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Motorola adviser hints at custom-built smartphones

The next generation of Motorola smartphones may allow for custom designed handsets, if ongoing chatter is to be believed.

According to a recent AndroidAndMe post, the rumored X Phone is actually part of a larger brand and approach that includes user-defined configurations for color, storage capacity, ringtones, apps, and more.

If that weren't enough to whip fanboys into a frenzy, a source close to the blog suggests that memory, processors, and carrier support may be customizable as well. Reportedly, Motorola will guarantee one-week delivery for custom devices.

While the casual smartphone observer might find the rumors just a tad &… Read more

YouTube to keep serving videos on older version of its app

YouTube fans who don't upgrade their iOS device to the latest version can relax: the company plans to continue supporting the old iPhone app indefinitely, CNET has confirmed.

A representative said the TV-cabinet YouTube app that has been a part of iOS from the beginning will continue to function on the older devices, even as it disappears as a pre-installed app in iOS 6. Users can continue browsing the selection of videos inside the old app, which are free of advertising.

It may not seem like much of a surprise that YouTube will continue supporting the old app, and … Read more

As iOS 6 debuts minus YouTube, video apps fight for attention

When Apple users start upgrading to iOS 6 this morning, it'll be missing an app that's been baked into the operating system since the release of the first iPhone: YouTube. For the first time, consumers will have to search for a video app on their own -- and that has developers eager to get their attention.

Most consumers will doubtless start by simply downloading the YouTube iPhone app that Google released last week. But for now, that one's iPhone-only -- an iPad version is months off. In the meantime, makers of other so-called video discovery apps are … Read more

App Store snub? Apple leaves YouTube off list of top video apps

Apple is leaving YouTube off more than its new operating system.

A new featured section of the App Store called "TV Time" launched yesterday to showcase top video apps across a range of categories: networks and services, shows, and sharing tools, among others.

But while there are dozens of video apps on display there, the most popular one is nowhere to be found. YouTube's standalone app, which it released Tuesday, is missing.

The news comes on the heels of Apple saying it would no longer include YouTube as a preinstalled app on iOS devices, a position YouTube … Read more

YouTube launches new iPhone app ahead of iOS 6 release

Days before iOS 6 lands on iPhones without the familiar pre-installed YouTube app, Google has released a new version with some significant upgrades. (Grab the app here.)

Tens of thousands of additional videos can now be played through the iOS app, notably major-label music videos. That will be made possible by advertising, which was forbidden in the original Apple-designed app. The new YouTube also includes an easier way to browse any channels you've subscribed to -- just swipe right from the left side of the screen to see a list of them -- and new options for sharing videos … Read more

Envision a Google Glass world by 2014

Thursday's big headlines still have us basking in the Google gadget glow:

Google co-founder Sergey Brin says he envisions consumers buying Google Glass by 2014, just a year after developers get to experiment with the version called Explorer Edition. Right now only bleeding-edge techies at the Google I/O conference get to preorder the augmented reality glasses for $1,500. But once those models ship next year, it wouldn't surprise me to see some being sold for high prices on eBay.

Already, someone from the conference is selling the attendee freebie Nexus 7 tablet on eBay, if you … Read more

Dirt-cheap alternatives to the Google Nexus Q

A 7-inch quad-core tablet for $199? Got my credit card right here!

A media-streaming orb for $299? Not so fast.

These were the two big announcements during yesterday's Google I/O keynote, and while the Google Nexus 7 tablet has "smash hit" written all over it, the Nexus Q media-streaming orb will probably be the biggest flop since Google TV.

What's wrong with the Q? Simple: it has too many digits in its price tag.

As noted in CNET's Nexus Q First Take, this heavy black orb is designed to stream songs, videos, and photos … Read more

Google launches liveblog tool for Google I/O

Google is looking to get news from its Google I/O conference out as broadly as it can. Company reps told me that "the magical feeling will be bigger and better" at the keynotes Wednesday and Thursday. And to make sure as many people as possible are encouraged to reflect that "magic" out onto the Web, the company is also rolling out a new, simple, embeddable liveblog tool that will also feature the live video streams from the conference.

The new tool, I/O Live, is dependent on Google+ for text input. What you post on … Read more

Facebook removes controversial feature

Break off a piece of that BlackBerry and friend some strangers on Facebook:

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has long been struggling to turn the company around. With thousands of layoffs ongoing, it could be time for the company to try something drastic. One report says RIM is considering spliting itself into two companies by diving the messaging network from the hardware side, and possibly selling the hardware division. RIM didn't comment on specifics of this report by The Sunday Times. But RIM did say it is examining a wide-range of strategies. Perhaps new BlackBerry 10 devices can shake … Read more