Google Tablet is Six Months Away

There is room for others in the tablet wars - Google, unlike others, has an established mobile platform that contains products and services - At the right price point, this Future-Tab has the potential to become a major disruptor.

Amplify’d from www.digitaltrends.com

It seems like Google may no longer be content to simply watch from the sidelines as the likes of Apple and Amazon go from strength to strength in the tablet market, with executive chairman Eric Schmidt telling Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera this week that “in the next six months we plan to market a tablet of the highest quality.” He added that introducing such a device would be guaranteed to increase the “brutal competition between Apple and Google Android.”

See more at www.digitaltrends.com

 

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Startup sees entrepreneur-ship as visa solution

Can't say that this one is to far-fetched, since there are people living on The World. But this idea, while intriguing, may face some legal obstacles.

Amplify’d from www.google.com

You've heard of tech companies starting in a Silicon Valley garage. What about on a ship?

That's the idea being floated by a California startup that wants to dock a vessel off the coast to house foreign entrepreneurs who have dreams of creating the next Google but can't get visas to work in the United States. Read more at www.google.com

 

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Google Offers a Personalized Call From Santa

As we get ready for the holiday season with our families - here is a playful way to get the kids to start cleaning their rooms, at least for one week.

Amplify’d from www.sltrib.com

Google is offering a free personalized call from Santa to anyone in the United States. Go HERE for more information about this offer. Go HERE to listen to a sample call.

Don't forget, you can track Santa's whereabouts on Christmas Eve HERE on the NoradSanta.org website, and leading up to Christmas, children can play a variety of online games on this popular site. At PortableNorthPole.tv, you can make a free personalized video message for your child from Santa HERE.

See more at www.sltrib.com

 

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Zeitgeist 2011 is Released: How the World Searched

It should be noted that three out of the Top ten searches were related to Apple.

Amplify’d from www.googlezeitgeist.com

What mattered in 2011? Zeitgeist sorted billions of Google searches to capture the year's 10 fastest-rising global queries and the rest of the spirit of 2011. Read more at www.googlezeitgeist.com

 

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New Google Map Maker lets anyone add landmarks to Google Maps

Google Map Maker users have the ability to enhance and highlight their communities unique locations. This should dig some great finds and I suspect some real good gags!

Amplify’d from www.dailymail.co.uk

a new version of Google's Map Maker lets anyone add landmarks to Google Maps - letting any user add on points of interest, draw on more detailed maps, and even review and delete other people's edits.

Google Map Maker is accessible via any web browser, and usable by anyone with a Google account.

You can add places - such as new shops - edit other people's additions, and review other people's edits.  Read more at www.dailymail.co.uk

 

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$100 tablet now shipping with Android 4.0

While I wait for my Aakash2 to arrive from India later this month – its not the only tablet in the $100 and under category. The first Android 4.0 tablet has emerged from China and is said to be heading to our shores. 2012 will become the year of the sub-$100 tablet, but don't expect consumers to immediately jump to these lesser known brands. Once Ainol signs a deal with a well-known electronics brand to repackage the device under other name - Lookout!

As you might have guessed, I am going to buy one. You might be wondering what I do with all my tablets/gadgets -- my testing lab (my kids) get to play with them - then off to ebay they go.

Amplify’d from news.cnet.com

U.S.-based MIPS Technologies and Ingenic Semiconductor, a China-based mobile chip provider, announced worldwide availability of the "world's first tablet" based on Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

The tablet is available in China and online through Ainol Electronics and will be available in the U.S. and other geographies within the next several months under brands from companies including Leader International and OMG Electronics.

Salient specs include Ingenic's MIPS-based JZ4770 processor running at 1GHz, graphics based on a Vivante GC860 graphics processing unit, 1080p video decoding, dual front/rear cameras, a 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen, WiFi, and USB 2.0, HDMI 1.3 and microSD ports. Read more at news.cnet.com

 

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Facebook buying Gowalla

Can you say Facebook Places!

FB continues to use acquisitions to enhance its product offerings.

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Gowalla

Facebook just purchased a service for sharing your location with friends, according to a CNNMoney report.

While the news has yet to be confirmed by either party, it looks probable that Facebook has snapped up Austin, Texas-based Gowalla, or is in the process of doing so Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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Traffic crash in Japan takes out 8 Ferraris, Lamborghini

Here is a piece of news that you will probably never see happen again. 14 luxury sports cars smashed to bits after a weekend drive went bad. Maybe the owners should have invested a few dollars in driving lessons.

Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benz cars and a Lamborghini have crashed in a massive -- and very expensive -- 14-vehicle accident in southwestern Japan

The wreck took place Sunday on Chugoku Expressway in Shimonoseki, according to Yamaguchi prefectural police. One of the Ferraris skidded and collided into the central divider, setting off a chain-reaction crash. Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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Google Expected to Deliver Amazon Prime Competitor

Normally, Google has very few barriers to entry when launching a new service where an established competitor exists. They can easily reinvent the service or purchase the company. But in this case Amazon has an enormous lead and it is the clear leader in online product searches. Google with several major product flops under its belt, the jury is out on Google + (but no one in my circles has posted anything in weeks) – consumers, not antitrust investigators will determine the fate of Google's prime product.

Amplify’d from searchenginewatch.com

Google is looking to create "a service that would let consumers shop for goods online and receive their orders within a day for a low fee," the Wall Street Journal reported

Given the potential to strengthen their position in local, mobile, and display advertising and push their Google Offers services even further, the move is understandable. Whether logistic problems will be too much is an issue that will have to be determined. Read more at searchenginewatch.com

 

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RIM writes off value of tablet inventory

Another tablet Firesale - for consumers there are better options available than the RIM PlayBook in the $200 tablet category. Like Santa's unwanted toys, RIM's tablet might be more attractive with a lower price - $99, wait maybe $49.99.

Amplify’d from www.google.com

Research In Motion Ltd., the struggling maker of the BlackBerry phones, is writing off much of its inventory of PlayBook tablets, since it has to sell them at a deep discount.

The Canadian company on Friday said it's taking a pre-tax charge of $485 million in the just-ended quarter to account for the declining value of the tablets. The model originally priced at $500 now costs $200. Read more at www.google.com

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Track Santa on his 2011 Holiday Journey

Mom's and Dad's here's one for the the kids. Let them track Santa's progress compliments of NORAD and Google.

Amplify’d from www.noradsanta.org

All the preparations for this year are in place! Come back each day to discover new surprises in the Kids' Countdown Village, where we'll offer a new holiday game every day until December 24th.

See more at www.noradsanta.org

 

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Berkshire Hathaway to Buy Omaha World-Herald Newspaper

This isn't Buffett's first media holding - and it doesn't seem like its his last. The Oracle of Omaha might see something that everyone else is missing or he's got a trick up his sleeve. Something caused Buffett to change his stance on Newspapers. From the outside, this looks like a no win deal, producing a low return on investment, with a high risk of loss as a result of the price paid. I am eager to see how it turns out.

Get Newspapers Now

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will expand its media holdings by acquiring the Omaha World-Herald Co., publisher of the billionaire’s hometown newspaper

The World-Herald reported the price as $150 million plus assumption of debt

“That’s a pretty generous price,” said John Morton, a veteran newspaper analyst and president of media consulting firm Morton Research Inc

“That’s a price that you would have paid for it five years ago.”

“it’s very difficult to see this as a financial investment,” said Meyer Shields, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Read more at www.businessweek.com

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