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Facebook Messenger iOS App adds free VoIP audio calling

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Social Networking, App Updates, Free Apps,

Facebook Messenger App VoIP Facebook Messenger App VoIP (2)

Hot on the heels of Facebook's event announcing its new Social Graph feature, Facebook Messenger iOS app has been updated to VoIP audio calling functionality for US users. It's interesting since, technically, Facebook uses Skype backend, which is owned by parent company Microsoft. Thus, the collaborative user base is pretty vast. It appears that it is limited only to audio calls, but it is safe to assume that video calling is in the pipeline. VoIP may not use your monthly allotment of cell minutes but it will definitely use your mobile data plan, of course it will not effect your carrier plan if users use a WIFI acces point. The app is a free download available in the App Store.

What’s New in Version 2.1.1

Back by popular request: Now you can swipe right to archive a conversation again
Other improvements and bug fixes

*Free calling uses your existing data plan, and will be rolling out over the next few weeks.

Bill Morrison Mobilizes for Metro Entertainment

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials,

Tone Rodriguez Bill Morrison at Bongo Comics is putting together a huge benefit to aid Metro Entertainment, a Santa Barbara comic book store that’s hit a rough patch.

Bill wrote about it on a recent Facebook post: “I've received donations of art from some of the best artists in the comic book business (I don't like to drop names, but...NEAL ADAMS!!!) and I'm blown away by the generosity of my fellow artists. But I need more heavy hitters to come to the rescue if I'm going to reach the goal!”

Later, Bill ran down the list of those who have already helped out: "So here's a list of artists I've received donations from, or who have already put something in the mail to me! Neal Adams, Geof Darrow, Gilbert Hernandez, Herb Trimpe, Eric Powell, Bruce Timm, Paul Smith, Evan Dorkin, Al Jaffee, Dave Gibbons, Kelley Jones, Dean Yeagle, Humberto Ramos, Jim Woodring, Tone Rodriguez, Tom Richmond, Tim Burgard, Peter Krause, Robert Pope, and John Rozum. More to come, I'm sure!"

Click to continue reading Bill Morrison Mobilizes for Metro Entertainment

Here’s how to stay on top of all the Gear Live news!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features,

Gear Live

We know we push out a lot of content here on Gear Live, but it's actually prtty easy to stay on top of everything, even if you don't have the chance to visit the site every day. How? Like this:

Gear Live newsletter: Our free daily newsletter that brings you a wrap-up of all the tops news of the day. We also launch exclusive contests in the newsletter that you might not find on the site itself!
YouTube: We have a pretty active YouTube channel with almost 500 pieces of content for your viewing pleasure. You can even subscribe and get notified of new videos.
Kindle: You can get all of Gear Live's news delivered directly to your Kindle!
Twitter: Gear Live in 140 characters or less.
FaceBook: We know a lot of you spend hours here, and we've got our Facebook page set up to deliver tech news right into your feed.
Google+: Yep, some of you hand out here, and we're there too.
RSS: Old-fashioned RSS is still available for all you grizzled tech veterans out there.

See? Told you it was easy!

Facebook encouraging employees to switch to Android

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Social Networks,

Facebook Android phones

Facebook wants more of its employees carrying Android devices, employing vaguely propagandistic posters around its Menlo Park campus. The posters outline the growing lead Android has over iOS, projecting that lead to double by 2016. The goal is to get Facebook employees using devices that the majority of their app users use, or "Droidfooding," as the campaign is casually known.

“In the early days we gave employees iPhones primarily”, a Facebook spokesperson said to TechCrunch. This recent shift to a more Android OS orientated workplace is part of an effort to make it as simple as possible to test future Facebook For Android and Facebook Messenger apps.

“We’ve created more awareness that Android devices are available” Facebook says. "There's plenty of people here carrying around both devices, and not just engineers and not just mobile people.”

Facebook 4.1 for Windows Phone 8 brings speed improvements

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Smartphones, Microsoft, Software,

A new update for Windows Phone 8's Facebook app doesn't bring new features, but does make the app a lot faster and more responsive. Similar to the recent Facebook app updates on Android and iOS, this one focuses on the general performance of the app, and eliminates the lag from the older version.

Windows Phone 7 devices, however, aren't capable of running the new update. UK users will assuredly find the Facebook version 4.1 update in the UK Windows Phone Marketplace, but its not quite available in all markets yet.

Twitter allegedly attempted to buy Instagram for $525 million

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Acquisitions, Corporate News, Rumors, Social Networks, Startups,

Way before Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, Twitter apparently made an offering of its own, to which Instagram initially agreed to.

The offer from Twitter, according to The New York Times, was for $525 million. Instagram's CEO, Kevin Systrom, agreed to the buy-out, but changed his mind before selling Instagram to Facebook without allowing Twitter to make a counter offer.

What's interesting is that Systrom had stated while under oath to the California Corporations Department that Instagram had never received another formal offer. None of the parties have commented on the Times article that brought this information to life, but it could mean we might be in the throes of an intense legal battle shortly.

Apple profits conceptualized

Posted by Jason Diaz Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, PC / Laptop,

Apple Profit Conceptualize

Here's a clear example of The Street missing the woods for the trees when it comes to valuing Apple stock while giving companies like Amazon high volume and low profit yield a free pass.

Notable Highlights between Oct 2011 - Sept 2012:

Apple record breaking profit of 41.7 billion.
Apple revenue is 156.5 billion.
Combined profit of Facebook, Google Microsoft, Yahoo! and Amazon is 34 million.
Combined profit of the PC industry of HP, Lenovo, Acer, IBM ASUS, Dell, and Intel is 19.3 billion.

One could extrapolate that the major Android OEMS combined makes less profit than Apple makes from the iPhone alone.

Instagram Sees Record Numbers on Thanksgiving

Posted by John Kilhefner Categories: Corporate News, Internet,

Thanksgiving is a time for sharing, and that's exactly what Instagram users did, giving Instagram it's most shared photos ever.

Over at the Instagram blog, the social network reported that over 10 million Thanksgiving specific photos where shared yesterday. The post didn't mention previous statistics, but it did provide a graph detailing the hour by hour photo traffic it received. The majority of photos came in around noon, averaging out to over 200 photos shared every second.

In it's post, Instagram stated, "We’re thrilled to see people use Instagram to share their holidays. Whether celebrating with friends and family or sharing photos with them halfway across the globe, we’re excited to see the intimacy and immediacy of the Instagram experience bring us all closer together over this holiday season."

With Christmas on the horizon, Instagram might see another record-breaking day sooner than later.

Fiona Apple Cancels Tour to Tend to Her Dying Dog

Posted by Robin Paulson Categories: Artist News, Concerts / Tours, Alternative,

Fiona Apple with her dog Janet

Despite releasing her first album this year since 2005's Extraordinary Machine, 2012 has not been very good to Fiona Apple: first she was arrested in September for drug possession, and now her faithful dog of 14 years is dying.

In a Facebook message to her fans, Apple revealed in a scanned handwritten letter why she is postponing her current tour. “I just can’t leave her now, please understand... If I go away again, I’m afraid she’ll die and I won’t have the honor of singing her to sleep, of escorting her out," she wrote.

Click to continue reading Fiona Apple Cancels Tour to Tend to Her Dying Dog

Quote Of The Day: Dan DiDio

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Editorials, DC Comics,

Hellblazer 53

"I am getting a number of messages and notes on the cancellation of Hellblazer. This was not an easy decision and I'd like to say there is a natural conclusion to the Constantine storyline in the Hellblazer series. Number 300 will be as special as you would expect it to be. Hellblazer's had a long and incredibly successful run and that's a tip of the hat to all the great creators that have worked on the book over the years. The new Constantine series will return him back to his roots in the DCU and hopefully be the start of another incredible run. Thanks for all your thoughts and support. Best, DD"

- Dan DiDio addresses fanboy outrage at the cancellation of Hellblazer (posted on his Facebook wall)

Be sure to check out our other notable quotes.

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