Twitter no longer crops the photos in your Timeline
A small change, but one that’s welcome all the same. Starting today Twitter.com will no longer crop the photos in your timeline, saving you a click to see holiday snaps, selfies and anything else the people you follow have been posting. It also means that when you upload an image, especially anything in a square format, you don’t have to worry about how it’ll appear on the web. That’s good news for shutterbugs and news organisations, although power users will probably be disappointed in the move, which ultimately sacrifices tweet volume for visual media.
Source: Twitter (Blog Post)
Japan Display Planning Mass Production of OLED Displays for iPhones in Early 2018
Apple supplier Japan Display plans to begin mass production of OLED displays for future iPhones in spring 2018, according to Japanese website Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun [Google Translate] (via GforGames).
Japan Display executives are reportedly in negotiations with Apple about securing OLED orders for future iPhones, in an effort to compete with existing OLED panel suppliers Samsung Electronics and LG Display.
Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by Hitachi, Sony and Toshiba, is one of two major LCD display suppliers for current iPhones alongside rival Japanese company Sharp. Apple has used LCD panels for iPhones since the original model launched in 2007.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported last month that iPhones are unlikely to have OLED displays for at least the next three years, and Japanese website Nikkei confirmed that Apple plans to switch to OLED displays for iPhones starting in 2018. Apple may continue to offer some iPhone models with LCD displays to fulfill demand.
OLED displays can provide sharper images, better color accuracy and brighter colors compared to LCD displays, but the technology generally has a shorter lifespan and higher manufacturing costs. Samsung’s popular Galaxy-branded smartphones are equipped with AMOLED displays, as is the Apple Watch.
Should these supply chain rumors prove true, the so-called “iPhone 8” could be released in late 2018 as Apple’s first smartphone equipped with an OLED display, based on the company’s current naming and release cycle.
Discuss this article in our forums
HTC One A9 helped the company hit $314 million in revenue for November, report says
The sinking ship that is HTC has been, well, sinking for some time now, but it looks like the company’s new flagship, the One A9 (review here), is beginning to turn things around. HTC posted a revenue of $314 million for the month of November, which is a 6-month high, according to DigiTimes.
DigiTimes says One A9 sales truly was a key component in reaching this number, especially when compared to revenue figures from just a few months back. The sales jump is 14.96%, but it’s important to note that this is only month-to-month performance. Year-to-year performance still isn’t looking good (there was actually a 39% decline), which is something HTC needs to resolve for long-term success.
There’s still a little under a month to go before we close out 2015, but DigiTimes is already expecting HTC to post a revenue of $3.3 billion for the year, which is a 33% decline from last year’s revenue figures. We truly hope business gets better for HTC, but it goes without saying, the smartphone market has some tough competition that’s only increasing, which is some of the trouble LG is facing.
While the numbers for November is good news, the One A9 won’t be able to sustain HTC for long. More competition is just around the corner, as big manufacturers are preparing to release their flagships for the next year.
Hopefully HTC has something up its sleeve to stay competitive and get out of the hole it’s in.
source: DigiTimes
via: Phandroid
Come comment on this article: HTC One A9 helped the company hit $314 million in revenue for November, report says
The OnePlus 2 in India is no longer barred by the invite system
Days after revealing that the global variant of the OnePlus 2 would no long require an invite, the Chinese vendor is nixing the invite system with the India variant as well. Consumers in India can now head on over to Amazon purchase the device freely.
Those interested in the 64GB Sandstone Black variant will be looking at a retail price of ₹24,999 (USD$380). If you don’t mind waiting for your OnePlus 2, a smaller 16GB ROM/3GB RAM model will launch in the country soon as well.
As a quick reminder, today is also the last day to get some neat discounts on other products from OnePlus’ own website. For the rest of today, December 7, you’ll be able to discounts on the following accessories:
- OnePlus 2 StyleSwap covers: 50% off
- Select OnePlus One accessories: 90% off;
- All other accessories: 10% off
- OnePlus X: invite-free
Have you picked up a OnePlus 2? Be sure to let us know your experience in the comments below.
via: Android Central
Come comment on this article: The OnePlus 2 in India is no longer barred by the invite system
French police want to ban public WiFi during emergencies
The FBI isn’t the law enforcement agency that wants to restrict privacy for the sake of national security. Following the Paris attacks of November 13th, French police and gendarmes have submitted a wish list of security measures for a new bill, according to a document discovered by LeMonde. Among other things, police want to ban public WiFi during states of emergency, “because of the difficulty of identifying people connected to it,” said one official. Law enforcement also wants the Tor network banned completely in France and would force companies that make VoIP applications (like Skype) to hand the encryption keys to police.
Via: Motherboard
Source: LeMonde
BBC iPlayer to show trailers before programmes
When you next load up The Bridge on iPlayer, there’s a good chance the BBC will try to tempt you with another show. The broadcaster has announced today that short trailers will now be shown ahead of programmes automatically. They’ll be skippable, so hopefully the feature won’t be too bothersome when you’re trying to catch up with Newsnight over breakfast before work. For now these teasers are limited to the iPlayer website, specifically the Flash video player, although the BBC says it’ll be rolled out to the HTML version and other platforms next year. To aid discovery, the BBC is also developing a bookmark tool so that you can easily retrieve a show you saw before The Great British Bake Off.
Source: BBC (Internet Blog)
The shower of the future will save the planet, but at a high price
Aside from building a coal-fired power station, the thing that activates your brain’s climate-guilt gland the fastest is taking a luxurious bath. Unfortunately, using a shower isn’t that much better for the planet, which is why Dutch startup Hamwells has built the ultimate in eco-washing facilities. The company is showing off its first-generation e-Shower here at TechCrunch Disrupt, and the device does for showers what Dyson did for vacuum cleaners: makes it an object of desire. There’s just one downside, and that’s how much you’re going to have to spend to own one.
Adobe Lightroom mobile on Android is now available for free
Adobe ditched the Creative Cloud requirement for Lightroom mobile on iOS back in October, and now it’s doing the same for Android. With an update to version 1.4 for the Android app, the photo-editing software is now free to use. This means that you’ll no longer need that desktop software subscription to use it. However, if you want your edits and files to sync on the desktop, you’ll have to splurge for Creative Cloud.
Source: Adobe
Consumers are buying a super-secure phone that’s not meant for them
Let’s get this out of the way right up top: Sikur’s GranitePhone is not for you. Security as a feature is nothing new — BlackBerry’s entire existence rests upon it at this point — but the GranitePhone takes security to another level. While the phone is based on Android, it runs a forked version known called GraniteOS that is startling in its simplicity. You can make secure, encrypted voice calls and use Sikur’s encrypted chat and messaging service. There’s also support for standard GSM calls and SMS messages, and you can take photos or add standard Exchange, POP or IMAP email accounts. But that’s it.
There’s no app store or even more built-in apps for things we take as standard smartphone features, and that’s all with intention. This isn’t a phone for the standard smartphone user, says Sikur CEO Fred D’Avila — instead, his company built a phone in partnership with hardware manufacturer Archos specifically for governments, big enterprise clients and financial institutions. The challenge will be convincing those potential clients to go with Sikur and the GranitePhone over its better-known competitors.
OnePlus 2 now available on Amazon India without an invite
OnePlus used its notorious invite system to draw the spotlight onto its original smartphone, the OnePlus One. That worked great, for a while, but, by the time the OnePlus 2 arrived – and OnePlus tried to pull the same trick – it was clear that the invite system had to go.
Last week, OnePlus announced that invites would no longer be needed to acquire the OnePlus 2 starting December 5 in most markets, and now the company is doing the same with the Indian version of the smartphone.
See also: Best Android phones (December 2015)
Would-be Indian OnePlus customers can now buy the OP2 without any hassles. Unlike previous “open sales” windows (the most recent being on Black Friday), the invites are gone for good this time.
The OnePlus 2 is available via Amazon India for 24,999 rupees, or about $380, including all taxes. This is the better model, with 64GB of storage and 4GB of RAM, available in Sandstone Black. The cheaper 16GB model has yet to launch in India. The device is offered with 1-year of manufacturer warranty.
While invites are no longer needed, purchases are limited to one unit per person.
The reason OnePlus dropped the invites just four months after the release of the OnePlus 2 is up for debate. Carl Pei and team will tell you that the invites were a simple necessity that OnePlus was eager to put behind it. Some people in the media have suggested that the actual reason has to do with the lack of interest in the device. In any case, it’s clear that OnePlus has been losing steam – in comparison to the company’s fulminant entrance from last year, this year’s performance has been a whimper.
Indian readers, are you – still – interested in the OnePlus 2?
AIVAnet 