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AfterDawn: News

AMD: We have no plans to enter smartphone chip market

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 2:31

AMD: We have no plans to enter smartphone chip market AMD has made it clear it has no plans to enter the smartphone and tablet SoC market.

There have been rumors of such a move for some time now, especially since rival Nvidia offers its Tegra chips for the ARM architecture.

Lisa Su, senior VP and general manager of global business units at AMD, had this to say when asked: "We really want to play to our strength in microprocessors, design and graphic capability. Gaming is a major focus for AMD. We are looking for areas to differentiate and gaming is a place where we can differentiate. We will continue to look for key opportunities. The traditional PC market is really changing as we see a lot of new form factors. The PC business is our key but we will look for opportunities that will help us grow."

Su says the company remains committed to its APU strategy and that by the end of the year, 20 percent of the company's business will be in semi-custom chips.




AfterDawn: News

Microsoft Entertainment boss Don Mattrick leaving to become CEO of Zynga

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 2:17

Microsoft Entertainment boss Don Mattrick leaving to become CEO of Zynga According to Kara Swisher, Microsoft is about to lose one of its top executives to Zynga.

Don Mattrick, the company's president of Interactive Entertainment (Xbox and more) will be leaving the company for a high-ranking position at struggling gaming company Zynga.

The sources speculate it could even be CEO, as Mattrick works with current CEO Mark Pincus, who founded the company. Zynga's shares jumped 10 percent following the report as it is clear investors believe Mattrick to be a better choice than Pincus.

Zynga has struggled mightily in recent years as its move to mobile has been slow and its core Facebook business has peaked.

Mattrick will be a big loss for Microsoft, as there does not appear to be a successor ready.




AfterDawn: News

Upcoming second-generation Nexus 7 confirmed to have record pixel density?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 2:00

Upcoming second-generation Nexus 7 confirmed to have record pixel density? Take this as a rumor for the time being, as it could very well be a hoax, but allegedly an Asus representative has confirmed a few specs for the upcoming second-generation Nexus 7.

Via a live chat, the rep has posted almost a full list of specs for the tablet, including word that it will have the highest pixel density yet seen on a tablet.

The device is "confirmed" to have a 7" 1980 x 1200 pixel screen, a Snapdragon 600 processor, a 5 MP rear camera, 32GB internal storage, 2GB RAM, 4000 mAh battery, and LTE support.

Asus' device should be available by the end of the summer.

Check the screenshots here (via Arena):




AfterDawn: News

AMD Radeon HD 9000 to finally hit in October?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 1:43

AMD Radeon HD 9000 to finally hit in October? After a month in which Nvidia launched three new cards from their popular GeForce GTX 700 series with no response from AMD, it appears the company may be working on new GPUs for next quarter.

According to new reports, AMD's engineers are working on the silicon used to produce the Radeon HD 9970 and HD 9950.

AMD will be skipping the 8000 line which has so far been reserved for OEM parts.

The cards are expected to launch in October, but other sources are claiming September. The card will be more powerful and faster than the GeForce GTX 780, but not on the level of the GTX TITAN.




AfterDawn: News

Skype surpasses 100 million Android installations

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 1:28

Skype surpasses 100 million Android installations Microsoft has announced today that their Skype for Android app has now surpassed 100 million installations.

To commemorate the event, the company is now releasing version 4.0 of the app.

Says Microsoft:

We started to reimagine what Skype would look like back when we launched our Windows Phone 8 app late last year. Our focus was simple: we wanted to deliver an app that makes your interactions easier and puts conversations first. Our Android team saw this great work and wanted to deliver an equally bold, beautiful, and modern design in this latest Skype for Android release.

We've completely redesigned Skype for Android to be faster and easier – especially when you're trying to fire off a quick message. Everything is at your fingertips. As soon as you open the app, you'll notice the clean new look listing your recent conversations – just tap on one to catch up and reply. When you tap or swipe over to the Contacts or Favorites tabs, tapping on a person brings you right into a messaging window so you can start a conversation. And from there video calls, voice calls and everything else are just one tap away.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Kantar: Windows Phone seeing strong growth around the globe, BlackBerry dies

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2013 1:07

Kantar: Windows Phone seeing strong growth around the globe, BlackBerry dies Kantar has released their latest report on global smartphone market share, and Windows Phone has seen some respectable growth across the board.

In Italy, the operating system has moved up to 9.7 percent share, its highest around the world (at least reported). In England, share jumped to 7.8 percent, up almost 100 percent year-over-year and in France share jumped to 7.4 percent, over 300 percent growth year-over-year.

Moving to the U.S., the operating system is now at 4.6 percent share, up from 3.7 percent YoY.

On the other hand, BlackBerry saw a collapse for the ages. In most nations (check data below), the company saw a 70 percent or higher share drop. Worst was Spain where the OS went from 7 percent share in 2012 to just 0.1 in the latest report, a 98.6 percent loss.

Check the full report here:

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple to bring iPhone 5S supporting LTE-A to South Korea, report says

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 9:57

Apple to bring iPhone 5S supporting LTE-A to South Korea, report says According to a report in Korean media, Apple will launch a version of its iPhone 5S in South Korea that supports LTE-Advanced.

SK Telecom will carry the new iPhone on its recently launched LTE-Advanced network in South Korea. LTE-Advanced is true 4G wireless communication, offering considerable download speed improvements over the pre-4G LTE technology.

"SK Telecom is approaching Apple to put our LTE-A technology on the upcoming iPhone 5S. We are in the middle of negotiations," said an SK Telecom executive, requesting anonymity, told the Korea Times.

Samsung also announced its Galaxy S4 LTE-A for the same operator in Korea just last week. The SK Telecom network supports download speeds of up to 150Mbps, the fastest commercial mobile network in the world.




AfterDawn: News

HP will release another smartphone

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 9:47

HP will release another smartphone HP is reportedly going to re-enter the smartphone business despite its previous missteps in slicing a piece of the global smartphone pie.

It took a risky shot when it bought Palm for $1.2 billion, which produced devices that ran the much-praised WebOS software. However, in hindsight the move was a costly mistake for HP, but that doesn't mean it is done with smartphones just yet.

HP Senior Director Consumer PC and Media Tablets Asia Pacific, Yam Su Yin, was asked whether or not the company would release another smartphone.

"The answer is yes but I cannot give a timetable. It would be silly if we say no. HP has to be in the game," she said.

She also said that HP was focused on all segments, including tablet PCs, notebook PCs and all-in-ones.




AfterDawn: News

Nintendo fails to get Wii U domain through WIPO

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 8:42

Nintendo fails to get Wii U domain through WIPO Nintendo of America has failed in its attempt to gain control over the WiiU.com domain name after filing a cybersquatting complaint in February.

The WiiU.com domain is privately held, and Nintendo would like to take control of it for obvious reasons. However, the the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) declined to have the domain forcefully handed over to Nintendo.

WiiU.com was registered all the way back in 2004, around seven years before Nintendo first announced a Wii U console was on the horizon, in April 2011.

Nintendo will now have to try another approach to get the domain, like simply buying it from the current owner.

Microsoft is also seeking to get control of two domain names - XboxOne.com and XboxOne.net - both registered in December 2011 by a resident of London.

Regulators do differentiate between a legitimate use of a registered domain name, and the practice of intentionally registering large amounts of domain names with potential future trademarks in them, for whatever reason.




AfterDawn: News

Germany limits P2P piracy fines

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 8:27

Germany limits P2P piracy fines Germany has passed a law that sets fixed limits on the fines that can be imposed on Internet users who share music, movies or other material illegally.

The German government moved to impose limits in an effort to stop the practice of sending out massive numbers of messages to German Internet users demanding enormous sums of money for individual copyright violations.

"Some law firms have created a business model out of copyright-violation warnings. It has got out of control," said Germany's Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger.

Under the new law, individual claims are limited to €1,000, and in the case of first time offenders the warning fine, to cover legal expenses, would be capped close to €200.

The Federation of German Consumer Organizations reports that over 4.3 million Germans down to the age of 14 have received warnings of this nature.

Copyright holders warn that this new law could give the wrong message to Internet users, while some digital rights advocates warn that the new law can still be abused due to a vaguely defined "special cases" exception.




AfterDawn: News

ZTE Open with Firefox OS launches in Spain on Tuesday

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 8:14

ZTE Open with Firefox OS launches in Spain on Tuesday Spain's Telefonica carrier will be the first to offer a smartphone running Firefox OS to consumers when it begins selling the ZTE Open on Tuesday, July 2.

Firefox OS is a smartphone operating system built by Mozilla that relies heavily on existing web technologies, such as HTML 5 to deliver apps and functionality to its users. It is described as a browser-based, open source operating system.

The ZTE Open is not a very powerful smartphone - Qualcomm MSM7225A Snapdragon, 1.0GHz Cortex 5 CPU, Adreno 200 GPU, 256MB RAM with 5.3-inch, 320x480 display - but it is not intended to rival smartphones coveted by the spec-anxious users.

Instead the ZTE Open is intended to provide a low-cost proof of concept of Firefox OS. Telefonica will offer the ZTE Open for €69, including €30 of balance for prepaid customers and a 4GB microSD card. For customers on contract, the ZTE Open costs €2.38 per month ex IVA for 24 months.

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Apple seeks iWatch trademark in Japan

Written by James Delahunty @ 01 Jul 2013 7:50

Apple seeks iWatch trademark in Japan Apple has submitted a trademark application for 'iWatch' in Japan, according to the Japan Patent Office website.

The trademark application was submitted by the iPad-maker on June 3, but was only added to the website on June 27.

There has been plenty of speculation that Apple was going to release an iWatch device as the company - and the wider tech industry - explores the area of wearable technology as a potential new source of revenue.

Sony announced its new SmartWatch 2 last week, which combines with an Android phone to bring notifications, messages, updates and all kinds of stuff to a users' wrist.

Foxcon is also working on its own smartwatch device that will be compatible with iPhones.

Apple CEO Tim Cook did admit that Apple is exploring the area too, but appeared to be cautious about the willingness of consumers to wear tech.

"There's nothing that's going to convince a kid who has never worn glasses or a band or a watch to wear one, or at least I haven't seen it," Cook said.




AfterDawn: News

Spam attack hits Instagram; watch out for fruit

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jun 2013 11:44

Spam attack hits Instagram; watch out for fruit Facebook has confirmed this weekend that their Instagram photo-sharing service was hit by a massive spam attack.

The network became flooded by photos of different fruits, each accompanied by a link to a diet regimen page.

One such example was a link to a fake BBC page with the headline "Tropical Fruit Burns 17 Pounds in 22 Days. Exclusive Offer for Readers."

Reads Instagram's reaction: "Earlier today a small portion of our users experienced a spam incident where unwanted photos were posted from their accounts. Our security and spam team quickly took actions to secure the accounts involved, and the posted photos are being deleted."

Additionally, URL shortener Bit.ly put up a warning page, as well, warning users of the attack in progress.




AfterDawn: News

Yahoo! shuts down another dozen products

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jun 2013 10:46

Yahoo! shuts down another dozen products As part of their ongoing effort to focus the company on core products, Yahoo has announced it will be shutting down another dozen services.

AltaVista is probably the only service you have heard about or care about, but there were certainly niches for the products.

Here are the products and their shut down dates:

Yahoo! Axis (June 28, 2013)

If you installed the browser plug-in, it will no longer work. If you downloaded the app, it will continue to work, but won't be actively maintained. We encourage you to use the Yahoo! Search app for iOS and Android.

Yahoo! Browser Plus (June 28, 2013)

To see all of our current developer offerings, please go here.

Citizen Sports (June 28, 2013)

You can still get all the latest sports news on Yahoo! Sports, play fantasy sports like Fantasy Football, and stay up-to-date when you're on the go with our new Yahoo! Sports app for iOS and Android.

Yahoo! WebPlayer (June 30, 2013)

Read more...


AfterDawn: News

Yahoo integrates Flickr into email service

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jun 2013 10:31

Yahoo integrates Flickr into email service In its ongoing effort to make Yahoo mail modern and relevant, the company has integrated Flickr to the email service.

Additionally, the photo-sharing site has been integrated into notifications for Yahoo search results for images and video.

Yahoo acquired Flickr in 2005 for $35 million while it was still a fledgling company.

By integrating it into the email service, users will be able to send photos and albums easier directly from their Flick accounts. Yahoo says "Just click on the arrow next to the paperclip and choose "Share from Flickr," to access the feature."

Moving to the Search, users can now set alerts for specific keywords in Web searches, video searches and image searches. Yahoo will "send you a message when the topic you are following shows up in a search result."





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