We previously reported on the availability of a dedicated Nexus One webpage on Vodafone UK’s website, allowing customers to register for future Nexus One information. The addition of this page suggested the wireless operator was close to releasing news on their dedicated tariffs and setting a specific launch date for the device.

It’s possible that with the delay in the release of the smartphone, Google will lose see their launch overshadowed by more powerful and desirable Android handsets. Smartphone vendor HTC worked closely with Google to design and manufacture the Nexus One handset but the Taiwanese company are set to bring two new handsets, the HTC Legend and the HTC Desire to market before the Nexus One is released.

Vodafone are set to launch the HTC Legend next month and whilst it doesn’t pack as much of a punch as the Nexus One, it does run on the Android operating system and is, quite uniquely, created from a single piece of milled aluminium.  The Desire is also set to launch on the Orange and T-Mobile networks next month and is a replica of the Nexus One with the addition of an optical trackpad and Sense UI functionality.

To make matters worse for Google, Apple will be releasing details on how to order their new tablet, the iPad in late April. The iPad, which is also 3G-equipped and features PC-like applications, will be heavily marketed to consumers and could not only steal Google’s limelight at launch, it could prove a more viable alternative to those considering the purchase of a more powerful smartphone.

The Guardian report that Vodafone will offer consumers a free Nexus One when they sign up to a £35 monthly contract.

We fear that not even the offer a free phone will be able to turn the tide in Google’s favour, the only winner could be HTC and possibly Apple come April.

If there was ever a week dominated by one thing it was this week: location, location, location. We launched an entire new Location blog just to cover the space. All the major players from Gowalla, foursquare, Twitter and Facebook all had announcements or new feature releases ahead of South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

This week was all about location-based applications and services. While the trend has been a hot topic for a while, the buzz around location-based services reached a never before level this past week ahead of the South by Southwest (#sxsw) conference in Austin, Texas. The buzz around location was so big in fact, that we at The Next Web launched an entire new blog devoted to all things location – TNW Location. In order to kick off the new blog, we came up with The Declaration of Location.

As we geared up for SXSW, two of the major players in the location space both released some major updates. Foursquare’s updates focused on a much-needed UI refresh while Gowalla added a cool new feature allowing photo uploads when checking in. Foursquare also launched 16 new badges for SXSW. For a full comparison of both services, make sure to check out our extensive side-by-side comparison.

While foursquare and Gowalla may be the most used applications in the location space right now, many others are entering the fray. Twitter has been gradually rolling out location-based features. The latest was a “tweet your location” feature from Twitter.com. Twitter also created very interesting mashup with Google Maps to see where all Twitter employees are at SXSW. However, everyone is really waiting to see how Facebook enters this space. This week it was announced that they are going to be unveiling their location sharing product next month.

The massive battle for ground in location is clearly the result of the huge revenue opportunity for the companies who can figure it out. We explored the various revenue models of location this week which estimated that location-based services will account for $12.7B in revenue by 2014.

Quick Hits

• Google Is Leaving China In Spite of Chinese Promises
• Google Launches App Store
• Android Market Share Exploding
• Twitter “a force for good”? Politicians Disagree.
• Google OS To Have Enterprise Edition
• Google Buzz Arriving on Google Apps?
• Twitter Expanding Use of its URL Shortener
• Afraid of Google? Why Some Do (video)
• 5 Reasons Why We Are Already Depressed About The iPad
• Wibya (the toolbar we use), Added a Bunch of New Features
• Opera Mini 5 Beta For Android Released
• YouTube Launches Mobile Ads in Japan and USA
• Brazen Careerist Looks To The Future With Social Resumes
• Microsoft Launches UK Online TV service
• Retweet.com Pulled From The Deadpool
• Social Media Advertising Comes of Age, Gets Regulated
• Techmeme Launches a New Aggregator, Mediagazer.
• Microsoft Demos Gaming Across Phone, PC and Xbox 360
• Apple To Introduce Multitasking To The iPhone?

via loldwell.com

Fortunately, there is help to be had. The wonderful and well named HowToHaveFunWhenAllYourFriendsAreAtSXSW.com has a whole dang list of things that you can do instead. The website calls it “tips for staying sane while not in Austin.”

Besides, we don’t need to conform to going to the indie event! I know that that sounds ironic, but that is too hipster for me to pull off. Take a look at their suggestions for activities to do now in your hometown after the jump.

Best part, those are all links to handling all those lovely tasks. Get it done, and get over your envy. Besides, all those folks are going to get home and be hung-over for a week. We won’t.

So we win in the end right?

What kind of clothing do they offer? The company is well named, it sells essentials for men. You can purchase collections of shirts, underwear, and socks (you get to pick what type of each), preventing you from ever running out of basics again.

Men of the world, we have been saved. I never plan on worrying about not having enough socks for the rest of my life.

Of course, they make money on marking up the garments and shipping. Recurring revenue is hot online at the moment, but this is the last place that I expected it to go. It is quite genius, removing the need to do the most mundane tasks with a quarterly shipment . It will even improve your life, as you will stop wearing dirty socks half of the week.

While the startup is new, the idea is huge. We fully expect the Manpacks idea to spread to other sorts of things. Eventually, I expect to pay a single monthly fee to have everything I want delivered to my door. The company offers several levels of packs (different amounts), and even a single one time purchase if you “fear commitment.”

This is a great example of plugging a real life problem with an internet enabled fix.

Twitter @ SXSW displays a map of where Twitter staff are in Austin. If you want to pitch yourself for a job with them, just see where they’re tweeting from and hunt them down. Nifty!

There’s even a tool to narrow down your options. If you’re good at ‘Supporting a global audience’, then @Trammell is your man for example.

The tool was announced by Twitter’s web engineering lead, Britt Seltvitelle. He wrote: “Just invented http://sxsw.twitter.com with @hoverbird and @k. We want you to work at Twitter! Use it to find us and say hi!”

The move comes as Twitter is in the process of rolling out a map and geotagging capability to its web interface. As yet it only works for users in the USA but should be available everywhere soon.

After Friday’s announcement that China would not cave on censorship regulations for Google, which came after Google announced that they would not censor their searches, this showdown seemed imminent. With neither party prepared to cave, the Financial Times is reporting that Google “is 99.9% certain” that they will quit the Chinese market.

Looks like Baidu’s share price will end up spiking again.

Google CEO Eric Schmidt was quick to emphasize that Google would not be quitting China entirely. “It’s very important to know we are not pulling out of China,” He said. “We have a good business in China. This is about the censorship rules, not anything else.” However, there is a growing fear among other Google executives that backlash from this decision will make staying in the Chinese market entirely untenable.

The Chinese government, who hardened their stance against Google’s plans to go censorship-free yesterday, still says that Google should remain in the country. Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Yizhong said yesterday that, “Google has taken 30 per cent of the Chinese search market. If you don’t leave, China will welcome that, if you don’t leave, it will be beneficial for the development of the internet in China.”

What Mr. Yizhong doesn’t seem to understand is that it’s essentially impossible to continue to operate a business in a hostile state. Google (and other American companies) have been attacked by organs of the Chinese state.

The attacks on Google that spurred this whole controversy were carried out with Chinese software by Chinese botherders and hackers operating out of Chinese State Schools. For China to claim that they weren’t complicit in these attacks is entirely and completely absurd. While Google doesn’t command the search market in China, a Google-free China would be a China that is worse off.

One thing’s for sure, though. The guys at Baidu are partying their butts off right now, because this news will send their share prices sky-high.

The list, drawn up every year by Reporters Without Borders, presents the worst violators of freedom of expression on the Net. This year’s list includes: Saudi Arabia, Burma, China, North Korea, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.

What’s with the four countries? Let’s take a look.

Saudi Arabia has an Internet penetration rate of about 38% and counting. However, it is still one of the most repressive countries with regard to the Internet. It’s an ISP cat-and-mouse game where the list of 400,000 blocked domains, IPs, keywords and top level domains just keeps on growing.

To make things worse, Saudi Internet cafes have been required to install hidden cameras, supply a list of customers and websites consulted, not permit the use of prepaid cards or of unauthorized Internet links by satellite, close at midnight and not admit minors.

In Syria, over 16.5% of the population uses the Internet. Although conditions for access have been facilitated, the content that’s actually accessible is a joke. Censorship is particularly targeting social networks and blog platforms in an effort to prevent dissidents
from getting organized and recruiting new members using the new media.

Access to Blogspot and Maktoob from Syria is blocked. YouTube has been blocked since August 2007 after videos were circulated denouncing the crackdown on the Kurd minority. Wikipedia’s Arabic version is blocked. Amazon and Skype are also inaccessible.

Iran applies one of the world’s strictest filtering policies, which have been tightened even more since June 2009. Censorship is done by combining URL blocking with keyword filtering. Among the keywords that have been blocked are the words “woman” in Farsi, “torture,” and “rape”!

Iran’s regime considers social networks to be instruments of the opposition. Facebook and Twitter, which relayed the calls for demonstrations, have been continuously blocked since June 2009. MySpace.com, Orkut.com, Flickr.com and YouTube.com have received the same treatment.

In Egypt, no filter is in place, but that’s because the government believes in opening up access to everything, while surveying it in order to catch all the culprits. In the name of the fight against terrorism, Facebook has been placed under surveillance, rather than blocked, so that activists can be observed or arrested. Authorities are monitoring their people’s emails and telephone calls without any court order.

The connection to WiFi access points in Egypt is not only fee-based, but also requires an email address to which the password and username have to be sent. Cell phone companies are required to obtain their customers’ personal data before selling them their services. In other words, anonymity is under siege. The same applies to Internet Cafes where everyone’s information is required before they are granted access.

I’m not sure a commentary is required. This, on its own, is yet another reason is why we bow our heads in shame and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Full report is available here.

In an interview with the BBC this week, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams said “Our goal at Twitter is to be a force for good… We have a fundamental belief, having worked on this type of thing for 10 years, that the open exchange of information has a positive impact on the world.”

Bold words, but some politicians don’t agree with that line of thinking. In the UK, a number of local councils have recently banned live tweeting from meetings.

Tameside Council caused a minor storm this week when it restricted use of Twitter-based reporting of meetings to journalists from three newspapers. As The Guardian reported, one local blogger was actually asked to leave the public gallery after trying to tweet from his iPhone.

Meanwhile, Trafford Council went the other way and banned accredited journalists from reporting via Twitter from a controversial planning meeting on Thursday. Trafford’s Councillor in charge of planning decided the Manchester Evening News couldn’t live-tweet the meeting despite a high level of public interest. Oddly, they did nothing about a number of members of the public tweeting there.

Some councils are even banning themselves from using Twitter during meetings.

Hypocrisy?

It seems some politicians don’t know what to do about Twitter. The irony here is that in this general election year in the UK, politicians will be turning to it like never before to engage with voters. Many councils happily use Twitter accounts to put out official messages, but social media is a two-way street and you can’t use it as a promotional tool while simultaneously banning the public from using it to report on what you’re doing.

Although many may disagree with their stance, these councils have the law on their side in banning Twitter. Tameside Council told journalist Sarah Hartley:

“…there is no right to attend a council meeting and make a transmission of the meeting whilst it is taking place, or to make recordings of any meeting, this applies to all Local Authorities. Therefore the Council is obliged to consider specific requests to use media such as ‘twitter’.”

It’s understandable that in days gone by this rule made sense. However, hiding behind an outdated law in a changing world is no excuse. Only when councils learn to relax and allow will Evan Williams’ dream be realised and an “open exchange of information will prevail”.

[Image credit: Steve Garfield]

The FCC has long considered nationwide free broadband as a means of improving US broadband adoption rates. Despite being a tech-savvy nation, the US still has 100 million people that are not connected to the internet. Despite the obvious importance of getting these people online, the telecom companies (particularly T-Mobile and AT&T) have fought the free broadband plan tooth and nail.

There are many competitors for the contract in question. However, one name stands out from the pack.

The FCC should award this contract to M2Z Networks. Here are eight reasons why doing anything else would be a mistake.

Immediacy

To anyone that’s looked, the fact that 30% of Americans remain offline is a huge and immediate concern. Market research has shown overwhelmingly that the reason why most of these Americans are still offline is because of price concerns. As M2Z CEO John Muleta said in an interview with TheNextWeb, “with the availability of Netbooks at $250 and $300, it’s simply insane to charge $700 a year for basic internet service. ”

By comparison to their competitors, M2Z has pledged to roll out their service to 50% of Americans in four years and 95% in ten years. This is quite an ambitious project, but it’s doable. What’s more, the infrastructure creation this will require will generate thousands of new jobs.

Ease of Use

M2Z’s proposed interface is incredibly simple. Getting online on M2Z’s connection will be as simple as logging in with a username and password through your browser. Once online, you’re able to access a 768 Kbits/second free connection. M2Z plans to offer a freemium model, where users can pay a fee to upgrade to a 6 Mbits/second connection.

Civic Responsibility

From the beginning, M2Z’s mission has been to provide free broadband connections. Comparing the use of wireless spectrum to over-the-air TV broadcasts, Muleta said that “since spectrum is essentially public property, we feel a responsibility to provide at least a free service for the public good.” Name a single telecom or cable company that does that. Muleta makes a compelling argument here; since spectrum is indeed a public good, why isn’t there an expectation that users of that spectrum (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, Clear, etc) will provide at least a minimum basic service?

Net Neutrality

M2Z is wholeheartedly in favor of Net Neutrality. Yes, you read that correctly. M2Z is an ISP that is in favor of net neutrality. When I asked Muleta about this, because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, he said simply “Look. We’re all Silicon Valley guys at this company. We know that Net Neutrality is a fundamental part of a good user experience. If we lose Net Neutrality, we lose part of what makes the internet such a force for good.”

Free For All

Unlike M2Z’s competitors, M2Z doesn’t want to limit their market to underprivileged internet users. Muleta says that if access to free internet is restricted by income, nothing would fundamentally change at the ISP level. The duopoly of cable and telecom providers would still control much of the marketplace.

By providing a basic free service, Muleta thinks that M2Z will force ISPs to shape up. Citing his time as the head of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, he said that ISPs would behave much like cell phone providers did when cell numbers became portable across carriers. When consumers saw that there was an easy alternative if they were displeased, overall levels of service went up across the board. Ironically, attrition rates ended up going down, contrary to cell phone providers’ concerns.

Upsetting The Status Quo

Part of the reason why competition among ISPs has been so stagnant is due to one major problem. In order to compete against most established ISPs, new ISPs need to lease “the last mile” of cable into the home from telecom companies or cable providers. Once you’re leasing from your competitors, they can squeeze you dry on the prices and drive you out of business. Indeed, that’s what happened to PSINet, Muleta’s first ISP. They provided value-added services to leased bandwidth from their competitors and their competitors squeezed them out.

M2Z is different. The company plans to build a nationwide LTE  network to provide data themselves. No need to worry about the last mile. In addition, Muleta says that M2Z has plans to sell some of their high-bandwidth connections to companies like AOL and DirecTV as part of their potential broadband bundles.

Corporate Leadership

Simply put, M2Z has an incredible board. The CEO is a former bureau head at the FCC, and before that he ran an ISP. The company’s CTO is a former programmer for Lawrence Livermore Labs and Los Alamos. The rest of their management team is similarly qualified. They all have relevant experience and the skill necessary to pull off the construction of such a complicated network.

Funding

M2Z has secured $500 million in funding commitments from some very impressive sources. Kleiner Perkins, the firm that invested in Google, Sun and Amazon, has invested in M2Z. So too has Redpoint Ventures, who invested in Ask Jeeves, Tivo and Myspace. There’s a saying in the investing community: a good track record is no indicator of future performance. However, it’s probably a safe bet to guess that Kleiner Perkins and Redpoint wouldn’t throw down that much money for no good reason.

In short, M2Z’s entry into the market will increase competition, improve service quality and drive down prices for consumers. At the same time, it will provide quality service for users that cannot afford a paid connection. It’s a win-win situation for everyone except for the cable companies and telecom companies.

The company, which was the winner of last night’s midVentures25 startup competition, compares their service to job boards like Monster. While it’s easy to submit your documentation and apply for jobs on sites like Monster, no similar service exists for musicians. To get gigs, musicians have to create DVDs and press kits, and mail them to clubs. The whole process is time-consuming, expensive, bad for the environment and outdated.

G2.fm’s online gig-booking service hopes to change this. 

Rather than sending press kits, G2.fm allows artists to create a profile including the components of a press kit, such as their music, pictures and a biography. After filling in this information, they can search for clubs with openings in their schedule and apply to play at these clubs. Once they apply, they show up in the queue of club’s booking agents. Acts can also increase their visibility to bookers by purchasing slots towards the top of the club’s gig application list.

What makes G2.fm so special, though, is the incentive it provides for clubs to use the service. Sifting through piles of press kits to find a good act to book is a hugely time-consuming job for booking agents. On the part of G2.fm dedicated to club owners and bookers, there are analytics tools which rate potential acts based on prior reviews and on similar acts that had played well with the club’s patrons.

These tools have clearly been popular, as major clubs across the US have begun using the system to book their acts. It allows clubs to screen acts based on compatibility with their clientele,  it allows clubs to fill last minute openings and it cuts down on the piles of press kits filling booking agents’ offices. G2.fm is good for artists, it’s good for clubs and it’s good for music fans.

It won’t before it’s available around the world and we’ll be seeing news footage of queues forming outside Apple showrooms as eager fans wait in line to be amongst the first iPad owners.

At The Next Web, whilst we’re as excited as the next blog, we admit to be fretting a little bit about the forthcoming launch.

Yes, there are a few things beginning to give us sleepless nights about the iPad… let’s just say there are one or two things that we’re not exactly looking forward to.  Well five things really…

1.  Applying the Screen Protector.

Mobile phones aren’t cheap.  Smart phones are dearer.  We’re all keen to protect our gadgets and whether we insure them or not we’ll often invest in a screen protector.

Now, with the best will in the world, trying to get the screen protector on an iPhone without trapping a couple of motes of dust or air-bubbles underneath is nigh on impossible.  For those geeks with CDO about their gadgets, this can be a real nightmare.  (For those of you wondering what CDO is, well it’s a bit like OCD except with the letters in alphabetical order… just like they should be!)

Imagine then, if you will, trying to apply a clingy, statically charged, gossamer thin wafer of transparent plastic steadily and evenly to the comparatively huge screen of the iPad.  I’m wincing already at the prospect of hours spent slowly rolling a soft cloth from screen edge to screen edge trying to coax unsightly and ugly bubbles from the middle of my new, bright and beautiful shiny display… Oh dear.

The great thing about Apple products is the early availability of form factor specs to third party organisations ahead of launch.  This means that someone, somewhere in the world is already trying to solve this problem ahead of time.

Hopefully.

If you are that company…  get in touch with The Next Web because we want to know about it.

2.  Getting mugged.

Not many people get mugged for their copy of the latest Dean Koontz when travelling on the subway do they?

Occasionally though, people do get menaced for their mobile phones or their iPods.

So what happens when you happily paging through the latest electronic edition of WiReD on your iPad and the local roughneck takes a fancy to it.  It doesn’t really bear thinking about, but for many people, carrying an iPad out and about in public will be like spraying Please Mug Me on the back of your jacket.

Carrying your iPad in some sort of protective case is likely to be the sensible choice for most people.  It’ll be interesting to see just how camouflaged these cases will need to be for people to try to make their iPads ‘disappear’ at will.

Maybe someone is creating a case which makes it look like your actually reading a real copy of WiReD… actually, a real copy of WiReD will probably do the trick… now there’s an idea.

Either way, someone, somewhere will be worrying about this little problem right now… if it’s you, let us know!

3.  Dropping It.

It’s just going to happen isn’t it?  It’s only a matter of time.

How many of us own a mobile phone which hasn’t got a little dink or a scratch somewhere from that time when it fell out of a pocket or off the edge of the desk?

They tend to look pristine on the day they come out of the box and then they accrete an ever thicker patina of smudges, grime and scratches until Upgrade Day looms they are consigned to a drawer somewhere to gather a further layer… this time of dust.

So just how long are we going to be able to keep our gleaming iPads shiny and happy without them hitting the deck and rewarding us with whatever the iPad equivalent of the Blue Screen Of Death will be?

It doesn’t bear thinking about does it?  That said, it’ll be interesting to see how many people are prepared to fork out for insurance for an iPad when they might take the risk of doing without for a smaller, cheaper phone or gadget.

The Ipad is probably no less fragile than a laptop or netbook, but there is something psychologically reassuring about being able to close up your MacBook and feeling that it is in some way protected.

On the iPad, it’s all that exposed shiny screen that is just begging to be cracked, scratched or otherwise defaced.

Oh no!  Maybe I should just leave it at home in a protective cabinet.

4.  Blogging On It.

Now this is a real worry!

When I’m blogging I set up my laptop like a military dashboard with tabs open for live RSS news feeds, Socialcast backchannel conversations with colleagues, the Wordpress blogging engine, The Next Web sites, other new sources, Skype, GTalk, Buzz…  it’s an all singing and dancing effort and everyone at The Next Web has their own favourite configuration.

Now I can just about recreate this battle-blogging config on the move using a netbook and a mifi… but will I be able to recreate a setup as good if not better on the iPad?  I don’t know.  Even if I can, just how responsive and accurate is that on screen keyboard going to be?  Yes, yes I know I can get an external keyboard…  I know why don’t I gaffer-tape it to the iPad and arrange it on my knee?  We could call it a kneetop computer or something.

Oh, I don’t know… I’m worrying again.  All I know is, I don’t fancy lugging a laptop and an iPad around, but neither will I want to leave my shiny new toy at home.

I really hope someone is worrying about this in advance of the iPad’s launch.  This time I’m hoping it’s Apple.

5.  Upgrade Envy!

Now this is a real biggie.

Despite the fact that Apple’s tendency to suppress software functionality and hold back on hardware improvements in order to secure a healthy pipeline of new sales and upgrades is well documented, many of us still rush out to buy their latest offerings.

Of course, the iPad is no different… or is it?  This time, from clues garnered from patents registed by Apple and from various releases of the Software Developer Kit, everyone seems pretty certain that there are plans for the iPad to incorporate at least one camera into the build at some stage in its evolution.  In fact most people are stunned that there isn’t a camera is iPad release 1, so how frustrating is it going to be in, say, Spring 2011, flouncing around with your Version 1 iPad and sitting next to someone with a Version 2 with a camaera and all the latest bells and whistles?

In-built obsolesence is a fact of life in tech, but when you’re only ever a contract-length away from an upgrade deal on a mobile phone, there is always at elast some light at the end of the tunnel.  When you’ve shelled out several hundred bucks for a top-end iPad only for it to be superceded in a matter of months… that will be a substantially more bitter pill to swallow.

Speaking of pills, I’m getting all anxious again.  I might need a tablet and a lie down.

From the Google News team:

We’re excited to announce the launch of browse mode for newspapers in Archives! To do so, click “Browse this newspaper” to view other editions from that newspaper!

Google has somehow found, indexed, scanned, and made available endless newspaper material for you to browse (for free of course). Exactly which papers you can browse is not laid out in perfect terms, but if you are searching for an article and you see the “Browse This Newspaper” button, you are all set.

It looks like this:

The view that Google provides for you to browse is quite pretty. Newspapers are sorted by newspaper name, and month of publication. Google for example has a good selection of papers from the News and Eastern Townships Advocate. The browse screen looks like this:

Good on Google for making more information even more accessible. I doubt that I will ever use this, but knowing that it exists makes me even more sure that our past will not be lost.

A quick summary: first Nokia sued Apple over alleged patent violations, then Apple sued Nokia over a different set of patents. In short, it’s a big old mess of corporations accusing each other of stealing ideas.

Now Reuters reports that newly filed legal documents show that the court date to resolve the situation could be set for “mid-2012″. That means two more years of bitching and back-biting between the two companies.

Of course, we could see an out of court settlement before then. However, given just how nasty the smartphone market has got recently (Apple is suing HTC too) we shouldn’t expect peace, harmony, rainbows and an end to the lawsuits any time soon.

The legal challenge is reportedly over a patent relating to software the allows people to interact with a social network using a mobile phone.

Wireless Ink Corp., the owner of a site called Winksite, claim Google and Facebook are infringing US Patent No. 7,599,983 which is entitled “Method, Apparatus and System or Management of Information Content for Enhanced Accessibility over Wireless Communications Networks.”

According to Wireless Ink, both Facebook Mobile and Google Buzz are using software technology that belongs to the corporation and in a complaint filed on Thursday, the company are seeking cash compensation and a court order to prevent any future use of the technology involved.

The legal challenge could impact both companies as they seek to assert their dominance in mobile markets. Google are looking to integrate their products into mobile applications, especially within the Android operating system.

Spokesmen from Google and Facebook have declared that the companies are currently reviewing the complaint filed against them by Wireless Ink, Facebook adding that “This suit is without merit and we will fight it vigorously,”.

Yesterday rumors surfaced that today we could expect new MacBook Pro’s. The rumors were later announced to be fake and the world moved on. Now the store is down so there might be some basis to those rumors after all.

More logical would be that Apple is adding a large “pre-Order the iPad NOW” button to the store. The tablet will be available for pre-order today from 5:30am Pacific Time or 8:30am for those living on the east coast of the US.

I never understood the need for Apple to take the whole store down during updates. I can imagine Amazon adding hundreds of products every day. What would happen if they would would take the store down every time a new book would be published?

So maybe this whole “Apple Store is down” phenomena is just an invention by Apple to get us all excited and holding our breath. Another clever PR strategy? Well, it works for me.

UPDATED: and we are back. As expected you can now pre-order the iPad in the online store now. iPad pre-order limit: two per customer. If Saturday delivery is not available in your area, iPad will be delivered on April 5. Let us know if you did and which one you chose!

Having a hard time deciding which iPad to pre-order? Read “Which iPad Is Right For You?” on our Apple channel.

Want to pre-order the iPad from another part of the world? Read “How to Pre-order your iPad now, from anywhere in the world“.

Wibiya is currently a toolbar with a number of “applications” built specifically for it. Apps include recent posts, auto-translation, chat, sharing and more. Today, Wibiya is announcing a selection of new applications and an intriguing partnership with photo and video browsing tool Cooliris.

First up, Cooliris integration.

Websites with the Wibiya bar installed will now be able to use Cooliris Express to create custom 3D media walls, increasing user engagement on their sites while minimizing the bounce rate to YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Facebook.

The Cooliris integration is featured in three new apps:

1) Photo gallery

2) YouTube Video Gallery

3) Facebook photo Gallery

In the settings tab of each one of the Cooliris apps that goes through the process. Users can then scroll through an infinite “3D Wall” of photos or videos without having to click between pages. Don’t just take my word for it, try out the video feature here or browse images here.

So what else is new?

A number of new apps that should bring a smile to anyone looking to make the most of Facebook and Twitter to generate and keep in touch with their community.

New Facebook Fan Page.

Fans can now post messages onto your Fan Page on Facebook,com directly from your site. This is a first and goes a long way to making the website more of a central hub.

Twitter Lists application – Import your twitter lists to your website. Users will also be able to view full profiles of other users and search Twitter without leaving your website.

Justin.tv application – you can now bring your live channel, archive (and soon chat) while showing when you are online and offline and number of viewers.

New Real Time Chatter App (via Backtype)
Bringing the latest buzz on the web to your website. Show view real time conversations about any subject from millions of blogs, social networks and more.

Content Timeline application (via AllofMe)
Automatically create a visual and interactive Timeline of your content

User donation application (via PayPal)
Easily add a Donate button on your website. Make it safe and convenient for your readers to support you or a specific cause.

Back end Platform (being released tomorrow)- Custom Icons for any application, you can choose to have your own icons on the toolbar for each app.

It’s difficult to not be taken aback by the number of “apps” making their way through various partnerships onto the bar. So many apps in fact that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to decide exactly what should be where.

The good news is that we’ve been reliably informed that this Israeli startup’s ambitions are far greater than just the toolbar itself, exactly what that means remains to be seen, but with the flow of applications and ever growing number of publications using the toolbar, we can only hope being forced to choose a select number of apps becomes a thing of the past.

Wibiya’s main competitor in the space is Meebo, who have a neat toolbar with some application integration but mainly a focus on chat (what they are generally known for). Meebo also seems intent on generating revenue through advertising on the bar itself, something Wibiya CEO Dror Cedar insists Wibiya is staying away from. Rather, the company plans to introduce premium features for premium publications but are happy to continue to build the product out before doing so.

audioBoo initially launched its audio-blogging software as an iPhone app, followed by a similar app for Android users.  For those wanting to share their thoughts from any phone, the UK-based start-up introduced phoneBoo and, late in 2009, added browser-based recording.

Up to now, users of the service have been limited to a maximum of five minutes recording-time when creating their audioBoos.  However, from today, anyone who has recorded more than 20 audioBoos over the last twelve months will be allocated an extended recording duration of ten minutes.

The audioBoo team, which is participating in this year’s SXSW conference as part of the UK Digital Mission, is also hard at work on a fundamental redesign of the website, as it looks to incorporate HTML5 for onsite playback, reverting to Flash where HTML5 is not supported.

Crucially, this means that audioBoo will work at launch on the Apple iPad, thus providing a simple solution for anyone wishing to capture audio on that device as easily as possible.

The WIFI enabled model is set to be released on the 3rd April wheras the 3G-equipped version will be available later in the month. Potential buyers will be able to log onto the Apple Store and place an order for a Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi & 3G-equipped model as well as pre-ordering over the phone.

Customers have the option to have their iPad delivered to their door or reserve a device to pick it up in person at their local Apple Store.

Gizmodo are reporting that if consumers pre-order over the phone, they can expect to get their iPad on the day of launch, those ordering through Apple’s website will see their devices shipped on the day of launch, no earlier.

The iPad will be available with three different storage options, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. Minus 3G, the iPad is priced at $499, $599 and $699; with 3G, the iPad will cost $629, $729 and $829.

All models of the iPad are said to become available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

If you are from outside of the US and absolutely cannot wait until iPad pre-orders start in your country, why not read our article on how to pre-order an iPad if you are outside the US.

WiredUK recently mapped the UK’s technology startups based around London’s answer to Silicon Valley: Old Street’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’. Sponsored by Kodak and TheNextWeb, Techfluff.tv decided to delve a little deeper into London’s startup scene and video interview ten of these companies.

This week we look at Habit Industries, makers of Habit Stream – a product that allows brands to make the most of positive conversations about them on the web.

The Silicon Roundabout series is filmed on a Kodak Zi8.

You can watch part one of the series, featuring SongKick.com, here, part two with Alicia Navarro, founder and CEO of affiliate marketing site Skimlinks here and part three with digital agency Poke here.