BlackBerry shutting down BB10 store, paid apps to disappear on April 1

BlackBerry OS 10 has hung around longer than expected even after developers and top-tier apps have long moved away from the failed platform. While many intrepid and loyal BB10 users have tried to get by with sideloading Android APKs just to get by.

The inevitable is coming to pass, however, as paid apps on the BB10 will be gone by April 1. BlackBerry will continue maintainance and support until 2019, but it really is time to let go and transition to another platform. BlackBerry transitioned to Android way back in 2015, and then effectively sold or licensed off its hardware business to various players, the most notable of which is TCL whose revivalist KEYOne handset brings the best of BlackBerry's design and security while offering the Android ecosystem and all the apps and services that come with it.

Source: The Verge

Vivo pushes boundaries again with Apex concept phone

Vivo made a pretty big splash at CES early last month with its work with Synaptics by putting the fingerprint reader on the phone’s OLED display. The Chinese company looks to steal the spotlight yet again at Mobile World Congress with the new concept phone it’s showing off. Called the Apex, this nearly bezel-less phone has what Vivo is describing as a “half-screen in-display fingerprint scanning technology.” However, as The Verge points out, it’s more like taking up a third of the screen, which still isn’t bad idea. For extra security, sometimes you can enable the input of two different fingerprints to have it unlock the screen.

But what happens to the other key sensors you find out the phone? Vivo’s decided to make this come out at the top of the device like a periscope or pop-up flash when you turn the selfie camera on. A pretty nifty move. It takes less than a second for it to get ready for use. As for the earpiece speaker, Vivo’s approach is to make the entire screen vibrate itself like a speaker so you can hear calls even without completely holding the device close to your ear. Vivo says it doesn’t have plans to release an actual device based on this form but it does show us the possibility of this happening and almost completely bezel-less phones being in our near future.

M. Night Shyamalan signs on to develop original series for Apple TV

Gage Skidmore

Apple is adding another big name to its roster of creatives that is developing original programming for them. Variety reports that M. Night Shyamalan is creating a 10-episode original TV series for the Apple TV platform. The series is said to be a psychological thriller and will be written by Tony Basgallop, who has been credited for working on Berlin Station, 24: Legacy, and 24: Live Another Day. We don’t know anything else about plot and the like at the moment but the show will be produced by Shyamalan’s Blinding Edge Pictures. This series marks the director’s second foray into the small screen. He was the executive producer of Wayward Pines, which just finished its two-season run.

Source: Engadget

ASUS goes all out with MWC launch, introduces new ZenFone 5 line

Taiwanese tech company ASUS does what it’s been doing in recent years, releasing multiple variants of its smartphone line to cater to specific user needs. This time around the new ZenFone 5 line gets three versions: the ZenFone 5Z, ZenFone 5, and ZenFone 5 Lite.

The first two share its physical characteristics with a 6.2-inch 19:9 LCD displays with 90% percent screen-to-body ratio, which makes it possible to fit all that phone into the body of a standard 5.5-inch phone. But the phones also share a look with another popular device from an even bigger brand in smartphones. Yes, you see it has a notch and ASUS acknowledges somewhat that they’ve taken the design cue from Apple.

“Some people will say it’s copying Apple,” said Marcel Campos, Asus’ global head of marketing, “but we cannot get away from what users want. You have to follow the trends.”

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