Jordan Kahn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=b0zaNHntOe4

In November, Google launched a new feature for YouTube Android app and Google TV that allows users to easily beam videos from their smartphone or tablet to their TVs over Wi-Fi. Doing so also turned the mobile app into a remote control, allowing you to pause, skip, scroll, etc., for the video playing on the big screen. Today, on the official YouTube blog, the company announced the Apple Airplay-like feature would come to even more devices this year starting with a handful of companies showing off new products next week at CES.

This year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), we’re bringing that mobile/TV-pairing feature to devices from our friends, such as: Bang & Olufsen, LG, Panasonic, and Sony. In 2013, you’ll see this feature come to even more devices like those from Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba, Vizio, Western Digital, and others.

Google also noted that the new devices will get the latest YouTube TV app design (pictured right).

Although it is currently limited to the YouTube app on Android, the functionality could be seen as Google’s first step toward a true competitor to Apple’s AirPlay feature on Apple TV.

According to the latest numbers from comScore MobiLens for the United States mobile phone market, Apple and Samsung both continue to gain marketshare as the leading OEMs as Android and iOS move closer toward a duopoly with a combined almost 90 percent of the market. ComScore’s latest numbers track the three-month period ending in November, which saw Apple jump from 17.1-percent in August to 18.5-percent of the U.S. mobile phone market. Samsung continued its lead jumping up 1.2-percent to 26.9-percent, while gains for both companies come at the expense of decreases in market share for LG, Motorola, and HTC.

As for the U.S. market by platform, iOS and Android both experience slight gains over August numbers. With a joint 88.7-percent of the market for Apple and Google, RIM is the closest competitor dropping from 8.3-percent of the market in August to just 7.3-percent in November. Microsoft dropped from 3.6-percent to 3 percent:

In November, 75.9 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device (up 0.3 percentage points). Downloaded applications were used by 54.2 percent of subscribers (up 0.8 percentage points), while browsers were used by 52.1 percent (up 0.1 percentage points). Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased 0.9 percentage points to 39.2 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 33.7 percent of the mobile audience, while 28.7 percent listened to music on their phones (up 0.4 percentage points).

Two years after Google cofounder Larry Page took up his new role as CEO, Fortune recently sat down with Page to give us a lengthy interview discussing everything from Apple to driverless cars. Today, Fortune published another profile on Page as CEO. The article will appear in its upcoming Jan. 14, 2013 issue, and it will detail some of the changes Page made on the executive level, his ability to execute a vision like Google Now in six months, and his desire to focus on core products:

That Google Now went so quickly from vision to product is a testament to Page’s reinvigorated Google. Page has long said that the biggest threat facing Google is Google itself, and since becoming CEO he has zeroed in on bloat, bureaucracy, and just about anything that slows innovation. (His obsession with speed can take peculiar forms. He once asked Sundar Pichai, the senior vice president in charge of the Chrome web browser and other apps, to be mindful of the seconds it took executives to transition onstage at companywide meetings. “You should come closer to the stage and stand, so you don’t make the company wait,” Pichai remembers being told.)

Kia Motors is working with Google to bring Google Maps and Google Places integration to new vehicles via an updated version of its UVO eServices telematics system. Kia said in a press release today that it would work with Google to integrate Maps and Services for “driving directions and locate Points of Interest (POIs) in a seamless and organic manner.” The new integration will land in the 2014 Sorento CUV and go on sale in the first half of this year, but it will presumably hit all-new vehicles that utilize Kia’s built-in UVO eServices. Kia will also provide Maps and Places features from its UVO smartphone app:

Available with the 2014 Sorento CUV, the new Google-powered UVO system will serve Kia owners whether they are in their cars or away from them. Enabled by the Send2Car feature, Kia owners can send a POI or destination to their car directly from the Google Maps via their SmartphoneUVO app. From within the car, Kia owners will benefit from Google Places, which will provide POI and destination resources such as a dealership location, and Google Maps, which will provide directions to virtually anywhere and everywhere a car can travel.
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The New York Times is out today with a piece that profiled Google’s Apps for Business service push and how Google has slowly captured a large cut of the market that previously belonged to Microsoft. While noting Google Apps is winning out for many businesses due to its $50 per person cost of entry, compared to Microsoft Office’s $400 per computer, the report also highlighted Google’s dominance among government agencies. According to the report that cited the General Services Administration, Google has won 23 of the 42 government contracts it competed for. Microsoft and VMware’s Zimbra won the remaining contracts:

But according to the General Services Administration, out of 42 federal government contracts for which Google and Microsoft competed in 2012, Google won 23 deals, and Microsoft 10. The rest went to another company, Zimbra, which is owned by VMware, a maker of cloud software.

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal noted Google Apps has generated close to $1 billion in sales, while Google also confirmed it has no plans to develop for Windows 8. However, according to Microsoft’s business division general manager Julia White, Google is not yet a threat:

Microsoft says it does not yet see a threat. Google “has not yet shown they are truly serious,” said Julia White, a general manager in Microsoft’s business division. “From the outside, they are an advertising company.” In 2011, 96 percent of Google’s revenue came from advertising.

Analytics firm Distimo is out today with the full results of its year-end 2012 app analytics report (via Fortune). While Apple is still the clear winner in terms of revenue, Google Play showed significant growth in the last four months. Its daily revenue grew 43 percent in 20 major markets. Apple’s growth was smaller, increasing daily revenue by 21 percent, but Distimo’s numbers show Google still has a long way to go:

On a typical day in November 2012, the revenues in the Apple App Store exceeded $15M USD, while in Google Play the revenues are just below $3.5M USD in 20 of the largest countries in both app stores… Even though the growth in revenues in Google Play in the last four months is close to that of the Apple App Store in 2012, the growth in daily revenues in the Apple App Store was higher than the total daily revenues in Google Play when comparing absolute daily revenue values.

As for the most popular apps of 2012, Distimo said Asian publisher Naver was able to beat Draw Something’s record of 1 million users in nine day. Its app, Line Pop, got 1.75 million downloads in the first 72 hours. That’s something that took Facebook nine months to accomplish. The app also brought over 1 million in revenue for the developer in 12 days.

To round out the year in review, Distmo breaks down revenue by category in the charts below: the top 10 most grossing cross-store publishers, the top 10 publishers and apps by downloads on Google Play, and the top five highest growing countries by revenue. There aren’t many surprises:

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Google is rolling out a new feature to make it easier to access indoor “Street View” imagery for businesses by including a “See Inside” button next to search results for those who have opted into the program. Google has worked with businesses to capture 360-degree imagery of the interior of retail locations, and it recently started promoting the feature in Maps and more services. As highlighted by Google in the tweet below, search results displaying listings for businesses will now include a “See Inside” link to quickly jump into the indoor Street View mode.

[tweet https://twitter.com/googlemaps/status/281527952422891520]

Google made some announcements today regarding its work with the Quickoffice team since acquiring the company in June. On top of noting work to take advantage of Quickoffice conversion technology in Google Docs, Google launched a free version of the QuickOffice iPad app exclusively for Google Apps for Business customers today. There are also free iPhone and Android versions of the app for creating and editing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files coming to Apps customers in the near future:

Converting old files to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides is the easiest way to share and work together, but perhaps not everyone you work with has gone Google yet. To complement what you can do with Google documents, we’re also making it easier for you to make quick edits to Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint files without conversion. Starting today, the Quickoffice iPad app is available for free to all Apps for Business customers, and iPhone and Android versions are on the way.

Vice President of Google Enterprise Amit Singh welcomed the announcement on his Twitter account: “Customers can now get Quickoffice for free. No need to license microsoft for your ipad.”

[tweet https://twitter.com/aksingh77/status/281531037249581056]
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Verizon and Redbox confirmed on the official Redbox Instant Twitter account that the new unlimited streaming service is rolling out gradually starting today. The $8-per-month Netflix competitor will provide unlimited streaming and four physical DVD or Blu-ray rentals ($9 a month for Blu-ray) and will be available through the browser as well as mobile apps. A Redbox Instant by Verizon Android app is already available on Google Play. There is also a free one-month trial included.

[tweet https://twitter.com/redboxinstant/status/281397404585062400]

It is unclear what kind of content deals are in place for streaming, but we do know the service will offer content from Warner Bros., and EPIX.

If you’re interested in taking advantage of the service today, you’ll have to sign up for the private beta on the Redbox Instant website.

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Today, Kodak announced the $525 million sale of its patents to two firms, Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation. It is interesting that the two companies will work with 12 intellectual property licensee to pay a portion of the over $500 million price tag. The 12 licensees, who aren’t listed by name in Kodak’s press release, would all receive varying access to the digital imaging patent portfolio and other Kodak patents included in the sale. In turns out that Apple, Google, and many other large tech companies, will provide cash toward the purchase as licensees.

Under the agreements, Kodak will receive approximately $525 million, a portion of which will be paid by 12 intellectual property licensees organized by Intellectual Ventures and RPX Corporation, with each licensee receiving rights with respect to the digital imaging patent portfolio and certain other Kodak patents. Another portion will be paid by Intellectual Ventures, which is acquiring the digital imaging patent portfolio subject to these new licenses, as well as previously existing licenses.

Bloomberg is reporting, as relayed by Business Insider, that the 12 companies are made up of Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Facebook, and just about every major player in the tech business:

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Today, iSuppli published the results of its preliminary forecast of the top five cellphone OEMs in 2012. Samsung will for the first time in 14 years pass Nokia as the top OEM for shipments worldwide, according to the report, as it grabs 29 percent of the market (up from 24 percent in 2011).

iSuppli estimated Nokia would see its 30 percent share in 2011 slip to 24 percent during 2012 on declining shipments of both Windows- and Symbian-based phones. Third-place Apple will increase its share to 10 percent of cellphone shipments worldwide, up from 7 percent last year, according to iSuppli’s predictions.

A dislodged Nokia will cause Samsung to rise to first place for the full year of 2012, up from the second rank in 2011, the first time the South Korean electronics titan will occupy the top on a yearly basis. Nokia will fall to the runner-up spot, the first time since 1998 it  won’t be in peak position for overall cellphone shipments during a full calendar year…. Finnish-based Nokia is mired in transitioning its smartphone line to the Windows operating system, resulting in declining shipments for the company. Sales of the company’s older Symbian-based phones have plunged, while its new Microsoft Windows 7-based handsets haven’t been able to make up for the loss so far.

Samsung also tops iSuppli’s forecast for the top smartphone OEMs by worldwide shipments as the company continues to extend its slight lead over Apple. iSuppli is expecting Samsung to take in 28 percent of the global smartphone market in 2012 (up from 20 percent in 2011), while Apple’s gains are smaller at 20 percent—up from 19 percent last year:
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We have been hearing a lot of rumors about Sony’s unannounced “Yuga C6603” smartphone, and today Russian site Mobile-review.com posted images of the 5-inch, Android 4.1.2 powered device. According to the report, which also includes a number of benchmark tests, the Sony Yuga’s packs in a full HD (1,920 x 1,080) 5-inch display with 440 ppi and Sony’s Mobile Bravia Engine. The display also features on-screen buttons running along the bottom. Other specs include 2GBs of RAM, LTE, a quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU, Adreno 320 graphics, USB Host support, and micro HDMI and microSD for support up to 128GB. This could definitely be an interesting flagship device for Sony in 2013. It’s also sporting a 12 megapixel camera according to the site.

Head over to Mobile-review for more images and benchmarks. We’ll be keeping our eyes out for the device early next month at CES. 
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Samsung today announced a new 5-inch, Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean-powered smartphone known as the “Galaxy Grand”. We don’t get any details on pricing or availability, and specs and design add up to your typical low to mid-range Galaxy variant, but the device is packing a 1.2 GHz dual for processor, 5-inch WVGA TFT LCD, 8-megapixel camera (2 megapixel front cam), Bluetooth 4.0, and 1 GB of RAM. Perhaps the most interesting part of the Grand is that initially Samsung will ship a dual SIM version (GT-I9082) only that will allow users to manage two numbers on one device:

For the dual SIM version, its innovative dual SIM feature provides total communication flexibility, allowing users to manage two phone numbers from a single phone. It is possible to receive calls on one SIM number while taking a call from the other, ensuring efficient management of personal and work commitments without ever missing a call. Dual SIM also offers the flexibility of selecting different billing plans for either SIM, switching between them to make the most of cheaper call and data plans.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iCkYw3cRwLo#!]

YouTube is once again doing its annual “YouTube Rewind” to shed some light on the top-trending videos of 2012. Google updated its YouTube Rewind Channel to include the last year’s worth of the most popular YouTube videos alongside some stats for each. For instance, Google noted the KONY 2012 30-minute documentary was the most shared video in the world during March, but PSYs’ Gangnam Style was able to top the majority of lists after approaching 1 billion views and becoming the most viewed YouTube video of all time in less than half the year.

YouTube’s top trending list globally is below, followed by the list for Canada, but you can head over to the YouTube Rewind Channel to see the top-trending videos for your country.

Top Trending YouTube Videos:  

1. PSY – GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V 
2. Somebody That I Used to Know – Walk off the Earth (Gotye – Cover) 
3. KONY 2012 
4. “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen – Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale & MORE! 
5. Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2. 
6. A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE 
7. WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW 
8. Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize 
9. Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen.
10. Felix Baumgartner’s supersonic freefall from 128k’ – Mission Highlights 

Top Trending YouTube Videos in Canada:
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yntfUjenls0]

Google announced today a new way for families to connect using Google+ video chat Hangouts during the holidays. Instead of just inviting your family members to take place in an ordinary Google+ hangout, Google has made the invitation and joining process easier for family members who may not already utilize the feature. By visiting http://familyhangouts.withgoogle.com/, users can easily create and add members for a Google+ hangout. The difference is your email invitation, which asks your family members to join, will arrive with a customized short video that features characters from the animated British series “Wallace and Gromit”.

Google is also rolling out a Holiday Effects app today that will bring Santa hats, Gromit’s ears, reindeer antlers and more, as highlighted in the image below:

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Sprint today confirmed in a press release that it will acquire the roughly 50 percent of Clearwire it doesn’t already own, giving it 100 percent ownership of the company in deal worth $2.2 billion:

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & BELLEVUE, Wash. (BUSINESS WIRE), December 17, 2012 – Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the approximately 50 percent stake in Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR) it does not currently own for $2.97 per share, equating to a total payment to Clearwire shareholders, other than Sprint, of $2.2 billion. This transaction results in a total Clearwire enterprise value of approximately $10 billion, including net debt and spectrum lease obligations of $5.5 billion.

The transaction will take place for $2.2 billion paid to Clearwire’s shareholders (other than Sprint), or $2.97 per share. Sprint explained it is a “128 percent premium to Clearwire’s closing share price the day before the Sprint-SoftBank discussions were first confirmed.” Sprint also said the spectrum acquired from Clearwire, in combination with its own, will provide “an enhanced spectrum portfolio that will strengthen its position and increase competitiveness in the U.S. wireless industry.” As noted in the release, Softbank, which is currently slated to take control of Sprint in mid-2013, gave its consent to the Clearwire deal as required:

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