Category Archives: International News
Moving to Silicon Valley stalls Facebook’s US$1B acquisition of Waze
Joe Devanesan
Rumours have been swirling on the internet like wildfire that Facebook intends to purchase social traffic/location-mapping app Waze for a reported US$1 billion over the past few weeks. But most reports coming out of Israel, where Waze has been developed and is based in, now indicate that the navigation app builder might be hesitant to » read more…
Google may be planning successor to the Nexus Q
Loh Ving Sung
If you don’t remember the quirky, spherical Nexus Q that came out last year, that might be because Google pulled the plug before it reached the hands of consumers. But according to a recent FCC filing, Google is giving the media streaming market another look. The filing provides a few details on a device called » read more…
This may be the world’s first liquid-cooled smartphone
Loh Ving Sung
Ever feel like your thighs are on fire after an intensive session on your smartphone, be it playing games or doing other processor draining activities. Well it appears NEC has the answer, with its Medias X 06E phone, which comes with a water-filled heatpipe designed to funnel heat away from the phone’s processor. While not » read more…
Samsung to free up more memory on the Galaxy S4
Loh Ving Sung
Samsung has pledged to squeeze the many features of its Galaxy S4 into a smaller space, freeing up more memory for apps via software optimisation. The smartphone recently appeared BBC’s consumers affairs show – Watchdog – which investigated claims of 16GB of storage, after users complained the phone only has half of that available. Speaking » read more…
Google to clamp down on Microsoft’s Youtube app for Windows Phone
Nigel Chew
Google has just sent Microsoft a cease-and-desist letter demanding Microsoft withdraw its redesigned YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 as it violates Google’s Terms of Service. The Verge first reported news of the letter, dated May 15, and included a copy on their site. The TOS which Microsoft’s YouTube app allegedly violates has to do » read more…
SMS and outgoing calls coming to Hangouts afterall
Loh Ving Sung
Google’s new Hangouts messaging platform will feature SMS integration and outgoing calls in the futures, confirms a Google employee. In what appears to be a jump-the-gun post, Dori Storbeck, Community Manager for Hangouts and Chat said in her Google+ account that SMS features are “coming soon”, adding that SMS integration is already a popularly requested » read more…
Android and iOS accounts for 92.3 percent of all smartphones in Q1
Loh Ving Sung
Android and iOS made up most of the smartphones shipped – that’s 92.3 percent – during the first quarter of 2013, according to new figures published by the International Data Corporation (IDC). Android devices jumped to 162.1 million in the first three months, up from 90.3 million during the same period last year. That represents » read more…
Google introduces Hangouts, merges Talk, Messenger, and video service
Loh Ving Sung
Google has finally unified its communication services together, in what the company terms as Hangout, it is available for Android, iOS and the web using the Chrome extension. The new app will be available today on all platforms. The new Hangouts is basically a messaging app similar to the likes of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, » read more…
Google tells Microsoft to stop using YouTube app for WP
Loh Ving Sung
After Microsoft took the covers off its YouTube application for Windows Phone about a week ago, Google is apparently left unimpressed. According to the The Verge – who managed to get its hand on a copy of a cease and desist letter that Google has sent to Microsoft recently – the search giant has demanded » read more…
Google Launches “Google Play Music All Access” for RM 30 a month
Nigel Chew
It’s happening. Google has just launched an on-demand subscription music service at their I/O event called “Google Play Music All Access”. Its web and mobile interfaces feature millions of songs you can play instantly, along with radio stations, recommendations, charts and playlists. If it sounds familiar that’s because this is meant as a direct competitor » read more…
