Author Archives: Stefan Constantinescu

Foxconn’s Q2 revenues hit $30 billion, up 0.6% year over year

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Foxconn's Q2 revenues up only 06% year on year

Hon Hai, better known in the west as the iPhone maker Foxconn, seems to be doing just fine after allegedly losing some orders from Apple to competitor Pegatron in September 2012. According to Bloomberg, the company's second quarter revenues hit $30 billion, up 0.6 percent from the same quarter a year ago. That's far better than the 19 percent drop it experienced during the first quarter. While there's no guidance as to Q3 figures, we've got to think that an iPhone 5S can help fill those coffers.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Bloomberg

Google brings offline maps back to Android, kind of (Update: More countries get navigation too)

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Google brings offline maps back, kind of

When Google released a new version of Google Maps for Android yesterday, it was quickly discovered that offline mapping support had been removed. You could kind of turn it back on by typing "OK Maps" into the app's search field, but the lack of a dedicated button had users up in arms. Today, Google is announcing that it's adding a "Make this map area available offline" button and that it's rolling out globally later today. There's also a new clickable item in the sidebar called "Where's Latitude?" that'll remind you the service is shutting down on August 9th. Despite these changes, we still can't help but compare the app to Nokia's Here Maps for Windows Phone, which puts particular focus on offline navigation.

Update: According to Android Police, a new button isn't the only new thing in Google Maps. Navigation support has been added to an additional 19 countries, including Taiwan and Thailand.

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Source: Google Maps (Google Plus), Android Police

India’s government and BlackBerry reach an agreement, ready to teleport to 1984

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India's government will soon be able to see almost everything you do on a BlackBerry

After nearly being banned in India in 2010, BlackBerry has finally reached an agreement with the Indian government regarding surveillance in the name of security. According to a leaked document from the country's Department of Telecommunications that was obtained by The Times of India, it'll soon be possible for the government to see who you're emailing, who you're BBMing, the read-states of your BBM messages and even which websites you're visiting (hello!). An unnamed BlackBerry spokesperson is emphasizing that this is all legal, adding that those who use BlackBerry Enterprise Server will not be monitored -- which makes for an eyebrow raising sales pitch. There's no official date as to when this system turns on, but the report says the required equipment is "ready for use."

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Source: The Times of India

SanDisk’s Extreme microSD cards promise 80MBps, live up to that claim

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SanDisk's Extreme microSD cards promise 80Mbps speeds, live up to that claim

No one likes waiting for a file transfer to finish, and thankfully SanDisk is doing something about it. The company's new "Extreme" line of microSD cards (16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities) promises to deliver speeds of up to 80 MBps. Benchmarks done by Android Police have the 64GB card hitting 78 MBps when used in a dedicated card reader. Putting the card in a smartphone, however, yields far different results. Most smartphones, save for the Exynos 5 Octa version of the GS4, don't support the newer UHS-1 standard for increased transfer speeds. When tested in a Galaxy Note II, SanDisk's new card "only" achieved 14MBps read speeds and 14.6MBps write speeds -- that's still between 50% and 100% faster than a previous generation 64GB SanDisk microSD card. So now we just need phones to catch up, and for handset makers who are averse to microSD cards altogether to change their tune.

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Source: SanDisk, Android Police

Google plugs Android APK security hole, says partners have patched code

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Google plugs Android security hole, says partners have received patched code

Bluebox Security unearthed a potentially devastating Android security issue last week that would allow hackers to turn legit APKs into malware. Less than a week later, Google's Android Communications Manager, Gina Scigliano, told ZD|Net that the bug has officially been squashed and that partners have received the right patches -- Samsung is already shipping devices that are inoculated against the exploit. Play by the rules by installing apps from the Google Play Store and you never have to worry, but if you want to be on the safe side, give Lookout Security a spin.

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Source: ZD|Net

Sharp’s Serie SHL22 coming to Japan with a fast f/1.9 lens and chunky battery

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Sharp's SHL22 hits KDDI this week with an ultra fast f19 lens and chunky battery

Cramming 13-megapixels into a phone means nothing if you don't have nice optics to boot. Fortunately, Sharp's Serie SHL22 has an unusually fast f/1.9 lens to go with its high-resolution sensor. Launching on KDDI this Friday, this Aquos Phone runs Android 4.2, has a fairly big 3,080mAh battery, a 4.9-inch 720p screen using Sharp's own IGZO technology, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 600 clocked at 1.7GHz, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage (expandable via microSD). The phone is a bit thicker than what we're used to these days, at 9.9mm (0.39 inches), but we're willing to ignore that if it means leaving our charger at home. Marginally informative video after the break.

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Via: AV Watch (translated)

Source: KDDI (translated)

Amiga Games (and our childhood memories) acquired for $500,000

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Amiga Games, and our childhood, acquired for $500,000

Forget Mac versus PC, there was a time when Amiga reigned supreme -- at least in the heart of many computer gamers of a certain age. The Amiga 500 simply blew other computers from the '80s away, especially in the gaming department. But then the '90s happened (and you know where this is going): Microsoft won, Apple nearly went bankrupt and Sony introduced the world to Crash Bandicoot. So what about all those old classics like Alien Breed and Wings? Amiga Games Incorporated, and its library of over 300 titles, have been purchased for $500,000 by Writers' Group, a company that acquires and distributes digital content. The new owner is promising several announcements over the next few weeks, and hopefully one of them has to do with Overdrive.

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Bluetooth Low Energy coming to select Nokia Lumias via software update

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Bluetooth 40 coming to select Lumias in upcoming Amber update, says Nokia Hong Kong

It looks like some of Nokia's Windows Phones have a notable change in store. At a gathering in Hong Kong, as reported by BlogJack, the company said that Bluetooth LE support (part of the 4.0 standard) will come to the Lumia 520, 620 and 720. Strangely absent from that list are the Lumia 820, 920 and the 925 -- all of which are powered by Qualcomm chips that support BT 4.0 at the hardware level. We're also not entirely sure if this update is a part of a more mature Windows Phone release that Microsoft plans on pushing out later this year or whether it's specific to the "Amber" refresh that's tailored to Lumia devices. We've asked Nokia for further details, and we also plan on getting some face-to-face time at its unveiling of a whole new Lumia this Thursday.

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Via: WMPoweruser

Source: BlogJack (translated)

UK watchdog warns of rural broadband delay, blames BT monopoly

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UK rural broadband deployment targets pushed back nearly two years

Despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds in government subsidies, the effort to bring high-speed internet to rural parts of the UK seems to be running seriously behind schedule. The National Audit Office (NAO) says the original goal of providing 90 percent of Brits with access to at least a 25Mbps connection by May 2015 will likely be pushed back to the end of 2016 -- and at a cost that's £207 million ($312 million) more than first anticipated. A big part of the problem, according to the NAO, is a lack of competition among those bidding to help with the project. BT has already been awarded more than half of the local contracts and no other company is in the running to scoop up what's left. As well as slowing things down, this effective monopoly may also be adding to the financial pain; whereas before the government expected BT to foot 36 percent of the bill, that's now dropped to just 23 percent. Microsoft's whitespace idea could avoid all these issues, but in terms of schedules it seems just as remote.

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Source: The Telegraph

Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange back in action

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Mt Gox Bitcoin exchange back in action

As promised, Mt. Gox has reenabled cash withdrawals after taking its system offline to iron out the kinks. The Bitcoin exchange says it's successfully processed over $1,000,000 worth of transactions during these past two weeks of testing, which has given it the confidence to resume business -- despite a backlog on some transactions. Mt. Gox is also announcing that it's signed more banking partnerships "in Japan and around the world," though no specific companies were named. If you want to get into this whole Bitcoin thing, but don't know where to start, we got you covered.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Mt. Gox