Jake Smith

Google acquired 217 patents from IBM, according to SEO by the Sea. Google’s most recent acquisition of patents from IBM, completed in the last week of December, comes after acquiring patents last summer. SEO by the Sea discovered the acquisition from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and we do not know the exact details currently. Google will most likely send out a letter giving exact figures soon.

Of the 217 patents, 188 were granted. Twenty-nine of them are patents pending that have been published.  The patents Google acquired range from video conferencing to instant messaging. Some of the noteworthy patents include modifying web pages for mobile devices, collecting data from NFC, rendering a section of a webpage, transferring webpages between mobile devices, voice based keyboard search, and a “computer phone.”

Last summer, Google acquired Motorola Mobility for its 17,000 published patents and almost 7,500 pending patents. The acquisition is still going through, but Google put up $12.5 billion for the company. Google continues to strengthen its patent portfolio to protect itself from lawsuits.

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Today is the last day to take advantage of Google Music’s blowout MP3 sale that has lasted for about a week now. Google is offering popular albums for only $4.99 and popular tracks for only $0.49. The lineup Google offers is pretty good, ranging from Lil Wayne to DeadMau5. Sadly, the sale does not include every offering on Google Music, but it has a decent list that you should browse through. Songs purchased will be saved to your Google Music locker and can be downloaded as an MP3. What are you waiting for?

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Sony Ericsson just teased their CES announcement on Google Plus as ‘something big’. The company said the following on Google Plus:

While it has not hit the United States yet, Samsung’s Galaxy Note tabphone has been frolicking around Europe since the fall. Samsung announced last week that sales in Europe have topped 1 million. Sadly, the device still has not seen an official Android 4.0 build from Samsung (as promised), but luckily, developers have worked to fix the dilemma. Maui on the XDA-Developer Forums released an experimental port of Android 4.0 for the Galaxy Note using CyanogenMod 9. Older and more stable versions of CyanogenMod were also used to port Ice Cream Sandwich onto other devices like the Kindle Fire and HP TouchPad.

It is worth noting that this build is unstable. However, if you have a Galaxy Note and are ready to try Ice Cream Sandwich, this might be worth the effort. Current known bugs include the camera not working, unstable BlueTooth, battery usage not working, and MTP mode not working. What does work, however, is Wi-Fi, 3G, touchscreen, and sensors. Go to the XDA-Developer Forums for the full instructions on how to install this port.

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SEO Books (via Search Engine Land) discovered today that a Google search for “This post is sponsored by Google” reveals that Google may be sponsoring over 400 pages worth of publications who have written about Google Chrome. This is interesting, because Google has never allowed paid links inside their search results. The discovery has not been confirmed with Google — probably due to most of the Google staff being off today for the holiday — but this seems to be real nonetheless.

Search Engine Land pointed to one page where there is a direct link to download Chrome, and a link that poses as a video that connects to Google Chrome’s download page. Under that, you will find a “Sponsored by Google” disclaimer. We will keep you posted.

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Developer Robert Muth successfully ported MAME to run natively inside of Google Chrome’s Native Client, after it saw a similar port run on the iPad roughly a year ago. For those unfamiliar, MAME is an emulator application that can recreate vintage video games to make them playable on newer platforms. Finally, you will be able to get your PacMan to load within Chrome.

Muth was able to achieve the port in a matter of four days, but explained that it was rather challenging. Head to Google Developers and learn the technical details regarding how this was achieved. In addition, for those unfamiliar with Native Client, Google breaks down the basics for executing the code. (via Engadget)

The port of MAME was relatively challenging; combined with figuring out how to port SDL-based games and load resources in Native Client, the overall effort took us about 4 days to complete.

TmoNews discovered a huge sale going on this weekend at T-Mobile stores, and it is dubbed the “New Year, New Phone” value sale. As part of the sale, T-Mobile will offer a good chunk of their phones for $49.99 or less after a mail-in-rebate. To qualify, customers must meet a list of criteria, such as a new activation, two-year contract, and the new activation must be under a value plan. The sale will take place from Jan. 6 to Jan. 8.

As you can see above, T-Mobile has a nice lineup for this sale. For example, if you wanted to buy the Galaxy S II (read our review) this weekend, it would require a down payment of $199. You would later receive $150 back through a mail-in-rebate, leaving you with a net payment of $49.99 for the device. We posted the full criteria for the sale after the break, through TmoNews.

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Verizon Wireless has been under fire this week after announcing it would begin imposing a $2 fee on customers who do not have their bill set to be paid automatically, and instead pay it through electronic check. Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced they would begin investigating Verizon’s new fee. Shortly after, Verizon announced on its website that they will not impose the fee to meet with customer’s requests.

The company made the decision in response to customer feedback about the plan, which was designed to improve the efficiency of those transactions. The company continues to encourage customers to take advantage of the numerous simple and convenient payment methods it provides.

Verizon said this fee was going to help move customers to a more convenient payment method. Luckily, they have chosen to go the other way.

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CrunchFund partner and TechCrunch contributor MG Siegler made quite the stir over the past few days, when Google removed his Google+ image that showed him raising his middle finger. Once Google removed the image, Siegler uploaded the photograph a second time, only to be removed again. The second time, Google provided the following explanation to Siegler:

As the first point of interaction with a user’s profile, all profile photos on Google+ are reviewed to make sure they are in line with our User Content and Conduct Policy. Our policy page states, “Your Profile Picture cannot include mature or offensive content.” Your profile photo was taken down as a violation of this policy. If you have further questions about the policies on Google+ you can visit http://www.google.com/intl/en/+/policy/content.html, or click the “Content Policy” link located in the footer of Google+ pages.

Google explained that this is not directed just towards Siegler. Google revealed that it reviews every user’s profile when it is first created, and that all profile pictures are reviewed. Siegler himself wrote a post on the subject, and then later followed up. Marketing Land pointed to the rule Seigler broke that some might call debatable:

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A faithful developer on the DroidForums has ported Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to the Droid Bionic. The Ice Cream Sandwich port is based off Cyanogenmod 9 that was also used in the Ice Cream Sandwich port to the Kindle Fire and more. As of today all seems to be working well and dandy in this alpha, except 3G/4G data, camera, and stable USB mounting support. This might be worth checking out if you are daring, or in the mean time, you can wait for the official release by Motorola in early 2012. For those interested in installing, hit up the DroidForums for the full list of details.

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Samsung announced on Flickr this evening that the company shipped 1 million Galaxy Note units. The Galaxy Note was announced at IFA 2011 and has seen explosion worldwide, despite not landing in the United States yet. In addition, as background, the Galaxy Note rocks a 5.3-inch form-factor that crosses between a phone and tablet. It is worth noting that Samsung is counting devices shipped to stores, as well as customers. The Galaxy Note should be landing in the U.S. sometime in 2012, and we may even hear more at CES. Check out Samsung’s official announcement after the break. (via The Verge)

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YouTube launched a neat video discovery experiment this afternoon called YouTube Slam. Slam is a little game that allows you to vote between videos in a wide-range of topics, including Comedy, Cute, Music, Bizarre and Dance. The video with the most Slams earns a spot on the leaderboard each week.

YouTube Slam also has a game aspect to it: users will earn more points as they predict crowd favorites. This is a cool time waster that you should check out.

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[youtube=”http://youtu.be/0EVfKBc5bVc”]

The fine folks over at the XDA-Developer Forums are at it again, with a pre-alpha release of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) to the Kindle Fire, that is based off CyanogenMod 9. The port is stated to be buggy, but as you can see in the video it really isn’t that bad. The process for flashing the pre-alpha software is pretty difficult. If you’re up for the task check it out after the break.

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The MotoACTV was announced in the fall and is flaunted as the ultimate sports watch for those who are active. It ships with Android 2.3 and a custom skin on top, and one would not think the wristwatch could ever be rooted. However, like every other Android device out on the market, the MotoACTV was rooted with Revolutionary’s zergRush exploit. The root enables full Android 2.3 on the wristwatch. As you can see above with the Angry Birds start screen, users can even access the Android Market with the help of CyanogenMod. (via The Verge)

While we do not know if this is exactly useful, it is cool -nonetheless- seeing a tablet user interface run on a 1.6-inch display. The MotoACTV 8GB version is available for $209 on Amazon, and the 16GB version is available for $299. Check it out in action after the break:

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Plex, the very popular streaming media application, is on its way to the Nook Color and Nook Tablet’s Store, reports GigaOm. For those unfamiliar with Plex, it is a popular application available on iOS and Android that lets users manage their home’s media content through a custom server.

Plex’s wide variety of supported media formats, available plug-ins, and the Windows and Mac application make it arguably the best solution for controlling media across the household. The Barnes and Noble review team approved Plex, so it should see its way onto the Nook Store in the coming days.

The Nook’s Plex app will be very close to the Android app, but it will have an added layer of approval process for software titles, GigaOm reports.

The Nook Color and Nook Tablet’s popular competitor, the Kindle Fire, also has Plex. The addition of Plex to the Nook Store will give customers the ability to better manage their media — something that customers love to do with their cheaper tablets.

The Droid 4 was rumored to launch later today, but new leaked documents released earlier tonight from VZBuzz point to a much later Feb. 2 release date. We were hoping to get our hands on this QWERTY/LTE combination soon, but it is sure to see some action at CES. Check out the leaked document below.

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As the production of the iPad 2 winds down, 7-inch panels are seeing a sales boost, reported trade publication DigiTimes. The sales boost of 7-inch panels is so high that they have passed the 9.7-inch panels for the first time in November. The 7-inch panels power popular tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire that is selling like crazy and Barnes and Noble’s Nook. They are both a very cheap buy for consumers this holiday season.

Earlier in the week, DigiTimes also reported that sources told them Apple was going to begin the production of a 7-inch tablet in the second quarter next year, for release in the fourth quarter. We doubt the 7-inch sales boost is due to any Apple orders just yet, even if the report is true. The 9.7-inch panel sales will most likely go up has Apple prepares for the launch of the iPad 3 that is rumored to hit in the Spring.

Rest easy folks…Amazon’s Kindle Fire no longer blocks access to Google’s Android Market website through the built-in browser. The Kindle Fire saw some criticism recently for redirecting market.android.com to Amazon’s AppStore. The move raised many eyebrows; however, yesterday’s OTA update addressed the controversial issue. Nevertheless, there is still no way to download applications from market.android.com. Users can only browse the catalog.

The concern at hand can be viewed as a matter of principal. Does one want a company regulating the content viewable? It might make the process less confusing for some users, but others question whether Amazon has the right to regulate. GigaOm pointed out that users still receive a security certificate warning, but at least Amazon has rethought this strategy. (via GigaOm)

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Archos unveiled a new tablet to their lineup: the Archos 70b. The Archos 70b is an updated version of the Archos 70 IT Gen 8 tablet, and it is priced at $199 to potentially compete with others. The Archos 70b packs a 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, 7-inch 1024×600 pixel multitouch screen, and 3D graphics accelerator, 512 MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, front webcam, and Android 2.1 Honeycomb. It is not clear when the device will get Ice Cream Sandwich…if ever.

Most likely seeing some play at CES, the Archos 70b will release in January at $199. This will be a great competitor to the Kindle Fire, due to its front webcam and Android Market support, but most likely will not see sales even close to the Kindle fire that is off to a blazing start. (via CNET)

Amazon started to roll out another over-the-air update to the Kindle Fire, putting the device at version 6.2.1. The company announced tonight that the update would improve performance and touch responsiveness, allowing a user to choose the items appearing in the carousel. It also gives the ability to add a password lock on Wi-Fi access. To install version 6.2.1, tap the ‘sync’ button in the right corner, or a user can manually install it by downloading the file.

Tonight’s fixes come after many users complaining since getting their device. Our own Seth Weintraub even gave his two cents about the device’s speed in his review:

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PhanDroid wrote an interesting report this evening, claiming the roll out of the Sprint Galaxy Nexus might be a reality and that it could be coming soon. The information comes from several Sprint customer representatives (seen after the break) who confirm that the Galaxy Nexus can be activated on the Sprint network and that it was given the green light.

When it comes to the radio bands that the Galaxy Nexus supports (CDMA 800/1900, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO), PhanDroid pointed out how both Verizon and Sprint are supported under the current hardware. Sadly, Sprint would not be able to use the 4G side of things with its WiMAX network, but things could always change for the company. (See: Samsung’s Epic line.)

We gave the Galaxy Nexus a good score during our testing, and reviewed it as the best Android phone on the market. Let us hope the phone will see a few other United States carriers in its day. Current rumors point to a 60-day exclusivity for Verizon, though, if today’s news is true, you can theoretically buy a Verizon GN and take it over to Sprint to be Flashed. Moreover, you can buy an international GSM version that works on both T-Mobile and AT&T’s network.