Stickers are coming to Twitter with hashtag searches

It is clear now that we're slowly moving away from purely textual communication and slowly embracing various other forms of expressions beyond emoji, animated .gifs, stickers and funky text effects. We've seen what Apple has planned for iMessage in iOS 10 and now Twitter is giving users a wider palette of expression with stickers which you can search for using hastags. It's the Snap-chatization of messaging on a wider scale and more ironically, these features were all telegraphed by BlackBerry's BBM years ago, but not enough people were listening. We'll it looks like we're all listening now as this is an inevitable evolution of messaging applications.

Source: The Verge

Apple gives rainbow-coloured Apple Watch bands to employees for Pride weekend

Apple CEO Tim Cook together with a number of its employees joined the annual Pride Parade in San Francisco in style. The Apple employees were given a limited edition, rainbow-coloured watch band to commemorate the event. A Reddit user posted a photo of the Apple Watch with the colorful band attached to it and a letter talking about the 30^th year Apple has been associated with Pride and how the band is “a symbol of our commitment to equality.” Cook, who we know has been open about his life as a gay man, shared a photo about Sunday’s parade and the large number of Apple employees who showed up to celebrate.

Source: Mashable

Google might be releasing its own smartphone (and it’s not a Nexus)

Google has been working with hardware manufacturers like LG to create Nexus-branded devices like this Nexus 5X.

It looks like Google really wants to take the fight to Apple and are planning to release their own Google-branded smartphone—if we are to believe rumours that is. Sources who’ve spoken to the Telegraph claim Google plans to launch a smartphone before the end of the year where they have tighter controls over “design, manufacturing and software.” Google’s head honcho Sundar Pichai hasn’t been shy about wanting to have more say when it comes to their smartphones and they wanted to be more “opinionated” about its design.

This will truly give the company something to truly rival against the iPhone, since they have more control over all aspects of the device and it’ll implement what the tech giant wants a Google-made phone to be like sans the interpretations of hardware manufacturers. But Google also runs the risk of alienating Android hardware manufacturers, much like what happened with Microsoft. Of course, these are all still rumours and the company won’t confirm the news. But if Google does produce its own phone, will you consider buying it?

Source: Engadget

Case maker Incipio buys Skullcandy

Incipio is adding more to its stable of audio offerings by buying Skullcandy, the makers of flashy, youth-oriented headphones. According to Android Police, the terms of the acquisition offer US$5.75 for any shares of Skullcandy. This is then worth a combined $177 million in cash, making up a 59 percent premium over the brand’s current market value (including cash holdings and investments). Astro Gaming, Skullcandy’s gaming-specific brand of headphones and headsets are also part of the deal. More than anything, Incipio is getting the wide retail reach of Skullcandy, which develops everything from high-end Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones to sweat-proof sport headsets to colorful and affordable earbuds.

The other recent acquisitions of Incipio include high-end speaker manufacturer Braven, accessory maker Incase, and beachwear company Tavik. If Incipio maintains its hands-off approach with its other purchases, you probably won’t notice any difference with Skullcandy.