BT defends Google and Android in EU antitrust case

Google has found an unlikely ally in one of its many battles with the European Commission. As the Telegraph reports, UK telecoms provider BT has sent a letter defending Google’s ownership of Android and the promotion of its own apps and services. While the exact wording is unclear, a spokesperson for the company confirmed its existence and the gist of its contents for Engadget.

“We told them BT is free to pre-install its own or third party apps on devices alongside preloaded Google apps. We also said that, as an app provider, we value the ongoing stability and compatibility of operating systems, whether they are ‘open source’ or ‘closed source.’ This is why we welcome anti-fragmentation initiatives such as Google’s.”

Google stands accused of forcing its own software — YouTube, Google Drive, Play Music, and more — on phone manufacturers that wish to use some version of Android. While the platform is open source, allowing companies to freely fork and tweak its underpinnings, Google has an “Anti-Fragmentation Agreement” that protects one pretty big aspect: the Play Store. If you want Google’s marketplace, you have to accept the rest of the company’s software. That, according to the European Commission, is an abuse of the company’s market position, because it doesn’t allow manufacturers to freely choose which software comes with their devices.

The European Commission filed formal charges against Google last April. It follows a similar investigation into its search engine and the way it prioritises Google-developed sites and services at the top of results. Politicians are worried that Google is enforcing its own market dominance by ensuring its software and search services are installed and easily accessible on most Android phones. Such a system, it argues, discourages users from downloading third-party alternatives such as Dropbox or Spotify. Google obviously disagrees, believing that Android is offered in a “careful way” that’s ultimately “good for competition and for consumers.”

BT’s decision to wade into the argument is an intriguing one. What does the company have to gain from siding with Google? More of the status quo, which so far has delivered a large, varied portfolio of Android phones. Few companies have managed to fork Android successfully (remember Amazon’s Fire Phone? or Cyanogen?) and Google’s apps, while dominant, are some of the best in their respective categories. Decent pre-installed software means fewer complaints from customers and a stronger combined opposition to Apple’s iPhone. That means no single company who can manipulate BT into acting in ways that it doesn’t like.

As BT notes, it still has the option to pre-install its own software; it’ll just sit alongside Google’s selection. Duplicate apps are commonplace on Android handsets, and the practice riles most phone reviewers. Still, the mobile network provider argues, the option is there for manufacturers.

Whether the letter sways the European Commission remains to be seen. It’s an unusual show of support, but possibly an important one — BT is Britain’s biggest mobile operator, so its voice carries some weight.

Source: The Telegraph

Tim Cook Meets Fashion Designer and VizEat Co-Founders on France Tour This Week

Apple CEO Tim Cook is touring France this week and has shared some of his experiences along the trip on Twitter.

After making an unexpected visit at the new Apple Store in the port city of Marseille on Sunday, Cook met with Shot on iPhone photographer Jean Claude Luong. Cook then spent some time with Paris-based fashion designer and haute couture house owner Julien Fournié, whose latest collection was created with an iPad Pro.

Thrilled to spend some time with the incredibly talented @JulienFournie, whose exquisite new collection was created with iPad Pro. pic.twitter.com/CTSI3Q96CK

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 6, 2017

Cook then had dinner with VizEat co-founders Camilla Rumani and Jean-Michel Petit. VizEat is a social dining service that allows travelers to “taste the city with locals” by booking an experience with a host, such as a cooking class, food tour, dinner, and more. VizEat was named one of the Best Apps of 2016 on the App Store.

Déjeuner with @VizEat co-founders Camilla & Jean-Michel. Thanks to our hosts – and new friends – Odile & Pierre for a wonderful meal! pic.twitter.com/WT6roAlY0S

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) February 6, 2017

Cook still has time for a few more excursions before heading to Scotland, where he is set to receive an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow on Wednesday. Cook was also named the recipient of the Newseum 2017 Free Expression Award in the Free Speech category last week. He will accept that award in April.

Tags: Tim Cook, France
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LG Watch Style design confirmed in leaked photo, Watch Sport to get quad-core processor

Both the LG Watch Style and LG Watch Sport are expected to be announced in three days time on 9 February. They’ll be the first two watches to feature Android Wear 2.0 and have been developed in collaboration with Google.

• LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style: Release date, rumours and specs

We’ve already seen renders and heard about potential specs, but this latest wave of leaks reveals yet more details. The retail box for the LG Watch Sport has been papped and uploaded, allegedly by a Best Buy employee – whether said employee still has their job is unclear. The box clearly shows the same design for the Watch Sport as we’ve seen in previous renders, but also introduces a new black/space grey-like colour finish. We can’t deduce much more from the box though, so any confirmation of internal specs and features will have to wait a few days.

Pocket Now

That’s not the case with the LG Watch Sport however, as a leaked screenshot from a benchmarking database has revealed what its packing behind the watch face.

The database says the Watch Sport will have a 1.09GHz quad-core Qualcomm processor, which is likely to be from the Snapdragon Wear range, along with 653MB of usable RAM, which likely means it’ll say it has 768MB. The Watch Style is listed as running Android 7.1.1, but we know it will in fact be Android Wear 2.0, and in the motherboard field it says ‘swordfish’, which refers to an earlier codename.

• Snapdragon Wear will give your next smartwatch battery better life and more
• Android Wear 2.0: What’s new in the major software update for watches

Both watches are said to be unveiled at an event on 9 February but global availability is to be confirmed. The Watch Style should come with a $249 price tag while the more feature-packed Watch Sport will demand $349.

Arcade cabinet brings wind, smell and bugs to VR

Koei Tecmo Wave, the company best known for the Dynasty Warriors game series, has unveiled an arcade cabinet that adds all-new sensations to virtual reality. The “VR Sense” enclosure is a “multifunction 3D seat” that brings movement, aroma, touch, wind, heat, cold, rain and mist to VR, the company says. It seems it’s not meant for the home, however, but as a “pay-per-use” machine, designed to liberate you from your cash at arcades or other facilities.

The device is launching with three different games. GI Jockey Sense (below) offers riders a “transcendent experience” thanks to the 3D seat — which presumably moves or vibrates — along with wind, rain and snow(!).

A non-snowy day at the racetrack (Koei Tecmo Wave)

Horror Sense, meanwhile, is some kind of variation on Resident Evil, with the thrills augmented by seat movements and “bugs falling from the ceiling and small things scurrying across the floor,” the company writes.

Finally, there’s a VR version of the company’s Dynasty Warrior series, letting you “feel the fire and heat in the middle of war.” That’s thanks to, and I’m not making this up, a “realistic reproduction of hot flames covering the battlefield,” the company says.

Koei Tecmo didn’t say what kind of VR headset it’s using, if any, for the VR Sense cabinet, nor did it mention pricing, launch dates or other details. However, it’s set to reveal more at the Japan Amusement Expo 2017 starting on Friday, February 10th.

Via: Famitsu

Source: Koei Tecmo Wave

Uber’s latest option is a personal chauffeur

If you’re traveling, or flitting about from one business meeting to another, it can be annoying to arrange a ride for very stop on the journey. Uber is looking to remedy the issue by launching UberHire, a service that lets you rent a car (and driver) for a day. The service is launching in a handful of Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, amongst others.

Uber users in India can access the service simply by swiping across to UberHire and selecting the first part of your trip. Mashable reports that the minimum fare will set you back around $10 for two hours and 30 kilometers worth of travel. Afterward, you’ll be charged a flat fee for every minute and kilometer afterward, apparently up to a top limit of 12 hours.

The company has found life in India to be complicated, and has had to tweak its business several times to better suit the market. Car rentals, for instance, was offered by local rival Ola last year, and the service had to implement cash payments in the country. In addition, users can book rides from their browsers and had to suspend surge pricing after pressure from regulators.

Via: Mashable

Source: Uber

Apple Supplier Wistron to Manufacture iPhones in India

Apple has agreed to a deal with the government of Indian state Karnataka to begin manufacturing iPhones in Bangalore, reports The Times of India. The Karnataka government announced that it had approved Apple’s proposal to “commence initial manufacturing operations” in a press release.

Apple’s desire to open a manufacturing hub in India started after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began promoting his “Made in India” initiative. Apple manufacturing partner Wistron will make the iPhones in a new plant, reportedly beginning with the iPhone 8.

Over the past couple of months, Apple and Indian officials began narrowing down possibilities to manufacture products locally. Last month, Apple finally chose a Karnataka-based facility over competing bids from other Indian states Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana. During negotiations, Apple was said to be seeking a number of tax and other incentives, including the possibility of long-term duty exemptions.

The government said it’s in discussions with Apple for other potential collaborations, but declined to say what they could be. The move is a major step for Apple as it looks to solidify its footing in the subcontinent so it can access India’s customer base.

Tag: India
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Lawsuit Alleges Apple Broke FaceTime on iOS 6 to Force iOS 7 Upgrades, Save Money

Christina Grace of California has filed a new class-action lawsuit that alleges Apple broke FaceTime in iOS 6 to force users to upgrade to iOS 7, reports AppleInsider. According to the lawsuit, Apple forced users to upgrade so it could avoid payments on a data deal with Akamai.

The class action found its genesis in internal Apple documents and emails disclosed in the VirnetX patent infringement lawsuit, which eventually ended in Apple paying $302 million after a retrial. Apple used two connection methods when launching FaceTime in 2010: a peer-to-peer method that created a direct connection between two iPhones and a relay method that used data servers from Akamai.

When Apple’s peer-to-peer FaceTime technology was found to infringe on VirnetX’s patents in 2012, Apple began to shift toward Akamai’s servers to handle iPhone-to-iPhone connections. A year later, Apple was paying $50 million in fees to Akamai, according to testimony from the VirnetX trial. The class-action lawsuit, pointing to an internal email titled “Ways to Reduce Relay Usage,” alleges that the growing fees were beginning to bother Apple executives.

Apple eventually solved the problem by creating new peer-to-peer technology that would debut in iOS 7. The class-action lawsuit, however, alleges that Apple created a fake bug that caused a digital certificate to prematurely expire on April 16, 2014, breaking FaceTime on iOS 6. Breaking FaceTime on iOS 6, the lawsuit claims, would allow Apple to save money on users who did not upgrade to iOS 7.

At the time, Apple recognized the bug, publishing a support document saying that users who were having FaceTime connectivity problems after April 16, 2014 could update to the latest software to fix the issue. The same support document eventually removed the date “April 16, 2014,” according to AppleInsider.

The lawsuit later points to an internal Apple email chain in which an engineering manager mentions that they were looking at the Akamai contract for the upcoming year and understood that Apple “did something” to reduce usage of Akamai’s services. Another engineer responded by pointing out iOS 6 leaned a lot on Akamai’s services and that Apple “broke iOS 6” and the only way to fix FaceTime was to upgrade to iOS 7.

Apple’s developer page pegged iOS 7 adoption at 87 percent on April 7, 2014, nearly 10 days before Apple allegedly broke iOS 6. The lawsuit claims that forcing iPhone 4s and 4 users to upgrade to iOS 7 was harmful to them because the software would allegedly crash more and run more slowly.

The lawsuit is seeking undisclosed damages and to prove Apple violated California’s unfair competition law.

Tags: lawsuit, FaceTime, VirnetX
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Former Spotify Executive Hired to Lead Apple Music’s Label Relations

Apple has hired a former Spotify executive to head up its Apple Music label relations team, according to Business Insider.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed that former Spotify VP of content Steve Savoca has been recruited to oversee the music streaming service’s global label relations, which work out of New York.

Savoca is tasked with building relationships with smaller, independent labels, with a focus on the international scene, according to the report.

Savoca is said to have haven been one of Spotify’s first U.S. employees and worked for the Swedish streaming company for five years. Prior to that, he held senior digital and marketing roles roles at Domino Records, Zomba Label Group, and London-Sire.

Savoca is a musician himself, and played drums with a band called the Werefrogs during the 1990s, according to Billboard. He serves on the board of directors of the Music Business Association (formerly NARM) and previously sat on the board at Merlin.

In December 2016, Apple’s Eddy Cue revealed that Apple Music has over 20 million paid subscribers. In October, Spotify said it had 40 million subscribers. Apple Music executive Jimmy Iovine recently spoke of the company’s desire to make Apple Music more than just a music streaming service, with “an entire pop cultural experience” planned that takes in original content including TV and audio.

Tags: Spotify, Apple Music
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Wi-Fi Router Issue Fix Coming For LG’s UltraFine 27-inch 5K Display

A recurring issue with the LG UltraFine 27-inch 5K display that causes glitches whenever the monitor is placed close to a router will be fixed, LG has announced.

Recently, reports began circulating online that LG’s 5K monitor – created in partnership with Apple – suffers from flickering and freezing when placed close to a wireless router, with this behavior sometimes causing connected Macs to also freeze and require a restart.

On Wednesday, an LG support person confirmed to ArsTechnica that the issue had been reported by a number of users and that it only seemed to occur with the company’s Apple-approved 5K monitors. LG has now publicly apologized for the glitch and says all new models made after February will not be susceptible to the problem.

Speaking today to Recode, an LG spokesperson said that the company will resolve the problem by inserting additional shielding into newly manufactured models, which should protect against the electromagnetic radiation from routers that is likely causing the issues.

“LG apologizes for this inconvenience and is committed to delivering the best quality products possible so all LG UltraFine 27-inch 5K displays manufactured after February 2017 will be fitted with enhanced shielding,” the company said in an e-mail.

According to LG, existing models will be able to be retrofitted with the same enhanced shielding, allowing the monitors to be placed near routers without playing up. Owners affected by the issue are advised to get in touch with Apple, LG, or their reseller to arrange for a repair.

Apple teamed up with LG to create both the 4K and 5K UltraFine Displays, specifically designed to work with the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro. The displays are a successor to Apple’s own Thunderbolt Display, which it discontinued earlier this year amid its departure from the standalone display business.

The 5K Display is currently available for purchase at the sale price of $974 until March 31, 2017, when the price will return to $1,299.95. Apple was recently falsely accused of hiding negative feedback about the new display on its web store, when the truth was that reviews had not yet been activated for the product page.

Whatever the reason for the initial delay, posting to the product page has been possible since January 25 and reviews have so far been mixed. LG’s display currently has a 3 out of 5 star rating based on 115 reviews, but it’s not entirely clear how many of them are solely affected by the router glitch.

Related Roundup: Displays
Tag: LG
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Viber iOS Update Adds Secret Messages, Rich Notifications, and Instant Video Features

Popular messaging app Viber has received an update that brings a number of new features to the platform, including the ability to send Secret Messages.

Users are now able to specify how long photos, videos, and chat messages can be accessed for after being viewed by the recipient. The time limit options for viewing a Secret Message are 1, 3, 7, and 10 seconds.

Viber has also added the ability to send media as files, so users can send photos and videos in their original size and quality. In addition Viber now supports rich notifications on iOS 10, meaning users can see the contents of messages on the notifications screen or in another app.

Lastly, Viber now offers instant video messaging. Users simply tap and hold the instant video icon, and they can capture and send videos lasting up to 30 seconds.

Viber is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Viber
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