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Google isn’t the only internet giant concerned that it’s not easy for everyone to get online. While Google is experimenting with providing broadband access in hard-to-reach areas through a network of ballons, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is taking a different approach toward reaching the two-thirds of the world that’s not already online.
Today Zuckerberg introduced Internet.org, an effort to provide free and affordable internet access around the world by lowering the costs of delivery. Facebook is partnering with a number of tech companies including Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Opera to make that happen.
Of course each of those companies stands to benefit if the number of people using the internet were to triple in the next 10 years, although as Zuckerberg points out, the 2.7 billion people who are already online have more money to spend than the rest of the world combined.
Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.
- Zuckerberg and friends create Internet.org, hope to bring internet to the next 5 billion (without balloons)
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks it’s possible to make data delivery 100 times more efficient in th enext 5 to 10 years by reducing the costs of delivering data and building more efficient apps. [Internet.org] - Sony teases some sort of laptop/hybrid combo
Sony’s latest product is apparently a piece of paper that you can fold… oh wait, no that’s just a teaser video which is hinting at some sort of upcoming Sony Vaio hybrid device with laptop, tablet, and viewer modes. [SlashGear] - Google Keep update gains time, location-based reminders
Use Google’s note-taking service to create a shopping list, and it can remind you to buy eggs, bread, and ice cream when you’re near the grocery store. [Google] - Archos 101 XS 2 tablet hits the FCC, seems to pack an extra camera
Archos appears to be working on a new 10 inch Android tablet. All we know for certain about the new model is that it has a rear camera where the original did not. [Engadget] - MHL 3.0 will let you output 4K video to your TV from a mobile device’s USB port
Plenty of phones already let you output 1080p video over the micro USB port on the device. Soon you may be able to get a mobile device that can Ultra HD resolutions. [MHL Consortium] - Firefox for Android revamp merges the Awesomescreen and Start Page into one
Mozilla is reworking the Firefox browser for Android. The latest version makes it easier to access search, bookmarks, and frequently visited sites from the start page. [Lucas Rocha] - Box.net now offers 10GB of free cloud storage
That’s double the amount you used to get… and double the amount offered by Google Drive or 2.5 times more than you get from Dropbox. [TechCrunch]
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