The world's biggest social network unveiled changes which decrease reliance on "referral" traffic or the sharing of news articles or other content.
"The goal of News Feed is to show you the content that matters to you," said a blog post by Facebook's Max Eulenstein and Lauren Scissors.
One of the key changes aims "to ensure that content posted directly by the friends you care about, such as photos, videos, status updates or links, will be higher up in News Feed so you are less likely to miss it," the blog said.
To make room, Facebook will push down items such as commentary on a news story or another person's post.
"Many people have told us they don't enjoy seeing stories about their friends liking or commenting on a post," Facebook said.
"This update will make these stories appear lower down in News Feed or not at all, so you are more likely to see the stuff you care about directly from friends and the pages you have liked."
Facebook also will relax its previous rule that prevented people from seeing multiple posts from the same source.
This change is aimed at "improving the experience for people who don't have a lot of content available to see," Eulenstein and Scissors wrote.
"Previously, we had rules in place to prevent you from seeing multiple posts from the same source in a row. With this update, we are relaxing this rule. Now if you run out of content, but want to spend more time in News Feed, you'll see more."
While the changes could drive down the so-called referral traffic such as articles shared from newspapers Facebook is reported to be in talks with media organizations to host this content in an effort to better target news at specific readers.
Mark Rowley, the national police lead for counter-terrorism, said companies needed to think about their "corporate social responsibility" in creating products that made it hard for the authorities to access material during investigations.
"Some of the acceleration of technology, whether it's communications or other spheres, can be set up in different ways," Rowley told a conference in London.
"It can be set up in a way which is friendly to terrorists and helps them ... and creates challenges for law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Or it can be set up in a way which doesn't do that."
Ever since former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden disclosed the extent of surveillance by U.S. and British security agencies in 2013, intelligence chiefs have said the authorities' ability to monitor terrorism suspects had been severely degraded.
Documents leaked by Snowden showed spies had harvested data from the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, leading some other firms to create new encryption and privacy products that make it hard for agents to intercept communications.
"Snowden has created an environment where some technology companies are less comfortable working with law reinforcement and intelligence agencies and the bad guys are better informed," Rowley told Reuters after his speech.
"We all love the benefit of the internet and all the rest of it, but we need their support in making sure that they're doing everything possible to stop their technology being exploited by terrorists. I'm saying that needs to be front and centre of their thinking and for some it is and some it isn't."
He declined to identify which firms he was referring to.
Rowley's comments echo those made in January by John Sawers, the former head of Britain's foreign intelligence service, who said trust between technology firms and governments had been shattered and needed to be rebuilt.
Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to give the security and intelligence services new powers to monitor Internet communications should he win an election on May 7.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
The new rules are the latest implemented by social networks aiming to stem violence and harassment while attempting to safeguard freedom of online speech.
"We need to ensure that voices are not silenced because people are afraid to speak up," said Twitter's head of product management Shreyas Doshi in a blog post.
"To that end, we are today announcing our latest product and policy updates that will help us in continuing to develop a platform on which users can safely engage with the world at large."
Some of the changes were outlined last week in a Washington Post column by Twitter general counsel Vijaya Gadde.
On Tuesday, Doshi noted that Twitter had updated its policy on violent threats "so that the prohibition is not limited to 'direct, specific threats of violence against others' but now extends to 'threats of violence against others or promot(ing) violence against others."
He said the previous policy "was unduly narrow and limited our ability to act on certain kinds of threatening behavior."
Twitter's new policy also allows the social network to "lock" abusive accounts for specific periods of time, which could help crack down on so-called cyberbullying and spam.
"This option gives us leverage in a variety of contexts, particularly where multiple users begin harassing a particular person or group of people," Doshi said.
Doshi also noted that Twitter would be testing "a product feature to help us identify suspected abusive Tweets and limit their reach."
The new tool, which was not described in detail, could help Twitter identify abusive activity by looking at "a wide range of signals and context that frequently correlates with abuse including the age of the account itself, and the similarity of a tweet to other content that our safety team has in the past independently determined to be abusive," said Doshi.
This tool "will not affect your ability to see content that you've explicitly sought out, such as tweets from accounts you follow, but instead is designed to help us limit the potential harm of abusive content," he noted.
Twitter's actions follow initiatives by Facebook as well as Facebook-owned Instagram that aim to crack down on abusive conduct and use of the platforms to promote violence.
Social networks have been struggling with defining acceptable content and freedom of expression, and radical extremism and violence increasingly linked to these services.
Facebook said last month it will not allow the social network to be used to promote terrorism or hate speech as it unveiled a wide-ranging update of its "community standards."
The brains and brawn of telecom networks today lie in software, which is programmable and flexible, and not in customised hardware as in the past. Products are more modular with open interfaces that allow equipment from different manufacturers to talk to each other.
That should make it quicker and cheaper to combine the two companies' products, analysts and telecom executives said, and may help Nokia succeed where other acquisitions have struggled.
Nokia has promised $960 million of cost savings by 2019 from the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition, which is set to be completed in the first half of next year.
Analysts believe the biggest chunk will come from the wireless business where Nokia's 4G mobile network products will eventually replace those of Alcatel, allowing it to trim expensive R&D budgets and redeploy engineers.
The history of mergers in the telecom equipment sector is poor - including those that brought Alcatel together with Lucent, and Nokia with Siemens in 2006.
The cost savings promised from those deals ended up being given back to customers via lower prices because rivals Ericsson and Huawei went on the attack to steal contracts while the companies were distracted by their integrations.
Culling product portfolios also proved costly and slow because of the need to keep supporting gear already installed in major telecom carriers' networks. A mobile base station installed at an operator such as Verizon or Vodafone remains in service for a decade and the equipment maker commits a team of engineers to a "product development roadmap" to improve it over time.
This time more of those improvements can come from software upgrades so merging product lines will be easier, Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri promised investors after unveiling the Alcatel deal.
"While some of our past integration experiences have been painful at times, you should not be thinking about swap-out costs in the same way as in the past," he said. Open interfaces, 4G technology and cloud computing "allow more rapid and efficient integration", he added.
Getting the transition right is essential to achieving the synergies and avoiding alienating major customers such as Verizon or AT&T, the two leading carriers in the United States which have installed Alcatel-Lucent's 4G technology.
"What took Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Siemens four or five years to do on the product roadmaps last time around will only take two or three years this time," said Pierre Ferragu, analyst at Bernstein Research.
However, Exane BNP Paribas analyst Alexandre Peterc is less confident and predicted that only half the promised 900 million euros in cost savings will materialise.
Momentum risk
Risto Lehtilahti, union representative at Nokia's R&D unit in Oulu, Finland, expressed concern that the company would lose momentum with clients during the integration, as it had during the Siemens merger and purchase of Motorola's U.S. mobile assets.
"Market shares have never been sustained after these mergers. As we are going through the transition period and before the picture clarifies, part of the orders will go to the rivals Ericsson and Huawei," he explained.
"The clients know what those vendors have and how their systems work, while it could take one or two years for us to come up with the product portfolio and client systems."
Analysts have pointed to contracts at U.S. number three operator Sprint as vulnerable because Nokia and Alcatel are the two primary suppliers for the 4G rollout, and the carrier may want to bring back Ericsson to maintain competition.
China's three mobile carriers, which are in the midst of a huge national 4G expansion, could also shift their spending a bit more to Ericsson since the state had mandated that foreign suppliers each get 10 percent of the contracts. After the deal Nokia would have 20 percent versus Ericsson's 10 percent, which may prompt a rethink.
Analysts are divided over how much such "dis-synergies" could hurt Nokia, with Deutsche Bank saying contracts worth 1.5 billion euros are at risk and Bernstein putting it at less than one third of that level.
Nokia tried to reassure investors last week even as it admitted that some contracts could be at risk. "We know that in these kind of transactions there could be situations which are difficult to foresee beforehand... so we're being prudent," said Suri.
The companies will also need to get ahead in the next product cycle. Bringing together Nokia's strengths in wireless and Alcatel's in Internet routing equipment positions the company for 5G, the next generation of mobile technology, when distinctions between fixed and mobile gear will largely disappear.
While 5G is not expected to be introduced until 2020, analysts say carriers will judge 5G suppliers by their ability to present a single product roadmap by late 2017 or face a loss of market share for future orders.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
The agreement is part of a data-sharing partnership between LA and the Google-owned tech company announced by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
The app has already begun showing street closures and will start including hit-and-run alerts and so-called Amber Alerts sent out for kidnappings in the coming months.
"This is going to be updated in real-time, every two minutes, giving motorists the information they need to... get home for dinner in time," said Garcetti.
The agreement to add notifications about hit-and-run and kidnapping alerts was reached Monday "in a very good meeting" between Waze and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck," the mayor said.
In January, it emerged that Beck had sent a letter to the tech company's CEO lamenting that the Waze application posed a danger to police because of its ability to track their locations.
The LAPD chief said at the time that the shooter in a recent double murder of two New York police officers used the application to track the location of cops.
Waze is a traffic and navigation application to which users contribute information in order to share real-time road information.
Certicom, a subsidiary of BlackBerry and an industry pioneer in elliptic curve cryptography, announced a new offering that it contends will secure millions of devices, expected to be part of the growing Internet of Things (IoT) sphere.
The company said it has already won a contract in Britain to issue certificates for the smart meter initiative there with more than 104 million smart meters and home energy management devices.
The service will make it much easier for companies rolling out such devices to authenticate and secure them, the company said.
Separately, BlackBerry also outlined a plan to expand its research and development efforts on innovation and improvement in computer security.
The initiative is being dubbed BlackBerry Center for High Assurance Computing Excellence (CHACE).
Increased network and device security has become a huge focus for large North American corporations in the face of costly and damaging security breaches.
U.S. retailer Target Corp is still recovering from a major breach in 2013 in which 40 million payment card numbers and 70 million other pieces of customer data such as email addresses and phone numbers were stolen.
Michaels Stores, the biggest U.S. arts and crafts retailer, said last year it had suffered a security breach that may have affected about 2.6 million payment cards.
BlackBerry said the fail-then-patch approach to managing security risk has become a widely accepted practise, but through CHACE it plans to develop tools and techniques that deliver a far higher level of protection than is currently available.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Music Messenger, co-founded by Israeli entrepreneur O.D. Kobo and launched seven months ago, said on Tuesday Abramovich had invested $15 million.
Other backers included Benny Andersson from pop band ABBA, artists David Guetta, Will.i.am and Avicci, and Gee Roberson, manager of Nicki Minaj, who is also an investor.
Music Messenger allows users to create multiple playlists and send music to each another's mobile phones for free. It is widely used as a promotional tool by the music industry as users get introduced to many songs.
The company has raised $35 million in total and is valued at more than $100 million, it said.
The app is attracting 1 million new users per month and is available in 10 different languages.
It plans to launch in China over the summer and is also focusing on Brazil, Russia and India.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
An adjournment motion involves an element of censure against the Government. However, it is up to the Speaker to decide on taking up the motion.
A strong plea was made Tuesday in the Lower House for ensuring net neutrality with demands that the recent consultation paper brought out by Trai should be scrapped and attempts by certain telecom and Internet service providers be scuttled.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, M B Rajesh (CPI-M) had alleged that the consultation paper brought out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was "blatantly supporting" assault on net neutrality by telecom and Internet service providers.
Several opposition members wanted to have their say on the issue.
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had said a notice should be given for a half-an-hour discussion and she would allow it.
A senior Railway Ministry official made the announcement on Tuesday, saying, "We are launching a mobile-based paperless unreserved ticketing application tomorrow."
The app, called UTS, is now available via the Google Play store. It has been developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). Having booked a ticket using the app, a commuter need not take a print-out of the same and can show its soft copy on the cellphone to the TTE.
Apart from being a green initiative, the paperless ticketing system is also aimed at saving time for passengers as it allows them to avoid lining up at the ticket window.
After downloading the UTS app, users will receive a registration ID number for thhe creation of an electronic wallet. Money for buying tickets will have to be loaded through the e-wallet mobile payment system either online or at a ticket counter at any station.
Passengers have the option of topping up the e-wallet at ticket counters or on the IRCTC website using a credit or debit card, the official said.
Besides booking tickets, one can even renew season tickets using the UTS app, which the official said will be a great help for commuters in the unreserved ticketing segment.
The app-based ticketing system was tried out in the Mumbai suburban sector on a pilot basis. An version of the app for BlackBerry devices will be made available later.
There are rising concerns over maintaining equal access to Internet amid some service providers entering into tie-ups for offering free access to certain mobile apps and websites.
Against this backdrop, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) member U C Nahta said in Kolkata that CCI is looking into whether entities are abusing their dominant position.
The regulator is trying to understand whether such practices are just sectoral or tariff issues or whether they violate competition norms.
It is looking into whether telecom operators and Internet service providers are indulging in unfair business ways by extending preferential treatment to select mobile applications and websites.
CCI, which keeps a tab on unfair business practices across sectors, orders a detailed probe into a matter only if there is prima-facie evidence of fair trade norms.
The principle of net neutrality implies equal treatment to be accorded to all Internet traffic, without discrimination or priority for any person, entity or company.
Recently, Bharti Airtel launched 'Airtel Zero' - an open marketing platform that allows customers to access a variety of mobile applications for free, with the data charges being paid by start-ups and large companies.
Over the past few months, operators like Reliance Communications and Uninor have tied up with players like Facebook, WhatsApp and Wikipedia to offer free usage to consumers.
Such moves are being seen as going against the Net Neutrality concept, which broadly refers to equal treatment for all Internet traffic. Giving priority to mobile applications or websites, based on payment is seen as discrimination.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has floated a consultation paper on the topic. In response to its paper, for which public comments have been sought till April 24, Trai has already been flooded with over 8 lakh petitions against any attempt to throttle the 'Net Neutrality' concept.
Recently, however, Trai Chairman Rahul Khullar said that "shrill voices" would not win the debate and the concept is not "practiced strictly" even in countries like the US and the UK.
The Frankfurt regional court last month set stiff fines for any violations of local transport laws by Uber in a case brought by German taxi operator group Taxi Deutschland.
Uber said in a statement on Tuesday that the ruling was now enforceable, calling it "a defeat for all those who want more choice for their personal mobility".
To comply, UberPOP, an online service that links private drivers with passengers via their mobile phones, will immediately switch to a per kilometre tariff of 35 cents in Frankfurt and Munich, a policy it had already adopted in Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg.
It said that would make offering rides significantly less attractive for drivers, which would mean it would probably become much harder to book a ride in coming weeks.
Uber said it will continue to operate services in Germany using licensed limousine and taxi drivers and is working on an alternative ride sharing service that would meet German rules.
Uber, worth an estimated $40 billion making it the world's most valuable venture-backed start-up, has set out to revolutionise local transport services worldwide, from taxis to carpools to fast-food delivery.
Uber's popular mobile phone taxi-hailing services have mushroomed since being launched in 2010 and are offered in nearly 270 cities worldwide.
But Uber also has become a magnet for criticism of its business style of moving first and asking permission later. It has faced complaints around the world over how it pays drivers, charges passengers and ensures their safety.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Robin is a tech enthusiast who can't get enough of his Nexus 5. You'll usually find him typing away furiously on his keyboard while eating a packet of biscuits (just More
Lenovo India, at the time of writing, had not revealed the number of Lenovo A7000 units that will be going on sale in the flash sale on Wednesday. The first flash sale of the A7000 saw 30,000 units going out of stock in 4 seconds.
(Also see: Lenovo A7000 First Impressions - Multimedia on a Budget)
Lenovo at the India launch of the A7000 smartphone detailed the flash sale method it would be employing, which will leave consumers a 4-hour window to complete their transaction once the product is added to their Flipkart shopping cart.
The A7000 is the larger sibling of the company's popular 4G LTE budget offering, the Lenovo A6000 (Review | Images), and features upgraded specifications as well as a larger display and Dolby Atmos technology - pegging it as a multimedia device.
(Also see: Lenovo A7000 vs. Lenovo A6000)
For specifications, the Lenovo A7000 supports dual-SIM (Micro-SIM) while running Android 5.0 Lollipop with Vibe UI running on top. It features a 5.5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) IPS display and packs an octa-core 1.5GHz (MediaTek MT6572M) processor with 2GB of RAM. It features an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front facing camera. Internal storage on the handset is 8GB, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB).
Connectivity options on the smartphone include 4G/ LTE (FDD Band 1, 3, 7, 20; TDD Band 40), Wi-Fi, GPS/ A-GPS, Bluetooth, and Micro-USB, just like its predecessor. The Lenovo A7000 is backed by a 2900mAh battery, measures 152.6x76.2x7.99mm and weighs 140 grams.
Net profit for the first quarter tumbled to $21.1 million from $312 million in the same period last year, amid what chief executive Marissa Mayer called "encouraging revenue growth" of eight percent.
Total revenue for the first three months of the year grew to $1.23 billion, led by gains in "search revenue," from ads linked to queries using Yahoo's search function.
But revenue and profit were both lower than Wall Street forecasts.
"Yahoo is amidst a multi-year transformation to return an iconic company to greatness," Mayer said in the earnings statement.
"This quarter, we saw encouraging revenue growth of eight percent, with display revenue growing a modest two percent and search growing 20 percent."
She said mobile revenues reached $234 million in the quarter, up 61 percent from a year ago.
The Internet giant will now focus on "accelerating" revenue growth "while managing our margins and costs," Mayer said.
She disclosed that Yahoo cut some 1,100 jobs in the past quarter, bringing the number of reductions to some 3,000 over the past three years.
Shareholder pressure
Yahoo has been under pressure from activist shareholders to deliver more value with lower costs and a narrower focus.
In the past quarter, expenses were sharply higher, due to increased product development spending, traffic acquisition costs and restructuring expenses.
But Mayer noted during the company's earnings call that "we are hard at work at monetizing our products to drive revenue."
The California group, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, has been undergoing a major reorganization since Mayer took the helm in 2012.
The efforts have included divestment of a large part of its stake in Chinese online giant Alibaba, along with a series of acquisitions.
Mayer spent more than $1 billion to acquire the blogging platform Tumblr to reach a younger market segment, and has made a push to focus more on mobile content and search.
Mayer said the company was looking at a way to "maximize value" of its stake in Yahoo Japan, believed to be worth several billion dollars.
But she said any change would come after "careful study."
In the past quarter, its search volume reached a five-year high, helped by a partnership with Mozilla, which made Yahoo the browser's default search engine.
The Mozilla agreement "is not only a high quality deal for us it is a profitable deal for us," Mayer said, adding that Yahoo "surpassed all expectations for new users and retention."
But Yahoo remains far behind search market leader Google, based on market surveys.
Yahoo and Microsoft last week updated their search partnership to allow more flexibility in searches and end Yahoo's exclusive sales force role with advertisers.
On the Internet, people who engage in antisocial ways in the comments section of web content, have come to be known as trolls.
Researchers from Cornell University and Stanford University built their troll finding algorithm by engaging in an analysis of typical troll behaviour with data provided by CNN.com, Breitbart.com and IGN.com.
Researchers compared the behaviour of those that have been banned against others that have never been banned over an 18 month period.
They studied the comments of over 10,000 Future Banned Users (FBUs), 'Tech Xplore' reported.
Researchers found that such users tend to concentrate their efforts in a small number of threads, are more likely to post irrelevantly, and are more successful at garnering responses from other users.
Studying the evolution of these users from the moment they join a community up to when they get banned, researchers found that not only do they write worse than other users over time, but they also become increasingly less tolerated by the community.
The researchers reported that it was relatively easy to spot FBUs and to convert what they had found to something a computer could understand.
The researchers said that they were able to spot FBUs with an 80 per cent accuracy rate after just ten posts.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
HP, the world's No. 2 PC maker, bought Snapfish for more than $300 million in 2005 and made the company a part of its printing and personal systems group.
Reuters had reported in September that HP was exploring a sale of Snapfish.
HP said in October it would separate its computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations this year.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
The WhatsApp iOS app update (version 2.12.1) also brings new features such as sharing extension, quick camera button in chats and other additions apart from the VoIP-based voice calling feature.
The App Store listing notes that WhatsApp Calling will roll out to all users slowly over the next several weeks.
Another major highlight of the v2.12.1 update is the addition of iOS 8's sharing extension that enables a user to share images, videos, and links to WhatsApp contacts from any other app. The update also adds the quick camera button in chats that allows users to launch the camera button right from the chat screen to share with contacts.
(Also see: WhatsApp Voice Calling - Everything You Need to Know)
Other additions include the ability to edit contacts from the WhatsApp app, send multiple videos at once, and options to crop and rotate videos before sharing them.
Recently, WhatsApp's CEO and co-founder Jan Koum claimed that the app crossed 800 million monthly active users. The company had crossed 700 million active users in January and thus adding 100 million users in four months.
While the feature is now available to Android and iOS users now, those on Windows Phone platform continue to wait. Earlier this month, the WhatsApp voice calling feature was said to be in development for the Windows Phone platform.
"Tying up with online market players is another strategy of customer acquisition for banks. With phenomenal boom being observed in the e-commerce space, banks can use these channels as a means to reach out to new customers, including those in smaller cities," a PwC-CII report on digital banking technology said on Tuesday.
The report also said banks can look at advertising on such websites, apart from launching joint products and cited a tie-up between HDFC Bank and Snapdeal for a co-branded credit card, wherein the lender stands to benefit in customer acquisition, while the e-commerce player gets more sales.
Banks can also look at online aggregators as distributors for selling loans, it said, adding that one such aggregator Bankbazaar.com facilitated Rs. 3,000 crores loan disbursals last fiscal alone.
The report comes a day after Khan spoke about the need for such tie-ups between the banks and e-commerce players.
"I think there is a need for collaboration. E-commerce sites and banks need to integrate and that is something in the interest of everyone," he had said.
The banking system had leveraged on the opportunity presented by the telecom growth and there is a need to replicate it in the e-commerce place as well, he said.
"The digital battleground has presented banks with a huge opportunity to attract new customers at lower costs, develop new propositions and business models, as also explore customer value to its maximum," PwC's Vivek Belgavi said in the report.
Additionally, there are also payments banks and small finance banks on the way which will be coming up with the best in technology and practices to challenge the existing system.
"A payments bank's primary target will be the rural population. And unlike the previous models, which were dependent on the brick-and-mortar branches and banking correspondents, this time, high mobile penetration and sophisticated and innovative technology can drive financial inclusion," the report said.
On the challenges front, it pointed out security and averting frauds as the key things to watch out for. With the growing use of smartphones, the onus is on the banks to make the mobile application experience much better.
"Mobile and smartphones will continue to be a prime channel for reaching customers. With such telling trends, designing content tailored for smartphones, and leveraging the increased functionality of smartphones, including GPS, camera and access to fast Internet, will continue to be a key driver for the growth of the industry," it said.
Xu's remarks are a rare example of a top Chinese CEO openly questioning the direction of Beijing's information security policy, already a source of concern for countries who fear it will limit opportunities for their technology firms.
In recent months Chinese leaders have advanced, albeit fitfully, several technology "localization" measures to minimize the threat of foreign cyberspying, by encouraging or requiring use of domestic products in important systems.
But such policies could hamper free competition and innovation in Chinese industry and undermine Chinese security in the long term, Xu said in an interview on the sidelines of Huawei's annual global analyst summit in Shenzhen.
"If we're not open, if we don't bring in the world's best technology, we'll never have true information security," Xu said, comparing China's enterprise (corporate) computing industry to primary school students competing against foreign rivals at university level.
"Even if you localize, make your own CPUs (central processing units), make your own operating systems, make your own database software, it would still be at a grade school level, (with) your (security measures) transparent to the college students," Xu said.
"The only way you can answer the security problem is to keep improving your technology."
Good money after bad?
Xu's scepticism comes despite the fact that his company should, in theory, be one of the biggest beneficiaries of China's domestic technology push.
The world leader in manufacturing equipment for telecommunications carriers like Telefonica and British Telecom, Huawei in recent years has expanded into enterprise technology, offering competitive alternatives to Western-made servers and data storage for banks and government agencies.
Although Huawei would gain more contracts if foreign products were kept out, Xu said, the overall quality of technology used in China could drop.
"From China's perspective, to determine whether this is a good thing or bad thing we have to look at whether the market has healthy competition," he said. "Is this good money replacing bad money or bad money replacing good money?"
He also feared the repercussions for international trade.
"If the Chinese market is not open, then the European market won't be open, other markets won't be open, then what's the result?" he said. "The result is everyone draws a line around their own territory."
Washington worried
Xu's comments echo concerns expressed by the White House and U.S. business lobbies, who have likened China's cyber-security policies to protectionism and fear it will discriminate against players like Intel Corp, Cisco Systems and Qualcomm Inc.
The cyber-security dispute has strained U.S.-China ties in recent months, although regulators in Beijing said last week they would temporarily suspend the implementation of rules governing bank-technology purchases.
Xu said Huawei's critical view of current policy was shared by others within China's government and technology industry, but when asked if he had expressed that view to the Chinese leadership, he declined to say.
"Our perspective is recognized by some technical experts in the country," he said. "Localization doesn't guarantee security; anyone who understands a little bit about technology understands this."
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Cyberspace Administration of China were not immediately available to comment outside of normal business hours.
Founded by a former Chinese military officer, Huawei itself was locked out of a major market in 2012, when it was labelled a national security risk in a U.S. Congressional report.
The company's lobbyists in Washington have slammed the report's findings as false and politically influenced while positioning Huawei as a champion of free-market competition.
Huawei's telecom carrier business in 2014 recorded a 20 percent increase in revenue to 288 billion yuan ($46.45 billion), placing it neck-and-neck with Swedish rival Ericsson.
But the company has forecast growth in its carrier division to flatten in several years with growth in its enterprise computing division to pick up the slack.
Xu declined to address the prospect of Huawei seeking to enter the U.S. telecoms market despite speculation that American carriers would like to see another vendor choice following Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent's proposed $16.6 billion merger.
"Our problem in America isn't about the carriers not wanting to work with us," Xu said, adding that countries should follow the example of Britain, which issued an independent audit this year finding Huawei's equipment did not pose a risk to its cyber-security.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Shares of Broadcom, which also forecast current-quarter revenue above analysts' expectations, rose 5.4 percent in extended trading on Tuesday.
The company has been benefiting from strong demand for Apple's iPhone 6, which was launched in September. Samsung's Galaxy S6, launched in April, is also expected to drive sales this year.
Broadcom is exiting its baseband chips business after falling behind Qualcomm in the development of 4G technology increasingly used by carriers.
While the move freed up resources, it also raised concerns of competitive disadvantage due to the lack of a 4G product.
The stronger-than-expected forecast allayed some of those concerns as the baseband exit is expected to help the company focus more on its better-performing networking and broadband businesses.
Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said Broadcom's strong second-quarter forecast could be coming on the back of higher demand for chips from Samsung for its Galaxy S6 smartphone.
Samsung said last week that demand for both the flat-screen and curved-screen models of Galaxy S6 was "much higher" than expected. Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones in the quarter ended December 27.
Broadcom forecast revenue of $2.10 billion, plus or minus $75 million, for the second quarter ending June 30. Analysts on average were expecting $2.07 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Broadcom also said it took a restructuring charge of $159 million, as of March 31, related to its exit from the baseband business.
The contribution of the baseband business to Broadcom's total revenue fell to 4 percent in 2014 from 8 percent in 2013.
Broadcom's net income rose to $209 million, or 34 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from $165 million, or 28 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned 64 cents per share.
Revenue rose about 4 percent to $2.06 billion.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 60 cents per share and revenue of $2.01 billion.
The Irvine, California-based company's shares closed at $43.98 on Tuesday on the Nasdaq.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
Apple are very busy lately with their software updates. We usually see one major iOS update around this time of the year and we have heard that Apple are already working on iOS 8.3, iOS 8.4 and, as some reports suggest, iOS 9. With the iOS 8.3 update the main focus has been on Apple Watch support but there are a number of other changes too. We have heard that Siri will be getting a little attention in this update too so in this post we want to focus on the voice assistant and how it will improve in the iOS 8.3 update.
Siri was first introduced with iOS 5 and generated a lot of hype and talk when it arrived. The novelty however soon wore off. From iOS 6 right the way through to now, Siri has unquestionably shaken off the lingering notion that it was just a gimmick. Microsoft have introduced Cortana and Google have Google Now. There is a nice element of competition now when it comes to voice assistants.
Over at 9to5Mac, they have an article about the upcoming iOS 8.3 that includes the fact that Siri is getting an overhaul. We all know that Siri is famed for sounding a bit like a drone, but Apple is now going to make Siri sound a little more normal as you will see from the video at the bottom of this post. It shows that certain words and phrases are going to sound considerably better.
We're not sure when iOS 8.3 will drop and since Apple has a fairly packed schedule for the next few months, it could be subject to delays. The last we heard, it was being scheduled for a March roll-out, and with the Apple Watch due to arrive in April, it will need to be ready by the end of next month. Whether there are more changes for Siri is a matter of speculation, but for the moment, we are looking forward to conversing with Siri to see exactly what changes have been implemented. Take a look at the video below and let us know in the comments what you think.
A major vulnerability has just been found in Adobe Flash. Now we know that this won't surprise too many people as there have been a number of these before and it is yet another issue for this video plugin software to add to their collection. This particular one however leaves PCs susceptible to hijacking. If you want to protect yourself from this, we recommend that you disable flash immediately in whatever browser you are using. We have the information below to help you do just that.
Over the past 10 years, we have seen Adobe's Flash Player come under a lot of scrutiny. It is resource-hungry, buggy and sluggish and it seems to be throwing up vulnerabilities all the time. The latest, CVE-2015-0313, has left Adobe with its third exploit to patch in just two weeks. There are large numbers of people in the tech community shunning Flash altogether and below we will show you how to disable this add-on once and for all.
Firefox
The first thing you need to do is open your firefox browser. Next hit the Settings icon which is the three horizontal lines in the top right hand corner. Click Addons, and then Plugins. Next to any Shockwave or Flash-related objects, you'll see a drop down menu. Click on it and set it to “never activate”.
Chrome
The first thing you need to do is open up your Chrome browser. Then in the URL bar type “about:plugins”. Go down to Adobe Flash Player and select “Disable”.
Internet Explorer
Open your IE browser and hit the Settings icon which is the gear-like image at the top right hand corner. Select “manage add-ons” from the drop down menu. Under the “show” drop-down, select “all add-ons”. Finally, select Shockwave Flash Object, and in the bottom right hand corner, select “disable”.
Opera
Open up Opera. In the URL bar, type “about:plugins”. Scroll down till you find Adobe Flash Player and select “disable”.
Safari
Open Safari and then click on Safari in the Menu Bar. From here click on Preferences. Next click on “Security” and then click on the “website Settings...” button next to “allow plugins”. Select Adobe Flash Player from the left hand side menu and then select “block” in the “when visiting other websites” drop-down menu.
That will disable the Flash Player add-on in your browser as there is no fix as yet for this latest vulnerability. There is no harm is disabling Flash and leaving it this way as you no longer need it for browsing as most websites have moved over to HTML5 including YouTube who made the move late last month.
According to reports, the Apple Watch is now at the closing stages of preparation. CEO Tim Cook last month suggested that the company was on track to begin shipping the watch in April. To help the developers with the preparation of the first batch of apps in time for the launch, Apple has been inviting a number of developers to its campus over the past week. This is set to continue and over 100 app makers being invited in total.
We are all well aware that any new product category on the mobile market has to have a decent selection of apps available to it right from the go. The early Apple Watch customers won't be inundated with options but the company does seem to be taking steps to ensure that users will have enough to keep themselves occupied.
As part of this invitation program, Apple has selected a varied ensemble of developers, ranging from authors of productivity apps to sports related utilities. The aim of the program is to ensure that all apps are finished and ready for the launch. For Apple devs, this is a really exciting time. Back when iOS first allowed third party developers to create apps, there were those that stood out and established monumental brands as a result of the early-bird mindset. The likes of Angry Birds, Doodle Jump and Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock have all enjoyed success because they were available from the beginning. With Apple Watch just weeks away, many app makers old and new will be hoping for a quick start and a healthy user base among the early customers.
As well as developers, Apple has also been in talks with banks in light of the Apple Pay initiative, which was introduced with iOS 8.1. The contactless payment system has enjoyed a largely incident free first few months, and with Apple Watch set to play a major role in proceedings looking ahead, having the banks and big financial institutions onside is essential.
There are so many developers involved and it could be that Apple wants to showcase some of the apps at the special media event that will happen with the launch. All the developers that have attended so far have done so in secrecy and they are only identifiable by “unique number identifiers”, rather than real names.
We are all really excited about the arrival of the Apple Watch and we can't wait to get our hands on one of these devices so that we can report back to you on exactly what this little gem can do. Until then, we will supply you with any further updates that we receive.
Google has been having a very busy month so far with some great updates being rolled out. Today we want to tell you about a major update to the Google Translate app. There is a fantastic new feature that has been added to this app that can automatically translate words as they are detected using your mobile's camera. While this is not a new concept, and have been around for quite some time in the form of Word Lens app for iOS. Google acquired Word Lens and has now added this technology to the Translate app.
This addition is great and the feature works without an internet connection which is even better. There are however one or two limitations. As you'd expect, the Word Lens feature only caters to a handful of languages at the moment. It supports the translation of English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Google is working on adding more languages in the near future.
There is another great feature that can be found in the latest version of Translate too and this is one that Google hopes will help with the flow of inter-lingual communication. Within the app, you can simply select your designated language, tap on the mic button and start speaking. Hit the mic button again and the app will quickly detect which language is being spoken and for the remainder of the conversation you won't need to partake in any further tapping or configuration. You can see this in action in the video from Google below.
Translate has always been a great free tool for those looking to communicate and comprehend different languages and these new features have made it more powerful than ever. Have a look at the video below, test out the app for yourself and then be sure to come back and tell us what you think in the comments below.
We're back today with some great free iOS apps for you all. These apps are all photo and camera based and that is because the rear-facing camera on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus is amazing. It is capable right out of the box but you can also enhance it using some of the great third-party apps that are available. For a limited amount of time, usually 24 hours, the five apps we are showcasing today have gone free. If you use your iPhone for photos then be sure to check out the apps below.
InstaFisheye ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)
This app gives you photos a range of fisheye lens effect with some great results. Check it out today while it's free and see what you think of it.
Fisheye Pro ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)
This app is very similar to the one above but it brings with it some great vintage effects like old films and lenses.
Reflection ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)
This app adds reflections to your images so that they look like they are reflecting in a river or other body of water. It is a great idea and you can add different wave and ripple effects on your photos. This is definitely one to try and if you grab it today it's free.
Splitter Pro ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)
Splitter Pro lets you clone objects or people and then reproduce them in the same shot. You can use your imagination to come up with some amazing results and have fun too.
Framatic Pro ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)
This is a collage app that let you stitch together multiple images and add fantastic frames for some really great results. It is ideal for Instagram and provides a polished experience.
So there you have it, five great free apps that you can get your hands on free of charge today. Remember these apps are only free for a very limited time so if you want to test them out do it straight away to avoid disappointment later. All the apps are available on the App Store.
When it comes to unlocking your mobile device, it has never been a very straight forward process an the rules change from carrier to carrier. That is all about to end because new unlocking standards approved by the CTIA back in 2013 must now be complied with by all major US carriers. These laws offer a degree of uniformity and this really is great news for anyone that wants to unlock their mobile device.
Up until now, you may have found that you came up against a brick wall when you were trying to get an unlock. The days of software unlocking are also gone for most of the high end handsets but the good news is that the carriers will now be much more compliant with your request. Not only will carriers unlock your device if you meet their explicitly stated terms, it is also completely free of charge. This means that you will be able to go ahead and use your smartphone or tablet with another network operator if you wish to so.
There are a few things that you need to note and these include:
you are eligible for an unlock once you've completed your contract term with your carrier.Unlocking is absolutely free and you don't have to spend a dime on it according to the new rules.Tablets can also be unlocked, provided they're locked to a carrier.it usually takes approximately 2 business days for your device to be unlocked.Different carriers will be doing things differently. AT&T will be using a web form for unlocking requests so you have to do this from their website where you will find all the information you need also.
Sprint will be doing the unlock through a specific phone number which is available on their website also with the small print that you really should read through. With Verizon you also have to ring a specific telephone number and ask for a SIM unlock. Again the terms and conditions and everything else you need to know can be found on their website. With T-Mobile it will be a phone number also and all the information is available on their website.
This standardized process is in place from today and all you have to do is visit your carriers website to find out what you need to do to get your unlock if you qualify for one. Remember, you can only unlock your device once your service contract has run its course. If you are using a prepaid device you are eligible for an unlock exactly one year after purchasing your device and both types of unlock are free of charge on tablets and smartphones.
The Apple Watch is set to launch later this year and developers have had access to the WatchKit API since the launch of iOS 8.2 back in November. To date we have heard very little about the apps that will be available and what they can do. We know that common Apple apps like Messages and Mail will be available on the Apple Watch and this is because it was said at the keynote and because of the dedicated Apple Watch website. Third party developers haven't however given away much information on what they plan to create for this device.
It is thought that hundreds of innovative apps are experiences are being worked on by app developers and today we are able to share that game developer NimbleBit is working on a new game that will be playable on the Apple Watch. This game is called Letterpad and it is a simple word game that will be available on both iOS and the Apple Watch. The object of the game is to make words related to a specified topic from a grid of nine letters as you can see from the image included at the top of this post.
Now we know that most people won't think of games are being part of the Apple Watch experience and it is thought that the limited battery life will mean that you will have to charge it on a daily basis, but simple games like Letterpad will translate well on this device even with its small screen. This really is just a first glimpse of one simple game and we expect that developers will have a range of unique game experiences in mind.
We already know that the first apps coming out for the Apple Watch will be entirely reliant on the iPhone, powered by the phone and projected to the Apple Watch to conserve battery. The Apple Watch's Taptic Engine and Force Touch capabilities may enable all new types of games and apps that we haven't even thought of yet. Over the next couple of months we are sure to see more information surfacing on what developers are planning to create for this device.
The most recent rumors have suggested that the Apple Watch will be released in March but the price of the device is still unknown. We do know that the entry level Apple Watch will be priced at $349 but that is it. What do you think, will you be getting and Apple Watch and will you want to play games on it? Let us know in the comments below.
If you like to watch movies and tv shows on your mobile device or tablet, we have some great news for you today. Android users have Showbox but this isn't available to iOS users. Popcorn Time has been very popular for quite some time and if you enjoy this service you will be happy to hear that PlayBox is now available for iOS and Android and you don't need a jailbroken device to install it either. You can install this on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and watch all the latest movies and TV shows for free.
While Netflix is popular and offers access to unlimited content for a monthly fee, there are limitations. The problem with Netflix and other similar sites is that they don't have the very latest movies or TV shows and most of these are leaked online long before they are made available via paid services. This is where the likes of Popcorn Time and MovieBox have become very popular and the new PlayBox app is just the same. It delivers these movies to your device and there are some great features too. All the latest releases are there as well as your favorite TV shows so you can watch the latest series in on go.
There is subtitle support and the app is also multi-lingual. With any video-related app for iOS or Android, Apple TV and Chromecast support is seen as essential and PlayBox doesn't disappoint here. The app also supports downloading of the movies or TV shows onto your device so you can view them later. Most apps like this require you to have a jailbroken device but not PlayBox which is why we are so excited. In order to get this app on your iOS device, you need to visit playboxhd.com where you can do a direct download to your device. The app has a very user friendly interface and if you have used the likes of ShowBox before you will know exactly what to do. You can view movies or TV shows in new or popular, you can also view by genre or do a search for your favorites. All in all, this is a very useful app for those of you who like to watch the latest movies without having to pay for them.
Everyone loves free stuff and if you weren't aware, Apple got rid of the “iTunes Single of the Week” freebie a while back but they seem to have made up for this. It seems that Apple has just launched a brand new section on the iTunes store especially for those seeking fresh content without having to pay for it. This new section is called “Free on iTunes” and it includes songs from recording artists as well as TV shows from some really great networks. Right now though, this new section seems to be reserved for consumers in the United States.
This brand new section is only for the US at the moment but we do expect that it will roll out to other nations and regions in the near future. If you do however have a US iTunes account, then you can dive straight in and see exactly what is on offer. There is new music and TV shows for you to enjoy free of charge and all you have to do is visit the Free on iTunes section to see what you can find.
Unfortunately right now you won't find any movies or music videos but this section is still very new so you never know what the future will bring. Everything in this section is free and there is quite a large selection of content too. You can find artists ranging from Purity Ring to Guster and TV shows that have been provided by the likes of FOX, MTV and Animal Planet. With that said, you are sure to find something to suit your personal tastes.
This new section should get people back looking on the iTunes store as it has struggled in recent times when compared with modern streamers such as Pandora and Spotify. Apple as you may recall purchased Beats Electronics last year and this also saw them acquiring Beats Music which is a streaming service like Spotify and Pandora which we are sure Apple is working on behind the scenes.
So to sum up, if you are looking for some free stuff and you have a US iTunes account, then why not head over and check out the new free section. Be sure to come back and tell us what you thought of the experience and whether you found anything good in the comments below.
A new report has suggested that Apple are working on iOS 8.4 even though we have only just seen the roll out of iOS 8.3 beta 1. Apple have been working concurrently on iOS 8.2 and 83 in beta and this new report suggests that 8.4 is also being worked on and it goes on to give us an idea of what we can expect to find when this update arrives.
The release numbers mean that new features are being added all the time and the more frequent the updates the more new features that arrive. As we've already seen with each iOS 8 incremental release, Apple has been adding more features more quickly and each “.1” increment has brought with it at least one major feature or change.
With iOS 8.1 we got Apple Pay and iOS 8.2 is going to play a significant role in the launch of the Apple Watch. With iOS 8.3 we are getting wireless CarPlay support as well as some other features that we will discover as time passes. This beta release only went live so it will take a little while before all the new features are discovered and reported on.
According to sources, iOS 8.4 is also in the works and is codenamed “Copper”. It is reported that this update will be released as the Apple Watch hits retail stage and with Tim Cook having indicated that the Apple Watch will be set for shipping in April, iOS 8.4 remains a little bit away yet. According to 9to5Mac, Apple is thinking about introducing the revamped Beats Music streaming service with iOS 8.4 so we can't wait to see what this will involve.
It is suspected that the release of iOS 8.4 will rely heavily on the roll out of the Apple Watch and if all goes according to plan, we could well see this update arriving long before WWDC in June. That is all we know for sure at the moment and given that the Apple Watch actually represents a whole new product category, we may not see iOS 8.4 before June, and WWDC could be used as the venue for the iOS 8.4 release. We will just have to wait and see for now but as always, if we hear any more about this subject, we will let you know.
As you already know, the Apple Watch is to go on sale next month. We have just received word that the device has now received FCC clearance and it is all set to hit the retail stores in the United States next month. Pre-orders are to begin on the 11th of April with shipping commencing on the 24th of April.
All electronic devices must now pass through the FCC to ensure that they comply with every communication standard set forth by the regulating authority. The Apple Watch has now received the green stamp of approval giving us a clear signal that this latest Apple device is on track to complete their plans to sell their first ever wearable.
Now that the Apple Watch has passed through the FCC doesn't necessarily mean that it is ready for sale worldwide. Apple still has to get approval from a number of different regulating authorities before getting the official thumbs up for sale in different countries. Apple made things clear on their website regarding their FCC approval which said that: this devices has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.
Now that FCC approval has been received, the above statement has been removed from the website. The Apple Watch is all set to now go on pre-order on the 10th of April with retail availability on the 24th of April. You can now officially get excited about getting your hands on the first Apple wearable device.
We love Apple's Free App of the Week deal and this week is no different. This week's app is Dark Echo, a sound-based horror game that only made its debut on iOS last month. Some of the app that end up being the App of the Week can in fact be a little stale and not that great, but Dark Echo is definitely one that you will want to download now while you can and if you keep reading this post we will tell you why.
Normally priced at $1.99, Dark Echo is free this week. The game uses sound in a way that we haven't see before. If you like atmospheric games then you will love this and it will take things to a whole new level. There are 80 different levels to play through in this title, so you will be getting plenty of entertainment value if you can manage to find your way around in the dark.
In this game you are left to explore the world using nothing but sound, but the catch is that the same sound is also attracting something very unpleasant to you too. The game description says it so much better: “Trapped in darkness, you must use visualized sound to guide your way through threatening environments. The sounds you create will bounce off obstacles, revealing the shape of the surrounding world. It won't be long before your only way of sensing the world attracts a horrifying evil the devours both sound and souls.” Sounds terrifying doesn't it, and in today's gaming world this is something that you will definitely enjoy. It's different too.
Dark Echo has been received really well so far even at full price, and now that it's free, it should be a game that is part of your iOS collection. One of the great things about this game is that it doesn't feature and in-app purchases, which isn't always the case when games are part of the App of the Week promotion. If you download Dark Echo now, you get a completely free game with nothing whatsoever to buy. It is available right now on the App Store so be sure to check it out today while you still can.
The Apple Watch is going to come with 8GB of storage which sounds great right? That's the good news, the bad news is that not all of this storage is user accessible. A good chunk of this space is going to be taken up by the Watch OS so what do users get? Well you are actually only going to get 2GB of storage. Want to know why? Keep reading.
Normally 2GB of storage would be laughable, but for a smartwatch that is actually built to dance in tune to the iPhone with the occasional untethered use, the storage size is enough. As noted by 9to5Mac, the first models of the Apple Watch were also carrying 8GB of storage and the watch models that will be available for shipping on the 24th of April will also have the same storage size. It doesn't matter what Apple Watch Edition you go for, they will all have the same storage.
The 2GB of storage space that is user accessible will be allocated to storing music tracks and a mere 75MB is going to be given for photos. This isn't a bad deal when you consider that the Apple Watch is not supposed to be a replacement for your iPhone and the ability to carry over 200 quality music tracks could be just perfect for your morning job or exercise routine. You do have 75MB for photos but you probably won't need this because you have your iPhone for this. Apple only want you to store your most treasured pictures on your Watch and this is considered to be the most personal device ever. The photos are going to be resized when transferred to the Apple Watch so you should be able to hold around 100 pictures.
One thing we are all aware of, is the fact that iOS 8 was the chunkiest release of Apple's mobile OS, but Watch OS cannot possible be taking up all 6GB out of the 8GB storage. After all, that 75% of the space. There are internal apps, and the need for storing caches and other temporary files that are required to ensure that the Watch OS runs as smoothly and fluidly as iOS and OS X. It has also been reported that once the native SDK for the Watch OS arrives as announced by Apple, all this empty space will be used for storing application binaries and resources.
So there you have it, if you thought you were getting a smartwatch with 8GB of storage, you were mistaken. What you are getting is a smartwatch with 8GB of internal storage and 2GB of user accessible storage. Will this put you off getting an Apple Watch? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
If you use Dropbox to store all your documents and photos in the cloud, then our post today could be very relevant. We want to tell you how you can get the maximum free Dropbox storgage for your account. You don't have to spend anything and all this free storage is available to everyone with a Dropbox account.
One of the easiest ways to get free additional storage on your Dropbox account is to refer your friends. You can get 500mb for each friend your refer and you can get up to 16GB in total. That's a lot of free space so be sure to share your special Dropbox link with all your friends. All you have to do is go to dropbox.com/referrals where you can invite all your Gmail contacts or sent manual invites. You can also just copy your special link and send it to everyone yourself.
Just by connecting Dropbox to your Facebook and Twitter account you can get another 500mb free. You get 125mb for each. If you want to do this all you have to do is go to dropbox.com/getspace and click on the Facebook and Twitter tabs.
Mailbox was recently acquired by Dropbox and is a third-part email client that is available to download for Mac, iOS and Android. Download by going to mailboxapp.com and when you launch it for the first time you can link your Dropbox account and get an extra 1GB in Dropbox storage.
This app has replaced the Camera Upload bonus that was once offered with the Dropbox app for Android. Carousel is available for both iOS and Android and once you download it, run it and sign into your Dropbox account to get another 3GB of storage.
If you are new to Dropbox, the easiest way to get some free storage is complete the introductory tour. This will get you 250mb of free storage straight away.
If you are on Twitter and want some extra space, all you have to do is follow the official Dropbox account @Dropbox and you will get an additional 125mb of storage space instantly.
Provide Dropbox with your feedback and you will get 125mb of free storage. Just go to dropbox.com/getspace and click on “Tell us why you love Dropbox”, fill in the box and hit the “Send to Dropbox” button and you will receive your storage instantly.
There are some other free storage space options for Dropbox but these are for Samsung smartphone and tablet customers who get Dropbox as a native app on their devices. As our focuse here is on all things Apple we won't go into details on this. If you haven't claimed all your free storage for your Dropbox account yet, then be sure to start doing it today.
It was a big day for Samsung as they announced two new smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. These two new phones have caused quite a stir with many claiming that Samsung have just copied Apple. Below we have the details so that you can make up your own mind.
Samsung have announced the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge which are both identical except that the Edge has a curved screen towards the left and right edges. The phones are lovely to look at but what has been mentioned is that they look like a rip off of Apple iPhone 6. The phones are very similar right the way down to the iPhone's antenna lines. Looking at the bottom of the Galaxy S6 shows what at a first glance could be an iPhone 6 or an iPhone 6 Plus, even down to the speaker placement. Samsung used to have their speaker on the back but with the redesign of the Galaxy S6 this couldn't happen.
The new Galaxy S6 has a new glass back that is similar to what the iPhone 4 had. In another big twist and in a very iPhone way, the new Galaxy S6 doesn't have a removable battery or expandable memory. There is a protruding camera on the back and the back cover doesn't come off. Waterproofing that was a great feature of previous Galaxy models has also been ditched in favor of this new premium design. The new fingerprint sensor works very like the Apple Touch ID where you now just have to touch your finger to register the fingerprint as opposed to swiping on the Galaxy S5. Add to all of this the fact that Samsung have implemented their own mobile payment system called Samsung Pay and these new phones really do seem very similar to the iPhone 6.
According to some reports, and images are available on the web to confirm all of this, Apple's EarPods have seen their design being mimicked with the new Samsung phones coming with earphones that look very familiar.
We all know that Apple and Samsung have a long history of battling and legal issues and these latest announcements could see even more court cases ensuing. On the other side of all this though it just goes to show that technology that works is always popular and there are always going to be similar products and improvements that are copied and made better. What do you think of the new model Samsung Galaxy S6, is it too similar to the iphone? Let us know what you think below.
Links have just been released for iOS 8.3 beta 2. This is exactly two weeks after releasing beta 1 of iOS 8.3 and we are delighted to bring you details of what is new in this post. Apple seem to be very busy in their software development department of late with plenty of updates being released with some amazing features being added each time.
A lot of people were surprised when iOS 8.3 beta arrived two weeks ago especially given that iOS 8.2 is also currently being prepared for public consumption. It is a bit of an unusual step by Apple and rumors suggest that iOS 8.4 will hit the public market before iOS 9 arrives later this year. The traditional cycle of software development and release has definitely been sped up this time around. As part of the ongoing process, iOS 8.3 beta 2 has now been released and is available for download if you are a registered developer with Apple.
As we already mentioned when beta 1 was released, iOS 8.3 has some great new features including Wireless CarPlay. CarPlay was first introduced over a year ago with iOS 7.1 and its roll-out has been a gradual process. With iOS 8.3 CarPlay will offer a wireless solution allowing users to do away with their Lightning cables.
The iCloud Photo library is no longer in beta. There is also a new emoji picker that ties in nicely with code found in OS X 10.10.3, suggesting that custom emoji characters could eventually be a thing. CloudKit and iCloud Drive have seen some improvements and Apple Pay Support for the Chinese market has also been introduced with iOS 8.3.
This second beta of iOS 8.3 includes bug fixes and minor adjustments to all the new features that are coming with the official release of this firmware. If you are a paying developer, you can install iOS 8.3 beta 2 via Software Update in Settings > General. As a developer you will probably want to grab this update more so than iOS 8.2 beta 5 which will not see any further improvements as iOS 8.2 will release sometime in March.
If you do test out this new beta and you find anything interesting, be sure to drop by and let us know in the comments below.
The highly anticipated news we have all been waiting for, the Apple Watch, arrived today at the Apple 2015 Spring Forward Keynote. There was even some news about a new notebook computer and an update on Apple TV. All in all, we have to say it was a very successful morning for Apple and in this post we bring you a summary of everything that was announced as well as a video of the keynote speech.
The big news for Apple TV is for all those fans of Games of Thrones. It was announced that the series would premiere via HOB's new HBO Now streaming service exclusively to Apple TV. The new streaming service will cost $14.99 and will be exclusive to Apple TV owners at launch. This means that Apple TV will bring Games of Thrones to televisions at the same time as cable networks. On top of this, Apple TV has been slashed in price from $99 to $69 which makes it even more affordable for every TV in your home.
The big news here is that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus helped Apple to a new milestone having sold 700 million iPhones. Apple Pay support has now topped 700,000 retailers and 2,500 banks too.
Looking to bring medical research into an iOS world, Apple's ResearchKit allows iPhone owners to be part of medical research. Researchers will be able to get data based on a range of illnesses and ailments, and the framework will be open source as well.
The rumors that we reported some time ago have been proven true. Apple have announced a new 12 inch MacBook. This new device will be just 13.1mm thin, which makes it 24% thinner than the latest 11 inch MacBook Air. New keyboard technology, an improved trackpad that implements Force Touch and a single USB Type C port are all included as is Retina display. It comes in silver, space gray and gold.
Existing MacBook Airs and Pros also got hardware upgrades today.
Finally the news we have all been waiting for and the answer to that all important, how much will a gold Apple Watch cost, question has been released. The gold Apple Watch is going to cost $10,000 but that's okay because the Sport and regular Apple Watch are what we will all be buying and the pricing for those will start at $349 for the 38mm Apple Watch Sport and $399 for the 42mm Sport edition. The 38mm Apple Watch in steel will range from $549 to $1,049 and the 42mm version of this will cost between $599 and $1,099. The Apple watch will go up for pre-orders on the 10th of April and will start shipping on the 24th of April. It will be available in 9 countries on the 24th of April and these are: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, UK and USA.
Apple also released iOS 8.2 today along with the Apple Watch companion app that we all thought would make an appearance.
Well that's it, but if you would like to see and hear everything for yourself, below is the complete keynote video for you to enjoy.
If you are one of the many people out there who are looking to jailbreak iOS 8.3 untethered on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, we are afraid that the news we have today is not that great. It seems that Apple has fixed a lot of security holes in their latest iOS update including those used by TaiG for jailbreaks. We have all the details in this post so keep reading for more information.
Apple released iOS 8.3 earlier this week to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users. One of the most striking things that we have noticed with this update is the size of the changelog. The number of bug fixes and performance enhancements is amazing. While bug fixes do tend to be a good thing, particularly from a security aspect, they often stop the progress of the jailbreaking community. There has been a grand total of almost 40 security patches in iOS 8.3 and one of these is the exploit that was used by the TaiG team. With this exploit and one in iOS 8.2 patched, things really don’t look too hot for the jailbreak community. There was such a strong start that saw every version of iOS jailbroken up to iOS 8.1.2 but it now looks like Apple have taken the lead and hold the upper hand when it comes to control over their software.
MuscleNerd took to Twitter to report that the latest iOS update contains no fewer than 39 security fixes, rivalling the leap from iOS 7.x to iOS 8 in terms of sheer volume. However, while iOS 8.0 was jailbreakable from the go, iOS 8.3 is not and MuscleNerd has advised all his followers and anyone looking to jailbreak to steer clear of the iOS 8.3 update for the time being.
We have seen Pangu, PP, and TaiG picking away at Apple’s firmware but it seems that the Cupertino Company is staying rigid and keeping on top of things from a security point of view. For the moment it really does like a jailbreak is highly unlikely and iOS 8.3 is looking really strong. Apple’s iOS 8.3 also includes a patch on a vulnerability used by the TaiG jailbreak team so the likes of these guys working their magic once again seem highly unlikely and it could be quite a while before we see a jailbreak at all. We will of course keep you updated on any information we receive but for now, if you want a working jailbreak in the future, don’t update to iOS 8.3.
Photos of what claims to be the 4-inch iPhone 6c have been leaked online. There have been a lot of rumors about the 4-inch iPhone going around since the launch of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, but we haven't received any concrete evidence of this as yet. These new photos that have been leaked do however seem to suggest that an iPhone 6C model is on the way and our post today will explain more.
We had all come to the conclusion that the iPhone 6C was a mere fantasy and that it was never going to manifest. Now we have reports jumping out at us that suggest otherwise. Some of the sources are pretty confident that such as device is in the pipeline and is being targeted towards female users as Apple attempts to grab an even bigger share of the smartphone market by offering size variations in its smartphone products.
An online parts retailer has just published photos of what looks to be an iPhone 5c housing, but with a few tweaks in design. The source is also suggesting that the housing is in fact that of the rumored iPhone 6c. The new 4-inch iPhone will apparently retain the polycarbonate body and candy colors along with the same shape as the iPhone 5c, but the LED flash cut-out is now oval, suggesting that this model will have dual-tone LED flash – like the one found on the iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 5s. The other major change can be found at the bottom of the casing which now sports a multiple pair of speaker grill holes unlike the single row found on the iPhone 5c.
According to reports that have been leaked, the iPhone 6c is likely to sport some high end specs this time around including the iconic Touch ID fingerprint sensor, an NFC chip for supporting Apple Pay, and an improved camera. It is also being speculated that the iPhone 6c could include a new A9 processor, but given that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are running an A8, it is unlikely that this will be the case. Judging by what the iPhone 5c was, then it's highly likely that the iPhone 6c will be an iPhone 5s repackaged in a plastic body.
We still have no real evidence that the iPhone 6c will ever see the light of day but we are sure that plenty more rumors and leaks will appear as September gets even closer.
Samsung and Apple, there always seems to be an ongoing battle. Some people prefer the Samsung Galaxy device while others prefer the iPhone and there is nothing to change the opinion of these people. According to a newly published set of test results, the Galaxy S6 with its octa-core processor finds itself outdone by the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus with their dual-core chips and 1GB of RAM when it comes to graphics performance and we have all the details in this post.
The Galaxy S6 is no doubt the best Android smartphone around in both design and performance. The camera on this smartphone is brilliant as is the super sharp quad-HD display that gives the phone a pixel density of 577ppi. The problem is that the overkill of a display is dragging down the performance of the phone when doing graphic intensive tasks.
AppleInsider conducted a series of performance tests on the Galaxy S6, and noted that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are clearly ahead of this Samsung device. All graphics performance tests based on various benchmarks show the significant hit that the Galaxy S6 is taking despite the fancy spec sheet that the smartphone comes with.
Android devices are usually marketed and pitched as powerful and fantastic devices but this has never seemed to threaten or out-perform the iPhone or iPad. Samsung has pushed screen technology ahead of its own processor capabilities in the case of the Galaxy S6 and this has resulted in extremely poor performance in high definition. Interestingly though, it is not just the Samsung that has taken a hit from packing in more pixels in their display, the iPhone 6 Plus resulted in graphics that were in some cases slower at their native resolution than 2013's iPhone 5s.
You can see the results of all the tests on the AppleInsider website but the conclusion is that Samsung has made bad engineering choices with the S6 model. They have opted to push better displays over key internal hardware, such as the GPU and CPU. Since the screen is bound to push more pixels around, the Galaxy S6 falls short in terms of performance when compared to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that come with Apple's second generation 64-bit A8 chip. This result is seen even though the Samsung comes with 3GB of RAM. Apple wins in the display stakes as well as having the advantage of optimizing its software according to its hardware giving it the edge over everyone else in the industry.
Apple devices have always been in a league of their own when it comes to mobile gaming and the recent Metal technology that has been included with iOS 8 is really pushing the boundaries of mobile graphics. We do feel that Apple's decision to stick to a pixel density that doesn't overkill will continue to pay off for them against the likes of the Galaxy S6. We would love to hear your comments on this and how you feel in the comments section below.
There is a great new feature that has been discovered in iOS 8.3. This little addition means that you will have the option of configuring how often the App Store or the iTunes Store asks you for your password. This is only an option for people making purchases and it could turn out to be a great option. How many times do you get frustrated with having to keep entering your password when buying something? Well with this little addition that has been found with iOS 8.3, this could be a thing of the past.
There is also a new option available whereby users can disable password requirements completely for any free downloads that they may want to buy. The option to change how often a password is required isn't really all that new, but its move to a new menu inside the App Store settings is a notable one. In these settings you will find a new choice that you can make whereby you can disable passwords for free downloads. This is something that we know a lot of users are going to find very useful and it is a setting that most people are really going to welcome.
At the moment, it looks as if the appearance of this option depends on the App Store you are using. This could suggest that this may be something that is available in some countries but not in others. This could also change as the betas roll on, but is also likely that Apple is adapting its stance on the requirement of a password for free downloads depending on its audience.
We don't know when iOS 8.3 is going to release and there hasn't been much talk about it. The big release so far has been iOS 8.2 with the added Apple Watch support so we could in fact see iOS 8.3 being a release that is a little bit quieter. That is unless something particularly exciting gets added in a later beta that is really worth talking about. We do feel that this little addition that we have discussed today in relation to passwords is something that is worth talking about and if we find anything else we will be sure to let you know.
Other additions to iOS 8.3 that we already know about are the new Siri ability to automatically use the speakerphone and the updated emoji. That's all we know of note so far but as the betas are released we will be keeping you updating on any gems that we find.
We love bringing you details of free apps and today we have a very special app to tell you about. Today, Printer Pro has gone free in Apple's iOS App Store. This app gives you even greater control over what is printed and how it is done. If you print to a wireless printer from your iPhone or iPad, Printer Pro is the app that you need.
Printer Pro, created by Readdle, normally costs $6,99 and has had over 2 million downloads since it launched. It has now gone free as part of Apple's App of the week promotions which means there has never been a better time to get your hands on this little gem.
The list of features for Printer Pro is a big one but the basic functionality involves giving users more powerful control over how they print from iOS. Using Printer Pro and its iOS 8 extension, you can print from almost anywhere. You also get some really great options that you can change too. These options include the ability to print pages within a range, print certain pages multiple times, and selecting the paper size before you print. You even get a print preview option too. You can also change the print orientation if you need to.
Printer Pro is available to download for free for the next week and then it will revert back to its usual price of $6.99. As with all these special free offers, we suggest that you download it now even if you don't plan on using it straight away. There is also a free companion desktop app available for this that adds additional options and improves print quality so be sure to check this out if you print on a regular basis. You can download Printer Pro right now for free in the App Store so be sure to grab it while you can.
The summer is on its way and for many that means the time of year to get out jogging and get fit. To help you out, our post today is about a fantastic running app that has gone free for a limited amount of time. This $10 running app for the iPhone is now available free of charge but you need to be quick if you want to get your hands on it.
If you are looking to get into shape, it is always a good idea to set yourself a target. The 10K run is seen as a good milestone for beginners to reach and the Run 10K Pro app is designed to help you to do just that and get you moving on a regular basis.
The app itself comes with some great features including GPS mapping, calorie counting and everything else you could possibly need for running. What is really good about the Run 10K Pro app is that it caters to all audiences so if you are already at a decent fitness level, you can choose to start at 5K and the app will guide you through to the next level. If on the other hand, you are a real couch potato, the Run 10K Pro app encourages you to hit the track a few times a week to build your way up to 10K.
If the thought of 10,000 meters seems daunting or impossible to you then this app is well worth the investment. This app, which usually costs $9.99, makes things nice and easy, and since it is now free for a limited amount of time, you really should get your hands on it.
The Run 10K Pro is an iPhone only app and it serves as a companion to the running experience and will require GPS access in order to log your runs on the map. This app also synch with the Apple Health App so you can monitor everything and cross reference all your data. If you are planning on getting fit and healthy by going running, then this is definitely the app for you. Get it today on the App Store.
Games are always really popular at the App Store and the Temple Run series has been one of the most successful to date. Now thanks to Apple, one of the most popular installments is free in Apple's free app of the week promo. Temple Run Oz is a very addictive title so if you haven't got it on your iOS device, now might be a good time to rectify this.
This is an endless runners games and the amazing things about these types of games is that they are endless. This means that you stay addicted for an awful long time. If you are a fan of the original Temple Run, the Oz version doesn't deviate from the core principles. The objective of the game is to turn, duck, and jump through a constant terrain. There is a mix up in things such as the setting and the characters are also different from the original version too.
Temple Run is a game that you might think will let you pass a quick five minutes but believe us, once you start playing this addictive gem, you'll have to pull yourself away from your device. Can you run, avoid the obstacles and collect coins? Why not pick up this free title for yourself and see how far you can get.
As part of Apple's App of the Week promotion, now is a great time to pick up this game for free. The usual cost of Temple Run: Oz is $1.99 so you could save yourself some cash if you choose to download it now. This App is universal too so you only have to download it once to play it on all your iOS devices. Why not get it now and see if you can spend just five minutes play. We bet you can't but give it a go and let us know what you think in the comments below.