BATTERYFORPC BLOG
Coronavirus: Smartphone sales collapse amid pandemic
Sales of new phones have collapsed in the biggest fall since the invention of the smartphone. Research firm Strategy Analytics said shipments in February fell by 38% year-on-year. The outbreak of the coronavirus in China had a huge impact, report author Linda Sui said. "Some Asian factories were unable to manufacture smartphones, while many consumers were unable or unwilling to visit retai ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:21:52
Coronavirus: BT has 'plenty of capacity' despite Netflix quality cuts
BT says its broadband infrastructure has plenty of "headroom" to cope with increased demand as more people stay home due to coronavirus. The company said that since Tuesday, data use on its network had increased by between 35-60%. On Thursday, Netflix said it would lower the picture quality of movies in Europe, to reduce data use. But BT said daytime and evening usage was still much l ... Read more
2020-03-20 20:21:28
Coronavirus: How to clean your smartphone safely
While you may want to clean your smartphone, some substances can damage the device.
Dr Lena Ciric, a microbiologist from University College London, says you can effectively clean your phone using just household soap and water.
Video journalist: Chris Fox
EASY STEPS: What can I do about the virus?
A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
2020-03-19 21:26:53
UK mobile networks face problems
The UK's mobile networks have experienced problems with their services. EE told the BBC it was something "affecting all operators and we are working closely to fix it". The problem has been blamed on "interconnect issues" between the operators. "We don't believe it is connected to the rise in home working [due to the coronavirus]," added EE. O2 had posted on its w ... Read more
2020-03-19 21:26:30
Netflix to cut streaming quality in Europe for 30 days
Netflix will reduce the video quality on its service in Europe for the next 30 days, to reduce the strain on internet service providers. Demand for streaming has increased because large parts of Europe are self-isolating at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. The video-streaming provider said lowering the picture quality would reduce Netflix data consumption by 25%. But it said viewers would ... Read more
2020-03-19 21:26:07
Game-playing robot admits mistakes, plus other news
BBC Click’s Kitty Knowles looks at some of the best technology news stories of the week including:
The UK government rules Chinese firm Huawei will be allowed to be used in non-sensitive areas of the country’s 5G mobile network
Yale University develops a game-playing robot capable of admitting its mistakes to help humans communicate better
Weather data helps to create 3D-printed sweets in Japan
2020-03-19 21:25:37
Apple's new iPad has built-in laser depth-scanner
Apple has announced its first mobile device to feature laser-scanning technology, which the firm says will aid augmented reality apps. The iPad Pro's Lidar scanner will allow the shape and location of objects in a room to be detected. This should mean graphics and real-world views can be mixed together more accurately than before. The announcement came via a press release rather than a media ev ... Read more
2020-03-18 20:17:38
Coronavirus: Vodafone and TalkTalk report surge in internet use
Vodafone has said it is experiencing a 30% rise in internet traffic across its UK fixed-line and mobile networks. More people are working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, putting more demand on all networks. TalkTalk, another internet provider, said that its daytime network traffic had risen 20% since Monday. One EU official has suggested that online TV services should stream ... Read more
2020-03-18 20:17:16
Facebook content moderators paid to work from home
Facebook will pay its third-party US content moderators to work from home. On a call with reporters, Facebook's chief Mark Zuckerberg said the contract workers would still get their full salaries even if they were unable to do all their normal tasks. The company will also increase use of artificial intelligence to moderate content during the coronavirus crisis. Mr Zuckerberg said its work-from- ... Read more
2020-03-18 20:16:45
Amazon is temporarily refusing to stock certain items in its warehouses, to cope with overwhelming demand for household essentials due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It means third-party sellers of non-essential items could find it difficult to ship orders to customers.
The move will last until 5 April and cover warehouses in the US and Europe.
Some items – including many brands of toilet paper – remain out of stock on Amazon’s UK website.
The decision to restrict warehouse stocks to household essentials and medical supplies has been met with dismay by some sellers of other products.
“My sales just doubled and Amazon halted all my shipments,” said one in a post on discussion site Reddit.
“This is absolutely crazy,” wrote another – though they added they had been “prepared” for disruption.
Third-party sellers can still list and sell items on Amazon but they would have to carry out packing and shipping of the products themselves.
Amazon told the BBC: "We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers. We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding."
Amazon was "doing the right thing", one US-based seller told the BBC.
"Small businesses will hurt because of it and some will completely go bankrupt if the supply chain disruption goes beyond a month," said Samantha Morrison, who sells a range of electrical and computer-related goods via Amazon.
She said it was nonetheless important that Amazon remained able to provide essential items to people in a time of need.
Ms Morrison added that she thought her own business would be minimally impacted as she had enough stock to "weather the storm".
Andrew Helgeson, a seller based in Lincoln, said he had "no idea" how many fewer orders he would be able to ship because he has been relying on Amazon's services for eight years.
Mr Helgeson sells items including DVDs and Blu-ray discs and said he would have to switch to packaging the products individually himself at home.
"We will get around it, always do, you have to be able to adapt," he told the BBC.
He added that he had already applied for a three-month mortgage holiday from his bank and would be seeking other government help.
2020-03-18 20:16:22