Apple claims that its latest software upgrade will support the likes of iPhone 4 and iPad mini.
Apple was the smartphone industry behemoth until Samsung reclaimed its throne in the first quarter. However, the recent several rumors made their way regarding Apple Inc. where it was said that soon certain Apple products, that have become vintage or obsolete, will not be supported by the company or its latest updates anymore. However, now things have changed and there is good news for people using older versions that the company will continue to support the product no matter what. The company is all set to launch its latest update iOS 9 in the coming times.
Previously, it was said and believed that the latest software update from Apple would only be compatible with iPhone 5 or higher model phones; the same procedure that is now being done for every latest iPhone update. But the company came out and explained that its previous phones are not obsolete yet.
According to Forbes, Apple is expected to make a public announcement regarding its OS update next month with plans to launch it for its users in September. Furthermore it is believed that the tech giant has planned to upgrade the software with better and improved support for older devices; at least three years old or more which includes iPad mini or iPhone 4S. According to people familiar to the matter “iOS 9 will not be a major release because engineers are holding back on new features in favor of ‘under the hood’ quality and stability improvements. I wouldn’t say there’s nothing new for consumers, but the feature lists are more stripped down than the initial plans called for.”
Apple, with this upgrade, is going beyond its reach. It is well known that new software upgrades has not played well with older devices. The new versions are basically launched to support the current shipping model and older devices tend to face stability and lag issues. For instance, iPhone 4 starts to lag a lot if its software is upgraded to iOS 7 from iOS 6 whereas iPhone 4S’ users face screen size issues with iOS 8. Hence, iOS 9 will be something that will bring one stop solution for all older and newer devices. Forbes reports “Optimizing iOS 9 for older devices would be especially beneficial for Apple customers in emerging markets where the upgrade cycles have wider gaps.”
The company currently lost a major chunk of market share to its arch rival Samsung. The South Korean smartphone maker made a good comeback in the market this year and Apple seeks to dethrone it in the coming times.
Facebook has launched its video calling service across the globe except a few countries.
Facebook Inc from today is coming up with a video calling feature update that will be available on its Messenger app is said to be released globally reports David Marcus, the Vice President of Messaging. According to him, the application’s new feature is now found everywhere across the globe. However, certain countries that still do not have access to this feature include United Arab Emirates, Saudia Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain.Previously, the feature was initially found in just 18 countries across the globe which comprises of United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Norway, Poland, Nigeria, Oman, Mexico, France and Greece. According to the data provided by the firm, the video calling feature has almost attracted 1 million individuals in just a matter of 2 days. This response was obtained after the public launch during the last week of April.This feature by Facebook is a great move where the social media giant has now provided a platform for users where they can communicate with one another irrespective of the distance. So now Facebook is in direct competition with companies like Skype, Viber, WhatsApp Calling that are already providing video calling features.David Marcus at this point of time is also welcoming feedback from customers regarding how they can improve their service and what more needs to be done before the global launch of this Facebook product. coming up with a video calling feature for iOS and Android is more of a follow up where initially “Voice Calling” was launched on Messenger in 2014."We’re happy to share we’ve now rolled out the capability globally, with the exception of a few countries we’re still working on improving quality for” stated Mr. David Marcus in a recent post.Facebook now is constantly working towards making its services better, thus for the same reason the company has partnered with WhatsApp. Both the companies are reportedly working on money transfer service along with a customer service experience for Facebook’s Messenger application. Facebook is constantly coming up with various applications and services that are likely to keep its diversified audience happy. Moreover, there are several rumors regarding the company to develop games for its Messenger platform as well.Hence, in a nutshell, Facebook is on the right track where it is working towards making this platform a one stop solution that caters to the needs of the diversified consumer base of the social media platform. Video calling will certainly enrich the experience of users on Messenger and will act as a mediator to minimizes distances even further.
Sports merchandise tycoons go head to head to get University of Michigan apparel deal.
Nike and Adidas the previous week placed their bids for the clothing contract for the University of Michigan- one of the most renowned names in college sports.
According to a spokesman at Adidas who has confirmed about the bidding also mentioned about a banner that welcomes representatives of the university’s North American head office in Portland. On the other hand, Nike has also painted a field at the middle of Washington County campus that bears a striking resemblance with the football field in Michigan. Michigan has a Go Blue slogan which an also hung on the recreation center.
A spokesperson from Nike has confirmed about hosting the institution "as we do many athletes, teams and leagues on a regular basis."
Nike and Adidas are not the only one bidding but Under Armour is also trying its luck. According to a photograph seen on social media, that shows a large Michigan banner most likely placed in their Baltimore head office.
The previous month the student newspaper of Michigan University’s athletic department stated that they were welcoming bids from sports brands like Under Armour, Nike and Adidas. the university signed a deal with Adidas earlier that is said to be ending on July 31, 2016.
With the severity of the deal, it is expected that all three companies are likely to bid very high since it is an extremely important venture and none of them would wish to let go of it.
According to the university’s previous track record, the education hub has the most number of wins in terms of football. Along with that, they also have a massive alumni base. So if Adidas gets hands on this deal once again then they will become the number one brand on Adidas’s portfolio for schools and colleges.
Nike (NKE) since a fairly long time has been only targeting nig universities to be a part of its portfolio. However, the company at this point is not targeting small magnitude projects. Thus if they succeed in getting Michigan on board then it will be a great achievement for them.
Michigan University will take almost three months to pass its verdict. The company will inform Adidas if it wishes to extend the deal for another five years but if it does not do so then either Nike or Under Armour will enjoy the chance to have Michigan on board for almost five years.
All the sports merchandise companies are waiting for the final verdict regarding who will become the uncrowned king of the industry.
The auto making company has been experiencing trouble from suppliers which have adversely effected the sales of its cars.
According to the most recent General Motors news update, it is being seen that the auto making company is facing some serious problems regarding the proper supply of its cars due to some issues between the suppliers and the company. Only last year, it was seen that the auto making giant received a decreased operating income due to the constant issues and disputes between the company and suppliers, which resulted in the firm losing around $144 per one automobile which would have otherwise added to the operating income of the firm. Along with the firm, one more company that faced similar issues was Fords Motors.As per a survey carried out by Planning Perspectives Inc to record relations that companies had with the suppliers, it was seen that General Motors and Fords Motors both had quite a low score as a result. The poll that was conducted indicated how these troubled relationships with the suppliers have made such a negative impact on the sales of both the automakers. According to tradition, it has always been seen that suppliers are seen to be making new and good offers to companies that they feel they are comfortable with and have always refrained from making huge deals with companies they feel are troublesome. As per the poll results, it was seen that GM was one of those companies that the suppliers thought to be troublesome and rather avoided making a trade with it. Analysts believe that this is expected to put a negative effect on the sales of the auto making firm.In the survey results, it was seen that General Motors managed to get a score of 224 from a mere 500 which indicated that the firm witnessed a loss of $144 on each vehicle sold or manufactured. On the other hand, Fords managed to score a little better than that with a score of 261 from 500. If only these issues had not arisen, it could have been possible for GM to make $750 million as the operating income with Ford receiving $354 million.In the same poll, the automakers that ended up receiving the highest score came out to be Toyota Motors and Honda Motors as per the results from around 435 suppliers in total. Keeping in mind the most recent earnings report that was submitted by General Motors, it will be seen that the firm ended up disappointing analysts in general by reporting low earnings and quite a weak quarter as compared to the previous quarters that it had gone through.
The wireless company recently announced the launch of a new low budget phone by LG that is sure to attract the attention of people who wish to carry smart phones but with a low budget.
According to a recent press release by Verizon wireless business, it was reported by the management of the firm that LG’s new phone, the Lancet, will be made available for the customers soon. Previously, LG Display Co Ltd was not seen to have given much importance to the phones supported by software provided by Windows but as per the latest release, it was seen that this time around, the firm has decided to bring a new phone in the market with the software that it previously tried to avoid. There were rumors regarding the release of the smart phone in which it was expected in the last week of May. However, as per the latest update on the wireless networking business, it has been announced that this phone will be launched on May 14 instead.It has also been made public by Verizon (VZ) wireless that it will reportedly be the only carrier to be providing this low budget LG phone to the market. According to BidnessETC, the phone will be made available for the users in the United States by May 21, 2015. The wireless carrier has been giving special attention to the upcoming phone supported by a promotional campaign that is to help make this phone a success.Lancet will be coming in a with features like a 4.5-inch screen along with an 854x480 resolution screen with a Qualcomm processor. The internal storage on the phone will be of around 8GB and will also be made compatible to work with a micro SD card. The new LG phone will also come with a 4G LTE support with a battery system that will work for 2100mAh support. As for the camera, it comes with an 8MP camera with the secondary camera provided with VGA.The phone that is yet to release has already been made available by Verizon online store for purchase and customers who wish carry out the buying procedure will be able to do so in only $120 which is a far lower price as compared to other smartphones that come with the same features.Verizon management was seen to speak in recent press release in which it discussed how the upcoming phone is going to be quite useful for customers who wish to enjoy the typical features in a smartphone at a price that is manageable by people who wish to save money on gadgets. Therefore, for people who wish to enjoy features of a smartphone but not spend too much, this phone is sure to prove as a great device to own.
The smartphone making company is now looking to attract more and more Android users to increase its user base.
Apple Inc has been enjoying a good position on the stock index since the higher than expected quarterly result that were recently announced by the firm in which it discussed how it is planning to give back cash dividends valued up to $200 billion to the shareholders. Since that announcement, the company has been going up on the stock by almost touching the all-time high value of the shares.One thing that has been taken into consideration by the analysts is that the iPhone 6 Plus makers are carrying around the market value of around $735 billion which has made them into the biggest company in the world. Furthermore, it has helped them in being one of the most important parts of the S&P 500 due to the significant trade activities of the firm.There are some factors that analysts believe are going to help Apple In becoming even more popular than it already is and by stealing users of Android that it has been doing for such a long time. If the most recent earnings call is taken into consideration, it will be seen that the CEO of the smartphone making company was seen to refer to its customers who were ‘switchers’ from the Android system and were now using the iOS system that his company provides.Analysts also believe that Apple (AAPL) stock has been relying on its old and loyal customers to use upgraded and pricey versions of the smartphone that it creates and manufactures but to increase its user base and spread it out to more Android users has become a challenge for the firm. Therefore, analysts are of the opinion that by targeting Android users, the company can work its way into growing its user base. Tim Cook, the CEO of the Mac producing company, was also seen discussing how he is expecting more and more people to be switching to iPhone 6 from their Androids as compared to the previous numbers who switched to other models of the iPhones.If a recent report released by Kantar Worldpanel is taken into consideration, it will be seen that the around one-third of the total user base of the iPhones in the European countries was previously using Androids and were considered as recent switchers. One of the reasons why more and more Android users were seen using the phones made by Apple is of the large screen that is now being provided in the latest iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus that has attracted a lot of attention from users who wish to carry phones with big screens.
Tesla is now working towards making another factory with the name of Gigafactory 1, following the footsteps of its first battery producing plant
Tesla Motors was recently seen to have announced the firm’s new venture in which it has decided to start producing batteries. This important announcement was made by the CEO of the company, Elon Musk, in a press release that took place in Hawthorne, California four weeks ago. The plant that was set up by the electric car makers for the creation and production of batteries was named as ‘Gigafactory’ and according to the most recent news, the smart cars makers have decided to expand its battery business even more by coming up with a new factory for the production of batteries known as the ‘Gigafactory 1’. The fact that the hybrid cars making company has already decided to expand its battery making business to more than one plant shows that it is now very serious and focused about carrying this business forward.Tesla has quite a lot of times discussed how it does not wish to keep its battery making business concise which means that no chance will be missed that could take the company two steps ahead of its previous status. Currently, the automakers are trying to establish a factory for the production of batteries in Nevada which is expected to take more than a few months to finally start production.According to the plans that have been discussed by Tesla, the firm has huge plans regarding making a place for itself in the battery industry. By next year, the plant in Nevada will be up and about producing batteries and this in return will be making the firm self-sufficient in producing lithium-ion batteries in huge number that will break all the records on a global level. To reach those targets, the smart car makers have decided to keep expanding business until a target is achieved.After the launch of the batteries that Tesla longed to present to the public, the response that was generated seemed to take Elon Musk’s spirits even higher as now he is sure that in the coming times, his company will experience more success in the battery business.The demand for another energy products that Tesla is making has been constantly increasing, on the basis of which the firm has made plans to further explore the energy sector by making these new batteries. On the other hand, the demand has also been giving the electric car makers ideas to make it even bigger in the energy industry.For Gigafactory, Musk discussed in the most recent press release that he will be making sure that this factory that is being set up by the firm is a little different to how other companies of the same kind are.
