The company has already hired more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad, the employees and those briefed on the plans said.
This is the third effort for Facebook, according to the report, with a joint venture with HTC codenamed “Buffy” still in progress. HTC released a set of Android phones last year named Salsa and Status with deep Facebook integration on the way to hugely disappointing sales and earnings.
One engineer who formerly worked at Apple and worked on the iPhone said he met with Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, who then peppered him with questions about the inner workings of smartphones. It did not sound like idle intellectual curiosity, the engineer said; Mr. Zuckerberg asked about intricate details, including the types of chips used, he said. Another former Apple hardware engineer was recruited by a Facebook executive and was told about the company’s hardware explorations.
Apple was mere betas away from releasing iOS 4 with deep Facebook integration, the way Twitter is currently built into iOS. Something at the last minute, perhaps related to Facebook pulling support for Ping, made Apple pull the integration and Apple integrated with Twitter a year later.
Facebook recently announced a cross-platform web App Center for mobile device application distribution that is aimed at building a smartphone platform, an updated Messenger app with read recipts, a Pages Manager as well as specialized photo application replicating the features of Instagram (which it had purchased mere weeks before).
Facebook is approaching a billion users globally with significantly more than half of those users being mobile. Tim Cook has expressed appreciation for Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg
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iPhone 5 supply news to shake things up - Phones Review
The Apple iPhone 5 looks set to be the major launch of the year with many analysts predicting more phenomenal success for Apple with the next iPhone. Traditionally sales of the latest iPhone are always massive but the iPhone 5 in particular is predicted to be so huge that it could shake up the global supply economy.
The iPhone 4S was seen by many people as a minor upgrade rather than a major revamp (although some would dispute that). As many people held off purchasing it because there was no design change, there’s already a huge potential customer base for the iPhone 5. Add to this those purchasing an iPhone for the first time, those upgrading from earlier models, the likely addition of LTE connectivity and the headway that Apple is making in the China market and we can take it as read that the iPhone 5 will sell in unprecedented numbers.
The upcoming iPhone 5 has even been blamed for recent news that for the first time since 2009, global mobile phone sales have dropped. Analysts feel that this is mainly because smartphone customers are holding off making new purchases in expectation of the next iPhone. We recently told of a report from Piper Jaffray analysts Gene Munster and Douglas J. Clinton that gave some clues about the iPhone 5 and also told how it was expected that the iPhone 5 would be the biggest product launch of the year. They also referred to the iPhone 5 as the biggest upgrade cycle “in smartphone history,” so all of these factors together gives a good indication of just how successful the next iPhone will be.
The impact of sales of the iPhone 5 and the finances involved then will massively affect the global supply economy. This will be particularly evident among suppliers of parts for the iPhone 5 bearing in mind that we expect to see quite a few changes in companies used. Slash Gear reports on some of the supply change leaks referring to several recent reports from China. Firstly it’s said that Apple has placed an order with Elpida, which produces flash memory products, for more than half of their parts in-house. Elpida is a competitor with Samsung, with whom Apple has a long-running and well-documented dispute.
Next we hear that a group in China called TXC, a quartz crystal device producer, has also been given orders for component parts for the next iPhone. DigiTimes has reported that TXC is also supplying orders with Samsung for its upcoming Galaxy S3, the iPhone 5’s main rival. As well as this many readers will already know of Foxconn’s connections with Apple as its main China-based supplier for the iPhone and iPad and the company has now placed an order with Sharp for displays. Foxconn will purchase up to 50% of Sharp’s large LCD panels and modules from its Osaka, Japan plant. This makes perfect sense as Sharp had already been heavily rumored to be a parts supplier for iPhone 5 panels.
In final supply news, Apple and Foxconn are currently in plans together to establish a brand-new factory in China, dedicated to making parts for Apple products. As you can see, the finances involved from such a major product as the iPhone 5 could really see some shifts in the global supply economy, with some companies set to be big winners while others will lose out. One thing for sure about the iPhone 5 is that it’s set to fly off the shelves when it finally releases, most likely in the fall.
We’d like to hear what readers think about the upcoming iPhone 5. Have you already decided to purchase it, even before any specs or features are confirmed? Do you agree with the analysts who say this will be the biggest upgrade cycle “in smartphone history?” Maybe you feel such high expectations could lead to disappointment for some when the iPhone 5 is launched? Let us know by sending your comments.
Vodafone admits goof-up in IPL promotional SMS - Deccan Herald
Vodafone has admitted goof up in an IPL promotional message in sending out an SMS to its subscribers that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) will be in the final, much before it qualified.
An SMS sent sent out to the subscribers of the company on Friday morning announced, 'IPL FINALS! Watch KKR vs CSK battle it out this Sunday...'
The SMS was sent hours before the IPL qualifier in which Chennai beat Delhi to enter the final.
"Vodafone did detect this error in the IPL promotional verbiage late on Friday... The error from our end was in assuming that KKR and CSK will be playing the finals," the official spokesperson of the company said in a statement.
Vodafone said that the error was subsequently corrected. It also said the incident happened in Hyderabad and has nothing to do with any other city.
It said the mistake was due to a wrong understanding about the IPL format of qualifiers.
Typically in regular tournaments, Vodafone spokesperson said, winner of two semifinals meet each other in the final.
However, in IPL the winner of qualifier match between teams which stood first and second in the league games goes to the final, which is KKR in this case.
The second qualifier was between the teams which stood third and fourth at the end of the league stage. This was between CSK and Mumbai Indians. CSK won this match and qualified for finals.
"This was purely an inadvertent promotional campagin error that was corrected immediately upon detection," it added.
Taxman accused of letting Vodafone off £8 billion - Daily Telegraph
However, Stephen Barclay, an MP on the public accounts committee, yesterday put the figure even higher than that.
“We are looking at potentially £8 billion of tax lost,” he said during a hearing. “We’re looking at a company that was given five years to pay even though it was sitting on a cash pile.”
Despite being HMRC’s most senior solicitor, Mr Inglese admitted he was “not what you’d call a tax lawyer” and said he could not comment on the deal.
“All I can say is lawyers were involved throughout,” he said.
The MPs suggested there need to be much greater oversight of tax deals with big companies.
HMRC is also under fire for letting Goldman Sachs, the giant US investment bank, off paying £10 million interest on a long disputed tax bill.
Mr Hartnett has previously admitted this was a mistake. He confirmed yesterday that lawyers were initially not consulted about whether Goldman Sachs was liable for the interest on a £30 million bill from a failed tax avoidance scheme on bankers’ bonuses.
Mr Hartnett says he was advised by an official that there was a “legal impediment” to charging interest, which later turned out not to be the case.
He is under severe pressure over the deals, but yesterday insisted that he had no intention of resigning. Mr Hartnett told the MPs that an official was not paid his bonus because of the blunder.
Margaret Hodge, chairman of the public accounts committee, remained unsatisfied with the situation. She said it “sticks in the gullet” that Goldman Sachs got a deal not available to ordinary people struggling with their tax bills.
“It feels so, so wrong,” she said. “The perception is there has been huge reputational damage to HMRC. If I was sitting at Goldman Sachs, I would be rubbing my hands because they'd think we beat 'em to it and got off the tax bill.”
Companies that have struck “sweetheart” deals with HMRC have been targeted by protestors. Some of Vodafone’s high street shops were blockaded by campaigners last year.
A spokesman for Vodafone said: “Vodafone has never received a tax liability of £6bn or £8 billion. HMRC themselves have called this an ‘urban myth’. Vodafone does not have an unpaid tax bill in the UK – the allegations are unfounded.”
Facebook unveils photo app for iPhone - San Francisco Gate
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Facebook, perhaps needing to refocus attention away from its stock problems, has unveiled an Instagram-like iPhone photo app called Camera. And yes, Facebook is buying Instagram for $1 billion, but that deal won't close until sometime later this ...
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