Google jumps over Apple and becomes the most valuable brand
Google became the most valuable brand in the world by leaping over Apple, at least according to Millward Brown’s 2014 100 Top BrandZ report. According to them Google had a 40% increase in value and is now valued at nearly $158.9 billion. Google Glass (which is in open beta now) certainly had something to do with that revenue bump.
Apple is not worth approximately $147.9 billion and according to Millward Brown they had a decrease of 20%, unlike Google. This could change when the iWatch and the larger iPhone hit the market though, considering they didn’t already, that might have something to do with the decrease in value.
In the 3rd place is IBM valued at $107,5 billion with a decrease in value of 4%, 4th is Microsoft $90.1 billion and an increase of 29%, and so on. You can check the rest of top 10 most valuable brands on the image above.
VIA: PhoneArena
SOURCE: Millward Brown
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Unexpected manufacturer to provide Project Ara processors
It looks like neither Qualcomm, Nvidia, Intel or MediaTek will be providing the processors for Google’s upcoming Project Ara. It turns out Toshiba has been partnered with Google ever since the project began to provide the right types of chips for the modular phone that can support the many electric signals being transferred from one slot to the next.
Toshiba say it will provide three different types of chips for the phone, probably varying in speed.
The story is accompanied with the fact that Ara phones will start as cheap as $50, but this is probably for the bare-bones of the phone and will not include any additional parts. Each Ara phone will have 5-10 module slots, probably depending on the size of which one you get. Google did confirm that Ara will come in three sizes, small, medium, and phablet. While we don’t know the exact dimensions of each, we can assume the small will be around 4-4.3 inches, the medium around 4.7-5 inches and phablet around 5.5 inches.
Source: Nikkei
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Android 4.4 Starts to Roll Out for Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Tablet Z
It is always nice to see an OEM stick to their promises. Just over a month ago Sony’s blog announced that the Sony Xperia Z, ZL, ZR and Xperia Tablet Z would all be getting Android 4.4 in May. Well, May is here and 3/4 of the way over and Sony has announced that the update is finally starting to roll out.
Img via Robert Forslund
On Sony’s blog they outline that the Android 4.4 KitKat update for the devices named above has started today for select markets with more to follow in coming weeks. The update brings in all the usual Android 4.4 goods and fixes that you might have been watching everyone else enjoy. It also offers up a revamped Status Bar and Quick Settings panel.
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As you might expect, we’re also uplifting Sony’s entire native app portfolio to the latest versions bringing tweaked / improved / current experiences for one and all… some of our favourites look like:
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Messaging – a few UI adjustments here & there, including a slicker “send” animation, and deeper Emoji support for some expressive fun… also worth noting, you’ll find smileys wherever there’s an app with a keyboard
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Email – you’ll be able to both load and see more mails… but don’t fret, navigation of said load is easier with a more responsive viewing pane – split screen modes divide info for easy digest… especially useful / works a treat on Xperia Tablet Z
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Smart Social Camera – our social imaging experience makes its debut on our first Z Series devices; a selection of Xperia Camera apps directly accessible from your viewfinder… including personal favourite “Creative Effect”, and more for download to boot!
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Battery STAMINA Mode – level-upping our unique power management feature, bringing smarter data management & more for prolonging your juice.
The WALKMAN and Album and Movies media apps are also getting an updated UI and are integrated into the Sony Entertainment Network cloud service with better download speeds and more. The update also makes the slightly older devices compatible with the SmartWare Experience SmartBand SWR10 and Lifelog App.
Unfortunately Sony doesn’t lay down the planned locales and regions for us, but we do know the above image is from the update that Robert just installed this morning in Sweden. It is unclear if the T-Mobile variant of the Xperia Z will be picking this update up or not. The current Xperia Z1s on the network is still sitting on Android 4.3, so I would imagine they would want to start there if they do anything at all.
Any devices owners out there seeing the update? Did you pull it from the PC companion app or via OTA, and where are you located?
Via Sony Blog
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Hacker Team Claims Compromise of Apple’s iCloud and Activation Lock, Possibly via SSL Bug
A pair of hackers from the Netherlands and Morocco, identifying themselves as AquaXetine and MerrukTechnolog, claim to have compromised the security of Apple’s iCloud system for locking iOS devices.
The hack will unlock stolen iPhones by bypassing Activation Lock, making it possible for thieves to resell the phones easily on the black market, reports Dutch publication De Telegraaf [Google Translate]. It also may provide hackers with access to Apple ID passwords and other personal information stored in Apple’s iCloud service.
The hackers reportedly worked on the vulnerability for five months, studying the transmission of data between iPhone handsets and Apple’s iCloud services. The pair claim to be able to unlock a locked iPhone by placing a computer between the iPhone and Apple’s servers. In this configuration, the iPhone mistakenly identifies the hacker’s computer as one of Apple’s servers and follows instructions provided by the nefarious computer to reverse activation lock on the handset.
While the hackers did not reveal precise information on how their intercepting computer can spoof Apple’s iCloud activation servers, it appears that they may be taking advantage of an SSL bug that is present in iTunes for Windows, as noted by iPhone in Canada, who spoke to security researcher Mark Loman about the issue. The previously disclosed issue was fixed in iOS 7.0.6 and OS X 10.9.2, but it appears that iTunes for Windows is still affected.
After looking into some claims of the jailbreak community, Mark Loman decided to do some investigating of his own and made a shocking discovery. SSL has two tasks: one, to verify communication with the intended server; and two, to prevent manipulation.
“The problem is with verifying the certificate. Apple appears to have deliberately left out this essential step required for proper secure communication. They fixed it last month for iOS but forgot to fix it for iTunes. But the jailbreak community is already making use of it — which is how I figured it out.”
The vulnerability reportedly allows hackers to intercept Apple ID credentials, which can then be used to unlock iOS devices that have been locked after having been lost or stolen.
Actually, the data IS encrypted. But when an attacker strips SSL during a so-called man-in-the-middle attack the AppleID account name and password can be extracted as they are sent in plain text inside SSL, Mark Loman said in an email sent to iPhone in Canada.
Using this technique, the hackers claim to have unlocked 30,000 iPhones in the past few days. The group allegedly contacted Apple about this vulnerability in March, but Apple never responded, prompting the hackers to go public with the information.
EE launches own-brand 4G ‘Eagle’ tablet for £199
Something told us that when EE unveiled an own-brand smartphone, a tablet wouldn’t be far behind. The UK’s biggest operator today confirmed it’s launching a new 8-inch Android slate, it’s called the Eagle and it’ll set you back £199 on a pay-as-you-go tariff or £49.99 if you sign up to a £15 pay monthly plan. For that, you’ll get 1.6GHz quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB internal storage and a 5-megapixel rear camera. EE says it offers “specifications and features traditionally associated with more expensive devices,” but you might know it as a rebranded version of the Huawei MediaPad M1 8.0. While Tesco’s Hudl commands only a £119 price tag, it lacks mobile connectivity. Google’s Nexus 7 does offer LTE, but that’ll cost you £299.
The Eagle isn’t the only avian-themed device EE is unveiling today: there’s also the Buzzard, a £49.99 plug-and-play 4G MiFi designed specifically for your car that’ll let you add up to 10 connections; the Kite, a £69.99 MiFi for business users; and the Osprey, a slightly cheaper 4G WiFi unit designed for younger customers. All of the carrier’s new devices will be available from May 28th — we expect to get an Eagle in our possession, so keep an eye out for our full review in the near future.
Filed under: Tablets, Wireless, Mobile
Source: EE Press Office
Land a role in the new Star Wars movie just for donating to UNICEF
Admittedly, we’re pretty stoked about the next instalment in the Star Wars saga — specifically seeing the old cast back in action. J.J. Abrams announced the Star Wars: Force for Change initiative from Episode VII’s set in Abu Dhabi this morning. Abram’s company Bad Robot, coupled with Disney and Lucasfilm will use Force for Change to help bring creative solutions to some of the world’s greatest problems. The initiative’s kick off would see your $10 entry fee go to Unicef’s Innovation Labs and Programs and the winner get a role in Episode VII. Yeah, you’ll get to flown to England with a friend, become J.J.’s VIP guest, get hair, make-up and costume sorted for your role. Have deeper pockets? Using the Omaze fundraising platform, entrants can choose all kinds of entry points and get gifts — think Kickstarter for charities. For $5k you get 500 chances to win and a replica lightsaber, for a cool $50K, 5,000 entries and a chance to see the film ahead of the rest of humanity. This first round in what we hope will be an ongoing charity saga, starts today and runs until July 18.
Via: The Verge
Source: Omaze — Star Wars
Psst, Secret’s anonymous sharing app finally arrives on Android
Up until now, Android users had to stew in envy as their iOS colleagues delighted in juicy rumors and salacious stories revealed on Secret, an app that lets you share confidential information under the veil of anonymity. Other anonymous sharing apps, like Whisper, exist on Android already of course, but few have had the clout that Secret has, especially in Silicon Valley. Thankfully, however, Android users can now jump on the Secret bandwagon, as the app is finally available on Android starting today. And that’s not all. As a special treat for waiting so patiently, Android users are getting an exclusive feature — two streams instead of one. That’s right, only the Android app will let you view either a Friends stream, which includes posts from Friends or Friends of Friends (the people in your phone’s contacts list plus the folks in their contacts lists), or an Explore stream, which casts a far wider net.
According to Secret, iOS users might get the split stream eventually, but the team wanted to give Android fans a head start. “I think it’s really awesome that we’re at a point now in Android development that we can launch features on Android like this,” said Sara Haider, an Android engineer that Secret hired away from Twitter a couple of months ago. “It doesn’t always have to be iOS first. We can lead with Android.” Chrys Bader, Secret’s co-founder, agreed, stating that the company considers Android a first-class citizen. “We’re testing the waters to see how people like the two streams, and it might show up on iOS if successful,” he said.
I tried out the Secret for Android app briefly and it really does mirror what’s on iOS, except of course that the river is divided in two. The design looks very similar, except for a few minor UI differences and you can heart posts and leave comments in the same way. From just a few minutes playing around with it, I have to admit I really enjoy having my Friends stream separate from Explore. I get a far better signal-to-noise ratio on the Friends stream and I don’t have to scroll through a mess of strangers’ posts just to see ones from people I know. As for the Explore tab, Bader told us that Secret is looking to improve and expand upon it.
“The posts on Explore [are] still through the lens of your initial social circle,” he said. “But what we’ve learned is that even if the posts are through your network, it doesn’t carry the same weight as those from your friends. If a secret is from someone who’s three degrees connected to you versus one, that’s not connected to you at all; the sense you feel is pretty similar.” Explore, he said, is a whole playground of content that’s beyond a few degrees. “Right now, it’s a mix of relevant posts your friends have liked, ones from people nearby, plus popular posts in general.”
Aside from releasing a new Android app, the other big news from Secret today is that it’s now available worldwide, so now everyone who has an Android or iOS 7 device can download it and start confessing their innermost desires. As part of the global rollout and the influx of fresh users Android adoption might bring, Secret has also come up with a couple of new features that’ll make things more engaging for new and old users alike. First, both iOS and Android users will now be able to see their Friend count, to see just how many fps they have on the service. Next, if you have less than three or 10 friends, you’ll see that you need to get more buddies in order to unlock posts. Bader said this is to protect people’s identities more than anything — otherwise, it’s too easy to guess what secret is from whom.
Secret is also planning on introducing prompts, or questions, in order to get people talking. For example, it recently asked on Twitter if there’s a secret you never told your mom, and it caught on like wildfire. That sort of question will now be integrated into the app itself. You can also choose to involve your friends by sharing that question on Twitter or Facebook, though you obviously don’t have to reveal your answer if you don’t want to.
As for what’s next for Secret, Bader said the company hopes to keep building features that’ll help people connect. “We’re still continuing to learn how people use Secret. … We’re focused on engagement, and one of the things we’re interested [in] is to see how people can close the loop.” He reiterated what he said at Disrupt NY, that the company is looking into building an anonymous messaging service within Secret so that users can look into meeting each other offline. It’s something that a third-party spinoff site, anonyfish, already does, but bringing it in-house might better serve Secret’s users. “We’re all about facilitating real human connection,” said Bader.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Google Play, Secret
Facebook app will soon identify songs and TV shows just by listening to them
If you’ve ever wanted to tell your Facebook friends what you’re listening to — say, REM’s “It’s The End of The World And We Know it (And I Feel Fine)” — without having to spell the whole thing out, well, now you can. Facebook has just announced a new option in its mobile app that can detect the song, TV show or movie that’s playing in the background just by using the phone’s microphone. Once it names that tune (or show), you can simply insert that info into your post with just a few taps — no typing required.
Songs will appear as 30-second previews linked to Rdio, Spotify or Deezer depending on your preference (if you don’t have a preferred service, Facebook will select one at random), while TV shows will indicate not just the name of the program but also metadata like the season number and episode title. Once you choose to turn the feature on — and yes, it’s opt-in — the microphone will kick in whenever you’re in a compose window. You’ll know it’s working when you see a blue audio bar animation either in the top right corner or over the smiley icon at the bottom.
Having the app listen in to your environment sounds like a rather creepy proposition, but Facebook assures us that the app is only scanning for song and TV info and no sound is ever recorded or stored on its servers. You’ll also always have full control over your posts and can decide not to share what it detects. In other words, you don’t have to reveal that you were just watching My Little Pony if you don’t want to.
Aryeh Selekman, a product manager at Facebook, tells us that the audio recognition feature was born out of the “feelings and activities” selector tool that the company rolled out last year. “We’ve seen over 5 billion feelings and activities posted just in the past year,” he said. “We just wanted to make it faster and easier to do.”
The team at Facebook spent a little over a year dedicated to the project, eventually coming up with a unique audio recognition algorithm built entirely in-house and from scratch. A Facebook spokesperson tells us a lot of that time was spent establishing partnerships with content providers, resulting in millions of songs in its catalog and the ability to recognize programming from 160 TV stations.
When asked how the technology worked, Selekman said that it functions at a millisecond level. “As audio comes into the device, it immediately gets converted into these unique codes that we can use to identify properties that’s specific to the content […] It then looks up the code in the database and finds a match.” The technique appears slightly different from Shazam, another popular audio recognition service. “For every Shazam, the application analyzes the audio and generates a tiny unique fingerprint based on the audio characteristics found within the sample,” said Charles Henrich, Shazam’s Executive Vice President of Engineering. “It then uses this fingerprint to search against our database of tens of millions of audio tracks until it finds a match.”
I had a chance to preview the new song and TV show identification feature a few days ago, and I was overall quite impressed by its speed and accuracy — bearing in mind that I was testing it in a quiet conference room, which is very much an ideal setting. Identifying songs took mere seconds and naming TV shows didn’t take much longer. Indeed, the app only needed the first ten or so seconds of a Game of Thrones clip before nailing down that it was from the sixth episode of the fourth season. The audio recognition even works for live TV — it figured out we were watching CNN within a few seconds. Though we didn’t have a chance to test it, Facebook tells us it’s able to recognize live sporting events as well.
“This lets you add a soundtrack to your posts,” said Selekman, stating that you can use it to bundle photos with songs you heard at an event, like during a wedding or a concert. TV show recognition can also help foster conversation about a certain episode, and maybe help you avoid spoilers. Of course, we had to ask if Facebook’s thinking of using the feature for targeted ads, and the company told us that while that’s certainly a possibility down the road, it probably won’t happen just yet as it continues to test the service. Facebook plans to roll out the update to Android and iOS over the coming weeks, so keep a look out for it. In the meantime, check out a brief preview of it below.
Filed under: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Old console, new tricks: Getting the most out of your Xbox 360
Whether you’re holding out for the Kinect-less Xbox One or you’ve already unpacked a new system, there’s still plenty of life left in the Xbox 360. Microsoft will have its new system properly on track after another half dozen or so software updates, but until then, it’s all about getting everything we can out of older hardware. Nearly nine years later, here’s how to make sure your Xbox 360 is aging gracefully.
Cancel your Xbox Live subscription
You’ve probably heard that Microsoft is switching up how Xbox Live Gold works next month, but if your 360 is more of a Netflix machine than an online gaming portal, then you can start saving money right now. If you cancel your Xbox Live subscription before August 31st, you’ll get a prorated refund for the time remaining — this FAQ has more details.
Keep your Xbox Live subscription
But wait! Before you hit that button, maybe it’s time to see if you’ve been getting your money’s worth from Xbox Live Gold. It’s about more than just multiplayer gaming or apps like Netflix and Vudu. The first way to save money is by checking for deals on the subscription itself. Regular pricing for Xbox Live Gold is $10 per month or $60 per year. Keep an eye out for deals from retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, eBay or even the Microsoft Store that cut the entry fee by $10, $20 or even $25. Next, check out this chart that lays out what’s available to everyone, and what will still require Xbox Live Gold after June.
Protip: Check out our deals updates for a heads-up, or keep an eye on websites like CheapAssGamer, FatWallet or SlickDeals to find out when sales are happening. Otherwise, double-check any new games you buy, as they frequently are either available as bundles that shave some of the cost, or include a trial card inside that’ll help you sate that weekend craving for some Halo.
Games with Gold
After Sony introduced an Instant Game Collection with PlayStation Plus that doles out free games every month, Microsoft responded by adding Games with Gold to its package. Sure, the monthly freebies are coming to Xbox One, but the Xbox 360 version has one big advantage over the XB1 and PlayStation offerings: You can keep the games. That’s right, all you need to do is check in twice a month (on the 1st and the 16th), start a download of whatever is currently being offered and it’s yours for good, even if you cancel Xbox Live Gold later. The only downside? So far, they’ve usually included older and lower-profile titles than the competition, but you can see a complete list here. This month’s games were Dust: An Elysian Tail and Saints Row: The Third, and in June, subscribers can snag Dark Souls, Charlie Murder and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition — not a bad haul for zero additional cost.
Protip: There’s an additional benefit of Deals with Gold that adds a monthly rotation of discounted games, videos and DLC — check Major Nelson’s blog to find out what’s going on sale and when.
Xbox 360 SmartGlass
In the years since the Xbox 360 launched, Microsoft added a new way to interact with the system other than just gamepads and remotes: your phone or tablet. The SmartGlass app (formerly known as My Xbox Live) can control apps, games and movies on the Xbox 360, and even search content using Bing. The simplest way to use it is with Xbox Live. Sending messages to friends or checking their Xbox Live status is often quicker from the second screen, and your phone likely has a better keyboard than using an add-on for the 360′s controller. The apps are free to install and are available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Windows 8/Windows Phone.
Protip: Get a full list of SmartGlass-enabled games, apps and movies right here.
Clear your cache
Occasionally, issues with your Xbox 360 (glitches in the dashboard, sign-in errors, problems with certain games) can be solved just by clearing its cache. On the Xbox, clearing the cache just removes temporarily downloaded game updates, but it doesn’t affect system updates, game files or anything else on your hard drive. After clearing, you’ll be asked to download game updates again the next time you’re on Xbox Live. To do it, just go to the Settings page, highlight any storage device (cache will be cleared on all devices), press Y, select clear and say, “Yes.” See how easy that was? So easy.
Xbox Live Arcade
Microsoft may have thrown indie games in with the big boys on Xbox One, but on Xbox 360, there are probably still a few smaller gems you haven’t played yet. Over 600 games were pushed to XBLA since launch, including well-known hits like Braid, The Walking Dead, Castle Crashers, Limbo, ‘Splosion Man and Minecraft. Better yet, they have demos, and probably only cost a few bucks to try out. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Destination: Arcade visual browser hasn’t returned after a short beta test in 2010, but we suggest trying out The Bridge, Bastion, N+, Super Meat Boy, Ascend: Hand of Kul and keeping your eyes peeled for upcoming titles like AirMech Arena and Slender: The Arrival. Know some hidden gems we’ve missed? Leave us a note in the forums so we can try them out.
[Image credit: momo_leif / Alamy]
Amazon’s Prime Instant Video gets its first HBO shows, right on cue
If you’ve been waiting for the day you could marathon The Wire without buying a DVD set or an iTunes pass, your moment has come: as promised, Amazon has rolled out the initial wave of HBO shows on Prime Instant Video. Those shelling out $99 per year (or $79 if you’re lucky) can now stream every season of older series like Deadwood, The Sopranos and The Wire as well as a handful of seasons from ongoing productions like Boardwalk Empire and True Blood. You’ll also get a smattering of comedy specials, documentaries and movies. While you’ll have to remain patient if you want to watch fresher shows, such as Girls or Veep, this is still a big deal if you want to see what you’ve been missing on premium cable TV — or if you’d just like to revisit a favorite episode.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Amazon
Source: Amazon (1), (2)
AIVAnet 