Facebook updates Messenger apps, rolls-out voice-calling globally

Facebook has rolled out new update versions for its Messenger chat service for Android and iOS users. For Android, the Facebook Messenger app has been updated to version 4.0, while for iOS it has been updated to version 4.1.

The Android update (bringing the app to version 4.0) brings features seen in the Facebook Messenger 4.0 app update for iOS released in the last week of March. These features are group messaging, as well as message and photo forwarding. In addition, users will be able to pin contact shortcuts to their home screens - a feature also available in the new iOS app. Users can create a shortcut icon of any conversation with any of their friends - tapping on the shortcut will open that particular chat window.

Facebook is also touting the Android app's ability to make free calls (via Wi-Fi or mobile data) on its Play Store listing, something not previously listed despite the feature being available in certain regions. The same 'free calls' feature is also mentioned as the only update to Facebook Messenger4.1 listing on iTunes. These feature being finally listed indicates the Facebook Messenger now supports data-based voice-calling in all countries.

Notably, the voice-calling feature on Facebook Messenger first arrived for iOS platform in January 2013. It was then slowly rolled out to the US, UK and Canada. Facebook brought the feature to its Android and iOS apps in India earlier in March.

The Facebook Messenger for Android version 4.0 is available to download from the Google Play store, while the Facebook Messenger 4.1 for iOS app is now available to download from the iTunes App Store.

Office for iPad apps reach 12 million downloads milestone: Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that its four productivity apps for Apple iPad users - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote - have collectively surpassed 12 million downloads from the iTunes App Store. The firm did not mention the breakdown for downloads.

While the Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint separate apps were released just a week ago, the OneNote app has been available for a couple of years on the iPad device.

The news came via a tweet early-Friday from Microsoft's official 'Office' account, that stated "More than 12 million downloads of Word, Excel, PPT & OneNote for #iPad from the @AppStore <3 #OfficeforiPad."

Notably, these Office apps are free to anyone who wants to read Office's Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs on the iPad, it will require a subscription to Microsoft's Office 365 to create and edit documents on the device. The Office 365 subscriptions cost $70 (roughly Rs. 4,209) or $100 (roughly Rs. 6011) annually, with the lower price placing more restrictions on the number and types of devices that can be used.

The firm also made an important change to its apps for iPhone and Android mobile devices. With the recent update of Microsoft Office Mobile for iPhone and Android, editing Office files is free for 'home use'. Earlier, users could only view Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on their mobile devices, but editing them required a paid Microsoft Office 365 subscription.

Though Microsoft said editing of documents via Office Mobile for iPhone and Android is free only for 'home use' and still expects enterprise users to purchase a subscription for Office 365, in the real world the company has no checks over where the app is being downloaded and used, so all users can benefit from this move.

Apple and Samsung in new round of patent battle in US court

Apple and Samsung will return to federal court in the heart of Silicon Valley on Monday for a new round in their seemingly perpetual patent war.

The case concerns smartphone and tablet patents and is just the latest in a long-running feud between the two tech giants, who are battling for supremacy in a multi-billion-dollar market.

"The parties tried hard to accuse each other's latest and greatest products, but US patent litigation is slow, which is why this 2014 trial will be about 2012 and pre-2012 products," intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller said in a post at website fosspatents.com.

The rivals will face off once again before District Court Judge Lucy Koh in the California city of San Jose.

Koh presided over a trial last year that ended with a jury declaring Samsung owed Apple more that a billion dollars in damages for infringing patents with some older model Android-powered devices.

The damages award was later trimmed to $929 million and is being appealed.

If this new trial goes in Apple's favor, it could result in an even bigger award since it involves better-selling Samsung devices built with Google-backed Android software.

This time California-based Apple is taking aim at Samsung's flagship Galaxy line crafted to challenge the iPhone in the high-performance end of the market.

"Both in the United States and globally, Apple and Samsung have established themselves as fierce competitors in the smartphone market and fierce adversaries in the courtroom," Koh said during rulings on injunctions, testimony and other matters ahead of trial.

Talks failed
Under pressure from Koh, the chiefs of Apple and Samsung engaged in mediation to see if the dispute could be settled out of court, but talks failed.

However, the companies expressed a willingness to keep talking, raising the slim possibility trial could be avoided.

Jury selection is to commence on Monday. Koh is allowing each side 25 hours to present evidence to make its case to jurors.

Apple filed the suit against the South Korean consumer electronics behemoth in February 2012 as "one action in a worldwide constellation of litigation between the two companies," the judge said in a ruling.

Patents at issue in the case involve unlocking touch-screens with gestures; automatically correcting words being typed; retrieving data sought by users, and performing actions on found data such as making a call after coming up with a phone number.

Samsung counters
Apple argued in filings that a Google Quick Search Box in the Android-powered Galaxy Nexus steals from patented technology used by virtual assistant Siri to answer queries in the iPhone.

Samsung devices targeted by Apple include more than a half-dozen smartphones from the Galaxy line along with the Galaxy 2 tablet.

Samsung is countering with claims that Apple infringes on its patented technology for data transmission, imaging, audio, and video in iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macintosh computer models.

Koh early in March rejected Apple's request to ban an array of Samsung smartphones and tablets found during the blockbuster trial last year to have infringed on patents held by the US tech giant.

Koh reasoned that there was no evidence that consumer demand was driven by the infringing elements.

That point could be raised anew in the coming trial, putting pressure on Apple to show that patented features such as sliding a finger across a screen to unlock handsets were deciding factors in sales.

Apple has maintained publicly that its patent battles are about "innovation and the hard work that goes into inventing products that people love," and not about money.

At a hearing early this year, Apple demanded that Samsung pay $40 per smartphone incorporating its patented technology, according to court records.

Any triumph at trial would likely result in a demand that infringing products be banned from sale in the US.

Rulings that patents were infringed on would also provide legal ammunition to fire shots at newer smartphone models or even those yet to be released, if they contain the same technology.

iPhone 6 screens said to enter production next month

Apple Inc suppliers will begin mass producing displays as early as May for the next iPhone, expected to be launched this autumn, with a 4.7-inch screen likely to be produced first while a 5.5-inch version could be delayed, supply chain sources said.

Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.

Representatives for the three suppliers and for Apple declined to comment.

Both iPhone 6 screens will be larger than the 4.0-inch panels on Apple's existing iPhone 5s (Pictures) and iPhone 5c (Pictures) models.

Larger iPhones, the subject of months of speculation, would mark yet another incremental tweak to the popular smartphone line and an attempt to catch up to rivals like Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

The company that helped to define American technology innovation is under increasing pressure to once again revolutionise the gadget industry, but CEO Tim Cook, while promising only "new product categories" for 2014, has played his cards close to his chest.

Apple's shares have languished below $600 since November 2012, in part because of worries about smartphone market saturation and its ability to stay at the forefront of tech innovation.

Both iPhone 6 screens are expected to use in-cell touch panel technology - built into the screen and allowing for thinner construction than with standard touch panel films - that was introduced with theiPhone 5 (Pictures), the sources said.

But due to difficulties with in-cell production technology for the larger 5.5-inch size, one of the sources said, a decision was made to begin mass production with the 4.7-inch version alone.

Production of 5.5-inch screens is expected to start several months later, with the possibility of a shift to a film sensor instead of in-cell technology for that size, the source said.

Japan Display will be the first supplier to start production, at its flagship plant at Mobara, east of Tokyo, as early as May, the sources said. The others are due to begin output around June.

Apple and Samsung's latest patent battle to start before fresh jury

Jurors were selected Monday for a high-stakes patent battle between smartphone rivals Apple and Samsung, setting the stage for attorneys to open fire regarding who copied innovations.

The case concerns smartphone and tablet patents and is just the latest in a long-running feud between the two tech giants battling for supremacy in a multibillion-dollar market.

Apple and Samsung lawyers will begin opening remarks Tuesday before of the freshly-chosen panel of 10 jurors and US District Court Judge Lucy Koh in the California city of San Jose.

(Also see: Apple and Samsung in new round of patent battle in US court)

The jury of six women and four men promised Koh they would keep open minds and only consider evidence presented in her courtroom.

Koh presided over a trial last year that ended with a jury declaring Samsung owed Apple more than a billion dollars in damages for infringing patents with some older model Android-powered devices.

The damages award was later trimmed to $929 million and is being appealed.

(Also see: Samsung's $1 billion penalty in Apple case slashed in half)

If this new trial goes in Apple's favor, it could result in an even bigger award since it involves better-selling Samsung devices built with Google-backed Android software.

Unlike last year's trial, this one takes aim at devices still on the market, such as the Galaxy S3 (ReviewI Pictures) from Samsung's flagship line and iPhone 5 (Pictures) and iPhone 4S.

During a day-long interview process for weeding out potentially biased jurors, candidates were asked what devices they or their relatives owned.

Jurors iPhone users
Jury candidates rattled off arrays of iPhones, iPads, iPods and Macintosh computers, with scant mention of Samsung devices other than television sets or DVD players.

"You are going to hear that Samsung sold a lot of smartphones," Samsung attorney Bill Price said while questioning the panel.

"Looking at you folks it may be hard to believe. I am getting Apple, Apple, Apple."

Price pressed prospective jurors about whether they would favor local company Apple with its headquarters a short distance away in Cupertino over South Korea-based Samsung.

One prospective juror from Apple's home city of Cupertino conceded she had an "affinity" for Apple and had read the biography of legendary Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

At the behest of Samsung, she was excused by the judge.

Potential jurors were also asked to share their thoughts about Google, the Internet titan behind Android software powering Samsung smartphones at issue in the patent trial.

Google engineers are among those on the witness list for the proceedings. While Apple has yet to attack Google directly in court, the accusations in the trial here involve features built into Android.

Apple lawyers told Koh that they planned to call the company's senior vice president of worldwide marketing Philip Schiller as their first witness.

iOS apps to become more expensive in India, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, and Turkey

Apple is set to revise the exchange rate used for calculation of pricing of iOS apps. As a result, App Store users in India, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, and Turkey will see an increase in the prices of paid apps in their respective stores.

Apple says the move is "to account for changes in foreign exchange rates", though the move may surprise users in India, given the rupee's recent rally as compared to the US dollar. Until Monday, Apple has been pricing apps at the rate 1 USD = 55 INR, even when the rupee touched 68 against the dollar, so the users have enjoyed lower rates for a long time.

The new rate is not live at the time of publishing this article but, as per Apple, the move should be reflected later on Tuesday. It's worth noting that Tuesday (April 1) marks the beginning of the financial year in many countries.

Apple also notes that users in Israel and New Zealand will benefit from decreased pricing.

iPhone 6 display variants spotted in leaked images, design schematics

A number of purported images and specifications of the proposed Apple iPhone 6 device have surfaced online, starting a new wave of rumours.

There are three images coming from different regions across the world that indeed show two variations of the next iPhone 6, corroborating a previous report about two-screen sizes - 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch.

The first wave of rumours come from popular French publication, Nowhereelse, which alleges to shows detailed schematics of the iPhone 6. From the image, it has been noted that the handset might feature a wide 85mm body, which is more than that of Samsung Galaxy Note 3's (79.2mm) and HTC One Max's (82.5mm) width. The image also shows the handset to be rather tall, with a 150mm height. If real, this schematic is probably of the rumoured 5.5-inch variant.

The second image comes from a Japanese magazine, MacFan (viaPhonearena), which also shows the schematics of the alleged iPhone 6 in detail but with minor changes as compared to that seen with Nowehereelse.

The image shows a flat smartphone which has almost bezel-less screen and rectangle volume buttons unlike the circular ones seen till now. The image shows drawings for two possible variants, one with 4.7-inch screen and one with 5.7-inch screen - contradicting the Nikkei report about a 5.5-inch display variant. While the 4.7-inch model is said to be 137mm tall, 66mm wide and 7mm thick, the larger 5.7-inch iPhone 6 model is seen with 157mm height, 77mm width and only 6.7 mm thickness.

Lastly, three alleged images of the iPhone 6 popped up online from a Wiebo account. The live shots (See above) are said to have arrived straight from Foxconn, Apple's primary mobile manufacturer, and show an alleged prototype device. The images show an all-metallic smartphone with an Apple logo on the back panel and a slightly protruding camera from the body.

The protruding camera is nothing new to Apple as the firm has already went down the path with the same hardware in its iPod Touch. The Cupertino firm, as per the smartphone seen in the image, seems to be focussing more towards the curved hardware of the device rather than its screen. However, since nothing is confirmed, one can only take these images as a mere rumour.

Besides these image leaks, Reuters additionally mentioned that Apple suppliers will begin mass producing displays as early as May for the next iPhone. Japan Display Inc, Sharp Corp and South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd have all been tapped to make the screens, as per the reports.

The image leaks hinting the next iPhone to arrive in two screen size variants goes in line with what was mentioned last month. Reports suggested that the handset is expected to come in two versions with a 4.7- or 5.5-inch screen, up from the current four-inch panel.

Previous leaks have said the iPhone 6 will arrive with a much thinner body, a powerful processor and a higher pixel density screen. As for the processor, both Samsung and TSMC are rumoured to bemaking the new A-series 'Apple A8' chips for the iPhone 6, separately rumoured to be clocked at 2.6GHz. The iPhone 6 is also speculated to ship with an Ultra-Retina display, with a pixel density of 389ppi.