Miscellaneous

Google Maps rides to iOS users' rescue (week in review)

Google Maps returned to the iOS platform this week, but that was not enough to rescue Apple's map app rep.

Banished from Apple's iOS earlier this fall, Google Maps returned to the mobile platform in the form of a standalone app. The official Google Maps app returned to Apple's App store Thursday evening with turn-by-turn navigation, as well as public transit directions, integrated Street View, and a 3D-like Google Earth view. Google Maps didn't take long to capture the top spot among free iPhone apps.

The release came a few days after Apple again became the … Read more

Report tags top consumer trends for 2013

Cloud computing is one of the main trends to keep an eye on in 2013, according to a new report from Ericsson.

The electronics firm's "Ten Hot Consumer Trends 2013" report (PDF) suggests that not only is cloud computing becoming increasingly important in our daily lives, but young people's use of the Internet will drive new businesses and products in the coming year.

The most important technological trend is cloud computing. More than 50 percent of tablet users and 40 percent of smartphone users in the U.S., Japan, Australia, and Sweden subscribe to these kinds … Read more

Locata wants to fill holes in GPS location, navigation

It's a common affliction: you're using your smartphone to navigate in a city with a bunch of big buildings and your phone misplaces your location.

Often the problem often is that the GPS location system just doesn't work well where the satellite radio signals can be blocked or reflected. A company called Locata says it's got an answer.

Locata does what the GPS system does, but it replaces satellites in orbit with radio transmitters on the ground. The result is location services with high precision, better reliability, and indoor coverage, said Paul Benshoof, global business development … Read more

Dell: Smartphones? Not our thing. Go PCs!

Dell has bopped on the head any rumors that it may return to the smartphone market in the near future, but remained optimistic on the future of the PC, despite a global manufacturer slowdown.

Dell president of global operations Jeff Clarke told attendees at the Dell World conference in Austin, Texas, that the company still has "long term prospects" for the PC business, and remains "optimistic."

"I look at the middle class as it grows over the next 20 years from 1.8 billion people to 4.9 billion people and the opportunity for PCs … Read more

Senator pressures FAA to get moving on in-flight device use

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill wants you to be able to tweet a photo of St. Louis' famous Gateway Arch while you're soaring above it in your commercial airliner of choice.

At least that might be one option open to you if a letter she sent to the Federal Aviation Administration yesterday has the desired effect.

The Democratic senator said in her letter that she was "prepared to pursue legislative solutions" if the FAA takes too long to loosen its restrictions on the use of portable electronic devices during flights.

"We live in an increasingly connected world, … Read more

Rumor Has It: Microsoft Office finally coming to iOS in 2013

Rumors have been swirling for a long time about the possibility of Microsoft's Office suite coming to iOS, but new leaks point to this happening sometime in the next year.

The biggest question we have about this rumor is: why hasn't this happened already?

Also this week, we go on and on about Bloomberg's possible plans and what that means for LinkedIn, and Dish has its eye on your cell phone contract.

Thanks for watching!

Heard a tech rumor you think we should cover? Leave a comment below; ; send us a tweet (@EmilyDreyfuss, @karynelevy, and @CNETRumorShow); or … Read more

Bing Augmented Reality team building SDK, tablet apps

The Microsoft Bing team is doing more than building a search engine that competes head-to-head with Google.

Part of the team, as I've blogged previously, also built some of the first Microsoft-branded consumer apps for Windows 8.

But it turns out there's another team inside the Bing organization that is working on Windows 8 apps, too. There's an Augmented Reality (AR) team inside Bing that is building both an AR framework and AR applications that will ship on Windows 8 tablets and other unspecified devices.

In keeping with Microsoft's new charter as a devices and services company, … Read more

Why Bloomberg would be stupid to buy LinkedIn

Some people are suggesting that Bloomberg and LinkedIn would be a good business combination. I think it would be a complete financial disaster.

In an interesting but flawed piece, Reuters reporter Felix Salmon ponders the merits of Bloomberg acquiring the world's largest business social network.

From his post:

The acquisition of LinkedIn would be a clear declaration that Bloomberg had its eye on more than just the people with $20,000/year terminal budgets, and was interested in reaching the professional world more broadly. LinkedIn has not taken off as a messaging medium in the way that Bloomberg did, … Read more

FTC re-slams apps for kids over privacy concerns

In February 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report titled Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures are Disappointing (PDF) that pointed out that there was "little or no" privacy information available to parents in the Android Google Play and Apple iOS app stores prior to download and scarce data in the apps themselves or on the app vendors websites.

And on Monday, the FTC issued a follow up report, Mobile Apps for Kids Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade that complains that "despite many high-visibility efforts to increase transparency in the mobile marketplace, little … Read more