OPPO and Ericsson Sign Patent License Agreement

OPPO and Ericsson have signed a multi-year global patent license agreement to drive cutting-edge innovation in products and services.

March 11, 2019 – OPPO, a leading global smartphone brand and Ericsson, one of the leading providers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the world have signed a multi-year global patent license agreement, including collaboration on a number of business projects.

The OPPO and Ericsson deal is one of many

The deal between OPPO and Ericsson is the latest in a series of patent license agreements by OPPO with key telecommunication industry partners including Qualcomm, Dolby and Nokia.

Adler Feng, Head of OPPO Intellectual Property Department, said that the agreement will lay a solid foundation for further cooperation between the two companies in the 5G era. “OPPO has always placed intellectual property rights as our top priority. We look forward to working with Ericsson to drive cutting-edge innovation in products and services.”

Gustav Brismark, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson, said: “This important deal confirms the value of our patent portfolio and further validates the Ericsson FRAND licensing program. Ericsson has signed more than 100 patent license agreements to date, and we are delighted to sign a mutually beneficial agreement with OPPO.”

Following a patent-first strategy, OPPO always attaches great importance to the patent and reserve accumulation. As of January 2019, the company has filed more than 33,000 patent applications worldwide and owns more than 8,000 granted patents. OPPO will continue to work closely with leading industry partners to bring the best products and experiences to consumers globally.

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Showbox app is available to download again but it can endanger you

Showbox is a free software that lets users download and watch movies and TV shows. The mobile app is quite popular but was taken down in December 2018. However, a new version of the app has been released in 2019 and users are flocking to install and download it.

Is Show Box Legal?

Because Showbox provides commercial, copyrighted video content to its users for free download and without proper licensing by movie studios and producers, it is illegal to use. As a matter of fact, producers have engaged in legal tussles to have the service and app shut down.

Is ShowBox Safe?

If you do choose to use ShowBox, know that you are engaging in an illegal act. Also note that on the Internet, you are almost never 100% anonymous.

It is reported that the people behind the app agreed to warn potential users that they may be sued if they are found to have downloaded and viewed copyrighted content via the app. Which means that users are at risk.

If you download and use it, you can be traced and sued. Yes; it is unlikely that a big movie studio will come after an individual, but then who can tell?

Also note that not being an official app available from Google play Store, there is the risk that it contains malware and your personal, private data is being stolen and used for unpleasant purposes. You never can tell if your sensitive information, including passwords, bank details, card details, and more, are safe when you use such apps.

Here is a warning displayed prominently on one of the websites offering Showbox for download:

“Show Box is NOT a legitimate software application for watching copyright protected movies,” a warning on that page reads. “The movie studios will be able to see your IP address and your COMPLETE viewing history! (Do you really want the movie studios knowing the types of videos you like?)

“You will very likely be sued for copyright infringement. It is not worth the trouble! You can use Best Legal apps (alternatives) like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.”

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Android Q: Everything you need to know

Have a look at Android Q release date, features, and everything else you need to know, including eligible devices and how to install the software.

Android Q is the next version of Android OS. The Android naming scheme is alphabetical and so, Q follows P (for Android Pie). The official name has not been announced yet, but we do know that it is the name of a dessert and starts with Q.

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Android Q Release Date

On the 13th of March, 2019, Google released the first developer preview and public beta of Android Q beta for Pixel, Pixel 2, and Pixel 3 devices. That means that you do not have to be a developer to get the first taste of Q.

Note though that the beta software is full of bugs and will be unstable in many ways, so you might want to make sure you are not installing it on your primary smartphone.

Note that this is just the first beta. there are 6 more stages of the beta software till the final public release. Here is a timeline of the release dates of the different beta stages of Android Q:

Android Q Release Date Timeline

By the 3rd quarter of this year, the final, public release of Android Q will roll out and manufacturers can start pushing updates, as well as ship it with new smartphones.

Android Q features

Here are some of the key features and improvements that the next version of Android OS come with:

1. System-wide Dark Mode: Finally, Android OS gets system-wide Dark Mode, including a feature that forces the dark theme on 3rd party apps that do not have it built in.
2. Support for foldable screens: 2019 is the year that foldable screens and others hit the mainstream market. Q has deeper support to make these devices work smoothly.
3. Support for image depth data: Smartphone cameras are shooting images with serious depth of field these days, and Android Q offers support for sharing and using that extra information across apps. Developers will find this nifty in creating apps that can pull off better image editing.
4. Enhanced support for OpenGL: Gamers rejoice! Q brings you better gaming performance.
5. Face ID authentication: Want to login to your apps with facial recognition? Android Q has got you.
6. Native screen recording: Screen recording finally gets built into Android OS.
7. Back button replaced with gestures: if you are not used to gestures as a means of navigation on your smartphone, it is time to start practicing and getting comfortable with it. Android Q is set to do away with the traditional navigation keys, including the Back button, and replace them with gestures.
8. More convenient, more flexible permissions:  apps that ask for your location will now reveal a new pop-up asking you if you want to grant location access all the time, only when the app’s being used, or not at all. A new permissions page also lists out what permissions each app is using.
9. Faster Share menu: Android’s share menu is very handy but often sluggish when you need it. It gets faster in Android Q.
10. Share Wi-fi password via QR code: instead of telling people the password to your hotspot, just present a QR code and have them scan it to connect.

We will update this page as more Android Q features emerge.

How To Get Android Q Now

You can sign up for the beta on the Android Beta Program website for your Pixel, Pixel 2, or Pixel 3 device. This means, all the following devices are eligible:

• Pixel
• Pixel XL
• Pixel 2
• Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel 3
• Pixel 3 XL

If you own one of these, you are good to go. Sign up your Pixel smartphone for the beta programme here, and you will get an over-the-air (OTA) update on your phone to download and install the Android Q software.

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Mozilla introduces Firefox Send

Firefox Send is a free and secure file transfer service that is big on security and privacy. The web-based service lets anyone share large images, videos and documents confidentially and securely with anyone anywhere in the world.

Send uses end-to-end encryption to keep your data secure from the moment you share to the moment your download package is opened. In addition to being fully encrypted, it gives you the liberty to control how you send your files.

Key features of Firefox Send

• the service uses end-to-end encryption
• you can share and send multiple items at once
• no login required to use the service for sending files of up to 1 GB in size
• you need a Firefox account to share and send files bigger than 1 GB but no bigger than 2.5 GB
• the recipient needs no login to download received packages

User options available to send files securely with Firefox Send

1. set how many items you wish to send or transfer at a go.
2. choose an expiry time for your download link (maximum of 7 days). The link automatically expires after the time you set so no-one can download it after that.
3. set the number of times the link can be downloaded from (maximum of 100 times). The link deactivates after it has been clicked on those many times.
4. choose whether to set a password for the download link, so only persons with the password can access it.

Send and share documents, images, and videos securely

How to use Firefox Send

The service is great for sending those images, videos and documents that are too large for email (email services have limits on the size of attachments that you can send).

Send is web-based and so accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a web browser. Plus, it is mobile-friendly and so it works well on smartphones and tablets. On any device, point your web browser to send.firefox.com and start to send and share images, videos, and documents securely.

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Bypass This Content Is Not Available In Your Country restrictions

You see a link to a video you would love to watch or to  an app that you would love to download, so you click. But on landing there, you see that annoying notice that says, This Content Is Not Available In Your country. You are ready to tear your hair out at this point. Restricted web content sucks.

For one, it isn’t likely that the video or app contains nuclear launch codes or  the secret to finding all five Infinity Stones that Thanos used to wipe out half of all life in the universe. All you want to do is watch a fun video or download an app for use.

Anyway, the good thing is that the problem can be solved using simple tools that let you bypass the This Content Is Not Available In Your Country restrictions. You can get rid of that pesky notice. Let’s show you how.

How to bypass This Content Is Not Available In Your Country restrictions

Many times, the country restriction notice shows up because your location has been banned for no fault of yours, and usually this is done by blocking your IP address. This makes it easy to solve by using any of the available tools that let you pick a new IP address and access restricted web content. These include VPNs and proxy browsers.

On your smartphone, use a VPN

For smartphone users, VPNs are a great way to get rid of the This Content Is Not Available In Your country notice and blockade. Get a good VPN app that can switch your location IP address to a favourable one. usually, if your VPN can switch you to a US, Canadian, or UK IP address, the restriction disappears and you can watch videos and download apps freely.

While there are many free VPN apps available in Google Play Store and Apple Store, not all of them live up to their claims. As such, you may need to test a few till you find one that works well. Eventually, to enjoy a good VPN, you may have to use a paid one.

But once you have a good one running, you can enjoy videos and other web content that had been blocked to you.

2. On PC, use a proxy browser

Proxy browsers are no longer the rage that they used to be, partly because most web users now access the Internet from their smartphones. But very often, you will still run into the This Content Is Not Available In Your Country notice when web browsing, especially if you watch YouTube videos on your PC.

Some of the most popular and best proxy websites for bypassing country restrictions and accessing restricted web content include:

1. HideMyAss.
2. ProxySite.com.
3. Hide.me.
4. AnonyMouse.
5. SecureFor.

Browser Extensions

Web browser extensions are also a great way to deal with This Content Is Not Available In Your Countryrestrictions.

Some VPN providers and proxy websites also provide browser extensions to make it easier for you to use their service on a PC. If you use Chrome browser, you should definitely explore this, as it is more convenient to use than typing a proxy address in your browser every time you want to access restricted web content by bypassing country restrictions. Just visit the Chrome Web Store to search through the available VPN extensions.

Firefox and Opera browsers also now support extensions, so you may find this useful too if you use one of those.

Some of the more popular ones are:

• ExpressVPN.
• TunnelBear.
• NordVPN.
• Hotspot Shield Free.
• WindScribe.
• SaferVPN.
• CyberGhost.

Again, you might have to try out a few to determine which works best for you. Be sure to also look at the details, as some of them, especially many of the free ones, do not provide secure connections. You get what you pay for.

Using one or more of the above tools will help you get rid of the This content is not available in your countrynotice and give you access to most restricted web content. You will be able to freely watch the video and download that app that you previously had no access to.

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Xiaomi’s foldable phone will cost half the price of Samsung’s

If you find the Samsung Galaxy Fold, costing $2000, too expensive, and many people do, Xiaomi’s foldable phone is on the way and the grapevine says, it will cost about half that price.

A foldable device is one that has a flexible display that can bend. This ability to bend can be adapted into a number of scenarios. For now, all the announced foldable devices have the technology implemented into one or two folding points or joints. Perhaps in future we will see devices that can be rolled up like a scroll. Other interesting applications might show up too.

It was just about a week ago that I was having a discussion with Dayo about the need for us to experience foldable display technology this year. It is new and it is cool. Beyond that, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold reminds both of us of the Nokia Communicator devices.

Others have mentioned that tinge of nostalgia before, and there is a ring to it. If you never owned or saw a Series 80 Nokia Communicator in use, all of this is going to be lost on you. Not only does the Galaxy Fold look the part as you fold it, the videos we have seen also show a user interface that has been modified to make the best of the large display when opened up.

Dayo and I went on and on about it but we eventually concluded that spending $2000 on a smartphone was not something we want to do in 2019. That’s roughly N700,000. No way. Not even for the thrill of being on the cutting edge. And Huawei’s foldable phone, the Mate X, is even more expensive than Samsung’s. It costs a whopping $2600 (about NGN900,000). Ki lo de?

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A Pocket-friendly Foldable Phone

It appears that it is Xiaomi that will save the day and make it possible for many more people to experience folding display technology this year. That is, if a particular leak/rumour is true.

This report says that the Xiaomi foldable phone will cost $999 only. That puts its price at half of the Galaxy Fold. If ever one wants a rumour to be true, here I am wanting this one to be, so badly. LOL.

We saw a video demonstration of Xiami’s folding phone earlier, and it works differently from Samsung’s. While the Galaxy Fold folds forward and in, the Xiaomi folds backwards.  Different implementations, same principle – carry a device with a large display around in the size of a regular smartphone.

Meanwhile, I am tired of say “Xiaomi’s foldable phone” every time. I shall just call it Xiaomi Mi Flex until the official name is announced. These guys cannot be stressing me like that on top of a device that I will still spend N350,000 on.

Come to think of it, spending $1000 to get my hands on a foldable device is not bad at all. Meanwhile, my partner-in-crime, Noni, isn’t bothered about price. She wants to get the Huawei Mate X, the most expensive foldable phone we have seen so far. I have asked if she would like to be my sugar mummy, and she says she will give it some thought.

Join me in lobbying her to accept my application, dear Mobilistas. This is the breakthrough that we have been looking for. Noni for Matron of MobilityArena!!

Whether she adopts me as a sugar son or not, though, I should get my hands on at least one foldable display device this year and have tons of experiences to share here.

I hope that your weekend was as good as mine and I wish you a productive week ahead.

Which foldable display device do you fancy?

PS: Which of the three foldable phones catch your fancy the most – Huawei Mate X, Samsung Galaxy Fold, or Xiaomi Mi Flex?

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