LG discusses webOS strategy, no current plans for smartphones or tablets
Date : 26/02/2013 21:00

LG (066570) on Monday announced that it had acquired webOS from HP for an undisclosed sum. Earlier reports noted that the two companies were in talks over a potential partnership as of last fall. Bill Veghte, executive VP for software and solutions at HP (HPQ), disclosed certain terms of the deal to AllThingsD on Tuesday. The executive said that the deal includes the source code, documentation, the remaining user experience team and a license to all the associated patents, which HP will retain. Employees who work with the cloud services infrastructure in webOS, however, will stay with HP. Dr. Skott Ahn, president and CEO of LG’s mobile operations, later revealed that his company plans to make the operating system a “core

Alcatel One Touch Fire preview: This anemic Firefox phone might be a tough sell
Date : 26/02/2013 20:05

Another day, another Firefox OS-powered handset here at Mobile World Congress. We had the chance to take a hands-on look at Alcatel’s first Firefox phone on Tuesday and walked away with some distinctly tepid impressions. As a disclaimer, the software we played with was in beta, but Firefox and Alcatel are planning to launch these phones within months, so any performance enhancements they hope to achieve will have to be pushed out relatively quickly. From a hardware perspective, there’s nothing wrong with the One Touch Fire. In fact, its soft-touch back, 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen with 165 ppi, 3.2-megapixel camera and HSPA radio are nothing to scoff at in the budget phone market. Alcatel is clearly aiming for first-time smartphone users in

PayPal co-founder Levchin launches new mobile payment start-up
Date : 26/02/2013 20:01

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Max Levchin, co-founder of online payment giant PayPal, launched a rival business on Tuesday called Affirm that will compete in the crowded but fast-growing mobile payments business. Affirm's technology helps shoppers complete online purchases more quickly and easily when they are using smart phones and other mobile devices, according to the firm's website. ...

HTC plans to release more Windows Phones in 2013
Date : 26/02/2013 19:20

Despite lukewarm sales of its Windows Phone 8X and Windows Phone 8S, HTC (2498) remains “fully committed” to the Windows Phone operating system. The company’s vice president of global product planning, Tai Ito, said in an interview with CNET on Tuesday that HTC has a “good collaboration with Microsoft for a future release this year.” The executive acknowledged that Windows Phone 8 performance is “not as good as the market expected,” however he believes that after some time consumers will begin to embrace it. Unfortunately, HTC’s upcoming Windows Phones might not feature the same design elements as its new HTC One smartphone, as the executive added that the company is taking a “family approach to separation.”

Music, movie industry to warn copyright infringers
Date : 26/02/2013 19:11

WASHINGTON (AP) — Internet users who illegally share music, movies or TV shows online may soon get warning notices from their service providers that they are violating copyright law. Ignore the notices, and violators could face an Internet slow-down for 48 hours. Those who claim they're innocent can protest — for a fee.