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Apple may or may not end up selling a low-cost iPhone some day. But in the meantime, it’s continuing to make the current devices it sells more affordable, particularly in new markets for smartphones. In India, Apple is fine-tuning its pricing to make the iPhone more affordable — and stand out against competing Android devices from Samsung, ZTE and others. Apple has started introducing trade-in offers that are particularly favorable to students. ZDNet reports: Students who trade-in their old smartphones while upgrading to an iPhone will get 7,777 rupees (US$144). Non-students will be paid 7,000 rupees (US$130). That’s in addition to an incentive for customers who use an American Express credit card to buy a new iPhone on a payment plan. Those customers will get 10 percent of their purchase back. Apple doesn’t have its own retail stores in India, but sells through a network of local, authorized retailers, many of whom only sell Apple products. It’s a bit unusual for Apple to wheel and deal. But the iPhone maker has been tweaking its pricing strategy and incentive offerings in markets where smartphone ownership has only recently begun to take hold. Earlier this year, Apple introduced low and no-interest payment plans for iPhone buyers in India; similar to what it is offering in China. India is a country bearing huge potential — it is an example of what CEO Tim Cook means when he notes the potential of billions of people who have yet to own a smartphone. And as Om noted recently, there are 900 million mobile connections, and so far there are just 2.5 million iPhones in use. As the iPhone matures especially in established markets, Apple is turning to fast-growing regions whose people are just now joining the smartphone revolution. It knows it can’t sell $600 smartphones to everyone. And so little by little we’re seeing Apple customize its approach to different markets, including selling older model iPhones through carriers, allowing brand-conscious young people to pay for the cachet of the iPhone brand in installments, or reaching customers through deals with local institutions. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Analyzing the wearable computing marketConfused about the wireless markets? Here’s a breakdownSiri: Say hello to the coming “invisible interface”

Warner Bros. dropped the debut trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins on us today. It's 100% cinematic, no gameplay or anything, but I doubt fans of Batman or the Arkham series will be too disappointed with that. As we know already, Black Mask has hired a number of assassins to hunt down the Bat in Arkham Origins. We know about Deathstroke already, but today's trailer adds Deadshot to the mix. That's not all, of course, as there's at least one reference in the trailer that should have fans scratching their heads. Queen Industries pops up on a bomb, which could either be a heavy-handed Easter Egg or could imply that we'll see Green Arrow's introduction to the Arkham universe. I'm sure there's more details to uncover in the trailer, as well as the new screenshots below. Let me know if you see anything particularly exciting. While I understand it's a trailer for a video game and that it demands action, intensity -- something to keep bros eyes focused onscreen -- I had some pretty severe cognitive dissonance seeing Batman dive right into a fight with Deathstroke. Batman's a detective, Deathstroke's an assassin, but instead of preparing traps or being wary of the enemy's traps? Nah, lets fight one on one in this factory yard. Oh, Deadshot decided to shoot Deathstroke's sword instead of Batman's head? What an odd choice. Batman: Arkham Origins will release on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii U on October 25 later this year. This is the first Arkham not made by Rocksteady Games, instead by Warner Bros. Games Montreal, but I bet we'll never even notice a difference. PS, yes, one of the screenshots has the Joker in it. Comment on this article (0)

Logitech's the official mouse and keyboard sponsor for the League of Legends Championship Series yet again.

A recent intrusion on the computer network of Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor was the result of a large cyberespionage operation of Indian origin that for the past few years has targeted business, government and political organizations from different countries, according to researchers from security firm Norman Shark.Researchers from Norman analyzed the malware samples used in the attack on Telenor, which started out with spear-phishing emails sent to the company's senior management, after receiving information about them from the Norwegian Computer Emergency Response Team (NorCERT).During their investigation, the Norman researchers established correlations between that attack's command-and-control infrastructure and other malware and domain names, uncovering what appears to be an ongoing large-scale cyberespionage operation of Indian origin that has been active for almost three years.The operation was dubbed HangOver and dates back to at least September 2010, Norman said in a report released Monday. The attackers targeted business, government and political organizations, including targets of national security interest from Pakistan, separatist groups from India and companies from different industries from the U.S. and other countries.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

In an interview Jean-Marc Chery, ST's CTO (shown), said his company could install its FDSOI process in multiple foundries but for now has an agreement in place that will deny certain companies access to the process.View the full article HERE.

San Francisco-based Dijit launched the web version of it’s NextGuide app Monday, and after playing with it for a while, I have to say the company may be onto something here. Dijit launched an iPad version of NextGuide last summer, aiming to reinvent the traditional TV guide with universal search for movies and TV content across live TV and iPad apps from Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and others. Users of the app can also define searches for very specific interests and get recommendations for any content related to their hobby or their hometown. It all makes sense – but I just don’t find myself frequenting the iPad app very much. Maybe it’s the fact that I just don’t feel like I don’t have enough choices for things to watch. Maybe it’s due to my binge viewing habits: while I’m burning through a new show (mind you, burning a very relative term if you have a job and a family), I  don’t look for much else, and don’t need to know what’s on. Or maybe it’s just that the app is a bit too complicated for its own good. But there’s something about NextGuide’s new web app sibling that is very intriguing. For one thing, it is a lot simpler than the iPad app, and it feels less like you have to turn thousand nobs before you get good results. But the app also feels a lot more social, thanks to its Facebook integration: Users can easily browse the movies and TV shows any of their Facebook friends have liked on the social network, no matter whether these contacts are using NextGuide or not. The results are displayed in a Pinterest-like fashion, inviting you to aimlessly browse around and check out what your friends like to watch. Once you find something that catches your interest, you’re able to see which services it is playing on, add it to your own Watchlist or subscribe to email alerts to be notified when new episodes are available online, or on the air. Essentially, it turns your friends’ Facebook likes into your TV guide, and that’s pretty cool. Oh, and you can also compile a list of your own favorites to display to the world. Pre-populating a video discovery service with data from Facebook certainly isn’t new – but there’s something about this kind of Pinterest-like approach that just invites browsing. And TV fans will appreciate that their friends’ likes, which are otherwise scattered on Facebook, are all brought together in one place. Sure, there’s still room to improve NextGuide on the web. Recommending the right resources to play content is one of those things. For example, for a show like the Daily Show, it only recommends Hulu, Amazon and iTunes, even though full episodes are also available on the show’s website. But even with those shortcomings, I have to say that I enjoyed playing with the website, and I can see myself coming back to it much more often than to the app. Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.Managing infinite choice: the new era of TV user interfacesMacrovision Becomes Rovi, Launches LiquidWhat the shift to the cloud means for the future EPG

Dijit Media, a social TV service provider, has unveiled a new website it calls NextGuide Web. It functions similarly to a social network whereby not only can users look up information about their favorite show, series, or movie, but also discover what their friends are interested in and watch. Finding new shows to watch can be rather difficult at times. I probably would not have known how good House of Cards was on Netflix, had I not read reviews from my friends on Twitter and Facebook. NextGuide seeks to capitalize on this practice with its new social-like network, but also by leveraging live TV and streaming services like Amazon Prime, iTunes, Hulu Plus, and Netflix. The design is something you would see on Pinterest. Once on the site, users can not only see recent activity of their friends, but also discover other titles and artists they care about. The site follows the standard behavior of other social networks with favoriting, and users can also follow others to continually be updated about what shows and movies they’re watching. Through Facebook Connect, users can port the movies and TV shows that they like right into NextGuide. If I “liked” the show Big Bang Theory on Facebook, NextGuide will add it to my favorite shows and tell me when the next episode is set to air. Dijit Media says NextGuide Web also includes other features, including giving users a one-stop service to browse for information relating to a show and knowing when it will be available either on live TV or on a streaming service. Additionally, it brings in features from its NextGuide iOS app that includes adding shows to a watchlist and setting reminders. In a way, NextGuide seeks to rival IMDB. Users can search the site by a particular actor or even by a show. So if I wanted to find out what movies Daniel Craig has starred in, NextGuide will display things like Casino Royale, Skyfall, Cowboys & Aliens, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After clicking on a specific item, the service will display the overview about it. For example, if I clicked on Casino Royale, it will show me upcoming airings if I link it up with my local cable provider. If I’m interested in streaming it, NextGuide tells me it’s available through Amazon and iTunes. It also has reviews through the site Rotten Tomatoes. NextGuide is launching today in closed beta and requires an invitation to access the service. Once signed up, users are given a few invitations to share with their friends. The company says that it will be sending out invitations “on a first-come, first-serve basis” and that all existing users of its other services, Dijit Remote and the NextGuide iPad app can use their existing credentials to log into the website immediately. Users of Miso, a company Dijit acquired in February, will be able to access NextGuide Web within the month. The service is available internationally, but only supports those TV and movie catalogs for North American users right now. ? NextGuide Web Photo credit: Adam Berry/Getty Images

The cloud storage space has taken off in recent years thanks to a plethora of startups like Dropbox and Box, not to mention services from heavyweights like Microsoft, Google and others. Yet, despite many big names and relative market consolidation, San Francisco-based Minbox is a new entrant that’s raised $800,000 to take on the establishment with its “freaking fast” service. Available to use from today, Minbox is a free file transfer and storage plug-in service for Mac created by the founders of online journal Penzu. Files of any size or type can be shared to friends and contacts using a drag and drop interface, but they are only stored on Minbox’s servers for 30 days. Though file storage is limited in that respect, Minbox is notable because it transfers files at a zippy rate of 200MB per second and — unlike Dropbox — lets user share the link with a recipient before the file is done uploading. The file is only available to the recipient when fully uploaded, but instantaneous sharing eradicates the chances of forgetting to send the link because you’ve gone to do something else while it uploads to Dropbox. In addition to the basic service, a premium Minbox Pro subscription is slated to launch “in the coming months”, while the company “hopes to release more apps” for other platforms in due course. Minbox isn’t revealing the price or specific details about Pro, but we expect it will provide a longer (if not permanent) storage option for those that want some permanence to their cloud-based files, in order to compete on a more level footing with Dropbox. The service targets two groups of users specifically: those who regularly store and upload large files, and those that find existing services to be too slow. Alexander Mimran, founder & CEO of Minbox, explains more: “Creative professionals such as photographers and designers handle huge files, and the filetransfer process can often be excruciatingly slow. With all due respect to sync services like Dropbox, the industry needs a lightweight alternative for direct transfer. Minbox gets it done at ground-breaking speeds.” As well as launching, Minbox has raised the $800,000 round from a range of angel investors which includes: George Zachary (Charles River Ventures), Dave Cohen (Bullettime Ventures), Matt Ocko, Jeff Zucker (President of CNN), Tim Young (Socialcast), Ben Chestnut (Mailchimp), Rho Ventures, and Correlation Ventures. If you’re in the market for a fast file-transfer option and haven’t yet found one to suit your needs, then Minbox is worth a look. For now, the limitations on storage and lack of mobile apps and premium service mean Minbox won’t be replacing Dropbox for now, at least. But with a few more features, it could develop into an interesting alternative. Here’s a video with plenty of attitude (and the kind of creative license early-stage startups often enjoy) to highlight Minbox’s competitive advantage over Dropbox and others. ? Minbox Headline image via Thinkstock

Monogram, a fashion shopping application, released an update that expands its Web focus. Today, the company is now a fashion publishing platform with an e-commerce play. With more than 300 retailers integrated into its site, users are able to browse through a collection of “shoppable” fashion magazines, while also being able to share and discover their own stories and inspirations. An alumnus of 500 Startups’ fourth batch, Monogram was initially focused on being a personalized shopper for iPad owners. It browses through numerous sources to help users discover new items that are not only on sale, but fit their style. The company states that 87 percent of iPad owners shop on the device, spending an average of 30 percent more than the average Web shopper — Monogram seeks to capitalize on this by making the process a lot easier and personal. Akin to what you might find using Flipboard, users can navigate through pre-established magazines to glean inspiration or to see clothes based on various themes. If none of the current publications are to their fancy, users can start their own, controlling what it’s called, the description, and who the magazine is primarily geared towards. However, at this point, it lacks the aesthetic appeal that Flipboard has, specifically the “flip” motion and true magazine-like interactions. Monogram doesn’t control 100 percent of the content in its magazines. Rather, it’s community-driven, meaning that anyone can contribute ideas, photos, and content to someone’s publication. All items can either be liked or reposted to their own news feed, which contributes to the service’s new Pinterest-like experience. Where the e-commerce part comes in is when a user clicks on an article and scrolls down to the bottom where products are featured. Monogram will display the item along with an overview. Users can then click the “Buy This” button and be transported to the manufacturer’s page where they will be able to buy the item there. No actual transactions are handled on the Monogram site. Items liked by users can be also be reposted and liked, while also shared on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Company CEO Leo Chen tells us that the impetus for this new version of Monogram came following the development of internal tools that enabled the team to create shoppable articles. After a month of speaking with users, fashion designers, and bloggers, he realized that the market needed to have a service that would “simplify their content creation process: searching for products to recommend and driving readership.” Several weeks after that, Monogram was rebuilt from scratch to now be a publishing platform and a fashion community, complete with an e-commerce platform. While content is still being curated, one thing that’s of interest is the fact that Monogram doesn’t allow users to sort magazines by interest or by gender. In our initial review, all the magazines shown appear to appeal to females, although male-targeted ones could be created. Monogram has raised $1.25 million in funding from US and Chinese investors, such as Quest Venture Partners, Great Oaks VC, Reddit’s Alexis Ohanian, Innovation Camp, Rapportive CEO Rahul Vohra, Decide.com’s Brian Ma, and more. The updated version of Monogram is now available as a responsive website. The native iOS apps have also been modified and released for users to download and try out. ? Monogram | Web | iOS Photo credit: ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images Disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. While we only ever write about products we think deserve to be on the pages of our site, The Next Web may earn a small commission if you click through and buy the product in question. For more information, please see our Terms of Service.

Just days after Google’s I/O developer conference ended, the company is rolling out an update to the Google+ app for Android which adds new photo and location features, as well as related hashtags to the stream. The new photos section now includes automatic back-ups, which will save users’ photos safely and privately as they’re taken. This has been available on iOS for sometime, although users had to keep the app open in order to send the images to the cloud. Google is also bringing over many of its new photo-editing features for Google+, including Auto Enhance, which makes subtle improvements automatically. There’s also Auto Highlight, which creates a selection of shots for the user to look over and share as a separate album. It’s an intriguing solution; most users will be sceptical about trusting Google’s algorithm, but it drastically speeds up the process of creating a respectable album from hundreds of holiday snaps. Auto Awesome is the final addition, adding the ability to create new, light-hearted versions of existing images – such as animations or panoramas – based on photos in users’ existing libraries. Location sharing has also been overhauled in the Google+ app to take users’ circles into consideration. Until now, users have only been able to see the current whereabouts of other people provided they’ve chosen to share it with them through a Google+ circle. This has been updated with a new ‘Locations’ section, available from the side-menu, which display all of the users’ current locations on a map. It might be a small feature, but the idea of monitoring where other people are in order to make plans and arrange meet ups sounds awfully similar to Foursquare’s playbook. In the stream, the Google+ app has also been tweaked to include the new automated hashtags found on the desktop version. They appear at the top-right hand corner of individual posts and tapping on then will produce new streams of related content. Neat. Bradley Horowitz, Vice President of Product, Google+, said today: “Photos, location and the stream are only some of the things we’ve improved in today’s update. Notifications are nicer to look at and easier to use. You can edit additional profile fields on the go. And there’s one-tap access to the all new Hangouts app — just to name a few.” The new Google+ app for Android is rolling out today in the Google Play store. ? Google+ | Android Image Credit: KIMIHIRO HOSHINO for AFP / Getty Images