The UK's first major fourth generation (4G) mobile service has gone live in 11 cities.


London, Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Glasgow and Southampton will have access to network EE's 4G from Tuesday morning. Other mobile networks will not be able to offer 4G until next year. Critics have questioned the service's affordability - particularly with regard to data usage allowance. Belfast, Derby, Glasgow, Hull, Newcastle and Nottingham will be active by Christmas, the company said. Network EE, formerly known as Everything, Everywhere and which owns Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, has promised speeds of between 8 to 12Mbps - up to five times faster than third generation mobile technology, known as 3G. The extra speed and capacity allows for high-quality streaming of audio, video and other content while on the move. The company said as well as giving customers faster internet, 4G would also be of big benefit to businesses. All-you-can-eat world However, such benefits come at a cost - the entry tariff of £36 per month includes 500MB of data, beyond which an add-on cost must be paid if the user wishes to carry on using the internet on their mobile. An hour of streaming a programme using, for example, the BBC iPlayer mobile app, can use up to 225MB - almost half the entry level tariff's data allowance limit. The add-on costs for extra data begins at £3 for 50MB, and extends to £20 for 4GB.

The company's top tariff for standard customers will cost £56 per month, and has a data allowance of 8GB. EE boss Olaf Swantee has said that the pricing is based on "months of consumer research" and that the tariffs have been priced at "the sweet spot". But Matthew Howett, a regulation analyst at Ovum, said EE has a challenge in convincing consumers their 4G is good value for money. "It's fair to say that EE has attracted a fair degree of criticism not so much for the price of the 4G tariffs, but rather on the amount of data bundled at each level," he said. "EE was always going to have a difficult role to play being the first mover. "However, its peers may be grateful for attempting to move away from an all-you-can-eat world for data to an attempt to monetise it. "Too quickly data became commoditised for operators once smartphones and other connected devices proliferated." User poaching A successful 4G launch is seen as critical for EE if it is to poach customers from other networks. EE was granted its headstart in the 4G market last month when it was given permission to run the next-generation service using its existing bandwidth. Its competitors are unable to offer 4G until the conclusion of a spectrum auction scheduled for early next year. The auction will determine how newly available signal spectrum will be offered to the other networks. The process had been continually delayed by a combination of factors, from a change of government to threats of legal action from operators. On 2 October, O2 and Vodafone agreed not to take legal action against EE, and instead settled for assurances that the process of launching their own 4G services would be sped up. But since EE's 4G announcement, rival networks have sought to undermine the firm's offering. In a statement on its website, Vodafone underlined what it saw as a weakness in EE's 4G - indoor coverage. "Indoor coverage matters," the company wrote. "That's why we've made a commitment to provide 98% indoor coverage. "The reason we can do this is because we intend to use 800MHz frequency. Without getting too technical, this means your signal travels further into your home than any 4G signal that's available now, all things being equal."










 30 October 2012 Last updated at 00:11 GMT
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20121025

Microsoft's chief boss has confirmed he plans to release more devices.


Steve Ballmer told the BBC: "Is it fair to say we're going to do more hardware? Obviously we are... Where we see important opportunities to set a new standard, yeah we'll dive in." The chief executive's comments came ahead of a Windows 8 launch event in New York, following which Microsoft's Surface tablet will go on sale. News other devices are likely to follow may worry some of the firm's partners. Mr Ballmer caused a stir when he revealed in June that his company was making its own family of tablet computers - one offering extended battery-life powered by an Arm-based chip, the other using Intel's technology to offer a deeper Windows experience. Until now Microsoft had focused on software and relied on third-parties to make hardware, with a few exceptions such as its Xbox games consoles and Kinect gesture sensors. The chief executive of Taiwanese PC-maker Acer told the Financial Times in August that the Surface would have "a huge negative impact for the [PC] ecosystem and other brands" adding that he had been in touch with Microsoft to discuss his concerns. But Dell - the world's third largest computer maker - was less bothered by the move. "The announcement of Surface was necessary to have a proof of concept and to get people excited about what was coming to push application development and create some buzz out there," Kirk Schell, vice president of Dell's client and consumer product group, recently told the BBC. "They've invested so much in Windows 8 it was important to make it work, so I felt Surface was the logical thing to do." Touch-controlled tiles Windows 8 is a radical update to Microsoft's core product. The operating system introduces a touchscreen-controlled interface featuring tiles. As well as acting as buttons to launch individual apps, the tiles allow installed software to provide status updates on a computer's home screen. These can include details about the latest emails received, news headlines or social network posts created by friends. Users can also switch into a more traditional desktop mode. Devices running the Windows RT version of the new software will only be allowed to install third-party software from Microsoft's curated Windows Store. But other machines will give users the ability to launch programs sourced from elsewhere. Windows RT is designed to run on machines powered by CPUs (central processing units) based on designs by the British firm ARM, while more fully-featured versions of Windows 8 will run on the x86-based architecture chips used by Intel and AMD. The strategy allows Windows to compete against both iPads and Android-based tablets as well as higher-end laptops and desktop computers. Analysts warn the move carries both risks and rewards. "Buyers craving a Windows tablet, touch laptop, or a touch all-in-one PC will jump for Windows 8, once they work through the processor choice confusion," said Frank Gillett from consultants Forrester Research. "[But] for some the prospect of learning a new interface will cause them to consider alternatives, most likely Apple's Mac; although some will also check out Google's Chrome OS offerings." Other Linux-based competitors are also hoping to gain ground including free-to-use alternatives Ubuntu and Debian. Research In Motion may also attempt to revitalise its own tablet sales when it launches Blackberry 10 next year. Surface phone? Before smartphones arrived Microsoft dominated the market, powering about 95% of personal computing device sales, according to Forrester. It says that figure has now shrunk to 30%. Surface addresses the software's firm's need to jumpstart demand for Windows-powered tablets. There is growing speculation that Mr Ballmer's next step could be to order the launch of Microsoft's own mobile phone. Despite positive reviews, devices running the Windows Phone 7 operating system captured less than a 4% share of global shipments in the July-to-September quarter, according to a study by IDC. Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe, is convinced work is already underway on a Surface Phone but added that it might never go on sale. "Microsoft is hedging its bets," he said.

 "The firm is heavily invested in Nokia succeeding with its Windows Phone handsets but can't allow for its failure to torpedo the platform." Nokia, HTC and Samsung have announced they will sell new handsets based on Microsoft's upcoming Windows Phone 8 operating system which launches next week. The product resembles and is based on the same kernel - or software core - as its PC equivalent. "At the very least Microsoft will be developing its own handset to go to market in case Nokia and others don't do better," Mr Green added. 'Whatever is required' Nokia's own chief executive Stephen Elop appears fairly relaxed about the prospect of competing with his former employer. "[It would be] a stimulant to the ecosystem," he told analysts on a recent conference call transcribed by news site Seeking Alpha. "We're encouraging HTC, and Samsung, and Microsoft or whomever, to have devices in the market and to be making whatever investments that help spur the ecosystem on." Mr Ballmer would not be drawn on the exact nature of his future plans. "We have committed ourselves on a path where we will do whatever is required from both a hardware and a software innovation perspective and the cloud innovation perspective in order to propel the vision that we have," was all he would tell the BBC. For now the only confirmed hardware on the horizon is a Pro version of the Surface tablet, set to go on sale in January.













25 October 2012 Last updated at 05:01
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20072497

A US International Trade Commission judge, in a preliminary ruling, said Samsung infringed four of Apple's intellectual property patents.

 The patents include one that relates to the front face of the iPhone and one for touch-screen technology. It is another win for Apple, after it was awarded $1.05bn (£652m) in damages by a jury in a separate case in August. The ITC can block the import of products into the US. The judge's ruling will go in front of a full commission, which is scheduled to conclude its investigation in February. Legal battles Judge Thomas Pender agreed that Samsung violated four of Apple's patents, but was not in violation of two others listed by Apple in the complaint. Three of the patents are related to software features, while one covers Apple's hardware. However, the Samsung products in this case do not include its latest devices, limiting the impact of a potential import ban into the US. Samsung has repeatedly argued that any sales ban would limit choice and raise prices for consumers in the US. Apple and Samsung have bought legal cases against each other in more than 10 countries, each accusing the other of violating patents, as the two battle for market share in the hugely lucrative mobile industry.









25 October 2012 Last updated at 04:59
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20077735

Microsoft has reported a 22% fall in quarterly profits, after deferring some revenue ahead of the upcoming releases of its Windows 8 operating system and its latest version of Office.






Net profit for the three months to September fell to $4.47bn (£2.79bn), from $5.74bn a year earlier, and missed expectations. Total revenues fell 8% to $16bn. PC sales fell as consumers either put off new purchases in a tight economy or opted for tablet devices instead. Microsoft deferred a total of $1.36bn of revenue, which it will regain in the following quarter. This included $783m in licence fees for PCs pre-loaded with Windows 8, because it cannot recognise the revenue until the units go on sale on 26 October. It also deferred $384m for PCs that shipped with Windows 7 but are eligible for a $15 upgrade to Windows 8, and $189m for PCs that shipped with the new version of Office or are eligible for an upgrade. Microsoft shares fell 3% in extended trading.










18 October 2012 Last updated at 23:22
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19999901

HTC and Sharp have unveiled devices featuring next-generation screens.

 HTC's J Butterfly phone has a 5in (12.7cm) display offering an industry-leading 440 pixels per inch. This offers 25-40% higher resolution - meaning more detail - than comparable devices from Samsung, Apple, Nokia and LG. Sharp's new Aquos Pad tablet is the first to use its new Igzo technology which promises sharper images while using less power. Sharp has previously said at least one of its customers also planned to incorporate the innovation in its devices. Several device makers have signalled plans to announce new tablets over the coming weeks. HD phablet HTC's Android-based device is set to go on sale in Japan in December. Its size places it somewhere between a typical smartphone and tablet in a category some term a "phablet". The Taiwanese firm is marketing both the size and resolution of its screen as being ideal to watch 1080p movies. Smaller, densely packed pixels mean users can hold a device to their face without being able to distinguish the individual blocks of colour used to make up an image. HTC's 440ppi - pixels per inch - resolution offers a performance-boost over rival flagship devices including Samsung's similarly-sized Galaxy Note 2 with a 267ppi screen. Apple's iPhone 5 offers 326ppi, Nokia's upcoming Lumia 920 332ppi and LG's Optimus G 318ppi. To support the facility, HTC has included Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon S4 Pro processor. However, it has not yet disclosed what toll supporting the feature will have on its battery. Longer lasting Sharp's new tablet takes a more radical approach by being the first device if its kind to incorporate a new kind of LCD (liquid crystal display) technology. Igzo (indium gallium zinc oxide) screens have higher translucency than standard TFT (thin film transistor) LCDs, meaning they are better at letting light pass through them.

As a result devices that use them need fewer LEDs (light-emitting diodes) to provide backlighting, allowing the screen to take up less room and use less power. Sharp boasts its new Aquos Pad SHT 21 tablet can last two and a half times longer than its predecessor. The company also suggests it has better touch accuracy than rivals, making it easier to write notes with a stylus. The product has a 7in screen, but Sharp has said that it would also make panels in 10in and 32in varieties, suggesting its use in other tablets and desktop computers. The firm said its new tablet would launch in Japan in December, but has not released details of plans elsewhere. Battery drain The announcements come ahead of a flurry of new releases. Over the next fortnight Microsoft, Apple and Google have all scheduled major product launches. Several Windows 8 tablets - including Microsoft's own Surface - have already been unveiled and will go on sale next week. There is also the expectation of an "iPad Mini" and new Nexus-branded devices. One analyst said that with so many competing products on offer, display quality was become a deciding factor for some consumers. "Screen resolution has become a differential point for many manufacturers," Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe, told the BBC. "Given that many people now use their devices to stream video, having a high-resolution that can best show off HD video is far more important than it was two years ago. "There is still a trade-off though as some of these displays consume more power as a result, and battery technologies have not kept pace with other advances. Since screens are the biggest power drain on mobile devices, that's why a lot of research is going into how to reduce their energy needs."









 18 October 2012 Last updated at 17:23
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19989754

A US court is to consider a case that could determine whether digital media files can be resold.

One-year-old start-up ReDigi is battling music giant EMI over whether digital music can be retraded after it has been legally purchased. ReDigi says that its software is designed to comply with existing United States copyright laws. But EMI argues a legal principle which allows consumers to resell purchased material goods does not apply. A judge at the district court in Manhattan, New York, will hear opening arguments in the case on Friday after EMI sued ReDigi for copyright infringement earlier this year. Legal precedent Launched in October 2011, ReDigi bills itself as the first legal online marketplace for second-hand digital material. The company says thousands of people downloaded its software in the weeks after launch, but it says growth slowed after Capitol Records, a subset of EMI, sued in January. EMI argues that digital music is not the same as CDs or books, meaning that the "first sale doctrine" does not apply. It says that the only way to move music around involves making duplicates, and there is is no way to guarantee all the original owner's copies of the files have been deleted. The lawsuit will be closely watched by the wider media industry as it could set a precedent. Search giant Google has written a letter to the judge arguing that the company had a "specific and vital interest" in the outcome. "I think it could absolutely transform the industry," Benjamin Shiller, a professor in economics at Brandeis University, told the BBC. Switch to digital US digital music sales are set to surpass CD and vinyl sales for the first time ever this year, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. It estimates that digital sales will rise to $3.4bn (£2.1bn), compared to $3.38bn for physical sales. "Most lawful users of music and books have hundreds of dollars of lawfully obtained things on their computers and right now the value of that is zero dollars," said ReDigi's chief executive John Ossenmacher. "ReDigi takes zero dollars and we create billions of dollars in wealth overnight." ReDigi asks users to download proprietary software, which verifies if a file was bought legally. If the song checks out, it is then erased from the seller's hard drive and uploaded to ReDigi's computer servers. ReDigi's software is designed to prevent sellers from reinstalling a sold song to their computer, and offers users the chance to check their libraries for illegal music. Mr Ossenmacher said that with all of the checks in place:

"We were surprised by the lawsuit." Disruptive model EMI's lawyer Richard Mandel, declined to comment on the pending case. In court documents the firm acknowledges that it had held discussions with ReDigi, but adds that it "certainly did not provide any approval of [its] concept". EMI's suit demands ReDigi pay a penalty of $150,000 for each song in EMI's catalogue that was sold via the service since its launch. It may seem like a large sum, but legal experts note that the financial impact of ReDigi's business model could be larger if it is judged to be legal. "What this case points out is that the copyright statutes were written in an era when works of authorship were only available in tangible form," said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment attorney at TroyGould. "The copyright statute looks at the world through a lens of atoms not bits." Europe has already issued a ruling on a related case. In July, a European Union court sided in favour of UsedSoft, a German company that resold Oracle software, arguing that "an author of a software cannot oppose the resale of his 'used' licences". Regardless of the outcome of the US suit, Mr Ossenmacher insists that ReDigi will continue to exist, with or without the record labels' permission. He has already announced plans to expand into the ebook market. It could be a potentially lucrative step bearing in mind that digital books cost more than digital songs, and are likely to be resold sooner after purchase.















By Kim Gittleson BBC News, New York
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19842851

Facebook now has more than one billion people using it every month, the company has said.

The passing of the milestone was announced by founder Mark Zuckerberg on US television on Thursday. The company said that those billion users were to date responsible for 1.13 trillion "likes", 219 billion photos and 17 billion location check-ins. The site, which was launched in 2004, is now looking towards emerging markets to build its user base further. "If you're reading this: thank you for giving me and my little team the honor of serving you," Mr Zuckerberg wrote in a status update. "Helping a billion people connect is amazing, humbling and by far the thing I am most proud of in my life." Statistics released to coincide with the announcement revealed there were now 600 million users accessing the site via a mobile device - up 48 million from 552 million in June this year. Since its early beginnings at Harvard University, Facebook users have befriended each other 140.3 billion times. Sustained growth is seen as crucial if Facebook is to maintain its value - the company has seen its share price drop to about $22 (£17) from a starting price of $38. Investors will expect the company to look at ways to make more from the users it already has as well as seeking to attract new users in areas of the world where it does not yet dominate. "For Facebook the main challenge is not just to grow in terms of numbers, but more importantly to deepen and enrich engagements," said Eden Zoller, principal analyst at tech research firm Ovum. TV chat show Although the service is by far the world's biggest social network, there are key areas, such as China and Russia, where local competitors still remain the online networking tool of choice. Last month, Mr Zuckerberg visited Moscow, where he made his first TV chat show appearance, as well as a highly publicised meeting with the Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev. It was a public-relations exercise designed to unsettle VKontakte - a network that boasts in excess of 300 million members, compared with Facebook's seven million, in the country. In the same trip, Mr Zuckerberg made a "surprise" visit to one of the company's arranged hack-a-thons to meet local developers. Other trips include to China, where the company said it was busy "watching and learning" from other internet firms. Google, which launched in China in 2005, faced fierce criticism when it agreed to allow censorship of search results. It later changed its stance, and now directs all of its traffic through its Hong Kong-based site. Success for Facebook in China would mean unseating RenRen (more than 30 million users) and possibly the Twitter-like service Sina Weibo (more than 300 million users). 'Every phone' In Africa, Facebook has targeted the use of basic phones - known widely as "feature phones" - which are unable to display the full-featured site, but instead can use specially created variations of the network. Specifically, a project called Facebook for Every Phone, which was launched following the company's acquisition of feature-phone specialists Snaptu, is central to its growth strategy in the region. "Facebook is doing very well in Africa," said Erik Hersman, a Kenyan-based blogger. "You even see people using it in the rural areas - often people will ask for a phone with Facebook on it, not caring/knowing about the internet at all." There are considerable monetisation opportunities too. The continent has, at a pace far outstripping the west, adopted mobile payment systems in huge numbers - more than 15 million in Kenya alone. In developed markets, one path to better engagement with users could be through new features that make use of Facebook's vast quantities of personal data about each of its members. In recent weeks, Facebook has been looking to monitor the real-world effects of advertising on the platform. These efforts are key if the company is to convince businesses that investing in the platform is not a waste of money - recent admissions over "fake" users and have dented the site's credibility. It has enlisted the help of US market research firm Datalogix to try to produce evidence that seeing an advert on Facebook - without necessarily clicking on it - is enough of an engagement to get people buying products in shops. Data 'goldmine' However, this vast data bank is tricky to utilise, according to Ovum's Ms Zoller.

"There's no doubt that Facebook is sitting on a potential goldmine of customer data," she said. "But that goldmine can also be a minefield. We know that Facebook, despite its claims to the contrary, constantly pushes the boundaries of what's seen as acceptable in regards to data privacy." This goldmine could swell further. In the UK, ministers are said to be considering using Facebook, among other services, to act as official identification for accessing public services online. Such advancements are being noted by data regulators. In Europe in particular, Facebook has been faced with increased demands to tighten data privacy practices. The company, which has based its European headquarters in Ireland, was last month told by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, that it must amend its Phototag feature - a tool powered by facial recognition software. Following an extensive audit, the commission also sought extra assurances from Facebook over issues surrounding account deletion and targeted advertising. As it continues to innovate and evolve, the company would need to get used to finding itself audited and investigated, said Ms Zoller. "They're so high-profile," she said. "They're a bit of a poster boy, but they could be a whipping boy if they're not careful."
















By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19816709