Toluu : Silicon Alley Insider

Silicon Alley Insider

Digital Business, Live

Another Sign Apple iPod Touch A Hit: Ad Requests Triple In December (AAPL)Today

More evidence suggesting Apple's (AAPL) iPod touch had a big Christmas: Its owners looked at a lot more mobile ads in December than November, suggesting Apple sold a lot this past holiday season.

Specifically, mobile ad network AdMob says it served 292 million ads to iPod touches in December, up 3.4x from November, when it displayed 86.4 million ads to iPod touches.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the iPod touch install base tripled -- other factors include the number of Web sites and iPhone/iPod touch apps with AdMob ads on them, browsing habits, etc. -- but it's certainly good news for Apple, whose iPod business could use a hero.

We've seen similar traffic growth from the iPod touch on our site. Since Dec. 24, it's represented 1.2% of our visits, up 4x from 0.3% from Dec. 1-23. The iPod touch was also periodically sold out at many outlets during the holiday shopping season, especially at Amazon (AMZN).

We don't expect Apple to break out iPod touch sales during its earnings presentation later this month, but we think the iPod touch platform has a bright future for Apple. Speci

No Windows 7 Until 2010? (MSFT)Yesterday

Rumors that Microsoft (MSFT) would begin offering free/cheap upgrades to Windows 7 for Vista-buyers as early as July had us optimistic the new Windows would be coming sooner rather than later.

But according to Windows exec Bill Veghte, 7 might not ship until next year, missing the all-important holiday season.

CNET: It's not clear whether Microsoft is just trying to be overly cautious, but top Windows executive Bill Veghte said the company is telling PC makers that Windows 7 might or might not be ready in time for this year's holiday season.

"I'm telling them that it could go either way," Veghte told CNET News in an interview Wednesday. "We will ship it when the quality is right, and earlier is always better, but not at the cost of ecosystem support and not at the cost of quality.

UPDATE: Microsoft Entertainment Chief Robbie Bach contradicts Veghte a bit (insists Vista is "on track" versus Veghte's "it could go either way"), but is similarly vague about whether 7 will debut this year or next.

Microsoft Signs (Probably Meaningless) Search Deal With Dell (MSFT)Yesterday

Steve's Ballmer's CES keynote speech is going on right now, but as embargoes lift we're getting an advance peek at what's likely to come.

The biggest news, via CNET: Microsoft has a deal in the works with Dell (DELL) to be the default search engine on new Dell PCs, which complements a similar deal with Verizon (VZ).

Depending on how the "default" is structured, this might modestly boost Microsoft's share of the search market--and thus help incoming Microsoft online chief Qi Lu's efforts to reform Microsoft's Internet presence.

(Kudos to Barclay's Doug Anmuth, who was right in predicting the Microsoft-Dell deal.)

What else is likely on Steve Ballmer's agenda? From what we already know, not much.

Windows 7 goes into formal beta. Boring, expecte

Amazon, Netflix Get Another Streaming Partner: TV Maker Vizio (AMZN, NFLX)Yesterday

Another consumer electronics partner for Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX) as they race each other, Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and the cable industry to connect your living room to the Internet. The latest: TV maker Vizio, which announced a new series of Internet-connected TVs at CES today.

The new TVs will ship later this year and include support for Amazon and Netflix video streams, Blockbuster (BBI) on demand, Yahoo's (YHOO) Flickr photo service, Pandora's music streaming service, Rhapsody, etc.

Adobe (ADBE), which makes the Flash video and animation software, is also listed as a partner. We hope that means that sites that use Flash for video -- like Google's (GOOG) YouTube, Hulu, and Major League Baseball's MLB.TV -- will someday work with the TVs. Vizio is in "deep talks" with Hulu, Gizmodo reports.

The kicker: The remote includes a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. We're not in the market for a new TV any time soon -- the problem with new features being built into the TV lik

Better BlackBerry Curve Coming Next Month (RIMM)Yesterday

We've heard from a bunch of you who have no interest in RIM's (RIMM) new flashy, consumer-focused BlackBerry gadgets -- like the leather-grain-backed Bold and the iPhone-lookalike Storm. Many of you just want a better BlackBerry -- an upgrade of your current Curve or similar device.

That's finally coming soon: The new Curve 8900 will launch at T-Mobile next month, the carrier announced today ahead of CES. RIM says it's the thinnest and lightest "full-QWERTY" smartphone on the market.

Major updates: A faster processor and a 3.2 megapixel camera. It sports wi-fi and GPS, which will come in handy with mapping.

Major bummer: No 3G data connection, which means Web pages will load on T-Mobile's pokey EDGE network.