Q’comm Profits Dive Amid Patent Disputes

Net income falls 57 percent in fiscal year

 You know when you hear as many as five executives on a quarterly conference call, times are challenging. So it was when Qualcomm Inc. reported results for the end of its fiscal 2017.

Quarterly and annual revenues of $5.9 billion and $22.3 billion were both down 5 percent compared to 2016 results, using GAAP figures. Given the loss of licensing revenues from Apple and another unnamed customer, it was not surprising profits took a bigger dive to $200 million for the quarter and $2.5 billion for the year, down 89 percent and 57 percent from 2016, respectively.

The forecast is for continued grim weather. The mobile chip giant expects flat revenues for its next quarter despite a 5 percent expected rise in its chip set unit sales. Overall cellular device unit sales could rise 8 percent  next year, but their average selling prices may drop given a growing share are going into more cost-sensitive systems in cars, networking and the Internet of Things.

Qualcomm’s CEO and CFO were joined on the call by two of its legal experts and its chip set group manager. They fielded several questions on a delayed merger with NXP and multiple legal disputes with Apple but provided few new details.

Executives said they are hopeful the NXP deal will be approved soon by four regulators still reviewing it, but it might take until early 2018. They suggested they see no immediate resolution for the many legal disputes over patent licensing with Apple. Separately they provided no meaningful insights on a separate dispute with an unnamed customer that stopped paying royalties in the second quarter.

Speaking of the multiple court cases with Apple, Qualcomm general counsel Donald Rosenberg said, “litigation of this magnitude takes a while, you can’t focus on any particular short-term event.”

Cases Qualcomm brought against Apple with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in Germany may move more quickly than others with some results expected by mid- to late 2018. However, “until then, I don’t think you will see much of consequence in terms of an ultimate outcome, and it will play out like most complex litigation,” he added.

Apple and Samsung are still battling over a massive patent infringement suit that goes back to 2012 that even had a hearing at the Supreme Court in 2016.

Next page: Korea, Taiwan rulings rack up $1.6B in fines

Royalty losses dragged down results amid a maturing smartphone market. Click to enlarge. (Source: Qualcomm)

 

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💶💶 What is EbuyClub ? 🤔🤔 ⬇⬇

il y a 26 jours

tsoulix45 dans money

Image Source

With Ebuy club you can also buy smart! This cashback program allows you to go shopping by making a profit thanks to the refund of a bet of the price of the product. You can also enjoy a price comparison. The site regularly offers a black friday, promo codes and regular balances ... In short, nice advantages are proposed!

So, all you have to do is enjoy cashback and save money!

Advantage Ebuyclub:

• Win 3,20 Euro in registration
• Add review = Win 0,05€
• sponsorship = 3€
• 3821 merchant partners (Amazon - Ebay - Darty - Carrefour - AliExpress - GearBest)
• CashBack
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• registration

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• What is CashBack?

  
  
  Image Source
  The CashBack is the refund in euros of a part of your purchases made with one of our partners. It takes the form of a percentage of the amount of your order (discount) or a fixed amount (bonus). With each purchase, you accumulate euros refunded in your eBuyClub prize pool. Your prize pool is cashable as soon as you have accumulated 10 € of winnings.
  The CashBack eBuyClub is free and can be combined with the balances. The CashBack is calculated on the amount Excluding tax and excluding delivery costs of your order.
  An example to better understand: 3 Suisses offers a 4% CashBack on eBuyClub. You buy a dress for 100 € on 3 Suisses. Through the eBuyClub CashBack, you earn 4 € in your prize pool.

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IPHONE X

after months of hype, endless speculation, and a wave of last-minute rumors about production delays, the iPhone X is finally here. Apple says it’s a complete reimagining of what the iPhone should be, 10 years after the original revolutionized the world. That means some fundamental aspects of the iPhone are totally different here — most notably, the home button and fingerprint sensor are gone, replaced by a new system of navigation gestures and Apple’s new Face ID unlocking system. These are major changes.

New iPhones and major changes usually command a ton of hype, and Apple’s pushing the hype level around the iPhone X even higher than usual, especially given the new thousand-dollar starting price point. For the last few years, we've said some variation of "it's a new iPhone" when we’ve reviewed these devices. But Apple wants this to be the beginning of the next 10 years. It wants the iPhone 10 to be more than just the new iPhone. It wants it to be the beginning of a new generation of iPhones. That's a lot to live up to.

This review is going to be a little different, at least initially: Apple gave most reviewers less than 24 hours with the iPhone X before allowing us to talk about it. So consider this a working draft. These are my opening thoughts after a long, intense day of testing the phone, but I’ll be updating everything in a few days after we’re able to test performance and battery life, do an in-depth camera comparison, and generally live with the iPhone X in a more realistic way. Most importantly: please ask questions in the comments! I’ll try to answer as many of them as I can in the final, updated review.

But for now — here it goes.

at a glance, the iPhone X looks so good one of our video editors kept saying it looked fake. It’s polished and tight and clean. My new favorite Apple thing is that the company managed to move all the regulatory text to software, leaving just the word “iPhone” on the back. The screen is bright and colorful and appears to be laminated tighter than previous iPhones, so it looks like the pixels are right on top. Honestly, it does kind of look like a live 3D render instead of an actual working phone.

But it is a real phone, and it’s clear it was just as challenging to actually build as all the rumors suggested. It’s gorgeous, but it’s not flawless. There’s a tiny sharp ridge between the glass back and the chrome frame that I feel every time I pick up the phone. That chrome frame seems destined to get scratched and dinged, as every chrome Apple product tends to do. The camera bump on the back is huge; a larger housing than the iPhone 8 Plus fitted onto a much smaller body and designed to draw attention to itself, especially on my white review unit. There are definitely going to be people who think it’s ugly, but it’s growing on me.

There’s no headphone jack, which continues to suck on every phone that omits it, but that’s the price you pay for a bezel-less screen with a notch at the top. Around the sides, you’ll find the volume buttons, the mute switch, and the sleep / wake button. The removal of the home button means there are a few new button combinations to remember: pressing the top volume button and the sleep / wake button together takes a screenshot; holding the sleep button opens Siri; and you turn the phone off by holding either of the volume buttons and the sleep button for several seconds and then sliding to power down

And, of course, there’s the notch in the display — what Apple calls the “sensor housing.” It’s ugly, but it tends to fade away after a while in portrait mode. It’s definitely intrusive in landscape, though. It makes landscape in general pretty messy. Less ignorable are the bezels around the sides and bottom of the screen, which are actually quite large. Getting rid of almost everything tends to draw attention to what remains, and what remains here is basically a thick black border all the way around the screen, with that notch set into the top.

I personally think the iPhone 4 is the most beautiful phone of all time, and I’d say the iPhone X is in third place in the iPhone rankings after that phone and the original model. It’s a huge step up from the surfboard design we’ve been living with since the iPhone 6, but it definitely lacks the character of Apple’s finest work. And… it has that notch.

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iPhone 7 Coming in 2016

Apple won't release its next-generation iPhone until the fall of 2016, so there are still months of development ahead. For the current time, Apple's flagship iPhones are the iPhone 6s and the iPhone 6s Plus, released to the public in September of 2015.

Though it will be several months before the new iPhone 7 launches, rumors about the device started trickling out in January of 2016. We've already gleaned many details about the upcoming iPhone, giving us plenty of information on what to expect when it debuts.

Since the 3GS launched in 2009, Apple has used an alternating "S" naming formula to mark years where the iPhone does not receive a major redesign, saving its numbered upgrades for years where design changes are introduced. Releases have been as follows:

2007 - iPhone
2008 - iPhone 3G
2009 - iPhone 3GS
2010 - iPhone 4 (new design)
2011 - iPhone 4s
2012 - iPhone 5 (new design)
2013 - iPhone 5s
2014 - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus (new design)
2015 - iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus

The next-generation iPhone is expected to be called the iPhone 7, but there have been some rumors suggesting Apple could drop its standard numbered naming convention, instead calling the 2016 iPhone the "iPhone Pro." It is unclear at this point if those rumors are accurate.

Because 2015 marked an "S" iPhone upgrade year that introduced new features such as an improved camera and a better processor, 2016 will bring an even-year upgrade that will include a new iPhone design in addition to new features.

Apple will continue releasing two versions of each iPhone, so we can expect to see an iPhone 7 and an iPhone 7 Plus in 2016. Apple is said to be planning to stick to the 4.7- and 5.5-inch screen sizes it first introduced with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Apple is still working on finalizing the iPhone 7's body so we don't know exactly what it will look like, but multiple rumors suggest it will be a modest update that continues to use a design similar to the design of the iPhone 6s. It is said to have the same general shape as the iPhone 6s, but it may have a camera that protrudes less (though rumors currently disagree on this point). Antenna bands across the back of the device have been removed, but are expected to remain at the top, bottom, and sides of the iPhone.

iphone_7_render_mr

Mockup of iPhone 7 case showing possible flush rear camera and no antenna bands across rear.
Some rumors suggest Apple is aiming to make the iPhone 7 thinner, perhaps through the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack and the implementation of a thinner Lightning port, but other rumors suggest the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will have a body that is the same thickness as the iPhone 6s.

With no headphone jack, wired headphones will connect to the iPhone 7 using its Lightning port and Bluetooth headphones will connect wirelessly. Apple is rumored to be working on Lightning-equipped EarPods to sell alongside the iPhone 7.

Blueprints and an image of a device said to be the iPhone 7 Plus have surfaced depicting a Smart Connector on the back of the shell, suggesting that is another potential feature, but it is not yet clear what it would be used for and other rumors have said it will not be included. If the Smart Connector rumors are accurate, it appears it will be a feature limited to the larger-screened model.

Internal specs for the iPhone 7 aren't yet known, but we can speculate Apple will continue on its path of introducing more powerful, efficient devices with each design iteration. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are expected to include next-generation A10 processors manufactured by TSMC.

There are rumored to be some distinguishing features between the iPhone 7 and the larger-screened iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 may ship with 2GB RAM, while the iPhone 7 Plus could include 3GB RAM, and there is said to be a different camera system in the iPhone 7 Plus that uses two cameras instead of one with 2-3x optical zoom and improved performance in low-light conditions. The iPhone 7 will likely continue to use a standard single-lens camera as multiple sources have said the dual lens camera is exclusive to the 5.5-inch iPhone.

Part Leaks

A photo of a full device said to be the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus was leaked on a Chinese website in March. It features a design similar in shape to the iPhone 6s, but without rear antenna bands. It has a protruding, pill-shaped camera enclosure that includes two cameras inside, as is rumored for the larger-screened device, along with a round flash.

It also depicts a Smart Connector on the back of the iPhone, but rumors disagree on whether this is a feature that will actually be included. It's been seen on the back of this device and in iPhone 7 Plus blueprints, but according to to Japanese site Mac Otakara, Apple has decided not to include a Smart Connector on the iPhone 7.

iphone_7_plus_rear

It is not known if the device in the images is a genuine iPhone 7 Plus prototype, a dummy based on iPhone 7 Plus specifications, or a completely fake device.

A rear casing said to be for the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone 7 was discovered on Weibo in May, matching many of the features rumored for the 4.7-inch device. It includes a larger protruding rear camera and top and bottom antenna bands, but no rear antenna bands and no Smart Connector. Rumors have disagreed on whether the rear camera of the iPhone 7 will protrude, and again, it is not known if the device below is a true iPhone 7, a dummy, or a fake.

iPhone 7 Weibo protruding camera

An image depicting a Lightning cable assembly that could potentially be destined for the iPhone 7 surfaced in early May, which is notable because it features a headphone jack amid rumors the headphone jack is being eliminated in the iPhone 7. The part is similar in design to the Lightning cable assembly for the iPhone 6s, but not identical. While it could be an iPhone 7 part, its origin cannot be confirmed.

Jack-iPhone7-vs-iPhone6s-HighLights

If it is a valid part, it suggests reports Apple will eliminate the headphone jack are incorrect or partially incorrect. Apple could leave the headphone jack in place on both the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus rendering rumors fully wrong, or remove it on just the larger iPhone 7 Plus, leaving it intact on the iPhone 7. The component does not mesh with multiple rumors pointing towards the removal of the headphone jack, so it should be viewed with some skepticism until confirmed as an actual part.

Images depicting what could potentially be the dual-lens camera component for the iPhone 7 Plus surfaced from multiple sources in the early months of 2016. The part has an "821" number on it, which has been associated with Apple in the past, suggesting it could be a legitimate component and representative of the dual-lens camera that will be used in the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus.

dual_camera_photo

An image of the battery said to be for the iPhone 7 lists a capacity of 7.04 watt-hours. That's slightly larger than the equivalent battery capacity listed for the iPhone 6s (6.61 watt-hours) and almost identical to the iPhone 6 (7.01 watt-hours). Voltage is not visible on the alleged iPhone 7 battery, so the exact charge capacity is not yet available, but should be similar to the iPhone 6 battery.

battery1
We've seen a backlight assembly said to be destined for the iPhone 7, which surfaced in January of 2016. We can't really glean any information about the iPhone 7 from the backlight component, but it is similar in design to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus backlight assembly with the exception of relocated LCD flex cables and 3D Touch chip.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY C7 AND C5 RUMORS

Samsung’s never one to settle on selling a couple of phones, when it could pile dozens of them up on store shelves. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge have reportedly been successful, and rumors are gathering the latest flagships may be joined by revamped mid-range devices, which replace the S with a C in the model names. Here’s what we think we know about Samsung’s C-series smartphones so far.

Metal body phones

The Galaxy C-series phones are potentially going to replace Samsung’s A-series hardware, and as such, may mix metal and glass to give a premium finish. SamMobile China‘s exclusive on the C Series revealed that the phones may have thin profiles and an all-metal design.

In fact, a new leak from French site NoWhereElse highlights this new metal body design, showing that the device seems to take some design cues from HTC’s One series of phones, as well as from the more recent iPhone 6. In the leak we can see a fairly large camera module, as well as a dual-tone flash for that camera. This leak also seemingly confirms the benchmark leaks we’ve already seen, as it has the same “SM-C5000” model number.

samsung galaxy c  news
samsung galaxy c  news

Galaxy C7

If the rumors prove accurate, the Galaxy C7 will be surprisingly powerful for a mid-range device, and come with specifications that wouldn’t look out of place on the very best smartphones from last year. A leaked benchmark test shows the phone with a 2,0GHz Snapdragon 625 octa-core processor, a chip only made official by Qualcomm back in February, which uses the same 14nm build process as the Snapdragon 820.

Related: Samsung’s new Galaxy A9 improves on last year’s model

This makes it more energy efficient, up to 30 percent over previous models like the Snapdragon 617, plus it’s expected to be joined by 4GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage space. The screen is estimated to measure 5.5-inches and have a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution. The benchmark results also showed a 16-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megapixel front camera onboard.

Galaxy C5

A few days before the Galaxy C7 was possibly given its benchmark test, rumors of a Galaxy C5 phone were published by SamMobile, stating it would have a 5.2-inch screen with an unknown display resolution. A benchmark test for this phone was apparently carried out while it was using a Snapdragon 617 chip, again with 4GB of RAM.

Release date

The SamMobile China report also says the Galaxy C-series will be introduced in China during May, and gives the impression they won’t make an international debut, at least not straight away. However, if they are to replace the Galaxy A phones, then we’d expect a wider launch in the near future. We’ll keep you updated with news and rumors on the Galaxy C5, Galaxy C7, and any other C-series phones here.

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Android N update: release date, news and features

Update: Android N Developer Preview 3 is now out, and the launch date could be as soon as this summer. Here's everything we know about the forthcoming Android N update, including all the new information from Google IO 2016.

Android N is Google's next phone and tablet operating system update that's been so thoroughly refined, the company is officially more than halfway through the English alphabet.

You can now download Android N Developer Preview form and test its new features that didn't make the cut in November's Android 6.0 Marshmallow launch alongside the Nexus 6P and Nexus 5X.

Check out our guide on how to download Android 7.0 N right now
The shocker is that the company didn't wait to announcing Android N at Google IO 2016. The reason behind this is it gives developers more time to tinker with the update, according to Google.

That's fantastic news for anyone who is brave enough to update their phone, tablet or streaming box with the unfinished build. We did just that to tell the rest of you what's inside.

Cut to the chase

What is it? The next version of Google's mobile OS, Android N
When is it out? "Later this summer" - we reckon September/October*
What will it cost? Free
*when - and if - you get it depends on what phone/tablet you own though

Check out our video walkthrough of the Android N Beta

https://youtu.be/KMdrJBnv3zQ

Will it be Android 7?

There's no guarantee this will be called Android 7 update - Google has sometimes opted to do smaller iterations for the updates. For example, Android 4 had 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.1 Jelly Bean and 4.4 KitKat.

However, Samsung has mistakenly leaked out a hint it'll be called Android 7. Within its source code for its MultiWindow SDK 1.3.1, it reads "This version has been released with Android N(7.0) compatibility."

Sadly, Google didn't announce the big number at IO, so for now we're still in the dark.

Android N beta compatibility

Android N Beta is now available from android.com/beta for newer Nexus devices from the last year and a half, which first and foremost means Google's star players, the Nexus 5X and Nexus 6P.
The giant Nexus 6 also gets some beta action, but the weaker Nexus 5 has been left out. The Android N beta also works with Google Pixel C and its recently discontinued tablet brother Nexus 9 as well as the Nexus Player.

In a shocking twist, there's one random outlier in the Android N compatibility matrix: Sony Xperia Z3. The beta isn't currently available for it, but the Developer Preview 2 is - if you fancy it.

Non-Nexus phones aren't typically able to be a part of the beta and have to wait weeks if not months for the update after the finished version makes its debut on new Nexus phones.

Android N VR

We've tested out a bunch of existing Android N features below, but there's also exciting new tools coming to the update, specifically Android VR.

Android N
A buried menu for VR helper services in Android N Developer Preview 2, and an equally buried release note for "Android VR" in Unreal Engine 4.12 beta hints at a big push for a Google Cardboard successor - and Google confirmed its VR intentions during IO.

The Play Store, StreetView, Photos, YouTube and Play Movies will all support VR, allowing you to jump into games, locations and videos - all via Google's Daydream VR platform. Daydream is due to be released in the fall, so it's unlikely to be included in the initial Android N launch.

5 things I already like about Android N Developer Preview
Multi-window support

True multitasking support is finally arriving as expected, and Split Screen is deservedly the highlight of Android N on phones and tablets. You're going to be able to open up two apps at once on your Nexus phone or tablet.

Android N
It's a popular feature Samsung and LG phones have incorporated into their Android skins years ago, so it's nice (and about time) Google is including the same functionality in its own software. It's easy to launch too - just long press on the recent (multi-tasking) button in the nav bar.

Multi-window support could increase enterprise interest in Android tablets and the Pixel C. It's a bet that Apple recently made when it launched a similar split-screen and picture-in-picture feature for iOS 9.

You may not have to wait until the Android N update to take advantage of pure Android multitasking. It's rumored to be making an early debut in Android 6.1 in June.

Meanwhile Android TV gets picture-in-picture mode, allowing you to continue watching your show in a smaller screen while performing another task.

Direct Reply Notifications

You won't have to navigate away from your current window (or, now, windows) just to answer an incoming message. You can just reply within the notification that appears at the top of the screen.

Android N
It worked well enough for the iPhone and iPad when the same idea made its debut with iOS 8 under the name Quick Reply. But Apple's approach to messages worked strictly with its iMessage app.

Google is opening up Direct Reply Notifications beyond Hangouts, and that could mean popular apps like WhatsApp could take advantage of this convenient inline messaging feature.

New quick settings menu

Google is adding a new quick settings menu to the notifications shade you pull down from the top. It's a lot like the one Samsung, LG and every other Android manufacturer seems to use.

Android N
Sure, Google stock Android software has had switches for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Airplane mode and so forth, but it required pulling the notifications bar down a second time to reveal the quick settings menu.

Now the quick settings toggles are here as soon as you gesture downward once to see notifications. The best news is that all of the buttons small and unobstructive. It leaves room for notifications to flourish.

Android N
Longtime Nexus users will also be happy to hear that the quick settings switches can be sorted to your liking, much like they can on other Android phones. You won't need the System UI Tuner to meddle.

For example, I often use MiFi more than Airplane Mode, so Mobile Hotspot icon get promoted to be one of the five icons along the top of the initial quick settings on my Nexus 6P.

That little airplane icon is still there for my takeoff and landings needs, but it got the bump to the second swipe menu. Sorting is finally up to you, which is really what Android is all about.

Bundled notifications

Google's not done with the way Android N changes notifications. It also announced that notification cards will be grouped together if they're from the same app.

All messages from a specific messaging app, for example, are bundled together in the notification shade. These grouped alerts can then be expanded into individual notifications using a two-finger gesture or tapping the all-new expansion button.

This is basically the opposite of what Apple did in the jump from iOS 8 to iOS 9, switching from grouping them by app to lining them up chronologically. We'll see which method works best this autumn.

There's more control over your notifications in Android N too, as now you can long press on a notification to either silence future notifications, or turn them off completely.

Android N multi-tasking

There are two handy new features in multi-tasking on Android N. First up is a Clear All button at the top of the multi-tasking menu - a feature Google says has been one of the most asked for. This allows you to close all applications running in the background with a single tap.

We've seen manufacturers add a clear all button in their Android interfaces, but the stock version has been crying out for the same function. Finally, we're getting it.

Secondly, Google's added Quick Switch to Android N. This lets you jump back to the previous application with a double tap of the recent (multi-tasking) button in the navigation bar.

Doze Mode 2.0

One of the (literal) sleeper hits of Android Marshmallow has been Doze Mode, Google's crafty way of saving battery life whenever your device is stationary. It's amounts to a deep standby mode.

Android N
Android N is going to step up the company's energy-saving software techniques by expanding Doze Mode so that it thoroughly limits background tasks whenever the screen is turned off.

That's ideal for throwing a phone in your pocket or your tablet in a backpack, and then retrieving it the next day or next week without having to recharge it right away. Your "I can't even" face when you pick up your dead Nexus phone the next morning will be a thing of the past.

Android N performance

Google says Android N will provide its biggest leap forward in graphics with the introduction of Vulkan, giving game developers controls of the GPU.

That in turn will result in even better graphics and smoother, faster performance.

There's also been a number of Android runtime improvements, including optimizations to the JIT complier which has seen task speeds increase between 30%-600% compared to the previous version.

Updates are also more seamless, with security updates automatically downloaded and a simple fresh boot up of your device will see you run the latest offering. It's also got rid of that annoying "Android is updating" pop up when you restart after an update.

Other features

Google has confirmed the new "Launcher Shortcuts" feature that debuted in the second beta for Android N is ready for pressure sensitive display technology.

It will make it easier for Android manufacturers to bring 3D Touch-like technology to Android handsets as it's baked directly into the OS.

Android N will also bring support for Unicode 9, which among other things will see the introduction of 72 new emoji - such fun!

The Android N name

History has taught us that Android N is going to be named after a delicious treat, but Google hasn't told us which one it is yet. In fact, even Google doesn't know which dessert-based name to give its latest mobile platform.

It's so unsure, it's asking you - YES, YOU - to submit your ideas. Head over to android.com/n to submit your idea, and Google will then pick the best one. And band news, it's already ruled out Namey McNameFace. Boo.

Android N
For now, we're testing out the Developer Preview on a first-letter basis. It's very informal. We also don't exactly know if it'll be Android 7.0 or not either. It's currently unclear. Let's not forget Google's dabble with the number four with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4.1/2/3 Jelly Bean and 4.4 KitKat.

It has reverted back to type with 5.0 Lollipop and 6.0 Marshmallow, but Google always has the option to chuck in a curve ball once in awhile.

What will Google name Android N?
Android N release date

The official Android N launch date is still several months away, however Google announced at its IO event that it would launch "later this summer". Now what exactly it means by that is up for debate, but hopefully it means we'll see it around September.

Android N
Nexus devices are always first in line to get new Android updates, so your brand new Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge will have to wait. Manufacturers and carriers have to rework their own version of the software and push it out to users - and that can take months.

What phones will get Android N?

Best Android
If you've got a recent flagship phone, you should be in luck. Most phone and tablet makers try and push the software to phones and tablets that are less than two years old, but it may be quite a wait.

Samsung, Sony, LG and HTC are usually quite fast at getting the update to your phone, as is Motorola. Some other manufacturers can take a little while to release it, though.

Each manufacturer can take time to tweak the updates. Take Android Marshmallow for example, some phones still don't have the update, even though it's been out for five month... five very long months, as February was 29 days long since it's not a leap year.

If you want the latest software, it's best to get a Nexus device, as the newest version of Android will always be pushed to that first. Newer Nexus owners are currently able to test out Developer Preview 1.

HTC has confirmed it will be bringing Android N to the HTC 10, One A9 and One M9 - although there's no time scale yet.

Motorola has also confirmed the Moto G4 Plus will get Android 7 software in the future. The strange thing is, Motorola also confirmed the phone will be updated to Android O when it comes around as well. That's software Google hasn't even announced yet and there's no guarantee Android 8 will be named after the letter O.

How we think Google should name Android N

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Computex 2016 highlights: Home robot, razor-thin MacBook clone, and a gorgeous 3D printer

Some slick designs and novel computers headlined Computex 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan this week.

A longstanding computer hardware conference that’s been around since 1981, Computex always manages to showcase cutting-edge stuff. Probably the biggest attention-getter was a “home robot” from Asus.

Personal robot: Though Asus is keeping a lot of the details under wraps, the intended use of Zenbo (which looks like BB-8 from Star Wars) is clear. It’s meant as an assistant that, Asus claims, can hear and respond to naturally spoken commands, adapt to personal preferences using artificial intelligence, “express” emotions with different facial expressions, recognize faces, play music, control smart home devices, and do remote monitoring, among other things.

Zenbo is targeted at both young and old. “A…companion that helps seniors enjoy a connected visual life and safeguard their health and well-being,” said the company’s chairman, Jonney Shih, during a demo. “It’s also a fun and educational playmate for kids,” he added.

Related: What awesome tech will Apple's new MacBook Pro feature?

The multitalented assistant seems like a steal at $599 but we won’t know how well it actually performs for a while, as Zenbo isn't a finished product and won’t be available anytime soon.

Cherng-Chuan Su director of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council and a Computex organizer, told FoxNews.com that Zenbo reflects the growing importance of the ‘Internet of Things’ – an attempt to link a diverse range of devices.

“This year, we have a completely different focus [at Computex],” he said. “We have put more focus on the Internet of Things.”

MacBook doppelganger: Computex wouldn’t be Computex without a slick, new computer. One of the slickest is the ZenBook 3, also from Asus. With the exception of its very shiny aluminum “aerospace-grade aluminum” chassis, the Zenbook 3 is the spitting image of the 12-inch MacBook right down to its impossibly-thin design (a mere 11.9mm/0.46 inches thick), 2-pound weight, and single USB Type C port. It is slightly wider than the MacBook because Asus opts for a 12.5-inch display compared to the MacBook’s 12-incher. Asus says that its ultra-thin keys boast travel of 0.8mm, slightly better than the MacBook’s key travel. (Travel is how far you have to push the key to register a keystroke. Typically, the greater the travel, the better the typing experience.) Asus claims all-day battery life. The ZenBook 3 will start at $999 and a fully-loaded version with a fast Intel processor will retail for $1,999. Availability has not been announced.

Related: Body cues, habits could make passwords obsolete, says Google

First 17-inch 2-in-1: Dell announced the "world's first" 17-inch 2-in-1 tablet, part of its 7000 series Inspiron line. A 360-degree hinge allows four modes: laptop mode, tent mode for presentations, stand mode for streaming movies, and tablet mode. Pricing starts at $900.

2-in-1 from Porsche Design: At Computex, Microsoft showed an upcoming 2-in-1 hybrid laptop from Porsche Design (affiliated with carmaker Porsche AG). The device supports Windows Hello 2.0 (an advanced sign-in feature), Cortana (Microsoft’s voice-activated assistant), and new Microsoft inking technology (based on pen input). The device will come with a 13.3-inch display and will be available this winter.

Award-winning form and function 3D printer: Flux Technology’s Flux Delta 3D printer combines 3D printing, 3D scanning, and laser engraving, among other functions. Flux Studio software also comes with the device. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, during Computex’s opening ceremony, presented a gold award to Flux Technology for design and innovation. The device can be preordered and starts at $669.

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Facebook 'listening' claim denied by professor

Prof Kelli Burns has denied saying she believes Facebook is listening to people's conversations via the microphones on their smartphones.

In a news story that went viral this week it was reported that she had said key words around her phone which then appeared on Facebook.

Prof Burns says there was a practical explanation for what had happened.

Facebook has previously told the BBC it does not allow brands to target advertising based on microphone data.

It did not comment on the latest story.

Prof Burns, a social media expert from the University of South Florida, sat with a reporter from US-based News Channel 8 and mentioned African safaris and the car brand Jeep.

When she checked her Facebook news feed, the first post on her timeline was from a friend who had written about an African safari which someone had commented on three hours earlier.

"Nowhere have I heard anything about Facebook serving you your friends' posts based on what you are saying or Googling," she said.

"This friend has a lot of friends, and gets a lot of engagement, it's no surprise that it would be at the top of my feed."

She also saw an advert for Volkswagen, which is the brand of vehicle she owns herself.

"Although the angle of the story was supportive of the idea that Facebook uses the microphone I never made the claim that I believe that is happening, or that my one experiment with a reporter was in any way proof of that happening," she added.

She said she feels the story has been "blown out of proportion" but that she has since heard from other people who believe it has also happened to them.

"I believe there are a lot of strange circumstances and coincidences out there and people are looking for those," said Prof Burns.

"The fact that this story has gone global says a lot about people's concerns about privacy.

"I am not a scientist or a privacy expert - but I never said in that story that I believe Facebook can hear you."

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CES postscript: The touch laptop, like it or not

The laptop was reinvented at CES.
Or maybe I should say there was a vigorous attempt to reinvent the laptop. Because we won't know how successful touch has been until next year this time.
Intel's CES booth -- still a large presence in the CES Central Hall -- had one basic unmistakable message: touch has arrived.
Windows 8 convertibles, detachables, touch-screen laptops, and just plain tablets from Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, and others blanketed Intel's booth.
And just to make sure the touch message was crystal clear, Intel issued an edict to PC partners during its CES keynote: all next-generation ultrabooks based on its "Haswell" chip must be touch.
What does that mean to consumers? Your next laptop will likely be touch, whether you like it or not.
And based on what I saw at the Intel booth (and other booths, like Samsung's), this is how it will break down:
Convertible: Convertibles, like the HP EliteBook Revolve and Lenovo Yoga, have swivel touch screens.
The important thing to remember here is that the Intel processor and related electronics are still under the keyboard, so these systems will tend to be higher performance because the design affords more opportunity to keep the processor cool.
Detachable: These are essentially tablets with well-integrated keyboard docks. They would include the new Lenovo ThinkPad Helix, HP's Envy x2, and Samsung ATIV Smart PC.
Detachables put the processor electronics behind the screen. And that usually forces PC makers to use a lower-performance, more power efficient chip like Intel's "Clover Trail" Atom.
One of the few exceptions to that rule is the ThinkPad Helix, which manages to cram a mainstream Intel Ivy Bridge chip into a tablet.
And, by the way, Intel is now trying to get more PC makers to do this. It has just begun shipping a new Y series Ivy Bridge processor that is more power efficient than the one in the Helix.
Still, battery life won't be terrific, and Ivy Bridge chips -- even the most power-efficient ones -- still require fans to keep them cool.
Touch-screen laptop: This is a traditional clamshell laptop with a touch screen. There are already lots of these out there, including the Sony Vaio T13 Series, the Acer Aspire S7, the Asus VivoBook X202E, and the HP Spectre XT TouchSmart.
And expect a lot more. Maybe by this time next year, the preponderance of laptops on display at your local Best Buy will have touch screens.
Tablet: And then there are devices that are marketed as standalone Windows 8 tablets. These would include HP's ElitePad 900 and Dell's Latitude 10 tablet.
Tablets that can run the full version of Windows 8 (based on Intel chips) and Windows RT tablets (based on ARM chips) will offer good battery life and a lightweight, slim design but won't be very fast. That is, don't expect them to multitask Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and other demanding applications without bringing the device to its knees.

Not every laptop will go touch, of course. High-end gaming lappies and business laptops will be available with non-touch screens for the foreseeable future. But I suspect that, eventually, even these will go touch.
 Dell's XPS 10 Windows RT detachable, based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, was on display at Qualcomm's CES booth. Intel's edict that all future 4th Generation Core-based 'Haswell' Windows 8 laptops be touch is already an imperative on Windows RT.

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Facebook Distributes $200,000 to East Palo Alto and Menlo Park Nonprofits, Mercury News

Facebook kicked off the new year by showering 42 nonprofits in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto with a total of $200,000 in grants, according to company officials.
The financial largess is part of a deal the social media company struck with the city of Menlo Park last year in exchange for permission to almost double the number of employees on its main campus at the intersection of Bayfront Expressway and Willow Road.
Although Facebook originally promised to create a $500,000 foundation, Susan Gonzales, the company's head of community engagement, said Monday that it kicked in an extra $100,000 for a total community donation of $600,000.
"We were pleased by the response," Gonzales said, adding that more than 100 community groups applied for the funding. "We decided in order to address a lot of the requests we'd add $100,000 to help celebrate the launch of the fund."
Menlo Park Council Member Kirstin Keith, who is on the Facebook Local Community Fund board and participated in the grant allocation discussions along with East Palo Alto Council Member Laura Martinez and several Facebook employees, said it was "fantastic" to be able to give out the money.
"These are really needy organizations who will helpfully change people's lives," Keith said.
The grants, which range from $2,500 to $5,000, will help support everything from youth programs to food distribution to small business aid to school clothes for homeless kids. Organizations Advertisement were notified about the grants last week, Gonzales said.
Felicia Matthews of A Better Way Foundation in East Palo Alto said the $5,000 grant will make a world of difference for the three-year-old nonprofit and the at-risk kids it serves. The organization hopes to use the money to create an after-school technology program, she said.
"This gives us an opportunity to see what we can do," Matthews said.
Last month, Facebook's 28-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg announced he was donating $500 million in stock to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to support health and education causes.
Keith said Menlo Park is fortunate to have Facebook. "I look around and I don't see other corporations doing this," she said. "It's pretty amazing."
The next round of funding will be distributed in June, according to Gonzales. Interested nonprofits are asked to email info@venturesfoundation.org for additional information about the Facebook Local Community Fund and the grant program.

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T-Mobile could get HTC One X+ this September

T-Mobile customers may lack 4G LTE, but if the latest rumors are right, it'll be the first U.S. carrier to offer its customers a quad-core smartphone.
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The HTC One X+, suggests TMoNews, will carry Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad-core processor, the same chipset used in international versions of the HTC One.

The U.S. versions of the HTC One family of phone -- which includes T-Mobile's HTC One S, AT&T's HTC One X, Sprint's HTC Evo 4G LTE, and U.S. Cellular's HTC One V -- come with Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 dual-core processor, it's fastest yet, in part because the chip incorporates an LTE radio out of the box.

T-Mobile's HSPA+ network doesn't use 4G LTE technology yet, though the carrier is planning to add LTE alongside its HSPA+ network.

The HTC One X+ would likely carry the One X's 4.7-inch 1280x720 pixel HD display, 8-megapixel camera with 1080p HD playback and capture, and 16GB internal memory. Fingers crossed it comes with an expandable microSD card slot as well.

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Researcher uses NFC to attack Android, Nokia smartphones

LAS VEGAS -- Security specialist Charlie Miller demonstrated at the Black Hat security conference today a way to hijack an Android smartphone via the Near Field Communication (NFC) technology that's turned on by default on the device, and said he's found problems with NFC implementations on Nokia as well.

NFC tags have built-in antennas and are found in stickers and smart cards that are designed to transfer data to NFC readers, to send specific phone numbers and Web addresses to smartphones and other benign purposes. They require close proximity, a few centimeters or so, for data to be transmitted.

Attacks using NFC typically involve someone using a hidden reader to surreptitiously snag data from an NFC-enabled card in someone's pocket by swiping a reader very close to the card. But in this case, the risk is a tag sending a smartphone to a malicious Web site via the Android Beam feature without the user's consent.

In his talk, entitled "Don't Stand So Close to Me: An Analysis of the NFC Attack Surface," Miller showed how he could direct a phone to automatically visit a malicious Web site. He also was able to download to the device malware that exploited a browser bug that would give an attacker the ability to read cookies and watch the Web browsing done on a victim's device and eventually take control of the phone. "I can get to the browser with no user interaction," Miller said.

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Miller, a principal security consultant at Accuvant, speculated about various attack scenarios, including one in which an attacker replaces a tag on a movie poster that sends viewers to a film preview with a tag that instead directs to a Web site hosting malware that can compromise the phone. An attacker could also replace tags used on point-of-sale payment terminals, he said.


The smartphones should not be allowed to directly take action based on an NFC communication, but should instead warn the user that the device is being directed to a particular Web site and prompt for permission, he said.

Miller also said he found bugs in the way NFC parsing code was written on Android Nexus S and a Galaxy Nexus from Samsung, but he did not try to exploit the holes. At least one of the problems has been fixed in the most recent version of the Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich, but Gingerbread is still vulnerable, he said.

Miller didn't just pick on Android. He also found some problems with the Nokia N9 phone running the MeeGo Linux-based operating system, which accepts NFC requests without user permission if NFC is enabled. If the default settings are unchanged, MeeGo allows another device to pair with it via Bluetooth over the NFC reader, even if Bluetooth is turned off. This feature can be used for interoperation with NFC-enabled devices like speakers, so a user can easily play music from the device. But this puts the phone and its data at risk via any ordinary Bluetooth attack, allowing someone else to make phone calls, send text messages, and download data, he said.

Miller also discussed a second attack using NFC on Nokia N9 in which an attacker could send the phone a malicious Word document that exploits a bug in the way documents are viewed on the device. "If an attacker gets close he can make the phone open up and render a document and exploit that," he said.

Devices are protected when the screen is off, because the NFC chip is off then, and if the phone is locked, according to Miller. And the smartphones have to come within a few centimeters of the tag for an attack to work, further limiting the threat, he said.

Miller said he had sent his research to Google and Nokia and they acknowledged receiving it but have not discussed the issues with him.

The iPhone does not have NFC capability at this time, though it's rumored to come in a future version, according to Miller.

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Hacking, the card game, debuts at Black Hat

LAS VEGAS -- There's much more to hacking than just the Hollywood portrayal of a speed typing contest, say the computer security professionals who've developed a new hacking-themed card game called Control-Alt-Hack at Black Hat 2012.

Control-Alt-Hack is based on Steve Jackson Games' Ninja Burger, but from the characters to the mission cards to entropy cards, the demystification of white hat computer security is the name of this game. Game co-designer, security researcher, and University of Washington Computer Security and Privacy Research Lab honorary member Adam Shostack said that when it comes to teaching ethical hacking, also known as white hat hacking, not enough educators "use carrots, not sticks."

"Humor creates an open atmosphere," that helps break down the shyness of learning, he said during the conference session about the game. He explained that people are more likely to ask questions about things that they think they should've already learned if it's part of a game.

Games, he noted, have a spectrum from being as easy to learn as Go or dice games, all the way through Dungeons and Dragons or Settlers of Catan. Choosing a game to base Control-Alt-Hack on that involved humor and a bit of complexity would help keep the subject matter interesting for the target audience of teens and young adults.

In Control-Alt-Hack, you work as a researcher for a computer security company that gets hired to stress-test other companies. The deck of 156 cards includes 16 "person" cards to give you an identity during the game. The characters were given realistic traits, so there's no stereotypes of the obese, unkempt researcher covered in potato chip debris and pizza grease. Instead, you can play as one of eight men or eight women who have interests as varied as martial arts or rock climbing, and all are snazzily dressed in their artwork.

Getting Steve Jackson Games to agree to license Ninja Burger to them was a strategic move, explained Tammy Denning, who co-designed the game with her fellow University of Washington researcher Yoshi Kohno. Denning said. "We didn't have to playtest the game mechanics, since we mapped the Ninja Burger content to Control-Alt-Hack."

Steve Jackson Games also has a history with computer security, as an incident in 1990 that nearly destroyed the company played a major role in the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation


The game is currently in production, and not expected to reach store shelves until the fall. That didn't stop Denning, Kohno, and Shostack from simulating the game as they explained how it worked. Each time they reached a point where they had to roll the dice, they would throw blue fuzzy dice out into the audience. Those lucky enough to catch one will get the game for free when it's ready for distribution.

Another factor of being based off of Ninja Burger's gameplay is that the game is about having fun. "It's a fun game with educational content," explained Kohno. "It's not for teaching fractions."

Despite the emphasis on fun, the game goes to great lengths to be accurate. The learning objectives, obfuscated behind cute pop culture references like, "I find your lack of encryption disturbing," include promoting the accessibility of computer science and computer security; teaching that there's more to computer security than antivirus and the Web; and accurately depicting a diverse range of attack techniques and attacker goals.

SCADA and medical device hacking are more likely to show up than ransomware, and the techniques you can use include disinformation, exploiting weak passwords and unpatched software, and cross-correlating data sources, all in the name of the good guys.

Control-Alt-Hack isn't easy to hack, as it appears there's no "blank" card to draft your own mission on to. However, it does contain a nod to the cryptography-minded: one card is written entirely in code.

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Sources: HTC did not meet financial obligations to Beats

HTC's abrupt change in course on Beats Electronics is more about HTC's internal troubles than anything involving the audio company, sources close to the negotiations told CNET.

Last August, Beats, a maker of popular headphones that was co-founded by rapper Dr. Dre and music impresario Jimmy Iovine, sold 50.1 percent of the company to the Taiwanese manufacturer of smartphones and tablets for $300 million. On Saturday, HTC said in a prepared statement that it was selling half of that stake back for $150 million.

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But in the year since taking majority control of the company, HTC has seen a management shakeup, dwindling market share, and a falling stock price. During the same period, HTC also wasn't meeting all of the financial commitments it had made to Beats as part of the acquisition deal, multiple sources close to the companies said.

It was against this backdrop that executives from both companies decided a partial Beats buyback of the company was the best way to proceed, the sources said. Beats Electronics now owns roughly 75 percent of the company and HTC 25 percent.

On Saturday, HTC said the reason for the sale was "to provide Beats with operational flexibility for global expansion." A representative of the handset maker declined to provide any additional comment for this story. A Beats spokeswoman also declined to comment.

Leading up to the deal with HTC, Beats was on a role. The company was searching looking for investment to help it fund expansion into new markets and product categories. But Beats locked arms with a partner that was headed for trouble.

The Taipai Times wrote today that Goldman Sachs expects "HTC's shipments to drop by 68 percent from last year to 6.7 million units in North America and by 38 percent to 5.8 million units in Europe." For 2012, analysts estimate that HTC will see a 28 percent drop in total shipments.

In April, Winston Yung, the HTC executive who was credited with pushing the acquisition of Beats, was moved out as chief financial officer. HTC struggled initially making the most of Beats but that was the least of Yung's troubles.

During Yung's year-long tenure as CFO, the company's revenue went from trending up to spiraling down. When Yung was replaced as CFO, HTC CEO Peter Chou said the move was not related to the Beats investment. Chou also said that HTC remained committed to Beats.

One of the ways HTC bungled the Beats integration into HTC was an attempt to bundle Beats headphones with some of the HTC's handsets, including the Rezound and Sensation XL. The reception by the public was at best tepid.

"An accessory like the headphone doesn't factor in when someone is buying a smartphone," Martin Fichter, an HTC product executive, told CNET in April. "If they want a Beats headphone, they'll buy it directly."

But Beats remains a cultural force and the company has big plans.

Iovine and other Beats execs the company's goal is to provide a premium music listening experience in the digital era, pushing the Beats branded audio equipment in cars, mobile devices, home-stereo speakers and of course headphones.

The Los Angeles-based company just recently acquired online subscription music service MOG. According to music industry sources, Beats intends to use MOG to sell music as well as a host of other products.

According to NPD, Beats make up 28.7 of the overall headphone category and among headphones that cost $100 or more, Beats owns a 54 percent market share.

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App Store hacker says the 'game is over'

The creator of an exploit that let users purchase digital goods inside of iOS apps without actually paying for them said today that Apple's fix puts the hack out of business.

"Currently we have no way to bypass [the] updated APIs," creator Alexei Borodin wrote in a post on his development blog. "It's a good news for everyone, we have updated security in iOS, developers have their air-money."

Borodin says that the exploit, which requires the use of third-party servers and specially-installed security certificates, will continue to be up and running until Apple releases iOS 6. Last week, Apple said that software -- which is due in the next few months -- will patch the exploit. In the interim, the company provided updated APIs that validate each digital purchase.

"By examining last Apple's statement about in-app purchases in iOS 6, I can say, that currently game is over," Borodin added.

According to an interview with the enterprising programmer last week, the exploit allowed more than 8.4 million purchases of in-app content to be made. With a minimum price of 99 cents per in-app purchase item, that represents a total of $5.82 million developers might have received, with another $2.49 million Apple would have earned based on the App Store's 70/30 revenue split. However that tally could be considerably higher given that purchases within iOS applications can go well beyond the 99 cent minimum.

Despite the temporary security win for Apple on the iOS front, Borodin says a modified version of the hack targeted at Apple's Mac App Store is still up and running. "We [are] still waiting for Apple's reaction," he said in the same post. "We have some cards in the hand."

The exploit remains one of the few high-profile efforts to target Apple's digital storefronts from inside of apps. Separate efforts have targeted individual user accounts, and the copy protection on applications.

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Google+ trends: 'The Dark Knight Rises' reviews, Nexus 7

Google+ers in the US are returning home from midnight showings of The Dark Knight Rises and posting their micro-reviews of the film on the social networking site.

They say, “Just saw The Dark Knight Rises. Truly an awesome film...though not as awesome as The Dark Knight. Overall, I'd give it a 9 out of 10. Still freakin' amazing! I already want to see it again,” “Just saw The Dark Knight Rises, it was epic!” and “Wow. Way to squander the awesome-ness that was The Dark Knight. Dark Knight Rises was way too long and way too... boring.”

The Friday photo themes #FidoFriday and #FloralFriday are back in the trending topics as Plussers post beautiful and funny pictures of flowers and dogs on their feed.

Owners of Google’s Nexus 7 tablet are sharing photos of their newly arrived device and posting tips, reviews and first experiences with the tablet.

“Just got my #Nexus7 cannot wait to play with it,” read posts, “Finally Nexus 7 in my possession.”

The top 5 most talked about topics on Google+ on July 20 at 7:30 AM GMT are:

The Dark Knight Rises
#FidoFriday
#FloralFriday
#Nexus7
#Oppo+

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No room for error in Facebook's debut quarter

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook Inc faces immense pressure to beat Wall Street's financial targets when its delivers its inaugural quarterly earnings report next week, hoping to wash away the bad taste left with investors from a soured IPO.

The No. 1 social networking company's second-quarter report on July 26 will be scrutinized by investors looking for clues on the health of its business, which is experiencing a sharp slowdown in revenue growth and mounting questions about its advertising sales.

With a rich multiple that gave Facebook the distinction of being the first U.S. company to go public with a valuation of more than $100 billion, the company headed by 28-year-old Mark Zuckerberg has little room for error.

"If they miss, it would be catastrophic for the stock," said Michael Binger, a portfolio manager with Gradient Investments.

"This is a very important earnings quarter for them. It will establish in people's minds how they think of the company," said Binger, whose firm does have a position in Facebook.

The bar has been lowered since Facebook warned that a shift in users to mobile devices - where its ability to earn revenue is still nascent - will hinder growth in the short run.

Analysts, on average, expect revenue in the second quarter to grow 28 percent to $1.15 billion. During the same period a year ago, Facebook more than doubled its revenue.

With Facebook's stock still trading at three-quarters its $38 IPO price, executives need to address a litany of concerns about the business, such as the efficacy of its online ads and the company's nascent efforts in mobile advertising.

Investors say Facebook is unlikely to be able to deliver the sort of numbers that can propel its stock back to debut levels, but the risk of triggering a slide if the company disappoints Wall Street is high. Facebook's stock still trades at a rich 57 times forward earnings, compared with Apple Inc's 13 times and Google Inc's 14 times.

"Facebook is probably going to come up with one or two revolutionary streams that are going to bump up its revenue," said Bill Lee, an angel investor who backed companies, including electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc and social media site Posterous, which was recently acquired by Twitter. But "all the magic they can continue to deliver is already priced in."

SLOWING GROWTH

More than half of the 36 financial analysts now covering Facebook rate the company a Hold, Underperform or Sell - disproportionately high given that Wall Street analysts historically favor Buy ratings.

The three lead underwriters of the IPO - Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan - forecast second-quarter earnings per share of between 10 cents and 11 cents, lower than the Street average of 12 cents, minus IPO-related stock compensation charges, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Thomson Reuters StarMine's SmartEstimates suggests that Facebook will post adjusted earnings of 10.4 cents per share.

"It gets back to 'How predictable are these companies' results going to be when I'm forecasting out pretty significant growth to be able to justify the valuation?'" said Ryan Jacob, chairman and chief investment officer of Jacob Funds, who does not own Facebook shares.

Facebook, which generated more than four-fifths of its revenue from advertising in 2011, has stepped up efforts to rebuild its revenue momentum, rolling out a raft of new advertising features and providing more details about the effectiveness of its ads.

TBG Digital, which helps marketers advertise on Facebook, released a study this week that found the average price of Facebook ads had jumped 58 percent since last year. That is partially due to recently released mobile formats, it found.

"Our clients aren't spending 75 percent of their budgets on Facebook," said David Jones, Global CEO of advertising agency Havas. But he noted that "there are very few clients who we are talking to who are negative on Facebook."

GUIDANCE QUESTION

With over 900 million users, Facebook is the world's largest social networking company, challenging established Web companies for consumers' online time and for advertising revenue.

For Facebook, the first date with Wall Street will mark an important test for the company's top brass to try to dispel some of the skepticism. Investors will want to hear from Zuckerberg - who wields majority control - but the company has not said if he will take questions on the day.

"A miss is a miss and it wouldn't be good either way, especially for your first quarter out of the gate," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Robert W. Baird.

But the context will be key.

"If it's related to shift in mobile, but the mobile monetization is improving, that's different than just a miss because advertisers are leaving Facebook."

And he said that many investors will be particularly interested in the trends the company is seeing as marketers take advantage of Facebook's mobile and other advertising features.

While most expect Facebook to follow the lead of Google and Amazon.com Inc and abstain from offering financial forecasts every quarter, it may address the current concerns about its business by providing additional color and outlook.

"This first time out, I think they have to give some sort of guidance," said Robert Bacarella, manager of the Monetta Fund, which does not own Facebook shares. "You pacify the near term and say 'Here's where we're going.' But then you set the table up to say: 'We're thinking about whether or not it's wise give guidance going forward."

For all Facebook's efforts to woo Wall Street, the company's biggest job remains building its relationship with advertisers, such as San Francisco's Public Bikes.

"Whenever we have a new bike shop selling our bikes in a particular city, I'll run a targeted Facebook campaign" in that city, said Dan Nguyen-Tan, Public Bikes' vice president of sales and marketing.

The ability to reach specific groups of Facebook users based on where they live and their interests - such as healthy lifestyles or environmental interests - is an important advantage of Facebook's advertising system, Nguyen-Tan said.

But he acknowledged that Public Bikes spends more money advertising with Google, where it is easier for the company to reach people interested in buying a bicycle.

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