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After two years of delays, Samsung has finally unveiled its first real Tizen smartphone, the Z1.

The Z1 is available in India for just 5700 rupee ($90 USD) with a potentially larger release in the future.

With its cheap price, the specs are also as expected: weak. The Z1 has a 4-inch WVGA PLS screen, a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 768MB RAM and 4GB internal storage (expandable via microSD). Photo takers will have to struggle with a 3.1MP camera and 0.3MP camera up front.

Z1 owners will get to try out the Tizen 2.3 operating system, and the device is dual-SIM, as is standard everywhere outside of the U.S.

For its Indian-focused device, the device will also come bundled with a 'Joy Box' package that has trial access to Hungama.com, nextGTv and Bot TV. Because all that content needs data, Samsung has also teamed up with Airtel to provide all buyers with 500MB of 3G data for the first six months.

All that content requires bandwidth, and a joint promotion with operator Airtel gives buyers of the Z1 500MB of 3G data for free for an initial six months.

The Z1, and Tizen in general will face a large uphill battle. There are very few apps for the operating system, and all apps written for iOS or Android have to be re-written to work for the new OS.

The now infamous Sony Pictures hit "The Interview" will be available on DVD and Blu-ray as a special "Freedom Edition" collectible disc on February 17th.

Starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, the comedy has the two recruited by the CIA with the mission to assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

Reads the press release:

Earlier today, reports hit the wire that Samsung was looking to acquire BlackBerry, sending the enterprise smartphone maker's stock soaring nearly 30 percent.

Within a couple hours of the report, both companies denied the rumor. Blackberry said: "BlackBerry has not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase BlackBerry." Samsung called the reports "groundless."

In the report, which cited unnamed sources, Samsung was allegedly willing to purchase BlackBerry for up to $7.5 billion. Before the report, the company had a market value of around $5 billion.

BlackBerry, despite mostly being out of the smartphone market that it once dominated, remains a force in the mobile security realm and also has a popular messaging application.

According to new reports, Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai is open to selling the company's struggling mobile division.

Besides a potential sale, there is also the possibility of a joint venture with another partner.

Sony has been actively trying to turn their businesses around, selling off assets and focusing on more "core" divisions but there has been little success. The company is facing a near $2 billion loss for the fiscal year ended in March, and the company has not been profitable in the last 6 years with the exception of a tiny net profit in 2013.

On the positive side, Sony's PlayStation division and their imaging sensor businesses are very successful but other businesses continue to destroy the bottom line.

Source:
Reuters

Luxury smartphone maker Vertu has announced their new 'Diamond' collection, a new (and insane) group of Android phones with all kinds of premium design features.

The top-end model, the Pure Jet Alligator Diamonds, has 124 Brilliant White Diamonds Set In A White Gold Pillow Trim,
Stereo Sound Bar With White Gold Detail, Brushed and Polished Black PVD Titanium, Jet Alligator Skin and a Jet Ceramic Pillow all for the price of $21,700.

If that hits the wallet too hard, you can put down $12,500 for the Diamonds Red Alligator which has 55 White Diamonds (0.15 cts), Polished Stainless Steel V Pillow, Polished Upper Back Plate and Red Alligator Leather.

Check the Vertu Diamond collection here: Vertu

ASUS has celebrated the sale of their 500 millionth motherboard this week by offering prizes including special edition PCs with custom cases.

The company started selling motherboards back in 1989, and remains the world's largest maker of motherboards.

ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih said: "I want to thank all of our customers for their support throughout the past 25 years. We share a common passion for technology and their inputs have enabled us to grow on this journey in search of incredible. We are committed to delivering more innovation to market and we aim to bring a seamless and joyful digital life for everyone to enjoy."

To win, you have to visit ASUS, enter the giveaway, share via Facebook for an added entry or answer a quiz about the history of the company.

Besides the grand prize of a PC with a custom ASUS TUF case and a Sabertooth Mars S motherboard, there are other prizes like the VivoPC, dual-band routers and LED projectors.

As Je suis Charlie has become the trending topic around the internet politicians are pressured to make decisions on new anti-terrorists acts.

In the United Kingdom the Prime Minister David Cameron is calling out for a backdoor to all secure messaging or else ban it.

According to Engadged the UK Prime Minister doesn't want terrorists to have means for private messaging without the possibility of government intervention.

The conservative party leader wants a new legislation in effect in 2016 as the Draft Communications Data Bill will be terminated. Known as the Snooper's Charter the bill requires companies to retain certain information of their users' communication.

This would first mean that the party would have to win this year's election and gain huge amount of traction for such a radical act.

The ban of such services would mean Whatsapp, Snapchat and the likes would be considered illegal – not to mention other encrypted data services – unless the special access is created.

It is highly unlikely the companies behind that messaging platforms would remove the encryption to the extent that it would become insecure.

In addition to Netflix the e-commerce giant Amazon is trying to fight against the Hollywood's overbearing control over TV shows.

Now Amazon has signed the legendary Woody Allen for an upcoming TV series.

The details are still extremely scarce. Amazon told that the series will feature all new 30 minute episodes but of what nature is yet unknown. The show will be written and directed by Allen.

Woody Allen himself doesn't have more details, saying: "I don't know how I got into this. I have no ideas and I'm not sure where to begin. My guess is that [Amazon Studios'] Roy Price will regret this."

The series will premiere next year on Amazon Prime Instant Video. What kind of plot or who will star the series are obviously completely undisclosed.

According to sources, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun recently discussed a possible Facebook investment in the world's third-largest smartphone maker.

Xiaomi raised $1.1 billion last month, valuing the company at $45 billion, but Facebook was not part of the investors.

Zuckerberg visited China in October, but no deal was ever cemented. A big hurdle was the political implications of such a move, since Facebook has been banned in China for half of a decade.

Xiaomi, after starting just 4 years ago, is now China's biggest smartphone maker. The company sold 61.12 million smartphones last year, bringing in $12 billion in revenue.

Samsung has unveiled a sleek new all-metal octa-core processor powered smartphone: the Galaxy A7.

The device features a 5.5-inch display, a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon chip (dual 1.8GHz and 1.3GHz quad-core processors or 1.5GHz and 1.0GHz in the dual-SIM model), 2GB RAM, at least 16GB internal storage and Android 4.4 KitKat.

For heavy camera users, the smartphone has a 13MP standard camera and a 5MP front-facing camera. Samsung has added some software tweaks, as well, allowing you to take "wide selfies" and "auto selfies" using "a voice command or even a simple wave of the hand."

In addition, Samsung has added a new private mode that "adds an extra layer of security for important files and documents" and multi-screen support for apps.

The device is also notable for its design, which is metal. Samsung's devices to date have mainly been plastic with faux leather, which can feel cheap when compared to the iPhone and other high-end devices.

Just two months after unveiling 50 million active users, Spotify now has 60 million active users and a full 15 million paying subscribers.

The streaming music service had 12.5 million paying users in October, paying either $4.99 for unlimited ad-free streaming on their PCs or $9.99 per month for unlimited ad-free streaming everywhere including mobile devices. The company offers all users free music for PCs with ads, and a free but slightly limited version for mobile devices.

Spotify is one of the more valuable private companies in the tech sector, and it is expected to IPO later this year and be worth in the low billions.

The service recently had a setback when popular artist Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalog from Spotify, claiming that streaming services do not value the musician's music. The company has clearly recovered since.

Samsung is preparing another flagship press event at this years Mobile World Congress in March. A lot depends on this one phone and its possible accessories as Samsung's stocks in the smartphone industry have been withering.

According to the information Business Insider has gathered from "sources familiar with the company's plans" Samsung will introduce not only one but two flagship variants at the event.

In addition to the two phones BI notes another revision of Gear smartwatch is coming. It will be the first one with a round display for the Korean company.

The sources say that the construction of one of the phones will include metal as is expected after the launch of Galaxy Alpha – the predecessor of metal design flaunting Alpha series – and Galaxy Note 4. It is however not yet known in what fashion the metal is used.

The non-metal variant features an Edge-like curved display. Galaxy Note Edge features a curved display that wraps around the right side of the phone (pictured above).

Business Insider notes that Samsung's plans can still change before the press event in early March.

The Netflix original that has since the first season defined the service – House of Cards – is continuing on February 27th. The Emmy and Golden Globe winning drama series has now released a new trailer for the upcoming season.

Starred by the Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey the third season returns maybe in a even darker tone than before. According to the trailer there will be more stress in the White House and in the hands of Francis Underwood.

The season will appear on Netflix in one package as usual and will feature thirteen all new episodes.

The first and the second season are of course available still in the streaming service if one desires a recap before the new season begins. Meanwhile watch the intense trailer below.

The web is quickly shifting towards the mobile and not unlike web, the music streaming is one of the more popular activities on a mobile device. And so in their latest press event Spotify has told that it is now more popular on phones and tablets than on desktop.

According to the new stats the desktop app is used by 45 percent of the users while the phones and tablets combine to 52 percent – phones are at 42% and tablets 10%.

The figures could be even more into favor of mobile if the company had stepped into it more aggressively. Last year Spotify reached into mobile with more apps and new shuffle-only and ad-supported models.

Currently the music streaming service says it has 60 million active subscribers of which 15 million are paying customers. This years possible introduction of Apple's new streaming service will keep Spotify on its toes and try to expand especially on mobile.

As they do every year, pirates have released a plethora of Oscar hopefuls to the Web, all in "DVD Screener" quality.

Among the releases are Birdman, The Imitation Game, Selma, American Sniper, Unbroken, Big Hero 6, Into the Woods, Big Eyes, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Gambler, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year and Kill The Messenger.

The screeners seem to have come from different sources, and while most are decent quality, reports say quite a few have audio that goes out of sync and have choppy frames, suggesting the leaks came from rookies.