Apple to unveil iCloud, iOS 5 on Monday, June 6

Had some doubts that Apple was heading skyward? Those lingering concerns can now be put to rest. Apple has confirmed that it will be announcing iCloud on June 6th, what it's calling an "upcoming cloud services offering." That will be part of the keynote for this year's Worldwide Developers Conference, known to the cool kids as WWDC. This is, of course, where everyone has come to expect new iPhones to come to light, but this year we're thinking the focus will be more on software, and indeed Apple's event notice indicates that the big highlights will be Mac OS X Lion and the next version of its mobile operating system, iOS 5. This is a decidedly non-Apple way to announce something big like iCloud, making us wonder what other surprises Steve Jobs will have for us at the event -- yes, he'll be kicking things off. As ever you can find out as it happens here, live.

Samsung teases 4G tablet for 2011, Galaxy S III in first half of 2012

Don't expect a lawsuit or two to keep a good chaebol down. Not if J.K. Shin has his way. The president of Samsung's mobile communication division is telling us to expect an "enhanced" LTE Galaxy Tab (without providing any detail) sometime later this year, following the launch of the company's 8.9-inch Tab this summer and 10.1-inch Tab next month -- the latter priced between $499 and $599. Shin said that Samsung is already in talks with US and South Korean carriers to launch the 4G tablet. He also teased a third version of the wildly popular Galaxy S handset series for the first half of 2012. A proclamation arriving on news that the delectable Galaxy S II has just set a record for the fastest selling smartphone in Korea after unloading one million handsets in the first month of domestic sales.

Naturally, Shin also had a bit to say about Samsung's ongoing legal battle with Apple. "We didn't copy Apple's design," he said bluntly, adding that Apple's allegations "will not be legally problematic." Sure Sammy, tell it to the judge.

Update: The Wall Street Journal updated its story calling for the 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab to launch this summer, not in June as originally stated.

Droid 3 details leaked: dual-core processor, 4-inch qHD screen, no LTE?

You've probably already seen the leaked pictures of the Droid 3, but what you really want to know is what's going on underneath that chrome trim. TechnoBuffalo claims to have the inside scoop and it sounds like the latest landscape slider from Motorola is packing a number of nice improvements. According to a tipster the screen has been upgraded to a 4-inch qHD panel and inside is one of those fancy dual-cores all the cool phones are rockin' these days -- presumably of the Tegra 2 variety like itsDroid X2 cousin. As spied in the photos it also has a new 5-row keyboard layout and front facing camera for video calls, while the rear-facing shooter is getting bumped to 8 megapixels. There is one disappointing, but not entirely shocking, detail though -- the Droid 3 will lack LTE. We can't confirm these specs, but they're perfectly logical assumptions and raise no alarms and no surprises.

Toyota reveals “Toyota Friend” social media network

In recent years many automakers have gone to extremes to deliver information via creative avenues of existing social media platforms, but now Toyota has taken things to an entirely new level by co-creating its very own social media network: Toyota Friend.

Toyota Friend is largely the result of a collaboration between automaker Toyota and customer relation software (CRM) software developer Salesforce. The unlikely duo have formed a strategic alliance to build Toyota Friend, which will act as a private social network for Toyota customers and their cars.


The new service will be gradually rolled out, first in Toyota’s domestic market of Japan only in 2012 and only for owners of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. These customers will then be able to network amongst themselves, as well as with their cars, the dealership and Toyota. Hit read more for details.

Microsoft Earns More From Android Than It Does From Windows Phone

Now here's an interesting find ... apparently Microsoft makes more money from Android than it does from Windows Phone. This rather odd arrangement, according to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, came about due to Microsoft's lawsuit against HTC last year. The settlement saw HTC agreeing to pay Microsoft $5 for every Android handset they shipped. With HTC having shipped some 30 million devices that's a total of $150 million heading Microsoft's way.


Compare this with the 2 million Windows Phone licenses Microsoft has sold, which are estimated to cost around $15 a pop. That's $30 million, a lot of money sure, but far from the figure received from HTC.


Microsoft are also suing other Android device manufacturers and with a precedent already set by HTC Microsoft are in with a good chance of getting similar deals from them too. That should see Microsoft's earnings from Android increase even further.

Android Not The Place To Do Business For Paid Apps

A long standing assessment of the state of the various app stores has had it that the Android Market is not the place to do business if you have a paid app when compared with the Apple App Store. For example, some 80% or so of paid Android app have been downloaded fewer than 100 times. Android Community gives another example:


In the competitive gaming segment, only five titles in the Android Market have been downloaded more than 250,000 worldwide. In contrast, ten iPhone games in the App Store were downloaded in excess of 250,000 times in the US in the past two months alone.


There are various reasons why this is the case, not the least of which is the almost slapdash approach Android took to paid apps when it first launched. Different apps were billed in different currencies, for example, and there was no real uniform method of payment. Rather customers used a hodge podge of credit cards, network billing and other means.



A unified payment system, as Apple has through its iTunes system, would go a long way to helping devs see their paid apps gain more traction on Android.

GE - Solar energy will become cheaper than nuclear and fossil fuel

GE is focusing on thin film solar panels to lower cost and improve efficiency (now at 12.8 percent). It is planning to build the largest manufacturing plant in the U.S. Credit: GE

General Electric is forecasting that solar power could soon be a more affordable than fossil fuels and nuclear power, the company’s global research director told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg published its interview with Mark M. Little, the global research director for GE, today. Little said that new technology breakthroughs are making it possible for solar generated electricity to be the most economical choice within the next three to five years.

The sweet spot for solar power to break into residential market is 15 cents a kilowatt-hour or lower, he stated. Bloomberg noted its research that the cost of solar cells has dropped 21 percent since the beginning of this year. Hit read more for details.

Nokia Says Devs Will Develop For Win Phone 7

The smartphone world is awash with app stores and to keep those stores stocked with content those platforms rely upon developers to spend their time coming up with new and exciting apps. Do devs have enough time and resources to devote to all these different platforms though? That was the question posed to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop with regards to Windows Phone 7.

One dev posed the question of whether Windows Phone 7 could realistically grab enough dev time with the likes of Android and iOS dominating the scene. Elop responded:

When we consider developers, there is a series of things that must be true. You have to have reach, you have to believe you can monetise, you have to believe you have a valid developer platform, and finally you have to great developer tools.We’ve actually studied this and asked a lot of developers all over the world, and, while it's not the consensus, by far the majority view is that [the number of operating systems they develop for] is about 2.8 – 3 platforms. This was a critical question for us.So the statistics, according to Elop, show that devs are perfectly willing to develop for multiple platforms and that three platforms is something of a 'sweet' number for them in terms of what they are prepared to take on. Interestingly Elop went on to suggest that if the research had shown devs weren't willing to develop for Windows Phone 7 in addition to Android and iOS then that would have had an impact upon Nokia's decision to partner with Microsoft. The implication being that an Android partnership could then have been on the cards.

Apple's helping behaviour during the Jpanaese earthquake

Here is a very interesting article I found on the increasingly corporate responsibility measures being taken by prominent companies. On this occasion it is the actions taken by Apple during the Japaneses earthquake. Hit read more for the commendable article.

Motorola Droid X2 official at $200: launching online May 19th, in stores May 26th

Motorola and Verizon have finally stopped teasing us and have made the Droid X2 official. This is a 4.3-inch Android (2.2, to be upgraded to 2.3) smartphone with a qHD screen resolution and a dual-core 1GHz processor. An 8 megapixel camera with continuous autofocus and HD video recording graces the back. The X2 will cost the usual $200 on contract and will be available to buy online tomorrow, May 19th, before making its way out to stores a week later, on May 26th. Leap past the break for the full PR.

Interestingly, we've also spotted the close proximity of the USB and HDMI ports on the side of the new X2. That arrangement is reminiscent of the one on Motorola's Atrix, where the two connectors served to hook that handset up to its laptop and multimedia docks. We don't know whether the Droid X2 will fit into the accessories designed for the Atrix, but it looks sure to be strapping itself into a dock of some description in the near future.

Update: NVIDIA has confirmed that its Tegra 2 chip is the heretofore unnamed 1GHz dual-core chip inside the Droid X2, which just happens to be Verizon's first dual-core smartphone.

Update 2: A little birdie tells us you may be able to pick up this bad boy in person in some stores as soon as tomorrow (May 19th). Your mileage may vary, but let us know in the comments if you manage to buy one.

Update 3: Sure enough, they're on shelves. Matt sent us a pic, which is after the break.