Verizon's 4G LTE network gets first 4G smartphone

A smartphone manufacturer is finally making good on the LTE 4G network Verizon turned on earlier this month. The Android blog Droid Lite tracked down HTC's newest piece of hardware, the HTC Thunderbolt. It's a smartphone that resembles Sprint's Evo 4G in many ways, especially in its massive screen size.

Verizon's LTE network has been up and functional for nearly a month, but the only devices made available to sail the 4G sea have been a couple of new USB modems aimed at business customers. With the Thunderbolt, Verizon will be opening up access to more consumer-level activity.

Details on the Thunderbolt are slim, aside from physical features it shares with the Evo, like the 4.3-inch screen and back kickstand. HTC previously referred to the phone by the code name "Mecha," and set up a teaser site for it alongside the Evo and the T-Mobile G2.

According the site, HTC plans to reveal the Thunderbolt on January 6, the first day of CES. Stay tuned for our impressions of it and many other gadgety treats as we descend upon Las Vegas next week.

Find your iPad/iPhone/iPod for free (if you have the latest version)

File this under "it should have been free all along." Apple's "Find my iPhone" feature, previously a feature of the subscription-based MobileMe service, is now free--with a catch: it's only free for users of the iPhone 4, iPad, or newest fourth-generation iPod Touch.

That means that while many iDevices--be they iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch--can be updated to iOS 4.2, only the most recent versions of each will get the free "Find my iPhone" functionality.

The service finds your iPhone, if by "find" you mean "get a rough GPS estimate of the location." Still, the service has had its success stories.

Its two best features are, undoubtedly, its ability to remote-wipe all data if necessary, and its triggering of a played-back sound even if the device in question is set to silent. The latter has actually saved my apartment sanity on several occasions.

Even though "Find my iPhone" requires certain settings to be activated on the iDevice in question, and can be relatively easily thwarted by thieves, consider this: you need not fear losing your iPhone 4 under a sofa ever again.

iOS 4.2 will be live later today

Google Docs Now Syncs With Microsoft Office

Google has transformed one of its acquisitions into Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, a new tool that lets users simultaneously edit an Office doc via the cloud.

Launching in beta today, Google Cloud Connect is an add-on for Office that syncs documents, spreadsheets and presentations from Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 with the “Google cloud.” In other words, it takes data on the desktop and makes a backup copy in Google Docs, gives it a unique URL and constantly syncs the data with anybody else that might be sharing the same document.

The technology behind Google Cloud Connect derives from DocVerse, a productivity tool that Google acquired earlier this year that lets multiple users collaborate and edit Microsoft Office documents.

Originally, DocVerse was just focused on syncing Word docs with each other so that users could collaborate. Here’s what we originally wrote when we first reviewed it:

“This sidebar is where all of DocVerse’s magic happens. You can invite friends and colleagues to collaborate on any documents. As you and others make edits, those changes are synced to the cloud. In addition to a hard copy, the plug-in automatically saves a web-based version of the doc that others can see to make collaboration easy.”

Cloud Connect doesn’t take away any of that collaboration functionality while adding Google Docs to the mix. A business team can edit a document from either Microsoft Office or Google Docs simultaneously. Google Docs also saves all of the revisions, so if someone messes up someone else’s edits, it’s easy to revert them.

Today’s launch is all about getting Office users to slowly switch to Google Docs. The search giant wants people to switch from Office to the cloud, which eventually leads to Google. By dipping their toes into the waters of Google Docs via their business colleagues and friends, loyal Office users will get used to Google’s offering and eventually discard Microsoft’s productivity suite for good. At least, that’s what Google hopes.

Does Google’s plan make sense? Yes. Will it actually work? Probably. Is Cloud Connect a win for users? Absolutely.

Sorry, Facebook, Complexity Will Kill Your New Messaging System

I set up my new Facebook messaging account yesterday, and my first thought was that Facebook hadn't thought through the experience very carefully.

First, it let me reserve a Facebook e-mail address, matt.rosoff@facebook.com. Great--people can send an e-mail to that address and it'll show up in Facebook.

The second thing it asked me was whether I wanted to turn SMS on. OK, sure. It would be nice to get messages from my Facebook friends on my phone so I don't have to open the Facebook app.

That was it. Done. Easy.

Except the first text I got was a friend request from a person I worked with 15 years ago. I accepted, but that's not the kind of thing I want interrupting me on my phone. I immediately turned texts off.

Last night, I met Joel Seligstein, one of the developers who worked on the project. I showed him the first (and only) SMS I'd received. He acknowledged that Facebook got the sign-up flow wrong on its first attempt, apologized for my experience, and said that new sign-ups will be able to select settings more carefully so they only get messages they really want. He also let me know that I could go into my account settings and select exactly which types of messages go where.

This illustrates a big problem. Users have different expectations for who can e-mail them (just about anybody), IM them (friends on a specific list), and text them (friends who are close enough to have their cell phone number). When all of these different communications media are blended into a single system, user expectations are going to be upended in uncomfortable ways. And no normal person is going to take the time to go through and uncheck a bunch of boxes to dictate what kind of messages can go where.

Seligstein was speaking at an event focused on companies that are trying to improve e-mail--that good old platform that nobody loves but everybody needs. (The event, Inbox Love, was organized by 500 Startups founder Dave McClure and is a precursor to a conference scheduled for next year.)

During his presentation, he acknowledged that Facebook had some other stumbles with the rollout. Some folks got invitations and signed up on Monday, only to find that the system had reverted back to the old version on Tuesday. Apparently Facebook wasn't happy with the early user experience and had to go back in and revamp it.

Seligstein also explained that it's taking longer than expected to build IMAP support into the system because IMAP is a crazy complicated protocol with weird idiosyncrasies (other speakers agreed), and told me that the company would "probably eventually" build voice into the system, but had to get the text part right first.

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg Gets The Comic Book Movie Adaptation Treatment

David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin may have had the first laugh in chronicling the life and times of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network," but the young entrepreneur is getting another shot at the big screen — by way of a comic book movie adaptation, no less!

Bluewater Productions have announced via press release that the publisher is teaming up with Hayden 5 Media to create an animated film based off the comic book about the Facebook founder, titled "Mark Zuckerberg and the Found."

According to the press release, the production will lean on a mixture of live-action filmmaking and animation, for a visual look and feel that's very similar to the film "A Scanner Darkly."
"When we found out that Bluewater was releasing this comic, we knew we had to get on board," said Todd Wiseman, President of Hayden 5 Media, in a statement. "We saw a great opportunity to re-tell the story of Mark Zuckerburg post-'Social Network' in a brighter, animated form that could be enjoyed and understood by a broader audience."

"This will not be the last retelling of the Marc Zuckerburg story," added Milos Silber, Executive Producer at Hayden 5 Media. "We're just aware of the profound impact of Facebook, and with over 500 million users, we're bound to have an audience. One that is more willing to watch a shortened, visually captivating summary of this short epic online, or on their favorite network."

The "Mark Zuckerberg and the Found" comic book hits stores in late December with a suggested retail price of $6.99.

34% of non-AT&T smartphone buyers wish they could buy Apple's iPhone

A new survey has found that more than a third of U.S. smartphone buyers on carriers other than AT&T wish they could have bought the iPhone, expressing buyer's remorse.

ChangeWave on Friday released the results of a new survey which polled consumers on their new smartphone purchase. As has been shown numerous times before, customers who bought Apple's iPhone were happier than those who invested in handsets from any other manufacturer, with 77 percent of all iPhone buyers in the last six months saying they are "very satisfied."

The 1,212 U.S. respondents were also asked what phone they would have bought if it was available from their wireless carrier. 46 percent said they would have stuck with their current smartphone, but a whopping 34 percent of those surveyed who aren't on AT&T said they would have bought an iPhone.

The survey also found that Motorola fares the worst on this question, as 39 percent of Motorola smartphone buyers would stick with their new purchase, and a very close 37 percent would have preferred an iPhone.

The survey also reiterated the fact that customers are even happier with the iPhone 4 than they were with the iPhone 3GS. A total of 84 percent of those who bought the 32GB iPhone 4 said they were "very satisfied," while 78 percent of those who bought the 16GB model chose the same.

For comparison, the recently released Samsung Galaxy S, an Android-based handset available on all four major U.S. carriers, has a "very satisfied" rating of 55 percent. That's still better than the 28 percent "very satisfied" rating given by customers of all other Samsung models.

Earlier this month, ChangeWave found that netbook interest is waning as more customers are eyeing Apple's iPad. Among those who said they are looking to buy a tablet, 80 percent said they are most likely to purchase an iPad.

In September, ChangeWave also revealed that the total sum of handsets running Google Android were just as popular with consumers as the iPhone. Of 4,000 respondents polled, 37 percent said they would prefer an Android phone, while 38 percent chose the iPhone.

Apple Seen Prepping Thinner iPad For 2011

Qualcomm CDMA-GSM chip will enable next-generation tablet to run on most cellular networks in U.S., Europe and Asia.

Apple plans to launch early next year a second-generation iPad that's thinner and capable of running on cellular networks worldwide, according to media reports.

The next iPad will reportedly include a Qualcomm chip that makes it possible to run the 3G version of the tablet-style computer on CDMA and GSM cellular networks. Such a move would make it possible for the one device to run on the cellular networks of the four major U.S. wireless carriers -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless -- as well as on the networks of carriers in Europe and Asia.

"Recent checks suggest Apple is going to be ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months in anticipation of ramping up a new World iPad that is powered by Qualcomm and will run on both GSM- and CDMA-based networks around the world," said Brian Blair, analyst for Wedge Partners, as cited Friday by The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital

At Interop NYC 2010, InformationWeek's Fritz Nelson finds an attendee roaming the floor with a bag so full of schwag that would make most professioanl trick-or-treaters jealous.The next iPad will reportedly include a Qualcomm chip that makes it possible to run the 3G version of the tablet-style computer on CDMA and GSM cellular networks. Such a move would make it possible for the one device to run on the cellular networks of the four major U.S. wireless carriers -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless -- as well as on the networks of carriers in Europe and Asia.

"Recent checks suggest Apple is going to be ratcheting down production of the existing 3G iPad over the next two months in anticipation of ramping up a new World iPad that is powered by Qualcomm and will run on both GSM- and CDMA-based networks around the world," said Brian Blair, analyst for Wedge Partners, as cited Friday by The Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital Web site.

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Blair said that his recent Qualcomm channel checks also reveal that Apple is preparing to build about 48 million iPads next year and that the devices will be thinner than the current model. To reduce the thickness, Apple is making the new iPad out of a single piece of metal, essentially adopting a manufacturing process similar to what it uses for its unibody MacBooks.

Apple doesn’t comment on future products. However, Ezra Gottheil, analyst for Technology Business Research, told InformationWeekthat the report makes sense, given Apple's longtime strategy of avoiding the production of several versions of the iPhone to run on networks based on different standards. In the U.S., for example, the iPhone has only run on AT&T's network since its release in 2007, though a Verizon version is reportedly near completion.

"It certainly makes sense for Apple to produce a run-anywhere product," Gottheil says of the iPad report. "Apple always wants a definitive, single product."

Meanwhile, Taiwan-based DigiTimes quoted anonymous sources in reporting that Ibiden, Tripod Technology and TTM Technologies will be the initial manufacturers of the printed circuit boards for the new iPad, which the publication says Apple is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.

Facebook Mobile Event Nov 3: Will We See a Secret Facebook Phone?

Facebook has sent out an invitation to the media for a “mobile event” at its Palo Alto, California headquarters on Wednesday November 3. Could this be the unveiling of the much-speculated about Facebook phone?

You may recall that technology blog TechCrunch reported last month that Facebook was secretly developing a special smartphone.

Facebook then issued a carefully-worded response that said the company was not “building” a phone, but that it had projects focused on “deeper integrations with some manufacturers.”

The response was reminiscent of the tack taken by Google last year when rumors were rampant that it was about to release a smartphone. In January, of course, Google began to sell the Nexus One phone, which it developed alongside handset vendor HTC, on its website.

The Facebook invite provides no details whatsoever other than to say that the event begins at 10:30 am on November 3 and will be followed by lunch.

But the invitation sports an image of two shaded figures alongside what appears to be the old string-and-Dixie-cup phones that kids in treehouses have long used to communicate. One hopes the actual Facebook phone, if there is one, is slightly more high-tech.

Facebook suspends developers for selling user ID numbers

Company says it has 'zero tolerance' for data brokers

Facebook said that a “data broker” had paid Facebook app developers for user identification numbers and that as a result the company had suspended a number of developers.

Given that the user identification numbers (UIDs) were not considered to be private and that merely knowing a UID does not bestow anyone the ability to access private data, the hard line taken by the social networking behemoth is as much a statement of intent to tackle the firm’s tarnished reputation when it comes to privacy concerns.

Facebook representative Mike Vernal wrote on the Facebook Developer Blog: “Facebook has never sold and will never sell user information. We also have zero tolerance for data brokers because they undermine the value that users have come to expect from Facebook.”

“To restate our policy, developers may not pass any data from Facebook to data brokers, and we are now including anonymous identifiers in this protected category of Facebook data.”

Facebook said that it was imposing a six month ban on access to Facebook development features for the group found to have sold UIDs to data brokers. Less than 12 developers were involved which Facebook described as “mostly small developers”, saying that none of them had produced applications in the top 10 list.

Apple releases iOS 4.2 to developers

Apple is promising to deliver the latest iOS upgrade, version 4.2, to the public sometime in November.

Apple has reportedly delivered the final test version of iOS 4.2 to developers, meaning that it could be hitting iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads any day now.

It looks like the upgrade will be most noticeable among iPad users, as several features already found on the iPhone will now become available for Apple’s tablet computer. With the new iOS installed, the iPad will be capable of multitasking in the same way the iPhone currently is, which permits users to run certain apps in the background while running another app simultaneously. Other iPad features include support for organizing apps into folders and the addition of Apple’s Game Center. The upgrade will also come with AirPlay, allowing iPad users to synch with the Apple TV to stream music, video, and photos. The upgrade will also reportedly provide for brightness controls as well as for the ability to adjust volume while multitasking.

There’s no word on what bug issues will be addressed with the upgrade. However, it is widely hoped that Apple will, at the very least, include fixes for a security flaw found in the iPhone’s passcode system and an alarm clock glitch that recently caused instances of tardiness in Europe (we recommend that American iPhone users consider setting a back up alarm clock following this weekend’s daylight saving time adjustment, just in case.) Both issues are found in the current version of iOS. Whatever the latest iOS ends up looking like, it appears that those interested in jailbreaking their device won’t have to wait this time around; several sites are reporting that current jailbreaking techniques will work just fine with iOS 4.2.