Weekly NDM

Apple overtakes Samsung as the world's biggest smartphone maker

This article is about how Apple have overtaken Samsung in the demand of their phones as they have sold more over the last quarter of 2014. It discusses that this has been the case due to the increased demand of Apple products and phones in China, resulting in more sales.

• The US company sold 74.8m smartphones, just ahead of Samsung’s 73m units, analysis firm Gartner said.
• Apple’s iPhone sales were up almost 25m on the same period last year, driven by an explosion in demand from China that helped push its profits to a record $18bn (£11.8bn) in the final quarter.
• Apple has long outsold Samsung by value, but its new dominance by volume spells trouble for its South Korean rival, which has been struggling with falling sales and shrinking earnings.
• Samsung sold nearly 10m fewer phones than it did in the runup to Christmas 2013, thanks to lacklustre demand for its flagship Galaxy S5 and fierce competition at the lower end of the market.
• Chinese firms such as Xiaomi, Huawei and Lenovo, which from a startup in 2010 is now valued at $45bn, have begun to nibble at Samsung’s sales by offering high performance low-cost phones and brands that younger customers increasingly identify with.
• Xiaomi has more than doubled its market share in a year to 5%, selling almost 19m units in the final three months of 2014, up from 6m the year before. The firm has already expanded into developing markets including India, Indonesia and Mexico, and is preparing to launch its Mi.com accessories store in Europe.
• Samsung is now fighting to avoid the downwards spiral that damaged once profitable mobile phone businesses like Nokia and Blackberry. It responded on Sunday by launching two updates to its flagship phone, the S6 and S6 Edge, which sports an unusual curved screen.

Weekly NDM

Smartphones are addictive and should carry health warning, say academics

This article is about how a university study has found smartphones to be addictive and carry a threat as on average students spend 3.6 hours a day on their phones which distracts them from their relationships and real life. 

• A study by the University of Derby and published in the International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning found that 13% of participants in the study were addicted, with the average user spending 3.6 hours per day on their device.
• Co-author Dr Zaheer Hussain, from the University of Derby’s psychology department, said he was not suggesting the harmful effects were on a par with cigarettes or alcohol but that nevertheless the devices should carry a health warning.
• “People need to know the potential addictive properties of new technologies,” he said. “It [the warning] could be before they purchase them or before they download an app. If you’re downloading a game such as Candy Crush or Flappy Bird there could be a warning saying that you could end up playing this for hours and you have other responsibilities [that could be neglected].”
• Social networking sites were the most popularly used apps (87%), followed by instant messaging apps (52%) and then news apps (51%).
• Narcissism and neuroticism were linked to addiction and the authors suggest that smartphones can actually create the former in users. They point to the fact that 35% of people said they used their devices in areas or situations when they were banned (eg while driving), with many offering the justification that they knew better than the authorities who created the rules.
• While 47% of people spoke positively of improved social relations, almost a quarter admitted their smartphones create communication issues in “real life”. These included less conversation and a breakdown in communication because of spending too much time on their device in the company of family and friends. Severe distraction from interpersonal relationships leading to a negative impact in familial communications was specified by 60 participants.

Weekly NDM

Xiaomi enters Europe with accessories store – but no phones yet

This article is about how the world's third largest smartphone manufacturer, also dubbed as China's 'Apple', is coming to Europe, however they will only be selling their accessories such as their Miband fitness tracker. 

• Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is taking its first step into Europe by opening an online store this year, the company has announced.
• The five-year-old company – dubbed “China’s Apple” – recently became the third largest smartphone manufacturer despite only selling its phones in China. In Europe it will start selling its Mi Band fitness tracker, headphones and battery packs, but not its eagerly anticipated smartphones.
• If Xiaomi begin selling smartphones such as its well-received Mi Note 4 phablet in the US and Europe, the company would be likely to face legal challenges over patent infringement.
• “It’s going to be a different Mi.com experience from what we have in our markets in Asia, because we’re not selling phones,” Xiaomi’s global vice president and former Google Android executive Hugo Barra told the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, adding that the firm planned to sell items including fitness trackers, headphones and power banks.
• The European store will follow Xiaomi’s similar moves in the US, which marked the company’s first step into western markets. Xiaomi has faced challenges expanding beyond China, after an unsuccessful effort to launch in India where it has faced issues around patent infringement.
• The company recently launched a range of new smartphones and phablets that target the market leaders, Apple and Samsung. Chief executive Lei Jun announced that the company had won various patents across its smartphone technology and that it had raised $1.1bn in venture capital, valuing the company at $45bn.

Weekly NDM

Twitter's new bid to end online abuse could endanger dissidents

This article is about how Twitter are trying to end online abuse by making their users provide their mobile phone numbers so that they can track abusers and trolls. 

• Twitter has also begun requiring all users of the anonymity network Tor to register their phone number to access the service, regardless of whether or not they are involved in abuse.
• Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group, has voiced concerns over the move. He said: “Requiring all Tor users to submit a mobile phone number to sign up for a Twitter account could risk exposing people who have a legitimate need to keep their identity hidden – for example human rights activists, dissidents and victims of abuse. Tor was one of the ways that activists in Turkey could access social media when the government closed down networks in 2014.”
• The clampdown may stop causal abusers, but those that have gone to the trouble of using Tor to set up accounts and protect their identity to troll and abuse users are unlikely to be deterred by a phone number requirement
• In nations such as the UK and the US, working phone numbers are easy to obtain without giving mobile phone networks personal details. Such “burner phones” are often pre-paid phone plans bought with cash without the requirement for identification and therefore cannot be tracked to an individual.
• But in other countries, such workarounds may be less available. In Turkey, all mobile phones have to be registered, including those bought outside of the country. A passport is required to obtain a sim card and phone number, which makes any phone number that could be subpoenaed from Twitter by the government a risk of exposing identity.
• “Twitter does not block or force Tor users to phone verify in order to sign up. Occasionally, signups and logins may be asked to phone verify as they may exhibit behavior similar to spam. This is applicable to all IPs and not just Tor IPs,” said a Twitter spokesperson.

Weekly NDM

Apple and Google 'FREAK attack' leaves millions of users vulnerable to hackers

This article is about how Apple and Google's devices have made millions of their users vulnerable whilst surfing the internet, to a newly discovered security flaw known as the FREAK attack. It discusses how many different sites became vulnerable due to this flaw and that Apple and Google have been working to resolve the issue.

• About a third of all encrypted websites were vulnerable as of Tuesday, including sites operated by American Express, Groupon, Kohl’s, Marriott and some government agencies, the researchers said.
• University of Michigan computer scientist Zakir Durumeric said the vulnerability affects Apple web browsers and the browser built into Google’s Android software, but not Google’s Chrome browser or current browsers from Microsoft or Firefox-maker Mozilla.
• Apple Inc. and Google Inc. both said Tuesday they have created software updates to fix the “FREAK attack” flaw, which derives its name from an acronym of ‘Factoring attack on RSA-EXPORT Keys’.
• But some experts said the problem shows the danger of government policies that require any weakening of encryption code, even to help fight crime or threats to national security. They warned those policies could inadvertently provide access to hackers.
• “This was a policy decision made 20 years ago and it’s now coming back to bite us,” said Edward Felten, a professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton, referring to the old restrictions on exporting encryption code.

Weekly NDM

Apple: what do you do after becoming the world’s most profitable company?

This article is about how Apple had become the most profitable company 20 years after almost becoming bankrupt. It discusses how the institution has eclipsed all sales targets.

• “Stunning”, “outstanding”, “a monster” were some of the analysts’ reactions to numbers showing the Silicon Valley firm had made $18bn (£12bn) in just three months – by selling 34,000 iPhones an hour around the clock from October to December. It now has $178bn cash in the bank.
• Apple was 90 days away from bankruptcy when Steve Jobs rejoined it in 1997– as he later revealed – but Apple now tends to downplay its financial success ahead of quarterly profit announcements in order to surprise investors and analysts.
• This quarter’s profits were on another scale, though. Sales in the three months to the end of December were up 30% to $74.6bn. Those profits of $18bn were up 37%.
• Katy Huberty, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, said it was a “quarter for the record books” and increased her share price target from $126 to $133, indicating she believes there is more growth to come. The shares, which jumped 5% in after-hours trading following Apple’s results, closed at $117 on Friday.