Recently we reported on a rumor that suggested WhatsApp and Google in talks to sell the popular app to the Mountain View search giant for a cool $1 billion. Now Neeraj Arora, WhatsApp’s business development head, has come forward and said that such an acquisition isn’t happening after all.
The Google purchase rumor follows on the heels of a rumor last year that claimed Facebook was interested in buying WhatsApp, and considering the app’s success, it isn’t surprising to think that companies like Facebook and Google would be actively interested in making the purchase.
To give you some perspective on just how popular the app is, it is currently the number one app in Apple’s Store in several countries and has been downloaded more than 100 million times by Android users via Google Play. Still, at least for the moment, WhatsApp remains independent. What do you think about the idea of Google buying the app? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
With word that Google has been internally testing a new design for its Play Store app, we knew we'd soon see it surface – and the company has announced that it will be here today.
The Play group product manager, Michael Silski, posed on the Android blog that the 4.0 update would be rolled out starting today.
So what's new? A lot of focus on the visual side of things, with bigger pictures, and similarly themed content now grouped together. Checkout's been given a tweak, and you'll also get content recommendations as you scroll down the page, making life a bit easier.
Go Play
The update is available for any Android phone or tablet running Android 2.2 or better, and will bring it in line with the rest of its Android system.
"People around the world should see it over the next few weeks," Silski added, so we've no guarantee as to where it will hit first.
But so far there's been no sign of the update here at TechRadar. We expect to see it appear in the coming hours/days/weeks and will update as and when we do.
You could soon be able to buy music on an iPhone or iPad without needing an internet connection thanks to Apple's latest patent.
The new patent would see iTunes storing top recommended songs to your phone, tablet or computer, but keeping them locked until you click 'buy'.
To buy the songs, you'd need to have pre-paid credit on your account - if not, iTunes will tell you "Insufficient credit - please connect to the internet to purchase this song".
Another way to take your money
The number of songs stored on your device ready in case you feel like buying them will depend on both the amount of credits you have pre-paid for, and the amount of space you have available on your gadget.
Obviously you'd need an internet connection to your device at some point - be it a phone, tablet or computer - but you could feasibly buy new music when you're on a plane or underground.
We sort of remember a time when not needing an internet connection to buy music was the norm.
We think there might have been some kind of street in the middle of every town where you could go into a specific building and swap money for music without any kind of access to the information superhighway, but it's a bit hazy.
Who knows when - or if - Apple's latest invention will make it to our iTunes accounts - could it be a feature of the supposed iRadio streaming service that's supposedly set to launch soon?
If so, memo to Apple: we'd like to see the songs iTunes chooses to offline for you be based on your listening habits rather than being just generic chart-fodder as the images seem to show.
Still, it'll be good to know that if there's a nuclear winter and the internet goes down forever, you need never be without The Fray's chart-bothering You Found Me or the latest heartbroken missive from Taylor Swift.
“It’s a no-brainer” according to an ad by Virgin Mobile to promote their campaign that is aimed at T-Mobile prepaid customers. The Sprint-owned MVNO is offering $100 in unlimited-plan credit to customers willing to switch their phone number from T-Mobile to Virgin Mobile.
As you can see below, the numbers are certainly attractive. If you make a switch before May 31st you will save a total of $334 in two years and that includes the $100 credit. There is a $55 per month plan for unlimited data (3G speed after 2.5GB, while T-Mobile offers 2G after that limit), messaging and talk service.
That plan costs $5 less than what T-Mobile is currently asking for its monthly package, but don’t forget the speed difference between Virgin Mobile’s EV-DO / WiMAX service and T-Mobile’s speedier HSPA+ / LTE.
Check out the creepy ad below, completely if possible, and tell us what you think about it. And are you planning to make that switch?
After more leaks than a wicker canoe, the Huawei Ascend W1 was finally unveiled at CES 2013 as the Chinese firm's first Windows Phone 8 smartphone.
Aimed at the bottom end of the market, the Ascend W1 doesn't sport the premium polycarbonate unibody of the Nokia Lumia 920 or the sultry design of the HTC 8X, as it looks instead to rub shoulders with the Lumia 520 and various Android handsets such as the Ascend G330, Orange San Diego and ZTE Blade 3.
With its rivals in mind you won't be surprised when we tell you the Ascend W1 will set you back £119.99 on PAYG, or £13.50 per month on contract.
O2 currently has an exclusive deal to range the handset, although we're told Huawei is in talks with other carriers about selling the W1.
You can pick the Ascend W1 up in a fetching shade of Electric Blue or Electric Pink. It also comes in black (as our review model did) and white, but it's not clear if the dark hue will be making its way to shop floors.
The first thing you'll notice is instead of the glass fitting snugly into the body of the phone, on the Ascend W1 there's a noticeable ridge running all the way around the handset, giving the impression that it's just been slapped on top - reminiscent of the HTC One V.
There's a noticeable lip below the screen where the coloured plastic rear protrudes slightly, and it's not a look we're particularly keen on - although it does give you a flash of blue or pink from front on if you've chosen one of those colour options.
The Ascend W1 does feel a bit bezel-heavy especially below the display, with the three navigation keys housed in a sea of black coupled with the chassis peeking out below.
This adds extra length to the W1, but it's not too much hassle in terms of the size as the W1 measures a manageable 124.5 x 63.7mm.
At 120g the Ascend W1 is a good weight for a 4-inch smartphone, and while the handset measures 10.1mm in depth, the slightly curved polycarbonate back rests nicely in the hand and provides some grip.
The all-plastic construction is hardly a surprise considering the price, but the Ascend W1 does at least feel sturdy and capable of taking a few knocks.
There's an easy to reach power/lock key on the top of the handset, sitting alongside a headphone jack, while on the left there's an equally well positioned volume rocker switch.
On the right you'll find a dedicated camera key towards the base of the W1 - a requirement for any handset running the Windows Phone platform.
The microUSB slot on the bottom of the device is aligned to the right side instead of the traditional middle and while this makes absolutely no difference when it comes to using the Ascend W1, it did get us wondering why Huawei had positioned it to one side. Answers on a postcard, please.
Nip round the back and you can expect a dose of deja vu, as the design of the 5MP camera lens and single LED flash is almost identical to that of the HTC One X.
Towards the bottom of the Ascend W1 there's the Windows Phone logo sitting above an elongated speaker grill, which we found kicked out a decent volume - although audio quality wasn't the greatest.
A bonus here is the fact you can peel off the rear cover of the W1 to gain access to the 1,950mAh removable battery as well as the microSIM and microSD ports.
Slightly frustratingly, you need to remove the battery to access both of these slots, so you won't be able to quickly swap SD cards as you please.
