Peter Chou: HTC's savior or obstacle to revival?

Now in his tenth year as CEO of HTC, Peter Chou is lauded as the architect of the Taiwanese firm's award-winning smartphones. But as the company's fortunes have dived, some insiders say he's now an obstacle to any revival. Rocked by internal feuding and executive exits, and positioned at the high-end of a smartphone market that is close to saturation, HTC has seen its market share slump to below 5 percent from around a quarter five years ago; its stock price is at 8-year lows, and it has warned it could make a first operating loss this quarter.

Reuters interviewed a dozen former and current HTC executives who said Chou's abrasive management style and weak strategic vision play their part in the company's decline, which has coincided with the success of Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy phones. Chou has said publicly he has no intention to stand down, and executives - none of whom wanted to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue - said HTC has no clear internal successor. "Part of the weakness is there is no obvious successor, and that's not been good for morale," one said.

Chou declined to be interviewed for this article, but in response to Reuters queries, the company said, "HTC's board and broad employee base remain committed to Peter Chou's leadership. The (flagship) HTC One product family - which has been met with accolades by media and consumers alike - was a result of Peter's vision and leadership, and speaks for itself."

HTC CEO Peter Chou may be an obstacle in the company's recovery

Born in Myanmar but educated as an electrical engineer in Taiwan, Chou joined HTC from Digital Equipment in 1997. Colleagues describe him as a perfectionist with an obsessive eye for materials and hardware design. Staff would deliver trays of prototype phones for him to inspect and pore over, spinning them to check for balance and running his fingers across the bevelled edges and joints. Phones would pile up on his desk, sometimes spilling onto the floor. That attention to detail and Chou's willingness to make decisions on the fly helped build a culture within HTC of moving quickly to address market demands.

At an offsite meeting two years ago, for example, the HTC team realised it needed another device for its portfolio. Chou quickly drew some sketches on a whiteboard, recalled one of those present, and soon had the outlines of a device, its price point, and a launch date - just three months away. Most manufacturers would need up to 18 months for a similar project, yet the Sensation XL appeared on schedule, and to rave reviews. "Having the ability to just tear up a plan and say, OK, this is the new thing and we're going to get it done fast. That's Peter," said another former senior foreign executive.

This shoot-from-the-hip approach served HTC well when the market was growing fast. Shortening the time to market meant HTC could alter plans at the last minute to take advantage of new or cheaper parts. But, as the market has matured, making it harder for handset makers to differentiate their products, the approach has left HTC vulnerable. Locking in the supply of more advanced components and materials to make products stand out requires more foresight and planning than HTC currently allows, former executives say. "The weak point is they don't really have a long term strategy," said one. Rationalising his stance, the executive said, "It used to be a strength, and now is becoming a weak point as they don't have a clear direction going forward."

HTC's second-quarter net profit was well below forecasts even after resolving component shortages that hit its HTC One phone, and the company has said current quarter revenue could fall by as much as 30 percent from the previous quarter. HTC shares trade at around a tenth of their 2011 peak.

Just three years ago, HTC was shipping 25 million smartphones a year and Chou led a huge expansion, bringing in foreign executives from Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola and Microsoft as he sought to take on Apple by doubling HTC's shipments. HTC was named Device Manufacturer of the Year at the world Mobile Congress in February 2011 and its market value topped that of rivals Research In Motion, now BlackBerry, and Nokia. Chou ordered champagne to celebrate. But as Apple and Samsung reigned supreme, HTC's annual shipments never reached that 50 million level, and by the end of last year HTC had dropped to number 10 among global smartphone makers. The HTC One, and earlier so-called ‘hero' handsets from HTC, have won wide praise. The problem has been selling them.

Executives say HTC's failure to hit sales targets was at least partly down to Chou's management style. After hiring a slew of foreign executives, he fell short on promises to senior staff to foster a more open culture and cede sufficient authority. He openly berated managers and overrode their decisions, often with little discussion.

Such an atmosphere, executives said, damaged morale and left managers uncertain of their roles. Chou kept his sales, product, marketing and design executives separate and, in some cases, created parallel teams doing the same thing. He didn't hold meetings of executives of the different departments to iron out problems even as HTC's performance wilted. "There's a culture in HTC not to discuss numbers at senior management meetings," said one former executive. "Those discussions tend to become hard or ugly, but if you don't solve it, it becomes bigger."

Chou's difficulty in developing a durable global brand of handsets and building an ecosystem of apps and services around it raise questions about how HTC can recover under his leadership at a time when high-end smartphone sales growth is slowing. "With intensifying competition from other top-tier players and the entrance of lower-tier players, we think a long-term margin downtrend is inevitable," SinoPac wrote in a recent note. Many of the foreign hires have now quit, and HTC's old guard has re-established charge, running nearly all operations except design from Taipei. That, say those both inside and outside the company, is a mixed blessing.

While leadership tensions may have eased, some warn that concentrating global marketing in Taiwan will create a one-size-fits-all, local approach that won't help HTC grow globally. "What works in Taiwan is different from other markets," said one of the former executives. Chief Marketing Officer Benjamin Ho defended the move, saying in a recent interview with Reuters that it made sense to centralise key functions, but that HTC was "not forgetting that we know we're an international brand." Even his fiercest critics agree Chou remains the heart of the company and say it's hard to imagine HTC coming up with great devices without him.

As it seeks to turn around its fortunes, HTC has launched cheaper phones in China, and brought out a smaller, cheaper version of its flagship phone, the One Mini. It is trying to revive its US business by working more closely with operators and forming a new operations team.

HTC has also signed up "Iron Man" star Robert Downey Jr, whose own turnaround story - from jail and drug rehabilitation over a decade ago - is an "inspiration", says Ho. As part of HTC's around $1 billion annual marketing spend, the first advertisements featuring Downey appeared last week.

Reuters

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Facebook for Android SDK updated to be more in line with the iOS counterpart

Facebook has updated its SDK for Android to bring it more in line with the iOS version. The major update is bringing along with it some major improvements for developers and is already available via Facebook’s Android Dev Center right now.

Facebook confirmed to TechCrunch that the features that are now being made available to the Android SDK were already available to iOS developers. In a blog post announcing the changes, Chris Lang from Facebook wrote that the update is bringing along products promised for the SDK back in April. The SDK for Android now includes Share Dialog and support for the Object API as well as the ability to implement Open Graph on mobile easily. Lang assured that Facebook’s aim was to help developers build great apps on any device and platform. About 73 percent of the top 100 grossing Android apps integrate with Facebook and the release of the new SDK will probably see more apps integrating with Facebook.

Better sharing with the updated SDK

The Share Dialog is one of the most important updates to the Android SDK and will eliminate at least three extra steps required to log in to Facebook before being able to share via the feed dialog. With one line of code, developers will be able to enable users to share as well as tag friends in it. Additionally, the Dialog will include support for publishing Open Graph actions, which will make it easier for people to posts stories.

The SDK is also bringing along a much improved Facebook Login UI that not only looks better but also converts at a higher rate. The LoginButton now looks different and the default text reads “Log in with Facebook”. Developers will be able to use the redesigned UI without needing to rewrite any codes. Of course, they can still override the default text on the LoginButton via localisation. Facebook has also announced support for Object API, the tool that makes it easier to integrate Open Graph into Android apps. Developers will no longer need to host webpages with Open Graph tags and will be able to create Open Graph objects directly.

New LoginButton!

With the Android SDK, Facebook is launching in beta the option of publishing and measuring app events for applications. Developers will be able to get a lot more accurate understanding of how their app is performing with the trial insights and targeting feature. This is a huge leap from being only able to measure the number of installs that stemmed from advertising on mobiles. “With app events, you can now also measure the aggregate number of times a predefined action was taken within your app, such as 'add to cart' in a commerce app, 'level achieved' in a game, or other custom events that help you understand the engagement and ROI coming from your mobile ads on Facebook,” wrote Lang. “Over the next several months, we will be working on improving our optimization and insights and developing new features that will further leverage app events.”

Also added is an App User ID for custom audiences. Developers will be able to reach people who have installed or purchased their app by defining the ID and uploading this encrypted list onto Facebook’s ad tool as custom audience. This will be a great new addition for developers who have apps that run mobile app install ads.

You can download the updated Facebook for Android SDK here.

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NSA collected 56,000 emails by Americans a year

The National Security Agency may have unintentionally collected as many as 56,000 emails of Americans per year between 2008 and 2011 in a program that a secret U.S. court subsequently said may have violated U.S. law and the Constitution, according to documents released on Wednesday.

The once-classified documents were released by U.S. intelligence agencies as part of an unprecedented White House effort to smooth the uproar following revelations by former contractor Edward Snowden about the extent of secret government surveillance programs.

U.S. officials say the documents show that intelligence collection programs that inadvertently intrude on Americans' privacy are found and fixed.

The NSA headquarters!

But they also appear to raise new questions about operations by the eavesdropping National Security Agency and its oversight by the secret U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

"The court is troubled that the government's revelations regarding the NSA's acquisition of Internet transactions mark the third instance in less than three years in which the government has disclosed a substantial misrepresentation regarding the scope of a major collection program," Judge John Bates of the surveillance court wrote in one of the declassified documents.

More specifically, Bates said in an October 2011 ruling that the court had concluded that the process that resulted in improper collections of the tens of thousands of emails was "in some respects, deficient on statutory and constitutional grounds."

The newly declassified documents can be found at www.icontherecord.tumblr.com

'NOT AN EGREGIOUS OVERREACHING'

The emails in question represent only a small slice of the electronic communications scooped up around the world by the NSA. It targets about 250 million email communications for collection each year and, under a separate program, has captured and kept records of millions of phone calls by Americans.

According to the documents, only about 9 percent of the emails - or less than 25 million - are collected from "upstream" sources, which officials familiar with intelligence operations said are cable links belonging to telecommunications companies.

The rest are acquired by the NSA from Internet service providers at the point where they are sent or received. The roughly 56,000 annual emails in question were from "upstream" sources.

Intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, defended their practices.

"This is not an egregious overreaching by a greedy agency seeking to spy on Americans. This is a technological problem that resulted in an inadvertent collection of a relatively small number of U.S. person communications," a senior intelligence official told reporters.

In the newly declassified ruling of the FISA Court, the court in a footnote estimates that, based on data supplied by the NSA, between 2008 and 2011, the agency might have unintentionally collected as many as 56,000 emailed communications of Americans annually.

U.S. intelligence officials told reporters that the domestic emails were collected under a program designed to target the emails of foreign terrorism suspects.

The program does not collect emails because of flagged words such as "bomb." Instead it takes in those mentioning specific addresses, or going to or from particular addresses, one official said.

One way that emails of American citizens can get caught in the net is because the program captures the screenshot of the person's webmail account that shows a page of emails received or sent, rather than just the one targeted email, he said.

"For technological reasons NSA was not capable ... and still is not capable of breaking those down into their individual components," the official said.

'SELF-POLICING'

According to the officials and a court document which the administration released, the NSA decided to "purge" the material after discovering it was inadvertently collected.

"When you look at these documents taken as a whole, you'll get a sense for the really effective self-policing that goes on at NSA," an intelligence official said. "Any time you have a large technologically complex operation that involves thousands of people, there will mistakes, there will be errors."

The historically ultra-secretive NSA has recently taken rare steps to openly discuss classified surveillance programs after the Snowden disclosures put the Obama administration on the spot to try and explain that U.S. intelligence agencies were not deliberately spying on Americans and foreign allies.

A handful of lawmakers, most notably Senator Ron Wyden, a Democratic member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had begun complaining months ago that the NSA was eavesdropping on Americans' communications in ways that were excessive and not transparent.

Wyden, in a statement, said the declassification of the court ruling was "long overdue" and made clear that the law as written was "insufficient to adequately protect the civil liberties and privacy rights of law-abiding Americans and should be reformed."

Intelligence officials and the declassified documents explained that one of the main reasons that the NSA inadvertently collected information on Americans without proper legal authorization was that the method used to collect emails from targeted addresses linked to foreign suspects sometimes automatically brought into the agency batches of unrelated, and purely domestic, emails. Those should not have been collected without a warrant.

Since discovering the inadvertent collection program, intelligence officials said, the NSA has tightened its procedures for spotting and getting rid of data on Americans that was collected without proper authority.

Reuters

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Golden Calls: Will China embrace a champagne iPhone?

If Apple hopes to woo more Chinese by adding a glitzy coating - some call it champagne, some gold - to its next iPhone, it may be in for a surprise.

While gold is hugely popular as a safe haven and a status symbol - China is set to overtake India as the world's biggest gold consumer this year - shoppers at an Apple store in Beijing weren't all convinced it should be coupled with that pinnacle of mobile gadgetry.

Ni Suyang, a 49-year old worker at a Beijing state-owned enterprise, said that colour mattered less to her than the glass surface and silver metallic finish.

Glitzy coating on the upcoming iPhone?

"A gold colour looks high-end but is a little tacky," she said.

Gold and mobile phones are not strangers. Britain's Gold & Co makes gold-plated iPhones, iPads and BlackBerrys which it also sells in India and China.

In Shenzhen many small local brands make gold-plated feature phones and smartphones. The less well-heeled can adorn their devices with jewel-studded and gold phone covers.

Apple's decision to add a champagne or gold covered iPhone to its range - confirmed by supply chain sources in Taiwan - would be a departure from its black and white norm.

Apple could be not reached for comment.

Commercially it makes sense, said Jerry Zou, Senior VP and Partner at FleishmanHillard, a public relations firm in Beijing. New colours would add "novelty and variety, both of which are key to winning over fickle Chinese consumers".

A champagne colour "would convey an image suggesting high-end luxury but a bit more restrained and subtle".

ALL THAT GLITTERS...

But browsers at Apple's Xidan store weren't so sure - even on which gender would like it.

"Gold is for guys, I think," said 22-year old Meng Xiang, a retail buyer working in Guangzhou, who said she preferred pink and white. "I would consider buying a gold iPhone for my boyfriend."

Cui Baocheng, a 48-year-old bank manager, disagreed. "I prefer black to gold," he said. "Men usually like black. Champagne might be very ugly."

Indeed, there's a danger that by trying to broaden its appeal Apple may end up undermining what makes the iPhone so desirable in the first place.

Younger Chinese see gold as old-fashioned and tacky, and are increasingly opting for platinum - dubbed "white gold" in Chinese - for weddings and gifts.

"An iPhone with more colours means that Apple is adapting to consumers' tastes, especially a gold colour that Chinese people like," said Xu Fang, a 28-year old real estate agent. "However, I think this might undermine the value and uniqueness of the brand."

Apple's sales in Greater China, its second biggest market, slumped 43 percent in April-June from the previous quarter. Its market share has almost halved since last year to below 5 percent, according to industry researcher Canalys.

The bigger problem, says Shanghai-based product designer Brandon Edwards, is that while gold added "cultural relevance on top of Apple's inherent brand value" and may attract premium users from other brands, "Apple's main issue in China and emerging markets is centred around acquiring new customers, and this doesn't hit those people at all".

Indeed, consumers in India, where Apple's market share is just over 2 percent, were just as sceptical. Mumbai phone retailer Manish Khatri said he did occasionally get customers asking for gold-coloured phones, but the biggest deterrent to buying an iPhone for most of them was cost.

For others, gold is something to buy, not to slap on a mobile device.

Said Vikas Jindal, a 35-year old Delhi businessman and a regular buyer of gold: "I'll look stupid if I carry a gold-coloured phone. A phone should be simple and sober."

Reuters

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New leak reveals seven upcoming Nokia Windows Phone devices

News about upcoming Nokia smartphones has been popping up quite a bit in the last few days. After hints of a new phablet codenamed Bandit, yet another leak now suggests that this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Finnish mobile manufacturer may be working on six other devices, revealed through a list of codenames. If true, it seems like Nokia definitely has some big plans for the Windows Phone platform.

The leak, courtesy EvLeaks, lists the Nokia products codenames as Bandit, Lanai, Orion, Pegasus, Rivendell, Shorty, Siruis (which might be a typo for the word Sirius). Bandit, as we already know, refers to the upcoming Nokia phablet. What is interesting is that the product bearing the codename Rivendell was leaked by the same source a few months back. It is still not certain if this codename refers to an upcoming Windows RT tablet that Nokia has been reportedly working on and which was also said to have the same codename.

Nokia product codenames: Bandit, Lanai, Orion, Pegasus, Rivendell, Shorty, Siruis

— @evleaks (@evleaks) August 21, 2013

While Bandit and Rivendell do have a precedent, five other codenames have not yet surfaced in any other leaks. Looking at Nokia’s consistent focus on the Windows Phone platform, it seems safe to assume that all of them will be running that OS. It will be interesting to see what Nokia has in mind, because the number is considerable, if at all, these seven are released this year. IFA in Berlin next month seems to be the most likely place where we will see Nokia's next announcement.

An intriguing point to be noted here is the fact that three of the codenames seem inspired by the night sky. Orion and Pegasus are both constellations, while Sirius is the brightest star in the sky. Whether this hints at the devices' features remains to be seen.

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China's Oppo set to introduce camera-centric N1 smartphone in September

There are quite a few Chinese smartphone manufacturers that remain relatively unknown in other parts of the world. But their smartphones are definitely worth finding out about. One such player, Oppo, has finally unveiled its camera-centric smartphone, which was hinted at earlier. The Chinese smartphone will compete with the likes of the Nokia Lumia 1020 or the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

The USP of the smartphone, called Oppo N1, is the new “Owl” chip that it sports, according to Android Authority. The imaging chip has reportedly been engineered for superior low-light performance. Apart from that, the smartphone will also come with the new N-Lens and Xenon flash. 

The latest news suggests that the Oppo N1 is all set to get a release date soon, perhaps as soon as the end of September. The company recently confirmed the existence of the smartphone on its Weibo (China’s equivalent of Twitter) account. There is still not much else known about the smartphone, though. Earlier information indicated that the smartphone will come with a 13 megapixel camera, which is the best in its class in terms of low-light shooting capabilities. What else the smartphone will come packing, or even how it will look for sure, has still not been revealed.

The Oppo N1 should come with specifications comparable to the company's Find 5

The Oppo N1 could come with a relatively cheaper price tag in comparison to other flagship smartphones sold in the US. That being said, the N1 will still come with a reported $480 (Rs 30,880 approx) price tag, which is still a bit hefty.

Oppo’s earlier flagship, the Find 5, came with impressive specifications. Thus, it can be assumed that the N1 will most likely come with similar specifications, i.e., a 1080p display as well as a good image sensor. While other details are scanty, this latest smartphone offering brings to light the increasing demand being placed for smartphones with higher imaging quality.

There have been reports of Sony looking at some heavyweight lenses for its upcoming Honami/i1 series. And other companies are not far behind. HTC has been rolling out its Ultrapixel bearing smartphones for a while now, while Motorola stands strong with its Clearpixel technology. From all the evidence presented, there is definitely a market for camera-centric smartphones. What remains to be seen is how Oppo’s latest offering will stand up against the likes of Sony, Samsung, HTC and Motorola.

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Google finally announces beta support for Handwrite in Hindi

Say hello to Handwrite in Hindi! Google has finally announced that it is offering beta support for handwriting in Hindi and the ability to switch to a native Hindi experience on Android for millions of its users in India. 

Hindi goodness is here!

To put it simply, with this newfound ability, users can make Google searches by just writing letters with their finger or stylus anywhere on their device’s screen. To begin, go to www.google.co.in on your mobile browser, tap on “Settings” at the bottom of the screen, go to Search Settings and enable “Handwrite.” Users can then proceed to changing the language in Google products to Hindi. Alternatively, they can add “Hindi” as the Language of Search Results. Once they’ve saved the setting, users may have to refresh the homepage to see the feature. Those looking to enable handwrite in Hindi on their tablets must note that the Search settings can be found behind the gear icon. Once the feature is active, users will have to tap the Handwrite icon visible at the bottom right corner of their screen to activate it. Once done, users can write anywhere on the screen. 

It also possible now for users to translate Hindi with Google Translate app for Mobile. All they have to do is download the Google Translate app from the Play store and change the language from the dropdown settings, and then just enter the text they want to translate. Here, users can enter Hindi text using handwriting too. 

Google finally announces beta support for Handwrite in Hindi

Additionally, if users choose to, they can handwrite Hindi script into any site on the web using the Google Input Tools Chrome Extension – available on the Chrome Webstore. 

If you’re an Android 4.3 Jelly Bean user, you can switch to using your Android completely in Hindi. Those interested can go to Settings and select Language and Input. Tap on Language to view a list of the languages, select Hindi, and the interface will switch to this new language. 

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Apple credits security researcher Balic with reporting Developer Center vulnerability

Apple has updated its Apple Web Server notifications page to credit security researcher Ibrahim Balic, amongst others, for reporting security issues with the company’s servers. Balic is the researcher who claimed that he was possibly the “intruder” thanks to whom Apple’s Developer Center underwent a month-long derailment.

The post was discovered by 9to5Mac and credits several others for reporting potential security issues in Apple’s web servers. This means Balic was not the intruder who forced Apple to shut its website for a while.

Credits where they're due

Balic, a White Hat, had claimed that he was possibly the reason behind the outage since he managed to demonstrate how the flaw allowed him to gather full names and Apple IDs of developers from the website. Apple had coincidentally announced that it had deliberately shut down its Developer Center to fix the flaw around the same time. The Cupertino-based company admitted that it had been attacked by an intruder in July and while sensitive personal information was encrypted and safe, it was possible that some names, mailing addresses and email addresses of a few developers could have been compromised.

The company launched a system status page to inform developers of the progress of restoring services after the hack and the Developer Center went completely online earlier in August. While this pretty much proves that it could not have been him behind the attack, Balic has claimed that other bugs pointed out by him are still waiting to be listed on the Web Service page. Now if only Khalil, the Palestinian researcher who broke into Mark Zuckerberg’s account to report a bug to Facebook, could get this recognition too.

(Cover image credit: Reuters)

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Supreme Court hasn't really 'gotten to' email, says Justice Kagan

The members of the Supreme Court continue to communicate with one another through memos printed on ivory paper even as they face the prospect of hearing cases related to emerging technology and electronic snooping in the years to come, Justice Elena Kagan said Tuesday.

The justices have a ways to go to understand technology such as Facebook, Twitter and even email, Kagan said in a conversation with Ted Widmer, a historian and librarian at Providence's Brown University who has been an adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton. "The justices are not necessarily the most technologically sophisticated people," she said, adding that while clerks email one another, "The court hasn't really `gotten to' email."

Kagan, at age 53 the youngest and most recently appointed justice, said communication among the justices is the same as when she clerked for the late Thurgood Marshall in 1987. Justice write memos printed out on paper that looks like it came from the 19th century, she said. The memos are then walked around the building by someone called a "chambers aide."

Justice Kegan believes that the Supreme Court has a lot of technology to catch up on (Image credit: AP)

Kagan was appointed in 2010 by President Barack Obama. She previously served as solicitor general of the United States and dean of Harvard Law School, among other accomplishments. Widmer brought up the National Security Agency and Edward Snowden, who leaked classified documents exposing NSA programs that monitor Internet and phone data, suggesting the high court would likely hear more cases related to electronic surveillance.

Kagan said it was hard to predict what cases the court would address in the years to come, but she said she expects there will be new issues related to privacy, technology and surveillance. "I think we're going to have to be doing a lot of thinking about that," she said. Kagan said the justices often turn to their clerks, who are much younger, to help them understand new technology.

But they also try to learn on their own. In one case involving violent video games the first year she was on the court, justices who had never played the games before dove in and gave them a try, Kagan said. "It was kind of hilarious," she said - not divulging which games they played. The event was part of a celebration of the 350th anniversary of Rhode Island's colonial charter and was hosted by Governor Lincoln Chafee and sponsored by Roger Williams University School of Law.

Associated Press

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Google+ Photos now available for Chromebooks in 52 languages

Months after introducing the Google+ Photos app for its Chromebook Pixel users, Google has introduced the for all Chromebooks, according to a post.

The Google+ Photos app in action on a Chromebook

The Google+ Photos app is available for grabs now on the Chrome Web Store in 52 languages. The application allows users to store, organise and eventually share their collection of photos.

Once the Google+ Photos app is installed, users can insert your SD card into their Chromebook to get a back up of their new photos on Google+. These photos are viewable by the user only, and the most recent photos will still be visible to them when they’re offline. The app will highlight the top shots as it stores the images. Users can then share individual photos, sets of photos, or an entire album from the app. To go ahead with it, select the images and click ‘Share’. The Auto Enhance feature in the app adds improvements to each photo a user adds, and Auto Awesome creates fun new versions of photos. Click here to install the Google+ Photos app.

A screenshot of the app

The app was recently updated with a bunch of features, based on the feedback it received from users. A new “Move” option now allows users to move photos between albums. All that users have to do is pick a few photos in an album or click the new “Select” link to pick all photos and then decide where they want to put them. They can also download these images and save them to their computer by clicking the “Download” option after selecting the photos. Those looking to upload large albums to Google+ Photos can rejoice as Google claims to have made the entire deal faster thanks to a few changes.

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PlayStation 3-exclusive Gran Turismo 6 to hit stores on December 6

Sony’s upcoming realistic racing simulator, Gran Turismo 6, finally has a release date. The game is set to hit stores worldwide on December 6 and, in typical Gran Turismo fashion, will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3. The company made the announcement at the ongoing Gamescom.

Gran Turismo 6 will feature both pre-existing cars as well as new concept cars designed and conceived by major car makers. This includes the likes of Audi, Volkswagen and Peugeot. Other companies that typically don't make cars are also getting in on the action, such as Nike.

Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer

The Gran Turismo series has been massively successful for Sony, and some would even go as far as calling it a console-seller, since many people got their hands on the PlayStation 3 just to play Gran Turismo 5. The series has always had great attention to detail with its large line-up of licensed cars and race tracks. It has also been a hardcore simulation game, punishing players for even the tiniest mistakes.

The company has also announced that it is working on a movie based on the Gran Turismo franchise, with developer Polyphony's Kazunori Yamauchi consulting on the film's development. According to an earlier report, the movie adaptation of the game will be helmed by Producers Mike De Luca and Dana Brunetti of Fifty Shades of Grey fame.

How Sony plans to adapt Gran Turismo into a movie is the confusing part. The games have never had any focus on the narrative, instead simply opting to throw players into races.

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Ottawa watching BlackBerry carefully, wishes firm well

The Canadian government is watching smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd carefully as it explores options including sale of the company but will not comment on its affairs, Industry Minister James Moore said on Wednesday.

Loss-making BlackBerry, which has bled market share to Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android operating system, said last week it was weighing options that could include an outright sale.

Being watched by Ottawa! (Image credit: Reuters)

The company's new phones, introduced earlier this year, have sold less quickly than expected and BlackBerry expects more red ink for the current quarter at least.

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Moore said it was "unfortunate" that BlackBerry's new Q10 and the Z10 smartphones had not taken off with consumers.

"I know that they're facing their challenges and they're adjusting their firm internally in the way that best suits their interests," he said. "And all I can say is, we wish them well, and we're keeping a close eye on the situation."

Moore declined to speculate about whether a foreign bid for BlackBerry could run afoul of national security regulations. Asked if the government wanted BlackBerry to stay Canadian, he replied: "We want them to do well, keep employing Canadians, keeping putting out innovative technologies and platforms, and we're paying close attention."

BlackBerry, formerly known as Research In Motion, made on-your-hip email possible with its first pagers and smartphones, coupled with strong security features.

But the company was slow to embrace the important consumer market and rivals are rapidly pushing into the corporate and government market that BlackBerry used to own.

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Facebook and tech giants partner to bring web connectivity to the world

Facebook has announced the launch of Internet.org, a group of technology leaders partnering in order to make the Internet available to the entire world. Along with the social networking giant, companies like Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Opera and Samsung will be coming together to spearhead initiatives that bring the Internet to countries who do not have easy access to it.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who has been actively pushing to make his own social network accessible to everyone in the world, is taking keen interest in the activities of Internet.org. "Everything Facebook has done has been about giving all people around the world the power to connect," he said in a blog post. "There are huge barriers in developing countries to connecting and joining the knowledge economy. Internet.org brings together a global partnership that will work to overcome these challenges, including making internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it."

Imagine...

The companies will partner with mobile operators initially, followed by NGOs, academicians and experts to help bring the two-thirds of the world – which does not have access to the Internet – online. The project is said to be influenced by the success of Open Compute Project, an initiative across the industry that has been striving to make cloud computing cheaper by making hardware designs more efficient and innovative.

The Internet.org initiative will be having a three-pronged approach towards bringing the world online. The main agenda of the group is to make access affordable to those who wish to be online. The group will help develop and adopt technologies that make access cheaper and data more accessible. Developing new phones that are low on cost and high on quality is on the agenda too. The group expects mobile operators to lend a hand here.

Internet.org will invest in tools that will aim to reduce the amount of data required to access apps. The group will be collaborating on data compression tools, enenhancing network capabilities to more efficiently handle data, building systems to cache data efficiently and creating frameworks for apps to reduce data usage.Lastly, the group will support development of sustainable new business models that make accessing the Internet easier for people.

Facebook is already working with mobile operators around the world – and in India, especially – in order to make accessing Facebook cheaper. The initiative called Facebook for Every Phone aims to make the service accessible even on feature phones. Recently, the company announced that the service has hit 100 million monthly active users the world over. This will serve as an excellent stepping stone for Internet.org to take off from. Harnessed correctly, Facebook’s potential to reach the masses and their rapport with mobile operators might just be the push Internet.org needs.

(Cover image credit: Getty Images)

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Samsung revisits flip phone era, launches Galaxy Golden dual-screen smartphone

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Spice launches two Jelly Bean-running smartphones

Spice Mobiles has launched two smartphones today – the Smart Flo Space Mi 354 and the Stellar Glamour Mi 436. 

The Smart Flo Space Mi 354 smartphone sports a 3.5-inch display and offers dual-SIM capabilities. It is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor and runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS. All this is fuelled by a 1450 mAh strong battery.  

The Spice Smart Flo Space Mi 354 smartphone

Here’s a quick look at the specs of the Smart Flo Space Mi 354:

3.5-inch capacitive touch screen display Wi-Fi with Edge 3MP camera with LED flash, 1.3MP front-facing cameraA-GPSBluetooth 3.0FM Radio Memory expandable by up to 32GB

The Spice Stellar Glamour Mi 436 smartphone sports a 4-inch display, which is powered by a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and runs Jelly Bean 4.2 OS. The smartphone comes with 4GB ROM and a 512MB RAM memory, which is expandable up to 32GB through a microSD card. All of this is fuelled by a 1400mAh battery.

'Glamour'ous?

Here’s a quick look at the specifications of the Stellar Glamour Mi 436:

4-inch capacitive touch screen displayWi-Fi Tethering5MP rear camera, 1.3MP front-facing cameraA-GPS/GMSBluetoothMemory expandable by up to 32GB

It also comes loaded with 6 months free NQ Antivirus and a free back cover worth Rs. 500. Both the devices come preloaded with apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Spice Gang and TOI. 

The Smart Flo Space and Stellar Glamour smartphones will be available across India through all major retail stores and www.saholic.com at an MOP of Rs 3,799 and Rs 5,999, respectively.

Spice Cloud provides Spice consumers with Cloud Backup of 2GB free Data storage and seamless access to user photos/documents/music/videos and contacts across the devices along with advanced security and anti-theft features. Users can access them all using the web interface at www.spicecloud.in.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. T M Ramakrishnan, CEO – Devices, S Mobility Ltd, said, “We have witnessed massive growth with low-cost offerings and delivering the best android experience without sacrificing on performance or features. These products position themselves as premium budget phones with enhanced features and better than what competition is offering.  This latest offering by Spice is a perfect amalgamation of functionality, style & entertainment. ”  

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First Indian floating solar power station by 2014

Following in the footsteps of Asian giants Japan and Singapore, this West Bengal capital may soon get India's first floating solar power station by 2014. Such solar power stations comprise floating platforms (usually hexagonal) fitted with solar panels to generate more energy than land-based plants.

Will India get its first floating solar power station by 2014? (Image credit: Getty Images)

The brainchild of solar energy expert S.P. Gon Chaudhuri, the proposed sites for the maiden floating solar power station are ponds surrounding the iconic Victoria Memorial and some other water bodies in Kolkata.

"Such floating solar stations would generate more energy as research has shown that if the panels stay cooler, they generate more energy, up by 16 percent,"  Gon Chaudhuri told IANS. According to him, applications have been forwarded to Victoria Memorial authorities and plans to utilise other areas near EM Bypass are also on the anvil.

"Each station would require around 3,000 square feet of space to generate 20 kilo watt of power. There are many water bodies that could be used for this," said Gon Chaudhury. The research has been completed and the project, funded by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is expected to be implemented by 2014.

IANS

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Several online services shut shop in wake of NSA surveillance concerns

The controversy regarding clandestine electronic surveillance programmes conducted by government bodies like the National Security Agency has been going on for a while. And the concern regarding the privacy of online communication has forced quite a few online services to shut shop. The latest to come up on the list is legal analysis blog Groklaw.

The blog has been vocal about legal issues revolving around open source software, patents and technology at large for many years. The blog’s founder, Pamela Jones, has now said that the uncertainty of having a secure conversation online plays a big hand in the decision, according to an offical blog.

According to the post, the founder said, “The owner of Lavabit tells us that he's stopped using email and if we knew what he knew, we'd stop too." Lavabit was an email service that was started in 2004, but suspended operations in the wake of blanket electronic surveillance programmes like PRISM being exposed. It should be noted that Lavabit was the secure email service that whistleblower Snowden reportedly used before the PRISM scandal broke out. The Groklaw founder said citing the importance of communication with her readers: “There is no way to do Groklaw without email.”

Online services like Groklaw are shutting shop due to privacy concerns

The primary reason behind closing the blog, according to Jones, is the revealing nature of metatdata and how it can impact communication. Rationalising this, the founder said the if the NSA were to monitor the metadata being generated from her blog, it would be able to pinpoint which parties she was talking to as well as the frequency at which the communication was taking place. And the Groklaw founder’s concerns don’t end there. Jones states that the NSA reportedly sees all emails going in and out of the US and also stores all encrypted emails for a period of 5 years. This time period may have been allocated because the period should be long enough to crack any encryption, according to the Verge.

Jones is not the only one who feels this way. Silent Circle, the operator of a secure email service, which has also shut shop, said last week that it was almost impossible to guarantee a private conversation online between two people. The shutdown of these services indicate a deep problem regarding privacy. The stance that most founders are taking is that it is better to terminate their offerings, rather than continue without being able to give complete security. Jones, rounding up her statement, says that she is committed to her decision. Rationalising her stance, the founder says, "I can't stay online personally without losing my humanness. For me, the Internet is over."

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Google Maps iOS and Android apps now feature Waze data on accidents

A nifty update is here for those who use the Google Maps application on their Android and iOS devices. Brian McClendon, VP, Google Maps, has confirmed in a post that the teams at Google Maps and Waze have joined hands to make it simpler for users of both platforms to navigate through their life. 

For those unfamiliar, Waze is essentially a GPS-based real-time service that provides turn-by-turn navigation. It relies on crowdsourced route details, including information about traffic, accidents and more. Now when Waze users report about accidents, road closures, constructions, et al on the platform, Google Maps will feature that data, enabling users to make better decisions pertaining to their travel. This ability is being rolled out for Google Maps Android and iOS app users in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US.

A screenshot of the Waze app

Two new updates have been introduced to the Waze Android and iOS apps too, first being support for Google Search. Once they’ve updated their applications, Waze users will have access to additional search results when navigating. The Waze Map Editor, following a successful beta test, now features Google Street View and satellite imagery, so as to make it simpler for them to correct map errors reported by the community.   

Google recently revealed that it shelled out a whopping $966 million to purchase Israeli mapping start-up Waze. The search giant had finalised the deal to buy Waze in June and the price amount being speculated during the time was in the vicinity of $1 billion. 

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EA announces Battlefield 4 Premium

EA has announced that much like Battlefield 3, the upcoming Battlefield 4 will also be getting a Premium service. Those who buy Battlefield 4 Premium will get access to new content earlier than others, as well as new content that is added to the game on a weekly basis.

Expansion packs that will be part of Battlefield 4 Premium include Second Assault, China Rising, Naval Strike, Dragon's Teeth and Final Stand. Check out the trailer for Battlefield 4 Premium:

Second Assault will have four of the most popular Battlefield 3 maps. China Rising will involve fighting on the Chinese mainland. Naval Strike, as the name would imply, concentrates on naval battles. Dragon's Teeth will involve urban warfare by the US. Final Stand will bring an end to the great war that has been played out in the other map packs. The first of these packs—Second Assault—will be hitting Xbox One before other platforms.

Other than the expansion packs, Battlefield 4 Premium includes two-weeks early access to all of the expansion packs, exclusive personalisation options including camos, prints, emblems and dogtags, priority position in server queues, weekly updates with new content, exclusive double XP events and 12 battlepacks.

Back in July, DICE had released a video that explained the new features of Battlefield 4's Battlelog.

There are a number of new features in the new Battlelog; however, the quality of these features is disputable at best. These features range from the completely inane, such as being able to set up your loadout on a smartphone when you aren’t even home, to some potentially useful and fun ones, such as using a tablet as a second screen that shows the minimap, or setting up challenges between you and your friends.

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Asus ROG launches Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX motherboard for Rs 18,950

Asus has launched a new motherboard under its Republic of Gamers brand. The motherboard, Maximus VI Impact Mini-ITX, is equipped with an Intel 4th generation Z87 chip. According to Asus, the motherboard is "loaded with exclusive gamer-pleasing innovations."

It features the SupremeFX Impact discrete sound card for 115dB SNR audio and Impact Power digital power-management technology for the same overclocking control as ROG’s full-size ATX motherboards. Maximus VI Impact also has connectivity options with onboard 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

The Maximus 6 Impact motherboard

Because of the custom design of the SupremeFX Impact sound card, the PCI Express x16 slot remains free. The exclusive dual-differential circuit design splits the audio chip’s analogue signal into opposing phases that are combined by four operational amplifiers (op-amps) to produce a single, stronger and cleaner output, while premium ELNA audio capacitors smooth high and low-frequency signals to deliver warmer sounds.

The Maximus VI Impact also features Perfect Voice technology that uses active noise cancellation on the microphone input to keep VoIP chat clear in noisy environments and Music PnP technology that allows external sound sources to play through PC speakers when the PC is shut down. Together with exclusive SupremeFX Shielding that reduces audio distortion from electromagnetic interference, lossless 115dB output and the ability to drive high-impedance headphones (up to 600ohms), the Maximus VI Impact promises great audio quality.

ROG has designed the Maximus VI Impact for those who want the convenience of mini-ITX size without sacrificing overclocking and compatibility features. Based on ROG Extreme Engine DIGI+ III technology, Impact Power is compact voltage-regulator module (VRM) with 60A BlackWing chokes and 10K black metallic capacitors that gives precise digital power management for complete overclocking control, which Asus claims is on par with ROG full-size ATX motherboards.

The discrete soundcard frees up the PCI Express slot

Going back to some of the “gamer-pleasing innovations", the Maximus VI Impact has a unique feature called the Sonic Radar. It detects the source of in-game sounds and plots them on an on-screen overlay to let players pinpoint the position of enemies. It also comes equipped with Intel’s Gigabit Ethernet along with ROG GameFirst II technology, which Asus claims prioritises traffic for optimum ping rates, thus reducing overall lag in multiplayer games.

Other bundled tools include ROG RAMDisk that allows up to 80 percent of a computer’s available RAM to act as a high-speed virtual drive for accelerated game-loading times, while SSD Secure Erase built in to Maximus VI Impact’s UEFI BIOS lets users quickly restore drives to a factory-fresh condition for the best possible performance.

The Asus ROG Maximus VI Impact costs Rs 18,950 and comes with three years of warranty.

Here are the complete specifications of the motherboard:

CPU support: LGA 1150 for 4th generation Intel Core i7 / i5 / i3 / Pentium® / Celeron® Chipset: Intel Z87 ExpressMemory slots: 2 x DIMM (maximum 16GB DDR3) 3000MHz+ (OC)Expansion Slots: 1 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 slotGraphics: Integrated Intel HD GraphicsAudio: ROG SupremeFX Impact with 7.1 audio with 115dB SNR outputKey connectivity: 6 x USB 3.0, 6 x USB 2.0, 1 x optical S/PDIF out, 1 x HDMI port and 1 x DisplayPortNetworking: Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Intel I217-V Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0Power delivery: Impact Power (8+2 phase) with 60A BlackWing chokes and 10K black metallic capacitors

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