Amazon Prime Day 2019 Sale: Everything You Can Expect This Year

Amazon Prime Day 2019 sale kicks off on July 15 this year. We've put together a simple guide on what you can expect from Amazon's biggest sale event of the year. https://ift.tt/30jnVhF

Samsung Sued by Australian Regulator Over Misleading Water Resistance Ads

Australia's competition regulator said on Thursday it is suing the local unit of South Korea's Samsung, alleging it misled consumers by promoting its Galaxy smartphones as water-resistant. https://ift.tt/2XqooBj

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Services Back Online After Worldwide Outage

A Facebook spokesperson explained that a "routine maintenance operation" accidentally triggered a bug that made it difficult for users to upload or send photos and videos. https://ift.tt/2JpcWMq

Facebook says all services back up and running after outage, users say otherwise

All is normal in the social media universe once again. WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram are back up after hours of delivering downloading errors and/or completely being out. The social media channels, all owned by Facebook, were unresponsive for most part of the evening on July 3. WhatsApp was not allowing users to download media files, while Facebook and Instagram were having difficulty loading new posts and content. Some even reported experiencing complete outage of the apps.

After several hours of the issues being reported, Facebook acknowledged them and started work on restoring the three services. The social media company has now said that all three services are back up and running 100%. However, the company has not revealed the cause for the disturbance.

 

Earlier today, some people and businesses experienced trouble uploading or sending images, videos and other files on our apps and platforms. The issue has since been resolved and we should be back at 100% for everyone. We're sorry for any inconvenience.

— Facebook (@facebook) July 4, 2019

 

Even though Facebook says it has restored the social media channels, some users are still reporting problems on Downdetector.com. Some say they are unable to log into their Instagram accounts and others are still unable to load videos on the platform. On Facebook too, some people are still reporting loading errors with posts, as well as the inability to create new posts. WhatsApp’s media download issues seem to have resolved completely though.

This is not the first time Facebook’s apps have suffered global outages and glitches. This happens all too frequently now, with users flocking to Twitter as a result of the problems.

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Indian GPS on mobile phones? Isro in talks with 2 big chipmakers

Isro chairman K Sivan confirmed that the agency and a few mobile OEMs are holding discussions with the two companies for the development of a chip that will add NavIC capability to all types of mobiles. https://ift.tt/2XIoOCB https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Xiaomi's next Redmi phone may 'hurt' these Android phones

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MoviePass temporarily suspends service to improve its mobile app

MoviePass is temporarily suspending its service, starting on July 4, in order to finish working on improvements to its mobile app, the company announced today. The hiatus comes after a difficult year for the cash-burning company, and as Regal, the second-largest movie theater chain in the United States, is reportedly preparing to launch its own ticket subscription service.

MoviePass’ announcement said the hiatus will start at 5 A.M. Eastern Time on July 4 and that subscribers will be automatically credited for the number of affected days once service resumes. It did not say when service would return, but replies to customers from its Twitter account say the company “estimate[s] this process will take several weeks.”

This is an especially inopportune time for a hiatus because the July 4 holiday is when many major titles are released. In a press statement, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said “There’s never a good time to have to do this. But to complete the improved version of our app, one that we believe will provide a much better experience for our subscribers, it has to be done.”

He added that “We have listened and we understand the frustrations of our subscribers. To provide the level of service you deserve and we can be proud of, we need to improve our mobile app. We plan to make this improvement by utilizing an enhanced technology platform, which is in the final stages of completion.”

MoviePass (owned by Helios and Matheson Analytics) and competitor Sinemia both offer subscription plans that give users access to multiple films in one month for a flat fee, but they have been locked in an expensive war of attrition as they compete for subscribers and box office sales. Both companies have also been hit with constant complaints about poor customer service. When Sinemia launched, it was able to capitalize on anti-MoviePass sentiment, but quickly began to rack up its own negative feedback about hidden fees, cancellations without refunds and poor app performance.

This makes room for new rivals to step in. For example, AMC’s A-List service reached 785,000 subscribers in May and if Regal’s version comes to fruition, it may also appeal to movie-goers who are willing to stick to one chain in exchange for consistent service.

Apple running out of juice in India as iPhone sales dry up

iPhone shipments fall 42% in the Jan-Mar quarter and the outlook for 2019 is looking weak. https://ift.tt/2RPZRQa https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

India companies supplying US tech to Chinese Huawei may face action: Government

No call on whether to bar the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer had yet been taken by the government, said Ravi Shankar Prasad https://ift.tt/2L4u1yT https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

UK digital bank Revolut to enter India next year

As a digital-only bank, Revolut targets the tech-savvy millennials to whom it offers pre-paid debit card for cash withdrawal in over 100 countries https://ift.tt/30axEGG https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram glitches affect users globally

The partial outage frustrated users of the world's largest social network, with many taking to Twitter to complain. https://ift.tt/2XP7ago https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

DPIIT summons food aggregators like Swiggy, Zomato to resolve complaints of restaurant owners

DPIIT to hold talks today with Swiggy, Zomato, Foodpanda and UberEats, and restaurant associations https://ift.tt/308XKtM https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Redmi 7A to Launch in India Today, Here's How to Watch Live Stream

The Redmi 7A is a slightly toned down variant of the Redmi 7 phone, and the China variant comes with traditional bezels, a 5.45-inch screen, 4,000mAh battery, and a 13-megapixel primary shooter. https://ift.tt/2Yujj7C

A federal appeals court rules Amazon can be held liable for defective 3rd-party seller products, says it enables vendors to conceal themselves from the customer (Brendan Pierson/Reuters)

Brendan Pierson / Reuters:
A federal appeals court rules Amazon can be held liable for defective 3rd-party seller products, says it enables vendors to conceal themselves from the customer  —  (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled against Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) in a case that could expose the online retailer …

YouTube quietly updated its list of what it considers harmful or dangerous content to include "instructional hacking and phishing" videos (Abner Li/9to5Google)

Abner Li / 9to5Google:
YouTube quietly updated its list of what it considers harmful or dangerous content to include “instructional hacking and phishing” videos  —  Yesterday, YouTube updated its list of what it considers “harmful or dangerous content.”  One notable addition is of …