Blog

Simply put, Google Hangouts is awesome. It’s seamless, it’s cross-platform, and it works really well. At least, it works well so long as you’re not on AT&T’s mobile network. Unfortunately, if you try to video chat when you’re using AT&T’s network, it won’t work. According to AT&T officially, video chatting will work on their network with any app that isn’t preloaded, but it’s up to manufacturers to make sure their apps work on AT&T’s network. That’s kind of a loophole exception, because Google Talk is a preloaded app but Hangouts has to be downloaded from the Play Store… Overall, not exactly a consumer-friendly move. Regardless, don’t try video chatting over AT&T’s network in the near future. We’ll be sure to keep you updated if they change their stance on the matter.

Come comment on this article: AT&T blocking Google Hangout video chats on mobile networks

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer thinks that what Blogger did for Google, Tumblr could do for her aging Internet company — make it relevant and a major player on the modern web. And for that she is willing to spend a billion dollars (or perhaps higher) in order to buy New York-based social publishing and sharing platform.

The news of the pending deal was first reported by AllThingsD and later Adweek reported rumors of their deal as well. At least a couple of our own sources say that the talks are serious. We have also learnt that the deal is being championed by CEO Mayer who according to Kara Swisher, has met with the team from Tumblr. We have learned that Yahoo’s New York-based corporate development team is leading the process, though like all deals, talks could fall apart.

David Karp, Founder and CEO, Tumblr (c) 2012 Pinar Ozger [email protected]

Tumblr says it has nearly 108 million blogs, over 50 billion posts and it is said to have 117 million visitors a month according to comScore. Forbes.com reports that Tumblr made $13 million in 2012 and is looking to bring in about $100 million, thanks to its new advertising initiatives. The company also recently introduced mobile advertising. For Yahoo this could be a much needed foray into mobile advertising and also into pushing new native ad-formats that help diversify its ad business away from the usual web advertising.

Valley calls Karp

David Karp, one of the co-founders and chief executive of Tumblr has been seen around in Silicon Valley. Tumblr has been trying to raise a new round of funding but its slower than expected revenue ramp has acted as a dampener for the fundraising efforts. Tumblr has raised a total of $125 million and is rumored to be valued at $800 million. Tumblr investors include Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, Sequoia Capital and Greylock Ventures.

But Yahoo may not be alone in courting Tumblr. In November 2012, my colleague Mathew Ingram argued that Facebook and Tumblr should poke each other. Surprise surprise, it is something that is nagging Yahoo bigwigs.

Facebook in the mix?

We have heard that Yahoo is worried that Facebook could sweep in at the last minute and beat it to the buzzer. If Instagram acquisition was any indication, then we shouldn’t doubt Zuckerberg’s salesmanship. Karp is said to have close relationship with Facebook and was recently spotted at the Facebook Home launch. Facebook could use the much needed younger 18-to-24 year old demographic, something it (successfully) tried to acquire with Instagram. (Read this a teenager’s response to a question on Quora, “How do teenagers waste hours upon hours consuming Tumblr?” )

The question is why wouldn’t Google want Tumblr. After all, it would mean young people on a social network that could feed into Google+ — sort of like how Blogger fed pages into Google. I am guessing given its ownership of Google+ and Blogger, Google might meet some resistance from the Department of Justice. Still, as our sources pointed, Yahoo knows the challenges in the competitive landscape and is trying to move very fast. The speed, would perhaps mean that the company could short circuit the due diligence process and overlook Tumblr’s challenges with content of questionable provenance.

Money Talks

The good news for Tumblr and its backers: Mayer will soon be super flush with cash. According to a recent Yahoo 10-Q filing, the value of Yahoo’s stake in Alibaba has gone up substantially as Alibaba’s continues to grow its revenues at a healthy clip. Yahoo owns about 23 percent of Alibaba and the Chinese eCommerce company is likely to go public and could worth as much as $100 billion in its post-IPO avatar. Yahoo is expected to sell about half its stake in the Chinese company in the likely 2014 IPO. Wall Street currently values Alibaba at around $70 billion.

In the end the question that remains: is Tumblr the fountain of youth that Yahoo badly needs or will this be case of a pathetic old-middle aged guy hanging with youngsters trying to be hip. Either way, Tumblr founders and backers could laugh all the way to the bank.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Facebook’s IPO filing: ideas and implications
• The state of cross-platform media measurement
• Flash analysis: future opportunities for Pinterest

We’ve been trying to pin down Google’s new Nexus 7 specs that’s bound to come out sometime in the next few years, and according to the reliable DigiTimes, we’ve got some confirmation on release date, as well as screen and processor. The release date is expected sometime in July, and the tablet will use a Snapdragon processor with a 1920 x 1200 resolution screen.  Best of all, the price isn’t going up.

DigiTimes says Google is planning on selling 6 to 8 million Nexus 7s in the second part of the year. It’s a very realistic goal based on the success of the original Nexus 7 tablet.

source: DigiTimes

Come comment on this article: Nexus 7 refresh expected in July, same price with updated specs

We’ve been hearing plenty of rumors of the elusive white Nexus 4 for the past few months, and now we’ve got some more fuel for the fire. According to the latest round of rumors, Google is going to launch the white Nexus 4 on the Play Store on June 10th. An even cooler detail about this variant of the Nexus 4? It’s going to be running Android 4.3.

Google spent the first day of I/O focusing on Play services instead of an Android update, and they definitely succeeded. Unfortunately, this lends some credibility to the rumors that 4.3 is likely just going to be minor under-the-hood tweaks, like new APIs. Either way, we’ll be sure to let you know next month.

source: Android and Me

Come comment on this article: Google to debut Android 4.3 on white Nexus 4 June 10th

This week, the President honored fallen officers and top cops, spoke on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, invited both the Prime Minister of England and of Turkey to the White House, and kicked off a new Google hangout series on science and technology. 

Earlier this evening the bill to establish an Office of Broadband Development passed in the Senate and House and is on its way to the Governor’s Office. As was mentioned earlier this week, the Office has been moved from the Department of Commerce to DEED (Department of Employment and Economic Development) and the director will be appointed by the Governor.

With hectic schedules, it can be hard to keep track of everything in your news feed. That’s why we created the TalkAndroid Daily Dose. This is where we recap the day’s hottest stories so you can get yourself up to speed in quick fashion. Happy reading!!

Apps

SMS integration within Google Hangouts on its way

PBA Bowling Challenge adds multiplayer support thanks to Google Play’s game service

Google

Next version of Android to feature Bluetooth Smart support, expected in the coming months

Game over June 30th for Google+ Games

Phones

China’s MeituKiss phone catered to females equipped with 8-megapixel front camera

Samsung planning to free up storage space on Galaxy S 4 for users

Samsung Galaxy S 4 is the world’s first smartphone to recieve coveted TCO certification

Galaxy Note 3 not expected to offer flexible display or metal design

Tablets

Upgraded ASUS Fonepad announced, will feature better processor and extra storage

Updates

Sprint HTC One receiving OTA update to fix key sensitivity

Miscellaneous

Google Wallet arrives for additional Sprint and U.S. Cellular smartphones

Come comment on this article: TalkAndroid Daily Dose for May 16, 2013