Gadgets

According to Walter Issacson's authorized biography about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, one of the things Jobs wanted to "revolutionize" was photography. Jobs believed the iPhone was a vehicle for doing so, but current imaging technologies limit the photographic abilities of smartphones. As detailed in a new book by Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, Inside Apple, Jobs may have found the solution he was looking for in a radical imaging technology from Lytro. To that end, Jobs apparently met with Lytro CEO Ren Ng in June 2011 to discuss how Apple might integrate Lytro's light field technology into its products.

One aspect of the iPhone that has received constant improvements over the years is its included camera. The original iPhone had a fixed focus lens and a 2MP sensor, while the iPhone 3G was upgraded with autofocus capabilities and 3MP. The iPhone 4 moved up to 5MP and added an LED flash and 720p video. The iPhone 4S went even further, moving up to 8MP, improving low-light capture, and moving to full 1080p HD.

Nokia has been fined by Australian regulators for spamming its customers with text messages, Reuters reports. The company will have to pay AUS$55,000 for sending SMS marketing messages for its products and services alongside "tips" on how customers can best use their phones, but without offering a way to unsubscribe to the messages.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) does not prohibit companies from using unsolicited text messages, but according to the Spam Act of 2003, those messages must be accompanied by a way to contact the company and unsubscribe. While the usage tips Nokia sent contained some "factual information" and weren't mere marketing, some were promotions for things like mobile phone accessories.

Spam texts have proved to be a popular marketing method in Australia: ACMA reported a 370 percent increase in spam reports over the 2010-2011 fiscal year. Unlike the US, which only protects cell users from spam texts that arrive from a domain name (for example, an e-mail address) and not from all SMS spam, Australia frowns on spam sent directly to mobile numbers.

In addition to paying the fine, Nokia will be required to train its employees to comply with Australia's Spam Act and to appoint a consultant to audit its systems and processes for sending texts to customers.

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Apple officially spent more cash on semiconductors in 2011 than any other company in the world, according to a new report from Gartner. The market research firm says that Apple's semiconductor purchases saw "significant growth" in 2011—up almost 35 percent over 2010—similar to its growth numbers over the past five years. "As a result, Apple became the biggest customer of semiconductor chip vendors in 2011, climbing two places in the ranking, from third in 2010," wrote Gartner.

The previous leader in semiconductor purchases, HP, fell from first to third place in 2011, while Samsung maintained its second place position. Dell, Nokia, and Sony made up the fourth, fifth, and sixth place rankings in 2011, with all but Apple and Samsung showing negative growth numbers between the two years. (Lenovo also had a positive 23.7 percent growth rate, but it came in at eighth place in the 2011 rankings.)

According to Gartner principal research analyst Masatsune Yamaji, the driving factors for semiconductor purchases last year were smartphones, tablets, and SSDs—technologies that particularly benefit manufacturers in the mobile space. 

"Those companies that gained share in the smartphone market, such as Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC, increased their semiconductor demand, while those who lost market share in this segment, such as Nokia and LG Electronics, decreased their semiconductor demand," Yamaji said in a statement. "Given the rapidly changing competitive structure of the IT and electronics industry, no semiconductor device vendor can afford just to monitor the requirements of the current market leaders."

Apple certainly had a strong year in 2011 as it continued to sell huge numbers of iPhones, iPads, and MacBook Airs—all of which made massive contributions to the company's semiconductor purchases. Apple plans to announce the results from the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 later today (and we'll be liveblogging the conference call starting at 2pm PST), so stay tuned for our coverage of where all those semiconductors will be going as we enter 2012.

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More than six months after it first launched, Google+ is set to finally allow users to create accounts using pseudonyms. Google announced that it planned to do so back in October in response to complaints from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others, who said pseudonyms are necessary to ensure freedom of expression for people in danger of retribution for speaking out on controversial topics.

On Monday, Google Product Vice President Bradley Horowitz wrote on Google+ that the company will roll out its name policy changes this week. One change is that anyone will be able to add nicknames in addition to their real names. The more significant change, however, is that Google will also let people use pseudonyms instead of a real name, but there are caveats. Horowitz indicates that the pseudonym must be established and well-known in order to qualify for a Google+ profile.

"Starting today we’re updating our policies and processes to broaden support for established pseudonyms, from +trench coat to +Madonna," Horowitz wrote. Google may flag the name that a person intends to use and ask for additional information to confirm the person's identity, including "Scanned official documentation, such as a driver’s license" or "Proof of an established identity online with a meaningful following." This would seem to raise privacy problems for those who need pseudonyms for safety reasons, but a post in Mashable says "Google will destroy all documentation you send them once the account verification process is complete."

If Google flags the name that a user intends to use, there's no guarantee the pseudonym will be approved. This is partly to prevent impersonation. "We’ll review the information and typically get back to you within a few days," Horowitz wrote. "We may also ask for further information, such as proof that you control a website you reference. While a name change is under review, your old name will continue to be displayed. For new accounts without an old name, your profile will be in a non-public, read-only state during the review. Either way, you'll be able to see the status of your review by going to your profile."

The Google+ naming policy still says you must "use your common first and last name." The policy, as written today, discusses the process for adding a nickname to an existing profile but does not mention pseudonyms. Google also recently changed its account signup process to compel more users to sign up for Google+, but attempting to create an account with an obviously fake name can prevent creation of a Google+ profile.

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The impact of Megaupload's shutdown on other file hosting sites is spreading. Just as FileSonic recently disabled file sharing, presumably to avoid prosecution for enabling illegal distribution of copyrighted material, the site FileServe has now done the same.

A reddit user pointed out the change earlier today. Attempting to download a file uploaded by another FileServe user results in a message that reads, "FileServe can only be used to download and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally. If this file belongs to you, please login to download it directly from your file manager."

While RapidShare claims not to be concerned about prosecution, as it has procedures in place to take down infringing content under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the actions of FileSonic and FileServe suggest the sites' makers aren't as confident in their own legal compliance. Fortunately, both sites are allowing users to continue downloading their own content. With Megaupload, even people who used the service to store and distribute content they created themselves have lost access to their files due to the criminal case and takedown of the entire site.

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Research In Motion rose to prominence (and domination of the smartphone market) by controlling both the hardware and software used in its phones, but the company now finds itself behind Apple's iPhone and Google's Android mobile operating system. Looking up at its competitors, RIM sees two models: Apple's, which is very much like its own, and Google's, which licenses the Android software to a variety of hardware makers.

RIM has been in turmoil as of late, losing 75 percent of its stock value in the past year. The company also suffered market share losses, an embarrassing service outage, disappointing sales of its PlayBook tablet, delays in bringing out new software, and rumors that it's an acquisition target. While RIM seems unlikely to ever regain its top position in the smartphone market, some observers have argued that licensing BlackBerry software could help it maintain relevance.

E-reader and tablet ownership nearly doubled over the 2011 holiday season, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center. The percentage of people who reported owning a tablet jumped to 19 percent from December 2011 to January 2012—the same percentage as those who own an e-reader. Now, 29 percent of Americans own at least one of those devices, up from 18 percent in December.

In a pre-holiday survey running up to December 21, ten percent of respondents reported owning a tablet, and the same percentage reported owning an e-reader. Two more surveys taken in the first half of January showed that in the intervening time, the percentages of people who owned one of the gadgets had gone up significantly, to 19 percent for both tablets and e-readers. Pew cites the sea change in device pricing, including the introduction of the relatively inexpensive Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire as well as cheaper e-readers, as the primary cause of the jump in ownership.

The percentage of male and female tablet owners have tracked closely with one another: 11 percent of males and 10 percent of females reported owning a tablet in December, and in January the genders evened up to 19 percent each. But Pew found that e-reader owners are still predominantly female, and the gap has widened a bit: 16 percent of males and 21 percent of females reported e-reader ownership, up from 9 percent and 11 percent in December, respectively.

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Blackberry vendor Research in Motion (RIM) is changing up its top leadership. Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, who have served jointly as the company's Chief Executive Officers, stepped down on Sunday evening. They have also given up their positions as co-chairmen of RIM's board of directors. RIM's Chief Operating Officer, Thorsten Heins, will take over as CEO.

RIM has seen its position in the smartphone market crumble over the past few years as rivals Apple and Google reshaped the mobile technology landscape. RIM has struggled to modernize its operating system and deliver competitive products. Although RIM acquired embedded systems vendor QNX in 2010 with the hope of improving Blackberry software, it has taken too long for the company to overhaul its mobile platform.

Rumors about leadership changes at RIM began circulating earlier this month. Former Royal Bank of Canada executive Barbara Stymiest has taken over as chairman, vindicating the reports which named her as the most likely candidate for that role. Lazaridis, who originally founded RIM and is said to be one of the wealthiest men in Canada, will become the vice-chairman. Balsillie will retain a set on the board, but no leadership position.

Heins will face many challenges as the new CEO of a company in decline. RIM prospects for restoring its relevance in the smartphone market are possibly weak, but the company has a robust patent portfolio that could make it a valuable acquisition target--especially in light of the current litigious climate that afflicts the mobile industry. Reports that emerged last week indicated that several companies, including Samsung and HTC, are in talks to acquire RIM. Samsung categorically denied interest.

Heins took an optimistic tone in a video that RIM has posted on YouTube Sunday night, saying that he thinks RIM still has the potential to be one of the top three players in the smartphone industry. Heins says that he wants the company to boost its emphasis on prototyping and innovation while improving its relationship with consumers.

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