said "the documents serve an important public interest, illuminating the goals, successes, compromises and frustrations of American diplomacy in a way that other accounts cannot match."
In a statement released Sunday, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said, "The cables show the U.S. spying on its allies and the U.N.; turning a blind eye to corruption and human rights abuse in 'client states'; backroom deals with supposedly neutral countries and lobbying for U.S. corporations."
Their release — the first in a series of planned releases over the next few months — "reveals the contradictions between the U.S.'s public persona and what it says behind closed doors," Assange said.
The documents were again available on the WikiLeaks website Sunday afternoon. The site was inaccessible much of the day, and the group claimed it was under a cyberattack.
But extracts of the more than 250,000 cables posted online by news outlets that had been given advance copies of the documents showed deep U.S. concerns about Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs along with fears about regime collapse in Pyongyang.
The Guardian said some cables showed King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia repeatedly urging the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear program. The newspaper also said officials in Jordan and Bahrain have openly called for Iran's nuclear program to be stopped by any means and that leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt referred to Iran "as 'evil,' an 'existential threat' and a power that 'is going to take us to war,'" The Guardian said.
Those documents may prove the most problematic because even though the concerns of the Gulf Arab states are known, their leaders rarely offer such stark appraisals in public.
The Times highlighted documents that indicated the U.S. and South Korea were "gaming out an eventual collapse of North Korea" and discussing the prospects for a unified country if the isolated, communist North's economic troubles and political transition lead it to implode.
The Times also cited diplomatic cables describing unsuccessful U.S. efforts to prod Pakistani officials to remove highly enriched uranium from a reactor out of fears that the material could be used to make an illicit atomic device. And the newspaper cited cables that showed Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, telling U.S. Gen. David Petraeus that his country would pretend that American missile strikes against a local al-Qaida group were from Yemen's forces.
The paper also reported on documents showing the U.S. used hardline tactics to win approval from countries to accept freed detainees from Guantanamo Bay. It said Slovenia was told to take a prisoner if its president wanted to meet with President Barack Obama and said the Pacific island of Kiribati was offered millions of dollars to take in a group of detainees.
It also cited a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing that included allegations from a Chinese contact that China's Politburo directed a cyber intrusion into Google's computer systems as part of a "coordinated campaign of computer sabotage carried out by government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws."
Le Monde said another memo asked U.S. diplomats to collect basic contact information about U.N. officials that included Internet passwords, credit card numbers and frequent flyer numbers. They were asked to obtain fingerprints, ID photos, DNA and iris scans of people of interest to the United States, Le Monde said.
The Times said another batch of documents raised questions about Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his relationship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. One cable said Berlusconi "appears increasingly to be the mouthpiece of Putin" in Europe, the Times reported.
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini on Sunday called the release the "Sept. 11 of world diplomacy," in that everything that had once been accepted as normal has now changed.
Der Spiegel reported that the cables portrayed German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle in unflattering terms. It said American diplomats saw Merkel as risk-averse and Westerwelle as largely powerless.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, meanwhile, was described as erratic and in the near constant company of a Ukrainian nurse who was described in one cable as "a voluptuous blonde," according to the Times.
The Obama administration has been bracing for the release for the past week. Top officials have notified allies that the contents of the diplomatic cables could prove embarrassing because they contain candid assessments of foreign leaders and their governments, as well as details of American policy.
The State Department's top lawyer warned Assange late Saturday that lives and military operations would be put at risk if the cables were released. Legal adviser Harold Koh said WikiLeaks would be breaking the law if it went ahead. He also rejected a request from Assange to cooperate in removing sensitive details from the documents.
In a session Sunday with a group of Arab journalists, Assange said, "The State Department understands that we are a responsible organization, so it is trying to make it as hard as it can for us to publish responsibly."
He called the Obama administration "a regime that doesn't believe in the freedom of the press and doesn't act like it believes it."
The New York Times said the documents involved 250,000 cables — the daily message traffic between the State Department and more than 270 U.S. diplomatic outposts around the world. The newspaper said that in its reporting, it attempted to exclude information that would endanger confidential informants or compromise national security.
The Times said that after its own redactions, it sent Obama administration officials the cables it planned to post and invited them to challenge publication of any information they deemed would harm the national interest. After reviewing the cables, the officials suggested additional redactions, the Times said. The newspaper said it agreed to some, but not all.
Also Sunday, the Pentagon released a summary of precautions taken since WikiLeaks published stolen war logs from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since August, the Pentagon has changed the way portable computer storage devices such as flash drives can be used with classified systems, and made it harder for one person acting alone to download material from a classified network and place it on an unclassified one.
___
Associated Press staffers Anne Gearan in Washington, Juergen Baetz in Berlin, Don Melvin in London, Angela Doland in Paris, Robert H. Reid in Cairo, Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Mark Lavie in Jerusalem and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

6 Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter

Twitter has become a great resource for just about anything, including jobs. From industry chats to Twitter accounts dedicated to posting vacancies, there are a ton of resources for landing a gig.
We've already chronicled how to get a job through Facebook and YouTube, and now we're taking a look at the job hunting process on Twitter.
We spoke with nine Tweeters who have landed jobs through Twitter to get their top tips for success on the platform. Below you'll find a guide to their job hunt strategies on the microblogging service.
If you've also been successful in finding a position via Twitter, let us know about your experience in the comments below.

1. Tweet Like an Industry Expert
Words to tweet by: You are what you tweet. Keep in mind that everything you tweet lends to -- or takes away from -- your online persona. Whether or not you're searching for a job, make sure your Twitter stream represents you as a professional individual that has important and unique thoughts to contribute. Your goal should be to become an industry expert -- or at least tweet like one.
Share links that are relevant to your followers, adding commentary to the latest industry news. This shows that you're keeping up with industry trends and gives potential employers a look into what you read and care about, which will help them to envision how you may fit into their company's work environment.
If your commentary on Twitter is interesting enough, you may have employers knocking on your door. Christa Keizer, a recent intern at Cone, a strategy and communications firm, used Twitter during her job search to " relevant, industry-related tweets on a daily basis to establish credibility." After commenting on one of Cone's blogs, Marcus Andrews, the New Media Associate at Cone, tweeted to Keizer, thanking her for her comment and asking her about her summer work plans. A few tweets and an interview later, Keizer was hired.
Kate Ottavio, an account executive at PR agency Quinn & Co., had a similar experience. Prior to working at Quinn, she ran her own PR firm. One day, Allyns Melendez, HR Director at Quinn, started following Ottavio on Twitter -- she waited for Ottavio to follow back, and then asked her if she'd like to move to New York, where Quinn is headquartered. Little did she know, Melendez was looking for a new hire for the real estate division of the firm. Melendez had first searched for "PR" and "real estate" on LinkedIn, where Ottavio's profile popped up.
Although Ottavio wasn't looking for a job at the time, her Twitter strategy had always been to "represent myself as a knowledgeable and reputable PR professional. I tweet about 10-20 times a day about anything from personal experiences to Mashable articles to PR blog posts." Loving the opportunity that Quinn presented her, she promptly accepted.

2. Use Twitter Hashtags
There are lots of ways to use Twitter hashtags to get a job. Here are a few types of hashtags to get you started:
Job Listings: You can find general job advice and lots of listings through hashtags like #jobs, #recruiting, #jobadvice, #jobposting, #jobhunt and #jobsearch. To narrow it down, though, seek out more specific hashtags, such as or #prjobs or #salesjobs.
Industry Conferences: Most conferences these days have their own hashtags -- when a relevant industry conference is approaching, get active with attendees using the hashtag. Whether you're attending the conference or not, you can contribute to the conversation. Many conferences also have live streams, so it's as if you're attending anyway! Live tweet panels and speeches that you're interested in and connect with other tweeters along the way. By using Twitter for networking within your industry, you'll increase your chances of getting hired down the road.
Job-Related and Industry Chats: Getting involved with industry chats is a way to show your industry in a particular field and represent yourself as a knowledgeable person. Check out this Liz (Pope) Schmidt, now the media and research manager at Sevans Strategy, attested to the power of industry Twitter chats: "I began participating in #Journchat, created and hosted by Sarah Evans [owner of Sevans Strategy, a public relations and new media consultancy]. Although I had known Sarah from a past virtual work experience, I was able to reconnect with her through Twitter. I mentioned her in several tweets and participated in her online discussions. Soon after, based on a direct message conversation with Sarah on Twitter, I came on board at Sevans Strategy."
Besides scouring job search hashtags, job seekers can also follow Twitter accounts dedicated to posting job openings, use Twitter search to find postings or keep an eye out on the Twitter streams of companies they might want to work for.

3. Connect with Recruiters and Current Employees
Don't be afraid to research the companies that you want to work for to find out who currently works there and who is involved with recruiting. After all, while you're searching for a job, recruiters are scouring the web at the same time looking for pertinent information about job candidates. Interacting with current employees and active recruiters is an easy way to learn more about a company and its job opportunities.
Take Connie Zheng's word -- she's already been hired for two jobs through Twitter. "I got my PR internship at Text 100 using Twitter, as well as my entry-level position at Burson-Marsteller using Twitter," she explained. She advises job seekers, "Use Twitter as a research tool to identify who the appropriate HR person or recruiter is at the desired company."
Shankar Ganesh, a student at the Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy in India, recently landed a marketing consulting internship at business apps provider Zoho Corporation by connecting with a technologist employed by the company. "I wanted to spend my summer as an intern at Zoho, so I approached employees using Twitter," he recounted. "I showed them what I had done previously and my website for credibility. My interest was forwarded to Zoho's HR team, and we got in touch." Soon after, he was offered the internship.
Even if a company isn't hiring, it's a good idea to stay in contact with recruiters and employees. When a position opens up, it's likely that you'll be one of the first to be contacted, said Alison Morris, an account coordinator at The CHT Group, a strategic communications firm based in Boston. Morris told us how she landed her current position on Twitter:
"In April 2010, Ben Hendricks, Senior VP at The CHT Group, and I began corresponding about corporate communications and social media's role in the corporate environment. Much to my dismay, CHT was not yet hiring. In June, after a few months distance, Ben sent me an email to let me know the agency was hiring and that he wanted me to apply. Still looking for a job, I sent over my resume, and about a week later, I was employed."
Keep an eye out for socially savvy companies like CHT -- it also recently hired Marissa Green as an account coordinator through Twitter and is now looking for a spring intern, with Twitter being one of its main recruiting outlets.

4. Build a Relevant Network
A lot of successful Twitter job stories actually end with the punchline, "I wasn't even looking for a job." In many cases, these lucky new hires just found interesting opportunities serendipitously, which makes sense given that it's Twitter we're talking about.
Twitter is all about networking, so build a network that makes sense for you. You'll find that a lot of the opportunities that are presented to you are simply organic. Here's an anecdote along those lines from Marketing & Communications Manager for digital agency ChaiONE, Meghan Stephens:
"Through Twitter, I am connected to other marketing professionals, digital creatives, community stewards, and new media experts -- simply because those are the types of people that I enjoy interacting with and learning from... When it came time to look for a job in the technology sector, all I did was turn to those who I already gained inspiration from. When glancing through my stream, I saw a job link posted by my now-boss that sounded immediately like what I was looking for. I read through the description, realized I already knew the company through another connection made on Twitter, and sent in my resume."

5. Start a "Hire Me" Campaign
After seeing a job posting for HeadBlade, a men's grooming company that makes products specifically for guys that shave their heads, Eric Romer immediately set up a website, Twitter page, Facebook Page and YouTube account all in the name of nabbing the job.
'The posting for 'Interactive and Social Media Marketing Manager' was tweeted from the HeadBlade Twitter account, which I had been following for several months," explained Romer. "I have been a die-hard 'HeadBlader' using their products religiously since 2005, so this was literally a dream job."
"While there were several channels used, Twitter was by far the most effective getting on HeadBlade's radar," said Romer. "I received a call from a company rep within 48 hours of my initial blog posting, and flew from Indianapolis to L.A. within 10 days for an interview."
While a full-out campaign of this nature may not be the best strategy for every job opportunity that comes along, this type of passion is what really stands out in the job recruiting process. If you encounter your dream job, go all out.


6. Take It Offline
Three simple words: "Let's get coffee."
Once you've gained a certain level of dialogue with a potential employer, an in-person meeting can really boost the relationship.
DJ Waldow, director of community at Blue Sky Factory, said that he landed his job at the company through connecting with Blue Sky Factory's CEO Greg Cangialosi on Twitter. After initially "stalking" Cangialosi on Twitter, Waldow began engaging with him. Eventually, all of the tweets lead to an in-person meeting, which Waldow feels really sealed the deal. He wrote of the experience:
"The transition from online to in real life is critical... All of the loose connections you’ve made with that person are suddenly solidified when you put the name/avatar/tweets together with a face. Nothing can replace this. Nothing."
Your Tips
With the increasing popularity of Twitter, more and more job seekers and recruiters are turning to the social network to find leads. We suspect that a sizable number of Mashable readers have used Twitter in some way to find a job. If so, let us know about your experiences in the comments below.
Social Media Job Listings
Every week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we've selected some of the top social media opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!

Lady Gaga to sign off Twitter for charity

Alicia Keys and Lady Gaga take charity work seriously, and they're going offline to prove it.
Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Usher and other celebrities have joined a new campaign called Digital Life Sacrifice on behalf of Keys' charity, Keep a Child Alive. The entertainers plan to sign off of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter on Tuesday, which is World AIDS Day. The participants will sign back on when the charity raises $1 million.
"It's really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on," Keys said in a phone interview from New York last week.
For the campaign — which also includes Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Elijah Wood, Serena Williams, Janelle Monae and Keys' husband, Swizz Beatz — celebrities have filmed "last tweet and testament" videos and will appear in ads showing them lying in coffins to represent what the campaign calls their digital deaths.
"It's so important to shock you to the point of waking up," Keys said. "It's not that people don't care or it's not that people don't want to do something, it's that they never thought of it quite like that."
The campaign, she said, puts the disease in perspective.
"This is such a direct and instantly emotional way and a little sarcastic, you know, of a way to get people to pay attention," said Keys, who has more than 2.6 million followers on Twitter.
The foundation, which began in 2003, will accept donations through text messages and bar-code technology, which is featured in the charity's Buy Life campaign. Raised efforts support families affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India.
"We're trying to sort of make the remark: Why do we care so much about the death of one celebrity as opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we're all from?" said Leigh Blake, the president and co-founder of Keep a Child Alive.
"It's about love and respect and human dignity," she added.
Keys said recruiting celebrities was difficult because of scheduling, but "once I got people on the phone and I was able to paint the concept for them, everybody was in."
Not one person said no, Keys recalled.
"I have a feeling that Gaga is going to raise it all by herself," Blake said. Lady Gaga has more than 7.2 million followers on Twitter, and nearly 24 million fans on Facebook.
"She's got a very, very mobilized fan base and that's beautiful to watch I think (and) she's able to draw their attention to these issues that are very important, you know, and that people follow it and act."
Keys is hoping more people — both famous folks and non-celebs — get involved once the new initiative launches: "It just doesn't have to be just because you're a celebrity or something like that. It can be anybody."
Keys, 29, married rapper-producer Swizz Beatz in July. The two had their first son, Egypt, last month. The Grammy winner said that though her life's getting busier, being a mother and wife makes her want to help others even more.
"As a human being, you deserve to have a chance at life," she said.

Apple buys HP land to accommodate growth

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc is expanding the size of its Cupertino, California, home base, acquiring nearby facilities from computer pioneer and competitor Hewlett Packard Co.
The offices will give the maker of the iPhone more room for its employees as the company continues to grow, said Apple spokesman Steve Dowling.
"We now occupy 57 buildings in Cupertino and our campus is bursting at the seams," he said.
Apple's real estate transaction was first reported by The San Jose Mercury News earlier this week, which said the deal would give Apple an additional 98 acres of land, roughly doubling the size of the company's home base in Cupertino.
Apple, which had 46,600 full-time employees worldwide at the end of September, did not disclose the price it paid for the HP real estate.

Apple boots Android magazine from its App Store

Apple reportedly rejected an Android magazine from its App Store because its content focuses on Google’s competing mobile OS. The Android mag was developed by Mediaprovider, a small Danish magazine publisher that also publishes an iPhone magazine. The Android-based magazine was developed as a counterpart to the iPhone magazine which is available in iTunes for iOS devices.

The Android magazine launched on November 11th and was expected to début in Apple’s App store. The application was not expected to be popular among iOS users but was submitted to the iTunes application store as a complement to its iPhone edition. According to Mediaprovider CEO Brad Dixon, his exchange with Apple about the rejection of his Android edition went as follows:

“So what’s the problem?” Dixon asked, knowing full well what the problem was.

“You know… your magazine,” replied the Apple rep, who identified himself only as Richard. “It’s just about Android…. we can’t have that in our App Store.”

This latest rejection is reminiscent of the controversy surrounding the App store submission of the Flash of Genius flash card app. This flash card app was originally available as an Android app that was a finalist in Google’s Android Developer challenge. This notable achievement was included as part of the description for the iPhone version of the app. Before approving Flash of Genius, Apple contacted the developer and asked him to remove this Android reference from his description or face rejection from the App Store.

Both of these examples highlight the control Apple has over its App store and the walled garden that you are entering when you develop for or buy a device that runs on this mobile platform. Apple has tried to loosen its control and provide detailed application submission guidelines, but in the end Apple has the final say and it is saying that Android in any shape or form is not allowed through the gate.

Nokia X7-00 Images, Details leaked

Carries 4-inch display (360x640), 8MP camera with Dual-LED flash and four loud speakers


Nokia has always been offering handsets with almost similar form factor with notable changes in designs. For instance, N8 and E7 are similar yet different than each other on many grounds. A mysterious Nokia handset - X7-00 was spotted testing EA's Need for Speed Mobile at a Czech forum board - Modryzub.net (registration required). Yet another angular design-bearing handset X7-00 draws design looks from Nokia N8 and E7 collectively. However, the four speakers at four corners of the front panel makes it stand out and seem to be entertainment-centric handset.

Following the images of X7-00 handset, the video of the same running the Need for Speed game also cropped up. Slash Gear noted that the polished metal body bearing X7-00 carried 4-inch display with 360x640 pixel resolution. The camera on its hind had 8-megapixel image sensor with dual-LED Flash. Expect some eye dazzling quality there.
The Nokia X7-00 is said to have 245MB RAM and 450MB On-board memory. There'll be a 3.5mm audio port on the top edge, micro-USB port, fixed battery and the four speakers are claimed to be pretty loud. Check out the video of X7-00 running Need for Speed grabbed by MobileBulgaria.

Google add New Application to Gmail Call Recorder.

Google recently added in Gmail the ability to make phone calls from your inbox, and they've recently (silently) rolled out the ability to record incoming calls as well.

While we mentioned call recording as a cool way to take advantage of Gmail calling, Google adding in this feature means you don't need any extra software to get the job done—just hit the record button to record the call with Google Voice. Note that it only works for incoming calls—you won't be able to record calls you initiate from your Gmail inbox.

Google hasn't officially announced anything about the new feature, but reports of its existence are cropping up all over the net. We tested it ourselves, and sure enough, as long as the call was incoming and not outgoing, that little record button popped right up.

Nokia N8 Features, Review & Specifications

Introduction :

Nokia N8 will be available in India coming soon, price of N8 is approx Rs. 25,000/-

Features Review and Specifications are following:

Dimensions

· Size: 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm

· Weight (with battery): 135 g

· Volume: 86 cc

· Screen size: 3.5"

· Resolution: 16:9 nHD (640 x 360 pixels) AMOLED

· 16.7 million colours

· Capacitive touch screen

· Orientation sensor (Accelerometer)

· Compass (Magnetometer)

· Proximity sensor

· Ambient light detector

Colours

· Anodized aluminium casing, available in:

o Silver white

o Dark grey

o Orange

o Blue

o Green

· Colour availability varies by country

Power Management

· BL-4D 1200 mAh Li-Ion battery

· Talk-time (maximum):

o GSM 720 mins

o WCDMA 350 mins

· Standby time (maximum):

o GSM 390 h

o WCDMA 400 h

· Video playback time (H.264 720p, 30 fps, maximum): 6 h (via HDMI to TV)

· Video recording time (H.264 720p, 25 fps, maximum): 3 h 20 mins

· Video call time (maximum): 160 mins

· Internal memory: 16 GB music playback time (offline mode, maximum): 50 h

Memory

· Internal memory: 16 GB

· MicroSD memory card slot, hot swappable, up to 32 GB

Operating Frequency

· GSM/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900

· WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100

· Automatic switching between WCDMA & GSM bands

· Flight mode

Data Network

· GPRS/EDGE class B, multislot class 33

· HSDPA Cat9, maximum speed up to 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA Cat5 2.0 Mbps

· WLAN IEEE802.11 b/g/n

· TCP/IP support

· Capability to serve as data modem

· Support for MS Outlook synchronisation of contacts, calendar and notes

Connectivity

· Bluetooth 3.0

· HDMI

· 2mm Charging connector

· Micro USB connector and charging

· High-Speed USB 2.0 (micro USB connector)

o USB On-the-Go

· 3.5 mm AV connector

o FM Radio

o FM Transmitter

Software platform & user interface

· Symbian ^3 for Nokia

· Java MIDP 2.1

· Qt 4.6.2, Web Runtime 7.2

o HTML 4.1

· Software updates Over the Air (FOTA) & Over the internet (FOTI)

· Flash Lite 4.0

· OMA DM 1.2, OMA Client provisioning 1.1

Applications

· Key applications: Calendar, Contacts, music player, internet, messaging, photos, Ovi Store, Maps, Videos, WebTV, Office document viewers, Video & photo editor, Mail, Radio

· PC Applications: Nokia Ovi Suite, Nokia Ovi Player

· Easy-to-use email client with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents .doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .zip

· Unified push email client supporting multiple protocols: Yahoo!® Mail, Gmail™, Windows Live™, Hotmail and other popular POP/IMAP services, Mail for Exchange, IBM Lotus traveler

Browsing and internet

· Supported markup languages: HTML, XHTML MP, WML, CSS

· Supported protocols: HTTP v1.1, WAP

· TCP/IP support

· Visual history, HTML and JavaScript support

· Flash Lite 4 will support a majority of Flash Player 10.1 content

GPS and navigation

· Integrated GPS, A-GPS receivers

· Ovi Maps with free car & pedestrian navigation

· Wi-Fi Positioning

· Compass and accelerometer for correct orientation of display

· Use Nokia Ovi Suite to get the latest country maps for Ovi Maps on N8 for free

Camera

· 12 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics

· Large 1/1.183" optical format image sensor

· Fullscreen 16:9 viewfinder with easy-to-use touchscreen parameters

· Xenon flash with automatic red-eye removal

· Face tracking/detection software

· Autofocus

· Focal length: 5.9 mm (equivalent to 28mm in 35mm film format)

· F number/Aperture: F2.8

· Still images file format: JPEG/EXIF

· Zoom up to 2x (digital) for still images

· Zoom up to 3x (digita) for video

· Secondary camera for video calls (QVGA, 640 x 480 pixels), still image and video capture

· Favourite settings feature

· Still camera manual controls for white balance, scene mode, exposure compensation, colour tone, viewfinder framing grid, sharpness, contrast, flash control, light sensitivity (ISO), self-timer, face detection

Image capture

· Automatic location tagging (Geotagging) of images and videos

· Images automatically taken in the correct orientation

· Pinch zoom in Photos image viewer

· View photos by tag cloud, month, album, slide show

· Photo editor

· Online Share with connectivity to popular sharing services

Video cameras

· Main camera

o 12 megapixel with Carl Zeiss optics

o HD quality 720p resolution

o Shoot 16:9 videos in HD

o 3x digital zoom

· Video capture in 720p 25 fps with codecs H.264, MPEG-4

· Ambient stereo audio recording in video (AAC 128kbps, 48 kHz sampling) plus new algorithms to reduce wind noise and control recording level in harsh environments

· Settings for low light (reduced frame rate), white balance, colour tone

· Secondary camera for video calls (QVGA, 640 x 480 pixels), still image and video capture

Video codecs & formats

· H.264 (base profile, main profile, high profile), MPEG-4, VC-1, Sorenson Spark, Real video 10

· Streaming: H.264, Flash Lite 4 (Flash 10 compatibility for video), On2 VP6, Sorenson Spark

Video sharing and playback

· HD 720p Video playback on HD TV through HDMI cable

· *Dolby Digital Plus surround sound when played with HDMI & a home theatre

· Support for download, streaming, and progressive download

· Video editing software

· Videos application: collection of stored videos

· On demand WebTV widgets to watch local & global internet streaming TV

· Support for Flash video

· YouTube browsing and streaming

· Video call support (WCDMA network services)

Music features

· Flick scroll to browse the albums in your music collection

· Comes with Music service on selected markets

· Nokia Music Player

· Ovi Music store

· Music codecs: .MP3, WMA, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB

· Bit rate up tp 320 kbps

· DRM support WM DRM, OMA DRM 2.0

· FM transmitter

Radio

· Stereo FM radio (87.5-108 MHz/76-90 MHz)

Gaming

· Use the touch UI to play games

· Dedicated processor for 2D/3D graphics acceleration. Support for OpenGL ES 2.0, OpenGL ES 1.1 and OpenVG 1.1

· Java games

· Use the accelerometer to play games

Energy efficiency

· Power Save mode, ambient light sensor, unplug charger reminder, Nokia Compact Travel Charger AC-15

Materials

· Free of PVC, free of nickel on the product surface, free of brominated & chlorinated compounds and free of antimony trioxide as defined in Nokia Substance List

Packaging

· Made of renewable, 100 % recyclable

Eco content and services

· Reduced size printed user guide in the sales package, full user guide in the device memory and web
Maps for route optimization and pedestrian navigation

Recycling

· Device is up to 80 % recyclable