Microsoft, RIM ink patent deal for smartphone tech

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Microsoft announced today that it has licensed certain patents to RIM, yet another move by the software giant to use its arsenal of intellectual property. In this case, the BlackBerry maker is licensing patents related to what’s known as Extended File Allocation Table, a file system that allows large multimedia files to be easily ported between… Read More…

As buzz builds for iPhone, study says 55% of Americans still don’t own a smartphone

iPhone vs. Android

The increasing popularity of smartphones is obvious. Wednesday’s announcement of the iPhone 5 is on the front page of nearly every news website, while Google announced Tuesday that 500 million Android devices have been activated globally, with 1.3 million added every single day. Yet it seems that there is much more room to grow. According to a… Read More…

Google, Boingo bring free Wi-Fi to 4,000 hotspots (but not for Windows Phone or iPhone)

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Boingo Wireless and Google Play announced a new partnership today to bring free Wi-Fi to more than 4,000 hotspots across the country, including 15 airports (Chicago O’Hare, New York’s JFK, Seattle-Tacoma, etc.) as well subways, restaurants, hotels and shopping malls. The offering is part of Boingo’s new Cloud Nine Media platform, an advertising platform which… Read More…

Amazon’s new tablet rival: Toys R Us unveils the $150 kid-friendly Tabeo

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Everyone wants to be a tablet maker these days it seems. And the latest entrant is one that could offer a challenge to Amazon.com, which unveiled its latest line of tablets just last week. Not to be outdone, Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys R Us, which operates more than 850 brick-and-mortar stores across the country, today… Read More…

Zillow launches rental app for iPhone, iPod touch

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Ever raced to a sweet apartment eager to be the first hand a landlord shakes – only to find the place teeming with would-be tenants? Zillow is rolling out a new app for iPhone and iPod today aimed at giving users an on-the-go edge to prevent such a calamity, with features like instant email or… Read More…

App of the Week: ‘Mars Images’ is a direct link to Curiosity

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This week’s GeekWire App of the Week is “Mars Images.” It’s not a particularly sophisticated app, or a new one, but I’ve become  a regular user recently because it provides a quick and easy way to see NASA’s very latest images from Mars. Developed by Mark Powell of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the app previously… Read More…

RealPlayer for Android exits beta with new premium option

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RealNetworks released its free RealPlayer for Android today, bringing the app out of beta and attempting to grab the attention of Android users with an all-in-one player for video, audio and photos, plus social media sharing and other features. With the release, the company also added a set of premium features, available for a one-time,… Read More…

New data: Windows Phone closes gap vs. BlackBerry

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Microsoft’s share of the worldwide smartphone operating system market climbed to 3.5 percent in the second quarter, up from 2.3 percent a year ago, as the company’s partnership with Nokia boosted usage of the Windows Phone. The numbers from the IDC research firm, released this morning, put Microsoft in closer proximity to BlackBerry, which saw… Read More…

Caller ID meets Facebook and Twitter in new WhitePages app

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WhitePages is introducing a new Android app today called Current Caller ID that displays not just the name of callers but also their recent status updates from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, plus information from their location, such as weather and news. Yep, this might just be the ultimate app for chit-chat. It also works with… Read More…