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Alphabet divisions are free to return to China, implies Brin

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Google has not had the best relationship with China, having argued over censorship and been on the receiving end of hacking cases. As a result, the company has been absent from China since 2010. However, restructuring under the new Alphabet umbrella could mean that divisions are free to return to the country, should they choose to do so. Speaking on Wednesday, Google co-founder Sergey Brin stated that each Alphabet business is free to make its own decisions about which countries they operate in, which opens the door to divisions going back to work in China or any other region of their choice. Countries, timings or divisions were not specifically mentioned, but the statement came at an event for Google’s Project Loon balloon-based internet service. “Each Alphabet business can make its own decisions on which countries to operate in,” – Google co-founder Sergey Brin Brin mentioned that China is one of the countries that is interested in expanding its internet coverage by using Lo

Android boss says Google is still “very committed” to Chrome OS

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Chrome OS may be absorbed into Android at some point, but Google is not ready to talk about its demise just yet. The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Google will “fold” Chrome OS into Android by 2017. That’s due to the prevalence of Android over the capable, but largely unpopular cloud-centric model of Chrome OS, according to the people familiar with the matter. The dual approach of Android on phones and Chrome OS on PCs is “no longer relevant to Google,” the story goes. In the hours after the WSJ story was published, The Verge and Recode   both independently confirmed the information. We will reportedly get our first look at the Android-Chrome OS hybrid at Google I/O next year. According to Recode , Chrome OS and Chromebooks won’t be going away, at least not right away. Google’s partners will still get to use Chrome OS for their laptops, which have proven a hit in schools and enterprise. But laptops makers will also be able to choose Android for their products. Hir

Xperia Z5 / Z5 Compact update rolling out with stagefright fix

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Sony has begun rolling out a new update for the Xperia Z5 and Xperia Z5 Compact, bringing with it a full fix for the Stagefright exploit. Xperia Z5 in video: Sony Xperia Z5 Review Sony Xperia Z5 Compact revie... Sony Xperia Z5 Compact unbox... Sony Xperia Z5 Premium hands... Sony Xperia Z5 Compact hands... Sony Xperia Z5 hands-on and ...  As reported by  XperiaBlog,  the new update – which has build number 32.0.A.6.152 – is rolling out to the Xperia Z5 (model numbers E6602, E6653), Xperia Z5 Dual (E6633, E6683) and Xperia Z5 Compact (E5803, E5823) and weighs in at 281MB for an OTA update. Alongside a full fix for the Stagefright exploit, the update also reportedly brings an improved camera, better heat management and more reliable fingerprint sensor. The update has begun rolling out to all variants of the handsets listed above but is dependent on region; on my UK-variant of the Xperia Z5, the update isn’t showing but others have reported the update

HTC is losing confidence, ditches forecasts as losses mount

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LG, Samsung and Sony have all recently opened up their books for Q3 2015, revealing that the big names in the Android mobile market are all struggling to shift high-end smartphones this year. HTC’s latest financial statement is perhaps the worst of the lot, as the company has posted yet another notable quarterly loss. HTC has again seen a large decline in its revenue, falling from NT$33 billion (£1 billion) in Q2 to NT$21.4 billion ($660 million) in Q3. Q3 revenue in 2015 is roughly half the amount that HTC managed to generate at the same point last year. As a result, the company’s operating margin has fallen from -15.6 percent to -23.1 percent over the past quarter. The company’s operating loss has remained more consistent from the previous quarter, improving ever so slightly from NT$5.1 billion ($157 million) to NT$4.9 billion ($151 million). However, HTC was just about breaking even at this point last year. The graphs below sum up the bleak looking situation rather handily. If

LG V10 shipping out to US, China and Hong Kong this week

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LG has announced that its LG V10 “ultra-smartphone” is to begin shipping in key markets this week. Specifically, the US, China and Hong Kong first, with the rest of the world to follow shortly. A number of US carriers are already offering the handset through their online stores this week , and T-Mobile has stated that the V10 will appear in its physical shops today. The phone should arrive at AT&T stores by November 6 th . Remember, US customers looking to pick up the LG V10 can also claim a selection of free goodies from LG if they buy before November 15 th , including a 200GB microSD card. More on the LG V10: LG V10 Hands On LG V10 Vs LG G4 Quick Look Following this rollout wave, the LG V10 is scheduled to arrive in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East throughout the fourth quarter of 2015, so anytime over the next couple of months. Unfortunately, specific dates for each territory have not been given. The LG V10 is already on sale in

Galaxy View launches November 6 for $599

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Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled its largest device yet, the Galaxy View and today, the company has revealed the larger-than-life tablet will launch in the US on November 6th and will set you back $599 for the Wi-Fi only model. There will also be a model with LTE sold at a later date and past history would suggest that AT&T is the most likely carrier to snap this up. Samsung in video: Samsung Gear S2 Review Samsung Galaxy S6 vs iPhone ... Huawei Mate S vs Samsung Gal... Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - 5 Ti... Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ Revi... The Galaxy View is being dubbed as the ultimate entertainment device and is somewhat portable, despite the large 18.4-inch Full HD display. The tablet comes equipped with a video-centric UI that brings on demand video to your fingertips from a range of preloaded and downloadable providers. The majority of the price tag is for this entertainment pack, with the rest of the specs mid-r

Sprint’s shameless “unlimited” plan shoves users to 2G network after 1GB of data

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Sprint is offering a new plan they’re calling an “unlimited data plan” for only $20 a month. Unlimited data plans have long been the holy grail of power users, some of which found themselves buying phones outright to keep their grandfathered plan rather than sign a new contract. However, Sprint isn’t using this word the way it’s universally understood. Sprint’s shady little plan offers a paltry 1GB of LTE data, after which subscribers are shoved down onto 2G networks. That’s right: the mobile equivalent of the 28k modem. A technology so antiquated that it’s expected to be shut down completely sometime in the next two years to make room on the electromagnetic spectrum for services that are actually useable. The desperate mobile carrier isn’t the first to offer low-cost, low-service plans like this – T-Mobile, for instance, has an almost identical one they call “Simple Choice” -but they are the first carrier to try to spin this bug into a feature by using blatantly misleading languag