Skype overhaul promises improvedcalling, chat sync across devices

Skype has announced a new architectural update with an intent to improve the popular messaging and video call platform in a world with more connected mobile devices. Sharing some details about the changes in a blog post, Skype's Mark Gillet mentions that Skype is now using the cloud to assist clients in delivering chat messages and connecting calls, marking a shift from the p2p nature of the service where a major amount of processing was done on the user's device.

Gillet calls the move to Skype cloud the service's biggest architectural change in 10 years and says that new technologies are helping the company to promote improved battery life and improved connections. "Skype clients continue to evaluate bandwidth, connectivity and firewall settings to select the most appropriate path for the call and continue to connect devices for P2P calls across the Internet so that users get audio and video connections that 'just work'," he states. 

Skype also credits the cloud for enhancing the performance and quality of its core messaging experience. It talks about the ability to receive messages offline and pushing notifications to the Windows Phone 8 mobile client even when the Skype app is not running, and says that the feature will soon be extended to other Skype mobile clients soon. 

However, the major feature that Skype is about to introduce is chat sync, something which has been demanded by a large number of users since the time Skype started focusing on clients for multiple devices. Skype says that it is working to synchronise chat message status across all of the user's devices so the user knows the current status of all of chats on every device that is used to interact with Skype. 

It says the capability will be rolled out across clients over the next few months. Right now if you log-in to Skype's mobile client after being logged in on the desktop one, you receive all messages that you've already read on your desktop on your mobile, which hampers the chat experience in a world where users keep on shuttling between different devices.

Skype also states that it will use its cloud to help preserve the battery of the users' device by enabling the mobile Skype app to stay in "sleep" mode until it's needed by using push notifications. When a user calls another user, the calling app sends the Skype ID and IP address of the parties, as well as the time and date, to the Skype cloud. 

Once a push notification is sent, Skype collects and stores information about the call. It will even sync missed calls information across all the users' devices, The Skype client on Windows 8.1, will offer the ability to answer calls directly from the lock screen with the user's choice of audio, video or a message. Skype also clarified that it uses strong physical, technical and administrative security protections, apart from storing only partial IP addresses, and cryptographically hashing the Skype IDs it stores, to help protect the users' privacy.

Fingerprint recognition promised for Android devices, due in six months

While fingerprint scanners had not hit
mainstream devices at a major level till
Apple decided to include it with the
latest-generation iPhone, the iPhone 5s
calling it Touch ID, it looks like the
Android device bandwagon will also get
its own version of the technology in six
months, if a new report is to be
believed.

The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online)
Alliance a group of 48 technology
companies, which was founded by the
likes of Lenovo and PayPal is working
on a new technical standard for
biometric fingerprint scanners to be
featured on Android smartphones.
In an interview with USA Today,
Michael Barrett, president of the FIDO
Alliance has said that the initial FIDO-
equipped Android devices, will roll out in
early 2014 along with services that use
the FIDO protocols.

"The intention of FIDO is absolutely
that it will allow consumers to have
access to mobile services that they can
use with very low friction, while keeping
good security," said Barrett.
It's not clear as to which device
makers and services would choose to
include FIDO but prominent members of
the alliance include LG, BlackBerry,
Google, Lenovo and PayPal. So it's
likely that these players choose to
integrate the standard with their
devices and services.

It's worth pointing out that Apple's
Touch ID fingerprint sensor is not
FIDO-compliant but Barrett informed
that Touch ID could easily be adapted
to FIDO but it will take a couple of
years.
According to its website, the FIDO
Alliance aims to develop specifications
that define an open, scalable,
interoperable set of mechanisms that
supplant reliance on passwords to
securely authenticate users of online
services. It essentially wants to build a
ubiquitous biometric standard that
works across different devices and
online services that require
authentication.
It's worth mentioning that Apple's
Touch ID allows users to unlock the
phone, by simply placing a finger on
the Home button. It can also be used
to confirm purchases made on the App
Store, iBookstore or the iTunes Store.

LG's curved display smartphoneconfirmed for November launch

LG Electronics Inc's display unit said on Monday it will start mass production of curved smartphone displays as the South Korean phone maker plans to launch a smartphone with the new screens next month to catch bigger rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. 

Samsung said last month it would introduce a smartphone with a curved display in October as the world's top handset maker seeks to set the pace of hardware innovation amid slowing growth in the high-end smartphone market. 

Curved displays are in the early stages of development and allow bendable or foldable designs that could eventually allow mobile and wearable gadgets to take new forms that could radically change the high-end smartphone market.

LG Display Co Ltd said on Monday it has started production of a six-inch display curved top to bottom. LG Electronics plans to launch a smartphone with the curved display in November, a source familiar with the matter said. By contrast, Samsung's phone will have a display curved side to side, another source who has direct knowledge of the matter said. In January Samsung, which has taken over from Apple Inc as the global smartphone leader, showed off prototype products with a flexible screen and a display that extends from the side of a device. 

Technology firms have yet to figure out how to mass produce the parts cheaply and come up with display panels that can be thin and heat resistant. 

Curved displays are already commercially available in large-screen televisions. 
Samsung and LG Electronics started selling curved OLED TV sets this year priced at about $9,000.

Apple Beats Coca-Cola, Google To Become World’s Most Valuable Brand

Apple is now the world's most valuable
brand, according to a report by
Interbrand. Reuters
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has surpassed
Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and Google
(NASDAQ:GOOG) to become the world’s
most valuable brand among 100
competitors, according to the “Best
Global Brands” report for 2013
released by Interbrand, a New York-
based corporate identity and brand-
consulting company.
According to the report, while Apple
claimed the top position this year,
Google secured the second spot and
Coca-Cola, the brand that held the
No. 1 position for 13 consecutive years,
fell to third place.
“Every so often, a company changes
our lives—not just with its products,
but with its ethos. This is why,
following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at
the top of Best Global Brands, Apple
now ranks #1,” Jez Frampton, global
chief executive at Interbrand, said in a
statement. “Tim Cook has assembled a
solid leadership team and has kept
Steve Jobs’ vision intact – a vision that
has allowed Apple to deliver on its
promise of innovation time and time
again.”

Apple, which was ranked thirty-sixth
when Interbrand’s Best Global Brands
began grading brands back in 2000, is
now valued at $98.3 billion, at almost
15 times its brand value 13 years ago.
Last year, the Cupertino, Calif.-based
technology giant was in second place
after more than doubling its valuation
from 2011.
Here is an excerpt from the report:
“Few brands have enabled so many
people to do so much so easily, which is
why Apple has legions of adoring fans,
as evidenced by the record-breaking
launch of the iPhone 5c/5s… From our
perspective, Apple’s internal brand
strength has remained steady. CEO Tim
Cook has assembled a solid team that is
aligned around the Apple vision, which
has allowed them to deliver against the
promise time and time again. There’s
been a lot of change at the top in the
last 12 months, but the alignment of
both hardware and software design
under Jonathan Ive is a major step
toward maintaining focus.”
According to the report, Apple proved
to be resilient and managed to climb up
the list despite having its reputation
somewhat tarnished by patent spats
with Samsung (KRX:005935) and a
scandal at its supplier, Foxconn, over
unsuitable labor conditions, and
emerged as the leader in the Best
Global Brands 2013 list.
Google, in second place, managed to
reach a brand valuation of $93.3
billion, while Coca-Cola got a valuation
of $79.2 billion, followed by IBM
(NYSE:IBM) with $78.8 billion.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) rounded up
the top 5 with a valuation of $59.5
billion.
The other companies that made it to
the top 10 list include General
Electronics (NYSE:GE) with $46.9
billion, McDonalds (NYSE:MCD) with $
41.9 billion, Samsung (KRX:005935) with
$39.6 billion, Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)
with $37.2 billion and Toyota
(NYSE:TM) with $35.3 billion.
Interbrand said that while determining
the top 100 most valuable global
brands, it examines three key aspects
that contribute to a brand’s value --
the financial performance of the
branded products or service, the role
the brand plays in influencing
consumer choice and, the brand's
ability to command a premium price or
secure earnings for the company.
In addition, each of the companies are
also required to generate 30 percent of
total revenues from outside their
domestic markets and have a presence
on at least three major continents as
well as coverage in emerging markets.
This year, the total value of the 100
Best Global Brands was $1.5 trillion --
an 8.4 percent record increase over the
total value of the 100 Best Global
Brands in 2012, the report said.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's ... Swiss 'Jetman'

A Swiss adventurer is making his first
public flights in the United States this
summer with his custom-built jet suit.
Yves Rossy (eev RAW'-see), also known
as "Jetman," is making appearances at
the Experimental Aircraft Association's
AirVenture in Wisconsin. On Monday he
demonstrated his carbon-Kevlar
jetwing with four engines.
His first public flight in the U.S. is set
for Tuesday.
Rossy says he hopes to inspire people
with his flight.
He's able to propel himself through the
sky at upward of 190 mph, controlling
his jet suit with a throttle in his hand.
He can go as high as 12,000 feet.
AirVenture runs through Aug. 4 in
Oshkosh. His flights will be part of the
air shows during the week.
He'll also fly at the Reno Air Races in
September.