Rapid John
PositionMedia Relations Manager
Joined20 November 2013
Articles2,746
Rapid John has a quarter of a century in programming for Government and Corporate bodies and is proficient in most major programming languages.

Huawei launches new AI processor and AI computing framework

Huawei today officially launched a new powerful AI processor – the Ascend 910 – as well as an all-scenario AI computing framework, MindSpore. The Ascend 910 is a new AI processor that belongs to Huawei's series of Ascend-Max chipsets, originally announced at its 2018 flagship event, Huawei Connect.
ConnectedHuawei
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EE

EE files a complaint over Three UKs 5G Ads

Three UK launched its 5G service in London earlier today, promptly causing EE to file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) claiming that its slogan, "If it's not Three, it's not real 5G", is misleading. EE is seeking a ban on the ads because they clearly imply that alternative networks' 5G are inferior by comparison.
EE5GConnectedThreeUKO2
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Three UK

Three launches 5G Home Broadband

Three UK has launched its 5G service today, available in London as a home broadband service. The company says that its single 5G plan will shake up the broadband market with customers able to cancel their landline and instantly access fibre-like, ultrafast speeds compared to what the average UK customer currently obtains using traditional, fixed broadband services.
5GConnectedThreeUK
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Google Assistant

Google Assistant will soon let you Assign Reminders for others

Google Assistant users will soon be able to assign reminders to their family and friends using the Google Assistant. The new feature will function via the Family Group feature. Once a reminder is set, say by a parent for their children, it will appear on a smartphone or a Google Assistant-powered Smart Display. However, Google says it can work for others, all that is needed is the user to be part of an opt-in group of trusted fellow Assistant users.
Connected
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Lawsuit

Facebook challenges BlackBerry Photo Tagging Patent

A panel of administrative patent judges (APJs) has instituted two IPR proceedings filed by Facebook and its subsidiaries WhatsApp and Instagram. Both IPRs challenge the same 12 claims of BlackBerry’s U.S. Patent No. 8279173, User Interface for Selecting a Photo Tag.
BlackBerry
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Huawei Mate 20 X 5G now available from Vodafone UK

EE quietly opened pre-orders for the Huawei Mate 20 X 5G Thursday, and Vodafone, with little fanfare, has now followed suit. The 5G phone is available to order on 5G plans ranging from £68 per month with £29 upfront to £81 per month with £29 upfront cost.  Vodafone's 5G plans have no limits, while you have a a choice of data limits on 5g ready plans.
UKDevices and OSHuawei5GAndroid
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Google Flood Alerts comes to UK through Google Public Alerts map

The UK has become one of the first countries in Europe where people will be able to receive flood alerts on their computer, phone or personal device through the Google Public Alerts map. Flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency will now appear on Google Search and the Google Public Alerts map with live alerts becoming visible on personal devices in a matter of seconds once they have been issued.
NewsGoogleUK
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Samsung Note 10+ 5G available to pre-order from EE

EE announced today that it will offer customers the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 4G and Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 from today. The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G is available to pre-order on a wider variety of 5G plans EE from 8th August through EE stores, over the phone and via ee.co.uk.
UKDevices and OSEE
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HTC

HTC suspends UK smartphone sales amid patent dispute

HTC has suspended the sale of its smartphones in the UK, as part of an ongoing patent dispute. Non-practising entity IPCom claimed that, as a result of its claim of patent infringement, HTC had indicated it would suspend the sale and importation of the recently launched Desire 12 handset to the UK market, in addition to taking steps to stop sales of all of its mobile devices in the UK.
NewsUK
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Android Security

Google releases August 2019 Android Security Bulletin and Google Device Images

Google has released the August 2019 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install. Google device firmware images have also been released to the Google Developer site. Though Google puts out the Android security patches each month, the job of actually getting the fixes to end users falls on the telcos and/or device manufacturers themselves. Those partners vary in their ability to release the patches in a timely fashion.
Devices and OSGoogleAndroid
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Samsung Galaxy S10 5G

Samsung Galaxy S10 5G now available on O2

O2 are due to launch their 5G network in October, and the company has brought forward the date that customers can get 5G ready with the new flagship device from Samsung, the Galaxy S10 5G, which is now available from today online and in-store on O2 custom plans.
O2Samsung5GConnectedUK
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Huawei joins the Paris Call

Huawei has joined the Paris Call in order to spur a collective action towards securing cyberspace. Huawei joined the Paris Call with 564 other entities who have made a public commitment to strengthening the security of digital products, and digital systems.
Huawei
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Freeview mobile app launches on Android

Months after it appeared on Apple’s App Store, the Freeview mobile app is finally available for Android devices. The app lets you stream live TV shows on BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as accessing on-demand content from BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, and UKTV Play. It's free to download and use – provided you have a TV license.
AppsAndroidUK
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Punkt MP02

Punkt MP02 second major software update coming “soon”

Punkt launched the MP02, back in September of last year, and it took quite some time for the company to release the first update of the MP02’s firmware.  However, that release still had a few issues and there hasn't been a single update for nearly four months.
Android
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5G

Three confirms 5G plans will be unlimited and at no extra cost

Three is giving customers all the freedom they need to use 5G whenever and however they wish without worrying about any hidden or extra costs as the company announced that all new and existing customers will have access to 5G with no speed caps and at no extra cost on all contract, SIM only and PAYG mobile plans.
5GConnectedThreeUK
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O2 5G

O2 5G launching in October

O2 has announced that they will be switching on their 5G network in October 2019, beginning with areas of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Slough and Leeds. By the end of the year, they’ll be live in 20 towns and cities and rolling out to a total of 50 by summer 2020.
O25GConnectedUK
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ASUS unveils ROG Phone II: Snapdragon 855 Plus, 120Hz OLED

ASUS today unveiled ROG Phone II, the successor to the ROG Phone. ROG Phone II builds on the gamer-centric design of the first-generation ROG Phone, and takes performance to an epic new level with the world's first implementation of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus Mobile Platform, which is clocked at up to 2.96GHz.
Devices and OSAndroid
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Facebook

FTC to fine Facebook £4bn over Cambridge Analytica Data Harvesting Scandal

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has voted to approve a £4bn ($5bn) settlement with Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine is the largest-ever imposed by the FTC for violating an order and is in line with what the company said it expected to pay in its quarterly report in April. In July, the ICO issued a Notice of Intent to fine Facebook as part of a wide ranging investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes.
NewsUS
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Huawei’s UK HQ visited by Mayor of Reading

Huawei today hosted the Mayor of Reading; Cllr Paul Woodward at its UK headquarters in Reading. This is the first visit to Huawei’s facilities the Mayor has made since officially assuming the role in May 2019.
HuaweiUK
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France approves Digital Tax on large tech companies

France has approved a 3 percent Digital Services Tax (DST) on revenues that large tech companies, particularly those in the digital advertising and e-commerce industries, earn from providing digital services to French customers.
Financial
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Spotify Lite for Android launches in 36 countries

Spotify Lite for Android, a simplified version of the Spotify app, is now available in 36 countries. It has a similar look and feel, but with a few key differences. It uses less storage, data, and battery to optimise performance, making it ideal for older devices and operating systems.
AppsAndroid
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Outage

Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp experiencing outage Worldwide

Facebook is was working to resolve issues faced by some users while sending and receiving media files on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The outages appear to be connected to US cybersecurity firm Cloudflare which has been affected by an outage at telecommunications provider Verizon.
Connected
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Android Security

Google releases July 2019 Android Security Bulletin and Google Device Images

Google has released the July 2019 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install. Though Google puts out the Android security patches each month, the job of actually getting the fixes to end users falls on the telcos and/or device manufacturers themselves. Those partners vary in their ability to release the patches in a timely fashion.
Devices and OSGoogleAndroid
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EE launches 5G Mobile Broadband Plans

EE has launched its 5G mobile broadband plans, making it the first UK carrier to do so. The company isn't pitching its latest 5G offering as a replacement for home broadband but that is likely due to the fact that 5G availability is limited at the moment.
UKEE5GConnected
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EE excludes Millions of Apple and Android users from EE TV and new service

EE have excluded Millions of Apple and Android users from accessing EE TV's replacement. Under the old platform customers of EE’s Broadband service paid an extra £8 a month to receive the box, which gave them access to all of the usual Freeview TV channels, PVR features, an app and access to premium on-demand content.
NewsEEUK
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LG

BlackBerry expands partnership with LG

To advance the deployment of its connected and autonomous vehicle technology, BlackBerry is expanding its partnership with LG. Under the new agreement, LG will use BlackBerry QNX software and services to build digital consolidated cockpits, including infotainment systems, digital instrument clusters, and telematics systems for multiple OEMs.
BlackBerryAutomotive
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BlackBerry

BlackBerry beats analyst estimates but stock drops sharply

BlackBerry released its quarterly earnings on Wednesday, reporting US$247 million in first quarter revenue, up from US$213 million in the same quarter last year. Its net loss of US$35 million, or nine cents per share, was down from US$60 million or 11 cents per diluted share in last year's first quarter.
FinancialBlackBerry
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FedEx sues U.S. Department of Commerce

FedEx has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce to stop it from enforcing certain export restrictions against the company. In a statement, FedEx didn’t name Huawei specifically but the filing comes after the company has botched Huawei-related shipments on at least two occasions.
NewsUS
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EE

EE adds BBC iPlayer and YouTube to Video Data Pass

EE  is now allowing more services to be streamed without eating into users' monthly data allowances. From today, anyone with a Video Data Pass can stream and download anything from the BBC iPlayer and YouTube without fear of running out of internet access.
EEConnectedUK
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BlackBerry Investors

BlackBerry to Webcast Annual Meeting on June 24, 2019

BlackBerry will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Monday, June 24, 2019 at 10 a.m. ET in Waterloo, Ontario. There will be a live audio webcast that can be accessed by registering here. It can also be accessed by dialling 1-855-353-9183 and entering Access code 58660#.
FinancialBlackBerry
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Three UK

Three to launch 5G in August… Well Sort Of

Three has announced it will launch its 5G network in August, but it will only be available in London as a home broadband service. Three 5G home broadband customers will be able to plug a hub into the wall to immediately become connected, without lengthy engineer wait times or a long-term contract.
5GConnectedThreeUK
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Huawei wins ALL smartphone awards at Mobile Industry Awards 2019

The Mobile Industry Awards 2019 took place in London last night and when it came to smartphone categories, it was Huawei who made a clean sweep, winning all the smartphone related awards. Huawei won Best Value Phone, Best Mid Range Phone, Hottest New Phone 2019, Phone of the Year and topped it off winning Smartphone Manufacturer of the Year.
Huawei
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Android Q Beta

Android Q Beta 4 brings final APIs for developers and more

Google has released Beta 4 of Android Q bringing the final Android Q APIs for developers. The Beta 4 update includes the latest Android Q system images for Pixel and Android Emulator, along with the final Android Q developer APIs (API level 29), the official API 29 SDK, and updated build tools for Android Studio. Together, these give developers everything they need to test their apps for compatibility with Android Q and build with Android Q features and APIs.
Devices and OSAndroid
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Android Security

Google releases June 2019 Android Security Bulletin and Google Device Images

Google has released the June 2019 Android Security Bulletin, giving carriers and device makers a fresh set of patches to install. Though Google puts out the Android security patches each month, the job of actually getting the fixes to end users falls on the telcos and/or device manufacturers themselves. Those partners vary in their ability to release the patches in a timely fashion.
GoogleAndroidDevices and OS
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Apple Unveils SwiftUI Framework, ARKit 3 and New Xcode Tools for Developers

Apple today unveiled several innovative technologies that make it easier and faster for developers to create powerful new apps. SwiftUI is a new development framework that makes building powerful user interfaces easier than ever before. ARKit 3, RealityKit and Reality Composer are advanced tools designed to make it even easier for developers to create compelling AR experiences for consumer and business apps.
DevelopersApple
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BBM

BlackBerry Messenger Finally Closes Down

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) will be put out of its misery today, finally closing down, following its failure to retain users while being unable to attract new ones.
Apps
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EE launches UK’s first 5G Network in Six Cities

EE launched its 5G network in six cities in the UK today. The commercial launch has been rolled out in London, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester. It will then be launched in 10 additional cities later this year - including Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.
EE5GConnectedUK
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cybersecurity

5 Reasons why SMEs can’t ignore cyber security

The digital world offers many opportunities for business growth however it exposes organisations to new cyber risks. Weak cyber security can leave organisations exposed and the revenue repercussions can be severe. Joe Collinwood, CEO at CySure identifies the risks and how to mitigate them.
Opinion
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EE to launch 5G on May 30: Drops Huawei from Launch

The fallout from the United States ban on Huawei is now having its first major effect on upcoming smartphones from the Chinese company in the UK. EE and Vodafone have announced that they have pulled Huawei’s phones from their 5G network launch, joining other global telecoms groups in dropping launch plans after the Chinese group was hit by a US export ban that could stop it using Google’s Android operating system.
EE5GConnectedUK
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Huawei granted three month reprieve from ban

The US Department of Commerce has issued a licence allowing US companies to keep doing business with Huawei for the next three months. The company now has a Temporary General License to engage with U.S. vendors on a limited basis.
USHuawei
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Google revokes Huawei’s Android License

Google has revoked Huawei's Android license, restricting Huawei from some updates to Android. The company has suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware and software products except those covered by open source licenses.
AndroidGoogleHuawei
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OnePlus 7 Pro 5G exclusive to EE in UK

OnePlus has launched its OnePlus 7 series of handsets globally, which consist of the OnePlus 7 and the OnePlus 7 Pro. However, there’s also a 5G variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro, which the company has announced has currently announced only in the UK.
AndroidUKDevices and OSEE5G
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iOS 12

Apple iOS 12.3 brings new Apple TV app and more

Apple has released iOS 12.3 for iPhone and iPad bringing a new TV app on iOS 12.3, tvOS 12.3, and Apple TV Software 7.3. The new TV app includes Apple TV Channels, a feature that simplifies streaming video subscription services by bringing them all into a single app.
Devices and OSApple
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Telegram

Telegram for Android brings chat archives, a fresh look and more

Telegram has rolled out a new update which brings chat archives, a fresh look for the app and more. It's taken its time but the ability to archive chats is finally here. To archive, simply swipe left on your main screen. You can further hide archived chats with another left swipe and to see them again, simply pull down on the main screen.
AppsAndroid
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Google Assistant

Google announces numerous updates to Google Assistant

Along with its new “entry-premium” smartphones, the Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL, and changes to the upcoming Android Q, Google announced a list of changes to its popular virtual assistant, Google Assistant. To start with, Google says it has made its assistant faster—up to ten times faster.
GoogleConnected
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EE

EE launches new “Smart Plans”

EE have launched a new service which promises a smarter way for customers to enjoy their mobile phone contract. The new Smart Plans offer some valuable perks, including a lifetime guarantee on the handset while in contract and an annual check up of the device and contract by an EE expert.
EEConnectedUK
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Facebook Messenger 5 to Encrypt and Merge Apps and more

At it's ongoing F8 annual developer conference, while the keynote opened with CEO Mark Zuckerberg stressing on a privacy-focused platform, there were a lot of new developments shared as far as all of Facebook’s products are concerned. Starting with Messenger, Facebook shared plans about integrating the chat app with Instagram and WhatsApp.
Apps
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Blue Cedar launches Blue Cedar Accelerator for BlackBerry

Blue Cedar has announced the Blue Cedar Accelerator for BlackBerry, which enables organisations to quickly, easily and continuously integrate the BlackBerry Dynamics into their mobile apps, without the need to write any code, while still maintaining security and other critical controls.
AppsBlackBerry
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