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Google Chairman talks Maps and Apple

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Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt sat down for an AllThingsD talk last night with Walt Mossberg. Among other topics, they not-surprisingly discussed Android and his thoughts on Apple. Much of the talk centered around Schmidt’s thoughts on the Android-Apple platform fight, which he called “the defining fight in the industry today.” He also noted there is a “huge race specifically between Apple and the Android platform for additional features,” and he commented on Apple’s Maps situation:

The Android-Apple platform fight is the defining contest. Here’s why: Apple has thousands of developers building for it. Google’s platform, Android, is even larger. Four times more Android phones than Apple phones. 500 million phones already in use. Doing 1.3 million activations a day. We’ll be at 1 billion mobile devices in a year.

At the 17:30 mark, Schmidt began to talk about Apple’s new Maps app controversy: “Apple should have kept with our maps”…
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Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung and others meet with UN’s ITU for patent peace talks

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Update: While the meeting apparently didn’t result in any resolution, ZDnet reports the ITU’s Malcolm Johnson said the ‘heated debate’ “has gone a long way to help clarify the positions” of the companies involved:

“Today’s event has gone a long way to help clarify the positions of various stakeholders in determining the effectiveness of FRAND commitments and the impact of litigations surround standards-essential patents,”

ZDnet also reported Motorola argued “Apple was misunderstanding the way FRAND works in the telecoms industry”:

“For 20 years the [FRAND] licensing commitments made by innovators in the communications industry have been sufficient,” Warren said. “Past experience would indicate that [FRAND] has been effective… but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement to improve the present situation.”

The world’s biggest tech companies are meeting today for a Patent Roundtable with the United Nation’s International Telecommunications Union to “assess the effectiveness of RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory) – based patent policies.” The meeting will take place at the ITU headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland; and according to several reports, it will include Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Google, Microsoft, and many of the industry’s other biggest players. The discussions follow high-profile, patent-related cases and failed settlement talks between Samsung and Apple, while the European Union continues to probe Motorola, Samsung, and others over potential abuse of the patent system. It also comes as Google’s legal chief David Drummond issued statements to the press calling for a reform on software patents.

A report from BBC noted others attending the roundtable include: Qualcomm, Cisco, Research in Motion, Intel, Philips, Huawei, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard. BBC also provided statements from the companies that submitted pre-event arguments (below).

According to the ITU, the meeting will have the following objective:
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New report suggests iPad Mini to be available with Wi-Fi only; 10-inch iPad to be updated for UK 4G network

Apple’s new iPad mini is expected to be announced Oct. 17; and with that launch date swiftly approaching, we have seen our fair share of rumors and leaks. A report from The Guardian today refuted a prior claim, claiming the 7.85-inch iPad mini will not include 3G or 4G and will stick with Wi-Fi instead.

Industry sources indicated to the Guardian that they do not expect to see 3G-capable versions of the iPad mini. That would allow Apple to produce it comparatively cheaply and to limit the top price of the product, while retaining mobile broadband connectivity for its pricier iPad line.

Being Wi-Fi only, it would put the iPad mini in-line to be a direct competitor with the Google’s Nexus 7 that also lacks 3G or 4G. The Amazon Kindle Fire was also without wireless capabilities until it received a refresh last month. Being without cellular connection would keep the iPad mini down on price. However, it seems like something Apple would at least make an option in fear of losing potential customers look to access data on-the-go. 
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Taiwan asks Apple to blur imagery of early-warning radar facility in Maps app

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Turkish website Sosyalmedya reported last month that Apple was putting the country’s national security at risk by releasing high-resolution imagery of sensitive locations in its new Maps app. In that case, the issue was a clear view of a maximum-security prison. A quick comparison to Google’s Maps showed the location was obscured, something Google has been known to do upon request. There were other controversial locations discovered in the Maps app (locations that Google currently blurs), and today a report from The Associated Press noted Apple is being asked by Taiwan to obscure imagery of an early-warning radar station in the country.

Taiwan is asking Apple Inc. to blur a map image of its new $1.4 billion early warning radar station… The 10-storey high radar installation built with U.S. technology is expected to go online later this year. It’s near the Hsinchu Airbase in northern Taiwan.

According to the report, Taiwan Defense Ministry spokesperson David Lo said, “Apple should follow its rival Google in using only low-resolution satellite pictures.” The Associated Press said the facility is located near Hsinchu Airbase in northern Taiwan and will be used for monitoring aircrafts, missiles, and determining speed for targets “coming from as far as western China.”


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Analyst predicts iPad mini to outshine iPad 3, declines to give specifics

AllThingsD is out with a fresh report this morning about the iPad mini supposedly “outshining” the new iPad.

AllThingsD’s John Paczkowski summarized Tokepa analyst Brian White’s thoughts, citing “chatter from Apple’s overseas supply chain,” and he said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is not “cutting corners” despite trying to keep the iPad mini’s price on-par with Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. White mentioned the iPad mini possibly being even “slicker than the new iPad.”

According to the report:

Not much to go on, I realize. But White’s supply chain sources have been solid in the past, and here at AllThingsD we too have been hearing promising things about the iPad mini’s design, which sources say demands a lot of the companies manufacturing it. This is something White has been hearing, as well, and he thinks it could make the device hard to come by initially. “The new ‘iPad Mini’ is more challenging to produce than prior iPad iterations,” he says. “We believe supply will initially be constrained.”

It is interesting that White has travelled around talking to Asian suppliers and can claim the iPad mini will upstage the original iPad, but he cannot offer one specific detail on how this will happen. Perhaps he is held to secrecy on these topics.


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Zagg ‘iPad Mini Screen Protector’ will run you $24.99 + a little faith

Zagg, a well-respected iOS device case and accessories maker, unveiled its “iPad Mini Screen Protectors” this weekend. We have seen no shortage of iPad mini cases from third-party manufacturers; however, with the possible exception of these cases from Devicewear, no established/reputable Apple accessories maker has announced iPad mini products

Apple is expected to announce the iPad mini at an event later this month with the actual launch of products expected to come shortly after, perhaps in the November timeframe.

Zagg does not offer any iPad mini mockups, but it does offer this:

The iPad Mini is another amazing Apple product, and ZAGG is here to help you protect that product. The iPad Mini screen protectors by ZAGG will keep your Mini new and clean.

Oh, Zagg.

Two website screenshots are below (Thanks, Alex&Ross!).


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Google Maps web Street View goes live on iOS devices

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As predicted yesterday, Google’s Street View is now available on Mobile Safari and Chrome on iOS devices. Having a quick look around, the service is very fluid, especially for a web page, and the quality is superb with graphics that really look solid on a Retina display.

Perhaps Apple should make a “pop-out” service that lets you open a Street View web page from within the new iOS Maps.app?
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Facebook passes 1B active monthly users [video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7SjvLceXgU&feature=plcp

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today that the service he started in his Harvard dorm room roughly eight years ago now has over 1 billion monthly users (or over one-seventh of the world’s population).

“Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life,” wrote Zuckerberg. “I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too.”

The … video above was made for the occasion. Apple is obviously a huge partner with Facebook due to deep integration on both iOS 6 and Mountain Lion, and Zuckerberg talked with Matt Laurer on the “Today Show” about his relationship and admiration for the late Apple CEO Steve Jobs:

Zuckerberg also mentioned that current Apple CEO Tim Cook sent him an iPhone 5 and most people actually access Facebook on the mobile web rather than an app.

More big numbers, including 1.13 trillion likes, 140.3 billion friend connections, 219 billion photo uploads, 62.6 million songs played, 600 million mobile users, 17 billion location-tagged posts, were revealed in the data sheet (DOCX).


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Apple jumps to No. 2 on Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Brands Report

While still behind Coca-Cola, which retained its No. 1 spot from last year’s report, Apple is one of Interbrand’s top risers as the No. 2 brand in its 2012 Best Global Brands Report. Apple sits just above IBM, Google, and Microsoft with a brand value of $76, 568 million—up 129 percent from last year’s study. You can see a full list of brands that made this year’s top 100 list here and a chart of Apple’s growth below:

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Study: Samsung Galaxy S III sales spike following Apple verdict & iPhone 5 launch

A new report from research firm Localytics today suggested sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S III have been growing on a weekly basis with huge spikes following the Samsung/Apple trial and the iPhone 5 introduction. The full story is at 9to5Google.com.

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Pew: Apple loses share but still over half of all tablets owned in 2012

A new survey by research organization Pew Internet & American Life Project depicts how Apple’s iPad slid from 81 percent in 2011 to 52 percent in 2012, in terms of U.S. adult tablet ownership, due to lower-priced Android slates steadily gaining traction.

Pew’s Journalism website elaborated:

Over the last year, tablet ownership has steadily increased from 11% of U.S. adults in July of 2011 to 18% in January of 2012, according to PEJ data. Currently, 22% own a tablet and another 3% regularly use a tablet owned by someone else in the home. This number is very close to new data, released here for the first time, conducted in a separate survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project on July 16 through August 7 2012 that found 25% of all U.S. adults have a tablet computer.

The growth in tablet adoption is likely related to the advent of the lower-priced tablets in late 2011. Overall, about two-thirds of tablet-owning adults, 68%, got their tablet in the last year, including 32% in 2012 alone. That has lessened Apple’s dominance in the market. Now, just over half, 52%, of tablet owners report owning an iPad, compared with 81% in the survey a year ago.

Android-based devices are now at 48 percent overall: approximately 21 percent own the Android-forked Kindle Fire, 8 percent own the Samsung Galaxy, and the remaining is a mix. It is worth noting Android would only hold 27 percent without the $199 Kindle Fire.

The survey did not include Google’s Nexus 7 or Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD, however, as they were not yet introduced. The final numbers also mirror world sales data, according to Pew, which place the iPad at 61 percent and Android at 31 percent.

Check out Pew for more related information on smartphone ownership and operating system loyalty.


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Apple no longer calls iOS6 Maps ‘the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever’

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As noted by iDaily.de, Apple has not only begun recommending competing mapping services but it also removed some superlatives from the Maps page.

All of which may just make this app the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.

Changed to:

All in a beautiful vector-based interface that scales and zooms with ease.

One of our readers predicted the call, below:
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Apple launches alternative Maps app section in App Store

Apple is prominently spotlighting alternative solutions to the new Maps app on the App Store.

The promotion of third-party apps is in conjunction with CEO Tim Cook’s open letter from this morning that apologized to iOS customers for the company’s less-than-perfect Maps offering. Apple further detailed on its website today how to add Google and Nokia maps website icons to an iOS 6 device’s Home screen.

[tweet https://twitter.com/djmexi/status/251729875046645760]

In related news, Reuters created an infographic recently that illustrates a side-by-side comparison of the key features available on mobile map apps from Google and Apple’s iOS in 27 countries (as seen below):


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Apple nabs Google veteran Sally Cole for Communications Director role

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Apple hired Sally Cole as the Director of Employee Communications last month. Cole comes from cross-town rival Google, where she served as the Director of Internal Communications for almost six years. The Scarsdale native has a B.A. in history from Yale and a J.D./M.B.A. from nearby Stanford University, from which both companies hire liberally.

As someone intimately familiar with Internal Communications at Google, Cole’s experience could prove very valuable at Apple. Apple is rumored to be after Google Maps employees, for instance, where Cole’s Rolodex could prove “fruitful.” Google and Apple previously had a “no-poach” agreement instituted by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Clearly, that is no longer the case.


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Google Exec comments on iOS 6 Maps [Video]

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[ooyala code=”BrOWh4NTpclZ6spl7Lv0IUL4nC19XOSe”]

Google UK Marketing Director Dan Cobley briefly spoke with Bloomberg TV today on Apple’s decision to remove Google Maps from iOS 6, but the most intriguing part about his statement concerned how people could continue to use Google Maps after updating.

Cobley noted folks on iOS 6 can still “use Google Maps by downloading them or going to the Google Maps website.” This is an interesting comment, however, as there is no Google Maps-related app from Google available in the App Store aside from the Google Earth app. It features 3D layers, including roads, borders, places, photos and more, but it is not an adequate Google Maps replacement. There is also no existing option to download a map from Google Maps in mobile Safari.

Therefore, it is currently unclear what Cobley meant by “downloading them.” SearchEngineLand asked Google today when iOS would get a new Google Maps app, though, and if it would feature turn-by-turn navigation. Google replied:

We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world. Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system.


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Poll: Are you worried that iOS 6 Maps ‘update’ won’t have important data that Google’s maps did?

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image via reddit

When Apple demoed its new in-house, iOS 6 Maps app at WWDC in June, replacing the Google Maps backend used in previous versions of iOS, first impressions from many users raised concerns over whether it could compete with the old Google Maps iOS app they were used to. Apple has been steadily improving the Maps app with each beta release, including recently expanding coverage of 3D maps to new cities, but its limitations could be a source of frustration for upgrading iPhone owners in the coming weeks.

Macworld’s Jason Snell raised some alarm bells this week at the post-iPhone 5 roundtable (11:00 in), saying Maps did not feel ready and he was concerned that long-time Maps users would be disappointed. We received lots of comments and forum posts from users who refuse to update until transit times were included.

[tweet https://twitter.com/jon889/status/248130694319046657]

The move was not surprisingly viewed as a strategic one for Apple, and fueled by powerful technologies from PlacebaseC3 Technologies, and Poly9 acquisitions, but will Apple be able to smooth iOS 6 Maps app enough to keep users happy when they update to iOS 6 and make the transition from Google Maps later this month?

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Apple’s next huge data center will be in Hong Kong, groundbreaking Q1 2013

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Map of Hong Kong post handover

We’ve received word that Apple is building another enormous data center—this time in Hong Kong SAR, China.

Apple recently finalized a location in the New Territories region of Hong Kong near the Shenzhen China border for the data center. We spoke to a bidding contractor employee who, on the condition of anonymity, told us the planned data center’s scale is unprecedented for his business: “There is simply nothing to compare it to and therefore it is hard to make estimates on size based on the materials required.” We were told that construction is to begin in Q1 2013, and it will likely take over a year for operations to start in the data center. The aim is to have it operational by 2015, which is the same time that Apple’s Spaceship Campus 2 is scheduled to go online.


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Google snaps up iPad app of the year

Google just bought the brainchild behind popular iOS app Snapseed, Nik Software.

Snapseed, which has some features of the hit iOS app Instagram in terms of jazzy vintage filters, is just one of many desktop and mobile photography apps that Nik Software develops. Snapseed launched on Apple’s iPad in June 2011, winning “iPad App of the Year” soon after, and then it landed on the iPhone in August 2011 and Mac OS just four months later. The app also boasts a Windows counterpart.

Today’s announced buyout could notably help Google’s budding social network, Google+, better combat direct rival Facebook, which recently acquired Instagram and its 100+ million users.

Get Nik Software’s statement at 9to5Google.


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Do Siri’s quirky answers boasting Apple products constitute sponsored advertising?

We know Siri has a tendency to provide surprising answers that can cause a bit of controversy in some cases. Many reported earlier this year that Siri responded with “Nokia Lumia 900” when asked what the best smartphone is (an answer based on data from the Web). Apple quickly appeared to tweak the responses with answers that promoted the iPhone, such as: “The one you’re holding.” Now, PocketNow reported law student Sean DeVries is suing Apple over the “sponsored responses”:

Instead of actually providing information based on web search results and user reviews, Apple’s Siri software will provide a “sponsored answer” instead that advertises Apple’s products… of our law-student Pocketnow readers decided to sue Apple about this on-device false advertising simply out of principle.  Sean DeVries’ goal is to get Apple to at least change their website and end user agreement to include this information though an indicator of “sponsored responses” would be best during Siri’s answers.  Sean’s court date is scheduled for October 9th.

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Most Yahoo employees now have the option of getting an iPhone 5

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A fantastic, if not very accurate, title at BusinessInsider: “Marissa Mayer Just Gave Every Yahoo Employee An iPhone 5”! Well, not really, but it backs up an earlier claim.

The former Google executive did offer high-end smartphones to most of its employees (if the memo BI received is legit) including the iPhone 5, three Androids and a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone. These are probably the top phones on the market today, and they will replace the BlackBerries that Yahoo! employees were given until this point.

The memo is below. Mayer was notorious for her use of Apple’s iPhone, even within the walls of Google.

We have a very exciting update to share with you today – we are announcing  Yahoo! Smart Phones, Smart Fun!  As of today, Yahoo is moving off of blackberries as our corporate phones and on to smartphones in 22 countries.  A few weeks ago, we said that we would look into smartphone penetration rates globally and take those rates into account when deciding on corporate phones. Ideally, we’d like our employees to have devices similar to our users, so we can think and work as the majority of our users do.

Moving forward, we’ll offer you a choice of devices as well as provide monthly plans for the data and phone.

The smartphone choices that we are including in the program are:

* Apple iPhone 5
* Android:
– Samsung Galaxy S3
– HTC One X
– HTC EVO 4G LTE
* Windows Phone 8:
– Nokia Lumia 920

We’re getting started right away and taking orders starting now

Clearly, Yahoo will buy a lot of iPhone 5s for its employees if they truly have freewill in the decision.

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Cheap! Amazon new 7-inch Kindles now on sale starting at $159

From 9to5Toys.com

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAOJyBxjpcs]

Amazon just opened the floodgates to its forked-Android powered Kindles (7-inch only so far).

The original with some beefed up internals is just $159.  The new HD version (which closely matches up with the Google Nexus 7) is $199 for 16GB and $249 for 32GB.

(Or you could wait a month and probably not hate yourself :P)


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Twitter picks up iPhone hacker Charlie Miller for its security team

[tweet https://twitter.com/0xcharlie/statuses/246598708865679360]

Forbes reported on Twitter’s latest hire: Charlie Miller. He is a well-known iOS and Mac hacker who discovered various exploits for the platforms in recent years. Miller will join Twitter’s security team with the title “Software Engineer, Systems.”

Miller has a long list of epic hacks in his recent past: In 2007, he was the first to fully compromise the iPhone through its web browser. Six months later he won the Pwn2Own hacking competition in Vancouver by compromising a Macbook Air in two minutes. In 2009, he revealed a technique that would have allowed an attacker to hijack iPhones via text message, virally spreading from phone to phone. He’s found a method of infecting Macbooks with malware via their power adapter, and had his Apple developer license revoked for successfully sneaking an iOS app past Apple’s safeguards. Most recently he’s shifted his focus to Android, defeating Google’s “Bouncer” program for detecting malware in the Android Market and using near-field communications chips to wirelessly compromise Samsung and Nokia phones just by waving another device near them.

YouTube iPhone app from Google lands in the App Store just month after Apple’s version disappears

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On Aug. 6, Beta 4 of iOS 6 came out with one huge gaping hole: Apple’s YouTube app. There was speculation on both sides of the fence that Apple might have pulled it because of the ongoing war with Android or perhaps Google pulled it because it wanted more control of the app and/or it wanted to show more ads. In reality, it was probably a little of both.

Whatever the case, just a month after being pulled and just a day ahead of Apple’s iOS 6/iPhone 5 event, Google has released its own homegrown YouTube app into the App Store. It is formatted for the iPhone only (an iPad version is in the works), but it already has many features that its Apple-built counterpart lacked.

Description

Watch the world’s videos and keep up with your favorite YouTube channels with the official YouTube app for iOS. Sign in to access your subscriptions, playlists, uploads and more.

Features:
✓ Enjoy YouTube’s vast video catalog, including official music videos
✓ Find videos and channels more easily with voice search and query autocomplete
✓ Subscribe to channels and instantly access your subscriptions with the channel guide UI
✓ Read comments, browse related videos, enable subtitles and more – all while watching
✓ Easy video sharing to Google+, E-mail, Facebook and Twitter

Did Google throw this together in just one month or did it have some advance warning? We are thinking the latter; it is already receiving some good reviews and appears to be a well-polished product.

As TheNextWeb points out, it is not certain how you will upload videos to YouTube in the new app. Matt Panzerino postulates that Apple will allow YouTube to be granted rights in iOS to have a file handling menu option. We are not so sure that Apple cares if you can upload to YouTube natively (see Mountain Lion) from the OS. We are thinking that you will eventually need to open the YouTube app manually, browse to the video, and do it the old-fashioned way.

The more important question now becomes: where is the Google Maps app for iOS?

More… including a walkthrough YouTube video below:


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Apps & updates: Google Drive, Kindle for Mac, WSJ, more

As always, we’ll be updating the list below as more notable apps and updates hit the App Store today:

Google Drive version 1.1.0: We already knew it was coming when Google leaked the update last week, but today we get all of the details with the update officially hitting the App Store. Included in version 1.1.0 of the Google Drive iOS app is the ability to create, collaborate and edit with Google documents. You will also now be able to create and organize new folders and documents, upload photos and videos from your device, and delete files from your Drive. Google said the updated app also includes a “Richer Google presentations with animations and speaker notes.”

– Edit Google documents with formatting and collaboration
– Edits to your Google documents appear to collaborators in seconds
– Richer Google presentations with animations and speaker notes
– Create a new folder or Google document
– Upload photos and videos from your device or a photo directly from your camera
– Move an item to a folder in your Drive
– Delete and remove files from your Drive
– Drive is now available in over 30 languages

Kindle for Mac version 1.10.3: The Kindle Mac App Store app received a nice update today that brings full sport for Lion gestures including panning and swiping, and support for Kindle Format 8 books. Amazon also performance for content that includes a high number of highlights and notes, and included support for Japanese and larger libraries.

The Wall Street Journal version 4.0: With this release of the WSJ app, the updating Now edition is finally available on the iPhone and you can now access archive downloads on demand for up to seven days. A full list of what’s new is below:

• WSJ is now available on your iPhone! Get the updating Now edition on your iPhone, with the latest news, market data and multimedia
• Faster downloads and improved performance
• More frequent news updates 
• 7-day archive downloads on-demand 

With this release of The Wall Street Journal app, we have made substantial changes to improve app performance. Please note: when you update to version 4.0, any full issues you have saved will be deleted. All previously saved individual articles will remain.

Before you update, you can go to saved issues and save individual articles to keep them going forward.

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