As you may have already expected if you follow tech trends, Samsung has passed Nokia (who is still chugging along) as the top cell phone manufacturer for 2012. However, what makes this extra significant is that it is the first time in 14 years that Samsung has been able to do this, thanks to their estimated 29% share of shipments by the end of 2012.
Nokia is estimated to drop down to 24% of the worldwide shipments, which is still pretty significant.
To say the current corporate climate in Japan is terse right now is somewhat of a surreal reality. For a country largely associated with “pure” and honest business practices, a traditional commitment to protect the tenure of the employee (at times to the detriment of the company’s own well-being) and the origin of some of the world’s most respected companies, the current scandal Toshiba has been charged with is truly mindblowing, perhaps all the more so given how the numbers in this one continue to rise as it progresses.
Out of sight and out of mind, machine learning is becoming a part of our everyday life, in applications ranging from face detection features in airport security cameras, to speech recognition and automatic translation software such as Google Translate, to virtual assistants like Google Now. Our very own Gary Sims had a nice introduction to machine learning which is available to watch here.
In scientific applications, machine learning is becoming a cardinal tool for analyzing what is called “Big Data”: information from hundreds of millions of observations with hidden structures which could be literally impossible for us to understand without access to the computational abilities of supercomputers.
DeepMind, the AI research firm that is owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet, has created a computer that can learn and accomplish tasks from its own memory. The computer uses a neural network that can store and recall facts. This allows it to, for example, find the best route from one point to another on London’s famed Underground subway without any prior programming.
DeepMind calls its newest project the differentiable neural computer.
Like a module on a rocket ship, the Facebook Messenger app will soon detach from its mothership, the main Facebook app. As a result, messaging will no longer be possible in the Facebook app, and all messaging will be exclusively handled by the standalone Messenger.
Because of the change, users will eventually have to install the Messenger app if they want to continue swapping messages with Facebook friends.
Happening in two weeks Currently, users can send and receive messages in both the main Facebook app itself and the standalone Messenger app.
C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR
A leaker contends that the rumored OnePlus 10 Ultra might land as a OnePlus 10T. This is confusing because, so far, there hasn’t been a OnePlus 10. It’s possible this leaker is incorrect, but the fact we believe it could happen shows just how confusing OnePlus’ lineup is today. When OnePlus first started selling phones, it had a pretty reliable naming scheme.
Did you heart skip a beat when you read yesterday that theHTC One X on Telus is finally getting its Android 4.1 update, hoping that the same Jelly Bean goodness will come to your device? If you’re sporting any of the three smartphones listed below, it looks like the wait is almost over.
According to the latest software updates schedule that Telus has posted online, the HTC One S, the Samsung Galaxy S2 X 4G and the Samsung Galaxy Note will all get the software package soon.
Wi-Fi is everywhere
Earlier this year, an important expedition took place in the Himalayas at the foot of Mount Everest. The goal was not to summit the world’s highest peak, but to provide internet access to the climbers and their guides in the form of Wi-Fi. Yes, base camp on the Khumbu Glacier in Nepal now offers Wi-Fi, like any civilized place should.
Wi-Fi has come a long way since 802.
Update, January 29: Eager to see how Final Fantasy IX looks on mobile? A gameplay video has been posted on a Square Enix Japan YouTube channel (via FinalFantasyUnion). Enjoy!
Original post, December 31: Square Enix has been working to bring just about every Final Fantasy game to mobile devices for the past couple years, and it has just announced its next re-release that’s coming to mobile. Final Fantasy IX, one of the best Final Fantasy games of all time, is coming to Android, iOS and PC sometime in 2016.
AT&T ignited a storm of controversy several weeks ago after it started rolling out fake 5G icons to select Android smartphones on its network. Now it would appear that the carrier is pushing its faux 5G network indicator to iPhones as well.
According to MacRumors, some users who have the iOS 12.2 beta two update on their iPhones are receiving the fake 5G logo. The U.S. carrier subsequently confirmed the roll-out to the publication.