STEPPING UP | Qualcomm adds security, battery life features to phone chips

Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday revealed new security and battery life features on its latest Snapdragon 845 mobile phone processor, a chip that customarily powers high-end Android-based phones from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and others.

The chips are increasingly important to Qualcomm’s financial picture while its patent licensing business is under attack from Apple Inc.

Qualcomm’s latest chip features a range of improvements to help it deal with artificial intelligence tasks like recognizing and categorizing images, Keith Kressin, a senior vice president at the company, told Reuters in an interview.

For the first time, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip also features physically separate processor called a “Secure Processing Unit” for storing information like fingerprints and iris scans, similar to technology found on Apple’s iPhone. Previous Qualcomm chips had a “trusted zone” that was not physically separate from the rest of the processor.

“With biometric identification on the rise, it was important to take (security) to the next level,” Kressin said.


The company tweaked various parts of the chip for so-called machine learning applications. While that includes things consumers might notice like image recognition, it also includes behind-the-scenes improvements. For example, the chip will help ensure that a user’s fingers do not accidentally register as taps when gripping the sides of an edge-to-edge display.

Kressin said the chip will also help phones register touch screen inputs when wet. That is a critical improvement because even though many top phone models from Samsung and others are now water resistant, they are difficult to operate with water on the screen.

The newest Snapdragon also has features aimed at virtual and augmented reality headsets. One feature called “Adreno foveation” will let the edges of a headset screen operate at lower resolutions while the center of the screen is sharper, similar to how human peripheral vision is fuzzier than central vision. The technique can save battery live, Kressin said.

Qualcomm does not disclose revenue figures for its Snapdragon chips. But they are an increasingly important part of its business because its lucrative patent licensing business is under attack in a series of legal actions from Apple.

Qualcomm is also facing a $103 billion takeover bid from Broadcom Ltd, which earlier this week said it would nominate a slate of directors to Qualcomm’s board.

source: interaksyon.com

WEAK SALES | ‘Anemic’ iPhone 8 demand drags Apple shares lower

Apple Inc’s shares fell nearly 3 percent on Thursday on signs of weak demand for the iPhone 8 that caused analysts and investors to question the company’s staggered release strategy for its latest phones.

Wireless carriers in the United States and Canada have reported slow third-quarter customer upgrades. While some expect a pickup after the iPhone X goes on sale in November, others cautioned that phone’s high price tag could weigh on demand.

The chief executive of Rogers Communication, Canada’s largest mobile network, on Thursday said appetite for the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which went on sale in September, had been “anemic,” the latest sign of weak sales for those phones ahead of the Nov. 3 launch of the pricier iPhone X.

But some analysts said overall phone production looked in line with their earlier expectations, and that it is unclear whether weak iPhone 8 sales would hurt iPhone revenue and margins because users may still be buying more profitable older models with more memory.

Verizon Communication Inc’s Chief Financial Officer Matt Ellis said the number of third-quarter phone upgrades fell versus previous years, but that he expected an upgrade surge when the iPhone X is released.

“I think what you’re seeing there is a difference in timing of some of the new devices coming out versus what we’ve historically seen,” Ellis told an earnings call.

“As we get into the holiday season, some of those new devices come out, we think we will see strong demand.”

The uncertainty about demand coupled with a Taiwan media report of a cut in iPhone 8 production pushed Apple shares down 2.8 percent by midday.

“The Street is hyper-sensitive to any speed bumps around this next iPhone cycle and (that) speaks to the knee-jerk reaction we are seeing in shares,” said Daniel Ives, chief strategy officer at GBH Insights in New York.

“iPhone 8 demand has been naturally soft out of the gates with the main event being the iPhone X launch in early November. (But) this is the early innings of what we believe is the biggest iPhone product cycle with X leading the way.”

U.S. wireless carrier AT&T said last week its third-quarter postpaid handset upgrades were down by nearly 900,000 from a year ago.

Supply chain

Apple no longer gives regular updates on sales numbers, but indications from supply channels, wireless carriers and analysts help shed light on demand.

When Apple announced the plan to release both phones before the end of 2017, fans were disappointed they would have to wait until November for the iPhone X.

But there are also concerns that the more expensive phone marking the iPhone’s 10th anniversary may see a muted reception compared to the frenzy that normally greets Apple phone launches.

A carrier store survey suggested the cheaper iPhone 7 was outselling its successor just a month after iPhone 8’s launch, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh said this week.

But it can be hard to gauge iPhone revenue and profits from model sales numbers alone because Apple can earn attractive margins when customers switch into higher-memory devices, said Wayne Lam, analyst with IHS Markit.

“They’ve always been able to use that as a lever to improve their profitability on the iPhone,” Lam said.

There are also worries that the relatively high price of the iPhone X may discourage carriers from stocking the inventory and customers from ultimately buying the phone.

Rogers’ CEO Joe Natale said anticipation for the iPhone X was high but noted inventory would be limited and that, at Apple’s starting price of $999, it was an expensive device.

source: interaksyon.com

Galaxy S8: More screen and elegance, but a hefty price tag

NEW YORK — Samsung's new Galaxy S8 phone is stunning. But its $100 price hike is hard to swallow.

That's how much extra you'll shell out for the S8, which starts shipping Friday for about $750 — $100 more than the iPhone 7 and last year's Galaxy S7 when it launched. A larger sibling, the S8 Plus, goes for about $850.

True, the S8 phones come with several refinements that, totaled up, are indeed worth more than $100. But it's hard to recommend an all-frills phone when many cheaper phones do just fine. The S8 is for those who want elegance — and are willing to pay for it.

SCREENS TO THE EDGES

After spontaneous fires that forced the recall of the Galaxy Note 7 , Samsung is playing it safe on the battery and subjecting the S8 to tighter inspections.

Instead, it's pushing the boundaries — so to speak — on the phone's display. Samsung minimized the phone frame and got rid of a physical home button to free up space for an "infinity display," a screen that seems to flow right into the phone's curved left and right sides.


The 5.8-inch S8 and the 6.2-inch S8 Plus both have nearly 15 percent more display space than last year's comparable models. But the phones themselves aren't wider. In fact, the phones feel more comfortable thanks to sides that curve around to the back; last year's curved S7 Edge model feels boxy by comparison.

The bigger screen fits more lines of text, but doesn't necessarily make video more immersive. While video on YouTube and Facebook gets automatically adjusted to fill the space, Netflix and Hulu movies just leave wasted black space on all four sides. You can tinker with that manually — but for $100, you shouldn't have to.

ALL ABOUT THE BATTERY

The S8 and S8 Plus have more physical space inside, but Samsung used it to give the battery more breathing room while keeping its capacity roughly the same as last year.

Though a larger display drains the battery faster, my tests of streaming video found that the new phones consumed power more slowly than last year's models. And even with constant use — taking photos, watching video and playing music and podcasts — the new phones still made it to bedtime with power to spare. Samsung credits software and chip improvements.

UNLOCKING THE PHONES

Like the doomed Note 7, the S8 has an iris scanner to let you a href='https://apnews.com/3344f360808d48f8b3fd683633855fea/Samsung's-new-jumbo-phone-unlocks-with-iris-scanner'unlock the phone by looking at it/a — at least in theory. But you have to swipe the screen first and position it from your face at just the right distance.

I'm sure Samsung, a South Korean company, meant no offense, yet I was ticked off when the phone instructed me, an Asian-American, to "open eyes fully." Oh, and the scanner doesn't work if you're wearing glasses.

The fingerprint scanner was faster and more convenient for unlocking the phone. But you have to be careful not to smudge the adjacent camera lens by mistake now that the scanner has been moved to the back.

FIRE THE ASSISTANT

Samsung is introducing a digital assistant called Bixby, but voice features intended to rival Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri aren't ready yet. A reminder feature works, but seems paralyzed without voice dictations. Bixby will highlight appointments, trending stories and app suggestions, much as existing features on iPhones and other Android phones already offer.

One promising feature aims to provide translations and product information using the phone's camera. It's like the Firefly feature on Amazon's derided Fire phone , and it makes the same types of dumb mistakes — it identified a can of Diet Coke as four other sodas instead. And the translation tools were incomplete at grabbing passages and failed to automatically detect the language you're translating from.

CALCULATING THE VALUE

Samsung throws in a pair of AKG premium headphones, valued at about $100. My ears weren't good enough to discern a difference, but it's nice to get headphones when many phone makers have stopped including them. The phone also comes with 64 gigabytes of storage, which frequently jacks up the price of other phones by $100. Those curved edges? Those also previously cost an extra $100.

The S8 seems like a bargain for only $100 over the S7 at launch.

But do you really need these goodies? The main camera on the S8 is about the same as last year's, so you can still get amazing photos with the S7 . (You can pick one up these days for as little as $576.)

There's speculation that Apple will come out with a pricier, feature-rich iPhone for its 10th anniversary this year — but it's expected to update the existing iPhone 7 line as well. Those who can't live with yesterday's technology won't be disappointed with the S8. But for everyone else, Samsung could have also offered a lower-priced alternative with fewer goodies.

source: philstar.com

Social media ads to hit $50 billion by 2019 — Zenith

The amount of money spent on advertising on social media is set to catch up with newspaper ad revenues by 2020, a leading forecaster said on Monday.

The rapid expansion of social media platforms on mobile devices, as well as faster internet connectivity and more sophisticated technology, has triggered a huge shift in the way many people get their news.

Advertising agency Zenith Optimedia, owned by France’s Publicis, predicts global advertising expenditure on social media will account for 20 percent of all internet advertising in 2019, hitting $50 billion (39 billion pounds) and coming in just one percent smaller than newspaper ads. It expects social media to overtake newspapers comfortably by 2020.

“Social media and online video are driving continued growth in global ad spend, despite political threats to the economy,” Jonathan Barnard, head of forecasting at Zenith, said.

The media industry has been convulsed by the rapid shift in advertising trends in recent years, with firms moving their ad budgets from traditional sources such as newspapers to websites found on computers and mobile phones.

Marketers are increasingly directing their spending to social media sites where ads blend into users’ newsfeeds on platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat proving more effective than interruptive banner formats.

Zenith’s report forecasts that global advertising expenditure will grow 4.4 percent in 2017, the same rate as in 2016, which it said would be a strong performance given that big events like the Olympic Games, Britain’s EU referendum and the U.S. presidential election boosted advertising this year.

Online video advertising is also rapidly growing and set to total $35.4 billion across the world by 2019, fractionally ahead of the amount spent on radio advertising but still far less than television.

Global spending on advertising has been stable since 2010 the report showed, although growth has declined in the Middle East and North Africa. It was expected to continue to grow strongly in China and much of Asia.

source: interaksyon.com

Samsung PH urges Note 7 owners to return the mobile device, now

MANILA — Samsung Philippines is now urging owners of the combustible Galaxy Note 7 to exchange their units for a Galaxy S7 or ask for a full refund from their place of purchase.

In a statement, Samsung Philippines said they are now “working closely with local telco partners and authorized dealers to urge consumer to take the next steps” which is as follows:

1. Exchange your Galaxy Note 7 for a Galaxy S7 edge or Galaxy S7, with the store to reimburse any price difference. Or,
2. A full refund.

Customers who purchased through Globe or Smart were also advised to contact their telco operator to exchange their units.

In an earlier advisory, Smart also urged their subscribers to contact their hotline *888 or to visit any of their nearby stores for the appropriate assistance. Globe likewise said they will facilitate the replacement of the device for their subscribers.

In a similar gesture, Globe said in a statement that they will discontinue selling Samsung Note7 and will no longer issue same device replacements to customers.

The telco has implemented a process to retrieve Note 7 units from customers and replace them with a device of equivalent value.

“We will be in touch with our customers within the next 4 days,” Globe said.

In an October 11 statement, Samsung global has advised its owners of Note7 to power down their units after reports of supposedly safe replacement units of the Note7 also caught fire. Samsung also announced that they are coordinating with their carrier and retail partners to stop sales of the Note7.

“Consumers with either an original Galaxy Note7 or replacement Note 7 device should power down and stop using the device and take advantage of the remedies available,” Samsung said.

source: interaksyon.com

Samsung suspends production of recalled Note 7: report

SEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics has suspended production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, a report said Monday, a month after a recall prompted by battery explosions and a day after two major overseas distributors halted replacements.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, declined to comment on the report by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, which was sourced to an unidentified official with an unnamed Samsung supplier.

The official told Yonhap the decision to temporarily halt production was taken in cooperation with consumer safety regulators from South Korea, the United States and China.

Samsung decided on September 2 to halt the sale of the Galaxy Note 7 and recall those sold after complaints that its lithium-ion battery exploded while charging.

With images of charred phones flooding social media, the unprecedented recall was a humiliation for a firm that prides itself as an icon of innovation and quality.

The recall process initially stumbled with some mixed messages, but seemed to be on track until last week when reports emerged of similar problems with some of the replacement phones.

On Sunday, US telecommunications firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile said they would halt exchanges of recalled Samsung Galaxy Note 7s pending further investigations.

The announcement saw Samsung’s share price plunge by as much as four percent in early morning trade on Monday — even before the Yonhap report came out.

At midday, Samsung shares were trading at 1.65 million won — down 3.2 percent from Friday’s close.

AT&T said it would still offer customers the option to exchange Galaxy Note 7s for another Samsung smartphone or other device of their choice.

T-Mobile said it was halting sales of the smartphone, as well as the exchanges.

Samsung has so far declined to confirm any problem with its replacement phones.

The South Korean conglomerate’s handling of the Note 7 recall has placed a spotlight on management at a time when it is navigating a tricky generational power transfer within the founding Lee family.

Industry experts have criticised the Lee dynasty for controlling the vast group through a complex web of cross shareholdings, although they only directly own about five percent of total stocks.

Samsung on Friday issued a stronger-than-expected operating profit forecast for the third quarter despite the impact of the recall that, according to some analysts, could cost up to $2 billion.

source: interaksyon.com

Sony brings latest ‘intelligent’ Xperia X-Series smartphones to PH market

MANILA, Philippines — Sony Philippines recently introduced the new Xperia flagship mobile devices with the launch of the Xperia X and Xperia XA — two new smartphones under the X Series.

The two Android-powered Sony smartphones deliver next generation features with a fresh new look, improved camera technology, smart battery management, and stylish design.

“Smartphone users are demanding more from their smartphones: some want a better camera, others longer battery life, and the rest just simply want a sleeker design,” said Jhoana Benedicto, marketing officer for Sony Mobile’s the Philippine office. “Sony Mobile took this into consideration and provides a major improvement with the X Series. Every detail of the X series shows great improvement in all the key areas, particularly in camera, battery, and design.”

The X Series offers a range of next-gen technologies: from fast autofocus on a moving object with Xperia X’s Predictive Hybrid Autofocus and a more stable video capture that features SteadyShot video stabilization for recording smooth videos and minimizing “shaky cam” effects, to low-light selfie camera on the XA model for an anytime, anywhere shot.

The Xperia X is equipped with camera features such as an improved 13MP front camera and quick startup from standby mode of only 0.6 seconds at the touch of a button to capture that once in a lifetime photo moment.

Crafted with a seamless metal back and curved glass edges of its 5-inch display, the Xperia X also has fingerprint sensor on the power button which provides instant access to the phone.

The phone’s smart battery management provide up to two days of battery life with its Quick Charge technology delivering up to two times battery lifespan using ground-breaking Qnovo Adaptive Charging technology that maintains battery health while charging.

For the mid-range Xperia XA model, this Sony smartphone features the world’s narrowest 5-inch smartphone in a sophisticated bezel-less design that gives a seamless edge-to-edge display that stretches the full width of the phone to make full use of the entire display.

It comes with a 13MP rear camera, plus hybrid autofocus, and super-fast quick launch, too. In addition, the XA’s 8MP front camera enables users to capture clear photos in low-light environment including an improved wide angle lens.

XA’s battery power lasts up to two days from a single charge. And with the same smart battery management system as the Xperia X, the Qnovo Adaptive Charging technology gives the Xperia XA two times battery lifespan. Pairing this smartphone model with the optional accessory Quick Charger, the user can get 5.5 hours of battery life with just a 10-minute charge.

The dual-SIM Xperia X is tagged at P29,990 and comes in colors: Graphite Black, White, Lime Gold, Rose Gold. While the Xperia XA is P13,990 in colors: Graphite Black, White, Lime Gold, Rose Gold. Both smartphones will also be available on all Sony Centers and Xperia shops nationwide by early July.

source: interaksyon.com

‘World’s cheapest smartphone’ to be launched in India

NEW DELHI, India — A little-known Indian company will on Wednesday launch a smartphone believed to be the cheapest in the world, targeting a market already dominated by low-cost handsets.

Set to be priced at under 500 rupees ($7.30/P347.00), domestic handset maker Ringing Bells’ Freedom 251 smartphone is about one percent of the price of the latest Apple iPhone.

Ringing Bells was set up in September 2015 and began selling mobile phones via its website a few weeks ago under its Bell brand, a spokeswoman said.

“This is our flagship model and we think it will bring a revolution in the industry,” she told AFP.

Ringing Bells currently imports parts from overseas and assembles them in India but plans to make its phones domestically within a year, the spokeswoman said.

Cheap smartphone handsets, many of them Chinese-made, are readily available in the Indian market but domestic competitors are making inroads, with models selling for less than $20.

India is the world’s second-largest mobile market and notched up its billionth mobile phone subscriber in October, according to the country’s telecoms regulator.

But in poorer Indian states such as Bihar, “teledensity” — the penetration of telephone connections for every hundred people — is as low as 54 percent, with a stark urban-rural divide.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

OPPO outs R7-Series mobile phones

MANILA, Philippines – China-based technology company OPPO recently launched the latest R7-Series mobile devices, which comes in the forms of the R7 Lite and the R7 Plus.

Headed by OPPO Philippine’s operations manager Garrick Hung, the firm was proud to have done “wonderfully” in their business here in the country. He spoke of their humble beginnings as a firm that focused on audio headsets and their success at present, which they say is getting better in time.

Hung stated some major developments in the new OPPO devices, like their very own Color OS 2.1, as well as their partnerships with several big names franchises such Furious 7, FC Barcelona, and America’s Next Top Model.

Mark Andrew Del Mundo, national sales manager at OPPO, further elaborated on the innovations within the company and what makes them different than others. He mentioned that 3,000 shops with over 1,500 sales force, and 150 concept stores and kiosks are selling OPPO products across the country. “This ensures better quality for the users of the brand,” Del Mundo said.

For his part, Marton Barcza, global community manager at OPPO, demonstrated all the functions and specifications of the new R7-Series. He said that the R7 is 91 percent metal body that helps make the phone act as an antenna. Barcza also demonstrated the new curved screen design of the phone, including fingerprint identification, fast charge VOOC technology, plus the 2GB RAM and 16GB ROM, and many camera functions. The executive also indicated that OPPO has improved the phone’s boot-up and app loading time, app performance, and interface responsiveness.

The phone camera’s “flashy” features, which was given special mention by Barcza, include Contrast Detection AF, Phase Detection AF, Anti-Shake Optimization, Audio photos, Beautification 3.0, and Ultra HD functions, among others, which brand ambassador, Sarah Geronimo claims to enjoy.

The R7 Lite, which comes with a 2320 MaH battery, is worth Php 13,990. While The R7 Plus, which comes with a 4100 MaH battery, is worth Php 21,990.

source: interaksyon.com

2 jumbo phones from Samsung ahead of expected new iPhone

NEW YORK — Samsung has unveiled two new Android smartphones with jumbo screens as it seeks to recapture some of the sales lost to Apple after larger iPhones came out last year.

Samsung said Thursday that the new Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus will start shipping Aug. 21 in the U.S. and Canada. Usually, Note phones don't come out until well after Apple's new iPhone models in September.

The timing reflects a shift in fortunes for a company that pioneered jumbo phones with the original Note in 2011. Now, Samsung needs to beat Apple to the punch, or risk seeing its products drowned out by all the attention on the iPhone, IDC analyst Ramon Llamas said.

The new phones from Samsung have screens measuring 5.7 inches diagonally, the same as last year's Note 4, yet both are lighter and thinner. They are comparable to Apple's 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, the larger of the two new iPhones. Samsung's Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge phones, which are closer in size to the regular iPhone 6, came out in April.

The Note 5 will cost $696 to $740 without a contract, depending on the carrier. The Edge Plus will cost about $75 more. The iPhone 6 Plus sells for about $750. T-Mobile is throwing in a year of Netflix with both phones, while Sprint is giving away a low-end Samsung tablet with a two-year contract. Advance orders begin in the U.S. on Thursday.

Samsung Electronics Co. also said its Samsung Pay mobile payment service will debut in its home country of South Korea on Aug. 20. Testing in the U.S. will begin Aug. 25, with a formal launch on Sept. 28.

Although there's competition from Apple Pay and Google's upcoming Android Pay, Samsung is hoping its payments system will catch on with the inclusion of a technology that mimics the old-school, magnetic signals from credit-card swipes. That allows it to work with a wider range of merchants, though it still won't work everywhere cards are accepted.

Samsung also teased an upcoming smartwatch, the Gear S2. It will have a round face, rather than the rectangular design in Apple Watch and previous Samsung watches. A video from Samsung suggests snazzy graphics to rival Apple Watch. More details will come at the IFA tech show in Berlin next month.

As for the phones, Samsung is looking to play to its strengths.

___

GALAXY NOTE 5

Though it appeals to a niche audience, the Note is popular for including a stylus to take notes and annotate images on the screen. The update provides quicker access to apps and features that use the stylus. A clicking mechanism makes the stylus easier to pull out.

One new feature ends the need to print out and rescan electronic forms to sign or fill out. Just write on the PDF document directly before saving and sending.

Screenshots can get annoying when you're just snapping what's visible on the screen. An article or list of directions you're trying to save might take four or five shots. A new feature called scroll capture combines all those shots into one image, though you still need to snap them one section at a time.

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GALAXY S6 EDGE PLUS

The screens on Samsung's Edge phones are curved on both sides. The feature proved popular in this spring's S6 Edge, which used one of those sides for quick access to friends and other frequent contacts. Now, you can use it for quick access to favorite apps, too.

There won't be a stylus, though, as last year's Note Edge phone had.

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COMMON TO BOTH PHONES

The new phones incorporate the improved camera technology found in this spring's S6 phones. Added is live streaming of video you're capturing, a practice made popular by Meerkat and Twitter's Periscope apps. Samsung's video will appear on YouTube. The front cameras take sharper selfies, at 5 megapixels rather than 3.7.

The new phones also borrow design elements from the S6. They sport aluminum frames and glass backs rather than plastic. The back of the Note 5 is slightly curved for a better grip, while the Edge gets its curve on the front. Either way, it doesn't feel as boxy as the regular S6.

Borrowing another page from Apple's playbook, the phones are coming out just a week after they are announced. It used to take Samsung a month or longer.

___

THE LANDSCAPE

After the larger iPhones came out, Samsung could no longer proclaim to have "The Next Big Thing."

The S6 phones this spring emphasized design instead, but sales fell below expectations, as Apple dominated the high-end market. Meanwhile, rival Android phone makers have been able to offer decent cameras, displays and speeds for less money than Samsung phones. Although it's still the leading smartphone maker, Samsung has reported five consecutive quarters of profit decline.

"There's an urgency to show that Samsung can still stand up to the challenge that is Apple and everybody else out there," Llamas said. "For a while, Samsung was the 'be all and end all' of Android devices. Now, it's a different market."

source: philstar.com

Huawei plans big push to sell its phones, wearable devices

SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING — Two years after U.S. legislators branded it a national security threat, China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is planning a campaign to win over U.S. consumers, rolling out new mobile phones and wearable devices backed by a marketing effort.

China’s second-largest smartphone maker, already with more than $40 billion in annual revenue from a wide range of telecom gear and products, is preparing to introduce Americans to several of its smartphones and wearable devices this year, including its youth-oriented “Honor” phone, Huawei officials told Reuters.

The company’s 2015 U.S. plans, which have not been previously reported, will encompass traditional advertising, online promotion and sports team sponsorships, said Huawei’s U.S. spokesman Bill Plummer.

Huawei is changing its approach to marketing as it tries to shed its image as a purveyor of cheap technology products – a common perception issue for many Chinese companies. It’s an important shift for a company that for years had been single-mindedly focused on engineering and relatively dismissive of consumer branding.

In December, it touted its new Honor 6 Plus phone on a billboard in New York’s Times Square. Plummer said that was “a sign of things to come.”

He declined to say how much Huawei will spend on its new marketing campaign or what sports team, or teams, it had in mind. It already sponsors London soccer club Arsenal, cricket teams in India and rugby clubs in Australia.

New smartwatch

At the Mobile World Congress over the weekend in Barcelona, Huawei took the wraps off a smartwatch that will be sold in over 20 countries including the U.S.

Huawei now intends to appeal directly to consumers with several new phone models, both low end and high end. It hopes to secure deals with carriers, selling online through marketplaces, such as the one operated by Amazon.com, and on its own fledgling gethuawei.com U.S. direct-sales website.

It’s unclear how open the carriers, who dominate U.S. sales, would be to carrying phones from Huawei, a brand that remains unknown to the majority of American smartphone users. Reviews of its high-end phones, which can cost hundreds of dollars without a plan, have been generally positive.

Still, the U.S. market is dominated by Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics. None of the four biggest U.S. carriers – Verizon, AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile – currently sell Huawei phones on their websites and all declined to say whether they have had talks with the Chinese company.

Huawei said in 2013 it would focus on other markets after its products were labelled a national security risk in a U.S. Congressional report, which said Beijing could use Huawei equipment for spying. Huawei denied the report, but Chief Executive Ren Zhengfei, who founded the company after leaving the Chinese military, told reporters at the time he felt stuck in a U.S.-China trade war.

A White House-ordered review found no evidence of spying.

Lawmakers’ concerns revolve primarily around Huawei’s networking equipment. And analysts say that a lack of brand recognition is a bigger hurdle for Huawei’s smartphone ambitions than pressures from Washington.

Huawei currently has less than 1 percent of the U.S. market, according to research firm IDC. But it can perhaps draw inspiration from China’s ZTE Corp, which has gained 6.4 percent of the U.S. market by selling cheaper smartphones and working with second-tier carriers like Boost Mobile, according to Ramon Llamas, a research manager at IDC.

Online sales, particularly as no-contract plans that require consumers to purchase a full-price phone gain in popularity, represent perhaps the best option for Huawei, said Gartner analyst C.K. Lu, adding that he sees it having a tough time signing carriers.

“The U.S. market is tough for anybody except Apple and Samsung,” said Lu.

Huawei’s plan to broaden its U.S. offering is part of a campaign for “normalizing” perceptions of Huawei in America and elsewhere, said Plummer.

Though he declined to spell out what normalization entailed, most public discussion of the company has centered around the debate of whether its equipment allows China to spy on the United States, and until now Huawei has kept a low profile.

Other Chinese companies still prefer that route: another major Chinese handset maker, Xiaomi, has said it will take its first steps onto U.S. soil without smartphones, choosing instead to sell earphones and other accessories to test the market.

source: interaksyon.com

Samsung seeks to wow mobile world with new smartphone

MADRID — Samsung aims to take the mobile world by storm Monday, almost certainly unveiling a new Galaxy S5 smartphone with rumoured Apple-fighting features such as a fingerprint scanner and larger screen.

The top smartphone maker coyly announced to journalists an “Unpacked 5″ event for the opening day of the February 24-27 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

“We are holding a global launch event of our new flagship product in 2014,” its invitation said, using a well-worn technique of not naming the smartphone so as to build anticipation.


The new device will be at the vanguard of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s defence of its number-one position.

The South Korean group sold 300 million smartphones last year, 31 percent of the nearly one billion sold globally and double archrival Apple Inc’s 15.6-percent share, according to US technology research house Gartner Inc.

The Galaxy S5 is variously rumoured to have a fingerprint scanner on the home button; a 5.24-inch, full high-definition display; a water and dust-proof case and a 16 megapixel camera.

At the same time, the industry anticipates that Samsung will reveal the latest, possibly thinner, version of its smartwatch, the Galaxy Gear 2, after the first version failed to win over many critics.

It will be one of an array of new “smart devices” to launch at the show, analysts predict, as manufacturers seek alternative sources of revenue during a slowdown in the well-developed smartphone market.

- The rise of Chinese smartphones -

A 42.3-percent surge in smartphone sales to 968 million units last year was propelled almost entirely by developing markets such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America, a report by Gartner showed.

Mature markets such as Western Europe and the United States actually slowed in the final quarter of 2013, it said.

Behind the glitz of the big Samsung launch and its battle with Apple, which traditionally skips the show altogether, analysts point to two developments in the sector: the rise of big Chinese manufacturers, and the growing importance of Internet giants.

China’s Huawei and Lenovo already held the number three and four positions for smartphone sales in the final quarter of 2013, according to Gartner, with their compatriot ZTE not far behind.

“Chinese players are looking beyond their own borders to scale up,” said Melissa Chau, senior research manager for the Asia Pacific at technology analysts International Data Corp.

China’s Lenovo took a big step in that direction in January, agreeing the $2.9 billion (2.1-billion-euro) purchase of the loss-making Motorola Mobility from Google to grab a strong platform in the Americas and a foothold in Europe.

The online world is also elbowing its way into the mobile market.

Facebook’s 29-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg is the star speaker in Barcelona, a reflection of the surge in advertising revenue it now captures from mobile users.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has agreed to pay 5.44 billion euros for Nokia’s loss-making mobile phone division.

“Suddenly, mobile is not this separate industry from the Internet and technology, it is part of the same mix,” said Ian Fogg, senior principal analyst at research house IHS.

“We can see smartphones are now ubiquitous. We can see they are something consumers interact with throughout the day, wherever they are, including when sitting at the desk,” he added.

“That is fundamentally different for media companies, for communications companies, for retail companies and for pretty much every blue chip that wants to engage with consumers.”

Besides the new Samsung flagship, a slew of other smartphones are set for release in Barcelona.

- A connected fridge -

Nokia is rumoured to be unveiling new devices including, ironically, a smartphone using a version of Android rather than Microsoft Windows in an attempt to capture sales in emerging markets.

Sony, too, may launch a new Xperia smartphone, the first new edition of its flagship since announcing this month the sale of its stagnant PC business to focus instead on smartphones and tablets.

Taiwan’s HTC, China’s ZTE, Huawei and struggling US mobile maker Blackberry are also expected to launch devices.

But the connected world is now moving well beyond mobile phones and tablets, as the “Internet of things” phenomenon hooks to everything from your television or fridge to the lightbulb.

Manufacturers will attempt to show off the advantages of the connected world, but it is a development that also presents some security challenges.

Security provider Thinkpoint Inc. said last month it had uncovered more than 750,000 malicious emails from more than 100,000 everyday consumer gadgets such as home-network routers, multimedia centres, televisions and at least one refrigerator.

source: interaksyon.com

Vertu expands in PH, releases latest phone model

MANILA, Philippines — Vertu, a provider of luxury mobile phones has just expanded in the Philippines, opening their own store at the ground floor of the new East Wing of Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas.

The high-end brand also launched a collection of smartphone models dubbed as Constellation. The phones are said to be handmade in England using the “finest luxury materials”, including high-quality European calf leather as part of the casing.

“We have designed a modern, minimal phone that is sleek and understated,” said Ignacio Germade, head of Total Product Offering at Vertu. “While Constellation takes Vertu in a new design direction, materially it embodies everything that the brand has been renowned for—tactile materials, outstanding engineering, and craftsmanship, and modern technology.”

The Constellation boasts a 5.1 inch piece of sapphire crystal weighing more than 100 carats to cover its entire front, where a 4.3 inch 720p high definition screen sits. This scratch-resistant screen should virtually remain untainted for the phone’s entire life.

It’s also equipped with a Grade 5 titanium casing, a material stronger than stainless steel but weighs half as much, making the phone durable and light.

The Vertu model runs on Android 4.2 Jellybean and powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core 1.7 GHz CPU; also equip with a 32GB internal memory, a 13MP rear-facing camera with full HD video (1080p), a front-facing Skype compliant 1.3MP camera, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and NFC.

Even more compelling are the ringtones, which have been especially composed for Vertu by the London Symphony Orchestra.

As for battery life, the Constellation can last up to two days after a single charging session.

Until June 2012, Vertu was owned by Nokia, wherein the Finnish mobile phone maker sold the majority stake of its luxury phone business to a private equity group EQT for a reported $250-million.

source: interaksyon.com

Google removes privacy feature from Android mobile software

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc has removed an experimental privacy feature from its Android mobile software that had allowed users to block apps from collecting personal information such as address book data and a user’s location.

The change means that owners of smartphones using Android 4.4.2, the latest version of the world’s most popular operating system for mobile devices released this week, must provide access to their personal data in order to use certain apps.

A company spokesman said the feature had been included by accident in Android 4.3, the version released last summer.

“We are suspicious of this explanation, and do not think that it in any way justifies removing the feature rather than improving it,” said Peter Eckersley, technology projects director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The digital rights website first publicized the change in a blog post on Friday.

Android users who wish to retain the privacy controls by not upgrading to Android 4.4.2 could be vulnerable to security risks, Eckersley said. “For the time being, users will need to chose between either privacy or security on the Android devices, but not both.”

Many third-party apps for Android devices, such as music-identifying service Shazam and popular smartphone flashlight apps, require access to personal information that does not always have an obvious connection to the app’s functionality, such as phone call information and location data.

The privacy feature allowed users to pick and choose which personal data a third-party app can collect, Eckersley said. Users had to install a special Apps Ops Launcher software, which was created by another company, in order to access the hidden privacy controls.

Android software was loaded on 81 percent of all smartphones shipped worldwide in the third quarter, according to industry research firm IDC. Apple Inc’s iOS, the software used on the iPhone, had 12.9 percent market share.

Privacy has become an increasingly important issue as smartphones, which are loaded with consumers’ personal information, become the primary computing device for many consumers. In November Google agreed to pay a $17 million fine to settle allegations that it secretly tracked Web users by placing special digital files on the Web browsers of their smartphones.

source: interaksyon.com

Mobile phones, social media easing disaster impact — Red Cross

SINGAPORE — Mobile phones and social media are saving thousands of lives in disaster-prone countries but many vulnerable communities still need to be equipped with modern communications, the Red Cross said Thursday.

In its latest World Disasters Report, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said the number of people affected by disasters dropped worldwide in 2012, although poorer rural areas were hit harder.

Far-flung countries like the Philippines and Indonesia are successfully tapping modern communication to gather and spread information when disasters strike, it said in the report released in Singapore and other cities.

But first responders in the world’s most impoverished nations remain encumbered by their lack of access to basic technological tools such as early-warning systems and network infrastructure, it said.

“Although the overall number of people affected by disasters decreased in 2012, the number of people affected in the poorest countries increased, with over 31.7 million affected,” the report’s editor Patrick Vinck said in a statement.

“They are also often the ones with the least access to technology.”

A total of 15,706 people were killed and nearly 139 million affected in 552 natural and industrial disasters in 2012, according to the report.

It lauded the widespread use of Twitter and text messaging in disaster-relief efforts in the Philippines when Typhoon Bopha slammed into the south of the country in December last year, leaving more than 1,800 dead and missing.

“Thousands of lives were saved because 99 percent of the population have access to a mobile phone and could receive early warnings and information on staying safe,” Bekele Geleta, secretary-general of the IFRC, said in a statement.

The report said studies showed many around the world were deprived of access to technology because of “inequalities across gender, income and urban/rural divides”.

It cited the example of the Central African Republic, where 47 percent of women living in the capital Bangui depend on others for all types of information, compared to 30 percent of men.

Nationwide, most of the poorest 20 percent of the population depend on others for information, while only six percent of the richest 20 percent were deprived of direct access to information.

“These differences may not be surprising, but they have important implications for an increasingly technological humanitarian world, namely the potential for digital exclusion of those most vulnerable to disasters,” it said.

It also warned that even the most cutting-edge technologies cannot replace the human touch needed to reach the most vulnerable during disasters.

“Even traditional means likes radio fail to bridge the ‘last mile’ and reach the ‘information poor’,” it said.

In 2012, the Americas were hit the hardest in terms of damage caused by natural disasters, with Hurricane Sandy a key factor in the $103.6 billion in destruction incurred by the region.

Globally, disasters caused an estimated $157.6 billion worth of damage.

source: interaksyon.com

BlackBerry failed to keep pace with rivals

WASHINGTON — In just a short time, BlackBerry went from being the coolest gadget-maker on the planet to one apparently destined for the history books.

The Canadian smartphone maker, which agreed to a $4.7 billion buyout to take the firm private, appears close to a breakup, which might salvage some parts of the once high-flying Canadian tech pioneer.

While BlackBerry was considered perhaps the hippest if not the largest smartphone maker several years ago, the company quickly lost momentum as it failed to keep pace with innovations from rivals.

“They had a syndrome where they didn’t think anyone could displace them,” said Gerry Purdy, an analyst who follows the mobile sector for Compass Intelligence.

Purdy said BlackBerry, previously known as Research in Motion, reacted too late to the threat from Apple’s iPhone launched in 2007 and manufacturers using the Google Android operating system announced the same year.

“The one gigantic issue was the delay in getting an advanced operating system into the market,” Purdy told AFP.

“They had an operating system in 2010 and it took them three years to get in the market. And that was three years after the iPhone was released. So that’s six years. The market was moving too fast.”

Roger Kay at Endpoint Technologies Associates agreed that BlackBerry was too complacent, and became “blinded” to competitive threats.

“BlackBerry hung its hat on the physical keyboard, they believed that for people who do a lot of typing they need a keyboard,” Kay said.

“By the time it got the touchscreen it was too late. In this industry if you miss a couple of product cycles you’re pretty much toast.”

BlackBerry announced Monday it has signed a letter of intent agreement with a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited to buy the Waterloo, Ontario, firm, subject to financing and due diligence.

Fairfax, a Canadian firm headed by billionaire Prem Watsa, is already BlackBerry’s largest shareholder with approximately 10 percent of its shares. Watsa resigned from BlackBerry’s board when it announced in August its intent to search for a suitor.

Analysts say BlackBerry’s handsets are unlikely to draw much interest but the company’s software and services, which have a strong reputation for security, might offer the most value.

“Their device management solution is as good as it gets in the industry,” said Purdy, referring to BlackBerry’s ability to allow IT managers to control and monitor devices for a large number of employees.

“The highest value is in their security and software manageability suite, that’s been their stronghold in government and enterprise. They could have gone off the devices and onto software a few years ago but they got intoxicated with the revenue from hardware.”

BlackBerry still has some 70 million subscribers worldwide, but most of these are using older handsets, with the newer devices on the BlackBerry 10 platform failing to gain traction.

According to research firm IDC, BlackBerry’s global market share was just 2.9 percent in the second quarter, the lowest since the firm began tracking.

Because BlackBerry has some $2.6 billion cash on hand, the Fairfax offer is worth around $2 billion for the value of the enterprise, analysts point out.

Still, Kay said Fairfax “is taking quite a risk” with an equity buyout, which he maintained would be an interim solution until it is able to find a partner in the industry.

“Fairfax will be lucky to get its money back and to make a profit,” Kay said.

“If BlackBerry is going anywhere it has to have some strategic relationship with another company in the enterprise solutions business.”

Jack Gold, analyst with J. Gold Associates, argued meanwhile that BlackBerry is worth more as a single entity than the sum of its parts.

“I believe there is more value in keeping the three parts of the company (devices, services, and collaboration) intact, which works better for longer term value,” Gold said in an email.

“But BlackBerry still faces a huge mountain to climb to get back into the device marketplace, given the precipitous decline in sales.

“Going private and potentially bringing back the founder of the company, Mike Lazaridis (as has been rumored) could buy them some time to put the house in order.”

source: interaksyon.com

Even with the iPhone launch, the bigger news is iOS 7

WASHINGTON — With consumers eagerly awaiting the release of two new iPhones this week, the more dramatic change may be in the software, not the hardware.

The new mobile operating system called iOS 7 became available Wednesday, providing users of iPhones and iPads a bolder look, which may be a shock for some, but which Apple hopes will keep its fans happy and draw new customers.

“It is a major upgrade,” said Gerry Purdy, analyst and consultant with Compass Intelligence who follows mobile technology.

“This is the first big thing that (Apple chief executive) Tim Cook has implemented, which puts all the software and hardware design under one roof, to have a unified experience across products.”

While the new iPhone 5S and 5C, set to be released Friday, have received a lukewarm response, some analysts say the bolder statement from Apple comes in the new operating system, designed to keep people in the Apple “ecosystem.”

The new operating system “has a different look, a different feel,” said Ramon Llamas, analyst with the research firm IDC.

“People are going to have to rethink how they do things with their phone, and Apple is asking people to make a leap of faith.”

With Apple seeking to regain traction in a mobile market dominated by the Google Android system, Llamas said iOS 7 will be a key test for Apple, because the new iPhones have failed to wow consumers.

“The feedback I’m getting is that people say (the new iPhones) are nice but they will wait for next year’s model.”

A small number of journalists who were allowed to review the new iPhone and iOS 7 underscored the dramatic change in the operating system.

“If you’re coming brand new to iOS 7 and have been ignoring the Internet for the past three months, you’re going to be in for a visual shock,” wrote Darrell Etherington of the tech news site TechCrunch.

“The look is bound to be controversial; Apple has opted for bright, bold colors with more clean lines and far fewer textures, shadows and gradients. There is still some depth to the OS, however, with transparency effects giving a sense of background and foreground elements.”

David Pogue of The New York Times said even with the iPhone launch, “the bigger news is iOS 7.”

“The look of iOS 7 is sparse, white — almost plain in spots. No more fake leather, fake woodgrain, fake green felt, fake yellow note paper,” Pogue writes.

“The complete absence of graphic embellishments makes it especially utilitarian — in both senses of the word. That’s good, because whatever button or function you need is easier to find; it’s bad, because, well, it can look a little boring.”

Walt Mossberg at AllThingsD called the new operating system “a big improvement,” adding: “The icons have been redesigned to be flatter and simpler, but they appear to float over your wallpaper, giving the effect of depth.”

Apple says the new system has more than 200 new features, including improved multitasking, sharing, new camera apps, male and female voices for its Siri software, and the much-anticipated iTunes Radio.

The new software has drawn considerable attention even as the iPhone launch appears to be less spectacular than those in the past: Apple has said little about sellouts or delivery delays, and few expect the kinds of queues typical of iPhone debuts.

Purdy said that Apple may inadvertently hurt new iPhone sales by releasing the software upgrade for older models.

“It allows people with the iPhone 4 or 5 to get all the benefits of the Apple environment from a software standpoint, and therefore reduces the absolute need to upgrade the physical device,” he told AFP.

The free upgrade helps Apple solidify its user base, the analyst said, even for those unwilling to buy a new device.

“It makes it attractive to stay in the walled garden of Apple,” Purdy said, even without a revolutionary hardware change.

“This allows Apple to keep its users, though it may not change the direction of the Android ecosystem,” Purdy added.

“But Apple isn’t out to win market share. They want to produce the best products in the market and they’re doing a good job at that.”

source: interaksyon.com

Android mobile main target for malware — US security agencies

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc’s Android, the dominant mobile operating system, is by far the primary target for malware attacks, mostly because many users are still using older versions of the software, according to a study by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Android was a target for 79 percent of all malware threats to mobile operating systems in 2012 with text messages representing about half of the malicious applications, according to the study from the government agencies, which was published by Public Intelligence website.

Google did not respond to a request for comment. DHS declined to comment.

By comparison, about 19 percent of malware attacks were targeted at Nokia’s Symbian system and less than 1 percent each at Apple Inc’s iOS software, Microsoft Corp’s Windows and BlackBerry Ltd.

Android continues to be a “primary target for malware attacks due to its market share and open source architecture,” said the study, which was addressed to police, fire, emergency medical and security personnel.

source: interaksyon.com

EU proposes end to roaming charges in radical mobile shake-up

BRUSSELS — Europe’s Digital Agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes on Thursday proposed a radical shake-up of the mobile phone services market, including an end to roaming charges long denounced by consumer groups.

Kroes said the EU should show the way forward, creating a real single market for telecoms to deliver benefits which will boost economic growth and jobs.

Looking ahead to the 2014 EU elections, Kroes called on European Parliament lawmakers to show “citizens that the EU is relevant to their lives.

“I want you to be able to go back to your constituents and say that you were able to end mobile roaming costs,” she said, referring to the surcharges levied by telecoms operators when a customer uses a mobile phone or tablet outside their home country.

Kroes said she would also be pressing for “real action on cybercrime” and guaranteeing Internet neutrality.

The measures if agreed, would be implemented by 2015 or 2016.

“Markets must function, devices must function, networks must function and investment needs to happen … we can’t afford today’s countless, needless, artificial obstacles placed in the way,” Kroes said.

source: interaksyon.com

Wikipedia aims for billion users with mobile spread

TOKYO — Wikipedia is aiming to use mobile phones to reach a billion people by 2015, a senior executive has said, doubling the present number.

The rapid spread of cellular networks in the developing world is providing fertile ground for this expansion, even as it robs the site of potential editors, Jay Walsh, senior director of communications at the Wikimedia Foundation, told AFP in Tokyo.

Reaching people in far-flung parts of the world where computers are scarce requires a pared down, text-only version of the collaborative online encyclopaedia, he said.

“It’s surprisingly challenging to take your website and make it available on the simplest phone,” Walsh said on the sidelines of a conference in the Japanese capital on Sunday.

“In areas like the Middle East, opening your phone and accessing a project like Wikipedia could cost you the equivalent of the couple of US dollars, which is a serious amount of money in those countries.

“We’re trying to eliminate that barrier so people don’t have to think about that,” he said, adding the site’s global audience stood at around 483 million.

Tie-ups with telecommunications providers such as France-based Orange and VimpelCom of the Netherlands, are driving this expansion, penning deals that mean waiving data charges for customers accessing the site, in an initiative called Wikipedia Zero.

According to figures from Morgan Stanley, the number of mobile phones and other portable devices accessing the Internet will overtake the number of laptops and desktops this year.

But while browsing is easy on a handset, editing a page on a small screen and without a physical keyboard is more of a challenge.

The number of active editors — someone who edits a page at least five times a month — peaked on the English language site in 2007 at 50,000, he said, adding it has been in decline ever since and now stands at around 33,000.

“There’s a sense of the project being finished,” he said.

Executives hope Wikipedia Zero will help rebalance the editorial brain drain, expanding into markets where local versions of the site remain in the start-up phase. The Swahili language version of Wikipedia — one of the 285 available — has just 88 active editors.

But, admits Walsh, the constraints of the mobile phone as a tool for editing, remain a big hurdle.
“Our main focus is on the technological infrastructure to make it easy for this to work,” he said. “It’s about big ideas, bringing about change and making the world a better place.”

source: interaksyon.com