Google spent just $50 million to buy Android,not bad ?

Looking at how companies spend billions of dollars nowadays, you might think that back in 2005, when Google acquired the Android start-up, it would have spent no less than a fortune on it. After all, today’s realities show how companies like Facebook are ready to spend $19 billion for an instant messenger app like Whatsapp and over $2 billion for a Kickstarter project like the Occulus Rift. Surely, Android would have cost Google no less, you might think.
Turns out, though, it did not. We've already told you the story about how Android’s co-founder Andy Rubin started working on an operating system for digital cameras, but later on changed the project to target mobile phones, and that’s how Android was born. A year or so after the start of the project, Rubin, ran out of money, and started looking for funds at big companies like Samsung and Google.After being laughed out of court at his first visit in Korea by Samsung top executives, he had scheduled a meeting with Google’s Larry Page. Over at Mountain View, Rubin started with a vigorous pitch, showing Page slides to illustrate how the 700-million-unit phone market is more than triple the size of the traditional computer market, and how that gap is only growing.It did not take long to convince Page. Instead of getting funding for Android, though, Rubin was met with a surprising proposition - Google wanted to buy Android right away. The interesting part, however, is the price both parties agreed on: merely $50 million (plus incentives).
At the time, this bought Google the talented, but still very small Android team. Rubin co-founded the project with 7 other engineers, and by the summer of 2005, they were all under Google’s inviting wing. Best of all, they were not limited in their spending budget. Almost immediately after the purchase, Google shelled out over $10 million to back up the Android effort with patents. From there on, it’s all history, but fact is that now, Android is the world’s most popular operating system, with a commanding market share of over 80%. Not bad for a company that Google bought for $50 million, is it?

 Dogfight

Nokia’s manufacturing plant in Chennai, India will not change hands with Microsoft acquisition

Tomorrow will mark the beginning and the end of an era in technology. The beginning is marked by Microsoft becoming a first-party manufacturer of actual products, all the way down to sourcing many of the raw materials used in the process.  The end is marked by the fact that Nokia, for the first time in decades, will no longer be a manufacturer of mobile phones.
Roughly half of the 30,000+ employees that will be added to Microsoft’s payroll will be involved in the physical act of making stuff, another large portion involved in the global distribution chain of those finished products.Somewhere around 4,500 people in Finland will see the “payer” information on their paycheck switch to Microsoft and a somewhat smaller number of people are packing their belongings in preparations for a big move to Redmond, Washington.What will not be happening is roughly 8,000 Nokia employees in India, along with their factory in Chennai, which is at the center of a huge tax dispute with the Indian government, will not be joining their fellows on the Microsoft bandwagon as the asset will not be changing hands on April 25th.Nokia will continue to operate the facility as a contract manufacturing resource for Microsoft after the deal closes. The orphaned facility is actually one of the largest factories in the world, but production lines have been halved, and Nokia offered its workers there an early retirement scheme, a sign that production at that plant is not likely to go up anytime soon, if ever.Nokia does not want to operate the plant on a contract basis with Microsoft for the long term. If the tax dispute is not settled over the next year, it is a very real possibility that the plant will close.


source: Economic Times

Windows Phone surpasses BlackBerry in the USA in Q1 2014, Android still king

Microsoft's mobile platform, Windows Phone, has finally seen some increase in its market share in the USA during Q1 2014 – it has grown 1% and now holds... 3% of the market. Still, it appears that this leap was more than enough for it to overtake BlackBerry's own eponymous OS, which now runs on no more or less than 2% of all smartphones in the country. Interestingly, BlackBerry OS had 3% of the same market, whereas Windows Phone held 2% several months ago.
These interesting facts were revealed by Nielsen, a global research agency, which surveyed over 20,000 mobile subscribers in the USA on the matter. Normally, one would expect that Nokia is solely responsible for Windows Phone's increased market share, and one would be wrong. Yes, the Finnish company was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for the slow, yet steady growth of Windows Phone's market share, but Samsung and HTC also contributed. The two manufacturers from the Far East are responsible for 0.7% of the platform's market share in the USA - HTC makes 0.4% of said devices, while Samsung accounts for 0.3% of US Windows Phone devices. It comes to almost no surprise that Apple is still the dominant player and holds the lion's share of the smartphone market at home. Cupertino's smartphones have been chosen by 42.5% of the surveyed respondents, however, iOS is still losing the battle against Android – Google's operating system runs on the devices of 52% of all respondents. If we turn our heads to Androidland, we will barely find anything surprising at all. Nielsen's report shows that more than half of all Android smartphones had the Samsung logo on their front – 28.7%. LG is far behind – with 7% of the market, the other South Korean maker gets the silver medal. Motorola is breathing down LG's neck with 6.8%, while HTC is responsible for 5.7% of all Android devices on the US market in Q1 2014.Interestingly, the report also reveals that more than half of all mobile phone users aged 55+ are currently sporting a smartphone. Still, Nielsen does not reveal whether the elder population prefers iPhones or one of them Galaxies.

 

source: Nielsen via WMPoweruser

Father of Google+ leaving Google

As Android smartphone users are only all too aware, Google+ is a major component of Google’s mobile strategy; fire-up a recent Android device for the first time, and if you’re not already a Google+ user, expect to be prompted time and time again to register as such. From chat to photo filters, Google+ is slowly making its presence felt across every corner of the Android experience. The Google+ project has been headed-up thus far by Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra (above, center), but in a surprise announcement this afternoon, Gundotra has revealed that he’s not just relinquishing the reigns of Google+, but leaving the company altogether. What might this spell for Google’s social future?
Chances are: not much in the way of changes. Google’s already revealed Gundotra’s successor, VP of Engineering for Google+ Dave Besbris. Promoting an existing member of the Google+ team like that should help ensure a smooth transition, and we’re likely to see future Google+ developments continue in much the same vein as past advancements.
Larry Page weighs-in on the news with his own post, congratulating Gundotra on all he’s accomplished while at Google over the years and assuring users that the company will “continue working hard to build great new experiences for the ever increasing number of Google+ fans.”
 
Via: Engadget

Huawei target 80 million smartphones shipment in 2014

Huawei has set a bold goal for 2014: it wants to grow 53.8% compared to last year (it sold 52 million in 2013) when it comes to smartphones shipped globally. The Huawei 2014 target has been set to shipping 80 million smartphones, of course, globally, and over the course of the entire year. How will the Chinese manufacturer achieve this?
The company has secured $300 million for its marketing efforts which should boost sales and brand recognition globally, though 40% of the amount is being set aside for its home market, China. In addition to marketing efforts, the company will need to manufacture phones that will see a good reaction from the market; according to Huawei, the Honor 3C smartphone introduced in December of 2013, already sold eight million units, and the company expects to sell 20 million more.


Source: DigiTimes

Some WP8 phones are yet to play nicely with 8.1 preview

Windows Phone users anxious to get an early start with Windows Phone 8.1 now have access to Microsoft’s Preview for Developers, letting them install the OS before OTA updates for individual models start coming down in a few months. Sure, going this route isn’t without its own risks, but they’ve largely seemed minor in comparison to all the cool stuff WP8.1 lets you do. But now we’re hearing reports of multiple problems with the 8.1 preview on one specific handset, and while they don’t render the phone unusual, the headaches they stand to cause might have you thinking twice about installation.
With focus on WP8 newcomer, the Samsung ATIV SE. It just hit Verizon without much fanfare, and while you may expect that a newer model like this would have fewer issues with WP8.1, the phone just really doesn’t seem to get along with the preview, routinely freezing-up, spontaneously rebooting, or experiencing touch screen issues. While users have been able to reset their phones and continue using them, the problems tend to keep coming back.
Speculation points to this being an issue with the current firmware on the ATIV SE. Remember, unlike those OTA updates that will arrive this summer, bringing current phones up to WP8.1 while also installing an updated phone firmware, the dev preview is just 8.1 – no firmware changes. As such, it’s not entirely unexpected that some handsets may behave unpredictably.


Source: WPCentral

Apple to make New Environmental Sensors For Mobile Devices

Apple potentially wants your next iPhone (or maybe an iWatch) to be able to detect humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature data according to a couple of new patents spotted by AppleInsider today. One of the patents describes a sensor package that could detect temperature, pressure, humidity and sound and that features a partial opening for sound input, or that could use existing microphone or speaker ports on a device, and the other is a thermal sensor incorporated into a button on the device.
Apple’s thinking here is to equip mobile devices with even more awareness about their surroundings. Current iPhones have mics of course, but these are tied mostly to picking up user input rather than to seeking environmental information. The sensor array described in the first patent could provide mobile devices with information about weather conditions in their immediate surroundings, but they could also be used to offer up info about their user, too. Plus, most Android devices now contain barometers in addition to their other sensors for detecting motion, acceleration, light and more, so it makes sense that Apple would be exploring similar tech.
The temperature detector built into a button is perhaps more interesting, especially for those watching to see what Apple’s first move into wearables will offer. It could work with the iPhone, too, worked into something like the volume control button or power on/off switch, and offering the ability to take both air and body temperature readings, but in an iWatch it would probably work even better as something used to provide a consistent and ongoing reading of body temp.
Smartphones are bound to incorporate more sensors as they advance, and these environmental ones would hardly be a stretch to imagine even in the very next iterations of Apple’s mobile devices.


source:Appleinsider

Samsung Acknowledges Galaxy S5 “Camera Failed” Issue, Verizon Issuing Replacements

Earlier this week, reports of camera failure was highlighted attention by a group of upset Galaxy S5 owners. After a few days of using their perfectly-performing phones, users were beginning to be met with a “Warning: Camera Failed” message. Once that message appeared, nothing they did could bring their camera back to life – even flashing new software.
At the time, it appeared that only Verizon Galaxy S5 devices were experiencing the issue, but after our story was published, we saw Galaxy S5 owners from AT&T, as well as Vodafone complaining of the same issue.
After a couple of days, Samsung and Verizon have reached out about the issue. Both companies clearly want to help their customers with the problem, and below we have posted their statements on the issue. Verizon tweeted out the following message below, letting owners of the Galaxy S5 know that if they are experiencing the issue, they will work to solve the problem, which includes replacing the device if need be.

Samsung is committed to providing the best experience for customers. We have learned that a limited number of Galaxy S 5 devices may have an issue that causes “Camera Failure” pop-up error message. We ask that customers affected call 1-888-987-4357 or visit their carrier for service under Samsung’s standard limited warranty.
For Galaxy S5 owners, this is clearly not a complete fix for the problem, but we can be thankful that both companies have acknowledged it, and are working towards a solution, regardless of whether it’s just giving you a new phone. There is still no word on how widespread the issue could be, but it does not appear to be too bad.

How Much Is the Average Facebook User Worth?

Facebook released its first quarter 2014 earnings report on Wednesday, beating Wall Street's estimates with posted revenues of $2.5 billion.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) around the world increased over the past year as well, according to the report. Worldwide ARPU (measured by payments and advertising) reached $2 in the first quarter — up from $1.35 in Q1 2013, but down from $2.14 in Q4 2013.
In the United States and Canada, the ARPU reached $5.85, up from $3.50 in Q1 2013.
The following chart, created by Statista, breaks down the evolution of the average revenue per Facebook user over the past year.

Microsoft Now Officially Owns Nokia's Phone Business

Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services business is now complete, both companies have announced.
The $7.2 billion deal, originally announced in September 2013, was approved by Nokia shareholders one month later, and has now been approved by governmental regulatory agencies around the world.
“Today we welcome the Nokia Devices and Services business to our family. The mobile capabilities and assets they bring will advance our transformation,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Stephen Elop chimed in with a similarly worded open letter. "As Microsoft and Nokia Devices and Services come together as an expanded family, we will unify our passion, dedication and commitment to bringing you the best of what our joint technologies have to offer (...) From today onwards, the possibilities are endless. As now, we’re one," he wrote.
Microsoft's press release seems to confirm a recently leaked memo, which indicated Microsoft would be renaming Nokia to Microsoft Mobile.
"Microsoft refers to Microsoft Corp. and its affiliates, including Microsoft Mobile Oy, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft Mobile Oy develops, manufactures and distributes Lumia, Asha and Nokia X mobile phones and other devices," writes Microsoft.
"Microsoft refers to Microsoft Corp. and its affiliates, including Microsoft Mobile Oy, a subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft Mobile Oy develops, manufactures and distributes Lumia, Asha and Nokia X mobile phones and other devices," writes Microsoft.

Facebook reports it had over 1 billion monthly active users during the first quarter

Apple wasn't the only major tech company to report good earnings on Wednesday. Social networking site Facebook chewed up Wall Street's expectations and spit them out. And inside the numbers, Facebook reported that the number of its members that are using the site from a mobile device had surpassed the 1 billion mark. More precisely, Facebook had 1.01 billion mobile users on a monthly basis from January through March, which was a 34% jump over last year.
Facebook accounted for 17.5% of the $18 billion mobile ad market last year, up from 5.4% in 2012. This year, EMarketer expects the mobile ad market to soar to $31.45 billion with Facebook accounting for 21% of that total.

"People are moving to mobile, and Facebook is one of the favorite apps."-Cathy Boyle, analyst, eMarketer. 

With a new mobile ad network on the way, Facebook is counting on mobile more than ever. 59% of Facebook's revenue came from mobile in the just reported first quarter. That is a leap of 29% from the 2013 first quarter. Overall, ad revenue soared 82% year-over-year. When you can report numbers like that, it makes Wall Street a lot less nervous about the company spending $19 billion on WhatsApp, as analysts come to the conclusion that "Zuckerberg's got a plan". And than plan is all about Facebook focusing on the mobile space, because that is where the people are going. The average American spent over 3 hours a day on a mobile device in Q1, up from two hours and twenty minutes a day in the first quarter of 2013. 

 

 

 

source: USAToday, TechRadar

64-bit Android phones are coming for Christmas says ARM executive

Executives of chip manufacturing companies are a bit surprised (no pun intended) at the speed in which 64-bit processing is coming to Android phones. Even ARM has been caught unaware by this move. Originally, the company figured that 64-bit technology would first be seen on corporate servers. Instead, after Apple introduced 64 bit mobile processing with the Apple A7 chipset that currently powers the Apple iPhone 5s, Apple iPad Air and the Apple iPad mini with Retina display, the road map has taken a rather sharp detour. Mobile consumer devices are now the recipient of the advancing technology.
Tom Lantzsch, ARM's executive vice president of corporate strategy, expects Santa to be dropping off under the Christmas Tree, the first of the 64 bit Android handsets. While the chips and phones could be ready for 64 bit processing by Christmas, it is unknown when a version of the Android OS will be ready. Lantzsch says that even existing 32 bit code will run better on ARM's 64-bit v8-A architecture. "The architecture itself allows for more efficiency in the code. So, that means better battery life, quicker responsiveness, better features," the executive says. " And once 64-bit software arrives, "There will be early adopters. The applications with the most need will certainly go first. And then the rest will come over time."

"Certainly, we've had big uptick in demand for mobile 64-bit products. We've seen this with our [Cortex] A53, a high-performance 64-bit mobile processor...we've been surprised at the pace that [64-bit] is now becoming mobile centric. Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Marvell are examples of public 64-bit disclosures."-Tom Lantzsch, EVP of corporate strategy, ARM. 

 

 

 source: ARM via CNET

No iPod update this year, iWatch rumored as a replacement later?

Even though Apple’s consumer appeal was born with the iPod more than a decade ago, we have seen how the company has taken different steps into cannibalizing the line-up through the iPhone in a way to avoid having competition do it for them. Apple’s Tim Cook stated in the past quarter results call that the iPod line-up is a declining business as it’s currently nailing less than $5 billion in 2013 compared to much better results in previous years. If you’re wondering what will happen to the iPod in the future, financial analysts have already begun to do the same.
Financial analysts are already doing all sorts of predictions regarding the future of the iPod, and one of these is that Apple won’t revamp the line-up this year once again. The current iPod line-up was launched at the end of 2012, and it seems that Apple plans to keep it that way during the launch of the iWatch. We most likely won’t see Apple kill the iPod initially, and will most probably wait for the iWatch to gain traction before killing the music player, mainly because Apple has production targets for the iWatch of only 5-6 million units.
The touch part of these rumors is seeing Apple replacing a $50 iPod Shuffle with an iWatch that’s rumored to cost a lot of money. Whatever the case may be, let’s hope Apple also gives us a Mickey Mouse iWatch, as we saw it do with the previous design of the iPod nano.


Source: Barrons

4K 10.1-inch tablets may soon be a reality

Putting a 4K display on a tablet is no problem… well, so long as space isn’t a big issue. Last year, there was a report about a 4K Panasonic Windows 8 tablet at CES, but its 20-inch screen (not to mention $6000 price tag) was something of a deal-breaker. But as the year went on, companies kept pushing limits, cramming all those pixels into smaller and smaller spaces. By fall, Japan Display had announced a 12.1-inch 4K LCD panel, and today it reveals its improvement on even that design, with a 10.1-inch 4K LCD module.
The display comes in a 16:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 3840 x 2160, and is built with a low-temperature poly silicon design. That LTPS tech should result in some substantial power savings, and Japan Display says that this new panel shouldn’t consume any more power than a 10.1-inch amorphous silicon 2560 x 1600 screen, like we see on the Samsung Galaxy TabPRO 10.1. With power concerns one of the big stumbling blocks causing users to question the wisdom of tablet manufacturers moving to higher-res displays, that sounds like fantastic news.
There’s no word yet of specific manufacturers who might be planning to use this 4K tablet screen, but Japan Display is currently providing samples to interested firms.


Source: Japan Display

Galaxy S5 outsells iPhone 5s on launch weekend, claim independent statistics

Because there are basically six months between Samsung’s and Apple’s flagship availability dates, it makes no sense to compare units sold of an aging phone, to those of brand new device that rides the waves of the buzz. However, iqmetrix have released an infographic (below), comparing the launch weekend of the Galaxy S5, and that of the iPhone 5s; apparently, the Galaxy S5 outsells iPhone 5s.
First, some context: the figures below are based on iqmetrix data collected from “over 15,000 store locations across the North America”. According to the chart, 23% of total phones sold in the U.S. (18% of total phones sold in Canada) were Samsung Galaxy S5 units. Compared to that, the iPhone 5s represented 18% of total phones sold in the U.S. (13% of total phones sold in Canada), each in their respective first weekend sales.


 Source: iqmetrix
 

HTC One M8 trade-ins show Samsung, Apple users making the switch

For starters, there’s been a decent spike in users trading-in existing HTC devices since the release of the One M8, including not just the original One M7, but also the One Mini and old One X. It’s almost as if HTC users had been specifically waiting for the M8 to come around before upgrading.
Surveys conducted among users intending to upgrade to the One M8 show a lot of brand loyalty – at least among HTC fans: some 46 percent of those moving to the M8 have been trading-in older HTC models. But the One M8 also appears to be attracting a decent amount of attention from both former Apple and Samsung users: some 24 percent of respondents moving to the One M8 traded-in iPhones, and 21 percent handed-in Samsung devices.
Further breaking that down to specific models, 13 percent of M8 upgraders were doing the direct One M7 to One M8 transition, while seven percent came from the iPhone 5, and eight percent from the Galaxy S 4.
While this is just a slice of the total market action the One M8 is seeing, it tends to speak pretty highly for HTC: representing a solid amount of brand loyalty, while also poaching a nice share of users from companies generally considered to have a leg up on HTC in the smartphone game.





Source: CompareMyMobile

Apple Acquired 24 Companies In The Last 18 Months

Apple’s pace of acquisition has seemed to be picking up lately, and Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed just how many the company has been making of late. Cupertino has nabbed 24 companies over the course of the past year and a half, which is a pace that observers recently noticed actually outpaces the recent acquisition habits of Google.
Typically, Apple doesn’t make any official announcements when it acquires smaller companies, instead waiting until the deals are ferreted out by those of us in the media, or revealed through other means. Once discovered, it usually issues a boilerplate statement about how it makes acquisitions from time to time, without actually confirming anything directly. That means that while we may have a good idea of most of those 24 companies based on reports collected over the past few years (Wikipedia offers a solid list), it’s possible some have still gone unnoticed.
Apple’s acquisition pace suggests a company that’s increasingly willing to spend on external purchases to advance its plans for internal R&D and product development efforts.



 source:apple insider

Apple CEO Tim Cook Lauds Office On iPad

Apple CEO Tim Cook took time to answer a question about Microsoft Office for iPad arriving this past month, and his answer was surprisingly long. “I do see that Office is a very key franchise,” he said, and also added that he “wholeheartedly welcome[s] Microsoft to the App Store.”
Cook admitted that Apple’s “customers are clearly responding in a good way that [Office] is available,” and also said it’s definitely a good thing for the iPad in the enterprise and for enterprise users. But it wasn’t all praise for Apple’s long-time rival and occasional partner.
“If it had been done earlier, it would’ve been better for Microsoft frankly,” Cook said about Office’s arrival on Apple’s tablet, which is indeed something users have been asking about for years, ever since the original launch of the iPad itself. To its credit, Microsoft did manage to deliver a solid product that really does nail the tablet user interface and a mobile user experience, even if it is a shame that its full functionality is locked behind the requirement for a recurring Office 365 subscription.

Facebook Receives U.S. Antitrust Approval For Oculus Deal

The U.S. government has approved Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR, following the Federal Trade Commission’s examination of the deal. The FTC has determined – not all that surprisingly — that the deal would not violate U.S. antitrust laws. This will allow the two companies to move forward in combining forces, though Facebook previously promised that Oculus would “continue to operate independently of Facebook.”
At the time of the acquisition, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that Oculus will continue to focus on gaming initially, but will later expand into new areas.
“After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home,” he had stated.

Punit Soni talked up Motorola's software road

Soni talked up Motorola’s software strategy, stating that incredibly fast updates are important to him and Motorola in general. He stated that voice commands and searching are big parts of Motorola’s focus, and that they will continue to improve, possibly pushing beyond the boundaries of Google Now in the future. Soni noted a couple of requests that came up during the live Q&A, such as a Work mode in Motorola Assist and a switch to a low-power state while a phone is asleep.
The elephant in the room, almost undeniably, is whether Motorola will be staying committed to the same strategy with their Android skin once Lenovo takes over. Soni says Motorola has no plans to stray from their pure Android strategy, although he didn’t reference OS update speed specifically. All things said, while there are still things to be cleared up with Lenovorola, we are starting to see that Motorola wants to try to maintain their identity.
When asked about what is ahead with the Lenovo acquisition, the exec stated that Lenovo brings a lot to the table, and that this means wonders for Asian market presence. Motorola wants to remain open and communicate with consumers. It looks like Motorola is still in great shape to me, even with the Lenovo acquisition on the horizon.

Samsung Galaxy S5 “Crystal Edition” With Swarovski Stones

Samsung looks to have finalized another color for the Galaxy S5, this time being Swarovski crystals with a fancy crystalized Bedazzled backplate.
This won’t be the first time Samsung has teamed up with Swarovski for a Crystal Edition, as they did the same thing with the Galaxy S4 last year. It must have been a big hit for the company to produce a second rendition.

Facebook Acquires Exercise Tracker App Moves

A new Facebook acquisition took place today, but compared to others we have seen from the company, it’s not the most exciting news we could have hoped for this morning. Facebook has acquired Moves, a company and fitness tracking application which works to record all of your exercise while running in the background of your device. The UI looks neat enough, but without using the app myself, I can’t give too much insight as to how well it actually works.
Regardless, Moves will continue to remain its own entity for the time being, but the company hopes to bring its “simple and clean” activity diary to a billion people, thanks to Facebook. As of right now, no word is out on just how much Zuckerburg’s Facebook paid for Moves, but it was probably a nice little chunk of change.
Facebook’s plan for Moves seems rather clear, and it appears that the team has been brought on to help Facebook build up its own fitness products and services, as stated in the message from Moves’ team.

Now, we’re joining Facebook’s talented team to work on building and improving their products and services with a shared mission of supporting simple, efficient tools for more than a billion people.

Facebook has been literally gobbling up companies left and right, and it will be interesting to see just how they intend to incorporate all of these acquisitions into their existing service. Fitness, health, and fitness tracking have become quite popular recently, so Facebook looking to get into that market is not much of a surprise to us.


 source:moves

Apple's iPhone 'lock-out’ patent could end texting while driving

A new technology proposed by Apple would seek to address the dangerous and ubiquitous problem of drivers who use their phone behind the wheel, according to experts.
A new patent by the technology giant could “change the culture” and help stop driver distraction with an automated system that would disable certain smartphone functions when an iPhone user is driving.
One recently published patent describes a "driver handheld computing device lock-out" system that detects when a user is driving using on-board sensors or pulling information from the car when connected, blocking the use of text messaging or using other smartphone functions from the person driving.
“As a market leader, Apple could have the power to change the culture behind texting and driving, if it works and is intuitive; that would be a very good step,” said Paul Watters, head of motoring policy for the AA. “What we find in our research is that there’s an addiction here, to texting and using smartphones, it’s an addiction that is very hard to break even when in the car — it will take some system to help people break that addiction.”
Attempts to disable smartphones or limit distracting features of phones have been made in the past. Several developers have released apps that prevent drivers from texting behind the wheel for Android, but it has not been possible for the iPhone due to Apple’s restrictions on apps and system control.
Apple is currently making a large push into software for cars with its CarPlay system, which integrates an iPhone with a car's entertainment and communication tools, including connecting the car’s navigation system using Apple’s mapping app.
The patent for locking down the device was filed in 2008, but has only now been published. Apple could have a system in place that plays well with CarPlay, preventing the driver from texting using the smartphone other than via voice control through the car’s systems.

Viber receives new features

Good news for all Viber fans, or at least the ones, who are loyal to Apple! An update for the iOS variation of Viber is rolling out today and it finally brings a cosmetic revamp to one of the most popular messengers out there, which got acquired by Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce conglomerate, for some $900 million two months ago. Version 4.2 of the app comes with an overhauled design that finally blends with the refreshed looks of iOS 7, which got released back in September 2013. Up until now, the app kept its old-school design, which was everything but minimalistic and flat.

"This is the first time we are introducing a new look and feel for Viber. Our goal was to create a simple and friendly interface but at the same time establish a solid foundation for future updates," revealed Viber CEO Talmon Marco. 

 But this ornamental refashion is definitely not the most prominent change that the latest update for Viber has in tow for its users. Several new and rather handy features have also made their way to the iOS version of the messenger.If you often use Viber to send images or videos to your contacts, you'll be more than delighted to know that thanks to the latest update, you can send these in bulk simultaneously. That's right, this makes sending the numerous photos and large videos from your last birthday via Viber a little easier, doesn't it? Speaking of videos, you are now also able to send longer video messages, too. The limit of those was 10MB up until now, but it's unclear what the current restriction is after the update. Still, it's a nice improvement for those Viber users, who simply can't convey themselves via a simple text messages or a sticker emoji.Last, but certainly not least, comes the newly-implemented block list feature – as its name suggests, it allows you to block any Viber number or contact. This feature has been on the Android version of the messenger for some time now, but iOS users are only now getting to prevent their exes from contacting them ever again.All in all, Viber for iOS now comes with some welcome improvements. Way to go, but the messenger needs to up its game even further if it wants to stand up to WhatsApp – Viber's undoubtedly most prominent rival recently reported that it now has a little over 500 million monthly active users. As a side comparison, Viber's services are being used by roughly 100 million users. That's a rather formidable gap.

Version 4.2 of Viber for iOS started its rollout only today, so be advised that it may not land on your device right away.
Download: Viber (iOS | Android | Windows Phone)



 


 via: Engadget

Report: Apple to ship 70 million units of the Apple iPhone 6 this year

A report out of  China on Wednesday, says that Catcher Technology will be one of the companies supplying Apple with metal casings for the Apple iPhone 6. Morgan Stanley analyst Grace Chen estimates that Catcher will ship out 10.5 million casings to Apple by year's end, a figure that represents 15% of iPhone 6 shipments for the year. That would mean that Apple is expected by Chen, to ship out 70 million units of its next iPhone model in 2014.
Another banking firm, Barclay's, is predicting that shipments of the iPhone 6 this year will be 35% to 40% higher than new iPhone shipments made in 2013. The financial services firm was not clear on whether the comparison was being made to the Apple iPhone 5s, Apple iPhone 5c, or both. No matter how you slice it though, Apple is expecting some pretty heavy demand for its new iPhone model right off the bat.Apple was expected to ship two different versions of the iPhone this year, but the latest speculation has the 5.5 inch iPhone phablet model (possibly titled the Apple iPhone Air) delayed until next year at the earliest, because of difficulties Apple has had finding a battery supplier for the unit.


source: ChinaPost, TaipeiTimes via GforGames

Motorola Shipped 6.5 Million Devices Globally in Q1

It is uncommon to see a manufacturer give exact sales and shipment figures for devices, unless of course it is Samsung boasting how many flagship devices they were able to sell off in just a couple of months. Today, however, Motorola sent out a brief tweet detailing the exact number of devices the company shipped globally during Q1 of 2014, stacking up to 6.5 million. 
This figure includes all devices, which means the Moto X, Moto G, probably all of the DROID devices currently available, and any other handset on the market are represented.
For comparison purposes, Samsung sold over 10 million Galaxy Note 3 smartphones in just two months, while also selling off 10 million Galaxy S4 devices within its first 30 days on the market. It has never been a question about just how much product Samsung goes through, but compared to a full quarter of sales of just 6.5 million from Motorola, it is good to keep in perspective just how lopsided the market is.
With Lenovo’s pending acquisition of Motorola, we do hope these figures will increase, as the company stated they intend to introduce the North America-based manufacturer to overseas markets, boosting sales of lower-end devices such as the Moto G.


 via|Motorola