With its rock-solid custom Android ROM, Cyanogen has attracted a huge following, with the likes of Oppo and OnePlus even preloading this “flavor” of Android to their high-end handsets. Said huge following and vendors’ willingness to opt for third-party ROMs may be raising eyebrows in Mountain View, whereas the big tech companies are exploring ways…
Samsung acquires SmartThings as part of its struggle to reinvent itself as a platform rather than device maker
Samsung knows that phone and tablet making won’t bring it high margins forever. In fact, the company has already started to feel pressure from the growing number of Chinese vendors, some of which actually make great devices. Think: Xiaomi, Meizu, Oppo and OnePlus. Heck, Xiaomi is also a platform maker of sorts, with its MIUI…
Xiaomi working to expand to Brazil
Xiaomi’s next target market isn’t Europe or North America. According to TelecomPaper, the company is next heading to Brazil. The report argues that Apple of China has already opened an office in San Paulo, and has started hiring local staff in preparation to launch their phones in the country. Alas, it’s not that easy to…
Deutsche Telekom rejects Iliad’s $15 billion offer for 56.6% of T-Mobile USA
You’ve probably heard that France’s Iliad has made a $15 billion offer to buy 56.6% of T-Mobile USA, which for those who count, is a 17% premium over T-Mobile’s Wednesday closing price. Germans refused the deal as they’re looking for a) more money; or b) potentially even a better thing – to merge with Sprint…
Meizu secures $3.23 billion to sell more devices
Meizu has apparently managed to raise no less than 20 billion Yuan (about $3.23 billion) to sell more devices, GizChina is reporting. Said funds will be used to boost R&D efforts, and make more and better devices. On one hand, Meizu plans to launch its next flagship, MX4, this year; and on the other hand,…
Samsung invests in BlueStacks, the company that allows you to run Android apps on your computer
Samsung Ventures, which is the investment arm of Samsung Electronics, along with few other investors have invested some $13 million in BlueStacks, TechCrunch is reporting. BlueStacks, for those who haven’t heard of it before, is best known for making software that allows users to run Android apps on their Windows and Mac computers. However, it’s…
Apple gets TAG Heuer sales director to join its iWatch team
You know how Apple likes pay attention to details (and we love them for that); with something that sits on your wrist, they want to make sure even folks wearing a Rolex would considering buying the upcoming iWatch. This is not to say this will actually happen — there’s something special about Rolex and other…
Samsung looking to acquire voice tech giant Nuance?
Samsung may be looking to acquire Nuance Communications, which makes speech and voice recognition technology that is used across the board, with even Apple using it for its personal assistant app, Siri. Furthermore, Nuance’s technology is also used in many other devices that benefit from voice input, dedicated GPS units (PNDs) being one of them.…
Google acquires Skybox Imaging to improve imagery in Google Maps
Like Google Maps is not already awesome, Google is acquiring Skybox Imaging to improve satellite imagery. The search giant will pay no less than $500 million for the benefit, the amount that will be paid in cash, subject to adjustments. Skybox’s satellites will help keep Google Maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. Over time, we also…
Apple acquires Spotsetter app to boost its mapping service
Apple has quietly acquired the Spotsetter app, which provides personalized recommendations for places to go. No formal press release has been issued and we get to learn about the acquisition from TechCrunch, which claims that Apple is doing this to boost its mapping service, as well as to add two Spotsetter’s founders, Johnny Lee and…