Japan’s SoftBank Group has agreed to acquire United Kingdom’s ARM Holdings for more than $32 billion in an all-cash deal, which insiders suggest marks a major move by the Japanese telecom toward the mobile Internet. As a top designer of chips for companies such as Apple and Samsung, ARM dominates the smartphone market and is a leader in the mobile revolution. Its designs appear in a range of devices, including Internet of Things sensors. The number of chips featuring ARM processors reached 14.8 billion in 2015, up from 6.1 billion five years earlier. Continue reading SoftBank to Purchase UK-Based Chip Designer ARM Holdings

NBC plans to release about 85 hours of virtual reality content of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, marking the first time that the Olympics will be available as a VR experience. Participating cable/satellite operators will make the content available exclusively to their pay-TV subscribers on Samsung devices. Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) will do the actual production of the VR content, which will then be supplied to NBC Olympics. Among the content to be made available are the opening and closing ceremonies. Continue reading NBC, Samsung, OBS Team Up to Offer VR Olympics Coverage

Facebook just introduced a new way to view panoramas and VR photos on smartphones. Rather than zooming in and out, the new feature, dubbed 360 Photos, will allow the user to simply upload a panorama or photo from an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, 360 app or the Ricoh Theta camera and its ilk, which Facebook will then convert. Via a compass icon, the user can then scan the photo by tilting the phone or click/tap-and-dragging. A Gear VR user can tap the “View in VR” button to scan the 360 photo by moving his head. Continue reading Facebook Launches 360 Photos for Sharing Immersive Images

Hulu debuted an app for Samsung’s Gear VR now available in the Gear VR Oculus Store, the first of several VR apps for different platforms that the company plans to unveil. The app allows users to watch Hulu’s 2D TV/film content library in a 360-degree immersive environment, choosing from several settings (a living room, a big screen movie theater, a beach). Among original content is Hulu’s first VR film, “The Big One,” produced in partnership with Lionsgate and featuring Freddie Wong and his RocketJump brand. Continue reading Hulu Unveils its First VR App, Content for Samsung Gear VR

Sony is opening a drone company, called Aerosense, in partnership with Tokyo startup ZMP, Inc. The drone business, which will focus on business clients, will be half-owned by the two companies. ZMP’s expertise is in autopilot technology and the Aerosense devices will feature Sony image sensors, which are also used in Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones. Sony plans to market drone services rather than the drones themselves. Aerosense faces tremendous competition in the burgeoning drone marketplace. Continue reading Sony Enters Drone Market in Venture with Tokyo Startup ZMP

Glass manufacturer Corning is developing a new material with the durability of Gorilla Glass and the scratch-resistance of sapphire. The company’s Gorilla Glass is featured on Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones. Last year however, Apple almost severed ties with Corning because it wanted to start using material that did not scratch as easily. When Apple’s plan fell through, Corning launched Project Phire with the goal of developing an extremely sturdy and scratch-resistant glass for CE devices. Continue reading Corning Designs Scratch-Resistant Gorilla Glass-Like Material

BlackBerry’s deal to acquire Secusmart, a German security vendor known for its voice encryption technology, was recently approved by the German government. Secusmart’s tech will offer BlackBerry users the ability to encrypt voice and data communication. Given that Secusmart is a company used by the German government, the deal went through a careful assessment process. BlackBerry first announced its plan to purchase the company in July and was only recently granted approval to move forward. Continue reading BlackBerry to Acquire Secusmart for Encryption Technology

For the first time, smartphone users consistently consume more mobile data than those using tablets, according to mobile analysis provider Arieso. Of those users, iPhone 5 owners are the “hungriest,” calling for up to 50 percent more data than the iPhone 4S user and four times as much as the iPhone 3G user. In an interesting statistic, Arieso reveals that 40 percent of all data is consumed by just 1 percent of mobile users. Continue reading Smartphone Users Consume More Mobile Data than Tablet Users