Latest Technology News

Love it or hate it, you can't deny that Apple is a phenomenally successful company. But how has it managed to achieve this from a business that started in a garage?

Mostly it hasn’t been by innovation but by taking technology that already existed and turning it into the devices that people want to buy. Apple, more than any other company, has succeeded in making technology cool and desirable.

Continue reading →

F-Secure has released F-Secure SAFE 2015, a multi-platform security suite which protects Windows and Mac desktops, and Windows 8, Android and iOS mobile devices.

Desktop protection concentrates on the core essentials, with antivirus, browsing and banking protection, simple parental controls and a spam filter. As previously, the Windows client uses Windows’ own firewall.

Continue reading →

News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's media behemoth, is the latest source of criticism of Google. Robert Thomson, the chief executive of the company -- responsible for the Times and the Sun in the UK as well the book publisher HarperCollins -- has written to the European Commission to complain that the search giant is "a platform for piracy". Thomson pulls no punches as he lays into Google, saying that the company was in the hands of a "cynical management" and was "willing to exploit its dominant market position to stifle competition".

The letter, addressed to Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, is bitter in tone as Thomson complains of Google's "egregious" practices. It is Google's dominance of the search market that is seen as particularly problematic. News Corps feels that Google's power "increases with each passing day" -- a claim that many have leveled at Murdoch's corporation in the past -- and fears that this "will lead to a less informed, more vexatious level of dialog in our society". But this is far from being the only accusation that Thomson fires at Google.

Continue reading →

Research has shown that smartphone users are spending more time on their favorite apps rather than downloading new ones, illustrating how difficult it is for new apps and developers to break into the industry.

The study, carried out by Boston-based firm Localytics, also found that consumers are now using apps 21 percent more than they did last year. This rise is apparently down to users opening applications more often, rather than simply spending longer within them. App session length stayed constant at 5.7 minutes, whereas the average amount of app openings increased by 22 percent from 9.4 to 11.5 times a month.

Continue reading →

So what arenas of technology are going to make the most impact on the world over the next three years?

That's a question the 2014 KPMG Global Technology Innovation survey posed to some 768 technology business leaders, and according to the results, three of the top five disruptive technologies which should "change the way we work and live" are the Internet of Things, 3D printing, and biotech/healthcare.

Continue reading →

Amazon is an innovative company that makes some great products and provides wonderful services. As a Prime member, I shop there very often to take advantage of the free two-day shipping. My family uses the Fire TV almost daily to watch movies and play games and I do all of my reading on the Kindle Paperwhite. Hell, the Fire line of tablets are very enjoyable too. The only arguable misstep is the Fire phone, which many reviewers panned, but I actually liked.

Today, Amazon surprises the tech world with a lot of new devices; three new Fire tablets (including one for kids), two new Kindle e-readers and a new version of its Android fork, Fire OS. Are you excited?

Continue reading →

CyberLink has announced the release of PowerDirector 13 (from $79.99), PhotoDirector 6, ColorDirector 3 and AudioDirector 5($129.99), all available individually or as a part of the new Director Suite 3 ($299.99).

PowerDirector 13 highlights include a new Transition Designer, which enables you to create your own custom transition from any image.

Continue reading →

Android is a very robust operating system that finds itself in many places. Other than phones and tablets, it also runs on laptops, desktops and cameras to name a few. The secret to this diversity is that Google's mobile OS is powered by the open-source Linux kernel.

Today, Android is shoe-horned into yet another form; a projector. Yes, a company named FAVI announces the Pico+ Smart Projector, which is an All-in-One Android Projector PC. Is it cool, or just plain weird?

Continue reading →

Luxury watch brand Tag Heuer has announced plans to follow the likes of Apple and Samsung into the smartwatch industry.

The Swiss watchmaker, now part of French luxury goods group LVMH, recently lost its vice president of global sales, Patrick Pruniaux to Apple and is seeking revenge by going into direct competition with the tech giant.

Continue reading →

When I first learned about the HooToo it sounded, frankly, a bit nuts. Pitched as an "all-in-one device charger, AC adapter, personal cloud, travel router, Wi-Fi hotspot, and wireless bridge" I was instantly intrigued, but fearful that this was going to be a device that promised the world and delivered little. Was I setting my expectations too low? Before we look at things any further, it's probably worth spending a moment or two decoding what it actually is. One of its more basic functions is a rechargeable USB battery pack complete with two outputs. But there's more to the TripMate Elite. Much, much more.

The 3.2 x 3.2 x 1.0 inch (82 x 82 x 28mm) black box is home to a 6000mAH battery that's perfect for powering up a dead mobile or tablet on the move, but the 7oz (200g) package has plenty more tricks up its sleeve. As it's a portable battery pack, it's hardly surprising to find a couple of USB outputs, one kicking out 1A, the other 1/2.1A. Equally unsurprising -- but no less useful -- is the battery level checker on the adjacent side; tap the button and four blue LEDs let you know the charge level. But what's that next to the charge lights? Internet and LAN indicators? Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.

Continue reading →

Chat has become popular on many platforms, from computers to mobile. But BitTorrent has a client that seems to be changing how this all works, by removing the cloud storage from the equation, making this a bit more secure.

Today its chat client, known as Bleep, becomes available to all users. It's still in alpha form for the time being, but these things are moving forward.

Continue reading →

Well, the first iPhone 6 reviews are in, and they are unsurprisingly glowing. Apple's handpicked group of preferred, early reviewers don't disappoint in their enthusiasm. Not that anyone should be surprised by that. But reading them all -- and I did just that last night while waiting at the hospital with my 92 year-old father-in-law -- common observations tell a story about Apple's newest handset. This is one Once Upon a Time that anyone buying gadgets or manufacturing them should listen to. It's a morality tale about putting benefits before features and the fine art of achieving balance.

Among the many missives from Apple's love children: "iPhone 6 Review: It's a Winner" by Walt Mossberg; "Reviewed: iPhone 6 Is a Thin, Sexy Phone with a Killer Camera" by David Pogue; and "iPhone 6 Review: Apple's Cure for Android Envy" by Geoffrey Fowler, among many others. These reviewers really like the device, which by most definitions is exceptional -- and that will surprise fanboys waving around spec sheets and yelling "copycat!".

Continue reading →

Keyboards are an awfully personal thing, just like picking an underwear type. Some men wear boxers, some wear briefs and I am pretty sure a few BetaNews writers do not wear any at all. Believe it or not, much like underwear, there are many types of keyboards too.

Lately, mechanical keyboards have been all the rage with gamers and typists alike. It is not hard to understand, as these types of keyboards offer great performance and feedback. Today, Logitech announces a new model called the G910 Orion Spark RGB Mechanical Keyboard. The company calls it "the most advanced mechanical gaming keyboard in the world", but is such a claim true?

Continue reading →

It is no secret that mobile data is still very expensive. Going overboard with audio and video streaming, browsing or app downloads will unavoidably lead to throttling, a pretty steep bill from the mobile operator or a brisk run through the remaining credit. But there is one way of giving mobile device users more breathing room, and that is through data compression. It offers obvious advantages, and comes with no major downsides. What's not to like about that?

That is the selling point that Norwegian browser maker Opera Software and Taiwanese processor maker MediaTek hope will impress new customers, as they announce their new partnership, which will see the former's Opera Max data-savings app being built-into the latter's 4G LTE-enabled offerings. The first fruits of this partnership are two 64-bit chips. The touted data savings are rather impressive.

Continue reading →

Beginning my journey in the FinTech industry over twelve years ago, and now as CEO and co-founder of Pollen VC, a company that allows developers quicker access to their app store revenues, there have certainly been many twists and turns of start-up life along the way. My entire career has been characterized by moving into areas of business that interested me, but which I seemly knew nothing about. It was that curiosity and inherent desire to challenge existing thinking that gave rise to my co-founding of Pollen.

As a bond trader with UBS and leader of short credit trading for the company, I received my first taste of how technology could disrupt traditional financial services in 1998, when I helped UBS put its commercial paper business online. Naturally, there were many obstacles in implementing such major change at an organization of this size, but this was an early lesson to stay steadfast, and find ways around the inherent red tape of a large bank’s IT department.

Continue reading →