Lumia Phone

　　Last night, Peyton Siva and Russ Smith combined to shoot 6-26 from the field, while Gorgui Dieng finished the game without scoring the ball once. No problem, Luke Hancock said, as he dropped 14 points in the second half and 20 overall.

　　Wait, who?

　　Exactly. Although the 6’6” junior swingman has played an important role off the bench for Louisville this season, nobody expected him delivering his best performance of the year in the National Semifinals. Already with a short-handed bench due to Kevin Ware’s injury, Hancock’s performance made it seem like he’d been there before.

　　Turned out, he kinda has. Before transferring to Lousville, Hancock spent two years at George Mason. For those without an extraordinary 2011 tournament memory, YouTube reveals that this isn’t the first time that he’s been the hero of a tourney game.

　　Two years ago, it was George Mason needing a clutch shot to upset Villanova. When Louisville needed him to step up, this time for a huge second half performance, he delivered in the only way he knew how.

　　His full line: 20 points on 6-9 shooting, 3-5 from deep and 5-7 from the line, while adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. His most important play doesn’t even show up on the stat sheet, when he forced a jump ball with Wichita State guard Ron Baker with six seconds left in the game. The possession arrow gave Louisville the ball, who would extend its lead to two possessions and close the book for the Shockers.

　　Riding 15 wins in its last 16 games, overall no. 1 seed Louisville losing to no. 11 Wichita State would have a massive disappointment, even with the Final Four appearance. The general media consensus was that the miracle run would end against the savage Cardinal defense, but then the Shockers ripped off a 14-5 run to take a 12 point lead with 14:20 left in the half.

　　Instead of crumbling, Louisville buckled up. After two huge threes from fellow bench mate Tim Henderson, Hancock would add a couple driving layups. With six minutes left, he hit a three pointer that gave Louisville its first second-half lead. He would add another three, a layup and a split from the free throw line before forcing the crucial jump ball.

　　His teammates recognized his heroics, as they mobbed him at half-court when the buzzer expired. Hancock was averaging just 6.8 points in the tournament before his outburst.

　　Hancock started eight of the 34 regular season games, and scored a career-high 22 points against Louisville’s 5OT marathon against Notre Dame.

　　His Cardinals bio says that his favorite moment of his athletic career was experiencing Louisville’s run to the Final Four last season. It’s safe to say that, after 20 points in the biggest game of his life, he might have a new moment to fondly recall.

　　Apple is close to striking a streaming deal with two of the major music labels that could end up far sweeter for the music industry than what the labels currently get from Pandora, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

　　Much has been made in recent weeks of Apple trying to squeeze the labels on terms, and the deals do have Apple paying the labels a per-stream rate that’s half of what Pandora pays. But CNET has learned that Apple’s planned music service would offer new revenue streams as well.

　　That includes a quick way for consumers to buy a song they hear, potentially boosting download sales from iTunes, as well as a revenue share of new audio ads Apple is planning to add to the free service, according to sources.

　　The product would be tied to iTunes, and available on mobile devices.

　　Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr declined to comment.

　　Apple could sign deals with both Warner Music and Universal Music Group within the next week, according to the sources. But both people caution that the deals have not yet been made and could still fall apart. In addition, Apple still needs to get Sony Music Group on board, as well as the music publishers.

　　Even so, Apple has told the labels it’s determined to get all its deals signed in time for a summer rollout. In addition to the U.S., Apple is hoping to quickly unveil the service in up to a dozen territories, according to sources, including the U.K, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan. Apple’s annual developers conference, where it first introduced iCloud and iTunes Match in 2011, typically happens in early June.

　　Though the press has dubbed the service iRadio, in negotiations with the labels Apple is referring to it as its “new streaming service,” says a source.

　　The service, according to sources, most closely resembles Pandora because it doesn’t offer on-demand listening. Apple is building some unique features, such as the ability to jump back to the beginning of a song, according to one person briefed on the company’s plans.

　　Apple faces growing competition in the music market. There’s been a proliferation of on-demand streaming music services with both free and paid plans, from Pandora to Spotify to RDIO. Apple rival Google is also set to launch its own streaming-music service as part of YouTube. Sources told CNET recently that Google is aiming to launch its product, which would work on desktop and mobile devices, this summer and that it is also working on another service for Google Play.

　　To some degree, the music labels are taking a gamble on Apple. Label executives are confident that any Apple iRadio service will gain traction, given Apple’s dominance with iTunes and the likelihood that Apple will make an easy-to-use service on the iPhone. And the labels are guaranteed to make a slice of every stream that’s played, albeit a fraction of what the labels get from Pandora.

　　What’s unknown, however, is whether people will click through the app to buy songs that they can stream, and how successful Apple will be at pulling off the ad part of the business. Though Apple serves ads on mobile apps via iAds, the sources said that what the company is proposing to the labels is something different — a full-on, multinational sales force that would sell audio ads akin to what Pandora serves up for listeners to its free service.

　　”The only thing concrete in the contract is the per-play rate,” said someone familiar with the terms. “If you end up having no ad revenue, that’s still zero. And we won’t know what the buying habits will be. Will people streaming still take the time to buy from iTunes?”

　　These sources said Apple and the labels are still hammering out what the revenue share of the ads would be but that the labels are pressing for generous terms — possibly between 35 percent and 45 percent — if they are to agree to a small portion of the per-stream revenue.

　　Reports that Apple has been working on a streaming or subscription music service have lingered for years. Apple owns nearly two thirds of the legal music market, something that adds extra scrutiny to the possibility of a new service, or a change to its existing business model.

　　Apple already has Internet music streaming inside of iTunes for desktops, as well as on its Apple TV devices, but not on iOS. The feature taps into streaming Internet stations maintained by third parties, and doesn’t connect with Apple’s iTunes Store in case a user wants to purchase a song. Users also can’t record or save anything they hear.

　　Adding intrigue to the possibility is a set of buttons and code referencing “radio” that were spotted in an update of Apple’s iOS software in February. These features were not active or available on the software itself, but nestled in some code strings.

　　You can find only five Home windows RT tablets or hybrids on keep shelves and they’re not offering perfectly, as a person analyst has identified this week.

　　There’s many factors products including the Asus VivoTab RT TF600T and Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga 11 haven’t challenged the iPad’s dominance - substantial prices, inadequate availability, failure to take a position in advertising and marketing, dislike of Windows RT, unbelievably silly names - but I can increase just one more excuse towards the listing: confusion between retailers

　　This unique gadget, despite the title on that web site, does not run Home windows eight. It operates Home windows RT. There’s no clarification from the specs listing. The sole mention of functioning techniques around the website page is inside the Question and Response software, exactly where shoppers have had to question if it operates Windows RT or Home windows eight; an Argos “Helper” promised to alter the website page, but which was again in mid-February as well as error remains.

　　Couple of on the typical merchants I’ve visited provide any rationalization on the discrepancies involving Windows eight and Home windows RT to people. John Lewis is definitely the exception that proves the rule, featuring not less than two lines of explanation: “Windows RT is actually a new version of Microsoft Windows that’s designed to run on ARM-based tablets and PCs. It really works exclusively with apps readily available within the Home windows Store.”

　　Additional usually than not, online stores merely use copy supplied from the producers - if you’ve ever compensated shut focus although searching for a selected merchandise throughout numerous retailers, you’ll have found there appears to be a lot of slicing and pasting heading on. Take Asus. Here’s the duplicate it evidently supplied to Debenhams (which apparently sells tablets as of late - who understood?):

　　“Asus VivoTab RT, Asus’ very first Windows RT tablet that offers end users the new Windows expertise inside a moveable, however effective system. Featuring the award profitable Transformer Pad style and design, the VivoTab provides the popular Home windows platform into the tablet environment that transforms to comprehensive notebook productiveness when connected on the Cell Dock.” There is no mention of Windows eight, but it surely rarely points out what RT is and isn’t, possibly.

　　Computer Planet is small improved. Its Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga eleven site says: “The new process allows you to definitely customise the beginning screen, create your critical programs in your liking. You can swipe, pinch and contact your way even though the brand new attributes and gorgeous interface. Constructed about applications the Home windows RT operating technique can make work and enjoy a lot easier, productive, social and absolutely trusted.” You’d have assumed Pc Globe could possibly a minimum of mention that your existing Home windows program will not function with it.

　　However, Samsung and also other brands might have served their own bring about by clearly outlining what Home windows RT is and isn’t to shops and would-be customers. Absolutely, anybody who acquired the “Samsung Ativ Home windows 8″ from Argos is in for your bit of a surprise.

　　Nokia recently released a new firmware update to Lumia 920, the version number is 1232.5957.1308.0001, according to Nokia announced in March this year, this firmware upgrade will increase the stability of the cell phone, camera image quality improvement, as well as new store checker.

　　It is learnt that the new 1308 of Lumia 920/820/620 have installed a new firmware, this update first of all from the United States carrier AT&T users, other users will have to wait for some time.

　　Appearing on commercial TV station MTV3 in Finland, Elop faced questions from the show’s host, Hjallis Harkimo, on the particulars of the Lumia 928, an as-yet-unannounced Lumia 920 variant. Harkimo pressed Elop on what consumers might expect from the handset.

　　”I don’t know,” Elop responded, laughing, “because we haven’t announced a Lumia 928.”

　　Elop then tried to steer the conversation back toward Nokia’s newest offerings, a line of low-cost Lumia handsets meant to appeal to developing markets and entry-level consumers.

　　Elop appeared to be preparing to make a statement on future Nokia products when the Harkimo produced an iPhone from his coat pocket.

　　”I have an iPhone,” he said, holding it up to Elop, “I don’t want to have an iPhone.”

　　As Harkimo explained that he wanted to have a Nokia phone, Elop seized the moment, and the iPhone. He tossed the device to the floor, proclaiming “it’s gone.”

　　Following up with Harkimo on Friday, Finnish blog Tietoviikko confirmed that the host’s iPhone suffered no damage from being tossed. Harkimo says he has yet to receive a Nokia phone to replace the iPhone, which Elop promised him during the interview.

　　The 928 is said to feature an aluminum body instead of the polycarbonate frame that has typified Nokia’s Lumia line. Along with the aluminum body, the 928 is said to feature a xenon and LED flash combination, and Nokia’s purported goal is to position the device as a premium handset in the vein of Apple’s iPhone or HTC’s One flagship.

　　Unveiled last year with the launch of Windows Phone 8, Nokia’s Lumia line has a lot riding on it for both Nokia and Microsoft. Lumias have become the de facto standard bearers for WP8, which is Microsoft’s latest push to make an impact in the smartphone segment.

　　For Nokia, the handsets are an attempt at grabbing back some of the mobile phone market share that the company has lost to iOS and Android manufacturers, particularly Samsung. The line has sold relatively well since its release, moving 4.4 million units in the most recent quarter — up from 2.9 million for the quarter previous — and earning Nokia its first quarterly profit in some time.