A Facebook (FB) spokesperson this week confirmed to the news and opinion website The Daily Beast that the company hired top public relations (PR) firm Burson-Marsteller to propagate anti-Google stories in the media. FB stated that it has done so to raise awareness about allegations that the search giant is violating user privacy, even though it also struggles with its own privacy issues. FB also “resents” the fact that Google attempts to utilise FB data for the search giant’s social-networking service.

 

The PR firm reportedly approached bloggers and American news publications about the privacy issues regarding Google’s social circle network. Social circle enables Google users to identify relevant social search results for (and info about) their connections (friends, colleagues and family that they’re linked to) and secondary connections (connections of their connections).

 

One of the pitches Burson-Marsteller approached news publications with was: “The American people must be made aware of the now immediate intrusions into their deeply personal lives Google is cataloging and broadcasting every minute of every day-without their permission.”

 

 

According to CNET, search giant Google’s Android mobile OS has overtaken Research In Motion’s BlackBerry OS as the US’ leading smartphone platform, based on figures from internet market research firm comScore.

 

ComScore rates Android’s US market share at 34.7%, which is a 6% growth compared to the last quarter of 2010. RIM’s share decreased by 4.5% to 27.1% compared to the last quarter, with Apple rounding up the top 3 with its iOS claiming a 25.5% market share.

 

 

 

Motorola Mobility (MM) has announced that it has acquired SunUp Digital Systems, a software development company providing operating software for IPTV and content distribution networks amongst others. The financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed. MM will be utilising SunUp’s software to enhance its Medios service management software platform, giving it the ability to enable service providers to bring video services across multiple screens.

 

“SunUp software will enhance the Motorola Medios software platform, providing the ability, for example, to enforce content rights and to manage live content across multiple screens,” stated John Burke, senior vice president and general manager for Converged Experiences, Motorola Mobility. “SunUp’s software enables reliable and cost-efficient video content delivery to multiple screens, such as television, smartphones and tablets, from ingest and deployment to rights management and provider payment.”

 

 

 

According to The Sun newspaper, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (85 years old) has ordered her staff to get her an iPad 2. The Queen did so following a hands-on session with Cupertino’s tablet PC, whereby Princes William and Harry took their devices along to Buckingham Palace and gave her a demonstration. The paper quotes a royal insider stating that the Queen was very impressed with the latest iPad, especially with how easy it is to use. She is also apparently a fan of Apple’s products, owning at least two iPods.

 

 

 

HP has unveiled its new Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse (video posted below), which like Logitech’s wireless mice and their Unifying Receivers, enables users to employ the mouse without the hassle of wires.

 

According to HP, this new Wi-Fi Mobile Mouse is the first mouse to connect to a PC’s built-in Wi-Fi receiver, eliminating the need for a USB dongle. The company stated that the mouse instantly reconnects during each use and operates without interference from other wireless devices.

 

It also offers up to nine months of battery life, which is over twice the battery life of comparable Bluetooth-based models and boasts five customisable buttons that allows users to create shortcuts for common actions the likes of cutting, pasting, undo and redo. HP claims that it will work from up to 30 feet (about 9 meters) away from the PC. These will be available in June in the US for $49.99 (around R345), but no local release info is available yet.