We already know that the team behind the popular instant messaging service WhatsApp is working on a voice calling feature – we’ve also seen leaked screenshots of the feature in action. And now, it is being reported that the app could also offer a “Call via Skype” feature.

The above code snippet, which was first spotted by Maktechblog while exploring the iPhone version of the app, contains a clear reference to the feature. In addition, the snippet also confirms other voice calling features, including Call Mute, Call Hold, Call back, Call me in X minutes, Call back message, Call Via Skype, Call Notifications, and Separate screen for call logs. Read more »

Apple is in talks with several major British banks to launch Apple Pay in the first half of 2015 in the UK, according to a Telegraph report, which also notes that negotiations with at least one of the biggest banks are proving difficult, as the bank is said to be having issues with specific terms of the mobile payments service, including what data the Cupertino-based company will be able to access.

“It is understood the bank is uncomfortable with the amount of personal and financial information Apple wants to collect about its customers,” the report says, adding that on one hand banks fear that the Apple’s service and the data it delivers to the company could serve as a “beachhead for an invasion of the banking industry,” while on the other hand, they do not want to miss out on the service either. Read more »

Just a few days after announcing that it will begin charging for voice calls made over its 2G or 3G network, India’s leading cellphone carrier Airtel has temporarily rolled back the change in the wake of an upcoming consultation paper from Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) relating to services offered by Over The Top (OTT) players.

“In view of the news reports that a consultation paper will be issued shortly by TRAI on issues relating to services offered by OTT players including VoIP, we have decided not to implement our proposed launch of VoIP packs,” Airtel said, adding that the company is hopeful that stakeholders’ interest as well as the sector’s viability will be taken into consideration during the consultation. Read more »

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has revealed that its latest release The Interview has become the studio’s top grossing online film of all time. Made from a budget of $44 million, the movie managed to pulled in more than $15 million in online sales through the first four days of the holidays alone.

“Through Saturday, December 27, including all of its online distribution platforms, The Interview has been rented or purchased online more than 2 million times,” SPE said in a statement. This compares with the estimated $2.8 million the movie made over the same time period in theaters, although that was a limited release. Read more »

Some residents of Minneapolis, Minnesota will soon have access to superfast Internet, thanks to US Internet, which has recently announced that it will offer a mind-boggling 10Gbps broadband speed to both residential and small-business owners in the city. Just to give you an idea, this is 10 times the speed of Google Fiber, which is currently available in Kansas City; Provo, Utah; and Austin, Texas.

“The launch of our 10 Gbps Internet service will make Minneapolis the first city in the world to receive access to the Internet at speeds never before experienced in our country, or any other country for that matter,” U.S. Internet CEO Joe Caldwell said in a statement. The service will be available for $400/month — there’s also a $99 installation fee. Read more »

Just a few days after there were reports that Nokia could launch its first Android tablet, the N1, in China on January 7, the company’s social networking channels have confirmed the news.

As clear from the image shown above, Nokia is running a contest in the Asian country where participants stand a chance to win 800 tickets and six VIP passes for the Finland-based company’s media event on January 7. Out of them, a total of 24 lucky winners will win the device. Those interested in participating in the contest can register here. Read more »

Nearly a week after Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) canceled The Interview’s planned theatrical release after hackers threatened to attack theaters showing it, the studio has said that the Seth Rogen comedy will be released on Christmas Day.

“We are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech,” said SPE Chief Executive Michael Lynton, adding that the company never gave up on releasing the film, rather it was working to secure other platforms and more cinemas “so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.” Read more »

For those who are planning to buy a Sony Playstation 4, here is some good news: Walmart is offering the 500 GB gaming console for only $329, which is $70 off its usual retail price. There’s no word on when the offer expires.

Although the offer is mouth-watering, given that the device hasn’t seen much of a price drop this holiday season, there’s a catch: it is good for in-store pickup only as shipping is not available for the product. This means that if your local retailers are out of stock, you’re out of luck. Read more »

Just a few days after it entered into a partnership with China-based search engine Baidu, Uber has come under the scanner of the authorities in Chongqing. The Chinese city which is home to more than 30 million people, is concerned that its drivers are not appropriately licensed.

According to a Reuters report, the Chongqing government is currently investigating the legality of the ride-sharing startup’s business model, with officials saying that private drivers operating without a commercial license would be classified as “illegal behavior,” and a fine of 30,000 yuan ($4,820) to 100,000 yuan ($16,070) would be imposed on them. Read more »

Microsoft has released a new application that lets you extract great stills from your videos or Moment shots (4K or FullHD). Dubbed Lumia Moments, the app is available on select Lumia devices, including Lumia 830, Lumia 930, Lumia Icon, and 1520, as part of the recent Lumia Denim update.

The app provides a Best Frame option that lets you find pictures and save them as Living Images — photos that contain a brief moment of video, so they seem alive when you browse them in Camera Roll or Lumia Storyteller. There is also an Action Shot feature that lets you add a strobe effect to show action or add blur to emphasize motion. Read more »

Amazon has announced a new service that offers one-hour and two-hour delivery of daily essentials via a mobile app. Dubbed Prime Now, the service is only available to Amazon Prime members, who can use it to get products like paper towels, shampoo, books, toys, batteries, and more expressly delivered from 6 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week.

The service is currently available in selected areas of Manhattan, although the company is encouraging all Prime members to download the new Prime Now app, which is available for both iOS and Android, saying that they will be notified when the service launches in their area. Read more »

In an effort to ensure better protection of its hand-held devices, Apple has reportedly updated its Made for iPhone (MFi) licensing guidelines for case manufacturers.

The new guidelines require manufacturers to ensure that their cases are able to protect Apple devices from drops up to 1 meter (3.2 feet) onto a hard surface in any orientation. In addition, the Cupertino-based company has also made it mandatory for cases to provide a buffer of at least 1mm between the cover glass and a flat surface, either by covering the display entirely or having the front lip protrude slightly from the glass to keep it from touching the surface. Read more »

Polaroid’s Socialmatic camera, which was announced at this year’s CES in Las Vegas, is now available for pre-order from Amazon for $299.99, with availability set for January 1. The device will come in white and black color options.

The USP of the camera is that it lets you print out photos in less than a minute as well as share them on social networks like Facebook and Instagram. The device runs a customized version of Android and features a 4.5-inch display, 14-megapixel camera on the front, 2-megapixel camera on the back, and 4GB of internal storage (which can be expanded by up to 32GB via a micro SD card). It also has stereo speakers and a microphone. Read more »

Nearly a year after adding a Bitcoin currency converter to its Bing search engine, Microsoft has started accepting the digital currency as a mode of payment for apps, games, and other digital content on Windows, Windows Phone, Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and Xbox Video stores. A Coindesk report says that the software giant has partnered with Bitpay to enable Bitcoin payments.

According to the Redmond-based company’s payments information page, which contains detailed steps on how to add money to your Microsoft account with Bitcoin, the feature is currently available to US-based customers who can now use Bitcoin to add money to their Microsoft account. Read more »

After spending over 2 years in beta, the VLC for Android app has finally graduated to stable release. Although the stable release brings a host of bug fixes, no new features have been added. In fact, Chromecast streaming support, which was promised earlier this year, is still missing.

Specifically, the release fixes Android 5.0 crashes as well as issues that affected devices with ARMv8 processors. In addition, the updated app also brings along a new interface (available in dark or white colors), an equalizer, playlist management, Widi screens support, DVD iso and menu support and updated SD cards detection. Finally, hardware acceleration is now enabled by default on Android 4.3 and higher, and software decoding has been accelerated too. Read more »