Comcast launches “Xfinity Streampix” – competitor to Netflix

Today, Comcast announced the launch of its new video streaming service, dubbed "Xfinity Streampix," which will be a direct competitor with Netflix and Verizon's recently announced streaming service with Redbox. Comcast says that the service is subscription-based and will allow customers to watch older movies and TV shows instantly by streaming them to TVs, mobile devices, and online platforms.

To help jumpstart the service, Comcast is partnering with the following movie studios and content providers: Disney-ABC Television Group, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Cookie Jar Entertainment.

Our goal is to consistently deliver greater value to our customers and to bring the best anytime, anywhere entertainment on multiple platforms. Streampix is another step moving TV Everywhere forward by giving customers access to an even greater library of popular choices to watch.

Xfinity Streampix is launching to Comcast customers this week, and will be available on devices such as the Xbox 360 and Android-powered smartphones in the "coming year." The service will be bundled with a number of "Xfinity triple-play" packages, or a separate $4.99 per month.

RIM releases BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0

Today, Research in Motion (RIM) announced the release of BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0, bringing several new features and improvements to the company's mid-range tablet. OS 2.0's major new feature is the addition of a native email client, which the PlayBook launched without last year. Customers made it heard that they were upset over the lack of a native email client on the PlayBook.

In addition, PlayBook OS 2.0 brings the following new features:

• Social integration with the Contacts and Calendar apps
• An updated BlackBerry Bridge app, which includes the ability to use a BlackBerry smartphone as a mouse and/or keyboard for the PlayBook
• New apps in the BlackBerry App World, including Android apps that are able to run on the PlayBook platform
• Updated virtual keyboard, new "Print To Go" app, etc.

The PlayBook OS 2.0 update is available over-the-air (OTA) beginning today.

Samsung to spin off struggling LCD division

Today, Samsung announced its plans to spin off its struggling liquid crystal display (LCD) division as it places a new focus on organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels. The new company will be called "Samsung Display Co." and will be officially set up on April 1, 2012.

Combining all 2011 financial results, Samsung's LCD business had an operating loss of $668 million, which is certainly playing an important factor in this decision. The company will now be able to focus on its new OLED division, which it believes is where the money will be at in the near future. OLED panels are able to operate without the need of a backlight, meaning the display can be thinner, and thus, lighter.

Just last week, Samsung first revealed that it was investigating the possibility of a spin off.

LG unveils ‘Optimus Vu’ 5-inch smartphone

Ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference that's set to kick off a little later this month, LG has officially unveiled its highly anticipated "Optimus Vu" smartphone to the public today. The device sports a 5-inch IPS LCD display, LTE connectivity, a dual-core 1.5 GHz processor, and a 2080mAh battery. The Optimus Vu's display touts a 1024 x 768 pixel resolution, giving it a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The large 5-inch display with bright 4:3 aspect ratio makes viewing documents, books, internet and multimedia contents easier and more comfortable. The 4:3 aspect ratio is optimized for viewing to grasp more at a glance and note taking to increase productivity in everyday life. Moreover, IPS display realizes every color in its natural state for the best viewing experience even under bright sunlight.

The LG Optimus Vu is powered by Android OS 2.3 (a.k.a. "Gingerbread"), and includes a built-in "QuickClip" hotkey that can be used for quickly grabbing screenshots and memos.

Other technical specifications of the LG Optimus Vu:

• 8.5mm thin
• 32 GB of internal storage
• 1 GB of RAM
• 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• Update to Android OS 4.0 (a.k.a. "Ice Cream Sandwich") already in the works

The Optimus Vu will be unveiled in Korea next month, but pricing information has not been provided.

Apple announces “OS X Mountain Lion” – the next major release of Mac OS

In a very unexpected move today, Apple announced "OS X Mountain Lion," the ninth major release of the Mac OS X desktop operating system. Mountain Lion will be released to the public this summer, with a developer preview being seeded today. The OS will come less than a year after OS X Lion was released to the public.

OS X Mountain Lion continues Apple's work on migrating features of iOS to the Mac environment. The OS touts 100 new features, including: Reminders, Notes, Game Center, Notification Center, AirPlay Mirroring, Twitter integration, and Messages. Messages will  be replacing the aging iChat application on OS X, and will feature iMessage support, allowing messages to be sent between Macs and iOS devices.

“The Mac is on a roll, growing faster than the PC for 23 straight quarters, and with Mountain Lion things get even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The developer preview of Mountain Lion comes just seven months after the incredibly successful release of Lion and sets a rapid pace of development for the world’s most advanced personal computer operating system.”

OS X Mountain Lion will also include tighter integration with iCloud, which will allow apps like Mail, FaceTime, and Find My Mac to be automatically setup. In addition, documents will be automatically synced and pushed to all iCloud-enabled devices.

Another new feature is dubbed "Gatekeeper," which will allow Mountain Lion users to determine which sources are able to run and install things on the computer. This seems to be Apple's attempt at drastically improving OS X security.

OS X Mountain Lion will be a Mac App Store exclusive download and will be available sometime in the late summer of 2012.

A couple of other notes about Mountain Lion:

• Removes the "Mac" title from "Mac OS X"
• System software updates have been moved to the Mac App Store
• By default, apps must either be "signed" with a certificate or be installed through the Mac App Store. This can be overridden, but lessens security

European Commission and U.S. regulators both approve Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility

Earlier today, Google announced via its blog that the European Commission has approved its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which was initially announced last year. This approval is a huge milestone in closing the deal, and Google says its still waiting on a few other jurisdictions to make their final approvals. In addition, according to a report from The Associated Press, U.S. regulators have also approved the deal.

China appears to be the final major approval that Google is waiting for to officially close the deal that will put the web giant in control of Motorola Mobility's nearly 17,000 patents.

Kodak plans to exit digital camera business

Following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last month, Kodak today announced that it plans to exit the digital camera business, a market that it arguably created, sometime in the first half of this year. Alongside the phasing out of Kodak digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames will also be axed. "Kodak will instead expand its current brand licensing program, and seek licensees in these categories. Following this decision, Kodak’s Consumer Business will include online and retail-based photo printing, as well as desktop inkjet printing," the struggling company says.

Kodak also states that it has already informed retail partners of the transition, and will continue to honor any warranties and provide technical support to customers.

The company plans to save more than $100 million once the division is axed within the next six months.

Verizon and Redbox team up to build Netflix competitor

Today, Verizon and Coinstar, owner of popular disc rental service Redbox, announced a new partnership where the two companies will build a service that features Redbox technologies and be a direct competitor to Netflix. The service will feature DVD and Blu-Ray Disc rentals from Redbox and a "new content-rich video on-demand streaming and download service from Verizon."

The unnamed service will feature subscription services and be focused around giving consumers entertainment on several devices in different forms.

"When you consider the core elements the parties bring to this venture – our powerful brands; our national rental kiosk footprint; our anytime, anywhere network presence; and our mutual commitment to customer-focused innovation – it's clear that Verizon and Redbox are a powerful entertainment team," said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon consumer and mass business markets.

"Consumers rely on Redbox for the latest new release movies at a great value, and our joint venture with Verizon will enable us to bring them even more value by offering expanded content offerings and greater flexibility for how and when they enjoy entertainment," said Paul Davis, chief executive officer of Coinstar, Inc. "This alliance is the result of a deliberate and strategic process to identify a partner who shares our commitment to delivering innovative solutions to consumers. We look forward to rolling out the shared benefits this venture will bring to consumers, retailers, and shareholders."

The partnership will utilize Verizon's relationships with entertainment providers, cloud computing technologies, and IP network infrastructure.

Verizon will be owning 65% of the venture, while Coinstar will hold the remaining 35%. The two companies plan to fully reveal the service in the second half of 2012.

Facebook files for $5 billion IPO

Just as reports over the past week have claimed, Facebook has officially filed its initial public offering (IPO) documents with the SEC this afternoon, worth $5 billion. The company was initially expected to file an IPO closer to $10 billion, but has elected to start small and move up, meaning it still has the change to be one of the largest tech IPOs in history. 

Morgan Stanley will be the lead underwriter on the IPO, while Goldman Sachs and Bank of America will help out. Shares are expected to begin being traded sometime in May of this year. 

Developing...

It’s All Tech celebrates its second birthday

It's pretty hard to believe that just two years ago today, we registered It's All Tech.com. Being completely honest here, we had no idea what we were doing at the time. We started It's All Tech as a small side project for posting a couple of articles regarding technology everyday, but little did we know we would quickly grow to be in the top 400,000 most viewed websites in the world (according to Alexa rankings).

Today, we celebrate It's All Tech's second birthday with all of you - our supports, readers, sponsors, staff, etc. The past two years have been - for lack of a better word - amazing for not only It's All Tech, but the technology industry. We've grown to average thousands of page views every day and currently have over 250 registered users.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of our readers / supporters / staff members. Our staff are the ones who keep coming back everyday and produce new content for everyone to read. They work hard day in and day out and we hope you all will have the opportunity to know our staff better in 2012!

2012 will be a huge year for It's All Tech. We expect to surpass a number of important milestones throughout the year, and work to continue improving our content.

So, on that note, we'd like to thank all of our supporters again and hope to see you coming back to It's All Tech in 2012 and years after!

“Nintendo Network” announced as a competitor to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network

Earlier today, Nintendo officially unveiled the "Nintendo Network," a service that combines user accounts on the upcoming Wii U, downloadable content on the Wii U and 3DS, and digital distribution of retail products. The Nintendo Network will be replacing the older, incredibly outdated Wi-Fi Connection service and will be a direct competitor to Xbox LIVE and PlayStation Network. 

The service will allow gamers to make a user account on their console, which will alleviate some headaches when multiple people are playing on the same station. In addition, the Network will handle online game competitions and communications between Wii U and 3DS gamers. 

Finally, Nintendo briefly outlined possible plans to include distribution of full retail games through the Network, but its not sure on how this will work. Both the Wii U and 3DS are apparently capable of this feature, but integration would be somewhat challenging. 

More information should be revealed regarding the Nintendo Network at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June. 

Netflix reports Q4 financial results – $876 million in revenue and 220,000 new streaming customers

Today, Netflix reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011, which ended on December 31. The company announced a revenue of $876 million, up 47% year-over-year, and significantly higher than analyst expectations, which were in the mid-$850 million's. 

Netflix also revealed that it gained 220,000 new streaming subscribers in the holiday quarter, but still much less than the 800,000 it lost in the previous quarter. The company now has 21.67 million streaming subscribers in the United States and 24.4 million DVD rental  subscribers. In addition, 1.9 million international customers are signed up with Netflix, 380,000 of whom were added in the past three months. 

We are encouraged by the strength in acquisition that we are seeing, coupled with continued improvements in retention among our domestic streaming members. For Q1 to date, our domestic net additions for streaming are tracking close to our net additions in Q1 2010 of 1.7 million net additions. Given this trend, we are comfortable with our ability to continue to expand our domestic streaming contribution margin.

[UPDATE] Apple reports first quarter of 2012 financial results – record-breaking $46.33 billion revenue

Apple just released preliminary financial results for the first fiscal quarter of 2012,  which ended on December 31, 2011 and lasted 14 weeks. In the quarter, Apple reported a record-breaking $46.33 billion revenue and a record-breaking $13.06 billion net profit. Gross margin for the holiday quarter was at 44.7%, up from 38.5% in the year-ago quarter. 

Apple announced that it sold 37.04 million iPhones in quarter one, a 128% increase in unit growth year-over-year. The company sold 15.43 million iPads, a 111% increase in unit growth year-over-year. 5.2 million Macs were sold in the time period, while the iPod continued its graduated decline with 15.4 million units sold. 

According to the press release, Apple expects second fiscal quarter revenue to be around $32.5 billion. 

The company will be live streaming its financial results call beginning at 5:00 PM Eastern time later today. 

UPDATE: Apple's stock (trading under the symbol "AAPL") is up nearly 8% in after-hours trading at this time. The company's stock, however, was down on the day by 1.64%. 

[UPDATE: OFFICIAL] RIM Co-CEOs step down amidst serious struggles

According to The Wall Street Journal, Research in Motion co-chief executive officers Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis have resigned from their position at the Canada-based company. No official word from RIM has come yet this evening, but the transition is said to be effective tomorrow, January 23. Current chief operating officer Thorsten Heins will be named the company's new CEO. 

Director Barbara Stymiest will take over as chairman, while Lazaridis will become vice chairman. Balsillie will remain at the company as a board member. 

RIM was founded in 1984 by Lazaridis, who has been CEO ever since. The company, however, has had lots of struggles and setbacks over the past couple of years, mainly as a result of strong competition from competitors like Apple and Google. It's not a huge surprise that the two stepped down as CEOs, but the future of the already-struggling telecommunications company remains in question. 

UPDATE: RIM has officially announced the change. In addition, the company released the video below to introduce Thorsten Heins.

It’s All Tech is looking for talented writers

Do you want to be a part of a new new and growing technology community? Do you love technology? Are you a talented technology writer who is willing to participate in writing technology articles? 

If yes, It's All Tech is the place for you! Founded in 2010, It's All Tech is a growing technology community gaining new readers everyday. We're currently looking for new staff members that will assist us in writing articles daily about technology news, as well as reviews and tutorials. 

If you're interested, please continue reading below:

Requirements for being a writer

• General interest in technology news, rumors, products and writing
• Capable of contributing a minimum if 3 articles per week
• All writing must contain correct spelling and grammar (expected to utilize spell+grammar check in word processing software or text box screens)

It's All Tech uses WordPress as its content management system. If you are not familiar with WordPress, the staff can definitely help you find your way around.

Categories/topics that we write about on It’s All Tech (subject to change)

• Microsoft
• Internet
• Google
• Apple
• Gaming
• Software
• Hardware
• Mobile products (cell phones)
• Editorials and product reviews
• Product comparisons
• Tutorials

** Please understand that this position is unpaid at this time, but this will likely change in the future **

If you think you have what it takes (or just want to try it out), we ask that you fill out the application form below and someone from our administration team will be back to you within 24 hours of your application being received.

Google reports Q4 2011 financial results – $10.58 billion in revenue, but lower than analyst expectations

Today, Google reported its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011, which ended December 31. The web giant reported $10.58 billion in revenue and $8.13 billion in net revenue, well below the $8.4 billion that was predicted by analysts. Despite missing expectations, Google's full-year revenue grew by 29% and this is the company's first quarter where revenues are above $10 billion. 

Google's operating expenses increased to 32%, compared to the 30% from the year-ago quarter. The amount of clicks on advertisements in Google searches increased in the last three months of the year, but the amount of money Google charges advertisers actually decreased by 8% from Q3 2011. Google reported a net income of $2.71 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. 

Finally, Google CEO Larry Page confirmed that Google+ now has over 90 million users. 

Google's stock (trading under the symbol "GOOG") was up about 1% on the day, but is down nearly 9% in after-hours trading. 

Popular file hosting website Megaupload shut down following piracy claims; Anonymous responds by taking down U.S. government websites

According to The Associated Press, federal prosecutors in Virginia have successfully shut down popular file hosting service Megaupload and arrested the website's founders following claims of breaking piracy laws. The report claims that Megaupload is responsible for causing $500 million in lost revenues to copyright holders, including record labels and others.

A total of seven people have been charged regarding Megaupload and four are in police custody, including founder Kim Dotcom, who earned nearly $100 million from the website in 2010.

Once this news broke out just a few hours ago, notorious hacking group "Anonymous" has begun attacking several United States government websites, including the Department of Justice. The hacker group is keeping everyone up to date via their Twitter account and says that an attack on the White House's website has already begun. In addition, the RIAA, Universal Music, and Motion Picture Association of America websites are down - all three companies have had legal disputes with Megaupload in the past.

We'll keep you updated on further news.

Apple announces new iTunes U App for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch

At a media event earlier today in New York City, Apple announced a new iTunes U app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad (App Store link), featuring the ability for students and teachers to manage their courses. The app allows "teachers [to] create and manage courses including essential components such as lectures, assignments, books, quizzes and syllabuses and offer them to millions of iOS users around the world."

The app also gives users free educational content from universities, including: Cambridge, Duke, Harvard, Oxford and Stanford. Beginning today, any K-12 school district will have the choice to offer full courses through the iTunes U app.

Educators can quickly and easily create, manage and share their courses, quizzes and handouts through a web-based tool and utilize content and links from the iTunes U app, the Internet, iBookstore℠ or the App Store as part of their curriculum. They can also upload and distribute their own documents such as Keynote®, Pages®, Numbers® or books made with iBooks Author.

The new iTunes U app is designed to go hand in hand with the new iBooks app, which was also released earlier today.

Apple announces iBooks 2 – support for iBooks textbooks

At a media event in New York City earlier today, Apple announced the release of iBooks 2 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The update adds support for iBooks textbooks, "an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive." iBooks textbooks offers students the ability to purchase a book from the iBookstore that includes "interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more." 

Top-name publishers are already onboard with iBooks textbooks, including: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson. Most books will be priced at $14.99 or less. Apple also released a new, free tool called iBooks Author to the Mac App Store today (App Store link), allowing nearly anyone to make their own electronic book. 

The new iBooks 2 app is available today as a free download from the App Store™. With support for great new features including gorgeous, fullscreen books, interactive 3D objects, diagrams, videos and photos, the iBooks 2 app will let students learn about the solar system or the physics of a skyscraper with amazing new interactive textbooks that come to life with just a tap or swipe of the finger. With its fast, fluid navigation, easy highlighting and note-taking, searching and definitions, plus lesson reviews and study cards, the new iBooks 2 app lets students study and learn in more efficient and effective ways than ever before. 

iBooks Author is also available today as a free download from the Mac App Store and lets anyone with a Mac create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books and more, and publish them to Apple’s iBookstore. Authors and publishers of any size can start creating with Apple-designed templates that feature a wide variety of page layouts. iBooks Author lets you add your own text and images by simply dragging and dropping, and with the Multi-Touch™ widgets you can easily add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote® presentations and 3D objects. 

The iBooks 2 update is already available for download via the App Store (link) on either a computer or iOS device. Full release notes are below:

• Experience gorgeous Multi-Touch textbooks designed for iPad
• iBooks textbooks are filled with interactive features, diagrams, photos, and videos
• Tap to dive into images with interactive captions, rotate 3D objects, swipe through image galleries, watch videos in full screen, and more
• Use a finger as a highlighter when swiping over text in a textbook
• Take advantage of Study Cards to help you memorize important highlights, notes, and glossary terms
• Tap glossary terms to see definitions of key topics and concepts without leaving the page

AT&T announces remodeled data plan options coming next week

Today, AT&T announced a number of changes that will be in effect beginning this Sunday to its data plan options for customers. 

The new smartphone data plan choices are detailed below:

• AT&T Data Plus 300MB: $20 for 300MB
• AT&T Data Pro 3GB: $30 for 3GB
• AT&T Data Pro 5GB: $50 for 5GB, with mobile hotspot / tethering

Customers who use the Data Pro 3 GB or 5 GB plans will have the ability to pay an additional $10 for every gigabyte of extra data needed per month. 

The new tablet data plan choices are detailed below:

• AT&T DataConnect 3GB: $30 for 3GB
• AT&T DataConnect 5GB: $50 for 5GB

Current AT&T customers will have the choice of keeping their current data plan, or upgrading to one of these new ones. Customers that will be new to AT&T are be forced to use one of the new options. 

These new plans will be in effect this Sunday, January 22.