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Google has finally released their Wallet as an app on the Sprint network. Basically what it does is lets you pay for items using your cell phone instead of your credit card. All of the Sprint Nexus S 4G phones will get an update for this app to be added into the phone. Google Wallet enables you to pay with your Citi MasterCard credit card and the Google Prepaid Card, which can be funded with any of your existing plastic credit cards. As a thanks to early adopters, Google is adding a $10 free bonus to the Google Prepaid Card if you set it up in Google Wallet before the end of the year. The end game will be to launch this on every network and use every major credit card. This is a good start for this technology and we will see where it takes us.

Netflix has decided to split up the mailing of DVD’s and the streaming services. They are even rebranding the DVD mail service as Qwikster. The big change however is that Qwikster will also offer video games as well. Also they will be separate so the new Qwikster site will be a separate set up. The CEO had this to sayCommen

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us) because they are afraid to hurt their initial business. Eventually these companies realize their error of not focusing enough on the new thing, and then the company fights desperately and hopelessly to recover. Companies rarely die from moving too fast, and they frequently die from moving too slowly.

Interesting move making Netflix a brand of just streaming and creating a service that does both movies and video games. It will be interesting to see if they undercut Gamefly or if they will put a pricing structure in place that matches them.

Could Windows 8 let you call and text your relatives directly from your a tablet? That’s what some new evidence suggests, as istartedsomething discovered that two videos from Microsoft’s Build developer conference have a variety of references to calling. You can see a ”Missed calls” tile on the home screen in the picture above, and in a second video, there’s a contact info screen with options to “Text and Chat” (including SMS) as well as the telling “Call mobile.”

Although, all of this evidence could be explained in a variety of other ways. For example, SMS is explicitly called out as a “fallback” option in a video describing Windows 8′s integrated messaging app, which could mean that Microsoft is just simply extending the current SMS for Windows Live functionality there. Perhaps, like the sync functionality in HP’s Pre 3 and TouchPad, you’d need to have a Windows Phone 7 device paired and physically next to your Windows 8 PC to make or receive calls and text messages. In fact, with Windows 8′s focus on cloud sync, notifications might not be any more than that — your Windows Phone 7 device could simply pass a note to Windows 8, via the internet, that there are some telephone duties you should get to. Still, the inclusion of “Call mobile” leads us to think there’s something more here — assuming these aren’t all mockups, anyway. Also let us not forget the Microsoft has also purchased Skype. So the integration could be their using that platform.

So with it being the middle of September we are getting closer to the end of all the iPhone 5 speculation and the actual release of it. Now people are really starting to talk about what is going on with this Phone. On Thursday the technology blog Boy Genius Report posted images of a new iPhone case from the site of a company called Case-Mate. The images were visible on the company’s site for a short period of time before they were replaced with a curiously cryptic page that says, “We’ll have your cases when you have your new iPhone.” From descriptions I’ve read of the new iPhone from Apple employees, the images seemed potentially authentic. But it seems that Case-Mate might be sneakily trying to take advantage of the excitement over the phone by posting and then un-posting the images. These things rarely happen accidentally, especially when it comes to new Apple products. So more speculation is really running wild about the design of this case. I have to say Apple is doing some smart things by getting all of this buzz just on a redesigned case. Most of the time the buzz is usually about the functionality of the phone and what it can do better. In this case a lot of the talk has been centered around the new look of the iPhone.

So on Tuesday Steve Ballmer noted that over 500,000 copies of Windows 8 had been downloaded but he did say there was tons of work still to be done to the OS itself.
Ballmer said there are all kinds of opportunities in technology, from cloud-based services to new types of devices.

“Our approach to these new opportunities is centered in Windows,” Ballmer said. “It’s not about doing something else. It’s about broadly re-imagining Windows. There is no phone, there is nothing on the tablet, there is no operating system on the planet that will ship 350 million units of anything other than Windows,” he said.

So it looks like Windows 8 is getting tons of buzz and is going to be successful. Is Microsoft finally making an OS that can battle Apple’s OS? This is sure to be a fun ride and I can’t wait to see more.

It has been announced that every copy of Windows 8 will come packaged with Xbox Live service built right into the OS. Xbox Live’s Major Nelson says that developers are being shown tools that make it easier to integrate Xbox Live features into PC games during the show, which I’d imagine are the same tools used for Games for Windows Live, only rebranded. With developers going to be able to integrate Xbox Live into PC games could really help the Xbox services and development. Could get more people to PC game versus console game. For those who are really hardcore about their gamer scores. This is a real big step forward for Microsoft’s gaming division if they can finally pull something like this off.

Nintendo needs to change things up and they need to do it fast! The stock has fallen another 5% after they released a new set of games to try and get people to buy their newest handheld, the 3DS. The problem is the niche that Nintendo once went for is falling to the the era of the mobile phone gaming. Free games, cheaper games, all that people like my mother could play at the fraction of the cost of a Nintendo 3DS game. With Nintendo losing this market it is time for a change. It is time to go after the hardcore gamers more, the RPG nuts etc. Sony and Microsoft seem to be able to stay afloat and not do as poorly as Nintendo has done, and why is that? Because they cater to the hardcore gamer. I grew up with Nintendo and I still have love for them, but sadly, I don’t have a 3DS. Why you ask? It doesn’t interest me and I already have my phone which can entertain me just as much as a 3DS could and I don’t have to spend $149 dollars plus $30-50 in games. I can download free angry birds and be content. Breaking down the walls of Nintendo’s old school thoughts are going to be hard to do in my opinion. However money typically sways things and with the shares falling and investors looking for a change could we finally see Nintendo start to go after the hardcore gamer more?

In February, Amazon.com launched its long-awaited subscription video-streaming service as part of Amazon Prime, setting itself up to be a serious rival to Netflix. If we’re honest, it has yet to take off but let’s not be too harsh on a service that is essentially a bolt-on to its existing Amazon Prime annual subscription that offers free two day shipping with no minimum purchase amount for $79/year.

Today however we’re hearing reports via the WSJ that Amazon may soon launch a book equivalent of the service, charging a fixed monthly fee for access to a library of books. Amazon will reportedly offer book publishers a substantial fee for their involvement in the program.

This isn’t the first book subscription service out there for digital content but it could be the most successful with the Kindle. Putting the book subscription with the Kindle is what will make this such a dramatic success. There isn’t any idea on pricing yet from what I have read and I am sure they will make deals with buying a Kindle, for example get a free month with the purchase of a Kindle or something like that. Maybe 2 months and give a free month to those who already own a kindle? My thought is that hopefully the subscription service will be as cheap as Netflix. It is about $7.99 before tax to stream unlimited movies from the internet.

CBSNews.com has severed its relationship with the host of a web show who sent out an erroneous Tweet yesterday saying that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had died.

The offending Tweet was sent from the Twitter account of What’s Trending, a web series independently produced by Disrupt Group and anchored by Disrupt co-founder Shira Lazar.

CBSNews.com had been hosting the web series since May. But the show and Lazar had no newsgathering partnership with CBS News. In fact, the following disclaimer ran after each show: “The What’s Trending show is produced by Shira Lazar Productions and the Disrupt Group, who are solely responsible for the content, opinions and viewpoints.”

Lazar, through the What’s Trending Twitter account, issued a somewhat flippant apology on Friday for the Tweet: “Apologies — reports of Steve Job’s death completely unconfirmed. Live on.”

Later, she issued another apology from her own Twitter account: “On behalf of all of us at @disruptgroup we sincerely apologize for the inaccuracy of what was tweeted earlier today. – EP/Host @WhatsTrending.

I am sure Apple and Steve Jobs will be taking some action on this, as it is a disgrace that anyone would make such an erroneous report about a mans life.

Lowe’s home improvement stores, in an effort to keep up with its largest rival Home Depot, will be deploying Forty two thousands iPhones to its employees, reports Bloomberg. The devices will be used to help answer customer’s questions as well as ring out purchases. This is a very similar system to the one that Apple uses in its Retail Stores, although the EasPay devices that it uses are based on iPod touch hardware.

The devices will be rolled out to the tune of 25 phones per store and is being introduced in conjunction with an online app for Lowes customers called MyLowe’s that will allow them to view documentation like manuals, warranties and paint formulas. If these devices are anything like the ones in Apple Stores, they will be outfitted with a hardware package that includes an extended battery and a credit card processing slot.

The iPhones will also be used to replace the scanner guns that the stores are using to look up product information and check inventory. They will keep their calling, email and texting features as well.