Motorola Says If Android 4.0 Will Not Improve Devices, Will Not Upgrade Them

After Motorola updated their Android 4.0 upgrade timeline, many users were left wondering why Motorola had no plans to release the new software version for select handsets that haven’t even reach the one year anniversary of their release. Motorola seemed committed to providing updates for as many handsets as possible, but now has issued a statement explaining some of their rationale behind withholding Ice Cream Sandwich from some.

Simply put, if the new version of Android doesn’t offer an improved device experience, Motorola has no plans to issue an update. Though it may not please all users, the move is probably for the best. A smartphone with hardware that can’t adequately handle new software will offer a poor user experience. It isn’t what most users want to hear, but with only so many resources available to dedicate to developing device upgrades it works out better for everyone.

Some will argue that independent developers often produce builds of new Android software that will run on older phones, but the level of performance and stability simply doesn’t meet what Motorola, the carriers, and even Google would consider a retail-ready experience.

Facebook Acquires Karma

The Social Network is purchasing companies left and right, with the most recent including Instagram and Lightbox. But now they have decided to acquire Karma, a social gifting app.

Simply put, Karma allows users to connect to Facebook via their app and send people gifts. Why would Facebook want this service? Surely, Facebook could further integrate this service to create more revenue from gift sales. Karma states that the app will continue to run as usual, but now with a stronger backbone.

It seems like the Social Network is trying to get its hands anywhere they can, so we would not be surprised to see Facebook purchasing more services soon.

Official Karma website

Google Agrees To Keep Android Free And Open For Five Years

For Google to secure the approval of Chinese authorities to purchase Motorola Mobility, it had to guarantee that Android would remain free and open for five more years.

It was announced yesterday that China has finally approved the purchase of Motorola Mobility by Google.  This was the last stumbling block to the acquisition, and now that it has been cleared, the deal is expected to close within a week.  It does seem, though, that Google had to make at least one large concession to gain that approval.

According to a report from Reuters:

"A main condition of the deal is that the Android system remain free and open for five years, said a source who is familiar with the Chinese approval but not authorized to discuss it."

There had been some fears when this deal was announced last August that Google would stop providing Android to other vendors to continue manufacturing phones, but Google has stated numerous times that it did not plan to give any preferential treatment to the Motorola brand.  While this has been the stated intent of Google, it seems China wanted it said in a more official capacity that would give it an avenue to come back on the search giant should it break its promise.  Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said of the agreement, ”Our stance since we agreed to acquire Motorola has not changed, and we look forward to closing the deal.”

Although Google is most readily associated with Android, it needs to be noted that it is actually developed by the Open Handset Alliance which consists of 84 members.  Google is the leader of this group, so it wouldn’t be an arbitrary decision to pull the operating system from other vendors.

LightSquared Preparing For Bankruptcy Protection Filing Tomorrow

Seemingly destined-to-fail LightSquared just might be out of options. After getting a high-five from Sprint and plenty of attention for its initiatives in bringing yet another wireless option to America, those blasted GPS interference issues or "supposed" issues, depending on who you ask eventually became too much to overcome. According to a breaking report out of The Wall Street Journal, Philip Falcone's venture is seriously teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, as "negotiations with lenders to avoid a potential default faltered," according to the ever-present "people familiar with the matter." Purportedly, the two sides have until 5PM tomorrow to strike a deal that'll keep the firm out of bankruptcy court (if you'll recall, it owes over $1.6 billion dollars to various entities), but given just how far apart these sides remain, its fate seems all but sealed. We'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more, but don't go placing bets on yet another debt-term violation waiver.

Apple To Introduce Siri For iPad With iOS 6

The introduction of iOS 6 won’t just mark Apple’s breakaway from Google Maps, it’ll also see Siri possibly leave beta and develop into the voice-assistant fans have been waiting for. To do that, the Cupertino company is reportedly preparing to unveil the Siri API, which would open up a whole realm of new possibilities for app developers. Even better, Apple has finally decided to bestow Siri upon the millions of iPad owners around the world.

According to TechCrunch, iOS 6 which is being referred to as Sundance behind closed doors will give app developers access to Siri’s functionality, marking a departure from what Apple’s service currently offers. Think of being able to update your Twitter status just through Siri, no typing required.

Meanwhile, Siri for iPad seemed like a matter of time, especially with the introduction of voice dictation on Apple’s latest iPad. Apparently, Apple’s struggled more with Siri’s UI than actual functionality on the iPad, which is why it has taken the company so long.

Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference is about a month away, so expect to hear more about Siri’s coming-of-age when the week-long event kicks off.

Google In Talks To Buy Meebo For $100 Million

Meebo began life in 2005 as a browser-based instant message app and since then has morphed through several iterations, offering products like smartphone IM apps, a content sharing bar for websites, chat rooms, and most recently a service that recommends stories based on an "interest profile" you build up by clicking a custom bookmarklet. One of those many products or, just as likely, the team that built them seems to appeal to Google, as All Things D reports that the search giant is in talks to acquire Meebo. Apparently the price is said to be a cool $100 million, though neither company is commenting on the rumored deal. If the buyout goes through, we suspect the users of Meebo's free IM apps on smartphones will want to consider switching to another app acquisitions have a way of shortening the shelf life of products that duplicate the functionality of the parent company's own apps.

About Meebo

As you browse the Web, collect the stories you find interesting using a simple bookmarklet.  As Meebo gets to know you, we will recommend things you may have missed.  Over time, Meebo will organize all of the stories you’ve shared into topics for others to find and enjoy.

Founded in 2005, we’re a consumer internet company focused on helping people build their own web experiences around the things that interest them the most. Meebo also creates unique Web experiences for sites and advertisers to help drive engagement through the Meebo Bar.

Meebo is privately held and is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and New York.

Check out the Meebo official website.

webOS 3.0.6 Is Available, Not For The Masses

We first saw hints that an update for the TouchPad was in the works when app logs started showing devices running webOS 3.0.6, and now we more concrete evidence that webOS 3.0.6 is real, courtesy of one of our readers who wishes to remain anonymous. His device got an over-the-air update to webOS 3.0.6 this morning, but chances are your TouchPad will not, at least not right now. As it turns out, his device is a TouchPad Go running on Palm's development server, which probably describes only a handful of devices that even exist.

So what goodies does webOS 3.0.6 hold? As it turns out, not a whole lot. In fact, our reader can not find a single noticeable difference between webOS 3.0.5 and 3.0.6, and the onscreen changelog does not provide any further clues aside from mentioning "a variety of software improvements." Is it just under-the-hood enhancements or security fixes, or is there more? Sadly, he did confirm that Twitter synergy integration was not included in the update. We will just have to wait until webOS 3.0.6 is officially released to find out, but at least it's comforting to  know that some support will continue for the TouchPad while we wait for the planned September release of Open webOS 1.0. Now let's get that webOS 2.2.4 (or 2.2.5) update for the Veer our as well!

AT&T Considered Acquiring Leap

AT&T considered purchasing Leap following its failed attempt to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion. The talks were held in recent months and it remains unknown if the two carriers are still in discussions, Reuters said in a report on Friday. Leap is currently valued at about $400 million and the acquisition would help AT&T gain spectrum it argues is needed as it continues to add additional subscribers and builds out its 4G LTE network.

AT&T isn’t the only one currently shopping around for smaller carriers. T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom has also been interested in acquiring MetroPCS, sources speaking to Reuters said recently. MetroPCS uses different radio frequencies, CDMA instead of the GSM network T-Mobile currently runs, however, which had some skeptics questioning the deal.

HP Announces It Will Be Making Tablets Again

At its Global Influencer Summit this week in Shanghai, China, HP's executives were questioned by several reporters about the company's plans for tablets, a market it has essentially been out of since it cancelled the TouchPad and all other webOS devices last year. In response, CEO Meg Whitman and EVP for Printing and Personal Systems Todd Bradley announced that HP was resuming production of consumer tablets...running Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system with "cloud-based technology" for shared content across devices.

Sadly for our community, there were no reported mentioned by Whitman, Bradley or anyone else from HP about the role HP's Open webOS initiative might play in the revived tablet product line, or otherwise on HP's hardware. We can only hope that, whether by design or through the efforts of our wonderful homebrew/webOS hacker community, we will be able to run Open webOS on new tablets and other devices at some point in the near future.

TracFone Has Purchased Simple Mobile

Prepaid is increasingly becoming popular in the United States. With all this economic uncertainty, people are looking to take control of their phone bill, and what better way to do that than to not lock yourself into a two year contract? TracFone is America’s largest prepaid operator, with over 20 million customers using their various sub-brands. You’ve probably heard of Straight Talk, which offers “unlimited” everything for $45 per month. We say “unlimited” because after you consumer 2 GB of data you get a very angry phone call informing you that you’re going to be disconnected. Another prepaid operator is Simple Mobile. They rely on T-Mobile’s network and have roughly 1 million customers. Yesterday América Móvil, the company that owns TracFone, announced that they’re going to purchase Simple Mobile for an undisclosed sum of money. Why? Because T-Mobile is in the process of refarming some of their 1900 MHz spectrum to support HSPA+, which means T-Mobile customers will soon be able to get 3G connectivity on their iPhones.