According to report, shares in software firm Twilio have soared almost 88% on their first day of trading in New York. The IPO is the first this year by a so-called technology “unicorn” start-ups valued at more than $1bn (£700m). Twilio’s platform that enables developers to incorporate phone calls and text messages into their apps. Shares were priced at $15 but closed at $28.19, valuing the company at more than $2bn. Its software is used by companies including OpenTable, WhatsApp and Uber, which uses the technology to withhold the actual mobile numbers of drivers when they call passengers. The appetite…
Author: Adelaja
Online reports suggest Apple plans to omit the 3.5mm socket to make the iPhone 7 thinner and more waterproof, with more room for the battery. In view of this report, more than 300,000 people have signed a petition urging Apple not to ditch the headphone socket from the version of the iPhone due for release this autumn. The Fast Company reported it would rely on the Lightning cable port, currently used for charging, for sound output. Others suggest Apple will ship the iPhone 7 with wireless headphones. The Sum of us, a website “fighting for people over profits”, which organised…
The world’s top smartphone maker, Samsung, said yesterday it plans to invest about $1.2 billion in the United States over the next four years on so-called Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. In a statement, Samsung said it will make the investments through its Silicon Valley arms such as the Samsung Global Innovation Center in order to develop relevant technologies and strengthen cooperation with startup companies. The firm did not elaborate on its plans. Tech companies around the world are looking to IoT technologies, which enables everyday objects such as mobile phones and vehicles to communicate with each other, as a new…
Dell Inc’s software division is set be acquired for more than $2 billion, three people familiar with the matter said. The acquisition is said by taken up by the buyout firm Francisco Partners and the private equity arm of activist hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. Divesting the software assets will help Dell refocus its technology portfolio and bolster its balance sheet after it agreed in October to buy data storage company EMC Corp (EMC.N) for $67 billion. EMC owns a controlling stake in VMware Inc (VMW.N), a cloud-based virtualization software company. Dell is seeking to sell almost all of its…
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced the new Bluetooth 5 specification, currently slated for delivery in late 2016 or early 2017. While it won’t appear in devices until sometime after that, the BT 5 protocol should be a significant improvement over Bluetooth 4.2, which mostly focused on improving compatibility with the Internet of Things (IoT) and associated devices. Bluetooth 5 is expected to deliver four times the range of Bluetooth 4.2, twice the speed, and eight times the data broadcasting capability. The IoT capabilities baked into BT 4.2 will be expanded as well; the Bluetooth SIG is claiming…
Owners of the Asus Chromebook Flip can from today begin testing the new feature before its official launch later this year. Google revealed last month that Android apps would soon begin working on Chromebooks. This addition will transform Chromebook from a device with a sparse app offering, to one with access to virtually any app you can use on your Android device. If you own an Chromebook Flip, you will need to enable developer mode before the Play Store will show up on your device. You can do so by opening Settings > tap on About Chrome OS at the…
It’s tough for foreign companies to do business in China, so much that even Apple is having a hard time. After the iTunes Movies and iBooks Store ban back in April, the previous generation of iPhones have recently been accused of infringing the design patent of some random Chinese firm’s “100C” smartphone under the “100+” brand. Don’t laugh, because the Beijing Intellectual Property Office has since ordered Apple to stop selling its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing, with the reason being the general consumers won’t be able to tell the “minute differences” between Apple’s design and the…
Something extra-ordinary related to the next version of the Samsung Galaxy Note Phablet have apparently been cleared up, thanks to an alleged teaser for the Phablet. The image was sent by a source who wishes to remain anonymous. According to his story, he was able to obtain a picture of the teaser. If the image is legit, it confirms that Samsung is dong the smart thing and is calling this year’s iteration of the Galaxy Note the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. By skipping the Note 6 name and going straight to Note 7, Samsung would be aligning the Galaxy Note…
Microsoft today announced plans to acquire professional social network LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, an eye-popping fee that’s second in value in tech acquisitions only to Dell’s $67 billion purchase of EMC last year. But where does LinkedIn lie in Microsoft’s circa 200 known acquisitions? It’s the company’s most valuable acquisition for sure, at more than three times as much as it paid for its previous biggest acquisition, Skype, back in 2011. Here’s a quick look back at Microsoft’s 5 biggest acquisitions before today’s news emerged. 1. Skype (2011): $8.5 billion Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, not an…
The idea behind the program is to recognize agencies that “have undergone the required training and have demonstrated excellence in building Android applications,” a Google spokesperson tells us. In total, 13 agencies in India, Russia, U.K. and U.S. have already been certified since Google first announced its plans for this program last December. These agencies work with both large enterprise clients and startups. While Google notes that it does “not endorse, or offer any warranty, regarding the certified agencies,” the idea here is obviously to highlight some of the agencies that Google itself considers among the best in the ecosystem…