Xiaomi starts selling accessories through its official website in India
Xiaomi has commenced sales of accessories through its official Mi.com website in India.
Xiaomi testing waters with Microsoft, will let users try out Windows 10
Xiaomi’s explosive growth has relied heavily on Android so far, but the company seems to be open to alternatives. Over the following months, “select Xiaomi Mi 4 power users” will be given the opportunity to test the new Windows 10 and provide feedback to Microsoft.
Microsoft announced the arrival of Windows 10 (for PCs, tablets, and smartphones) in a blog post published yesterday. The announcement includes a section dedicated to partnerships with Chinese companies, including Lenovo, Tencent, Qihu 360, and… Xiaomi. The inclusion of the Mi company is surprising, given that Xiaomi has never expressed interest in Microsoft before.
In a statement to TechCrunch, Microsoft alluded that this test program is just the beginning of stronger ties with Xiaomi, which is apparently “embracing” Windows 10.
As part of the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft will partner with Xiaomi to offer Windows 10 free downloads to a select group of Xiaomi Mi4 users. Xiaomi Mi4 users will get the ability to flash their phones with the new Windows 10 OS and provide feedback to Xiaomi and Microsoft on their experience. This partnership will allow Xiaomi and Microsoft to get direct user feedback and continue to improve the experience for China. Microsoft is thrilled to see Xiaomi embracing Windows 10 and offering this great value to their customers. We’re excited to see the feedback we receive from this audience.
Xiaomi is a leading phone manufacturer in China undergoing significant global expansion. We are excited to partner with them in China and jointly gather feedback from Chinese users on their experience with Windows 10 to jointly collaborate on product and services development for the platform.
Availability will be announced in the months to come.
For its part, Xiaomi was careful to emphasize that it’s not jumping in bed with Microsoft just yet. “This is an experimental program entirely led by Microsoft, and we are happy that Mi fans with Mi 4 devices in China will be able to participate and provide feedback,” the company told The Next Web.
Some clarification comes from the wildly popular Mi forums. According to this post from moderator Bughinirari, Xiaomi will not manufacture phones with Windows 10, but it will allow Microsoft to provide a Windows 10 ROM for the Mi 4, along with support for users who decide to switch to Windows. It looks like Windows 10 will become a second, semi-official operating system for the Mi 4, with Microsoft handling support.
This is an interesting development, to say the least, though we probably shouldn’t be surprised that Xiaomi is willing to experiment. After all, MIUI OS has little to do with Google, at least in China, where Google’s services aren’t available (for now). With that said, Xiaomi is shipping with the Play Store in other countries and the company’s Hugo Barra (a former Googler himself) was emphatic about Xiaomi’s respect for Google.
It’s possible (and likely, given Microsoft’s tiny footprint in mobile) that Xiaomi is simply going along with this for the sake of experimentation. Also, Microsoft has been known to offer financial incentives to partners, and that may be a factor at play here. After all, Xiaomi’s is doing relatively little money, even if it’s a top five smartphone company by shipments.
This could also be the start of something bigger, though even if Xiaomi ends up shipping Windows devices, Android will probably remain its workhorse for the foreseeable future.
Microsoft is making a ROM that allows Android smartphones to run Windows 10 for phones
Microsoft announced earlier today that it was collaborating with Xiaomi in providing Mi 4 customers with a flashable ROM that allows them to run Windows 10 for phones on their Android devices. It looks like that program is set for a wider rollout, according to a report on TechCrunch:
Microsoft is making a ROM that allows Android smartphones to run Windows 10 for phones
Microsoft announced earlier today that it was collaborating with Xiaomi in providing Mi 4 customers with a flashable ROM that allows them to test Windows 10 for phones on their smartphones. It looks like that program is set for a wider rollout, according to a report on TechCrunch:
HTC’s “Uh-Oh” service will offer a one-time replacement of your broken device
HTC will be hosting an event tomorrow called “Uh-Oh,” and if it’s anything like HTC Advantage that they did last year with the M8, this will be another program to offer you a one-time replacement of your device in case you bust it up. The “Uh-Oh” program goes a bit beyond six months of cracked screen replacements, though.
The broken phone coverage period will reportedly be extended to a full year instead of six months, and it does cover everything that happens to the phone, including water damage, not just busted glass. There are a handful of other benefits that will come along with this new program, too, including support for switching carriers. The details are a little fuzzy on that, but it’d be nice if HTC could help further subsidize the price of a device if you wanted to jump to another carrier halfway through your contract.
There’s also supposedly a trade-in program for devices in the works that will offer potential buyers up to $100 towards a new HTC One. HTC certainly won’t be the first (or last) to try to use trade-in incentives to switch other customers over to their brand of devices.
source: Android Central
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More progress being made on pairing Android Wear with iPhones
If you’re an iPhone user that’s just not happy with the current selection of smartwatches, well, you’re probably on the wrong website, but there’s some good news on the horizon. Developer Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh recently released a video showing off how he paired a Moto 360 with an iPhone through some clever workarounds. Most of the functionality was borked, but you could at least check some text messages.
Today, he’s shown off some new progress on pairing the two together. It’s not a ton of improvement, but he’s able to answer a phone call made to the iPhone right from the Moto 360. There’s no jailbreaking, rooting, or anything else done to make this work. Just a simple APK sideloaded onto the Moto 360.
While developers like this are working at making Android Wear compatible with iOS, Google is supposedly working on their own iOS app to enable compatibility. Who do you think will get things working first?
source: Techno Buffalo
Click here to view the embedded video.
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Win one of four prizes in our Instantly Framed Mega Giveaway!
We have an amazing giveaway this week for you guys. We have teamed up with Instantly Framed to give away not one, but FOUR amazing prizes to our readers. Keep reading for all the details!
Instantly Framed is a free iOS app that physically frames your photos right from your phone! You can choose images from your Camera Roll, Instagram, or Facebook. There are five print sizes to choose from: 8×8, 6×6, 4×4, 4×6, or 6×4, each mounted in handcrafted, custom frames measuring 12×12″ and made of sustainably-sourced walnut wood. Instantly Framed uses acid-free, archival finishing materials, and 3-day shipping is always free.
Each order includes a 12×12″ walnut frame, a print of your photograph, glass, mat, recycled cardboard backing (ready to hang or display with built-in easel), professional finishing, and shipping.
Download the free Instantly Framed app to get your photos off your phone and onto your walls!
Giveaway details
On to the giveaway!
We want to see your best Spring inspired photos. Anything that says Spring to you, whether it’s signs of spring, your favorite thing about spring, or a goodbye homage to winter, they’re all good. Make sure you choose your best spring photos to enter, and get creative with it! To enter your photo, head over to Instagram and upload it, using hashtag #instantlyimore so we can find it. You may enter up to 5 photos into this giveaway, just don’t forget the hashtag or we will not be able to find your pictures! We will keep this open for the next two weeks, with winners chosen by the iMore staff and announced here on the blogs after it closes.
As mentioned, we will have four winners this time! Each of those winners will get a gift certificate for Instantly Framed that they can redeem for four free prints, mounted in a 12×12″ walnut frame with glass, mat, recycled cardboard backing (ready to hang or display with built-in easel), professional finishing, and shipping. Please note, Instantly Framed only ships within the US at this time, so to be eligible for the prize you must have a US shipping address.
Good luck everyone!
Microsoft sheds light on minimum hardware requirements for Windows 10 for phones and desktops
At the WinHEC conference in Shenzhen, China, Microsoft has revealed the minimum hardware requirements needed to successfully boot, run, update and service Windows 10. The hardware maker has shared details for desktops as well as Windows 10 for phones.
Light therapy now treats even the deepest cancer
Light therapy is a safe, easy way to kill cancer and treat other diseases, but it’s normally limited by its nature to illnesses that are skin-deep. Washington University researchers aren’t daunted, however. They’ve developed a phototherapy method that brings light directly to tumor cells, no matter how deep they are. The technique has you ingesting sugar combined with radioactive fluorine and light-sensitive, cancer-fighting nanoparticles. When you go through a PET scan, the sugar lights up and promptly kicks the nanoparticles into high gear. Effectively, this is a Trojan horse — since tumors eagerly absorb sugar, they’re sowing the seeds of their own demise.
Before you ask: the procedure should be safe. The researchers note that the light and material are only targeted at tumors, so you shouldn’t get sick because of some stray nanoparticles floating around your body. There are far fewer drugs involved than in chemotherapy, too. And you may not have to wait long to find out how well this in-body light therapy works in practice — Washington University is already planning a small-scale trial for its approach. If it proves successful and leads to official approval, you may have a shot at recovering from particularly sinister forms of cancer without facing terrible side effects.
[Image credit: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images]
Filed under: Science
Adobe throws Hat into Mobile Document Sharing with Acrobat DC
Adobe has long been a powerhouse in the world of documents, but the company didn’t transfer to mobile well—until now. Adobe’s mobile Acrobat application is now Acrobat DC (DC stands for Document Cloud) and includes document editing and sharing software to boost productivity and interact with others working on whatever project you need done. Think Google Drive, but even more document-centric.
The additions are beneficial, and seem easy to use, but since the update isn’t due until next month, we won’t see the real version for a while. Some of the new features are better document signing, mobile syncing from your desktop to all of your mobile devices, and as feature that allows you to take a picture of a document and edit it.
The Document Cloud is included for Creative Cloud subscribers, with a $15/month subscription option, or with a permanent purchase option.
Source: Adobe
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