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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Samsung Vibrant Plus To Be the Fastest Device on T-Mobile’s Network”

Posted by Ashim Adhikari on 5:51 AM // 0 comments

Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Samsung Vibrant Plus To Be the Fastest Device on T-Mobile’s Network”

Samsung Vibrant Plus To Be the Fastest Device on T-Mobile’s Network

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 04:15 AM PST


Leaked document about an upcoming smartphone, the Samsung Vibrant Plus, shows that it will be the first device on T-Mobile’s network to support HSPA 21+ Mbps data transfer speeds.

The rest of the specifications is quite similar to the original Samsung Vibrant, which is itself a variant of Samsung’s Galaxy S: a 4” super AMOLED touch screen, a 1 GHz processor, a 5-megapixel camera and 16 GB of memory, expandable to 32 Gb.

It also has a front-facing camera which will work together with T-Mobile’s QIK-powered video chat and – just like its predecessor – the Samsung Vibrant Plus runs Android 2.2. Finally, as far as design goes, the two devices are also very similar.

Interestingly enough, in the leaked document the device is pictured with a promo image for the movie Inception; the original Samsung Vibrant shipped with the movie Avatar, and the mobile game The Sims 3 Collector's Edition. Perhaps a free copy of Inception is in store for the Vibrant Plus buyers?

[via TmoNews]

More About: Mobile 2.0, samsung, samsung vibrant, Samsung Vibrant Plus, smartphone, T-Mobile

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HANDS-ON With Vizio’s Android-Powered Devices [VIDEO]

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 02:36 AM PST


Vizio, a company best known for its HDTVs, is embracing Android in a big way. Last week, the company showed off an Android-based tablet and smartphone at CES 2011, as well as an Android and Google TV-powered HDTV.

We had a chance to get a look at some early versions of the tablet and smartphone and to see the company’s connected TV approach in person.

First, let’s talk about the TV. Slated for release this summer, Vizio’s XVT Pro series TV is crammed full of features. Not only is this 3D capable HDTV LED backlit, it sports a 480Hz refresh rate, five HDMI ports, has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and uses the new VIA Plus platform.

As for the tablet and smartphone, both devices run Android 2.2 but Vizio told us that they expect to keep the devices as up-to-date as possible. No word on pricing, availability or carrier (in the case of the smartphone), but the Vizio reps told us to expect both offerings to be very competitive.

The interface is extremely customized, but we have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, the interface is clean and usable; it’s a solid and different alternative to the other Android UI skins and it matches the interface of the Android-powered XVT Pro perfectly. On the other hand, the downside of these custom interfaces is that third-party apps don’t always play as nicely as they should with these skins. Moreover, it’s unclear how much work will need to be done to bring Honeycomb over to the tablet.

Vizio was mum on specific internals on the two devices, but they told us that both devices feature a 1Ghz processor and lots of graphical power. Both units also include an IR port so that they can act as a universal remote control of sorts.

A real standout feature is that the HDMI port on the table and the smartphone is HDCP compliant. That means protected content from Hulu Plus, Netflix or any other DRMed service can be played back onto an HDTV without issue.

The units we were using were still in development — the software wasn’t finished on the tablet and the smartphone didn’t have its oleophobic coating. Still, for a first effort, we were impressed.

Unsurprisingly, we think the real star of the show was the TV — its interface and layout was clean and smooth and worked better than other Google TV implementations we’ve seen. It’ll be interesting to see if Vizio can parlay its success in TVs into that tablet/smartphone space.

Check out our hands-on videos of the Vizio tablet, smartphone and connected TV.


VIZIO XVT Pro HDTV Demo at CES, 2011


Mashable reporter Christina Warren speaks with VIZIO's Peter Schwartz about the company's brand new and giant XVT Pro HD television.


VIZIO VIA Tablet and Mobile Phone Demo at CES, 2011


Mashable reporter Christina Warren walks through VIZIO's new VIA tablet and mobile phone at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, during the Consumer Electronics Show, 2011.

More About: android, CES 2011, smartphones, tablets, vizio, xvt pro

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Verizon iPhone Doesn’t Suffer from the Death Grip Issue?

Posted: 12 Jan 2011 12:53 AM PST


The Verizon iPhone is not very different from the AT&T iPhone, but it has been modified to work on Verizon’s CDMA network, which raised questions about whether it, too, will suffer from the infamous grip of death issue. Judging by the first reports that are pouring in, it seems it won’t – at least not to the same degree as the original iPhone 4.

While the iPhone’s death grip issue – a significant loss of signal when you hold the phone in a certain way – is now all but forgotten, it once filled the headlines and many thought it would be a big dent in Apple’s shiny armor of invincibility. It turned out not to be a deal-breaker for users, but still, it’s a real issue, and many iPhone 4 owners would prefer it didn’t exist.

Now, the reviewers who have held the iPhone 4 in their hands are reporting that they cannot replicate the issue on the Verizon iPhone 4, or that the problems have at least been somewhat alleviated.

Ars Technica’s Chris Foresman said that holding the Verizon iPhone in the death grip “did not result in any kind of CDMA signal attenuation.” SlashGear on the other hand reports that no matter how their reporter held the Verizon iPhone 4, it experienced at most a one signal bar drop (from four bars to three).

While these early reports are inconclusive, they indicate that the modifications Apple has done to the iPhone 4 to adapt it to Verizon’s CDMA network might have alleviated the death grip issue – at least to a certain degree. While we await more testing (and a chance to test it out ourselves) of the Verizon iPhone, this is definitely another thing to think about if you’re planning on buying a new iPhone 4.

More About: apple, death grip, iphone, verizon

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Facebook Paid $8.5 Million to Acquire Fb.com

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 10:06 PM PST


How much money did Facebook fork over when it acquired Fb.com last year? A cool $8.5 million, more than 42 times the amount the company originally paid for Facebook.com.

In November, it was revealed that Facebook was launching a revamped version of Messages. It combined SMS, messaging, chat and e-mail into one interface, although Mark Zuckerberg repeatedly iterated that, “It’s not e-mail.”

One feature of the new Facebook Messages is that it assigns you a personalized Facebook.com e-mail address. If a friend sends a message to your Facebook e-mail, you will receive it in your Facebook Inbox. Unfortunately, Facebook’s employees were using the Facebook.com domain for their e-mails already, so they had to switch to another domain, which is why Facebook needed to buy Fb.com in the first place.

Facebook acquired the domain sometime last year from the American Farm Bureau Federation, which uses fb.org as its primary domain. At its annual meeting in Atlanta, the non-profit revealed that it earned $8.5 million on the sale of fb.com, according to Reuters.

The last high-profile domain purchase by Facebook was for Facebook.com, all the way back when it was known as TheFacebook. The company paid $200,000 in August 2005 to acquire the domain, 42.5 times less than what Facebook spent to acquire fb.com. While the Facebook.com purchase was expensive for the company back then, it’s an investment that has clearly paid off. Clearly the company’s hoping that fb.com will fall in the same camp.

Reviews: Facebook

More About: acebook.com, facebook, Facebook.com, fb, fb.com, trending

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Formspring Wants a Place Next to Twitter and Facebook Buttons

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 09:01 PM PST


Formspring has announced $11.5 million in new funding, confirming earlier reports that the popular questions and answers service had taken on significant new capital from lead investor Redpoint Ventures.

The company has also revealed a big new way to grow its audience: a button that publishers can use to ask questions on their website called "Respond." As the name suggests, it lets visitors respond to a question posed by the publisher. The button itself resembles the Tweet, Facebook share and Digg buttons already pervasive on millions of sites across the web.

Like typical Formspring responses, the answers can be broadcast back to social sites like Facebook and Twitter, with the key difference being that the links direct people to the publisher's site instead of Formspring. In turn, it's a new way for publishers to generate traffic and tap into Formspring's 20 million registered users, many of whom appear to be quite active, with the site recently surpassing 2 billion questions answered, up from 1 billion last September. Several large publishers are already using the Respond button at launch, including The Huffington Post and IGN.

With the new funding – which also included participation from Baseline Ventures and a number of individual investors – Formspring has now taken on $14 million in capital. The company is yet to reveal its monetization plans, though in a conversation with me on Tuesday CEO Ade Olonoh and VP of Product Tom Wang did hint that it would be advertising focused.

Asked about suddenly white hot Q&A site Quora, Olonoh said that his service is more "about getting to know people [and getting] insight into their personality" as opposed to more knowledge-driven questions. "Our audience is relatively mainstream and there's this sense that looking at an empty status box is daunting but … responding to a question is natural," he added.

More About: formspring

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New Startup Provides Mobile Users a Live View Inside Local Venues

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 08:48 PM PST


The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: What Spot Now

Quick Pitch: With live views, real-time promotions, and social chatter, What Spot Now shows you what’s happening right now at your favorite places.

Genius Idea: Imagine being able to remotely peek inside your favorite coffee house to see if there are open tables or glimpse the interior digs of a nearby bar on your mobile phone. That kind of real-time perspective would likely influence where you end up grabbing a cup of joe or cocktail.

Such is the logic behind What Spot Now, a new Portland-based startup that is an offshoot of Webby Award-winning software development firm Spotlight Mobile.

What Spot Now makes an iPhone app and mobile website that displays live images — captured by its trademarked “SpotCam” Wi-Fi cameras — inside neighborhood venues. The experience is designed to be a passive way to discover nearby venues and a practical alternative to the location-sharing services offered by Foursquare or Facebook. It too, however, traffics in the deals space with place-based promotions for users to redeem.

Fire up the app or mobile site and you’ll see nearby venues on a map — red pinpoints denote a What Spot Now venue with live images and green pinpoints highlight locations offering short-lived promotions. Touch a pinpoint for a thumbnail live image of each venue, or select a place to get more detailed information on specials and check out a close-up of the interior view.

Should you choose to frequent a local bar with a special, you can use the app to redeem your discount. What Spot Now employs a scratch-off mechanism that will activate a redemption code. Everything is meant to be time sensitive, though, so the code will expire five minutes after you activate it.

Local business owners can sign up with What Spot Now to give mobile users a live, security-camera view of the inside of their venues. Businesses are provided with the custom cameras; the cameras are capable of blurring people in photos and detecting when business is slow (in order to activate promotions). Businesses can also embed widgets on their websites and Facebook Pages that display the same live camera images to their online visitors.

There’s currently no charge for businesses, but that could change once the startup decides on a business model for its service.

“Google Street View changed the way people used the internet. What Spot Now has the potential to have a similar effect,” explains co-founder Kiyo Kubo.

Kubo believes that the application offers a more important purpose than trite checkin features provided by popular location-based services. This is a “need-to-have” app, he says. In fact, Kubo and his friends used the app on Monday night to locate a bar with ample space to watch the BCS Championship football game.

What Spot Now is a promising startup facing one great challenge: expansion. The small team is using Spotlight Mobile money to fund expansion — it has yet to go after funding from outside investors.

To date, all installations have been manual, another obvious deterrent to growth. It is also localized in the Portland, Oregon area with roughly 15 businesses currently participating and ten more slated for next week, according to Kubo. Without a strong presence in a major U.S. market, the practical location-based service risks remaining unknown to most mobile users.

And then there’s Google. The search giant is aggressively going after the local business market with its Places offering and may even be working on a store interior view endeavor of its own. Kubo details, however, that What Spot Now has filed a few patents to protect its technology, which may actually make the startup more of an acquisition target.

For now, Portland residents should consider themselves privy to exciting technology that might very well change the way patrons and venues think about the age-old concept of “happy hour.”

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Reviews: Facebook, Google, foursquare

More About: portland, spark-of-genius, spotlight mobile, startup, what spot now

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Sneak Peek: Panasonic’s Graceful 3D User Interface for Its HDTVs [VIDEO]

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 07:30 PM PST

Although Panasonic isn’t usually the go-to company for software development or user interfaces, check out this attractive 3D environment the company’s created for use with its 3D HDTVs.

This looks like a good way to manipulate icons in 3D space. Its Wii-like remote controls the on-screen elements, responding to gestures in this immersive UI. Panasonic’s Matt Frazier gave us a sneak peek at this interface, one he says is “not ready for prime time.”

More About: 3D, ces2011, HDTV, Panasonic, user interface

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What’s the Difference Between AT&T and Verizon’s 3G Networks?

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 06:42 PM PST


Verizon made it official today: it will be getting the iPhone, ending years of AT&T exclusivity in the U.S. With the Verizon iPhone a reality, there is one question that millions of iPhone owners are now asking themselves: should I switch carriers?

After years of frustration with dropped calls and spotty 3G connectivity, we understand why so many iPhone users are eager to become Verizon customers. In our reader poll, 29% of Mashable readers say they’re switching to Verizon ASAP, while another 16% say they’re switching after their current contract expires.

A lot of people have been asking us about whether switching is a good idea. More specifically, they want to understand the differences between the AT&T iPhone, a UMTS/GSM device, and the Verizon iPhone, a CDMA gadget. What exactly is CDMA? Is it better or worse than UMTS? Why is it impossible to to talk and browse the web at the same time on a Verizon iPhone?

To answer your questions, we wrote a short guide on the subject of CDMA, UMTS and the differences between AT&T and Verizon’s 3G networks:

The Basics on CDMA, GSM and UMTS

The primary difference between the AT&T iPhone and the Verizon iPhone is the technology each uses for 3G connectivity.

AT&T employs the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System in its network. UMTS is built upon concepts from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standard, the basis for EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution). Because of this shared architecture, most UMTS devices support GSM and EDGE, including the AT&T iPhone.

GSM and UMTS technology is widely used worldwide. UMTS phones can be easily moved from one UMTS network to another, making them ideal for international use.

Verizon, on the other hand, uses code division multiples access (CDMA), a form of spread-spectrum signaling that utilizes bandwidth more effectively than most other solutions; it’s often considered more spectrally efficient. CDMA also utilizes soft handovers of phone call, so instead of switching directly from one tower to the next (hard handover), CDMA devices can receive a signal from multiple towers simultaneously. That makes the shift between towers less detectable, and it decreases the rate of dropped calls. On the other hand, UMTS devices aren’t as efficient at soft handovers.

CDMA technology does have several disadvantages, though. It can’t use a SIM card, making it far more difficult to switch handsets. More important is that UMTS networks tend to upload and download data faster than CDMA. A test last year by PCWorld demonstrated that AT&T has the fastest 3G network by a healthy margin. There is, of course, great variation network speeds depending on location, population density and other factors, but in general you’re going to get a faster 3G connection on AT&T (UMTS) than you will on Verizon (CDMA).

One of the other big disadvantages of CDMA is its inability to carry voice and data simultaneously. AT&T phones can browse the web while on a phone call. Verizon phones don’t have that capability, although the network is working on that feature.

What’s the Bottom Line?

In the end, your phone is going to work essentially the same on both networks, and the truth is that the vast majority of users won’t notice any difference. Here are some key points to remember, though:

  • Calls: In general, Verizon will drop less calls. It’s unclear what impact the iPhone will have on its network, but we don’t expect it to be as bad as AT&T was in its early years. Verizon’s network has proven itself to be more robust.
  • Speed: In general, AT&T has the faster 3G network, and in some cases it’s a great deal faster than Verizon.
  • Simultaneous voice and data: Only AT&T is capable of talking on the phone and surfing the web at the same time, but Verizon is working on a solution, saying the fix might be implemented by the end of this year.

The latter point may become a nonissue soon, though. According to The Wall Street Journal, a solution to carry voice and data simultaneously on CDMA networks is coming later this year:

“The inability to multitask can be traced to a decision years ago by the engineers developing CDMA to split voice and data traffic into separate signals, so they can’t run both at once.

Now, they’re working to overcome it. A solution that will allow CDMA networks to carry voice and data simultaneously will become commercially available in the first half of [2011], said Brad Shewmake, spokesman for the CDMA Development Group, an industry organization.”

This argument between CDMA and UMTS may become a moot point in the next few years, though, as 4G networks overtake 3G technology. WiMax and LTE are the primary 4G standards. Both AT&T and Verizon are utilizing LTE as a standard for their 4G networks.

LTE is a GSM-based technology, so it’s no surprise AT&T would embrace it. Verizon’s decision to utilize LTE though could make the argument between the two networks moot, though. They are using the same technology, meaning that the effectiveness of their 4G implementations will determine how fast and reliable they are. Because it’s GSM-based, it will also support simultaneous voice and data.

For now, it’s smart to at least know the advantages and disadvantages of CDMA and UMTS. It will change in the next few years, though.

Reviews: Mashable, Wimax

More About: 3g, 4G, att, CDMA, GSM, iOS, iphone, iphone 4, LTE, trending, UMTS, verizon

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LG Makes Connected Appliances Useful [VIDEO]

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 04:35 PM PST


At CES 2011, we were pleasantly surprised to see a number of connected home appliances on display.

It’s easy to scoff at the notion of getting online with your refrigerator, oven or washing machine (and we’ll admit, we’re still unsure if a tweeting fridge is awesome or overkill), but with under the right conditions and with the right use cases, we think that a strong argument can be made in favor of connected appliances.

I had a chance to take a look at two appliances from LG’s Thinq line, a smart oven and a smart refrigerator.

Both devices connect online, which is interesting if not entirely novel. More unique is their ability to communicate with a your smartphone. This allows you to get alerts from on their phone when an oven is pre-heated, when cooking is finished or when a load of clothes in the dryer is has completed its cycle.

You then have the ability to interact with and send commands to the appliance. For instance, if you have finished cooking your dinner but aren’t quite ready to head to the kitchen (think Thanksgiving dinner when there is lots of good stuff on the TV), you can put the oven in warming mode.

The smart oven also lets you look up recipes online and look through the various cooking instructions.

We really fell in love with the LG smart fridge. You can input what types of items are inside your fridge (and where) by either dragging and dropping food or speaking to the fridge. The fridge then tells you how long you have until that food expires. Because the device is connected, you can check what is inside your refrigerator and how fresh (or un-fresh) your food might be from the grocery store.

Check out our videos of the LG Thinq appliances in action.


LG Fridge Demo at CES 2011


Mashable reporter Christina Warren speaks with LG product insight manager Patrick Steinkuhl about LG's new refrigerator with "ThinQ" technology.


LG Oven Demo at CES 2011


Mashable Reporter Christina Warren interviews Product insight manager Patrick Steinkuhl about LG's new Oven with "ThinQ" technology.

Disclosure: LG was a sponsor of the Mashable Awards.

Reviews: Mashable, awards

More About: CES 2011, connected appliances, LG, smart oven, smart refrigerator, thinq

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Chromium Goes All In for Open Source Video

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 03:45 PM PST


About half a year after Google announced its WebM video codec at Google I/O, Chromium has made some interesting announcements on how the open-source browser project plans to support open-source video.

Chromium Project Manager Mike Jazayeri writes that his team is “changing Chrome's HTML5 <video> support to make it consistent with the codecs already supported by the open Chromium project.” That means WebM (VP8) will be supported, as will the open-source codec Theora. H.264, on the other hand, will be phased out.

When Google rolled out WebM back in May 2010, we were excited by the possibilities for this open-source, royalty-free format for online video. The technology uses the VP8 codec that Google acquired in February 2009.

Google has been using the WebM format in its HTML5 YouTube experiment with mixed results.

Now, Jazayeri writes that only open-source video codecs will be supported. So far, these codecs include WebM and Theora, a traditionally inferior and still developing technology, as far as playback is concerned.

The H.264 standard has been around since 2003 and has gained a great deal of traction during that time. Still, it’s technically not an open technology. The entity that controls licensing for H.264 video says it will refrain from collecting royalties until the end of 2015. So while the technology is free for now, it’s still proprietary. And in the world of die-hard FOSS advocacy, that’s a huge no-no.

It’s also likely no coincidence that H.264 is strongly supported by Apple and has been for many years.

Jazayeri writes, “Though H.264 plays an important role in video, as our goal is to enable open innovation, support for the codec will be removed and our resources directed towards completely open codec technologies.”

While the FOSS love-fest is a thing of beauty, more than one commenter on the Chromium blog post pointed out the impracticality of Google’s lack of ideological and technical support for one of the most widely used video codecs on the web.

As one person wrote, “This is a move by Google where they care more about the open source ‘community’ than they do actual users of their browser. Let’s be real here: WebM has a LONG way to go before it will have any serious amount of traction, and Theora is a joke. Like it or now, H.264 is becoming the standard, and dropping support for it for no good reason is ridiculous.”

We’ll see how the web video “wars” play out and will continue to report on newsworthy updates in this area. In the meantime, we’d love to get your opinions in the comments. Is support for open technologies — even flawed ones — better than support for proprietary technologies, no matter how ubiquitous?

Image based on photo from Flickr user Damon Duncan.

Reviews: Chrome, Chromium, Flickr, Google

More About: browser, Chromium, codec, Google, h.264, HTML5, theora, video

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Ask.com Brings Q&A and Personalization to Web Search

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:40 PM PST


A fraction of the queries entered into a search engine will find an answer that already exists on the web. But in an attempt to offer users even more answers — and continue to build on its re-launch as a Q&A community — Ask.com will be launching a more social search, including personalized browsing.

The 15-year-old search engine differentiates its question and answer community from more recent startups in the space, like Quora, by directing users’ questions to experts — rather than leaving the answers up to the whole community — and by identifying users’ interests through their LinkedIn or Facebook profiles.

The new personalized browsing aspect, which is available online only in beta with an invite or to Ask’s iPhone app users, helps the site generate its own profile for a user.

“Users give a few pieces of information. We’ll ask if you want to input your details from Facebook or LinkedIn, and we grab certain pieces of your profile information to build a profile for you so we’ll know what questions we think you can answer,” says Jason Rupp, Ask.com’s director of product management.

Based on that information, Ask.com can route questions to someone whose profile shows experience or knowledge in areas related to user-generated questions. The personalized information will also help the site identify users with similar interests, and users will be able to follow other users.

Rupp says the company has found that, not surprisingly, those users choose to follow share similar interests and are interested in the same content.

“We can start to make associations between your topics and theirs. We can see what types of things match up and build you a better content [experience],” he says.

Ask.com re-launched itself as a Q&A site in July 2010. It may have started as one of the original big search engines, but today it’s trying to find a new niche. Social search — and user-generated answers produced via a search engine — might prove to be a successful area for the site and a new way to provide users more answers to their queries.

“Social search is a relatively a new direction for us,” says Valerie Combs, Ask.com’s VP of communications. “It’s all part of a goal to create a peer-to-peer experience, tap into social and interest graphs to filter responses, and … search to find if an answer’s out there.”

Often, in today’s Internet age, handing over personal data and interests means users also provide sites the opportunity to provide targeted ads. When we asked if Ask.com intended to do that, Rupp and Combs said absolutely not.

“The goal of this feature is to get the right questions and answers from people,” Rupp says. “All that data is about helping people find information; none of that will be used for advertising.”

In an era where targeted ads have become the norm, Ask.com’s stance of strictly keeping that profile data separate from advertising might come as a welcome change for many users.

If you’d like to try out the beta version of Ask.com, with these newest features rolling out in the coming days, visit www.ask.com/invite, or download Ask.com’s iPhone app [iTunes link].

What do you think of Ask.com’s solution to providing more search results and its ongoing venture into the Q&A space?

Reviews: Facebook, Internet, LinkedIn

More About: Ask.com, personalization, search engine, social search

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iPhone Faceoff: AT&T vs. Verizon

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:35 PM PST


Now that the Verizon iPhone is official, U.S. smartphone users have an additional choice of carrier when it comes to picking up Apple’s smartphone.

The Verizon iPhone will be available on February 10, 2011. Spec wise, this phone is virtually identical to its AT&T brother, but the difference in network technologies means that there are a few differences in what the phone can do.

We know that a lot of users are going to want to know how the AT&T iPhone compares to the Verizon iPhone. That’s why we created this infographic highlighting the various differences.

Verizon wouldn’t get into specifics on pricing plans, so for the data plan, we just used its existing smartphone rates. It also isn’t clear if Verizon will be charging for hotspot access on the iPhone (as it does with some of its handsets) or if it will be a free feature.

As you can see, the big difference — aside from carrier quality — is that the AT&T iPhone can use a simultaneous voice and data connection, meaning you can talk on the phone while tethering or browsing the web. Verizon’s CDMA network doesn’t allow for this sort of simultaneous connectivity, so keep that in mind (if you are an existing AT&T customer) before making the switch.

Are you going to buy a Verizon iPhone? Let us know why or why not in the comments.

More About: apple, att, inforgraphic, iphone, iphone 4, verizon, Verizon iPhone

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Toyota Attempts to Stir Silly Social Media Debate for Prius

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:21 PM PST


Want to get a social media conversation going? Then create a false controversy.

That’s the approach Toyota has taken for its new Prius line. To get the word out in social media circles, the automaker could have talked about the Prius V’s 50% increased trunk space or emphasized the line’s green credentials. Instead, the campaign focused on a grammatical debate over the plural of “Prius.”

The idea came about because there will now be a few different Prius models on the road, but it’s also an acknowledgment that after 10 years, most people know only basic facts about the Prius. “We really wanted to tap into the passion and enthusiasm of Prius owners,” says Kimberley Gardiner, national digital, marketing and social media manager for Toyota, who adds that the debate over the correct plural of Prius (Latin for “first”) is actually a topic that has come up among such owners.

To stoke the debate, Toyota and agency Saatchi & Saatchi released a web video yesterday that features a droll children’s song musing on the illogical forms of the plural in English. “There’s octopus to octopi, spiky cactus to cacti then how come when we multiply, platypus doesn’t become platypi?”

Other outreach includes a Facebook page where consumers can vote on their preferred plural (including “Prii,” “Prien” and “Prium”) and a “Prius goes Plural” promoted trend on Twitter.

All this for a car that won’t hit showrooms for at least six months.

But Gardiner says that six months is about the time that consumers need to make their decision on a new car purchase. Social media, it turns out, can help that decision-making process. “It’s very reasonable, in fact it’s expected for [consumers] to have some early information about what’s coming out,” says Gardiner. “They don’t just want information, they want to know what their friends are saying.”

It’s a measure of Toyota’s confidence that it’s able to build a campaign around such a silly premise. A year ago, the company was grappling with product recalls that severely tarnished its stellar brand image. Time and the deft use of social media helped Toyota rebuild its image somewhat, but Ted Marzilli, senior vice president and global managing director of YouGov’s BrandIndex, says that Toyota’s buzz score before the recalls was 27, meaning that, averaging fans (+100) and detractors (-100), the brand had a fairly positive image. But after the recalls, the buzz score slipped to -55 and is now at 13, Marzilli says. (The BrandIndex is tabulated by polling 5,000 consumers a day online.) “They’ve come a long way back,” says Marzilli, “but since October of this year, their score has sort of flattened out.”

A campaign focused on a trivial topic is a good way to change the subject, especially given Toyota’s newfound appreciation for social media. It’s significant that Gardiner’s position is a new one. She also expects future Toyota campaigns — the next one is for Camry — to lean heavily on social media. “One thing we’ve learned is that you have to be open and have more transparency,” says Gardiner.

And by the way, Gardiner says the preferred plural of Prius in-house is “Priuses.”

Reviews: Twitter

More About: advertising, MARKETING, prius, Toyota

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Social Media and Subpoenas: A Broken System That Puts Journalistic Sources at Risk

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:07 PM PST

Privacy Journalism

The Department of Justice issued Twitter a subpoena for access to the accounts of Julian Assange and several others in relation to its investigation of the whistle-blower organization, which released roughly 2,000 classified cables.

As a result of its current law enforcement guidelines, Twitter is going to divulge the information. The provision is fairly typical for technology startups to include in their policies as a way to protect themselves from getting involved in legal issues pertaining to the platform’s users. With such a policy, Twitter is not held responsible, and in many ways it should not be. According to the media lawyers we interviewed, this kind of government request is not unique.

Jodi Olson, a spokeswoman at Twitter, would not comment on details about the subpoena, but she said that “to help users protect their rights, it’s our policy to notify users about law enforcement and governmental requests for their information, unless we are prevented by law from doing so.”

That’s because most of such requests come with a gag order, and so companies like Twitter and Google cannot notify the user that his or her information is being requested. What’s unique about the recent Twitter subpoena is that it became public. In this case, Twitter challenged the gag order and won. It then notified the parties whose information was being requested, including Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of parliament in Iceland and former volunteer who is now challenging the order.

For a social service that has been regarded as a news source by many of its users, which include high-profile politicians, journalists and company CEOs, Twitter’s challenge to notify users when their information is being sought by a government entity is a step in the right direction in protecting users who may be exchanging sensitive information in the name of journalism.

A Broken System

Though it is not clear what sort of information the DOJ will find in the WikiLeaks Twitter accounts, it does have a possibility to yield correspondence with whistle-blowers. With such information being divulged, journalists should tread carefully when dealing with sources and sensitive information on the platform and not expect to provide any anonymity to sources reaching out to them via Twitter.

Prosecutors could simply seek a subpoena to obtain the information, regardless of the protection the news organization has promised. Although news organizations have often fought subpoenas, Twitter is a platform and simply provides a place for interaction between whistle-blowers and journalists to take place.

Many journalists, of course, are already cautious in any correspondence with whistle-blowers and dealing with sources who wish to remain to be anonymous.

Paul Lewis, an investigative journalist from the Guardian who uses Twitter regularly in his reporting, realizes Twitter is mostly a public forum where messages are sent in the open.

Lewis said for investigative journalists using social media, this requires a certain trade-off — often you have to let the online world, which includes competitors, know where you’re digging. But private direct messages are another matter, he said. When used by reporters, private messages on Twitter should be afforded the same journalistic privilege given to other private communication, such as e-mail or letters.

“But sometimes you have to presume someone will be watching or listening,” Lewis said. “If conducting a really sensitive online discussion with a source, I would never use Twitter, e-mail or even Skype. Private encrypted chat is the safest bet.”

But that cautious approach relies on the journalist reaching out, not a source who has contacted a journalist through a social site or e-mail using his or her real identity. The little anonymity and identity protection on the web highlights a challenge investigative journalists are facing in corresponding with sources in the digital age.

Social Media’s Shield Law Loophole

The journalist cannot adequately promise anonymity on social sites like Twitter or others, but that won’t stop whistle-blowers from contacting journalists on those sites. Whistle-blowers will still reach out to journalists on those platforms because that’s where they are often most accessible. Therefore, it ultimately starts with protection from the platform.

Journalists may be able to offer some protection in knowing that the platform will not disclose source information. But this would take a serious restructuring of the current culture of companies that do not stand up for their users. Twitter’s move to notify its users is a step in the right direction.

But notification is not enough to provide protection to journalists whose information is being subpoenaed by a federal court. In the U.S., 36 states and Washington, D.C. have journalist shield laws — legislation that provides reporters a privilege to refuse to disclose any information or sources obtained during their reporting. The rest of the states either provide some protection or none at all. But because there is no federal statutory reporter’s shield law, Jane Kirtley, who teaches media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota, says that in all likelihood, there would be no protection for a journalist being subpoenaed on a federal level.

Kirtley notes there are federal attorney general guidelines, which discourage the use of subpoenas against the press, but nothing to outright prohibit them as long as the attorney general approves it.

The case with Twitter and other tech companies is that these are not considered to be subpoenas for journalists’ records, so even if there is a privilege, it is unlikely to apply to these records, Kirtley said. This is a loophole that gives journalists little protection or right to protect themselves in their reporting while using such sites.

If a journalist refuses to disclose information to a government entity requesting it in an investigation, the court can simply go to the platform of communication to get the records. With many social media sites playing a vital role in news distribution and watchdog journalism, this requires a stand from those sites against disclosing such information in a broken system that once recognized the value of protecting journalistic integrity.

But ultimately, the privilege of shield laws should also extend to the social platforms hosting the information that is shared between whistle-blowers and journalists. And until there is a federal shield law for reporters, protection for such newsgathering will be nonexistent. This is the only way to fix the broken system. Platforms can only protect their users to a certain extent. It then becomes a legislative issue around the protection of journalists and the Fourth Estate.

Images courtesy of iStockphoto, JordiDelgado and zimmytws

Reviews: Google, Skype, Twitter, iStockphoto

More About: journalism, journalists, law, media, reporters, social media, twitter, wikileaks

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Intel Shows Us the Digital Future of Lego [VIDEO]

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 02:02 PM PST


In this demo from CES, an Intel rep shows us the coolest thing to happen to Lego toys since tiny rubber wheels.

What you’ll see in this video is a blurring of the line between real and virtual toys, as digital enhancements change the way we might play with Legos.

Research scientists at Intel’s lab in Seattle have figured out how to use 3-D image recognition software to create new, virtual play spaces and actions for physical Lego toys, as well as physical gestures. You can set a Lego house on “fire” with a Lego dragon, or you can watch tiny passengers board a Lego train for its journey around a virtual track.

We’re sure this type of image and gestural recognition would work with non-Lego toys as well; toy franchises from My Little Pony to G.I. Joe could benefit hugely from these kinds of enhancements.

But for now, these toys are still very much in research stages. Intel built and runs the programs on Gentoo (a Linux distro) with an Intel Core i7 processor.

Check out the video below and let us know what you think. Is this a cool new way to play — something that might soon make its way to a mass market? Or do you think that toys like these might erode what’s left of our youngsters’ imaginations?

Reviews: Linux

More About: ces2011, intel, Lego, toys

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HANDS ON: Dell’s 4G Streak 7 Tablet

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 01:26 PM PST


We recently took Dell’s Streak 7 tablet, a 4G tablet that made its debut at CES, for a bit of a test drive.

The Streak 7 is Dell’s successor to the Streak, an early Android tablet that — at 5 inches — was barely larger than a smartphone. It shipped with Android 1.6 and was slowly upgraded to a later version of the OS.

The Streak 7 is an upgraded experience with a 7-inch screen and Android 2.2 (Froyo) — still a far cry from the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) tablets we saw elsewhere at CES, but a definite improvement over the last model.

The Streak 7 has a front-facing camera for video chats, a rear 5 MP camera with a flash for taking photos, built-in Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities and up to 32 GB of storage.

Like its predecessor, the Streak 7 will be available on T-Mobile; it will be T-Mobile’s first 4G tablet.

In the two demo videos below, we see the Streak 7 as a great device for connecting to all the other devices and media in your home — as a sort of remote control for your digital life, as well as a stand-alone device.

Take a look, and let us know what you think in the comments.


Dell Streak 7 Demo


Dell's Kevin Andrew walks us through the Dell Streak 7 Tablet at the Dell Suites in Las Vegas during the Consumer Electronics Show, 2011.


Dell Wireless Living Room and Streak 7 Demo


Dell's Angela Blair shows us how the company's new technologies allow you to wirelessly transfer media between devices in your home.

Reviews: Android

More About: android, ces2011, dell, dell streak, dell streak 7, Top Stories

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Making Data Relevant: The New Metrics for Social Marketing

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:43 PM PST


Prashant Suryakumar is a Social Media Engagement Manager at Mu Sigma and is currently focused on social media analytics. This post was co-authored by Dhiraj Rajaram, the founder and CEO of Mu Sigma.

Social media has come of age. Marketers now have the ability to augment their traditional marketing approaches with rich behavioral and activity-based targeting that should increase marketing ROI significantly.

However, businesses are facing an uncomfortable truth: There are no "best practices" for measuring a successful social media campaign. Crowd behavior is dynamic and context-specific, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to build a "one size fits all" solution.

A structured approach to capturing, measuring, analyzing and refining marketing strategies in near real time is essential to executing a successful social campaign. Initially, however, companies need to invest in infrastructure to make such a learning cycle possible.

Invest in Data

Measuring the impact of social media campaigns is systemically different from that of traditional marketing campaigns. Since the medium touches all the aspects of the customer purchase cycle, a holistic measurement of awareness, transactions and brand impact is essential.

Additionally, social media is a two-way communication medium and businesses need to invest in listening capabilities that capture the activities of their existing or potential customers online. Several paid and “freemium” tools that monitor online chatter can be found online.

While data is abundant, it is by nature unstructured. Integrating listening data with internal web behavior metrics captured by JavaScript tags, customer care logs, brand surveys and transactional data can enable a business to get a 360 degree view of the activities of customers across all of the purchase touchpoints.

Real-Time Monitoring

A typical online conversation has a life span of about one to two days. As a result, it is imperative for companies to respond to conversations in nearly real time. During this short window, they not only need to understand the context and content of the conversation, but also create an effective response mechanism. All of this underscores the need for real-time monitoring and analysis.

Companies like Dell and Best Buy are adopting different strategies for listening to Internet chatter. These investments help keep a finger on the pulse of every conversation active on the networks.

Sentiment Analysis

Text mining and sentiment analysis are the flavor of the season for social media analytics and a common complaint is that the current tools are not able to classify a high percentage of the comments about your brand.

Step back and think about a conversation you had in the last 30 minutes. How many statements in that conversation were unambiguously positive or negative. Not many, right? Getting a 20% sentiment mapping for individual comments is a very high number.

On the other hand, think about the same conversation; Was the overall sentiment of the conversation positive or negative? That is far easier to cognitively classify. If businesses shift their focus to a conversation-based, rather than a comment-based sentiment analysis, they will be able to get a far better read on the aggregate sentiment of online chatter.

New Metrics

The need for improvisation and identification of new metrics is high. Currently, three categories of metrics need to be developed to enhance our understanding of social activities.

  • Metrics that help understand conversations and engagement (e.g. aggregate sentiment, conversation heatmaps),
  • Metrics to spot influencers in a community (e.g. influencer score, Klout score), and
  • Metrics that help in measuring holistic impact of social media activities on the business.

The Interplay Between Buzz, Branding and Sales

Measuring the impact of increased chatter for your brand might not always translate to more revenue for the business. Measuring cause and effect between buzz, branding and sales might show different dynamics for different product groups. For example, the Old Spice social media campaign saw an 800% increase in Facebook interaction and a 107% increase in sales. The numbers are related, but not necessarily 1:1.

Testing Mechanisms

Social media is a fertile testing ground, and businesses need to appreciate the importance of a robust testing protocol for social media-based actions. Having a mechanism to measure the effectiveness of comments will ensure that businesses can learn quickly and adapt to the social dynamics.

A key point to remember is that the instance and context of the test is as important as the test itself due to the temporal nature of conversations.

Some of the tests that can be conducted are:

  • Who are the right "influencers" to target for a particular product or service?
  • What is the right time to message these influencers?
  • What is the impact of competition activity on our buzz?
  • What is the impact of traditional marketing on social media and vice versa?
  • What are the type of comments that work for selling a product?
  • What are the type of comments that work for selling a service?
  • What are the right pricing strategies?
  • How should the business tap into current affairs?

Behavioral Segmentation

Behavioral targeting dramatically changed with online advertising, and now social media can take this effectiveness to new heights. Activity-based segmentation is far different from traditional demographic segmentation, and this is typically driven by a difference between the purchasers and the consumers of a product. Businesses can draw parallels from traditional marketing (targeting kids so that they can influence their parents) and build a unique social targeting mechanism.

Crowd Behavior

Businesses have tried to artificially stimulate a conversation by mettling in their own communities or creating artificial hype. This approach usually fails miserably. They need to understand that social networks emulate real-world interactions, and excessive policing of user generated content can be detrimental to the natural growth patterns of a network.

Math, business technology and behavioral sciences are the key ingredients for good decision making. Understanding organizational dynamics, flock behavior and complex adaptive systems are all directly applicable to social media. Integrating analytics with a deep understanding of how humans interact in a sociographic and psychographic sense can help a business stimulate a conversation within a community, or trigger flock behavior amongst customers.

Integration Into Existing Business Models

Once companies understand the impact of lead indicators, like buzz, on transactional metrics, like revenue, they can include such metrics into their forecasting models and predict short-term revenue with greater accuracy. Additionally, since a good social media campaign will improve the brand health, the long-term impact of these campaigns can be assessed.

While every business wants to understand the impact of its social media spend, it might not be so easy to integrate that into a media mix model. A good social media campaign might manifest itself in increased brand scores or customer loyalty and will impact the lifetime value of the customers more than the immediate transactional metrics. Including indirect metrics like buzz or sentiment might be one way to capture social behavior.

Product Design

Social media can be a direct line of communication with the end user of your products. Businesses can leverage this very effectively in product design by soliciting input from the end user on what features they prefer in the product. Getting feature specific intelligence from the customer can help in building a product that caters to most of the population and also helps in building a sense of loyalty among the user base. Good examples of this include Ideastorm, Vitamin Water and Fiat.

Conclusion

The framework above is the first step in helping companies understand the who, what, when and where of social targeting. The obvious next step is to integrate all this knowledge into traditional marketing and CRM.

More Social Media Marketing Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Key Tips for a Successful Social Media Content Strategy
- 5 Creative Facebook Places Marketing Campaigns
- Why Marketing Threatens the True Promise of Social Media
- 7 Stellar Examples of Branded Content from the Fashion Industry
- HOW TO: Launch a Successful Twitter Contest

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, AndrewJohnson, enot-poloskun

Reviews: Facebook, Internet, iStockphoto

More About: analytics, branding, brands, business, MARKETING, measurement, social media, social media marketing

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Verizon iPads Finally Ditch MiFi Cards for Real Connectivity

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:34 PM PST


Along with hearing the announcement about the Verizon iPhone this morning, we’ve learned that Apple’s iPad — which has been marketed by Verizon for some time — will now actually be able to connect directly to the Verizon network.

We realize that connecting the device to the network sounds like a no-brainer. However, for the past few months, folks with Verizon iPads have had to buy separate external Verizon MiFi devices in order to connect when Wi-Fi wasn’t available.

Now, as Apple’s exclusivity with AT&T comes to a close, the iPad will be able to connect directly to Verizon’s 3G — and who knows, perhaps even its 4G LTE — network. The latter would bring it to parity with Motorola’s Xoom, a new Android-powered tablet recently announced at CES.

iPads with embedded Verizon chips will be coming soon; however, an exact release date hasn’t yet been set.

The iPad first came to Verizon in October 2010. Although connecting to the network when Wi-Fi wasn’t present did require a bundled MiFi, costs were comparable and data plans were better than what AT&T customers were getting.

Reviews: Android

More About: apple, ipad, MiFi, verizon

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Make Charitable Donations With Every Credit Card Swipe

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 12:21 PM PST


Startup SwipeGood has announced that it will make its system for giving charitable donations with every credit card swipe available to more than just American Express credit card-holders and Blippy users.

When cardholders sign up for SwipeGood, each of their credit card purchases is rounded to the next dollar. The additional change added to the charge is donated to a charity of their choice.

The result is a constant, passive giving method that for most users amounts to a donation of about $20 per month (SwipeGood collects about 5% for operational expenses). Though the company isn’t releasing specifics, co-founder Steli Efti says that SwipeGood’s user base has been “growing substantially every day” since its November launch, despite being restricted by the limited payment options it initially supported.

Today, the company is launching support for the top requested banks: Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo. It will also support debit cards and checking accounts for the first time, giving more people the option to donate their change to charity.

SwipeGood is also adding 25 new charities to its previous five options, including ASPCA, Food for the Poor, Kids V Cancer, Invisible Children, and the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Image courtesy of Flickr, tomarthur.

Reviews: Flickr

More About: donations, social good, startup, swipegood

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Is Twitter a Touchdown for Social Good?

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:48 AM PST

trophy image

On January 29, Twitchange, a digital auction house selling off celebrity Twitter presences for charity, is set to launch a social good campaign championed by NFL star Troy Polamalu. Twitchange lets fans bid on an opportunity to interact with their favorite celebrities on Twitter by having those celebrities follow, mention or retweet them.

Each auction lasts about one month and all money is given to a cause selected by a main celebrity spokesperson. Polamalu, a star safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was selected as the spokesperson for his work on veteran issues. The auction will benefit Operation Once in a Lifetime, a non-profit providing free financial and morale support to U.S. Service members and veterans regardless of rank, deployment, physical condition or branch of service.

The previous campaign was helmed by Eva Longoria in support of building homes in Haiti. With more than 35 million hits, that campaign raised more than $540,000 and garnered support from more than 175 celebrities including Justin Bieber, Shaquille O’Neal and Adrian Grenier.

Twitchange chose Polamalu as its next spokesperson because of his commitment to veteran issues. “Each cause we have needs a spokesperson that believes in it to their core,” said Shaun King, Twitchange’s founder.

The cause hits home for Polamalu. His grandfather, as well as several uncles and cousins have served in the armed forces. “I experienced first-hand tragedies, psychological and emotional effects of war through my own family members,” Polamalu said in an e-mail. One of Polamalu’s cousins was deeply affected by “Gulf War Syndrome” upon returning from combat. He eventually died.

Is Social “Good”?

twitchange image

As much as social good is the focus for Twitchange, King acknowledged that “the dirty little secret on Twitter is that everybody wants a celebrity to follow them on Twitter.” However, this gets at one of the criticisms of the new brand of social philanthropy. As Malcom Gladwell said in his oft-cited and more often disputed article on the relative merits of social good:

“The Internet lets us exploit the power of these kinds of distant connections with marvellous efficiency. It's terrific at the diffusion of innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, seamlessly matching up buyers and sellers, and the logistical functions of the dating world. But weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.”

On some level this is accurate: Social good campaigns like Twitchange are less likely to create revolutionary moments the way high-risk activism, like the civil rights movement, can. Further is the concern that the campaigns are more about the celebrity than the actual charity.

“I think it’s the celebrity first and the charity second,” said Peter Panepento, assistant managing editor for The Chronicle of Philanthropy. “I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing but I think people need to recognize that it shouldn’t be a replacement for the other forms of charity.”

Ben Rattray, the founder of Change.org, advocated for the same sense of caution. Non-profits like Twitchange bring a certain “sexiness” to giving, but that same enthusiasm needs to be tempered by a measured perspective on what help Twitchange can offer, especially given the disproportionally higher impact of offline giving.

Gladwell’s argument, however, overlooks the fairly simple idea that any form of charity is a good form of charity. Perhaps social giving is not “high-risk activism,” but can anyone be faulted for supporting a cause? Both Panepento and Rattray agreed that at the end of the day, campaigns like Twitchange are net positives: raising money, awareness and buzz for worthy causes.

Conclusion

It is possible that some people might participate in the auction just to be close to a celebrity, forgetting the cause behind it. It is equally possible that in doing so, those same people learn about an important issue or continue to support something that they might not have otherwise discovered. “Ultimately we found that most of the people that that bid in Twitchange auctions do so because they believe in the cause and the interaction with celebrities is just a super cool added bonus,” King said.

Causes are given an extra boost by getting celebrities, and their social networks, involved in the campaign. If you have a favorite celebrity, the Twitchange site will actually help you look him up and petition him (via tweet) to sign up to support the cause. “It’s actually pretty brilliant marketing,” Rattray said. “It’s difficult for a celebrity to turn down an opportunity to do good.”

In Polamalu’s case, his drive seems to come more from the heart. Normally soft-spoken, he likes to keep his charity work outside of the public sphere in order to preserve the authenticity of the experience and his efforts. Social media has blown the doors off of that model for this one exception: “Supporting veterans is a worthy cause that deserves publicity because society sometimes forgets the huge impact they’ve made,” Polamalu said. “These people are heroes because they make the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy our daily freedoms. An opportunity of this magnitude needs all the publicity it can get.”

Is social good of any kind always a good thing? Are there limitations? What do you make of Twitchange’s model? Let us know your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Flickr, StephenMitchell

Reviews: Flickr, Twitter, justin bieber

More About: activism, charity, malcom gladwell, non-profit, philanthropy, social good, troy polamalu, TwitChange, twitter

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Turn Your Twitter Icon Into an Animated GIF

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 11:18 AM PST


Have you ever paused before composing a particularly poignant tweet about the consistency of your rye bread (stale), and thought: “I wish my Twitter avatar would move in the same way that my soul does when someone rewards my musings with a sympathetic, ‘Drag, dude’”?

Well, you’re in luck, because Buzzfeed senior designer, F.A.T. denizen, and Ex-Blocker developer Greg Leuch has whipped up a fun little hack that will let you do just that.

All one has to do is create a GIF using 3fram.es, resize the GIF on the F.A.T. website, and download it for easy uploading to Twitter.

According to Leuch, the project has been used to process nearly 400 avatars already. “Hoping to spend some time tonight and make the resizing utility do some more advanced features and *fingers crossed* sync it to their Twitter account and auto-upload their new animated avatar as their profile photo,” Leuch tells us via e-mail.

If you check out my Twitter profile (for a limited time — rapid, repetitive motion makes me nervous) you can see my avatar, which is basically my “Hang in There” kitten poster flapping in the breeze.

Reviews: Twitter

More About: social media, twitter, twitter icons

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Antoine Dodson Previews Follow Up to “Bed Intruder” at Mashable Awards [VIDEO]

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 10:29 AM PST

dynadot

This post is brought to you by Dynadot, sponsor of the Mashable Awards' "Best Internet Meme" Category. Dynadot is an ICANN accredited domain name registrar and web host. Join Dynadot on Facebook to learn how to enter its I Can Haz iPad Giveaway!

This year for The Mashable Awards, our annual contest highlighting the very best the web has to offer, we introduced the “Best Internet Meme” category, supported by Dynadot. We’re proud to announce that this year’s winner is the YouTube viral hit, Bed Intruder.

Mashable readers, you spoke loud and clear, voting five strong nominees in as finalists for the category: Sad Keanu, Bed Intruder, FFFFffffuuuuu Guy, Double Rainbow and #FridayReads. In the end, Bed Intruder took home the trophy.

Antoine Dodson, star of the winning video, made an appearance at the Mashable Awards to accept the “Best Internet Meme” category award. Immediately afterward, he was interviewed by Mashable Editor in Chief Adam Ostrow, which led to Dodson previewing a new song from his forthcoming album — one of several ways the viral sensation is looking to cash in on his Internet fame.

Check out Dodson’s acceptance speech and his interview with Adam in the videos below:

Antoine Dodson Acceptance Speech

Antoine Dodson Interview

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event brought together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we celebrated the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event included acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, in addition to special guest presenters and appearances.

Mashable Awards Category Sponsor:

Win an iPad!

Join us on Facebook to learn how to enter Dynadot's I Can Haz iPad Giveaway!

Dynadot is an ICANN accredited domain name registrar and web host where you can register the perfect domain name affordably, reliably, simply and securely. Whether you are a blogger, business owner, or planning on creating the next best Internet meme you need a domain that represents you. Let Dynadot help you establish your web identity today.

Reviews: Facebook, Internet, Mashable, YouTube

More About: antoine dodson, bed intruder, mashable awards, mashable awards 2010, open web awards

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Paper.li Owner Gets $2.1 Million in New Funding

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 09:54 AM PST


The owner of news aggregator Paper.li has some good news of its own to share today: $2.1 million in new funding.

SmallRivers SA, the Swiss creator of Paper.li drew financing from Highland Capital Partners, SoftBank Capital and Endeavour Vision. In conjunction with the financing, SmallRivers got two new members on its board of directors: Dan Nova of Highland and Ronald Fisher of SoftBank.

Paper.li creates “custom newspapers” for Twitter and — as of last month — Facebook as well, by culling content based on keywords, usernames and hashtags. Launched last summer, the site currently has 2 million unique visitors, operates in four languages (English, Spanish, German and French) and publishes 140,000 user-created daily newspapers, according to the company.

Paper.li isn’t alone in the “social newspaper” market, however. TigerLogic’s PostPost produces a similar product based on Facebook news feeds. Meanwhile, Flipboard, which bills itself as a “social magazine,” offers its aggregation product via the iPad.

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter

More About: Flipboard, highland capital partners, paper.li, postpost, softbank

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5 Clever iPhone Accessories That Make Gaming More Fun

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 09:45 AM PST


With thousands of great games in the App Store, there’s no doubt that the iPhone is a pretty nifty handheld gaming device in its own right. But that’s not to say the fun levels can’t be upped with some ace accessories.

Whether you want the feel of a real wheel for driving games, improved grip for fierce fragging action, or fun with some novelty docks, there are peripherals out there that can improve your experience.

See below for our selection of five fun add-ons for the iPhone and iPod touch that will enhance your iGaming. Don’t forget to shout out any gaming accessories you enjoy with your iDevice in the comments.

1. iPhone Pinball Magic

If you fancy yourself as a bit of a pinball wizard, then this novelty dock will be right up your alley. With a working ball-launching plunger and flipper buttons, the free companion Pinball Magic app offers several board layouts and game modes. As an added bonus, you can actually charge and sync your iPhone via USB when it’s connected.

Cost: $39.99

2. iSound GameWheel

Whether it’s Need for Speed Hot Pursuit or Cro-Mag Rally you’re racing on, you may find you perform better with a real wheel. The iSound GameWheel boasts an easy-to-use snap-in design and its rubberized grip will help you corner like you’re on rails.

Cost: $19.99

3. SportGrip Gamer for iPod Touch 4G

Created for the “serious gaming enthusiast,” the SportGrip Gamer case is tailor-made for the iPod touch 4G. The case features two loops on the back that can be pulled outward so that your fingers can hook through them, giving you a better grip and freeing up your thumbs for some hardcore handheld gaming action.

Cost: $24.99

4. Psyclone Thumbies

These are aimed at anyone who feels like they’re not really gaming unless their thumbs are hitting buttons. The Thumbies suction onto your iPhone’s screen where the virtual buttons in games are located and give you a more tactile experience.

Cost: $19.99

5. iPhone Jackpot Slots

In addition to charging your iPhone, this fun docking station will turn an iPhone into a working one-armed bandit that plays one of five different games thanks to the free companion Jackpot Slots app. As with the real deal, you pull the handle down to play. Just don’t expect any nickels to come pouring out — there’s no app for that just yet.

Cost: $39.99

COMING SOON: Mophie Pulse

Just announced at CES 2011, iPod touch owners should look out for the Mophie Pulse, as it promises to give your portable gaming real kick. Besides boosting the audio, the Pulse will add some haptic feedback (vibration buzz generated from sound) to your gameplay, making gaming on the touch even more immersive.

Cost: TBD (reports suggest approx $100)

More iPhone Resources from Mashable

- 4 Frighteningly Fun Zombie iPhone Games
- 3 Innovative iPad Games That Use the iPhone as a Controller
- 10 Classic PC Games That Found New Life on the iPhone
- 5 Awesome Arcade Games for the iPhone
- Top 10 Free iPhone Word Games

More About: apple, gaming, iphone, iphone accessories, iPhone games, List, Lists, mobile games, video games

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MySpace Reduces Staff by 47%

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 09:15 AM PST


MySpace has officially announced that it will be reducing its staff by 47%, confirming rumors that have been surrounding the site since late last month.

A statement from CEO Mike Jones indicates that approximately 500 employees will be affected by the layoffs, which will take place across all divisions globally.

“With our recent relaunch as an entertainment destination for Gen Y, we introduced a much tighter focus, a significantly streamlined product and an updated technology platform,” Jones says in the statement.

It now seems that MySpace has a few strategies in store. On an international level, the company will be entering local partnerships in the UK, Germany and Australia to manage advertising sales and content. In addition, MySpace will also team up with .Fox (pronounced “dot-fox”) Networks, which it has partnered with in other international territories. Details concerning Germany and Australia have yet to be released.

MySpace — originally a social network along the lines of Facebook — first announced plans to revamp its image back in October, when it said it would become more of an entertainment hub, instead of being a place for friends to congregate online. Since then, the site has taken on a new look, while also introducing programs like Hijacks, which gives celebrities the chance to “take over” the site for certain intervals. Additional rumors concerning MySpace say that the site is still suffering from declining traffic and revenue — and that it may even be sold some time this year.

Meanwhile, according to Jones’s statement, the “new” MySpace is trending positively and the site is seeing an uptick in returning and new users. Jones says more than 3.3 million new profiles have been created since the revamped site rolled out, and that there was a 4% rise in mobile uses between November and December, bringing the number up to a total of 22 million.

“Today’s tough but necessary changes were taken in order to provide the company with a clear path for sustained growth and profitability,” Jones says, adding that the decisions had nothing to do with the performance of the newer MySpace. “The new organizational structure will enable us to move more nimbly, develop products more quickly, and attain more flexibility on the financial side.”

Reviews: Australia, Facebook, MySpace

More About: layoffs, myspace, social networking

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Verizon iPhone Launch Date and Pricing Revealed

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 08:35 AM PST


At a special press conference in New York City, Verizon has confirmed that it will be carrying the iPhone 4 early next month.

Apple COO Tim Cook joined Verizon COO Lowell McAdam on stage to announce the new partnership, saying, “We’re incredibly pleased to give Verizon’s customers the choice we’ve been waiting for.”

The Verizon iPhone will be a specially designed iPhone 4 that connects to a CDMA network. It sports the same features as the non-CDMA iPhone, including FaceTime, the retina display, a 5-megapixel camera, HD video and the A4 chip.

Calling this “just the beginning of a relationship between Apple and Verizon,” Cook said that he is “very optimistic” about the future.

The Verizon iPhone 4 will be available on February 10. Existing Verizon Wireless customers can pre-order beginning February 3.

The 16GB iPhone 4 will be $199.99 with a two-year activation and data package. The 32GB version will cost $299.99 — the same cost offered by AT&T. Verizon Wireless customers can go to this page to sign up for more information.

One already apparent difference between Verizon and AT&T: Verizon customers will be able to use their phone as a mobile hotspot.

What do you think of the Verizon iPhone? Do you plan to pre-order? Let us know.

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Lego Unleashes Ninjas on Multiple Gaming Platforms

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 08:28 AM PST


Can you go wrong combining Legos and ninjas?

Probably not, which is why Lego is making a big production out of a new property called Ninjago. Think “production” as in movie production. The company has enlisted writers Kevin and Dan Hageman, who wrote the Sony Animation pic Hotel Transylvania, to create a backstory for the line, which centers around four young ninjas who train under the watchful eye of Sensei Wu. They go on to master the ancient martial art of Spinjitzu to save the world from the evil Lord Garmadon.

The new Lego line, which rep Julie Stern says is unprecedented in its size and scope for the company, can be played in three ways: via product, which begins appearing on shelves today, on a Nintendo DS game available in April, or as part of the Lego Universe, a massively multiplayer online game that the company introduced in October.

For the latter, starting later this month, Lego Universe participants can learn the Ninjago legend by unlocking a new adventure zone, Crux Prime, within the Universe. A Cartoon Network one-hour special, Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu on January 14, will also get the word out.

Jim Silver, the editor-in-chief of TimetoPlayMag.com, says that although there are risks with any new property, Lego’s huge base of fans will probably take to the line. “Lego has been so successful in the videogame world and there are so many collectors — from younger kids all the way to adults that there are a large number of people who will move online to play,” Silver says.

Lego, Silver adds, was able to ride out the recession thanks to its loyal fans, who created a huge amount of user-generated content on YouTube for the brand. “They have created a lot of amazing things that Lego couldn’t create themselves.”

Click here to see a video about Ninjago.

Reviews: YouTube

More About: Lego, MARKETING, Ninja

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It’s Official: The iPhone Is Coming to Verizon

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 07:48 AM PST


After more than four years, AT&T’s exclusivity on iPhone in the U.S. is set to come to an end on Tuesday, with Verizon expected to announce the launch of the device on its network at an event in New York City.

The move has been a long time coming; rumors of a Verizon iPhone have intensified significantly in the past year, while frustration with AT&T’s network reliability has continued to mount. At the same time, rival carriers have launched dozens of Android devices, which are now outselling the iPhone in aggregate.

All of that sets the stage for an interesting shakeup in the dynamics of the smartphone market. Although not necessarily indicative of broader consumer perferences, 30% of Mashable readers indicate they’re eager to switch to Verizon — even if it means paying a high early termination fee — to get the iPhone on the carrier’s network.

Meanwhile, the real battle might be over which carrier can introduce an iPhone on its next generation 4G network first. Forrester Research wireless analyst Charles Golvin writes, “LTE is the future 4G technology path for both Verizon and AT&T … If Verizon can convince Apple to accelerate its incorporation of LTE, the carrier will be able to deliver a significantly accelerated iPhone experience to more customers than its competitor, and attract a significant number of the first wave of buyers, including the Apple acolytes.”

We’re not expecting Verizon to delve into future devices during today’s press event, but rather simply announce that the current generation iPhone will be available on its network. The event is expected to kick off at 11 a.m. ET — stay tuned to our live notes below (all times ET) and to Mashable for more details about the Verizon iPhone’s pricing and availability.

Verizon iPhone Announcement: Live Notes

10:45 – The doors have opened … we’re in the second row! It’s not typical Apple event music; they’ve got some jazz going (we are at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at the Lincoln Center, after all).

10:56 – There’s some commotion in the back of the room as John Oliver from The Daily Show shouts “f–k yea!” repeatedly. Random?

11:00 – Verizon’s President and COO Lowell McAdam takes the stage, right on time. He says today’s announcement “won’t disappoint” and that if we write about something long enough, it will eventually come true. Yep … iPhone.

11:02 – McAdam is now talking about the reliability of Verizon’s network and its ability to support data. “We debated calling this 6G,” he says, noting all the ads other carriers have been running about their mobile broadband capabilities.

11:05 – “Today, we’re bringing to market the fruit of our strategic partner with another giant of the high tech industry, and that’s Apple.” BOOM, iPhone on Verizon folks.

11:07 – McAdam says that Verizon spent more than a year testing iPhone on its network to make sure its network can offer the reliability its customers expect. The device will be available early next month.

11:08 – McAdam introduces Apple COO Tim Cook.

11:10 – Cook says iPhone 4 on Verizon has all the features you’d expect — Facetime, retina display, HD video recording, Apple’s custom designed A4 chip, and “most importantly, an integrated experience that’s far beyond what anyone else is providing.”

11:11 – “This is just the beginning of a great relationship between Apple and Verizon,” says Cook. “I’m very optimistic about what the future holds.” Cook introduces Dan Mead CEO of Verizon Wireless.

11:13 – Mead says that training of Verizon employees will start this week. Merchandising, back end system, and customer service have all been ramped up in preparation for launch. He expects unprecedented volume.

11:15 – “We have been testing … thousands of devices on the network. We could not be more pleased about where we are and what we’re going to be offering to customers,” says Mead.

11:16 – On February 3, Verizon Wireless’s existing customers will have an exclusive opportunity to pre-order iPhone 4 online ahead of general availability. On February 10, the iPhone 4 will launch to everyone online, in Verizon stores and in Apple stores.

11:17 – $199 for the 16GB device and $299 for the 32GB device with a two-year contract. iPhone 4 will enable customers to connect up to five Wi-Fi devices using the phone’s data connection.

11:20 – Cook and Mead are now on stage for Q&A.

11:21 – On why the phone is CDMA and not LTE, Cook says it would require design compromises that Apple is not willing to make. He also says that customers want it now and he wanted to provide that choice now.

11:23 – The deal between Apple and Verizon is multi-year and non-exclusive … meaning another CDMA carrier (like Sprint) could potentially offer the iPhone at some point.

11:24 – As with other CDMA devices, you won’t be able to browse the web while on the phone. Advantage: AT&T.

11:25 – Verizon is not announcing pricing for data plans today, though they reiterate the unique feature of being able to use the Verizon iPhone 4 as a mobile hotspot.

11:25 – Cook offers a “no comment” when asked about an LTE iPhone.

11:30 – Press conference over … stay tuned for more analysis from Mashable throughout the day.

Reviews: Android, Mashable

More About: apple, iphone, trending, verizon

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5 Reasons Connected TV Could Flop in 2011

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 06:58 AM PST


Jeremy Toeman has worked in the field of convergence between computers, the Internet and TV for more than 10 years. He is a founding partner of Stage Two, a consumer technology product experience firm in San Francisco, and can be found blogging at livedigitally.com.

Forget Google TV scrapping CES, the biggest challenge smart televisions face in 2011 is overcoming customers' FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt).

Up until the early 2000s, buying a new TV was easy. The bigger the screen, the better the television. Sure, some televisions had more bells and better whistles, but in the era of standard definition and cathode ray tubes, bigger was better.

When high definition flat screens became affordable in the middle of the last decade, consumers still felt pretty comfortable buying a new television. With the exception of 720p vs. 1080p and LCD vs. plasma (and a few other little things), there was not a lot of FUD for consumers. People understood (for the most part) the technology they were getting and the value it provided them. They also more or less understood the product life cycle their television provided them.

Now enter smart TVs and 3-D TVs. To the industry, these devices represent an opportunity to upsell consumers with added benefits and features. But to consumers, these connected televisions also introduce planned obsolescence into television life cycles. Planned obsolescence is a concept where companies sell products with a limited lifespan or functionality to encourage repeat purchases and upgrades. The result? Consumers are staying away from new TV. Instead of getting excited for new features, they are getting scared. To quote a recent industry article: “Despite all the hype, 3-D sets haven't been a runaway success, and Internet-capable ones haven't fared much better.”

Why is this happening? Sure, a slow economy is one reason, but there are others that are more concerning to television makers and the consumer electronics industry as a whole. It's my opinion that FUD is a major factor in 3-D TV failure as well. Consumers’ questions include: Do I need more glasses? Does it work with my Blu-ray? Will all titles be compatible?

1. The Internet on TV Sounds Confusing

For average consumers, the thought of hooking up the Internet to their television set sounds confusing. Many wonder what they will have to do to make a smart TV work with their existing home theater setup. People understand a cable box and an AV receiver – sort of (hence the "input one" problem that plagues the industry). Adding the Internet into that equation is off-putting for many people who just want to watch Top Chef. Emphasizing ease of use and simple connectivity should be a main concern for television manufacturers in 2011.

2. The Internet on TV Is Confusing

Most Internet TVs have a poor user interface and force users to confront awkward technology questions (for example, are you using WEP or WPA?). These are issues users don't enjoy resolving. Conjoining home networking with the home theater just doesn't sound like fun to consumers. They want to watch their new television without a call to tech support, and that is understandable. Delivering products that are simple to set up and easy to use should be a main concern for television manufacturers. Just because there's a "pretty" new user interface with humongous buttons to click on and an up/down/left/right interface doesn't make it a great user experience.

3. Fear of Obsolescence

Before smart TVs arrived, a TV was just a TV. Now a TV is an app store and a browser and so much more. Users will worry that the Internet TV they purchase this year will be outdated in six months. That kind of product cycle is fine for a phone, but it makes less sense for a large TV. Add in turf wars between Apple, Google and others and you have an unstable, rapidly iterating media landscape that most consumers fear to enter. To catch on, new televisions need to demonstrate staying power and reassure consumers that they will still work well in 2015.

4. Customer Support Concerns

Something we've all learned through PCs is the incredible ability to "pass the buck" on customer support problems introduced by high tech products. For example, when you can't get a video game to play right on your laptop, and you call Dell, its support staff will probably tell you it's a problem with NVIDIA's drivers, and they tell you it's actually Microsoft's fault, and if they even return your call or e-mail, they tell you it's really EA's problem, who of course sends you back to Dell (all just to play a video game!).

That’s a long-winded example, but consumers are unfortunately used to that type of service, and nobody likes the idea of calling Samsung’s support people and having them tell you it's a problem with your Netgear router, who in turn point the finger at your Comcast Internet provider, and they turn you over to Netflix, who sends you back to Samsung (all just to watch a movie!).

5. Poorly Defined Value Proposition

As I wrote in my last Mashable post, most smart TVs are being touted for their technology rather than the benefits they provide people. Instead of telling people that the weather app is on their TV (a feature), the industry should emphasize the personal weather forecasts smart TVs generate that are tailored for individual needs (a benefit). For the average consumer, Facebook on TV sounds like a lot of work ("Where will I type? Do I still “Like” stuff? Does FarmVille work? What else do I need to do?"). Putting Twitter on the television sounds like it is a lot of work. Anything that involves a mouse and a keyboard seems — and is — onerous to the living room context. The value proposition for smart TVs has to be the effortless delivery of content in ways that mirror the ease of standard TV experience.

If smart televisions want to catch on, manufacturers and advertisers must communicate their ease of use, benefits and staying power to overcome consumer fears. Manufacturers must make it crystal clear that smart TVs are a safe, long-term investment that will work in a landscape of changing technologies and content services.

More Tech Resources from Mashable:

- 5 Hip Bluetooth Headsets
- 8 Gadgets to Watch in 2011
- 5 Web Technologies and Trends to Watch in 2011
- School Tech: 6 Important Lessons From Maine's Student Laptop Program
- 8 Sci-Fi Technologies That Are No Longer Just Fiction

Reviews: Blu, Facebook, Google, Internet, Mashable, Twitter

More About: Apple TV, connected tv, consumer electronics, google tv, List, Lists, Smart TV, television, tv

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Get New Deals on Amazon Through a Free iPhone App

Posted: 11 Jan 2011 06:46 AM PST


Amazon has launched Amazon Deals, a free iPhone app that gives you an overview of the new daily deals from Amazon’s Gold Box service.

From the app, you can monitor deals and even act on them, purchasing items from Amazon directly from your iPhone.

Features include browsing through active deals or upcoming Lightning Deals, setting alarms for individual deals and receiving category-specific notifications (with support for Apple’s push notifications). You can also share deals via e-mail, Twitter, Facebook or SMS.

Amazon seems to be getting serious about offering users a great mobile experience. It has recently launched Price Check, a price comparison app for the iPhone that allows users to easily compare in-store prices with the prices on Amazon.

You can find the application on iTunes or learn more about it over at www.amazon.com/dealsapp.

Reviews: Facebook, Twitter, iTunes

More About: Amazon Deals, App, application, iphone, Mobile 2.0

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