Update on that report on the Samsung L870 slider phone using Apple’s Safari web browser: turns out it ain’t true after all. Or something like that.

Engadget reports that Samsung’s takin’ it all back:

Actually, L870 is equipped with S60 OSS browser, also known as S60 safari browser because both are using same webcore platform. Sorry again for the unclear specification, and bothering you with this.”

Hmph. Ooooooookay.

Something smells mighty fishy here. Either Apple lowered the boom on Samsung for spoiling the surprise and renegged on the browser deal, or Samsung’s PR guys can’t even get their act (or names) together.

As Thomas Ricker of Engadget wryly points out, “the S60 browser has never been known, even informally, as the ‘S60 Safari browser’. “

After the Zinio freebie deal for the iPhone, there’s even mo’ better reading available for Mac users.

The NY Times released the beta version of the Times Reader for the Mac a few days ago. It’s a good standalone offline reader, and I get mileage out of it on the occasions when that sneaky wifi signal is hiding from me. I can now just read the newspaper, so to speak.

The Times Reader is an app that runs well on its own without the help of a browser, downloading and formatting the day’s issue in a clickable faux newspaper layout. Being a beta, it has its quirks. Mine has the irritating habit of zapping back to the first page of an article when you try to read beyond the first page. It’s an intermittent glitch though. Another niggle I find is that you can toggle a 7-day archive of past issues, but of the four days of downloads I’ve had so far, I can only access the current newspaper; the past few days just seem to disappear. (Maybe I’m just doing something wrong.)

The sections of the paper are aligned on top for quick access. So you don’t get lost wandering in all the verbiage, it helpfully grays out articles that you’ve already read, and if you’ve ever tried reading the New York Times, that’s an awful lot of text indeed, and a gray-out feature like that is really useful.

The only part that doesn’t sit well with me is that it insists on installing Silverlight, Microsoft’s plug-in that is its version of Flash or Quicktime. I try to keep as much Microsoft off my Mac as possible (with the exception of Office, which I can’t seem to wean myself from no matter what I do.)

No offense to my mothership, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, but this newspaper is worth a daily look. All you need is the Times Reader app beta, internet access and a NYTimes account (which is free). Heck, you can even do the daily crossword puzzles.

Man & Machine, who’s suing Apple and CBS for alledged infringement on the use of the Mighty Mouse name, replies to Mac-A-Doodle, via representative Erica Tingler:

Man & Machine, Inc. declines to discuss its trademark-infringement complaint against Apple, Inc. and CBS Corporation, the underlying merits of the case, or any related settlement discussions, since the litigation remains pending. Meanwhile, we remain committed to protecting our rights to the MIGHTY MOUSE trademark and also to finding a fair resolution for all involved parties.

Man & Machine designs and manufactures a completely customizable line of hygienic, cost-effective, water-resistant computer keyboards and mice. They are distinguished by their ability to be washed and disinfected, and matchless in their rugged, sealed design, 100% latex-free silicone construction ideal for medical, healthcare, dental, and institutional environments – the best of breed choice anywhere safety, durability and user health are priorities.”

All I can say is, all right then, may the mightier mouse win.

Update us on how it goes, Ms. Tingler. Good luck.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has made the Time 100 Most Influential List again in the Builders & Titans category, hitting No. 82.

Quoting from the Time piece about Jobs by Barbara Kiviat:

Steve Jobs is great at playing the countercultural icon. He’s a college dropout who once backpacked around India looking for spiritual enlightenment, and he takes only $1 a year in salary. There are righteous battles to fight, and with Macs and iTunes and iPhones, Jobs fights them, taking on the entrenched megaliths that try to dictate our tastes in computers and music and mobile phones.

But don’t let the black mock turtleneck and denim trousers fool you. More than anything else, Jobs is a canny CEO who knows how to sell product. Steve Wozniak was the technical genius behind the first Apple computer; Jobs saw the marketability. He now presides over a company with $24 billion in annual sales and 22,000 employees. Jobs, 53, is revered by tech and design geeks, but the world’s business-school students may have the most to learn from him. Apple’s stock has shot up more than 70% over the past year, thanks to Jobs’ strategy of focusing on his most profitable customers and coming up with new things to sell them—the ultra-thin MacBook Air most recently—rather than just chasing more market share.

Jobs may be a celebrity CEO, but he doesn’t jump out of airplanes or traipse around Africa with bundles of cash. He is always in character and always on message, so much so that when late-night TV parodies him, he’s invariably rolling out some new iProduct . Jobs gets called mercurial, egomaniacal, a micromanager. If that sounds a little like a CEO doing his job, maybe that’s because he is—and a mighty fine one.”

See the Time 100 listing here.

Jesse Derris, an Account Manager at Sunshine Sachs & Associates, the PR group for Product(Red), got in touch with the Doodler to give the real story behind the previous post we wrote about the campaign. So as not to make any mistakes, we reproduce Mr. Derris’ reply here verbatim:

Hi Adel—

Realizing it might be difficult for us to speak on the phone, I wanted to write to you to correct some of the facts in your story regarding (RED). We’re so glad that you like the products!

First, (RED) products generate funds for the Global Fund to fight AIDS across Africa, not just in Rwanda. (RED) money is currently at work in Rwanda, Swaziland, and Ghana. While you’re right that a portion of sales of (RED) items goes the Global Fund, that portion is at least 40 percent of gross profits – a very large amount.

Up until this point, (RED) has generated more than $60 million for the Global Fund, $22 million of which is being used in Rwanda.

The Advertising Age story you quote in your post is from March 2007, almost a year ago. That story accused (RED) partners of spending upwards of $100 million on advertising and generating only $18 million for the Global Fund. However, both numbers are false. Advertising Age has never revealed the source of the numbers they used, nor how they were calculated. In short, we have no idea where they came from.

Now, back in March 2007, the actual figures were an estimated $50 million spent on advertising, generating $25 million for the Global Fund. This is a very successful figure. Why?

The amount of money that went to the Global Fund at that point – $25 million – represents 40 percent of the profits. Remember, the companies get to keep the other 60 percent of their profits. The reason we do this is because (RED) is a business model that is meant to help companies give to the Global Fund and make a profit at the same time. By ensuring that companies profit on their (RED) partnership, we can make it sustainable in the long run. Unfortunately, when Advertising Age calculated their figures, they left out the other 60 percent of profits.

It is important to point out that (RED) itself doesn’t spend anything on advertising. Our partners each divert a portion of their existing advertising budget towards ads for their (RED) products. It is money that will be spent on advertising whether or not (RED) exists. It’s not money that would be earmarked for charity. We’re so grateful to our partners for advertising on our behalf.

I hope this is helpful in explaining what (RED) is and how we are doing.”

That’s that. Straight out of the horse’s mouth. Now to get that red nano.