Pew Center finds cell phone users more political, more conservative

Europe inching closer to universal phone charger standard (Ben Patterson)
The days of scrounging around for a Smartphone charger that fits your particular handset may soon be over—in Europe, at least. As for a universal charger standard in the U.S., well ... don't hold your breath. A pair of European standards bodies has at last finished nailing down the technical specifications for a universal phone charger based on micro-USB, the compact port that already serves as an interface for many makes and models of cell phones. With the "i"'s dotted and "t"'s crossed o...

The AK-47 of the Cell-Phone World - By Joshua E. Keating
The Multilateralist: Morning multilateralism, Dec. 31 Forget iPhones and Droids: The Nokia 1100 is the most important cell phone on the planet. The iPhone vs. Android vs. BlackBerry wars may get all the attention in the Western press, but for most of humanity, smart phones are an impractical luxury. Thanks largely to exploding cell-phone markets in Africa and South Asia, the world's most popular phone -- by far -- is the humble Nokia 1100. Introduced in 2003, an eternity ago in tech years, the...

Android climbs, Apple holds steady, RIM slips in U.S. smartphone market (Ben Patterson)
Google's Android OS is showing no signs of slowing down when it comes to U.S. Smartphone Market Share: A new survey shows Android climbing within striking distance of Apple's iOS mobile platform. Meanwhile, RIM's slice of the U.S. Smartphone pie is continuing to shrink. Back in August, Android was still in third place in terms of the overall U.S. Smartphone market. Nielsen pegged Google's mobile OS at 19 percent, versus 28 percent for Apple and 31 percent for RIM. Fast-forward to Nielsen's just-...

Andy Plesser: 100K Hungry iPhone Users Uploading Food Dishes to Foodspotting -- Android Users Joining Feast
Foodspotting, the fast-growing, San Francisco-based social platform for sharing favorite food dishes has 100,000 iPhone Registered Users who have uploaded 250,000 dish reviews, with 10,000 uploaded every week. There are some 500,000 users of the App who consume the food pix. (Only Registered Users can upload.) A few days ago, the company launched an App in Beta for Androids devices. We spoke with co-founder Soraya Darabi about the the company's program which is integrated with the Zagat App fo...

More Options for Investors: Motorola Splits In Two
It's official. Motorola (MOT) is now two separate companies with two independently traded stocks for investors to choose from. And some analysts say folks looking for a higher risk-return should bet on the mobility side of the business -- where the potential upside is greater by a wide margin. Motorola Mobility (MMI), which includes the snazzy Android-based Droid Smartphones and cable set-top boxes, is considered an undervalued play. It also has the potential of greater upside than Motorola So...

Iowa GOPer Branstad: Don't Impeach State Justices Over Gay Marriage
Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R-IA) has now taken a firm position on a push by some State Legislators from his party to impeach state Supreme Court Justices who legalized same-sex marriage: He's against it. As the Cedar Rapids Gazette reports: "I don't think that Impeachment is the appropriate remedy," Branstad said in an interview. ... "I think if you look and read the Constitution, which I have, I think it's pretty obvious. The Constitution says what the grounds for Impeachment are. My reading ...

More Help From The Nanny State: Your Minutes Are High, Your Toilet Paper Supply Is Low.
In the latest effort to save ourselves from, well, us, our friends at Care2 have posted a nifty little petition you can sign if you are fed up with your cell phone minutes running out because you are too stupid or lazy to figure it out on your own: With back-and-forth texting, endless calls and family plans with kids who download at unexpected costs, it’s easy to get a shocking cell phone bill. We can end cell phone bill shock and stay in control of our service with a simple solution: up...

GOP Sen. Jim DeMint Tells Supporters, Say No to RINOs in 2011
GOP Sen. Jim DeMint Tells Supporters, “Say No to RINOs in 2011″… (Ballot Box)- Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is asking supporters of his Senate Conservatives Fund to help him build a war chest ahead of the 2012 Elections, when Republicans are hopeful they can take back the majority in the Senate. In an e-mail sent Tuesday with the subject line “Say No to RINOs in 2011,” DeMint pledged that the Senate Conservatives Fund will play a key role in the upcoming legislative bat...

Terry Branstad: The pre-inauguration interview
Following is an edited transcript of Register political writer Thomas Beaumont’s interview with Gov.-elect Terry Branstad on Monday: Q: What have you learned about the Budget that you didn’t know during the campaign? Well, we found out more of the specifics. We knew they used a lot of one-time money for ongoing expenses. Medicaid, of course, is the biggest problem because that is an entitlement program. Pays Health Care for low-income Iowans, and there’s a significant shortfall in that budg

Terry Branstad: The pre-inauguration interview
Following is an edited transcript of Register political writer Thomas Beaumont’s interview with Gov.-elect Terry Branstad on Monday: Q: What have you learned about the Budget that you didn’t know during the campaign? Well, we found out more of the specifics. We knew they used a lot of one-time money for ongoing expenses. Medicaid, of course, is the biggest problem because that is an entitlement program. Pays Health Care for low-income Iowans, and there’s a significant shortfall in that budg

Activists to Branstad: Keep current voting rights rule
A coalition of about 20 Activist groups asked Gov.-elect Terry Branstad on Monday not to follow through on a pledge to rescind an Executive Order that automatically restores Voting Rights to ex-convicts. The groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and the Iowa Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, sent a letter to Branstad expressing support for a statewide policy adopted in 2005. That's when Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack issued a blanket order restoring voting r...

Kent Conrad Well Paid For His Ethanol Hypocrisy
I’ve noted here on the blog, repeatedly, that Senator Kent Conrad is an utter hypocrite when it comes to Ethanol subsidies. The self-described “Deficit hawk” is fond of railing about the nation’s woeful fiscal state, and yet signed on to a letter supporting the continuation of billions in Ethanol subsidies that would have ended last year had they not eventually been rolled up into the Legislation that extended the Bush Tax Cuts. One obvious explanation for Conrad’s ...

Motorola formally splits; companies begin trading
FILE - In this file photo made Jan. 9, 2010, the Motorola logo is seen at the company's exhibit at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Motorola Inc.'s formal split into two companies on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011 will mark the final step in the years-long breakup of a consumer electronics industry pioneer. After years of preparation, consumer-electronics pioneer Motorola Inc. formally split into two companies on Tuesday — one for its consumer-oriented businesses such as cell phones, an...

Romney Is the CW Frontrunner
There’s no arguing that Mitt Romney is The CW’s frontrunner. There’s also no doubt but that he’s fatally flawed in ways that John McCain wasn’t in 2008. I’m writing this to agree with Paul Mirengoff’s post on the subject. Paul rightly notes that “2010 has conditioned many of us to believe that the dynamics of the Party have been transformed.” That’s just part of the problem, though it’s a significant, possibly insurmountable prob...

Apple still top mobile OS but Android gaining
Apple's iOS remains the leading platform for Smartphone users, but Google's Android holds a big lead among those that have purchased a Smartphone in the past six months according to new data from the Nielsen Company. Apple (28.6 percent), Android (25.8) and Research in Motion's BlackBerry platform (26.1) remained virtually tied in terms of overall Market Share, but 40 percent of recent acquirers chose Android compared to 27 percent for Apple and 19 percent for BlackBerry. If current trends hol...

High-tech upgrades to drive MBTA in '11
2010 was the year of the iPhone and the Android — when the MBTA put real-time information into the palms of tech-savvy riders, liberating them from having to put their ears to the ground to divine when exactly the next bus or subway would be arriving. 2011 promises even more apps and more information being shared by the T . . . as well as a push to produce a friendlier T staff. “We had great success in 2010, but we’re not resting on our laurels,” said MBTA General Manage...

The Island of Misfit Tablets
The Island of Misfit Tablets Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt January 1, 2011 11:37 AM Organizers expect 40 to 80 iPad wannabees at next week's Consumer Electronics Show Barron's Tiernan Ray calls them the "tablet rat pack." AFP's Glenn Chapman compares them to an invading army. PC Mag's Tim Gideon says they seem to be multiplying "like gremlins." They're talking about the Apple (AAPL) iPad wannabees heading for the International Consumer Electronics Show that opens Thursday in Las Vegas. Accord...

Start Getting Really Excited For Friday's Big Jobs Report
the percentage of people eligible for receiving Unemployment Insurance—fell to a new cyclical low in December, down to 3.2% for the week ending December 11. This series is highly correlated with the Unemployment Rate and strongly suggests the rise in the latter was an aberration. Really? So Dousche Bank is banking on people being unable to get Unemployment Benefits (for what reasons? temp worker? contract worker? employed less than 6 months? already unemployed?) to lower the "stated" unemp...

U.S. Markets Start Strong In 2011: Here Are The 10 Trades To Watch Right Now (EXPE, URBN, PCLN, AMR, REMX, ACWI)
Enter you Email Address and zip code to set up customized email alerts. Email Sent! You have successfully emailed the post. U.S. stocks reached two-year highs today following rallies in Asia and Europe. To embed this post, copy the code below and paste into your website or blog. Got a tip? Let us know! Q: What should the NFL do about hard-hitting? 8 Answers 2 hours ago Q: What makes a great college? 10 Answers 2 hours ago Q: How do i block the sailthru pop up? 4 Answers 1 day ago Q: BlackBe...

Hedge funder Donald Sussman gave $1.3 to Maine democrats in 2010, making him the biggest political donor in the stat...
Hedge funder Donald Sussman gave $1.3 to Maine Democrats in 2010, making him the biggest political Donor in the state in 2010 - if not ever. Paloma Partners' Sussman also donated $300,000 to the No Higher Taxes for Maine PAC. To embed this post, copy the code below and paste into your website or blog. Got a tip? Let us know! Q: What makes a great college? 9 Answers 11 hours ago Q: How do i block the sailthru pop up? 4 Answers 1 day ago Q: What should the NFL do about hard-hitting? 6 Answers 2...

At scene of gasing, journalist Goldman discredited IDF, Ynet and NYT (which wasnt there)
The Israeli army, the New York Times and Ynet all said or suggested yesterday that the Israeli army was teargassing demonstrators, including Jawaher Abu Rahmah, 36, who was killed, because of demonstrator violence; and the outlets were all quickly discredited by people on the scene on Twitter--and in this wrapup by Alex Kane. What follows are a series of tweets from yesterday's Bil'in demonstration from Israeli-Canadian Journalist Lisa Goldman. Mixed in are some tweets from Alex Kane, Joseph D...

Construction Spending Grows 0.4% Beating Expectations (XB, ITB)
This is merely due to cost increases. Not that more product is being purchased. So why do investors get excited about this, or is it only the FOMO buying up more stuff to make people believe investors are excited. The smart investors would be selling at these highs, not buying. Got a tip? Let us know! Q: What makes a great college? 10 Answers 22 minutes ago Q: How do i block the sailthru pop up? 4 Answers 1 day ago Q: What should the NFL do about hard-hitting? 6 Answers 2 days ago Q: BlackB...

Repeal Cuts Medicare
Republican Candidates ran against the Affordable Care Act last fall largely by alleging that it cuts Medicare benefits. Now in their first week in office, the House GOP is determined to vote to Repeal it. But Repeal means Medicare cuts: The 76-year-old has schooled herself on the doughnut hole but notes that many seniors are “part of an age group that will not advertise (to loved ones) how anxious they may be feeling” about paying thousands of dollars out of pocket. But starting in...

Ahead of the Bell: Motorola's split
Newly spun off into a separate company, Motorola's cell phone business is likely to face its first big challenge early this year: the iPhone's jump to Verizon Wireless. Apple Inc. has not formally announced that the iPhone will be available for Verizon subscribers, but analysts expect it to happen sometime in the first three months of 2011. And the move could crowd out Motorola's competing smart phones, about half of which are sold through Verizon, analysts say. Motorola "will have to weather a ...

Apple's absence to be felt at CES gadget show
(01-02) 21:02 PST , CA (AP) -- What do you call it when you have 120,000 people and an elephant in the room? The International Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off this week in Las Vegas. The elephant is Apple Inc. It won't be at the show this year, but its Tablet Computer, the iPad, is the most important new product for an industry that needs to once again excite consumers. Sales of the iPad have been strong since its April debut, and the whole industry is now trying to mimic Apple's su...