Google Cloud partners with Fortinet, McAfee, Palo Alto and other vendors to bolster its security Google has announced new strategic partnerships with security vendors Fortinet, McAfee and Palo Alto Networks. Together with Fortinet, Google Cloud will provide a new reference architecture to connect facilities to Google Cloud with secure SD-WAN solutions, which makes Fortinet’s FortiWeb Cloud WAF available as-a-service on the platform. MacAfee will integrate its MVISION container security software on Google Cloud. The jointly developed Palo Alto Networks and Google solutions will help secure customers’ multi-cloud environments and will enhance threat detection capabilities. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/rx68bt5 UK plans to ban sales of locked mobile phones Ofcom, the UK’s telecoms regulator, has announced plans to ban the sale of locked mobile handsets to make it easier for consumers to switch networks. Virgin Mobile, O2, Sky, Three and some smaller carriers already offer unlocked phones, but the regulator wants other companies, including…
Peerless Network, Ribbon Team Up to Help Businesses Mitigate Unwanted Robocalls Ribbon Communications, a global software leader in secure IP-based real-time communications, and Peerless Network have joined forces to provide businesses with advanced protection against unwanted robocalling. Peerless Network, which provides telecommunication services and high-quality voice solutions for enterprise customers worldwide, will leverage Ribbon’s advanced security technology to power its new offering designed to combat robocalling. Peerless CallTrue gives its customers more options to deal with those nuisance calls. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/rzwk7dy Vodafone picks Google Cloud to develop and host its global data platform Vodafone Group, one of the world’s leading telecom and technology services companies, has come into partnership with Google Cloud to host its strategic cloud platform for data analytics, business intelligence and machine learning. According to the announcement, Vodafone’s Neuron big-data analytics platform will leverage Google Cloud to enhance its operations by making Vodafone’s existing software…
Google Cloud’s Contact Center AI hits general availability Google Cloud has announced the general availability of Contact Centre AI, which will enable corporations to deploy virtual agents for basic customer interactions. The service is built using conversational AI engine Dialogflow, the development suite for creating conversational interfaces such as chat bots and interactive voice responses (IVR). Furthermore, Google Cloud has introduced Cloud Run, a service for managing Knative for serverless apps like Kubernetes, and has also launched the Network Intelligence Centre, an AI-driven network management service. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yhn43zb9 Moto Razr 2019 is official: A foldable smartphone with no display crease One of the most iconic and best-selling flip phones is reborn. Motorola has unveiled the Moto Razr folding-screen smartphone with a large OLED display that folds in half. The most interesting thing about the new phone is the hinge design: there is a large empty space around it, so…
Here’s everything Google announced at the Pixel 4 event At its new smartphone launch event in New York, Google introduced Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL that offer a new and improved version of Google Assistant, a new Motion Sense feature for gesture control, an upgraded camera, and a new Recorder app that also transcribes speech. The fourth-generation Pixel is priced from USD 799 for a 5.7-inch display and USD 899 for a 6.3-inch display. According to Google, the Pixel phones will be available with all US operators and major MVNOs. The new phones will ship on October 24th, globally. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y3xw2v7q Apple pushes for own 5G modem by 2022 Apple has set a rather ambitious goal to have its own 5G modem in iPhones by 2022. The tech giant is currently using Qualcomm modems as part of a long-term supply agreement, but with the takeover of Intel’s smartphone modem…
Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android Microsoft has unveiled a new dual-screen Android smartphone, the Surface Duo. The folding phone features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, which allows it to be fully unfolded as a miniature 8.3-inch tablet. The Surface Duo can run two different apps at the same time, and one of the displays can be used as a game controller or keyboard. Microsoft has incorporated elements of Windows 10X, a new operating system meant for hybrid devices. The company said that the Surface Duo will launch in late 2020, in time for the holiday season. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y66mjttm Telefonica Deutschland deploys Infinera DRX for 5G network modernisation Telefonica Deutschland has chosen the Infinera DRX Series to upgrade its national mobile transport network. The Infinera DRX Series is a portfolio of disaggregated routers that combines a carrier-class white box portfolio with Infinera…
Telus Corp., one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, is expanding its security business and has agreed to acquire ADT Security Services Canada, Inc. (ADT Canada) for approximately CAD 700 million. ADT Canada provides security and automation services for residential and business customers. The company has about 500,000 customers and 1,000 team members across the country. Jim DeVries, President and CEO at ADT, said, “The sale of our more capital intensive Canadian operations enables us to sharpen our focus on the exciting growth and higher margin opportunities in the U.S., where we can more efficiently invest our time and resources. Importantly, these emerging opportunities are ideal for leveraging the trusted ADT brand as we continue generating strong free cash flow to drive shareholder value over the long term.” According to the agreement, all of the ADT Canada team members and customers will join Telus. The company said it will “deepen…
LG Uplus launches preliminary 5G roaming services in China South Korean mobile carrier LG UPlus is rolling out its 5G roaming service in China in partnership with China Unicom, a state-run telecom operator. According to the statement, LG Uplus teamed up with China Unicom for the 5G roaming service in April and tested out own services in China from June. The preliminary service was launched after the two companies completed linking their networks on August 16. LG Uplus said its 5G roaming service is currently available only on the LG V50 ThinQ smartphone, but soon it will be expanded to Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 users with software upgrades. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yyyhqm3v Oracle strikes deal to provide cloud support for VMware workloads Oracle and VMware have announced a deal resolving their bitter dispute over how Oracle provides technical support for VMware users. The deal will make it easier…
iPhone 11: Apple launches new Pro smartphones with better cameras Apple has unveiled a new line of iPhones – iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max – featuring faster processors, improved screens, and new camera systems. All three devices look similar to their predecessors, but the company has upgraded their respective camera systems to enable wide-angle photos and made improvements that result in a longer battery life and faster performance than before. There is also a variety of new colours available, with a new matte finish on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y3ery8a6 Huawei wants to sell its 5G tech to rivals – report The Chinese tech giant is prepared to help create a competitor on the market by selling a perpetual licence to its 5G technology. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has made a remarkable claim that for a one-time fee,…
Apple iOS 13 Launch Confirmed: 5 iPhone Security Features Coming This Month As the tech company that really cares about its user’s privacy, Apple attempts to differentiate itself from Facebook, Google and Amazon, and is bringing a number of massive improvements to the company’s iOS operating system this month. One of the biggest improvements is that the security enhanced Apple iOS 13 will not let Facebook and WhatsApp apps run VoIP in the background when the programs aren’t actively in use. Also, the system will send alerts about any apps that track user’s location and let an app access the location only once. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y4w8rj92 Samsung’s Exynos 980 chip is a processor and 5G modem in one The Korean tech giant has introduced its first 5G-integrated mobile chipset Exynos 980. This AI mobile processor combines a 5G modem and mobile application processor in a single chip, thus allowing…
Theatro, a Dallas based SaaS company, has announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Cisco Investments and Honeywell Ventures for its voice-controlled mobile platform that connects hourly employees to each other and to essential enterprise information. The world’s first voice-driven Intelligent Assistant platform is being offered as a ”hardware-enabled” software as a service solution, and is designed to provide deskless employees a “heads up and hands-free” connection to their corporate systems and management teams. Chris Todd, President and CEO of Theatro, said, “We are proud to have Cisco Investments and Honeywell Ventures join us in our journey as investors. Companies across a wide variety of industries are recognizing the significant customer experience and productivity benefits of a connected and engaged workforce. Our collaborations with Cisco and Honeywell ensure that Theatro will remain at the cutting edge of both networking and mobile standards and help us bring these…