FCC ready to approve AT&T’s expensive DirecTV buyout
The FCC appears to be nearly ready to approve AT&T’s buyout of DirecTV for nearly $49 billion dollars, although it looks like that approval is going to come with a few conditions. The deal was announced about a year ago and has been subject to plenty of scrutiny from the FCC, just like any other acquisition of this size.
The FCC’s Tom Wheeler has stated that the conditions attached to the merger should help increase broadband competition for consumers. AT&T will be required to build out their fiber network to new customers, and they’ll be unable to exclude any of their own streaming services from their broadband data caps. It would’ve been nice to keep AT&T from imposing data caps in the first place, but hey, take what you can get.
The deal should be voted on in the near future, after which the deal will become official.
source: Wall Street Journal
via: re/code
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New leaks shows the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge on top of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
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One of the devices that is expected to be announced by Samsung in mid-August alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is the the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus (or Plus+). A lot has been made about this device just being a larger version of the Galaxy S6 Edge, however it’s one thing to say it and another to see it in real life. Luckily, that’s exactly what we’re getting to see today after photos were leaked out of a Galaxy S6 Edge on top of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. And, rather predictably, the only real difference is that the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is marginally bigger, barely noticeable in these shots – check out the photos below:
There are a few miniscule differences – the microphone positioning at the top and bottom of the device appear to have changed and it appears the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus doesn’t have an infrared sensor on the top of the device. Of course, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus pictured is supposed to be a prototype, so the final device could be slightly different to the one we see here.
What do you think about the Galaxy S6 Edge on top of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus?
Source: nowhereelse.fr via SamMobile
The post New leaks shows the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge on top of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
2K is reportedly bringing college basketball back to its games
For the first time in years, college basketball teams may soon be playable in a video game. ESPN’s Darren Rovell reports that 2K Sports has licensing deals in place with ten schools and plans to include them in an upcoming title. That list of teams includes Arizona, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, UCLA and more according to SB Nation — some of college basketball’s big-name programs. If you’ll recall, EA cancelled the 2014 installment of its college football title after a lawsuit over the use of player likenesses and the NCAA pulling its licensing deal. When it comes to college hoops, though, there hasn’t been a game in several years, so this would be a welcome release for folks who’ve been waiting.
It’s unclear whether there will be a standalone game or if the teams that have opted in will be playable in the upcoming NBA 2K16 that’s set to arrive in September. It would also make for a rather compelling post-launch DLC. As Rovell points out, to avoid any potential legal troubles, 2K will likely only use the school names, uniforms and logos while leaving the players themselves generic. You’ll have to create players yourself if you want to use the current rosters. What’s more, Rovell says that any rumors of EA reviving its licensed college football franchise soon aren’t true.
[Image credit: Brad Barket/Getty Images for 2K]
2K has indeed gotten the licenses to at least 10 college teams & will have college basketball.
– Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 21, 2015
If 2K does add colleges this year to its NBA game, expect just jerseys & logos. You’ll have to make your own players to fit the roster.
– Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 21, 2015
Filed under: Gaming
Via: Game Informer
Source: Darren Rovell (Twitter)
Apple’s Home Sharing for music returns in latest iOS 9 beta
Well, would you look at that. Not long after it was reported that Apple had killed Home Sharing for music in iOS 8.4, the company appears to be ready to bring the feature back to life. As MacRumors points out, Home Sharing for music is now included in the fourth beta of iOS 9 for developers — sorry, public testers, this isn’t for you. Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said earlier this month that his team was working on restoring the feature, even though there was no indication of when that would be happening. But now it’s here, so go have at it if you’re part of the iOS dev program.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Software, HD, Mobile, Apple
Source: MacRumors
Latest Google Maps update lets you easily see your location history in a new Timeline view
Google Maps for Android is getting quite the significant update today, bringing a handy new feature to the app that allows users to easily see their location history for any given day. The update which is rolling out now in the Google Play Store, will bring the app’s version number up to 9.12.
The biggest feature in version 9.12 is the addition of a Timeline view, which can be accessed from the slide-out navigation menu on the left side of the app. Your Timeline will show you every place you’ve traveled on any given day, along with the amount of time you spent at each place. Take a look at the middle screenshot above. On a particular day last week, I spent some time at work, then I traveled for 4 minutes to the coffee shop down the road, then traveled back to my work. This feature makes it easy for users to check out their location history on mobile, which is one feature Google Maps for Android has been missing since its launch.
To make things easier, the date is shown at the top of your Timeline. Clicking it will pull down a month view calendar, which is where you can select any day’s history.
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Not only will you be able to check out location history through Timeline, you’ll also have the ability to add in names for custom places. As pointed out by Ars Technica’s Ron Amadeo, here’s how to add in a name for a custom place: tap on a location that you want to rename, and a place card should show up. Hit the overflow menu (three vertical dots), and click “edit name”. You can then enter in any name you’d like, then click “save”.
As long as you have location history turned on, Google Maps will show you every place you’ve visited in the past – along with a few other (possibly creepy) details. If you take pictures with your mobile device with location turned on, those will show up in your Timeline, too. We understand that this might creep some of you out, but there’s good news – you can easily delete your Timeline if you’d like.
We’re still rounding up all of the changes that come with the version 9.12 update, so we’ll update this post when we learn more. The new version is rolling out in the Play Store as we speak, so head on over to the link below.
Tech companies backing Samsung in patent battle with Apple
The patent battle between Apple and Samsung has resurfaced thanks to a new amicus filing by some of the tech industries heavyweights who are lining up behind Samsung. In the friend of the court briefing, companies like Google, HP, Facebook and others, make an argument we have heard from Samsung in the past.
Although Samsung lost in the courtroom to Apple which accused Samsung of infringing several iPhone related patents, the companies have continued to fight at the appellate level over the appropriateness of decision and the amount of damages. Samsung has achieved some success in whittling the $1 billion judgment down $548 million. Samsung is trying to get that reduced even more by challenging the appropriateness of giving up all profits from the sale of devices that were found to infringe.
In the amicus filing, the tech companies argue that,
“That feature — a result of a few lines out of millions of code — may appear only during a particular use of the product, on one screen display among hundreds. But the panel’s decision could allow the owner of the design patent to receive all profits generated by the product or platform, even if the infringing element was largely insignificant to the user.”
The end result of even the smallest infringement out of a totality of ideas and concepts that go into a product would be the stifling of innovation and the likelihood that every company would infringe some patent in some manner the companies claim. The effect would be “devastating” on companies.
source: The Verge
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Google Drive plug-in distracts you from using Microsoft’s OneDrive with Office
Google wants you to make documents with Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Microsoft wants you to make documents with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Then, when storing those documents or any other files, the two companies are split between Drive and OneDrive. Among the benefits of sticking with one company’s services is how everything works seamlessly. Google, however, wants Microsoft Office users to enjoy the benefits of Drive despite using a competing service.
Starting today, documents made with Office can be opened and edited before being saved silently back to Drive. Google has released a new plug-in for people with Office on Windows devices that allows files to go to and from Drive with ease. Along with background syncing, the plug-in allows users to upload documents that are saved on the computer directly to Drive rather than having to use a separate program or site.
Source: Google
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App Store Sees Best Quarter Ever With 24% Revenue Growth
During today’s third quarter earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted App Store sales, noting that the iOS and Mac App Stores saw their best quarter ever, with a 24 percent growth in revenue. The number of transacting customers also grew by 19 percent.
The services category, which includes the App Store, iTunes, Apple Pay, AppleCare, and other licensing/service fees, generated a record $5 billion revenue during the quarter, up from $4.5 billion during the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s iTunes Store has become an increasingly important revenue source for Apple in recent years, largely due to the ever-growing popularity of the App Store. China has been an important factor in the App Store’s recent growth, with App Store revenue more than doubling in the country during 3Q15. Chinese developers have created more than 250,000 apps, according to Apple CFO Luca Maestri.
Overall, Apple saw revenue of $49.6 billion during the quarter, with a net profit of $10.7 billion, or $1.85 per diluted share. The company sold 47.5 million iPhones, 4.8 million Macs, and 10.9 million iPads.
Tim Cook: Apple Watch Sales ‘Exceeded Expectations’
As expected, Apple did not share specific sales numbers on the Apple Watch during its third quarter earnings call, but Apple CEO Tim Cook did shed some light on how well the Apple Watch did during its first quarter of availability. According to Cook, Apple Watch sales “exceeded expectations” despite supply continuing to trail demand at the end of the quarter. “We feel really great about how we did,” he said.
Cook also pointed out that Apple Watch sales during their first few months of availability were higher than sales of the original iPad and iPhone when those devices first became available for sale. June sales, he said, were higher than those in April or May.
Apple includes the Apple Watch in its “Other Products” category in an effort to keep its competitors from getting a detailed look at its shipments. Other Products includes the Apple Watch, the iPod, the Apple TV, and accessories like Beats headphones.
During the third quarter of 2015, the Other Products category saw $2.6 billion in revenue, up from $1.7 billion during the second quarter of 2015, a difference of nearly a billion.
Cook said “it would not be inaccurate” to look at the sequential change or the year over year change and “assume that’s the Apple Watch revenue,” hinting that Apple Watch revenue in the quarter hovered around $1 billion or higher. Apple CFO Luca Maestri made a similar statement to the Associated Press, stating revenue from the Apple Watch amounted to “well over” the $952 million increase between the two quarters. Both Maestri and Cook also pointed out that iPod and accessory sales, which are also included in the category, are shrinking.
Aside from analyst estimates that range from an estimated 2.85 million sales to 5.7 million, the $1 billion revenue difference between Q2 and Q3 is the closest we’ve come to learning how many devices Apple sold.
Cook went on to say that beyond the “very good news in sales,” Apple is excited about how the Apple Watch is positioned for the long term. There are now 8,500 apps available for the device, and the company is poised to release watchOS 2 in the fall, which will bring native apps and performance improvements. “We believe the possibilities for Apple watch are enormous,” said Cook.
iPhones and China fuel Apple’s growth, not the Watch
It’s that time again – Apple just dropped its Q3 2015 earnings and despite missing Wall Street’s always-lofty expectations, it’s been a solid three months of growth thanks to the two usual suspects. Say it with us now, folks: It’s all thanks to the iPhone and China. (If you’re the sort who cares, Apple just missed most Wall Street estimates by posting earnings of $1.85 per share.)
Just under 27 percent of the 49.6 billion dollars in revenue Apple generated in the past three months was thanks to Greater China, which is more than double the amount of the pie the country accounted for this time last year. (The addition of a ritzy, massive new Apple store in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong should help wealthy mainlanders get their fix that much easier, too). Meanwhile, iPhones were still far and away the most sought after gadgets in Apple’s portfolio with 47.5 million moved in a single quarter – not quite as much as last quarter’s blowout but a big lift over the year before. To hear CEO Tim Cook tell it in the early stages of the customary earnings call, the iPhone grew at “almost three times the rate of growth of the smartphone market overall, and we gained share in all of our geographic segments.”
Meanwhile, iPad sales continued to dip for another quarter, but the Mac line is doing more than just hanging steady; it’s actually growing a little bit. Apple moved 4.7 million Macs this time, just a hair better than it did last quarter and last year’s quarter.
Oh, and then there’s the elephant in the room. There’s no such luck for anyone hoping to see Apple Watch sales numbers this quarter – Apple lumped revenues in with its “Other Products” category where the Apple TVs once-great iPods now live. Still, there’s perhaps just a little insight to be gleaned here since the category as a whole has only grown about a billion dollars since this time last quarter. It’s possible (if unlikely) that the Apple Watch drove all that growth despite the iPod’s near-irrelevance, but we’d figure some nice post-price cut Apple TV sales helped a lot too. Still, CFO Luca Maestri told the New York Times that the Watch’s first nine weeks on the market “exceeded those of the iPhone and iPad in their first nine weeks of availability.”
Update: Maestri just gave us a little more info on the Apple Watch situation, saying it was responsible for “over 100 percent” of the “Other Product” category’s growth in the quarter and offset any losses from iPod and accessory sales. That means the Watch was responsible for around a billion dollars in sales on its own, though there’s still no way to tell exactly how many units that shakes out to.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: Apple
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