WebProNews - Technology

Hacking Ring Indicted For $9 Million Fraud

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:10:14 +0000

A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted eight East Europeans on charges of hacking into a computer network operated by the credit card processing company RBS WorldPay, the U.S. Department of Justice said today.

The 16-count indictment alleges the group used sophisticated hacking techniques to compromise data encryption used by RBS WorldPay to protect customer data on payroll debit cards. Payroll debit cards are used by some companies to pay their employees.

The hacking ring allegedly raised the account limits on compromised accounts, and then provided a network of "cashers" with 44 counterfeit payroll debit cards, which were used to withdraw more than $9 million from more than 2,100 ATMs in at least 289 cites worldwide, including cities in the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan and Canada. The $9 million loss occurred within less than 12 hours.

The hackers then attempted to destroy data on the card processing network to hide their hacking activity. The indictment alleges that the "cashers" were allowed to keep 30 to 50 percent of the money, but sent the rest back to the leaders of the hacking ring.

"The charges brought against this highly sophisticated international hacking ring were possible only because of unprecedented international cooperation with our law enforcement partners, particularly between the United States and Estonia," said Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer.

"Through our close cooperation, both nations have demonstrated our commitment to identifying sophisticated attacks on U.S. financial networks that are directed and operated from overseas and our commitment to bringing the perpetrators to justice."

Some of the hackers if convicted in the U.S. could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

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Bing Maps Gets an Upgrade

Chris Crum — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:37:43 +0000

Microsoft announced that it has made some changes to Bing Maps. Changes include the color of the navigation bar, draggble routes, zoom bar changes, command parsing, embedding, dynamic computing, new navigation, speed, and Bing Maps will no longer stop at the international date line, but will wrap around the world continuously.

Draggable routes is arguably the most significant change to Bing Maps. "This is a great (and much requested) feature added to Bing Maps allowing you to generate a route, then in the case that you need to change the route, you can simply grab any part of it and drag it to where you want the route to actually go," says Microsoft's Chris Pendleton. "To use draggable routes, click the directions link in the welcome pane or the car icon near the bottom of the welcome pane. Enter a start and end, generate a route, then grab anywhere on the route to move the route line. The route will regenerate for you."

With the zoom bar, you can now jump to specific zoom levels rather than just zooming in and out, and if you want driving directions or traffic info, you can enter specific commands in the search box like "Bellevue, WA to Space Needle" or "Seattle Traffic."

You can now embed maps onto blogs or sites by clicking the share button when the map is where you want it to be. You can then copy the code or click the "customize view" link to bring up the embeddable map customizer.

As far as navigation, there is a new selection of features on the button bar with the following:

- "Welcome" loads the welcome pane

- "Car" loads driving directions

- "Star" loads My Places, formerly called Collections

- "Envelop" loads the ability to share the map with someone via email, copy a URL or embed the map into a web page

- "Printer" is for printing

- "Traffic light" will load the traffic overlay

"We've moved the processing power closer to the user," says Pendleton. "Using Microsoft’s ECN, we now have Bing Maps running in data centers in 7 locations around the world. This means wherever you are around the world, you will access Bing Maps from the closest geographic node to where you are physically located."

In addition to that, the default Bing Maps home page dropped from 678kb to 484kb and Pendleton says it "zips through the pipes" much faster now.

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Google Seeking Not To Cross The Creepy Line

Rich Ord — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:26:05 +0000

Google CEO Eric Schmidt while appearing on Fox Business made some interesting comments about Google's emergence as a huge Microsoft-like business power. I thought most interesting was Schmidt's statement about Google becoming like Microsoft, "Hopefully, we won't repeat the mistakes that Microsot made ten years ago that ultimately led to all these things that happened with them".

Schmidt elaborated:

"In our case we see ourselves as a disruptor, and a disruptor because we are using new technology to solve real consumer problems, that in some cases people didn't even realize could be solved. We are also a company that operates at scale using computers globally. And of course, we are in the information business and people have a lot of opinions on how information should be organized."

Fox Business' Neil Cavuto asked Schmidt in reference to Google's new Dashboard product how we really knew if Google deleted our personal data when we pressed delete via Dashboard. Schmidt's response:

"Because we say so and we would be sued (if we didn't)."

Cavuto joked: "It's like ... come in peace to serve man."

Watch the whole interview below:

Amazon Kindle For PC Now Available

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:22:01 +0000

Amazon.com has released its free Kindle for PC application that allows users to read books on their personal computer without having to own the e-reader device.

The move comes as Amazon aims to make it s Kindle content available on a broader range of devices. Kindle books can now be read on the iPhone, iPod touch, Kindle DX and now a PC.

Amazon has made its Kindle for PC available for free download to users in over 100 countries. The U.S. Kindle store offers access to more than 360,000 books, including new releases, which are usually priced at $9.99 or less.

Kindle for PC features include Amazon's Whispersync technology that automatically saves and synchronizes bookmarks and last page read across devices. The Kindle for PC allows users to read some on their PC and some on a Kindle, while saving their place.

"Kindle for PC is the perfect companion application for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX," said Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle.

"Kindle for PC is also a great way for people around the world to access a huge selection from the Kindle Store and read the most popular books of today even if they don't yet have a Kindle."

Sony's eBook Store and BarnesandNoble.com are compatible with a Mac or a PC, while Kindle for PC is compatible with Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Key features of the Kindle For PC include:

Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon's servers for free
Choose from more than 10 different font sizes and adjust words per line
View notes and highlights marked on Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, and iPod touch
Zoom in and out of text with a pinch of the fingers (Windows 7 users only)

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Google Offering Free Wi-Fi In Airports During The Holidays

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:43:59 +0000

Google said Tuesday it is working with airports in the U.S. as well as Boingo Wireless, Advanced Wireless Group, Airport Marketing Income and others to provide free Wi-Fi as a "holiday gift" through January 15, 2010.

The free Wi-Fi is available in 47 airports, including Las Vegas, San Jose, Boston, Baltimore, Burbank, Houston Indianapolis, Seattle, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, St. Louis and Charlotte. As a result of this project, Burbank and Seattle airports will begin offering airport-wide free Wi-Fi indefinitely.

"We're very happy to extend our Holiday Wi-Fi gift to the millions of people who will spend time in airports over the next few months," said Marissa Mayer, Vice President of Search Products and User Experience at Google.

"We know that this is a very hectic travel season for people, and we hope that free Wi-Fi will make both traveling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier."

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, over 100 million people will pass through the participating airports between now and January 15, 2010. Travelers often have extra time on their hands after they pass through security for a variety of reasons, including bad weather.

A recent study by the Wi-Fi Alliance found 50 percent of business travelers take red-eye flights in order to be "reachable" during business hours, and the majority (82%) said that being connected via Wi-Fi would help solve that problem.

"Google gets this year's Wi-Fi Santa award for sponsoring complimentary access in dozens of airports, both to the traveler's and airport's benefit," said Dave Hagan, president and CEO of Boingo Wireless.

"In addition to the obvious bonus holiday travelers will enjoy, sponsored access will increase overall Wi-Fi usage in the participating airports and help supplement the airport's increasingly important non-airline incremental revenue."

In keeping with the spirit of the season, travelers who log on to networks of the participating airports will have the option to make a donation to Engineers Without Borders, the One Economy Corporation or the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Google said it will match the donations made across all the networks up to $250,000, and the airport network that generates the highest amount per passenger by January 1 will receive $15,000 to donate to a local nonprofit of their choice.

In October, Google partnered with Virgin America to offer free in-flight WiFi to all passengers flying with the airline. Five of the airports participating in the program are also Virgin America destinations: Boston, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego and Virgin America's newest destination launching November 18, Fort Lauderdale.

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Amazon.com Launches Denim Shop

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:09:14 +0000

Amazon.com has just launched an online store for jeans it calls the Denim Shop.

To attract shoppers to its Denim Shop, Amazon is offering free shipping on some men and women's jeans. It is also offering shoppers free returns for purchases that for whatever reason don't work out. Customers will have up to 30 days to return their jeans for a full refund.

In the terms and conditions part of the site Amazon says the free shipping and free returns will be available for a limited time only. The company does not say when that offer will expire but most likely sometime after the holiday season.

The Denim Shop features over 40 brands of jeans including both traditional brands such as Levi's and designer names such as Rock & Republic and 7 For All Mankind.

Jeans on the Denim Shop range in price from $18 to $280. Visitors to the site can search by fit, price, brand, color and size.

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Internet Most Popular Source For Sports News And Information

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:46:27 +0000

While TV is the most common way for people to watch sports, the Internet is the most popular way for both men and women (36.1% and 32.7% respectively) to get sports news and information, according to a new report by Burst Media.

The Internet is trailed by local TV programming (23.7%), national TV networks (15.1%), local newspaper (6.7%), national newspaper (3.6%), and sports radio (2.9%).

Among the key age segments, 18-24 years and 25-34 years, the Internet far outweighs both local and national TV coverage as the main source of sports and news information. Adults 55 years and over still turn to local TV news over the Internet.

Among all respondents sports content is in demand regardless of which media is cited as their primary source. Nearly one-half (49.2%) of respondents use the Internet to check sports scores and 41.3 percent read sports-related news stories online.

Interestingly, nearly as many women as men use the Internet to check sports scores (47.3% vs.50.5%), read sports stories (39% vs. 42.8%) and visit professional team sports sites (25.2% vs. 26.2%). The Burst survey also found over half (55%) of all respondents indicated they have never watched live streaming game coverage on the Internet.

"It's abundantly clear that men and women of all ages are active consumers of sports content online," said Chuck Moran, Chief Marketing Officer for Burst Media. "This provides marketers an opportunity to expand the reach of their campaigns targeted to sports enthusiasts by adding an online component".

"Also, by utilizing a multichannel strategy of combining Internet and TV, advertisers can surround their target audience with coordinated messaging for greater impact."

The survey also found that although the Internet is the most popular media source for sports content, it is not seen as the best source. Overall, national TV sports networks, such as ESPN, are viewed by respondents as the best place to get sports and information news. However, men believe national TV sports networks and Internet sports content sites offer equivalent sports content (30.1% and 28.7% of men, respectively).

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Mozilla Celebrates The Fifth Birthday Of Firefox

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:26:22 +0000

Mozilla is celebrating the fifth birthday of its Firefox browser today.

Mozilla says in the first four days of launch, more than 1 million people had downloaded Firefox 1.0 Now that number is at 330 million users globally, accounting for almost a quarter of all Internet users.

Currently Firefox is available in more than 70 languages and offers users more than 7,000 add-ons to customize their browsing experience.

The Mozilla Blog provides more details. "From your desktop to your mobile device, Mozilla is committed to building an open and participatory Internet. We've come so far in the past five years and we're incredibly excited about the next five."

"To celebrate this milestone, Mozilla communities are hosting parties all over the globe in a special campaign called 'Light the World with Firefox' - shining the Firefox logo from Tokyo to Rome, from Paris to San Francisco, and more. For full details on parties in your area or to check out other ways to join in the celebration, head to http://www.spreadfirefox.com/5years/."

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eBay And Skype Settle Litigation

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:21:01 +0000

eBay said Friday that the investor group led by Silver Lake has reached a settlement agreement with Joltid Limited and Joost N.V. that gives Skype ownership over all software licensed from Joltid and ends all litigation against the investor group and eBay at the closing of the acquisition.

As part of the settlement agreement, Joltid and Skype founders Niklas Zennstrm and Janus Friis will join the investor group, contributing Joltid software and making a significant capital investment in exchange for a 14 percent stake in Skype. As a result, Silver Lake and other investors including Andreessen Horowitz and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), will together hold 56 percent of Skype and eBay will retain 30 percent.

eBay will receive $1.9 billion in cash when the sale is complete and a note from the buyer worth $125 million. The deal, which values Skype at $2.75 billion, is set to close in the fourth quarter of 2009.

"Skype will be well positioned to move forward under new owners with ownership and control over its core technology," said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe.

"At the same time, eBay continues to retain a significant stake in Skype and will benefit from its continued growth. We look forward to closing the deal and focusing on growing our core ecommerce and payments businesses."

The investor group will no longer include Index Ventures. The Skype founders had filed a lawsuit charging Index and its partner Michelangelo Volpi of using confidential information in their bid to purchase a 65 percent stake in Skype.

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Facebook Most Widely Used Network Among Businesses

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:18:47 +0000

Webinars and podcasts are the most popular social media resources for business people, used by 69 percent of those who turn to such channels for business information, according to a new study by Business.com.

Facebook is the primary social network on which consumer-focused companies maintain one or more profiles, cited by 83 percent of respondents compared with 45 percent for Twitter. Business-to-business companies maintain a presence on both social sites with 77 percent maintaining a profile on Facebook and 73 percent on Twitter.

Among those using social media for business purposes in their jobs, 62 percent visit company or brand profiles on social networking sites and 55 percent search for business information on these sites.

Consultants and marketers are the most active users of social media as a resource for business information, particularly in micro (less than 10 employees) and small businesses (10-99 employees). IT professionals have the lowest participation rate.

The average company in this study was planning, developing or running seven different social media initiatives; 65 percent of respondents staffing those initiatives, and 71 percent of companies themselves, have less than two years of experience with social media for business.

Building brand awareness and brand reputation are two of the top social media success metrics, but nearly two-thirds of companies focused on these metrics have little insight into performance via standard or easily accessible reports.

"We are constantly analyzing trends to determine exactly what tools business professionals leverage most for purchasing," said Ben Hanna, Ph.D., vice president, marketing, Business.com

"This survey was a way for us to benchmark where businesses, and business people, are finding value in social media."

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Windows 7 Sales Outperform Vista Launch

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:46:56 +0000

Initial sales of Microsoft's Windows 7 software outperformed those of Vista's first few days on the U.S. market, according to the latest analysis from The NPD Group.

Windows 7 software unit sales in the U.S. were 234 percent higher than Vista's first few days of sales. A combination of early discounts on pre-sales and a lack of promotional activity for the Ultimate version resulted in dollar sales that were 82 percent higher than Vista.

"Microsoft's program of early low-cost pre-sales, high visibility marketing, and aggressive deals helped make the Windows 7 software launch successful," said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD.

"In a slow environment for packaged software Windows 7 brought a large number of customers into the software aisles."

While boxed software sales were up compared to the Vista launch, PC hardware sales ran into more of a challenge. PC sales growth was higher than any week during the high volume back-to-school third quarter, but wasn't as strong as growth during the Vista launch.

PC sales growth during the Vista launch was stronger, increasing 68 percent over the prior year's sales and 170 percent over the week preceding the launch. Windows PC sales were down 6 percent compared to PC sales during the Vista launch week.

"A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset, but the trajectory of overall PC sales is very strong leading into the holiday season," said Baker.

"Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up 20 percent of sales during the Windows 7 launch, compared to just 6 percent of older operating sales during Vista's launch week."

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More People Relying On The Internet To Buy Vehicles

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:32:52 +0000

Searching online for used vehicles has become the primary way for consumers to locate used automobiles, according to new a report by J.D. Power and Associates.

The report found the percentage of used-vehicle buyers who rely on the Internet as a way for locating vehicles for sale has increased from 40 percent in 2008 to 46 percent in 2009, equal to the percentage of buyers who visit dealer lots as their main shopping method. In addition, 31 percent of buyers found the vehicle they eventually purchased on the Internet, compared with 28 percent of buyers who found their vehicle by visiting dealerships.

"Internet shopping provides prospective buyers with the opportunity to search through enormous amounts of specific vehicle information without ever leaving home, allowing for a more efficient medium of matching buyers with unique used vehicles in the market," said Arianne Walker, director of marketing and media research at J.D. Power and Associates.

"In light of this, dealers should expect the Internet to continue to increase in importance among used-vehicle shoppers and adjust their online presence accordingly."

The report also found that awareness of certified pre-owned (CPO vehicle programs is strong, with more than 60 percent of used-vehicle buyers indicating they intend to purchase certified pre-owned vehicles at the start of their shopping process.

One-half of all buyers of CPO vehicles say they used the Internet to locate used vehicles, while a slightly lower percentage (45%) shopped primarily by driving to dealer lots. The percentage of buyers who visited dealer Web sites specifically for CPO vehicle information has increased considerably to 29 percent in 2009, compared with 19 percent in 2008.

Among used vehicle buyers who use the Internet in their shopping process, third party sites are visited during the shopping process more frequently than other types of sites, including dealer websites. The majority (91%) of buyers say they visited at least one third-party websites during the shopping process.

"Not only has visitation increased for third-party sites, but they also continue to be viewed as the most useful sites during the shopping process," said Walker. "Overall, users rate sites such as AutoTrader, Cars.com, and Edmunds highly for overall usefulness. In addition, certain third-party sites are also well regarded for usefulness in specific areas.

"For example, sites like AutoTrader and eBay Motors are perceived as particularly useful for inventory information, while buyers report that ConsumerReports.org and Edmunds are useful for vehicle appraisals and reviews. Sites such as Kelley Blue Book are perceived as being particularly useful for pricing information."

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Best Buy Now Installing Google Mobile Apps On Smartphones

Mike Sachoff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:09:27 +0000

Best Buy Mobile said today it will install Google mobile applications in the smartphones it sells at its retail outlets.

Best Buy Mobile employees will install Google Mobile App on all compatible smartphones through its "Walk Out Working" program which is a free in-store smartphone setup.

Google will announce this additional method of getting Google Mobile App on its Mobile Blog and provide more information on a new Google and Best Buy Mobile website scheduled to launch on November 9.

Users can already download Google Mobile App from m.google.com but the partnership with Best Buy will likely lead to more adoption of the applications.

Key features of Google Mobile App include:

One-click access to Google - search Google without having to navigate to the internet
Search by voice - speak your query in plain English
My Location - search for local businesses without having to type your current location
Google Suggest - search for suggested queries and businesses that appear as you type
Links to other Google apps including Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube

"We know that consumers want smartphones and, increasingly, they want to use applications," said Scott Moore, VP of Marketing for Best Buy Mobile. "The challenge is that people still need help understanding what is available to them and how they can bring it to life on their device."

"This partnership between Best Buy and Google serves that role and will go a long way in bringing applications to more consumers regardless of what device, carrier or platform they use."

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Pew: Technology Hasn't Made Us Hermits

Doug Caverly — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:27:04 +0000

Good news, people: according to the latest info from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, we're not turning into a bunch of grouches who want to do little besides stare at computer screens. As it took statistics dating back to 1985 into account, Pew even found a couple of instances in which technology seems to have made folks more sociable over the years.

An executive summary stated, "Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party."

Pew also reported, "Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization."

Now, there were some issues. Pew believes that everyone's "discussion networks" have decreased in size by about one-third since 1985, and apparently time spent on sites like Facebook and MySpace is sometimes substituted for neighborhood involvement.

Still, the Pew reports seems to provide evidence that technology isn't to blame for any loss of an "Andy Griffith"-like (or at least "Cosby Show"-esque) world.

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Apple App Store Hits 100,000

Mike Sachoff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:27:44 +0000

Apple said today developers have created over 100,000 apps for its App Store, making it the largest application store in the world.

iPhone and iPod touch users in 77 countries can choose from a range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. App Store users have downloaded over two billion apps since the launch of the store 16 months ago.

Apple says it is working to improve search and discovery of apps with new features including Genius For Apps, App Store Essentials selections, sub category listings and better customer reviews.

"The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.

"The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating."

For comparison, Android has about 12,000 apps available and Blackberry has around 3,000 apps.

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Florida Sues Expedia And Orbitz Over Taxes

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:10:36 +0000

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said today his office has sued online travel companies Expedia and Orbitz for failing to pay the right amount of taxes on hotel room rentals.

The lawsuit states that while the companies have been collecting these taxes from consumers all along, they have only been paying a portion of the taxes to the state and keeping the rest as profit. Florida says the practice denies it of millions of dollars every year in tax revenue.

"Consumers are already paying 'taxes and fees' when purchasing a Florida hotel room online, yet the online travel companies have been keeping too much of those taxes as profit," said Attorney General McCollum.

"If these taxes are due to the State, the companies should pay them for the benefit of the people of Florida."

For transactions not completed via an online travel company, Florida hotels pay the "transient rentals tax" similar to a sales tax on the rate they charge the consumer for the room. The hotel which receives the consumer's payment for the hotel room owes the tax and is responsible for paying it to the Florida Department of Revenue.

According to the lawsuit, online travel companies purchase hotel rooms at a lower, wholesale rate they negotiate directly with hotels. The companies than resell the rooms to consumers at a higher retail rate and keep the difference as profit. The online travel companies are the merchant of record in these transactions and are responsible for paying the taxes to the state.

The Attorney General's lawsuit claims Orbitz and Expedia have admitted they do not pay taxes to the state of Florida based on the amount a consumer is charged for the hotel room. Consumers are unaware that taxes have not been paid to the state on the rate they paid for the room.

Florida is the first state to file this kind of lawsuit, which will help clarify the application of state tax laws to online travel companies.

You can read the lawsuit here.

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iPhone Most Popular Touchscreen Device

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:44:01 +0000

Touchscreen mobile phone adoption in the U.S. showed a significant 159 percent growth rate during the past year to 23.8 million users, according to a new report from comScore.

The growth in touchscreen device adoption outpaced the already strong 63 percent growth in U.S. adoption of smartphones.

"Touchscreen phones have quickly gained adoption as new devices have flooded the mobile marketplace," said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of Mobile. "It's clear that consumers are embracing touchscreen interfaces that allow them to easily navigate the increasingly powerful and complex services afforded by new phones.

"This is a trend that should continue to pick up as additional touchscreen devices, many of them running the Android operating system, arrive in the market before the holiday shopping season."

The Apple iPhone ranked as the top touchscreen device with 32.9 percent of touchscreen users age 13 and older, nearly four times larger than the market share of the next largest device, the LG Dare (8.7%). LG Voyager ranked third with 7.8 percent of the market, followed by the Blackberry Storm (7%) and Palm Treo (6.5%).

"The iPhone clearly set the trend in the industry for touchscreen devices, so it's no surprise that it has the largest share of the market," said Donovan.

"But as other players have entered the touchscreen market with compelling devices, competition is clearly heating up."

Unsurprisingly, smartphones in general and touchscreen devices specifically tend to be more popular among younger users. While 38.8 percent of all mobile subscribers are under the age of 35, 51.4 percent of smartphone users are in the same age group, as are 57.7 percent of touchscreen device users.

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Feds Charge Cable Modem Hacker

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:44:37 +0000

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged an Oregon man and the company he founded, TCNISO, alleging they developed and distributed products that allowed users to modify their cable modems and get free Internet access.

Acting United States Attorney Michael K. Loucks, announced that Ryan Harris, 26 of San Diego, and Redmond, Oregon, was charged in a six-count indictment with conspiracy, computer intrusion, and wire fraud.

The indictment alleges, from 2003 through 2009, TCNISO, under Harris's direction, developed and distributed hardware and software tools that allowed its customer to modify their cable modems so they could disguise themselves as legitimate paying subscribers, in order to get high speed Internet access without paying for it.

The indictment also charges that TCNISO and Harris offered on going customer support, mainly via forums that it hosted on the company website, to help customers with their cable modem hacking.

According to the indictment, one of the customers who used the company's products and assistance to steal Internet access, was a male juvenile from Massachusetts, known online as "Dshocker." In November 2008, "Dshocker," whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, was charged in federal court with computer intrusion, interstate threats and wire fraud.

If convicted, Harris faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Best Buy To Launch Online Movie Service

Mike Sachoff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:48:15 +0000

Best Buy said today it is partnering with online video provider CinemaNow to create a movie download service that would be built into most of the electronic devices it sells that can be connected to the Internet.

Best Buy said it has entered into a multi-year agreement to license Sonic Solutions' Roxio CinemaNow technology. Under terms of the agreement, Best Buy acquired warrants enabling it to purchase shares of Sonic Solutions common stock.

The new service, which is yet to be named, will allow users to access content including new movies, TV shows, independent films, and older catalog titles on a variety of devices. Best Buy said new titles will often be available on the same day they become available on DVDs in retail stores.

The new offering from Best Buy will be competing with the likes of other online movie services from Amazon.com, Netflix and Apple's iTunes Store.

"Our relationship with Sonic Solutions allows Best Buy to quickly establish a strong position in the digital delivery of video entertainment," said Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy.

"It also enables us to make deeper and more meaningful connections with our customers and expand our relationships with content owners and hardware vendors to create compelling new home entertainment solutions."

A launch date for the new service has not been announced.

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Opera Turns Your Computer Into a Server

Chris Crum — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:06:21 +0000

Update: Opera has released the beta version of Opera Unite in Opera 10.10 beta.

Original Article: Today Opera has released a product (as promised), which it claims reinvents the web. That may seem like an exaggerated statement, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless.

The product is called Opera Unite, and it is available at labs.opera.com. What Opera Unite does, is basically turn your computer into both a client and a server. It eliminates the need for third-party servers.

"Today, we are opening the full potential of the Web for everyone," says Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "Technology moves in distinct cycles. PCs decentralized computing away from large mainframes. Opera Unite now decentralizes and democratizes the cloud. With server capability in the browser, Web developers can create Web applications with profound ease. Consumers have the flexibility to choose private and efficient ways of sharing information. We believe Opera Unite is one of our most significant innovations yet, because it changes forever the fundamental fabric of the Web."

Current Opera Unite services include file sharing, web server, media player, photo sharing, chat, and "the fridge," which allows users to post notes on their friends' "virtual refrigerators." I'm thinking this is basically like Facebook's "wall."

Here are some screenshots of what these services look like:

File Sharing

Web Server

Media Player

Photo Sharing

Chat

The Fridge

"What interests me about Opera Unite is how current technology and the social world are now interconnected," says Molly E. Holzschlag, Web evangelist for Opera. "Using open standards including HTML, CSS and JavaScript, developers and even enthusiasts with a little standards savvy can make their own Opera Unite service. Opera Unite allows people the ability to be imaginative with their skills and create a wide range of technical and social applications using the same open standards used today."

It seems that it is a little early for there to be any concrete opinions from users formed at this point. The Twitterverse appears to interested in the product, but a little unsure of what to expect (even those who have already downloaded it). Some have compared it to Google Wave, only with one being on the desktop, and the other on the web.

What are your initial thoughts on Opera Unite? Does this really "reinvent the web?" Tell us what you think.

Amazon Introduces PayPhrase

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:52:20 +0000

Amazon.com has introduced "PayPhrase," a new shortcut for making purchases at the online retailer and other websites.

PayPhrase works by allowing users to choose their own phrase along with a PIN and then set up their shipping information, which is stored at Amazon.

Amazon customers can use PayPhrase to make purchases at any websites that offers Checkout by Amazon, such as DNKY, Patagonia, Buy.com and J&R Electronics.

Amazon says PayPhrase shortens the online shopping process by not requiring customers to share sensitive payment information with multiple websites. Customers can type their PayPhrase into a button on the product page, and click to preview the total cost of the order, including shipping and tax.

Customers can skip steps such as "Add to cart," "Proceed to checkout," by using their PayPhrase information.

"PayPhrase solves the headache of trying to keep track of all the different usernames and passwords people use to shop on various sites across the web. With PayPhrase all you need is one phrase and one PIN to pay online," said Matt Williams, General Manager, Amazon PayPhrase (Matt's PayPhrase is "good to go").

"We think customers will enjoy the simplicity that Amazon PayPhrase offers, and we hope they'll have some fun choosing their own personal phrases."

Merchants can accept PayPhrase orders by using Checkout by Amazon, which automatically supports PayPhrase. Parents can use PayPhrase to set up an online allowance for their kids and approve each order via email, mobile phone or text alerts.

>Amazon Rolls Out Kindle For PC

> Amazon Offers Payment Services For Charity Donations

> Amazon Introduces Mobile Payment Service

UPS Launches App For iPhone Users

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:36:12 +0000

UPS has introduced a new application for iPhone and iPod touch users that ships and tracks packages and also uses built-in GPS features to find the closest UPS store.

Available at the APP Store, the new UPS Mobile APP for iPhone allows users to track shipments, create shipments using the My UPS address book, calculate shipping rates and time-in-transit.

The free shipping app is part of other UPS tools for Apple users. NRG Software, a UPS partner, has recently added NRGship Mac to its shipping software lineup as a Mac application.

"Apple users are an innovative group of customers who appreciate the capabilities that make the most of their devices," said Jordan Colletta, vice president of customer technology marketing at UPS.

"These new solutions help them take full advantage of the world's largest package delivery company."

IPhone and iPod touch users can use their devices to access their UPS address book and preferences and create shipping labels, which can be emailed in a PDF file for printout. After printing the label, people can use the app's "find locations" feature, which uses the built-n GPS to find a UPS location.

The iPhone App does not require login for tracking. When logged, the application shows a history of tracked shipments and automatically refreshes when the app is opened.

Related Articles:

>Usage of Mobile Web And Apps Doubles In 2 Years

> Disney Rolls Out iPhone App

> Verizon CEO On iPhone: It's Entirely Apple's Call

Online Retailers To Have Better Holiday Season

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:39:46 +0000

Overall retail sales are expected to show no gain this holiday shopping season, while online retail sales in the U.S. will reach $44.7 billion during the holiday season, an eight percent increase over last year, according to a new report by Forrester Research.

The growth rate represents an increase from 2008, when, on the heels of the global financial crisis, online holiday retail sales in the U.S. grew just five percent. Forrester defines the holiday shopping season as months of November and December.

"Despite the lingering effects of the recession, the online space remains the retail industry's growth engine," said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst.

Sucharita Mulpuru
"What's different this holiday from past years is that online retailers will manage to the bottom line, which will change some of the tactics they have employed in the past."

The National Retail Federation has forecast a one percent decline in overall U.S. holiday retail sales for this year. A recent Forrester survey of more than 4,000 U.S. online consumers found that 94 percent of those who made a purchase online within the past three months plan to continue to buy online this holiday season. Nearly three- quarters (72%) of retailers surveyed in "The State Of Retailing Online," a Shop.org study done by Forrester in Q3 of this year, say they expect online holiday sales to increase over last year.

According to Forrester, retailers will cut down on automatic free shipping and require price thresholds to qualify for free shipping. In addition, online retailers will use more cross-channel customer service options, advanced merchandizing software that will offer more product information, and improved social networking tools that will allow people to share purchase decisions with friends.

"Tighter offline inventories may benefit the online channel as consumers go to the Web looking for products - and prices - they can't find in stores this holiday," said Mulpuru.

"Online retailers will be ready for them with a special focus this year on engagement and service."

Related Articles:

> Online Retailers Seek To Imrpove Checkout Process

> More Holiday Shoppers To Go Online To Save

> Consumer Online Spending To Grow 24%

10 Reasons Social Media isn't Replacing Email

Chris Crum — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:54:53 +0000

Update: VerticalResponse CEO Janine Popick has written a separate piece adding 10 more reasons.

Original Article: The Wall Street Journal just ran a piece about the evolution of communication technology, chronicling the rise and alleged fall of email to social media. "Email no longer rules," the title reads.

Do you agree that email no longer rules? Tell us why or why not.

"We all still use email, of course," says Jessica E. Vascellaro, the author of the piece. "But email was better suited to the way we used to use the Internet—logging off and on, checking our messages in bursts. Now, we are always connected, whether we are sitting at a desk or on a mobile phone. The always-on connection, in turn, has created a host of new ways to communicate that are much faster than email, and more fun."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all social networks also require logging on to use? Sure, you can set them up to remember your info so you don't have to log-in every time, but the same could be said for most email services. That's beside the point though.

It's fun to look at how communication has evolved, and it's easy to declare the old medium dead (although to be fair, Vascellaro didn't exactly go that far). It's just not the case.

WebProNews recently ran an article about how social media will not replace search, despite plenty of mutterings to the contrary. I will go ahead and declare the same thing about email. Social media will not replace email. Just as it did with search, it may replace it in some (even many) instances, but there is room for both forms of communication. In fact, they do a pretty good job of complimenting each other (for better or for worse).

Reasons Email Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon

1. People still send hand-written letters via snail mail, even though they could instead make a phone call, send an email, text message, or status update.

2. Nearly all sites on the web that require registration require an email address. Some are starting to integrate social media into this process (through things like Facebook Connect), but that is still a very small fraction, and they typically still allow for email information as well.

3. Email notifies you of updates from all social networks you are a part of (provided your settings are set up that way).

4. We haven't seen any evidence yet that Google Wave really is the next big thing and will catch on on a large scale.

5. Email is universal, and social networks are not. Nearly everybody on the web (while there are no doubt some exceptions) has an email address. Many places of employment give employees email addresses when they begin working there. Meanwhile, a great deal of them are banning workers from even accessing social networks.

6. There are plenty of people who have no interest in joining social networks. Frequent news stories about security, privacy, and reputation issues do not help convince them.

7. Email is still improving. It hasn't screeched to a halt with the rise of social media. There is still innovation going on, and integration with social media. Look at how Google is constantly adding new features to Gmail. Look at the new Yahoo Mail.

8. Even social networks themselves recognize the importance of email. Never mind that they update users about community-driven happenings via email. MySpace (still one of the biggest social networks) even launched its own email service recently.

9. More social media use means more email use. Look at these recent findings from Nielsen. The people consuming the largest amount of social media are also the people consuming the largest amount of email.

10. As far as marketing is concerned, email is doing pretty well, as many companies continue to struggle to find the right social media strategy to suit their needs.

Email Marketing

Let's expand on that last one a bit. There have been a significant number of studies released in recent memory, indicating that email marketing is doing quite well. Epsilon shared some findings about how email marketing is driving offline purchases. The same firm also found that email open rates increased for the fourth quarter in a row (up 18% YoY according to the most recent study). Forrester Consulting and ExactTarget found that email marketing is the most popular channel for consumers. Earlier this year, Forrester Research reported that email marketing in the U.S. alone was expected to reach $2 billion by 2014.

Is the email landscape changing? Yes, without a doubt. Social media has become a very large part of the online lives for many Internet users. Earlier this year, social sites were even said to have surpassed email in usage. That said, Facebook has come significantly close to matching Google in terms of unique visitors, but that doesn't make Google any less important does it? The two can co-exist, and so can email and social media. They are co-existing.

Email marketers are facing new challenges with an increasingly social and mobile web. For tips on embracing this, check out our coverage of a related session from the recent Shop.org summit.

Related Articles:

> People 18-24 Would Rather Give Up Social Networks Than Email

> Social Networks Blamed For $2.25B In Lost Productivity

> Some Brands Have Good Ideas For Social Media. Do You?

> Making Money With Social Media Marketing

> Report: Online Video the Top Priority in Marketing

Do you think social networks will replace email? Share your thoughts here.

Microsoft Partners With OpenX On Ad Deal

Mike Sachoff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:33:59 +0000

Microsoft has entered into a partnership with advertising start-up OpenX, focused on promoting each other's products to their respective customer base.

Under the terms of the multiyear agreement, OpenX will expand its distribution of its technology for delivering ads on websites. In addition, OpenX will promote Microsoft's Content Ads monetization products.

Microsoft will have a major distribution channel for its monetization products via OpenX's community of more than 150,000 websites that serve more than 300 billion ads per month. OpenX will gain access to a new base of potential customers through referrals from Microsoft. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"We're pleased to build on the foundation we laid last year, and we're especially pleased that Microsoft has selected OpenX as a technology partner," said Tim Cadogan, chief executive officer, OpenX.

"We think our product suite is particularly well-suited to helping grow the businesses of those new publishers Microsoft will refer to us. Similarly, we think that Content Ads will provide an additional and important monetization option for existing OpenX publishers, while helping them increase their advertising revenue."

The Content Ads part of the agreement comes after a successful trial Microsoft and Open X began in August 2008, during which OpenX provided invitations to its publishers to test the product.

Related Articles:

>Microsoft Tipped As most Likely Ask.com Buyer

> New Bing Commercial Inspired By The Shining

> Bing Gets More Mobile Features In The US

Mobile Phone Market Shows Signs Of Improvement

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:22:07 +0000

The global mobile phone market saw slight growth in the third quarter, according to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.

Year-on-year growth remained negative, but improved from the first half of 2009. Mobile shipments totaled 287.1 million units worldwide in Q3, down from 6 percent from the previous year, but up 5.6 percent from the second quarter.

"The mobile phone market is showing the first signs of improvement since the onset of the economic crisis," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team.

"During the third quarter, we saw a number of channels promoting older devices at significantly lower prices. For many, this was enough to spur demand and push volumes higher. Now that we have moved into the fourth quarter, vendors are setting the stage for further gains by launching their flagship devices to meet pent-up demand."

The North American market posted mixed results for Q3. The United States posted positive results, with mobile devices and prepaid handsets once again driving growth. The Canadian mobile phone market declined for the third straight despite double-digit mobile device growth.

Nokia took the top spot in market share with 37.8 percent, but its year-on year growth dipped 8 percent. Samsung landed in the second spot with 21 percent market share and positive year-on-year growth of 15.9 percent.

"Although some regions are still reeling from problems associated with the economic crisis, the third quarter served to cleanse the channel while providing the signs of stability necessary for additional improvement in the fourth quarter," said Will Stofega, research manager of IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team

Related Articles:

>Apple And LG Rank High In Consumer Satisfaction

>Google Launches Custom Search For Smartphones

>Usage Of Mobile Web And Apps Doubles In 2 Years

ICANN Approves International Domains

Mike Sachoff — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:43:15 +0000

The first Internet addresses with non-Latin characters will soon be online after today's approval of the new Internationalized Domain Name Fast Track Process by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

"The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the Internet since it was created four decades ago," said ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush.

"Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters - A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names."

ICANN said starting November 16 nations and territories will be able to apply for internationalized domain names (IDNs) made up of characters from their national language.

"This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the Internet," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and CEO.

"The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of IDNs in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online - people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives."

IDNs have been an issue since before ICANN was created. ICANN said its taken years of technical testing, policy development, and global co-operation to prepare for the launch of the Fast Track process.

"Our work on IDNs has gone through numerous drafts, dozens of tests, and an incredible amount of development by volunteers since we started this project. Today is the first step in moving from planning and implementation to the real launch," said Tina Dam, ICANN's Senior Director for IDNs.

"The launch of the Fast Track Process will be an amazing change to make the Internet an even more valuable tool, and for even more people around the globe."

Related Articles:

>ICANN Becomes More Independent

> Respected Security Expert Becomes ICANN CEO

>Domain Registrars Lose Accreditation

Usage of Mobile Web and Apps Doubles in 2 Years

Chris Crum — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:14:01 +0000

According to AdMob, which claims it is the world's largest mobile advertising platform, mobile web and application use has doubled over the past two years. In September, the firm received over 100 million ad requests from 14 countries, and over 10 million ad requests from 64 countries.

AdMob released its Mobile Metrics report for September, which highlights the rapid growth in usage of mobile web sites and apps on new devices in the past year.

In September of 2008, the Motorola RAZR was the top device in the US and the iPhone was the only touchscreen device in the top 10. This year, things have changed a bit. The lost of the top 10 devices includes five with touchscreens, six with Wi-Fi capabilities, and six with application stores.

"These devices are responsible for a much higher percentage of mobile usage than their share of handsets sold," says AdMob. "However feature phones like the Samsung R450 and Motorola RAZR V3 still represent 60 percent of ad requests in the US. The strong mobile Web usage on these feature phones is likely driven by unlimited data plans."

Other highlights from the report include:

- In September 2007 AdMob had 1.6 billion ad requests, in September 2008 5.1 billion, and in September 2009 10.2 billion.

- Nearly every region of the world experienced immense growth in the past two years, with North America, Asia, Western Europe, Oceania and Latin America seeing a six-fold increase in traffic since September 2007.

- Worldwide iPhone and iPod touch traffic increased 19 times from September 2008 to September 2009 in the AdMob network.

- In September 2009 42 percent of requests in the US were made from Wi-Fi capable devices. 18 percent of actual US requests were made over a Wi-Fi connection in September 2009 compared to only 5 percent in September 2008.

- Devices running on the Android Operating System (OS) accounted for 17 percent of smartphone traffic in AdMob’s network in the US in September 2009, up from 13 percent in August 2009. The HTC Dream (G1) was the number three device and the HTC Magic was the number 10 device in September 2009 in the US. As with the iPhone OS, much of the Android traffic in AdMob’s network came from applications.

AdMob's data is based on usage of handsets and smartphone devices during the month of September in their network of over 15,000 mobile sites and apps. AdMob's market share is calculated by the percentage of requests received from a particular handset. The company deems this a measure relative of mobile web and application usage.

Related Articles:

> App Store Gets Twice the Downloads of Android Market

> That's a Lot of Mobile Advertising!

> What's Your Favorite iPhone App?

Customer Satisfaction With ISPs Rises

Mike Sachoff — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:19:57 +0000

Overall consumer satisfaction with high-speed Internet service providers (ISPs) has increased from 2008, mainly due to improvements in performance and reliability, according to a new report by J.D. Power and Associates.

The study measures customer satisfaction with high-speed Internet service based on five factors: performance and reliability; cost of service; customer service; billing; and offerings and promotions.

The study found that overall satisfaction with high-speed Internet service is 639 on a 1,000-point scale-an increase of 22 index points compared with 2008.

"In many instances a household's Internet connection acts as the backbone of its voice, video and information services, making the provider's ability to provide a fast, reliable connection particularly critical," said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates.

ISP-Satisfaction

"As households become more dependent on services provided via the Internet, eliminating outages and providing consistent connection speeds will become necessities in Internet service providers' business models."

Among customers who bundle services from their ISP, the most popular option is a combination of video and Internet services, selected by one-third of customers. The percentage of customers who bundle voice, video and data services has increased from 16 percent in 2008 to 19 percent in 2009.

In addition, the proportion of customers who indicate they "probably will" or "definitely will" bundle their Internet service with other voice or video services in the next year has increased to 52 percent in 2009 from 43 percent in 2008.

Other highlights from the report include:

The proportion of high-speed Internet service customers who indicate they are loyal to their provider has increased by two percentage points from 2008, to 32 percent in 2009. Additionally, 66 percent of customers state they "definitely will" or "probably will" recommend their provider to others in 2009-an increase of four percentage points, compared with 2008.
Among customers who contacted their service provider to resolve a problem or question, average hold times have decreased by nearly 30 seconds in 2009, compared with 2008.

"Internet service may be considered the lynchpin of the bundled offering, serving to drive both customer loyalty and incremental sales opportunities," said Perazzini.

"As competition for new customers increases among Internet service providers, retaining the existing customer base while promoting additional voice and video will continue to be critical."

> Internet's Possible Future In The US Gets Ready To Be Decided

>ICANN Becomes More Independent

> Domain Registrars Lose Accreditation

Google Delivers GPS for Android 2.0 Devices

Chris Crum — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:54:42 +0000

Google has launched Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 devices in beta. This acts as a GPS navigation system with 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance, and automatic rerouting.

"But unlike most navigation systems, Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of your phone's Internet connection," says Google Software Engineer Keith Ito.

Because of that Internet connection, Google provides seven features that are available:

1. The most recent map and business data
2. Ability to search in plain English
3. Ability to search by voice
4. Traffic View
5. Ability to search along a route
6. Satellite View
7. Street View

The following video demonstrates how Google Maps Navigation functions:

GPS users may find the "search along route" feature to be particularly helpful. It is designed to let you search along your route to give you results that will keep you near your path. You can search for specific businesses by name or type and turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants or parking. Since Google will provide the most recent map and business data, this is likely to be a more efficient tool than similar options from other GPS systems.

Verizon's Droid is the first phone to have the Google Maps Navigation and Android 2.0. Google Maps Navigation is only available in the U.S. currently. More information on the feature can be found here.

Related Articles

> Google Makes Biggest Design Changes to Maps Yet

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