Xiaomi is hoping the well-equipped Mi 4i will help the company grab a larger smartphone market share, but it’s still holding off entering the U.S, and Europe.Launching the smartphone at an event in India is a departure for the company, which thus far has launched its smartphones in China.The Mi 4i can be summed up as a souped-up midrange smartphone with a low-end price tag at 12,999 rupees (US$205) without a contract. It has a 5-inch, 1080 x 1920 pixel screen and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 615, an octa-core processor with integrated support for LTE. The processor is a step below the Snapdragon 800 family, which is used to power high-end products.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Android devices can do all sorts of wizardry these days -- everything from taking your heartbeat to turning off the lights in your bedroom. But sometimes, it's the simple stuff that matters the most.For business users in particular, a top-notch experience is crucial in three core areas: email, for keeping up with correspondence on the go; calendar, for making sure you don't miss important appointments (like your weekly podiatrist session -- hey, I'm not here to judge); and contacts, for having easy access to the people you need to reach, podiatrist or otherwise. No matter how many impressive feats your phone can perform, it won't do you much good if it doesn't deliver in those domains.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook’s mobile shift shows through in financial resultsIt doesn’t seem so long ago that analysts were fretting over Facebook’s mobile playbook, but now the social media giant is monetizing a user base that is increasingly on smartphones and tablets. In reporting its financial results Wednesday, it said that a solid majority of its advertising revenue for the first quarter came from users on mobile devices, the New York Times reports.Facebook gives Android phones souped-up caller IDFacebook wants to move even closer to the core functions of your Android smartphone, with a new dialer app called Hello that uses Messenger to call your friends. The company also says it can give you better security with enhanced call-blocking, and uses the Facebook database to identify callers, PC World reports.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you’re tired of using your fingertip or a PIN to unlock your smartphone, Yahoo suggests using your ear instead.In a project presented at the 2015 Computer-Human Interaction Conference (CHI) in Seoul this week, Yahoo showed that other body parts can unlock phones in a fast, secure manner.This approach to biometric authentication makes use of capacitive touchscreens in phones. Compared to relatively expensive fingerprint sensors, which have been deployed in higher-end phones, Yahoo’s technology can be used on any phone with a touchscreen, even cheap handsets.While not as simple as PINs, the system would be quicker and more convenient than inputting four digits.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Qualcomm’s second-quarter profit dropped 46 percent, mainly because of a large fine the company had to pay in China for settling antitrust issues.The chip company also cut its revenue outlook for 2015, citing loss of business for its Snapdragon processor from key customer Samsung Electronics and a concentration of the premium market around two players - Apple and Samsung, among other factors.Qualcomm lost business from Samsung as the South Korean vendor decided to use its in-house Exynos processor rather than the Snapdragon 810 chip in its flagship Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones. The impact on Qualcomm has been large because makers like Samsung have decided to focus on newer products rather than legacy products. The chipmaker does not expect an immediate shift in its share of components in Samsung’s premium devices.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Besides connecting with friends, Facebook is fast becoming the place to watch videos. Billions of videos.Facebook is now serving up more than 4 billion videos to its users daily, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday. The figure is striking in part because it’s increasing so fast: In January, Facebook was showing 3 billion videos a day.“Video is a big opportunity for us,” COO Sheryl Sandberg said during Facebook’s quarterly earnings call. Besides being a way for users to share content, it’s a way for marketers to advertise on the site.One reason Facebook’s viewing count is so high is that videos uploaded to Facebook now play automatically. Facebook defines a view as three seconds or more, so people are likely to rack up views just scrolling through their news feed. Still, it’s an indication of how much video is on the site.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook continued growing its business with ads placed on small screens last quarter, when it generated 73 percent of its sales from mobile ads.Facebook’s total first-quarter revenue was US$3.54 billion, up more than 40 percent from a year earlier, the company reported Wednesday. That was a bit less than the consensus analyst estimate of $3.56 billion, as polled by Thomson Reuters.With a trove of personal data on its billion-plus members—many of whom now log in from their smartphones—Facebook’s mobile ad business has become a powerhouse.During the quarter, which ended March 31, Facebook grew its mobile ad sales by 59 percent to $2.59 billion. After going public in mid-2012, Facebook faced questions from investors over its ability to grow its business on mobile, but the company eventually dispelled those doubts.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Facebook wants to mesh its massive social network with phone communications so that it can provide its members with useful information about people at the other end of the line.On Wednesday, the company launched Hello, an app for Android smartphones that, by pulling data from Facebook profiles, acts like caller ID with a social networking twist.When they receive a call from a fellow Facebook member, Hello users will see a card appear with profile information about the caller that the recipient already has access to, either because the information has been shared with the recipient, or because it’s public on the site. For example, the card may include the caller’s name, job title and the number of friends the caller and recipient have in common.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
At the RSA Conference this week in San Francisco, researchers Yair Amit and Adi Sharabani disclosed a dangerous and scary new iOS hack which can cause targeted iPhones or iPads to enter a perpetual reboot loop, effectively rendering the devices all but useless.Amit and Sharabani, who both work for the mobile security firm Skycure, note that the security flaw exists in iOS 8 and can be triggered via manipulated SSL certificates sent to a device over a Wi-Fi network. What's more, a previous iOS bug disclosed by Skycure, dubbed WiFiGate, enables attackers to create their own Wi-Fi network and "force external devices to automatically connect to it." Taken together, attackers can effectively create what is referred to as a "No iOS Zone."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Google launched its own ambitious wireless network primarily in the U.S. on Wednesday in partnership with Sprint and T-Mobile.
Calling it Project Fi, Google promised seamless wireless connections, initially for Nexus 6 smartphone users, whether they are within more than 1 million free and open Wi-Fi hotspots or within an LTE cellular network operated by Sprint or T-Mobile.
In a blog, Google
asked customers to sign up online to join an Early Access Program for the service. The service will initially be available on the Nexus 6 smartphone that Google builds with Motorola. Potential customers must request an invitation from Google on a separate site to get started.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The days are long past when a fast office Wi-Fi connection was a nice-to-have. These days it's essential for your business to provide clients and employees alike with a speedy, reliable wireless network.6. Disable lower data rates and standardsTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Mobile payments in 2015Image by ShutterstockApple, Starbucks and Disney are all strong brands with loyal followings, but they also have something else in common: They're early leaders in the ever-evolving mobile payments market.Some analysts predict 2015 will be the first year all the pieces — including a larger base of NFC-enabled devices and terminals, and growing consumer acceptance — come together to take mobile currency mainstream. A number of additional companies are also entering the world of mobile payments, such as American Express, which you might expect to see, and Jawbone, which might seem surprising.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
US warns airlines about onboard Wi-Fi hackingHere’s one more thing for nervous flyers to worry about: Two U.S. federal agencies are advising airlines to look out for signs that passengers may be trying to hack into planes’ navigation systems via Wi-Fi or onboard entertainment systems, Wired reports. The FBI and TSA apparently don’t have evidence that this is happening, but are taking seriously claims that it can be done, and issued a list of things to be on the lookout for.Drone lands on Japanese Prime Minister’s roofTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Huawei Technologies is seeking to double its retail presence around the world, amid a growing a pushing to sell more mid-range and high-end smartphones.The Chinese handset maker aims to establish 70,000 retail spaces by the end of 2017, up from the 30,000 locations it already has, including Huawei stores, product counters and “display zones” where its smartphones were shown for sale last year.More than half of those locations are in China, the company’s home market, said Glory Zhang, chief marketing officer for Huawei’s consumer business group. The balance will start to change by year end, when Huawei brings more high-end products to international markets, she added.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
South Korean researchers have developed an app that helps people with arm paralysis use smartphones.Dubbed Dowell, the app is designed to assist people who can’t use their hands well, and is targeted at users with muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke and other ailments that restrict movement.The app has a user interface that works with a variety of input methods for disabled people, which are known as computer assistive devices. It can receive information from a trackball mouse, head-tracking camera and mouth stick, which is a tool for manipulating a cursor with the mouth.The project is being presented at the 2015 Computer-Human Interaction Conference (CHI) in Seoul this week as part of an industry-university collaboration involving Samsung Electronics.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Look up in the sky, it is LinuxImage by PixabayNot only is spring in the air, so is Linux. But this wasn’t always the case. Early drones relied on either proprietary OSes or simple Arduino-based controllers such as the ArduPilot. While both of these approaches to drone control have been successful, they implicitly limit innovation -- the former because they are closed systems, and the latter because of limited computing power. The recent introduction of Linux-based drones will stimulate the UAV (Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle) market by creating more flexible, open platforms. Here’s how Linux takes off … literally.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Call it heresy, but now that I've had the chance to actually get my hands on the Apple Watch, I keep being struck by the parallels with the much-maligned Google Glass. That doesn't necessarily mean the Apple Watch will fail spectacularly the way Glass did, just that it will face many of the same challenges. Let's take a look at a few of them.(Note that I tried the Apple Watch only at the Apple Store. Actual deliveries don't begin until Friday, April 24. I have spent much more time with Google Glass… just not in public).They're both too expensiveThe Apple Watch starts at $350, but the "nice" ones start at twice that price and soar well into five freaking figures! Even more annoying, if you just want to upgrade the aluminum sport model with a slightly less-cheesy leather band, it'll cost you another $250. Really? $250 for a leather watchband?! In comparison, the $1,500 price tag on Google Glass no longer seems so outrageous.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most younger mobile workers feel guilty about using smartphones and smartwatches to do personal tasks while at work and for performing work at home when they should be taking care of their families or other duties.A new survey of 3,500 professionals -- mostly under age 34 -- conducted in the U.S. and five other countries found at least 58% said they have feelings of guilt in this hyper-connected world.ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: How to lure tech talent with employee benefits, perks
The survey, conducted by the Harris Poll for MobileIron, also found that 60% said they would leave their job if their boss didn't allow any remote work or restricted their ability to do personal tasks at work. The survey involved workers in the U.S. as well as France, Germany, Japan, Spain and the UK between December 2014 and January 2015.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here