Tagged: mobile

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Android Go may fix low end phones

When a new version of Android comes out, it’s usually a big deal. There are new features, a bunch of design changes, and sometimes new phones to go along with it. But when a new version of Android launched on six new phones this week, it didn’t seem like a big deal at all, and it was quickly overshadowed by announcements like the Galaxy...

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Netflix offline playback is being added

Netflix has long said that it had no intention of ever offering an offline playback mode for when you’re stuck on an airplane or anywhere else with no internet connection. But it seems like the company is changing course: An enigmatic tweet from the Netflix account says that “your favorite stories are now available for download any time.” It’s accompanied by a cute video...

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Google to punish mobile sites with hard to dismiss popups

Google today announced two major changes related to its mobile search results. The one you’ll probably notice first is that Google is removing the “mobile-friendly” label that highlighted pages that were easy to read on mobile from its mobile search results pages. In the long run, though, the second change may be more wide-reaching: starting on January 10, 2017, the company will start punishing...

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Google reverses Pixel reseller ban

Google has now lifted a controversial ban which wiped out the digital identities — meaning Gmail accounts, access to photos, voicemails and files — of those consumers who used a tax loophole to profit from reselling their Pixel smartphones. The affected people were, in fact, in violation of Google’s Terms of Service, which prohibits you from commercially reselling any device. However, Google’s disproportionate response to...

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Google denies Android violates competition rules

Google has denied the way it handles its Android mobile operating system is anti-competitive. In 2015, the European Commission said it would investigate whether Google “abused its dominant position” and “hindered the development” of rivals. Google argued Android was a “flexible” platform that had “expanded competition” rather than hurting it. The European Commission told the BBC it would carefully consider Google’s response before making...

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Microsoft Lumia devices dead in favor of Surface Pro

Microsoft is preparing to “end sales” of its Lumia smartphones by the end of the year, according to an anonymous internal source. And in a decision that will surprise almost nobody, Microsoft is believed to be planning to replace its underperforming Lumia range with a new Surface Phone. The anonymous tipster’s predictions have seemingly been borne out recently, both by the fact that just...

Software flaw puts mobile phones and networks at risk of complete takeover

Software flaw puts mobile phones and networks at risk of complete takeover

A newly disclosed software flaw could allow attackers to seize control of mobile phones and key parts of the world’s telecommunications infrastructure and make it possible to eavesdrop or disrupt entire networks, security experts warned Tuesday. The bug resides in a code library used in a wide range of telecommunication products, including radios in cell towers, routers, and switches, as well as the baseband...

Mobile networks in Europe plan to block ads

Mobile networks in Europe plan to block ads

Mobile networks in Europe plan to start blocking online ads to target Google’s stranglehold on digital ad revenue, according to a report in the Financial Times. The newspaper says that “several” carriers have installed ad-blocking software — developed by an Israeli company called Shine — in their data centers, and plans are afoot to switch the technology on by the end of the year....

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Microsoft brings Android, iOS apps to Windows 10

Microsoft announced a four-pronged effort to bring developers and their apps to Windows at its build conference today. One of these prongs—a way for Web developers to present their sites as apps—was already announced at Mobile World Congress earlier in the year. The second prong is logical but not altogether surprising. In Windows 10, developers will be able to specially prepare existing Windows apps,...