Charter and Time Warner Cable agree on $55 billion merger
Time Warner Cable (TWC) has leaped into the arms Charter Communications in a merger valued at $55 billion, confirming previous rumors. That’s considerably more than the $45 billion Comcast proposed to pay for TWC in a controversial deal that was eventually called off. Charter said that the merger will “create a leading broadband services and technology company serving 23.9 million customers in 41 states.” Time Warner Cable rejected a similar offer back in 2014, but Charter sweetened it considerably this time around. The deal values Time Warner Cable at $75.7 billion.
TWC is the nation’s second largest cable operator after Comcast, while Charter Communications sits in fourth place. The terms of the deal mean that Charter would also absorb Bright House Networks, a smaller US operator. Charter said that the deal would result in “faster broadband speeds” and “more competition for consumers and business,” even though there would be fewer players in the market. If the whole thing comes off, Charter would be the nation’s second largest operator with 24 million customers, compared to 27 million for Comcast.
However, the deal still needs to be approved by regulators, and the FCC was reportedly dead set against Comcast’s acquisition of TWC. That said, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler had already told TWC that he wasn’t necessarily against any future deals with other players, according to the WSJ. There’s a big difference betwen the Charter and Comcast mergers, because the latter would’ve created a single dominant company and left many consumers with only one option for cable and internet. The sheer size of it could still be a concern, however, and if the deal doesn’t come off, Charter could end up owing its larger rival nearly $2 billion in cancellation fees.
Filed under: Internet
Source: Charter Communications
Ofcom plans to auction more 4G spectrum later this year
Ofcom is planning a fresh spectrum auction that will improve 4G coverage later this year. The regulator has 190 MHz to allocate to the major mobile networks, and today it’s launched a consultation with possible auction formats. The concern is that some of the biggest carriers are undergoing mergers — BT is buying EE, while the owner of Three UK is trying to acquire O2. if Ofcom awards all of the spectrum now, the balance of power could change unexpectedly if the deals don’t proceed as planned. However, it could be six months before they’re approved, and even longer before the transactions are completed, and the regulator doesn’t want to waste any time putting the spectrum to good use. So, it’s now proposing an auction format that would allocate some, but not all of the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands. The bulk could be awarded as early as this year, but a portion would be held back until the buyouts are complete. That way, Ofcom would retain the ability to rebalance the market should anything drastic happen. In theory, it would promote competition in the UK while improving your 4G connection as quickly as possible.
Filed under: Networking
Source: Ofcom
Taking a spin in the first car with Android Auto
Get ready for Android Auto to hit the masses. Until now, the only way to get the Google-powered car interface was to install an aftermarket unit from Pioneer, and even those have only been around since March (Parrot is also citing support for Android Auto in its head units, but its availability has not been announced). But that changes today, as Android Auto is now finally available in actual cars that you can buy. That is, if you want to buy a Hyundai. The Korean automaker is the first car company to have Android Auto integrated in its production vehicles, starting with the 2015 Sonata with Navigation models. I recently spent a week with a 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T, and while I think Android Auto still has some growing up to do, I was overall very pleased.
First, a brief primer on Android Auto. It’s essentially a driver-friendly Android interface for your car. “We lock out the phone to make you look at the car screen. It’s a lot safer,” says Andrew Brenner, the lead product manager for Android Auto. Brenner is also the first person Google hired to lead the project two years ago. “The first thing we did [when we started the project] was to put cameras in the cars of Googlers and observe them,” says Brenner. “What we saw shocked us and made us a little scared!” The team found that research participants frequently used their phones while driving, which Brenner says is unfortunately not uncommon. According to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately 660,000 drivers are “using cellphones or manipulating electronic devices while driving,” and apparently that number hasn’t changed much since 2010.
People don’t just use their phones for navigation either. Google found that drivers frequently used their devices for calls, messages, music and even things they really shouldn’t be doing, like reading tweets. “Our digital life is so important these days. … People don’t want to leave their connectivity and link to the outside world when they get in the car,” explains Brenner. It became immediately obvious that distracted driving was the main thing that Brenner and his team needed to solve. They started working with auto manufacturers — Hyundai being one of them — to develop an ecosystem that would allow an Android phone to integrate with the car’s existing controls. With some cars, you might navigate the interface with knobs and buttons, while on others, you just use the touchscreen.
The Sonata I tested falls into the latter category, with a touchscreen dominating the center console. It comes with Hyundai’s own navigation and entertainment interface, with SiriusXM, its own GPS navigation system and an SD card preloaded with maps. But if you wanted to use Android Auto instead, now you can. Do note, however, that Android Auto only works with a Lollipop-powered Android phone (that’s Android 5.0 and up). Fortunately, I happened to have a HTC One M9 on hand that meets that requirement.
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I plugged the phone into the car’s center console via a USB cable, which then prompted it to download and install the Android Auto app. After I did that, I noticed a new “Android Auto” button appear on the screen. I tapped it and voila — that Hyundai interface was gone. In its place was the Android Auto interface, which is so much cleaner and tidier than Hyundai’s own cluttered UI that I couldn’t help but smile when I first saw it. Interestingly, however, it wasn’t a complete takeover. For example, I could still hear SiriusXM while I was fiddling with the Android Auto interface and similarly, I could keep streaming Google Play Music while over on the Hyundai side.
Now, the Android Auto interface isn’t an exact replica of your phone — you won’t see all your apps on here. That’s because it’s meant to surface apps and features that are relevant when you’re on the road. The first thing that you see when you launch Android Auto, for starters, is an overview screen that’s essentially a car-friendly version of Google Now. “It filters through only the cards that are relevant when driving,” says Brenner. In my case, I often saw the currently playing track, recently missed calls, the local weather and directions to either go home or to the office. It also showed me directions to locations of upcoming appointments. I had booked a ticket to a local production of Book of Mormon, for example, and Android Auto instinctively knew to offer me directions to the theater. Creepy, but useful.
Along the bottom of the screen is a universal nav bar that leads to maps and navigation, the phone dialer, music apps and an app tray. In Hyundai’s case, the latter simply leads back to the default car menu. Aside from these features, Android Auto also supports basic Google voice actions. So, for example, you can say things like, “What’s my next appointment?” or, “What’s the weather today?” and Android Auto will respond with the appropriate answers just like your phone would.
Indeed, Android Auto is very voice-driven. In the case of the Sonata, I pressed and held down the voice-command button on the steering wheel to activate the microphone (though simply tapping the microphone on the screen would work too). From there you can say all kinds of commands, like “How did the Warriors do last night?” and, “Find me some coffee.” In the first case, you’ll hear a voice telling you the scores, while the latter command will bring up a list of nearby coffee shops. Tap a spot you want to go to, and Android Auto will navigate you there.
In my experience, voice controls worked great. Unlike a lot of car systems where you have to go through a tree of commands to do anything, I could just speak naturally. In my own 2012 Ford Focus, for example, I have to say, “Destination, Street Address,” before detailing exactly where I want to go. With Android Auto, I could just say, “Take me to In-N-Out,” and it’ll just show me the way to the closest In-N-Out. I could also say commands like, “Call Roberto,” or, “Text Michael,” for calls and text messages and “Play [insert name of artist or song]” for music. In fact, I can even specify the exact app. With music, for example, the default is Google Play Music, but Android Auto works with other music services like Spotify, TuneIn and iHeartRadio. So I could say, “Play Vampire Weekend on Spotify,” and it’ll know to switch over to the different app to play the song.
The look of Android Auto is also designed to be very car-friendly. The fonts are nice and big and the UI is meant to be easy to navigate. Google Maps on Android Auto, for example, has fewer location labels than its mobile counterpart. When I get an incoming text message, I see a notification pop up on the screen showing who sent it, but not the actual message itself. Instead, I have to press the voice button to prompt Android Auto to read it to me. The menu system of each app is also simplified and standardized, while maintaining a few individual characteristics. So, for instance, both Google Play Music and Spotify have the same play/pause and track controls, but the former is orange while the latter is green. The apps also have different menu options depending on their features.
That’s not to say I didn’t encounter a few bugs. Whenever I requested Android Auto to play a song, it struggled to show me the relevant track information on the screen — it would show “Getting your selection” instead of the name of the song. Additionally, the current Android Auto app library is still relatively small. While I appreciate that it supports WhatsApp and Skype as alternate messaging services, I wish that it could also support Twitter DM and Google’s own Hangouts, the two apps that I use the most. The same goes for music — I wish it supported Rdio and SoundCloud as well. Still, these are mostly teething problems, and I suspect Android Auto’s performance and app library will improve over time.
So if you’re Hyundai, why would you agree to offer Android Auto if you’ve already invested time and money in your own in-car solution? Cason Grover, Hyundai’s senior group manager for Cross-Carline Planning, says it’s all about freedom of choice. “Right now if you want onboard maps, you have to use this SD card. … That’s good technology right now, but over time, mapping will become more and more offboard,” he says, pointing to Google’s ability to have real-time traffic info. But when it comes to driving in areas where you might not get great data reception, automotive GPS will still be useful. Brenner says that Android Auto also isn’t meant to take over your car’s internal system like heating and seat suspension.
But it’s clear that carmakers like Hyundai see the benefit of partnering up with the likes of Google and Apple — Hyundai’s 2015 Sonatas with Navigation will also be compatible with Apple CarPlay down the road — if only to make their vehicles more appealing to smartphone-savvy consumers. “We’ve learned quickly that to offer everything that everybody wants is not feasible, more so with apps on the phone,” says Grover. “Google works with those developers, and those apps work with every Android Auto phone. All we have to do is work with Google to integrate it with the car.”
To drive home the point, Hyundai is also planning on rolling out cars with a new head unit called Display Audio. It has a center console touchscreen like the Navigation models except that it won’t come with embedded maps — you’ll have to supply your own. Not only does this make the cars a lot more affordable to the average consumer, but also it’s when third-party solutions like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay really come into their own.
“Right now only less than half of all Sonatas have support for Android Auto,” says Grover, explaining that’s because the Navigation models are mid- to high-level options. But once Hyundai rolls out those cars with Display Audio units, nearly all of Hyundai’s fleet will be Android Auto-ready. “Android Auto is focused on trying to have you use your phone in a much safer way,” says Brenner. “We want to give people the connected experience that they crave.”
If you’re ready to take the Android Auto plunge now, however, well you can always head on over to your closest Hyundai dealership to check out the new Sonatas with Navigation. If you’re already a current owner of a 2015 Sonata with Navigation, you’ll be able to take your car down to a dealer where you can update your car’s software with Android Auto. You could also add an aftermarket unit from the likes of Pioneer or Parrot if you’d rather not give up your existing car. And, of course, you could also just wait for more automakers like Honda, Ford and Audi to roll out their own Android Auto-compatible vehicles later this year.
Filed under: Transportation, Google
Opera Max for Android starts saving data when you’re on WiFi
Opera’s data compression was originally meant to get the most out of thimble-sized cellular plans, but you’d probably agree that WiFi matters, too. After all, you’ve likely had that moment when you were struggling to visit websites on a lousy public hotspot. Mercifully, relief is in sight: an updated version of Opera Max for Android now squeezes app data even when you’re on WiFi, helping you save bandwidth no matter what connection you’re using. You can manage cellular and WiFi data separately, and there’s an equally new blocking option if you need to put a particularly greedy app on ice for a while. Snag the upgrade today if you find that fast, unfettered internet access is sometimes hard to come by.
Filed under: Cellphones, Networking, Internet, Mobile
Source: Google Play, Opera
Sony launches Xperia Z3+: same as Japan’s Xperia Z4, almost the same as Xperia Z3
Sony’s Xperia Z4 may make a lot of sense for Japan, but the company received a ton of flak over the questionable decision to release a new generation of the Xperia series with just token upgrades compared to the Z3. Some suggested Sony should have pulled an Apple and kept the Z3 name a bit longer, and that’s exactly what the Japanese company is doing with the new Xperia Z3+.
Launched today without fanfare, and set for a June release, the Xperia Z3+ is, put simply, the Xperia Z4 by another name. A more modest name, in line with the minimal changes that the device brings compared to the Xperia Z3.
The Xperia Z3+ is smaller than the previous gen, with a 6.9 millimeter profile, though the slimdown comes at the cost of reduced battery capacity, from 3,100 to 2,900 mAh. The hit in battery life may be offset by the Snapdragon 810 processor, which is, in theory, less thirsty than the Snapdragon 801 powering the Z3.
The screen remains the same great 5.2-inch Full HD LCD, while Sony relocated the USB port down to the bottom of the device and did away with the magnetic charging pins. That should make for a cleaner design, thanks to the absence of the plastic flap, though the Z3+ preserves the IP65/68-rated water and dust resistance.
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The camera remains the same great 20.7MP we loved on the Xperia Z3, but the front shooter was upgraded to 5MP, in line with what the selfie-loving crowd demands from current smartphones.
The Xperia Z3+ runs Android 5.0 Lollipop, a version that should be familiar to Xperia Z series device owners who have been receiving the same update over the last couple of months.
The Xperia Z3+ is coming this summer, but we don’t have an official price tag yet. We’d be very surprised if there was any difference compared to the Z3.
There you have it: with the Xperia Z3+, Sony appears to be trying to placate critics and fans upset disappointed by the Xperia Z4. It’s not clear if Sony chose the Z3+ moniker after the Z4’s chilly reception, though we wouldn’t be surprised.
There’s nothing new or exciting about the new Xperia Z3+, and that amps up the expectation for the next generation of the series. Hopefully, the Xperia Z3+ is just a stopgap meant to keep the Xperia line in the spotlight while Sony works on the real upgrade coming – we hope – this autumn. Thoughts?
Samsung unveils 10nm FinFET manufacturing plans
Samsung may have only recently rolled out its own 14nm chips in its new Galaxy S6 smartphone, but now the growing semiconductor company has revealed a few details about its plans to shrink processor manufacturing down to 10nm.
Samsung says that the processing node will be in full production by the end of 2016 and will offer “significant power, area and performance advantages” over existing nodes. No other specs, details, or product plans were given.
TSMC, the largest player in the industry, is also planning to have its own 10nm manufacturing ready late next year, and is likely keen to edge out any advantage it can gain after been beaten by Samsung to 16/14nm this year. Intel is also in the race to 10nm and is expected to be ahead of the rest in development, but has remained silent about its plans.
As well as producing smaller versions of its Exynos mobile SoC line-up, Samsung may also pick up large 14nm orders from other companies later this year. By beating TSMC to market this year, both Apple and Qualcomm are rumored to be turning to Samsung’s foundries for their new chips. Similar orders could carry over to 10nm too, so long as Samsung has the capacity to cater for multiple major device launches.
“Samsung made a big gamble on 14nm FinFet… they’ve closed the gap significantly with TSMC,” – International Business Strategies CEO Handel Jones
Just last month Samsung gave out further details about its 14nm roadmap. Samsung now has two fabs in South Korea, one in Austin Texas, and a Global Foundries fab in New York State up and running using its 14nm process. Although the company still hasn’t given out any numbers on yields, volumes or the number of designs planning to use the process.
The time spent on 14nm and 16nm nodes is expected to be relatively short, as foundries look set to move over to the cheaper, more efficient 10nm process so quickly.
Samsung’s latest patent describes a dual-booting machine (again)
Despite the best of intentions, often times intellectual property laws may get in the way of potential products. Such was the sad fate that befell the Samsung Ativ Q, a device from 2013 that turned many heads for its high resolution screen and dual-booting of Windows 8 and Android. While this promising pipe-dream might be yesterday’s listful lament, it would appear Samsung is not done with the convertible form factor. Thanks to the team at Patently Mobile, the following is now upon us:
The schematic seen here is supposedly for a dual booting device. The premise is quite simple in theory: the computer runs Windows, but if you place a compatible Samsung mobile phone (the “phablet”) into the docking area, the OS would switch to Android. Interestingly enough, this is far from the first attempt at such a product, as Asus had the Transformer Book V last year, and a similar idea was employed way back in 2011 with the Moto Atrix 4G Lapdock (minus the inclusion of Windows of course).
Samsung
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As Patently Mobile rightly mentions, the potential gain for Samsung here would be quite high, all the more so if Apple will truly bring a 12 inch+ ‘iPad Pro” to market this year. By developing a product like this, the company could instantly be established in the business productivity segment, something that it arguably tried last year with the release of the Galaxy Tab PRO series. This would be a much more aggressive take however, when you factor in the presence of Windows in-and-of-itself, as well as Samsung’s recent partnership with Microsoft to pre-install Office apps onto Galaxy phones and tablets in key markets. Microsoft would, in turn, also stand to benefit as well as it could potentially be selling Windows licenses to every single Galaxy Note owner.
While a patent application might be nothing more than an idea put down on paper to protect, Samsung’s commitment to reinvent itself this year is clear (see the Galaxy S6/TouchWiz) and there is the aforementioned fact that it has already sought to release a dual-booting device to begin with.
With all this said, there’s a rumored reason dual-booting Android/Windows were announced, but not actually released. Both Google and Microsoft were reportedly unhappy with the idea, and that may be the biggest obstacle in transforming this patent into a commercial product.
Sony’s Xperia Z3+ is a familiar flagship
Sony announced the Xperia Z4 for Japan last month, but this isn’t it. Well it is, but internationally Sony wants it to be known as the Xperia Z3+. Truth be told, that’s a more appropriate name for the phone, given the incremental upgrade it represents over last year’s model. The Z3+ may look virtually identical to its predecessor, but internally it has almost everything you’d expect from a 2015 flagship.
Let’s start with what hasn’t changed: the 5.2-inch 1080p IPS display. Our review of the Z3 found it to be excellent, and HTC also stuck with its 1080p unit this year, but there’s no hiding from the fact that Samsung and LG have higher resolution units in their latest flagships. The Z3’s 20.7-megapixel main camera is also carried over, with Sony focusing its attention on an all-new 5-megapixel selfie cam, which represents a solid upgrade from last year’s 2-megapixel shooter.
As you’d expect, the Z3+ is powered by Qualcomm’s best, the octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor paired with 3GB of RAM, which should keep Android 5.0 chugging away nicely when compared to the Z3’s 801. In order to reduce the Z3+’s dimensions (it’s 6.9mm thick, compared to 7.3mm last year) the battery has been cut from 3,100Ah to 2,900mAh. Hopefully the 810’s four low-power cores will mean that reduction won’t affect real-world battery life — Sony isn’t sharing usage figures yet, only declaring “up to two-day battery life.”
You probably noticed already just how similar the Z3+ looks to the Z3, but there’s one change worth talking about. The micro-USB port has moved from the top left, down to the bottom of the phone — no longer hidden behind a fiddly cap. Sony says this new capless port doesn’t affect the phone’s IP65/68 dust and waterproofing certifications. The magnetic charging pins, which used to live just below the charging port, have also been removed in pursuit of “an overall more seamless and minimalist design.”
The Z3+ will be available this summer at an unknown price — we’d imagine it’ll sell for about the same as the Z3 at launch. Last year’s model was very well received, but Sony was still blown away by its competitors in terms of sales. Given Sony’s two most-prominent rivals in the west, Samsung and Apple, have taken big leaps forward with the S6, S6 Edge, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, it’s difficult to see the Z3+ making much of a dent in either’s profits. Sony is in a holding pattern with its smartphone business. It needed to do something big with this latest flagship, but is instead offering yet another moderate upgrade. Maybe next year.
Roku brings smarter search features to UK set-top boxes
Roku faces growing competition in the UK, but for now its streaming set-top boxes are still some of the best on the market. To help it fend off Apple, Amazon, Google and others, the company is introducing new software features and an upgraded Roku 2 player. The biggest addition is Roku Search, which lets you quickly see which streaming services have a particular movie or TV show in their library. Only Netflix, Snagfilms and Popcornflix support the feature at the moment, but Roku says it hopes to integrate more in the future. In addition, you can now search for actors and directors, as well as streaming services available in the Roku Channel Store. Finally, the new Roku Feed gives you updates about upcoming movies and when they’ll be available to watch via on-demand services.
These software tweaks are rolling out to all Roku hardware, including the new and improved Roku 2. The £70 set-top box is nearly identical to the premium Roku 3 — the only difference is that the latter boasts an upgraded remote with voice search and a headphone jack. If neither of these features interest you, the Roku 2 is arguably the better purchase, and puts it directly in contention with Google’s Nexus Player and Amazon’s Fire TV.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Via: TNW
Source: Roku
Microsoft cheaps out after Nokia phone saves a life
There are plenty of tales on how Nokia phones — now under Microsoft — have saved people’s lives, with the latest one coming from China, where a man managed to survive a collapsed wall courtesy of his Lumia 920 earlier this month. As recalled by the lucky survivor himself, Mr. Geng Ming instinctively covered his head with his trusty Windows Phone device, which managed to soften the blow from the heavy wall. Microsoft China caught wind of this story and was kind enough to replace Geng’s old flagship phone with a new model. Nope, not a Lumia 930, but a brand spanking new Lumia 640 XL. We don’t blame Geng for looking so emotionless here.
Geng describing how he used his Lumia 920 to shield his head from the collapsing wall.
To be fair, it’s no secret that Microsoft only focuses on the entry to mid-level mobile markets these days, but why make yourself look silly by replacing an old flagship with a new but much cheaper mid-ranger? As far as PR stunts go, that’s schoolboy error, as called out by many folks in the Sina Weibo thread. Besides, it’s not like Microsoft won’t be returning to the high-end market, if the rumors are true.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Microsoft
Via: ePrice
Source: Sina Weibo
AIVAnet 