They just don’t get it: AT&T looking at mandatory texting plans on new activations?

A troubling feature of new cellphone activations of late is that if the phone is considered a smartphone, (or if on Verizon, any phone remotely capable of reaching some stripped down WAP page) the carrier forces you to sign up for a monthly data plan. It’s great for the companies bottom end but beyond ridiculous for everyone else. But that’s nothing compared to a new trick that may be up AT&T’s sleeve.

According to one of BGR’s highly secretive ninjas, AT&T is looking at requiring not only data plans on certain phones, texting plans as well. Now as much as I hate the practice, I can kind of rationalize and understand the data plan. Besides, what good is a smartphone without a data connection? But requiring a texting plan? There are still plenty of people on the planet that despise texting. I just don’t see this going very well if it does in fact materialize into a fact.

Good luck with that one guys…

PhoneArena

Foxbling: Our beloved little internet fox turned into a street warrior.

Oh FireFox. Have you ever looked at that little cute fox character wrapped around the globe and thought someone should turn him into a gold covered chain? If so, today is your lucky day because someone has done just that.

No more is Franky (I named the Firefox squirrel Franky by the way…) a cute little squirrel but a gold encrusted street warrior complete with sharp edges that could slice through diamonds themselves. Ok, so maybe they won’t cut through the earth’s hardest material. But they will at the very least poke your eye out. So be careful.

Anyone diggin’ this new found image of one of the world’s most popular and favorite browsers or is it a little too much?

Make > Foxbling

Survey says: iPad just ok.

Oh the wondrous iPad. Apple’s uber tablet that has set out to take the world by storm. So…um…how about that storm eh? According to Crimson Hexagon and a quick, on the fly poll they conducted using roughly 500,000 tweets during the iPad announcement reveal that while the media attention was all Apple, all iPad yesterday, the public doesn’t seem as obsessed. The survey is pretty telling actually. A full 51% of tweets voiced displeasure, mockery, or simple “not impressed” comments in regards to Apple’s latest and greatest. For a device that Steve Jobs claims to be “his most important project ever”, initial reaction is kind of disappointing.

There’s plenty of time to mature though. The iPad won’t be released for another 59 days and with that lull is plenty of time for developers to really create some impressive apps now that they’ve seen the hardware.

Think the gap in time will work in the iPad’s benefit or has the seed already been sown?

Mashable

Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha confirms Google phone in the works. Nexus 2 anyone?

While the ink on your old credit card receipt proving you did in fact donate half a kidney for a contract free Nexus One is barely dry, a new juicy tidbit compliments of Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha paves way for a new hotness to look after.  According to claims made by Mr. Jha, Motorola is working on a Google phone of their very own that will follow in the N1′s footsteps and be sold directly to customers, cutting out the middleman carrier.  Fine by me.  Fine by you?

Sadly, Jha isn’t very giving with any more information pertaining to this MotoGoo phone for hardware or price.  Considering however that Motorola has claimed repeatedly to launching 20 to 30 new devices in 2010, a Google phone rebadged as the “Nexus 2″ doesn’t sound so far fetched now does it?

Unwired

Rough Microsoft product outline has Windows 8 coming in mid to late 2011. Think it’ll happen?

Ya ya I know, we’ve seen countless posts about so called “leaked release dates” for Windows 8. Why all the hubub about Windows 8 when Windows 7 — easily Microsoft’s best OS yet — was just released not more than a few months ago? It’s simple, even though Windows 7 is Microsoft’s best ever and even bests Apple’s Snow Leopard in some areas, it isn’t anything to write home about. What I mean is, there isn’t any feature or features that make me want to drop a couple hundred dollars on it. Most people do because the feel they have to, not because they want to.

Looking at the roadmap above and larger PDF linked here, we can see that the “Windows 8?” placeholder has a nice little green slider sitting firmly in the middle of 2011. It kind of sounds a little ways away — until you look at a calendar and realize it’s less than 12 months away!

It’s worth stressing that these are preliminary outlines for Microsoft’s product development cycle and as does happen quite often, are subject to rather drastic changes. Could we really see Microsoft launch Windows 8 in mid/late 2011? It’s surely possible and according to this early report by Microsoft, an internal goal. I for one would like to see Windows 8 be the Microsoft OS that I actually want, not just get it because.

Think 2011 is too soon?

Electronista > Microsoft Kitchen

Twitter co-CEO: Censorship sucks. We’ll hack around it.

After Google’s whole humanitarian/free speech move a couple weeks ago, the tech world and world at large has been divided. Some have applauded Google for “doing the right thing” finally coming to their senses — that is, censorship in any form sucks and shouldn’t be supported. Others however have had a less favorable view with many people labeling Google as a bunch of hypocrites with false motives. Personal opinions aside, someone as large as Google standing up for “the good guys” was bound to bring other companies out of the pro-free speech woodwork. Companies such as Twitter.

During a recent event at the World Economic Forum in is Switzerland, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams spoke on how Twitter is actively exploring 3rd party channels for ways to circumvent and overcome oppressive internet filters — such filters that are most widely used in China and Iran. Being able to stick it to the man if you will would allow free and unfettered speech from inside some of the more turbulent areas of the world and give outsiders a true, real-time window into the lives of the people that live them half a planet away.

Now, compare that to Microsoft’s stance. What do you see? While Microsoft is obviously jumping for joy at the possibility of a new and cash filled market in China, especially now that Google’s gone, do the underlying humans rights issues and big bad censorship thing overshadow any monetary benefit? For Google, Twitter, and a growing number of other companies, the answer is yes.

The Chinese government maintains that there isn’t any “Great Firewall” and that they have a free and open internet. If you believe that, *insert expletive laden comment here*. In the truest sense, their internet may be “open” in a kind of distorted way, though China strictly enforces their laws and regulations on ISP’s. The punishments and fines are so great that no one dare let something through that shouldn’t. And so, the “Great Firewall” does stand tall.

Google probably won’t be the last to leave China. Twitter will have others join their cause, trying to “hack” their way around any false boundary, firewall, or net nanny. Nor will Microsoft be the only company to potentially cash in on everyone else’s moral trip. For the end user, it’s nothing more than a drama unfolding before our eyes. Except this time, instead of a few characters being pulled around in life, entire countries and whole companies are involved in this love/hate game.

After that rather lengthy side note, Do Twitter and Google’s actions seem to be a growing trend or is it more of a simple “moral trip” by two companies that happen to be in the same business? Do you think they’re making a bad decision pulling out of China or trying to evade censorship laws and policies? The real question is however, does Google and Twitters’ voiced opinions and stance make Microsoft’s depict them as communist loving, oppression supporting greedy bastards?

Inquirer

[Image Source]

iBooks Store a US only store for iPad launch day, near future.

While we touched pretty heavily on why the iPad is pretty underwhelming, I just stumbled on another tidbit of information and decided it was worth it’s own post.

One of the iPad’s biggest software companions yesterday besides the re-worked iWorks iPad Suite was that of the iBooks Store. If you don’t know yet, the iBooks Store is Apple’s online book store which is set to go head to head with offerings from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. It’s a staple feature of the iPad. And on launch day, 59 days from, the US will be the sole market.

I can honestly look past the initial disappointment and frustration of such a revelation, noting that international copyright and publishing laws are all kinds of hot messes intertwined, but that still doesn’t make me feel (or any person outside the US looking for an iPad/iBook’s killer combo) feel any better. The lack of even two countries enjoying the iBook Store at launch is yet another notch in the belt…

MobileWhack