Google starts a TV white space trial in South Africa to wirelessly link schools

Google has been a strong advocate of white space wireless as democratizing broadband access: its long-range nature can bring people online when the local internet framework isn't always reliable, if it exists at all. The company is about to illustrate that potential through a new trial in South Africa. A trio of base stations at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town will supply ten nearby primary and secondary schools with internet access to prove that white space access can work without affecting TV signals. To make sure it won't, Google is picking the safest frequencies from a database and is measuring the results for the sake of both nervous broadcasters and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. If all goes well, it (and similar efforts from Microsoft) should make a case for full approval of white space use across the country and deliver internet access to remote areas that risk being left by the technological wayside.

[Source: Engadget]

Sony Xperia ZL officially priced in the U.S.

The Sony Xperia ZL has been listed for pre-order at Sony's U.S. store for some time, but today brings the first official word on pricing for the North American Sony flagship. According to Sony's store listing page, two models will be offered. The first, C6502, will come with pentaband HSPA+ connectivity, whereas the more expensive C6506 will pack those same radios in addition to LTE on Bands 2, 4, 5 and 17. That should get you up and running on AT&T's LTE, as well as T-Mobile's when it launches -- along with a bunch of Canadian carriers.

Unfortunately neither model will be cheap -- the HSPA+ version will sell for $720, while its LTE-capable sibling will cost a whopping $760. Nevertheless, with no carrier deals in sight, it appears this is the only way you'll be able to get your hands on an Xperia ZL in the U.S.

On the hardware side, the Xperia ZL mirrors its international cousin the Xperia Z. Inside there's a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, 2GB of RAM and a 1080p display, as well as Sony's new 13-megapixel Exmor RS camera. However the ZL trades water resistance and an all-glass design for a smaller footprint, a more ergonomic fit and a physical camera button. For more on the Euro-centric Xperia Z, be sure to check out our full review.

[Source: AndroidCentral]

New 'in-app purchases' warning on iTunes, after furore

Remember that family whose son racked up £1,700 worth of in-app purchases in 10 minutes on his dad's iPad? Apple is taking steps to ensure that kind of thing doesn't happen again, by introducing a warning on iTunes for apps that encourage you to spend once you've downloaded, the Guardianreports.

Any such app now bears the warning "Offers In-App Purchases", as you can see from theTemple Run 2 icon here. But is it enough?

Initially, the warning only appeared on the desktop version of iTunes, so if you were browsing on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, it didn't show up. It was quickly extended to mobile devices, however, and a good thing too -- more than two thirds of iTunes downloads go directly to iOS devices.

The Cupertino company has been in hot water recently over in-app purchases (or freemium apps). As well as reimbursing the family whose five-year-old spent £1,700 on Zombies vs Ninja, Apple has settled a US lawsuit concerning similar cases, agreeing to shell out £66 million in refunds to disgruntled parents.

Apple has said it's up to parents to familiarise themselves with the parental controls on its devices, which you can do here. Parents can turn off in-app purchases in the settings.

I think a large burden falls on the parents to monitor what their kids are up to on their devices, but obviously this isn't possible at all times. Apple should get tighter on what's allowed to be sold in-app. Virtual items costing £70 a pop, in a game suitable for nine-year-olds, for example, seems frankly ridiculous to me.

And it's not just apps on iTunes that let you rack up a huge bill either -- Android's app emporium isn't completely innocent either.

[Source: CNET]

Nuts Apple patent protects iPhone by flipping it as it falls

File this Apple invention under B for bonkers. The company has just been granted a patent that protects your iPhone when you drop it, Apple Insider reports.

It apparently adjusts the device's position as it's falling, so it lands on its back or edge instead of the screen. And if you think that's crazy, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until you see how Apple plans to make it work.

The patent is for use in any gizmo with a processor, including tablets and laptops, but the iPhone is specifically mentioned. In order to see how the tumbling tablet or falling phone is positioned, the system will need to use a sensor, which could be the gyroscope, accelerometer, GPS or imaging sensor. A processor tells the system how fast the device is falling, and how far it is from the ground, among other things. It'll remember previous pratfalls too, to help it make its mind up more quickly.

Now, how to actually tilt the device so it doesn't land face first? A number of possible solutions are suggested, including a shifting weight within the phone, lift foils that extend out to the surface, and even a miniature gas canister to act as a thrust, like a tiny jet pack. Amazing.

The patent was originally filed back in September 2011, and was just granted this week. I think it's safe to say we have a while to wait until this finds its way into the iPhone. But it's pretty cool, you have to admit. The only issue -- aside from the problem of how to fit a gas canister to an iPhone -- is that I've known screens to shatter when phones have landed on their edges. So maybe Apple will need to toughen up its handset's chassis somewhat as well.

[Source: CNET]

Facebook Messenger Updated with Voice Calls in UK

Facebook recently released a new version of its Messenger application in the United Kingdom. The update offers voice calls and voice messages, two features that have been available to U.S. users since the middle of January. The application is available for several platforms, including Android and iOS, although the iOS version is reportedly the only one with the added voice call support right now.

Facebook appears to be chasing Skype with the new VoIP services, although we’ll need to see the feature rolled out across the globe before it even starts to look like a real competitor in the space. The application is free and is available from the iTunes App Store now.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Apple Acquires Indoor Mapping Startup WiFiSlam for $20 Million

It appears that Apple is looking to improve its Maps product with its latest acquisition, WiFiSlam.

Over the weekend The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Apple had acquired the two-year-old startup WiFiSlam for $20 million. The startup developed a method by which phones can detect where a user is inside a building by using Wi-Fi signals. The company has been in the process of offering up the technology to retail and social networking developers for some time now.

Google has been developing its own version of this technology for some time now, although it has been restricted to locations such as malls, stadiums and airports. Apple has not confirmed what it plans to do with WiFiSlam as of yet, but considering that the company replaced Google Maps with its own mapping app last year – much to the chagrin of users – it is probably a safe bet that this is eventually destined for the company’s own product.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Blockbuster U.K. Acquired by Gordon Brothers

Blockbuster Video in the U.K. has been saved from bankruptcy thanks to acquisition by Gordon Brothers.

It was announced in Jan. that the U.K. version of Blockbuster Video had filed for administration, the country’s version of chapter 11 bankruptcy. The day to day operations of the 528 stores and nearly 4,200 employees were taken over by Deloitte, which has cut some of the retail locations since that time.

Gordon Brothers announced today that it is acquiring the company and will keep the doors open. It plans to keep the remaining 264 stores in operation as well as retain the remaining 2,000 employees.

Frank Morton, CEO of Gordon Brothers Europe said of the acquisition, “We acknowledge the industry is in transition; we know that we have a challenge ahead but there is still a market to be served.” He went on to add, “Blockbuster has a strong brand affinity and we believe that with the right mix of newproduct offering, new technologies, strategic management and marketing, we can bring new life to this high street staple. We look forward to working with employees, suppliers, landlords and other stakeholders to make this happen.”

The U.K. branch of Blockbuster operates separately from the U.S. arm which is also currently going through its own financial turmoil. Dish Network, which bought Blockbuster in 2011, announced earlier this year that it would be closing 300 more stores on top of the 500 it had already shuttered.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

iTunes is more than earning its keep

As writer John Paczkowski notes in an AllThingsD article today, iTunes was originally "conceived as a low-margin 'break-even' operation intended to drive hardware sales" -- in particular sales of iPods. Now that the iTunes Store is used to sell more than just songs and videos, it's turning into a "significant profit center for the company".

Paczkowski was commenting on numbers from Asymco analyst Horace Dediu, who notes that now that Apple has folded its in-house software group into iTunes, Apple software is having "significant implications for iTunes margins." The software, including items like iWork, iLife, Final Cut Pro, Aperture and more, has much higher profit margins than traditional iTunes items like music, books, video, and apps.

Dediu deduced that Apple sold about US$3.6 billion worth of its software products in 2012, and that profit margins for software is usually about 50 percent. If that's the case for Apple -- and Dediu is usually correct in his assumptions -- then iTunes is generating operating margins of about 15 percent on gross revenue. That's about $2 billion in profit for 2012, or as Paczkowski so eloquently put it, one "hell of a way to break even."

[Source: TUAW]

The Walking Dead Coming to the PS Vita Sometime This Year

TellTale’s award winning spin on The Walking Dead will arrive on the PlayStation Vita sometime this year. According to PlayStation’s Director of Product and Platform Software Innovation, Don Mesa, the game will definitely make the jump over to Sony’s strugglinghandheld, though no release date has been determined.

Mesa mused on the thrills of Telltale’s successful adventure game, and admitted getting a series like The Walking Dead is a huge boon for the platform. Mesa believes the Vita in particular will provide a special experience, calling Vita’s portability important.

Sony’s Vita has seen a slight resurgence in Japan over the past month thanks to a price dropbut, overall, it hasn’t quite been the runaway success Sony would have liked—so far. The Walking Dead will surely be a big incentive to dust the old Vita off, even if you’ve already taken Lee and Clementine for a spin.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

UK ISPs start blocking torrent sites after court order

If you're looking for some naughty torrent action this weekend then hard cheese, my friend -- BT, O2, Virgin Media and BE Broadband have started blocking such sites following an order from the High Court.

But not all. Kickass Torrents, H33T and Fenopy are the only torrent sites you won't be able to access using the above ISPs, thanks to a High Court order earlier this year, The Inquirer reports. The ban started yesterday, but will it really stop nogoodniks?

The three blocked torrent sites are pretty huge: Kickass Torrents is one of the 50 most-visited websites in the UK, while H33T and Fenopy have hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. They join The Pirate Bay, which was also blocked by ISPs last year. Though those wily pirates have found plenty of ways to get around that. And it hasn't meant fewer people are file sharingeither.

The High Court order came about because of a request from nine major record labels, led by the BPI (British Phonographic Industry). They cited Section 97A of the Copyright, Design and Patents Act, and asked BT, EE, O2, Sky, Talktalk and Virgin Media to stop letting users access the sites. It's not known whether Sky, EE and Talktalk will follow suit and block torrent sites in future.

The four ISPs who have blocked the sites didn't do so voluntarily, but they didn't dispute the BPI's demands either.

I can see why music labels and film studios are so protective of their copyright, but is blocking sites really the answer? It won't stop someone googling and finding another site hosting torrents. And while three of the biggest might be out of action -- only on some ISPs, remember -- it'll just drive traffic to the others, helping them grow, until they're big enough to be the target of a court order, and the whole process starts again. I've said it before, but it's true -- it's like playing whack-a-mole.

[Source: CNET]

Alleged Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini Spotted in the Wild

The Galaxy S4 might be too big, and the Galaxy S III might be too old. If you suffer from this Goldilocks dilemma, Samsung will probably come out with a cure soon, maybe even as early as June/July. And it was only a matter of time, too, because the very same thing happened last year.

An alleged Galaxy S4 Mini has been spotted in the wild and it’s certainly smaller than what was announced earlier this month. Even though Samsung has promised S III users the S4’s features will come over to the older device, the company seems more than happy to heap more Galaxies upon the world.

Here are the supposed specs, according to SamMobile: a Super AMOLED qHD display (256 ppi), a 1.6GHz dual-core CPU, TouchWiz Nature UX 2.0 and Android 4.2.2. Additionally, the device may sport dual-sim slots, so, you know, you can rock two phone numbers.

The device itself looks identical to the S4, which is expected—just smaller and no doubt aimed at the lower-tier market. Time to move over, S III.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]

Apple is Aware of Apple ID Exploit, is Working on a Fix

Soon after word hit about the unbelievably easy Apple ID exploit, Apple has responded by saying it’s already working on a fix. As it should be. If it’s not happening on the mobile side, issues are springing up elsewhere.

In a statement to The Verge, the company lamented the glaring issue and said it takescustomer privacy very seriously. Let’s hope Apple can tie this one up quick, too. All someone needs to take control of someone else’s Apple ID is their email and date of birth—you can get that kind of information on Facebook very easily.

As of now, Apple has taken down its iForgot password reset tool as a temporary solution. That might be an acceptable short-term fix, but in the long run, let’s hope Apple develops a stricter protocol when reseting a password. Apple IDs are the key to Apple’s content kingdom; if user IDs start running rampant, who knows what kind of backlash the company will face.

[Source: TechnoBuffalo]