HTC slide continues after sales forecast cut becomes official
Last week HTC’s stock price hit a new low when news leaked that supply chain companies had been advised that HTC was cutting their sales forecast for 2015. The stock market continued to punish the company after HTC officially announced on Friday they were cutting quarterly sales projections by as much as 35 percent. This triggered a new dip in the stock price to NT$83.60 ($2.69 USD) on Monday.
According to HTC’s latest guidance, they now expect second quarter revenues to total NT$33-36 billion ($1.06 – 1.16 billion USD) which is a major reduction from their previous guidance of NT$46.5 -51 billion ($1.49 – $1.64 billion USD). HTC also revised gross margin down from 23.0 – 23.5 percent to only 19.0 – 19.5 percent.
Perhaps most stunning and distressful for investors is HTC’s announcement that it now expects to post a net loss of NT$9.70 – 9.94 per share instead of slight earnings of NT$0.06 – 0.34 per share. Part of this loss will be driven by one-time charges to account for idle assets and prepaid expenses.
HTC says the reductions are due to a softening market for high-end Android smartphones and weaker than expected sales in China. Analysts have described HTC’s position as a “nightmare.” Calvin Huang with Sinopac Financial Holdings Co. says,
“HTC will keep losing share in the smartphone market and will keep losing money in the coming quarters.”
Currently, 65% of analysts being tracked are recommending investors sell HTC stock. Jasmine Lu with Morgan Stanley, who has analyzed book value for the company, has cut her price target and predicts HTC may slump as far as NT$57 per share.
Do you think HTC can save itself or will we be reading about its sale to another company soon?
Come comment on this article: HTC slide continues after sales forecast cut becomes official
Samsung Galaxy S6 Active official, slated for June 12th release
style=”display:block”
data-ad-client=”ca-pub-8150504804865896″
data-ad-slot=”8461248232″
data-ad-format=”auto”>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
It isn’t like we all didn’t know that Samsung and AT&T were close to bringing us the Galaxy S6 Active. After numerous rumors and leaked renders, we now have the official announcement rolling out of AT&T directly.
Starting June 12th users will be able to pick up the new Samsung Galaxy S6 Active on AT&T in the usual payment options. Those who wish to grab it on the NEXT 24, you will be looking at spending $23.17 per month for 30 months. NEXT 18 will run you $28.96 for 24 months and NEXT 12 will run you $34.75 per month for 20 months.
The S6 Active carries all the same great features, functions and hardware of the current Galaxy S6 like the Exynos 8-core processor, 3GB of RAM and 16MP camera. However, the size of the device was increased for the external shell that wraps around it to give it the IPX68 water and dust resistant rating. The rating gives the Galaxy S6 Active the ability to be submerged in 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes safely which beats out the Galaxy S5 Active which was 1 meter for 30 minutes. Making the device slightly larger, they were also able to stick a larger battery inside, bumping it to a 3,500 mAh battery. They also added in a few bits of software they call Active Zone, which gives you quick access to a compass, flashlight, stop watch and more.
The press release on the AT&T website only lists the device as coming in a 32GB configuration and with the lack of a SD card slot, could turn a few people away who are a bit more storage demanding with active lifestyles.
Anyone going to be holding out until June 12th to pick up a Galaxy S6 Active?
Source: AT&T | Galaxy S6 Active Coming Soon page
The post Samsung Galaxy S6 Active official, slated for June 12th release appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Apple Music vs the competition: A streaming music cheat sheet
The past few years have seen a shift from owning music to accessing as much as you want on various streaming services. Why pay $9.99 for a new album each month when you can get a firehose of content for the same price? Now Apple looks to get in on the action with its newest offering, Apple Music. They made a big splash with the introduction of the iTunes store in 2003 but here in 2015 there’s a lot more competition for your listening attention. Does Apple Music have what it takes to stand out from its more established rivals? We’ve stacked up some of the bigger names to see which one can give you the most for your money.
| Apple Music | Spotify | Rdio | Google Play Music | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Individual: $9.99 Family: $14.99 |
Premium: $9.99 Family: $14.99 and up |
Select: $3.99 Unlimited: $9.99 Family: $14.99 and up |
Unlimited: $9.99 |
| Free version available | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Number of songs | Over 30 million | Over 30 million | Over 32 million | Over 30 million |
| Audio quality | NA | 320kbps | 320kbps | Up to 320kbps |
| Radio | Yes (human-driven) | Yes (automated) | Yes (automated) | Yes (automated) |
| Video content | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Exclusive content | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Curated playlists | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline listening | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online media storage | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Social features | NA | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop apps | Windows, Mac | Windows, Mac, Linux | Windows, Mac | Web only |
| Mobile apps | iOS, Android (coming fall 2015) | iOS, Android, Windows Phone | iOS, Android, Windows Phone | iOS, Android |
Filed under: Apple
President Obama calls for stronger American cybersecurity
Citing a series of embarrassing, high profile incursions against US computer networks in recent months, President Obama called for “much more aggressive” efforts to shore up the government’s vulnerable cyber-infrastructure. “This problem is not going to go away,” the President told reporters at a G7 press conference in Germany. “It is going to accelerate. And that means that we have to be as nimble, as aggressive and as well-resourced as those who are trying to break into these systems.” As such, he urged Congress to pass its pending cybersecurity legislation, such as the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015.
[Image Credit: Getty]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Reuters
Zane Lowe traded Radio 1 for Apple’s Beats 1
When Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe announced he was leaving the BBC to join Apple, it was clear that he’d been lured away from the bright lights of London to help launch a new music platform. The logical assumption was that he’d help create curated playlists for a service formed from the acquisition of Beats Music, but as it turns out, he’s sticking with what he knows: radio. At its annual developer conference, Apple unveiled a new service called Beats 1, its first ever-live radio station. It’ll broadcast music 24/7 to over 100 countries from June 30th, with Zane Lowe fronting the show in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden in New York and Julie Adenuga in London. All for free.
Sure, Lowe is sharing the spotlight with two other DJs, but make no mistake, he is Beats 1’s top dog. Apple describes him as the “world’s foremost authority on emerging music” and he also detailed how the new radio service would operate during Apple’s keynote. It makes sense: In the 12 years Lowe spent at Radio 1, he gained exclusive interviews with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Eminem and music producer Rick Rubin. He’s also credited with helping to bring acts like the Arctic Monkeys, Adele and Ed Sheeran into the public eye. Apple will hope he can do the same while heading up Beats 1, but influence many more listeners in the process.
http://www.engadget.com/embed-5min/?sid=577&playList=518873079&responsive=false
Beats 1 comes as part of Apple Music, but won’t be put behind a subscription paywall. It means that iOS and Android device owners the world over will be introduced to Lowe for the first time (for better or worse, depending on your opinion of him), giving him, and his co-hosts, the chance to share exclusive music from big name artists, but also acquaint people with up-and-coming acts representing all genres. In the UK at least, Radio 1 fans still mourning Lowe’s departure will have the chance to reconnect with him, for others it’s a complementary chance to learn about what’s new in the world of music.
[Image credit: Chris Thompson, Flickr]
Studio wants to preserve games with the same care as movies
Classic movies frequently get reissues and remastered versions with behind-the-scenes content, but games seldom receive that kind of affection. More often than not, you get a barebones port, a technical upgrade (which sometimes breaks the experience) or a full-on remake. Newcomer studio Digital Eclipse thinks the industry can do a better job of preserving these classics. It’s launching ports that are more about honoring the history behind a game than upgrading it, much like the Criterion Collection does for movies. Its inaugural title, Mega Man Legacy Collection, will include both the first six Mega Man games as well as artwork and other bonus material from the series’ early days. About the only major change to the games themselves will be a Challenge Mode that “remixes” gameplay to add some extra spice.
The Mega Man update should reach the the PC, PS4 and Xbox One this summer for $15, with a 3DS version arriving in the winter. However, this is just the start. Digital Eclipse built an engine (the Eclipse Engine) explicitly to streamline the process of adapting old titles to newer platforms. So long as its technology runs on your device of choice, there’s a good chance that you’ll get that game you cherished in your youth. You probably won’t be buying deluxe boxed sets, but the days of begging your favorite developer for a re-release might soon come to an end.
Filed under: Gaming
Via: The Verge
Source: Digital Eclipse, Capcom
The machines that rose to DARPA’s robotics challenge
The robot apocalypse has been postponed. At DARPA Robotics Challenge in California, where the world’s best and brightest robots came to compete, the machines were far from invincible. They moved at a glacial pace, stumbled and slammed to the ground and lay there motionless until their teams of humans came with a rig to pick them up. But their falls and flaws revealed how vulnerable they are, and actually made them seem more human in the process. These machines exhibited grit, intelligence and dexterity that could potentially make them stellar first-responders in disaster situations in the near future.
DARPA launched the robotics challenge as a response to Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. And the agency’s been putting robots to the test for the last couple of years. It’s their way of pushing robotics to create advanced machines that can go in as first-responders instead of humans. Despite their benefits, though, robots are often dreaded. But the machines at the two-day robotics challenge had the crowd cheering wildly, gasping loudly and jumping out of their seats in support and anticipation.
Unlike DARPA’s previous tests, the 23 competing robots were untethered this time. They had to complete an obstacle course that was designed to simulate a disaster building. Each robot needed to drive in on an ATV, step out of the vehicle, open and walk through a door, rotate a valve, drill a wall before either walking on or through a patch of rubble. In the end, they had to climb a small flight of stairs to finish on an elevated plank.
The robots spent more time standing still, as if carefully contemplating their next steps, than being on the move. Eventually, after many many minutes, most of the machines plodded along and proceeded to complete the tasks. But they were not entirely autonomous. They relied heavily on a human operator for completing tasks and navigating the staged debris. While robots can scan and measure spaces in an instant, in a way that a human can’t, they lack the ability to make judgments on the fly. So these machines were equipped with sensor suites and 3D scanners that mapped the environment and acted as the eyes for a human operator, who sat about a quarter of a mile away. The many losses and exciting triumphs in this challenge were a collaborative effort.
If the final race was any indication of the future of the robots, it seems they need humans more than humans need them. In the end, this was an epic battle of perception, human-machine coordination and dexterity. Team KAIST from South Korea finished first and took home $2 million in prize money. Their robot DRC Hubo, a humanoid, completed all eight tasks and ended up with the quickest time in the race – 44:28 minutes. Even though most of the robots in this contest were humanoids, what makes Hubo unique is that it can transform at will. It has a pair of wheels attached to its knees, so it folds over to roll over tough terrain. It’s also equipped with an internal air-cooling system that improves the efficiency of its innards.
The second spot, a $1 million prize, went to another humanoid. Team IHMC Robotics from Florida entered with Running Man, an Atlas robot supplied by Boston Dynamics. Their lab at the Institute of Human and Machine Cognition in Florida advances walking and balancing algorithms to make a humanoid robot more stable. Their final time was about 50 minutes.
Carnegie Mellon University’s CHIMP robot, a swanky red machine with extra long arms, came in third to win $500,000. The team, Tartan Rescue, built the robot in a way that it can either roll like a tank or drive on all fours to get past obstacles in its way. CHIMP had a fall like many of its competitors in the race. But, it was the only robot that got back up on its own. Overall, it scored eight points like the first two winners, but its final time added up to 55:15 minutes.
Apple Music is making its way to Android devices this fall
Apple has just announced that Apple Music, the company’s newly-announced music streaming service, will come to Android devices sometime later this fall. The music service as a whole will launch on iOS, OS X and PC by the end of June, though Android support won’t be made available until a few months later.
Just announced hours ago at Apple’s WWDC event, Apple Music is a “revolutionary” streaming service that offers music from Apple’s huge music catalogue, gives you personalized music recommendations as well as access to the new Apple Music Radio service. The first station in Apple Music Radio, dubbed Beats 1, is a 24/7 live international radio station hosted by popular DJs that will play everything that has to do with music and music culture.
At launch, Apple Music will be available in over 100 countries and carry an impressive catalogue of over 30 million tracks. Individual plans will cost $9.99 per month, and family plans for up to six people will cost $14.99 per month. Apple will also give everyone a free three-month trial when the service launches.
Apple certainly has a gigantic music library, though it’s difficult to say whether or not the service will offer more value to consumers than Google Play Music or Spotify. Do you think you’ll become an Apple Music convert, or are you sticking with Google Play Music or Spotify? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® today unveiled Apple Music™, a single, intuitive app that combines the best ways to enjoy music — all in one place. Apple Music is a revolutionary streaming music service, a pioneering worldwide live radio station from Apple broadcasting 24 hours a day and a great new way for music fans to connect with their favorite artists. Apple Music combines the largest and most diverse collection of music on the planet with the expertise of world-class music experts who have programmed playlists for your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac®, PC, Apple TV® and Android phones.* Apple Music will be available starting on June 30 in over 100 countries.
“We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan’s fingertips”
“We love music, and the new Apple Music service puts an incredible experience at every fan’s fingertips,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “All the ways people love enjoying music come together in one app — a revolutionary streaming service, live worldwide radio and an exciting way for fans to connect with artists.”
“Apple Music is really going to move the needle for fans and artists,” said Jimmy Iovine. “Online music has become a complicated mess of apps, services and websites. Apple Music brings the best features together for an experience every music lover will appreciate.”
Apple Music
Apple Music is a revolutionary streaming service and app that puts the entire Apple Music catalog at your fingertips across your favorite devices. Starting with the music you already know — whether from the iTunes Store® or ripped CDs — your music now lives in one place alongside the Apple Music catalog with over 30 million songs. You can stream any song, album or playlist you choose — or better yet, let Apple Music do the work for you.
Curation is the soul of every playlist created on Apple Music. Apple has hired the most talented music experts from around the world, dedicated to creating the perfect playlists based on your preferences, and they become better curators the more you listen. The “For You” section of Apple Music provides a fresh mix of albums, new releases and playlists, which have been personalized just for you.
In addition to human curation, Siri® is also dedicated to helping you enjoy great music and have fun with Apple Music. Ask Siri to, “Play me the best songs from 1994,” “Play the best FKA twigs song,” or “What was the number one song in February 2011?”
Apple Music Radio
Beats 1℠, Apple’s first ever live radio station dedicated entirely to music and music culture, will broadcast live to over 100 countries. Beats 1 is a 24-hour listening experience led by influential DJs Zane Lowe in Los Angeles, Ebro Darden in New York and Julie Adenuga in London. Listeners around the globe will hear the same great programming at the same time. Exciting programs on Beats 1 will offer exclusive interviews, guest hosts and the best of what’s going on in the world of music.
Apple has also redesigned radio with human curation taking the lead. Apple Music Radio gives you stations created by some of the world’s finest radio DJs. The new stations range in genres from indie rock to classical and folk to funk, with each one expertly curated. With membership, you can skip as many songs as you like, so you can change the tune without changing the dial.
Apple Music Connect
Artists and fans now have an incredible way to connect with one another directly in Apple Music with Connect. Through Connect, artists can share lyrics, backstage photos, videos or even release their latest song directly to fans directly from their iPhone. Fans can comment on or like anything an artist has posted, and share it via Messages, Facebook, Twitter and email. And when you comment, the artist can respond directly to you.
Pricing & Availability
Starting on June 30, music fans around the world are invited to a 3-month free membership, after which a $9.99/month subscription fee will apply. There will also be a family plan providing service for up to six family members available for just $14.99/month.
Requires initial sign up. At the end of the trial period, the membership will automatically renew and payment method will be charged on a monthly basis until auto-renewal is turned off in account settings. Family plan requires iCloud® Family Sharing. Seewww.apple.com/icloud/family-sharing for more information.
*Apple Music is available on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC starting June 30. Apple Music will be coming to Apple TV and Android phones this fall.
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, the Mac and Apple Watch. Apple’s three software platforms — iOS, OS X and watchOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Apple’s PR website (www.apple.com/pr), or call Apple’s Media Helpline at (408) 974-2042.
© 2015 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Apple Music, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, iTunes Store, Siri, Beats 1 and iCloud are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee will soon swim its way onto mobile devices
If you’re a fan of the Oddworld series, you’ll be happy to know that Square One Games, a Vancouver-based game development studio, is working to bring a new title to mobile. It’s called Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee, and it will soon be released to both Android and iOS devices. Oddly enough the game already complete, though Square One is waiting to launch the mobile version until the revamp of Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee on Steam has been completed.
Munch’s Oddysee takes the form of a platformer, which deviates from the FPS (first-person shooter) style gameplay found in the popular Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath. If you’re unfamiliar with Munch’s Oddysee, you play as Munch and Abe – two friends who are focused on delivering payback to the evil Vykkers corporation who is responsible for the near extinction of the Gabbits, Munch’s amphibious species. Players will take control of Munch and Abe’s unique abilities in order to complete each stage.
Square One has promised to show off Munch’s Oddysee at this year’s E3. No word has been given concerning the price of the mobile version or whether or not it will come with controller support. For those who already own the game on Steam, the refreshed version will come to you at no extra cost.
Google might be working on a “monthly movie pass”
Recently, select users of the Google Opinion Rewards app were sent a very interesting questionnaire. The first question asked whether or not they had a “monthly movie pass” from Google. No, there is not a video streaming service from Google that exists today or has even been announced.
Any other details were not included with the questionnaire; therefore, Google’s approach can go in two ways: follow Netflix or place a limit on the amount of films rented. The latter seems more likely because the Netflix model requires new, specialized deals for unlimited streaming. Google already has thousands of films available through the Play Store, meaning that placing a limit on rentals could be easier. For example, imagine paying $10 per month for ten rentals. Some people are not in need of Netflix’s messy catalog and only have a few things to watch each month.
The company that released the questionnaire on Google Opinion Rewards was not named. Because of this, Google may or may not have been the company to ask the question. Take a grain of salt with this one, folks.
Source: Hugo Seijas (Google+)
Come comment on this article: Google might be working on a “monthly movie pass”
AIVAnet 