Sprint faces ‘thousands’ of job cuts and price hikes
SoftBank, Sprint’s Japanese parent company, made a ton of profit over the last three months, but not as much profit as people were expecting. That’s largely due to it having to carry Sprint on its back, since the network has gone from plucky bronze medalist to sitting in the doldrums of fourth place in America’s hotly-contested carrier wars. In order to try and reduce the amount of red printer ink that Marcelo Claure (pictured, right) has to buy, SoftBank has ordered a “sustainable run rate reduction” of more than $2 billion. In order words, the company is about to have to learn how to do a lot more with a heck of a lot less cash.
Via: WSJ
Source: SoftBank (.PDF)
Game streamer Hitbox takes on Twitch with 4K eSports broadcasts
Pop quiz hotshot: Name a game broadcasting service that isn’t Twitch, YouTube Gaming or MLG.tv. Give up? You’re forgiven. Vienna-based Hitbox.tv is relatively new to the space and its looking to make a name for itself by offering features that the competition doesn’t. Like streaming eSports events in 4K at 60FPS starting this fall, for instance. As Twitch expands into more and more non-gaming avenues, Hitbox thinks it can serve the core crowd that might feel alienated by those moves. The Austrian company has picked up some new investments recently — most notably from the folks behind World of Tanks, Wargaming. A canned statement from the latter says that forthcoming games will “integrate game data” into broadcasts and that it should be pretty easy to do so. Hitbox also offers a wide-open revenue split system that every broadcaster has access to, rather than Twitch’s curated Partner program highlighting its top broadcasters.
Source: Hitbox.tv
Google founder believes Alphabet will kickstart innovation
Are you still wondering what the heck is up with all this Alphabet talk? It may seem confusing at first, but it’s really quite a simple concept.
As we explained in our thorough Alphabet run-down, this was pretty much done to separate Google from all its subsidiaries, as the Search Giant was getting too large for its own good. With each company operating on its own, under a different leadership and personalized strategies, each division can now thrive in a much more specialized manner.
Not to mention, investors would be more interested in small companies that will grow fast and strong. To a giant like Google, these smaller companies’ successes don’t mean as much in terms of revenue.
Read more:
- Alphabet divisions are free to return to China, implies Brin
- Alphabet announces Google’s Q3 results – revenue up
- Alphabet to expand its language
- Google owns Alphabet… the full domain and all!
But there is another factor to consider here, and it’s one our fellow dreamers at Google seem to be more focused on. Google founder Larry Page took the stage at a Fortune Magazine dinner in San Francisco to tell us a bit about what they want to see coming from Alphabet, and the key focus was innovation. Even more so than business or money (or so he says).
The major point here is that it would be a mess if Google tried to run all of its acquired companies. Aside from Search and Android, Google would have to operate Calico, Fiber, Ventures, Capital, Nest and many other subsidiaries to come. It’s just not what Google is “good at”, so they thought it was better to give these companies a bit of breathing space.
Under the Alphabet system, engineers and scientists would have more freedom to create the awesome products they impressed Google with, to begin with. Not to mention, these inventors probably don’t like the idea of working with a company, and would feel more inspired otherwise. There’s plenty of annoyances stapled to working with a large company like Google.
“Companies have pretty bad reputations. It’s not like a lot of people wake up in the morning and say, ‘I want to go work for a company.’ They do it because they have to.” -Larry Page, Google founder
The key point we have to take away from this is that the switch to Alphabet was not about the consumer; it was about employers and employees. This is why Google chose the name “Alphabet”, apparently. They didn’t want it to be too catchy for the user, as it could overshadow Google. As a consumer, you should see little to no difference in the way you interact with these services.
Now we just have to play the waiting game and see how all these Alphabet companies take advantage of their new freedoms. The future looks bright and full of letters. You can be sure we will spell them all here at Android Authority as soon as any detail emerges!
Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds (Review)
Exercise is a daily activity for many of us. Whether it be walks at the park, running at the track or lifting weights in the gym, we all try to get in exercise to improve our health. I am a regular gym user as I like to lift weights and perform cardio on indoor machines. Music is a must have for me. I have been working out for almost 20 years now, 5-7 days a week, for 45-90 minutes per session. Exercise makes me feel better, allows me to eat more( I love food) and also clears my head from a long day at work. Walking my dog every night is also something I do regularly.
I remember getting my first mp3 player in 2002 and having music with me whenever I hit the gym. Music helps pump me up and keep me going at a healthy pace. Having plug-in headphones is something I have learned to live with, but is something that can be a nuisance when the cord gets tangled and pulls the phone out of my pocket. Enter the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds.
Design
The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are designed and optimized for fitness use. Exercise creates sweat which can can wreak havoc on electronics, but the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are designed to withstand the abuses associated with fitness training.
The earbuds come with soft plastic hooks that flex to wrap around your ears keeping them in place. They are connected by a roughly foot long rubberized cable, with an integrated inline remote control so you can turn up/down the volume, rewind/fast forward music, and also take phone calls. Everything you need is contained withing the Bluetooth connected headset to help keep your workout flowing.
The cable comes in three colors, yellow, blue or red and is also reflective as an added safety feature. Personally, I like the bright colors as it is easier to spot around my house.
Usage
Honestly, I didn’t expect much when it came to sound quality when I put on the Jabra Wireless Sport Pace earbuds. Last year I tried to use a name-brand set of wireless headphones(not Jabra) and was disappointed at the quality of sound they produced. Sound reproduction should be the focus of any earbuds as we want to truly enjoy our music. Having sound isolation and great sound reproduction is a must when it comes to fitness as music really can help you enjoy your workouts.
First and foremost the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds sound fantastic. I know sound quality is purely subjective, but I have gone through my tests when it comes to earbuds. I have been a fan of them for years and was quite an active member of the audiophile site Headfi.org. It isn’t uncommon to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on earbuds and equipment dedicated to sound reproduction. Audiophiles can be quite snobby at times when it comes to earbuds, but my take on it is, if you like what you’re listening to, then go with it. And the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds fit the bill.
If you workout for more than five hours at a time, then these earbuds aren’t for you. But I would guess that most of you keep your workouts to two hours or less, in which these can more than handle that amount of time. The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are rated at five-hours for talk time and I regularly used mine for two to three days of workouts without recharging them.
Since I claimed to be an audiophile, wireless earbuds haven’t been apart of my tech arsenal ever really. I gave them a shot last year, but have stuck with wired headsets because they sound better. Now that the sound quality has improved, wireless earbuds will now be my go to for workouts as the benefits are tremendous. The Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are water-resistant(IP54 rating), come with a reflective coating for added visibility at night, and also stay out of my way when I am lifting weights. It’s so nice to avoid accidentally getting tangled in my earbud cord and ripping my phone from my pocket.
Also having inline remote controls is much easier than pulling out my phone, turning on the screen to fast-forward/rewind the song and to control the volume. All of those features are built into the inline remote along with a microphone for taking calls. I tried a few calls with my mom to test out the earbuds and they performed flawlessly.
If anyone is going to tell me she can’t hear me, it is my mother when she says “WHAT? You’re breaking up. Are you on a headset or something?” Not once did she say this in our hour long phone calls. Jabra has made me a fan.
As the days get dark quicker and nights get colder, I am frequently putting on hoodies now. It is really nice not to have to deal with unplugging my earbuds when I want to take my hoodie off. Wireless is truly the way to go for earbuds if you work out.
Specs
Summary
If you enjoy the fitness lifestyle and enjoy listening to music, the Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds are for you. They offer incredible sound quality, simplicity by removing your cord, added visibility if you are an outdoors buff and a wireless method for talking on the phone. For $99.99 I find these earbuds to be comfortable and light-weight. They offer an incredible value and I highly recommend them to you.
If you want to learn more head on over to Jabra.com or to Amazon.com to make a purchase.
The post Jabra Sport Pace Wireless earbuds (Review) appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Polaroid sues GoPro for copying a design patent
C&A Marketing Inc., the company that produces the Polaroid Cube, has filed a lawsuit against GoPro for releasing the Hero4 Session camera. On what grounds? Well, the two cameras look almost identical. Both are shaped like a cube with rounded edges, and even though the Session is able to shoot better quality video and is slightly larger than the 1.4-cubic-inch Cube, C&A is insisting that GoPro has infringed on the design patent that it received in May this year, preventing any other camera from copying the Cube’s unique look. GoPro had filed a patent related to its square camera’s design in March, but that specifically covered the camera’s housing.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Apple cuts a deal with failed sapphire screen supplier
Apple and GT Advanced Technologies Inc. agreed to part ways back in 2014, after the latter filed for bankruptcy. Now the two have reached a deal that will eradicate GT’s $439 million loan from Cupertino, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple originally tapped GT to make sapphire screens for its devices, but it became obvious that trouble was brewing when the iPhone 6 launched without one. It’s unclear what really happened behind the scenes, but GT accused Apple of shifting specs and requiring the company to manufacture millions of units the iPhone-maker wasn’t obligated to buy. Apple, on the other hand, said GT couldn’t meet its goals. Either way, GT ended up not having any clients that can sustain its business. Under the terms of the deal, the manufacturer will have to auction pieces of equipment, including some of its 600 sapphire-making furnaces, by November 23rd. It will then hand everything it couldn’t sell to Apple, which promised to nuke its debt completely
Source: The Wall Street Journal
HTC kicks off pre-orders for the Desire 828 in China
HTC is now taking pre-orders for its latest budget friendly, mid-range smartphone, the Desire 828, in China. The dual-SIM handset is available to purchase in Gray and White colorways, and carries a price tag of ￥1,599, which equates to about $255.
The device packs a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a MediaTek MT6753 octa-core System-on-Chip (SoC), 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable internal storage, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5MP selfie shooter and a 2,800mAh battery.
The Desire 828 ships running the latest build of Android 5.1 Lollipop straight out of to the box, topped with HTC’s Sense 6.0 custom user interface. It is, however, expected to be one of the manufacturer’s first smartphones to receive the Marshmallow update later this year.
If you’re based in China, like the sound of the Desire 828 and would like to find out more about pre-ordering a unit — hit the source link below.
Source: HTC
Come comment on this article: HTC kicks off pre-orders for the Desire 828 in China
PuzzlePhone wants you to fund its modular smartphone
If you’re enamored with modular smartphones but aren’t convinced that Project Ara will pan out, you can now pour your money into an alternative. PuzzlePhone has launched a crowdfunding campaign to get its namesake upgradable handset into your hands. Plunk down at least $333 and you’ll get a complete Android phone divided into a Spine (the 5-inch LCD, frame and speakers), Brain (processor and camera) and Heart (battery and secondary tech), all of which you can replace without having to toss out the rest of the device.
Via: The Verge
Source: Indiegogo
Share your excitement for Fallout 4 with themed emojis in Fallout C.H.A.T.
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Bethesda’s Fallout 4 is only a week away from its release on consoles, but mobile is getting an opportunity to be part of the hype before the game is released into the apocalypse. Unlike Fallout Shelter which was a kind of spin-off game that was actually quite good, Bethesda has released something a little more mobile oriented with Fallout C.H.A.T. (which stands for Communication Hub And Transmitter). As the name of the app might suggest, Fallout C.H.A.T. is useful to those who chat a lot via smartphones, which I’m assuming is everyone – the app provides an assortment of Fallout themed emojis, gifs and even fonts that you can use to convey your excitement for the next installment in the Fallout universe.
How it works is you select the emoji/gif/words you want to use, and the Fallout C.H.A.T. app will share it to the app of your choosing. It’s pretty rudimentary, but fans of the game will love it – and best of all, it’s absolutely free to download and play with. If you too want to set the world on fire, we’ve got the Play Store link for you down below:
http://playboard.me/widgets/pb-app-box/1/pb_load_app_box.js
What do you think about Fallout C.H.A.T.? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Polygon
The post Share your excitement for Fallout 4 with themed emojis in Fallout C.H.A.T. appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Suretap mobile wallet partners with Points to offer loyalty cards
Suretap mobile wallet is a mobile payments app owned by Canadian carrier Rogers. Since it’s release, they have expanded to work on other Canadian carriers such as Bell, Telus, Virgin Mobile and Koodo. Today, they have partnered with Points.com, a loyalty currency management company.
This makes Suretap the first mobile wallet to integrate loyalty cards into the Canadian market.
Jeppe Dorff, president of Suretap said:
“The Suretap mobile wallet is all about making it easier, safer and more rewarding for Canadians to transact in every step of the consumer journey, including getting more out of their relationships with local brands and retailers. By leveraging Points’ loyalty platform in our wallet technology, we’re improving the payment experience for millions of Canadians and providing banks and merchants a more robust way to engage with their customers,”
Suretap now has a loyalty section where users can store all of their loyalty information from more than 100 global loyalty rewards programs.
Press Release:
TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Suretap, a leader in open mobile wallet technology, today announced a partnership with Points (TSX:PTS) (Nasdaq:PCOM), the global leader in loyalty currency management, making Suretap the first mobile wallet to truly integrate loyalty cards in the Canadian market.
“The suretap mobile wallet is all about making it easier, safer and more rewarding for Canadians to transact in every step of the consumer journey, including getting more out of their relationships with local brands and retailers,” said Jeppe Dorff, President of Suretap. “By leveraging Points’ loyalty platform in our wallet technology, we’re improving the payment experience for millions of Canadians and providing banks and merchants a more robust way to engage with their customers.”
With this update, Suretap introduces a loyalty section to its wallet app, powered by the Points loyalty network, where users can store loyalty information from more than 100 global loyalty rewards programs, making it easier to earn and use loyalty rewards. The addition of the loyalty section provides participating loyalty programs with additional exposure to suretap wallet users and provides current program members with new ways to earn and use their loyalty rewards.
“With this partnership, we’re proud to join forces with one of Canada’s leading digital wallet providers. By providing suretap wallet users with access to loyalty rewards management and transaction capability in one place, we’re excited to open the door to a better consumer experience in the wallet, and for loyalty programs to both better engage their customers and drive attractive incremental economics via this new channel,” said Rob MacLean, CEO of Points.
Launched four months ago with support from Canada’s major wireless carriers, the suretap wallet allows Android and Blackberry smartphone users to make quick, easy and secure mobile payment transactions at any retailer that accepts contactless payments, including credit, gift and pre-paid cards.
Points Loyalty Commerce Platform is connected to over 50 global loyalty programs and provides technology solutions to enable the world’s top brands to better engage their consumers through loyalty programs.
About Suretap
Suretap is Canada’s leading open wallet provider, with relationships spanning multiple retail industries and merchant categories. Based on global security standards, Suretap is focused on delivering contextually relevant market card-content to the end consumer.
Suretap is an “easy to use” application for shoppers to store and use their bank, credit, gift and loyalty cards, makes it seamless for retailers to start accepting mobile payments without altering their current point-of-sale transaction processes or systems, and easy for brands to reach and engage customers with deals, savings and special offers. As an open wallet, all wireless carriers, payment card issuers, handset manufacturers and service providers alike, across Canada, have the opportunity to adopt the suretap wallet.
Suretap protects customer data and payment card information at a level not possible today with physical cards by using certified technology to secure payment card and passcode data on the smartphone’s encrypted SIM card. Customers are also protected by multiple levels of security in the suretap wallet and technology that has been certified by global payment networks. This certification and method of storing information on the SIM card also benefits retailers and merchants accepting mobile transactions through Suretap.
Suretap also supports the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada and merchants will not incur extra costs by adopting Suretap.
For further information please visit www.suretap.com or contact inquiries@suretap.com
About Points
Points, publicly traded as Points International Ltd. (TSX:PTS) (Nasdaq:PCOM), is the global leader in loyalty currency management. Via a state-of-the-art loyalty commerce platform, Points provides loyalty eCommerce and technology solutions to the world’s top brands to enhance their consumer offerings and streamline their back-end operations.
Points’ solutions enhance the management and monetization of loyalty currencies ranging from frequent flyer miles and hotel points to retailer and credit card rewards, for more than 50 partners worldwide. Points also manages Points.com, where more than 4 million consumers use the only industry sanctioned loyalty wallet to not only track all of their loyalty programs but also trade, exchange and redeem their miles and points. In addition to these services, Points’ unique SaaS products allow merchants and businesses to reward their customers with points and miles from the world’s largest loyalty brands.
In 2014, Points acquired PointsHound, a hotel booking engine and loyalty currency aggregator built specifically for frequent travelers. PointsHound enables loyalty program members to earn loyalty points for staying in their favorite hotels and also to earn bonus rewards in the form of airline miles. Members of the free-to-use site have access to over 150,000 hotels worldwide, including boutique and non-chain properties.
Points has been widely recognized among the loyalty and technology communities alike. The Company was named the 7th largest Canadian software company and the 30th largest Canadian technology company by the 2015 Branham300 list. For more information on Points, please visit www.Points.com, follow us on Twitter (@PointsBiz) or read the Points company blog. For more information on PointsHound, please visit www.PointsHound.com.
Come comment on this article: Suretap mobile wallet partners with Points to offer loyalty cards
AIVAnet 