Walmart dances around Apple’s in-app purchase rules with VUDU web app for iPad

On Wednesday, Walmart subsidiary VUDU launched a new iPad-accessible web app that allows iPad users to stream more than 20,000 movies and television shows directly from the Web. iPad owners don’t have to use iTunes and simply need to navigate to http://VUDU.com for access to rentals and purchases. “VUDU’s launch on the iPad plays into that vision as we’re committed to offering the VUDU experience on as many devices as possible so customers can shop for and access their favorite movies and TV shows however they want, whenever they want,” general manager of VUDU Edward Lichty said. Customers can add a VUDU web app to their home screen by clicking the “Add to Home Screen” button once they have accessed the website. Read on for the full press release.

Walmart Brings VUDU’s Movie Streaming Service to iPad
More than 20,000 blockbusters, Hollywood classics and independent films can be instantly streamed through VUDU.com on iPad
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and BENTONVILLE, Ark., Aug. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Walmart announced today the launch of VUDU for the iPad. VUDU, a leading subscription-free, video-on-demand movie service and wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart stores, has optimized the navigation experience of VUDU.com to enable millions of iPad owners to rent or buy entertainment content and then stream it easily through any iPad browser.
Beginning today, iPad users can go to VUDU.com and browse through VUDU’s entertainment content library, which includes more than 20,000 blockbusters, Hollywood classics, independent films and TV episodes, then rent or purchase and watch them instantly. For one touch access to VUDU, customers can add a VUDU icon to their iPad desktops by clicking the “Add to Home Screen” button when on VUDU.com.
“At Walmart, one of our key priorities is to provide one continuous experience for our customers to interact with our brand — whether that is in stores, online or from their mobile devices,” said Edward Lichty, general manager, VUDU. “VUDU’s launch on the iPad plays into that vision as we’re committed to offering the VUDU experience on as many devices as possible so customers can shop for and access their favorite movies and TV shows however they want, whenever they want.”
Movies purchased and/or rented on the iPad can also be viewed on Walmart.com/VUDU, VUDU.com or on any VUDU-enabled consumer electronics device. VUDU is currently available on more than 300 consumer electronics devices including Internet-capable HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players and the PlayStation 3 — more than any other pay-per-view service.

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Samsung Galaxy S Plus hands-on and benchmarks

All eyes may be on the Samsung Galaxy S II right now, but the Korean company believes there’s some life left in its best-selling predecessor. The Samsung Galaxy S Plus GT-I9001 was officially announced at the end of March, a 1.4GHz upgrade to the original Hummingbird phone, and Android Community caught up with Vodafone UK today to grab some playtime and run some early benchmarks.

Outwardly, there’s little to differentiate the 119g Galaxy S Plus from the Galaxy S before it: the same plastic casing, 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, reasonably slimline chassis and 5-megapixel camera on the back. You also get the same front-facing camera, 8GB of internal storage – with a microSD card slot to boost that by up to 32GB – and Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI.
What’s different is processor speed and battery life. Samsung has overclocked the original 1GHz chip to 1.4GHz so as to bring it more in line with the performance we’ve seen from dual-core devices, but it’s also managed to extend battery life at the same time. In fact, the company reckons the Galaxy S Plus will last 24-percent longer than the regular S.

We took the opportunity to run a couple of benchmarks on the phone, starting with Quadrant Standard. The Galaxy S Plus scored 1241, a neat bump on top of the Galaxy S. Then we turned to Vellamo, Qualcomm’s mobile browser benchmarking tool, which combines various web-centric tests into one. Here, the Galaxy S Plus scored 829, slotting in-between the HTC EVO 3D and the HTC Sensation, an impressive boost over original phone.

In short, while you’re not getting the very best specs of the day, you’re getting a phone that needs no third-party ROMs to achieve a turn of speed. Vodafone will be offering the Galaxy S Plus imminently in the UK, priced from free with a new, 24-month agreement at £31 per month ($50) including 600 voice minutes, unlimited messaging, 500MB of data and 2GB of inclusive BT OpenZone WiFi hotspot use.
Meanwhile, we’re giving away a pair of Vodafone Galaxy S II handsets over at SlashGear, so head over to see how you can win!
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Supersonic Released In The Android Market – Get Your Adrenaline Fix

Supersonic was released onto the Android Market a few days ago and looks like a good time waster for those looking to get their speed fix. Gameplay is simple. You’re placed into a tunnel of light where you speed through a course filled with a techno soundtrack, gaining speed boosts, all while using your phone’s accelerometer to maneuver in and out of obstacles. Not as easy as it sounds, trust me.

Speaking of speed, the game does share some eerie similarities to another Android favorite, Speedx 3D with the only difference being the higher amount of polish and eye candy Supersonic has over the competition. Of course, this graphical flare will come at the cost of performance for some older devices so keep that in mind. The developer shouldn’t suffer in Market ratings because of it. So if you have a newer device and cat like reflexes you can download Supersonic for free in the Android Market right now.
[Market Link]

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T-Mobile Makes a Startling Shift From Unlimited To Overages On Their 200MB Data Plan

This could be the end of an era, folks. According to this leaked pic TmoNews managed to get their hands on today, it seems starting August 13th, T-Mobile may be shifting away from their unlimited (but throttled) data on their most affordable 200MB plans. Ironically, this is T-Mobile’s most popular plan and it’s because of this that T-Mobile is forced to move to overages to “remain competitive.” I was able to get my whole family onto the Android bandwagon thanks to this plan’s small $10 price tag.
But not all is doom and gloom. I mean, the overages cap out at around $30 dollars and if you’re currently an unlimited user, your plan should remain the same providing you don’t cancel your line. For everyone else, customers who near their 200MB limit will receive a warning from T-Mobile alerting them to upgrade their plan or face extra charges.
Even if this only affects their 200MB plan, it’s still a little scary seeing this shift from T-Mobile’s much touted unlimited data to overages based upon a plan’s popularity. I know most Android users are data hungry but are any of our readers currently on the 200MB plan? Will this change force you to upgrade your plan, or will you take your money and go elsewhere?
[Via TmoNews]

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LG, Sony drop patent infringement lawsuits, strike cross-licensing agreement

Patent battle between LG and Sony has finally come to an end, now that the companies have decided to lay down their arms and call a truce. In a statement issued today, an LG spokeswoman declared that the two parties have "agreed to drop patent infringement lawsuits against each other," adding that they've struck a cross-licensing deal on the TVs, smartphones and other gadgets in question. A Sony representative confirmed this, but did not offer further details. The spat began back in December, when Sony filed a complaint with the ITC over a handful of allegedly patent infringing LG mobile devices. The Korean manufacturer later struck back with an ITC complaint of its own, targeting Sony products like the Bravia and PlayStation 3. Now, however, the two have apparently learned how to play nice, though details on their settlement remain scarce. As soon as we have them, we'll pass them along.

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Acer Iconia Smart 4.8″ Phone Hybrid Coming This September

We first got wind of the Acer Iconia Smart 4.8″ phone/tablet hybrid back in February at MWC2011. New details have just leaked slating this device to hit the streets coming in September, I’m just hoping its lost some weight and is a little thinner these days.

It was first said to be hitting shelves in April but was delayed due to earthquakes from what we heard. I know that is a long time to wait for those that loved the idea and look of this device with that large 4.8″ display. Don’t worry the time may finally be coming for the Iconia Smart and it should feature the same specs we first saw back at MWC2011.

Those specs include that 4.8″ display with a 1024×480 resolution, a 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, rear and front facing cameras as well as Android 2.3 Gingerbread. I will say that I first heard it would come in around $700 dollars or so, no way people are going to pay that when you can get a tablet for much much less so hopefully they’ve rethought the pricing a bit. I like the idea and size of the Acer Iconia Smart but I’m not sure if others do. It may be a little big for a pocket but then users put there Galaxy Tab 7′s in pockets right? What do you guys think?







[via Engadget]

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Google’s Android and Web Services being investigated by the FTC

Federal Trade Commission officials appear to be focusing some antitrust investigations on a few key areas of Google’s business, including not only their web services but also in Android. The FTC recently served Google with broad subpoenas to collect information about how the company conducts business with its Android licensees as well as the entire Oracle situation.

Our sources state that the FTC is working with “several state attorneys general,” looking into “whether Google prevents smartphone manufacturers that use its Android operating system from using competitors’ services. There is also claims that Google grants their own products better placement in search results for things like Google Places and Shopping or even collecting data from competitors like Yelp and using that data on their own applications.
This FTC probe was official back in June, but it appears they are now focusing on these few key areas of Google’s business like we have outlined above. The European Commission also started similar probes late last year but it’s still ongoing. Obviously Google has denied all such claims and mentions that with success you will always have competitors that want to complain.
“We understand that with success comes scrutiny,” said a Google spokeswoman. “We’re happy to answer any questions they have about our business.”
Between all this, the Oracle suits linked to above, and all the recent Patent and IP lawsuits from other various companies like Apple it appears Google’s team of lawyers is plenty busy and might soon be hiring. All of this is still ongoing and no officials from the FTC were able to comment regarding the latest probes into Google. For now we will just have to sit back and watch as everything unfolds. Just this week Apple got the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned from being sold in Europe temporarily so this could be a big problem as things and products all move forward.
[via WSJ]

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HTC Investing $300 Million into Beats Audio, Could this be the big News?

All sorts of suggestions and rumors have been floating around since we first heard HTC was planning a major announcement tomorrow. We quickly heard they had something big they would reveal tomorrow morning to the masses but instead of a press release or something of that nature they are having a conference call live with HTC CEO Peter Chou. We have just heard the news might not be a special new tablet, or the next big smartphone — instead it could be that they are partnering with Beats Audio.

At first I thought we might get the HTC Puccini tablet announcement, or something similar and we still don’t completely know what is coming tomorrow. A report just released by AllthingsD takes things a different direction and they are claiming the announcement could be that HTC has partnered with Beats Audio (yea like Dr. Dre) and will be bringing better audio to smartphones.
This same technology is also in HP Laptops and the new HP Touchpad and now it seems that HTC wants some of the action. They are investing around $300 million into the audio company to help bring a better experience to their smartphones. Whether this is just for smartphones we dont know. Or is HTC planning a HTC aPlayer or something running on Android to compete with the iPod is another possibility. With the help of Beats Audio they might just be headed in a good direction.
We don’t know if this is the huge announcement that is taking place or just another partnership that we will be hearing about in the coming days. Either way make sure you stay tuned as we will be reporting anything we see come from tomorrows announcement by HTC. I’m hoping for something bigger than Beats Audio, but that’s just me.
[via allthingsd]

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HTC to make ‘major news announcement’ tomorrow morning

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HTC announced on Wednesday that it will be making a “major news announcement” on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. HTC’s chief executive officer Peter Chou will make the announcement during a live teleconference from Los Angeles. We’re not sure what the company has brewing but we’ll be on the call tomorrow morning so be sure to tune in to see what HTC has in store.

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