Uber vows to roll out service where it has 'tacit approval,' with precautions

If you hadn't gathered, Uber's app-based taxi service isn't always welcome wherever it goes. The company is tired of that fighting just to maintain its business, so it's defining its expansion policies through a new white paper. Deployments will occur in regions where Uber sees "tacit approval" from regulators -- in other words, areas where there hasn't been direct legal action against competing services for at least 30 days. Just in case authorities change their minds, the company plans to go "above and beyond" commercial licensing requirements, including a $2 million insurance policy on trips and more stringent background tests. While Uber would much rather have explicit permission to operate as it sees fit, the strategy could have the firm venturing into territories where competitors with unlicensed drivers have (seemingly) free rein.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Uber

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By: Unknown On 10:18 PM

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Nokia Lumia 521 for T-Mobile given FCC approval

RM-917. It may not sound like much on the outside, but the model number and above picture correspond with the Nokia Lumia 521, T-Mobile's version of the lower-end Lumia 520 announced at MWC last month. We still don't have any details on when it'll show up on retail shelves, but it's at least made its way through one of the final barriers to entry: the FCC approval process. As you might expect, the docs are low on details, but the frequencies support 850 / AWS / 1900 HSPA+ / UMTS as well as quadband GSM / EDGE. To refresh your memory, the 520 will sport a 4-inch WVGA LCD panel, 512MB RAM, a 5MP camera, microSD storage and quite a few other respectable goodies. Head to the source if you're a sucker for numbers and acronyms.

Source: FCC

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By: Unknown On 8:41 PM

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OUYA promises quick game approval process, reviews start by the end of February

OUYA CEO Julie Uhrman's promising a quick, simple approval process for games on her company's upcoming Android-powered game console, the OUYA. She told us in an interview this week:

"It's similar to mobile: they'll submit their games, and we'll review for intellectual property infringement, and malware, and excessive pornography. But ultimately it's a quick review and you're in the storefront in one capacity or another."

That's not the only mobile model OUYA's following; Urhman already said the OUYA hardware will iterate on an annual basis, similar to the mobile market.

Despite the console's impending March launch to Kickstarter supporters, OUYA's yet to begin reviewing games for its storefront. "We literally just opened the ability for developers to upload their games into the store," Uhrman explained. The review process isn't too far off, however -- she's predicting a "middle-to-end of this month" timeframe. "We're building that right now," she said, when asked who's staffing that approvals process. "We are a start-up like any other start-up, it's just-in-time business."

The first consumer-ready OUYA consoles are planned for a March launch, with availability at retail to follow in June. The $99 console made a big splash on Kickstarter, eventually raising over $8.5 million when the original goal was a meager $950K.

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By: Unknown On 7:46 PM

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Priceline gets U.S. approval to buy Kayak

WASHINGTON | Tue Jan 8, 2013 11:03am EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Priceline.com Inc has won U.S. antitrust approval to buy Kayak Software Corp, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.

The acquisition, announced in early November, is valued at $1.8 billion.

The deal was one of several on a list of approved transactions that the FTC issues several times a week. The listing is put out by the FTC, but the approvals could come from either that agency or the Justice Department.

Kayak, which offers a website and mobile applications to help consumers compare prices for airlines, hotels and rental cars, went public in July with shares priced at $26. It operates like a search engine, letting consumers compare pricing along with other websites such as Priceline.com rivals Expedia Inc and Orbitz Worldwide Inc.

Priceline, which is known for its name-your-own-price auction, has the largest market capitalization of online travel agencies.

Kayak will be operated independently under the leadership of its current management, which includes company co-founders Steve Hafner and Paul English, Priceline said in November.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; editing by John Wallace)

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By: Dilusha On 10:25 PM

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