FaceTime finally coming to 3G?

Apple introduced the FaceTime video calling service back in 2010 alongside the iPhone 4. At the time, the company said that FaceTime would only work over Wi-Fi, but it was working with carriers to add 3G network support. Nearly two years later, however, 3G support for FaceTime has yet to arrive, but new evidence in iOS 5.1 may show that Apple is at least making progress.

According to a report from The Verge, the above error message is new in iOS 5.1, which has been out for a few weeks now, but only discovered recently. With the Worldwide Developers Conference taking place in a few weeks, it seems possible we may see some FaceTime-related announcement coming.

Google closes deal to acquire Motorola Mobility

Google announced today that it has finalized its acquisition of Motorola Mobility, which was first announced in August of 2011. The deal, worth $12.5 billion, required approval from the European Commission, United States, and China (among other countries) before being finalized.

As part of the deal, Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha will be stepping down from his position and will be replaced by Dennis Woodside.

Sanjay Jha, who was responsible for building the company and placing that big bet on Android, has stepped down as CEO. I would like to thank him for his efforts and am tremendously pleased that he will be working to ensure a smooth transition as long-time Googler Dennis Woodside takes over as CEO of Motorola Mobility.

Some Motorola Mobility devices banned from import into U.S. following ITC ruling

The United States International Trade Commission (ITC) announced (PDF) a ruling last week that bans the import of certain Motorola Mobility devices into the United States following the company being found of infringing upon a Microsoft-owned patent. The patent in question deals with "generating meeting requests and group scheduling from a mobile device." The ban will likely go into effect within the next 60 days, unless Motorola Mobility is able to address the issue quickly. Affected devices include the Motorola Droid RAZR, the Motorola Droid 4, and the Motorola Droid Bionic.

Apple seeking preliminary injunction against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in U.S.

According to a report from FOSS Patents, Apple late last week filed for a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the United States, accusing Samsung of infringing upon an iPad-design related patent. Based on other recent rulings in the Apple versus Samsung case, it's actually likely that the motion for injunction will be granted, meaning Apple will have a ban on the sale of the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

Apple proposes to give Samsung until May 25 to respond, and would file its reply brief five days later. At any rate, Judge Koh won't grant this motion during the settlement talks that are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. But if those talks fails (which is what I expect to happen), the injunction might come down very soon.

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility could close as soon as next week

According to a report from The Associated Press, the Chinese government has approved Google's proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, possibly opening the opportunity to close the deal that was initially announced in August of 2011 as early as next week. China was the last country that needed to approve the merger, with both the United States and European Commission approving the deal back in February.

Chinese regulators had one condition for the deal being approved: "That Google's Android operating system for mobile devices remain available to all at no cost for the next five years."

Verizon Wireless clarifies plans for axing unlimited data

Yesterday, news broke that Verizon Wireless would be axing the unlimited data plan option for existing customers. Last year, the carrier introduced tiered data plan options, but allowed existing customers to be "grandfathered" in and keep their unlimited data plan. The move would force any customer to switch to a tiered data plan.

Today, Verizon Wireless made some clarifications to the upcoming change to The New York Times. The company stated that customers who upgrade their line with a subsidized price will be the only ones forced to switch to a tiered data plan. If a customer doesn't upgrade their line or chooses to buy a new device at an unsubsidized price, they will be able to keep the unlimited data plan.

- Customers will not be automatically moved to new shared data plans. If a 3G or 4G smartphone customer is on an unlimited plan now and they do not want to change their plan, they will not have to do so.

- When we introduce our new shared data plans, Unlimited Data will no longer be available to customers when purchasing handsets at discounted pricing.

- Customers who purchase phones at full retail price and are on an unlimited smartphone data plan will be able to keep that plan.

- The same pricing and policies will be applied to all 3G and 4GLTE smartphones.

Facebook releases “Pages Manager” app for mobile devices

Facebook today began rolling out a new mobile app for its users that allows Page owners to manage their content through the app. The app functions similar to the main Facebook mobile app, but removes everything unrelated to fan pages. Features include:

• Post new updates and photos as your Page
• Get notified about new activity on your Page when it happens, no matter where you are
• Respond, post and comment as your Page while you’re on-the-go
• Manage all your Facebook Pages from one app
• View your latest Page Insights

The app appears to still be rolling out worldwide at this time.

HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE shipments delayed as U.S. Customs investigates possible patent infringement

According to The Verge, United States Customs officials have delayed the shipments of HTC's new One X and EVO 4G LTE smartphones into the U.S. as they investigate possible patent infringements on the devices. The patents in question are supposedly the same ones that were involved in a lawsuit Apple won last December. The ruling from the court said that HTC would have to stop importing all affected devices into the U.S. by April.

We've learned today that the One X and Evo 4G LTE are indefinitely delayed at Customs as the agency investigates patent issues with Apple, and sources have further confirmed that some shipments are indeed being held back. The One X is also currently out of stock at AT&T's online store and at most AT&T retail stores we've called — and few had any information on when more units would arrive.

HTC released the following statement:

The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard U.S. Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order. We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval. The HTC One X and HTC Evo 4G LTE have been received enthusiastically by customers and we appreciate their patience as we work to get these products into their hands as soon as possible.

Verizon CFO says unlimited data plans to be axed, but many questions still in the air

According to Fierce Wireless, Verizon Communications CFO Fran Shammo spoke at a JP Morgan conference, announcing the company's plans to axe the unlimited data plan option for customers. Last year, Verizon introduced tiered data plan options for new customers, but existing customers had the option of being grandfathered in and keep their unlimited data plan at $30/month.

Shammo says that Verizon Wireless customers still on 3G devices will need to switch to a tiered data plan option once they upgrade their line to a 4G LTE device. Those who remain on their 3G device will continue to use unlimited data (for the time being at least).

The questions arise, however, when talking about Verizon's plans to introduce family data plans this summer. The company is reportedly planning to force users hoping to use a family data plan to upgrade their devices to all 4G LTE, thus forcing the move to tiered data plans. It's unclear when this would happen, and whether Verizon will truly force users to switch plans.

As these 3G unlimited data plan customers migrate to 4G LTE, they will have to purchase the company's data-share plan (which Verizon plans to launch in mid-summer) and move off the $30 per month unlimited data plan. "Everyone will be on data share," Shammo said.

WSJ: Next iPhone features a 4″ display

The Wall Street Journal reports Apple has ordered displays from Asian suppliers that measure at least 4-inches diagonally with production beginning in June.

Production is set to begin next month for the screens, which measure at least 4 inches diagonally compared with 3.5 inches on the iPhone 4S, the latest phone from Apple, the people said.

Seeing competition from other smartphone manufacturers whose phones feature much larger displays than the current iPhone, Apple has been expected to debut a device with a larger screen. The report is unclear that on the exact dimensions or resolution of the newly ordered display but it is expected to be an Apple set Retina Display.

While the report says that production for the phone will begin next month it does not give a clear launch date with the usual "later this year."

Facebook acquires photo sharing app Lightbox

Popular Android photo sharing service Lightbox announced today that it has been acquired by Facebook. The company's team of seven (7) will be joining Facebook, while the service itself will be functioning until June 15. Users have until that date to download their photos from Lightbox. The Android app has already been removed from Google Play, and new user sign ups aren't being accepted at this point.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed to the public.

T-Mobile CEO announces further “structure” changes, layoffs this week

The Verge has posted a memo sent out by T-Mobile USA CEO Philipp Humm to company employees. Humm says that T-Mobile has begun taking the "second essential step" in its complete restructuring plan, which involves thousands of employee layoffs. The CEO says that the layoffs will happen sometime this week, but didn't go into detail on that topic.

The memo, in its entirety, is below:

Dear colleagues,

Since the beginning of the year, T-Mobile has stressed that 2012 is a rebuilding year for the company. A vital step in that process was announced in March with the consolidation of our call centers. This week, T-Mobile is taking the second essential step. We are announcing a new structure that further aligns our costs with our revenue realities, enables teams who support our field organization to act and react with greater speed and effectiveness to customer and market opportunities, and better positions us to return to growth.

The new organization required difficult decisions that will impact some of our employees. This week, news will be shared personally with employees and teams who are directly affected by the restructuring. Changes will include some position eliminations and changes to individual roles and responsibilities. It is important to emphasize these impacts to employees result from business decisions. We have tremendous employees here at T-Mobile and we truly wish we could retain all our talent, but our business realities require hard choices. For affected team members, we are providing generous transition support including severance, assistance with COBRA continuation coverage, and outplacement services. As mentioned in the March announcement, customer service representatives in the remaining 17 call centers, technicians in engineering, and frontline employees in our T-Mobile corporate-owned stores will not be affected.

Our rebuilt structure enables T-Mobile to realize significant savings, allowing us to invest in future growth — in particular modernizing our network to LTE, repositioning the T-Mobile brand, and aggressively pursuing the B2B segment where we plan to add 1,000 positions over the next few years. We gain the agility to put resources where the current opportunities are, grow in areas where potential is greatest, and act on emerging opportunities quickly and rationally.

The restructuring provides a sustainable organizational model, centered on our T-Mobile Values, with the following attributes:

A greater focus on driving Customer Delight by reducing the layers between working teams and executive leadership, and shifting and consolidating groups in the field sales regions and the FSC to minimize redundant work — resulting in more effective coordination and communication.

A renewed emphasis on Best Place to Perform and Grow:
Enhanced people manager spans of control (number of direct reports), enabling faster decisions, more ability to execute, and more empowerment of employees at all levels.
Evolution of our leadership model from player-coach, where more time is spent on daily tasks than on planning and guiding, to leader-coach, where time is focused more strategically on coaching, developing, delegating, and motivating.

We approached the restructuring process and decisions with care, rigor and cross-functional alignment. A team comprised of top leaders, with support from industry-leading subject matter experts, worked closely together over the past few months to develop an effective and sustainable structure. We strongly believe the organizational principles we applied are lasting ones. More details on the new organizational structure will be shared in department and team communications this week and more broadly after that.

I want to assure you we will move through the communications this week very thoughtfully, but also as quickly as we can while preserving the quality of the conversations that need to happen. As always, our T-Mobile Values will guide our actions.

Thank you for your patience as we work through what will be a difficult week. Thank you for your continued commitment.

With sincere appreciation,

Philipp Humm
CEO & President
T-Mobile USA

Facebook increases photo sizes on mobile devices

Facebook announced today that it has begun rolling out an update to its mobile interface on iOS, Android, and m.facebook.com that increases the size of pictures by three times (3x).

Starting today, we’re rolling out an improved design for posts in news feed on your mobile phone. Now photos are up to 3x larger, and all posts will fill your mobile screen from edge to edge. The new design will be available on iOS, Android and m.facebook.com. Check out some before/after screenshots below.

Report: Google developing Chrome Web Browser for iOS

According to a report from Business Insider (based on a research note from Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter), Google is currently developing a Chrome Web Browser app for use on iOS devices. In fact, the app may already be submitted to Apple for review and could debut in the App Store as soon as the end of this quarter. No specific details about the app were given, however.

While third-party web browsers already exist on the App Store (an example include Opera), a majority of iOS users still use Safari because of the amount of system-level integration the app brings.

Report: Apple to drop Google Maps for in-house service in iOS 6

According to a report from AllThingsD, Apple will be dropping the Google Maps app that comes built-in on iOS devices in favor of its own in-house mapping software solution. Google Maps has been powering the Maps app on iOS since day one, but recent tension between the two companies has likely caused the change. In addition, Apple has recently purchased three mapping companies: Placebase, Poly9, and C3 Technologies.

We’ve independently confirmed that this is indeed the case. Sources describe the new Maps app as a forthcoming tent-pole feature of iOS that will, in the words of one, “blow your head off.” I’m not quite sure what that means, and the source in question declined to elaborate, but it’s likely a reference to the photorealistic 3-D mapping tech Apple acquired when it purchased C3 Technologies.

Report: T-Mobile considering merger with MetroPCS

According to a report from Bloomberg, T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, is reportedly in talks with MetroPCS about merging T-Mobile with the carrier. T-Mobile, the fourth largest carrier in the United States, has been struggling over the past couple of years, and has been looking for options ever since its acquisition by AT&T fell through.

Other options reportedly include an outright sale of the company.

Deutsche Telekom is considering a stock-swap transaction that would give the German company control over the combined entity, which would be publicly listed, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. Other options include an initial public offering or an outright sale of T-Mobile USA, the people said, adding that Deutsche Telekom is also in talks with other companies. MetroPCS shares jumped 14 percent in New York trading yesterday.

Google releases overhauled Google+ app for iOS

Today, Google released version 2.0 of its Google+ app for iOS (App Store link), bringing with it a number of new features and a completely overhauled user interface. The company notes in its announcement of the update that the "+1" button will now float at the top of the screen to make it easier for use, and that the app sports "crisper fonts, larger profile pics and a friendlier homescreen." Users' streams will now have "overlays, gradients and other visual elements" to make it easier to read as well.

The update is available via the iOS App Store beginning today.

Google Maps for Android updated with support for Offers, indoor walking directions

Today, Google updated the Google Maps for Android app (Google Play link) to version 6.7 and with it, brings integration with Google Offers, indoor walking directions, and business photos. Offers allows users to see any deals with businesses close to them, while indoor walking directions (available in the U.S. and Japan) show people around indoor locations. Google Business Photos are panoramic photos of retail stores for users.

With Google Business Photos you can explore panoramic photos of the inside of a business from the palm of your hand. Now you can get a feel for a restaurant or store inside as well as outside using Street View technologies. To access these 360-degree panoramic views, look for the “See Inside” section on the Place page of select businesses.

Angry Birds downloaded one billion times

Rovio announced today that its incredibly popular mobile game Angry Birds has been downloaded one billion times in total. This milestone comes less than three years after the original Angry Birds was released to the public, making the series the fastest growing game in history.

Angry Birds games have now been downloaded more than a billion times – THANK YOU to all of our incredible fans! This is only the beginning of our story, keep your eyes peeled for what’s coming up next from Rovio!

The newest game in the series, Angry Birds Space, was downloaded fifty (50) million times in its first five (5) weeks of availability.

Twitpic releases official iOS app

Yesterday, popular third party Twitter photo upload service Twitpic announced the release of its official iOS app for the iPhone (App Store link). The app allows users to take photos, edit them, upload them to Twitter, and see photos taken by other users of the app.

The first ever photo sharing site for Twitter comes to the iPhone! Twitpic is the easiest and best way to share your photos and videos with your Twitter followers.

• Quickly and seamlessly share your photos and videos with all of your Twitter followers
• Edit your photos with beautiful filters and easy to use enhancement tools
• Browse your Twitter photo timeline with photos from people you follow in a beautiful interface
• Browse photos from the most popular Twitpic users
• Manage your Twitpic photos and videos in your own timeline

In addition, Twitpic confirmed that the Android version of the app will be coming out in about a month.