Verizon is set to bring two Google Android based smartphones to the market. The deal was revealed when Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam unveiled a new Motorola phone bundled with Android. The "Sholes," the phones code-name, is expected to hit stores by the end of the year.
AT&T announced that it will allow voice over Internet protocol applications to run on the 3G network. The move will allow for services like Skype and Vonage, as well as GoogleVoice (if ever approved), to run not only via Wi-Fi connection, but also through the phones regular network. While customers will be able to use VoIP applications to make calls from anywhere they can get a signal, analysts believe the move could put increased stress on AT&T's already strained network.
CNET is reporting that Viacom may have evidence that YouTube employees may have uploaded copyrighted material to the site. Sources say that emails were found that show that "managers knew and discussed the existence of unauthorized content on the site with employees but chose not to remove the material." If true, the violation may prove volatile for YouTube, which is currently protected by the DMCA, which notes that networks are not responsible for copyrighted material posted by users.
Monday Night Football's game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers was the most viewed cable program in history. The contest, Brett Favre's first as a Viking competing against his former team and now arch rivals, drew 21,839,000 viewers. The broadcast broke the previous record, a Monday Night Football Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, by more than 3 million viewers.
The Associated Press is considering charging some users for exclusive news ahead of time. AP CEO Tom Curley noted that the news service may provide sell the content to online news providers up to thirty minutes before it publishes the content itself. Curley said "we stand at an enviable moment where Microsoft and Google have decided to go to war."
Shelly Palmer is a consultant and the host of MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer a daily show featuring news you can use about technology, media & entertainment. He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC and the author of Television Disrupted: The Transition from Network to Networked TV. Shelly is also President of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. You can join the MediaBytes mailing list here. Shelly can be reached at shelly@palmer.net For information about Get Digital Classes, visit www.shellypalmer.com/seminars