Samsung Galaxy S8 price, specs, release date & features: first Galaxy S8 pics leaked

Samsung's smartphone launches are always highly anticipated events, but this year's Galaxy S8 launch is set to be even more interesting. The company has a lot to prove with its newest product, as it's the first device to be launched since the exploding Galaxy Note 7 grabbed headlines last year.

Still, we're expecting big things from the Korean giant. Its last few phones have been best-in-class devices - in fact, until it started exploding, the Note 7 was one of the best phones ever made. The company looks set to continue this trend and recent leaks look very promising indeed.

The leaked image confirms several longstanding suspicions about the forthcoming flagship, including the loss of a home button to make way for a virtually edgeless display.

Also present is Samsung's signature curved screen, which rumours indicate will be the only option for the new device as the traditional 'flat' model is abandoned.

Eagle-eyed observers will also spot an iris scanner on the top edge of the handset - this biometric authentication feature was first introduced in the short-lived Note 7, but it's no surprise that it's been integrated into the company's main product line.

The date on the phone's clock is 29 March - which just so happens to be the Galaxy S8's launch date. It also bears a lightning bolt-shaped wallpaper, which looks to be the official banding of the S8 family.

These leaks are not confirmed, and this image could simply be a very well-made hoax. However, Blass has a reputation for being highly accurate with his leaks, so we would be very surprised if this doesn't turn out to be the finished article.

Release date
Although Samsug has announced previous devices at the same time as Mobile World Congress in February, it's switched things up this year and will instead be launching the device on 29 March, as announced in this teaser video, at 4.00pm BST.

As for when the device will actually hit shelves, it's likely to show up around 21 April. That's based on previous launches like the Galaxy S7 and Note 7, which took about two to three weeks to go from announcement to retail release.

Price
Samsung generally prices its flagship Galaxy phones at around £550 inc VAT, with the fancier 'Edge' variants costing a little bit more. Ordinarily, we'd use this as a basis for predicting the Galaxy S8's launch price, but rumours that Samsung may be ditching the vanilla, non-Edge versions of its devices altogether complicates this slightly.

If Samsung chooses to make the Galaxy S8 Edge the default option for its new device, we could see the entry-level price rise to between £600 and £650. If the company continues its current trend of releasing both curved and non-curved models, however, expect pricing to be broadly in line with previous years.

Specs & hardware
Unsurprisingly, Samsung looks set to continue using its own Exynos CPUs in its smartphones, and reports indicate that the Galaxy S8's processor will be the Exynos 8895 - octa-core chips built with the company's 10nm FinFET architecture.

Elsewhere, it's likely to have a minimum of 6GB of RAM, a figure that's rapidly becoming the standard for this year's crop of flagship devices. There's also been talk of the Galaxy S8 having an 8GB memory chip; we'd dismiss this, were it not for the fact that the company manufactures 8GB mobile DRAM modules itself. Still, we're putting our money on 6GB for now.

Screen size
Rumours suggest that Samsung will return to a release strategy previously seen with the Galaxy S6, releasing both a Galaxy S8 and a larger Galaxy S8 Plus. The two models are rumoured to have 5.7in and 6.2in screens respectively, but Samsung has supposedly managed to achieve this without making the device footprint any larger than the S7's.

It's apparently done this by abandoning the physical home button, opting instead to slash the S8's screen bezels down to the bone and use software buttons instead. Judging by the extensive leaks that have come courtesy of various case manufacturers, the S8 will be seriously eye-catching, with a front panel that's virtually all screen.

4K display
As with every new phone, there have also been suggestions that the Galaxy S8 will see Samsung make the jump to a 4K display. However, there's no practical reason to move beyond the current QHD standard.

Not only is a 4K panel excessively power-hungry, there's very little practical difference in terms of visual fidelity on a screen that size. Considering that Samsung already opted not to make that jump when developing the Note 7, we'd be surprised to see the company do it now.

Battery & safety issues
Speaking of which, all eyes will be on the Galaxy S8's battery, following the unfortunate debacle which saw Samsung's last device explode in people's hands. Power management and safety are certain to be highlighted by Samsung, which will surely be eager to shake the stigma of having had to do a full product recall of all Note 7 units.

This could well result in the Galaxy S8 having a smaller and less powerful battery than previous Samsung devices in the name of safety. While that may disappoint consumers, the company could compensate with more power-efficient internal components, so how much battery life suffers - if at all - remains to be seen.

Fingerprint sensor & Iris scanner
If Samsung really has ditched the physical home button, the fingerprint sensor will have to be moved, as it currently lives in the home button as well. It will likely be moved to the rear of the device - the spot it occupies on most other phones.

In addition to the now-standard fingerprint scanner, Samsung will could also incorporate iris-scanning biometric authentication technology into its new device. It was first introduced in the ill-fated Note 7, where it worked well, so we'd be surprised if it wasn't brought over into the company's main flagship range.

USB Type-C
Another feature that looks set to return from the Note 7 is the use of a USB Type-C charging port, rather than MicroUSB. The improved connector standard is rapidly becoming the norm among the industry's big hitters, and it brings proven advantages over its predecessor.

There are rumblings that Samsung might use the inclusion of a USB C port as an opportunity to do away with the headphone jack, too. Other manufacturers – most recently Apple – have used this tactic in the past, and it could allow Samsung to shave a few precious millimeters off the phone's profile.

Bixby
Samsung is jumping on the AI bandwagon this year, and will be including its own Alexa-style digital assistant - named Bixby - into the Galaxy S8. How sophisticated Bixby is remains to be seen - machine learning is the cornerstone of a good AI helper, and we doubt Samsung has enough cloud power or raw data to get Bixby up to the standard of Alexa or the Google Assistant.

Read More

Nokia goes back to the future with 49 euro phone

Spain, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Nokia's newly revitalised phone business went back to the future on Sunday, re-introducing a brightly coloured version of the classic 3310 talk and text phone, the world's most popular device in the year 2000.

The new model has bigger screens and is priced at just 49 euros ($52). Its 22 hours of talk time and up to one month of standby time potentially heighten the phone's appeal as a backup for smartphone users.

Analysts hailed the 3310 launch as a smart retro gambit, but one which could overshadow the Finnish company's re-entry into the global smartphone market. Nokia also launched four moderately priced smartphones ranging from 139 to 299 euros.

"The love for the brand is immense. It gets a lot of affection from millions and millions of people," Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri told a news conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the telecom industry's largest annual trade fair.

Once the world's dominant phonemaker, Nokia in 2014 sold its by-then ailing handset operations to Microsoft for $7 billion, leaving it with its network equipment business and a large patent portfolio.

But last year, it gave the Nokia brand a fresh start by licensing its devices brand to HMD Global, a new company led by ex-Nokia executives and backed by Chinese electronics giant Foxconn.

Industry analysts say the revived Nokia 3310 has the makings of one of the hit devices of 2017, appealing to older Nokia fans in developed markets looking for an antidote to smartphone overload, while also appealing to younger crowds in emerging markets.

"HMD owns a retro hit and is surfing on the 'vintage' hype to re-create buzz around the Nokia brand," said Thomas Husson, consumer devices analyst at Forrester Research.

The original 3310 sold 126 million phones, the 12th best-selling phone model in history. Nine of the top 12 selling models were produced by Nokia.

It also revives the one-time hit time waster game Snake featured on the original phone, the "Angry Birds" of its day. In a modern twist, fans can now play Snake in Facebook Messenger.

HMD also announced three smartphones that run on Google's Android platform: The Nokia 6 smartphone with a 5.5-inch screen, the Nokia 5 with a 5.2-inch screen and the Nokia 3 with a 5.0-inch screen.

It also offered a limited edition of the Nokia 6 with added features retailing for around 299 euros.

HMD appears to be in two minds as to how to market the 3310, believing on the one hand it has a blockbuster product revival, while possibly drowning out Nokia's future-focused smartphone strategy.

"Our focus and future is in Android smart phones," HMD Chief Executive Arto Nummela said in an interview with Reuters - while refusing to rule out dipping into Nokia's back catalogue of popular feature phones.

Under its licensing deal, HMD has sole use of the Nokia brand on all phones and tablets for the next decade. It will pay Nokia royalties for the brand and patents, but Nokia has no direct investment in HMD.

While for many consumers in developed economies Nokia has disappeared as a phone brand in recent years, it remains popular in many emerging markets. There, Nokia has a reputation for delivering user-friendly feature phones at competitive prices, said Neil Mawston, an analyst with industry research firm Strategy Analytics.

Feature phones accounted for a one in five of the 1.88 billion mobile phones shipped in 2016. Samsung Electronics captured a 13 percent share of the feature phone business and Nokia, No. 2 in feature phones, shipped 9 percent, according to the market research firm's data.

Ahmad Badr, strategy director for brand consulting firm Siegel+Gale, said the 3310 is a powerful reminder of Nokia´s historic popularity but also could limit the company's appeal beyond its short-term nostalgia spike.

"Relying on the success of the 3310 helps it grab the attention of many people who are familiar with Nokia but think it is dead," Badr said in an interview.

"To Nokia, that nostalgia and heritage is not something to hide from, but only if they can create momentum for it." (Editing by Georgina Prodhan and Jason Neely)

Read More

Samsung tackles tablets and two-in-ones with new Tab S3 and Galaxy Book

We already know we're not going to see Samsung's Galaxy S8 smartphone at MWC. But the company has other devices up its sleeve for the show.

Today, Samsung announced the new version of the Tab S2 (which it's calling the Tab S3) and the Galaxy Book, a two-in-one that's reminiscent of the company's Tab Pro S. According to Samsung's research, consumers are interested in buying tablets more than smartphones right now, and they're also interested in doing more with these devices.

Most PC OEMs have embraced the two-in-one trend in recent months. Now it's Samsung's turn as it positions these new slabs as hard-working productivity and entertainment tools.

Let's start with the Tab S3. It looks similar to the Tab S2, but Samsung invested in better materials for the design of the new tablet. Instead of plastic, its back is made of dark glass that looks slick but is not immune to fingerprint smudges. It retains the metal frame of the previous model, and, while it doesn't feel flimsy when you pick it up, it's surprisingly light (429g or 15 ounces). Samsung hasn't abandoned physical buttons yet, so the home button remains at the bottom of the display panel along with the touch-sensitive app drawer and the back icons. The home button also acts as a fingerprint sensor, so you can unlock the device just by touching it.

Samsung's new Galaxy Tab S3 with the improved S Pen.

    
The tablet's display has the same 2048 x 1536 resolution as its predecessor. But now the 9.7-inch display is a Super AMOLED panel that's HDR ready, so it can produce a wider gamut of colors. I received a comparison demo of video shown in HDR versus non-HDR, and the HDR rendering produced richer, more saturated, and bolder colors than its counterpart.

As a complement to the improved display, the Tab S3 has quad speakers tuned by AKG for better sound. Those speakers auto-calibrate depending on how you're holding the device. When using it in portrait or landscape mode, the tablet will detect its orientation and adjust how the audio comes out of those speakers. Samsung also upgraded the Tab S3's camera to 13MP and 5MP for the rear and front-facing shooters, respectively.

As for internals, Samsung upped the ante in nearly ever aspect of the Tab S3. Now it comes standard with a quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage that can be expanded to 256GB with a microSD card (more than even the Tab S2, which only supports up to 128GB). The Tab S2 used Samsung's own Exynos 5433 SoC, so the inclusion of Snapdragon in the new model is an improvement. However, the Tab S3 ships with Android 6.0—not Android N like we would have liked.

Samsung also includes an improved S Pen in the Tab S3 box. The new stylus now has an all-rubber construction and a narrower tip. The rubber makes it more grippy while the smaller tip makes small strokes more precise. It supports 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, and it has a new tilt function that lets you draw with the sides of the tip. This will be useful for artists who would normally tilt a regular pen or pencil—now they can get the same results with a digital stylus.

The new S Pen doesn't need to be charged to work, which is a plus. But there's no place on the Tab S3 (or the new Galaxy Book for that matter) to keep the stylus so it doesn't get lost.

The Tab S3 also has its own detachable keyboard accessory, but it doesn't come included like the S Pen does. It's small and, typical of other tablet keyboards, doesn't have much room for your fingers to move. It doesn't have a trackpad either. This keyboard seems to be an afterthought, which makes sense since Samsung is pushing its other new slab as the power device among its new releases.

This brings us to the Galaxy Book, a two-in-one device that appears to be an evolution of the Galaxy Tab Pro S. The Galaxy Book comes in 10-inch and 12-inch models, and it seems to be the Windows counterpart to the company's recently released Chromebook Pro. The Galaxy Book appears to be another hybrid targeting creatives and entertainment buffs.

Samsung's new Galaxy Book two-in-one.

    
The external differences between the 10-inch and 12-inch Galaxy Book models are less apparent than the internal differences. They both look like slightly larger Tab S3s, feature an all-black design, one physical home button, and USB Type C ports for charging (the 10-inch has just one port, while the 12-inch has two). The models weigh only 645g (about 22 ounces) and 754g (about 26.5 ounces) respectively. The 12-inch model is less than 7.4mm thick, making it as thin as it is light.

The touch screens are different, with the 10-inch Galaxy Book sporting a 1920 x 1280-resolution display and the 12-inch model using an AMOLED, 2160 x 1440-resolution display, which is closer to that on the Tab S3. Neither model has an OLED option like the Tab Pro S had, but that might be for the best since Ars' Peter Bright wasn't sold on its benefits when he reviewed that two-in-one (even if it was a gorgeous panel). The 10-inch model only has a 5MP front-facing camera, while the 12-inch model sports that same shooter, as well as a 13MP rear camera.

The internals of both Galaxy Book models reflect how Samsung is positioning them. The 12-inch model has a Kaby Lake Core i5 processor, up to 8GB of RAM, and a 39.04 Whr battery capable of lasting up to 10.5 hours on one charge. You'll be able to get a model with 256GB of storage, but models with less storage can be expanded to that amount via a microSD card. The 10-inch Galaxy Book is powered by an Intel Core m3 CPU, has up to 4GB of RAM, and a 30.4 Whr battery that can last up to 10 hours on one charge. Like its big brother, the 10-inch version can get up to 256GB of storage with microSD cards, but the biggest built-in storage is only 128GB.

Ten- and 12-inch models both support Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO, Wi-Fi Direct, and Bluetooth 4.1. Both will have LTE-capable options. The CPU difference will mean the most for buyers—the 10-inch model is closer to the Tab Pro S's power, while the 12-inch model appears to be Samsung's challenger to hybrids like Microsoft's Surface Pro or HP's Spectre x360.

Both Galaxy Book models come with the same improved S Pen that the Tab S3 has, and they both have included keyboard-cover docks. Those differ greatly from that of Samsung's newest tablet, and they look more like a traditional keyboard than even the accessory accompanying the Tab Pro S. Instead of the large, square keys on the accessory for the Tab Pro S, this new keyboard has island keys that have a moderately comfortable 1.5mm of travel. The design of the keys makes the Galaxy Book's keyboard feel more familiar than its predecessor, and the backlighting makes using it in dark environments easier.

The trackpad is narrow and small, and the size of the Galaxy Book means there's not much room to make it larger. The keyboard attaches magnetically to the device, and it props the Galaxy Book up with its back panel of soft plastic. Similarly to the Tab Pro S, you'll need the keyboard case to prop up the Galaxy Book since it doesn't have a built-in retractable kickstand. In the short time I spent with the Galaxy Book, I could tell the keyboard attachment is strong enough to keep the device up on a flat surface. But like many other two-in-ones, you'll need two hands to support the entire system when you pick it up.

Samsung is pushing the brand-only features on the Galaxy Book hard. One of them, Samsung Flow, lets you view and respond to text messages received on your Galaxy smartphone from the Galaxy Book. Flow isn't new, but Samsung is emphasizing its convenience, and that of similar features, more than ever. Also, when you have a Galaxy smartphone connected to the Galaxy Book, you can use the fingerprint sensor on that smartphone to unlock the convertible. That's supposed to make up for the Galaxy Book lacking the Tab S3's fingerprint sensor, but having to whip out your smartphone every time you want to unlock your two-in-one is not what I call convenient.

The company clearly wants to encourage those with Galaxy smartphones to invest in other Samsung products rather than Windows/Android devices. Samsung apparently wants to elevate the Tab Pro S to the same level of other hybrids available now, and the company did so with the two different models of the Galaxy Book. However, until pricing is revealed and we get to review the Galaxy Book properly, we won't know how it truly stands up to its competitors.

Samsung hasn't released pricing for the Tab S3 yet, but we assume it will be close to the $500 price tag on the 9.7-inch model of the Tab S2. Both the Galaxy Tab S3 and the Galaxy Book will be available later this year.

Read More

Nokia 3310 is back - and it even has Snake

The rumours are true – the Nokia 3310 is back, and it even has Snake. The updated version of the early noughties icon, famed for its seemingly indestructible qualities, was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Sunday.

Anticipation of the device, a phone that doesn’t even have 3G, has been high ever since news of its release leaked earlier this year. The relaunched 3310 is produced by new mobile firm HMD Global, which licensed the Nokia brand last year. HMD is filled with key ex-Nokia people, and the phone appears to have lost none of the charm and identity of the 17-year-old original.

The new version of Snake ready to entertain. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
“This is what consumers have been asking us for, and so we decided that we’d just do it and have some fun with it, said Florian Seiche, president of HMD. “That’s the unique opportunity we have here at HMD with the Nokia brand.”

The phone has a slightly bigger screen than its namesake, and in colour this time. It also has a camera on the back, which the original did not. It does have a removable back cover and battery, and runs an updated version of the original’s S30 software. The software behaves so much like the original and followups you might think you were caught inside some sort of time loop. The phone will cost about €50 (£42) when released in the second quarter of 2017. The original cost in 2000 was £129.99 on pay as you go.

HMD promises that the new Nokia 3310 will be as durable as the old one, often seen as practically indestructible by the teens of the 2000s. The new 3310 is about half the thickness of the original and has 10 times the talk time, with 22 hours, and twice the standby time: one month – a duration almost unheard-of in 2017.

It’s charged via microUSB, so there’s no need to carry the pin Nokia charger of old, and there’s even a headphones socket in the bottom. Cynics might see the new 3310 as merely a marketing exercise but some analysts are more optimistic. CCS Insight’s Ben Wood says that out out of the approximately 20m phones sold in the UK each year, 1m of them are still feature phones such as the 3310.

Wood said: “There is a segment of the population that just wants a basic phone. From the stereotype of builder that just wants to call and text and if it gets broken it doesn’t matter, to the festival phone and the backup phone.”

Whether nostalgia, the desire for a less connected, but still contactable life or simply a budget phone is enough to drive meaningful sales of the new 3310 remains to be seen. The Nokia brand run by HMD was the number two global manufacturer of feature phones in 2016, with 35.3m handsets shipped for a 9% share of the market, according to data from Strategy Analytics.

Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics said: “Nokia has struggled in smartphones, but it maintains a very good reputation for delivering user-friendly feature phones at competitive prices, such as the Nokia 230 dual sim.”

Perhaps the most interesting thing the Nokia 3310 tells us is not about feature phones, but rather the state of the smartphone market dominated by Apple and Samsung.

Wood said: “It’s an absolutely damning indictment of the state of the smartphone market that the world is so excited and obsessed with a retro feature phone that shipped 17 years ago.

“The 3310 is poised to be the biggest story of Mobile World Congress this year, where we’re surrounded by the most cutting edge technology available on the planet. Where phones have artificial intelligence in them, 4K screens that most people don’t even have on their TV at home, cameras that are more powerful than we’ve seen. And we’re all getting excited about a 17-year-old feature phone.”

The back comes off, the battery comes out and there’s even a microSD card slot. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

A headphone socket in the bottom. The phone is available in four colours. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian
For its part, the 3310 isn’t the only phone HMD is unveiling at MWC this year. Three Android-based smartphones, the competitively priced, mid-tier devices the Nokia 6, 5 and 3 – there is no Nokia 4 now nor has there ever been as the number is considered unlucky in China – each with aluminium unibody designs, a bloat-free Pixel-like Android experience and guaranteed updates for two years from release.

HMD hopes to achieve its aim of democratising smartphones and bringing high-end features and quality to mid-tier prices. Chinese rivals such as Huawei are already saturating the market at scale with quality devices.

For Wood, as nice as HMD’s new Nokia Android phones are, it’s all about the brand. He said: “If someone walks into a shop and they want a mid-tier phone, do they buy a Huawei, or a OnePlus, a Xiaomi or a Vivo or Wileyfox or something else they’ve never heard of, or a do they buy the Nokia, the brand they know?”

Read More

Nokia 3310 mobile phone resurrected at MWC 2017

Nokia's 3310 phone has been relaunched nearly 17 years after its debut.
Many consider the original handset iconic because of its popularity and sturdiness. More than 126 million were produced before it was phased out in 2005.
The revamped version will be sold under licence by the Finnish start-up HMD Global, which also unveiled several Nokia-branded Android smartphones.
One expert said it was a "fantastic way" to relaunch Nokia's phone brand.
"The 3310 was the first mass-market mobile and there's a massive amount of nostalgia and affection for it," commented Ben Wood from the technology consultancy CCS Insight.
"If HMD had just announced three Android devices they would have barely got a couple of column inches in the press.
"So, the 3310 is a very clever move and we expect it will sell in significant volumes."
The original Nokia 3310 handsets had a reputation for standing up to damage
The announcement was made ahead of the start of the Mobile World Congress tech show in Barcelona. LG, Huawei and Lenovo are among others to have unveiled new devices.
Nokia no longer makes phones itself, but manufactures telecoms equipment, Ozo virtual reality cameras, and health kit under the Withings brand.
Long life
The new 3310 qualifies as a "feature phone" rather than a smartphone as it only provides limited internet facilities.
It relies on 2.5G connectivity - which has slower data speeds than 3G or 4G - and is powered by the S30+ operating system, which allows web browsing but has a much smaller range of apps than Android or iOS. Its single camera is also restricted to two megapixels.

The new 3310 weighs 79.6g (0.18lb) and has a 2.4in (6cm) display
However, its advantage over more powerful handsets is its battery life. HMD says the colour-screened phone has up to a month's standby time and delivers more than 22 hours of talk time.
It also comes with the modern version of the classic game Snake preinstalled.
Its launch price is €49 ($51,75; £41.51).
"It's almost like a digital detox or a holiday phone," HMD's chief executive Arto Nummela told the BBC.
"If you want to switch off to an extent but you still need to have a [mobile] lifeline, it's a brilliant solution.
"Why wouldn't you buy this like candy? If you see this hanging on the shelf at the checkout in a [see-through] package, then you'd just buy it as an accessory."
More from MWC 2017:
LG G6 phone is made for split-screen apps
Huawei P10 has smarter selfie camera
Google brings Assistant to more Android phones
Blackberry revives classic keyboard phone
HMD also confirmed the Nokia 6 Android smartphone would be released worldwide following its China debut in January.

Nokia has also created a new high-end smartphone, the Nokia 6
The device has a 16 megapixel rear camera, a 5.5in (14cm) 1080p "full definition" screen and includes the Google Assistant helper - the search engine's rival to Apple's Siri.
It is priced as a mid-tier device at €229, alongside a glossy black special edition that costs €299.
In addition, the firm showed off smaller, lower-range Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 models.
Taiwan's Foxconn will manufacture the phones, which may offset concerns that networks might have about HMD's capacity to deliver.
"Foxconn - with its experience working with Apple and Samsung - is certainly the standout device manufacturer," commented Tim Coulling from the tech research firm Canalys.
"It's ability to help HMD go from small to large scale will be a critical factor in their partnership.
"It also means if HMD wants to locate manufacturing in different regions to take advantage of pockets of demand, that's something Foxconn will allow them to achieve."

HMD announced three new Nokia smartphones - and an updated version of an old classic
However, another market watcher said HMD's success was far from guaranteed.
"Resurrecting one of Nokia's feature phone bestsellers seems like a good beachhead to attack the smartphone market.
"But another part of Nokia's heritage was its high-end devices.
"What HMD needs next is a higher-end [Android smartphone] that is different, and that's always a problem with Android: how do you differentiate?
"Nokia's brand will get them so far - especially in emerging markets - but trying to push into the high-end versus Apple, Samsung or even Huawei will be tough."
Analysis: Rory Cellan-Jones, Technology correspondent

Arto Nummela wants HMD Global to become one of the world's leading smartphone companies
There is no doubt what the headlines will be from the HMD Global Nokia event here in Barcelona - and they won't be about a new range of slick Android smartphones.
Yes, the reboot of the Nokia 3310 is fun - and perhaps there is a huge audience for a return to a time when all you could do with a phone was make calls and play Snake.
But make no mistake, if this piece of nostalgia is the future of the Nokia brand then it is doomed. And of course the smart team at HMD Global know that. They haven't built partnerships with Foxconn, Google and hundreds of operators around the world on the promise of a return to the 2G past.
It is phones like the Nokia 6 - apparently already selling well in China - which are key to any hopes of making the Finnish brand a force to be reckoned with again. But of course yet another slab of metal and glass running Android was never going to excite the analysts and journalists tired of overblown launches where the words "awesome" and "revolutionary" are thrown around like confetti.
Hence the decision to remind us of Nokia's glorious past, where everyone seemed to have a phone with that familiar ringtone and nobody was asking to borrow a charger to get them through the day. A stroke of marketing genius then - but a risky strategy.
If the phone-buying public one now sees Nokia as a retro brand rather one which has been reinvigorated for the 4 and 5G future, then HMD may come to regret its 3310 gimmick.

Read More

Enjoy Free MTN 1GB & 500MB Data on Your Phone

Hello guys, enjoy free 1GB of data from MTN and 500MB worth of data when you dial the code am going to reveal here.

Unfortunately, this awoof MB is not available for all MTN subscribers.

In fact, to some people, MTN send the message straight to the beneficiaries to dial the code to activate it.

 

In other words, you can get a message from mtn

“Congratulations! You have been gifted FREE 1GB data, valid for 7 days, to surf the internet.”

Then to activate it,

you just have to dial*449*2#to activate your offer and after dialing the code, you will get a message like this..

“Congratulations! You have successfully activated FREE 1GB valid for 7 days. Please dial *559*4# to check balance.”

HOW TO GET 1GB OR 500MB

✔️ For mtn 1GB dial *449*2#

✔️ For mtn 500mb dial *449*1#

And pray your sim is eligible.

The free data valid for 7 days (one week) and it can be used on Android phones, tablets, iPhones, iPads, java phones, dongles, modern and PC.

I didn’t get it on my mtn sim but was able to activate it in a colleague’s sim. So you should give it a try as there is no harm in trying.

Enjoy!

If You Enjoyed This Post Please Take 5 Seconds To Share It.

Read More

Hot: Enjoy Glo 1GB Data For as Low as N200 Only (See Code)

Enjoy your night with Glo New Night Plan! Glo is one of the best network in Nigeria and is known as the grand master of data plans because of their affordable and cheap data plans. So their night plan will help you perform all task on the internet particularly, in the night. Well, Airtel still has the cheapest night plan.It can be used to browse, surf the internet, stream videos, play online games and can also be used on PC modem, game console and other devices that has the ability or compatibility to access the internet. When you activate this data, you will only be able to use it at night(s)… Let’s see the new Glo night plan.

How To Activate Glo Night Plan

– Just recharge 200Naira
– Then dial *127*60# to activate the new glo night plan
– After activation, you will have to wait till 12am in the midnight and browse till 5am

Read More

Range Rover SV Autobiography Dynamic Review: 542bhp Of Restrained Madness

While the Range Rover Sport does a genuinely good job of proving massive SUVs can actually be quite good to drive, the regular Range Rover has pretty much stuck to what it knows best. And by that, I mean being jolly handy off road, utterly relaxing on it, and awash with luxury.

So, when Land Rover announced it was to make a sportified ‘SV Autobiography Dynamic’ version of the Range Rover, I was a little worried. “Ah,” I thought; “they’ll wreck the ride and give it an obnoxiously load exhaust like the SVR, making it very un-Range Rover-like”. After all, it has been worked over by the same Special Vehicle Operations bods that created the SVR, and given the uber RR Sport’s 542bhp supercharged V8.

Thankfully, as I discovered when taking one for a drive for the first time, it’s nothing like that. While it may have identical power and torque figures to the oh-so angry V8 from the SVR - and the ability to hit 62mph from rest in 5.1 seconds - it’s been kept much more sedate. It sounds just as muscular - just not like it’s ingested a crate of Rice Krispies. And in terms of comfort, it’s far softer than any RR Sport, able to waft around and soak up the worst that our marvellously poor road network can throw at it.

That’s not to say it flops all over the place. It doesn’t have the SVR’s uncanny ability to avoid body roll, but it’s still more composed and happy about being thrown around than any two and a half tonne, tall SUV has any right to be. Sure, the front end will push on if you corner enthusiastically enough, but the SV Autobiography can cover ground astonishingly quickly.

So, how have the ladies and gents and SVO managed this? It’s all down to the suspension setup. The steering knuckles, links, dampers and springs have all been fiddled with, and the whole car now sits 8mm lower than before.

What’s more, it actually feels faster than the SVR - even if it isn’t - not to mention more entertaining. The softer set-up means the nose pitches up when you accelerate. It squats down at the tarmac when you brake hard. And yes, it does lean a bit in the corners. It feels like it’s putting real effort into going fast - it’s not taking everything in its stride. And I like that.

Best of all, when you calm down, it just goes back to being a normal Range Rover. You’re sitting high up in your leather throne, lording it over everyone else while enjoying a cabin nice enough for you to genuinely consider living in it. We weren’t overly keen on the red and black theme of ‘our’ test car, of course, but the knurled details like the rotary gear selector and start/stop button are exquisite.

Happily, Jaguar Land Rover has also seen fit to add its new InControl Touch Pro infotainment system into the mix. The 10.2-inch touchscreen setup isn’t without its foibles (it always feels like it takes one or two more finger prods than necessary to get up the sub-menu or setting you’re after), but it’s a huge improvement over the dated, clunky system Range Rovers were lumbered with up until recently.

The downsides? Well, at £132,800 it is enormously expensive, and for that price you’d have hoped that Land Rover might have come up with a slightly more flattering exhaust arrangement. But still, if I were in the fortunate position to be able to choose any Range Rover, crazy Sport models included, the SV Autobiography is what I’d go for. It’s fabulously comfortable, stupidly fast and more than a little bit unnecessary. And who can say that isn’t an appealing mix?

Read More

Mercedes-Benz confirms its line-up for 2017 Geneva Motor Show

In a media release, German car maker Mercedes-Benz confirmed its line-up for the upcoming 2017 Geneva Motor Show.

At the centre of the Mercedes-Benz presentation at this year’s Geneva Motor Show will be the world premiere of the E-Class Cabriolet. The four-seater convertible is the fifth member of the E-Class model range.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class cabriolet gets a similar treatment as the new generation E-Class and will feature new front bumpers with V-Shape large air-intakes to improve the overall dynamics of the car.

The company will also debut the new and highly unusual variant of the its off-road icon, the G-Class, which will be shown for the first time. Mercedes-Maybach G650 Landaulet will take the centre stage at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show.

With a length of 5345 millimetres, a wheelbase of 3428 millimetres, a height of 2235 millimetres, almost half a metre of ground clearance and ample space and comfort for four passengers, the G 650 Landaulet surpasses all standards claims the company.

Like all other variants of the G-Class, the Mercedes-Maybach G 650 Landaulet, too, will be produced by Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria. The open-top four-seater will celebrate its world premiere and sales release at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2017. The market launch of the special series, which will be limited to 99 units, will start in the autumn.

Unveiled first at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz will also showcase the facelifted GLA- Class which goes on sale in the USA this summer. The car gets modified front and rear bumpers, new wheel designs and a new colour "Canyon Beige" summarizes the facelift's exterior. The previously-optional bi-xenon headlamps have made way for efficient LED headlamps.

Further highlights include special editions of Mercedes SL and SLC roadsters with new designo variants.

RedArt Edition design makes the roadster look sporty and is underlined by the red colour highlights on the exterior and in the interior. The red front splitter, the diamond radiator grille with pins in red and black, red fins in the wings with an exclusive Edition badge and the diffuser with red trim lend the SLC RedArt Edition a bold look.

The convertible roadster also gets an 18-inch, 5-twin-spoke light-alloy wheels painted in tremolite metallic with a high-sheen finish.

Mercedes-Benz will also be showcasing a few new Smart brnd electric vehicles, along with several AMG performance models.

Mercedes-Benz Vans will debut the Concept X-Class pick-up vehicle.

Read More

Two Option to Continue Enjoying Whatsapp on BB10 Device

Despite the fact that WhatsApp issued the assurance that it won’t be ending support for Blackberry smartphones running Blackberry 10 OS, Nokia S40 and N9kia Symbian S60 devices until June 2017.

A lot of users reported earlier today that WhatsApp stopped working on their phone.

Based on the message, just as it was displayed in the above screenshot, it meaning the Whatsapp chatting app is no longer supported on BB10 devices.

But never panic with that message, you still have better option for you to continue enjoying Whatsapp on your BB10 smartphone.

There are two simple options for you to restore your Whatsapp Chatting app

Option 1

Just head over to “Blackberry World” and update your WhatsApp application. Once this is done, you will be able to continue using the app (at least before the official June deadline)

Option 2

Just as we know, Blackberry 10 has extraordinaryfeature of being able torun the Blackberry app andAndroid appstogether, this gives you extra hope that you can still use WhatsApp on your Blackberry 10 smartphone.

To continue enjoying Whatsapp on your BB10 smartphone, you can also install the latest android version of Whatsapp.

To Install WhatsApp on Blackberry 10 Devices

*.On your BB10 device go toSettings> App Manager > Installing Apps and enable installations from unknown source
*.Download the latest version of Whatsapp apk from apps store

*.Run and install it on your device

Once the manual settings are completed, your WhatsApp will run normal without that D!sgust!ng message of not supported(at least before the official June2017 deadline).

But if the problem still persists, then I think it’s time to upgrade your device toAndroid or iOS.

If You Enjoyed This Post Please Take 5 Seconds To Share It.

Read More

Sixty Valid IMEI Numbers For Etisalat Free 1GB Data

Hi, in case you are yet to get the free

Etisalat 1GB data, here is the list of IMEI numbers for you to tweak and get yours now. No dulling because this tweak is still blazing and more people are getting their free 1gb data as am writing now.

VALID ETISALAT 1GB IMEI NUMBERS

*.359838075475087
*.359838075475033
*.359838075475227
*.359838075475078
*.359838075475632
*.359838075475298
*.359838075475026
*.359838075475027
*.359838075475029
*.359838075475011
*.359838075475905
*.359838075475998
*.359838075475997
*.359838075475968
*.359838075475956
*.359838075475904
*.359838075475947
*.359838075475903
*.359838075475921
*.359838075475989
*.359838075475022
*.359838075475009
*.359838075475235
*.359838075475020
*.359838075475635
*.359838075475053
*.359838075475046
*.359838075475065
*.359838075475020
*.359838075475088
*.359838075475905
*.359838075475989
*.359838075475986
*.359838075475945
*.359838075475937
*.359838075475954
*.359838075475990
*.359838075475967
*.359838075475921
*.359838075475962
*.359838075475078
*.359838075475009
*.359838075475390
*.359838075475456
*.359838075475671
*.359838075475053
*.359838075475095
*.359838075475065
*.359838075475020
*.359838075475011
*.359838075475975
*.359838075475976
*.359838075475986
*.359838075475945
*.359838075475937
*.359838075475998
*.359838075475967
*.359838075475978
*.359838075475990
*.359838075475956

Read More

Hot Deal!!! Free Etisalat 1Gb Cheat For February 2017

Without too much of talking

Tweak this imei 359838075475772

You can change the last 3digits

After tweak then dial

*8186 *092840413028038# like 10 to 20 times

Hurry up before it get blocked.

ETISALAT FREE 1GB is working as @NOW…

<h2> Any questions about it, comment BELOW </h2>

Read More

Google lets users get social with Maps

Google is moving to make Maps more than just about getting to your destination. Maps is getting social.

Zach Maier, a product manager with Google Maps, announced in a blog post Monday that users can create lists of their favorite places, places they want to visit and share those lists with friends within the app.

"Starting today, you can create lists of places, share your lists with others, and follow the lists your friends and family share with you -- without ever leaving the Google Maps app," Maier said.

To make Maps a social tool, users open the app on either the iPhone or Android platform and then tap on, say, a restaurant, museum or club. Tap on the Save icon and it will add the spot to one of several pre-set lists, such as Want to Go or Favorites, according to Maier.

Users also can create their own lists. To find their lists, people can go to Your Places on the side menu of Maps and open the Saved tab.

Maps' new feature also is designed to show your saved places on the map itself.

"Because sharing is caring, we made it easy to share lists like "Best Views in SF" via text, email, social networks and popular messaging apps," noted Maier. "Whenever friends and family come to town, tap the share button to get a link and start flexing your local knowledge muscles. Once you send a link to your out-of-towners, they can tap "Follow" to pull up the list from Your Places whenever they need it."

According to Google, the lists can be seen and shared on mobile devices and desktop computers. Users also can download the maps to use when they're offline.

The new feature is another step in social media for Google, which has struggled to bust into the social media world.

Google+, the company's rival social network competing with Facebook and Twitter, wasn't the hit the company had hoped for.

Google seems to be taking a different tack now, taking one of its most popular apps and making it social.

"This is a dramatically different way of them approaching social," said Patrick Moorhead, an analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. "Instead of starting big and horizontal like Google+, they're starting small. It's a very different tack, but worth a try. Google's horizontal approach hasn't worked so far."

Going social with Maps, which so many people use, may be an easier way to get people sharing destinations with friends. And that would mean more eyes and more time on a Google product.

"Google has an excellent Maps product," added Moorhead. "People want to know if their friends like or have been at a certain place and trust their friends more than anyone else. Therefore, I think this has a chance."

Read More

Will Robots Take Over? Tesla's Elon Musk Quotes: 4 Predictions About The Future Of Humanity

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk was in Dubai to launch Tesla in the United Arab Emirates at the World Government Summit Monday. The South African billionaire inventor was interviewed onstage and gave his opinion on aliens, artificial intelligence, universal basic income and the future of humanity. Below are some highlights.

Universal basic income will solve the economic problems caused by automation. However, the existential problems that come from a world with few workers will be harder to solve, Musk said. 

"There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better. I want to be clear. These are not things I wish will happen; these are things I think probably will happen. And if my assessment is correct and they probably will happen, than we have to think about what are we going to do about it? I think some kind of universal basic income is going to be necessary. The output of goods and services will be extremely high. With automation there will come abundance. Almost everything will get very cheap. I think we'll end up doing universal basic income. It's going to be necessary. The much harder challenge is, how are people going to have meaning? A lot of people derive their meaning from their employment. So if there's no need for your labor, what's your meaning? Do you feel useless? That's a much harder problem to deal with."

Humans will need to meld their brains with digital intelligence. Humans can communicate by typing with their fingers at about 10 bits per second, while computers can communicate at "a trillion bits per second," Musk said. The human brain will need to combine with technology to keep up. 

"Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence... It's mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself, particularly output... Some high bandwidth interface to the brain will be something that helps achieve a symbiosis between human and machine intelligence and maybe solves the control problem and the usefulness problem.”

Driverless cars will be the norm within a decade. Musk said Tesla's autonomous driving technology is probably already safer than a human driver. 

"My guess is that in probably 10 years it will be very unusual for cars to be built that are not fully autonomous... There are about 2 billion cars in the world, and the total annual production capacity is about 100 million cars, which makes sense since the average life of a car before being totally scrapped is about 20 to 25 years... So the point at which we see autonomy appear will not be the point at which there is a massive societal impact on people, because it will take a lot of time to make enough autonomous vehicles to disrupt."

The future of cities is underground. In response to a question about why he's digging a tunnel near SpaceX's Los Angeles headquarters, Musk said the answer was "a secret" before laying out his vision of an underground future. 

"It seems so trivial, or silly, but I’ve been saying this for many years now, but I think the solution for overcrowding is a network of tunnels under cities... You can always go farther down than you can go up... The challenge is: How do you build tunnels quickly, at low-cost, with high safety? So if tunneling technology could be improved so you could build tunnels fast, cheap, and safe, then that could completely get rid of any traffic situations in cities."

Musk also repeated opinions he's given in the past about the dangers of artificial intelligence and the likelihood our world is a simulation.

Read More

Tesla starts deploying Superchargers and Destination chargers in UAE as Elon Musk heads to Dubai for official launch

We now learn the location of Tesla’s first store in UAE – pictured above – and that the company is already deploying charging infrastructure – both Superchargers and Destination chargers – in the region.

The company’s first store is located on Shiekh Zayed Road, which is one of the busiest roads in Dubai.

It’s near the Burj Khalifa metro station. The launch event tomorrow will be at the Armani hotel in the Burj Khalifa tower.

A Porsche dealership was previously located in the same building.

Soon-to-be local Tesla owner @belquhood on Twitter sent us a few pictures of the new location where Tesla already installed a banner announcing the store for ‘Summer 2017’:

 

Since Tesla is holding a launch event tomorrow in Dubai while the store is not coming for another few months, we expect that Tesla will start taking official orders for the Model S and X for deliveries later this year.

The local owners who went into the trouble of importing Tesla vehicles themselves will not have to wait that long for Tesla’s launch to already be beneficial for them since the company is already installing chargers in the region.

@belquhood told Electrek that Tesla already installed a Supercharger station at a popular truck stop between Dubai and Abu Dhabi called ‘Last Exit’:

 
The location is not yet listed in Tesla’s Supercharger network, but it is apparently already being tested and should become the first official Tesla Supercharger in the Middle East.

Additionally, Tesla started deploying Destination Chargers around Dubai:

  
We should know more about Tesla’s plan for the United Arab Emirate tomorrow after the launch event and Elon Musk’s presentation at the World Government Summit in Dubai.

Read More

Fake news is “killing people’s minds” according to Apple boss Tim Cook, who is urging the Government to launch a public information campaign to counteract the problem.

Mr Cook called for a an awareness campaign similar to those which alerted people to health epidemics such as AIDS in the 1980s and environmental issues including the ozone layer in the 1990s.

The CEO of the world’s largest company said fake news “is a big problem in a lot of the world” following recent concerns about the role of fabricated news stories widely shared during the US Presidential election race and the EU referendum campaign.

“It has to be ingrained in the schools, it has to be ingrained in the public,” said Mr Cook. “There has to be a massive campaign. We have to think through every demographic.

“We need the modern version of a public-service announcement campaign. It can be done quickly if there is a will.”

He told The Daily Telegraph that in the "clickbait" era, the rise of fake news was being driven by companies determined to get readers at any cost, with truth being the first casualty.

“We are going through this period of time right here where unfortunately some of the people that are winning are the people that spend their time trying to get the most clicks, not tell the most truth,” he said. “It’s killing people’s minds in a way.”

Mr Cooke said that companies including Apple had to step up and do more to try and counteract the problem.

“All of us technology companies need to create some tools that help diminish the volume of fake news.

”We must try to squeeze this without stepping on freedom of speech and of the press, but we must also help the reader. Too many of us are just in the complain category right now and haven’t figured out what to do.”

And he said schools had to do more to educate children on how to tell the difference between reliable and unreliable news sources.

“It’s almost as if a new course is required for the modern kid, for the digital kid.”

But he said in some ways, children should be “the easiest to educate” and they could then share their increased awareness with their parents.

“We saw this with environmental issues: kids learning at school and coming home and saying, 'Why do you have this plastic bottle? Why are you throwing it away?' ”

Evidence for one of the most bizarre theories about Trump is mounting
Mr Cook believes the war on fake news can be won in the long-term, and that people’s appetite for in-depth, investigative journalism remains stronger than the apparent public hunger for clickbait.

“The outcome of that is that truthful, reliable, non-sensational, deep news outlets will win.

“The [rise of fake news] is a short-term thing - I don’t believe that people want that at the end of the day.” 

Alabama- born Mr Cook met with President Donald Trump in December as part of a round-table discussion with other technology and social media giants, including Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Mr Trump has repeatedly accused the mainstream media, including well respected publications such as the New York Times, of peddling “fake news”.

Under Trump journalists must hold themselves to higher standards
Some believe this is fuelling a culture where any story which is critical of an individual or organisation can simply be dismissed as “fake news” even when it is from a reliable and well researched source – making it all the more vital that people are educated to be able to spot the difference.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has launched a Government enquiry into fake news chaired by Damian Collins MP.

Launching the enquiry, Mr Collins said: “The growing phenomenon of fake news is a threat to democracy and undermines confidence in the media in general.

“Just as major tech companies have accepted they have a social responsibility to combat piracy online and the illegal sharing of content, they also need to help address the spreading of fake news on social media platforms.

Mr Collins said a select committee will investigate the sources of "fake news", what motivates people to spread it, and how it has been used around elections and other important political debates.

The public is invited to submit their views to the committee before 3 March .

Read More

Samsung, Apple , Tecno top list of mobile brands with highest SOV in Q2 of 2016

Latest report released by Teksight edge Limited showing online mentions of mobile phone brands released for May and August 2016 has revealed that Samsung, Apple and Tecno topped the list of mobile brands with the highest Share Of Voice, SOV, in the second quarter of 2016 while Nokia, Injoo and Microsoft appear to be struggling to make a mark in the market.

Unsurprisingly, the latter case seems to be prevailing because it is expected that a mobile phone consumer who has used more than two mobile phones in his lifetime is likely to have used devices from at least two different mobile phone manufacturers.

Accordingly, the report effectively captured the SoVs of 18 different mobile brands operating across different markets of the world.
[d]
From the report, Samsung generated the highest conversations month-on-month over the competition. The mobile giant’s impressive online engagement figures may be attributed to the launch of its Samsung Galaxy A and Galaxy J Series at different intervals across different markets of the world in Q2 2016 bolstered also by the release of its flagship Samsung S7 March the same year (visit Teksight Edge’s official blog to access free version of the full report).

Tecno, according to the report launched Tecno Boom J8 and Camon C9 within this same interval in the local market.
However, on the global scene, Samsung and Apple enjoyed much stronger aspirational value.

Interestingly, while the top mobile brands narrowly edged out Africa’s No. 1 mobile brand Tecno, in the share of voice (SOV), the chart revealed the Chinese mobile phone maker rising profile and clever positioning on the international scene.

The online media analysis conducted by Teksight Eedge for this report covered major mobile markets in Africa and the world including Nigeria, Kenya, China, Europe, America, South Africa, Russia, France, Germany, Japan and Korea.

Consequently, a look at a chart showing media impression of some mobile brands in Nigeria revealed Tecno as commanding 40% of market’s SoV; surpassing Samsung which is second on the chart.

Meanwhile, Tecno, according to the report is estimated to have about 25.3% mobile phone market share across six of Africa’s biggest mobile phone markets that are, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Egypt, Ethiopia and Cameroon.

The Launch of Tecno’s Phantom 6 & 6 plus as well as Apple’s iPhone 7 & 7 plus in September 2016 however significantly changed SOV results in the 4th quarter. For Tecno, the international launch of its flagship Phantom 6 & Phantom 6 Plus at Burj Khalifa Dubai increased the brand’s global competitiveness and value.

For obvious reasons, the mobile phone market is a survival of the fittest so brands will either have to continually innovate or gradually fade.

Which mobile brand will boast of having the highest engagement figures at the end of fourth quarter 2016? Well, we might just have to wait and see.

Read More

Google blocked 1.7bn advertisements in 2016, says director

Mr Scott Spencer, Google’s Director of Product Management Sustainable Advertisements, said that Google blocked 1.7 billion advertisements in 2016 for violating its advertising policies.

Spencer said in a statement on Saturday in Lagos that the number was double the bad ads the company took down in 2015.

He said that Google achieved this because of its improved technology.

”If you spent one second taking down each of those bad ads, it’d take you more than 50 years to finish. But our technology is built to work much faster.

”Last year, we did two key things to take down more bad ads. First, we expanded our policies to better protect users from misleading and predatory offers.

”In July we introduced a policy to ban ads for payday loans, which often result in unaffordable payments and high default rates for users.

”In the six months since launching this policy, we disabled more than five million payday loan ads.

”Second, we beefed up our technology so we can spot and disable bad ads even faster.

”For example, ‘trick to click’ ads often appear as system warnings to deceive users into clicking on them, not realising they are often downloading harmful software or malware,” the director said.

He said that in 2016, Google’s systems detected and disabled 112 million ads for ‘trick to click’, which was six times more than in 2015.

According to him, a free and open web is a vital resource for people and businesses around the world.

He said that ads played a key role in ensuring that people had access to accurate, quality information online.

”But bad ads can ruin the online experience for everyone. They promote illegal products and unrealistic offers.

”They can trick people into sharing personal information and infect devices with harmful software.

”Ultimately, bad ads pose a threat to users, Google’s partners, and the sustainability of the open web itself.

”We have a strict set of policies that govern the types of ads we do and don’t allow on Google, in order to protect people from going for misleading, inappropriate or harmful ads,” Spencer said.

He commended its team of engineers, policy experts, product managers and others who were waging a daily fight against bad actors.

The director said that over the years, the commitment had made the web a better place for everyone, and a worse place for those who seek to abuse advertising systems for their own gain.

He said that in addition to its efforts and commitment, Google supported industry efforts like the Coalition for Better Ads to protect people from bad experiences across the web.

According to him, while Google took down more bad ads in 2016 than ever before, the battle does not end there.

”As we invest in better detection, the scammers invest in more elaborate attempts to trick our systems.’’

He promised that the company would continue to protect people online and ensured that they got the best services  from the open web. (NAN)

Read More

Google Rolls Out Instant Apps Feature For Android: Download And Run Apps Without Installing Them

Instant Apps for Android, announced in Google's I/O developer conference last year, was tagged as a feature that would forever change how users download apps into their mobile devices.

In a post on the Android Developers blog, it was revealed that the feature has now been released through a few apps, as part of a limited test that users can choose to participate in.

What Is Android Instant Apps?

The Instant Apps feature for Android will allow users to download and run apps on their smartphones and tablets without having to go through the full installation process.

When accessing certain websites, users may see suggestions to instead download a particular app. The app will allow for a streamlined mobile device experience to access the content of the website, but users can skip the installation process of the app and access the browser version of the website instead.

Instant Apps will allow Android apps to open and load almost instantly on mobile devices. While not as fast as loading a webpage, accessing the app will only take a few seconds, much faster than having to download and install it first.

To take advantage of the feature,developers will only need to update their existing apps to include the functionality, as Instant Apps uses the same source code and APIs found in Android apps.

Android Instant Apps Rolls Out

Eight months after Instant Apps was announced, the feature is now open for limited testing, with the first apps to include the feature being those of BuzzFeed, Periscope, Wish, and Viki. The Android team will be collecting feedback from users who are participating in the testing of the feature, with the goal of expanding Instant Apps functionality to more apps and more users in the near future.

Users who would like to participate in testing Instant Apps can try accessing any of the websites of the first apps offering the feature. For example, if a user would click a link to a BuzzFeed webpage from Google search results, the Instant Apps feature will kick in. A module of the BuzzFeed app containing the webpage that the user is looking to enter would be brought up, instead of directing the user to the browser version of the webpage.

Instant Apps was expected to be rolled out by the end of 2016, so the Android team is late in getting the feature out by a month. The slight delay will likely be forgiven by users, though, as Instant Apps presents a very unique way of accessing content.

Uses For Instant Apps

Google is planning to have the full SDK for the Instant Apps feature completed over the coming months so that developers would be able to add the functionality to their apps.

However, there are currently only a limited number of ways that Instant Apps can change the usage of mobile devices, but it will likely become an important feature in the future as developers start thinking of ways on how to use it.

With the rise of virtual reality and augmented reality, users will soon increasingly need to utilize the complete capabilities of their mobile devices to access content instead of visiting a website, and Instant Apps will be ready to offer its services by then.

Read More

Samsung: Why is it doing so well despite Galaxy Note 7 fiasco?

The 9.2 trillion won ($7.2bn; £5.8bn) quarterly profit is the South Korean firm's highest since 2013.

In October, the smartphone maker had to scrap the Note 7, after recalling 2.5 million handsets.Batteries were blamed for phones catching fire.

Samsung has also been embroiled in a corruption scandal, threatening its reputation, so how has it done so well?

It's not just about phones

Recalling and then ultimately killing off the Note 7, is thought to have cost Samsung $5.3bn (£4.3bn), a sum that would have made the firm's profits far bigger.

But while it is the world's biggest smartphone maker, phones are not its only business. It is also well known for its flat screen televisions and that side of things is doing well.

But the real jewel in the crown has been its semiconductor business which makes the chips for phones and servers.

Memory chip prices are rising sharply as demand grows, primarily from phone makers and Samsung is the biggest maker of the chips, ahead of rivals like Toshiba.

Customers seem unfazed

Despite the YouTube videos of burning phones, the drip-drip of negative stories and the internet memes, Samsung does not seem to have been as tarnished anywhere near as badly as you might expect.

A Reuters/IPOS study in the aftermath of the scandal found Samsung users in the US remained as loyal to their brand as Apple users were to their iPhones.

Because the problem was identified shortly after the Note 7 was released the recall was mostly limited to early adopters, and this limited the negative experiences, said Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.

"Your own personal experience trumps what you read and what people tell you," Dawson at the time of the Reuters/Ipsos poll.

And Samsung has said that after its recall, most customers chose to replace their Note 7 with a different Samsung handset - including the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge - rather than getting the money back.

Our correspondents in South Korea say that a major corporate scandal - which led to a court being asked to issue an arrest warrant for the firm's heir apparent over bribery allegations - did not seem to have tarnished the corporation's reputation at home dramatically either.

However, while the arrest request was turned down, Samsung remains embroiled in the case and the firm has acknowledged the "changing political landscape in Korea" could have some longer term impact on the business. So future results will be watched closely.

Currency benefit

Not a particularly glamorous explanation but the strong dollar has also been a benefit to Samsung.

The won's value against the US currency has fallen, meaning that when sales from overseas are brought back to South Korea they are worth more.

It's something all South Korean exporters have benefited from recently.

Of course currency fluctuations work both ways, and the strong dollar means that any dollar-denominated debt is more expensive.

Read More