Latest news

As has been reported for a couple of months, Apple is preparing a new 4-inch iPhone, one that will look similar to the company's previous iPhone 5s design, except with 2016 specs.

There had been rumors that the company would call the device the "iPhone 5se," but it is becoming apparent that Apple will drop the number scheme completely, sticking with just iPhone SE.

Of course, dropping the numbers make sense from a sales and marketing standpoint, as consumers may be upset to buy something with 5 in the title when the iPhone 7 is set for release. Additionally, by dropping the numbers, the product cycle does not have to coincide with the company's current release dates in the fall.

By most leaks, the iPhone SE will be identical to the iPhone 5s in design except that it will have curved edges. Under the hood, the phone will be powered by an A9 processor, an M9 chip, always-on Siri support, an NFC chip, Live Photo support and upgraded Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cameras.

Apple has a press event scheduled for March 15th where they are expected to launch the SE as well as a new iPad.

Just a month after they retired the option, Sprint has brought back two-year contracts.

The carrier says "We listened to our customers and are giving them more choices to get their new device," making them the only of the big four U.S. carriers to offer a 24-month payment plan.

A two-year contract is again available next to monthly finance plans, full-price purchases and Sprint leases.

T-Mobile began the downfall of the two-year contract in 2013 when it completely got rid of the option, and "upgrades," instead moving to monthly installment plans.

The RIAA has secured a $22 million judgement against MP3Skull, a site that did not host but linked to pirated song files.

MP3Skull lost because nobody ever came to court to defend the site, including the site's owner Monica Vasilenko, who currently resides in Russia.

Sued in April 2015, the "very popular rogue website devoted to the massive, brazen, and egregious theft of millions of copyrighted sound recordings" will now move into the control of the labels although it is highly unlikely they will ever receive a penny of the judgement.

MP3Skull was a very basic site that was created to "provide fast and relevant search" and then link to unauthorized music files.

The RIAA was "pleased" with the decision.

Source:
Arstechnica

According to the French finance ministry, the country is seeking $1.76 billion in back taxes from search giant Google - not the first time a European nation has demanded taxes back from the company.

"As far as our country is concerned, back taxes concerning this company amount to 1.6 billion euros," said an official, speaking anonymously.

French tax authorities "issue at least one preliminary assessment before its final assessment," say tax professionals in the country and the final assessment can be challenged in court.

Google recently settled with British tax officials for 130 million pounds for similar complaints. Google and other U.S. giants like Apple and GE have long used tax shelters like Ireland to keep their corporate tax rates low, even if they are making the revenue in places like France and the UK.

Sony has sent out press invites for an upcoming PlayStation VR event on March 15th at the GDC in San Francisco.

The VR headset will be available for the PlayStation 4 at some point in 2016, but there are still many unknowns for the system.

Sony recently refuted a report that the PSVR would be delayed until the fall, suggesting that we could see the anticipated device in the Q2. Most importantly, however, will be the price tag, with some speculating it could be as high as $799.

Instagram announced today that the photo-sharing site has over 200,000 active advertisers, well below its parent Facebook but well ahead of Twitter.

Facebook has 2.5 million advertisers while Twitter has 130,000, and Instagram also seems to be adding advertisers quicker.

"We've gone from hundreds of advertisers last summer to now more than 200,000, which is exciting because the more diverse our advertiser base, the more relevant we can make the ads people see," said James Quarles, global head of business and brand development at Instagram.

Instagram also noted they were extending their ad business overseas, with ads being sold in 200 countries now, up from 30 last year.

Amazon Studios, in their ongoing efforts to offer premium original content, has purchased Woody Allen's latest film for $15 million.

The movie stars Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and sold for three times what Sony paid for Allen's last film, Irrational Man.

Additionally, Amazon bought the rights to the film, sight unseen, a hefty investment for a film that no one has seen.

"We have always been exceptionally pleased working with Michael Barker and Tom Bernard at SPC," added the film's producer Letty Aronson. "Amazon made us an offer we couldn't refuse, and we have a responsibility to our investors. Woody wishes SPC could be the subdistributor for this film, but apparently they would not. It's their policy to not do that. We certainly look forward to working with them again in the future."

Amazon is already working with Allen on a new TV series and says they will help release the new film in theaters, as well.

In a somewhat surprising announcement, smartphone startup OnePlus says their upcoming OnePlus 3 flagship will launch by the end of the second quarter.

Co-founder Carl Pei made the announcement during an interview but declined to give many details of the phone. Pei did say the design will be completely new compared to the OnePlus One and the OnePlus 2, which had pretty dry designs.

The company offers incredibly cheap phones that are packed with the latest high-end specs and features, but sales are usually light since the phone sells via an invitation system to start.

Just like with past OnePlus phones, Pei says the 3 will sell in the U.S. and other markets completely unlocked and directly through the company rather than through carriers.

Gaming giant Activision Blizzard has completed their acquisition of Candy Crush maker King Digital today, buying the mobile gaming company for $5.9 billion.

The deal gives Activision the "largest game network" on the planet, with over 500 million users.

"We see great opportunities to create new ways for audiences to experience their favorite franchises, from Candy Crush to World of Warcraft to Call of Duty and more, across mobile devices, consoles and personal computers," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, in a statement. "On behalf of Activision Blizzard, we are delighted to welcome Riccardo, Sebastian, Stephane and all of King's talented employees to our family."

King will continue to run independently from within Activision, and its CEO Riccardo Zacconi will remain at the helm.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk recently tweeted that the company had acquired Tesla.com, leading many to infer that that the company could be ready to change their name to just Tesla, expanding outside of just cars.

"Just wanted to thank Stu G for tesla.com," said Musk. "Know it meant a lot to you. Will take good care." Stu Grossman, a huge Nikola Tesla fan, had owned the domain since 1992.

Besides cars, Tesla also offers the Powerpack energy-storage solution and the Powerwall, under its Energy brand.

Musk even alluded to a name change last year, saying that domain name challenges were the main concern. Those do not appear to be an issue anymore.

Bethesda, following the surprise success of Fallout Shelter, is looking to develop more mobile games.

Fallout Shelter made $5.1 million during its first two weeks of availability, buoyed by a franchise name and untraditional gameplay.

Todd Haward, creative director at Bethesda, says the company built a new Montreal studio specifically for PC and mobile gaming, suggesting mobile is a big deal moving forward.

It has been confirmed that the company is already building an iPad card battler, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, using another successful franchise name as a base.

According to multiple sources, Time Inc. is considering the logistics behind a merger with struggling tech pioneer Yahoo.

Time Inc. is small by market cap, at just $1.5 billion, but the company owns popular magazines and web destinations including People, Time, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. Yahoo sees hundreds of millions of users click through their digital destinations on an annual basis, a number that would certainly benefit Time's other properties.

According to those looking at the deal, "Time Inc. may see it as a worthwhile because it could pursue a structure with Yahoo called a Reverse Morris Trust, a tax-free transaction in which one company merges with a spun-off subsidiary."

In any deal, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer would be let go, with Time CEO Joe Ripp taking over the position.

According to research firm IDC, Apple shipped 11.6 million Apple Watches in 2015, including 4.1 million in the final quarter.

Apple does not disclose Watch sales as a standalone number, instead hiding it within the "Other Products" category that includes Apple TV and other hardware and software.

In the larger wearables market, Apple was third behind Fitbit and Xiaomi, although both those companies sell devices that are often one-third the price of even the cheapest Apple Watch. Fitbit sold 21 million units for the year, and Xiaomi shipped 12 million units.

"Triple-digit growth highlights growing interest in the wearables market from both end-users and vendors," noted Ramon Llamas, Research Manager for IDC's Wearables team. "It shows that wearables are not just for the technophiles and early adopters; wearables can exist and are welcome in the mass market. And since wearables have yet to fully penetrate the mass market, there is still plenty of room for growth in multiple vectors: new vendors, form factors, applications, and use cases. This will help propel the market further."

Microsoft has announced today that 16 teams have made the finals of the annual Halo World Championship, which will no feature a massive $2.5 million prize pool.

The tournament is scheduled for March 18th to March 20th and has the largest prize for a shooter in e-sports history.

Most e-sports tournaments feature games that are prominently played on PCs, but Halo 5: Guardians is an Xbox shooter.

Microsoft also named the teams who made the finals:

Team Allegiance (North America)
Counter Logic Gaming (North America)
Evil Geniuses (North America)
Team Liquid (North America)
Noble eSports (North America)
Renegades (North America)
Triggers Pound (North America)
Denial eSports (North America)
Epsilon eSports (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa)
FabE (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa)
exceL (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa)
Team Infused (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa)
Team Immunity (Australia)
Team Exile5 (Australia)
Skyfire (Asia)
Chosen Squad (Latin America)

Microsoft has announced today that Skype Qik is being discontinued.

The app allowed users to send video messages from their mobile devices to groups of friends and was relatively popular despite many competing apps.

Says Microsoft: "We're always hard at work evolving Skype for mobile, and have continued to add new features, such as group video calling. Some of the features we've added might look familiar, and for good reason. In 2014, we launched Skype Qik, a mobile video messaging app to help share moments with groups of friends. Since then, we have learned that many of you are already doing these things in Skype, and as a result, we migrated some of Qik's most used features into the Skype app you already know and love.

We've enabled video messaging in Skype and fun features such as filters, to make your messages even more personal. To send a video message in Skype today, simply look for the video message icon in the media bar.

Due to these updates, the last day Skype Qik will be available for use will be March 24th, 2016. Please make sure to save any special messages you may want to keep before March 24th. After this date, you will no longer be able to send or receive messages."