iOS 7 available to the public on September 10th according to developer email

After news leaked of Apple's upcoming iPhone event on September 10th, it was assumedthe new iOS 7 would be announced at the same time — but now there's proof. Today, a developer named Owen Williams received an email indicating that iOS 7 would be released to the general public on the 10th, giving non-developers their first peek at the controversial operating system. The email comes from Nuance, which works closely enough with Apple to know the date in advance.

The news could also indicate that the release date of the new iPhones will come much closer to the September 10th event itself. Apple could even opt for a day-of release, a move the company has executed successfully with other products, but never attempted with the iPhone

Samsung video ads tease imminent launch of BBM for Galaxy smartphones

BlackBerry and Samsung began jointly promoting the release of BBM on Android earlier this month, and things have kicked up a gear with the first wave of ads teasing the imminent launch of the messaging app for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones.

The app will initially be launched in certain parts of Africa — presumably because it is one of the last remaining regions where BlackBerry smartphones are well-used — and CrackBerry dug up the ad below from Samsung Ghana.

CrackBerry readers say the video and others have aired at football matches and other public events. The video contains no sound nor does it include a confirmed launch date, but it shows that promotional efforts are picking up.

BBM is also set to launch on iOS and other Android devices, but BlackBerry has smartly brought on Samsung — and its mega-bucks marketing budget — to help get word out.

BlackBerry still rules the smartphone market in many countries, so it’s easy to see how an app that connects Android owners with friends and family would appeal. Although there are already a number of cross-platform services, such as WhatsApp, that can do the same job.

Clearly the message would be very different in the West and Asia, where recent years have seen most BlackBerry owners move across to other platforms. Sure, BlackBerry still has an enterprise presence, but most office workers with a BlackBerry are likely to have an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or other ‘personal’ phone.

BBM does have other use cases. For example, BBM money — a money transfer and payments service that was piloted in Indonesia last year — has vast potential for emerging markets like Africa, assuming that BlackBerry can hold on to its market share.

There are also services for connecting companies to users which could be used to channel attractive offers and other compelling content to consumers — although this is also happening on other messaging apps too

Google widens testing of search box in ‘new tab’ to stable versions of Chrome and Chrome OS

The little bits in life can often make a big difference and, with that in mind, Google is widening its testing of a neat addition to Chrome that brings a search box into the ‘new tab’ window, making it easier to search the Web.

The company has tested the feature with a small group of users on the experimental Chrome build since December 2012. Having tweaked its performance and appearance based on feedback, Google is now expanding the feature to “a small set of people” on Windows, Mac and Chromebooks who use the stable version of Chrome (or Chrome OS) and have Google set as their default search engine.

The feature remains experimental, but Google says it can integrate any search engine further down the line since it uses its open Embedded Search API.

One of Chrome’s best features is the ability to search in the omnibox (URL address bar), which makes queries super simple to do, but this feature will provide another option if and when it gets a full rollout.

➤ Another step toward faster search in Chrome [Google]

Facebook Announces Shared Photo Albums To Boost Group Engagement Facebook Announces Shared Photo Albums To Boost Group Engagement

Facebook is rolling out shared photo albums, as first reported by Mashable. Users can share access to an album with up to 50 contributors, who can each add up to 200 photos.

For those of you who aren’t math whizzes, that means shared albums can be as large as 10,000 photos. Previously, albums were limited to 1,000 total photos and users could only add pictures to their own albums.

This new feature should be good for user engagement in groups of friends and with larger albums. Facebook has done a good job of focusing its browser-based photo section around albums and larger batches of photos, while leaving (Facebook-owned) Instagram to dominate single photos. Users can beautify and share quick snaps in time with their friends via Instagram, but for larger life events (weddings, graduations, even just cool vacations), they can share much larger batches of photos on Facebook.

This is a bit of a blow to apps like Albumatic and Flock, which are also trying to crack group photo albums. But many have tried and failed before in this space, so it’s far from a foregone conclusion that Facebook’s feature will crush these smaller competitors. The feature is also similar to Google+’s Party Mode, in which users can share all of their photos and videos in real time with the guests of an associated event.

Facebook users can share these new group albums with the public, friends of the contributors, or just contributors to the album. The prototype for shared picture albums was reportedly built by a dozen engineers at one of Facebook’s company-wide hackathons.

Facebook has begun rolling out the feature to a small number of users today. It will be available at first only as a desktop option, and will expand to all English users first before the social network rolls it out internationally.

Google blocks Chromecast app that let you stream your own videos (update)

Google hasn't provided a clear answer on whether Chromecast will eventually let users stream their own local videos and music to the TV screen. But if early updates for the $35 dongle are any indication, the company doesn't want third-party developers trying to deliver that functionality. The most recent Chromecast update has broken support for AllCast, an Android application that previously allowed users to stream their personal media to a TV. AllCast (also known as AirCast thanks to a trademark dispute) could play back files stored in a phone's gallery, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Developer Koushik Dutta accomplished the feat by reverse engineering the Chromecast's code. He'd released several betas of the app, even planning a release on Google Play, before Google's latest software update broke things — "intentionally" in Dutta's opinion.

HOW 'OPEN' WILL CHROMECAST BE?

"The policy seems to be a heavy handed approach, where only approved content will be played through the device," he says."The Chromecast will probably not be indie developer friendly." Officially, Chromecast only supports media from the Google Play store, Netflix, and YouTube. The company has a staked interest in actively controlling the user experience (and what content can be streamed) if it hopes to round up new partners like HBO and Hulu Plus.

Google exec Rishi Chandra emphasized that point in an interview with The Vergefollowing the product's release. "If you want to do the model we talked about, streaming from the cloud, I need your full cooperation. I can't just go pull content from the cloud independently from you working with us." But he also voiced support for Chromecast's tab casting feature, which essentially gives users limitless viewing options so long as they're watching something in a Chrome browser. "Our stance right now, what we're enabling, is no different than an HDMI cable connecting your laptop to your TV." So it's easy to understand the confusion on exactly where Google stands in all of this. We've reached out to the company for more information on the software change and its thoughts on third-party developers tapping into Chromecast.

Update: Google has responded to our request for comment, and any fears that the company may bar playback of local media appear to be unfounded. "We’re excited to bring more content to Chromecast and would like to support all types of apps, including those for local content," a spokesperson tells The Verge. Google notes that its Google Cast SDK is still in "early days" and may change significantly before an official release reaches developers.

Google says it aims "to provide a great experience for users and developers before making the SDK and additional apps more broadly available." Dutta has admitted that he reverse engineered the Google Cast protocol to make AllCast possible, but it seems he may have another chance to do things the proper way once a full-fledged SDK arrives. The company's full statement is belo
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Nokia Sirius: a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet that looks like a Lumia

Nokia is preparing to back Windows RT by launching a 10.1-inch tablet soon. Sources familiar with Nokia's plans have revealed to The Verge that the tablet, codenamed Sirius, will be launched shortly. While prototype pictures of the device leaked earlier this month, we understand that the final design more closely resembles Nokia's Lumia Windows Phone products.

We're told that Nokia's tablet will be thinner than the current iPad, and lighter at just over a pound in weight. The body of the device will be colored, and Nokia plans to include a 6-megapixel camera at the rear with a 2-megapixel shooter at the front. The 10.1-inch display that Nokia is planning to use will run at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and has been improved for outdoor readability thanks to a high amount of bright output. Sources have also revealed that the tablet will feature Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor alongside 2GB of RAM. We understand Nokia is aiming for 10 hours of solid battery life with LTE connectivity. Other features include a microSD port to extend the 32GB of storage, a Micro HDMI connector, and a Micro USB port.

PRICED SIMILAR TO APPLE'S IPAD

Nokia is also planning to ship a keyboard accessory with its "Sirius" tablet that includes a battery for additional charging. Other optional accessories will also be made available at launch. We're told Nokia's tablet will be priced comparatively with Apple's iPad, and that the company won't try to undercut pricing initially. Nokia will unveil the tablet at a launch event in New York, which is currently scheduled for September 26th. The Finnish smartphone maker is also planning a "Bandit" 6-inch Windows Phone device that will be made available later this year.

Micromax, Karbonn beat Apple, Samsung sales in India

The demand for affordable smartphones in the major emerging markets like India and China has been on a rise. The rise in demand has helped local mobile manufacturers surpass shipments by the established global brands like Samsung and Apple in the April-June quarter this year, research firm IDC says.

According to IDC data in the Asia/Pacific excluding Japan region, homegrown vendors shipped 46 million units, while Samsung and Apple together shipped 35 million units in the second quarter of this year. Other global brands like HTC, BlackBerry, Nokia, Sony, LG and Motorola shipped a combined 10 million units, whereas the internal vendors from China like Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo shipped a total of 27 million units in April-June 2013. IDC identified Micromax, Karbonn, Lava, Maxx and Intex as the rising players in the emerging smartphone market in India and brands like Coolpad, K-Touch, Xiaomi, Gionee and OPPO in China.

The research firm said local brands in the world's two most populous country, part of Asia/Pacific (Excluding Japan) region (APEJ), have aggressively scaled up their operations and are competitive on both price and hardware specifications. "Aside from the top-tier international brands or Chinese brands that also ship globally like Huawei and ZTE, there is also a rising segment of homegrown brands, which as a group have been steadily rising in shipments and prominence," IDC said in its latest report on mobile shipments.

Local player Micromax has surpassed global brands like Samsung in terms of sales

These homegrown players comprised 38 percent of second quarter 2013 volumes, up from 20 percent in the same quarter of 2012 and seven per cent 2011 second quarter, it added. Asia/Pacific region saw mobile shipments of 119 million units in April-June 2013, up 10 percent quarter-on-quarter and a huge jump of 75 percent from Q2 2012, IDC said. In the report, the firm said, "In emerging markets like China and India, IDC has seen many local competitors spring up, but only in the last few quarters have we seen them aggressively scale up, competitive on both price and hardware specs like bigger screens".

"We are now hitting a place where there are smartphones for every price point, where the masses will benefit from the slew of players bringing in more options," the firm said. This is the first quarter that IDC saw both the under USD 50 segment of smartphones gain some traction in China. While, the 4-inch plus screen size segment drove most shipments, the 5-6 inch segment saw its first gain in both China and India, it added

5 Games You Should Play This Weekend

WHAT'S THIS?

BY CHELSEA STARK1 DAY AGO

While the holiday season is still months away, the busy gaming season is already upon us.

We'll see a lot of new releases starting this week and running through to the holiday season. With so much great stuff to play for PC, console, tablet and phone, we narrowed down the list to what you should really spend your precious weekend hours playing.

SEE ALSO: Explore Twisted Fairy Tales in 'The Wolf Among Us'

Did we miss your favorite game? Share it in the comments below.

• 1. The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

  

  If the combination of Mad Men and the X-Files appeals to you, and you like the idea of a third-person shooter with strategy elements, you should check out The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.

  This game takes a surprising twist on the XCOM franchise's unforgiving strategy formula. Instead of having a god's eye view of your troops, you play Agent William Carter, who gives orders to his two squadmates as they fight alien invaders. The setting of 1962 plays on America's fears during the Cold War and the outdated technology of the time.

  You can pick up The Bureau: XCOM Declassified for Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3.

• 2. Divekick

  

  The idea of a fighting game that only uses two buttons seems like a joke. How can a game present complexity and depth when you only have the option to "dive" and "kick"?

  Divekick is the indie fighting game sensation that already captured minds at trade shows and even EVO, the biggest annual fighting game tournament, before its release this week. Yes, there are only two buttons, but everyone from beginners to fighting pros can compete against each other. Add completely ridiculous characters and you've got something bound to make appearance at game nights for years.

  Divekick is new this week on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita, as well as Steam for PC.

• 3. Hammerwatch

  

  Those nostalgic for Super Nintendo's graphics and a hack-and-slash dungeon crawler will enjoyHammerwatch.

  Hammerwatch invites up to four players to cooperatively explore dungeons and fight enemies. Players can grab one of four fantasy classic classes: wizard, paladin, ranger and warlock -- each with their own special ability. There are lot of customization options to tweak the levels you play, and increase and decrease your lives to throttle the difficulty. You can play with your friends either via the net, LAN or locally.

  Hammerwatch is available through Steam and GoG.com for PC, Mac and Linux.

• 4. Saints Row IV

  

  Sometimes playing by the rules is no fun. The gaming anecdote to that is Saints Row IV, new this week.

  We already Saints Row IV this week, but it's worth recommending again as one of the most over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek games we've played in a long time. If you're the type of person who wants to use a Dubstep gun to take out a group of furries, then use your superpowers against a group of aliens with inexplicable British accents, you'll probably enjoy this game. It's that ridiculous.

  Saints Row IV is out this week for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

• 5. Disney Infinity

  

  Disney entered the growing toy/video game hybrid space this week with the launch of Disney Infinity, and it's a game both kids and kids-at-heart will enjoy. You can read our full review here.

  Disney Infinity uses toys to unlock characters from popular Disney franchises as playable avatars in platforming games, and each franchise has its own games to play. There is also a 'Toybox' mode in which players can combine all the toys they've collected into their own customizable worlds, something akin to Minecraft.

  Disney Infinity is out this week for Xbox 360, Wii U and PlayStation 3. There are several playsets that you can purchase separately, as well as power discs to soup up characters. Disney plans to add more playsets in the future as well.

Who Needs Hyperloop? This Guy Is Building Something Bigger

BY TODD NEFF14 HOURS AGO

This piece is part of Mashable Spotlight, which presents in-depth looks at the people, concepts and issues shaping our digital world.

A brilliant, big-thinking, subtly accented, physicist turned financing pioneer turned engineer, self-made billionaire who has led the design of revolutionary cars and rockets, Elon Musk needs no introduction. So when, on Aug. 12, Musk unveiled his idea for a next-generation transportation system, it got the attention of about every news organization between Earth and Mars, where Musk hopes to aim his rockets one day.

Musk's SpaceX and Tesla Motors, which he launched after cashing out of first billion-dollar idea,PayPal. Then Musk let slip the term “Hyperloop,” and he and the dozen SpaceX and Tesla Motors engineers amped up the effort. They modeled, mapped, quantified and qualified their way to the 57-page preliminary design study that garnered galactic coverage on that August Monday.

But that may have been it. Even before the preliminary design hit the .pdf — which he released open-source, no strings attached –- Musk had made clear that the Hyperloop remained “extremely speculative.” He was a bit busy, at the moment, to take on a $6 billion project, which would represent more investment than Tesla and SpaceX combined, he added.

“Obviously I have to focus on core Tesla business and SpaceX business, and that’s more than enough,” Musk told reporters on an Aug. 7 Tesla Motors conference call. “I did commit to publishing a design and provide quite a detailed design, [but] I don’t have any plan to execute because I must remain focused on SpaceX and Tesla.” He did hedge in a conference call after the Hyperloop report’s release, saying, “I think it might help if I built a demonstration article. I think I probably will do that, actually.”

One imagines John F. Kennedy: “I think we probably choose to go to the moon, actually.”

To be fair, for all his means and influence, Musk does lack a massive taxpayer-funded bureaucracy to perform his bidding. So he realized the vision of ultrahigh-speed land travel could well depend on someone marshaling a tiny fraction of Musk’s net worth and name recognition, but with the brains, time, energy and passion to ride herd on a moonshot-class mission.

Robots Search for Sunken World War II Aircraft

About 500 miles from the Philippines, Project Recover searches for aircraft shot down during one of World War II’s fiercest battles in the region.

The organization behind the project, BentProp Project, is focused on finding the remains of U.S. soldiers and bringing them back to the United States. This summer, the project received assistance from Remus, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) equipped with side-scan sonar and advanced imaging systems. All these features help the AUV create a two-dimensional map that the project's team uses.

'N Sync Reunites for 'Surprise' VMAs Performance

HIS?

ay "bye, bye, bye" to conflicting rumors — 'N Sync reunited for a not-so-surprising performance at MTV's Video Music Awards on Sunday night.

Martin Luther King III: We Can and We Must Do More

WHAT'S THIS?

Tens of thousands of people marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and down the National Mall on Saturday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of his famous speech and pledging that his dream include equality for gays, Latinos, the poor and the disabled

Pakistan prepares to end its year-long ban on YouTube

By vickey singh

ceo- techplanetss.blogspot.in/com

There are lots of business conferences… TNW Conference US isn't one of them.

It’s been almost one year since Pakistan began blocking YouTube in response to a video that it deemed to insult the prophet Muhammad, but officials have said that the Google-owned site will soon be unblocked in the country — perhaps as early as September.

Pakistan isn’t planning to grant full access to YouTube, however, and the Wall Street Journal reports that it will use a URL blocker to censor locally sensitive videos without knocking out the site in its entirety. The blocking technology has already been used to limit access to videos on Vimeo and “thousands” of websites, including pornographic and politically-sensitive content.

The block came about because Google refused to censor the ‘Innocence of Muslims’ video locally in Pakistan. The company did not deem the video to have breached its terms and conditions, but, beyond that, it was said to be reluctant to make censorship decisions in a country where it has no local version of YouTube, no local staff and no conditions that protect it from being directly (and legally) responsible for any YouTube content that is deemed unlawful.

The ban has been criticized by many in the country’s entertainment industry. A group began lobbying the government to overturn the ban in January, and wasgranted a court hearing with an IT minister earlier this month.

CNN highlighted one of the artists affected, musician Adil Omar, who has worked with a host of internationally-renowned rappers. He says his latest songs on YouTube have drawn one-tenth of the interest of his past work, a situation that the ban seems responsible for.

The ban was actually lifted back in December 2012 but was reinstated within five minutes after a TV show journalist demonstrated that the video was still available on YouTube, via copies uploaded to other users’ accounts.

This time around, it is serious about relaxing the ban. Government spokesman Kamran Ali, who is leading the YouTube ban review committee, told the Journal that the government is talking to experts and will lift the ban “as soon as we get a technical solution to block that video.”

The IT ministry is said to have contacted the Prime Minister’s office with an official request to unblock YouTube. Some media claim the ban could be ended next month, though officials have declined to provide a timeframe.

We’ve contacted Google for comment and will update this article with any additional information that we’re given.

Further reading: The New Yorker has an excellent primer on the ban.

Headline image via korosirego/Flickr

Sina, China’s answer to Twitter, enters the mobile messaging battle with its own app

By vickey singh.

ceo- techplanetss.blogspot.in/com

 

There are lots of business conferences… TNW Conference US isn't one of them.

Sina, China’s equivalent to Twitter, has jumped on the mobile messaging bandwagon after it began promoting its new app WeMeet, known as ‘Weimi’ in Chinese.

WeMeet has actually been around since April and is developed by 20-person Hangzhou Kuyue Technology, a team incubated within Sina, according to Marbridge. Nonetheless the official ‘launch’ is significant since it follows Sina CEO Charles Chao revealing imminent plans to launch a social app to compete with the mobile apps those that he admits are causing Weibo users to spend less time on the service.

Weibo has over 500 million registered users, more than 50 million of which are active each day, but it is under pressure from WeChat, the mobile messaging app developed by Chinese Internet giant Tencent, which has 235 million monthly active users across China and overseas.

The WeMeet app links up to Weibo, as you’d expect, and has a particular focus on group chat. It supports all the standard messaging types and lets users import contacts from Weibo as well as the address book on their device. Interestingly, it has Snapchat-style self-destructing messages, RSS feed support and numerous public interest groups where users can voice their opinions.

Chao will hope WeMeet steels up Sina’s social push in the face of increasing competition, but the truth is that it is very late to the game. China Telecom even beat Sina to the punch, launching its own app last week, while WeChat isbeginning to strike partnerships with operators — all of which means promoting the app via Weibo alone is unlikely to turn WeMeet into a serious rival, Sina will need a real growth strategy and probably some luck too.

First spotted by Technode, WeMeet is in Chinese only, however it is available worldwide for iOS and Android which suggests that further language support could come later.