Google Phone to Cost $179, Go on Sale Oct. 22Internet giant Google took a step toward transforming the way people receive information with the long-awaited debut Tuesday of the first phone based on its mobile phone software known as Android.
The phone, which will go on sale at T-Mobile on Oct. 22 for $179 — $20 less than the iPhone — closely resembles a T-Mobile's Sidekick, with a big-screen and a keyboard that slides out from underneath and contains an extra key dedicated to Internet search. The device also has WiFi capability and GPS built in.
But what is special about the device is that it is designed to function as a full-fledged personal computer running any kind of application a developer can dream up.
The G1 comes with maps, e-mail and instant messaging, a music player and a camera. Users can also download applications that measure their carbon footprint or scan barcodes in a store so they can comparison shop on the Internet.
IBM calls standards bodies system flawed: International Business Machines, the world's biggest computer-services company, may stop participating in worldwide groups that set standards for the technology industry, saying the system is flawed.
The bodies that set the standards for everything from software to wireless-Internet equipment can be exploited by individual companies, Ari Fishkind, a spokesman for Armonk, New York-based IBM, said in a phone interview Tuesday. The groups also lack input from emerging economies, he said.
IBM may be seeking to reform current standards processes or come up with a competing regime, said Andy Updegrove, a Boston- based attorney who works with standards groups. In April, IBM criticized a decision by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization that made Microsoft's Office Open XML file format a worldwide standard. IBM in April said the XML approval will stifle innovation and hinder interoperability.
Netflix reaches pact on CBS, Disney TV shows: Netflix, the largest U.S. mail-order movie service, reached agreements with CBS and Walt Disney to add current episodes of television series including "CSI" and "Hannah Montana" to its library of shows that can be seen instantly.
"CSI: Miami" and "CSI: NY" episodes that can be watched on computers and televisions will be available this week, the Los Gatos company said Tuesday in a statement. Streaming video of "Hannah Montana," staring Miley Cyrus, will be available in November.
The agreements mean Netflix is able to show instantly about 12,000 of the more than 100,000 titles it has available. Blockbuster, Apple and Amazon.com offer competing services as the companies seek to attract customers who want the convenience of watching movies on demand.
Netflix charges monthly subscription fees for its service, many of which offer unlimited video streaming.
Genentech's cancer drug linked to risks, deaths: Genentech's cancer drug Tarceva was linked to liver failure and deaths in patients who already have damaged livers, U.S. regulators said.
Genentech and partner OSI Pharmaceuticals warned doctors to monitor patients with liver trouble in a notice posted today on the Food and Drug Administration's Web site. Tarceva's prescribing information has also been updated to include new information about liver risk.
Mercurynews.com; September 23, 2008
