Filed under: Handhelds, Laptops

There's a ton of upcoming laptops and devices based around Intel's Atom processor, and it looks like all the early interest is causing that best of all possible problems for the chipmaker: it's gotten too many orders. Intel told the WSJ that it's planning on producing "millions" of Atom chips this year, but that it's "seeing better-than-expected demand" as production begins and that it's "we are working quickly to address it." Still, it looks like manufacturers are expecting a shortage to last for a while -- ASUS predicted that supply would be constrained until the third quarter during its quarterly conference call, for example -- and various Chinese trade publications have reported the same. That's definitely not encouraging news, and with AMD's Puma and VIA's Isaiah nipping at Atom's heels, Intel might want to kick things into a higher gear.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Check it -- Gigabyte has just revealed details about a swank new user interface for its GSmart mobiles, and it has been coined Smart Touch. Sadly, multi-touch gestures aren't supported, but it does handle dragging / dropping and gives users oodles of customization options. Comically enough, the note on the new UI actually admits that it "works like [the interface on the] iPhone," but it claims to be superior due to its tight-knit integration and more "useful and interesting features." Sure, alrighty. We'll let you be the judge on this one -- jump on past the break for an excruciatingly long demonstration vid.

[Via the::unwired]

Continue reading Gigabyte's GSmart Smart Touch UI shown on video

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It was only last month that we asked you if you thought a valuation of $250 million was too high for chat platform Meebo. After rumors of Meebo seeking out additional funding, the mere thought of Meebo being worth that much seemed to put it squarely in the bubbly realm of Facebook, Slide, and more recently, Ning.

And tonight, a ring from Meebo CEO Seth Sternberg confirms the rumors that have been mulling around for weeks now. What I can tell you for a fact is that Meebo has raised an additional $25 million, closing out its Series C funding. What’s still unconfirmed from Meebo is the valuation of the company, though this is rumored to still be around the $250 million mark.

So who are the investors? JAFCO led the round, with additional investment from Time Warner Investments, KTB Ventures, and existing investors Sequoia Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Sternberg mentioned that each investor was chosen for a specific reason, so it’s clear that Meebo is looking to continue to grow its media partnerships amongst other areas in order to further initiatives on this front.

The funding will go towards Meebo growing both its sales and engineering teams, to gain more users and bring in more advertising revenue. As a fairly direct way for marketers to interject their brands into social media, the online chat realm has seen a great deal of development in the past year, with Meebo opening its platform to developers, and AOL doing the same.

So far, Meebo’s plans have worked, as its integrated chat platform offers a new perspective on market research and alternative ways for brands to communicate with consumers. Sternberg says “you gotta do something with ads that plays to the unique strength of that property… in social media space, people share stuff. So if you give people ads that they can share, you get fantastic click through rates.” I’m sure that’s exactly what new investor Time Warner, and other media partners like VideoEgg want to hear.

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AT&T will begin selling two handsets on Sunday, May 4th to complement its “AT&T Mobile TV with FLO” service. FLO TV, in and of itself, is not exclusive to AT&T, as it’s been available to Verizon Wireless customers since January 2007 as part of the VCast Mobile TV feature. At any rate, AT&T will soon be offering the service on the LG Vu ($299) and the Samsung Access ($199). Rate packages will be as follows:

Monthly access packages for AT&T Mobile TV begin at $15 a month for the Basic package, which includes unlimited access to Mobile TV, as well as access to the exclusive CNCRT channel for a limited time. AT&T also offers a Mobile TV Plus package for $30 a month, which includes unlimited Mobile TV, unlimited mobile Web browsing on MEdia^TM Net and unlimited CV mobile video. Customers can also subscribe to a limited basic package for $13 a month, which gives them access to four channels: CBS Mobile, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go and NBC News 2Go. Because AT&T Mobile TV operates on MediaFLO USA’s own dedicated multicast network, AT&T customers do not incur data or voice charges. Additionally, programming is subject to change, and sports programming is subject to blackout restrictions.

Some of the programming that’ll be available starting Sunday includes shows on CBS Mobile (CSI, CSI:NY, and How I Met Your Mother), a live CNN feed, Comedy Central episodes of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, live games on ESPN Mobile TV, certain Fox shows, live NHL games on NBC 2GO, news from NBC News 2Go, some Nickelodeon stuff, and stuff from MTV that helps further the ultimate deterioration of our once-intelligent society, like The Hills and Real World. 

Full press release after the jump…

AT&T MOBILE TV PREMIERES SUNDAY, MAY 4

AT&T to Deliver MediaFLO USA’s FLO TV Service in 58 Markets on New AT&T-Exclusive Handsets Designed for Mobile TV Viewing; AT&T Introduces CNN Mobile Live, PIX and CNCRT, a Special Concert Channel

SAN ANTONIO, May 1, 2008 — We interrupt your scheduled programming with an important news bulletin: AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and MediaFLO USA Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), announced today the May 4 availability of the AT&T Mobile TV with FLO™ service. This powerful new mobile television service will provide around-the-clock access to some of today’s most popular television programs — live and in color on the mobile phone.

To ensure an unmatched mobile television experience for consumers, AT&T is introducing two new exclusive handsets: the Vu from LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A. Inc. (LG) and the Access from Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung). 

• LG Vu: A sleek and stunning device, the Vu gives you a clear view of TV, Web, pictures or videos on its large interactive touch screen. It also lets you get the utmost in mobile entertainment with a music player, 2.0 megapixel camera and Bluetooth^® capabilities.The LG Vu is available for $299.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.*
• Samsung Access: This stylish handset features a large landscape display, ideal for delivering a rich viewing experience and an internal antenna for exceptional reception. It’s a great device for customers who are looking for advanced multimedia capabilities such as a camera, external stereo speakers, stereo Bluetooth, AT&T Music, CV, of course, AT&T Mobile TV. The Samsung Access is available for $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.¹

“AT&T Mobile TV is more than a new entertainment service — it is an experience that will significantly change and enhance our customers’ mobile lifestyles,” said Mark Collins, vice president of Consumer Data for AT&T’s wireless unit. “With this in mind, it was imperative that we launch this revolutionary service on devices that were optimal for the best mobile viewing experience imaginable. We worked closely with LG and Samsung to deliver these two iconic handsets, which are designed with the specific needs of what will soon become our Mobile TV viewing audience.”

AT&T Mobile TV proves that big things come in small packages. The service will offer unmatched TV-quality programming from leading news and entertainment brands: CBS Mobile, ESPN Mobile TV, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, MTV Networks’ COMEDY CENTRAL, MTV and Nickelodeon, as well as PIX and CNN Mobile Live, which are both AT&T-exclusive channels on MediaFLO USA’s FLO TV™ service.

• PIX, from Sony Pictures Television, offers a variety of contemporary films, including comedies, cult classics, action films and family favorites from the studio’s vast library.
• CNN Mobile Live provides users with access to 24 hours of breaking news with live streaming anchored coverage from CNN.com Live as well as CNN’s most popular programs, including “American Morning,” “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” “CNN Election Center,” “Larry King Live,” “Anderson Cooper 360º,” and “CNN International.”

“Our research revealed that news and movies were the two most popular program categories consumers wanted to watch on their mobile phones. We have exceeded their expectations with AT&T Mobile TV,” said Collins. “Together with MediaFLO USA, we are changing the picture of television-viewing by giving our customers an innovative way to stay connected to breaking news from CNN Mobile Live, an arsenal of movie favorites with PIX and a formidable lineup of other quality programming while on the go.”

Additionally, for the next 60 days, the AT&T Mobile TV service will feature CNCRT, a special concert channel delivered by Control Room, a leading producer and distributor of world-class entertainment. Every day, for 24 hours, the CNCRT channel will air one of approximately 30 recently recorded concerts from major recording artists, such as Avril Lavigne, Chris Brown, Fall Out Boy, Jay Z, Sheryl Crow, Akon, Daughtry, Lenny Kravitz, Rage Against the Machine and more. 

“With the authority of CNN, the cinematic variety of PIX and the star power of CNCRT, AT&T Mobile TV adds an exciting dimension to the FLO TV service,” said Gina Lombardi, president of MediaFLO USA.  “We are thrilled to be working with AT&T to provide consumers with such a powerful new mobile entertainment experience.”

MediaFLO USA’s award-winning FLO TV service features premium full-length, high-quality programming delivered to mobile phones over MediaFLO USA’s own dedicated multicast network. Using an intuitive program guide, AT&T customers will be able to easily flip from one channel to the next on their mobile FLO-enabled phones to experience the best-quality mobile TV.

There are more than 150 simulcast and/or time-shifted programs, as well as live sports events, currently available for viewing. Below are examples of some of the entertaining TV programs and events that are scheduled to air the week of May 4:

• CBS Mobile: New episodes of “CSI,” “CSI:NY” and “How I Met Your Mother”
• CNN Mobile Live: Live breaking news coverage, including real-time results from the Democratic and Republican primaries in North Carolina and Indiana on May 6.
• Comedy Central: New episodes of “The Daily Show with John Stewart” and “The Colbert Report”
• ESPN Mobile TV: Live game coverage as well as ESPN Mobile TV shows such as “ScoreCenter,” “ReSET” and more
• FOX Mobile: New episodes of “Bones,” “Back to You,” and LIVE Big 12 College Baseball
• MTV: New episodes of “The Hills,” “Real World: Hollywood” and “The Paper”
• NBC 2Go: LIVE NHL Stanley Cup Playoff and Final games and finale episode of NBC’s  “30 Rock” (Thurs., May 8)
• NBC News 2Go: LIVE coverage of the Indiana and North Carolina Democratic Primaries
• Nickelodeon: Episodes of “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “iCarly”
• PIX: “Memento,” “In The Line of Fire,” “Groundhog Day,” “Kung Fu Hustle” and “Resident Evil”

AT&T Mobile TV will launch in 58 markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, D.C.  The service is a perfect complement to the wireless carrier’s already impressive portfolio of wireless video offerings, including CV, which gives subscribers mobile access to thousands of on-demand video clips — including news, sports, entertainment, music and movie previews. With the addition of Mobile TV, AT&T customers now have even more choices in how they experience and enjoy video content from their phone. As with CV, AT&T Mobile TV will have the Parental Controls feature, which provides content filtering and purchase blocking on your phone so that you can restrict access to content that may be inappropriate for younger viewers.

Monthly access packages for AT&T Mobile TV begin at $15 a month for the Basic package, which includes unlimited access to Mobile TV, as well as access to the exclusive CNCRT channel for a limited time. AT&T also offers a Mobile TV Plus package for $30 a month, which includes unlimited Mobile TV, unlimited mobile Web browsing on MEdia^TM Net and unlimited CV mobile video. Customers can also subscribe to a limited basic package for $13 a month, which gives them access to four channels: CBS Mobile, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go and NBC News 2Go. Because AT&T Mobile TV operates on MediaFLO USA’s own dedicated multicast network, AT&T customers do not incur data or voice charges. Additionally, programming is subject to change, and sports programming is subject to blackout restrictions.

To learn more about AT&T Mobile TV, including service, programming and handset details, visit www.att.com/mobiletv .

¹For the LG Vu or the Samsung Access pay $399.99 or $299.99, respectively, and after mail-in rebate, receive $100 AT&T promotion card.  A two-year service agreement is also required. AT&T promotion card valid wherever major credit cards are accepted and for 120 days after issue date. May be used to pay wireless bill. Not redeemable for cash and cannot be used for cash withdrawal at ATMs or at automated gas pumps.

Find More Information Online:

Web Site Links: Related Media Kits:   
AT&T Web Site
AT&T Wireless Web Site
AT&T Mobile TV Web Site
MediaFLO Web Site AT&T Offers Choice in Wireless
AT&T Mobile Phones

Related Releases:       Related Fact Sheets:  
AT&T Mobile TV - Coming to Your Wireless Phone in May

AT&T Selects QUALCOMM’s MediaFLO USA for Mobile Entertainment Services AT&T Network Coverage Map
Technorati Tags: AT&T, AT&T Mobile TV, mobile phone
About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world’s most advanced IP-based business communications services and the nation’s leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As part of its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com.

© 2008 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

This AT&T news release and other announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.

About MediaFLO USA Inc.
MediaFLO USA Inc. unleashes the power of TV for mobile consumers, combining the best content, an intuitive user interface and a superior multicast network to deliver a true TV experience.  The award-winning FLO TV service from MediaFLO USA offers full-length simulcast and time-shifted programming from the world’s best entertainment brands, including CBS, CBS College Sports, CBS News, Comedy Central, ESPN, FOX, FOX News, FOX Sports, MTV, NBC, NBC Sports, NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, NickToons and Nickelodeon. Based in San Diego, Calif., MediaFLO USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated.  MediaFLO USA, with FLO, and FLO TV are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated. Further information is available at both www.mediaflousa.com and www.flotv.com.

Adobe is making a big play to make Flash the de facto viewing environment not only for Web apps on your PC, but also on your mobile phone, your TV, and any other screen you can think of. It is announcing the Open Screen Project to make it easier to develop applications across devices—using Flash, of course. David Wadhwani, general manager of Adobe’s platform business (which includes Flash/Flex, AIR, and Cold Fusion), says:

We believe it is time for an industry-wide movement for a consistent way to develop across the Web for PCs, mobile devices, and TVs.

To help the project along, Adobe is:

1. Opening up the runtime to its Flash player for the first time so that anybody can create their own customized player. Specifically, it is going to open up the SWF and FLV/F4V specifications. In the past, developers had to sign agreements not to create derivative Flash players because Adobe wanted to avoid the fragmentation that Java experienced during its early years. But now it feels that Flash is a strong enough standard to withstand the introduction of some new evolutionary branches.

2. Removing licensing fees for Flash on mobile devices. While Flash is free on PCs, cell phone makers and other device manufacturers must pay a royalty fee. This was a $52 million business for Adobe last year. (Versions of Flash are on 500 million mobile devices already, and that is expected to grow to one billion over the next 12 months). That business (which represents only 2 percent of Adobes overall revenues) is going away. Starting with the next major release of Flash (and AIR) for devices in 2009, it will be free to device manufacturers. That should help Flash spread even more.

3. Publishing the APIs for porting Flash to other devices. This currently also incurs a royalty fee. By opening it up, there is no reason why every device shouldn’t come with Flash pre-installed.

4. Publishing Adobe protocols for pushing content to devices like Flash Cast and AMF. Adobe will also work with wireless carriers on protocols for over-the-air software updating. (This is actually a hard problem because most software downloaded to a mobile phone gets stored in read-only-memory, where it pretty much stays until the device is replaced. Getting mobile software to update as easily as desktop software is the key to making sure mobile apps keep up with the times.

On the application creation side, Adobe increasingly will be adopting a widget approach. There is not much difference between a widget that runs as a module on a Web page and a mobile app that runs on a small screen. Wadhwani explains:

These things can expand up. Developers are looking to optimize for these small screen sizes. Instead of squashing it down from a desktop experience, it is easier to start small and build up.

The same approach can be used for apps on other devices as well, such as set-top boxes.

The promise of the Open Screen Project to developers is the age-old dream of being able to write an application once and deploy it anywhere across any device. Adobe and its slew of partners in the Open Screen Project (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Qualcomm, Samsung, Motorola, LG, Toshiba, NTT Docomo, Chungwa Telecom, ARM, Intel, Marvell, Cisco, NBC Universal, MTV Networks, and the BBC) are not alone in this desire. Notably absent from Adobe’s list of partners is Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Each has its own ideas on how this cross-device compatibility will work.

Apple thinks you should just buy Apple products that work seamlessly together (Mac, iPhone, Apple TV). Steve Jobs also notably snubbed Adobe by refusing to put Flash on the iPhone. Maybe his engineers can now make their own version that satisfies their exacting standards.

Google has never been a big fan of Flash, preferring the speed of Ajax in its Webtop apps. On the mobile front, it is betting on Android, its own open operating system. And it also develops mobile apps the traditional way—one device at a time.

But the company with the most overarching and different approach to Adobe’s in this regard is Microsoft. It is pushing its own alternative to Flash: Silverlight. (Although it has licensed Flash Lite for Windows Mobile as a stopgap measure until Silverlight works on mobile devices). More radically, Microsoft differs on how to make apps work across devices. It’s answer ultimately will be Live Mesh. As I wrote last week when Microsoft officially unveiled Live Mesh.:

The basic foundation of Mesh is this feed-centric programming model. A Web developer can build an app using any programming language or tools he likes (Python, Ruby on Rails, Flex) and then sync it across devices and other applications using two-way feeds as the basic data and communication channel. The promise for developers, says product unit manager Abhay Parasnis: “If you Mesh-enable your application, we will let you extend it to other devices.”

In many ways this effort is a counterweight to what we are seeing with Adobe Air or Google Gears, which are efforts to take browser-based apps offline. With Mesh, Microsoft is in effect reasserting the primacy of client-based applications. . . . Developers can customize their apps for whatever device they originally reside on—whether it is a PC, a smartphone, or a set-top box—and then Webify them by syncing them to other applications across the Web.

The more competition we get for ways to bridge applications across devices and screens, the more likely that we’ll actually start to see some of our favorite Web apps on something other than our laptops.

(Photo by AMagill).

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Update on our post from earlier today - Meebo is now confirming that they have raised a $25 million third round of financing from Jafco Ventures, Time Warner Investments and KTB Ventures. Previous investors Sequoia Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson also participated.

Meebo was looking for a buyer through their investment bank, Montgomery & Co., but moved to a fundraising round earlier this month when there were no takers at the price they wanted. The rumored valuation on the financing was $200 million.

Meebo was pitching strategic partners hard to join the round, including eBay, Fox/MySpace and AOL. Time Warner/AOL obviously sees something they like. Last month the two companies started working more closely with the release of Open AIM 2.0.

This round also signals that Meebo will be looking to Asian expansion. Jafco is a Japanese based fund; KTB is Korean.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

The rumors are true, RIM does have a clamshell BlackBerry and it’s said to be coming soon. Most likely by the end of the year. The Kickstart as it’s being dubbed at the moment has a SureType keyboard, external LCD and has the same trackball we’ve all come to love or loathe. I don’t know about this one. I’m not that big a fan of clamshells, but it is a BlackBerry.

Fashion sites like StyleFeeder and OSoYou have raised a good amount of funding in the past year, so as the fashion savvy demographic continues to grow on the Internet, the ways in which this growth is expressed branches out amongst various new services.

Weardrobe isn’t a brand new site, but it’s getting increasingly social with some of its new features. Users can now send messages to each other, making this fashion site more of a networking site. If you check out Weardrobe, you’ll see that you can create a rather artistic representation of your actual closet, through uploaded images of your clothes (yourself wearing clothes), and accompanying color-coded items that give you an at-a-glance view of your closet.

It’s these items that will soon have new functionality and purpose as better icons will soon be used for a more comprehensive look at the items in your closet. The ultimate goal for Weardrobe is to effectively become the Shelfari of clothing.

It’s an interesting concept that could bode well amongst a particular niche in the fashion market, as Weardrobe has a dedicated focus on users’ existing items and is less focused on the consumption end. Still, Weardrobe could move easily into the social recommendation realm, amongst other areas.

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Related Articles at Mashable! - The Social Networking Blog:

Shelfari Holding Harry Potter Contest
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Shelfari Launches Social Network for Books
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Simply Hired, RockYou, Shelfari and StyleFeeder Facebook Apps

Filed under: Cellphones

Ready to have your brain blown out through the top of your head? Look above -- you're staring at the heretofore unseen BlackBerry clamshell, the Kickstart. The Boy Genius snagged a handful of photos of the device (which apparently he's known about for "a while"), and has decided to share his good fortune with the rest of the world. The phone sports a Pearl-esque keyboard, typical trackball navigation, and apparently utilizes both an internal and external LCD screen. No word on specs, carriers, or a release date, but BGR is saying this puppy is due before the end of the year. You'll know more when we know more!

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While the AOL/Time Warner merger has gone down in the record books as one of the worst mergers ever, I still contend that it could have gone much better if stronger management had been in place. Most specifically, there were obvious synergies between aspects of Time Warner and AOL -- but petty squabbles and turf wars kept most of those synergies from being realized. The most glaring and obvious of these was Time Warner Cable (or RoadRunner) and AOL. Both offered internet access, and it seemed perfectly reasonable to merge the two properties, and use RoadRunner to upgrade all those dialup users onto broadband, and then keep them engaged with all the Time Warner content. Of course, the Time Warner content people freaked out about content on the internet of course, so that would never have worked -- but the failure to link up RoadRunner and AOL never made any sense.

In fact, the two services began aggressively competing with each other. Then, after three years, someone finally realized that maybe the two should work together and made an announcement saying so. Of course... an announcement without action is worthless. So, another year goes by and another exec trots out with an announcement that the two divisions will work closely again. And again... nothing. Give it almost another year... and yet another announcement. Sense a pattern? In the end, the two groups never actually did combine, and with today's announcement that Time Warner is selling off the cable business entirely, it just puts an exclamation point on all these years of keeping the two businesses separate. Of course, in selling off Time Warner Cable, it will also likely lead to speculation that the company will sell off AOL (or merge it with Yahoo -- remember that plan?) as well -- though, as an entirely separate entity.

While I tend to be skeptical of mergers based on vague "synergies," it's still rather amazing that in all this time, no one at Time Warner ever got these two divisions together -- and now the company may end up selling each off separately. In the end, this was a deal that only worked out for the investment bankers. Remember, they love to convince companies to consolidate one year and diversify the next -- because they make money on both transactions.

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