why VLC for iPhone is pulled off from App Store

With in three months after its release, VLC media player is pulled off from Appstore. Last night when I searched the news at various blogs, that was something new for me to know that VLC client duplicated a lot of functionality that was already in the native iPod app. The biggest reason might have been the duplication factor since Apple doesn’t usually like apps that duplicate the iPhone’s native features.

The biggest reason behind diversified use of VLC media player is that it can play any kind of formats and on the other hand, itunes does not support different video formats. Not only this, since VLC media player is a free and open source media therefore it was much more convenient than any other media player.

There were several reasons for pulling it back apparently which includes the media player was very buggy. Lots of users reported problems with playback and file format support. However, this is not the major reason.

Actually the issue as reported by a well known source is VLC was pulled based on licensing issues. As we reported, the VLC iPhone app was released back in October (the already-existing iPad app was made universal). For an app to be in Apple’s App Store, that app is under Apple’s DRM (Digital Rights Management) policy through the App Store and iTunes’ Terms and Conditions.

VLC is “open source” software, meaning that it is protected under the GNU General Public License (GLP). This license states that software must be freely distributed and can be collaboratively developed, which is the way that the VLC desktop client has operated for years.
Anyhow lets see how soon we will be able to get it back or a new alternate one on App Store.

Apple’s sales going to be increase by 5% this year

Verizon Wireless, the top U.S. mobile provider, plans on Tuesday to unveil a version of the Apple Inc iPhone for its service and will kick off sales of the device a few weeks later that’s what reported by Wall Street Journal today.

According to WSJ, Verizon Wireless which is one of the largest mobile phone companies in US will sell 9 million to 12 million iphones in 2011. According to Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray Cos. assumes that this will make a considerable difference in sales on Apple Inc’s and will boost it up to 5%.

The agreement between Verizon Wireless and Apple marks the end of AT&T's iPhone exclusivity. AT&T Inc, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, has been the only operator to sell iPhone since it launched in 2007.

Since AT&T’s growth is heavily dependent on iphones sales past few years, the news however is quite upsetting for few users, as ne mentioned at WSJ, “I was forced by Apple to leave Verizon because Apple did their big business deal with ATT and ATT forced me to have a contract and renew every time I needed a new IPhone which was often for various reason like needing video capacity which the 3GS offered. I want Steve Jobs to reimburse me for what ATT will charge me to leave. I want Verizon because their service is better.”

However someone suggested “A key will be whether or not Verizon offers unlimited data. If not, grandfathered ATT users will be reluctant to give that up. I cannot imagine anyone staying with ATT if Verizon does offer unlimited data. ATT service is unusable in New York City”.

Anyhow, further details about the news and further analytics can be easily accessed by writing to Yukari Iwatani Kane

12 Android phones to come in 2011

AT&T has announced its plan to release almost 20 Android based phones in mid of 2011. According to a recent press release issued at CES in Las Vegas, the president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, Ralph de la Vega, said the company will have at least 20 devices on the market by the end of the year that can utilize 4G speeds (both HSPA+ and LTE, with the former already deployed to “virtually 100% of network” and the latter due for completion in 2013).

Those devices include three Android( )-based smartphones: the Motorola Atrix 4G, HTC Inspire 4G and Samsung Infuse 4G (which is billed as the thinnest Android smartphone to date). The company also says two 4G-enabled tablets will hit the market in 2011, as well as modems and hotspot devices.

Seems like AT&T has big plans for 2011 and they have already created hype by introducing this extensive release of phones and 4G hype. Already tough time for the competitions.

Sony Ericsson to announce another Xperia product in MWC, 2011

Sony Ericsson LiveView Firm Update is on its way

Sony Ericsson LiveView which initially came up with a Bluetooth micro display as an innovative product, is underforming. The purpose of this remote display was to act as a conduit for Android Smartphones, enabling one to display incoming calls, send messages and checking twitter/Facebook messages majorly.

The idea was innovative and no doubt superb but would have been successful only in case the product works well. A lot of consumers reported seevral bugs in it, which were related to Bluetooth connectivity issues particularly when using the LiveView with non-Sony Ericsson devices.

Good news is , Sony Ericsson is going to roll out an update via its SE Update Service in January, 2011 that will fix most of the bugs in the existing firmware. Liveview is one such good device, but loosing its fame and functionality due to the issues in the hardware. Hopefully this update will become helpful for this device.

Meego Ignored, Nokia is in talks with Microsoft for Windows Phone devices

This is not a rumor. The news initially emerged from "Mobile-Review.com" that Nokia is in talks with Microsoft to provide Nokia branded phones running Microsoft software. Seems like the new management of Nokia is probably very satisfied and personally like windows OS where most of the mobile users are already showing their association and convenience towards Android based phones. I think this technology exchange will not be very helpful for them.

Forget me, lets see different user’s review – people are actually not very happy with this exchange. Ideally Nokia should have considered the sales figure of already launched Microsoft windows based phones, the flat graph shows customers have much better options to buy. But interestingly, a windows based phone lover commented on it saying “Initially Android’s sales were also low, and they started rising after a span” Nice justification, but I must say there was a reason for growth. Though Android was launched in few countries and they have only one phone, but seems like 2011 will be the year of their growth. But its too early to conclude.

Interesting past is how Nokia forgot Meego. Initially, they were focusing on it and bringing it as a direct competition to Android, but became victims of delays and rumors might be management too. I loved the remarks of Lucian on unwired who concluded Meego as “I doubt Nokia will actively promote Meego to other phone manufacturers the way Google and Microsoft did it, because Nokia has a conflict of interest. They want the whole OS to be their "competitive advantage" (which as I mentioned is a mistake). And even though they want the OS to be their competitive advantage, they are willing to use an OS (WP7) which gives them NO competitive advantage. How confusing no? I bet that's the state of their long term strategies, too – confusion”

Nokia C3 - Only for Status Updaters ?

Actually No, the Qwerty based slick and smart phone is no doubt very good for texting and updating statuses for Facebook freaks and tweeples but it got some other cool features as well. Being user of this phone, i would love to list some good things about this phone, which is

1. A user-friendly Qwerty based text pad,
2. Social Network Integration
3. The most effecient battery time i have ever used
4. Really cool and perfect multimedia options
5. and above all very reasonable and affordable Price :)

Few odds about this phone are

1. 2.0 mega pixel camera is not smart enough
2. No Mark All and Mark several option in Texts, which is actually annoying
3. Problems in updating or installing 3rd party applications
4. Does not have 3g :)

But since the phone is meant for heavy text users and those who update their statuses very frequently, so the "Odds" are genuinely bearable :) Grab it and enjoy - Recommended!