News
IBM updating Quantum Experience cloud
IBM announced today that it was updating its Quantum Experience cloud with a new API that it hopes will increase the abilities of researchers and other interested parties to build more sophisticated applications with its experimental quantum computing system.
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Snapchat Hits 500m installs milestone on Play Store
Snapchat, the company (Snap) behind which recently went public, has hit a new milestone – it now boasts of over 500 million installs on Android. Other than that Snap’s IPO documents offered some great insights on the app’s history, future and business model.
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BTRC To Remove 33 ISP licences
The telecom regulator has decided to scrap licences of 33 internet service providers after they failed to pay renewal fees in time. The BTRC also directed the ISPs to clear all of their dues to the regulator otherwise they will face legal action, according to the notice.
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Banglalink’s Gross Revenue Rises 3.4% year-on-year
According to Vimpe-lCom’s annual report, Banglalink’s gross revenue rose 3.4 percent year-on-year to Tk 4,870 crore in 2016, driven mainly by growth in data revenue. As of December, Banglalink’s customer base stood at 3.04 crore, down 5.9 percent year-on-year.
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Facebook Tests Dislike button
Facebook finally has a Dislike button. Facebook Messenger is showing some users a Reactions option. Facebook is always testing ways to make Messenger more fun and engaging. Messenger reaction list differs from the News Feed one because of the addition of much-requested and always-denied Dislike button.
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Alibaba takes control of India’s Paytm with fresh $200m funding
Alibaba has acquired Paytm India’s 60% controlling stake for US$200 million fund. Paytm, launched in 2010, has not issued a statement regarding the funding. Alibaba will put US$177 million into Paytm. The remaining US$23 million will come from SAIF Partners
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Apple launches a 32GB iPhone 6 for Asian markets
Apple launched an updated version of the iPhone 6 for Asian markets. While the iPhone 6 originally launched in 2014, it was available in 16GB, 64GB, and 128GB memory tiers. This new iPhone 6 will become available with 32GB of internal storage in the Gold finish.
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Maslin Capital partners with DEFTA
Maslin Capital, a local alternative investment fund manager, has signed an agreement with California-based venture capital firm DEFTA. The partnership is aimed at serving the nascent local alternative investment market. Since 1980s, DEFTA Partners has invested in more than 100 companies in the US, the UK, Bangladesh and Japan.
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Udacity buys CloudLabs
Udacity brought out its M&A team for the first time to strategically acquire CloudLabs. Cloudlabs is a small shop building interactive coding environments that let groups collaboratively code from within their browsers.
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Sony, LINE To Develop AI devices Together
Japanese tech companies Sony Corp. and LINE Corp. are considering to join forces to develop artificial intelligence (AI)-based devices. Apart from the announcement, Sony Corp also launched four new Xperia smartphones and Xperia Touch, a device that converts any flat surface into a touchscreen.
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Google’s New Version of enterprise-friendly Hangouts
Google has quietly launched a new video conferencing application called Meet by Google Hangouts. New version is designed for HD video meetings. Like Hangouts, Meet also offers group video calls, not just video chat, but in an expanded capacity.
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Google Launches YouTube TV for $35 per month
Google has announced its own TV service that incorporates about 40 live channels for cord-cutters who want more from their lives after cable. YouTube TV will offer live streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, along with some local channels and dozens of popular cable networks.
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Mozilla Bought content time-shifting app Pocket
Mozilla bought content time-shifting app Pocket for an undisclosed amount. Pocket lets you hit a button to save a long article for later reading, minus ads and any annoying formatting. Mozilla will conduct a full audit of the Pocket code soon to look for any license encumbrances.
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Google Assistant To make its way to all Android smartphones running OS version 6.0 and 7.0.
Google Assistant is finally making its way to all Android smartphones running OS version 6.0 and 7.0. The personal assistant will become available to English users in the US this week. German-speaking users in Germany can expect it around the same time too. Google says it will continue adding more languages this year.
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Google renamed Messenger app to Android Messages
Google’s Messenger app has received a new update. The app is now called Android Messages. Aside from this, Google has also announced a new Early Access Program that will allow businesses to “learn and build with the technology.
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Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit sued Uber
Alphabet Inc’s Waymo self-driving car unit sued Uber Technologies and its autonomous trucking subsidiary Otto. Waymo accused Uber and Otto with stealing confidential information on Waymo’s Lidar sensor technology to help speed its own efforts in autonomous technology.
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Facebook launches video charades game
Facebook has just released Show and Tell, which turns selfies and visual communication into a game. The game is inherently viral, as it pushes you to send your charades to friends. It’s already gunning for revenue with interstitial ads.
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India’s mobile operator Airtel buying Telenor India
Bharti Airtel has gobbled up smaller player Telenor India in a deal announced today. The Airtel-Telenor deal is subject to regulatory approvals, but both sides said it should be completed within the next 12 months.
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Instagram posts can now contain up to 10 photos
Multiple-image posts on Instagram’s beta app has become official today. From this point on you’re able to add up to 10 photos and videos to each of your Instagram posts. The new feature is part of Instagram 10.9 for Android and iOS, which should already be available through the Google Play Store and iTunes App Store.
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Startup Incubator Innovatube Launches US$5M Pre-Seed Fund
Innovatube, a startup incubator with branches in Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong and the UK, has announced the launch of a US$5 million pre-seed fund. This new fund will seek to invest in enterprise and emerging tech verticals including VR/AR, IoT, AI, fintech and blockchain. It will be targeting the Southeast Asian market, with a strong focus on Vietnam.
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Groupon Malaysia Officially Consolidated Into Kuala Lumpur-Based O2O Restaurant Platform Fave
Groupon Malaysia has officially been consolidated into Kuala Lumpur-based O2O restaurant platform Fave. This move will see Fave integrate all of Groupon Malaysia’s customers as well as deals from businesses such as restaurants, spas, fitness centres, hotels and more; essentially transforming Fave into a holistic lifestyle O2O platform.
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Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd Connected With Second Undersea Cable
Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Ltd has been connected with the country’s second undersea cable up to the landing station in Kuakata, said the state-run company yesterday. Md Abdus Salam Khan, acting managing director of the company, said the cable was officially launched during a management meeting of the SEA-ME-WE 5 in Istanbul yesterday.
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Samsung’s C-Lab to introduce AR and VR projects
Samsung’s in-house tech incubator C-Lab introduced a smart strap that turns your fingerprint into a phone earpiece. Now there are four new projects that are here to amuse us and they are all about augmented and virtual reality.
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Kaymu Recently Completed Its Merger With Daraz Bangladesh
Kaymu has recently completed its merger with Daraz.com.bd, in an effort to combine the two e-commerce platforms into one and improve the quality of products. Daraz Bangladesh merged in July 2016 and the transition has been successfully completed recently to close its business as of February 28 this year, Daraz said in a statement yesterday.
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Singapore To Allocate US$1.7 billion for the digitalisation drive
fThe Singapore government is pulling out all the stops to ramp up the country’s digital readiness and innovation drive. This was the core of Singapore’s finance minister Heng Swee Keat’s message at the Budget 2017 speech in parliament. Heng said Singapore would allocate S$2.4 billion (US$1.7 billion) for this digitalisation drive.
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Job finder WayUp acquires competitor Looksharp
WayUp is making its first acquisition — it’s buying the similarly focused Looksharp. Both companies have created job listing sites for college students and recent graduates.Looksharp had raised more than $10 million in funding from investors, including 500 Startups.
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Bangalore-Based Online Furniture Brand Urban Ladder Raised Over US$15 Million
Bangalore-based online furniture brand Urban Ladder has raised INR 102 crore (approximately US$15.2 million) in fresh funding from existing investors, including SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital, Sequoia India and Steadview Capital. The startup claims that it has over 4,000 products and 35 categories such as wardrobes, sofas, beds, dining tables, storage shelves, etc.
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Singapore-Based Digital Health Data Startup Vault Dragon Gets US$1.16M Pre-Series A
Singapore-based digital health data startup Vault Dragon today announced that it has raised S$1.64 million (US$1.16 million) pre-Series A funding co-led by Golden Equator Capital and Raging Bull. The new funding brings the total raised by Vault Dragon to more than S$3 million (US$2.13 million)Vault Dragon cited plans to use the new funding for product-development and regional-expansion.
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Fifty-Six Industrial Entrepreneurs Received CIP Cards
Fifty-six industrial entrepreneurs received Commercially Important Person cards as recognition to their significant contributions to country’s overall economy. Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu on Sunday distributed the CIP 2015 cards at a function in Dhaka. The recipients of CIP cards will enjoy different government-offered facilities for next one years starting from on Sunday.
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Ford invests $1 billion to build self-driving cars by 2021
Ford has invested $1 billion in a joint venture with Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based company with ties to Carnegie Mellon. The goal is to completely outfit Ford vehicles with self-driving technology.
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Apple to replace home button with ‘function area’
Apple is determined to make no-home-button phone. Latest reports suggest we should expect three devices in 2017, including an OLED screen-packing iPhone 8 with no physical buttons on the front.
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BTRC To Introduce Cost Modelling System For Fixing Data Prices
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission is planning to introduce the Cost Modelling System for fixing data prices to protect the public interest. BTRC sources said they are closely working on fixing the current system in the best interest of valued subscribers. What the mobile operators are pricing now is a little bit higher, according to the regular.
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SoftBank To Give Up Control Of Sprint Corp To T-Mobile
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp is prepared to give up control of Sprint Corp to Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile US Inc to clinch a merger of the two US wireless-carriers. SoftBank has not yet approached Deutsche Telekom to discuss any deal because the US Federal Communications Commission has imposed strict anti-collusion rules that ban discussions between rivals during an ongoing-auction of
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The Telecom Regulator Plans To Issue 4G Licenses By A Month
The telecom regulator plans to issue 4G licenses by a month, which will enable people to enjoy fastest data service. BTRC has decided to make it an “open for all” license where even a new entity can participate. The commission will also arrange an auction to distribute spectrum in four months, BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood told.
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Hydrogen OS 3.0 for OnePlus 3 and 3T is now live
OnePlus just released version 3.0 of its Hydrogen Android OS. This new version is based on Android 7.0 Nougat and some users have been reporting slightly better battery life, compared to the latest Nougat OxygenOS update.OnePlus has a version of the Google Play Store in the Hydrogen OS app store for an easy install as well.
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YouTube to remove 30-second unskippable ads
Google has finally taken notice of the growing user annoyance and says it does plan to get rid of the 30-second mandatory ad format. Google’s intentions are to focus more on the six-second unskippable format for the future.
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Mobile Subscribers To Get Full Usage Information For The Previous 60 Days
Mobile subscribers will soon be able to get their full usage information for the previous 60 days- a move that can come in handy when solving familial and business-related problems. At present, subscribers can get an itemized bill- a log of dialed numbers, date and time of calls made, call durations and SMSs and MMSs sent- upon request from mobile-subscribers.
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The Postal Division To Collaborate With Alibaba, Amazon
The postal division is going to collaborate with global e-commerce giants Alibaba and Amazon to deliver their products across Bangladesh. A pilot project will be launched within a short-time, said Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom and postal division. Through this initiative, online buyers are now able to receive their products from e-commerce sites, delivered to their doorsteps in Dhaka.
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Apple to start manufacturing iPhone SE in India
Apple reportedly selected Wistron as the primary manufacturer for all its iPhones in India. The Taiwanese partner of the Cupertino-based company set up a plant in Bengaluru in order to start the local production.Apple shipped 2.5 million iPhones to India last year which is the most the company has ever sold.
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Microsoft Bangladesh, Shakti Foundation and the PMO aim to train and support female entrepreneurs
Microsoft Bangladesh, Shakti Foundation and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has been signed a partnership to train and support female entrepreneurs to run their own IT repair centres across Bangladesh. Microsoft Philanthropies yesterday announced a financial award from the Microsoft YouthSpark grant to Shakti Foundation for Disadvantaged Women, according to a press release floated to media yesterday.
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