Word Lens, The Real-Time Translation App, is Now Free

Android/iOS: Word Lens, the app that can translate the words and language it sees in real time, is free to download today.

Google has purchased Word Lens' parent company, Quest Visual, and their first move was making the app free to download. 

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Report: Missing iPhone Prototype Pressured Chinese Worker to Commit Suicide

Report: Missing iPhone Prototype Pressured Chinese Worker to Commit Suicide:


Updated 11:50 a.m. PDT: Apple has confirmed the Foxconn employee’s death.

We’ve heard plenty of stories about Apple employees getting fired for leaking secrets, but imagine how much pressure is on the company’s partners to keep products hush hush. A Chinese publication reports that a 25-year-old employee of Foxconn, who manufactures Apple’s iPhones in Taiwan, committed suicide after losing a prototype of the fourth-generation iPhone.

Foxconn worker Sun Danyong was handling a shipment of 16 iPhone prototypes, and one of them went missing, according to ND Daily [Google translation]. Then, Foxconn unleashed its central security division to investigate Sun. Unable to take the “unbearable interrogation techniques,” Sun jumped from a 12-story building on July 16, according to the report.

Foxconn has issued a statement [Google translation] apologizing for the incident. The letter admits that the chief of Foxconn’s central security division, surnamed Gu, may have used “inappropriate interrogation methods,” including possible beatings, searching Sun’s house and holding Sun in solitary confinement. Gu is on suspension and under internal investigation, according to Foxconn.

In a statement provided to CNET, Apple confirmed Sun’s death.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” an Apple spokeswoman said. “We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”

Apple is infamous for operating with a level of secrecy comparable to the Central Intelligence Agency. However, as Apple’s product line expands and accrues more partners, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the corporation to guard its secrets. In the case of Foxconn, it’s clear why the company would exert so much pressure on its employees to protect Apple’s secrets: The manufacturer would not wish to lose this valuable partnership.

Foxconn employee committed suicide over iPhone leak interrogations? [Shanghaiist]

See Also:

• After a Decade of Secrecy, Apple Reluctantly Tries Out …


• Apple Kills Think Secret: Publisher Nick Ciarelli Talks …


• How Apple Got Everything Right By Doing Everything Wrong

Photo: MacRonin47/Flickr

Analyst Claims to Have Seen Apple Tablet

Analyst Claims to Have Seen Apple Tablet:


To dispel any disbelief in Apple’s rumored tablet, an analyst claims to have seen a prototype of the gadget in person.

The analyst, who remains anonymous in the story, told financial publication Barron’s that Apple’s tablet could be introduced in September for a November release. The source shared no details on the specifications of the device. Other publications’ sources have described Apple’s rumored tablet as a 10-inch version of the iPod Touch with multimedia specialties.

“One veteran analyst who has seen first-hand a prototype slate-style computer from Apple says the device could be announced in September for release in November,” the story reads. “Whatever the exact dates, the computer industry is so anxious to see what Apple introduces that it has held off on competing designs until Apple CEO Steve Jobs gives the device his final blessing.”

We’re skeptical about the validity of this claim. First, we question if remaining anonymous would benefit this source, because we imagine Apple doesn’t show its secret products to many analysts; thus it’d be easy to narrow down the possibilities. Second, if the analyst is going to blabber anonymously anyway, why not share additional details of the product? The only reason such a source would come forward would be with the permission of Apple to perpetuate the hype surrounding the product — which seems unnecessary considering the flood of previous reports on this rumored device (see below).

In any case, with all the rumor reports added together, an Apple tablet seems inevitable in the near future. And Wired.com has also heard that in the next year, a large number of tech companies — including Dell, Intel, HTC and Nokia — plan to compete with their own tablet PCs, too.

See Also:

• Financial Times Confirms Apple Tablet for September


• Rumor: $800 Apple Tablet Coming in October


• How an Apple Tablet Could Pit iTunes Against Amazon.com


• Analyst Predicts Apple Will Unleash Touchscreen Tablet Next Year …


• Rumor: 10-Inch Apple Tablet Landing in Early 2010


• Large-Screen Kindle Won't Mean Squat if Apple Tablet Arrives …


• Apple COO Reveals Plans for Touch Tablet — Kinda

A mocked-up illustration of an Apple tablet: Photo Giddy/Flickr

Google CEO Quitting Apple’s Board Not Enough to Stop FTC

Google CEO Quitting Apple’s Board Not Enough to Stop FTC: "
While the FCC’s investigation of Apple’s rejection of the Google Voice iPhone App has been making big headlines the last few days, another government investigation into the two companies seems to be slowing down (but not stopping): The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) interlocking directorates probe.

For the last few months, the FTC has been investigating whether Apple and Google have been participating in anti-competitive practices by having Google’s CEO on Apple’s board of directors. Considering Google has several competing products (Android, Google Chrome, Chrome OS), it made some sense.

Now that Google’s CEO has resigned from Apple’s board, you’d think the investigation would be over. Not so, according to the FTC. They put out a statement earlier today giving a thumbs-up to Schmidt’s resignation but clearly stating the investigation will continue:

On August 3, 2009, Apple announced that Eric E. Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer of Google, was stepping down from its board. “We have been investigating the Google/Apple interlocking directorates issue for some time and commend them for recognizing that sharing directors raises competitive issues, as Google and Apple increasingly compete with each other,” said Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein. “We will continue to investigate remaining interlocking directorates between the companies.”

So why isn’t this case going away? The answer’s simpler than you might think: Google and Apple still share a director: Arthur Levinson, the former CEO of biotech giant Genentech. Until he resigns from one of the two boards, the investigation will continue. Once he leaves though, it would be difficult to justify charging either company with any wrongdoing retroactively. Expect Levinson to leave one of the two boards in the near future.

Besides, neither company was really focusing on the FTC probe anyway. Now it’s about the FCC Google Voice investigation, where they’re on opposite sides. The events of the last few days are probably the beginning of a new era of standing on opposite ends for the two storied giants.

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Reviews: Android, Google, Google Chrome
Tags: apple, FTC, Google

FCC queries AT&T, Apple on Google Voice iPhone app rejection

FCC queries AT&T, Apple on Google Voice iPhone app rejection: "

Yeah, we're pretty much all peeved by Apple suddenly ejecting all traces of Google Voice from the app store, but now it looks to have drawn the ire of the Federal Communications Commission, as well. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the agency has sent out three letters, one each to Apple, AT&T, and Google. To the latter company, it asked for a description of the Google Voice app and whether previous Google apps have been approved for the store (it has, but that's another interesting story). To Cupertino, it's asking the phone manufacturer to explain itself over the sudden exorcism and what involvement, if any, AT&T had in this decision. The report doesn't make a direct indication of what the letter to the carrier said, but we can imagine it's similar to what Apple got, plus some doodles at the end of a stick figure letting out an exasperated sigh. In a statement today, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said it "has a mission to foster a competitive wireless marketplace, protect and empower consumers, and promote innovation and investment." Hey Julius, while you're at it, can you see about Skype and Slingbox for us, too? Thanks.

Update: TechCrunch has published the three letters sent out, all very interesting reads. The FCC asks Apple specifically if any approved VoIP apps are allowed to be used over AT&T's 3G network, and more generally what are the "standards for considering and approving iPhone applications" and more details into the approval process. It also asks for the contact information of all developers of rejected Google Voice apps, presumably for further investigation. In the Google letter, it seems to be asking if Voice will be able to be utilized in any capacity over the web, without inclusion in the iTunes store. Unsurprisingly, a number of questions to Apple and AT&T concern the carrier's involvement in which apps or types of apps get rejected. All companies have until August 21st to respond and can request confidentiality on all or portions of their response.



Update 2: AT&T spokesman Brad Mays has sent us a statement denying any involvement in the app store process: "AT&T does not manage or approve applications for the App Store. We have received the letter and will, of course, respond to it," he says. That said, its involvement in Slingbox's rejection certainly does raise some eyebrows here.

Filed under: Cellphones

FCC queries AT&T, Apple on Google Voice iPhone app rejection originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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