Mobile broadband now cheaper than wired, for 95 per cent of humanity

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has released the 2016 edition of its Facts and Figures (PDF) on technology adoption, and among the many data points it contains is an odd concentration of connected “things” in countries with Fjords.
Sweden handily tops the table of nations when one counts machine-to-machine accounts per 100 cellular connections, with 50 per 100. Next comes New Zealand, Norway and Finland, with France in fifth place.
A rather less obscure number can be had when one counts the number of people who can now get a mobile phone to work: the ITU reckons 95 per cent of us can now get at least one bar of coverage.
The numbers are less impressive when one considers internet use: 53 per cent of us are not on the 'net. 75 per cent of Africans aren't online and even in Asia 58 per cent of folks aren't able to watch cat videos on demand. That latter figure comes despite China having 230 million households online, compared to 60 million in India.

Wired planet: nearly everyone can get a mobile signal now

Another interesting data point: The average price of a basic fixed-broadband plan is more than twice as high as the average price of a comparable mobile broadband plan.” In the world's least developed nations, fixed services cost three times more than mobile services. No wonder mobile broadband connections are growing fast, with the ITU predicting 3.6m subscriptions by year's end, up from 2015's 3.2m. Fixed subscriptions are in the minority: there will be 12 per 100 people by the time 2016 closes.
But even if someone in a developing nation can get online, they'll get a lousy connection as poorer nations lack good connections to the outside world. The average African country has just six internet hosts.
For what it's worth, the report says the world has international Internet bandwidth of 185,000 gigabits per second, up 30,000 gigabits in 2008.
The ITU's take on the numbers it presents is that they represent decent progress towards sustainable development goals, but that digital divides persist across economic and gender lines.

Source: Theregister 

How to pick up a Lagos babe

WHATSAPP GOES FREE, SAYS $1 ANNUAL CHARGE WAS A BARRIER FOR SOME USERS

Facebook acquired WhatsApp in late 2014 for $19 billion, the most the social network has paid in an acquisition. Since then, both WhatsApp and Messenger have grown to first and second most popular messaging platforms, with close to 1 billion and 800 million active monthly users, respectively.

WhatsApp founder Jan Koum has announced the messaging service will remove the $1 annual charge, making the app completely free to use.
At the DLD Conference, Koum said that the charge prevents a lot of people from using the service, especially those without access to a credit or debit card. The annual charge also wasn’t very popular, according to Koum, with users worried the payment might be for naught if WhatsApp discontinues the service.

The move makes sense, considering WhatsApp’s core user base. India, Indonesia, and Brazil are three of the main countries for the messaging service, and are all developing countries that boast high usage numbers, but low revenue numbers.
Koum said the change goes into effect today, but anyone that just resubscribed for another year will not be able to receive a refund. WhatsApp has not said how many of its users have subscribed in the past month, we assume the number is quite low.

With its main source of revenue now out of the window, WhatsApp intends to integrate businesses more heavily into the service. The company which is a part of Facebook’s growing social empire  will test tools that allow businesses to contact interested users. This is similar to Facebook’s Messenger feature that allows businesses to get in contact with users, receive feedback, and also offer customer support all through the application.

This New Plane can Detach Entire Cabin in Case of Emergency & Save All The Passengers

Engineers have revealed a radical new way to save passengers in the event of an emergency. The design shows an aircraft with a detachable cabin that releases in emergency situations.

During take-off, landing or flight, the redesigned cabin detaches from the plane and safely lands on the ground or water saving everyone’s lives on board.

With this new invention, ‘Surviving in a plane crash is possible.

Parachutes are attached to the roof of the cabin that are instantly released when the cabin is detached from the plane.

There are also rubber tubes that inflate to cushion the impact to the ground or water, and the inflatable devices seem strong enough to keep the cabin afloat.

Microsoft Changes Windows 10 'Free Upgrade' Rule

Windows 10 is perhaps the most polarising operating system Microsoft has ever released. It’s adoption rate is both lauded for its speed but mocked for only matching Windows 7 given it is free.

Microsoft has announced it will step up the intensity of its ‘Get Windows 10’ campaign for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. The nagware has already been heavily criticised for its persistent attempts to push consumers but now business users are going to get the same treatment.

Obama Boosts Self-Driving Cars With $4 Billion Investment

Self-driving cars have a new supporter: President Obama.

After talking in his last State of the Union address this week about investing in the country’s transportation system, Obama and his Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a 10-year, $4 billion plan to fund pilot projects that would accelerate the adoption of self-driving autonomous vehicles. Such programs, if funded in the fiscal year 2017 federal budget, will test connected vehicle systems in “designated corridors” around the country and work toward a multi-state regulatory framework that covers the industry.

Apple Is Developing Wireless Earbuds For The iPhone 7

Following reports that Apple is ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone 7, it has now been revealed that the Cupertino giant is working on a new set of wireless earbuds. The wireless earbuds will likely be similar to the Moto Hint — which looks like the combination of a Bluetooth headset and a hearing aid —  according to Mark Gurman

Apple’s wireless earbuds will have a noise-cancelling microphone system built-in to support phone calls and Siri commands. The new earbuds are completely wireless so there will not be any wires connecting between the left earbud and the right earbud. Gurman also said that the new wireless earbuds are expected to have built-in buttons for managing calls and activating Siri. To fit comfortably inside of the ear, the new wireless buds may have a few ear gel options like the Moto Hint does. The new wireless earbuds will not have ports for charging, but it may have a carrying case that charges up the headphones. Apple will be selling the wireless earbuds separately from the iPhone 7.

Will LiFi Take Big Data And The Internet Of Things To A New Level?

The enormous demand for WiFi and transmissions of mass quantities of data is putting a strain on the current technologies. With the predicted exponential growth of mobile devices, by 2019 more than ten billion mobile devices will exchange 35 quintillion (1018) byte of information each month   and that’s just mobile devices. Factor in traditional computers, big data servers, and Internet of Things devices and you start to see the magnitude of the problem.

But scientists have discovered a method of data transmission more than 100 times faster than traditional WiFi, and it only requires that you turn on a light.

LiFi is a category of Visible Light Communication; an LED light flickers at speeds undetectable to the naked eye to transmit data — a bit like high tech morse code. In fact, scientists have demonstrated in a lab that they can transmit information at as much as 224 gigabits per second, the equivalent of 18 movies of 1.5 GB each being downloaded every single sound. In an office setting, they were able to achieve speeds up to 100 times faster than average WiFi speeds.

Meet Nadine, Singapore's New Android Receptionist

The support staff at Nanyang Technological University’s Singapore campus recently gained one very special employee. Modeled after NTU Professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, “Nadine” is a sophisticated and (almost) lifelike android that can shake hands and remember visitors, has her own personality and emotional range, and may soon be ready to welcome clients at reception desks everywhere.

Bitcoin Declared An "Inescapable Failure

Bitcoin, a distributed and decentralised digital currency dubbed “the currency of the Internet”, has been declared a failure by one of its most ardent supporters and developers. In a lengthy post on google Mike Hearn states that “despite knowing that Bitcoin could fail all along, the now inescapable conclusion that it has failed still saddens me greatly.”

Ford Starts Autonomous Vehicle Testing In The Snow

Anyone paying attention to all of the news about autonomous vehicles from Google and other companies may have noticed a common thread in the stories, photos and videos. The roads are always dry and the sun is shining. That’s because many of the sensors used to let a car manage its own trajectory don’t work well unless they can see the road and other surroundings clearly. Ford is now claiming to be the first automaker to test its prototype autonomous (driverless) vehicles in winter weather conditions.

Watch Takes Up More Than Half The Smartwatch Market

Apple still won’t say how the Apple Watch is doing. But outside estimates suggest that the device is the best selling smartwatch on the market today.

Why Apple iOS 'Night Mode' Improves Your Health

A feature in the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system will improve health by helping you sleep better.

Night Shift for iOS 9.3 filters light from electronic displays so it won’t disrupt your body clock. Based on the time and location, an iPhone or iPad will shift on-screen color away from blue when it’s dark outside.

Apple is shutting down its iAd App Network on June 30

Apple today announced that it will shut down the iAd App Network at the end of June

Apple first launched iAd in 2010. Developers sign up for the iAd App Network to cause iAd advertisements to appear in their apps. And apps must already have the iAd Framework — a technology built into the iOS software development kit (SDK) that retrieves ads from the network — before developers submit iOS apps to Apple for review, according to documentation for the tool. The technology is capable of running banner ads as well as full-screen ads.

Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge and S7 Edge+ to launch simultaneously

Samsung is prepping to launch the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge along with the S7 Edge+ simultaneously on the same day. He added that the launch of the flagship trio is expected to take place at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2015 (MWC) in Barcelona.

This is slightly contrary to earlier reports that indicated two separate launches in 2015.

New Music: CODEDTINZ by 2BABA FT PHYNO and CHIEF OBI

2baba releases his first official single of 2016 titled Coded Tinz exclusively thorugh Musicgenie - A platform that allows fans to dedicate music to friends and family.

Fan can also listen to the full track by dialing 39911888 from their Airtel number and visit www.musikgenie.com to dedicate it to loved ones through the platform. Their loved ones will received a call with the full song on their mobile phones.

U.S. to invest billions in self-driving cars

Obama administration's pledge to invest nearly $4 billion in autonomous technology over the next decade, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said federal guidelines for autonomous vehicles will be developed with industry members and other stakeholders within six months.

Coded things girls do

Showing love to your friends and family can go a long way in strengthening your relationship with your loved ones.. Some people have found a coded way to share love to their loved ones. But the good news is that you can be a coded person too. You can do the coded things.

Here is what you need to do codely. Simply dedicate a song to your friend codely and they will receive a call with the song on their mobile phone. How amazing, you can try it out. Surprise a friend today by dedicating the latest song titled CodedTinz by 2baba ft Phyno & Chief Obi 

Visit www.musicgenie.com/2baba/CodedTinz and click on dedicate to someone, enter your Airtel number and the number of your friend and click dedicate. 

Your friend will get a call from your number and once he/she picks the call the song will start playing.

Samsung set to launch Galaxy Note 5 dual-SIM

Samsung is set to launch Galaxy Note 5 dual-SIM, its first dual-SIM high-end device, the aim to strengthen its lead in the premium segment where the South Korean handset major competes with Apple.
The first among the flagships to come from Samsung's stable in 2016, the Note 5 dual-SIM will be priced at Rs 51,400 for the 32 GB storage variant and Rs 57,400 for 64 GB. Sale of the device will begin from January 17.

Kia Motors plans self driving cars

Kia Motors has announced plans to introduce autonomous vehicles with smart technology that will enable them to partly drive themselves.

Kia will develop intelligent vehicles that feature a range of Advanced Drive Assistance Systems (ADAS) to control them and keep them safe on public roads. It will begin manufacturing partially autonomous cars by 2020 and aims to bring the first fully autonomous vehicle to market by 2030.

HAVE YOU DEDICATED #CODEDTINZ FROM @OFFICIAL2BABA?

The long awaited song #Codedtinz by @official2baba ft @phynofino and chief obi is finally out, on www.musikgenie.com, to listen to snippet of this song click on www.musikgenie.com/2baba/codedtinz and also dedicate this song to everyone you know. The more dedication you do the closer you are to getting a codedtinz from 2baba himself and even a selfie.

HOW TO DEDICATE
http://musickgenie.com/2baba/codedtinz
a) access the link
b) click on dedicate to someone
c) add your airtel number
d) add your recipient number (can be any network)
e) you can add more than one number
f) Click dedicate

Wireless Earphone: Apple and Beat to launch with iPhone 7

Apple and Beat making wireless Earphone to launch with iPhone 7. Apple is working with Beats Electronics, the audio product company it acquired two years ago, to develop a "absolute wireless" earphone which is to say the wireless earphone will NOT have any wires connecting the left and the right earbuds. Sounds amazing, i will be looking forward to that.

The company allegedly has decided to do away with charging ports on the new wireless earphones, and will reportedly ship a carrying case that wirelessly recharges the earphones. Also tipped to be on board are controls for picking up calls, activating Siri, and more.

According to a report from earlier this month, existing EarPods won’t be directly compatible with the iPhone 7. The company, however, plans to release an adapter to allow users to plug in their headphones with 3.5mm jack outlet. As per a report from last week, Apple is ditching the 3.5mm headphone port in an attempt to make the next iPhone slimmer by up to 1mm.