Samsung is banned from selling some of its older handsets. Photo: Kārlis Dambrāns/Flickr CC
Apple and Samsung have been locked in a never-ending legal battle seemingly forever, but yesterday a federal court in California agreed to finally ban the U.S. sale of several Samsung smartphones which infringe on patents owned by Apple.
The bad news? The phones are now so old that they’re not really sold any more. But there’s some good news, too.
Apple and Samsung both say they have a zero tolerance policy toward underage labor. Photo: iFixit
Amnesty International has accused Apple, Samsung, Sony and other smartphone makers of not making basic checks which would have prevented their using batteries made with minerals mined by children.
In a report focused on cobalt mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, children as young as seven were found working in unsafe conditions. Cobalt is an essential part of the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.
Is $1 per year too much? Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
WhatsApp will ditch the service’s annual subscription fees, after founder Jan Koum admitted that the $1 per year payment concept “doesn’t work that well.”
As a result of ditching the payment model, Koum explained that WhatsApp will be looking at new ways that businesses can use the service to connect with individual users, although it’s important that this is done without spamming people with ads. He noted that, “We haven’t written a single line of code yet” for the new service.
Apple beat Samsung to be named one of U.A.E.’s top brands. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Android
Apple has beaten Samsung to claim one of the top three places in the United Arab Emirates’ Annual BrandIndex Buzz Rankings — knocking Samsung from its previous No. 1 position down to No. 4.
That wasn’t Apple’s sole placement on the list either, since the iPhone (placed at No. 7) was the only handset brand named. Other notable tech entries included Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube.
Bad news, those who use proxies! Photo: Netflix
In news that is sure to disappoint some, Netflix is cracking down on customers who use proxies or “unblockers” to trick the streaming video service into thinking they’re in a different country as a way of accessing extra content.
