‘Chinese Apple’ Xiaomi to sell phones in US for first time (but no 4G)
Phones made by China’s Xiaomi – the world’s fourth biggest smartphone maker – are going on sale in the US for the first time, but they won’t be able to run on 4G networks.
Mobile
Samsung’s ad blocking app removed from Google Play store
An app running on Samsung’s recently updated API new ad blocking capabilities, has been abruptly removed from the Google Play store.
WhatsApp passes one billion monthly user mark
Mobile messaging service WhatsApp is now used by a billion people every month, Facebook has reported.
Microsoft buys typing app SwiftKey for $250m- report
Microsoft has bought London-based SwiftKey, a pioneer in touchscreen typing apps, according to reports.
IBM boosts IoT tools with Weather Company buy
IBM has bought the Weather Company as it makes gains in its IoT capabilities.
Google overtakes Apple as world’s most valuable company
Google’s new parent company Alphabet has overtaken Apple as the world’s most valuable company by market value, despite its ‘moonshots’ losing it $3.5bn over 12 months.
Vanity Fair premiers famous ‘Hollywood Issue’ on Snapchat
Ahead of this year’s Oscars, Vanity Fair is publishing its annual Hollywood Issue on Snapchat for the first time.
Samsung brings mobile ad blocking to its browser
Samsung has become the latest player to allow ad blocking by default, pre-installing the filtering software on its latest Android phones.
Mobile ads now account for four-fifths of Facebook ad revenue
A surge in video views that has boosted advertising spending contributing to a bumper final quarter for Facebook.
Driverless cars set for London’s roads
The design for the first driverless cars to be tested on the streets of London has been revealed.