Financial Times Archive

  • Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple’s mobile advertising practices

    Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple’s mobile advertising practices

    Posted on June 10, 2010 | No Comments
    There's not a lot of details on this at the moment, but the Financial Times is reporting that US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices to see whether they unfairly restrict rivals like Google and Microsoft. As you'll recall, Apple recently revised its rules on outside advertisers and, specifically, their ability to collect analytics on ads for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, effectively cutting out Google's AdMob in the process -- something the company's CEO has publicly complained about. What's next? That's still not certain -- the Financial Times says that while US regulators have taken an interest, it's still not clear whether the FTC or the Department of Justice will handle the investigation going forward.

    Financial Times: US antitrust regulators plan to investigate Apple's mobile advertising practices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Google ditching Windows because of Chinese hackers?

    Google ditching Windows because of Chinese hackers?

    Posted on June 1, 2010 | No Comments
    "See you in hell, Windows." That's Google talking, according to a report in the Financial Times. (Not an exact quote, mind you.) The company is taking several steps to phase out the use of Microsoft's operating system following the well-publicized China hacking situation. New employees are given the option of using a Mac or a Linux-based PC, and others are simply being switched over to Mac or Linux when the time is right. It's not an official Google policy, but rather something that's just being done.

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  • iPhone reception issues plague O2… too (updated with AT&T’s response)

    iPhone reception issues plague O2… too (updated with AT&T’s response)

    Posted on December 29, 2009 | No Comments
    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gadgets/iPhone_reception_issues_plague_O2_too'; It would appear that AT&T isn't the only carrier in the world suffering from a horrible and nagging case of the iPhones. In an interview with the Financial Times, O2 head Ronan Dunne apologized to customers for the poor performance the network has been experiencing since the introduction of the iPhone 3GS to its airwaves this summer. Just as US customers (particularly those in dense, urban areas) have learned to struggle through dropped calls, the inability to make or receive calls, or weak data connections, our brethren on the other side of the pond have felt a similar sting. Says Dunne, "Where we haven't met our own high standards then there's no question, we apologise to customers for that fact," adding that the carrier had fixes at the ready and that the issues would be "more than addressed" shortly. Unlike the widespread problems here, the O2 mess seems to be relegated largely to London, though it's curious to know that AT&T isn't alone in being hamstrung by a network clearly not prepared for the onslaught of data being pushed up and down its virtual pipes. Also unlike the AT&T situation is the fact that O2 has solutions in mind (including the installation of 200 additional mobile base stations in London), and they're clearly taking ownership of the situation. Ahem, Ralph.

    Update: AT&T responded and let us know they had fixes underway too. Here's an outline of forthcoming changes the carrier says it's making.
    • We are nearly doubling the wireless spectrum serving 3G customers in hundreds of markets across the country, using high-quality 850 MHz spectrum. This additional spectrum expands overall network capacity and improves in-building reception.
    • We are adding about 2,000 new cell sites, expanding service to new cities and improving coverage in other areas.
    • We're adding about 100,000 new backhaul connections, which add critical capacity between cell sites and the global IP backbone network.
    • We're enabling widespread access to our Wi-Fi network - the largest in the country with more than 20,000 hotspots in all 50 states - allowing them to take advantage of the best available AT&T mobile broadband connection.
    • We're rolling out even faster 3G speeds with deployment of HSPA 7.2 technology, with initial availability in six markets planned by the end of the year.

    iPhone reception issues plague O2... too (updated with AT&T's response) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Sony squeaks out the Reader Daily Edition before Christmas

    Sony squeaks out the Reader Daily Edition before Christmas

    Posted on December 21, 2009 | No Comments
    This is cutting it close. Sony had previously promised to make the 3G-equipped Reader Daily Edition available before Christmas and the company just announced it's shipping out pre-orders placed before December 20th. The rest? Well, you're SOL like some folks that ordered the Nook.

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  • Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store

    Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store

    Posted on December 11, 2009 | No Comments
    Not quite sure if you've noticed, but some pretty significant shifting is going on in the heart of Espoo. Just days after Nokia announced that it would be closing up its flagship shops in London, New York and Chicago, in flies this: a new Ovi Store is already in the works, and if all goes well, it'll be available for public use as early as next Spring. For those keeping tabs, that's right around a year after the (admittedly tumultuous) launch of the existing platform, which has yet to live up to the firm's own expectations according to George Linardos. In case you're wondering (and c'mon, you're wondering), Mr. Linardos is the head of products at Nokia's media group, and in speaking with the Financial Times, he confessed that the Ovi Store "had been outpaced by Apple." He also admitted that the chorus of complaints from end-users were driving the next version, noting that his company has "screens up in [their] offices running Twitter feeds [of gripes] all day long." In fact, he likened the act to "sitting there and getting punched in the face."

    As for the next go 'round, he's looking to take a "tortoise and hare" approach when it comes to competing with Apple, who he himself claims "radically changed" the world around us when the App Store was introduced. As it stands, George sees the Ovi Store as a "jambalaya" of services, with Ben Wood -- an analyst at CCS Insight -- proclaiming that "none of those [work] properly." In the future, Ben has confessed that Ovi needs "to get all their ducks lined up, including hardware, software and services." So, what exactly will said ducks look like early next year? We're told that new features will include "in-application payments, a redesigned user interface that makes apps easier to discover and faster operation," and beyond that, the outfit is also looking to toss in recommendations based on the app purchases of their friends. This is definitely stirring stuff to hear from someone deep within Nokia's lairs, and it certainly makes us all the more excited to see what the next generation will bring. Nothing like a little competition in the market place to really light a fire up under someone's posterior, right?

    Nokia taking Ovi Store criticism to heart, planning revamped version to rival App Store originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nope, don’t expect to see an Apple e-book store

    Nope, don’t expect to see an Apple e-book store

    Posted on August 1, 2009 | No Comments
    Don't expect to see an Apple e-book store anytime soon. No, not because the recently-turned-heel company hates books (or you) or anything, but because, well, running an e-book store is hard.

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  • Apple’s 10-inch tablet confirmed by the Financial Times

    Apple’s 10-inch tablet confirmed by the Financial Times

    Posted on July 27, 2009 | No Comments
    Can Apple save the music industry again? The rumor is that Apple is currently in secret talks with EMI, Sony Music, Warner Music and Universal Music Group on project “Cocktail.” The major labels are once again looking to Apple to revive the slumping industry with a full-featured tablet that’s a bit of a throwback to the [...]

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  • Google Says Mobile App Stores Have No Future

    Google Says Mobile App Stores Have No Future

    Posted on July 17, 2009 | No Comments
    Apple’s iPhone App Store may be a resounding success. But Google says app stores are a dead end. Sour grapes? Maybe. It’s no coincidence that Google has placed its money on web-based applications, for its mobile Android operating system as well as its forthcoming Chrome OS. Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, said on [...]

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