TomTom finally hits Android starting at $50, not ready for all devices

As TomTom promised, Android users can now be guided offline by the nav company -- unless you happen to own a Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Nexus or a handful of other recent, popular smartphones or tabs. It said most models would be compatible by year's end, but if you do have one that works already, you'll get all the features that iOS users have enjoyed for quite a while: radar camera warnings (depending on your country), eco routes, contact navigation, free map updates and traffic guidance. The app is now available on Google Play starting at $50 for the US and Canada maps, an "introductory offer" that's 10 bucks cheaper than the same iOS version, so you might want to check the source before that price goes up -- if you've got the right device, of course.

[Source: Engadget - Read more there]

Windows 8 launch event gets real, the celebration starts October 25th

Microsoft's been doing its best to get Windows 8 ready for public consumption. After dogfooding the OS to employees and IT pros and getting unsolicited feedback from company co-founder Paul Allen, the time has come for its official unveiling. Microsoft told us to save October 25th on our calendars for a Win8 celebration, and now the invites are out. Naturally, we'll be there in New York City reporting on the event live, so come on back in three weeks to get your full Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface fix.

[Source: Engadget]

Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would

While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps' web app had been further encouraged by word that it'd be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated "in two weeks" and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you'll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin' virtual tourists.

[Source: Engadget]

Microsoft announces updates for Windows 8 built-in apps, just in time for October 26th launch

All signs point toward the impending general availability of Windows 8, what with the upcoming OS launch event, the Surface RT finally hitting the FCC, and Paul Allen letting the world knows what he thinks of it. In light of this, the Redmond company has announced a final update push to the built-in appsyou'll find in Windows 8. The Bing update will be first out the gate tomorrow -- it promises richer search results for local content -- with the rest rolling out through October 26th. Also of note is Music, which touts "expanded music services" as an update (Xbox Music, anyone?).

[Source: Engadget - Read more there]

Microsoft buys PhoneFactor, adds smartphone authentication to its cloud services

With a hand-in-glove relationship with the world of business, it's key that Microsoft ensures it can keep companies data safe. That's what prompted Steve Ballmer to whip out his checkbook to snap up PhoneFactor, a multi-factor authentication company that uses smartphones instead of code-generating security tokens. With its new toy, Redmond plans to integrate the feature into its services like SharePoint, Azure and Office 365, letting users sign on with their own device as a key element of the signing in process.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple retail employees encouraged to report Maps issues

With many thousands of staffers in the US alone, Apple's retail team has numbers on its side. It also has geographic diversity, with stores in 45 of the 50 states. Lots of people in lots of places who presumably carry lots of iOS devices -- just what you need if, perchance, you're looking to clean up some facepalm-worthy glitches in a shiny new mapping dataset.

Gary Allen of ifoAppleStore tweeted early this morning that store managers are asking employees to report Maps errors that they see in iOS 6 while they are out and about while working, on the clock. We've independently confirmed that a communication to that effect did go out to retail staff members (at least in the US and Canada), although we don't know precisely what it said.

MacRumors suggests that the map quest will be fairly formal and well-organized, with teams of employees dedicating up to 40 hours per week, cumulatively, to the wayfinding fixes; submitted data would go through a dedicated Apple portal rather than being bundled with general user feedback. Allen's initial report suggested the effort would be voluntary.

Of course, calling for fixes to map errors isn't purely the province of those who are being paid out of Cupertino's hoard of dragon gold: you too can help the cause by reporting errors and missing features in iOS 6's Maps app. Tapping the page curl on the lower right corner of the map reveals several controls including the "Report a Problem" button, which in turn gives you all the necessary feedback options.

[Source: TUAW]

iPhone 5, 4S are Apple's greenest phones yet

Apple says it makes the "the most environmentally responsible products in our industry," and an independent study has backed up this claim. iFixit and Healthystuff.org dissected 36 smartphones and analyzed their chemical composition using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The study graded the phones based on the presence of known hazardous chemicals like bromine, mercury and lead.

Over the years, Apple has steadily improved its products moving from a "high concern" rating for the original iPhone to a "low concern" rating for the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5. The iPhone 3G and the iPhone 4 are both in the "moderate concern" level, with the iPhone 4 (2.95) falling just under the 2.81 score of the "low concern" Samsung Evergreen.

[Source: TUAW - Read more there]

YouTube scales back automatic Content ID takedowns, improves appeals process

In the last several years Google has become quick to respond to complaints of copyright infringement. Unfortunately, its record in dealing with unfounded claims (specifically on YouTube) is a bit mixed. In particular the process for appealing a Content ID takedown has left many users frustrated and with little recourse in the event of a rejected dispute. And its the content owners themselves who make that decision. Starting today, even if a dispute is rejected, users can file an appeal that leaves a content owner with one of two choices -- recind the complaint or file a proper DMCA takedown notice. To minimize the amount of appeals and disputes Google is also launching an improved Content ID algorithm that identifies potentially invalid claims and places them in a queue to be reviewed manually before takedowns are issued. For more, check out the source.

[Source: Engadget]

Zuckerberg: more than one billion people using Facebook actively each month

Active accounts have become one of the hottest currencies online, especially for social networks. Previous boasts by Facebook have been quickly shot down, but this latest number is pretty hard to ignore. According to Zuckerberg himself the site now has 1 billion active monthly users. That's right, one in seven people on the planet logs on to the social network at least once a full moon cycle. The announcement comes via the site's official news blog, which if the numbers are true, could mean most of you have read this already.

[Source: Engadget]

Does Apple have a Scott Forstall problem?

FORTUNE -- There's no shortage of embarrassing instances where Apple (AAPL) Maps "fell short" -- as Tim Cook's public apologyput it -- but on Friday Canadian reader John Garner pointed me to a particularly striking one.

Jason Matheson, a fellow Canadian with a knack for Mac programming, ran a quick Xcode script that compared the iPhone 5's map of Ontario with an official list of the province's cities and towns. Of 2,028 place names, Matheson reports, 400 were correct on Apple's Maps app, 389 were pretty close, 551 were clearly incorrect and 688 weren't on the map at all.

"There's no excuse," Garner writes. "Quality control on Apple Maps had to have been terrible to not get this right. Bluntly, Scott Forstall should be fired over this mess."

Garner is not alone in pointing the finger at Forstall, the senior vice president for iOS software and the Apple executive -- after Cook -- most often described as an heir apparent to Steve Jobs.

[Source: CNN Money - Read more there]

Fare thee well, Ping: 2010-2012

With an exit far more quiet than its heralded beginnings, Ping officially closed two years and a month after it was launched on Sept. 1, 2010. If you happened to have your iTunes still open from yesterday, see Ping in the menu, and click on it, you'll get the message seen above. Hit OK, and Ping disappears from your iTunes forever.

Ping has been succeeded by Facebook and Twitter integration in iTunes.

[Source: TUAW]

iPhone 5 speaker is loudest iPhone speaker yet

Lucky iPhone 5 owners (I'm not one of them yet) can be proud to know that their new device is the loudest iPhone yet. The folks over at iClarified thought that it seemed a bit louder than older versions, so they did the right thing and tested the iPhone 5 -- and every other model of iPhone ever built -- with a decibel meter.

What they found is that the iPhone 5 speaker is indeed the loudest yet, pumping out an impressive 100.3 dBA when a pink noise file was played in the Music app. That's greater than the previous winner, the iPhone 4S, which tipped the meter at 97.9 dBA. Remember that the decibel A-weighting (dBA) is measured on a logarithmic scale, so that seemingly insignificant 2.4 dBA difference actually corresponds to an 18 percent increase in loudness.

[Source: TUAW - Read the full story there]