Bell gets fined $1.25 million for leaving reviews on their own app
According to The Competition Bureau, Bell has received a hefty fine of $1.25 million for making workers leave positive ratings on their mobile app ‘MyBell Mobile.”
After leaving high ratings on their own application in the Play Store and Apple App Store, Bell removed the ratings following the incident. The app was then left with just a 2.9 rating. However, this wasn’t enough to pay for their actions. The following statement was issued by The Competition Bureau regarding the scenario.
“I am pleased that Bell Canada demonstrated leadership to fully resolve the Competition Bureau’s concerns in this matter. Bell’s senior management acted quickly to remove the reviews of the apps that had been posted by its employees and has taken steps to prevent it from happening again,” said John Pecman, Canada’s Commissioner of Competition, in a statement issued to MobileSyrup. “I commend the shared compliance approach taken by Bell to resolve this matter, which will benefit both consumers and the digital marketplace.”
Bell has been charged $1.25 million for its actions which go against rules. In addition, the program has been subjected to termination. Bell has agreed to the terms and has decided to move on.
Source: Competition Bureau
Via: Mobile Syrup
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Microsoft’s ‘Device Night’ lets you go hands-on with its new products
Microsoft has a handful of new devices and wants you to experience them as soon as possible. Similar to what it is doing with HoloLens, the company’s taking recently announced products like its Surface Book, Surface Pro 4, Lumia 950 XL and second-gen Microsoft Band on a tour across the US and Canada. But unlike the mixed reality headset’s event, this one will be open to the general public, not only developers. Aside from being able to try out the hardware, Microsoft’s also going to have Q&A sessions, giveaways and, of course, food and drinks. The 2015 Device Night kicks off in Boston and San Francisco on October 19th, followed by cities including Philadelphia, Vancouver, Dallas, Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Chicago. You’ll need to register before attending, which you can do right here.
Source: Microsoft
Poorly-named ‘League of Legends’ players get psychology surveys
League of Legends has roughly 67 million players, so the developer has a big challenge when it comes to monitoring the community the size of a small country — and curbing the worser elements. While it’s involved itself with how players interact with the game, this time it’s doing something more: it’s recently started asking ill-named players to take psychological self-evaluation tests. LoL players can report others for inappropriate character names that don’t gel with the game’s terms of use. However, this week, some players noticing a different naming process for characters that weren’t okay the first time around. Gamers now have to complete a survey, play 50 matches, then follow that up with another survey. After that, players can change their name to something that follows the rules. (Before, cheekily-named users got a temporary name until they picked a better one.)
Some players are more concerned with the contents of the survey, as Motherboard also notes, lifts questions and statements from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory test. Users on Reddit have raised concerns over where the survey’s results will be used or shared — we’ve reached out to Riot for comment. Here’s some of the questions another part of survey asks:
Source: Motherboard
Deezer taps BandPage for more interaction between artists and fans
Music streaming services like Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and Tidal already offer ways for artists to connect with their fans. By partnering with BandPage, Deezer is looking to do the same. After making the trek across the Atlantic to stream tunes in the States earlier this year, Deezer will allow musicians to promote tour dates, photos, merchandise and VIP meet-ups with the help of BandPage. The company has already been working with Rhapsody and Spotify, sending 1.5 million eager fans to artist stores on a monthly basis. Based you your streaming habits, BandPage will serve up push notifications with artist info you might find interesting. When you factor in Deezer’s six million subscribers, there’s some potential for artist/listener interaction as the company looks to keep its piece of the streaming pie in a crowded marketplace. As mentioned, these types of musician-facing tools have been a part of the other services for some time, so Deezer has some catching up to do if it’s looking to woo more talent.
[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Source: Billboard
Yahoo updates its Mail app with multiple mailbox management and password-free sign in
For its 18th birthday, Yahoo decided to revamp its Mail app, giving it a new material design inspired look and more powerful features, such as the capability to add other email accounts, and allowing the user to sign-in without a password thanks to the new Yahoo Account Key functionality.
Yahoo claims that the app is faster and more responsive thanks to new technology that powers the app. As you can see in the video below, the app seems to be snappier and more responsive, and transitions seem to be running very smoothly. The search feature has also been streamlined and designed to make the process of finding emails with keywords easier and faster thanks to smart suggestions, and the option of filtering email that you’ve sent or received.
Click here to view the embedded video.
The process of composing emails has been streamlined as well, and it is now easier to attach documents or files thanks to a new “+” button. One unique new feature is what Yahoo calls “me” mails, or email that you send to yourself as a reminder or note. All you have to do is long-press the compose button and the app will send that email to yourself automatically.
Yahoo has taken into account people that use multiple email services, and so has introduced a new multiple mailbox management feature. This allows users to switch between Outlook.com, Hotmail and AOL Mail within the Yahoo app, without having to sign-in and out every time.
Finally, to make the app easier to access without compromising security, the new Yahoo Mail app introduces Yahoo Account Key. This works by sending you a push notification everytime you log in to confirm that you are actually the person trying to log in. This removes the hassle of inputing complicating password every time you wish to log in from your computer or mobile device.
The new Yahoo Mail app is available today for everyone with an Android or iOS device
Google Play Store Download Link
Source: Yahoo (Tumblr)
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Sprint cutting off access to broadband internet for hundreds of thousands of people
Sprint has a bad PR storm brewing on its horizon thanks to its latest decision to cut off access to broadband internet that more than 300,000 people rely on. The details are a little more nuanced than that, but it’s still a really, really bad look for the carrier.
Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon are Education Broadband Services, or EBS, and they supply broadband service to tons of schools, libraries, and organizations across the country. They are nonprofit organizations that sell internet access for $10 per month to under-resourced sections of the country, making sure that as many people as possible have access to the internet wherever they are.
Now here’s for the complex part of the situation; Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon utilize Sprint’s WiMax network that they leased from Clearwire for 30 years back in 2006. Sprint purchased Clearwire in 2013, and they’re shutting down that WiMax network by November of this year. See the problem?
Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon have filed a lawsuit over Sprint cutting off access to that WiMax network, asking the carrier to fulfill the remaining 21 years of Clearwire’s contract. Sprint won’t allow them to transition over to their newer LTE network because of speed throttling, which is another painful sticking point for both parties involved.
Lawsuits are bad, but lawsuits aimed at companies that are taking things away from nonprofit organizations are even worse.
BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Sprint Corporation is planning to shut off broadband access to more than 300,000 vulnerable Americans next month, according to a lawsuit filed today in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit was filed in state court by nonprofit organizations that provide broadband service to under-resourced communities across the nation for just $10 a month.
Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon provide unlimited broadband service to 429 schools, 61 libraries and 1,820 nonprofit organizations across the country. But Sprint is planning to shut down the network these organizations rely on for Internet access by November 6, and has failed to provide the means to transition their community of schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations onto a new network.
“All Americans should have access to the Internet. That includes low-income Americans,” said John Schwartz, the founder and president of Mobile Citizen. “Sprint has publicly professed a commitment to closing the digital divide. It must stop this injustice and stand up for the hundreds of thousands of children, families, teachers and community members who will be shut out of the American dream if they don’t have access to the Internet.”
The nonprofit entities that created Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon are among the largest Educational Broadband Service (EBS) providers in the United States. EBS refers to spectrum the Federal Communications Commission reserved to serve the public interest by providing wireless broadband services in support of education. The nonprofits that make up Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon leased a portion of their spectrum to Clearwire for 30 years in 2006 in exchange for the ability to provide unlimited, high-speed broadband service to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations across the United States.
Sprint purchased Clearwire in 2013, and has since announced it will shut down the WiMax network by November 6. It has made it impossible for Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon to migrate their schools, libraries and nonprofits over to Sprint’s LTE network because, among other things, it is throttling their Internet service.
“The long-term ripple effects of losing the Internet to our students would be immeasurable,” said Brian Blodgett, a teacher at West High School in Salt Lake City, one of 429 schools on the brink of losing Internet access. West has more than 2,500 students, 97 percent of whom are eligible for free or reduced lunch. “Students lacking access to the baseline educational benefits the Internet affords today could not compete to gain admission to colleges, therefore losing their ability to compete in the workplace.”
“We think of Internet access like we think about electricity, or desks,” said Brian Bolz, the CEO of Beehively, which provides technological support to Catholic schools across Northern California and is one of 1,820 nonprofits facing broadband loss. “We expect all three. You don’t come into school wondering if you’ll have enough power today, or worried that if you use too much power, you might run out. And you certainly don’t expect to reach a limit in how much you can use your desk. If you use it too much, is it possible you’ll come into school one day and find you no longer have access to it?”
Through their litigation, Mobile Citizen and Mobile Beacon are asking the court to require Sprint to fulfill its contractual obligations and prevent schools like West and nonprofits like Beehively from losing their Internet access. To read the full complaint, click here.
“Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen’s low cost Internet service helps fill in gaps that other low-cost offers don’t reach. Ours is one of the few programs available that not only serves students, but also low-income adults, seniors and the disabled,” said Katherine Messier, the managing director of Mobile Beacon. “We don’t believe providing a second-class Internet service or ‘slow lane’ is an acceptable means to close the digital divide. We’re fighting to prevent diminished service to schools and poor people now — and over the remaining 21 years of our contract.”
About Mobile Citizen
Mobile Citizen offers mobile broadband service exclusively to nonprofits and schools at remarkably low cost. For more information, visit mobilecitizen.org. Mobile Citizen is funded by Voqal, a consortium of five nonprofit organizations committed to bringing technology to the education and nonprofit communities for over 25 years.About Mobile Beacon
Mobile Beacon provides fourth generation (4G) mobile broadband services exclusively to schools, libraries and nonprofit organizations across the United States through an agreement with Sprint. Mobile Beacon was created by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the second largest national educational broadband service (EBS) provider in the country. We help educators and nonprofits get the Internet access they need and extend access within their communities to those who need it most. Learn more and visit Mobile Beacon at http://www.mobilebeacon.org, www.facebook.com/mobilebeacon, and www.twitter.com/mobiContacts: Kristen Perry – 303-557-3616, kperry@voqal.org and
Alisson Walsh – 401-934-0500, awalsh@mobilebeacon.org
SOURCE Mobile Citizen
RELATED LINKS
http://www.mobilecitizen.org
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Samsung is in the works of preparing a new Exynos processor for its mid-range devices
According to a new report from Sammobile, Samsung is developing a new Exynos 7880 chipset, aimed for premium mid-range devices such as the Galaxy A series smartphones.
Samsung has been extremely successful at producing its own processors for its Galaxy devices, and has clashed the competition with the Exynos 7420 that took the spotlight as being the only chip chosen to power the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Note 5. According to previous reports, Samsung is also in the works of developing the Exynos 8890 that is believed to be equipped in the upcoming Galaxy S7, along the Exynos 7422, a minor upgrade from the 7420.
Source: Sammobile
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Anker celebrating launch of new mobile store with lots of perks
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Anker is a brand name that I have a feeling a lot of my fellow Android friends are very familiar with. They have a huge collection of products ranging from power banks to solar panels to USB hubs. Everything I have ever used has been extremely well-built and priced exceptionally well. Most people headed to Amazon to order their products, but we all know how flooded the Amazon page can become when looking for something, especially if you don’t have a direct link. Anker has now, as of the 12th I believe, officially rolled out a mobile store front that is geared towards browsing and ordering from your phone or tablet. With it launch, the company is putting their best foot forward with some great rewards and giveaways.
They are offering up 800 products for grabs through random drawings, a $5 voucher for all new customers, a $5 voucher if you refer a friend and free shipping on all orders over $28. That is just the tip of the iceberg though as they have an entire forum section, reward system (Anker Bucks) that can be used to buy more stuff.
At the end of the day, your purchase is still handled through Amazon, but the shopping experience is pretty outstanding. Be sure to give them a circle on G+ so you can stay in the know as they are pretty good about posting things and be sure to check out the new site at m.anker.com.
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Apple Shares New iPhone 6s Ad Focused on 3D Touch
Apple today released a new iPhone 6s advertisement focusing on the 3D Touch feature of the device. In the 30 second spot, several 3D Touch gestures are shown off in apps like Safari and Messages, while a voiceover explains how Peek and Pop work in an approachable, humorous way.
The video covers using Peek gestures to check flight tracking from a flight number, previewing a post in Instagram, checking a map for a restaurant in the Messages app, previewing a link in the Mail app, previewing songs in the Music app, and more.
This is iPhone 6s. Not much has changed, except it feels different. Now you press lightly to peek and deeper to pop. It changes how easily you can peek a flight, check a post, search for dinner – ooh, you guys are going to love that place. You can find a getaway easier – Yeah, go there. And find music easier – wait, are you listening to your own song? So pretty much everything you do feels different and that’s what’s changed.
The video ends with the tagline Apple’s been using for the iPhone 6s: “The only thing that’s changed is everything.”
Aside from videos that debuted on the day the iPhone 6s was released, the new 3D Touch video is the first iPhone 6s ad spot that Apple has introduced so far. In addition to being uploaded to YouTube, the video has also been added to Apple’s website alongside the two other iPhone 6s videos that are available.
The light bulb that did it all: The 1byone wireless Bluetooth speaker RGB light bulb (Review)
When I was first shown this little unicorn of a product, from 1byone, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I mean, how much can a light bulb really do? I’m not going to lie, I was skeptical. For the $30 price tag I imagined a couple primary colors and audio quality equivalent to listening through a tin can, but boy was I wrong. The 1byone wireless Bluetooth RGB light bulb with a built-in speaker was one of the best surprises I had in awhile when it comes to an accessory.
Design
The bulb itself is a bit larger than the run the mill lightbulb and it has a metal band around the side to allow for the audio to be heard(speaker grill). There is an accompanying smartphone app, CHSSmartBulb, that is downloaded by using your phone to read the 2D barcode on the side of the box the light bulb comes in. The app isn’t available through the Google Play store so you’ll need to make sure you have the app restrictions turned off on your device.
There are no special connectors or plugs, it simply screws into a standard sized light bulb socket.
Usage
I gave the 1byone wireless bulb a spin in a couple different lamps before I decided on its new home, a tall floor standing lamp on the far side of my bedroom. The light, when first turned on, gives a very white illuminating glow just like a typical fluorescent bulb. In order to connect to it, a first for me connecting to a light bulb, the bulb required the very familiar bluetooth pairing motions on my phone. After getting setup, I opened up the app and quickly realized the full capabilities of this little overachiever. The bulb itself is capable of over 16 million colors and in ‘Manual’ mode and actually changes colors on the fly while you select the color in the color pallette in the app.
There is also an ‘Auto’ mode in the app where the light responds to the beat of the music playing from your phone or the sounds your phone makes. The app itself also contains a music player, an on/off switch, and a sleep timer to control the light. The audio quality is definitely higher than I expected for this featured-packed light bulb, although a little on the quiet side. With a fan and white noise machine running, it was just loud enough to listen to a book on tape from across my bedroom. But that was to be expected given this bulb doesn’t have a built-in amplifier like a typical bluetooth speaker.
Specs
Specification:
Product Power: LED 6W, AMP 3W
Working Voltage: AC 100V-240V
Working frequency: 50-60Hz
Light-flux: 300LM
LED light angle: 120 degree
Bulb specification: E27
Bluetooth version: 4.0+EDR
Color: White
Bluetooth distance: No obstacle 10M
Frequency band: 2.4GHZ
Working temp: -10 to 50 c
Summary
While I went into this review thinking, “How good can a Bluetooth speaker and LED light perform?”, I was simply amazed at how much value and entertainment 1byone provided with their product. The 1byone Wireless Bluetooth 4.0 Speaker Smart LED Night Light Bulb was simply impressive. After a little research, I discovered that red light actually helps preserve night vision, helping keep you from losing vision in the dark at night. After learning that I now use the red LED light as a way to not disturb my eyes when I wake up in the middle of the night.
It’s a great accessory that is out of the way and out of site, yet provides a speaker for audio books at night when I am falling asleep. It also has an auto-off feature built into the app which comes in handy as I doze off. For $30, I highly recommend you add one of these to your life. It not only can serve as a party light, but it also functions as a standard light with a speaker. You really can’t go wrong with the 1byone wireless light bulb. If you’re interested in making a purchase, click the box below to purchase the light bulb at Amazon.com.
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AIVAnet 