Samsung introduced the Galaxy View yesterday, a giant tablet with an 18.4-inch screen, but while the company detailed the specs it did not say when the View will arrive or indeed how much it would cost. It wouldn't be much of a story if details on those two things were not now trickling in, so thankfully that is exactly what is happening.
The Public Beta of iOS 9.2 has been made available to everyone by Apple, or at least those who have a compatible iPhone that is. The days of betas being solely for developers has long gone, and if you so choose you can check out build 9.2 of Apple's iOS platform, although it is worth remembering that this is not the finished and polished version that will be rolled out over the air in the coming weeks.
We recently reported that the sequels to the Galaxy A3 and the Galaxy A7 had passed through benchmark software, showing their specs along the way. Follow ups for the Galaxy A5 and the Galaxy A8 were absent, but it seems that at least the former does exist as the new Galaxy A5 has received its Bluetooth certification.
Buying a new smartphone isn’t at all cheap, and depending on the device you purchased, fixing a shattered display can be extremely expensive. Aftermarket solutions don’t always work as intended, and getting a factory display replacement doesn’t always mean just replacing the shattered glass. Motorola made a solid point on the Droid Turbo 2 announcement for how long the company spent trying to find a solution for this, and today the company explains why.By now you’ve probably noticed ...
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We love Sony's new flagship range because there is something for everyone. Want bleeding edge specs and innovation, opt for the Xperia Premium, for a rounded flagship experience the Xperia Z5 is a good option, while if you want arguably the most potent small screened smartphone on the market then the Xperia Z5 Compact is a good bet. Speaking of the Z5 Compact, it is making its debut in the United States, heading to online retail giant Amazon.
Samsung is continuing its expansion back to growth with another solid quarterly period. The company announced its third quarter results in which Samsung Electronics increased both revenue and profit year on year. Throughout 2015 the Korean giant has been trying to get back to growth after a poor 2014 dogged by a loss of market share and a decline in sales.
Apple’s approach to public betas has become quite a thing over the last couple of software releases. In the past iOS beta testing was just a benefit that developers could take advantage of, and that remained a solid practice until a year or so ago. Now public betas are not just a common thing, but also quite timely when compared to developer variants, and that’s the case today.Apple has just launched iOS 9 Public Beta 1 to all, and as long as you already have the beta profile installed on your ...
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California-based app developer Flywheel began a pilot program today for a new system that would allow taxi drivers to use smartphones technology in the place of traditional fare meters and other hardware.
This program, dubbed TaxiOS, seeks to assist taxi companies previously struggling with the high costs of equipment and labor involved in updating the infrastructure of cabs. TaxiOS would be a separate but compatible system from a main mobile app, also called Flywheel, which allows users to request, track, and pay for taxis with their phone, similar to competitors Uber and Lyft.
TaxiOS, once implemented, would help streamline a cab's hardware setup down to a single device, namely a Motorola Moto E running the software, skirting the need for expensive equipment overhaul and lengthy cab decommissions. The app would incorporate GPS tracking, virtual meters and flexible payment options which help drivers locate customers, assist navigation and improve fare estimates.
A major incentive for taxi companies to switch to TaxiOS would not only be the ability to modernize vehicles at a low cost, but also provide more flexible payment options than its ride-sharing competition.
TaxiOS' planned ability to allow cash, credit or mobile payment would set taxi cabs apart from other on-request driver services like Uber, which only accept mobile payments.
"You can hail a taxi even if you don't have a smartphone or credit card," Bob Patterson, Flywheel director of communications, told techradar, describing that the system will allow taxi companies to be on the "same footing, technology-wise" as competitors.
TaxiOS will become available in Los Angeles, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego and Seattle after it completes its pilot program in San Francisco. The company has been working to expand its scope to include other major markets and is currently undergoing testing in New York.
Once put in use by a taxi fleet, Flywheel has stated that the plan is to continue the payment strategy used by the company's flagship mobile app, which includes cuts from completed fares and processing fees for credit cards and mobile payments. Patterson clarified that Flywheel won't take cuts from fares paid in cash using the company's software.
Will TaxiOS be the shot in the arm for taxis to compete with modern alternatives? If nothing else, not having to wave your arms wildly in the street or be gouged on a fare thanks to an inaccurate meter from the 90s' is a welcome improvement.
Smartphone sales are seriously slowing down, according to a new analytics report, pegging last quarters growth to be the slowest it's been in about 6 years.
A new report from Strategy Analytics says that global smartphone shipments grew only about 10% since last year, which is the slowest it's been since the 2009 recession.
The report explains the slowdown is likely due to "increasing penetration maturity in major markets of the US, Europe and China," which translates to most people already having a smartphone in these areas.
And for those who already do have smartphones, many are probably not buying new smartphones every year.
Even with the slowing smartphone sales, both Apple and Samsung have seen slight increases in smartphone sales from the same Q3 period last year.
Samsung has the lion's share of the market share right now, with 23.7%, though it's a slight decline from Q3 2014, when it had 24.5%.
Still, it did see an increase in sales, with about 83.8 million units shipped, this year compared to last year's 79.2 million units.
Meanwhile, Apple sits at about 13.6% of the market share, an increase from Q3 2014's 12.2%. In terms of sales, 48 million units were shipped, a decemt increase compared to last year's 39.3 million units.
Microsoft’s bet for extended applications on its Windows platform is rather important. For a minute there we though this was just about making the life of a developer easier, but that was until we learned that Microsoft Continuum was designed to allow you to use your smartphone as a CPU. The only problem is that you need to have the extra €75 that the company is selling the required Display Dock for in Europe, but ...
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Verizon has revealed that its two Motorola exclusive, the DROID MAXX 2 and the DROID Turbo 2, are available to purchase from today. Of course, Big Red only has exclusivity on those handsets inside the United States, around the world the MAXX 2 is known as the Moto X Play, while the Turbo 2 was announced as the Moto X Force in other regions of the world.
Sony’s announcement that it is committed to its mobile division brought a lot of relief to many a few months ago. We even heard the news that the company is even investing in building a factory that is dedicated to mobile as well. The problem is that we’re still not sure how long is Sony planning to keep this commitment going at a time when its mobile division is still on decline.Sony’s ...
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Cupertino’s new Apple TV has so far gained some mixed reactions from the media. While it is cool to have an expensive set-top box that can play games and that listens to your voice, so far it hasn’t proven to be much different to anything else out there, at various price tags. One major caveat with the service is that even though Siri is being sold as its primary asset, it can’t really do much right now, and Apple plans to address that.So far the ...
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Nobody likes thinking twice every time they download an app, stream a video, or upload a photo to the cloud: am I still going to have enough data left this month? Sure, they can be hard to come by these days, but there’s a lot of appeal to the idea of unlimited data plans, freeing us to take full advantage of everything our smartphones can offer. So when a carrier starts talking about a new unlimited data offering, and one with an incredibly low price, we find our interest quickly piqued. Today ...
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