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The several dozen attorneys general investigating advertising practices at Alphabet Inc's Google are planning to expand their antitrust probe into the unit's flagship Android business, CNBC reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The investigation, led by the Texas attorney general's office, is known to have focused on Google's search and digital advertising businesses since it began in September. Google has said it is cooperating with the probe by U.S. states and territories and that previous investigations in several have considered similar issues without charging the company with wrongdoing. It did not have further comment on Thursday. The Alphabet unit also faces two other major inquiries - a U.S. Justice Department investigation and a probe by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee - both of which have broad reviews of the big internet companies underway. Last year, Google was fined 4.34 billion euros by the European Commission, which said … [Read more...] about Google antitrust probe to expand into Android – Report

Activist investor Carl Icahn has taken a stake in HP Inc and is pushing for the personal computer maker's merger with printer maker Xerox Corp , arguing that a union could yield big profits for investors, according to the Wall Street Journal. Icahn, who owns a 10.6% stake in Xerox, disclosed a stake of 62.9 million shares of HP valued at $1.19 billion as of Sept. 30, in an SEC filing on Thursday. An HP spokesperson told Reuters the company is aware of Icahn's investment and is committed to doing what is in the best interests of all HP shareholders. Xerox made a roughly $33 billion cash-and-stock offer for HP, a company more than three times Xerox's size, Reuters reported last week. HP confirmed the bid, but has not disclosed the offer price. "I think a combination is a no-brainer," Icahn was quoted as saying by the Journal. "I believe very strongly in the synergies," he said, adding that "there will probably be a choice between cash and stock and I would much rather have the … [Read more...] about Xerox investor Carl Icahn pushes for HP merger : Report

Chinese smartphone maker Vivo has launched a new mid-range phone in China. Called the Vivo S5, the handset features an OLED punch-hole display and a quad-lens rear camera. Icelandic Blue, Phantom Blue and Star Black are the phone’s colour options. Price and availability Vivo has announced two storage variants of S5 in China. The handset packs 8GB of RAM and comes paired with 128GB and 256GB of internal storage. While the 128GB model is priced at CNY 2698 (approx. Rs 27,000), the 256GB variants will retail at CNY 2998 (approx. Rs 30,000). The smartphone will go on sale on November 22 in China, but can be pre booked on from today onwards. Specs Vivo S5 comes equipped with 6.44-inch OLED full HD+ screen with 91.38 % screen-to-body ratio. The display offers a 20:9 aspect ratio and 1080x2400 pixel resolution. The handset also offers under display fingerprint sensor for security. The device comes powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 octa-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz. This, as … [Read more...] about Vivo S5 with 6.44-inch punch hole display and Snapdragon 712 launched

Of all the methods phone manufacturers have employed to get rid of bezels and avoid display notches, the second screen has to go down as the most elaborate. Who needs a selfie camera when you have a display on the back of the phone that you can use as a viewfinder? The most prominent example so far has been Vivo’s Nex Dual Display Edition from 2018, though the company’s return to pop-up selfie cameras with the Nex 3 suggests it may not consider its experiment to have been a success. ZTE spin-off Nubia, however, is pushing forward with the idea. After last year’s Nubia X saw a low-key release in China, the company is now iterating on the dual-display concept with the Z20, the latest iteration in its flagship Z-series. And, unlike many technically ostentatious Chinese phones, this one is actually available in the West — including the US. On pure price-to-performance ratio, the Z20 would be pretty competitive even without the second display. The phone costs … [Read more...] about The Nubia Z20 is the best take yet on the dual-display phone

Lazard, the global investment bank, has been quietly recruiting a ten-person team in London to head up its newly created “Venture and Growth Banking” division to match investors with European scale-ups. Unlike some investment banks, the focus of Lazard Venture and Growth Banking will include Series B and C. That’s earlier than many startups typically engage the help of an investment bank when raising capital and speaks to the sheer number of European startups currently chasing a pool of venture capital that is increasingly global and fragmented. The Lazard Venture and Growth Banking team will be headed up by ex-Numis employees Garri Jones and Nick James, with both serving as Managing Directors. Noteworthy, according to his LinkedIn profile, Jones was previously Venture and Broking Lead at Numis. He was also a founding partner at Circle Health, helping to grow the company from seed to IPO. Jones is also a board member of stock photo startup Picfair. James, who will … [Read more...] about Investment bank Lazard has quietly recruited a ‘Venture and Growth’ team to focus on European scale-ups