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It Gets Worse, BlackBerry Investors

April 11, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/it-gets-worse-blackberry-investors/

Filed under: Investing

At least one BlackBerry worrywart is growing even more concerned.

The analysts at Detwiler Fenton are reporting that a wave of returns for BlackBerry’s Z10 smartphone is now exceeding actual sales at several key retailers.

Negative net sales is a phenomenon that Detwiler Fenton argues it has never seen before so soon after a major product launch.

To be fair, Detwiler Fenton has been seeing BlackBerry through blood-colored glasses for some time. It even finds a way to rain on BlackBerry’s parade when the news appears to be positive. When BlackBerry announced last month that a single customer order a million BlackBerry 10 devices — its biggest order in company history — Detwiler Fenton found a way to spin that as a negative.

After a little digging around, the analysts at Detwiler Fenton suggest that it was international distributor Brightstar placing the beefy order. Verizon is a company that relies on Brightstar when it doesn’t want to take on the risk behind an unproven product.

“Verizon doesn’t believe this well be a strong seller since it normally tries to allocate hot product on its own,” Detwiler Fenton analysts concluded last month.

Even bulls didn’t see the Z10 as a game changer out of the gate. The market knew that BlackBerry was going to have a hard time with the Z10, the first handset fueled by the company’s improved BlackBerry 10 mobile operating system. The BlackBerry brand has diminished in popularity as Google‘s Android and Apple‘s iOS account for the lion’s share of the phones out there.

However, it’s hard to believe that early adopters — likely the most devoted of BlackBerry loyalists — are turning on the device so quickly.

The complaints from those reportedly returning their Z10s range include a lack of app developer support, poor mapping, and an unintuitive interface.

Developer support was a well-known problem going in. Google and Apple didn’t attract hundreds of thousands of app developers until they achieved the critical mass that justified the effort to code for the Android and iOS platform. Microsoft has had to sweeten the pot for important app makers to port their applications for Windows Phone. Many important developers will rightfully wait on the sidelines until they see if BB10 is the real deal. Buyers should’ve known that.

Then we get to the interface knocks that fly in the face of the first wave of critical reviews that gushed about some of the new mobile platform’s bar-raising features.

There certainly appears to be some truth to the bumpy launch for BlackBerry’s make-or-break device, but investors will want to be careful about believing the extremely positive or negative accounts until we get real numbers.

When tech titans battle, it gets ugly
It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out “Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?” in The Motley Fool’s

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

AVG Technologies Brings Family Safety to Windows Phone 8 Devices

April 11, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

AVG Technologies Brings Family Safety to Windows Phone 8 Devices

AMSTERDAM & SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– AVG Technologies N.V. (NYS: AVG) , the provider of Internet and mobile security, privacy and optimization to 146 million active users, has today announced that its AVG Family Safety mobile application is now available for Microsoft Windows® Phone 8 devices.

Aimed at protecting children while they surf the web on mobile devices, AVG Family Safety is a free, secure, mobile web browser, previously only available for Apple devices and Windows Phone 7.5. Adding to the existing built-in mobile security already provided by Microsoft, the application uses data from AVG‘s Linkscanner® technology to block websites that are known to be malicious, and its own filters will also prevent visits to any sites that are deemed to contain mature and inappropriate content such as anything relating to violence, drugs or pornography.

The latest version of AVG Family Safety is ideally suited for use in the Windows Phone 8 Kid’s Corner. This newly introduced feature allows parents to set up an area on their smartphones where children can play with pre-added games, apps, music and videos, but can’t access the content or applications on the rest of the device. Adding AVG Family Safety as the default browser on this section is an easy and great way for parents to open up the Internet to their children but within a safe environment.

“Parents today know only too well the fascination that smartphones hold for children. I am sure that we’ve all been guilty in the past of handing over our device, with our only concern being about its safety rather than the safety of our children using it,” said Tony Anscombe, AVG‘s Senior Security Evangelist. “But are we stopping to consider the type of content we could be exposing our children to? As our previous research has shown, the digital literacy of children nowadays is astounding, so while it is absolutely important to nurture this, and allow our children to experience the online world, it has to be in a controlled way. AVG Family Safety gives parents that peace of mind.”

As part of its Digital Diaries research series, AVG discovered that more than twice the number of children aged 2-5 years could play with a smartphone application (26 percent) versus tying their shoelaces (11 percent). The research, entitled Digital Skills, also showed that more children can open a web browser (29 percent) than swim unaided (17 percent).

For further family

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/avg-technologies-brings-family-safety-to-windows-p/

How to Take Down the Leading Mobile OS: Complain

By Chris Neiger, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

It may not prove to be the most effective strategy, but some the world’s leading technology companies have filed a complaint to the EU Commission that Google‘s Android operating system is giving the company a monopoly on mobile, search advertising, and consumer data.

Microsoft , Nokia , Oracle, and TripAdvisor are teaming up against Google, saying that the company is using Android as a “Trojan horse” to monopolize the mobile marketplace. When it comes to Microsoft and Nokia, it’s pretty clear why the two aren’t exactly happy with Google’s OS dominance.

Why Nokia’s upset
It’s not difficult to figure out why Nokia might not be too happy with Android’s current position in the mobile market. Nokia has bet the farm on the Windows Phone platform and it’s currently battling it out with BlackBerry for more market share in both the U.S. and Europe. You can see below how far the Windows Phone platform has to go in Europe:

Source: TechCrunch.

The more market share that the Windows Phone platform takes up, the more Nokia benefits. The EU Commission hasn’t even agreed to hear the official compliant by the companies, but in theory it could hear the complaint and come down on Google, and break up some of Android’s monopoly. That’d be great news for Nokia, but it’s also an unlikely scenario.

What Microsoft has to gain
Obviously Microsoft wants to see its mobile platform compete against Android and gain more ground, but that’s not all it’s concerned with. The big problem Microsoft has with the don’t-be-evil company is that Google uses its Android platform to tap mobile users for advertisements. Google is expected to snag $3.36 billion in mobile search advertising in the U.S. this year alone. Microsoft is trying to gain more mobile search advertising through Bing and it’s been very public about its thoughts on Google’s search advertising practices.

If the complaint can prove that Google has a monopoly on mobile advertising, Microsoft stands to benefit by being the next best option for mobile users. Part of Microsoft’s strategy is to topple Google’s advertising tower through lawsuits and complaints. The EU Commission is currently looking into another complaint about Google’s advertising practices, and this new complaint is just another attempt to unseat the advertising king.

Easier said that done
It’s not likely this complaint, even if it’s heard by the EU Commission, will somehow flip Android’s OS domination in Europe. But one thing that lawmakers seem keen on listening to is consumer data protection. The latest complaint says that back in April six European data protection agencies began investigating if Google broke EU laws when it consolidated its Google account online policies. It also says that Google had to pay the FTC back in August to settle charges that it misled Safari browser users.

If Google’s already painted in a bad light for how it handles user data, the Commission may be more apt to hear the complaint and do something about it —

Nokia and BlackBerry Don't Stand a Chance

Filed under: Investing

Two of the biggest surprises in mobile have been Nokia and BlackBerry . The two seemingly forgotten wireless handset pioneers befuddled skeptics as they rallied in the latter half of 2012 to hit fresh 52-week highs in January.

Shares of Nokia and BlackBerry have fallen sharply since those January highs, but both stocks have still more than doubled off of last year’s lows.

Was that it? Was the push to unexpected highs at a time when fundamentals for both companies were in states of decline merely a sucker’s rally?

At least one analyst sees it that way.

MKM Partners analyst Michael Genovese offered some uninspiring survey results. Most consumers in the MKM-commissioned survey have little to no interest in either platform in the smartphone space.

To be fair, Genovese is a bear on both stocks. He has “sell” ratings on both, tagging BlackBerry with a $10 price target and feeling that Nokia’s stock will go as low as $3.

However, the survey itself is still problematic.

More than half of the survey participants currently have a smartphone, but just 3.4% of those own a BlackBerry and an even more anemic 1.6% have a Nokia smartphone.

We know why BlackBerry and Nokia are fringe players here. Apple breathed new life into the smartphone market with the iPhone and Google‘s Android is the platform of choice given the open-source nature of the OS that makes handsets cheap and plentiful, along with developer support that now rivals Apple’s iOS. Android and iOS powered 86.4% of the smartphone-toting respondents’ devices.

The good news — for BlackBerry — is that 5.9% of the total survey pool expect to buy a BlackBerry as their first or next smartphone. Nokia can’t catch a break here, with just 0.7% singling out Nokia.

Then again, maybe the consumers just aren’t as enlightened as one would think. Even after Microsoft and Nokia have spent a ton of dough marketing Nokia’s line of Windows Phone-based Lumia smartphones, 81% of the people surveyed had no idea that Nokia had a Windows 8 phone.

It’s hard to claw your way back to relevance when people just don’t know that you’re there. Expect the tough times to continue for BlackBerry and Nokia until they prove that they can actually make market share inroads.

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The article Nokia and BlackBerry Don’t Stand a Chance originally appeared on Fool.com.

Did You Know That BlackBerry 10 Exists?

Filed under: Investing

It’s now been nearly three months since BlackBerry unveiled its new BlackBerry 10 platform — the same operating system that the entire company is riding on. The company has also boosted its marketing efforts in the hopes of regaining consumer mindshare and relevance, attempting to shed the perception that it’s stuck in the past.

A new survey conducted by MKM Partners analyst Michael Genovese doesn’t bode well for the smartphone maker. Genovese polled 1,500 domestic consumers regarding smartphone ownership and purchasing plans. An incredible 83% of respondents weren’t even aware that BlackBerry had launched BB10 in Canada and Europe in January. As a follow-up question, 68% of respondents said they weren’t even interested in or curious about the new platform.

BlackBerry isn’t the only one being ignored; Microsoft Windows Phone hardly fared better. Of respondents, 61% didn’t know that the software giant had released its new Windows Phone 8 platform, with 64% not really caring to learn more about it. That lack of interest will hurt Nokia more than anyone else, since the Finnish company is the predominant seller of Windows Phones.

Unsurprisingly, Apple and Samsung earned the highest ownership scores. Within the sample size, 51% of people own a smartphone, with another 37% planning on making the plunge within the next year. Of current smartphone owners, a third own iPhones and 28% own Samsung devices.

The data reinforces the continued duopoly in the U.S. smartphone market, which mirrors the Apple and Samsung hegemony throughout the rest of the world. That’s in part why the analyst has “sell” ratings on both BlackBerry and Nokia. BlackBerry shares fetch a $10 price target, while Nokia shares are worth about $3, according to Genovese.

Both companies are in the midst of attempted turnarounds, but they will only be possible if consumers actually know and care about their new platforms.

It’s incredible to think just how much of our digital and technological lives are almost entirely shaped and molded by just a handful of companies. Find out “Who Will Win the War Between the 5 Biggest Tech Stocks?” in The Motley Fool’s latest free report, which details the knock-down, drag-out battle being waged by the five kings of tech. Click here to keep reading.

The article Did You Know That BlackBerry 10 Exists? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Microsoft Bringing Ads to Xbox Music

By Chris Neiger, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

Microsoft is teaming up with digital audio advertising company TargetSpot to launch advertisements on Xbox’s free music streaming service, the company announced today.

“TargetSpot will serve audio ads across all Windows 8 and Windows RT devices where Xbox Music free streaming service is available, providing a comprehensive monetization solution for Microsoft’s music content,” TargetSpot said in a press release. “Microsoft will leverage TargetSpot’s ad insertion technology to deliver highly targeted and relevant advertising to its listeners.”

TargetSpot said the ads will be placed on all of Xbox Music‘s free streaming service platforms, including the Xbox 360, Windows 8 and Windows RT tablets and PCs, and Windows Phone smartphones. The TargetSpot partnership will allow Microsoft to target ads by geography, time of day, and music listening preferences.

link

The article Microsoft Bringing Ads to Xbox Music originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Chris Neiger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Nokia Launches App for Jazzing Up Camera-Phone Self-Portraits

By Kevin Chen, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

Nokia has launched “Glam Me,” a camera app for taking and editing self-portraits on all Nokia Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8 in an effort to capitalize on what it calls the “selfie” phenomenon, the love of taking self-photos with phones.

The app allows a “slick range of beauty enhancing effects, such as teeth whitening and skin smoothing.” Users can also alter their self-snapshots with visual effects that include making them look like a sketch, an oil painting, or a magazine cover.

Nokia says selfies are “a true phenomenon” among young people in Asian countries — especially China. Developed in Beijing, Nokia hopes that Glam Me will appeal to the “young, social, and design-conscious” everywhere. Glam Me also lets users compare photos before and after editing.

In developing Glam Me, Nokia focused on providing accurate face detection, camera effects, and beauty enhancement features.On Nokia Lumia phones, Glam Me can be launched as its own stand-alone application or selected through the viewfinder.

Once finished taking a picture, Glam Me lets users send photos via email, SMS or through social networks like Facebook or Weibo in China.

link

The article Nokia Launches App for Jazzing Up Camera-Phone Self-Portraits originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Kevin Chen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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This Should Have Nokia Fans Jumping for Joy — Right?

By Tim Brugger, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

First, the good news: Nokia isn’t just the leading manufacturer of Microsoft‘s Windows 8 global smartphone market. According to a recent report from AdDuplex, it’s absolutely destroying the competition. Combined with the Q4 announcement of 4.4 million Lumias sold, that should make even Nokia bears stand up and take notice. But with so many ongoing questions regarding the impact of Windows 8 in the smartphone OS market, does Nokia’s resurgence even matter?

The envelope, please
As of April 4, the date of AdDuplex’s report, Nokia was the manufacturer of choice for 80% of all Windows 8 phones in use worldwide. HTC was a distant second, holding 14% of the Windows phone market, and Samsung, with its limited Windows smartphone alternatives, accounted for 5%. A smattering of others, including Huawei, ZTE, and Acer, shared what little was left.

Nokia’s dominant position isn’t entirely a surprise. As the world’s No. 2 phone manufacturer, and the first to go all in with Windows 8, Nokia was always going to be ahead of the pack. But 80% is a staggering market share.

Fools should also note the growth of Nokia’s Lumia 920, its latest, greatest, and most expensive smartphone. The Lumia 920 has taken over the top spot of all Windows 8 phones worldwide, jumping from fourth place just a month ago.

With Nokia’s earnings announcement slated for April 18, let’s hope CEO Stephen Elop shares Lumia sales numbers specific to the China Mobile deal Nokia inked late last year. With 700 million subscribers, China Mobile is the world’s largest wireless carrier; a good start there would certainly help to explain the jump in Lumia’s position and position Nokia for further growth.

Internationally, Nokia dominates Windows 8 smartphone sales the way Samsung and Apple do in the U.S., with more than 90% market penetration in its top 10 markets. South America in particular loves its Nokia Windows 8 smartphones; four of Nokia’s top 10 countries by market share hail from the continent, with Argentina clocking in at 99% market share for all Windows 8 phones in use. Impressive.

Now for some perspective
Windows Phone, while growing market share in the U.S., remains a distant fourth behind Google‘s Android, Apple iOS, and BlackBerry , according to recent data from comScore. Android OS and iOS together own slightly more than 90% of the market domestically, and the story’s about the same internationally. Nokia and Microsoft can only point to Windows Phone 8’s movement in the right direction. Along with iOS, Windows 8 was the only operating system to increase its share of the domestic mobile OS pie the past quarter, up to 3.2% from 3% in November.

The battle lines have been drawn, and for mobile OS developers, that means the immediate objective is a fight for third place. Unseating Android and iOS will have to wait. Right now, BlackBerry’s holding onto that position. With its new BB10 slowly but surely rolling out across various markets, it should be able …read more

Apple Stock Could Use a Phablet Boost

Filed under: Investing

Apple may be ready to concede that size matters in the smartphone world.

Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White believes that bigger iPhones are one the way.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves — dreaming of larger smarpthones and even fabled phablets — let’s frame this note appropriately. White has been known to dream big and wake up empty.

White turned heads last April when he slapped a price target of $1,001 on the stock. Two months later he suggested that the ballyhooed Apple HDTVs could hit the market in time for the 2012 holiday season. Neither vision materialized. A year later, Apple stock is trading at less than half of his price target. Anyone asking Santa for an iTV last year had to settle for an iPad Mini and a bag of coal.

However, he may be on to something this time.

White is trekking through Asia, visiting Chinese and Taiwanese suppliers that Apple and other consumer tech giants rely on for prototypes and eventual production runs. If a source in Apple’s supply chain is pointing to two — and possibly even three — different screen sizes for this summer’s inevitable iPhone 5S rollout, it’s a better wager than an analyst at home engaging in wishful thinking.

Go big or go home
The market initially applauded Apple’s decision to bump up the size of the iPhone 5. Going from 3.5-inch screens to 4-inch screens gave the stock a boost. Apple shares peaked the day that the iPhone 5 hit the market.

However, with Samsung and HTC embracing larger standards at 5 and 4.7 inches, respectively — and Google‘s Android continuing to run away with the market — Apple can’t ignore the call for wireless devices with larger screens.

The iPad recognized the market demand for smaller tablets by rolling out the wildly successful iPad Mini. Now it’s time to realize that the even the bigger iPhone 5 may not be big enough.

Analysts have been disappointed to see iPhone buyers flock to the older iPhone 4 and 4S models, but wireless customers aren’t going that route because they want smaller screens. They’re merely being won over by the notion of saving $100 or $200 on their phones.

BlackBerry‘s Z10 is off to a slow start this year, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the smartphone pioneer suffer another sequential dip in subscribers this quarter. Nokia flooded the market with Lumia phones, and even Microsoft‘s marketing muscle to push the Windows Phone-fueled devices failed to slow Android’s momentum.

Against this backdrop we have Samsung’s 5-inch Galaxy S4 coming out later this month, and there’s plenty of chatter of Samsung introducing devices with 5.5-inch and 6.3-inch screens later this year. This would naturally be phablet territory, and Samsung has already fared well there with the Galaxy Note line. If Apple is going to go bigger than the iPhone’s 4-inch screen — and if it is introducing …read more

Microsoft's Raising the Bar on Smartphones

By Chris Neiger, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

The latest word on the street was that Microsoft will issue an update to its Windows Phone software later this year that brings 1080p compatibility and support for new quad-core processors.

The Verge first reported on the possible changes, along with the rumor that Microsoft will introduce a 5-inch displays or greater, which would push the Windows Phone OS into the phablet realm. Surprisingly, the current version of Windows Phone only supports 720p HD and doesn’t work with high-end quad-core processors.

Adding these two enhancements would be a big plus for handset makers selling phones with the Windows Phone OS. Apple‘s iPhone and many Android phones are compatible with quad-core processors, which is where the future of smartphone processors is going. Qualcomm and NVIDIA are two of the biggest names in the quad-core processor game, and both companies recently announced the latest versions of their high-end processors over the past few months.

The shift to quad-core means that smartphones can work on more tasks at once, making apps and calculations much faster. Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 has the company’s own Exynos 5 Octa processor, and is sold as a quad-core phone in some locations and 8-core in others. Qualcomm is the only chip maker licensed to provide processors for Windows Phones, and with the company continually building faster quad-core processors, Windows Phones need to catch up.

Adding quad-core capability may help Windows Phones compete against rival smartphone software from Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). The most important play for Windows Phone OS, though, is to try to take the third spot away from BlackBerry . Here’s a breakdown of the current OS market share in the United States:

Source: Kantar Worldpanel.

Obviously Apple and Android dominate the OS market, but Windows Phone and BlackBerry seem to be on a back-and-forth path to take the No. 3 spot. Updates to Windows Phone would certainly make it a stronger competitor, but it’s still unclear if it will rise up and beat the BlackBerry OS. BB10 hasn’t been on the market as long as Windows Phone has, so investors will need to wait a little longer to see how it all plays out.

Better late than never
It’s good to see Microsoft updating its OS to keep up with the fast-paced changes of the mobile environment, but I can’t help but feel that the OS is just playing catch-up with iOS and Android. With an upcoming release of Windows “Blue” coming later this year or in 2014, maybe Microsoft will launch an OS that truly is ahead, or at least on par, with high-end smartphones. But until then, the company is making a step in the right direction, even if it’s been slow to make it.

It’s been a frustrating path for Microsoft investors, who’ve watched the company fail to capitalize on the incredible growth in mobile over the past decade. However, with the release of its own tablet, along with the widely anticipated Windows 8 operating system, the company is …read more

Microsoft's Hypocritical Attack Could Weigh on Google Stock

By Tim Beyers and Erin Miller, The Motley Fool

Filed under: Investing

Remember when peers accused Microsoft of abusing its monopoly power? The tide has turned, and now Mr. Softy is leading a group called the FairSearch Initiative that aims to persuade European regulators to take antitrust action against Google .

Among other things, the 17 companies involved — including Nokia and Oracle — accuse Google of “predatory distribution” of the free Android operating system, USA Today reports. The strategy hurts providers of alternative OSes such as Windows Phone and BlackBerry , the group claims.

Does the charge have merit? Android’s 70% share of the market last year seems certainly seems to be helping Google stock, which is up more than 22% over the past year. An adverse ruling could change that, sending shares of Google stock sharply lower.

In the following interview with The Motley Fool’s Erin Miller, Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova says regulators aren’t likely to impose stiff penalties. He also expects Google stock to rally. Please watch this short video, and then leave a comment to let us know what you think about the search king’s strategy and competitiveness.

For further analysis of Google’s mobile ambitions, try our newest premium research report, in which we dissect each piece of Google’s sprawling empire and tell you what the company is really worth, and whether the stock deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report now by clicking here.

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Nokia Lumia 521 to Launch on T-Mobile in May

Filed under: Investing

No. 4 wireless carrier T-Mobile will be exclusively launching Nokia‘s Lumia 521 phone starting in May, the company announced today.

The carrier had said in February that it would offer the device without detailing a specific time frame. The Lumia 521 is positioned as an affordable device. However, T-Mobile did not provide specific pricing details or a specific date in May for launch.

The Lumia 521 willl feature a 4-inch display and 5-megapixel camera, and offer several of Nokia’s first-party services such as Nokia Music. The device will be powered by Microsoft Windows Phone 8. T-Mobile plans to distribute the Lumia 521 through its retail stores, as well as Wal-Mart and Microsoft retail locations.

T-Mobile currently offers only two Windows Phone devices, the HTC 8X and Lumia 810.

link

The article Nokia Lumia 521 to Launch on T-Mobile in May originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Computers

Speek eases conference calling hassles for Windows Phone

April 8, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Speek

Speek for Windows Phone 8

If that headline sounds familiar, it’s because I wrote a similar one back in January about Speek for iOS. It’s an app that brings conference-call creation and management to your smartphone.

At that time, I’m sure at least some folks were hoping for a Windows Phone version. Hope no more, because Speek is now available for Windows Phone 8.

Like its iOS predecessor, Speek for Windows Phone lets you set up conference calls right on your handset, using a highly visual motif. Each person is represented by their thumbnail photo from your address list, this giving you the chance to “see” everyone on the call.

Because I don’t have a Windows Phone handset on which to test-drive the app, I’m making a few assumptions about it relative to the iOS version. The latter, for example, lets you set up an account right on the phone. This consists in part of a custom username that doubles as your unique URL, like Speek.com/WidgetCo.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld

News, Politics, Government

The Facebook Phone Shows Microsoft How They Should Have Promoted Windows Phone

April 5, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Ewan Spence, Contributor

Following the reveal of Facebook Home as an new ‘user interface layer’ for Android, CEO Mark Zuckerberg focused heavily on the idea that it was a people first approach, and not an app-first approach. Which Microsoft’s VP of corporate communications, Frank Shaw, was quick to point matched up with Windows Phone approach. …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Microsoft Tries to Burn Down Facebook's Home

April 5, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Investors were rejoicing yesterday over Facebook‘s new Home suite of apps and integrated features, sending shares up 3% after the announcement on the prospects of increased user engagement and eventually incremental ad revenue once ads are deployed.

Home integrates directly into select Google Android devices and will undermine some of the search giant’s own services, even if they’re still technically available. Even though Home will step on some of Big G’s toes, the search giant maintained niceties following the event, saying Home is another example of continued innovation on the Android platform.

Oddly enough, another company wasn’t too impressed and is trying to downplay the significance of Home: Facebook search partner and investor Microsoft .

On Microsoft’s official blog, corporate communications exec Frank Shaw noted that Facebook’s announcement bore an uncanny resemblance to the software giant’s own Windows Phone pitch from 2011. Facebook positioned Home as a way to put people in front of apps, as opposed to the other way around.

That’s an approach that Microsoft has been touting for years, since Windows Phone features a People Hub that is integrated directly with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Shaw takes the opportunity to knock Android, saying the platform is already “complicated enough” (emphasis his) and that it has “sadly” always lacked a “People First” approach.

In that sense, Shaw understands why Facebook wants to launch Home, but also suggests that users looking for a “people-centric” phone just opt for the “real thing” and pick up a Windows Phone.

The move is curious considering that Facebook is ultimately much closer with Microsoft than it is with Google. Bing powers the search bar located on Facebook’s site, and is also the driving force behind the social network’s new Graph Search function.

Microsoft was also an early investor in Facebook, buying in for $240 million as early as 2007. Microsoft did unload 6.6 million Class B shares during Facebook’s IPO last year, leaving it with 26.2 million shares and a 1.7% stake.

Why would Microsoft want to rain on its partner’s parade?

After the world’s most hyped IPO turned out to be a dunce, most investors probably don’t even want to think about shares of Facebook. But there are things every investor needs to know about this company. We’ve outlined them in our newest premium research report. There’s a lot more to Facebook than meets the eye, so read up on whether there is anything to “like” about it today, and we’ll tell you whether we think Facebook deserves a place in your portfolio. Access your report by clicking here.

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Buy Apple, Don't Buy Microsoft?

April 4, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Microsoft and Apple are passing ships, and not in a way that you’d probably expect.

At a time when Apple is shedding investors and Microsoft’s hoping to wow the market with the operating system, mobile platform, and tablet it introduced late last year, sentiment may be shifting back in Apple’s favor.

Lazard Capital Markets is initiating coverage of Apple with a “buy” rating this morning, establishing a price target of $540.

Lazard analysts believe that the worst is behind the consumer tech giant. Sure, Android is eating its lunch and margins will continue to get squeezed, but have investors been approaching Apple the wrong way? Lazard offers up Apple as a data storage play since it’s “instrumental in driving data creation in ways its competitors are not.”

Fresh bullish perspectives are always welcome, especially with Apple trading less than 3% away from its 52-week low.

On the other end of the opinion-o-meter, Bank of America Merrill Lynch is talking down Microsoft. After gluing itself to a “buy” rating on the stock for more than four years, Merrill Lynch lowering its rating to neutral. The original bullishness surrounded a massive stock buyback and the Windows 7 product cycle that didn’t pan out as planned. Things aren’t getting any better now that we’re several months into Windows 8.

Microsoft isn’t necessarily riding high with investors these days. Mr. Softy is trading closer to its 52-week low than its 52-week high at a time when some of the market gauges are hitting new highs. However, Microsoft’s stock hasn’t fallen as hard as Apple has since peaking last year, even though Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Surface rollouts have fizzled out as catalysts.

Apple at least has one notable analyst backing it now. If only it could get jaded analysts and even more skeptical investors to follow along.

Got Apple? Get smart.
There’s no doubt that Apple is at the center of technology’s largest revolution ever, and that longtime shareholders have been handsomely rewarded with over 1,000% gains. However, there is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool’s senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

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An Overdue Apple Overhaul Is Coming

April 3, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Filed under: Investing

Let’s not sugarcoat it: Apple‘s iOS platform is overdue for some aesthetic user-interface improvements. The iPhone maker has mostly maintained the same overall look and feel of its most important software platform since 2007. In the meantime, heavyweight rivals Google and Microsoft have come a long way in terms of interface design.

With Scott Forstall’s ouster late last year, design enthusiasts may finally get their calls answered with a new interface aesthetic driven largely by Jonathan Ive‘s tastes, which is expected to take place with iOS 7 this year.

Just a couple weeks ago, The Wall Street Journal reported that the reorganization is indeed increasing collaboration among different departments, which was the stated goal of the shake-up in the first place. As head of human interface, Ive now attends meetings related to the design direction of Apple’s software.

Ive has reportedly been trying to implement a more “flat design” that would be more modern and minimalist, two characteristics that both Android and Windows Phone now boast. At the time, sources were expecting the updates to be relatively conservative.

However, a handful of well-connected Apple followers is now hearing that iOS 7 is behind schedule, in part due to more dramatic changes to the interface. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber believes a “systemwide UI overhaul” is in the works. In characteristically secret fashion, engineers using the new version are required to use polarizing privacy filters on their devices in public, so mere mortals can’t steal any sneak peeks.

Software engineers from Apple’s OS X team have even reportedly been diverted away from OS X 10.9 in order to pitch in on iOS. This wouldn’t be the first time that the Mac maker has focused more on being an iPhone maker; in 2007 it delayed the release of OS X 10.5 Leopard to redeploy talent on the iPhone as the device was preparing for launch.

At the time, the Mac was still generating 41% of trailing-12-month sales, so the company got some flak for the decision. The iPhone is now 52% of TTM sales, while the Mac is just 13%, so don’t expect investors to get upset that Apple is focusing resources on the big moneymaker, especially at a time of escalating competition.

There’s a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool’s senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

1 More Hint of a Coming Amazon Kindle Phone

April 3, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment