SPRINT MAY BE ACQUIRED BY DEUTSCHE TELEKOM, A NEW JAPANESE ROBOT
CAN HELP GET YOUR GRANDPARENTS IN SHAPE, AND WHAT IN THE WORLD IS
AN HD PHONE CALL? WE WILL DISCUSS. IT'S MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH. IT'S
TIME TO GET LOADED.
[*]
SPRINT IS GETTING THE ONCE OVER FROM DEUTSCHE TELEKOM. THE GERMANY
COMPANY IS SAID TO BE LOOKING TO BUY SPRINT NEXTEL, ACCORDING TO THE
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH. KEEP IN MIND DEUTSCHE JUST ANNOUNCED A MERGER
WITH FRANCE TELECOM'S ORANGE UK UNIT SO THAT PUT THEM AHEAD IN THE
U.K. BUYING SPRINT WOULD NOT EXACTLY PUT THEM AHEAD IN THE U.S. SINCE
SPRINT HAS BEEN HAVING A HARD TIME FINANCIALLY, BUT IT WOULD MAKE
SPRINT AND T-MOBILE SISTER COMPANIES AND THAT WOULD MAKE A DENT IN
THE US MOBILE MARKET.
[*]
TECHCRUNCH IS REPORTING THAT INTUIT IS ABOUT TO BUY MINT, THE
PERSONAL FINANCE WEB PROGRAM. THE ACQUISITION IS SAID TO BE WORTH
$170 MILLION. MINT HAS MADE A LOT OF HEADWAY SINCE ITS LAUNCH 2 YEARS
AGO. IT IS FAIRLY POPULAR IN THE WEB COMMUNITY AND CLAIMS TO BE
GAINING AROUND 3,000 NEW USERS PER DAY. NOT BAD. WE WILL WATCH FOR
CONFIRMATION ON THIS DEAL AND LET YOU KNOW.
[*]
FEWER PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR TERMS LIKE "UNEMPLOYMENT" THESE
DAYS AND GOOGLE IS TAKING THAT AS A SMALL BUT SIGNIFICANT INDICATION
THAT THE ECONOMY MAY BE IMPROVING. GOOGLE'S CHIEF ECONOMIST HAL
VARIAN TOLD THE WASHINGTON POST THAT IN MONTHS PAST, THESE KINDS OF
SEARCHES WERE ABOUNDING. NOW THEY ARE IN DECLINE AND SEARCHES FOR
REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND HOMES ARE ON THE RISE. WE SHOULDN'T PUT TOO
MUCH STOCK INTO THIS KIND OF MEASUREMENT BUT IT IS GOOD TO NOTE.
[*]
THE NFL IS NOW OFFERING REPLAYS OF BLACKED-OUT GAMES ON FREE ON
NFL.COM. THE RULES AROUND WHETHER OR NOT THE NFL AIRS ITS GAMES ARE
SLIGHTLY CONFUSING. IF THE GAME DOES NOT SELL OUT WITHIN 72 HOURS OF
GAME TIME, THE GAMES CANNOT BE TELEVISED LOCALLY. NOT WANTING TO
WASTE THE BROADCASTING OF THESE GAMES, THE NFL HAS DECIDED TO
THROW THEM ONLINE BUT ONLY AFTER MIDNIGHT THE DAY AFTER THE GAME,
AND ONLY FOR 72 HOURS. OKAY IT IS SOMETHING BUT IT IS SO CONFUSING.
CAN'T THEY JUST PUT THEIR CONTENT EVERYWHERE LIKE A FUTURISTIC MEDIA
ENTITTY?
[*]
HERE COMES ANOTHER ANDROID PHONE, THIS ONE IS BY LG. BEHOLD THE
GW620. IT IS LG'S FIRST ATTEMPT AT RUNNING GOOGLE'S MOBILE OPERATING
SYSTEM. THE PHONE HAS A 3-INCH TOUCHSCREEN, SLIDE-OUT QWERTY
KEYBOARD, AND 5 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA. IT LOOKS TO HIT EUROPEAN MARKETS
SOME TIME IN Q4. THIS PHONE IS HOT ON THE HEELS OF THE NEW MOTOROLA
CLIQ, A SIMILAR SLIDE-OUT QWERTY KEYBOARD PHONE THAT WILL RUN
ANDROID. THIS WAS ANNOUNCED LATE LAST WEEK FOR T-MOBILE.
[*]
DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE IN HD THESE DAYS? SILLY QUESTION, OF COURSE
IT DOES. SO WHAT ABOUT HD MOBILE PHONE CALLS? ORANGE TELECOM CLAIMS
TO HAVE FACILITATED HD VOICE CALLS IN MOLDOVA. THESE CALLS ARE MADE
ON THE ADAPTIVE MULTI RATE WIDE BAND CODEC THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE
OF3G BANDWIDTH. OF COURSE, NOT MANY PHONES CAN PLACE THESE KIND OF
CALLS. IN MOLDOVA, IT IS ONLY THE NOKIA 6720. ORANGE EXPECTS TO BRING
HD CALLS TO THE REST OF EUROPE NEXT YEAR. I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE
IF I CUOLD HEAR THE DIFFERENCE. THESE DAYS, I WOULD SETTLE FOR JUST
REGULAR CALLS THAT DON'T GET DROPPED ON AT&T.
[*]
IT ONLY TOOK 7 YEARS FOR THE 802.11N WIRELESS STANDARD TO BE
APPROVED. THAT IS IRONICALLY SLOW FOR SOMETHING MADE TO BE FAST. THE
N STANDARD WAS SUPPOSEDLY IS SUPPOSED TO BE FORMALLY GREEN LIGHTED
ON TUESDAY BUT THE WI-FI ALLIANCE DOES SAY THAT THE PRODUCTS WE HAVE
THAT USE N SHOULD STILL WORK JUST FINE. THE APPROVAL IS KIND OF A
FORMALITY AND A COMEDY CONSIDERING MOST OF US ARE OVER 802.11 AND
READY FOR 4G ALREADY.
[*]
LAST.FM IS GOING TO LAUNCH A TERRESTRIAL RADIO STATION. LAST.FM IS THE
INTERNET RADIO SERVICE OWNED BY OUR PARENT COMPANY CBS. LAST.FM
WILL LAUNCH CBS RADIO HD ON OCTOBER 5 IN NEW YORK, LOS ANGELES,
CHICAGO, AND SAN FRANCISCO. IT WILL PLAY MUSIC FROM LAST.FM'S WEEKLY
CHARTS SO IT IS SORT OF A CROWDSOURCED RADIO STATION. I MIGHT CHOOSE
TO LISTEN IN BUT I DON'T EVEN OWN AN FM RADIO.
[*]
MEET TAIZO. HE IS A JAPANESE ROBOT THAT HELPS THE ELDERLY STAY FIT. HE
LOOKS KIND OF LIKE A FURRY VERSION OF THE ABOMIDABLE SNOWMAN. HE
CAN LEAD CALISTHENICS AND CAN DO ABOUT 30 DIFFERENT EXERCISE MOVES.
HE WAS CREATED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. HE WEIGHS ABOUT 14 POUNDS BUT
UNFORTUNATELY HE CANNOT LOSE WEIGHT, DESPITE ALL THE EXERCISE.
[*]
THOSE ARE ALL OF YOUR HEADLINES FOR TODAY. I WILL SEE YOU TOMORROW
WITH MORE. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. I'M NATALI DEL CONTE WITH CNET TV
AND YOU'VE JUST BEEN LOADED.
