Author: Anna Galvez

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Tech

WhatsApp Will Start Showing Ads Starting With Early-2019

Chris Daniels, vice president of WhatsApp, has confirmed reports announcing the early arrival of advertising to this popular instant messaging application. According to the official, status bar in WhatsApp would show ads starting with 2019.

“We’re going to put ads in the ‘status’ bar. That will be the primary monetization model for the company, as well as an opportunity for other companies to reach the people on WhatsApp,” the executive told reporters during an event in India.

Chris Daniels did not specify the date of this new arrival, deemed as an unpleasant novelty by many users, but reports indicate that it would be introduced early next year. It is not known how advertising will work within the most popular instant messaging application, in what form the ads would appear and whether they would be shown to users at random or it will be ‘targeted advertising.’

WhatsApp to show ads in the ‘status’ bar starting with 2019

The monetization of WhatsApp contradicts the intentions of the app’s founders who, in 2014, sold the WhatsApp concept to Facebook. At the end of September, one of the founders of WhatsApp, Brian Acton, explained in an interview with Forbes that he left the partnership with Facebook partly because he did not agree with Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to monetize WhatsApp.

As Brian Acton said, Facebook wanted to introduce targeted ads in the ‘status’ bar of WhatsApp, so Acton admitted he felt that the ads would break a social pact WhatsApp ‘signed’ with its users.

“Targeted advertising is something that’s not making me happy,” Acton said in an interview ack then. Another co-founder of the most popular instant messaging app, Jan Koum, also decided to leave WhatsApp last April, arguing that he also had differences with Facebook’s leadership.

In conclusion, in early-2019, WhatsApp will start showing ads (possibly targeted ads) in the application’s ‘status’ section, a movement already deemed as unpleasant by many of the app’s users.

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Tech

World’s First Foldable Smartphone, FlexiPai, Announced By A Chinese Tech Company

The foldable smartphones concept is now a reality. Ahead of Samsung and Huawei, who also pursue the same goal, the less-known Chinese firm Royole has presented yesterday its FlexPai folding phone, a device with a flexible screen device that can open like a book to lengthen up to 7.8 inches, a size close to the format similar to that of some low- and mid-range tablet.

That is the first foldable smartphone in the world, and will officially arrive in the North American market in December this year, marking a new achievement in the phone industry made by a Chinese company. For several years now, one of the most exciting challenges big technology brands faced has been to successfully achieve a system for folding touchscreen displays of smartphones without losing the functionality of the device.

The next step is to make the tablet format foldable so that it can be easily carried in the trouser pocket. For this purpose, this peculiar technology firm, founded by researchers at Stanford University in 2012, claims to have created a “light and flexible” screen for smartphones. That means that once folded, it has the dimensions of a “regular” mobile, but with an excessive thickness.

Chinese tech company Royole announced the first foldable smartphone in the world

When stretched, on the other hand, it becomes a tablet of about 7.6-millimeters thick and a 7.8-inches screen. According to its developers, the first foldable smartphone in the world can be folded more than 200,000 times before any damage can occur.

This FlexiPai folding phone comes before Samsung’s Galaxy X. On the other hand, Apple has also patented its own foldable screens concepts for smartphones, as well as LG, one of the largest producers of displays, and Huawei. This FlexPai, however, runs a slightly modified version of the Android operating system to be able to work in both formats.

On a technical level, the device comes with a dual-camera system of two 16 and 20 megapixels sensors, Snapdragon 855, under the hoods, and 6 GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage. There will also be a more performant variant with 8GB of RAM with 512GB of storage.

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Tech

Android 9 Pie Reaches Nokia 6.1 Devices

HMD Global, the manufacturer of the new Nokia smartphones, announced that Nokia 6.1 is, since October 30th, ready to receive Android 9 Pie update, becoming the second smartphone in its portfolio to accept the latest version of Android OS, less than a month after the update arrived on the Nokia 7 Plus.

Equipped with the latest Google software and based on the features of Android 8.0 Oreo, the Android 9 Pie is built on artificial intelligence and automatic learning that offer users a more personalized experience. Using the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 chipset for mobile platforms, the Nokia 6.1 is 60% faster than its predecessor. In addition to all that, it now offers improved ZEISS, USB-C with fast charging, and the latest version of the Android Oreo security patch.

The Nokia 6.1 has been selected by Google to be part of the Android One family. Users, therefore, have exclusive access to App Actions, a feature only available for Android One and Google Pixel devices. The App Actions allows users to perform their tasks faster, by anticipating their next move and displaying the right action at the right time.

Nokia 6.1 to receive Android 9 Pie update

Now, with Android 9 Pie, the already exceptional battery life of the Nokia 6.1 will be further enhanced by the introduction of Adaptive Battery, an update that uses artificial intelligence to understand usage patterns and distribute battery power with priority given to the most critical applications.

Other features of Android 9 Pie include:

  • Adaptive processing – Identifies the most critical information in preferred applications to make it more easily accessible when needed;
  • Adaptive brightness – Automatically adjusts the phone’s brightness by learning interactions with different settings;
  • A new navigation system – A single home button provides intelligent (user-activated) forecasts and suggestions;

As I’ve already mentioned above, HMD announced that Nokia 6.1 smartphones could receive Android 9 Pie update since October 30th. However, this is a thorough process and could take some time before every Nokia 6.1 device gets this upgrade.

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Tech

ZTE Blade Max View and ZTE Blade Max 2s Launched In the US

ZTE is back in the US market with two new devices, the ZTE Blade Max View and the Blade Max 2s. The Chinese firm was banned in the United States after violating some security standards, as previously reported. Recently, ZTE and the US government reached an agreement to lift the ban. Ultimately, the Chinese brand has now launched the devices mentioned above in the US.

ZTE Blade Max View

Both terminals have a combination of proper specifications at a reasonable price. First, the ZTE Blade Max View features a 6-inch FHD+ 18:9 display and carries a Snapdragon 435 chipset along with 3 GB of RAM. It also has a 32 GB internal memory, which is expandable, and a 4,000-mAh battery.

Additionally, it offers a dual camera setup with a 16-mp sensor and another one of 2 megapixels on the back, while a front camera of 8 megapixels is available for selfies. It also features a dual Dolby sound system that allows consumers to enjoy superior audio.

ZTE Blade Max 2s

On the other hand, the ZTE Blade Max 2s also comes with a 6-inch screen with FullHD+ and 18:9 aspect ratio. It also sports a Snapdragon 435 CPU. Additionally, it boasts a 2GB RAM along with 32GB of internal storage. Even its battery capacity remains the same at 4,000 mAh, as in the ZTE Blade Max View.

As regarding the cameras, there is only a 13-megapixel sensor on the back and a 5-megapixel selfies camera. It also features a Dolby sound DS1 loudspeaker for clear, powerful sound.

Prices and availability of both phones

The ZTE Blade Max 2s will be available on all significant GSM operators, such as AT&T, T-Mobile and other networks such as Sprint, at the initial price of 180 dollars. On the other hand, the ZTE Max View is compatible only with Verizon and is available for the price of 199 dollars. Both can be purchased through the official ZTE website or directly from the before-mentioned US carriers.

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Tech

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Are Finally Available In Canada

Finally, the recently released Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL flagship smartphones of the giant Internet company reached Canada.

Google Pixel 3 is a smartphone with a 5.5-inch OLED display with a 1,080 x 2,160-pixel resolution and an 18:9 aspect ratio. Besides, the Google Pixel 3 XL comes with a 6.3-inch OLED screen which boasts a 1,440 x 2,960-pixel resolution and a deep screen cutout. Both devices come with either 64Gb or 128GB of storage space, Snapdragon 845 chipset, 4GB of RAM, and dual-camera setup with two 8-megapixel sensors, one of f/1.8 aperture and a second one of f/2.2 aperture. The camera of f/2.2 aperture also comes with an ultrawide angle lens for you and your friends to fit better in your selfies photos.

On the other hand, on the back side, both Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones feature a 12.2-megapixel sensor with a f/1.8 aperture.

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL Are Finally Available In Canada

On Google’s website, Pixel 3 cost $999 CAD for the 64GB version and $1,129 for the 128GB setup. The Google Pixel 3 XL model, on the other hand, comes at $1,129 for the 64GB variant and $1,259 for the 128GB one.

“Not Pink,” “Clearly White,” and “Just Black” are the three colors in which the new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL comes out. In Canada, Bell, Telus, Koodo, Rogers, Fido, Freedom Mobile, and Videotron are the Canadian carriers that offer the new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL at exceptional prices. Besides, Google Pixel 3 and Google Pixel 3 XL will also be available across Canada at Best Buy, Costco, T-Booth, WirelessWave, Walmart, and WoW Mobile in the coming weeks.

Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are this year’s new flagships of Google. The giant Internet company announced the new smartphones in October, and now, finally, the new Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL arrived in Canada at Bell, Telus, Koodo, Rogers, Fido, Freedom Mobile, and Videotron Canadian carriers as well as on Best Buy, Costco, T-Booth, WirelessWave, Walmart, and WoW Mobile.

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