Google is going to see its latest dream come through, it will build its own Android hardware, both smartphones and tablets, not to mention getting its hands on a very important patent treasure chest to be used at its discretion against Apple, and anyone else that threatens Android. And Google is paying through the nose for Motorola Mobility, an impressive $12.5 billion, a lot more than we would have anticipated.

Motorola managed to came back from the dead when it chose to make Android devices only and to abandon its previous mobile device lines. It’s also the company that created the first genuine Apple rival, the original Motorola Droid, a turning point in Android’s history. But that doesn’t mean the company is profitable, or that it can face Apple, or any of the other Android device makers by itself. During the last quarter alone, Motorola shipped 18.7 million smartphones and a measly 200,000 tablets, losing $70 million in the process. This is what Google is paying $12.5 billion for.

Motorola did sign a deal with Intel to make Android devices based on Intel’s new mobile chips, and at the time I did say that this is in earnest a Google-Intel partnership considering that Google may soon own Motorola. A different rumor says that Google is going to launch its first Nexus-branded tablet this year, and considering all of the above, I wouldn’t be surprised if the device was an Intel-based Motorola-made Google flagship Android tablet. Which is what could happen with the fourth-gen Nexus smartphone too later this year. I’m sure all the other Android device makers will not mind having to fight against Google too now that the merger has been approved. Or will they?

One other important aspect of the whole Google-Motorola deal is the special mention of FRAND patents from the EU. These are very important right now as Apple is engaged in a fierce battle against Android on three fronts, against HTC, Samsung and Motorola. The latter could be soon investigated for antitrust practices when it comes to its offensive patent-based lawsuits against Apple, with Samsung facing a similar investigation in the region. Here’s what the official press release from the European Commission says about FRAND patents:

Access to standard essential patents is crucial for all market players. It is for this reason that standard setting organisations require the holders of standard essential patents to license these patents to any interested third parties on fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (“FRAND”) terms. The absence of such licences would hinder competitors or indeed the entire industry to the detriment of consumers and innovation. The Commission’s guidelines on horizontal cooperation agreements adopted last year (see IP/10/1702 and MEMO/10/676) make clear that commitments to license on FRAND terms are crucial to ensure access to standardised technology for all interested parties.

Moreover, Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission’s Vice Presidnet of Competition Enforcement had this to say about the matter:

“Today’s decision does not mean that the merger clearance blesses all actions by Motorola in the past or all future action by Google with regard to the use of these standard essential patents. Our decision today is without prejudice to the legality under EU antitrust law of Motorola’s past and Google’s future actions. However, the question whether Motorola’s or Google’s conduct is compliant with EU antitrust law cannot be dealt with in the context of the merger procedure.”

Will Google be able to turn Motorola in a profitable company and sell through it millions of new Android devices? Call me a pessimist but I hardly think that will be the case. Care to disagree?

Apple is obviously targeting Android itself with these patent wars, although the Cupertino-based company has not sued directly Google yet. The legal conflict with Samsung is of particular interest, as both companies are suing each other in 10 countries, with various courts having to decide in over 30 distinct lawsuits. Apple decided to hit Samsung with one more lawsuit in the USA, this time targeting the Galaxy Nexus, Google’s latest Android flagship device.

Apple wants a preliminary injunction against Galaxy Nexus sales in the USA invoking various patent infringements, and unlike in previous attacks in which it target the iPhone- and iPad-inspired design of various Samsung mobile devices, this time it’s all about features, Ice Cream Sandwich features to be more precise:

• US Patent No. 5,946,647 – this patent was filed in 1996 (issued 1999) and covers detecting data, such as a phone number, in an email or web page, creating a link to that data, and initiating an action like calling the phone number when the user selects the link. The data could also include addresses, dates, etc.
• US Patent No. 8,086,604 – this patent claims priority back to 2000 (issued Dec. 2011) and covers searching multiple sources of information (on device and elsewhere) through a single search interface, such as Siri. Apple specifically touts Siri in its injunction request, but also argues that a unified text search is covered by the patent as well.
• US Patent No. 8,046,721 – this patent claims priority back to 2005 (issued Oct. 2011) and covers Apple’s signature slide-to-unlock feature. While Apple already has patent coverage on an image unlock feature, this newest patent is obviously intended to be a bit broader — likely addressing potential workarounds implemented by Google and OEMs over the last couple of years.
• US Patent No. 8,074,172 – this patent was filed in 2007 (issued Dec. 2011) and covers providing word suggestions while the user types on a touchscreen keyboard, where the suggestions can be accepted or rejected by the user.

The first patent quoted above, #5,946,647, has already proven victorious for Apple, as the ITC has recently granted a sales ban against HTC devices based on that particular patent and it will be interesting to see whether the Galaxy Nexus will also be affected. At the same time, HTC did announce that it conceived a workaround to avoid using Apple’s technology and thus continue to sell its smartphones in the region.

From a different point of view, in the Apple vs Samsung and Samsung vs Apple conflicts, Apple has usually been the winner so far, although Samsung scored a few victories of its own, so we’re definitely going to follow closely this new lawsuit that targets such an important Android device.

Google’s free cloud-storage service will be called Google Drive according to the report, and seems likely that it will be attached to Google Docs or affiliated with Google Docs, Google’s cloud-based office productivity suite. According to the WSJ, Google Drive will allow people to store files, photos and videos on the internet.

There’s no word on how much storage Google Drive will offer, but with all the bandwidth and server farms that Google has, you have to imagine that it’ll probably be a fair bit. Google will be directly taking on Dropbox, in addition to Apple’s iCloud service and Microsoft’s SkyDrive service. Although the report doesn’t mention it, you have to expect Google Drive will have integration with Android and Chrome OS – allowing people using Android phones, tablets or Chrome netbooks to easily access their files stored on their Google Drive account. This would bring parity on with Apple does with the iPhone and iCloud.

No word on how this will affect Dropbox. The company has been growing by leaps and bounds and was called “one of Silicon Valley’s hottest start-ups” by the WSJ. The company allegedly turned down an acquisition offer from Apple in 2009.

What do you think? Are you excited for Google Drive? Do you think it’ll be better than Dropbox, or are planning to stick with the ‘box? Tell us about it in the comments setion.

While there aren’t that many smartphones sporting NFC support, those that do have it, including the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus may have a serious problem. Once rooted, the devices can be hacked by people with the right knowledge, to reveal the PIN of Google Wallet, which would give those people access to the stored credit cards.

Since the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus are among the preferred devices used by Android developers, it’s likely that those units usually get rooted. Naturally there’s no security risk when Google Wallet is not used on the device. There’s no risk when Google Wallet is enabled either as long as the device is not stolen by a third-party specifically interested in getting access to the user’s Google Wallet account.

Google is aware of the issue and it’s trying to fix it, and there is a way to resolve the matter, moving the PIN verification, which Google Wallet requires to grant access to the stored credit cards, to the secure element of the NFC chip in the device. Once that’s done, a simple “brute force attack” would not work anymore. That however is easier said than done as Google will have to relinquish any responsibility for the Google Wallet PIN to the banks:

The next issue was much more significant. Basically, by moving the PIN verification into the SE itself, this might constitute a “change of agency” responsible for keeping the PIN secure. The fear is that Google might no longer be responsible for the security of the PIN, but rather the banks themselves. If this is in fact the case, then the banks may need to follow their own policies and regulations regarding ATM PIN security which obviously, and rightly, receive a great deal of scrutiny.[…]

At present, the decision is in the banks’ hands. They may actually choose to accept the risk imposed by this vulnerability rather than incur the financial and administrative overhead of allowing Google to release a proper fix (and thereby potentially put the banks on the hook for the PIN security).

In the mean time, here’s what Google Wallet users can do to prevent hackers from getting access to their credit cards once the rooted phone would be stolen:

1. Do Not “Root” the Cell Phone – Doing so will be one less step for a thief.
2. Enable Lock Screens – “Face Unlock,” “Pattern,” “PIN” and “Password” all increase physical security to the device. “Slide,” however, does not.
3. Disable USB Debugging – When enabled, the data on mobile devices can be accessed without first passing a lock screen challenge unless Full Disk Encryption is also enabled.
4. Enable Full Disk Encryption – This will prevent even USB Debugging from bypassing the lock screen.
5. Maintain Device Up-To-Date – Ensure the device is current with the latest official software. Unfortunately, users are largely at the behest of their carrier and cell phone manufacturer for this. Using only official software and keeping devices up-to-date is the best way to minimize vulnerabilities and increase security overall.

Has anyone suffered such a Google Wallet attack?

Now the Wall Street Journal has it that Google is working on a home entertainment system whose main feature will be to stream wireless music, quite probably from the company’s Google Music service:

Google’s entertainment device, in development for several years, is expected to be unveiled later this year, people familiar with the matter said.

It’s unclear which retailers would sell the entertainment device, which would stream music from Google’s online music-storage service and pipe it wirelessly to Google-designed speakers or other Web-connected devices in people’s homes, according to these people. In the future, such a device could potentially stream other forms of digital media such as video, one of these people said.

We’re certainly surprised to hear that Google is interested in manufacturing such a product and we can’t but wonder what would motivate the company to develop it. Such a device could be controlled by mobile devices including smartphones and tablets, although it’s not known yet whether they must be Android devices. But there are no details regarding its specs and features and we should be looking at some spectacular characteristics to convince users to buy one. And there’s no indication the device will be based on Android either.

What’s also puzzling is that the device will not stream, at first, movies or TV shows, which is quite a strange decision.  And while Apple is expected to make around 17 billion in the first year alone from its rumored iTV product, the home-audio hardware business is valued at $8 billion per year, so Google won’t make a lot of cash off it, at least not initially.

Not to mention that the music business is largely dominated by Apple as the company has quite an important MP3 market share and a significant iOS customer base, also devices that can download and stream music from iTunes. And chances are that quite a few iPod and iOS device owners already own an iPod and/or iOS device dock that helps them transform the device into a home entertainment system.

So why is Google so interested in creating a Google-branded home entertainment device. Is it part of the company’s future Android@Home Android-based automated home vision? Will you purchase such a music-only entertainment device?

The report broke this morning in the Wall Street Journal. The news is that the US Justice Department will approve Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility, the consumer electronics side of Motorola, which spun off from Motorola Solutions (the infrastructure hardware company) in early 2011.

Despite the report that the US DoJ was approving the deal, the WSJ writes that US and European authorities are concerned about the amount of patents that Google will hold in the mobile space. Motorola has a very comprehensive patent portfolio, firstly from being the company that actually invented the mobile phone, and secondly from their acquisition of patents from the ill-fated Nortel Networks, a Canadian tech company.

As several Motorola patented technology became industry standards recognized by the IEEE, Motorola agreed to license the patents under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-describable) terms. As Google inherits these patents, they are expected to continue to offer FRAND patent licenses in good faith. Google, like Motorola, is a member of the IEEE Standards Association which comes up with the technical standards that rule the consumer tech industry (USB, WiFi, etc.)

Tell us, what do you think? Is Google buying Motorola a good thing, or will Google’s Android empire just get too big? Tell us what you think about the $12.5 billion deal in our comments section below.

After Microsoft criticized Google’s initiative in a series of newspaper ads and after we’ve seen the EU asking Google to postpone the privacy policy changes we now see the Electronic Privacy Information Center sue the company in the U.S. because of the proposed changes:

A lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center alleged Google violated a settlement agreement reached with U.S. regulators last March that requires consent from the user if Google collects information under one privacy policy and then changes the policy.

The group is asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction compelling the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to enforce the consent order.

“The Court must act now to prevent irreparable injury to EPIC and the public,” EPIC said in its court filing.

EPIC says that Google’s privacy policy changes will actually benefit advertisers, and therefore Google, as future ads will be better tailored to Google Account holders based on the aggregated data that those advertisers will be able to access. And that will happen without Google specifically asking for permission:

The group also challenged Google’s claim it is not collecting any new information. Aggregated data would give advertisers access to information about users that they were not privy to before, such as logged-in users’ YouTube search histories, EPIC said.

“Thus, Google will share new or additional information with third-party advertisers without first obtaining ‘express affirmative consent’ from Google users,” EPIC charged in court documents.

Naturally, Google says that the upcoming changes will not affect the way users control their privacy and the way personal data is collected and shared across Google services. But then again, that’s the kind of defense we’re expected to hear from Google.

We’ll be back with more news about Google’s new privacy policy changes, in the mean time let us know what you think about the move.

With the new privacy policy in place, Google will be able to use all your personal data from various Google services that you use in order to offer you a better Google experience, including ads specifically tailored to your needs, which is how the company is making its cash nowadays.

In addition to these policy changes, the company is interested to learn how the average user is using the Internet – apparently it doesn’t know that yet contrary to our believes – and Google will pay you to help shed more light on the matter. The company is conducting a special survey, with selected participants being rewarded $25. That’s not cash and that’s not upfront. Google will pay you $5 for signing up and then $5 in monthly installments using Amazon gift cards:

Google is building a new panel to learn more about how everyday people use the Internet.

The new project is called Screenwise. As a panelist, you’ll add a browser extension that will share with Google the sites you visit and how you use them. What we learn from you, and others like you, will help us improve Google products and services and make a better online experience for everyone.

What’s in it for you? Up to $25 in gift cards. Our panel management partner, Knowledge Networks, will give you a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card code instantly when you sign up and download the Google Screenwise browser extension.1 Then you’ll get additional $5 Amazon.com Gift Card codes every three months for staying with it.2 It’s our way of saying “Thank you.”

To be eligible to join, you must be 13 or older, have a Google Account (or sign up for one), and be ready to use the Google Chrome browser.

Are you going to let Google in your online life for $25? What is the right price for your privacy?

First of all, we’re looking at a beta version, which means Google will continue to develop it but that you shouldn’t be surprised if you discover any bugs while using it. But what’s most annoying about this Chrome mobile version is that it’s apparently only compatible with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwhich devices – and there aren’t that many to begin with.

Fragmentation – or differentiation – is apparently hurting Google in this instance. The company doesn’t even try to explain why older Android versions, especially Gingerbread and Honeycomb, will not get access to this first Chrome for Android version. But Google did release a characteristic cartoonish video to explain what the new mobile browser will have to offer:

Here’s what you can expect from the new browser:

Speed
With Chrome for Android, you can search, navigate and browse fast—Chrome fast. You can scroll through web pages as quickly as you can flick your finger. When searching, your top search results are loaded in the background as you type so pages appear instantly. And of course, both search and navigation can all be done quickly from the Chrome omnibox.

Simplicity
Chrome for Android is designed from the ground up for mobile devices. We reimagined tabs so they fit just as naturally on a small-screen phone as they do on a larger screen tablet. You can flip or swipe between an unlimited number of tabs using intuitive gestures, as if you’re holding a deck of cards in the palm of your hands, each one a new window to the web. […]

Sign in
You can now bring your personalized Chrome experience with you to your Android phone or tablet. If you sign in to Chrome on your Android device, you can:

• View open tabs: Access the tabs you left open on your computer (also signed into Chrome)—picking up exactly where you left off.
• Get smarter suggestions: If you visit a site often on your computer, you’ll also get an autocomplete suggestion for it on your mobile device, so you can spend less time typing.
• Sync bookmarks: Conveniently access your favorite sites no matter where you are or which device you’re using.

The application is now available in the Android Market, so if you have an ICS device, feel free to install it on your handset or tablet.

According to a recent FCC finding, Google is also working on a mystery device, which does not have a name at this time, but which is described as “an entertainment device” that needs to be tested appropriately in the following six months. Google is asking for permission to perform such tests in its Google labs but also in employees homes in four cities, Mountain View, Los Angeles, Cambridge and New York:

Please explain in the area below why an STA is necessary:

Google is developing an entertainment device that requires testing outside the laboratory environment. The device is in the prototyping phase and will be modified prior to final compliance testing.

Please explain the purpose of operation:

Testing throughput and stability of home WiFi networks using an entertainment device. Testing will include functional testing of all subsystems, including WiFi and Bluetooth radio. Users will connect their device to home WiFi networks and use Bluetooth to connect to other home electronics equipment. This line of testing will reveal real world engineering issues and reliability of networks. The device utilizes a standard WiFi/Bluetooth module, and the planned testing is not directed at evaluating the radio frequency characteristics of the module (which are known), but rather at the throughput and stability of the home WiFi networks that will support the device, as well as the basic functionality of the device. From this testing we hope to modify the design in order to maximize product robustness and user experience. Utilizing the requested number of units will allow testing of real world network performance and its impact on applications running on the device, so that any problems can be discovered and addressed promptly. All devices will be used by and registered to specific individuals (all Google employees), and Google will maintain a record of each device, so that they can be easily recalled at any time during testing and when testing is complete. The devices will be tested at Google facilities and within employees residences in the following areas: Mountain View, CA: 37.421265 N, -122.085314 W; Los Angeles, CA: 33.995388 N, -118.477035 W; Cambridge, MA: 42.362754 N, -71.088023 W; and New York, NY: 40.741872 N, -74.004579 W.

What product are we looking at? Is it some sort of homegrown Google TV? Is it an Android device specifically made for home entertainment? Is it Android @Home, an Android-based home automation product that would really require some proper home-testing before being launched? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Microsoft has been making such claims in newspaper ads a few days ago, with Google fighting back with ads of its own and a blog post to explain the existing myths about its advertising business. Unlike Microsoft, a Google competitor in various tech fields including search, productivity applications and mobile and computer operating system which doesn’t really have any power to stop Google from modifying its ToS as it sees fit, European regulators may have a more important word to say about such changes.

And it looks like a group of EU regulators have written to Google to stop the roll out of its new privacy policy in order to investigate the new ToS to see whether the user’s data is still protected following the upcoming changes:

The Article 29 Working Party, an independent body that brings together data protection authorities from each of the EU’s 27 countries and the EU’s executive European Commission, said it needed to examine Google’s plans more thoroughly before the search group’s policy comes into effect on March 1.

“Given the wide range of services you offer, and the popularity of these services, changes in your privacy policy may affect many citizens in most or all of the EU member states,” the group wrote to Google Chief Executive Larry Page on Feb. 2.

“We wish to check the possible consequences for the protection of the personal data of these citizens in a coordinated way,” it said, explaining that France’s data protection authority would be in charge of the investigation.

“In light of the above, we call for a pause in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google’s commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens, until we have completed our analysis.”

European commissioner in charge of data protection Viviane Reding is also supporting the requests saying that Google’s new privacy policy has to fully comply with EU law. Google already faces antitrust inquiries both in the U.S. and in the EU, so it’s probably safe the say the search giant does not want another EU probe into its business practices right now. Therefore it’s probably safe to say the privacy policy changes will be delayed to allow the EU regulators to investigate them. On the other hand, there’s always the chance Google will go forward with the planned ToS change, but we’ll certainly keep you updated on the matter. How do you feel about Google’s privacy policy change?

ZDNet’s Ed Bott made graphs showing how each of these three companies made their cash in the busy Christmas quarter, but he failed to observe that Apple’s total revenue and profit in the fourth quarter of 2011 are bigger than Microsoft’s and Google’s revenues and profits combined.

Apple, a hardware company has various products that sell very well with the crowds. The iPhone alone made more than half of Apple’s revenue last quarter, with the iPad coming in second followed by the Mac laptops. Apple also sells iPods, Mac desktops, and plenty of digital content through its iTunes, App Store and iBookstore storefronts. In Q4 2011 Apple got $46.33 million in revenue and $13.06 billion in net income.

Google is an advertising-only company – or better said, advertising-mostly company – with 96% of revenues for the last two years coming from ads. Which is why Google is investigated in so many antitrust cases, as in more than one instance, the company has been accused of leveraging certain products it offers customers in order to boost ads revenue. Google wants in on the Android device manufacturing side of its mobile business, and that will happen once its proposed Motorola purchase is approved. In Q4 2011 Google reported $10.58 billion and net income of $2.71 billion.

Microsoft is a software company, having a huge market share in the PC business where its Windows OS and Office productivity suite have no real rivals. The company also did very well last quarter selling Xbox 360 units and Kinect sensors, the only successful Microsoft hardware to date. The Windows Phone business is not a cash cow yet, and it may take a while until it brings in serious revenue. In Q4 2011 Microsoft brought in revenues of $20.89 billion and $6.62 billion net income.

Various tech sites have speculated as to why Google decided to pull developer support for these devices, with some folks suggesting that the whole Google Wallet issue between the search giant and Verizon when it comes to the Galaxy Nexus. But that doesn’t appear to be the case as Google has posted an explanation regarding the Galaxy Nexus:

Hello! This is a quick clarification about support for CDMA devices.

For various technical reasons, recent CDMA Android devices implement core telephony functionality in .apk files provided in binary form by the carriers. To function correctly, these .apk files must be signed by the so-called “platform” key. However, when an individual creates a custom build from the AOSP source code, they don’t use the same signing key as these CDMA flies were signed with.

The result is that these files don’t work properly, and pure AOSP builds running on these devices can’t place calls, access mobile data, and so on. Because we aim to make sure that we are as clear as possible about the degree of support that devices have, we updated the docs over at source.android.com to reflect this reality.

We will still make available as many as possible of the closed-source binaries for these devices, and Nexus devices will continue to have unlockable bootloaders. And, of course, GSM/HSPA+ devices are still supported, as are any other devices we’re able to support. We’ve simply updated the documentation to be clearer about the current extent of CDMA support.

We are of course always working to improve support, and we’ll keep everyone updated as we make improvements. Thanks as always for your interest in AOSP!

The fact that the LTE/CDMA Galaxy Nexus is no longer a supported developer tool doesn’t mean that the device will not continue to receive the latest Android updates, since the smartphone is still a Nexus-branded handset. And all Google Android phones will continue to be upgraded to the latest Android version in a timely manner, at least as long as they’re compatible with such upgrades.

Let’s hear it from Android developers out there, anyone annoyed by Google’s decision to stop supporting CDMA devices in its Android Developer program?

That being said and as much as we hate to admit it — this months numbers are once again as we would have guessed. Bottom line, the older versions such as 1.5 and 1.6 are still holding some ground and the newer version — Android 4.x Ice Cream Sandwich is slowly gaining traction. Of course, on the note of Ice Cream Sandwich, we should point out that Android 4.x now has a full 1 percent of the share. Nonetheless, Gingerbread remains dominant. Anyway, without any further adieu, here are the numbers for the month of January 2011;

• Android 1.5 – 0.6 percent
• Android 1.6 – 1.0 percent
• Android 2.1 – 7.6 percent
• Android 2.2 – 27.8 percent
• Android 2.3 to 2.3.2 – 0.5 percent
• Android 2.3.3 to 2.3.4 – 58.1 percent
• Android 3.0 – 0.1 percent
• Android 3.1 – 1.4 percent
• Android 3.2 – 1.9 percent
• Android 4.0 to 4.0.2 – 0.3 percent
• Android 4.0.3 – 0.7 percent

To sum up the differences, we saw very few changes when comparing these latest numbers to what we saw in December. Cupcake remained the same, Donut dropped by 0.1 percent, Eclair dropped by 0.9 percent, Froyo dropped by 2.6 percent, Gingerbread increased by 3.1 percent, Honeycomb increased by 0.1 percent and Ice Cream Sandwich increased by 0.4 percent. Otherwise, here are the numbers from last month (December 2011);

• Android 1.5 – 0.6 percent
• Android 1.6 – 1.1 percent
• Android 2.1 – 8.5 percent
• Android 2.2 – 30.4 percent
• Android 2.3 to 2.3.2 – 0.6 percent
• Android 2.3.3 to 2.3.4 – 54.9 percent
• Android 3.0 – 0.1 percent
• Android 3.1 – 1.5 percent
• Android 3.2 – 1.7 percent
• Android 4.0 to 4.0.2 – 0.3 percent
• Android 4.0.3 – 0.3 percent

Bottom line, Ice Cream Sandwich is making progress but it will likely be at least a few more months before we see any serious progress being made in terms of user percentage and Gingerbread remains on top with nearly 60 percent of the user base. And the sad sounding part, the now old and outdated versions of Cupcake and Donut still have more share as compared to Ice Cream Sandwich.

That’s quite a good deal for most Android users, but France authorities do not appreciate such free products. In fact, a French commercial court decided that Google Maps poses a serious threat to a French mapping company, Bottin Cartographes – which has a similar service to Google Maps, but a paid one. This particular case is not Android-related, as Google has been found guilty of providing free mapping solutions (Google Maps APIs) to some local businesses. Thus the company has been engaging in unfair competition against the French company that also targets the same kind of companies with its paid mapping tool.

The court upheld the company’s unfair competition complaint against Google France and Google Inc and decided to award 500,000 Euros, or around $660,000, in damages to the plaintiff. In addition to that Google will have to pay a 15,000 Euros fine.

The decision is certainly interesting, but maybe not unexpected in the region, as this is not the first time Google has been fined by French regulators. Last March, Google was fined 100,000 Euros for collecting private information during its Street View picture-taking rounds. The Mountain View faced harsh criticism over the same matter in Germany as well, so it would be interesting whether this rulling in this Google Maps case would be followed by similar verdicts in other countries.

While the French case dragged on for two years – and the fight may not be over yet as Google plans to appeal the decision – we’re not aware at this time whether Google is facing similar claims in other markets.

As for regular Android Google Maps users, let’s remember that Nokia also has its own free navigation solution for its mobile devices, and nobody has been complaining about it yet.

And a rival like Microsoft will not just sit by and let this policy change slide, at least from a marketing standpoint. The Redmond-based company has purchased a round of anti-Google newspaper ads part of a “Putting People First” campaign, which is meant to show the advantages of Microsoft products, compared to similar offerings from Google, from the privacy point of view. The products that Microsoft advertises are Hotmail, Bing, Microsoft Office 365 and Internet Explorer.

Here’s what the ad above reads:

Google is in the process of making some unpopular changes to some of their most popular products. Those changes, cloaked in language like “transparency,” simplicity” and “consistency” are really about one thing: making it easier for Google to connect the dots between everything you search, send, say or stream while using one of their services.

But, the way they’re doing it is making it harder for you to maintain control of your personal information. Why are they so interested in doing this that they would risk this kind of backlash? One logical reason: Every data point they collect and connect to you increases how valuable you are to an advertiser.

To be clear, there’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting to improve the quality of an advertising product. But, that effort needs to be balanced with continuing to meet the needs and interests of users. Every business finds its own balance and attracts users who share those priorities. Google’s new changes have upset that balance, with users’ priorities being de-prioritized. That’s why people are concerned and looking for alternatives.

If these changes rub you the wrong way, please consider using our portfolio of award-winning products and services: […]

Microsoft is very clear about its intentions, and I’ll have to say that unlike the Samsung anti-Apple smear campaign, this ad is not offensive in any way. But are the facts presented by Microsoft accurate?

As expected in this game, Google has responded to Microsoft’s own claims by placing ads on various websites including the Washington Post that simply say “We’re changing our Privacy Policy. Not your privacy controls.”

Furthermore the company has published a posts on its Google Public Policy blog in which it’s “busting myths about [their] approach to privacy.” Here are the myths Google is debunking, and it’s pretty clear that the Mountain View giant is going after Microsoft with this one:

• Myth: In 2011, Google made $36 billion selling information about users like you. [Fairsearch - PDF]
• Fact: Google does not sell, trade or rent personally identifiable user information. Advertisers can run ads on Google that are matched to search keywords, or use our services to show ads based on anonymous data, such as your location or the websites you’ve visited.

• Myth: Google’s Privacy Policy changes make it harder for users to control their personal information. [Microsoft]
• Fact: Our privacy controls have not changed. Period. Our users can: edit and delete their search history; edit and delete their YouTube viewing history; use many of our services signed in or out; use Google Dashboard and our Ads Preferences Manager to see what data we collect and manage the way it is used; and take advantage of our data liberation efforts if they want to remove information from our services.

• Myth: Google is changing our Privacy Policy to make the data we collect more valuable to advertisers. [Microsoft]
• Fact: The vast majority of the product personalization Google does is unrelated to ads—it’s about making our services better for users. Today a signed-in user can instantly add an appointment to their Calendar when a message in Gmail looks like it’s about a meeting, or read Google Docs within their email.

• Myth: Google reads your email. [Microsoft]
• Fact: No one reads your email but you. Like most major email providers, our computers scan messages to get rid of spam and malware, as well as show ads that are relevant to you.

• Myth: Google Apps aren’t safe, and aren’t government-certified. [Microsoft]
• Fact: Google’s Apps are certified for government use because they are secure.

• Myth: Google’s Privacy Policy changes jeopardize government information in Google Apps. [SafeGov.org]
• Fact: Our new Privacy Policy does not change our contractual agreements, which have always superseded Google’s Privacy Policy for enterprise customers.

• Myth: Microsoft’s approach to privacy is better than Google’s. [Microsoft]
• Fact: We don’t make judgments about other people’s policies or controls. But our industry-leading Privacy Dashboard, Ads Preferences Manager and data liberation efforts enable you to understand and control the information we collect and how we use it—and we’ve simplified our privacy policy to make it easier to understand. Microsoft has no data liberation effort or Dashboard-like hub for users. Their privacy policy states that “information collected through one Microsoft service may be combined with information obtained through other Microsoft services.”

What do you think, Google and Microsoft product users? Who’s right and who’s wrong about online privacy?

It’s being called Update 3.2_2012012601, and that long string of numbers is more than just a tongue twister–a whole lot more indeed. The biggest additions to the lineup that come with that update are some boosts to Chrome’s performance–which in turn some believe might well bring the experience of older devices up to par with the experience of newer devices that Sony was showing off out at CES a couple weeks back–and support for 3D Blu-ray playback.

This definitely gives the older devices a much-needed extra boost, and a boost that Sony will no doubt welcome now that Logitech bugged out of the Google TV market, leaving Sony the only game in town before the upcoming releases said to be in the works from the crews out at LG and Vizio, among others, coming soon to the market. And if Sony wants to make as much hay as possible while the sun shines, adding on extra features by way of a simple product update is a great way to do that.

The question that remains, of course, is will Sony be able to get new faces in the door in sufficient number to keep their Google TV line afloat in the face of upcoming competition. A tall order by any stretch, especially considering the sheer number of non-Google TV devices already on the market, but updates like these should go a long way to help.

But what do you guys think? Anyone out there with a Sony Google TV looking forward to the updates? Or do you figure the end result here will leave Sony wanting for business? No matter what your opinion on Google TV, we always like hearing from you, so head on down to the comments section below and let us know what’s on your mind!

The ROM, found by the folks at the xda-developers forum, seems to be authentic, and several who have tried installing it report no instability apparent, as well as some improvements as far as WiMAX speeds go once the new included baseband update gets in there and working. The ROM is said to be version 4.0.4, which, between that and the reports of minimal instability, suggests that a full release of Ice Cream Sandwich can’t be too far behind for Sprint devices.

Of course, if you’ve already waited long enough–and it has been something of a wait–you can always try installing the ROM yourself. This is, however, something of a dangerous practice and will almost certainly invalidate your warranty if nothing else, and it may well do more damage than that, so those who do take the run at it should back up their devices and prepare for the worst, as they’re doing so at their own risk.

But either way, it’s a fair bet that Ice Cream Sandwich is going to start making it onto Android devices all around out there, because if it’s already coming out unofficially, the official release really can’t be that far behind. Especially when you consider that Google has been pushing out Ice Cream Sandwich updates for the GSM version of the Nexus S as far back as December.

So what about you guys? Anyone planning to take the chance on the unofficial ROM and add it to their hardware themselves? Anyone actually do this already and have some quality reports to provide for us? No matter where you’re falling in on this one, we definitely want to hear from you, so head on down to the comments section and let’s talk Ice Cream Sandwich!

A Russian website has gotten hold of an image that suggests a couple of new features for Windows Phone Tango, Skype integration and Google+ support. We’re not surprised to hear that Skype will be a native Windows Phone app in the future since Skype is a Microsoft-owned company, but we’re certainly surprised to see that Google+ support is also apparently built-in Windows Phone Tango. Or has the image below been manufactured?

Meanwhile, The Verge is also reporting on some of Tango’s future features, which means that more and more details about Tango will be available way ahead of the mobile operating system’s official launch. The publication notes that Tango will support up to three times as many languages as Mango does, or around 120, which suggests that Microsoft will push OEMs and carriers to sell Windows Phone smartphones in as many international markets as possible, a move that could help Redmond to gather more market share.

Another interesting feature for developers is C++ support, which should certainly be appreciated by game creators and not only. Tango is also rumored to support 256MB RAM, which means that Microsoft seems ready to invest time and energy in lower-end Windows Phone handsets, again, a move that should help Microsoft get more market share by way of selling cheaper WP handsets in various markets. Up until now, Microsoft had some strict hardware for WP handsets, with 512MB of RAM being the standard for current devices.

Tango is expected to arrive at some point in the second quarter of 2012, and we’ll probably hear more details about Microsoft’s upcoming mobile OS version at the Mobile World Congress even taking place in Barcelona, Spain in late February. Not to mention that on top of Tango there’s also a Windows Phone Apollo version, which we’re interested in hearing more details about.

Have you purchased a WP handset yet?

The Galaxy Nexus has been launched in mid-December last year by Verizon, costing $299.99 with new two-year contracts. Amazon has started selling the Galaxy Nexus recently for just $99.99 with new two-year contracts to new Verizon subscribers, but if you’re not interested in choosing Verizon as your Galaxy Nexus carrier then Sprint seems to be the only way to go, at least for now.

Google has already put up a sign-up page for the Sprint Galaxy Nexus (see above), although the search giant is not revealing any launch dates or prices for the device yet. Since Sprint is going to turn on its 4G LTE network in various markets in the first half of the year, without specific launch dates, the carrier will probably launch the device only once the first Sprint markets get LTE support and not before.

What’s also important to know is that the Sprint Galaxy Nexus will come with slightly improved specs and features as the device will sport a more powerful 1.5GHz dual core processor and offer Google Wallet NFT payment support right out of the box, unlike Verizon’s model.

T-Mobile is also rumored to launch the Galaxy Nexus at some point in the future, which sounds more than plausible considering the mobile operator has also carried the previous two Nexus-branded devices. At the same time, the current GSM Galaxy Nexus selling in Europe and other international markets is also compatible with AT&T, although the nation’s second largest carrier has not confirmed yet any interest in the new Nexus device.

Anyone interested in the Galaxy Nexus from Sprint?

Reuters reports that Steve Jobs himself wrote an email in March 2007 to Eric Schmidt to ask him to stop hiring Apple employees:

“I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this,” Jobs wrote.

Schmidt forwarded Job’s email onto other, undisclosed recipients.

“Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening?” Schmidt wrote.

Google’s staffing director responded that the employee who contacted the Apple engineer “will be terminated within the hour.”

He added: “Please extend my apologies as appropriate to Steve Jobs.”

Apparently that’s not the only email that has been discovered in the lawsuit. An other note, also from 2007, reveals an alleged agreement between Intel’s Paul Otellini and Google’s Eric Schmidt:

“Let me clarify. We have nothing signed,” Otellini wrote. “We have a handshake ‘no recruit’ between eric and myself. I would not like this broadly known.”

Both Intel and Google disagree with the accusations, and that’s probably what other companies targeted by the class action suit will also declare. Apple has not yet commented on the newly revealed email exchange between Jobs and Schmidt.

It’s certainly understandable that such companies would want to protect their main assets, the employees that help develop the interesting products that we use on a daily basis, but that does not mean the employees would appreciate such agreements. It will certainly be interested to see where such class action suits are heading especially considering that in 2010 Google, Apple, Adobe, Intel, Intuit and Pixar have agreed not to enter in any “no-poach” agreements following a probe from the U.S. Justice Department.

The details have been posted by the folks over at the Google Sync team and break down as follows beginning with the changes to Calendar. In short, you can now configure multiple calendars to sync with your device. According to Google;

“Multiple Calendars is a feature that lets you select which of your Google Calendars are synced to your device. Just navigate to m.google.com/sync on your phone’s browser and configure the calendars you would like to see.”

In addition, once on the m.google.com/sync page you will also be able to set-up the next change — the ability to configure your “send mail as” address within Gmail. This one should help those who have multiple custom addresses set-up in their Gmail account. Another point dealing with the Gmail side of things, this latest change has also brought some improvements for search. This one means that you will now be able to “look beyond the conversations that are stored locally on your device.” In other words, Google Sync for Windows Phone will now allow you to search Gmail for locally stored and cloud stored conversations.

All said and done, while these items may not be anything over the top exciting, they should make things a bit nicer for those who consider themselves more of a power user. And once again, those looking to get this all set-up will only need to grab their Windows Phone device, launch the browser and navigate to m.google.com/sync to get going.

The emergency alerts can be observed by going to google.org/publicalerts and checking out the existing situations that the general public should be aware of. Various alerts are now available in the U.S. but also in other regions of the world and they should help travelers properly plan their trips and driving routes to avoid any dangerous situations.

The Google Crisis Response team has created the new alerts system, which uses various alerts from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). As you can see in the image above, the new alerts system shows on the map the location of the alert. Clicking on it gets you to a page where more details about that specific alert are offered including the alert duration, the affected region and the alert message. The page also contains a “Recommended actions” area for users, which offers them a toll free area to call and even tweeting instructions for the selected alert.

In addition to travelers, the new Google Maps feature should also come in handy to residents of various areas that are hit by various disasters on a regular basis. This new feature could certainly help save lives in a variety of instances, as users would be able to instantly check out existing emergency alerts and plan an evacuation accordingly.

While the mobile version of Google Maps may not include the Google Public Alerts feature yet, it can certainly be accessed by going to the browser of your mobile device. Let’s just hope you never really have to use it!

A few weeks ago, thanks to a leak, we learned that Sprint will launch the Galaxy Nexus later this year as its first LTE-ready handset, and the carrier confirmed everything a few days later during its CES event. Just as we suspected a long time ago. And the Galaxy Nexus could hit a third American carrier, T-Mobile, according to a new report.

CellPhoneSignal dug up a document that mentions a Samsung SGH-T999 device that would offer a touchscreen display with 1,280 x 720 resolution, although that’s not really confirmation that the Galaxy Nexus will hit T-Mobile in the near future. But it’s certainly an indication that this could happen since models that start with T and end in 9 are apparently made for T-Mobile. And that sort of a screen size does suggest we could be looking at T-Mobile’s next Nexus handset.

The original Nexus was made by HTC and launched by Google and T-Mobile in early 2010. The device was sort of a flop since it came with a few unexpected, and unfixable 3G bugs, with HTC, Google and T-Mobile not really taking responsibility for what has happened. Nevertheless, the Nexus was quite a popular device. Then T-Mobile launched the second-generation Nexus handset, the Samsung Nexus S, so it’s only logical to see the carrier sell the Galaxy Nexus at some point in the future, especially since Apple is yet to bring its iPhone to the nation’s fourth largest mobile operator.

While we’re at it, we’re certainly interested to hear more details about the Galaxy Nexus’ sales performance. We know Apple sold quite a few million iPhone units last quarter, but how many Galaxy Nexuses have been sold during the same period?

And Google has a new challenge for us, which it announced officially earlier today, “some changes to [their] privacy policies and Google Terms of Service.” In short, Google will now use all the data it can collect about you via the Google services you already use, in all the Google applications you will be using. The ultimate goal, Google says, is to offer you better results to your online searches, specifically tailored for you actual interests.

At the same time Google says it will continue to protect your privacy and that it won’t share your data with any third parties. You’ll still be able to export your data, if you want to cancel your Google account, and that’s great, but do we really want to have all our data merged into one big resource that would be available to the search giant at its own discretion?

Is it a bad or a good move from Google? That’s for you to decide. Some of you may like the fact that Google can use a bunch of information it collects about you to offer you better assistance during the day – this includes calendar appointments, maps and other services in addition to search results. Some of you may not like it as you’ll want to enjoy as much anonymity as possible once online. And Google is just about to break that anonymity by tying together all that information it holds about you in one single virtual file.

Whether you like it or not, that will happen as Google will merge its over 70 ToS for different services into a single one starting with March 1. At which point you’ll have to agree with it, or stop using your existing Google account. This announcement comes days after Google modified its Google Account sign-up page to include a mandatory sign up for its Google+ social network. And we’re certainly curious to hear what’s coming next from the Search giant.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because there currently exists a similar setup for the iOS environment. Whatever apps don’t make it to the App Store, and there are plenty of them that get turned down by Apple’s App Store watchdogs, will almost certainly turn up on Cydia, a huge unofficial app repository for iOS devices. Naturally, Apple does not support Cydia and in order to reach it users will have to first jailbreak their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, a procedure that installs the Cydia app store automatically on those devices.

While the image above shows us that the developer is actively working on this CyanogenMod App Store, there’s no launch date for the new store and we have no idea how long it will take Dutta to open it to developers. When it comes to access to the CyanogenMod App Store we would imagine that the Android devices will have to be rooted to get in, but we’ll probably get more details about it once we near the actual release of this new app repository.

Once launched, the new app store will work just like any other app store. Users will have access to free and paid apps, and developers will have to pay a percentage of what they earn from their paid applications to the curators of the store.

Are you a developer interested in selling your apps via this new Android Market alternative? Have you been denied access to the Android Market?

Over at the White House Blog, deputy director of outreach Kori Schulman announces that the administration is now officially on Google+, with the White House Google+ page now open. Now, Google+ users can follow updates, participate in discussions and even watch relevant Hangouts, where President Obama will regularly air updates and discussions.

The White House Page promises to echo news from the White House’s official blog, share behind-the-scenes photos and videos, and let readers participate in providing feedback to the government. One thing being highlighted is the Google+ Hangouts feature, which promises relevant discussions among White House officials and policy experts on pressing issues.

During its initial launch, Google+ was limited as an individual-only social network, in which only actual persons were allowed to have accounts. Google then launched Google+ Pages for Businesses and Brands later in the year to support companies and organizations that likewise wanted to have a presence on Google+. Even with a slow uptake at first, Google reports its pages for brands feature to be a success, with companies eager to establish their brand’s presence on the social network. Meanwhile, Google+ itself has gained more than 90 million users as of this month, according to Google CEO Larry Page.

If policy and governance issues are your thing, you can add the White House Google+ page to your circles, and get active in the discussions.

While Google and Kansas City made an agreement to bring in the extremely fast internet connection some time ago, the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities seems to be getting in the way of the operation, saying that it hasn’t yet received an approval of said agreement. The primary issue seems to be one of line placement, in which Google wants to place the lines for their fiber connection in the same general area as the city’s power lines, and do so without fees from the city. This is almost never done, apparently, due to maintenance concerns (if the Google Fiber wires go down, then they have to have access to the city’s power system to fix it).

As a result, Google is trying to figure out whether to hire engineers to finish the installation, which will result in high up-front costs, or pay market rates to install their wires where the telecommunications firms install theirs, which involves additional fees. This figuring has pushed the project back from its original launch date of the first quarter of this year (they were supposed to start signing up customers late last year, but this did not happen) clear back to a date best described as “no one’s sure”.

Interestingly, a comparable deal in Kansas City, Missouri seems to be proceeding apace, and may well be installed before that of Kansas.

Right now there are probably a couple dozen city employees in the making rubbing their palms gleefully together and plotting their “Vote For Me–I Won’t Get In The Way Of Super-Fast Internet” campaigns. But sheer hypotheticals aside, it’s never a good thing to have access to an impressive piece of infrastructure of the type Google’s looking to put in and then hamstring it with a lot of red tape.

So what do you guys think of this? Kansas City readers, we definitely want to hear from you too! So head on down to the comments section and let’s talk Google Fiber!

The changes were noticed and have been reported by the folks over at the Google Operating System blog where they break it down as follows;

“If you try to create a Google account from Google’s homepage, you’ll notice that Google redesigned the page, but that’s not all. You’ll now have to create a Gmail account, a Google Profile and you’ll automatically join Google+.”

Simply put, gone are the days where you could head over to Gmail and set up a new email account with little information and little time to do so. Previously you had to enter little more than some basic account information and an existing email address. Coming from a look at this new setup, Google will now require your first and last name, username (email), password, birthdate, gender, mobile phone number, alternate email address and evidence that you are not a robot which comes in the form of a CAPTCHA.

Otherwise, in addition to a tiny bit more information being required, you will then be shuffled off to set up your Google Profile page and your Google+ account. Sounds like a sure fire way for Google to bolster their Google+ numbers. Then again, being a user of many Google services, this idea does not seem all that bad to me.

And lastly, as it seems Google has not entirely rolled this out for all (potential new) users or for all properties. Bottom line, you may still be able to sneak in using the old sign-up process, however it looks like that may be coming to an end sooner rather than later.

Google CEO Larry Page has just finished with the company’s first earnings call for 2012. Along with announcements on the company’s financial status and performance at the start of the year, Page shared that the search giant’s fledgling social network has soared to heights, with 90 million users so far globally. This is double the figure that Page announced in October and about a third more than the December figure, signalling that the social network is likely to reach its growth tipping point soon.

I am super excited about the growth of Android, Gmail, and Google+, which now has 90 million users globally – well over double what I announced just three months ago. By building a meaningful relationship with our users through Google+ we will create amazing experiences across our services.

Google says they’ve been incorporating new features each day, with Google+ including 200 updates in total since its launch in June, including new hangout features, circles in Gmail and Pages for businesses. Additionally, Page shares that Google+ users are active, with over 60% using the service daily to engage with other users, and over 80% connecting on a weekly basis.

Senior VP for social business Vic Gundotra says that Google is still in the early stages of “having deep support for your identity and your relationships” with its Gmail, Android, Chrome, Search, Ads, and YouTube, which means social networking and online identity will play a bigger part in these services in the long term.

With this, Google and Facebook seem to be taking a different stance each on social networking. Facebook wants to integrate information from all possible sources into Facebook user profiles. Meanwhile, Google wants to focus on core services, and is making sure these interface and interconnect better with the Google+ identity. Which will prevail? Google+ currently has about 11% of Facebook’s userbase, but there is potential in tapping into Gmail, YouTube and Search users.

Above the fold ads refer to ad banners, images or links that appear on the first instance a webpage loads — meaning before the user finds the need to scroll down the page on the browser. These ads usually sell at a premium price, as advertisers want instant visibility. Meanwhile, website owners often find the need to sacrifice some usability and aesthetics when ads are placed above the fold. In the same light, Google says users have indicated that they want to see content rather than ads.

We’ve heard complaints from users that if they click on a result and it’s difficult to find the actual content, they aren’t happy with the experience. Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away.

Google says that the algorithm change is likely to only impact about 1% of searches globally. Google anti-spam head Matt Cutts says that website owners will also have to look into making sure their content loads properly with different browser sizes, considering the rising popularity of tablet computers and smartphones. Google says it will automatically adjust ranking for sites that adjust their layouts accordingly.

However, Google does not share quantitative measures that can help determine whether a website is top-heavy, so designers will have to consider the varying standard screen resolutions, and make a qualitative judgement on whether a site has too many advertisement units above the fold. We figure this is not likely to cause a stir among the webmaster community, though, especially those that do have legitimate and quality content.

A new study shows that the iPad doesn’t have any contestants, and of all the Android devices the Kindle Fire is the most popular with the crowds, although Amazon’s Kindle Fire sales are incomparable to Apple’s iPad sales, at least for now. While the Kindle Fire has been available for about two months, it has apparently outsold more impressive contenders like the QNX-based BlackBerry PlayBook and the Android-based Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tabs. In fact, the Kindle Fire seems to be a Google Android tablet killer, something we talked about in the past – where by Google Android tablet I mean Honeycomb and Ice Cream tablets as Amazon’s device runs a custom OS version.

But what does Chitika’s graph above tell us? Analyzing Internet activity based on ad impressions during December 30th and January 9 in the U.S. and Canada for the iPad, Kindle Fire, BlackBerry Playbook, Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab, the company discovered that for every 100 iPad ad impressions the other mentioned tablets get less than 7.50 ad impressions as follows:

• Kindle Fire – 2.4 ad impressions per 100 iPad impressions
• Playbook – 1.8 ad impressions per 100 iPad impressions
• Motorola Xoom – 1.55 ad impressions per 100 iPad impressions
• Samsung Galaxy Tab – 1.60 ad impressions per 100 iPad impressions

In addition to the impressive performance of the Kindle Fire – and I’m using “performance” very loosely here since the iPad is killing the competition – I’ll also notice the poor “Samsung Galaxy” numbers. Chitika doesn’t refer to a specific Galaxy Tab version, but rather condenses the whole family under the “Samsung Galaxy” moniker. And Samsung’s family isn’t doing that great, at least in the U.S. and Canada, according to this study, which used a sample of hundreds of millions of impressions.

In a few days Apple will share more details about iPad sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 and we certainly expect the company to report new record sales while the competition can only dream about such numbers, at least for now. In the mean time, let’s hear it from you, what tablet did you purchase?

The details coming from Google include that the campaign has been dubbed Good to Know and their aim is to make the “web a safer, more comfortable place.” And for what it is worth, Google has noted that this is their “biggest-ever consumer education campaign.”

Of course, some of the TFTS readers may already be familiar with this effort from Google as they have already began in the UK and Germany sometime last fall. It seems that the kick off today is specifically for US based readers. Our take, regardless if you are in the UK or Germany or even the US or some other not specifically named country — there is probably a tip or two that you can use.

As for what the Good to Know campaign will offer, Google notes that it will focus on privacy and security. More specifically, some of the items they are suggesting include using 2-step verifications (when available), remembering to lock your computer when you step away, making sure you have a secure connection to websites and also diving a little further in and covering topics such as cookies and IP addresses.

The Good to Know campaign will bring goodies such as privacy videos as well as other online goodies such as the Google Security Center, the Family Safety Center, Teach Parents Tech and more. Of course, we have also seen some others from Google including the Google Dashboard, Me on the Web and even some features found in Google+ Circles.

Google is also going to use ads in regular newspapers and magazines to help promote this campaign. And lastly, those living in either New York and/or Washington DC may even see an advertising poster in the subways.

Yup, this latest seems to be all about fun. It is also something that we are not sure everyone is going to appreciate. But that being said, we here at TFTS love a good meme as much as anyone else and therefore welcome this new addition. This one is rather simple, Google+ is becoming more meme-friendly.

The latest will allow Google+ users to add “funny text to photos.” Or as we like to say, it will allow users to *attempt* to create that next great meme. Of course, with every great new meme that surfaces we suspect more than a handful will fail and die a miserable and unshared death. But hey, one will have to try.

Anyway, the announcement comes by way of Google employee Colin McMillen who breaks it down as follows;

“Adding a few words can turn a silly photo into a ROFL, or draw attention to what you find most interesting. Today we’re rolling out a feature that makes it easier to add big, bold text on top of your photos.

To try it out, drop a photo into the sharebox on Google+, then click the “Add text” button underneath the photo. Type in something funny, then share and enjoy.”

With that, this new feature will be rolling out over the next few days, which should mean that all Google+ users will have it sooner rather than later. Otherwise, have fun and if you want to try to get your new funny texted photo to stand out, make sure you share it on Google+ and tag it with #funwithphotos.

Google started implementing its 2-step verification process early in 2011 to help combat phishing attacks and fraudulent logins. With the system, a user is required to enter one’s password on a PC (or mobile web browser), and input a short code sent to a verified mobile device via SMS or other means. This way, the system can better determine if it’s indeed the user who wishes to gain access.

This could sometimes prove cumbersome, but given the spate of username and password thefts that malicious hackers have perpetrated of late, it’s one way to protect one’s online data and identity, especially if using public computers. With the new QR-based login, a user will have to scan a QR code onscreen before Google grants access. The system is still being tested, but the steps involved are as follows:

• A user goes to http://accounts.google.com/sesame, which will generate a QR code onscreen;
• User takes a snapshot of the QR code with a compatible Android or iPhone app;
• The smartphone opens the resulting URL on the mobile browser;
• If the smartphone user is currently logged in to one’s Google account, access is then granted. If not, he or she will have to key in the correct username and password combination;
• The next page will warn users to only proceed if one has scanned a barcode from “google.com.”
• User can then choose to start with Gmail or with iGoogle by tapping the appropriate button on the smartphone screen;
• The web browser will automatically refresh to reflect the user’s choice.

I tried the new system with my Android smartphone, and it worked. But, since I had two-step verification enabled, the post-login page from the smartphone prompted me to key in the verification code, which was sent to me via SMS. But after that, login proceeded without a glitch. Assuming you’re already logged in on your mobile web browser, it’s a matter of clicking which page to open — Gmail or iGoogle. Either way, this system certainly makes it more secure to login to a public terminal, especially with the risk of keyloggers taking password information physically from the keyboard.

In case you’re wondering — we’re curious about the use of “sesame,” too. Perhaps Google’s next login system will involve the user yelling “Open, sesame!” for Gmail access.

Apple’s brand is worth $33.492 billion, according to Bloomberg‘s release of the Interbrand Best Global Brands 2011 report. According to the study, Apple’s brand value is the largest this year, by far, at 58% year-on-year increase over its 2010 value. In the previous year, Apple was ranked #17, and its jump in 2011 far exceeded that of Amazon’s increase — which was the closest — at 32%.

In the list are a few other technology companies, like IBM, Microsoft and Google. Big Blue holds the #2 top spot, at $69.905 billion. Redmond’s software giant is at third place, valued at $59.087 billion. Meanwhile, the Mountain View search leader and Android maker is at #4 spot, valued at $55.317 billion.

However, even if IBM and Google are valued higher, their brands’ growth is not as high as Apple’s. IBM’s brand value grew only 8% from 2010. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s brand value actually fell 3% from its 2010 figure. Aside from these, other tech companies have also made it to the top 20, including Samsung at 17th place, and Nokia at 14th.

Remember that these figures do not correspond to market capitalization, but rather the brand value. Apple has, at some point, held the top spot as the most valuable company in the world, in terms of market value. But with a 58% jump in brand value, is Apple set to become the top-valued brand in the next few years? Coca-Cola is currently at #1 spot, so this might mean that more people in the world want a Coke than they want an iPhone, but with the popularity of the iPhone, iPad, iPods and Macs, this might change in a few years.

Google this week introduced changes to its search engine so that results feature photos, news and comments from Google+, naming the new function “Search, Plus Your World.” Users who opt for Google+ see personal information about their friends included from the social networking service when they enter a query. The changes sparked a backlash from bloggers, privacy groups and competitors who said the inclusion of Google+ results unfairly promotes the company’s products over other information on the Web.

Since Google+ got preferential treatment in search results, the competition raised concerns on this new Google practice and it looks like the Federal Trade Commission is going to investigate the matter. According to Bloomberg, the commission is expanding its antitrust probe “to include scrutiny of its new Google+ social networking service.”The FTC is not commenting on the FTC investigation apparently, although we’re not surprised to see the Commission interested in more Google practices when it comes to its Search business. Google’s point of view is that its new Search improvements are here for the good of the customer:

“We believe that our improvements to search will benefit consumers,” Adam Kovacevich, a spokesman for Mountain View, California-based Google, said in an e-mail. “The laws are designed to help consumers benefit from innovation, not to help competitors.”

Earlier this week, Google’s Excutive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, said that Google+ content is not favored over Twitter and Facebook. Apparently those two companies would be getting a similar treatment if they would let Google access their content, which is probably something neither Facebook nor Twitter are interested in.

Meanwhile, Google currently holds 65.9 percent of U.S. searches with Microsoft and Yahoo market share reaching 15.1 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively. How do you feel about seeing search results based on social networking interactions in your Search results? Are you already using Google+?

Android is popular in China, which includes both official releases, as well as ports by various companies, like Baidu’s Yi OS and Alibaba’s Aliyun OS (which is not exactly Andriod, but can run Android apps). But even with hundreds of millions of mobile users in the region, Android smartphones are not able to access apps and content from the official Android Market.

Google is planning to bring Android Market to China. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is hiring engineers, sales staff and product managers in the country to help beef up support for Android in the region. According to Google’s top executive in Asia, Daniel Alegre, the company is trying to market services that don’t require censorship in the region, such as location-based services involving discount shopping.

However, Inside Mobile Apps‘ Kim-Mai Cutler thinks otherwise. Sources say that the moves to open Android Market in China are still in exploratory phases, and are not really moving at a productive pace. The main difficulty with bringing Android Market to the region is the review process. Android does not implement strict review when accepting apps, although Google deletes and kills apps after-the-fact if found to be violating the terms-of-service.

In contrast, Android app repositories run by Chinese companies like Tencent review each submission to comply with strict government requirements. Likewise, Apple implements a strict review process for iOS apps. So the concern here is whether Google will be willing to bend to the Chinese government’s censorship rules if it wants to make Android Market — and more importantly the ad, subscription and purchase revenues that come with it — in the region.

That also means that just over 0.6% of Android device users can enjoy Google’s latest Android version, Ice Cream Sandwich, as Android device makers are yet to provide ICS updates for some of their existing smartphones and tablets. While users wait for their ICS build, Google decided to put up a new resource for OEMs and developers, Android Design, a new site that’s going to offer them guidelines to help them create even better ICS apps.

That doesn’t mean that Google is trying to slowly close the OS, to better control the fragmentation. The new design guidelines are not mandatory, and OEMs and developers can ignore them if they choose so. At least that’s what Matias Duarte told The Verge at CES:

The initial version of the guide includes information like typography, color palettes, and other stylistic advice, as well as a breakdown of the components making up the Android UI. Matias stresses that what we’re seeing today is a purely optional aid for Android designers, not something that Google will seek to enforce.

About a week ago we heard that Google is requiring OEMs to use the Holo theme in order for their devices to have access to the Android Market, another move that can be perceived as Google’s way of making sure device makers offer a more unified Android experience. Now Google launched this new Android Design resource that offers further details on how to optimize apps for Ice Cream Sandwich, and it will be interesting to see how far Google will go with these guidelines in the future, and whether they will become mandatory at some point.

What’s worth noting is that Google seems interested in offering high-quality ICS apps in the Android Market without enforcing rigid rules like Apple does with the App Store but by providing such guidelines. Let’s hear it from Android developers out there, what do you think about Google’s new Android Design resources?

Google introduced the offline Gmail app for Chrome, along with offline access to other apps like Google Docs and Calendar. With offline support, users can read email entries and documents, and make changes even without an active Internet connection. Google will then sync information once the computer is connected. This kind of functionality is useful in cases where a connection is not possible (such as during flights).

Google’s initial launch of the app was quite basic, and the interface had been markedly different from the default Gmail interface. With the latest update, Google introduces new features that enhance the functionality of the Gmail app, as well as introduce some UI elements that make offline Gmail more intuitive to Gmail users.

• New settings page – The offline Gmail app now has a settings page, where users can define preferences;
• Define sync duration – Users can now choose how far back messages are synchronized. Options are 7, 14, or 31 days’ worth of Gmails;
• Attachment download – Attachments are now downloaded so these can be viewed or saved to a local folder even while offline;
• Keyboard shortcuts – Gmail keyboard shortcuts settings will be transferred to the offline Gmail app, for easier navigation. This includes custom keyboard shortcuts defined;
• Performance enhancements – The update contains bug fixes and speed fixes. Messages are now downloaded faster.

The Gmail offline app is available for download via the Chrome Web Store. Google advises users to make sure the latest version of Chrome is running for maximum compatibiltiy, although Chrome is supposedly auto-updating.