BlackBerry laying off 200 employees between Canada and the US
We all thought BlackBerry could make a comeback with the Priv, but things still aren’t looking good for them. BlackBerry has now laid off hundreds of employees from Canada and Florida.
Those affected are specifically from their home Waterloo offices and Sunrise, FL location. The total will be around 200 employees combined.
“As BlackBerry continues to execute its turnaround plan, we remain focused on driving efficiencies across our global work force. As a result, approximately 200 employees have been impacted in Canada and Florida. For those employees that have recently left the company, we know that they have worked hard on behalf of our company and we are grateful for their commitment and contributions.”
BlackBerry has also recently shut down their “Built for BlackBerry” certification program for BlackBerry 10 apps last month. These recent cuts could mean BlackBerry is heavily moving away from native app development and focusing more on Android, which explains the need for less in-house employees. However, it could also mean they are badly hurting for cash. I am hoping it is not the later.
Source: MobileSyrup
Come comment on this article: BlackBerry laying off 200 employees between Canada and the US
Verizon’s Go90 no longer counts against data caps
Verizon rolled out an update to Go90 mobile content streaming app on Jan. 29. If you’re like most folks, you didn’t read much about the update. But one thing stands out.
Near the top of the description of what’s new about the app is this little nugget:
“Search for content you love and find exclusives only available on Go90. Verizon Wireless customers stream any video over LTE without it counting against your data plan.”
That’s right. You can use Go90 to stream shows over Verizon’s LTE network without it counting against your data total. And since Verizon no longer offers unlimited data, this is fantastic, right?
Well … maybe.
On its face, it seems great. What could be bad about being able to stream all your favorite content without using up all your data?
But Lifehacker calls it a “trap.” The problem, Lifehacker says, is that Verizon is using its status as a carrier to give itself an unfair leg up on the competition by allowing one of its own products to use Verizon’s network without counting against data limits, while other services do count against data limits. After all, why would you use a service that uses up your data when you could use one that doesn’t and save your data for other things?
Lifehacker is quick to point out that this is not a harbinger of any sort of Internet apocalypse. Rather, it’s a way in which Verizon is using capped data plans to “pick winners and losers on the Internet.”
Come comment on this article: Verizon’s Go90 no longer counts against data caps
Huawei Mate 8 vs Nexus 6P
Starting with the Mate 7 in 2014, Huawei proved to the world that it had the skills and resources necessary to craft a truly premium device that easily competed with more established players in the space. Since then, Huawei has continued to raise up the bar, and made history last year as the first Chinese manufacturer to partner with Google for a Nexus device.
With the Nexus 6P, Huawei merges its exceptional hardware skills with Google’s lighter, snappier stock software, and the end result is a handset that is hailed by many as the best flagship currently on the market. But what about Huawei’s Mate series? Despite the huge shadow cast by the Nexus 6P, the Mate 8 is a massive leap forward for Huawei once again, further refining the design of the Mate 7 while also offering exceptional flagship-level performance.
So how does the Huawei Mate 8 compare to the Huawei-made Nexus 6P? We find out as two of Huawei’s best creations go head to head in this detailed Mate 8 vs Nexus 6P comparison.
Design
Even at first glance, it’s pretty obvious these two flagships are related. Premium materials are par for the course regardless of which device you get, and the metallic design language looks great on both. They feel great in the hands too, despite some very minor slippage due to the materials used. Of course, there’s also some distinct differences that help set Huawei’s latest flagships apart.
The Huawei Mate 8′ design language is a direct evolution of the Mate 7, as well as the Mate S. With the Mate 8 you get a symmetrical design that might feel a bit too familiar when coming from the Mate 7, though its rounded camera and fingerprint scanner help give a more modernized look. The speaker has also moved from the rear to the bottom this time around. On the front you get a display that has relatively small bezels and on-screen keys, as well the front facing camera, the usual sensors, and the Huawei logo towards the bottom.
On the other hand, the Nexus 6P manages to stand out from both its predecessor, the Nexus 6, and its Mate brethren. The prominent Nexus logo on the back is right below the rear-mounted fingerprint reader, and the large black bar up top houses the camera and its accessories. The Nexus 6P also has some unique additions including front-facing speakers and a Type-C USB port, features you won’t find with the Mate 8.
While both phones handle pretty well for devices of their size, neither are exactly perfect for one-handed use, though it can certainly be done. Dimensions do differ a bit with the two, with the Mate 8 being a bit wider due to the 6-inch display, while the Nexus 6P is taller, thanks to its front facing speakers. Ultimately though, we’re looking at two phones that are reasonably similar in terms of size and weight, despite differences in screen size.
Which is better? The answer to that is a very personal one and, even among our team, the answer varied wildly. Some of us certainly prefer the Nexus 6P, whereas others have expressed a preference for the Mate 8. Regardless, Both designs demonstrate the very best of Huawei, delivering solid build quality across the board.
Display
For those that are spec hungry, the decision here is an easy one. The QHD AMOLED display on the Nexus 6P is certainly the better performer here when compared to the 1080p IPS display found on the Mate 8. For those that prefer larger screen real estate, however, it is worth keeping in mind that the Mate 8’s 6-inch screen is the larger of the two. Of course, it is up for debate how much of a difference that extra .3-inches really makes.
The Nexus 6P isn’t just at an advantage in resolution, but AMOLED itself is often the prefered choice for many. AMOLED displays tend to offer a better experience for those that are looking for deep blacks, vibrant, vivid, and saturated colors, as well as tons of brightness for comfortable viewing in broad daylight. The Nexus 6P also offers ambient display technology, which utilizes the AMOLED screen to bring us notification cards at a glance.
As for the Huawei Mate 8, the 1080p IPS display might not have the advantages found with the Nexus 6P, but don’t let this fool you, the display is no slouch. For starters, the Mate 8’s JDI-NEO display technology helps make up for some of the shortfall from not having QHD resolution. Overall, the Mate 8 likely has the best 6-inch 1080p on the market, and you’ll find that gaming and media is quite enjoyable here, despite its perceived disadvantages.
If you want that higher res and extra bit of color depth, the Nexus 6P will provide it for you, but for the general user that isn’t a display or spec nut, you’ll probably find little real difference in day to day use.
Performance
Despite being made by the same OEM, under the hood we find two very different SOC packages on offer.
For the Nexus 6P, we get the octa-core 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 backed by an Adreno 430 GPU and 3GB RAM. Even though the Snapdragon 810 has a somewhat mixed reputation, it performs exceptionally well here, helped along by the fact that the Nexus 6P is running stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
In the other corner, we find the Huawei Mate 8 rocking an in-house HiSilicon Kirin 950 octa-core CPU with 3GB RAM (or 4GB in select models), backed by the Mali-T880 GPU. Although HiSilicon Kirin chips might not enjoy the same brand recognition as Qualcomm or Exynos processors, rest assured that Huawei has proven itself more than capable of creating a great mobile SOC.
While both of these packages couldn’t be more different on paper, what they have in common is some of the best performance you’ll find in the mobile world. Speed is great on both of these handsets and no matter what we did with either, we haven’t been able to slow them down one bit. Gaming and media are going to be a blast with either one of these phones, and for those wondering about how the Mali graphics compare to the Adreno 430, we really didn’t see a big real world difference between the two.
Summing it up, the Nexus 6P’s familiar stock interface is exactly what you’d want from a Nexus device, and the Snapdragon 810 is more than capable of providing a high-end stock experience. The Mate 8 also moves along swimmingly, despite its more intensive UI.
Hardware
In the past, the Nexus line has generally offered a more barebones experience when compared to OEM flagships. With the Nexus 6P however, this gap has been reduced significantly.
For starters, the current Nexus smartphones now feature fingerprint readers on the back. Given that both the Mate 8 and Nexus 6P are Huawei devices, it’s no surprise that both these fingerprint readers are some of the best in class, and are impressively fast and accurate. The position on the back makes the scanner very easy to use, since your index finger naturally rests around that spot when holding the device. These scanners provide a seamless, reliable, and fast way to unlock your phone, making them an indispensable tool.
32 GB and 64 GB are built-in storage options available with both, with the Nexus 6P also adding an 128 GB iteration, which power users will have to depend on, given the lack of microSD expansion. The Mate 8 does offer expandable storage, but it does require use of the second SIM slot, leaving it up to the users to make the choice between more storage or dual SIM capabilities. Also of note is the fact that which storage option you opt for with the Mate 8 also dictates what RAM the device packs, either 3 GB or 4 GB.
As far as the audio is concerned, the dual front-facing speaker setup of the Nexus 6P provides a great sound experience, which is unsurprisingly better than what is on offer with the bottom mounted speaker of the Mate 8. Granted, the latter does provide good body, but doesn’t get nearly as loud as the former, and is certainly a few steps back from the experience you get from the Nexus.
Both phones feature a standard suite of connectivity options, including NFC. The Mate 8 comes with every radio possible, allowing for the phone to be used pretty much anywhere in the world, and it’s great that you don’t have to worry about compatibility if you have to import the device. The Nexus 6P has seen a world wide release, and you can find versions that are compatible with every major carrier in the markets it has been released in.
Of course, the hardware aspect that everyone talks about when it comes to Huawei devices is power. On one hand, the Nexus 6P comes with a 3,450 mAh battery and Google adopting the new USB Type-C standard means that the battery can be charged very quickly. Granted, Type-C cords are harder to come by, and there will be some growing pains associated with getting used to something new, but that will change quickly as more and more OEMs make the switch.
On the other hand, the Mate 8 packs a larger 4,000 mAh battery, and EMUI does a very aggressive job of letting you know what apps are being power hogs, with you also having the option to blacklist these in the optimizer, to help get that little bit of extra juice. All things considered, the Mate 8 comfortably allows for 2 full days of battery life. Providing that extra bit of icing on the cake, the device also comes with fast charging capabilities of its own, giving you a full day’s worth of battery after charging it for just half an hour.
A day and a half of battery life is possible with the Nexus 6P, by taking advantages of features like Doze, and you can’t go wrong with either phone when it comes to power, but if you are a power user that really needs your phone to last the extra mile, the Mate 8 may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Camera
On paper, you might assume that the Mate 8 has the Nexus 6P soundly beat when it comes to the camera, with the former featuring a 16 MP rear shooter with OIS, compared to the 12.3 MP primary camera of the Nexus 6P, with optical image stabilization unfortunately missing here. Of course, the on-paper specs never tell the full story. Before we dive into camera performance, let’s talk about the camera software.
Taking a look at the respective camera applications first, they couldn’t be more different. While the Nexus 6P camera app does come with different options and a few modes, simplicity is the order of the day here, with a “what you see is what you get” user interface, with the only mode prominently used here being Auto HDR. With the Mate 8, you get a lot more features and modes built in, including a manual mode that allows for a lot of granular control over key aspects, and it works really well to let you cater the shot to exactly how you like it.
Nexus 6P camera samples
As we get into actual camera samples, we do find a bit of discrepancy between the two. The Nexus 6P’s larger pixel sizes just barely make it that much better than the Mate 8 in brighter situations. There’s a bit more color depth in Nexus 6P photos, and when using HDR, it simply has a much better way of interpreting the scene than the Mate 8, which sometimes doesn’t look like it is doing much at all when HDR is enabled. While it is a tough call between the two when in ideal lighting conditions, things are a lot more clearer, quite literally, in dimly-lit situations. You get much darker and noisier photos with the Mate 8, and nowhere close to the same type of quality available with the Nexus 6P in these conditions.
Huawei Mate 8 camera samples
#gallery-1
margin: auto;
#gallery-1 .gallery-item
float: left;
margin-top: 10px;
text-align: center;
width: 25%;
#gallery-1 img
border: 2px solid #cfcfcf;
#gallery-1 .gallery-caption
margin-left: 0;
/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
It was a bit disheartening to see the Mate 8 provide a lackluster camera experience overall, especially when considering Huawei is capable of a good one, as seen with the also Huawei-manufactured Nexus 6P. As far as the camera is concerned, the Nexus 6P is certainly the better companion to have in your pocket.
Software
Finally, we have software. This is one of those categories that will be really easy for a lot of people to pick between, because either you’re a stock Android purist or you actually enjoy all of the extra features that might come in an Android skin.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow is seen with both smartphones, so a number of the same features can be found, such as Google Now on Tap. That said, the stock Android experience is definitely far more streamlined, even if its simplicity is what sometimes turns some people off. You do get an app drawer here though, which is something that a lot of people gravitate to, and is unfortunately once again not a part of the EMUI experience.
Stock Android provides exactly what you need for a great mobile experience, without too many extras, but if extras are what you need, the Mate 8 might be worth a look. However, it has be to be said that while EMUI is not lacking in features, a great number of these additions aren’t particularly useful. Knuckle sense, for example, is a feature that you seemingly can’t trigger without sometimes practically punching the device, and really ends up being slower than if you would have just done things “the old fashioned way.” The dual window function is also fairly useless, given that there aren’t too many apps that can take advantage of it, with only eight apps offering support, many of which really don’t pair all that well together.
Of course, many of these extras can be ignored if they aren’t right for you. But let’s talk about what’s missing from EMUI: the app drawer. With no app drawer to be found, users are left dependent on folders to keep things organized and clutter free. This works for some, especially those coming from an iPhone, but it certainly goes against the traditional Android approach. It also needs to be pointed out that the multi-tasking menu, notification tray, and settings are all a good deal different than what you’d get with stock Android. Whether that’s better or worse is down to your own personal preferences.
That said, one area of software where Huawei truly shines is EMUI’s power consumption features, as these are the reason its battery can go the distance. Not only are there difference modes such as a ultra power saving mode that turns off everything but calling and texting, there’s also a smart mode, a performance mode, and a variety of tools that help you better regulate what apps are allowed to work in the background, and which aren’t.
For those that aren’t pleased with the out-of-box look and feel of EMUI, you’ll be happy to know that custom themes and plenty of settings options exist that can help you customize the experience to make things a little bit more to your liking. Ultimately though, we find ourselves installing third party launchers, just so we can bring a bit more of a traditional Android experience to the Mate 8.
Specs comparison
| Huawei Mate 8 | Nexus 6P | |
|---|---|---|
| Display | 6-inch IPS LCD display Full HD resolution, 368 ppi |
5.7-inch AMOLED display Quad HD resolution, 518 ppi |
| Processor | 2.3 GHz octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 950 Mali-T880MP4 GPU |
2 GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 Adreno 430 GPU |
| RAM | 3/4 GB (depending on storage option) | 3 GB |
| Storage | 32/64 GB (also dictates amount of RAM) expandable via microSD card by up to 128 GB |
32/64/128 GB not expandable |
| Camera | 16 MP rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, dual LED flash 8 MP front-facing camera |
12.3 MP rear camera, f/2.0 aperture, 1.55µm pixel size, dual LED flash 8 MP front-facing camera |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS + GLONASS FM Radio NFC USB 2.0 (microUSB) |
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Bluetooth 4.2 GPS + GLONASS NFC USB 2.0 (USB Type-C) |
| Battery | 4,000 mAh | 3,450 mAh |
| Software | Android 6.0 Marshmallow | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
| Dimensions | 157.1 x 80.6 x 7.9 mm 185 grams |
159.3 x 77.8 x 7.3 mm 178 grams |
Gallery
Pricing and final thoughts
The Nexus 6P is available unlocked through the Google Store and through select retailers globally, priced at $499 for the base model. On the other hand, the Huawei Mate 8 is not offered in North America, though it is avaliable in Europe and parts of Asia. For those interested in picking it up in the US, the good news is that the Mate 8’s variety of bands means it will play nicely with US LTE networks. You can find imported international models for around $600 on Amazon, alongside a number of other e-tailers.
There you have it for this comprehensive look at the Nexus 6P vs Huawei Mate 8! These are two of the best devices that Huawei has ever released. Both handsets provide a great experience underneath the hood, as well as great materials on the outside, and it really shows you just how much Huawei has matured over the years. In reality, neither choice is a bad one, as it really comes down to what you really need in a flagship.
The 6P provides stock Android experience that is very smooth, snappy, reliable, and offers a good battery experience. You also get front facing speakers and promise of quick updates that Google provides with its Nexus devices. But if power is what you need, there’s really no other device out there that can compete with the Mate 8. The Mate 8 also has a few advantages like dual-SIM functionality and microSD. On the downside, the Mate 8 lacks front facing speakers and offers a software experience that may not be for everyone.
Which handset best matches what you’re looking for in a flagship? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Android Authority for more great comparisons, reviews, daily news, and so much more.
Buy Nexus 6p on Amazon
Buy Huawei Mate 8 on Amazon
Next:
Mozilla to kill Firefox OS in May to focus on IoT
Goodbye, Firefox OS. We barely knew ye. Today Mozilla announced that their smartphone experiment Firefox OS would be closing up shop for good. The company says that although they will no longer be developing and selling Firefox smartphones, they are going to continue efforts to develop technology that interconnects devices and contributes to the ever-broadening landscape of the ‘Internet of Things.’
This announcement arrived to us in bits and pieces via tweets as it was announced at a Mozilla developer event in Florida, “Mozlando.” While we didn’t have anything firm to stand on for a while, an official release backing these claims was published by Mozilla, confirming that the company would be taking a different direction.
See also: Firefox Browser gets another big update to v44
Firefox OS was designed to be a champion of entry-level smartphones. It’s web-first approach was unique to the mobile market, but failed to develop a following since its launch in 2013. The operating system was primarily pushed in the developing world and in countries that were late to adopt mobile tech and where low-cost handsets were selling like hotcakes. Sales weren’t very good even in these markets, however, as the company found themselves out-bargained by a slew of other OEM’s who dominated regional markets with extremely inexpensive handsets.
From a business standpoint, the Firefox OS was something of a failure, so it’s good to see the company cutting themselves free of the initiative and re-investing their efforts into other areas of interest.
What are your thoughts regarding the demise of Firefox OS? Let us know your thoughts regarding this development in the comments below!
Shortcut Launcher – So much more than the name implies. [Review]
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of launcher-replacement apps out in the wild; Nova, Google Now, Apex, Launcher X, to name a few of the more popular ones. Shortcut Launcher, though, takes a different approach than any of those. Rather than revolutionizing the way your launcher looks, Shortcut Launcher wants to change the way you use it.
Setup
Shortcut Launcher is totally painless to set up. You download it, set it as your default launcher (when prompted), and then watch as it imports the homescreen from whatever launcher you were using prior. You may get a prompt to approve Shortcut to use Widgets, which you should grant. Other than that, there’s no accounts to make, no logins to keep track of, and no other setup. Very convenient.
Features
Shortcut Launcher looks very similar to Google’s basic Material Design styling, so it shouldn’t have any problem fitting in with the rest of your phone. It eschews the standard dock and app drawer in favor of a full-screen layout with a slide out “App List” that’s only a right-swipe away. This List contains three tabs; Apps, Widgets, and Settings. It also has a quick-scroll bar on the right side.
No Dock!
App List just one right-swipe away!
Shortcut Launcher’s bread and butter, though – which is, unfortunately, hidden within the launcher itself – is the search system, which generates “Cards” of information based on your searches; much like what Google Now is doing. The search engine seeks out your information across many media, among them Google itself, and your device, to find the relevant data and present it first.
‘Link,’ for instance, pops up with an app and a band.
These cards come in many forms; movies, music, apps from the Play Store, contacts, TV shows, places…it’s very impressive. These cards don’t always have all the information you need, but they often have information that’s relevant – and the style of them is very Google-like, and very well done. Further, any of these cards can be long-pressed and placed on your homescreen as shortcuts.
Note the Rotten Tomatoes Rating.
It even pulls up Uber prices! (I don’t have Uber installed)
The app itself is very lightweight and snappy; custom options are slim, but the launcher is very pretty and functional right out of the box. The only UI complaint I have is that Folders show very small icons of the contents, making it tough to see what’s in the folders if you don’t already know what’s in them. Labels are a must. I’ve encountered no stability issues or crashes in the 48 hours I’ve used it, though I did notice that if I long-press on the search bar, the “Paste” option gets stuck on the screen until I click on it. Odd little bug.
Conclusion
Download this. Give it a try. Shortcut Launcher’s universal search, cards, and ability to create a homescreen shortcut from almost anything you can imagine are rather impressive.
Things I like:
- The universal search function is really cool.
- Cards are awesome.
- Stable, snappy, and lightweight.
- Gesture navigation works every time.
- 100% Free!
Things I didn’t:
- Very minor bugs.
- Folders could use a different style; like Google’s stacks, for instance.
Google Play Store – Shortcut Launcher
The post Shortcut Launcher – So much more than the name implies. [Review] appeared first on AndroidGuys.
HTC One M10 shows up in leaked photo, minus the HTC branding bar
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
The start of the calendar year is always an exciting time as most Android manufacturers gear up to announce their 2016 flagship smartphones. One of the most anticipated is HTC‘s flagship, and although the Taiwanese manufacturer has fallen on hard times, it’s always interesting to see what they come up with. Thanks to leaker @evleaks, we now have what is likely out first look at the front of that device, expected to be called the HTC One M10, and most astute mobile fans will notice one glaring omission.
The lack of a HTC branding bar.
HTC flagships of old all had a black branding bar at the bottom of the device, much to the chagrin of HTC’s loyal fans as the black bar appeared to be a waste of space. Fast forward to this year, the One M10 has disposed of this black bar as well as its iconic BoomSound dual speakers. In fact, at a glance, you’d be hard pressed to identify anything as characteristic of HTC, but perhaps that’s what they were going for. We’ll have to see what device actually turns up when HTC does announce it though doesn’t seem like they’ll be doing so at MWC 2016.
And to think I wasn’t going to get through this whole article without mentioning how much it looks like an iPhone. Wait, dammit.
Source: @evleaks via Android Police
The post HTC One M10 shows up in leaked photo, minus the HTC branding bar appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Layoffs at BlackBerry affect 200 workers, including BBM co-founder
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();
BlackBerry is a company in transition as it looks for ways to remain relevant in the highly competitive smartphone marketplace. While it’s latest smartphone, the BlackBerry Priv, has demonstrated BlackBerry’s desire to explore the Android ecosystem, it’s remained resolute that it isn’t going to move away from its homegrown BlackBerry 10 platform. Actions speak louder than words, however, as a number of layoffs at BlackBerry have apparently hit its headquarters in Waterloo, Canada and office in Florida. Here’s the statement given by BlackBerry regarding the layoffs:
As BlackBerry continues to execute its turnaround plan, we remain focused on driving efficiencies across our global workforce. This means finding new ways to enable us to capitalize on growth opportunities, while driving toward sustainable profitability across all parts of our business. As a result, a small number of employees have been impacted in Waterloo and Sunrise, FL. It also means that BlackBerry is actively recruiting in those areas of our business that will drive growth. For those employees that have recently left the company, we know that they have worked hard on behalf of our company and we are grateful for their commitment and contributions.
The number of layoffs was originally thought to be as many as 1000 people, but the number is apparently close to 200, with layoffs allegedly affecting the BlackBerry 10 device teams. One notable layoff was BBM founder Gary Klassen – it’s not entirely clear what this move signals for BlackBerry, but it’s not likely to be the last personnel shuffle we see in the coming months.
What do you think about the layoffs at BlackBerry? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: MobileSyrup via engadget
The post Layoffs at BlackBerry affect 200 workers, including BBM co-founder appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Tinder bans users for sending pro-Bernie Sanders messages
Campaigning for Bernie Sanders, and presumably any other politician, can get you banned from Tinder. According to a report from Reuters, two users of the dating app learned that the hard way recently, after their accounts were locked for sending private messages about the 2016 presidential candidate. One woman, for example, told the publication she sent 60 messages per day to other people on Tinder, as she hoped to convince them to support Senator Sanders.
Those read as “Do you feel the Bern?” and “Please text WORK to 82623 for me. Thanks,” which would then prompt the recipients to get updates from the Sanders campaign. It also sent a link with a sign-up page for volunteering. Tinder has yet to issue an official statement, but we reached out to the service and will update the story if we hear back.
It’s worth noting that Tinder’s Terms of Use are pretty clear. The document’s Section 9, which you can read in full here, states users “may not post, upload, display or otherwise make available Content that … involves the transmission of ‘junk mail,’ ‘chain letters,’ or unsolicited mass mailing or ‘spamming’ (or ‘spimming,’ ‘phishing,’ ‘trolling’ or similar activities).” If a user doesn’t follow the rules, Tinder says it has the right to “investigate, suspend and/or terminate” an account.
Via: The Hill
Source: Reuters
Reason to buy Android: update bricks some iPhones that were repaired without authorization
Apple users are now receiving a pretty strong incentive to swap to Android. An emerging iPhone ‘feature’ is discovered to brick devices that were repaired by non-Apple entities. When a user upgrades to the latest version of iOS 9, some are reporting an “error 53” that renders the device unusable. Although the phone may have been functioning perfectly for weeks or months after a repair job, this error will effectively render the handset inoperable, and the Guardian is reporting that any data lost on the phone this way is unrecoverable.
“The problem occurs if the repairer changes the home button or the cable,” said California tech expert Kyle Wiens, owner of the iFixit website. “Following the software upgrade the phone in effect checks to make sure it is still using the original components, and if it isn’t, it simply locks out the phone. There is no warning, and there’s no way that I know of to bring it back to life.”
See also: Why I switched to the iPhone…. (and back again)
Some suspect that this is a move by apple engineered to undercut independent repairers. Repairing the home button through Apple will run upwards of $200, but smaller repair shops can perform the fix much cheaper. There are concerns that this might go against competition rules. The Guardian points out that car manufacturers are not legally able to insist that automobile owners get serviced exclusively through their shops.
The worst thing about “error 53” is that there is no warning and no fix. The only solution is to get a new phone. Antonio Olmos, a freelance photographer, fell victim to this issue after he had his phone repaired in a shop in Macedonia in September. Months later, when prompted to upgrade his software, Olmos accepted the update and his phone was immediately bricked. The self-proclaimed Apple addict was incensed when he learned that he had to pay £270 for a replacement.
“The whole thing is extraordinary,” said Olmos. “How can a company deliberately make their own products useless with an upgrade and not warn their own customers about it? Outside of the big industrialised nations, Apple stores are few and far between, and damaged phones can only be brought back to life by small third-party repairers. I am not even sure these third-party outfits even know this is a potential problem.”
Apple has been pretty cagey about the whole issue. The closest we’ve gotten to an explanation is a jargon-stuffed statement from a spokesperson:
We protect fingerprint data using a secure enclave, which is uniquely paired to the touch ID sensor. When iPhone is serviced by an authorised Apple service provider or Apple retail store for changes that affect the touch ID sensor, the pairing is re-validated. This check ensures the device and the iOS features related to touch ID remain secure. Without this unique pairing, a malicious touch ID sensor could be substituted, thereby gaining access to the secure enclave. When iOS detects that the pairing fails, touch ID, including Apple Pay, is disabled so the device remains secure… When an iPhone is serviced by an unauthorised repair provider, faulty screens or other invalid components that affect the touch ID sensor could cause the check to fail if the pairing cannot be validated. With a subsequent update or restore, additional security checks result in an ‘error 53’ being displayed … If a customer encounters an unrecoverable error 53, we recommend contacting Apple support.
Apple support, by all accounts, will then tell you that you need to buy a new device from them. If you’re an iPhone user and you’ve had your device repaired by a non-Apple entity, it might be a good idea to hold off on any upgrades for the foreseeable future.
Leaked image of the HTC One M10 looks a lot like the One A9
Although the rumor mill has been churning about HTC’s 2016 flagship, we haven’t had much firm information on the One M10. That is, until today. A leaked photograph purported to be the front of the One M10 has surfaced, and it looks quite a bit like the One A9.
The One A9 caught some flak from design hounds back when it was released, with many complaining that it riffed so hard off Apple that it practically looked like an iPhone clone. If the image we’re looking at is indeed the One M10, then those same voices are going to be grousing again.
There’s no HTC logo on the front of this device, and it looks like the company has ditched the black bar that has haunted the One M series. An elongated, oval shaped home button rests on the bottom of the device, and there’s speculation that it’s also a fingerprint scanner. The volume and power buttons are housed on the right side of the phone, and the power button looks pleasantly ridged like the edge of a coin, which should make it immediately identifiable with a brush of the fingertip.
What we’re not seeing is the second front-facing speaker below the display, so that might mean that BoomSound speakers aren’t going to be making the cut on this model. All in all, this looks fairly in line with what we were expecting from the One M10. Solid metal construction and what looks like a 5.1-inch QHD AMOLED display. Under the hood, the device is rumored to run the Snapdragon 820 chipset, 32 GB of storage, and 4 gigs of RAM. We’re still expecting a microSD card slot for additional memory, and a 12 MP UltraPixel rear camera.
What are your thoughts regarding the these new shots of the M10? Everything you have been hoping for, or something of a let-down? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Next: Reports: HTC One M9 successor could launch at standalone event in March
AIVAnet 