Following the rumors that Google is getting ready to re-launch Google Maps on iOS, the folks over at Google Maps are announcing today that they just launched aerial, satellite, and 45-degree imagery to 164 cities and 108 countries or regions. The update, according to Google, is part of their ongoing commitment to provide users with comprehensive and accurate maps. Additionally, Google’s collection of 45-degree imagery on Google Maps has been expanded as well to 40 new cities in the U.S. and 20 places around the world. Cities include Luxembourg, Romania, Romania, and Switzerland. Check out the full list after the break.
Read full post →Google Maps Expands Aerial and Satellite Imagery

It is during a routine teardown that folks at iFixit noticed that the Google Nexus 4 uses a QUALCOMM WTR1605L 4G LTE chip which supports up to seven bands. We can already see Nexus 4 users’ eyes lighting up at the idea of a community LTE driver or something like that. We never say never, but at the moment, nothing of that kind is on the horizon.
Read full post →Google Nexus 4 Has Internal LTE Modem

Ever wished you can view all your favorite video game trailers in one place? Well, Hulu has heard your prayers and is now launching a new video gaming channel or hub that promises to “feed the game trailer addiction” in you. The video games hub on Hulu basically contains HD trailers, game play videos, and reviews for the latest games. Hulu is also pairing it up with a nifty set of release information for the games, so that viewers can keep track on the latest release dates.

Hulu’s video games hub is currently available on PC, but the company adds that it will be rolling out to all Hulu Plus enabled devices in the coming months. Talking about its future plans, Hulu had this to say: “Soon, we’ll showcase the next generation of video games with the release of the Nintendo Wii U, which brings us game fanatics titles such as New Super Mario Bros U , Nintendo Land, and SiNG Party to your living room. Even our favorite mouse Mickey is joining the party with Epic Mickey 2.” You can check it out here.

According to Reuters, around 26 suppliers for China’s largest online iPhone store, Lanyou Shuma.com, were ordered to appear in court on Wednesday this week for smuggling iPhones and iPads in the country. It is estimated that over 162,000 iPhones and iPads worth 500 million yuan ($80 million) were smuggled from Hong Kong over the past two years. Interestingly, half of the suppliers tried were described as “housewives who frequently travel to Hong Kong.”

They were reportedly paid around 20 to 30 yuan for every device they smuggled. Luxury products, such as the iPhone and the iPad, have strict import duties to do when they are sold in China. This forces many Chinese suppliers to shop in places like Hong Kong where duties are lower. “This discrepancy in prices has led to a booming smuggling industry where, for example, iPhones are bought in the United States or Hong Kong, carried into China in suitcases by smugglers and then passed to scalpers in China,” Reuters added.

US-based Verizon does not look on too kindly on those who download stuff illegally, otherwise known as pirates (digital ones, that is, as these folks probably do not have their sea legs with them), considering how they take advantage of technologies such as BitTorrent in order to steal copyrighted material. It seems that Verizon will first issue a warning to repeat offenders via email and voicemail, and if said offender fails to turn from his or her wayward behavior, then Verizon will crank things up a notch by restricting, or in other words, to “throttle” their Internet connection speeds.

As for Time Warner Cable, another US internet service provider (ISP), they will take a softer approach in terms of tackling piracy by using pop-up warnings in order to deter repeat offenders. I guess that approach would not work too well, as nothing is quite as frustrating as having your speed throttled that you would not want to download stuff illegally any more. The other three major US ISPs, AT&T, Cablevision, and Comcast, too, will work together to bear down on illegal downloading as well as sharing of copyrighted material.

Hmmm, it does seem as though that the Apple TV launch remains on par with that of a unicorn or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow where being real is concerned, but here is the latest rumor that is making its rounds throughout the Internet – a Jefferies & Co’s analyst known as James Kisner claims that “at least one” cable operator is currently testing out their network in order to find out if it is capable of handling the amount of bandwidth required in the event of a connected Apple HDTV is realized.

The thing is, we do not know exactly just the kind of tests that have been made where standard issue Internet-connected TVs or set-top boxes are concerned by cable operators in the past. Apart from that, we do recall other older reports of Apple’s plans for its TV set which was shelved, and perhaps this is a possible indication of its revival? Who knows? All we can do is sit tight, keep our fingers crossed and hope that more details (concrete ones, obviously) will be released in due time.

The Australian Tax Office has slapped Apple with a rather juicy $28.5 million bill in terms of back taxes, and this move could very well be the start of what many believe as the government coming down hard on foreign tax havens. So far, there has been very little revealed concerning the $28.5 million tax bill since it is illegal for the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) to make any comments on individual cases. The Brisbane Times did report on Friday that the ATO could be joining a tax push that is led by European governments by targeting companies which harbor funds via intermediary companies in foreign countries.

Apple’s Australian arm is under the ownership of Apple Operations International, where this subsidiary is located in Cork, Ireland. There has been many companies that have operations in Ireland so that they can capitalize on the country’s low corporate tax rate. $28.5 million is a drop in the water for Apple though, considering how the company earned earned $4.87 billion in revenue from Australia alone last year.

28-year old Darren Kersey is homeless, and he needed to charge his cellphone badly. So he decided to use an electric outlet at a public picnic shelter in Gillespie Park. But to Kersey’s surprise, he was arrested instead by a police officer for stealing city utilities. Sarasota Police Sgt. Anthony Frangioni arrested Kersey on Sunday last week and told the 28-year old that “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.”

The officer also told Kersey that he should have charged his cellphone at local shelters, and not in the park. Kersey was eventually jailed because he was not able to pay the $500 bail. Thankfully, on Monday this week, Judge Charles Williams dismissed the case against Kersey saying that Frangioni lacked “legal justification to make the arrest.”

The Herald Tribune contacted Frangioni for a statement, but didn’t comment on the report. Gillespie Park is a quiet reserve that has a small pond, a playground, and a few picnic shelters. Interestingly, the Herald Tribune reports that two homeless people on Monday were also charging their cellphones on the same area where Kersey was arrested. The incident happened just a couple of hours earlier.