Eu to investigate Spotifys claims of Apple enforcing biased App Store policies: Report

Spotify recently filed a legal complaint against Apple in the EU for imposing unfair Apple Tax and laws on competitive apps that are a part of the App Store. Apple responded by saying that Spotify is leaving out facts that Apple’s fee for use of the secure in-app purchase servers is down to 15 percent after the first year of use, from 30. It seems that the EU competition commissioners have decided to launch an anti-trust investigation into Spotify’s allegations that Apple abuses its App Store regulations to hinder Spotify and other music streaming apps that compete with Apple Music. Financial Times’ sources say that the investigation would commence in the "next few weeks." 

The EU commission is expected to look into Spotify’s claims that Apple discriminates Spotify and other similar services. A developer is charged 30 percent of their apps’ subscription fee for the first year and 15 percent for the second year. Spotify blamed Apple’s cut for the reason it had to ‘artificially inflate’ the price of its Premium membership to make up for the lost revenue. This would make its services cost more than competing services like Apple Music. Additionally, the music streaming platform claimed that Apple blocks its “experience-enhancing upgrades. Over time, this has included locking Spotify and other competitors out of Apple services such as Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch.” 

Spotify has a website called Time to Play Fair that lists how Apple’s alleged anti-competitive rules keep Spotify at a disadvantage. The company summarises its wants in three points, “First, apps should be able to compete fairly on the merits, and not based on who owns the App Store. We should all be subject to the same fair set of rules and restrictions—including Apple Music. Second, consumers should have a real choice of payment systems, and not be “locked in” or forced to use systems with discriminatory tariffs such as Apple’s. Finally, app stores should not be allowed to control the communications between services and users, including placing unfair restrictions on marketing and promotions that benefit consumers.”

Via

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2H31Flg

Amazon India Summer Sale: Deals on Echo speakers, Kindle e-readers, Fire TV stick

Summer Sale, the one season during which your itchy hand gets a chance to relax and do what it was meant to do - shop online. If you are one that has been waiting for the sale season to get their hands on a smart speaker, ebook reader or a Fire TV stick, then you need not look further. The Amazon summer sale is here and brings with it some interesting deals.

Amazon Echo Dot (3rd generation) smart speaker (Buy Echo Dot here)

The Echo Dot, which looks a lot like an ice hockey puck, is available on sale on Amazon.in. The speaker which would have cost you Rs 4,499 can be yours for Rs 3,000. The speaker isn't the best as a standalone speaker but it does have an attractive price tag for those looking to take a leap of faith into the world of smart speakers. You can use voice commands to make the speaker play tunes, play games with you and tell you the occasional joke. Users can also call or message family and friends who have an Echo device or the Alexa App and use Alexa to make Skype calls. Users can also make announcements like a one-way intercom to broadcast messages to all your Echo devices. The speaker is available in three colours - Black, Grey and White.

Amazon Echo and Echo Plus (second generation) speakers (Buy Amazon Echo Here and Buy Echo Plus Here)

If a larger sibling of the Echo speakers is what you are looking for then you can consider the Echo or the Echo Plus (second generation). The functionality is mostly the same as the Echo Dot with the changes being in the form of audio quality through the speaker. Speaking of the price, the Echo is priced at Rs 7,499 during the sale and the Echo Plus second gen is priced at Rs 11,999 during the sale. Talking about some of the differences between the two to help you make a more informed purchase decision, the Echo comes with a 2.5-inch woofer and 0.6-inch tweeter whereas the Echo Plus second-gen comes with a 3-inch woofer and a 0.8-inch tweeter. The Echo sports a line-out with 3.5 mm cable or Bluetooth whereas the Plus has a line-in along with a line-out and Bluetooth.

Fire TV Stick and Fire TV stick 4K (Buy Fire TV Stick Here and Buy 4K Fire TV Stick Here)

If you are looking to make your old HDTV smart or get 4K streaming on your TV, then you can consider the Fire TV stick. The 1080p Fire TV stick which would have cost you Rs 3,999 can be yours for Rs 3,199. The 4K variant of the streaming stick can be yours for Rs 4,499 instead of the MRP of Rs 4,999.

Kindle (Buy Kindle Here, Buy Kindle Paperwhite Here and Buy Kindle Oasis Here)

For the ebook lover in you, the family of Kindle devices are on sale as well. The 10th generation entry-level Kindle that would have cost you Rs 7,999 can be yours for Rs 6,499. For details, you can check out our review of the Kindle here. 

The Kindle Paperwhite (10th gen) which would have cost you Rs 12,999 can be yours for Rs 10,499. You can check out our in-depth review of the Kindle Paperwhite here. 

Last but not the least, the grandaddy of Kindles, the Oasis which would have cost you Rs 21,999 can be yours for Rs 18,999. You can read our review of the Oasis here. 

Echo Spot and Echo Show (Buy Echo Spot Here and Buy Echo Show Here)

If an Alexa enabled device with a display is what you are looking for then your options are the Echo Spot or the Echo Show. The Echo Spot that would have cost you Rs 12,999 can be yours for Rs 8,999. The Echo Show that would have cost you Rs 22,990 can be yours for Rs 18,399. You can read more about the Echo Spot here and the Echo Show here. 

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Y6JMHL

Redmi flagship confirmed to have ultra-wide camera, 35mm jack, NFC: Report

Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi has been deliberately giving away information about the upcoming Redmi flagship device. A lot of teasers have already given details about specs of the phone, and the latest one comes with info about a number features that the phone will have. A top company executive has said that the handset will come with an ultra-wide lens, 3.5mm jack and NFC. Further, there are also claims that the phone will sport a 6.39-inch display.

The source of these details is Lu Weibing, the General Manager of Redmi, who has been active publicly and is constantly interacting with people through social media channels. In fact, he is the primary source of all the information about the phone. In the latest development, the executive revealed that the flagship would have a super wide-angle lens. He revealed this information while replying to a question asked by a user on the photo contest that he organised on Weibo.

The phone is likely to have a rear triple camera setup with a 48MP main sensor, a 13MP sensor and an 8MP sensor. Unfortunately, there is no clarity on which sensor will come with a super-wide lens. Further, the executive also spilled the beans on the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack and NFC. OEMs are slowly doing away with the the 3.5mm jack and are going wireless, while NFC is gaining importance because of the emergence of NFC-powered payments.

Some other leaked alleged specs for the Redmi flagship include a 6.39-inch display that might offer a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. We already know that the phone will likely have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset under the hood, and abundant stocks of the phone are already being prepared. Previous leaks have suggested that the phone might come with an 8GB/128GB memory configuration.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2VJJd9w

How a team of Google web developers plotted to kill IE6 off ten years ago

In what reads like a modern conspiracy story, Google developer Chris Zacharias’ recent blog post recounts how he and his team of web developers in the YouTube team secretly plotted to have Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 6 browser deprecated some ten years ago. It all began when it occurred to Zacharias and his team one fine day that it was becoming more and more difficult to support YouTube on IE6. The aging web browser would often make mistakes other modern browsers didn’t, like interpret an img tag in HTML as an iframe tag, leading to unexpected app and Windows crashes.

The developers obviously couldn’t just pull the plug on it. IE6 users represented about 18 percent of YouTube’s user base at that point. Needless to say, their bosses wouldn’t agree to have it deprecated. But what if they quietly slipped in a deprecation note without anyone knowing about it? What if they simply warned their IE6 users to switch to a more modern browser to avoid losing support for YouTube? Being long-standing YouTube developers, or “OldTubers”, they even had the credentials to pull something like that off. So, that’s exactly what they did.

To everybody’s surprise, the coup worked. A banner with the text, “We will be phasing out support for your browser soon,” went live on IE6 browsers. “Please upgrade to one of these more modern browsers: Firefox 3.5, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, Google Chrome”. Naturally, the move had its share of repercussions. Soon, the team was approached by internal lawyers and PR managers but only for some clarification. The team’s move wasn’t questioned by higher-ups until much later. More importantly, no one in the team was penalised or fired.

In less than a month after the IE6 deprecation banner went live, two things happened, narrates Zacharias. “YouTube IE6 user base was cut in half and over 10% of global IE6 traffic had dropped off while all other browsers increased in corresponding amounts. The results were better than our web development team had ever intended.” Teams of several other Google properties, including that of Google Docs, began putting out the same banner, assuming that the YouTube developers had received the OK from seniors to do so. And thus succeeded Zacharias and his team in their secret plan to have IE6 deprecated for YouTube. The team later swore to their well-spirited boss never to attempt something like that again. Read the entire story here.

Inline image courtesy: Chris Zacharias

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2H41lCG

HTCs new mid-range smartphone spotted on Geekbench with MediaTek CPU and 6GB RAM

HTC has been struggling in the mobile phone market from quite some time and was reported to shut shop in India back in July last year. However, the company has not given up on its smartphone business entirely. Last month, we came across a Geekbench listing hinting at HTC’s upcoming mid-range handset. Now, a new listing on the benchmarking website hints at a MediaTek variant of the previously spotted phone, which sports the model number HTC 2Q741. The device is listed with MediaTek Helio P35 and 6GB RAM. Do note that the phone’s model number is similar to the previously listed HTC 2Q7A100 handset.

The HTC phone manages to score 897 in Geekbench's single-core tests and 4385 in multi-core tests. The handset is running Android 9 Pie, which is to be expected on all new and upcoming smartphones. The new listing suggests that HTC could be prepping a Snapdragon and a MediaTek variant of its new handset. The previous Geekbench listing hints at a Snapdragon 710 powered smartphone with 6GB RAM. The phone was also seen running Android 9 Pie and secured a compute benchmark score of 6979. 

While there have been no leaks or reports about an HTC mid-ranger, more info about the device is expected to come up as we near its launch. As per a 2018 Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi and Samsung led the smartphone market with 28 percent and 24 percent market share respectively. They were followed by Vivo, Oppo and Micromax on third, fourth and fifth spots with 10 percent, 8 percent and 5 percent share respectively. HTC, Lava and Karbonn were among the remaining brands that captured the 25 percent of the total market share.

The smartphone maker was also speculated to be working on a new strategy to make a comeback in the Indian smartphone market. As per a previous report, the handset manufacturer was in talks with homegrown players like Micromax, Lava and Karbonn to sell its brand and earn royalty in return. The report suggested that Lava and Karbonn might team up to bid for the HTC brand licence. Under the deal, HTC may license its brand for smartphones, mobile accessories and tablets.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Y7py0D

Upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 might come in two variants

The Snapdragon 855 is presently the fastest chipset that Qualcomm offers but it’s not a secret that the San Diego-based company is already working on its successor. We have already seen a few leaks of the flagship successor including the internal code name SM8250. For the market, the chipset is expected to be named Snapdragon 865. Qualcomm had also confirmed that the next flagship chipset would come integrated with a 5G modem. Now, a tweet from noted tipster Roland Quandt hints that Qualcomm may also come out with a second variant of the Snapdragon 865.

The Snapdragon 865, according to @rquandt, will come with an external 5G modem. This is in contrast to information confirmed by Qualcomm itself, indicating that there could be two variants of the chipset in the works: one with the 5G modem integrated, and another without.

The Snapdragon 865 is expected to feature in devices in 2020, which is still early for worldwide 5G rollout. Presently, only small regions in the US have 5G up and running while Europe, China, Korea and other key regions are expected to have 5G later this year. That still leaves a lot many markets waiting for 5G, including India.

Having a 5G modem integrated in the chipset will help save space inside the smartphone chassis, which can be used for a bigger battery or a better cooling system. As a result, the Snapdragon 865 with the integrated 5G modem should be the platform of choice for markets that already have 5G. On the other hand, in regions where 5G is not expected to roll out in the next two years like India, OEMs can use the Snapdragon 865 without having the 5G modem integrated, which will bring down cost of production.

Presently, the 5G phones announced rely on the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. It is discretely installed and not integrated. Qualcomm has already confirmed that its successor, the Snapdragon X55 that supports both sub-6 GHz and mmWave bands along with proprietary PowerSave technology, would be integrated in the upcoming flagship processor.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2H3Z76i

OnePlus confirms HDR10+ certified display, stereo speakers on OnePlus 7 Pro

OnePlus has announced that the display of the OnePlus 7 Pro is HDR10+ certified, a mode that provides users with a more dynamic and detailed picture quality. The company has also announced that it has partnered with popular video streaming platforms, YouTube and Netflix, to offer content that is viewable in HDR10. It is also speculated that the OnePlus series of phones will have dual speakers and reportedly deliver “an audio experience that will please users.”

This will be the first OnePlus device to support an HDR10+ display, a technology that is currently only available on a few select TVs and smartphones. “HDR10+ is the future of not just television displays, but also smartphone displays as well. We hope that our newest device will set a new benchmark for the smartphone industry and open up a new world of visual fluidity for users,” OnePlus CEO Pete Lau, said in a statement.

On the YouTube and Netflix tie-up, Lau said, “We are proud to have reached a cooperation with YouTube and Netflix to provide users with the ability to watch videos in HDR10, which will greatly enhance the viewing experience due to clearer details and higher dynamic range.” Recently, the OnePlus 7 Pro display got an A+ rating by DisplayMate, and was ‘Safety for Eyes’-certified by Germany-based VDE Testing and Certification Institute for its ability to better filter out harmful blue lights.

Further, a separate report has claimed that the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus 7 Pro will come with dual speakers. Just like the HDR+ display tech, all the OnePlus phones have come with a single speaker. A user, who goes by Acid Digital on Weibo, has claimed that “although it isn’t easy adding stereo speakers to phones with full-screen displays”, the company has pulled it off to provide “an audio experience that will please users.”

The executive also says that the company had to redesign the position of the speakers to mitigate the problem associated with audio quality dropping when the phone is used in landscape mode. Now, we have seen OEMs using a technology that enables smartphone displays to emit sound, eliminating the need for the earpiece speaker. However, it is not clear if the phone will come with the same tech.

OnePlus had claimed that the OnePlus Pro would come with a “smooth” display. There is 6.64-inch curved Quad HD+ Super AMOLED “90hz” display with a pop-up front camera. The company has already teased triple rear cameras on the smartphone, which come with a 3X optical zoom and 10x digital zoom. There is the 48MP primary camera, which is paired with an 8MP sensor with a telephoto lens having an aperture of f/2.4, and a 16MP sensor with an aperture of f/2.2 and an ultra wide-angle lens.

from Latest Technology News http://bit.ly/2Y9ne9y