Dota 2 fans now able to watch games via VR

Fans of the Dota 2 video game can now watch the arena battle's biggest tournament via their Vive virtual reality headset.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36923791

Virgin Media engineers 'cut off home'

A home in the north-west of England has been cut off by digging work carried out to install super-fast broadband services.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36923156

Net's .web domain sold for $135m

The auction for ownership of the .web domain has ended with one company paying $135m (£102m) for rights to use the suffix.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36923788

Last call for free Windows 10 upgrade

29th July is the last chance for upgrading to Windows 10 for free.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36923149

Australia plans new co-ordinates to fix sat-nav gap

Australia is to shift its longitude and latitude to address a gap between local co-ordinates and those from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36912700

Google parent Alphabet sees strong profits rise

Quarterly revenue at Google's parent company Alphabet rises 21.3% after strong mobile advertising sales.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36920028

Amazon beats earnings expectations

Amazon reports better-than-expected earnings in the second quarter off the back of growth in its cloud computing unit and Prime membership.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36917516

Democrat hack: Who is Guccifer 2.0?

A lone hacker is claiming responsibility for the hack on the US Democratic Party but is that person to be believed?

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36913000

Pokemon Go: Player claims to have caught all UK characters

A Pokemon Go player claims to have become the first to catch all the characters available in the UK.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-36912572

Pets left hungry as smart feeder breaks

Owners of smart pet-feeding device Petnet are told to "feed their pets manually" after a server problem stopped the device from working.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36912992

Facebook profits beat expectations

Facebook announces another exceptional quarter of growth, with profit climbing 186% from this time last year.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36908354

Samsung profits boosted by smartphone sales

Strong smartphone sales help Samsung Electronics post its best quarterly results in more than two years.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36911228

Tech groups told Europe funds 'on pause'

Tech companies express concern over the current freeze on allocating crucial European funding in the wake of the Brexit vote.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36903214

Osram Lightify light bulbs 'vulnerable to hack'

Security researchers discover nine vulnerabilities in a range of internet-connected light bulbs made by Osram.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36903274

Councils demand reassurance on universal broadband pledge

Councils urge the government to "reaffirm its commitment" to a minimum broadband speed to stop thousands falling into a "digital twilight zone".

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36900892

Apple sees iPhone sales drop again but beats forecasts

Apple reports a second consecutive quarter of falling iPhone sales, but the 15% drop was not as bad as analysts had feared.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36900134

Twitter reports slowest revenue growth since 2013

Twitter has reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in three years, as the company fends off competition from a growing number of social media sites.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36898334

Wireless keyboards 'easy' to snoop on

Many wireless keyboards do little to stop the data they transmit being intercepted, a cybersecurity firm has warned.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36892436

Blackberry battles on with Dtek 50 Android phone

Blackberry releases its first touchscreen-only Android handset, in a bid to appeal to enterprise customers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36883237

EU watchdogs permit Privacy Shield to run for one year

The new EU-US data-sharing agreement will be able to run for at least a year, European regulators announce.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36893920

Facebook 'anti-spam systems' blocked Democrat emails dump

Facebook says its anti-spam filters were to blame for its website briefly blocking access to internal emails from US Democratic Party committee members published by Wikileaks.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36892533

Openreach should be 'distinct within BT'

BT's Openreach division, which runs the UK's broadband infrastructure, should become a distinct company, but not split off from the BT group, according to regulator Ofcom.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36891446

Flipkart's Myntra to buy online shopping rival Jabong

Indian online shopping giant Flipkart buys rival fashion shopping site Jabong in an e-commerce sector marked by increasing competition.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36891139

O2 customer data sold on dark net

O2 customer data is being sold by criminals on the dark net, the Victoria Derbyshire programme has learned.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36764548

Piracy site owner settles $50m lawsuit

The owner of piracy site Isohunt agrees to settle a lawsuit with Music Canada for $50m (£38m).

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36883179

Ransomware advice service to tackle extortion gangs

European police agency Europol teams up with cybersecurity companies in an initiative aimed at slowing an "exponential" rise in ransomware.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36883056

1.6m Clash of Kings forum accounts 'stolen'

Details about 1.6 million users on the Clash of Kings online forum are hacked, a breach notification site claims.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36883076

Nintendo shares plunge on Pokemon profit warning

Shares in Japanese gaming giant Nintendo fall sharply as the firm says the success of Pokemon Go will only have a limited impact on its earnings.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36880779

Verizon 'agrees $5bn Yahoo deal'

US telecoms giant Verizon Communications is to buy Yahoo's core internet business for $5bn (£3.8bn), according to media reports.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36879831

Players probe Elite game space mystery

Elite Dangerous gamers are working feverishly to decipher a puzzle uncovered by one player of the space simulation.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36865212

US copyright law faces legal challenge

Digital rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) attempts to overturn parts of US copyright law which, it says, are unconstitutional.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36866550

Snowden designs phone case to spot hack attacks

A smartphone case that tells its owner when their phone has been hacked is being designed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36865209

US man jailed over bitcoin fraud scheme

A Texan man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for running a fraudulent Ponzi-style scheme based around the Bitcoin virtual currency.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36865208

Desktop banking use falls, as users switch to apps

The use of internet banking on a computer has fallen for the first time, as users switch to mobile apps, according to the banking industry.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36857433

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu live action movie confirmed

A live action Pokemon movie is to begin production in 2017, Legendary Entertainment has confirmed.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36853970

Pokemon Go finally launches in Japan

Nintendo's Pokemon Go is now available for players in Japan, the birthplace of the little monsters, says game developer Niantic Labs.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36842259

Japan 'to stop making VCR machines'

Production of the last videocassette recorder (VCR) to be made in Japan will cease by the end of the month, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36857370

Mozilla to block Flash in Firefox browser

Mozilla is planning to end full support for Adobe's Flash software in its Firefox browser from next month.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36856449

France data authority criticises Windows 10 over privacy

Windows 10 gathers an "excessive" amount of personal data on users, the French data authority says in a formal notice about the operating system.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36854909

Cleric flags fatwa against Pokemon

A leading Saudi cleric has urged followers to shun Pokemon Go because of a fatwa against it.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36848175

Valve tackles Counter Strike gambling sites

Game maker Valve is threatening to shut down sites that use add-ons for its Counter Strike game to gamble.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36824689

Nearly six million fraud and cyber crimes last year, ONS says

Almost six million fraud and cyber crimes were committed last year in England and Wales, new figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36854413

Tinder launches group dates feature

Tinder is launching a new feature that allows groups of friends to discover each other and meet up.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36855163

BT broadband customers hit by second fault

BT broadband users are unable to access some websites again, following problems with the service yesterday.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36854916

File-sharing 'mastermind' arrested in Poland

US authorities have charged a Ukrainian man alleged to be the mastermind of the world's biggest online piracy website.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36852495

Google tests ads that load faster and use less power

Google reveals it is building new technology to make ads appear more quickly and use less battery power.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36844717

Drivers battle Uber over employment rights

Cab hire service Uber has been taken to an employment tribunal by two of its drivers who claim it is acting unlawfully by not offering holiday and sick pay.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36843386

Google uses AI to save on electricity from data centres

Its artificial intelligence division, DeepMind, has cut Google's data centres' energy consumption by 15%, using a machine-learning algorithm.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36845978

BT Broadband users hit by fault

BT acknowledges that many of its customers are experiencing problems with its broadband service.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36844712

Leslie Jones Twitter row: Breitbart editor banned over abuse

A senior editor with the conservative website Breitbart is banned from Twitter after abuse was directed at a star of the new Ghostbusters film.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36842710

Pokemon Go: Bosnia players warned of minefields

Players of the hugely popular mobile game Pokemon Go in Bosnia are warned to avoid areas where landmines lie unexploded from the war in the 1990s.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36841828

Microsoft's cloud unit boosts profits

Microsoft reported substantial growth in its cloud computing unit, which helped to boost quarterly profits.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36837952

Brazil judge blocks WhatsApp again as row escalates

For the third time, a Brazilian judge blocks nationwide access to the messaging service WhatsApp amid an escalating row over criminal investigations.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-36836674

Nintendo rally sees its market value soar past Sony

Think of a Japanese tech giant, a truly global player made in Japan - Sony, you say? Well, think again. Or rather - think Nintendo instead.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36833916

BBC+ app gathers together content in personalised hub

The BBC has launched a new app that presents a selection of the broadcaster's online content chosen to appeal to each user's interests.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36834757

Navy sonar broke whale protection laws, says US court

A US appeals court has ruled that sonar approved for use by the US Navy broke marine laws.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36834457

Germany mulls self-drive car 'black box'

Germany is considering introducing a black-box-style data recorder for autonomous cars to help investigators in the event of an accident.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36826028

BT must 'put its house in order' - MPs

MPs strongly criticise telecoms giant BT in a new report, which accuses it of "significantly under investing" in its Openreach subsidiary.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36832505

Netflix price rises prompt subscribers to turn off

Netflix shares fall sharply after the video streaming firm added fewer subscribers than expected ahead of US prices rises.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36831819

Why Google wants your medical records

Google has made headlines for its forays into healthcare but what is its ultimate goal?

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36783521

Yahoo: still no buyer as losses widen to $440m

Yahoo gave no update on attempts to sell its core internet business as the firm slumped to a $440m (£332m) loss in the second quarter.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36828177

Social media harms moral development, parents say

A majority of parents in the UK believe social media harms their children's moral development, a survey suggests.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36824176

What is ARM and why is it worth £24bn?

ARM's technology is at the heart of millions of smartphones and tablets - but the company's inventions are used wider still.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36826095

Train game parodies 'shambolic' railway

Web developers create an online game where players cancel Southern Rail trains and take profits from passengers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-36825721

How Pokemon Go took over the web

A dive into the data showing the popularity of the monster-hunting mobile game Pokemon Go.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36824737

Microsoft to miss 'one billion' Windows 10 target

Microsoft says it will miss a target of getting Windows 10 running on more than one billion devices by 2018.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36824687

Florida teens, mistaken for thieves, shot at playing Pokemon Go

Two teenagers playing Pokemon Go late at night in their car in Florida are shot at by a householder mistaking them for burglars.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36818384

Japan's Softbank to buy iPhone chip maker for £24bn

Japan's Softbank is to buy ARM Holdings, one of the UK's biggest technology companies, for £24bn ($32bn) it has confirmed.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822806

Melbourne students' 'sexualised' Instagram posts spark anger

Two students at an elite Melbourne school are suspended and police are investigating after an Instagram account giving sexual ratings to pupils sparks anger.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-36822465

ARM Holdings in £24bn Japanese takeover deal

ARM Holdings, one of the UK's biggest technology companies, is set to announce it is being bought by Japan's Softbank for £24bn ($32bn).

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36822272

UK robot cars to challenge Google and Tesla

A British firm develops autonomous car software that it hopes will be used by a variety of vehicle manufacturers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36810842

Pokemon Go: Sex offender caught playing game with child

A registered child sex offender is arrested after being caught playing Pokemon Go with a child outside a courthouse in the US state of Indiana.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36804245

German police target hate crime in co-ordinated raids

German police carry out raids on 60 addresses, targeting people suspected of posting hate content on social media.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36804363

Hacker gets two years in jail for celebrity 'swatting'

A US hacker who put the personal data of celebrities and officials online has been sentenced to two years in jail.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36804242

US senator wants guns and ammunition banned from sale on Facebook and Instagram

A senior American politician writes an open letter to Facebook and Instagram asking them to stop the sale of guns and ammunition.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36795562

Why Pokemon Go is a taste of the future

Millions of people are playing Pokemon Go - a mobile game that blends the real world with computer graphics.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36799788

The DIY diabetes kit that's keeping us alive

Meet the growing number of type 1 diabetics who are building their own unapproved, open source monitoring systems.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36711994

Consumer group calls for brake on Tesla's Autopilot

US group Consumer Reports has called on Tesla to disable the automatic steering function in its electric cars.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36796026

Cheap ransomware takes files 'hostage'

Malware that gives victims 96 hours to pay a ransom before it starts deleting random files every six hours has been spotted on the dark web.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36793793

Sky's 4K line-up includes James Bond and Premier League

Sky reveals its initial line-up of 4K films, sports coverage and documentaries.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36793510

Google hit by fresh European Union anti-trust charges

The European Commission steps up pressure on Google, alleging that it abused its dominance in internet shopping and restricted competition.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36791567

Robot runs over toddler in shopping centre

A security guard robot runs over a 16-month-old child in a shopping centre in California.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36793790

Pokemon Go unleashed in the UK

Pokemon Go - a mobile game that has become a global phenomenon - is released in the UK.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36793610

US sentences Chinese hacker for stealing military information

The US sentences a Chinese businessman to nearly four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to hacking sensitive military information.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36791114

Nintendo shares up more than 50% since Pokemon Go release

Shares in Japanese gaming firm Nintendo rise 16% on Thursday, an overall increase of more than 50% since the release of the hugely successful Pokemon Go game last week.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36791275

Amazon tests personalised video ads

Amazon reveals it is developing personalised video ads that can be created on the fly to suit its shoppers' interest.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36773409

Google piracy report criticised by music industry

Google's publication of a report outlining its efforts to tackle piracy is criticised by music industry chiefs.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36783351

Pikachu pops up on Downing Street

The BBC's Adam Fleming catches a popular Pokemon while waiting for the new Prime Minister on Downing Street.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36786671

Tesla says autopilot was involved in second car crash

Tesla has admitted that its autopilot feature was activated when one of its cars crashed on Sunday.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36783345

GTA 5 Pride modification aims 'to honour' Orlando attack victims

A group of fans have made a free, unofficial modification which sees an Pride parade making its way through Los Santos.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36780959

Privacy row over FBI iris scan 'trial'

The FBI has collected 430,000 iris scans in the past three years, leading privacy campaigners to question the project.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36783515

US Holocaust museum asks Pokemon Go players to stop

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington requests visitors to refrain from trying to "catch" Pokemon on their phones.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36780610

Death robots: Where next after Dallas?

After US police used a robot to help kill a gunman in Dallas, questions are being asked about where the strategy will lead.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36778374

Shoppers frustrated on Amazon Prime Day

US-based Amazon customers are reporting problems completing online purchases on Prime Day.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36776114

US court raises Netflix sharing anxiety in password ruling

A US court ruling saying password sharing is illegal could influence future complaints on the matter, including for services like Netflis.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36772048

Ransomware 'stopped' by new software

Scientists at the University of Florida claim to have developed software that stops ransomware from encrypting files.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36772461

Pokemon Go firm fixes 'full Google access' error

The firm behind smash-hit game Pokemon Go reassures users that it only accesses basic information from their Google accounts.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36773214

Warner Bros paid YouTubers thousands to promote games

PewDiePie and other YouTubers took money from Warner Bros for positive game reviews

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36771304

'Dalek' commands can hijack smartphones

Researchers demonstrate how garbled speech commands hidden in radio or video broadcasts could be used to control a smartphone.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763902

Farnborough Airshow: Keeping drones safe from harm

How to protect technology such as drones from cyberattacks is one of the big issues at the Farnborough Airshow.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36769056

Pokemon Go players take to the streets

A new mobile game that lets players catch Pokemon as they roam the streets becomes a phenomenon.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763910

Telecoms companies unite to sign 5G manifesto

The telecoms industry signs a 5G manifesto calling for a "positive stance on innovation".

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763903

Microsoft scraps Finland phone unit

Microsoft confirms it will close its mobile phone unit in Finland, cutting 1,350 jobs.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763904

Tesla stock rises after Elon Musk's masterplan tweet

Tesla's stock rises after its chief executive Elon Musk hints he will soon reveal a new masterplan for the car-maker.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36765823

'Water-resistant' Samsung Galaxy S7 Active fails test

A Samsung smartphone marketed as water-resistant has failed underwater tests by a leading product review site.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763932

Bitcoin rewards halve for virtual cash money miners

The financial rewards for people who help to verify who does what with their bitcoins have been halved.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763524

Kim Dotcom plans 2017 relaunch of Megaupload

Net entrepreneur Kim Dotcom plans to relaunch the Megaupload web storage system in January 2017.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36763522

'I came out of retirement to work in digital world'

The death of a much-loved pet inspired one woman to find her dream job with an internet start-up company.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36735084

Pokemon Go player finds dead body in Wyoming river while searching for a Pokestop

A woman playing augmented reality game Pokemon Go finds a dead body in the US state of Wyoming.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36757858

Messaging app Line set to raise up to $1.3bn in IPO

Japanese messaging app Line is set to raise up to $1.3bn when it lists its shares in New York and Tokyo later this week.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36761271

Pokemon Go release 'paused' in UK

Pokemon fans get frustrated by a delay to the release of Pokemon Go in the UK

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36754540

Work begins on Eric robot resurrection

Work begins to resurrect Eric - the UK's first humanoid robot - who was first built in 1928.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36747926

Facebook tests 'secret message' service

Messages that disappear are being trialled by Facebook as it experiments with a new option for those using its Messenger app.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36744470

Privacy Shield data pact gets European approval

A revised pact governing how data is handled as it flows between Europe and the US has been approved by EU governments.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36744928

Malware hits millions of Android phones

Up to 10 million Android smartphones have been infected by malware that generates fake clicks for adverts, say security researchers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36744925

Green light for pink pregnant seat alert

Following a successful trial, the city of Busan in South Korea is now planning to introduce a system to help pregnant train and bus passengers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36744461

AI experiments roam Minecraft's lands

Minecraft gains a tool that lets artificial intelligence experiments be carried out in its virtual worlds.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36740391

The hamster-powered drawing machine and other tech news

BBC Click's Lara Lewington looks at some of the best of the week's technology news

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36734086

Man v Machine: A face recognition battle

An artificial intelligence machine called Mark took on a human being. But who won?

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36726675

Second Tesla crash probed in US

A second Tesla crash, which left a driver and passenger injured, is being investigated with particular emphasis on whether the Autopilot feature was in use.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36736103

'Cheapest smartphone' Freedom 251 ready to deliver

Indian technology firm Ringing Bells has announced that the first 5,000 units of the "world's cheapest smartphone" are ready to deliver.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36738602

Technology push to get girls educated

The UK's Department for International Development has announced funding for a range of tech projects to get poor girls educated

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36734525

Bitcoins used in child sex abuse deals targeted

Bitcoins used to buy images of child sex abuse could soon be tracked and blocked as two companies share intelligence on how virtual cash is spent.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36734658

Manchester City sign first esports player

Manchester City Football Club signs a new recruit - but one who will never actually set foot on the pitch.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36734518

Amazon to create 1,000 UK jobs

Amazon says it is creating 1,000 new jobs in the UK and that Brexit has not caused a dip in sales yet.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36730755

Snapchat Memories update will allow you to use old photos and videos

A new Snapchat update will allow users to save photos and videos and upload them at a later date.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/articles/36729016

Marvel's new Iron Man is 15-year-old black girl

The character who will replace Tony Stark as Iron Man in a new episode of the comic has been revealed - and it is a 15-year-old black teenager.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-36731596

Meals on wheels: Could a robot soon deliver your takeaway?

Could a robot soon be delivering your meals and groceries?

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36733460

UK's first robot college to teach future tech workers

The Japanese robot Pepper's latest assignment is in the classroom to teach future tech industry workers.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-36732926

Criminals winning 'cyber arms race' - National Crime Agency

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A brief history of the mobile phone

BBC Rewind takes a brief look at the history of the mobile phone.

from BBC News - Technology http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36728084

Review: Updated: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+

Introduction and design

I usually don't like to use the tired old refrain that Samsung copies a certain manufacturer's plans – but there's something familiar here.

A brand releases a top-of-the-line phone, and then decides to make a phablet version by adding a 'Plus' to the end. That's precisely what Samsung's done here, and there's very little difference between the S6 Edge+ and the original Galaxy S6 Edge that debuted a few months before it.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Apple's seen some great success by bringing out a larger variant of it's normal phone - it's not sold in the same numbers, but it's given Apple fans that were getting a bit tired of having to compromise on screen something to pick up.

Samsung clearly thought it could do the same thing - and even went as far as using the S6 Edge+ to replace the Note 5 in some territories, offering a phablet without the stylus.

One can only assume that places like the UK just weren't bothered about having a stylus to add into the mix, and therefore Samsung just took its best of the moment phone and made it a bit bigger.

The price, understandably rose as well. Like the Note 5, the South Korean brand whacked a premium onto its phablet to allow for the larger battery and screen size, as well as a little bit extra in the RAM department.

With the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S7 and larger 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge though, the price of the S6 Edge+ has dropped from its original £629 (US$959.99) to £539 (US$583.99).

With the S7 Edge offering a phablet-like experience the S6 Edge+'s USP has been somewhat squashed, making it now a slightly more difficult sell.

Design

I can't help but love the curved side of the Samsung Galaxy Edge screens. While not as impacting as the Note Edge's single display from 2014, the fact everything melts into the side of the phone adds something that most other phones simply can't.

It's a clever way of Samsung making a phone without bezels, in terms of appearance anyway, while maintaining the sides needed to hold the thing. The edges themselves are utterly redundant, despite what Samsung is trying to tell us, but in terms of pure aesthetics, this phone really has no equal.

That's an area where the S7 Edge has an upper hand. Its edges are more curved, and Samsung's new TouchWiz interface for Android Marshmallow brings some genuinely useful features to it. The hope is the S6 Edge+ will also benefit when it finally receives the Marshmallow update.

I'm actually surprised at the job the brand has done in terms of making the S6 Edge+ a decent phone to hold. The metallic rim is comfortable in the hand, and the smooth glass creates an effect that goes some way to offsetting the high cost of the phone.

Despite packing a 5.7-inch screen, I was actually able to stretch my thumb right along the screen a lot more than I was expecting, again thanks to the curved display. It's still a phablet though, and as such you'll need to use a two-handed grip a lot more than with the normal S6 range.

Design-wise though, Samsung's done phenomenally well again. Sure, it's just a larger version of the S6 Edge, but that's no bad thing. That phone was well-crafted, and the larger device doesn't add in any creaks or wobbles - it's solid in the hand, thin enough to not feel chunky and yet still has elements like dual wireless charging that add something extra to the mix.

I suppose you could fault the camera protrusion, but given the quality of the snapper (more on that later, but it's worth checking out) I can't say I'd rather Samsung had made things flat just to preserve the look of the phone.

Given a lot of people will be upgrading to this from the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, it won't feel like much of a hindrance.

An 'upgraded' Edge and a bigger battery

OK, let's get one of the big issues out of the way: the Edge display on the sides of the phone is just useless beyond being really nice to look at.

The big three things it does are: letting you interact with your favourite chums with a swipe sideways, keeping your favourite apps within easy swiping distance and giving you information when the phone is off.

I'd like to start by talking about that last point actually: the idea is that a couple of cheeky strokes of the phone on the edge display will show you the time, date, interactions on social networks and news from Yahoo. It utterly, completely fails to impress for one simple reason: you have to rub it so hard to get anything to pop up.

Imagine trying to summon a tired, hungover genie and you'll have some idea of the issue. After stroking up and down two or three times (if you're lucky) you'll get said information... but the same thing could have been achieved by just tapping the home button and firing the screen up.

When you look at Motorola's Active Display, which fires when you just wave your hand over the screen, this is just terrible form from Samsung.

The other elements of the Edge screen are equally useless - I set up my favourite apps and top people, and tried to remember to use the side of the screen to access them quickly. I never did – it's just not an intuitive gesture.

There were a couple of times when I saw I had a message from my partner that glowed a different colour on the table when I had the phone face down in front of me, which would have been useful in a meeting or somewhere that constantly looking at the phone would be rude, but it wasn't an earth-shattering moment.

The other new functionality here is the ability to poke and send little notes to other Edge users (called OnCircle) – but that's such a niche amount of users that I nearly didn't mention it.

Imagine the stuff Apple Watch users can do to one another, but with fewer choices and people to do it with. You're there. This is a feature that's destined to go the same way as ChatON, Samsung's failed own-brand WhatsApp.

Simply put, it's a stretch to use the Edge screen for anything worthwhile. There are some cool parts in theory, but in reality the large screen is a bit too cumbersome here. Swiping one-handed isn't the easiest given the bigger dimensions, and I was constantly worried I'd just flip it out of my hand.

While we're here talking about the display though, let me just remind everyone: it's brilliant. Yes, it's the same resolution as seen on the S6 Edge, and at 5.7-inches it's theoretically less sharp.

But it's not perceptible. It just makes everything look clear and crisp, and no matter what you're looking at it's colourful, rich and sharp. The display on the Galaxy Note 5 was rated as the best on the market, and the same one seems to have been used here.

The larger size has also been used by Samsung to add another line of icons, making better use of the QHD screen compared to the S6 Edge.

So just be aware that the Edge display is on there for aesthetics. Samsung may improve that in the future, but with such a subtle curve I doubt it.

Higher battery

While I don't want to ruin the battery testing coming up, I'm glad that Samsung has decided to bite the bullet and increase the power in the S6 Edge+.

The smaller 'normal' S6 Edge has a tiny 2600mAh unit, and it's just not big enough. That phone just about manages the day but it's not comfortable – if it wasn't for the fact the other handsets on the market were equally as bad, Samsung would have been in all sorts of trouble here.

The extra size on the S6 Edge+ has thankfully been used for a bigger 3000mAh battery, which should mean the phone will last a little bit longer, given the screen resolution is the same, the software slightly better optimised and, generally, the power of a phablet is used properly.

Apple's iPhone 6S Plus has a much better battery life than the smaller and lower-res iPhone 6S, which bodes well for what Samsung's done here.

(Although I'll offer a small spoiler – it's actually somehow worse. Check out the battery section to see why).

Fingerprint scanner

Apple launched the fingerprint scanner onto the wider world with Touch ID in the iPhone 5S, and it's not looked back since. It wasn't the first out there to do so, but it was the first biometric authentication that was easy to use and didn't mean you needed to compromise speed of unlocking.

Samsung tried the same thing with the Galaxy S5, but that was a swiping method and it, well, sucked. This time around, the S6 Edge has a very simple 'click and hold' method of opening the phone, and it's virtually faultless.

The speed with which you can unlock your phone is amazing, and the obvious benefit is that you're now more secure than ever before - lose the phone and you'll be safe, especially if you enable the reams of locating and wiping services Samsung offers through its secure Knox platform.

There were a few instances when the Galaxy S6 Edge+ didn't want to accept the fingerprint - more than I was expecting, given the performance of the S6 Edge and its flawless unlocking – and I needed to enter the backup password, which is a bit disappointing.

When Samsung Pay lands, this element comes into its own, as a simple swipe upwards from the home button into the screen (even with the display turned off) will start the payment method, which will be ace when you're trying to quickly pay for transport or shopping on the go.

Given Samsung also lets you pay using the magnetic stripe on the side of card readers, and it's got that hardware built into this svelte body, it's impressive.

Specs and performance

In terms of specs, there's very little that you'll find different on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ compared to the original S6 Edge, which is something of a disappointment.

Not in terms of actual performance - it's mostly brilliant, but that's a common theme with most smartphones out there now - but for the spec fans, and especially those upgrading from 2013's Note 3 powerhouse, they'd expect the very, very best on the market.

If you can get past such spec snobbery, the S6 Edge+ performs very well. The extra 1GB of RAM boosts the internal grunt to 4GB, and combined with the octa-core Exynos 7420 chipset inside you've got a very competent and powerful phone.

The internal storage could be a little bigger, especially given the fact there's no expandable MicroSD slot to give you a little more memory to play with. 32GB will probably just about suffice - providing you don't fill it with loads of 4K video, that is.

The lack of microSD and removable battery still irks some people – but the former is offset by the fact this phone uses advanced internal storage, meaning it's much quicker and more stable than microSD expansion. Even having the card in can slow down Samsung phones, so I can see why the brand went down this route… but it doesn't mean I like it.

You'll probably want to stack this thing full of movies, games and other assorted large files – it can handle Hi-Res audio as well – so while it's a good thing Samsung didn't go all-out crazy and make a 16GB option, the 32GB doesn't seem that solid, especially given you'll be taking a million pictures with the excellent camera.

There's also the issue of nearly 7GB of onboard storage being munched by the operating system, which at least is down from the 12GB madness of previous phones. If you want to be safe, go for the 64GB Galaxy S6 Edge+, but remember that's even more money to fork out.

I'm not criticising Samsung for offering a 32GB version as the base model – it needs to try to have one option at a price that's vaguely accessible – but you could run out of space relatively quickly in two years.

Samsung doesn't want to make a 128GB version of this phone, which is really odd when you consider the smaller phones have the variant - surely it would be an easy process to use the same components?

In general use, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is one of the finest-performing smartphones I've ever used. That's not really surprising, since it's got a tremendously powerful octa-core CPU that's fused with an industry-leading 4GB of RAM.

Note users, the demographic Samsung is aiming this phablet at, might baulk at the fact they've not got a next-gen processor in there, but in reality it's not needed.

One of the big fixes is the lack of 'home screen rebuilding', where you'd often press the home key to exit an app, only to have to wait a few seconds for all your icons to pop up again. It's a common issue that's plagued Samsung phones for years – including the S6 Edge and others from 2015 – and to seemingly get rid of it should fill users with confidence.

In fact, there's very little you can't do with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, as it really is the phone that demands you try to do everything and everything with it.

Movies, in particular, look sensational on the 5.7-inch screen, and it's testament to the Super AMOLED technology that Samsung uses that you don't notice any fuzziness from stretching the smaller S6 display up to this size.

It shows that QHD resolution (1440 x 2560) is easily enough for a smartphone – 4K screens just aren't needed yet, as at 800-odd DPI I'm sure the human eye can't distinguish the sharpness.

I'll probably be saying the same thing about 8K phones in three years time, but for now, Samsung has got it spot on.

The Super AMOLED screen allows for greater depth in colour, richness and sharp images – and now that you're able to tweak the colour settings more than any other phone around, you won't get a bad movie experience. The phone is light enough to hold for extended periods, and with Bluetooth 4.1 onboard with apt-X the sound quality is never going to be an issue.

However the external speaker isn't much to get excited about – compared to the likes of the Sony Xperia Z5 and the HTC One M9, it's miles behind in terms of being able to pump out tunes or movie dialogue with precision.

The audio performance of this phone is still remarkable though. Stick in a lossless file, throw on a pair of decent headphones and the amount of detail you'll get is chilling. Every sound is warm, the range is wide and even standard Spotify-streamed MP3s sounds good on there.

It's the same with gaming. While there's always a worry about the battery running down, in testing Samsung's always remarkably good about keeping the power levels up, no matter what task is running on the screen.

That bodes well, given that the S6 Edge+ has a huge amount of power for gaming of all levels. Casual games look stunning on the Super AMOLED screen and the Mali GPU inside is capable of running heavy frame rates despite the larger amount of pixels to drive.

With the extra RAM on board, the speed of this thing is off the charts - you'll never be able to properly use it, unless you're getting VERY specific with your apps and finding some that need oodles of power - putting it just a sliver behind the Note 5 in raw performance.

In our GeekBench 3 testing, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ scored a whopping 4949. That's more than the iPad Air 2, the new Tab S2, the Nexus 6P and the Galaxy S6. However if you're looking for the best of the best the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge comfortably beat it.

The phone does warm up with some more graphically intensive games, but it's not searing levels, which is good (the fact we're lauding phones for not burning hands these days is something of worry… but that's a story for another day).

Battery life

The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+... AKA the most boring nature documentary ever. It's also the section of the review I'm least looking forward to writing, as it's a whirling, twisting snake of a thing to define.

The reason is the battery life is just so flipping erratic. One day it'll be brilliant, and then it will piss out all the juice because I listened to Spotify for a bit. I've even delayed writing this review to try and get it to settle, but nothing has really helped.

Coming back to the phone months later, and using it extensively for several weeks the battery hasn't improved. It'll still regularly struggle to see out a full day, and the improvements made on the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge puts the S6 Edge+ even further behind.

Let's work off the empirical data: the Galaxy S6 Edge+ was subjected to our standard video run down test, where the phone was charged to 100%, and then a Full HD video was run for 90 minutes with the screen on full brightness. That yielded a result of 23% battery life lost, which is rather a large number when compared to similar handsets.

For instance, the Note 5 managed to only drop 14%, where the Samsung Galaxy S6 dropped 16%. I can only surmise that the S6 Edge+'s larger curved screen was drawing more power than the flat variants, which is irritating as it doesn't do a lot more.

That said, it's not terrible performance - the iPhone 6 Plus ran the same video and dropped 27%, and it has a lot fewer pixels to drive, so to achieve even this Samsung has done well, though Apple has since topped it with the 22% drop of the iPhone 6S Plus. The slightly smaller Galaxy S7 Edge lost just 14% in the same test, showing the marked improvement Samsung has made here.

But let's get down to real world usage, and that's where the Samsung gets confusing. Watching YouTube videos, playing games and generally messing around with the web browser doesn't hurt the battery too much, as it seems these actions block the phone from connecting up to the Google servers, which, according to the stats, are the reason that the phone is munching down so much battery.

As you can see from the grabs, there's not a lot of difference between the normal usage and the power saving mode, which means it's general use that's killing the battery - dropping the motor, dimming the screen etc isn't going to help much here.

The issue appears to live with the Android OS itself, something I've seen on multiple phones since Lollipop landed. There's a constant connection to the Google servers to check for Play Services, and the Android OS is often one of the biggest culprits when it comes to taking those precious percentage points.

82% left isn't too bad for the morning, with the phone off charge for a few hours. However, just over eight hours left for 80% battery isn't enough... a good phone will manage at least 15%, and while I am listening to Spotify, it's in offline mode and therefore shouldn't be streaming down a load of data and eating the battery.

Most days I'll need to do a top up charge at about 8PM to make sure I'll get through the day, which is annoying as it means I can never be confident in the performance of this phone. I read someone else claiming they could return from work with the phone at 60% battery life, which utterly perplexed me.

The only way that would be possible is if the phone was left quietly on a desk, doing literally nothing all day, and minimal interaction on the way to and from work. S Health would have to be disabled (as the step tracking must be chewing the battery a little bit too) and, generally, you'd have to avoid using this amazing piece of machinery you spent so much money on.

But then yesterday I spent two and a half hours out on a run, alternating between podcasts and Spotify, with step tracking enabled. While I wasn't using the phone to track the run, it was still constantly in use and the screen kept turning on in the rain too.

Then I returned home and spent most of the day fiddling with the handset on the bed / sofa, trying desperately to recover through looking at inane nonsense on the internet and checking my stats. I even streamed some music to a Bluetooth speaker for a while - and despite this I still had nearly 25% battery left when going to bed.

The easiest way to say it is this: the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ has a very 'loose' battery life, with the phone running low on power very easily if the wrong combination of apps / activities are performed in the same day.

But give it a task, like watching video or playing a game, and it will do as well as many other handsets out there. Keep it solid and the battery will hold out, but most of the time you'll be a bit annoyed with it.

That said, the fast charging is simply brilliant. Even if you're getting a bit critical a quick pop onto the charger (make sure it's the one that came in the box) will see the battery juice back up in no time. Seriously... you can plug it in, head to the toilet, make a cup of tea (not at the same time) and come back to find up to 20% battery life restored.

The wireless charging is great too - throw the S6 Edge+ down on any pad and it will start powering up. It's cool and buying a charging pad for work will sort you out in terms of keeping the charge up.

It's not good enough that the S6 Edge+ has a poor battery, especially when it doesn't have the excuse of being a tightly-packaged phone to fall back on. That extra heft should have been used to pack a massive power unit in there, and the battery life should be decent to reflect that.

Fast and wireless charging do help to offset that issue, but we want prevention, not cure here. The hope is when the Android Marshmallow update drops, complete with Google's power saving Doze feature, things will improve for the Galaxy S6 Edge+. In the meantime though you'll want to keep your charger to hand.

Camera

The camera on the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is the same 16MP offering found in the normal S6 range, and that's a simply brilliant thing. It's by far my favourite camera to use at the moment, with crystal clear images, a boatload of modes to play with and some great snaps coming from all corners of the day.

The first thing I love is the speed with which the camera will open up. A double press of the home button will open up the camera, which is ace and gets you ready to take a picture wherever you are.

The good thing about this is you'll consistently know how to fire the camera – other phones require a swipe on the screen, you need to have an element of orienting yourself before the camera is ready.

This is a double-edged sword though, as you'll find that the camera can activate in your pocket, or if the fingerprint scanner is being a bit dodgy you can accidentally fire up the snapper instead.

It's rather annoying given the whole point of the exercise is keeping everything slick and simply in one place, but it's not the end of the world. I'd rather have a fast and reliable camera over everything else.

In terms of actual use, the S6 Edge+ is very simple to use. The main auto mode has the usual Samsung tweaks, meaning real time HDR (where the screen will show the image with high dynamic resolution, mixing together multiple exposures to get the best pic, as you swing the phone around) and simple notifications to help you decide how best to take your pictures.

If you want to get a little bit more creative there are multiple modes to play around with too. My favourite is the most boring: Pro Mode. It's perfect for those like me, those that like to take a slightly more 'arty' and considered photo but have zero idea what they're doing when messing around with the settings.

Trying to do the same thing on a DSLR will always result in over-exposed and blurry photos, but the simple sliders on offer here make it a snap to get a good image just by messing around with different options.

For instance, the white balance helps really enrich the snaps, while being able to manually adjust the focus to such a fine level will let you aim properly at the subject. It's worth playing around with some of the effects and then saving them as a custom mode, to make your own filters.

Speaking of which, the S6 Edge+'s camera does come with some effects... but none that you'd really consider to be really useful. There's no basic black and white mode, for instance, so it seems that the effects are all aimed at the social media-loving users. You can set the levels of each filter, and improve the vignette too.

I can't stand the vignette thing that is getting more and more prevalent. Anything that seeks to alter a photo in such a way isn't really helping make people become better photographers - and that's what all smartphones should be aiming for.

Helping us to understand better what composition is, how the light levels can affect your snaps etc is what we need.

It's probably a bit snobbish to think that, but there's more Samsung could do here. Being able to alter the exposure by sliding the finger up and down the screen when focusing does help a lot, but it's something that's been around for a while (and we won't get into the similarities with Apple's camera UI).

The front facing camera is strong again from Samsung, with the 5MP sensor bringing bright and clear pictures to play with - and being able to tap the heart rate monitor on the back to take said self portrait is probably the easiest way of doing things I've seen yet.

I'm not a fan of the trend you see on other phones of using a gesture to take the picture, no matter how fun it is, as it can disrupt the scene you've taken. The other option is to never take selfies... but that's too much of a wonderful dream.

To summarise: the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ has a brilliant camera, taking the best from the S6 range and adding in a large screen to help see what you're snapping. It's fast, accurate and captures colour superbly... definitely one of my favourites to use.

Camera samples

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Competition

Not certain about the Galaxy S6 Edge+? Maybe you will like one of these phones instead.

Nexus 6P

The Nexus 6P is one of the closest competitors to the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+. Both phones have 5.7-inch QHD screens, both have high-end specs, both have fingerprint scanners and both have a premium build.

The Galaxy S6 Edge+ wins out in a number of areas though, with a more stylish design, a stunning curved screen, a better camera, wireless charging and an extra gigabyte of RAM.

So is Samsung's phablet better? Not necessarily. While the Nexus 6P doesn't have amazing battery life it will comfortably last a day, which is more than I can say for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+.

The 6P is also cheaper and it runs stock Android, which is both preferable to TouchWiz and guaranteed to get prompt updates. In fact, it's already on Android Marshmallow, while the S6 Edge+ is stuck on Lollipop.

• Read our full Nexus 6P review

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

The brand new, five star Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge is a real rival to the S6 Edge+. Its screen is just 0.2 inches smaller, it boasts the same resolution and packs in more power, the same sized battery and Android Marshmallow.

Sure it's a little more expensive, but you're getting a much more accomplished phone with respectable battery life, an excellent camera with superb low light skills, some useful edge screen functions, waterproof body and a handy always-on display.

Unless you're desperate for those extra 0.2 inches, or your budget doesn't stretch to the new Galaxy, the S7 Edge is the Samsung phablet you should get.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review

iPhone 6S Plus

While the iPhone 6S Plus may not exist if not for Samsung making phablets popular, it's arguable that Samsung was inspired by it in the creation of the Galaxy S6 Edge+, as like the 6S Plus it's basically just a larger version of another phone.

There's a lot to choose between Apple and Samsung's latest phablets though. For one thing the iPhone 6S Plus has just a 5.5-inch screen, which would barely even be considered a phablet in Android land.

It's also not as sharp as the Galaxy S6 Edge's display and the two phones are similarly expensive. But overall it's almost as high-end, just as stylish and rocks iOS 9, which, if Apple's OS floats your boat, is all you need to know.

• Read our full iPhone 6S Plus review

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

An extra gigabyte of RAM, a larger screen and a higher price are all that separate the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ from its smaller sibling. So is it really a better buy? That depends mostly on whether or not you want a phablet.

The battery life on the S6 Edge+ is if anything marginally worse, which combined with a higher price mean it's certainly not a better phone. But the 5.7-inch screen does set it apart and while there's not a huge difference in performance the extra RAM does seem to have been put to good use in ensuring you don't have to wait for the home screen to rebuild when exiting an app.

These are the two most stylish phones Samsung has ever made and while they're both flawed they're also both great buys, you just have to decide how big you want your screen to be.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

The Note range is Samsung's main line-up of phablets, yet this year Samsung made the bizarre decision not to launch the Galaxy Note 5 in the UK, so if that's where you call home and you want a phablet Galaxy flagship the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is your only option.

There is talk that the Note 5 might be landing in early 2016 though and both phones are available in some regions.

Samsung has done a pretty good job of differentiating these two phablets, which makes it all the more perplexing that one of them wasn't launched in the UK. The Note 5 may not have a curved screen, and as such doesn't look quite as good, but the S Pen stylus gives it a more useful trick up its sleeve, as it actually serves a purpose.

The Note 5 also has better battery life than The S6 Edge+, making it a superior phone overall, though everything else from specs, to camera, to features is much the same.

• Read our full Samsung Galaxy Note 5 review

Verdict

Samsung's done really well in some respects with the Galaxy S6 Edge+, and not so well in others. The phone is a joy to use for so many things, and yet there are still far too many elements that don't quite hit the mark to consider this a leading phone.

There's also the issue of how you rate a phablet - many of us think it's just that little bit too big to use in normal life, but for those that like a larger screen, it's perfect.

However, there are some things that phablet users should expect, not least because they're always paying more for the privilege of having a bigger phone: the battery should always last longer, the screen should be the best around and the power is normally among the best on offer.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ delivers on a lot of this, but doesn't do as well as I'd hoped given the larger dimensions.

We liked

That's not to say that there aren't loads of good bits with this phone - there's nothing better than having a powerful phone that has a brilliant camera, yet still looks the business.

In terms of aesthetic appeal, the S6 Edge+ is definitely one of the best around. The curved edges look great, feel great to slide your finger around and help create the bezel-less display that so many concept artists are desperate to see.

They're completely non-functional, with the elements Samsung is using them for proving to be a bit pointless (or something you could put on a flat screen). That said, I'd still choose the curved Edge phones over the normal variant each time.

The camera is brilliant on the S6 Edge+, much like it was on the smaller phones released earlier this year. The speed with which you can get a great picture is awesome, and everything from zooming to colour reproduction to clarity is just top notch.

I've had a few arguments with other writers about which phone has the best camera... all I can say is that it doesn't matter which is best, it's just brilliant that we have so many options that are worth getting excited about.

The TouchWiz UI will still divide opinion, and I can see why a number of Samsung users aren't a fan of it... but in reality it's cleaner than ever before and doesn't take so much of the phone's effort on the Edge+, so that gets a tick from me.

The price has already dropped to a more palatable level as well - not bad for a new phone.

We disliked

The battery life of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ is still something of a worry for me - it should be a lot better, given the larger size of the phone.

Getting merely to the end of the day isn't what we expect from phablets these days, and that's not even a given here. Samsung's done something odd here, given there's a bigger battery, no more pixels to drive and no extra power bar a sliver of extra RAM - so why can't the battery last longer?

I can only assume that it's the Lollipop OS taking the reins and causing the phone to connect to servers too often. Being out of Wi-Fi range seems to hurt it most, with 3G / 4G connections sucking down too much power.

The size of the phone will be a hindrance to some, mostly because the larger screen stops your finger from getting across the display easily - but that's a compromise most will be willing to make should they be thinking about buying this phone. It's worth thinking about if you're looking at this compared to the smaller S6 Edge though.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a brilliant phone, packed to the rafters with some brilliant bits... and they mostly add up to an awesome whole.

I've spoken at great length at how I'm a bit disappointed with the battery here, but that's only because I expected such great things from it. It's perfectly manageable, and is slightly better than the smaller version, and you'll be able to work with it easily. However, it definitely could have been better.

But once that point's cleared up, the rest of the phone is great. The camera is awesome, viewing everything on the large QHD screen (backed up by strong Super AMOLED technology) is a lovely experience and, in short, there's no other phone I'd reach for when doing a number of tasks.

Is it a Note 5 replacement in the territories that are being given this instead of the S-Pen enabled model? Not really... the stylus does add something to the mix, where the S6 Edge+ is a just a big version of a normal phone, which doesn't seem that exciting.

If you looked at the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and found it to be too small, this is a great phone for you, but the Galaxy S7 Edge gives you the best of both worlds. The S6 Edge+ is good, but not a great standalone phablet.

from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/1301638

Updated: Sony PS5: what will PlayStation 5 be like and when will we see it?

Round up: The best free Microsoft Office alternatives 2016

The best free Microsoft Office alternatives 2016

The best free Microsoft Office alternatives

With Office 2016, Microsoft has made several enhancements to security and productivity, including a much-needed overhaul of Excel. However, at £120 (US$120, AU$179) for the home edition it's a substantial investment - especially if you're unlikely to use its more advanced features regularly.

Microsoft's cloud-based Office 365 has a lower entry price of £8 (US$10, AU$12) per month or £80 (US$90, AU$119) per year for the home version, but again, it's a substantial expense for a set of tools that might be overpowered for your needs.

If you work with people who use Office and rely on its collaborative functions every day, the convenience of using those programs yourself may well justify the price. For the rest of us, there are lots of excellent free alternatives to consider. Here are our picks of the best free office apps in 2016. Have we missed your preferred suite? Let us know in the comments below.

Remember, when you install any of these office suites you'll be asked if you want to associate particular file formats with the newly installed programs. We recommend deselecting these options at first, then changing your defaults once you're satisfied that you'll be using the new suite in the long term.

1. LibreOffice

Comprehensive and updated regularly - the only office suite you'll ever need

LibreOffice is a fork of the OpenOffice.org project, and it's available for Windows, OS X and Linux (it's the office suite you'll find on most popular Linux distros). The main draw is that it's OpenOffice but fast-tracked, with far more frequent updates than its parent suite.

Like OpenOffice, LibreOffice is designed around the standard Open Document Format with Microsoft Office importing and exporting, and its six apps cover just about everything you could need from a productivity suite:

• Writer (word processing
• Calc (spreadsheets)
• Impress (presentations)
• Draw (diagrams and vector graphics)
• Math (mathematical formulae)
• Base (databases)

Unlike Microsoft Office there's no email client - likely because there are so many excellent options already available, developing another would be redundant. See our guide to the best free email clients 2016.

LibreOffice's apps have a clear format reminiscent of older versions of Microsoft Office. It's not as sleek as Office 2016 or 365, but features are represented by large, clear icons rather than being hidden behind menus and ribbons. See our guide to getting started with LibreOffice.

If its standard offering isn't enough, the LibreOffice community has created hundreds of templates and extensions to add new features and improve existing ones - all available to download and use completely free. There's also a portable version that can be run from a USB stick.

2. Apache OpenOffice

Less frequent updates than LibreOffice, but greater stability

If LibreOffice does everything Apache OpenOffice does and gets updates more quickly, why would you consider its less action-packed parent? The short answer is stability: a faster update cycle can mean the potential to introduce new bugs.

OpenOffice contains the same six core apps as LibreOffice (Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base) and its interface is very similar. It lacks some of the features of LibreOffice (such as live word counts in Writer), but the two suites share so much of the same code, such differences are few and far between.

Again, a portable version is available for use from a removable USB device or cloud storage service.

3. SoftMaker FreeOffice

Excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office documents

SoftMaker FreeOffice is available for Windows and Linux (and there's a companion app for Android) and offers effortless editing of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. It can also export files in EPUB and PDF export.

FreeOffice contains three apps delivering the familiar combination of word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. While the feature set isn't quite as extensive as LibreOffice - it lacks mail merging, and the spreadsheet charts aren't as spectacular - it's faster, can open password-protected Office and WordPerfect documents (provided you know the password) and covers the basics very well.

As with LibreOffice and OpenOffice, SoftMaker provides a portable version of FreeOffice for Linux and Windows.

4. WPS Office 2016

Microsoft-style good looks, but the free edition has limitations

WPS Office 2016, also known as Kingsoft Office, is one of the best Microsoft Office-a-likes, but the free version does include some important caveats. The free version for Windows begins with a 30-day trial of the Premium version (it reverts to the free version if you don't open your wallet at the end of the month) and printed documents are watermarked.

It's available for Windows, Linux, iOS and Android, and includes apps for word processing, presentations and spreadsheets (hence the name WPS).

It borrows the ribbon interface from newer versions of Office, so you'll be up and running in no time, but the drawbacks of the free edition might be enough to put you off.

5. Google Docs

Take your document creation to the cloud for easy collaboration

If you're looking for a serious Office rival, Google Docs should be towards the top of your list. What started life as a free but basic cloud-based Office suite has evolved into something that's deceptively powerful, and even the weakest app, PowerPoint alternative Slides, is rather good these days.

Google Docs is particularly good for teamwork, with excellent multi-user support and change tracking, and the companion mobile apps cover iOS as well as Android. If you're in the kind of environment where documents, spreadsheets or presentations are pinged back and forth, with comments and tracked changes, Google Docs will make your life simpler.

6. Zoho Docs

A credible alternative to Google Docs and well worth investigating

Zoho Docs is used by the likes of the BBC, Coca-Cola and ITV, and its free service gives up to 25 users 5GB of storage each.

It includes three cloud-based apps - the usual spread of word processing, spreadsheet and presentations - as well as document versioning and desktop syncing.

There are companion apps for iOS and Android, as well as integration with other services such as Dropbox and Google Drive. That makes it particularly attractive to small businesses, although it's important to note that some of the more advanced features such as password-protected sharing aren't available in the free version.

Don't plump for Google Docs without checking out Zoho first.

from Techradar - All the latest technology news http://www.techradar.com/1139295