News written by Andre Yoskowitz (April, 2016)

Thanks to a couple of leaks, we have the alleged specs for OnePlus' upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 3, as well as price.

The phone is expected to be officially launched in late May, with a release date expected in June.

Thanks to benchmark tests, we know the device will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, either 3GB, 4GB or 6GB of RAM depending on the configuration, dual 8/16MP cameras and NFC and fingerprint support. Strangely, the tests also cite 5-inch, 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch screens, suggesting there may be multiple models available.

OnePlus 3 devices will launch with an Android 6.0-based Oxygen OS and you can choose 32GB, 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.

According to other reports, we have a price, as well. $350 will get you the base model (likely 3GB RAM/32GB storage), with the price going up for each improved spec, although it is unclear by how much.

Despite an overall rough earnings report, Apple did have some promising tidbits of note.

One such note was Apple Music, which now boasts 13 million subscribers.

Apple last noted a Music milestone in February, and the number was 11 million, so growth remains strong. Industry leader Spotify has over 30 million paying subscribers, but the service has been around since 2009. Apple Music launched just 9 months ago.

Overall, Apple's "services" divison, which includes Apple Pay, Music and iCloud, saw large 20 percent growth to $6 billion in revenue, making it the second biggest division for the company behind the iPhone.

Nintendo has announced today that their upcoming NX console will launch in March 2017.

The company gave little more details but they did also announce that the highly-anticipated Legend of Zelda open-world title will launch simultaneously with the NX, tacking on at least a six-month delay for the game, which had been expected for the Wii U.

While many had hoped to see the console launched at E3 this year, but that is not happening. There is still likely to be a lot more revealed this June at the event, however.

Google has updated Gmail for Android to add support for Microsoft Exchange.

Previously, only Google Nexus owners had the Exchange support but the ability has been expanded to a billion other Android owners. "Exchange support was previously only available on our Nexus devices, but as of today, Exchange support covers mail, contacts, and calendar data in Android across all devices," a Google spokesperson added.

While Microsoft Outlook is more popular, Exchange is still the defacto standard for many corporate email systems, as well as calendar syncing.

Thanks to the new support, business employees can now use Exchange through their Gmail app, getting their work email, contacts and calendars without the need for a separate app.

Nearly five years after a major cyberattack exposed the data of nearly 100 million users, Sony has announced two-factor authentication for the PlayStation Network.

The company did not give a timeframe for when the service would be available, or what Sony would use for the 2-factor. Many services use one-time verification codes sent via text or email, but others use authenticator apps connected to your phones or other methods.

For Sony and the PSN, two-factor is a big deal. The company currently has 110 million users and 65 million monthly active users that access the network via the PlayStation 3 or 4, PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation mobile app or even through the site. Rival Microsoft has used two-factor since 2014 for the Xbox Live gaming platform.

Back in 2011, Anonymous claimed responsibility for the attack that took down the PlayStation Network for weeks and exposed the account names, birth dates, email addresses and encrypted credit card numbers for nearly 100 million gamers.

Nokia has announced their acquisition of Withings, the French health and wearables company.

The one-time handset giant will pay €170 million ($191 million) for the company, and Nokia says Withings will become a division of Nokia Technologies. NT currently houses the Ozo Camera and the Android-based N1 tablet.

"We have said consistently that digital health was an area of strategic interest to Nokia, and we are now taking concrete action to tap the opportunity in this large and important market," said Rajeev Suri, president & CEO of Nokia. "With this acquisition, Nokia is strengthening its position in the Internet of Things in a way that leverages the power of our trusted brand, fits with our company purpose of expanding the human possibilities of the connected world, and puts us at the heart of a very large addressable market where we can make a meaningful difference in peoples' lives."

Withings creates stylish fitness wearables and smartwatches including the popular Withings Activité

Dish Network and Viacom have signed a new licensing deal, meaning Comedy Central, BET, Spike, MTV, Nick and more are headed to the Sling TV service.

"We appreciate Viacom's willingness to continue with us on our journey as we work to deliver the best, most innovative television services available," said Charlie Ergen, DISH chairman and CEO. "This creative, bold and consumer-friendly approach extends a nearly 20-year-old relationship." Read more...

Bitcasa has discontinued its Drive cloud service, with the service shutting down completely on May 20th.

"We are discontinuing our Bitcasa Drive service in order to focus our full attention on our growing platform business," the company said. "All account owners must take action to avoid losing their files. For more information, please visit our Help Center. Thank you for being a Bitcasa Drive user. We have appreciated all of your support."

Bitcasa also offers the CloudFS API that lets companies embed the Bitcasa tech into their applications. The consumer product had too much competition, from notably larger companies like Amazon, Box, Google, Microsoft and Dropbox, and just did not have the name recognition.

In addition, Bitcasa got rid of unlimited storage in 2014, and then got rid of the 5GB free tier last year. They did offer a good deal, however, at 1TB for $10 per month.

When the service launched we reviewed the product, which at the time had promised to be the "infinite cloud storage solution." You can check that old review here: Afterdawn

After launching a year ago exclusively on the Apple TV, HBO Now is now available on some Samsung Smart TVs, the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One.

HBO Now is a $15 per month standalone streaming service that gives you access to HBO's large catalog of original shows, documentaries, movies, comedy specials and boxing without the need for a cable subscription.

Interestingly enough, you won't be able to sign up for HBO Now via your Xbox, so you have to actually sign up via your iOS or Android device, or through your Verizon and Optimum homepages if you use them as your ISP.

Samsung Smart TV owners can sign up directly through their TVs or through the other options.

Two cybercriminals convicted of creating the SpyEye botnet were sentenced this week to a combined 24 years in prison.

Aleksandr "Harderman" Panin, of Russia, and Hamza "Bx1" Bendelladj, of Algeria, were convicted of creating the software that infected hundreds of thousands of computers and helped steal millions from victims.

Panin received nine years for conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, as he was the core developer and distributor of SpyEye. Bendelladj received 15 years for his part in creating the botnet kit and for also running his own botnet using the kit, stealing 200,000 credit card numbers and causing tens of millions of dollars.

"It is difficult to over state the significance of this case, not only in terms of bringing two prolific computer hackers to justice, but also in disrupting and preventing immeasurable financial losses to individuals and the financial industry around the world," said John Horn, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Facebook has announced today that over 1 million people now access the social media site through Tor for "a variety of reasons related to privacy, security and safety."

Reads the company's post:

Microsoft and Google have agreed to drop all pending regulatory complaints against each other and have also agreed to settle future issues amongst themselves before filing a complaint.

"Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities," said a Microsoft rep. "We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers."

The two companies say the deal has been in the works for some time, but neither would comment on the current EU inquiry against Android. Microsoft was instrumental in that complaint through their membership in FairSearch and ICOMP, two groups supporting the antitrust inquiry.

But that was a different era, with different leadership, and it appears that CEOs Satya Nadella and Larry Page are much more willing to embrace partnerships than the previous management team.

According to new reports, Samsung executives have been all over Silicon Valley this past week in efforts to secure more deals for their chipmaking business.

Samsung recently signed massive deals with Apple and Qualcomm and has been aiming to convince existing and new potential clients that it will rule the next generation of chip technology, just like it has with the current 14nm manufacturing process.

"We think we are leading again," Samsung Semiconductor senior director Kelvin Low added. "This is not a one-time success story."

The ultimate goal is to have a 10nm chip in production by the end of the year, and a new cost-optimized 14nm process, as well.

The Chinese government has banned Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies store in the nation, following new regulations that put strict regulations on foreign online publishing.

The Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television had demanded Apple shut down the service pending the new rules. "We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible," said Apple when asked for comment.

China is Apple's second-largest market so it makes sense to have the stores brought up to "code" to ensure they are available to hundreds of millions of consumers.

Last month, the regulations came into effect, implicitly stating that all content must be stored on servers in China. Additionally, there were prohibitions made on foreign ownership in online publishing.

Earlier this week, Microsoft stated their Q3 2016 fiscal earnings report and unsurprisingly Windows Phone sales fell again while Surface sales increased.

Overall, the company made $3.8 billion in net profit on $20.5 billion in revenue, down year-over-year but still near record highs for the company.

Surface revenue was up large, at $1.1 billion for the quarter, 61 percent growth year-over-year, thanks to strong sales of the new Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.

On the other end of the spectrum, Windows Phone sales nosedived, with Microsoft selling just 2.3 million Lumia phones during the quarter, down 73 percent year-over-year. Revenue fell 46 percent for the phones.

Apple's "Project Titan" may have just gotten a new boss.

According to multiple reports, former Tesla VP of vehicle engineering Chris Porritt left the company in September 2015 and will begin working for Apple, likely as the head of their electric car project.

There has been some serious poaching between the two companies in recent years, with reports stating Tesla has hired over 150 Apple employees, some of which were poached directly. On the reverse end, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made it clear that nobody goes from Tesla to Apple. "Important engineers? They have hired people we've fired," Musk said. "We always jokingly call Apple the 'Tesla Graveyard' If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I'm not kidding."

Porritt, however, was certainly an important executive. Before Tesla, Porritt worked at Aston Martin, creating the One-77, and before that he spent 10 years at Land Rover leaving as principal engineer in vehicle dynamics.

With the addition of Porritt, there may be some more proof that Project Titan isn't just vaporware.

Facebook has announced the addition of group voice calls to their popular Messenger app, starting with the latest update for iOS and Android.

Messenger currently has 900 million users, and Facebook says once you update you will see a "new phone icon" when in group conversations. Hitting the icon will start a phone call with everyone in the group.

The new addition gives Messenger nearly all the features of Skype, the only difference being that you need to have a Facebook account to use Messenger and not everyone cares to have one. Skype also offers group video chat, which we assume is Facebook's next logical update for Messenger.

Opera has added an incredible new perk to their web browser, a free and unlimited VPN.

If you download the developer version of the browser, you "Now, you don't have to download VPN extensions or pay for VPN subscriptions to access blocked websites and to shield your browsing when on public Wi-Fi," said the company.

Opera notes that nearly 500 million people have tried or are currently running VPNs to protect their browsing and that number could jump if a significant amount of Opera's nearly 100 million active users switch over.

In addition, Opera has improved their built-in ad-blocking software, making the browser pretty formidable.

Google has celebrated the release of Chrome 50 this week, the 50th major update of the popular web browser, with a fun infographic.

There are over 1 billion mobile users, says Google, suggesting that a significant amount of Android users have continued to use the default browser and that Apple and Windows users may be using Chrome, as well.

Check out the infographic embedded here:

Apple has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a long-standing lawsuit brought by Dynamic Advances over alleged patent infringement.

The tech giant had been accused of violating patents with its Siri voice tech, with the suit claiming that Siri was really created at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and then licensed to Dynamic before Apple introduced it in 2011 with the iPhone 4S.

Under the settlement, Dynamic Advances will receive $5 million immediately and the other $20 million after conditions are met. Apple will receive a patent license in exchange.

According to new data, Americans are curring back on home wired Internet, with many (especially poorer) families opting for just mobile web.

The data is from a sample of 53,000 Americans and the study was conducted by the U.S. Commerce Department.

Over 30 percent of households that earn less than $25,000 per year exclusively use mobile Internet, up from 16 percent just 3 years ago. Additionally, 18 percent of households that make $50,000 to $75,000 are now mobile-only, 17 percent of households making $75,000 to $100,000 are mobile-only and even 15 percent of households earning over $100,000 have made the switch.

While it makes the most sense to see lower-income families sticking to just one form of paid Internet, the higher income families making the consciensous choice to go mobile-only is certainly interesting.

Following the console's 10-year anniversary, Microsoft has stopped manufacturing the Xbox 360, letting it retire as rumors of an Xbox One successor swirl.

The Xbox 360 was an incredibly popular console, selling over 85 million units since launch in 2006.

Reads Microsoft's statement:

Apple has launched new MacBooks today, adding a rose gold color and better battery life in addition to other new standard features.

The new 12-inch ultra has a Retina Display, a Force Touch trackpad, USB-C charging and syncing and a ridiculously thin and tiny frame at just 13.1 millimeters thin and 2 pounds.

Apple's base model has a sixth-generation dual-core Intel Core M processor, Intel HD Graphics 515, 8 GB RAM and 256GB internal storage for $1299.

The company says battery life is now up to 11 hours for standard web browsing.

According to new reports, Apple is actively seeking "triple A-list" talent for new content that will stream exclusively via the Apple TV set-top box and iTunes.

Industry watchers say the push is similar to that of Amazon who went all-out and spent millions to hire former "Top Gear" hosts for original programming via Amazon Prime.

To start, Apple is looking to develop an original TV series in-house although other sources say Apple is looking to push out multiple series at once, in efforts to steal significant market in a short period of time.

Netflix content boss Ted Sarandos made an interesting note during yesterday's earnings conference call, saying the company is open to having Netflix's original content available via Sean Parker's "The Screening Room" rental service.

The service (which has never been confirmed), would allow users to rent films that are currently in theaters for $50, allowing families and friends to watch new movies from the comfort of their homes.

"We wouldn't mind having our films available on that product," Sarandos said. "To me, it would be a great way to get content to consumers, if they want to pay for it."

The Screening Room is a very interesting concept, albeit controversial for the very traditional film industry. In concept, you pay $150 upfront for a specialized set-top box, and then $50 per 48-hour rental. For the price you will also reportedly get 2 tickets to see the film in theaters, thus keeping the theater chains and distributors happy, as well.

Of course, the expectation is that Netflix will not charge $50 to rent their films, especially since you can sign up for a month for $9.99 and get unlimited access to the same movie and hundreds of others.

Source:
BI

According to new reports, Verizon seems to be leading the way in their efforts to acquire Yahoo after a few prominent suitors dropped out of the bidding.

Among those who have dropped out are Time, Alphabet, Comcast, AT&T and IAC, leaving very few companies left with any interest in the struggling web pioneer.

Verizon has been focusing on video services and online advertising of late, even purchasing AOL for $4.4 billion last year to give themselves a foundation in the digital media business. Yahoo would be a logical acquisition although the price they pay certainly matters.

There have been estimates that Yahoo's core assets could be worth up to $8 billion in an auction while others have claimed the assets are really worth closer to $1 billion given the dysfunction of the businesses and sharply dropping profits and revenue. Yahoo executives have also failed to give solid business plans, which is said to have frustrated potential buyers. CEO Marissa Mayer has also been accused of stifling the sale process.

Earlier today, crafty fans noticed that Siri was "leaking" the dates for the upcoming WWDC, and later in the day Apple confirmed.

The event will run from June 13th through the 17th in San Francisco and fans will need to apply for tickets like they do every year and hope to get lucky via the lottery system. Ticket applications begin on Friday, April 22 at 10:00 a.m. If you are selected, Apple will charge $1599 to your Apple ID account.

As with most years, Apple is expected to launch the latest iOS, OS X and throw in a couple of surprises (likely the new MacBooks). Apple is also expected to show off more about upcoming changes to watchOS and tvOS.

"With four innovative operating systems and a new, intuitive programming language powering over 1 billion devices worldwide, there has never been a more exciting time to bring our developer community together," said Philip Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. "WWDC 2016 is going to be a landmark event for developers who are coding in Swift, and building apps and products for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS. We can't wait for everyone to join us -- in San Francisco or through the live stream."

Check the official site here: Apple

Google has officially brought podcasts to their Google Play Music streaming service.

Says Google: "People love podcasts. In fact, these days, there are so many podcasts to choose from, it can be hard to pick which one to listen to at any given time. That's where Google Play Music comes in. Google Play Music already gives you the right kind of music for the right moment--whether you want to have fun at work, prepare for a dance party, or just need to focus--and now, that includes podcasts."

Podcasts are available on Android devices in North America, and the pods will be curated for you through how you're feeling or what you're interested in. "Similar to our contextual playlists for music, we want to make it easy to find the right podcast--whether you're a podcast aficionado or listening for the first time," adds Google.

Electronics giant Sony announced this week that following two major earthquakes their image sensor factory will remain closed indefinitely.

In addition, a second image sensor plant will be partially suspended as the company assesses the damage.

"We are not expecting any immediate supply disruption as we have some inventories right now," a Sony spokesman added. "We will make an announcement promptly if any supply issues emerge."

Sony owns about 40 percent of the CMOS image sensor market and one of its largest customers is Apple, although Apple does not expect to have any supply constraints either.

Google says Android N will soon add support for pressure-sensitive touch (similar to 3D Touch on iOS).

The company says manufacturers asked them to add the support to the operating system, likely so the many OEMs would not have to address that individually.

For the time being there are no companies that have confirmed 3D Touch abilities for their Android phones moving forward, but Android N is still very early in the developer feedback stage. It will be interesting to see what happens moving forward.

Two years ago, Verizon acquired what was left of Intel's failed OnCue IPTV service and it appears they are now on the verge of launching a set-top box built on Intel's foundations.

The telecom giant has filed documents with the U.S. FCC to get approval for the box, and the documents specifically mention OnCue, and the codename for their set-top, "Mallard."

As has been reported in the past, the new device will offer pay-TV services and a brand new interface unlike that seen in Verizon's current Fios service. The set-top box will also give access to online video services although it is unclear if that includes the big services like Netflix and Hulu.

Sources claim Verizon has mandated its team to ship the box and the service by the end of the year, with testing for some subscribers starting over the summer.

Doom's multiplayer open beta is ready for the weekend.

The beta has been available for download for the last few days and is now playable. You get access to two maps and team deathmatch and warpath modes.

Fans will get to use the plasma rifle, shotguns, lightning guns, the Gauss Cannon and rocket launchers. You can also play as a demon.

If you want some gaming excitement for the weekend, Doom is live for the PS4, Xbox One and Steam.

Apple has announced the end of "iTunes Allowances," a feature that had allowed parents to automatically put money into their children's iTunes accounts on a recurring monthly basis.

As of now, Apple has stopped new deposits and the service will go away completely on May 25th.

Any unused allowance credit will be rolled over into your iTunes account and can be used as normal. There was no word as to why Apple is stopping the program. Moving forward, Apple is encouraging users to try out their Family Sharing features, including 'Ask to Buy' on family accounts.

According to new reports, Google will be adding podcasts to their Google Play Music service later this month, and probably as early as next week.

Google announced the Podcast section six months ago, but has gone relatively quiet about it since then.

"Google will launch podcasts on Android and other platforms next Monday, April 18, inside of Google Play Music, a streaming service similar to Apple Music," said talk-radio giant NPR in a letter to its members, while also mentioning that the information is under embargo.

While it certainly seems like Podcasts are coming next week, earlier this year sports podcaster and writer Bill Simmons tweeted that his podcast would be available in February on Google Play, which obviously didn't happen, suggesting that maybe NPR has their facts wrong, as well.

Dish has unveiled a new $20-per-month model of its Sling TV streaming TV service, adding multi-stream and Fox channels for the first time.

The new package will allow for up to three simultaneous streams on different devices, and will include Fox, Fox's regional sports networks and FX. By signing up, you also get on-demand access to FX Now.

Dish's first Sling TV package has Disney channels including ESPN, but only allows for one stream at a time.

"Since launch, our customers have asked for more channels and multiple streams," said Sling TV Chief Executive Roger Lynch in a statement. The new package "is the first step in answering their requests."

In addition to the Fox anchors, AMC, A&E, Turner channels, Scripps Networks Interactive channels, EPIX and Univision will also be part of the multi-stream service. Disney will not.

Sony jumped ahead of the NPD's console sales report and proclaimed that the PlayStation 4 was once again the top-selling console in the U.S.

"Thank you to our fans and partners for making PlayStation 4 the top-selling console and software sales leader for the month of March, as well as the number-one console for fans of The Division, according to NPD," said Sony. "We are truly humbled by the success and look forward to delivering more amazing gaming experiences throughout 2016, including the launch of PlayStation VR this October."

Overall, hardware sales for down year-over-year, to $253.2 million from $311.1 million.

"Video game hardware dollar sales declined by 19 percent in March 2016, with unit sales dropping 17 percent," said NPD analyst Liam Callahan. "The difference in trends was due to some softening of average retail prices of 2 percent versus last March. Portable hardware sales had the highest dollar sales volume decline versus last March, followed closely by eighth generation consoles. Seventh generation consoles had a steep percentage decline of 78 percent, though those sales now represent only 2 percent of the month's sales."

GameStop COO Tony Bartel has made some waves this week when he noted that he believes some new console launches "seem imminent."

There have been rumors flying about a "PlayStation 4K" that supports 4K gaming for a few months but there have been little details otherwise. Nintendo has been working on their NX console in secret for over a year, and Microsoft is likely not far behind if their rivals are building new consoles.

"Although we have not modeled extensive growth for new innovation in this presentation, we are very pleased to see the introduction of technology like virtual reality and rumored new console launches, some of which seem imminent," Bartel said during an investor conference.

Additionally, Bartel says expectations are very high for VR devices like the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, which are expected to start off with slow sales but grow into a behemoth in the coming years.

While the rumor has been hot for awhile, Apple has dropped another hint that their OS X operating system could be getting a major rebranding to "MacOS."

Apple posted a new page for Earth Day 2016 this week and the company wrote: "Years of use, which are based on first owners, are assumed to be four years for MacOS and tvOS devices and three years for iOS and watchOS devices."

The most recent OS X framework also contained the name "macOS," so it is becoming increasingly clear that Apple is looking to make a change soon.

Expect more at June's WWDC.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has warned Windows PC owners that they should uninstall Apple's QuickTime, after major vulnerabilities were found in the software.

Apple no longer supports the Windows variant of QuickTime so the DHS says you should uninstall the software to avoid a "loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data, as well as damage to system resources or business assets."

Security firm Trend Micro made a similar announcement earlier this week, although they noted that there have not been any successful attacks using the exploits that they know of.

There's actually a pretty good chance you don't have QuickTime installed, anyways, especially since it does not run on Windows 8 or Windows 10, but if you are running an older operating system it may be time to uninstall the app.

For the millionth time, Adobe's much-maligned Flash software has another critical vulnerability that affects millions.

The zero-day vulnerability lets attackers take control of a user's system, crash a user's system, and steal private information. Even worse, attackers are currently using the exploit so every unpatched system is potentially in trouble.

Adobe says all desktop versions of Flash are affected, including OS X, Windows and Linux.

Read more and get the update here: Adobe

Uber has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by California regulators in regards to a lack of proper background checks on drivers.

The ride hailing startup will pay up to $25 million to settle with the district attorneys of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The suit had also alleged that Uber was out of compliance for not getting proper licenses for airport dropoffs and pickups.

Regulators had found evidence that Uber failed to screen out 25 drivers who had serious criminal records, including a couple with convictions for murder and kidnapping.

Uber says it has already gotten back into compliance for the misleading ads about their background checks and the airports permits, and they expect to pay the minimum $10 million in fines, rather than the full $25 million if they fall out of compliance again.

An estimated 20 million Netflix subscribers are about to see their monthly price increase.

Since last year, many longtime subscribers have been grandfathered at $7.99 per month, but that price is set to go up to $9.99 per month beginning on May 8th.

A recent survey showed that 80 percent of affected Netflix users had no idea their prices were going up, at all, so this is a good PSA to those that are currently paying $7.99 per month.

No matter, there is little to complain about for the price, thanks to hits like Daredevil, Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.

Sony's latest major PS4 system software update is available now.

Version 3.50 (codenamed MUSASHI) adds some highly-awaited features including an expansion of remote play and the ability to hide your online status.

The full change list (via Sony):

In a surprise, Twitter announced earlier this week that it had secured the rights to stream Thursday night NFL games.

Other high-profile bidders included Amazon, Facebook and Verizon, which makes the new deal even more shocking since each of those tech giants has an established infrastructure for streaming.

Twitter will stream 10 of the 16 games on next season's slate - the same games that CBS and NBC will be broadcasting. Twitter is also looking to stream the games via their apps on consoles and set-tops.

According to reports, Twitter paid just $10 million for the rights, which is half the price that Yahoo paid last season to broadcast just one game that was being paid in London. It's also a fraction of the $450 million that CBS and NBC paid combined for the rights to show the games on TV with their own digital ad inventory. Reportedly, Twitter will just be rebroadcasting the CBS and NBC feeds of the games, with rights to sell a tiny portion of ads.

Premium pay television channel STARZ has announced the launch of its standalone streaming service for $8.99 per month.

Similar to offerings from HBO and Showtime, you can watch thousands of TV episodes and movies through consoles, mobile devices, and set-tops although the company does offer something that rivals do not - download capabilities.

"With the growing consumer appetite for our highly-rated, award–winning and diverse original programmingca and vast library of movies, our elegant and powerful app is the first in the industry to allow download capability to watch premium content anytime, anywhere, without the need for Wi-Fi access. Showcasing the rebranded STARZ offerings we announced last month, we believe this innovative app will also help fortify the broadband business of many of our traditional distributors and be even more appealing for inclusion in future video bundles," says the company.

The service promises to allow up to 4 users to watch simultaneously, and downloads are unlimited while you have a subscription. If you have Starz via a cable/satellite subscription, you can use the app, as well, authenticating using your ISP or cable provider login.

"Starz has entered the market today with an enormous value proposition for consumers. Our programming will now be more widely available to the 20 million broadband-only homes of cord nevers, cord cutters and cord shavers, including Millennials and other underserved consumers who need other viable subscription service options," added Starz in their press release.

Popular messaging app WhatsApp has launched end-to-end encryption for all communication, making it the largest service to do so.

The company, which has over 1 billion users, says that you must always use the latest version of the app to keep the privacy and the recipient must also. The encryption extends to phone calls, messages, photos, videos and files sent.

Says WhatsApp: "The idea is simple: when you send a message, the only person who can read it is the person or group chat that you send that message to. No one can see inside that message. Not cybercriminals. Not hackers. Not oppressive regimes. Not even us. End-to-end encryption helps make communication via WhatsApp private – sort of like a face-to-face conversation.

We live in a world where more of our data is digitized than ever before. Every day we see stories about sensitive records being improperly accessed or stolen. And if nothing is done, more of people's digital information and communication will be vulnerable to attack in the years to come. Fortunately, end-to-end encryption protects us from these vulnerabilities."

Over the past few weeks, we have heard rumors that Sony is working on an incremental upgrade to the PlayStation 4, for now, known as the PS4K due to its upgrades for 4K gaming.

It appears that rival Microsoft will not be following in the same footsteps (if the rumors end up being true).

Xbox boss Phil Spencer says if the company releases new hardware, fans should not expect "an Xbox One-and-a-Half," but rather a next-generation console.

"I'm not a big fan of Xbox One and a half. If we're going to move forward, I want to move forward in big numbers... For us, our box is doing well," says Spencer. "It performs, it's reliable, the servers are doing well. If we're going to go forward with anything, like I said, I want it to be a really substantial change for people–an upgrade."

Of course, everything is speculation for the time being but it is nice to see Microsoft thinking ahead.

Google has launched a new Chrome OS-based all-in-one, the Chromebase, for businesses in need of secure video conferencing in smaller meeting areas.

The company says the Chromebase is a "secure, self updating, easy to manage unit that builds on Chrome and WebRTC innovations for sharper video, audio and screen sharing. Guest account support makes it simple to join a meeting even without a Google account: Just click a meeting link invitation and you're connected."

Chromebase has a 24-inch adjustable touchscreen display, an integrated, adjustable HD camera, 4 microphones and 2 stereo speakers on the hardware end. On the software side, Google has announced "new features to our remote fleet management tools. Administrators can receive alert notifications and track health of their fleet of Chrome devices for meetings. They can remotely diagnose and troubleshoot audio, video quality and bandwidth problems. Administrators can also customize the interface using their own background images."

Chromebase for meetings is available for $799 in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland and Australia and it comes with a free year of management and support fees.

According to a new report, FBI officials will help local law enforcement in unlocking iPhones and other electronic devices.

The FBI recently admitted they were able to break into a terrorist's iPhone using a third-party technique, and it appears that other agencies want help with devices of alleged criminals of their own.

In response, the FBI sent the following letter:

Since recovering an iPhone from one of the San Bernardino shooters on December 3, 2015, the FBI sought methods to gain access to the data stored on it. As the FBI continued to conduct its own research, and as a result of the worldwide publicity and attention generated by the litigation with Apple, others outside the U.S. government continued to contact the U.S. government offering avenues of possible research. In mid-March, an outside party demonstrated to the FBI a possible method for unlocking the iPhone. That method for unlocking that specific iPhone proved successful.

We know that the absence of lawful, critical investigative tools due to the "Going Dark" problem is a substantial state and local law enforcement challenge that you face daily. As has been our longstanding policy, the FBI will of course consider any tool that might be helpful to our partners. Please know that we will continue to do everything we can to help you consistent with our legal and policy constraints. You have our commitment that we will maintain an open dialogue with you. We are in this together.

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Fitbit's latest wearables, the $200 Blaze and the $130 Alta, are both hits, selling 1 million units each.

The fitness trackers went on sale earlier this month and there had been questions as to whether consumers would be willing to pay up for such devices.

"At Fitbit, we continue to focus on developing innovative and motivating fitness-first products that our customers love and that help them achieve their health and fitness goals," Woody Scal, Chief Business Officer of Fitbit, wrote in the statement. "The positive response we've received to Blaze and Alta demonstrates our continued ability to innovate and drive strong demand for Fitbit products, which is what has made and kept us the leader in the global wearables category."

Regardless of the strong sales, Fitbit will have to do a bit more to appease investors who have seen the company's stock fall from a high of $50 to a recent low of $12.

Apple has been granted a patent for "Management, Replacement and Removal of Explicit Lyrics during Audio Playback," giving the company technology that will automatically scan any streaming song online and remove any curses.

The company filed for the patent in September 2014, in efforts to make streaming services more family-friendly.

Apple says the tech can actually replace the swear words with beeping noises or with non-curse lyrics, similar to how cable channels replace curses when playing movies. Additionally, Apple says the tech is powerful enough to remove the words completely, leaving the background music to continue to play seamlessly.

Finally, Apple's patent also extends to audio books, suggesting Apple could edit out swear words or other explicit scenes from audio books to make them more child and young adult-friendly.

According to mobile app analytics firm Apteligent, iOS 9.3 is the most stable Apple operating system yet.

The latest release has a crash rate of 2.2 percent, far lower than previous releases and even lower than Google's Android 6.0, which currently has a crash rate of 2.6 percent.

As of writing, the "most stable" OS is still in the midst of a couple of major bugs. Some users cannot click on hyperlinks in certain apps (Apple will issue a fix soon) and a worse bug where users could not activate their Apple account in order to complete the upgrade.

Earlier this week, Microsoft launched new extensions for its Edge browser, which until recently, had none.

The company has added extensions for Pinterest, Amazon, Evernote, LastPass, Reddit, Adblock and Adblock Plus, major companies with millions of customers. Edge is still far behind in the extension department, however, where Chrome and Firefox offer thousands of extensions of all types.

There had been rumors that Microsoft was planning on adding native ad-blocking through Edge, but the company clarified that the experience would be through third-parties, namely Adblock and Adblock Plus (currently).

According to new "trusted" sources, Android Authority says there is an Android-powered Nokia smartphone in the works.

Known as the Nokia A1 (as of now), the device is expected to ship in the summer.

Unlike past Nokia devices, which were usually colorful and round, the new device has a dark, generic design including a plastic back.

The device appears to be running Android 6.x, with Nokia's Z Launcher overlay to enhance. The specs are still unclear, but the source claims the A1 features a 5.5-inch, 1080p display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652. Those specs would place the device squarely in the mid-range, where Nokia used to live and may again soon.

Just two weeks after Apple launched the devices to much fanfare, the iPhone SE and the iPad Pro 9.7 are now shipping.

Additionally, Apple has opened the devices to new markets and to retail Apple Stores, while other retailers like Best Buy will have them starting Monday.

Early reports suggest that the iPhone SE is going to be huge in China and India, while sales appear muted in the U.S. and Western Europe. Overall, most iPhone SE variations are showing 4-6 weeks shipping time, suggesting high sales around the globe.

Check out a more detailed post about the iPhone SE here: Apple unveils powerful, 4-inch iPhone SE

Foxconn has completed their acquisition of struggling display maker Sharp, although the deal was at a significantly reduced price than when it was first announced.

The manufacturing giant confirmed paying $3.5 billion for a 66 percent majority share in Sharp, a far cry from the $6.2 billion it initially bid for the company earlier this year. Foxconn, during their due diligence period, found more concerns about the company's viability, leading to the delays and the reduced price.

Sharp made waves when it accepted the foreign bid over a similar bid from a Japanese Government-backed consortium. The new deal is the largest acquisition of a Japanese company by a foreign company, ever.

"I am thrilled by the prospects for this strategic alliance and I look forward to working with everyone at Sharp," added Terry Gou, Foxconn CEO and founder. "We have much that we want to achieve and I am confident that we will unlock Sharp's true potential and together reach great heights."

A year after buying the streaming music service, it appears that owner Jay-Z may not be happy with the price he paid.

The rapper paid $56 million for the struggling company last year, and Tidal recently announced they had reached 3 million subscribers, up from the 540,000 the company allegedly had when it was acquired.

That number is up for dispute now, as Jay-Z owned Tidal has sent a letter to previous owner Schibsted ASA, accusing the company of overstating that number in order to secure a higher bid.

"It became clear after taking control of Tidal and conducting our own audit that the total number of subscribers was actually well below the 540,000 reported to us by the prior owners," Tidal said in an e-mailed statement. "As a result, we have now served legal notice to parties involved in the sale."

Schibsted was quick to deny the accusations: "We disagree with the accusations in the letter and any potential claims," said Anders Rikter, a spokesman for Schibsted. "We would like to point out that the company was listed on the stock exchange with everything that entails regarding transparent financial reporting."

Tidal offers unlimited streaming of 40 million songs for $9.99 per month, and the same in high-fidelity FLAC for $19.99 per month. The company made headlines last year due to being owned by artists including Jay-Z, Beyonce, Rihanna, Kanye West and Chris Martin, but it has so far struggled to make a dent with mainstream consumers.

Yesterday at Microsoft's BUILD event, Windows head Terry Myerson announced that there are now over 270 million devices running Windows 10.

Microsoft has long said they want the operating system running on 1 billion devices by the end of next year, so they are moving at a solid pace.

As expected, Windows 10 is the fastest growing Windows ever, especially given its price tag of $0 for most consumers.

Myerson also introduced Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary edition, a free update coming in July that promises a host of new features, including better stylus support for tablets and touchscreen Windows 10 devices and the long-awaited ability to run Windows 10 apps from the Windows Store on your Xbox One.