LAS VEGAS–The Windows Phone gang’s all here. Nokia brought its full U.S. lineup to the CTIA Wireless trade show here in Las Vegas, including the brand-new Lumia 925 for T-Mobile. I put it next to Verizon’s 928 and AT&T’s 920 and saw what was different. The 920-series Lumias are Nokia’s flagships, each with an 8.7-megapixel “PureView” camera with optical image stabilization and killer low-light performance. But because Nokia doesn’t have huge clout with the U.S. carriers, it had to give each of them something special. I think T-Mobile got a solid deal here. The new 925 has an aluminum frame and a polycarbonate back. It comes in black and white; I liked the white version a lot Read More

Wireless equipment makers Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks took important first steps toward the future heterogeneous networks this week at CTIA Wireless. Both vendors announced new traffic steering technologies that make Wi-Fi and cellular data networks play nice with one another. Today Wi-Fi and 3G/4G networks sit side by side, but they hardly work together. When you’re in the presence of an authorized hotspot your device will log in, leaving the cellular connection behind. As you wander away from the access point, your Wi-Fi connection gets weaker to the point of uselessness until your device finally disconnects and forces its way back onto the cellular grid. It’s hardly an ideal or seamless experience. These new traffic steering technologies, however, make Read More

Armed with a blistering report that said Apple had avoided paying billions of dollars in taxes, senators this week had choice words for the company’s chief executive, Timothy D. Cook, when he appeared before the Senate’s Permanent Committee on Investigations on Tuesday. They called him a “pretty smart guy” and praised the “incredible legacy” his company had left. They gushed over his products, calling Apple “a great company” that had managed to “change the world.” True, Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, vigorously attacked Mr. Cook over tax gimmicks. But the overall mood of the panel was summed up by Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat from Missouri, who declared, “I love Apple!” It Read More

On Tuesday Microsoft unveiled the next generation of its Xbox – the Xbox One. The One though isn’t just a gaming system as the Xbox has long been – it’s an “all-in-one” entertainment system. The new console integrates with a cable box, will have streaming video capabilities, and also original Xbox video content, including a Halo TV series made by Steven Spielberg. It promises to loop your cable box into the interactive Xbox experience, allowing you to channel surf via voice control and video chat while watching TV and movies. The Xbox One will face the gaming competition from the likes of Nintendo and Sony when it comes out at the end of the year, but many have also been Read More

By Andy Sullivan, Gabriel Debenedetti and Poornima Gupta WASHINGTON | Wed May 22, 2013 7:02pm EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) – For years, Apple Inc kept a low profile in Washington as it grew into one of the most valuable companies in the world. Now the iPad maker has taken the lead, perhaps inadvertently, on a top priority for U.S. business: simplifying America’s tax code. Chief Executive Tim Cook, who was called before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Tuesday to answer questions about Apple’s alleged tax avoidance, used his appearance to plead for an overhaul of corporate taxes. That marked a sharp turnabout for a company that until now has been content to let rivals like Google and Microsoft fight Read More

Apple CEO Tim Cook Pounds Another Nail Into the Keynesian Coffin John Tamny Forbes Staff Apple CEO Tim Cook Is Slimed By The World’s Foremost Deliberative Body Kyle Smith Contributor ‘It’s Important To Tell Our Story:’ 5 Ways Apple’s Tim Cook Stayed Cool Under Fire Carmine Gallo Contributor Apple: Think Different. Tax Different Robert W. Wood Contributor Call me utopian, unrealistic, or insane, but I advocate for a permanent 0% tax rate on Apple Apple, as well as on all other corporations. Tim Cook Testifies Before Congress – AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Yesterday Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, testified before Congress regarding Apple’s practice of avoiding paying any more taxes than they are forced to. For this, Apple has been Read More

Tax Increases? Why Facebook’s Billion Dollar Income Isn’t Taxed (At All) By IRS Robert W. Wood Contributor Facebook Mirrors Google’s Offshore Tax Scheme Robert W. Wood Contributor Inconvenient Truth: Al Gore’s Al Jazeera Current TV Deal Robert W. Wood Contributor Colin Kaepernick Trademarks ‘Kaepernicking’ But What’s It Worth? Robert W. Wood Contributor The Apple Computer slogan “Think Different.” set in Apple Garamond. The rainbow apple logo was created by Rob Janoff in 1977. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) No person or company wants to be accused of skirting tax obligations. Yet despite Joe Biden’s “paying higher taxes is patriotic” gaffe, paying too much could make you a chump. When Mitt Romney tried to stem the tide of negative tax press by forgoing Read More

You can now scan in receipts and other important documents directly to Google Drive for Android. (Credit: Google) Google Now is such a big deal that its interface sensibilities are spilling over into other Google services. The latest recipient of a healthy dose of Now is Google Drive (download), which updated its Android app on Wednesday with several new features. A new Scan feature lets you back up and track important receipts, business cards, and documents by using existing optical character recognition (OCR) tech already in Drive. Choose Scan from the “Add New” menu, take a photo of the document, and Drive will automatically turn it into a searchable PDF. The new interface leverages the Card look from Google+ and Read More

Image: Caterpillar As a professional naval architect, I often specify Caterpillar marine diesel engines for inclusion in new and modified ships. This week we see Caterpillar announced their new Cat B15 Android smartphone that brings a rugged designed Android smartphone to consumers at a very reasonable price. I have seen prices for enterprise, field-focused rugged devices appear at double or more of the consumer price so I have to admit I was a bit shocked by the low $349.99 SIM unlocked price of the B15. Caterpillar has a couple previous models of rugged phones, but this new B15 is running Android Jelly Bean with a 4 inch display, ability to withstand a 5.9 foot drop Read More

Trunk is a charging cable equipped with a USB connector on one side and a Lightning connector on the other, and it’s rigid enough to hold your iPhone 5 or iPod in whatever position you desire. Made by a company called ILoveHandles, this $19.95 charging cable/holder can prove itself useful in a variety of circumstances. Sometimes you need your iPhone placed in a certain position — a task that can usually be accommodated with your hands. But not while you’re driving, for example. Check out this picture that shows how your iPhone can be positioned right where you need it in the car, crucial when using your iPhone for GPS. Or look at the example at the top of this Read More