talking

Google, HP shift mobile market for Apple (Apple Talk Weekly)

Welcome to the third edition of Apple Talk Weekly, a roundup of some of the week's top Apple product news and legal happenings, along with answers to your questions.

While this week was a quiet one for Apple on the product front, it was a big one for some of Apple's main competitors, one of which invested, while another divested, in businesses that Apple is involved in. Both moves are going to have a long-term impact on the mobile device and PC landscapes.

The week started out with Google making a surprise announcement that it was purchasing Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. … Read more

China Mobile confirms talks with Jobs for iPhone

China Mobile today confirmed that the company has been in talks with Apple to offer the iPhone on its specialized TD-SCDMA network, while noting that no such deal has yet been struck.

During a press conference following the carrier's earnings announcement, which was covered by Reuters, China Mobile Chairman Wang Jianzhou noted that he had met with Apple CEO Steve Jobs to discuss bringing a customized version of the phone to the carrier.

"I met Steve Jobs several times already, but we haven't come to an agreement yet," Wang said. "All I can say is, … Read more

Apple Talk Weekly: Apple's market-cap shuffle

Welcome to the second edition of Apple Talk Weekly, a look back at the week's top Apple news and rumors, along with answers to your Apple questions.

The big news this week--besides Apple successfully nabbing a legal injunction that keeps Samsung from selling its Galaxy tablet in the European Union--was Apple pushing past Exxon Mobil to become the most valuable company by market capitalization. That happened on Tuesday, with the two companies swapping places several times. Exxon eventually closed the day back on top, only to have Apple take back the crown the very next day. Since then, the … Read more

Apple Talk Weekly 8/6: iCloud.com makes debut

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Apple Talk Weekly, where we take a step back and bring together some of the big news, along with rumors big and small from the past week.

This week was a busy one on the road to Apple's big cloud revamp, and if you weren't paying close attention it was easy to miss. Ahead of the official launch of iCloud, Apple's new Web site for it went live, but only to developers. The company also unearthed how much it would be charging for extra iCloud storage.

And with the rumor mill … Read more

Samsung SGH-T528G comes to TracFone

TracFone's Straight Talk brand isn't known for offering fancy phones, but the prepaid carrier at least makes an attempt with the Samsung SGH-T528G.

The candy bar design is dominated by a touch screen with TouchWiz 2.0. You can customize the 3-inch display with shortcuts, and below are three physical controls.

Features include Wi-Fi, support for apps and 3G connectivity, a 2-megapixel camera with video recording, an MP3 player, a microSD card slot, Bluetooth, a 2,000-contact phone book, a speakerphone, voice recognition, audio recorder, text and multimedia messaging, and a personal organizer. The SGH-T528G is $99, plus … Read more

Global climate talks can reach deal, says negotiator

A global deal on a pact to succeed the U.N.'s main climate agreement is still within reach but will not be struck this year, with the pace of talks still far too slow, New Zealand's top climate negotiator said today.

Inevitably, there would be a gap after the Kyoto Protocol's first period expires in 2012, Minister of Climate Change Negotiations Tim Groser said in an interview after delegates from 35 nations attended two days of climate talks in Auckland.

Disputes between rich and poor on sharing curbs in greenhouse gases mean gridlock over the Kyoto Protocol, … Read more

The 404 865: Where we don our bedtime spanx (podcast)

The Sleep Doctor Michael Breus is back on the show to answer your questions about how sleep affects everything from your weight to your memory, and even your mental health. We never get enough time to talk to Dr. Breus, but today we pick his brain about waking up sleepwalkers, how to get your kids back on a summer sleep schedule, and the best natural sleep aid.

The 404 Digest for Episode 865

Rocked to sleep-- not just for babies anymore. Check out Dr. Breus's book, " The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep" For-hire Brooklyn woman reads you bedtime stories. Go the ***k to sleep! Add Dr. Breus on Twitter!

Episode 865 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Philly to increase distracted driving, biking enforcement

The City of Brotherly Love is trying to practice some tough love on pedestrians who don't pay attention while they're walking.

Launched in May, a campaign known as "Give Respect, Get Respect" is geared toward preventing unsafe behavior on the roads, including pedestrians who talk and text while they cross the street.

As one example cited in a story by the CBS Philadelphia station, one cyclist had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting a man who crossed against the light while yakking it up on his cell phone.

The program, which has mostly doled … Read more

Talking Top Cat repeats what you say

Talking Tom Cat 2 is the free, ad-supported follow-up to the popular app Talking Tom, featuring an animated cat that repeats everything you say in a funny voice.

Although Talking Tom Cat 2 has little repeat play value for grownups, the app is predictably a hit with the most kiddos--and its animation and graphics are above average for an app like this (especially in the iPad version). In addition to repeating what you say, Tom has several reactions you can trigger, like purring when you stroke him or hissing and clawing when you poke him. You can also record a … Read more