| Apple and Beats are now officially a thing Aug 1st 2014, 15:13, by Hugh Langley 
The papers have been signed, the rings have been exchanged. Apple and Beats are now officially an item. Apple has announced that Jimmy, Dre, Luke Wood, Ian Rogers, and the whole team (sans the 200 Beats employees Apple is said to be laying off) are now part of the family - exactly four months since the story was posted as a bizarrely (but unintentionally) accurate April Fool's joke by music industry expert Bob Lefsetz. "Today we are excited to officially welcome Beats Music and Beats Electronics to the Apple family," reads a statement on Apple's website. What comes next?"Beats cofounders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre have created beautiful products that have helped millions of people deepen their connection to music. We're delighted to be working with the team to elevate that experience even further." "And we can't wait to hear what's next" Get it? Because Beats make audio, and you hear audio. GET IT?        |  | Week in Tech: Week in Tech: Cortana, cars, consoles and a really mad Mac Aug 1st 2014, 10:11, by TechRadar 
We love it when the stuff of sci-fi makes its way into the real world, and that means this week has been particularly cheery: we can pretend to be Master Chief, start saving for our driverless cars and prepare to control the Xbox One with our eyes. And that's not all: we've got stacks of PS4 goodies, the verdict on Amazon's odd phone and the maddest Mac we've seen for ages. It can only be Week in Tech! She has a HaloMicrosoft's Cortana, the clever virtual assistant, is finally available in the UK - sort of. As James Rogerson reports, "Cortana is now here for those that want it. But don't pull out the party poppers yet." Cortana is still a developer preview, so getting hold of her may void your warranty and cause a Covenant invasion. Calling K.I.T.T.Cortana isn't the only futuristic tech coming to the UK. Driverless cars are coming too. The UK's Department of Transport is reviewing the law to ensure that self-driving cars can be tested on UK roads, and the first ones should be trundling around early next year. The best tech for everythingIf you listen carefully you'll hear the sound of parents cheering, delighted that their kids will soon be back at school. But what tech should they take with them? We've picked the very best laptops for students and the best laptops for everyone. Not only that, but we've also identified the 1,000 best gadgets in the world today. Wow! It's PlayStation Now!Sony's PlayStation Now service has launched in open beta in the US and Canada, enabling players to stream PS3 games to PS4. It's pretty good, says Nick Pino, but rentals are pricey. The launch explains why Sony doesn't seem keen on EA Access, the gaming firm's "Netflix for games" that's available on Xbox One. Sony reckons its own PS Plus service is better value. That doesn't mean Sony's current offerings are perfect, though, and Louise Blain has detailed 13 new features the PS4 really, really needs to rise to the top. 3D games and the Xbox One-eyeMicrosoft's Xbox One is getting 3D Blu-ray support this week with the PS4 following suit a few days later, but it seems that Microsoft wants to make games even more realistic: it's working on eye-tracking tech that, in conjunction with virtual reality headsets and Kinect, could deliver some truly extraordinary gaming experiences. Amazon Fire - amazing or dire?Is the much-hyped Amazon Fire Phone as good as we hoped? Nope, but that doesn't mean it's a complete dud either, says Marc Flores. It's decently made, but while the specs are OK the price isn't. "It doesn't feel like Amazon gave this phone much thought," Flores says. Apple's 4K future and a really mad MacApple's preparing a revamped iMac for release later this year, and there's one question every Mac fan wants to know: will it be 4K? Rumours suggest the incoming 27-incher may be just that, and we might even get a new Mac Mini too. Fancy a retina MacBook Pro tablet? Apple won't make you one - or at least, it won't in the foreseeable future - but Modbook will. The Modbook Pro X takes a 15-inch rMBP and turns it into a tablet for the princely sum of around £1,200, and the firm is currently looking for backers on Kickstarter.        | | The internet of things and opportunities in the mobile market Aug 1st 2014, 09:00, by Désiré Athow 
The internet of things (IoT) and the advances its brought to machine-to-machine (M2M) communication continues to be a hot topic in tech circles. Why's that? Well, not only does IoT represent a burgeoning market segment in itself, it is also promising to radically alter a host of existing sectors as technology in the field advances. Among those is the mobile market, and to hear more about how IoT and M2M growth will impact the sector, we spoke to Three UK's Head of Business Development, Tom Gardner. TechRadar Pro: Where do you see M2M and the internet of things going in the next five to 10 years? Tom Gardner: Whether you call it M2M or the internet of things it will continue to grow at a substantial rate. Experience has taught us all to be wary of some of the hype, but a fundamental change that will accelerate growth is the falling cost of the hardware for connectivity and the appetite for data. In the consumer world, a business case can be made for almost any device to be connected. Whether that business case be based on market differentiation to deliver a richer customer experience or simply for the manufacturer or retailer to learn more about the way the device is used to support R&D and or to reduce customer support costs as faults can be remotely diagnosed, pre-empted and in some cases remotely resolved. Wearables and in-vehicle infotainment will experience vast growth thanks to the developments in the smartphones. Just as your router is the hub of your home, your smartphone can be the hub for all your connected devices on the move. Tablet and laptop manufacturers will look to embedded connectivity to differentiate themselves and form a closer, ongoing relationship with the customer post sale. In M2M, the big legacy markets such as smart metering and Vehicle telematics will continue to thrive on a volume of connections basis but the interesting markets are those emerging due to the greater accessibility of fast mobile data. Digital Signage, CCTV and Wi-Fi backhaul/backup are just a handful of markets that have experienced a boom thanks to the near ubiquitous access of fast 3G and 4G data and will continue to do so. M2M isn't about empty vending machines sending a text anymore, and for a business focussed on data like Three Wholesale that's great news. TRP: In your opinion, what are the most interesting M2M & IoT opportunities that are yet to be explored? TG: As device manufacturers, specifically those in the laptop and tablet market, strive to find new ways to compete whilst retaining and or increasing margins, embedded connectivity offers a very innovative solution with near endless possibilities. Customers want a seamless experience, they just want to get online with as few steps in between as possible. The challenge for device manufacturers is the need to have one embedded SIM that can deliver high speed data in multiple countries but at a competitive local cost. This enables the manufacturer to embed one SIM at point of manufacture, regardless of where that device may eventually end up around the globe. HP is leading a charge on this market opportunity but it won't be long before others launch their own propositions. In M2M, remote broadcasting is an interesting market that we've seen emerging. During the Olympics, our 3G network was used to stream broadcasts back to TV centres. With mobile networks only becoming faster, they become a credible and cost effective alternative to satellite broadcasting. TRP: What about the most interesting existing technologies that are in the market? TG: The use of 3G and 4G in IoT and M2M is by far the most interesting technology. It can be used to deliver a seamless, superfast connectivity experience in almost any location. Other interesting technologies to keep an eye on are e-SIMs and multi IMSI solutions. These technologies enable the credentials of a device, usually stored on a SIM card, to be remotely updated or changed to ensure that the device is always using the best mobile network for its technical and commercial needs. TRP: What are the challenges that you face as an operator in terms of delivering wholesale partnerships? TG: The market is filled with potential or existing MVNOs looking for a host MNO provider. The challenge is identifying the partners who are geared for long term success and aligned with your wholesale strategy in what is a competitive market. To determine partnership potential, we like to understand the MVNO prospect's business plan, sustainable market differentiators, distribution approach, desired customer experience and ongoing strategy. In terms of actual delivery, we have separated our delivery roadmap from Three's retail roadmap so the actual technical delivery of MVNOs is generally smooth. TRP: What are the best practises for launching an MVNO? TG: Find a partner with a capable network, an agile approach, a genuine interest in growth and the least chance of channel conflict. TRP: What are the risks of launching an MVNO? TG: The risk of launching an MVNO is usually after the initial launch excitement. The MVNO needs to be constantly assessing their performance trends, and have alternative plans ready to go - it's not a 'set and forget' market. MVNOs can be very rewarding for all parties but making it a success needs long term commitment and investment. MVNOs need to be confident that their MNO partner will remain committed to the partnership, opening up services as technology evolves. A recent example of this is enabling 4G services to MVNOs. TRP: What considerations must an operator make before making an agreement with an MVNO? TG: What market is the MVNO targeting and how will they be successful in that market vs the established direct and in-direct competition? How will they distribute their service? What is their forecast? What technical enablers do they require from the MNO in order to deliver the end customer experience? What other complementary services do they currently offer? Is their brand a good mobile fit? What is their mobile/MVNO experience? How are they funded? What is their long term plan post go live? How will the MVNO contribute to the MNO's goals? There's plenty to think of. TRP: Is there a danger of the market becoming overcrowded by MVNOs? TG: The UK market already has around 90 brands offering mobile services under the guise of an MVNO. There are some MVNO vertical markets which are over-crowded such as the low cost international calling market. Markets such as business and mobile data are two markets that would benefit from new MVNOs who perhaps already have a presence in said market for another service. New innovation means new markets are always opening up – we are excited about partnering to tap into these new markets. Like any other business you need a clear idea of who your customers are, what they need and the means by which you will reach them. If you have that the road is wide open.        | | In depth: How to make an iPhone completely invisible Aug 1st 2014, 09:00, by James Rivington 
How to make an iPhone invisible: 1Imagine a smartphone that remains "cloaked" until its owner whispers a pass phrase. It's an incredible concept, but could it be that the ultimate smartphone security feature is invisibility? If you think that sounds crazy, how about rendering an entire car or a space ship invisible? Even crazier, it's rapidly becoming science fact rather than science fiction. And that's because it's not only been shown to be possible within the laws of physics, but it's being worked on by scientists and researchers right now. It wasn't always the case. Even 10 years ago, cloaking devices were still thoroughly shackled to the realm of science fiction and thought to defy the laws of optics. But in 2006, scientists from the UK and US created an incredible new material that appeared to do just that. And this week researchers at Cambridge University have announced the discovery of a new technique that could one day be used to render invisible anything from an iPhone to a space station. So what techniques could we use to render objects invisible and when can we expect an invisible smartphone? 
The most obvious method of making something invisible is to use what's often called optical - or active - camouflage. By photographing the scenery behind an object and projecting that image on to its front, you'll render it partially invisible. This was the concept behind James Bond's invisible Aston Martin in Die Another Day. But while this method can actually be quite effective from one angle, there are obvious weaknesses when it comes to viewing the "invisible object" from positions. The technology is still finding some excellent practical uses, though. For example, you can potentially project the view from underneath a plane onto the cockpit floor so that a pilot can have a much better idea of where the runway is. In the same way, you could project the ground underneath a car onto the hood so that offroad drivers can more effectively navigate tricky terrain. The transparent cockpit idea could also be used to eliminate car blind spots. This technology has already been mooted for practical uses by companies such as Land Rover, which showed off its Transparent Bonnet virtual imaging concept back in April. Cameras located in the vehicle's grille capture data which is used to feed a Head-Up Display, effectively creating a view of the terrain through the bonnet and engine bay. It's a realistic and promising method of seeing through objects but almost completely useless for making objects such as an iPhone invisible. For that, you're going to need an understanding of quantum mechanics and the ability to manipulate materials at the smallest of scales... 
When you think about it, invisibility isn't actually that strange. Have you ever wondered what air looks like? How about glass or other clear fluids? Many things are invisible to the human eye, and it's all to do with the way their atoms are arranged. Many gases and liquids are invisible because their atoms are spaced far enough apart for the wavelengths of visible light to travel through without being disturbed. Water is visible only because of the way it bends and distorts light as it passes through, and it's this bending, or refracting, of light that holds the key to invisibility. Hold that thought. 
If atoms hold the key to invisibility, it makes sense that we will need to manipulate them in new and innovative ways. And we first developed the ability to do this back in the early 1980s. Using the 1981 Nobel Prize-winning Scanning Tunneling Microscope, scientists are able to not only take pictures of but also manipulate individual atoms. In 1990, this technology caused waves and hit the international media when it was used to spell out "IBM" using 35 individual xenon atoms - a watershed moment for nanotechnology. Using this technique, scientists are attempting to to construct materials and even machines using individual atoms as building blocks. And it's research in this field that seems most likely to pay off when it comes to invisibility. 
Surely the most promising application of nanotechnology when it comes to invisibility is in the production of what scientists call metamaterials. Thought to be prohibited by the laws of optics until less than a decade ago, metamaterials have properties that are not found anywhere in the natural world and have the potential to one day render objects completely invisible even to the human eye. Metamaterials are made by rearranging the building blocks of a material in sophisticated arrays so that its overall index of refraction (the extent to which light is bent as it passes through) is negative rather than positive. By doing this, you can potentially bend light around an object and out the other side - a cornerstone in the quest for an invisibility cloak. In 2006, scientists from the US and UK created a material from copper and other metals that was able to bend light around a cylinder in such a way as to render it almost completely invisible to microwave radiation. This stunning experiment proved the concept and sparked a new race to build metamaterials that can manipulate different kinds of light. Nathan Myhrvold, former Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft, says metamaterials "will completely change the way we approach optics and nearly every aspect of electronics. [They] can perform feats that would have seemed miraculous a few decades ago." So the laws of physics don't prohibit light from being bent around an object, but how do we create a material that could render an iPhone invisible? The problems arise from the fact that the crystals inside the metamaterials must be smaller than the wavelength of the light you're attempting to bend. With a wavelength of around 3cm, creating a material to interact with microwaves it turns out is pretty straight forward. However, to play with visible light in the same way, you're talking many different wavelengths between 380 and 800nm, one nanometre being a billionth of a metre - about the length of five atoms side by side. Quite a challenge. How to make an iPhone invisible: 1.
Scientists all over the world are now racing to be the first to create a metamaterial that can bend visible light, and many hope that the computing industry is well placed to lend a hand. Photolithography is a complex technique that silicon chip manufacturers like Intel and AMD already use to fabricate components that contain billions of microscopic transistors. Ultraviolet light is used to etch the components onto silicon wafers. It is hoped that a new generation of computer chips will use light instead of electricity to process information, making them faster and far more efficient. These new chips will need billions of crystalline transistors each with a slightly different index of refraction. And that means research into invisibility cloaks can piggyback on work in this field. In 2007, scientists in the US and Germany used this process to create a multi-layered material that was able to bend red light with a wavelength of 780nm (red being the longest and thus relatively easiest wavelength to bend in the visible spectrum). "Metamaterials may one day lead to the development of a type of flat superlens that operates in the visible spectrum," says Ames Labratory Senior Physicist Costas Soukoulis. "Such a lens would offer superior resolution over conventional technology, capturing details much smaller than one wavelength of light." While progress in this field is ongoing, there are still huge obstacles to be overcome. Photolithography has been shown to be capable of stacking photonic crystals that bend light in two dimensions, but the process is far more complicated when it comes to bending in three dimensions as you'd need to cloak a real-world object like an iPhone. The process might not be capable of it. Plus of course, bending more than one wavelength of light around the same object is another enormous challenge in itself, potentially requiring multiple layers of different types of metamaterials. 
The military applications of rendering objects invisible are fairly obvious. And as such, military customers are footing the bill for some of the research. Imagine a scary future where the NSA could mount a camera in a room and then cloak it - they'd be able to spy on people without them knowing. "Ah ha", you say, "but if you're bending light all the way round an object as to make it invisible, how would any light get into the object so that it can observe its surroundings?" That's a good question, and the answer could be plasmonics. Plasmonics is another candidate technology for tomorrow's super-efficient computer chips, and it's also lending a hand with research into invisibility. Instead of using just light to perform calculations as do photonic crystal-based chips, plasmonics uses a combination of light and electricity - photons and electrons. One current plasmonic prototype consists of silicon nanowires, coated by a thin layer of pure gold. And its parent researchers at Stanford University have shown that you can effectively cloak a silicon wire in this way while also allowing a small amount of light through to a detector. It works by using the interaction of photons with the electrons in metal nanostructures to induce oscillating electrical currents on the surface of both the metal and the semi-conducting silicon layer underneath, producing scattered light waves. By tuning the structural geometries of these materials, the light waves from the metal and semiconductors will cancel each other out, rendering any object underneath invisible. "It seems counter-intuitive, but you can cover a semiconductor with metal - even one as reflective as gold - and still have the light get through to the silicon," says Associate Professor Mark Brongersma at Stanford University. "As we show, the metal not only allows the light to reach the silicon where we can detect the current generated, but it makes the wire invisible, too.". 
This week's breakthrough in invisibility at Cambridge University comes thanks to a new technique which uses unfocused laser lights projected into water as proxies for billions of needles, stitching gold nanoparticles together into long strings. These nanostrings are stacked into layers like Lego bricks and are able to control the way that light passes through them making them perfect for invisibility. Part of the brilliance of this metamaterial is that, by effectively making it out of light itself, it's far easier to make in larger quantities than other candidate metamaterials. "We have controlled the dimensions in a way that hasn't been possible before," said Dr Valev, who worked with researchers from the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, and the Donostia International Physics Centre in Spain on the project. "This level of control opens up a wide range of potential practical applications." So we've seen that while invisibility is in its infancy, progress is being made. And one day scientists could feasibly create an invisibility cloak. So when will we see an iPhone that can render itself invisible? Well obviously the answer, unfortunately, is never. By the time this technology reaches maturity, we'll likely be far beyond using smartphones as everyday gadgets. But the latest news from Cambridge University does at least show that regular progress is being made towards what is now considered a realistic goal. The invisible future, it seems, is just around the corner.        | | What's behind Oculus Rift DK2's visuals? A Galaxy Note 3, apparently Jul 31st 2014, 23:12, by Chris Smith 
The second Oculus Rift developer kit may be one of the hottest bits of tech right now, but it lifts its visuals from an older device. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3, to be exact. An iFixit breakdown of the Oculus DK2 showed the VR company had used the exact 5.7-inch AMOLED panel from the Note 3 in order to feed a 1080p image to each eye. Oculus is overclocking the display to run at a higher refresh rate, according to the report. The display, which hides within a little rubber case, retains the touch module and the Note 3's front panel featuring holes for the home button and the front-facing camera. You can see iFixit's teardown in the video below. YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-HoHkFgslJcWhere'd it get them?Oculus had previously played coy about where it obtained the improved screen for the latest kit, not mentioning Samsung at all. The Facebook-owned firm reportedly has an arrangement with Samsung to build its own VR kit, but it could just as easily have bought up a bulk supply of Note 3 replacement displays online. We asked Oculus for more information on its Note 3 use, but the firm offered a standard "no comment" response.        | | Opinion: Facebook forcing us to download Messenger is a brilliant move Jul 31st 2014, 21:53, by Scott Alexander 
Intro, Driven to distractionAs you may have heard, Facebook is making a significant change to the way messaging works on its mobile app. Specifically the company is removing the messaging functions from the primary Facebook Mobile app and has begun shunting its users into the separate Facebook Messenger app for chat. And this is the crazy part: it requires an entirely separate download. We all know how onerous it is to download apps these days. It can take tens of seconds for a new app to install, just so you can hate-play Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. The Internet's response was, of course, measured and nuanced. Ah ha ha ha. Sorry, that one gets me every time. The Internet's response was the exact opposite of measured and nuanced. In fact, to look at its reaction, you'd think the company had mounted an armed invasion of Kansas while simultaneously running over everyone's grandmother and strangling a paralyzed puppy. Now, I'm always glad to see people getting energized over something truly important (after we tackle this problem we're going to get right on climate change and world hunger, right?). But I'd also like to offer a few words as counterpoint to the prevailing view. Those few words are these: I freaking love Facebook Messenger. Driven to distractionWhy do I love an app that most people seem so deeply persecuted by? Because it allows me to use Facebook's messaging system the way I'd most like to. Which is to say, without using Facebook. Now let's get one thing straight up front. I am a happy and willing participant in Facebook and its trademark shallow, scattershot virtual interactions that have permanently devalued both liking something and being someone's friend. Though we may not actually talk to one another any more, over the past few years my "friends" have become extremely good at crafting droll commentary about what they're doing, how they feel about current events and which puppy videos are the very, very best puppy videos. And I find all of this very entertaining. So I don't hate Facebook. But I do know I can't be trusted with it. Facebook is the most scientifically advanced form of distraction mankind has yet created. Its intoxicating stew of self-absorption/congratulation/loathing results in an endless series of click-holes, available any hour of the night or day, with a reliable percentage of new things I can watch, read, shake a fist at, or comment on. It is the endless regress, the garden of earthly delights, the ultimate entertainment, the abyss from which no man returns (at least not without an inspiring story about an Ivory Coast cacao farmer that puts EVERYTHING into perspective). Thus, much like drinking, catfishing and trolling the comments sections on Diary of a Quilter, Facebook is strictly an after-hours activity for me. As someone who works at a computer all day, if I start allowing Facebook into my daytime routine, I'm toast. Still, though, I need to communicate with people. And for better or worse, a lot of those people are on Facebook. Facebook remains one of the most reliable ways to get in touch with anyone you've ever friended, despite any changes to that person's job/phone number/last name/country of residence/stated racial affiliation. In addition to being a global timesuck and a cause of depression, Facebook is also a messaging service that almost everyone I know is signed up with, most of whom still use it at least occasionally. The right tool, Real-time and asynchronousThe right tool for the jobUnfortunately, though, when I get a message through Facebook, I have to run its hazardous distraction gauntlet to view it, meaning there is a high-to-100% chance I will get abducted by at least one thing in my feed, which will send me down one of those aforementioned click-holes, thereby blowing large holes in my productivity. And Facebook Messenger solves this problem. When I get Facebook messages, it allows me to see and respond to only those messages. No weight loss come-ons, no parents getting hit in the crotch by overexcited 2 year-olds, no you'll-never-guess-what-happens-next. That's why I like it. But I was using Messenger before this whole mess started. What about this business of Facebook forcing its users to use a separate app for messages? I think that makes a lot of sense too. It comes down to good app design and the ways that apps fundamentally differ from programs that run on PCs. In the past, PC software (or services that run in the browser) have typically added disparate features over time, which is something the more flexible PC interface can handle more deftly. Apps, on the other hand, are typically purpose-built tools that (when made correctly) help us accomplish a single function better than we could in a multifunction tool. Real-time and asynchronous: different beastsFacebook's original stock in trade was asynchronous communication. You're interacting with your friends, but not in real time. This asynchronous nature is why it's so much more useful for entertainment than Twitter (which is better for keeping up on what's happening in real time). Facebook presents the posts its algorithm determines are most relevant to you from the past several days of your friends' activities. Conversations on a single topic are public, can last days, and are conveniently filed into their own buckets instead of jammed into the rest of your Twitter feed. Messenger's functions are more about synchronous communications, as in real-time, all-in-a-long-stream chat. That chat can be done via text, emoji, sound files or Skype-like voice-over-IP. And if we want those communications to be as streamlined and easy-to-accomplish as possible, it makes sense to have a specially optimized app. In addition, these communications are also typically private or limited to just a few people for a given conversation. It makes psychological sense to separate them from our public Facebook lives. And it makes no sense at all to have all of these real-time and private chat features bogging down the original Facebook app, which should optimized for browsing feeds, consuming content and engaging in asynchronous communication. Different jobs require different tools and Facebook seems to understand this. Messenger is where you talk to your friends. Facebook is where you talk to your "friends." If all goes well, I hope to see Facebook bring more innovation and functionality to both these apps, each of which will hopefully enhance the specific experiences they have been built for. Splitting these apps may provoke some short term pain (you're not getting the 23 seconds it takes to download Messenger back, you know), but it's a long term win for Facebook's users. As a side-bonus, you'll get to experience the joy of communicating with your friends without your newsfeed putting a bag over your head and shoving you roughly down a click-hole every time you say hi.        | | Samsung will ditch plastic for 'new materials' on a 2014 phone Jul 31st 2014, 20:37, by Michael Rougeau 
Samsung will break the mold this year and release a non-plastic phone, bucking a trend it's established over several years of cheap-feeling Galaxy devices. Not that Samsung's phones have actually been cheap or of poor quality, but their plastic chassis have sometimes made them feel that way. No doubt that hasn't helped the Korean firm in its battles with competitors like HTC, which has taken to using metal on flagships like the One M8. But now Samsung Mobile Senior Vice President Kim Hyun-joon has informed investors and analysts that Samsung will release two more phones this year, one of which will be made from "new materials," reports The Wall Street Journal. So metalOne of those phones will be a large device, possibly the Galaxy Note 4. The other could very well be the rumored Galaxy Alpha, which is thought to be a Galaxy S5 spin-off with metal sides and a textured, plastic back. In addition, an unknown Samsung phone being used for research and development purposes popped up in April with what was thought to possibly be an all-metal body, so that could be it., too - or those could be the same phone. Samsung revealed in its latest quarterly earnings report that profits have fallen, though not by any fault of the successful Galaxy S5. It seems the company will try to pick up its fortunes with a metal - or at least partially metal - phone, a strategy that's worked just fine for its competitors. - Guess what's already made of metal? The iPhone 5S
       | | Updated: BBM finally arrives on Windows Phone Jul 31st 2014, 20:03, by Michael Rougeau 
Update July 31: Break out the bubbly. BBM beta is finally publicly available to all Windows Phone users. You'll need Windows Phone 8 or Windows Phone 8.1 to start thumbing out messages. Features familiar to the BBM set are there, though the company is really focusing on three key ones to start - Contacts, Chats and Feeds. The app aims to fit in with the Windows Phone look, meaning it emulates Microsoft's Metro motif. Users can also pin Groups and 1:1 chats on the Start screen for easy access. This is only BBM version one, and BlackBerry says it's already hard at work on version two, when it will bring more features to the fore. The app is free and available now (again, as a beta) in the Windows Phone Store. Original article below... Android and iOS won't be alone at the BlackBerry Messenger party anymore come July, when BBM will launch for Windows Phone devices. After BlackBerry launched BBM for iOS and Android in 2013 it was only a matter of time before the messaging service arrived on WP as well, and the company confirmed in February that it would arrive this year. Now BlackBerry CEO John Chen has informed the public that BBM for Windows Phone will in fact arrive in July. Four's a crowdChen dropped the news on an earnings call Thursday morning, CrackBerry reports. Windows Phone will be the fourth platform to host BBM, after BlackBerry 10, iOS and Android. The most recent advancement on the iOS and Android side was the addition of free calling among BBM users. However, it's unclear at this point what features will be available in the WP version when it arrives next month. We've asked BlackBerry for some more details about BBM for Windows Phone, and we'll update here if we receive any.        | | The iPhone 6 release date may fall on October 14 Jul 31st 2014, 17:42, by JR Bookwalter 
Apple shifted iPhone launches from summer to fall in recent years, but one thing has otherwise remained constant: Consumers always line up around the block on a Friday, but that could be changing this year. MacRumors today reported that Apple may be planning to reveal the forthcoming iPhone 6 at a media event on Tuesday, September 16, but has tentatively staked out October 14 for the actual on-sale date - presumably for the US and other first-world countries, at least. According to an unnamed source attending a recent "internal Apple Retail Store meeting," a senior Store Leader apparently remarked how that particular day would be an "immense" one for the company, whose brick-and-mortar stores are expected to be busy all month long. The report has raised eyebrows in many circles, considering every Apple iPhone launch since the first-generation handset in 2007 has taken place on a Friday, yet October 14 very clearly falls on a Tuesday this year. Enough for everyone?The only explanation offered by the source for swapping the day of the week was "high customer demand," which seems to be motivating Apple to ramp up iPhone 6 production to unprecedented levels in order to keep "an ample supply" available. A separate report earlier this month outlined plans for a mid-September Apple event to take the wraps off iPhone 6 and iOS 8, with a second event penciled onto the calendar in October to announce the release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, Mac and iPad product refreshes and possibly even a launch for the mythical iWatch. In recent weeks, conflicting reports have questioned Apple's readiness to launch 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models of iPhone 6 at the same time, with several rumors claiming the larger device may be held up by ongoing production issues. With summer rapidly winding to a close (already!), Apple watchers won't have much longer to wait for official confirmation from Cupertino on when they can start lining up to buy the shiniest, newest toys on the block. - Don't forget about our review of Apple's current iPhone 5S!
       | | Cortana in Alpha headed to Australia with Windows Phone 8.1 update Jul 30th 2014, 09:30, by John McCann and Farrha Khan 
Microsoft has officially unveiled its first major update to Windows Phone 8.1 since it launched the latest version of its mobile platform. The big news is that the update will see Cortana - Microsoft's answer to Siri - break out of the US, with the Beta version hitting China and the UK, while an Alpha opt-in version of the personal assistant will touch down in Australia, as well as Canada and India. Cortana herself is also been given a few extra features in the update, and Microsoft is encouraging US users to ask her to "do an impersonation" once they've updated. Another feature coming with the Windows Phone 8.1 update is the inclusion of "Live Folders" allowing users to group apps together on their homescreens. The lack of folders is something which has been a bug bear since the arrival of Windows Phone 7, and it's good to see Microsoft finally providing this functionality. More, more, moreMicrosoft is also promising a faster, better performing Xbox Music application with the WP 8.1 update, plus it's added more features to it including Kids Corner support and a new "quickplay" function of recent activity. There's a range of other additions in this update including enhanced security, a new Apps Corner for businesses to lock down various applications and new functionality for the Store Live Tile providing updates on the latest apps. Developers will be able to get their mitts on the new Windows Phone 8.1 update from next week, while any of you currently rocking a WP 8.1 device can expect it to land on your phone "in the coming months."   | |
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