Thursday, February 1, 2018

Android One is still alive and kicking: Sharp launches One S3 in Japan

February 01, 2018 0 Comments
Android One is still alive and kicking: Sharp launches One S3 in Japan
Sharp’s new Android One S3 comes with IP68 certification for water and dust resistance.

After launching Mi A1 in India in partnership with Xiaomi, Google has introduced another Android One smartphone. Launched in Japan, the new Android One is Sharp Android One S3, running the latest Android iteration v8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box.

Android One was launched in 2014 with a special focus on entry-level smartphones in emerging markets, similar to Google’s philosophy for its latest Android Go platform. The idea behind the project is to deliver pure and timely latest Android updates and patches to the low-end smartphones, a big pain point for this category.

In fact, India was the launchpad for the ambitious platform wherein OEMs follow certain hardware and software standard set by Google.

While Android One failed to take off in the country, Google has sporadically launched a few Android One phones over the years in different markets. Xiaomi Mi A1 and Moto X4 Android One were a few notable devices to launch in 2017.

Shift in focus

With Xiaomi Mi A1, Google hinted at a big shift in focus with its Android One Platform. The Xiaomi phone came with top-end features such as dual-camera and a premium design. The smartphone is available for Rs 13,999, targeted at the lower tier of the mid-range category.

Sharp Android One S3: Specifications, features

The smartphone features a 5-inch IGZO Full HD display. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 430 processor which is quite disappointing considering its price tag of JPY 32,400 which translates to roughly Rs 18,900.

The smartphone packs 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage which is further expandable up to 256GB via a microSD card. For photography, Sharp S3 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera.

Fueling the smartphone is a 2,700mAh battery, along with a USB Type-C port for charging. Its connectivity options include 4G LTE, Bluetooth 4.2, and Wi-Fi. Sharp S3 also comes with IP68 certification making it resistant to water and dust.

Sharp S3 comes in four colour options of green, black, white, and a pastel pink. In terms of design, it’s hard to ignore that the smartphone looks eerily similar to Apple’s plastic 5C iPhones.

This isn’t the first Android One smartphone from Sharp. The series consists of Sharp S1, Sharp S2 and Sharp S3.
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Time spent on Facebook reduced by 50 million hours a day: Mark Zuckerberg

February 01, 2018 0 Comments
Time spent on Facebook reduced by 50 million hours a day: Mark Zuckerberg
Here are highlights from Facebook’s latest quarterly earnings report.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that the recent changes to the social media platform reduced the time people spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day.


“2017 was a strong year for Facebook, but it was also a hard one. In 2018, we’re focused on making sure Facebook isn’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being and for society. We’re doing this by encouraging meaningful connections between people rather than passive consumption of content,” said Zuckerberg while presenting Facebook’s Q4 earnings on Wednesday.

“Already last quarter, we made changes to show fewer viral videos to make sure people’s time is well spent. In total, we made changes that reduced time spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day. By focusing on meaningful connections, our community and business will be stronger over the long term,” he added.

Zuckerberg’s comments shortly after he announced major changes to News Feed algorithms to bring focus back on content shared by friends and families, rather than the posts from businesses.

Facebook Inc offered reassurances to investors on Wednesday that its digital ad business would remain highly profitable, despite a dip in usage on the social media network and an overhaul of its flagship News Feed.

The company said in an earnings report that quarterly revenue jumped 47% from a year earlier, and executives said on a conference call that they saw more chances to make money even if people spend less time on Facebook.

Analysts had wondered about the resilience of the world’s largest social media network, which is making changes to its products to deter foreign influence campaigns like ones that it says Russia has carried out and to stem the spread of sensationalism.

Facebook added to jitters after the bell on Wednesday when, in its earnings report, it said that at the end of last year time spent by users had fallen by about 50 million hours a day. Shares fell more than 4% in after-hours trading.

Shortly afterward, though, Facebook executives expressed optimism on the call with analysts, saying the changes they were making in response to criticism would be healthy for the business in the long term and might not even hurt much in the short term.

“I want to be clear: The most important driver of our business has never been time spent by itself. It’s the quality of the conversations and connections,” Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said on the call.

The upbeat forecast led to a rebound in shares, which in late after-hours trading were up 1.4% at $189.50.

Facebook management “acknowledged things that maybe most investors weren’t thinking about before - the reduction of users and usage - but at the same time they pointed to a lot of positive trends on their other platforms,” Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser said.

Although Facebook usage is down, he said, “One shouldn’t be reflectively negative on this.”

Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg told analysts that recent changes to reduce disinformation on Facebook could create “more monetization opportunities.”

Sandberg said she was optimistic about potential revenue from ads on “stories” on Facebook and Instagram, while Chief Financial Officer David Wehner said the average price per ad increased 43% in quarter.

“They said average revenue per ad was up a lot, that quality of ads has improved, and that the engagement declines were not meaningful,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said.

“In other words, better quality engagement and better ability to target ads. The street probably likes that,” he said.

Facebook said that time spent was falling at the end of last year by about 50 million hours a day due to changes that it said reduced viral videos, even before the company announced a series of changes to the News Feed that may further reduce user engagement.

Facebook’s 1.40 billion daily active users was up 14% from a year earlier, but below analysts’ estimate of 1.41 billion for the fourth quarter, according to financial data and analytics firm FactSet.

The number of daily users in the United States and Canada fell for the first time in Facebook’s history, dipping in the company’s home market by 700,000 from a quarter earlier to 184 million. Wehner said the number would “fluctuate” in the future.

Total revenue, though, showed little impact, rising 47% to $12.97 billion and beating analysts’ estimate of $12.55 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Wehner reiterated Facebook’s earlier guidance on expenses, telling analysts on the call that expenses would likely grow 45% to 60% during 2018. The spending spree includes thousands of new workers to review content posted by users.

The overhaul of Facebook’s New Feed was prompted in part by its disclosure last year that Russian agents used Facebook to try to sway American voters from 2015 to 2017, an allegation that Moscow denies. Facebook said 126 million Americans may have seen Russian-backed political ads and posts.

In the fourth quarter, net income attributable to Facebook shareholders rose to $4.27 billion, or $1.44 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 from $3.56 billion, or $1.21 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding a tax provision, the company earned $2.21 per share, topping analysts’ estimates of $1.95, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Facebook said it increased its provision for 2017 income taxes by $2.27 billion, citing U.S. tax changes.
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Over 1.2 million mobile users witnessed malware attacks in 2017: Kaspersky Lab

February 01, 2018 0 Comments
Over 1.2 million mobile users witnessed malware attacks in 2017: Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky Lab discovered 23 families of malware containing porn-related content.

In 2017, 25.4% of smartphone users who encountered malware were attacked by malicious programmes that used adult content to lure them into installing infected apps on their devices, a report said on Wednesday.


According to the findings by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, over 1.2 million mobile users witnessed a malware attack in 2017.

The security giant said the most active use of porn topics is in the mobile threat landscape. During the course of the research, Kaspersky Lab specialists identified 23 families of malware that use adult content to hide their real functionality.

“Although we cannot say that these mobile applications are technically very different to those that do not use adult content in their activities, there are a few specifics when it comes to attacks with porn-powered malicious applications,” Roman Unuchek, Security Expert at Kaspersky Lab, said in a statement.

“A victim who has been compromised with an adult content-enabled malicious programme might think twice before reporting the incident, simply because they were trying to find porn content. This is one of the reasons why we see so many attacks with this malware,” Unuchek added.

The research showed that when downloading an unknown porn application, users are at greatest risk of being infected with so-called clickers.

Upon infection, this malware starts to click through ad-links or try to subscribe the user to a subscription in order to drain their pre-paid mobile credit.

Porn-themed malware are followed by Banking Trojans disguised as porn video players, and rooting malware that often comes in the form of legitimate applications for known porn websites.
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Colourful new Google Doodle celebrates writer Kamala Das

February 01, 2018 0 Comments
Colourful new Google Doodle celebrates writer Kamala Das
Kamala Das’ life and work has been celebrated in a brand new Google Doodle.

Author and poet Kamala Das got a colourful new Google Doodle in her honour on Thursday. The artwork, made by artist Manjit Thapp, is just as lively as many of her writings.


Das, recently in news for the controversial biopic starring Manju Warrier, was born on March 31, 1934 in Punnayurkulam, Kerala and died on May 31, 2009 in Pune. She wrote several poems, short stories and novels in English and Malayalam and was also a widely read columnist who wrote extensively on politics, women’s issues, child care and more.

She lived under several pseudonyms throughout her life. While born Kamala, she later took pen names Madhavikutty and Kamala Das before finally converting to Islam in 1999 and changing her name to Kamala Surayya.

The Kerala high court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre, Central Board of Film Certification and director of the her biopic and sought their replies on charges raised in the petition seeking a ban on the Malayalam film for “supporting and justifying love jihad”. KP Ramachandran said in his plea filed on Monday that the film, directed by Kamal and starring Manju Warrier in the lead role, glorifies conversion and related incidents and omits some of the “painful incidents in her real life.”

“Such films are getting released at a time when there is a hot debate on “love jihad” and central agencies are probing it,” he said.

Das’ conversion is said to be at the behest of a 38-year-old Muslim man. The move created a furore in both the communities. Ramachandran also claimed that Das was one of the first victims of the so-called “love jihad”. He added that she wanted to come back to the Hindu fold before her death but some fundamentalist elements foiled this.

“She was allegedly enticed to the religion by a young leader feigning love. In the end, she was forced to lead a solitary life,” he said.
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