EU to Rule on $38 Billion Qualcomm, NXP Deal by June 9

  03 May 2017

 

EU regulators will decide by June 9 whether to clear smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm's $38 billion takeover of NXP Semiconductors NV, with rivals voicing concerns about continued access to key NXP technology after the deal.


Qualcomm, which supplies chips to Android phone makers and Apple, would become the leading supplier to the fast-growing automotive chips market by buying NXP in the biggest semiconductor industry deal to date.

Qualcomm sought EU approval on April 28, a filing on the European Commission website showed on Monday.

The EU competition enforcer can either approve the deal with or without concessions or it can open an investigation lasting about five months if it has serious concerns.

Rivals want regulators to ensure they will still have access to NXP technology known as Mifare which is embedded in access cards for buildings and public transport, as well as mobile phones which double as electronic wallets, people familiar with the matter said.

Rival companies also want a pledge on fair licensing practices, the people said.
Qualcomm has said the two companies' businesses have little overlap but will fit together well. The US antitrust watchdog cleared the deal unconditionally last month.

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Microsoft Surface Laptop With Windows 10 S and 'Better Battery Life Than MacBook Air' Launched

  02 May 2017

 

Highlights

• The Surface Laptop is available for pre-order for $999
• It will be shipped starting June 15
• The Surface Laptop is rated to offer 14.5 hours of battery life

Alongside Windows 10 S, Microsoft also launched the Surface Laptop at its New York Spring event. The durable device runs on the education-focused Windows 10 S software, and is made available in four colour options - Burgundy, Graphite Gold, Platinum, and Cobalt Blue. The Surface laptop is up pre-order right away, and will be shipped starting June 15.


Microsoft claims the Surface Laptop is durable, portable, and lightweight, and the design looks sleek with a premium finish, and the iconic Alcantra fabric keyboard seen on the Surface Pro 4, with backlighting. The Surface Laptop sports a 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display with 1080p resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio, and 3.4 million pixels. Microsoft touts it as the 'thinnest touchscreen LCD display' on a laptop. The base model of the Surface Laptop is powered by the latest Intel Core i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD storage, while users can opt for an Intel Core i7 processor and different memory and storage configurations.


The biggest highlight is that the Surface laptop is rated to offer up to 14.5 hours of battery life. Ports on board include a USB port, a mini DisplayPort, the Surface power connector, SD card slot, and the 3.5mm audio jack. The device weighs only 1.25kg, and thickness ranges from 9.9mm to 14.47mm.

Microsoft has used vapor chambers as heat pipes at the back of the laptop to help keep components cool - important, as there are no holes on the laptop that would normally have facilitated air cooling. With no holes, you may wonder where the speakers are - Microsoft has placed them below the keyboard. While the stunningly designed device with Windows Ink and Windows Hello support could lure some users, the price may dampen the excitement. Microsoft is asking for $999 (roughly Rs. 64,000) for the Surface Laptop with Core i5 processor, which is steep to say the least.


Microsoft claims the Surface Laptop's Intel Core i7 model is faster than the current Core i7-based MacBook Pro, and also added that it has better battery life than any MacBook Air laptop on the market today.


With the laptop running on Windows 10 S, the device has serious limitations like it can only run apps from the Windows Store - though users can choose to upgrade if they wish. As mentioned, the device is up for pre-order right away, and will be shipped on June 15. Microsoft is looking to compete with Chromebooks in the education sector, and the company even took the time to show off how apps like 3D4 Medical work on the new Surface Laptop, however, at this price range, direct competition will be impossible. Notably though, there are cheaper Windows 10 S PCs coming up, with Microsoft partners such as Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Samsung, and Toshiba all making Windows 10 Education PCs available from this summer starting $189 (roughly Rs. 12,100)

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First Windows 10 S Education Laptops Launched by Acer and HP

  03 May 2017

 

HP ProBook X360 Education Edition

Highlights

• HP ProBook x360 EE gives up to 11 hours of battery life
• Both have a 360-degree hinge
• Both the convertibles are priced at $299

Soon after Microsoft announced the stripped-down Windows 10 S version, alongside the Surface Laptop, partners have introduced their first notebook variants running on the education-focused software. HP has introduced the ProBook x360 eEducation Edition and Acer has introduces the TravelMate Spin B1 - both running on Windows 10 S. Both the laptops have been launched earlier, and the hardware remains the same, but the software in it is the new Windows 10 S, and the price tag is much cheaper.


Starting with the HP ProBook x360 Education Edition, the rugged device has a 11.6-inch (1336x768 pixels) display powered by an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. This laptop was launched in December last year, and was made with schools and students in mind. The company touts the new ProBook x360 Education Edition to be military standard certified to withstand accidental spills and drops by kids. It has a 360-degree hinge to rotate completely into a tablet, or even a tent stand for ease of viewing. Furthermore, there's a dual camera system which uses a 1080p HD camera embedded in the keyboard to let users take video in tablet mode as well. There are two USB 3.1 ports, one USB Type-C ports, one HDMI 1.4b port, one AC power connector, and one 3.5mm audio jack. The company claims that laptop can stay active for up to 11 hours of school activities and homework. The Windows 10 S version will retail for $299 (roughly Rs. 19,200), and is available in select stores right away.

Acer TravelMate Spin B1

The Acer TravelMate Spin B1 convertible has a similar 11.6-inch (1920x1080 pixels) display, is powered by an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. The laptop also has a 360 degree hinge, and comes with a stylus as well. Connectivity options include a dual-band 802.11ac 2~CHECK~2 MIMO Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, a GbE port, USB ports, a webcam, an SD card reader, a touchpad, and a spill-resistant keyboard. The Windows 10 S variant is priced at $299 (roughly Rs. 19,200) as well, and is available in select retail stores in the US and online as well. Dell and Asus are also set to launch their own education laptops in the US market soon.


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Facebook Messenger Now Rolling Out 'Instant Games' to All Users

  03 May 2017

 

Highlights

• The new features were previewed at F8 conference last month
• The update will be rolling out over next few weeks
• Words With Friends now supports Rich gameplay features

Facebook on Tuesday announced that the company is rolling out Instant Games on Messenger to all of its 1.2 billion users and that it is introducing the new features that the social media networking giant previewed to developers at its F8 conference last month. The updated Instant Games on Messenger will be rolling out over the next few weeks worldwide for both Android and iOS mobile platforms.


The 'Rich gameplay features' that have been added to the Instant Games on Messenger include turn-based gameplay, inclusion of leaderboards and tournaments, and offer more customisable messages during play, as per the company. "Game bots help re-engage players by calling out new game options and encouraging competition with updates on the leaderboards," the company said in its news post.


Among the first games to receive the support for rich gameplay features is Zynga's Words With Friends. The game has already been made available as a "feature-rich, turn-based game right in Messenger." The company says turn-based gameplay has been the most requested feature by the users and finally it has introduced it to Instant Games on Messenger. On the other hand, Blackstorm's EverWing is among the first games to introduce Game bots on the platform.


"Depending on what device you use and where you are located, there are now up to 50 games titles available on Messenger, with more being introduced almost every week. We're also excited to be bringing the world's number 1 pool game - Miniclip's 8 Ball Pool - to Instant Games very soon," Facebook said.

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Apple India Has 'Record' March Quarter, CEO Cook Says India's 4G Rollout Is 'Truly Impressive'

  03 May 2017

 

Highlights

• Apple set a new March quarter record for India
• CEO Cook says India’s 4G network rollout is "truly impressive"
• Cook says Apple is "under-penetrated" in India

Apple announced its results for the January to March quarter on Tuesday, and while global iPhone unit sales were down marginally year on year, the company had plenty to cheer about its performance in India.
"We set a new March quarter record for India, where revenue grew by strong double digits," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in his opening remarks as part of the earnings call. "We continued to strengthen our local presence across the entire ecosystem, and we're very optimistic about our future in this remarkable country with its very large, young, and tech-savvy population, fast-growing economy, and improving 4G network infrastructure."
Apple's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Luca Maestri later added that India was one of the markets where Apple's quarterly revenue grew by "over 20 percent". It's worth pointing out that apart from exceptions like Japan and Greater China, Apple doesn't report a dollar figure against revenue from individual countries.
The growth in India revenue will come as no surprise to those who watch the industry, as Apple, via its retail partners, has been aggressively pushing its products with discounts and cashback offers, especially on older iPhone models and products like the iPhone SE. More recently, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have been available at reduced prices as well.
Like he's often done in the past, Cook linked Apple's prospects in India to the expansion of the 4G networks in the country, calling India's 4G rollout "truly impressive".
"..we believe, particularly now that the 4G infrastructure is going in the country and is continuing to be expanded, that there is a huge opportunity for Apple there," Cook said while answering a question during the earnings call. "And so that and the demographics of the country is why we're putting so much energy there."
"The 4G network investment really began rolling in in a significant way toward the last quarter of last year, as you know. But they are moving fast. They're moving at a speed that I have not seen in any other country in the world once they were started, and it is truly impressive," Cook added.

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Android Nougat Now Present on 7.1 Percent of All Active Devices, Says Google

  03 May 2017

 

Highlights

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow present on 31.2 percent devices
• Android Nougat jointly running on 7.1 percent active devices
• Android Lollipop at 32 percent still powering majority of Android devices

Google has updated its Google Play distribution data, providing figures for the seven-day period ending Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The data shows Android Nougat (Android 7.0 and Android 7.1) now running on 7.1 percent of active devices. The latest figures reveal that the Android Nougat-based devices logging into the store are slowly rising, while devices running Android Marshmallow are still running on over 30 percent devices.
The latest distribution numbers confirm that Android 7.0 is now present on 6.6 percent and Android 7.1 on 0.5 percent devices - jointly running on 7.1 percent devices. The new figures are up from 4.9 percent from last month's data and a significant improvement from March's data which stood at 2.8 percent.
Sharing the latest distribution data of different versions of Android, Google reported that Marshmallow has a total share of 31.2 percent of Android devices that check into Google Play, which is same as last month.
Steady Android Nougat adoption also means that older Android versions are slowly dropping in numbers. In the latest data released by Google, Android Lollipop has a total share of 32 percent of active Android devices (with Android 5.0 Lollipop running on 8.7 percent of devices and Android 5.1 Lollipop at 23.3 percent) that checked into Google Play. Last month, Android Lollipop was running on 32 percent of active Android devices with Android 5.0 Lollipop running on 9 percent of devices and Android 5.1 Lollipop at 23 percent. Based on the latest figures, Android Lollipop is present on majority of active Android devices.

The Android Developers' webpage shows that Android KitKat now powers 18.8 percent of devices compared to 20 percent last month.
Other older Android versions listed in the latest distribution data include Android Jelly Bean which has a combined share of 9.1 percent while Android 4.0.x or Ice Cream Sandwich has 0.8 percent share, and Android Gingerbread (v2.3.3-2.3.7), in Google's latest numbers, registered a share of 1 percent.
The latest OpenGL version distribution numbers, on the other hand, saw OpenGL 3.0 at 43.5 percent, and OpenGL version 2.0 steadily rising to 38.3 percent.

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Microsoft's Chromebook Competitor Leaked in Images Ahead of Tuesday's Launch

 

 02 May 2017

 

Photo Credit: Walking Cat

Highlights

• Surface laptop will reportedly run on Windows 10 S
• It is tipped to sport a 13.5-inch display
• It will be made available in four colours

Microsoft's much talked about Spring launch event is just hours away, and leaks of the alleged Surface Laptop refuse to stop. The Surface Laptop has been leaked in several images, from various angles, revealing all design details, including many of its specification details as well. The Surface Laptop is alleged to be Microsoft's answer to Google's Chromebook that have picked up great interest in the market ever since Android apps integration was introduced last year.
Tipster WalkingCat has tweeted a lot of images, and specification details of the Surface Laptop scheduled to launch at the event in New York. The laptop will sport a 13.5-inch PixelSense display with 3:2 aspect ratio and 3.4 million pixels - the resolution is unspecified. It runs on a new platform called Windows 10 S which was (previously tipped to be called Windows 10 Cloud). This OS will be a lighter version of Windows 10, and is said to only run verified apps from the Windows Store. Early leaks also suggest that Windows 10 S will only work with Universal Windows Platform apps from the Windows Store, and not all of them.
The laptop will reportedly weigh just 1.25kg, and be 14.47mm thick at the back, and 9.9mm thick at the front. According to the tipster, the Surface Laptop will come in four colour options - Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, and Graphite Gold. The images tip that the laptop will sport a regular USB port, a Surface power connector, and a mini DisplayPort. Interestingly, there's no USB Type-C port support seen in the photos. Lastly, the laptop is tipped to sport an Alcantra keyboard, the same material that was used on the Surface Pro 4 keyboard. Looking at the design and specifications, the laptop seems rather premium, and it's possible Microsoft may unveil cheaper versions as well.

Photo Credit: Walking Cat

Leaked earlier, the minimum specification requirements for the Surface Laptop include a quad-core Celeron (or better) processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB or 64GB of storage. Optional pen or touch support is also included. Microsoft is also looking to include all-day battery life in the mix, to lure students.
In any case, this is all just speculation and Microsoft will put all rumours to an end at the event that begins at 9.30am ET (7.00pm IST).
 

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