Google reportedly offered to acquire WhatsApp for $10 billion
While WhatsApp just agreed to a $19 billion acquisition deal with Facebook, the social network wasn’t the first to approach the messaging service with a very generous proposal. According to Forbes, Google offered $10 billion to acquire the app. Though it’s not clear exactly when Mountain View proposed this deal, sources said the offer didn’t come with the promise of a board seat, unlike Facebook’s agreement.
One thing is clear, though: Google was apparently so set on keeping WhatsApp within its reach that it offered the startup money to be informed if any other companies approached it with acquisition offers. The Information reports that WhatsApp turned down this unusual proposal about six months ago. The takeaway from all this? If you hadn’t guessed it from the astronomical figures — 19 billion dollars, you guys — Google and Facebook recognize the mobile instant messaging service’s huge value. 450 million active users every month is none too shabby, after all.
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google, Facebook
Via: The Verge
Source: Forbes, The Information
New Google WiFi app could automatically log you into Starbucks and other public hotspots
Google is working on a new WiFi app that could take a lot of the drudgery out of accessing public hotspots. According to our sources, the search giant has built Android and iOS versions of an app that automatically authenticate and connect to its free hotspots inside Starbucks stores or wherever they are available. Google is currently trialling the Android app at its Mountain View HQ and has plans to offer an iOS app too.
For now it looks like a very limited test, and there’s no definite guarantee that Google will release it officially. Nevertheless, we hear that Google has internally discussed linking the app to its rollout of faster WiFi connections to all 7,000 Starbucks stores in the US, connecting Latte-drinkers to ‘Google Starbucks’ hotspots with no button presses required. Currently, Starbucks customers need to find the access point, open their browser and agree to Google’s terms and conditions. Google may also expand its partnership with Boingo, extending logins to locations where it’s footing the bill for free wireless. The app could utilize a users’ Google account and install a dedicated security certificate on their device to automatically authenticate devices when a connection is available.
It’s a little known fact that Google was one of the first companies to offer free city-wide wireless internet when it launched Google WiFi in 2006. The company rolled out over 500 streetlight hotspots across Mountain View to provide access to all of its residents, but as smartphones and tablet use boomed, the network struggled to cope with demand. Users were also required to log in with a Google account to access the service. We’re told that Google is working to improve connectivity in the city, and that it has specific plans to roll out Google WiFi to more locations across the US and Canada.
Speaking of which, the search giant has already donated $600,000 to equip 31 of San Francisco’s public parks with free WiFi for at least two years. However, its efforts to expand beyond that have been hampered by negotiations with city authorities and a lack of spectrum. To counter the spectrum issues, Google has teamed up with Microsoft, Motorola and major cable companies to lobby the US government to free up bands for unlicensed uses. Google has said it will provide Starbucks stores with a 100x speed boost in Fiber cities like Austin, Provo and KC, and is now exploring the feasibility of deploying fiber connections in 34 US cities. That could see it expand its Google WiFi footprint significantly.
Sprint Framily plans now offered to business lines
Sprint on Thursday announced that Framily Plans have are now available for small business customers. Much like it does with their standard family accounts, Sprint entices more users by dangling $5 discounts. Indeed, Sprint will take $5 each line added to the overall plan.
One line costs $55 per month and includes unlimited talk, text, and 1GB data. With two lines the price would drop to $50 each; three lines would be $45…etc. Business accounts with 7-10 lines can get the same plan for as low as $25 per month.
For $20 per month, per line, Framily members can score unlimited data plus receive a new phone every year with Sprint Easy Pay.
Sprint Framily Plans are offered to new and existing customers (with qualifications) effective immediately.
The post Sprint Framily plans now offered to business lines appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO range available for pre-order in UK
Samsung’s upcoming PRO range of their Galaxy Tab lineup will soon be hitting stores in the UK on March 4th, but is currently up for pre-order online and as an added bonus Samsung will throw in a free 32GB microSD card.
Samsung’s online store is now taking pre-orders for the Galaxy Tab PRO 8.4 and 10.1 models priced at £349 and £449 respectively.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO’s both feature a 2560 x 1600 resolution display and run the latest Android 4.4 KitKat. Included with the tablets is Samsung’s new Magazine UX, which has come under some scrunteny from Google for detracting away from the general look of Android, to a point where it is nearly indistinguishable.
The Galaxy Tab PRO 10.1 is powered by an Exynos octa-core 1.9GHz and 1.3GHz CPU, with the smaller Tab running with a 2.3GHz quad-core CPU.
Shipping will commence from March 4th for both the white and black versions of the 10.1 and 8.4 Galaxy Tab PRO.
Will you be preordering?
The post Samsung Galaxy Tab PRO range available for pre-order in UK appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Facebook buying WhatsApp for $16 billion
Facebook has today announced that it will be buying the popular cross-platform social messaging platform Whatsapp for around $16 billion.
The deal was announced today as both parties reached an agreement: Whatsapp receives $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in Facebook stock. If, for whatever reason the deal falls through, Facebook have agreed to pay a fee of $2 billion in a mixture between cash and stock to Whatsapp.
Facebook was interested in the social messaging platform due to the incredible amount of growth that the service received, with figures touting that Whatsapp was adding around a million users per month to its platform.
Whatsapp will continue to operate as an independant company and keep their own branding, but will have Facebook members on the board. With Facebook messenger a big part of their service, it makes sense that eventually Whatsapp will be obsorbed into their own platform.
The post Facebook buying WhatsApp for $16 billion appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Sony laser pico projector module beams out focus-free HD images
If your presentation audience is noticing pixels, then projector resolution may be the least of your problems. Nevertheless, Sony’s just introduced a new pico module that’ll allow manufacturers to build pocket-sized projectors with high-def, 16:9 images using laser beam scanning (1,920 x 720 with rectangular pixels). That’ll bring sharp focus regardless of screen distance, along with high contrast, wider color gamut and reduced laser “sparkle,” according to Sony. There’s also built-in screen distortion correction for off-kilter situations. If you’re now scheming about some kind of shark-mounted entertainment system, though, it’ll have to wait — the tech is only available to projector makers.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: Sony
CMT Artists is an iPhone app designed specially for country music lovers
Viacom knows it has to spread the love equally amongst its properties, as any great parent company would do. In this particular scenario, it means releasing a new music discovery app for Country Music Television, just like it did for MTV back in October of last year. With CMT Artists, it’s clear that Viacom took a complete cue from MTV’s version, offering easy access to in-depth artist pages, exclusive interviews, news and music videos. There are also a number of other useful tidbits, including the ability to easily identify unfamiliar songs, either by typing in lyrics or via the Sound ID feature. Naturally, CMT Artists focuses on country tunes and the musicians behind them, as opposed to the broader approach taken by MTV. And even though the application was designed with the iPhone’s screen in mind, there won’t be an issue installing it on larger iOS devices if you choose to do so.
Taylor seems pretty excited about it.
Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Internet, Mobile
Source: CMT
Waze navigation app now reads destinations from iOS and Android calendars
Google-owned Waze updated its navigation app for iOS and Android just before the new year, improving the user experience with all manner of tweaks. Evidently, it neglected to add one specific feature, hence another update dropping today that’ll allow Waze to talk to the calendar apps on both those platforms. It means that if you’re organized enough to associate locations with calendar appointments, you can ask Waze to take you there with but a single prod from inside the calendar app. The navigation list within Waze will also auto-populate with destination info poached from appointments. Waze is eager to highlight the feature is easily disabled from within your device’s settings — you know, if you’d rather that Miley Cyrus concert date be kept as discreet as possible.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Google
Source: Waze (iOS), Waze (Android)
Broadcom’s new chip brings GPS to smartwatches without killing the battery
Mobile World Congress kicks off next week, so it’s high time that the behind the scenes players showed off what’ll linger beneath the aluminum and Gorilla Glass of next-generation devices. Broadcom is unveiling the BCM4771 GNSS SoC, a wittily named slab of silicon that promises to make the GPS units of smartwatches less power-hungry and more accurate than before. Thanks to its 40-nanometer construction and a new sensor hub that integrates everything into one package, the chip also claims to be much cheaper than the existing tech. It’s pencilled in for a launch at the end of March, so hopefully we’ll see wearables in the Fall boasting of a battery life that’s longer than, say, an hour.
Valve’s ‘Free to Play’ is a documentary about pro-gaming’s first million-dollar tourney (video)
For many, words like “MOBA” and “Dota 2″ might sound more like random collections of letters than a massively popular gaming genre and game, respectively. Valve, Dota 2‘s developer, wants to educate the masses by putting the game and a trio of its international players under the microscope in Free to Play. One might find Valve’s efforts feel a tad self-serving when compared to, say, Indie Game: The Movie, but, based on the trailer, the documentary seems more like a look at the human side of professional gaming than it does an advertising puff piece. If checking the film out and sitting in on a Q-and-A session with its creators sounds like a good time, tickets to next month’s San Francisco premiere are $25 through Eventbrite. Can’t make it NorCal? The doc will be available for free on Steam, as well — just like the game that inspired it.
Source: Free to Play, Eventbrite
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