Windows Phone Mango to have visual voicemail?

Microsoft has stated numerous times that its Windows Phone platform is to battle for mobile supremacy, while emphasizing that this is not going to happen in the short-term - after all, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that.

With this in mind, it's unsurprising that all eyes seem to be focused on its much anticipated Mango update, which is likely to be released as Windows Phone 7.5.

Now a new rumor, disseminated by the Windows Phone 8 Twitter account that has spilled the WP beans before, says that Mango includes visual voicemail.

As you may know, some iPhones possess native visual voicemail support, while Android users have it thanks to third-party applications. The feature allows you to listen to voicemails without dialing a dedicated service.

If this rumor comes good, it's reasonable to expect that Mango's visual voicemail will be previewed in the major WP event that's to take place on May 24 in New York City.

source: WinRumors

Palm Pre 3's world version hits the FCC?

An HP phone strongly suspected to be the world version of the upcoming flagship Pre 3 model made a visit to the FCC.

The GSM version of the said phone has already met the feds, but now we have its CDMA/EV-DO twin that's compatible with the frequencies used by both Verizon and Sprint. Moreover, it has support for GSM (850/900/1800/1900) and UMTS (900/2100) bands, which makes it a world phone.

It's officially confirmed that the HP Pre 3 is to be available "this summer", while the rumor mill is citing June as the month we are to see this handset in the stores.

source: FCC

TouchWiz 4.0 Walkthrough

Samsung's own Android “skin”, the TouchWiz user interface, received a new version in the Samsung Galaxy S II. The phone features TouchWiz 4.0 over Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and while there are no drastic changes, some of the updates are worth mentioning.

LG loses iPad 2 screen orders because of faulty displays

As some of you may remember, a few weeks ago we warned you about a potential problem with iPad 2 screens "leaking" light on the edges. Faulty display panels were causing light to leak from behind the LCD screen on some iPad 2s. We hope that those of you with the problem have contacted Apple and found a resolution to the issue. Now, we have a culprit: LG.

An industry source has told DigiTimes, "LGD was forced to reduce its shipments in the first quarter due to light leakage problem for panels produced at its 6G production lines." Because of these faulty displays, Apple shifted orders from LG to Samsung in the first quarter of this year. The shift pushed Samsung to 4 million iPad panel shipments, becoming the number one supplier for Apple. LG slipped to 3.2 million panel shipments in Q1 2011.

The source also told DigiTimes that the issue with the LG panels has been fixed and that LG would "resume shipment momentum to Apple in the second quarter."

source: DigiTimes via Engadget

Watch the Day 1 Google I/O keynote, Android Open Accessory and @Home automation included

The tech world witnessed another newsworthy I/O conference keynote by Google yesterday, with the announcements of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb 3.1, Music Beta and movie rentals.

While these were great to kick the two-day event in high gear, they were not the only things announced for the relatively short 55 minutes keynote. Google also demonstrated the so-called Android Open Accessory project. In a nutshell, it allows accessories to connect via USB ports to Android-powered gear (Android 2.3.4 and above only), where they act as an USB host, providing at least 500mAh at 5V for charging.

The whole premise is based on the Arduino open source electronic prototyping platform, and was demonstrated in a funny way by one employee riding a stationary bike. The bike was connected via USB to a phone running Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and the guy had to guide a little green robot through a cave's perils by speeding up and down, in an app called CardioQuest.

Google has released a free Android Development Kit for techies to start working on the numerous possibilities that come to mind, and also demoed how a Motorola XOOM tablet commands a physical Labyrinth board via USB. The fun starts at 35:40 into in the video.

Another glimpse into the future of Android was shown with the so-called Android@Home automation service. Google's mobile OS is seriously gearing up to control your home lighting, HVAC, and home appliances. Lights can be turned on and off according to your alarm schedule or events in your Calendar, washing machines can be given marching orders, and one cool music device concept named Tungsten was shown. It is an Android-powered device hub, demonstrated in different shapes and forms, and an ability to store and playback your CDs by just nearing their NFC tags to Tungsten was showcased. The Android@Home demonstration starts at 42:37 into the video

Microsoft deal should vastly expand reach of Skype

Imagine using your Xbox and switching from a game to a video chat with a faraway friend holding an iPad. Or going into your office email to invite Grandma to a virtual family reunion beamed on TV sets to relatives across the country.

Microsoft's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype is supposed to make using the Internet for video phone calls as common as logging on to Facebook or instant messaging is today.

If it wins regulatory approval, the deal announced Tuesday provides Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, with the means to sell more digital advertising and offer more popular conferencing tools to help businesses save money.

Google braces to pay at least $500M in ad probe

Google Inc.'s lucrative online advertising system is facing a U.S. Justice Department investigation that is expected to cost the Internet search leader at least $500 million.

The disclosure made by Google on Tuesday in a quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission serves as the latest reminder of the intensifying regulatory scrutiny facing the Internet's most powerful company.

European regulators have opened a wide-ranging probe into whether Google unfairly manipulates its search results to favor its own services and rigs its ad system to drive up prices. The Texas attorney general also has been looking into complaints about whether Google's search recommendations stifle competition.

Cellphone alert system announced in NYC

The U.S. government and local authorities will soon be able to reach people directly on their cellphones to warn them of imminent danger or alert them about missing children -- even in the middle of a widespread emergency that overloads communications systems as happened after the Sept. 11 attacks, officials said Tuesday.

The emergency alert system will be used only for critical national messages from the president, information in life-threatening situations and Amber Alerts meant to widen the search for missing or abducted youngsters, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Tuesday. He was accompanied by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate.

Lady Gaga to debut songs on online game FarmVille

Lady Gaga is turning to an unusual method to cultivate her fan base: The pop icon is releasing songs from her new album on a section of the popular online game "FarmVille" before they can be heard anywhere else.

The singer, known for her outrageous styles and hits such as "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance," will allow singles from "Born This Way" (due out May 23) to be heard within a specially-created farm, called "GagaVille," in the game. Players will have to complete tasks to hear one exclusive new track per day streamed online from May 17 to 19. Starting on May 20, players will be also able to unlock additional songs that aren't exclusive.

WikiLeaks' Assange awarded top Sydney peace prize

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was Wednesday awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation's top honour for "exceptional courage in pursuit of human rights", joining the likes of Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama.

Assange, an Australian former computer hacker who is fighting extradition from Britain to Sweden over alleged sex crimes, was praised and rewarded with the Sydney Peace Prize's Gold Medal.

Facebook leaked keys to account data: Symantec

US computer security firm Symantec on Tuesday said that Facebook accidentally left a door open for advertisers to access profiles, pictures, chat and other private data at the social network.

Symantec discovered that certain Facebook applications leaked tokens that act essentially as "spare keys" for accessing profiles, reading messages, posting to walls or other actions.

Facebook applications are Web software programs that are integrated onto the leading online social network's platform. Symantec said that 20 million Facebook applications such as games are installed every day.

Apple, Google defend privacy practices to Congress

Apple and Google, facing questioning from skeptical US lawmakers, defended their privacy practices before a congressional committee.

"I believe that consumers have a fundamental right to know what data is being collected about them," Senator Al Franken said at a hearing of the newly created Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.

"I also believe they have a right to decide whether they want to share that information and with whom they want to share it and when," the Democrat from Minnesota told the hearing on mobile privacy.

Best of Android packed into "Ice Cream Sandwich"

Google on Tuesday said it is packing the best of its Honeycomb tablet computer software into a new "Ice Cream Sandwich" version of Android for mobile devices.

The California-based Internet titan planned to release Ice Cream Sandwich by the end of the year and promised that it is being designed to run smartphones, tablets, and any other Android gadgets.

"Our top priority for Ice Cream Sandwich will be one operating system that runs everywhere," Android engineering team chief Mike Claron said at a Google developers conference in San Francisco.

Google's Android moving into homes

Google wants Android to move into people's homes with the open-source software powering everything from smart light bulbs to sound systems.

More than 5,000 software savants at Google's annual developers conference in San Francisco on Tuesday were shown an "Android@Home" software platform for making dumb devices smart and robots manageable.

Among the innovations on display were light bulbs that can be controlled by Android-powered gadgets and a Tungsten sound system that could be synched to Google's freshly-launched Internet "cloud" music storage service.

7.5 million Facebook users are under 13: study

Some 7.5 million of the 20 million minors who used Facebook in the past year were younger than 13, and a million of them were bullied, harassed or threatened on the site, a study released on Tuesday said.

More than five million Facebook users were 10 years old or younger, and they were allowed to use Facebook largely without parental supervision, leaving them vulnerable to threats ranging from malware to identity theft to sexualpredators, the State of the Net survey by Consumer Reports said.

Google unveils online music service

Google on Tuesday launched an invitation-only test version of an online music service, which does not sell songs but allows users to store their collection for use on various devices.

"When you add your music to the new service, you can listen to it on the Web on any compatible device," Google product manager Paul Joyce said in announcing the new service.