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Reuters is reporting that Google’s VP of Engineering, Andy Rubin, has been conducting talks with record labels in an attempt to launch an online music service “before Christmas.” The publication cites two sources familiar with the matter, and states that although record industry insiders are excited about the possibility of Apple and Google clashing on the digital music front, Google has yet to ink deals any record labels. “Finally here’s an entity with the reach, resources and wherewithal to take on iTunes as a formidable competitor by tying it into search and Android mobile platform. What you’ll have is a Read More...

For those of you wondering whether or not the Galaxy S family of phones has been a hit, we present you this story. Today, at IFA in Berlin, Samsung Mobile President J.K. Shin told reporters that his company is upping its smartphone sales estimates for 2010 from 18 million to 25 million. The original estimate of 18 million units was three times higher than the total number of cell phones shipped by Samsung in 2009. Shin went on to say that he is confident his company will grab a double-digit share of the smartphone market by year’s end. Go get Read More...

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 might be exclusive to one carrier in the U.S., but that hasn’t stopped the floozy of a handset from making the rounds in Canada. Bell Mobility recently announced that they too will be carrying the BlackBerry Torch slider — which we knew – beginning on September 24th. The device will retail for $199 on a 3-year contract and $599 off-contract. This brings the total number of Canadian networks launching the 9800 on September 24 to four: Bell, Rogers, Telus, and Virgin Mobile. Bell hasn’t put out an official press release yet, but we have a statement for you after the Read More...

Plex, for those not familiar, is a software company whose former creed was to: “bridge the gap between your Mac and your home theater, doing so with a visually appealing user interface that provides instant access to your media.” Today, the company has announced that it will be partnering with electronics maker LG to “integrate the Plex platform into their 2011 lineup of Netcast connected TVs and Blu-ray devices.” In the company’s announcement, they quip that when it comes to connecting devices to your television, a Mac Mini is “too large,” a Boxee box is “too pointy,” and the new Read More...

We have heard that Sprint is currently targeting a November release for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet. Pricing for the CDMA device has not yet been disclosed to us. UPDATE: We’re also hearing it is a 3G/4G device!

The Internet is continuing its march into TV’s backyard, this time taking charge at live TV broadcasting as use of live streaming sites exploded in 2010, according to data from comScore. Time spent watching live streaming services like Ustream and Justin.tv grew nearly 650 percent in 2010, with users clocking in 1.4 billion minutes of use. Use of hosted content sites rose as well, but only modestly compared to live streaming sites. YouTube saw a 68 percent jump, while  Hulu — which hosts many popular TV shows on major networks — view time rose by around 75 percent. Videos on live streaming Read More...

Google is apparently in talks with record labels to populate its upcoming music store and streaming service by Christmas, sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters. That Google is working on an iTunes competitor is no big surprise — we saw vague glimpses of it during some demonstrations at its I/O conference in May. What is surprising is that Google is trying to get it up and running by the end of the year, even though it reportedly hasn’t signed any deals with record labels. Google Vice President of Engineering Andy Rubin, who notably oversees the development of its Android mobile operating Read More...

Earlier this week, Google launched Gmail Priority Inbox, a new feature that will automatically sort your mail to combat email overload. The feature began rolling out to users on Monday, and as of today, it’s available for all Gmail users (including Google Apps accounts). As Venturebeat’s Anthony Ha (who loves the service probably more than is healthy) writes: “The feature divides your inbox into three areas, all viewable in one screen — at the top, there’s the “priority” emails, the ones you should read first; below that are the emails you have starred (an existing Gmail feature to Read More...

Facebook confirmed yesterday that it has begun testing a new “subscribe” feature for users and pages. The feature lets users follow a user or page and receive notifications when a new update or piece of content, such as a picture or video, occurs. The new feature may be a move to make someone’s news feed more specific and relevant to users. With the average user having 130 friends, it can make it difficult to stay up-to-date on what everyone’s doing. With the “subscribe” feature, a user could choose the top friends they want to follow and see their updates in the Read More...

Smart grid company GridPoint is nearing a public stock offering, possibly beating Silver Spring  to the IPO punch, speculates the Washington Business Journal. The article notes that GridPoint has raised $220 million from venture capital and needs to show a payoff soon for its investors. The company has also done well in the marketplace, winning a $28.7 million contract with the Postal Service, making several acquisitions and hiring executives who have IPO experience. PG&E smart meters vindicated, but the utilities company is criticized for poor customer service. An audit of Pacific Gas & Electric released yesterday reported there were no technical Read More...

According to a German court in Hamburg, Google’s YouTube can be held liable for damages when it hosts copyrighted videos without the copyright holder’s permission. This case centered around three music videos by classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman, but this ruling will likely have far-reaching consequences for YouTube’s operations in Germany. YouTube will now have to block access to these videos and disclose how often its users accessed these streams. YouTube will also have to pay damages based on the number of plays. Google plans to appeal the ruling. Sponsor The German court ruled that simply asking users whether they have the Read More...

The API team over at Google Buzz have been buzzing to say the least. If you recall the long lost Twitter feature known as Track whose disappearance spawned numerous impassioned pleased for return you’ll appreciate the latest from Google Buzz. Last week the Google Buzz API team updated their blog to announce the general availability for Track as well detailed error messages. This means that you can get started with Track right now in Google Reader. Sponsor Some examples: Here is the XML returned for the VMworld example To illustrate this, I decided to add the “vmworld” example for my trip to VMworld 2010 Read More...

This one’s a classic case of “easy when you know how.” How many times have you grabbed a comma-separated string, exploded it into an array, and assigned each item in the array to its own variable? If it’s a small array, it may not be too much of a problem. But it quickly gets tiring to type out all those array assignments if you have a lot of them to do. Fear not, there’s a better way… Sponsor The Slow Way The Nice Way See the difference? Much better! Photo by Book Glutton Discuss

The music identification app Shazam was one of the first must-have apps for the iPhone. Today, the company released one of the biggest updates in the app’s history. Shazam for iPhone and iPod touch now sports an updated interface and support for fast-app switching in iOS4. The app now also features a new focus on music discovery outside of tagging. The new “Shazam Charts” highlight the most often tagged songs from 20 countries. Most importantly, though, the app now features an option that starts the music tagging feature immediately after opening the app without the need to click a single Read More...

While the Bank of America has partnered up with Visa to begin testing out mobile payments later this month, analyst firm Forrester says one big question remains – are consumers ready to ditch their plastic? According to Forrester analyst Emmet Higdon, the test is less one of the technology involved, but the user interface and whether or not “consumers’ current love affair with smartphones is enough to change card payment behaviors that date back more than 50 years.” Sponsor The mobile-payments trial run involves equipping a group of users’ phones with near field communications (NFC) technology, which currently does not come installed, Read More...