MWC 2017: BlackBerry to officially unveil ‘Mercury’ flagship at MWC on 25 February

By tech2 News Staff /  25 Jan 2017 , 14:12

BlackBerry’s recently announced a flagship smartphone that seems to pack in the bells and whistles but oddly came without a name, specifications and price tag. Well, after what many would call a positive (yet unofficial) reveal at the recent CES, with fans drooling all over the new device codenamed ‘Mercury’, BlackBerry has finally set a date for an official unveil and it has been scheduled for 25 February.

The BlackBerry Mercury indeed got plenty of BlackBerry fans excited after its unveil at CES. The device will be manufactured by TCL in certain global markets, while BlackBerry is still in the process of finalising local manufacturers for other markets like India, Indonesia and the rest where TCL will not be able to sell BlackBerry products directly.

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Coming to the smartphone, it features a uni-body metal design with a hardware keyboard on the front. The keyboard apart from acting as a navigation tool, this time around also features a fingerprint reader in the space key. At the back BlackBerry seems to have gone with a soft touch surface with metal underneath.

Inside, the Mercury, fans can expect a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset or a 625 with 4GB RAM and 64GB of storage. On the back there is a 13MP camera, while an 8MP unit sits above the display at the front for selfies.  There is a 4.5-inch display that sits above the keyboard that expected to feature a 1620 x 1080 resolution along with its odd aspect ratio. The Mercury boots to Android 7.0 Nougat and will come with BlackBerry’s suite of DTek applications to make the device secure at both the hardware and software level.

Apple iPads could be delayed until the second half of the year; three devices in the works: Report

By tech2 News Staff /  25 Jan 2017 , 13:00

Further delays are in the offing for Apple’s iPad lineup. If reports are to be believed, Apple’s brand new iPads will not ship until the second half of this year.

It’s long been rumoured that Apple will introduce three new iPads this year. These include an updated iPad Air with a 9.7-inch screen, a brand new iPad with a 10.5-inch screen but the same form-factor as the 9.7-inch version and a new 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

It’s expected that the 10.5-inch iPad and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro will ship with Apple’s latest A10X chip. Historically, the X-version of Apple’s iPhone SoCs run faster and host either an extra or a more powerful graphics core. This is needed to drive the higher resolution iPad displays.

These devices were expected early this year. However, DigiTimes reports that these devices could be delayed to later this year. Citing “sources from the related upstream supply chain”, DigiTimes believes that the devices won’t even be announced until the second half of the year.

It’s worth noting that the sources suggest that the 9.7-inch iPad will become an “entry-level device” for the education sector. It’s display unit will apparently be provided by Seoul Semiconductor, replacing the current supplier of the 9.7-inch iPad display.

Apple iOS 10.3 beta: Siri learns IPL cricket, improved 3D Touch support for native apps and more

By tech2 News Staff /  25 Jan 2017 , 12:36

Apple has just released the first beta of the latest version of its mobile operating system, tagged as iOS 10.3. The new beta brings plenty of improvements, but also seems to have added some new features, some of which are even India specific.

Siri finally gets smarter in iOS 10.3. In fact she has gotten smart enough to understand the Indian Premier League (IPL) and cricket, a game which until now was not officially supported by the digital assistant. With Apple making plenty of efforts to get into India, Siri’s knowledge about cricketer Virat Kohli will certainly be a much-welcomed move.

Siri can now get iOS users cricket scores and even answer cricket-related queries. This would include everything from IPL rankings to how a the Royal Challengers are doing, down to the finer details like cricketer stats and team backgrounds.

There are other updates in the first beta as well.

The Find My iPhone app now gets smarter with an update, that will now also let you locate your lost or missing AirPods. Owners who have misplaced their lost AirPods with the iOS 10.3 update can also locate their headphones using their desktop computer by logging on icloud.com/find.

SiriKit domains have now expanded with support for paying and checking status of bills as well. Payments apps can now use Siri to interact with users and get things done. SiriKit will also add scheduling of rides with ride booking apps.

CarPlay adds some nifty new shortcuts. You can now launch the last two used apps from shortcuts and the Music menu now displays Up Next. Maps in CarPlay will now also display EV charging stations where available.

Apple has also added some new 3D Touch gestures on its native apps. The Maps app now allow for 3D Touch on the weather icon. Pressing down on the weather icon will get hourly forecasts, chance of rain and daily high and low temperatures.

Pressing down on the iMessage app icon now also also reveals iMessage apps. The Mail conversation view also seems to be revamped with a couple of navigational improvements.

This is just the first update for iOS beta 10.3, and we can expect some more features to show up in the coming updates as well. Of course since this is a beta, users willing to download and explore the above features will also encounter a few bugs so don’t expect a silky smooth experience.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to run for US Presidential elections

  25 Jan 2017 , 11:45

Shelving rumours surrounding his plans to run for the US presidency, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has insisted that for now he has no such intentions, saying he would continue to work to grow his company. For now, he said he would continue working on growing his company as well as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) – the corporation he and wife Priscilla built which makes investments in scientific and leadership research.

According to Buzzfeed, Zuckerberg responded with a “No” when he was asked if he had any plans to run for president. “I am focused on building our community at Facebook and working on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative,” he was quoted as saying on Tuesday. A source said that the Facebook founder has privately denied it as well.

“There’s absolutely no truth to the idea that Mark is running for office and I’ve heard it directly from him,” the source was quoted as saying. “Here’s the thing: For Mark, Facebook is global community that already plays this huge part in the lives of billions of people around the world and plays an incredibly important role in shaping the base on the issues that matter,” the source added.

IANS

Apple iOS 10.3 will update Find My iPhone app to help owners locate lost AirPods

By tech2 News Staff /  25 Jan 2017 , 11:26

After pulling the plug on the 3.5mm headphone jack (with plenty of criticism) the dust has finally settled and Apple is now devising ways to help owners of its AirPods find their Bluetooth earphones. Apple’s next update for its mobile operating system, tagged as iOS 10.3, will add support for AirPods in the Find My iPhone app, bringing some relief for owners who often find themselves searching for their lost Bluetooth earphones. The same was revealed in the new iOS 10.3 beta update that is currently available as a public beta for iPhone owners who would like to download, explore and report some bugs.

In its final build, iOS 10.3 will add support in the Find My iPhone app for the new AirPods. Owners of the missing AirPods will be able to use the Find My iPhone app or switch to a desktop using the iCloud website to locate their earphones.

There is however a catch. The AirPods (as pricey as they are) do not pack in a GPS module; so the location you do get will be based on the last device they we paired with before they got separated and could no longer communicate. This again would also depend on the Bluetooth range of the owner’s Apple device.

Image: Reuters

Additionally, the owners must be signed into their iCloud account on all of their connected devices for the location tracking to work. If the AirPods happen to simply run out of battery life or happen to be in the case, the location shown on the Find My iPhone app will be the last place where the earphones were used before the owner placed them in the case.

Another cool feature that will be added via the iOS 10.3 update is the ability to play a sound on just one AirPod. This itself would also make for a quicker way to find the missing earphone, provided it is in the vicinity of your home or office.

The update comes as a part of the beta version of the software that just went live a few hours ago. iOS 10.3 is not expected to be a major update, but will bring plenty of new bits that should certainly make it worth the download.

Microsoft Office Lens is coming soon to Word and PowerPoint; digitising documents to be made easier

By tech2 News Staff /  25 Jan 2017 , 08:58

Microsoft will soon update its mobile apps to better support the ability to digitise documents and improve image capture.

The software giant currently uses Microsoft Office Lens, originally a stand-alone app, for this purpose. Microsoft has announced that this app is now going to be integrated into the Word and PowerPoint apps for mobile.

Digitising documents will happen via OCR (Optical Character Recognition). You will be able to take a photo of your presentation or notes and the app on your device should be able to convert into searchable/editable text and images. This will also apply to handwritten text as well.

Better image capture will help Office clean up images that you capture. Whiteboards and paper will feature enhanced contrast, for example.

Alongside this, the company has also announced an Office Insider program for iPhone and iPad. Microsoft’s Insider programs allow users to beta test software for Microsoft and give feedback on bugs, usability, etc.

These are beta programs so if you sign up, be aware that the software will be buggy and that data loss is a remote, but distinct possibility.

PCWorld points out that Office Lens for Android already supports OCR features, but that it’s limited to scanning business cards. Strangely enough, scanned business card data is not synced with Outlook.

This is Xiang Wang, the man who will replace Hugo Barra as CEO of Xiaomi

Image: Mi

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Jan 2017 , 18:37

Xiaomi CEO Hugo Barra quit the company citing health reasons, and has plans to go back to Silicon Valley. Barra was one of the founders of Xiaomi. Barra’s exit comes at a time Xiaomi is trying to adjust its strategy. The company has pulled back from several overseas markets, including Singapore and Brazil, in 2016. It is increasing its offline retail presence and aims to develop artificial intelligence and internet finance as growth areas.

India was the one of the few bright spots on the company’s international growth map last year, and is also where Barra opted to make his final public appearance for the company during a launch event in New Delhi last Thursday. In a letter released to employees earlier this month, Xiaomi Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun said “the worst is over”, referring to the company’s recent struggles to keep up with an ever increasing number of local competitors.

“For Xiaomi to return strongly in 2017 the biggest priority is the China market,” says Nicole Peng, senior analyst at Canalys. Barra’s replacement, senior vice president Xiang Wang, will oversee the company’s global efforts going forward, a spokeswoman confirmed. Formerly the President of Qualcomm’s greater China operation, Xiang joined Xiaomi in 2015 to oversee strategic partnerships. “Given his international experience he’s a very safe pair of hands,” said Peng. “However they are very different types of persons and have a different type of leadership style.”

Xiang is has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Beijing Polytechnic University, and the Senior Vice President at Xiaomi. Xiang currently leads the Supply Chain and Intellectual Property divisions at Xiaomi. Before joining Xiaomi, Xiang worked for Qualcomm for 13 years from 2002 to 2015. At Qualcomm, Xiang served as VP of Qualcomm CDMA technologies, President of Qualcomm greater China and Senior VP of Qualcomm Incorporated. Prior to working for Qualcomm, Xiang was in key positions at Lucent/Agere and Motorola. He has more than twenty years experience in the semiconductor and communications industries.

With inputs from Reuters

Apple updates its software with patches for critical security vulnerabilities; update now

By tech2 News Staff /  24 Jan 2017 , 16:30

Yesterday’s Apple iOS 10.2.1 does not add any fancy new features to your phone, but it does patch over a dozen major vulnerabilities in the OS. Some of these vulnerabilities will allow hackers full access to your iOS device.

Some of these vulnerabilities, listed here, can allow an application to “execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges”. This is geek-speak for “your phone can be comprehensively hacked”.

As a Malwarebytes security analyst points out to Wired, these vulnerabilities will let hackers “add files, delete files or execute any actions.” Many of these vulnerabilities affect WebKit as well, which is the default rendering engine used by iOS. This means that any application that uses WebKit on iOS (which is a lot) is vulnerable.

Wired does add that most of these vulnerabilities are too obscure and hard to find for the regular hacker.

It’s not just iOS devices that are vulnerable, however; Apple has released updates for macOS, tvOS and watchOS as well. All of these updates include various security patches. The macOS update also includes a patch for the Safari browser caching bug that lost the MacBook Pro its first ‘recommended’ badge from Consumer Reports.

Obviously, you’d better make sure that all your Apple devices are updated if you want  to stay completely safe and secure.

WhatsApp will notify you when someone screenshots your chat on next 5th February

 Whats app

California.- Jan Koum, the CEO of WhatsApp announced that the next version of the application is going to include the option of being notified if someone screenshots your conversation. This is an option requested by a lot of users lately, and according to him “after all these years, we’ve reached the conclusion to add it”.

“The functioning is simple, just like the blue tick: You will have the option activated by default. If it’s checked, you’ll be notified if someone screenshots your conversation, and others will be notified if you screenshot theirs. If it’s unchecked, no one gets notified”, stated Koum.

Some users are pissed by this feature, but it’s not that bad at all.