HTC reveals cut-price One M8 windows phone device

The modified One M8 is being sold at roughly half
the price of the same handset running Google's
Android.
This is the first time the struggling manufacturer
has released a Windows smartphone in more than
two years.
One analyst said the new device was "almost
certainly financially supported" by Microsoft, in an
attempt to gain a foothold in the US market.
The new phone, which comes with Windows
Phone 8.1 pre-installed, is available exclusively
through US network provider Verizon.
When bought with a 24 month contract, it is
priced at $99 (£60), approximately 50% cheaper
than the Android One M8.
"Consumers love the HTC One M8 and today's
introduction extends that enthusiasm to new
audiences hungry for choice in their mobile
experience," said Jason Mackenzie, president of
HTC Americas.
He added: "Microsoft shares our vision, and
that's why we committed to bringing the
Windows Phone platform to the HTC One M8."
Android losses
The Taiwanese firm, which originally made its
name selling early versions of Windows phone
handsets, has preferred Android devices in recent
years.
However it has recently lost out to rivals such as
Samsung, and while its flagship handset, the HTC
One, received good reviews, these did not
translate into strong sales.
In April, HTC posted losses of 1.88bn Taiwanese
dollars (£37m; $63m) for the first three months
of 2014, compared with a profit of T$85m a year
earlier.
Shares in HTC have dropped by 38% in the past
year.
Microsoft 'desperate'
Daniel Gleeson, an analyst at the consultancy IHS
Technology, told the BBC the move was a "big
thing for Microsoft as they want a big push for
Windows phones in North America".
A Japanese pop group shows off HTC's other
new handset, the Android-based J Butterfly
"Microsoft are desperate for other manufacturers
to develop Windows smartphones, and they
almost certainly financially supported HTC to
make this phone," he added.
"Microsoft needs to kickstart the whole Windows
Phone ecosystem. Its apps do not get updated at
the same frequency as Android or iOS
equivalents."
As for the pricing of the phone, Mr Gleeson said,
this was an attempt by HTC and Microsoft to
position themselves as a cheaper alternative to
the upcoming new iPhone.
Earlier on Tuesday, HTC's chief executive Peter
Chou unveiled another new phone in Tokyo, aimed
at the Japanese market.
The updated J Butterfly model, the HTL23,
features a plastic body, but is otherwise similar to
the Android One M8.

Samsung-made Nook tablet announced by Barnes and Noble

The US book chain is marketing the device as the
"first-ever full-featured Android tablet optimised
for reading", based on its inclusion of pre-
installed Nook apps and homescreen shortcuts.
However, its screen is lower resolution than
Kobo's Android-powered Arc 7HD.
One analyst said it would be an "uphill struggle"
to sell the new device.
"There is growing consumer apathy to this
growing class of low-cost tablets," said Ben
Wood, from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.
"Although there is the Nook angle on this, it goes
into the melting pot with numerous other tablets
that will appear in this price point as we run up
to Christmas.
"Amazon has pretty much locked out the market
in reading-focused tablets anyway, the only thing
I'd applaud here is the fact that Barnes & Noble
has gone to Samsung, which can give it scale and
quality."
The tablet is branded with Samsung's logo but
has the book store's apps pre-installed
The advantage that the 7in (17.8cm)-screened
Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook has over Amazon's
Fire tablets is that it can easily access the
Google Play marketplace. Amazon's tablet uses a
proprietary store with fewer apps available.
Costing $179 (£107), the new Nook is also
cheaper than the Kindle Fire HDX and Kobo Arc
7HD.
However with only 216 pixels per inch, text will
appear less sharp on its screen. Likewise,
magazines and movies sold from the included
Nook Newsstand and Nook Video apps will
present less detail than similar purchases on
either the two other Android machines or Apple's
bestselling iPad Mini, which also has its own
dedicated ebook store.
Amazon and Kobo have book-focused tablets
with higher resolution screens
Even so, one market watcher said the tie-up still
made business sense. Samsung should benefit
from the exposure of having its machine
promoted in Barnes & Noble's stores and website,
while the retailer gets to cut its costs after
posting a $47m (£28.2m) net loss for its last
financial year.
"It's very hard to make money out of mobile
devices," said Ian Fogg, from the IHS
consultancy.
"But by having this partnership, Barnes & Noble
can have its own content and services pre-
installed so that they are not just front-of-mind
but also front-of-eyes for consumers.
"If it wants to get its apps used on other people's
devices it has to persuade people to install them
instead of a Kindle app or another competitor -
that visibility is very important."
At the moment the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook
is only available in the US.
Barnes and Noble will continue to sell e-ink
readers, including the Nook GlowLight, which was
launched in the UK earlier this month.

IG orders Lagos airport terror suspect moved to Abuja

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Suleiman Abba, has directed that the suspected
suicide bomber arrested near the Murtala
Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on Monday
be moved to Abuja.
A security source said that the IG ordered the
transfer of the physically-challenged terror
suspect to Abuja for immediate interrogation and
investigation into his activities.
The source said that the suspected insurgent
would be in Abuja on Tuesday evening in view of
the urgency of the IG’s directive.
The suspected suicide bomber had attempted to
bomb the annex office of the Nigerian Airspace
Management Agency, located inside the Murtala
Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when he was
apprehended by security personnel on Monday.
The physically-challenged suspect whose name
was yet to be ascertained was reportedly arrested
with suspected explosives around his neck.
The suspect who was later handed over to the
police by Airport security operatives, was
subsequently taken to the Airport Police
headquarters along the Ikeja- Airport road
It was learnt that the Police would conduct
investigations into the issue of the arrested
insurgent.
The source said that investigation would also focus
on the mental state of the suspect and the veracity
of the statements he was said to have made to
security operatives.
It was gathered that security operatives would not
rush to make any statement about the suspect in
order to avoid sending out wrong information to the
public.
It was further learnt that prior to the directive to
move the suspect to the Force Headquarters, the
Police in Lagos were looking at claims that the
terror suspect might have mental challenges.
Security operatives are investigating the canisters
that were said to be in custody of the suspect
when he was arrested with a view to finding out
whether they were Improvised Explosive Devices
or not.
The source said that the security operatives would
ensure a holistic investigation into the incident in
spite of claims that the cripple was known in the
area to be of unstable mind.
It was further stated that other security agencies
like the Department of State Security could only
come in after the police might have concluded their
investigation and if they chose to hand over the
matter to the SSS for further action.
The source said, “That suspect has been moved to
Abuja; the Police are the ones investigating the
matter.
“Today, the IG issued an urgent directive that the
suspect should be moved to Abuja immediately and
I think that has been done.
“Although, there are issues about the state of mind
of the man, but we are not taking any chances; the
matter would be investigated thoroughly.
“I also believe that the items that were found on
him would be duly screened to find out whether
they were IEDs or not.
“For now, the Police are in charge and after their
investigation, if there is anything to hand him over
to the SSS, they will take over from there.”
The NAMA General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr.
Supo Atobatele, had said the suspect was nabbed
while making phone calls and when accosted, his
incoherent explanation led to his arrest by security
operatives.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba,
could not be reached for comment on Tuesday as
repeated calls to his phone failed to connect and he
did not respond to a text message sent to him.

Man United Agrees To Pay €20m and Nani in exchange of the Argentine Defender Rojo

The Red Devils have agreed to include the
Portuguese winger in their bid to sign the
Argentina international, who had gone on strike i
order to force through a transfer
EXCLUSIVE
By Duncan Castles
Manchester United have agreed a €20 million dea
for Sporting defender Marcos Rojo, with Nani
going the other way on a season-long loan.
Rojo is to move to Old Trafford after extensive
negotiations between the two clubs, against the
backdrop of the Argentina defender going on
strike before apologising to his team-mates and
supporters .
With United covering the majority of Nani's salar
- one of the highest at the Premier League club -
the deal is something of a triumph for Sporting
president Bruno de Carvalho.
He had refused to accept United's initial €20m
offer for Rojo, drawing the ire of both the player
and Doyen Sports, an investment fund who own
75 per cent of the Argentine's economic rights.
With Sporting contractually obliged to pay 20% of
any fee over €5m for Rojo to his former club
Spartak Moscow, and 75% of the income going t
Doyen, a €20m sale would have effectively seen
the World Cup finalist leave for free.
In bringing Nani back to the club where the
forward began his professional career, De
Carvalho has landed one of Portugal's most
prominent footballers at minimal salary cost to
Sporting.
De Carvalho was determined to play hard-ball
with Rojo's agents after the player refused to
train with the club in order to help push through
move to Old Trafford, insisting he would not be
held to ransom.
Rojo himself apologised for his behaviour in an
interview with the club's television channel on
Sunday evening , though it is understood it is
partly designed to facilitate the transfer.
"It was all a misunderstanding, I was a hothead,"
he said. "I'm sorry for what happened because I
feel that I was unprofessional.
"I want to tell the people that I didn’t behave
correctly, but I’m am very fond of this club. They
are the ones that will decide my career, and I
hope it will be the best both for me and the club.
But I want to stress that I’m very happy at the
club, and I like the way I’m treated and the care
they give me."
The deal underlines United's desperation to
provide Louis van Gaal with personnel capable of
playing the high-risk 3-5-2 formation their new
manager is attempting to introduce at Old
Trafford.
The Dutchman began his first Premier League
campaign with just three experienced central
defenders and one international left-back in his
squad, duly falling to Saturday's 2-1 home loss
to Swansea City.
Rojo, 24, is comfortable operating as one of the
three centre backs in a 3-5-2 or as the left wing
back. During his two season at Sporting he was
used primarily as a central defender.
Nani has four years remaining on the highly
lucrative contract United awarded him early last
summer. Though then manager David Moyes
considered persuading the Portugal international
to remain with the club as a key element in
structuring his squad, the pair rapidly fell out an
Nani rarely made the first XI in subsequent
months.
Liverpool have made Portugal Under-21
international Tiago Ilori available for loan as they
attempt to rebalance their squad for the new
season. Ilori, an initial €7.5m signing from
Sporting last summer, has yet to start a game fo
the Reds but had expected to be part of Brendan
Rodgers' first-team plans this season.
His position, though, has been complicated by
Kolo Toure's refusal to accept a transfer to
Trabzonspor, leading Liverpool to seek another
developmental loan move. While Bordeaux are
interested in Ilori, he would prefer a switch to
another Premier League side.

Luis Suarez Pledges Never To Bite Again

Controversial striker Luis Suarez said he was
"very depressed" after the World Cup biting
incident that led to the Uruguay international
being initially banned from all soccer activities for
four months.
Suarez can now train with new club Barcelona
and play friendlies, following an appeal hearing
last week, before making his competitive return at
the end of October.
"I prefer not to look backwards," the former
Liverpool forward said as he was presented to
the media at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.
"I didn't want to do anything and I was very
depressed," added Suarez referring to his state of
mind following the biting incident involving Italy
defender Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup in
Brazil.
"I decided that all I could do was accept reality
and say sorry. I have apologised to people in
Uruguay for what happened and I am now looking
ahead."
The Uruguayan featured for the first time for
Barca when he came on for the last 15 minutes of
Monday's 6-0 friendly victory over Mexican side
Leon.
Suarez is set to play his first La Liga game in the
'Clasico' against Real Madrid the weekend of
October 25-26.
During Tuesday's presentation, vice-president
Jordi Mestre disclosed that the transfer fee Barca
had agreed with Liverpool was 65 million pounds
($108.11 million).
"I hope the time goes quickly as I want to play
again," said Suarez. "It is going to be difficult as
I will have to wait some months but I have
accepted this.
"My job is to train and be ready to return by the
end of October. All I can do is prepare and be
ready for the game against Real.
"It would be great to play but it is down to the
coach," added Suarez.
"I have really found a great atmosphere in the
dressing room...everyone has been very friendly
and obviously the time passes quicker if you are
with teammates and new people."
Brazil forward Neymar and former World Player of
the Year Lionel Messi were involved in Monday's
match.
"Neymar and Messi were fantastic to watch," said
Suarez. "Everyone knows what I can offer and I
will work hard to bring trophies back to Barca
which is the reason I am here."

Teacher caught having sex with 13 year old school boy

Arkansas - A married school teacher has been
found to be sleeping with a 13-year-old boy
after he visited her home, Daily Mail reported.
The teacher was arrested after a friend of the
boy saw semi-nude pictures of the teacher and
immediately contacted the police.
Also read: Teacher has threesome with two
students
It is alleged that the school boy was dared to
over to his teacher's home to watch a movie
but that resulted in consensual sex. After that
incident they started exchanging explicit text
messages and images.
Also read: US teacher held for sex abuse in
China
The teacher has been suspended from the
school and has been released on bail.

Ronaldo, Robben up for UEFA award

Paris - German World Cup-winning goalkeeper
Manuel Neuer, Netherlands winger Arjen Robben
and Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano
Ronaldo are the three contenders to win UEFA's
Best Player in Europe Award for 2013/14.
The winner, to be announced on August 28 in
Monaco, where the draw for the group stage of
the Champions League is taking place, will
succeed last year's victor Franck Ribery.
A jury made up of journalists from the 54
member associations of UEFA will decide the
winner.
Also read : Robben gutted by defeat
Neuer and Robben were both part of the Bayern
Munich side that won the domestic league and
cup double in Germany last season, while the
former was the outstanding goalkeeper at the
World Cup and Robben impressed as the Dutch
finished third.
Ronaldo did not shine at the World Cup but he
did star as Real Madrid won the Champions
League and Copa del Rey.