Sony reports profits worth $4.5 bn

Sony on Friday reported profits worth $4.5 billion, extending a roaring recovery supported by better sales almost across the board, including with box office blockbusters like its Jumanji reboot.

The results confirm the electronics and entertainment giant's return to health after huge losses in recent years, but analysts said there are questions about whether the pace could be maintained.

Sony reported net yearly profits hit 490.8 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the year to March, a record high, up from 73.3 billion yen a year earlier.

Annual operating profit more than doubled to 734.86 billion yen, while sales surged 12.4 percent to 8.54 trillion yen, the company said.

Sales were up across the board, with the exception of the mobile operation, with asset sales adding to its operating profit, Sony said.

The game division saw an 18-percent rise in sales largely, driven by the popularity of PlayStation 4 software, as well as foreign exchange rates and more subscribers to Sony's paid membership service.

After the commercial successes of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle", Sony's pictures division saw sales rise 12 percent.

Jumanji managed the rare feat of regaining the top spot in North American box offices on its seventh week in cinemas, and has earned more than $404 million in the North American market since its December 2017 release.

Sony also saw robust demand for image sensors for mobile phones drive sales in its semiconductor business up 10 percent.

"Brisk sales of image sensors, recovery in the movie business and a steady expansion in its game sector have contributed to its profit," Yasuo Imanaka, an analyst at Rakuten Securities in Tokyo, told AFP ahead of the release.

The strong figures served as a grand send-off for Kazuo Hirai, who recently stepped down as the firm's chief executive after spending the past six years pulling the electronics-entertainment titan from deep financial troubles.

Hirai led aggressive restructuring at Sony, terminating thousands of jobs while selling business units and assets.

Meanwhile, Sony's quality sensors for smartphone cameras saw explosive demand and became a major pillar of the firm's revenue, along with the PlayStation series of game consoles, movies, and its financial businesses.

After Hirai's retirement, former chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida became the new top executive.

"New CEO Yoshida is expected to take on Hirai's business style. As Sony showed progress across the sectors, the company has achieved a full-fledged comeback," Imanaka said.

But falling sales of smartphones continued and will likely drop further during the ongoing year.

PlayStation 4 sales are also thought to be peaking after its gradual global launch in late 2013 through early 2014.

For the year to March 2019, the firm expects a moderate slowdown, with net profit seen falling 2.2 percent to 480 billion yen and operating profit down 8.8 percent to 670 billion yen.

Annual sales are expected to drop 2.9 percent to 8.3 trillion yen.


The firm said its sales could slow due to the impact of foreign exchange rates and weak sales of mobile devices. Profits from the semiconductors segment were also expected to fall, Sony said.

"Sony recovered sharply but is unlikely to grow at the same pace for the current fiscal year," Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at the Ace Research Institute in Tokyo, told AFP before the results announcement.

"Sony needs a fresh driver if the company wants another boost."

Government sends notice to Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, again

Highlights

• Both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook have been asked to reply to the additional queries by May 10
• The sources said there were discrepancies in the responses received earlier this month from the British data analytics firm and American social networking giant.

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday served second set of notices to Cambridge Analytica and Facebook over the recent data breach after finding discrepancies between the earlier responses given by the two companies, sources said.

The companies have been asked to reply to the additional queries by May 10.

Flagging the "cryptic and evasive" reply given by Cambridge Analytica to the first notice, the government has sought responses for five more posers from the company, they added.

The sources said there were discrepancies in the responses received earlier this month from the British data analytics firm and American social networking giant.

"...It is self-evident that apart from being very cryptic, the unstated intention was to conceal more than reveal," said the latest notice to Cambridge Analytica.

The notice said that given the Facebook submission and following the public apology by the US giant, the onus now lies with Cambridge Analytica.

While Facebook had admitted that nearly 5.62 lakh people in India were "potentially affected" by the data breach incident, Cambridge Analytica had claimed that it does not have any Facebook data on Indian citizens.

In its fresh notice to Cambridge Analytica now, the government has asked that what kind of data was collected in India and the research instruments used to capture such data. It also asked whether the company has harvested any data through third party app and whether or not mining of such data was done with user consent.

A senior IT Ministry official aware of the development said that the government wants to send out a strong signal to international bodies operating in IT and data platform that any manipulation of data of Indians, in violation of law and privacy norms, will be viewed "seriously".

"Any abuse of sanctity and fairness of electoral process through digital platform will also be treated seriously," said the official, who did not wish to be named.

The government has also asked Cambridge Analytica whether data collected by the company "under the garb of research" have been used for any election-related work.

It has also sought information on entities operating under the umbrella of Cambridge Analytica and details of directors.

Quizzing the British company on the non-disclosure pacts signed by the company with its associates and clients for Indian assignments, the government has asked it to share the templates that were used in signing such agreements.

The notice to Facebook takes note of the candid admission by the US company of unauthorised use of its user data by Cambridge Analytica, and asks it to list out security architecture proposed to be created "so that data concerning Indians are not pilfered or manipulated again for extraneous purposes including to influence the elections".

The government also asked Facebook about steps it plans to take to clamp down on any unauthorised use of data or manipulation, and fixed a deadline of May 10 for responses for both the companies.

It has also sought from Facebook details of its privacy policy, extent of data collected by the company, consent mechanism, authorisation mechanism that allows apps to collect user data, and reasons for failure to check the past breach.

The government asked Facebook about corrective actions that are being introduced in future to ensure that privacy of Indian data as also maintaining integrity of electoral process.

"Questions also include as to whether Facebook has initiated any civil or criminal action against entities that have violated the Facebook platform policy and whether changes in Facebook policies were insufficient to deter misuse of its platforms," the official said, noting that Facebook in its previous reply has already owned up on the extent of data breach, while Cambridge Analytica's replies had been "unsatisfactory".

Facebook has been facing intense scrutiny from its users as well as governments across the globe after a data leak scandal hit about 87 million users.

British data analytics and political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica has been accused of harvesting personal information of millions of Facebook users illegally to help political campaigns and influence polls in several countries.

Meanwhile, Cambridge Analytica has said that all its activities around the world, including in India, will be investigated and reported on.

Facebook, which is facing probes in multiple markets over potential breach of user confidentiality, had earlier this month said it is introducing a third-party fact-checking programme in India to combat the spread of "false news" on its platform, starting with a pilot in Karnataka, which goes to polls next month.

 

Working OnePlus 6 leaked in an image, here’s how it looks

NEW DELHI: OnePlus 6, one of the most talked about smartphones of the year, is just few weeks away from officially seeing the light of the day. But the firm has dropped enough hints and teasers until now, giving us a fair idea of what to expect. Some specs and features are known because of some leaks and rumours as well. Adding to those leaks is a new image from Tech Tastic that shows the smartphone in a working condition.


The image shared on the website shows the alleged OnePlus 6 with a near bezel-less screen and a notch on top. There’s nothing new with the home screen, as seen in the image. The three on-screen navigation buttons are at the bottom and the notification icons can be seen on either side of the notch. Is it really the One Plus 6? There’s no confirmation. But it sure looks like one.

Meanwhile, OnePlus has already announced when it will be launching the OnePlus 6 globally on in India. The smartphone will be arriving on May 17 in India and will be exclusively available with Amazon India and company’s own shopping website.
Last week, OnePlus 6 went up for registrations on Amazon in India. OnePlus will also be holding an exclusive OnePlus 6 sale for Amazon Prime members beginning at 12:00 IST on May 21, 2018.

The Chinese tech firm has even confirmed 'The Avengers: Infinity War ' edition of OnePlus 6. The particular special edition smartphone will mark the brand's association with the Marvel Studios in light of the upcoming release, Avengers: Infinity War.

OnePlus has even released a new teaser video that shows the OnePlus 6 Marvel Avengers Limited Edition smartphone. In all probability, the device will have a designer back panel. In the past, the company has even partnered with Disney for a special edition Star Wars variant.

Mobile manufacturing in India to touch Rs 132,000 crore: IT Minister

NEW DELHI: Indian mobile manufacturing industry is expected to touch Rs 132,000 crore by the end of 2018, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday.

India manufactured about 110 million mobile phones in 2015-16 as compared to 60 million in 2014-15, a growth of over 90 per cent. In value terms, India's mobile manufacturing industry produced mobile phones worth Rs 54,000 crore in FY15-16, compared to Rs 18,900 crore in FY14-15. This touched Rs 94,000 crore by the end of 2017, the minister said.


He was speaking at an event organised by MeitY, ASSOCHAM and Ericsson.

In terms of volume, in 2014 India produced 5 crore mobile phone made locally in India, which reached 15 crore in 2015-16.

In 2017 the Indian mobile manufacturing industry produced 22 million mobile phones. "The industry would produce 50 million mobile phones by 2020," said the minister.

In terms of electronics manufacturing units, the minister said that within three years, the industry added 120 such units. Two-third of these were mobile manufacturing units and there were 54 such units in Noida alone. These industries employ 5 lakh people, he added.

EU piles pressure on social media over fake news

BRUSSELS: Tech giants such as Facebook and Google must step up their efforts to tackle the spread of fake news online over the next few months or potentially face further regulation from the European Union, as concerns mount over election interference.

The European Commission will draw up an EU-wide Code of Practice on Disinformation by July with measures to prevent the spread of fake news such as increasing scrutiny of advertisement placements, it said on Thursday.

EU policymakers are particularly worried that the spread of fake news could interfere with European elections next year, after Facebook disclosed that Russia tried to influence U.S. voters through the social network in the run-up to the 2016 U.S. election. Moscow denies such claims.

"These (online) platforms have so far failed to act proportionately, falling short of the challenge posed by disinformation and the manipulative use of platforms' infrastructure," the Commission wrote in its strategy for tackling fake news published on Thursday.

"The Commission calls upon platforms to decisively step up their efforts to tackle online disinformation. It considers that self-regulation can contribute to these efforts, provided it is effectively implemented and monitored."

Advertisers and online platforms should produce "measurable effects" on the code of practice by October, failing which the Commission could propose further actions, including regulation "targeted at a few platforms."

Companies will have to intensify efforts to close fake accounts and put in place measures to reduce revenues for purveyors of disinformation and restrict targeting options for political advertising.

The Commission will also support the creation of an independent European network of fact-checkers and launch an online platform on disinformation.

WEAPONISATION OF FAKE NEWS

The revelations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica - which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign - improperly accessed the data of up to 87 million Facebook users has further rocked public trust in social media.

"There are serious doubts about whether platforms are sufficiently protecting their users against unauthorised use of their personal data by third parties, as exemplified by the recent Facebook/Cambridge Analytica revelations," the Commission wrote.

Facebook has stepped up fact-checking in its fight against fake news and is trying to make it uneconomical for people to post such content by lowering its ranking and making it less visible. The world's largest social network is also working on giving its users more context and background about the content they read on the platform.

"The weaponisation of on-line fake news and disinformation poses a serious security threat to our societies," said Julian King, EU Commissioner for security. "The subversion of trusted channels to peddle pernicious and divisive content requires a clear-eyed response based on increased transparency, traceability and accountability."

Campaign group European Digital Rights warned that the Commission ought not to rush into taking binding measures over fake news which could have an effect on the freedom of speech.

The Commission said actions against the spread of fake news should "strictly respect freedom of expression and include safeguards that prevent their misuse, for example, the censoring of critical, satirical, dissenting or shocking speech."

King also rejected any suggestion that the proposal would lead to censorship or a crackdown on satire or partisan news.

"Because you disagree with something...does not necessarily make it fake news," King told a news conference.

Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip said there had been some debate internally over whether to explicitly mention Russia in the fake news strategy.

"Some people say that we don't want to name just one name. And other people say that 'add some other countries also and then we will put them all on our list', but unfortunately nobody is able to name those others," the former Estonian prime minister said.

iOS distribution numbers: Here's what Google can learn from Apple

If there’s an aspect in smartphones where Apple has always had an edge over Android then it is software updates. While Google suffers from a drawback that despite pushing OEMs to adopt the latest OS – Android Oreo – there is always a delay on the part of most brands. Apple has no such issues and hence the latest distribution comes as no surprise.


According to data released on its App Store, iOS 11, the latest update is running on 76% of devices. iOS 10 and iOS 9 are running on 19% and 5% of devices respectively. The latest numbers are based on the number of iOS devices that connect to Apple’s App Store.

With Apple, users have always got the latest software update on time and is adopted by the majority of user base. Add to it the fact that all the new iPhones – iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X – come pre-installed with the latest software.

Google, on the other hand, does make a sincere attempt to give timely updates to OEMs. For its own smartphones, the Pixel and Pixel 2 XL, both came loaded with Android Oreo. Other flagship phones from Samsung, Nokia among others also have Android Oreo running out-of-the-box. Yet, according to the latest distribution numbers released two weeks back, Android Oreo is running on a mere 4.6% of devices. If you further break down the numbers, the latest version of Oreo is 8.1 which is running on just 0.5% of Android smartphones.

Compare it with Apple’s previous versions and the difference is stark. Last year’s Android Nougat is running on almost 60% of the smartphones whereas Android 6.0 Marshmallow is still running on 26% of devices. Google might say that it’s the OEMs which are the late adopters but the truth is that when it comes to Android smartphones, the latest OS is still hard to find. It is something that Google can perhaps learn from Apple.

Telecom companies ignore Supreme Court, pester users on Aadhaar link

Highlights

• Many cellphone users reported getting fresh messages pestering them over Aadhaar linkage, despite the SC's statement.
• To make matters worse, retailers have now started refusing to issue new SIM cards to people who do not have an Aadhaar number.

NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court clarified that it had never asked for mobile phones to be linked to Aadhaar numbers. So, can you look forward to being spared from constant pesky calls and unwanted messages, mails and notifications from mobile service providers urging you to link or verify your numbers with the government's digital directory? Don't count on it.

On Thursday, many cellphone users reported getting fresh messages pestering them over Aadhaar linkage, despite the SC's statement. But then, telecom service providers seem to have made a habit of ignoring the SC. Even though the apex court had made it clear more than a month ago that the Aadhaar linkage issue should not be pursued until a constitutional bench finally decides on the matter, companies such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular have been relentlessly – and rather annoyingly – hounding subscribers.

To make matters worse, retailers have now started refusing to issue new SIM cards to people who do not have an Aadhaar number -- a clear violation of telecom sector rules as well as the views expressed by the top court.

The telecom ministry, on its part, has maintained a deafening silence on the issue, though it had showed great alacrity in issuing the original diktat for the Aadhaar linkage. This order was based on the ministry's own interpretation -- incorrect, as it turns out -- of an observation by the SC in the Lokniti Foundation case.

The number of subscribers who have not linked their phone numbers to Aadhaar is still estimated to be in the hundreds of millions, and many don't take kindly to being bombarded with unwanted communication. "It is irritating to say the least. The fear psychosis of disconnection is being unnecessarily thrust upon us to literally coerce people to link numbers with Aadhaar," says Pravin, who recently shifted base from Chennai to Delhi.

"I was denied a new SIM card by an Airtel representative in the absence of an Aadhaar number. I was ready to give other identification documents like electoral card, passport, or bank statement. But the retailer refused to budge. After I threatened him by mentioning the top court's observation, the retailer said he would 'get back' to me. But he never did," says Pravin after failing to get the new SIM.

The same issue was faced by Jasleen, a corporate executive in Bangalore. "I needed a new SIM for usage by my son. But the Airtel store simply refused to issue a new SIM in the absence of Aadhaar. Finally, I had to relent."

Those visiting the country fare no better. Sapan B, an NRI settled in the US, faced a similar issue when he recently came visiting his relatives in Delhi. "I was not given a SIM card without Aadhaar. Is it fair, especially when there is no directive to this effect by the government or the courts?"

A detailed questionnaire sent to the telecom ministry remained unanswered and calls and messages sent to telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan were not answered. Ministry officials said the matter was "being looked into", but offered no further details or clarifications.

Telecom operators, who usually refrain from answering on consumer issues, also refused to comment on the matter.

Industry lobby group COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) said the companies were "simply complying" with the government's previous directive that had asked them to link the numbers with Aadhaar.

COAI director-general Rajan Mathews said, "Please note that the court has only extended the last date of re-verification till the pronouncement of the judgement, they have not directed us to halt the entire process. Therefore, regarding communication from telecom operators (e-mail, SMS) for re-verification, telecom ministry has not ordered us to stop sending such communication to subscribers."

Defending the unwanted communication, Mathews further said, "The communication is still being sent to cellphone users to encourage them to re-verify their mobile connections. However, no last date for completion of this exercise is to be mentioned in such communication… All the telecom companies are adhering to telecom ministry guidelines. Hence, they continue to send communication to subscribers to re-verify their mobile connections without mentioning any last date."

Officials at UIDAI