Gadget Watch: ATM turns your old phone into cash (AP) : Technet

Gadget Watch: ATM turns your old phone into cash (AP)
New sensation: Phones that let you feel the world (AP)
US video game sales drop 21 percent in December (AP)
New X Prize competition seeks to make Star Trek’s tricorder a reality (Yahoo! News)
CES 2012: Casio creates wild art images with 3D printing (Yahoo! News)
London Olympics Restrict Volunteers Twitter and Facebook Use (Mashable)
Panetta assures Afghans of full probe into video (AP)
Lawmakers press Homeland Security on Internet monitoring (Reuters)
Which Android Tablets Are Getting Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrades? (ContributorNetwork)
Microsoft at CES: Kinect, Tablets, Android Apps Coming to Windows (ContributorNetwork)
Michelle Obama joins Twitter, gathering followers fast (Digital Trends)
How Are the Nook and the Kindle Beating the iPad? (ContributorNetwork)
Read It Later app downloads suggest Kindle Fire got into a lot of hands this holiday (Appolicious)
Ringtone halts NY Philharmonic performance (AP)
Facebook launches real-time "Listen With Friends" music feature (Digital Trends)
Man's iPhone marimba ringtone halts entire New York Philharmonic (Digital Trends)
TomTom cleared of data probe violations (Reuters)

Gadget Watch: ATM turns your old phone into cash (AP)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 01:23 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Thu Jan 12, 4:23 pm ET

LAS VEGAS – The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is all about the latest smartphones, tablet computers and other devices. But what about the old gadgets? Don't they get any love?

Actually, one machine at the show is designed to help recycle gadgets, giving old phones a fitting end, or a better home.

Drop your phone into the EcoATM, and the machine will pay you what it believes the handset is worth. The cupboard-sized machine has a large touch screen and a big metal "mouth" where you can place your old phone or MP3 player. It takes pictures of the device to figure out what kind of shape it's in. Then, you choose one of the machine's many cables to connect your device. The machine will figure out if the device's internals are working.

When its analysis is complete, it gives you a quote on the spot, based on what a network of hundreds of electronics-recycling companies are willing to pay for it. If you accept, it spits out cash. In a demonstration by EcoATM founder Bill Bowles, it said a Verizon iPhone 4 was worth $221.

An older phone might not be worth reselling, but the machine will take it anyway, and give you a dollar. The company will melt down the phone in an environmentally friendly fashion to extract the precious metals from it.

WHY IT'S HOT: It's tough to recycle old electronics. Collection bins are few and far between, though some electronics stores accept items for recycling. You can sell newer phones on eBay, but it's a bit of a hassle.

THE UPSHOT: A fast way to deal with old electronics that keeps your conscience clean and might give you a bit of extra money.

THE DOWNSIDE: The EcoATM's quote probably won't match what you can get for your item on eBay. On the other hand, you avoid eBay's seller fees. You have to physically go to the ATM. It's a big machine, about twice the size of a regular drugstore ATM. It has a lot of complicated moving parts, and could be prone to breakage.

AVAILABILITY: There are about fifty of them deployed right now, mostly in grocery stores and malls in California. The San Diego-based company behind the machine says it plans to have about 500 out at the end of this year, spreading eastward.

New sensation: Phones that let you feel the world (AP)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 04:55 PM PST

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Peter Svensson, Ap Technology Writer – Thu Jan 12, 7:55 pm ET

LAS VEGAS – Sure, today's phones can deliver the sound of a heartbeat. But how would you like to actually feel the throbbing?

A few companies want to replace the crude vibration motors in today's phones and tablets with something that provides a much wider range of sensations, allowing you to feel the rumble of a Harley or the reverberation of a shotgun blast. The new technology can even let you feel the outlines of a button on the screen.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show, the gigantic gadget conclave in Las Vegas this week, a company called Artificial Muscle Inc. demonstrated how it can make mobile devices shake and rattle with great realism, employing a technology that uses plastics that function like muscles.

The company showed off an iPhone it had modified by placing one of its Vivitouch "motors" inside. The phone shook as it ran a simple ball-rolling game. The plastic muscle provided the feeling not just of the ball hitting the walls of a maze, but of the slight vibration it made while rolling freely across the floor.

When it was used for typing, the phone gave a buzzing sensation that confirmed each press of the virtual keys.

In another demonstration, a Vivitouch motor shook a modified Xbox controller to allow the user to feel what it's like to hold a beating heart. In another instance, it let the user experience the signature rumble of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle starting up.

The vibration engines that go into today's phones and game controllers consist of an electric motor that spins a metal weight. They take time to start up and are effective at only one frequency. That means they are unable to provide varying sensations. It's pretty much the same rumble or buzz every time.

With Vivitouch motors, users will have "high-definition feel," says Dirk Schapeter, CEO of Artificial Muscle.

The company is owned by German chemical giant Bayer AG and is a spinoff from SRI International. (Another technology from this California-based research institute was integrated into the iPhone last year: Siri, the virtual personal assistant that talks to you.)

Artificial Muscle's motors contain strips of "muscle." When an electric charge is applied over the strips, they expand and contract at a frequency that can be precisely controlled.

The first product to use Vivitouch came out in September. It's the Mophie Pulse, a sleeve for the iPod Touch that's intended to make games more lifelike.

The next step for the company is to get the motor built into phones. Schapeter says there will be a couple of those on the market this year, from companies he wouldn't identify. He did not say how much the Vivitouch would cost.

Artificial Muscle isn't the only company trying to cause a sensation. Senseg OY of Finland has an exotic way of turning electricity into feeling. By applying a (non-shocking) electric field through the screen of a tablet, it can provide resistance to the movement of the user's finger. So a glossy, smooth screen can suddenly feel rough.

"The palette of effects that's available is enormous," says David Rice, vice president of marketing at Senseg.

The feature should be easy to add to tablets, since it consists solely of a chip and an additional coating on the screen, Rice says. The company is in talks with tablet makers. It might be included in products due late this year. He would not say how much it would add to the price.

The technology could help users "feel" a scroll bar, for instance, or the boundaries of an image. Each letter in a text message could register as a little "bump," making it easier to select parts of the text.

Or the slingshot you pull back to fire an angry bird could register more and more resistance the farther you pull it back, Rice suggests.

"It's little things. It's not something that's going to immediately blow you away," Rice says. But if it becomes pervasive, it'll be something "you'll recognize when it's gone."

US video game sales drop 21 percent in December (AP)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:17 PM PST

– Thu Jan 12, 9:17 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories fell 21 percent in December from a year ago to $3.99 billion as players bought fewer games for their aging consoles, according to market researcher NPD Group.

The results are "not entirely surprising given that we are at the back end of the current console lifecycle," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier.

However, the tally was clearly a disappointment. Frazier said the month's poor performance was unexpected given the quality of new games including "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3," which was the top-seller, and "Just Dance 3," which placed second.

Consoles are getting long in the tooth. Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 will turn 7 years old this November — even though it replaced the Xbox when Microsoft's first console was just 4 years old.

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 will turn 6 in November, the same age the PlayStation 2 reached before it got an upgrade. Nintendo Corp.'s Wii is also turning 6, even though its GameCube reached only age 5 before being pushed aside.

Sony and Microsoft have not unveiled plans for a next-generation console, while Nintendo is expected to release its Wii U with a new touch-screen controller later this year.

Not only are consoles getting older, but the way games are delivered is undergoing change. Consumers are now expecting more content to be delivered over the Internet.

Sales of software — the video games themselves — fell 14 percent from a year ago to $2.04 billion.

That's a bigger decline than the 5 percent drop expected by analyst Doug Creutz of research firm Cowen & Co. Creutz had expected a decline due largely to slower sales of Wii games and handheld games, which are normally big during the holidays.

Hardware sales fell 28 percent to $1.32 billion and accessories fell 27 percent to $629 million.

For the year, overall sales fell 8 percent to $17.02 billion. Hardware sales fell 11 percent to $5.58 billion, software sales fell 6 percent to $8.83 billion and accessories sales fell 11 percent to $2.61 billion.

New X Prize competition seeks to make Star Trek’s tricorder a reality (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 09:12 PM PST

CES 2012: Casio creates wild art images with 3D printing (Yahoo! News)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 07:51 PM PST

London Olympics Restrict Volunteers Twitter and Facebook Use (Mashable)

Posted: 11 Jan 2012 03:33 PM PST

Zoe Fox Zoe Fox – Wed Jan 11, 6:33 pm ET

London 2012 Olympic volunteers have been banned from posting updates and photos to Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. The London Organizing Committee announced Friday that Games Makers, the 70,000 person volunteer squad, cannot post their roles, locations, or details about the athletes and other VIPs online. "We understand that many of our Games Makers will want to use social media to share their exciting experiences at London 2012 with their friends and family," a spokesman told Reuters. "As is standard in most organizations, we have provided some practical guidelines to give basic advice on interacting in a social media environment with the aim of protecting the interests of our workforce and operation."

Broadcasting our whereabouts on Foursquare or snapping an Instagram of a celebrity sighting have become second nature for many of us. While athletes are permitted to tweet or post Facebook updates, the London Organizing Committee has made a decision that will limit the citizen discussion of Olympic events.

SEE ALSO: London to Get Europe's Biggest Ever Wi-Fi Zone Before Olympics

[More from Mashable: In Tiff With Google, Twitter Turns to Wrestling]

Additional restrictions prevent Game Makers from making public statements relating to the London games, without prior permission from Olympics spokespeople, or speaking to schools about the events.

This won't mean much of a change from Beijing 2008, considering that China bans Twitter and Facebook. However, one may argue Olympic volunteers could have provided excellent stories from behind the scenes at the games.

Do you think the Olympics are making a mistake by restricting what volunteers can post to social networks? Let us know what you think in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Panetta assures Afghans of full probe into video (AP)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:36 PM PST

By PAULINE JELINEK and ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Pauline Jelinek And Robert Burns, Associated Press – Thu Jan 12, 9:36 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Pentagon leaders scrambled Thursday to contain damage from an Internet video purporting to show four Marines urinating on Taliban corpses — an act that appears to violate international laws of warfare and further strains U.S.-Afghan relations.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai to offer assurances of a full investigation and the top Marine general promised an internal probe as well as a criminal one. Investigators moved quickly to identify and interview at least two of the four Marines. They were members of a battalion that fought for seven months in former Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan.

Their unit, the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines, returned from Helmand province to its home base at Camp Lejeune, N.C., last September. Marine officials said that a battalion officer confirmed to investigators on Thursday, based on his examination of the video, that the four men depicted urinating had been members of the battalion. Two have since moved on to other units.

As the video spread across the Internet in postings and re-postings, U.S. officials joined with Afghans in calling it shocking, deplorable, inhumane and a breach of military standards of conduct. It shows men in Marine combat gear standing in a semicircle urinating on the bodies of three men in standard Afghan clothing, one whose chest was covered in blood.

It's not certain whether the dead were Taliban fighters, civilians or someone else.

The incident will likely further hurt ties with Karzai's government and complicate negotiations over a strategic partnership arrangement meant to govern the presence of U.S. troops and advisers in Afghanistan after most international combat troops withdraw by the end of 2014.

Panetta said the incident could endanger U.S.-Afghan-Taliban peace talks.

"The danger is that this kind of video can be misused in many ways to undermine what we are trying to do in Afghanistan and the possibility of reconciliation," Panetta said at Fort Bliss, Texas, adding it's important for the U.S. to move quickly to "send a clear signal to the world that the U.S. will not tolerate this kind of behavior and that is not what the U.S. is all about."

The emergence of the video comes at a delicate time in relations among the United States, Afghanistan's elected government and the Taliban insurgency fighting for both territorial control and cultural and religious preeminence in Afghanistan. The U.S. is trying to foster peace talks between the Karzai government and the Pakistan-based Taliban high command, and has made unprecedented offers to build trust with the insurgents, including the planned opening of a Taliban political office to oversee talks.

Anti-American sentiment is already on the rise in Afghanistan, especially among Afghans who have not seen improvements to their daily lives despite billions of dollars in international aid. They also have deplored the accidental killing of civilians during NATO airstrikes and argue that foreign troops have culturally offended the Afghan people, mostly when it comes to activities involving women and the Quran, the Muslim holy book.

Pentagon officials said the criminal investigation would likely look into whether the Marines violated laws of war, which include prohibitions against photographing or mishandling bodies and detainees. It also appeared to violate the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, which governs conduct. Thus, some or all of the four Marines could face a military court-martial or other disciplinary action.

Karzai called the video "completely inhumane." The Afghan Defense Ministry called it "shocking." And the Taliban issued a statement accusing U.S. forces of committing numerous "indignities" against the Afghan people.

U.S. officials said a military criminal investigation was being led by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the Navy. The Marines will do their own internal investigation.

Panetta said the actions depicted in the brief video were inexcusable.

"I have seen the footage, and I find the behavior depicted in it utterly deplorable. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Panetta's statement said. "Those found to have engaged in such conduct will be held accountable to the fullest extent."

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, said he was deeply disturbed by the video and worried that it would erode the reputation of the entire military, not just the Marine Corps.

A veterans group, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, noted the video was the act of a small number of Marines and said it did not reflect the behavior of the millions who have served honorably.

"Our troops and veterans are already facing enormous challenges and stereotypes both overseas and at home, and we encourage the public and media worldwide to refrain from rushing to stereotypes," the group said in a statement.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the top civilian executive of the Marines and Navy, said it was "appalling and outrageously offensive," and Marine Commandant James Amos called it "wholly inconsistent with the high standards of conduct and warrior ethos" demanded in the Corps.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama was aware of the story but may not have seen the video.

Asked how she thought the development might affect the Afghanistan peace efforts, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not directly reply.

"The United States remains strongly committed to helping build a secure, peaceful, prosperous, democratic future for the people of Afghanistan," she said. "And we will continue to support efforts that will be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned to pursue the possibility of reconciliation and peace."

On the streets of Afghanistan, the reaction was cool.

"If these actions continue, people will not like them (the Americans) anymore and there will be uprising against them," Mohammad Qayum, said while watching a television news story about the video that was airing in a local restaurant in Kabul.

Ahmad Naweed, a shopkeeper in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban insurgency, said, "On the one hand, the Americans present themselves as friends of Afghanistan and ... they also try to have peace talks with the Taliban. So we don't know what kind of political game they are playing in Afghanistan."

This kind of embarrassment dispersed over the Internet is not new for the Pentagon.

Over the years of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, officials periodically have been stunned by the troops' penchant for taking photos or videos of themselves in acts ranging from criminal to simply stupid.

Outrage spread instantly across the globe in 2004 over the release of photos taken by a group of U.S. military police abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The troops were grinning and posing beside naked detainees stacked in a pyramid, held on a leash and so on.

In 2008, a Marine was kicked out of the service after being videotaped throwing a puppy off a cliff while on patrol in Iraq and joking about it as the animal yelped.

___

Associated Press writers Slobodan Lekic and Deb Riechmann in Kabul, Afghanistan, Juan Carlos Llorca in Fort Bliss, Texas and Anne Gearan in Washington contributed to this report.

Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Lawmakers press Homeland Security on Internet monitoring (Reuters)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 06:32 PM PST

By Mark Hosenball Mark Hosenball – Thu Jan 12, 9:32 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leaders of a congressional subcommittee are urging the Department of Homeland Security to extensively monitor social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to detect "current or emerging threats."

The top Republican and Democrat on a House counter-terrorism subcommittee last month sent a letter to Homeland Security's intelligence chief encouraging department analysts to pore over huge streams of social media traffic.

Representatives Patrick Meehan and Jackie Speier said in the letter to Caryn Wagner, undersecretary of homeland security for intelligence and analysis, that they "believe it would be advantageous for DHS and the broader Intelligence Community to carefully parse the massive streams of data from various social media outlets to identify current or emerging threats to our homeland security."

Meehan, a Republican, is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee's counter-terrorism and intelligence subcommittee. Speier is the panel's ranking Democrat.

The two lawmakers said such monitoring raises "privacy and civil liberties concerns" and suggested that the department issue guidelines which balance citizens' rights with the ability of analysts to identify threats.

Earlier this week, Homeland Security's National Operations Center published a long list of websites which they monitor for "situational awareness."

In an email to Reuters, Meehan said a hearing he had convened in December had "examined the evolving terrorist use of social media and effective intelligence and law enforcement responses."

Meehan added: "If terrorists are operating in Pakistan or communicating through social media sites like Facebook, we need to remain vigilant. Yet there are important civil liberties questions involving U.S. government monitoring of social media and Americans' Internet traffic. We are seeking answers on the Department's guidelines and procedures to ensure Americans' civil liberties are safeguarded."

Matthew Chandler, a Homeland Security spokesman, said the department's operations center monitors social media only "within the clearly defined parameters articulated" in published department privacy guildelines.

Among websites on the center's favorites list were social media like Twitter, Facebook and My Space; video and photo sharing sites like Hulu, YouTube and Flickr; news and gossip sites like Huffington Post and Drudge Report; and sites like Cryptome and WikiLeaks which publish leaked documents.

Maureen Keith, a spokeswoman for Meehan, said the lawmakers' letter, dated December 16, had not been previously released.

(Reporting By Mark Hosenball; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Which Android Tablets Are Getting Ice Cream Sandwich Upgrades? (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 05:20 PM PST

Jared Spurbeck Jared Spurbeck – Thu Jan 12, 8:20 pm ET

Contribute content like this. Start here.

Most tablets that aren't made by Apple are powered by Android, Google's open-source operating system for smartphones and tablets. And for most of last year, that meant the Honeycomb version of Android, which was considered by many to be difficult to use and to have lots of bugs.

But at the end of 2011, Google released Ice Cream Sandwich, the newest version of Android, which adds new features and fixes many of Honeycomb's problems. Many tablets introduced at or before CES 2012 come with Ice Cream Sandwich, but many of the tablets sold last year are able to run it as well.

So, which of last year's tablets are (and aren't) getting the upgrade?

The Asus Transformer Prime

The Transformer Prime is Asus' sequel to its critically acclaimed Transformer ... and yes, there is a lawsuit from Hasbro about its name, even though it has nothing to do with the Transformers toy line or the Optimus Prime character.

When the Transformer Prime was announced, Asus wasn't specific about when it would receive the upgrade but did indicate that it would be soon. Now in NVIDIA's CES 2012 keynote, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang announced the Transformer Prime would get its upgrade immediately. It is now available for download.

Aaron Gingrich of Android Police reports a few people are having trouble with the update, and that it is locking up and rebooting their tablet. Asus' customer support representatives appear to be stumped by the issue.

The Sony Tablet S

Sony's Android-powered tablet has limited PlayStation Network compatibility, and is able to play certain PlayStation games. It has a teardrop profile from the side and is shaped like a magazine that's being folded open. The Tablet P, another Android device that was announced but hasn't been released yet, has a Nintendo DS-style clamshell design.

Last month, Sony representative "StartTheCar" announced "an update to Android 4.0 will be available" for the Tablet S, with details to be given "in due course."

7-inch tablets not getting an upgrade

The 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab is not receiving an Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade, according to Andy Boxall of Digital Trends. Meanwhile, there's been no announcement from Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com about whether the Nook or the Kindle Fire will be upgraded. Even if they did get the upgrade, it would look very different from Ice Cream Sandwich on other devices, as both companies use their own custom (and simplified) interface.

Richard Gutierrez of Android Authority has summed up instructions posted on the XDA Developers forum for how to put Ice Cream Sandwich on your Nook Color. With a ROM name like "sneakpeek1-fullofbugs," however, it's clear that the developers have some work to do before Ice Cream Sandwich receives a stable, if unofficial, port.

Jared Spurbeck is an open-source software enthusiast, who uses an Android phone and an Ubuntu laptop PC. He has been writing about technology and electronics since 2008.

Microsoft at CES: Kinect, Tablets, Android Apps Coming to Windows (ContributorNetwork)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 05:17 PM PST

Jared Spurbeck Jared Spurbeck – Thu Jan 12, 8:17 pm ET

Contribute content like this. Start here.

Microsoft has historically been one of the big names at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and 2012's has been no exception. It'll be the last year that the tech giant is here, though, as it's announced that it will be holding its own events Apple-style from now on.

So, what was on the agenda for Microsoft?

Kinect (and lots of it)

Tim Stevens' live blog for Engadget showed how Kinect took center stage. Not only were more partners announced for Kinect's voice guide, but a "two-way" television show was shown off, called Sesame Street TV. A child demonstrating the game interacted with the on-screen Muppets.

Perhaps more importantly, Microsoft announced that the Kinect accessory would be coming to Windows PCs, starting on February 1. Kinect for Windows hardware will be available for $249.

Windows 8

Windows 8's "Metro" interface, reminiscent of Windows Phone 7's, was demonstrated at CES. Long Zheng of iStartedSomething posted screenshots which show popular tablet games and apps available for it, including Cut the Rope and Evernote.

These games and apps will be coming to Windows sooner than Windows 8 is, however, as the Windows Store -- Microsoft's answer to the App Store -- will be opening in late February. Many of these titles are already available for Windows, but will receive automatic updates through the store and will be easier to find there.

The Windows Store is just part of Microsoft's push to make Windows PCs more like iPad-style tablets. Windows 8's touch interface will replace the traditional desktop for tablet PCs, and is designed to be easier to use. Some Windows 8 PCs will include the old-style desktop, though, and be compatible with earlier apps.

Android apps

While not part of Microsoft's demos, a company called BlueStacks demoed its App Player, a program which is able to run Android apps inside Windows. The apps will integrate with Windows 8's Metro interface, taking up tiles on its surface instead of Android-style app icons.

A free copy of the App Player is available for download at bluestacks.com. Its Cloud Connect mobile app lets you send your phone's apps to your PC. Android apps are designed for Android devices, however, and may not be as fun or as usable on a PC without controls like a touch screen and accelerometer. They also are not designed to look like Windows apps, especially the new Metro ones.

Michelle Obama joins Twitter, gathering followers fast (Digital Trends)

Posted: 12 Jan 2012 09:37 PM PST

Trevor Mogg Trevor Mogg – 14 mins ago

Michelle Obama joined Twitter on Thursday and in a matter of hours has already gathered more than 200,000 followers.

The first two tweets, however, weren't from Michelle herself but from "campaign staff," indicating that the new account will form part of her husband's election strategy to help keep him in the White House when Americans go to the polls later this year.

"We're excited today to launch @michelleobama as a new way for you to connect with First Lady Michelle Obama and the President's campaign," the opening tweet said.

The second tweet explained how the feed will proceed: "This account will be managed by campaign staff, with any tweets from the First Lady herself signed "-mo." All very well, but at that point there'd still been no word from the president's wife.

Three hours later, however, Michelle tapped out her inaugural tweet: "Hi, everyone, and thanks for the warm welcome. Look forward to staying in touch with you here. -mo"

Husband Barack's Twitter feed, which is also run by campaign staff though includes occasional tweets from the president (signed "bo"), posted a tweet welcoming the president's wife to the micro-blogging site.

"It's not every day we get to welcome the First Lady of the United States to Twitter—happy to have you, @MichelleObama!" it said.

As of 8.30pm PT, Michelle Obama's verified account had almost 220,000 followers. That's impressive for an account that's been going less than 24 hours, although she has some way to go to catch her husband. His Twitter feed currently has almost 12 million followers.

[Image: Mark O'Donald]

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends