By Mike Cannon
The next version of Android and Windows Phone will feature a kill
switch similar to the Activation Lock function on iOS. The decision
follows a push by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to require
smartphones to have the feature.
The kill switch feature is designed to deactivate the phone and
render it unusable when stolen. Apple already introduced a kill switch
with iOS 7, and the results have been significant. After Activation Lock
was rolled out in September, thefts of Apple devices in New York fell
by 17 percent. At the same time, thefts of Samsung phones increased by
51 percent. In London, iPhone theft was reduced by 24 percent, and San
Francisco saw a 38 percent decrease. In both cases the theft of other
phones increased. Including a similar feature on And
roid and Windows
phones means that 97 percent of smartphones in the U.S. will include a
kill switch.
"The commitments of Google and Microsoft are giant steps toward
consumer safety and the statistics released today illustrate the
stunning effectiveness of kill switches," Schneiderman says
in a statement. "In just one year, the Secure Our Smartphones
Initiative has made tremendous strides towards curtailing the alarming
trend of violent smartphone theft."
Schneiderman doesn't overstate the problem of violent smartphone theft. The report [pdf]
by the Secure Our Smartphone (SOS) initiative cites five cases in New
York, as well as others in Chicago, St. Louis and South Africa. To
combat this, the SOS wants to make kill switches a standard feature on
all phones. Currently most devices with the feature require users to opt
in before it can be used.
The SOS believes this should be reversed,
enabling the function by default and allowing users to opt out instead.
It is not yet clear whether the kill switches in Android and Windows
Phone will follow this idea.
The state of Minnesota passed a law in May requiring all phones to
feature a kill switch, and similar bills are on the way in California,
New York and Illinois. These laws will affect even smartphones not
running Android, iOS or Windows Phone, such as BlackBerry devices.
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By Mike Cannon
Google has released the official Android app for its upcoming Google
I/O conference. The app has a variety of features for those attending
the show, as well as some for those who won't be at the event.
Google I/O is the company's yearly conference for developers.
Although technically a trade show attended mostly by software developers
and programmers, the event is often used as a platform to reveal new
technology and demonstrate device prototypes. The Android app
accompanying the event will allow those not attending to still get a
first look at the new technologies coming our way.
The app has a schedule which shows all the different seminars and
workshops taking place at Google I/O. Users can select which events they
would like to attend or watch live coverage of, and the app can send a
reminder when those events are about to begin.
Despite being useful for just one event, the Google I/O app doesn't
seem like something that was rushed out the door with little effort put
in. Tapping on any event on the schedule displays information on the
topics and speakers that will be present, and gives users the option to
add it to their schedule. Seminars can be searched and filtered by
subject areas, such as wearable technology or design. Scheduled events
can also be added to an existing Google Calendar.
The layout of the Google I/O app is designed to be compatible with
both smartphones and tablets, and has a navigation menu that slides out
from the left side similar to many other Android apps. The app also has a
widget that allows users to view upcoming events directly on the home
screen.
The app has an option for viewing conversations on social media
related to Google I/O. It also has a prompt to provide feedback to
Google after each seminar added to the schedule. A map of the event hall
can guide those attending in person to their chosen sessions, and for
those not attending, a video library contains video from conferences in
previous years.
The app is available
now at no cost on the Google Play store. Google I/O will take place
June 25 and 26 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.
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By Lori Sandoval
New market research shows that Android, the operating system of
Google, has more phone activations than its rival iOS from Apple,
leading the pack of operating system providers, according to the latest
analysis findings of Consumer Intelligence Research Partner released on
April 18.
The research firm surveyed from April 1 to April 6 about 500 U.S.
subjects, who activated a used or new phone between January to March
2014. The survey findings identified that Android got 53 percent of
consumers activating their phones in the first quarter, from its
previous 43 percent share.
Meanwhile, iOS got 42 percent of the buying
population, from its previous 30 percent.
"It increased its share considerably over the previous quarter, when
it had only 46% of activations. iOS share of activations fell from 48%
in the previous quarter, the first full quarter with iPhone 5S and 5C
sales," Josh Lowitz, CIRP partner and co-founder, said in a statement.
The new findings focused only on phone activations, not on the number
of devices running on Android, but the CIRP survey also examined shifts
in the operating systems and found out that both Android and iOS
obtained consumers coming from other platforms. CIRP uses
consumer market research strategies, analysis and methods to supply
equity securities research to a community of investors, analysts and
other industry participants.
Good to note as well that the findings didn't include data on major
device releases that can provide awareness of the common consumer
interest in smartphones. Research, however, says that 2014 will see big
launches of smartphone devices that, in turn, could also lead to a
growth in the activation figures.
"The long-term issue is where Android and IOS growth will come from
when there are no more basic phones being retired. First-time smartphone
buyers are key to that equation," said Mike Levin, also CRIP partner
and co-founder.
Other
industry players such as BlackBerry and Windows each only got less than
3 percent activation based on the analysis, while the bulk of remaining
consumers came from basic phones. During the start of the first
quarter, 20 percent of phone buyers have basic phones.
However, during
the quarter, nonsmartphone owners only have 3 percent of the overall
share of phones
Recall that Android trailed behind the iOS during 2013's fourth
quarter, after having only grabbed activations of 46 percent, while the
iOS got 48 percent during the same period.
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By Christian Bautista
Apple is testing its new operating system, the Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and it is looking to enlist users to act as guinea pigs.
For
the first time in years, the company is giving people the chance to take
part in a beta testing initiative, giving users a rare glimpse into its
software envelopment process.
According
to an announcement from the company, the OS X Beta program, which will
start this fall, is limited to the first one million people who sign up
to receive the pre-release software.
To
join, users would simply have to register using their Apple IDs. Once
the beta software is ready for dissemination, Apple will send out a
redemption code that would allow testers to download the OS X Yosemite
software from the App Store. Apple was explicit in warning users of
possible problems, even going so far as telling users to install the new
operating system on an extra computer. The beta is only available for
computers that run on OS X 10.9 Mavericks or later, so some older Macs
would definitely be left out, even though the company is offering beta
testers free downloads of Mavericks from the App Store. The OS also
requires at least 8 GB of free disk space and 2 GB of memory.
"We
recommend installing OS X Yosemite Beta on a secondary Mac, since it may
contain errors or inaccuracies. Please be sure to back up your Mac
using Time Machine before you install the beta. This is beta software
that is still in development, which means some applications and services
may not work as expected," the company said.
With
such a warning, it seems likely that Apple would end up getting a high
volume of comments from beta testers. To help users report issues
faster, it has established a built-in Feedback Assistant application
within the operating system.
OS X
Yosemite is expected to be released in the fall. The software is
expected to have a redesigned interface with translucent toolbars and
sidebars, streamlined stoplights and new-look stock apps such as Safari,
Mail and Messages. The beta version won't have the increased
integration with iOS 8 that is expected in the final version, so test
users would miss out on the software's best feature. Apple warned beta
testers that they would receive updates less frequently than developers.
However, the test software can be upgraded to the official version once
it is released.
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By Aaron Mamiit
AT&T announced that it will be bringing the Windows Phone 8.1 update to the Nokia Lumia 1520.
AT&T users with the Lumia 1520 can now install the update by
going to the phone's Settings and selecting the Phone Update option.
"Windows Phone 8.1 offers a more personal smartphone experience that
brings you closer to the people and things you really care about,"
AT&T Senior Product Manager Rick Goetter writes in a post at the official AT&T blog.
Included in the new features that the Windows Phone 8.1 brings is
Cortana, which is tagged as "a personal virtual assistant built around
you." The smartphone assistant is able to create reminders for users by people, time or location.
As an example, Goetter uses the situation of Cortana reminding the
user to send thanks to the user's mother for sending cookies via mail on
the next time that the user's mother calls.
Among the new capabilities that the Windows Phone 8.1 brings is added
personalization options, which includes the Live Tiles feature. The
feature uses tiles of varying sizes and colors to let users pin selected
people, music and apps to the phone's Start Screen for easy access to
them.
The Windows Phone 8.1 update also enhances the Lumia 1520 camera's
20MP PureView sensor, adding new apps and features for taking better
pictures and sharing them.
Windows Phone 8.1 also incorporates the One Windows philosophy,
bringing together the Windows experience among different devices through
apps such as OneDrive, Office, Bing and Skype. Users will be able to
use their smartphones, tablet computers, personal computers and even
Xbox gaming console for both work and play within the Windows ecosystem.
Speaking of the Xbox, the Windows Phone 8.1 update allows users to
have Xbox games, video and music stored within the smartphone for
unlimited entertainment options while on the move.
Windows Phone 8.1 also emphasizes efficiency, with optimizations such
as the new and easier to use Word Flow keyboard, an Action Center for
notification management and quick actions launcher, and several new
management tools.
Windows Phone 8.1 also fully utilizes the Quad-core processor, 6-inch
HD 1080p display and Nokia Rich Recording suite of the Lumia 1520.
The Nokia Rich Recording Suite uses four digital, installed
microphones and a recording range of 140 dB to record unparalleled sound
for videos taken by the Lumia 1520.
More information about the Windows Phone 8.1 began surfacing last month, after Microsoft released the developer version in April.
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By Mark Hawver
It might be good to be the king, but it might be better to be Mark Zuckerberg.
The Facebook founder finds himself $1.6 billion richer today, raising
his estimated net worth to a mere bag of shells, $33 billion of them.
He has now exceeded the riches of Google co-founder Larry Page, co-founder Sergey Brin and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos.
Not bad for a guy who's just 30 years old.
On the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zuckerberg now ranks 16th, Brin and Page at 17th and 18th, and Bezos in at 20th.
They all have a long way to go to match Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates,
who tops the list at $84.7 billion. Gates, though, is 58 years old, so
there's plenty of time for the pack to catch up with him.
Zuckerberg's one-day windfall resulted from the release of the
company's second quarter financials that boasted a 61 percent increase
in sales year-over-year to $2.91 billion, defeating an analysts' average
estimate of $2.81 billion.
The company's aggressive introduction of new advertising programs in
the past year has led to net income doubling to $791 million. Facebook now has a 5.8 percent share of digital ad revenue worldwide. The company's Standard & Poor's 500 Index rating has ballooned by 183 percent in the last year.
Zuckerberg's Facebook co-founders and ground floor execs are also
sitting pretty. Dustin Moskovitz, who ideated with Zuckerberg back in
the college years, is also 30 years old and worth over $6 billion.
Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg, 44, owns shares worth an estimated $740
million. She has already sold enough shares to be liquid to the tune of
more than $550 million.
Breaking down the numbers provides a staggering overview of a modern
American success story. A comparison of results from the first six
months of 2013 against the same period in 2014 reveals -
Revenue, 2013 - $3.271 billion; 2014- $5.412 billion. Net Income,
non-GAAP, 2013 - $800 million; 2014 - S1.976 billion. Operating Margin,
non-GAAP, 2013 - 41 percent; 2014 - 57 percent.
These are numbers representing growth that most corporations would be happy with over a decade; Facebook did it in one year.
Facebook reported
that free cash flow for the second quarter was $872 million, cash and
marketable securities were $13.96 billion, capital expenditures were
$469 million.
Facebook was founded in 2004.
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The next version of Android and Windows Phone will feature a kill
switch similar to the Activation Lock function on iOS. The decision
follows a push by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to require
smartphones to have the feature.
The state of Minnesota passed a law in May requiring all phones to
feature a kill switch, and similar bills are on the way in California,
New York and Illinois. These laws will affect even smartphones not
running Android, iOS or Windows Phone, such as BlackBerry devices.
