LG Electronics takes a new blow, continuing along the path of innovation that does not yet lead it to present smartphones with a very fashionable folding screen, but devices with unique features such as the Dual Screen system (available for example with the recent Velvet) . Today is the turn of Lg Wing, new device presented in the afternoon by the Korean company, which is part of the Explorer Project range and which has a form factor that will remind older people of another 2006 phone always born from the imagination of the Korean brand, the U900. The mechanism is the same: the second 3.9 “display is hidden and appears by rotating the main 6.8” display 90 degrees, thus forming a T made up of two overlapping screens. The mechanism, Lg guarantees, has been tested over 200,000 times to confirm its reliability.
When closed, Lg Wing has the classic design of a conventional smartphone: oled screen, triple rear camera and a 32 megapixel popup that does not take up so much space on the display with a 20.5: 9 ratio. By turning the screen clockwise, which will be positioned horizontally, the second 3.9 “screen is revealed, which allows new ways of using content from the phone. To enhance the unique form factor, LG has collaborated with partners and innovators in the sector: when you watch YouTube or Tubi from the pre-installed Naver Whale browser, for example, the main screen shows the video while the second screen shows the comments or the search bar. Thanks to the collaboration with streaming platforms such as Rave and Ficto, with Lg Wing it is possible enjoy the videos in full screen mode and at the same time interact with other users through the second screen.
Among the uses, the open screen mode can be useful in the car, allowing you to use the two screens simultaneously with different applications, something that normally does not happen on a traditional smartphone. For example, you can consult the directions on the main screen and have the second screen at your complete disposal for calls. In hand, the second screen not only allows you to expand the front display of the device, but also acts as a handle when the main screen is open. In addition, the Grip Lock function allows you to keep the second screen locked when not needed, so as to prevent inadvertent touches while holding the smartphone.
According to media reports, one of the most important companies for the smartphone industry, the chip designer arm, is about to be taken over by graphics card specialist Nvidia.
In der IT world a rare mega-deal seems to be looming. Apparently the British chip design company Arm is to be sold. The company currently still belongs to the Japanese communications giant Softbank – but now the graphics chip giant appears Nvidia To have registered interest in buying.
The purchase price should be over 40 billion dollars, the deal could be announced in the coming days, reported the “Wall Street Journal”, the “New York Times” and the “Financial Times” at the weekend. The current owner, the Japanese technology group Softbank, paid $ 32 billion for the British company four years ago.
The basic chip architecture of the vast majority of processors currently used in smartphones or tablets – and soon also in Apple computers be installed. The chip architecture is considered to be particularly energy-saving and has therefore become widely used in smartphones and numerous IoT devices enforced.
Arm chip design is ubiquitous these days
The chips from Apple, Samsung and the chip company Qualcomm are also based on these principles. However, companies have the right to adapt the basic architecture as they wish.
Nvidia got big with graphics cards for PCs – however, a few years ago, the company’s technology turned out to be can be used very well for machine learning and artificial intelligence. That gave the Nvidia business a new boost. The company is now also developing computers for driver assistance systems in cars and autonomous driving.
The iPhone is generally considered to be an easy-to-use smartphone. But most users don’t know how many ingenious tricks are in Apple’s iOS operating system. Here is a selection.
Photo series with 13 pictures
While more prominent features such as dark mode, an eye and battery-saving system display with a black background, should hardly have escaped anyone’s notice, there are a number of not-so-obvious functions that are still exciting.
In the area of media playback, for example, Apple introduced several useful tricks for iOS 13, explains Leo Becker from the specialist magazine “Mac & i”. For example, Apple Music users could view their music playback history and play it again. This can be found in the playback view in the lower right corner.
Adjust video quality and share music playback
If you shoot a lot of videos, you will surely appreciate the quick selection of the video quality in the status bar. Before this, it had to be laboriously adjusted in the camera settings menu, explains Becker. But now it is possible to switch between the desired dimensions directly in the camera app – at least from iPhone generation 11. The frame rate can also be changed in this way. With a tap of your finger on the upper right corner you can switch through the different setting options. There is a choice of “HD” and “4K” resolutions, as well as refresh rates of 30 or 60 or 24 or 30 frames per second,
Owners of Airpods or Beats headphones can also enjoy shared music playback with iOS 13, explains Andreas Floemer from the I.T-Portal “t3n”. Your own music can now be sent to several compatible headphones that can be connected to a device. To do this, you first swipe into the iPhone display from above to open the control center. Here you tap in the audio tile at the top right on the music output symbol and then on “Share audio”.
Also new and linked to the Airpods is the reading function for text messages, which can then be answered directly by voice input.
Child protection and digital wellbeing
The healthy relationship to technology in yourself and your own children is in the I.T sector currently high on the agenda. There is also a lot going on with the iPhone in this regard: “With iOS 12, Apple introduced the screen time function, and since iOS 13.3 the usage limits for chat apps such as Facetime, Messages, iCloud contacts and the like can be set,” explains Floemer.
Screen time is a feature that shows how long and how often certain apps are used. The new limits can also be set for the children’s devices. In addition, there is the possibility for parents to limit the child’s contact list, explains Becker. Communication with strangers can thus be prevented or controlled. This can be set under “Settings” in the “Screen time” menu. In addition, iCloud accounts can be organized in the family network.
Efficient with new tricks
When it comes to efficiency, Becker recommends the new quick actions: Each app can now provide specific actions on the home screen that can be used to jump directly to a specific point in the app. This allows the remaining steps, such as opening and navigating the app, to be skipped. Quick actions are now also available for many third-party apps. To do this, place your finger on an app icon or an element in an app for a longer period of time so that additional actions are displayed.
Becker has another tip for iPad owners: The accessibility features include many practical tricks for a smooth workflow. For example the active corners, with which certain actions or functions can be placed on one of the four corners of the screen so that they can be activated quickly. If you have problems entering text on the small screen, iOS 13 has now also added a solution, according to Becker: If you tap with three fingers on the iPhone display, a small toolbar appears for cutting, copying, pasting or undoing text input .
Floemer adds: With a long press on the space bar in the digital keyboard, it turns into a kind of trackpad, with which the cursor can be moved to a specific text passage at lightning speed. And if you only have a few megabytes of data left at the end of the month, Floemer recommends the low data mode in iOS 13. This can be found in the settings and allows you to drastically reduce data consumption.
ROMA – Tim’s doubts about Mediaset’s entry into the company where the single network will converge. “On the participation of other parties – said the company’s CEO, Luigi Gubitosi at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio – we have always thought of other telecommunications operators. We hope they will arrive, while content operators (such as Mediaset) will not necessarily be shareholders of the company “.
Obviously “if there was someone’s interest it would be evaluated, but not industrially speaking. The advantage of a content creator to participate is not evident to me” in the establishment of a single network company. In the case of content operators, Tim’s CEO added, “we will have to understand what they bring and what they can take”; for example, “if Netflix said that it wants to buy 2% of the network company, we would evaluate it, but the advantage of a user like Netflix, Rai or Mediaset is not clear to me, even if I understand that it is a suggestive theme after the ruling of the European Court of Justice.
No closure at the entrance of Enel. “But it is a hypothetical question – explained Gubitosi – Enel has always said that if there had been an industrial partner, it would not be interested in being a minority partner. That said, that would also be considered, there are no principle closures to anyone. , you just need to understand the reasons and conditions “.
The premier also spoke on future governance Giuseppe Conte: “The single network will be an open and inclusive infrastructure: we want everyone to participate in a project that I want to take place in 3-4 years”, he explained, adding that “in the Italian Recovery plan it is very important to pursue the concrete goal of ultra-broadband at soon. Tim is listed but found the government plan convincing. “
Still on governance, Gubitosi reiterated that in society “we do not want to have control, governance will be shared”, with “a very strong presence of the state through the CDP”. The single network project, of course, will have to pass the scrutiny of the European Commission and two national authorities (Antitrust and AgCom).
“My policy is not to give advice to regulators, first of all because they rightly don’t love them. The authorities – recalled Gubitosi -” are independent and must decide freely. Of course, this is a project that in a period of extraordinary difficulty brings benefits to the country and we hope it will be interpreted as such “.
For the EU Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni, in the field of telecommunications, “Italy’s problem today, even taking advantage of this great availability of European resources, is to guarantee what should be a citizen’s right”, that is “to be connected”. “This objective is the single network and investments in 5G, I believe this is a fundamental challenge respecting the rules of competition and without forgetting the rules, especially the European ones”, underlined Gentiloni.
Telefónica It already has a date for the launch of its commercial 5G network. The telecommunications operator will begin its deployment this week and expects to be in all major Spanish cities within a maximum period of four months. In fact, as confirmed by this newspaper, the commercial campaign will begin in the coming weeks.
As already advanced Invertia a month ago, the goal of Telefónicait was always to be in the market before the end of the year with a commercial deployment that ensures thatan important part of its customers could access the operator’s 5G, at least 50% coverage of your total deployment.
In this sense, the commercial launch of 5G of Telefónica It will take you to all 148 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants in Spain, almost all of those with 30,000, more than 50% of those with 20,000 and some with 10,000. In total, it will be a coverage equivalent to 75% of the entire population of the country.
The CEO of Telefónica, José María Álvarez-Pallete, has made the announcement and He stressed that “the launch of our 5G network is a level leap towards hyperconnectivity that will change the future of Spain.”
“It is 5G for everyone, without exceptions. In all autonomous communities. With this boost, Telefónica accelerates the digitization of SMEs, public administrations and citizens. Like fiber and like so many other great things, 5G is Telefónica ”, he indicated.
Pallete announces the launch of 5G in all major cities in Spain.
Invertia
This strategy fits theDigital Pactpresented by the president of the operatorJose Maria Alvarez-Palletewhich has as one of its main objectives that by 2025 fiber optics cover 100% of our country, and that the operator is a leader in the implementation of 5G technology.
The blue operator had repeated on many occasions that they were prepared for the launch since in addition had the experience of deployments inUK and Germany, but until now they considered that the Spanish market was not yet mature.
However, it is considered that things will begin to accelerate at the end of the year with the auction of the 700 MHz spectrum, the arrival of new terminals and a much more favorable industrial context for the new technology.
Orange and Vodafone
A year ago,Vodafone launched the first commercial 5G network in Spainwith coverage in the central nuclei of fifteen cities, which have subsequently grown to 21. However, the operator does not provide data on customers that currently have 5G and mobile manufacturers are reluctant to give figures for the sale of terminals that support this technology.
Likewise, before the summerOrange threw a blastannouncing that they would launch 5G service before the end of the year. For the moment, Orange’s deployment will be somewhat less than Vodafone’s with a handful of cities and a territorial coverage that will not exceed 20%.
At the moment there are already terminals below 400 euros, but most are close to 1,000. And neither has there been the great launch of Apple terminals with 5G coverage,something that tends to stimulate the arrival of new technologies. In fact, The three major operators are awaiting the arrival of the terminals of Apple and new ones from Samsung in the coming weeks.
The other problem is precisely the coverage that Telefónica was referring to. At the moment, the operators have only been awarded the 3.5 Ghz band and a series of scattered blocks that the Executive has promised to order in the coming months.
This means that the current coverage of Vodafone and the future of Orange and Telefónica is not made on the total potential capacity, at least until the first quarter of next year.
It will be on those dates whenthe Executive launched the last auction with the 700 Mhz spectrum,which in principle should give all of Spain the capillarity that commercial 5G networks need.
The Dutch company Fairphone has launched its new Fairphone 3+ mobile phone. Compared to the predecessor Fairphone 3, the camera modules and the audio system have been improved.
Fairphone modules enable retrofitting of new functions
The highlight: Owners of the Fairphone 3 can buy the improved modules and use them themselves, as the third Fairphone generation is modular. With the hardware update, every Fairphone 3 can be easily upgraded to the 3+, according to the company. A screwdriver supplied is sufficient.
In terms of screen, battery, main processor and other components, the Fairphone 3+ has not changed anything compared to the 3-series model. The Fairphone 3+ still has a mid-range chip with eight cores, the 632 Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm.
The new camera modules, however, increase the resolution of the main camera from 12 to 48 megapixels. The resolution of the selfie camera has been doubled, from 8 to 16 megapixels. This improves the photo and video quality significantly, promises Fairphone.
The new cameras also offer improved object tracking, faster autofocus and image stabilization. The modules require the latest operating system version Android 10. Owners of a Fairphone 3, on which Android 9 is still running, must update the mobile operating system before the conversion.
Metals traded without conflict
Fairphone has decided to have as many components of its smartphones as possible produced sustainably and under humane conditions. On the one hand, this affects the production of the smartphone. Furthermore, the company tries to obtain the raw materials for the smartphone from “fair” sources. Repairs should be simplified by a modular structure.
According to the company, the materials used include responsibly and conflict-free traded tin and tungsten, recycled copper and plastic, and Fairtrade gold. Most recently, the company co-founded an alliance to mine the important raw material cobalt under humane conditions.
Fairphone 3+: price and availability
The new Fairphone 3+ costs 469 euros and can be pre-ordered now. The new camera modules are offered together for just under 95 euros. The price for the audio module, which is primarily supposed to ensure better voice quality, has not yet been determined. From the 14th September 2020, the new products will be available across Europe.
He sol it is the center of our planetary system. Just as it benefits us and keeps us healthy, it can also cause us harm if we overexpose ourselves to it. The same thing happens with technology, a solar storm can affect the telecommunications. If it is a very big storm, it can damage internet communication and even electrical services.
But in this moment no need to worry. Although some media reported that a solar storm would affect telecommunications this Friday, the activity of the sun is at a low point.
“Solar activity is currently moderate. We hope to see an increase in its activity by 2024 ”, he explains Juan Américo González Esparza, boss of Mexican Space Weather Service (SCiEsMEX). The researcher of Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico monitors the activity of the sun every day.
Should we be alarmed by the next solar storm? (Photo: iStock)
From Morelia, Michoacán, González and his team study the behavior of the star. “The Sunspots they occur when there is greater activity. At this moment we are going from cycle 24 to 25, so it is calmer, “he says.
A sun that will give many problems
He sun behavior is cyclical, each cycle lasts approximately 11 years and they are characterized by the appearance of sun spots, González points out. “When the next cycle arrives and the sunspots appear, it can cause very intense storms,” he adds. These busiest times affect telecommunications.
Some telecommunications engineers consulted by Tec Review they have not detected serious interruptions to services in Mexico in the last 30 years. The greatest impact on communications services due to a solar storm occurred when in Mexico there was only Telegraph. But it will happen again, estimates the researcher.
“Solar storms have hit the Nordic countries the most. Even in Québec, Canada, a power station was paralyzed by increased solar activity. It left this area without electricity ”, says González about the 1989 blackout in that Canadian province.
So it is not possible to predict when a “perfect solar storm“But it will happen, says the researcher. The consequences would be the fall of telecommunications and power systems global. It would mean that you could not use the internet or have electricity in your house. You would not be able to make calls and there would be failures in various technological systems.
Beautiful phenomena
The Aurora borealis and southern They are a consequence of the interaction of solar particles with the Earth’s atmosphere. A more intense activity of the sun will cause that the auroras can be seen in points of the Earth closer to the Equator. As it already happened.
Solar storms have affected satellite communications. But much earlier, in 1859, a super solar storm caused a Northern Lights visible in Mexico City. Like earthquakes, which cannot be predicted, solar storms occur unexpectedly.
This is what an aurora borealis looks like … from space (Photo: iStock)
But the monitoring carried out by the National Space Weather Laboratory helps to have reports, warnings and calculations to help maintain the National security. “We work together with the National Center for Disaster Prevention to maintain constant communication and alert about possible impacts,” says González.
The specialist in space weather does not rule out the occurrence of another solar super storm that this time, due to technological dependence, will have greater effects on our way of life, telecommunications and critical services. Although for the moment the sun is relatively calm.
However, progress in technology can also be a respite in the event of disruptions.
“If there is an event like that (solar super storm), there may be interruptions or temporary effects on the quality of services. But as soon as the event ends, the services would be restored to their normal operating state.. Modern networks could be configured to reestablish themselves after being interrupted by these phenomena ”, says Ante Salcedo González, Doctor of Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Enrique Ortiz de Montellano, president of Claro, reported today that in this telecommunications provider, students new to the universities will be able to redeem the $ 1,000 vouchers that the government is issuing to support distance education, which reigns this new academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Sales connected, ready to study remotely,” said the executive in a virtual press conference to announce the availability of computers and tablets Apple, Lenovo, Samsung and Dell, with internet plans per year, which can be paid for with the subsidy that the The state government provides funds from the federal CARES law.
Ortiz de Montellano indicated that this initiative, announced by Governor Wanda Vázquez, “arms future university students with the necessary technology to study under any scenario.”
To get their vouchers, which are valid until October 31, high school graduates who are enrolled in a post-secondary institution must claim them at the Department of the Treasury’s Unified Internal Revenue System (SURI).
At the time of redeeming them, the executive reported that those under 21 years of age must go with their father, mother or person in charge to Claro stores, with an official identification with a photo and the evidence that they have uploaded to SURI to obtain the receipt, as proof of having graduated from the fourth year and having been admitted to a university.
Ortiz de Montellano highlighted that, as Claro provides both mobile and fixed internet, the client can purchase plans for one type of connection or for both, depending on the need at home.
In addition, he recalled that in recent days the company launched the advertising campaign I study my way with Claro, which includes offers and options for all budgets since elementary and secondary education also begins the school period remotely.
During the quarter from April to June in Liberty Puerto Rico“We saw the change that many consumers are moving to have fixed broadband internet service in their homes. It has become a necessity, ”said Naji Khoury, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of the telecommunications provider.
“It has been amazing how and how quickly we have adapted,” said the executive in reference to both his team and the clients who have made their adjustments so that the home, in addition to being a space for entertainment and rest, could become a school, university and office through internet access.
Khoury made the remarks when talking to Business about the financial results of parent company Liberty Latin America (LLA), in which the Puerto Rico business unit was highlighted by earning $ 109 million, 4.3% more than in the previous quarter and 5.1% above the same average in the same period last year.
In turn, the CEO of LLA, Balan Nair, highlighted that Liberty Puerto Rico broke the record for new revenue generating units (RGU) by adding 34,000 new service units. It also added 5,000 new homes during the quarter dominated by the pandemic COVID-19.
“The increase in users is what we typically see in a whole year and we achieve it in a couple of weeks to a month,” contextualized Khoury.
These activations also meant that the work plan that is planned 9 to 12 months in advance was accelerated in all areas, from customer service to facilities and network development. “We grew capacity 25% in a few weeks,” he added about the 1,300 Gpbs increase in its core network, which was necessary to absorb an almost 50% increase in data consumption by customers.
Queen Netlflix in consumption
Specifically, average household usage soared to nearly 400GB in April, 45% above pre-quarantine consumption. This represents 20 times the volume of data used in a household that depends on 20GB of mobile internet per month.
Khoury indicated that of that 400GB average, 40% was consumed in streaming video. The tools that lead consumption are Netflix, with 28%, and YouTube, with 12%.
Regarding the movement of more consumers towards the fixed internet, Khoury stated that beyond benefiting the company, “this is good news for Puerto Rico, where broadband penetration is low compared to markets of its size and in other advanced economies. ”.
Khoury pointed out that the financial results also allow its workforce to grow to 900 employees.
“We are hiring in various areas, managerial, technical, financial,” he announced about the 20 to 25 positions that they seek to fill immediately. “I am very optimistic about the future.”
At an immediate level, that future includes increasing the deployment of fiber optics for domestic customers. Although he declined to offer concrete figures on how many homes it would be available for by the end of the year, because at Liberty “we do not make these future plans public,” he did indicate that to date they have deployed fiber to “tens of thousands of homes throughout the island, be it Lares. , Bayamón or Humacao ”.
Safe to merge with AT&T
Along with this plan, the closing of the acquisition of AT & T’s assets in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for $ 1.95 billion is maintained.
“It is taking longer, due to the pandemic, due to side-by-side communication with the federal government and regulators,” he acknowledged about the transaction that they now expect to close before the end of 2020, instead of during the third quarter of this year.
However, “I want to make it very clear that (the acquisition) is going to happen. There is no indication that it will not happen ”.
The concern is great among the employees of Alcatel-Lucent, which has become in 2016 the French subsidiary of Nokia, the oem telecom finland. The executive has convened an extraordinary meeting of the economic and social Committee (ESC), to be held on Monday 22 June, for the presentation of a new social plan. It would be the fourth in four years, and tenth since 2007, when the French Alcatel had merged with the american Lucent.
→ TO READ. Renault, the time of the negotiations
The company has a further 3 700 new jobs in france, divided in two sites : Nozain on the plateau of Saclay and Lannion in the Côtes-d’armor. The unions fear the removal of a thousand positions, including in research. ” We fell of our chair, receiving a summons, because there was nothing to predict such a decision “, explains Bernard Trémulot, the delegate central CFDT.
The activity is growing thanks to the 5G
Alcatel-Lucent designs of the equipment for networks 4G and 5G. Everyone was telecommuting during the containment and the orders continue to come in. At the end of April, the turnover was well above forecast, according to the financial officer. The subsidiary of Nokia believes it has caught up with its technological backwardness in the 5G on its european competitor, the Swedish Ericsson, and uses him as a strong demand from operators to evolve their network.
The oem also benefits from the setbacks of the chinese Huawei, the world number one, who is the subject of u.s. sanctions decided by Donald Trump. ” This saves us of new customers, even in countries where we were nots. But Nokia is looking to improve its profitability and wants to relocate more activities in India, in Poland and in Hungary, as it has already done in recent years to media functions “, ensures Christophe Paviot, the delegate CFTC.
In march, the group’s CEO, Rajeev Suri, has been landed in because of results deemed to be insufficient. In April, rumours of a TAKEOVER bid on Nokia have also circulated.
The commitments have not been respected
The announcement of this social plan could quickly take a turn policy, so that the current tone is rather on the preservation on the territory of activities that are considered strategic. In 2016, Nokia had promised to the minister of economy, Emmanuel Macron, to not delete posts of researchers until… June 2020. ” The group took eleven commitments. Virtually none has been held and the employees have the feeling of having been abuseds, ” says Frédéric Aussedat, delegate of the CFE-CGC. According to him, however, this is not because they have sounded the alarm. Since 2016, the unions had a meeting at Bercy almost all quarters for making the point.
