Microsoft this week updated its Xbox Live app for iOS to allow users to control the Xbox 360 with their iPhones.
"Use your iPhone with your Xbox to connect, control and discover content on your console," Microsoft wrote in the update notes.
The iPhone can be used to access a list of most recent console activity, as well as play, pause, fast forward, and rewind content. A new Discover section will also feature recent additions to the Xbox lineup, Microsoft said.The update also adds high-resolution images for the iPad, and improves authentication to make the app more stable for the iPhone and iPad. There was no mention of the iPod touch, though the app supports the iPod touch running iOS 4.3 and higher.
The free My Xbox Live app is available now in the App Store.
The My Xbox Live app for iOS first rolled out in December in conjunction with the release of a revamped Xbox dashboard.
In addition to the new Xbox 360 control, the app lets you: read and send messages to friends; manage your friends list and invite new friends; read and edit your full Live profile (name, bio, motto); change your avatar features and items with the avatar closet; and view and compare your achievement progress with friends.
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iPhone 5 Concept Commercial Dreams Big Ahead of Release Date [VIDEO] - International Business Times
At WWDC 2012, Apple unveiled its new iOS 6 software, which gave fans a glimpse of some of the next iPhone's features:
Calls
New phone features from iOS 6 will give iPhone users further options besides "Answer" and "Decline." They will be able to reply to a phone call with an instant message, and those who don't have the time to compose one can choose from a list of automated messages such as "I'll call you later" or "I'm on my way."
iPhone owners who don't have time to respond during the call can set a reminder to return the missed call at a later time or date. And an additional "Do not Disturb" function will give iPhone customers the flexibility of choosing who they can receive calls from during unavailable times.
Maps
The new updated maps feature will decrease the odds of iPhone users getting lost. The revamped and redesigned map function is vector-based, creating clear graphics and detailed texts, even when zoomed in to maximum capacity.
Maps have also been updated with visual and spoken navigation, which gives users not only precise turn-by-turn directions, but also supplies real-time traffic updates.
Siri
Apple's favorite voice assistant just got smarter with a whole host of updates. Ask about sports and get live scores and stats. Feeling indecisive? Ask where you should eat or what movie you should see. Too lazy to update your Facebook status? Tell Siri to post something on your wall. Want to live-tweet but don't want to type? You can ask Siri to do that too.
Apple is also working with car manufacturers to integrate Siri into select voice control systems. Through a voice command on steering wheels, customers will be able to ask Siri questions, without the distraction of scrambling on the iPhone.
With iOS 6, your iPhone will be more integrated with Facebook than ever. Photos and video can now be posted straight from the photo stream, and locations can be posted directly from the maps.
Once users log into their Facebook account, all their events and birthdays will be synched with the phone's camera, ensuring that big events never go unnoticed. Friend profile updates, such as pictures and phone numbers, will also get updated within phone contacts.
Share Photos with iCloud
Apple's photo stream just got more social. With iOS 6, users will be able to select photos and share them instantly with their friends using iCloud on Mountain Lion Apple devices. iPhone users will even be able to share their photo streams with Apple TV users.
Passbook
Tired of looking through your wallet for boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons and loyalty cards? With Passbook you can store everything in one place on youriPhone and scan them whenever you need to use them. Passbook also gives you live updates. If your gate changes before your flight, you'll be alerted without having to check the screen at the airport.
FaceTime
FaceTime has been updated so you receive video calls through cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi. Which means you can use FaceTime wherever and whenever you want.
Accessibility
Guided Access on iOS 6 will make the iPhone more assessable for people with vision, hearing, learning and mobility disabilities. VoiceOver, the screen reader for blind and low-vision users, is now integrated with Maps, AssistiveTouch and Zoom.
Mail has been redesigned with a more streamlined interface making it easier to read and write emails on the iPhone. And iOS 6 uploads photos and video onto emails.
These are the guaranteed features for the next-generation iPhone, via iOS 6, which is set to launch in the fall. The iPhone rumor mill will no doubt continue to turn in coming months, but one of the most speculated features is a new design, which is likely to result in a lighter phone with a larger display.
Judge rules Apple must face location tracking lawsuit - BBC News
A federal judge in California has ruled that Apple must defend itself against a lawsuit filed after its devices were found to track users' activities.
The plaintiffs allege that Apple's apps were enabled to secretly record the movements and other actions of millions of iPad, iPhone and iPod touch users.
The case wraps together multiple lawsuits that have been filed against Apple.
The firm had argued that user agreements shielded it from liability.
But federal judge Lucy Koh said there was "some ambiguity" as to whether all the information that was collected had been permitted.
Claims under federal laws addressing computer fraud, wiretaps, and records disclosure were thrown out.
The judge also dismissed claims that Apple violated customers' privacy rights.
In striking down the privacy claims, Judge Koh said the supposed invasion in this case was not an "egregious breach of social norms" and might even be deemed "routine commercial behaviour".
Other cases dismissedGoogle as well as online advertising agencies, such as AdMarval, Admob, Flurry and Medialets were dismissed from the case completely.
These defendants were included as potential beneficiaries of the data that Apple was accused of collecting and leaking.
The lawsuit followed an April 2011 presentation from two computer programmers whose research showed that iPhone users' movements were being monitored through their devices.
That provoked a firestorm in which regulators demanded changes, which Apple promised to make.
At the time Apple denied tracking iPhone locations and said that the company had never shared location data with third-parties unless explicity allowed by the user.
The firm, however, admitted that due to a bug location data was sometimes collected even if iPhone location services had been turned off.
The bug was fixed in a subsequent software update.
iPhone 5 may be the turning point for Apple - Phones Review
As expected the Apple keynote speech on Monday at the WWDC event didn’t bring any information about the next version of the iPhone, and now the waiting and speculation will continue until the expected fall release for the handset, but the iPhone 5 may be the turning point for Apple as the competition gets fiercer.
Even though the iPhone 5 wasn’t expected there were some that were a little disappointed not to see a new handset showcased at the event, and this came after the iPhone 4S was also felt a bit of a let down by some iPhone fans as the device was basically an upgraded handset from the previous year’s offering.
In the meantime the Android platform continues to go from strength to strength with a number of high end smartphones becoming available to consumers. These devices now have stunning displays that vary in size but are a lot larger than what the iPhone currently offers, and are ideal for the way we use our smartphones now.
When the original iPhone was released back in 2007 it was at the time innovative and gave the smartphone market the kick it needed, and brought us to where we are today with some stunning handsets available. Trouble is the competition has now caught up with the iPhone and arguably overtaken it by quite a distance.
There are a number of our readers that are long time iPhone users but are waiting to see what the iPhone 5 is like when it is released before deciding to switch allegiance to Android, which before would have been unheard of. Many want a larger display and a number of rumours have hinted that the next handset will be taller and create a screen around 4-inches across.
If Apple again leaves many of its fans disappointed with the next iPhone many of them may try Android or the emerging Windows Phone platform, which looks set to increase the competition with Windows Phone 8 later this year. The handset will obviously sell well but may not reach the record sales figures it has seen with the last two releases.
In the meantime some renders have appeared online that have been created by 3D illustrator Martin Urecht, and as SlashGear are reporting the images are based on all the leaks that have been seen in recent months.
It shows a device with a larger display with a couple of different docking solutions on the bottom. While the images are only renders the device looks the real deal and hopefully Apple will provide us something that looks at least as stunning later this year, which is believed to be in September.
Do you think Apple really needs to pull out something special with the iPhone 5 and are you thinking of switching platforms?
France Telecom Has A Yield Of 14.4%, But For How Long? - Seekingalpha.com
France Telecom (FTE) is the French incumbent telecom operator, operating through its Orange brand. The main shareholder is the French state, with an equity stake of 27%. As I discussed in my previous article, "5 European Telecom Companies With Yields Higher Than 9%," it has one of the highest dividend yields in the telecommunication industry in Europe. However, as the European debt crisis has hurt consumer demand, FTE is under pressure to cut its dividends to preserve cash.
FTE's share price has been under pressure over the last year, in a move similar to other European peers due to Europe's well-known woes. FTE shares tumbled by 25% over the last year, increasing the dividend yield to very attractive levels but also increasing concerns regarding its sustainability. Currently, FTE's dividend yield is 14.4% based on the last dividend paid (€1.4/$1.75 per share).
Click to enlarge image.
Source: Yahoo Finance.
Business Performance
FTE's recent share price weakness reflects concerns about earnings in light of a worsening operating environment in France and, to a less-relevant extent, Spain. The EBITDA margin has been under pressure due to the entry (in 2011) of a new competitor in the French mobile market, Iliad. FTE's management indicated during its Q1 2012 conference call that negative EBITDA margin pressure should continue during the rest of the year.
This operating environment is very negative for FTE's dividend sustainability, taking into account that France and Spain represent between 50% and 60% of FTE's revenues and EBITDA. The company has also been losing subscribers even though it lowered prices, which is negative for profitability in the medium term.
Dividend Policy
Since 2008, FTE has paid dividends twice per year. Over the last fours years the annual dividend was unchanged at €1.40 per share, and this level has acted as a floor. But given FTE's weakness in the domestic market, management has guided for a smaller dividend going forward.
Source: France Telecom.
France Telecom guidance is for a payout of 40%-50% of Operating Cash Flow (before capital expenditures). Recently, the company reiterated its 2012 operating cash flow guidance of close to €8 billion ($10 billion), which means that its 2012 payout will be in a range of €1.20 ($1.51) to €1.35 ($1.70) a share.
Recently, an investment fund representing workers who are also shareholders proposed to cut the 2011 dividend to 1€ ($1.26) per share from the proposed €1.40. The majority shareholders, including the French state, rejected the proposal, but the pressure to lower shareholder remuneration is clear.
Dividend Sustainability
The dividend payout ratio, based on a per share basis (DPS/EPS), was 95% last year. This is the highest ratio since 2009, when earnings decreased and resulted in a higher payout ratio at 123%. Since 2006 the average payout ratio is high at 85%, increasing over the recent years toward unsustainable high levels and making the dividend payment vulnerable to weakness on earnings.
Source: Bloomberg.
The free cash flow generation comfortably exceeded outflows linked with dividend payments over the last few years. However, the recent trend of smaller cash flow generation is alarming, even more within the current context of a challenging operating environment in France and Spain, the latter due to macroeconomic concerns.
Source: Bloomberg.
France Telecom wants to preserve a strong financial structure and is targeting a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of around 2.0 in the medium term. Over the recent years, France Telecom has been able to maintain the ratio near its medium-term target.
France Telecom could also sell assets to reduce debt, but it recently reviewed its portfolio and didn't identify any significant non-core asset disposal. With a credit leverage ratio near its medium-term target and the need to save cash due to the ongoing credit crisis in Europe, the pressure over dividends should remain over the medium term.
Source: Bloomberg.
Conclusion
For income investors the current yield looks tempting, but FTE's dividend quality isn't strong at this level of remuneration. Moreover, if FTE's operating environment deteriorates further, dividends will certainly be lowered even more.
However, even if the company slashes the dividend to €1 ($1.26) per share, as proposed by the employees' investment fund, the yield would remain above 10%. Additionally, a dividend cut for this year is already priced in, as management already lowered expectations. France Telecom is trading around 7.5 times forward earnings, which means many of its fundamental problems are already in its stock price.
So what should investors do? I don't expect management to cut the dividend aggressively, but there are obvious downside risks that will put pressure on them to lower it. I think more negative news flow is likely and a bigger dividend cut will ultimately be delivered. A better entry point will be offered to investors when that happens.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Department of Telecom to bargain with telcos for lowering reserve price - Economic Times
The telecom department (DoT) has offered to reduce the reserve price for airwaves in the upcoming sale if existing mobile phone companies agree to match the auction-determined price for their frequencies over the remaining life of their licences.
This proposal forms a key part of a package the DoT is attempting to cobble together to reach a settlement with companies that have vigorously opposed sector regulator Trai's controversial recommendations on pricing and refarming of spectrum.
But the compromise attempt may not succeed as dual-technology companies such as Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices are unhappy with the proposals. Reduction of the reserve price is a major demand of all telcos, but both Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices have sharply criticised the DoT's plan to make incumbents pay the auction-determined price for their existing 2G airwaves over the remaining licence period.
All telecom licences in the country are valid for 20 years, and unlike pure-play GSM operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, the dualtechnology companies have more than 10 years to go before their permits expire.
The proposal to make telcos pay for existing spectrum will enable the government garner more than Rs 1,00,000 crore from existing operators and strengthen its case that it is not discriminating against new operators that bid for airwaves in the upcoming auctions. At the same time, it will give the government the flexibility to lower the reserve price for the auctions as the loss of revenues will be compensated by the money it will collect from the existing operators.
The proposed settlement may also involve both the government and operators agreeing to drop all past court cases related to policy issues and implementation. For instance, the telecom department will withdraw its case against the 3G roaming pacts signed by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular that allow these companies to provide high-speed data facilities on a pan-India basis.
A top DoT official confirmed the department was preparing a package that may offer many incentives to the industry, but said its contours were yet to be finalised. Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and DoT Secretary R Chandrasekhar have outlined parts of the proposed deal in their recent meetings with senior executives of mobile phone companies.
Several Permutations & Combinations
A telecom industry executive who attended these meetings said the DoT had also offered to dilute the contentious proposals relating to refarming of spectrum, which would have forced operators like Bharti, Idea and Vodafone to relinquish their more-efficient 900 MHz airwaves and bid for the less-efficient 1,800 MHz frequencies.
T-Mobile and the iPhone: 7% of the way to becoming friends - Gigaom.com
T-Mobile USA iPhone users can start rejoicing this summer – at least a few of them can. T-Mobile will complete its planned conversion from GSM to HSPA+ on 2,500 of its cell sites this July, T-Mo CTO Neville Ray revealed at the NGNM conference on Thursday. The upgrade will put its mobile broadband network firmly in the PCS band in 7 percent of its network, which makes it compatible with all current versions of the iPhone.
That doesn’t mean T-Mobile will start selling the iPhone directly, but some of the million-plus current unlocked or hacked iPhones on T-Mo’s network may soon start seeing a “4G” icon popping up on their notification bars, as well as find their current slow-poke Edge speeds jump up to multiple megabits per second. Any customer coming off an AT&T contract with an unlocked iPhone 3GS, 4 or 4S will be able to buy a SIM card and hook into the HSPA+ network where the upgrade is complete.
In a blog post, T-Mobile revealed more details about its ambitious spectrum refarming plans, which requires sunsetting a large portion of its 2G capacity. It is changing out gear in 400 of its cell sites this month as an initial test before its engages in a large-scale conversion next month.
Those 2,500 cell sites are only a fraction of T-Mobile’s 37,000-site network, so most of the country will have to wait before they can get mobile broadband at the PCS band. But T-Mobile will most likely target whole cities for the refarming, rather than upgrade a handful of sites in each market. So if you happen to leave in one of those select markets you may get close to uniform HSPA+ coverage. The first city on the list is most likely San Francisco, where T-Mobile has already tested the new network – not coincidentally during Apple’s World Wide Developer conference.
Apple won’t actually tap T-Mobile to be an iPhone retailer until all or most of its HSPA+ network is converted to PCS. That day could come as soon as this year or it may not come until well into 2013 right up to the point it launches its LTE network. My bet, though, is we’ll see a fully functioning and nationwide HSPA+ network on PCS long before we see LTE. T-Mobile needs to activate HSPA+ at PCS before it can start shutting down its current mobile broadband networks in the Advanced Wireless Services band, which is the spectrum that will host its LTE service.
The iPhone 4S can’t match T-Mobile’s theoretical 21 Mbps and 42 Mbps of T-Mobiles HSPA+ and dual-carrier networks, but it still has a substantial ceiling of 14.4 Mbps, providing an experience comparable to AT&T’s network and much faster than what Sprint and Verizon Wireless can currently offer on their CDMA networks.
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