News
ASUS aims to double phone shipments, release ZenFone 4 soon

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from ASUS throughout the years, the company and its CEOs think highly of their phones, to the point of calling them “better than Apple, better than Samsung.” Still not satisfied with its success, the Taiwanese manufacturer set another high bar for itself.
As told by CEO Jerry Shen to Apple Daily, ASUS plans to increase its smartphone shipments to 35 to 40 million units in the next three years. That’s a bold sales prediction, since the brand managed only 20 million shipments of its ZenFone line in 2016.
Making that figure tougher to reach is the fact that ASUS ramps up its ZenFone prices every year. Since the original ZenFone series was released in 2014, retail prices have gone from as low as $200 on average, to levels where a $500 ZenFone is now common.
ASUS is clearly banking on its just-unveiled ZenFone 3 Zoom and ZenFone AR to spearhead its push in 2017. If all plans fall into place, these two phones may likely be the last of the ZenFone 3 series, as Jerry Shen reveals that the next-generation ZenFone 4 line will launch in this year’s second quarter.
Another strategy ASUS may bank on for increased sales is offering discounted prices for older models, like what was done to the ZenFone 2 last year. Special offers for already budget-friendly phones like the 5.5-inch ZenFone 3 Max could be a potential hit.
[irp posts=”9308″ name=”ASUS ZenFone 3 Zoom hands-on”]
Source: DigiTimes


The race for artificial intelligence is a hot trail. Amid the unbridled popularity of ChatGPT, several companies have started pushing their own language models out the gate. Google, eager to compete in the emerging industry, has now opened Bard to users.
Today, Google has started issuing invitations to Google One subscribers for a chance to try the new chatbot. Subscribers can enter a waitlist to test the technology for themselves.
In essence, Bard acts the same as ChatGPT. Users can talk to the bot conversationally, and it will respond perfectly, as if you were talking to another human being. It’s a language learning model. By talking to so many users, the model can learn the best way to reply to certain prompts.
Although Google has access to its search engine, Bard is currently meant to complement it. The company warns users that the chatbot is still prone to occasional mistakes. As an example, it gave the wrong scientific name for a plant. While this example is innocuous, there can be more nefarious errors that the developers are still trying to fix. With a wider test now open to the public, Google hopes to fix more egregious mistakes ahead of a wider launch.
For now, if you subscribe to Google’s premium subscription service, you can wait in line to try out the new technology.
SEE ALSO: Google is working on a ChatGPT competitor called Bard

EA is a mixed bag nowadays. Formerly one of the biggest names in gaming, the company’s public reception is more varied these days. However, no one can argue against the studio’s earlier eras with more notable titles. Unfortunately, that era is coming to a more definitive close. EA is officially delisting a few notable Battlefield titles and the original Mirror’s Edge from digital stores.
In an official statement from the company, EA has announced the retirement of four online titles this year. Starting April 28, users will no longer be able to buy Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and Mirror’s Edge online. Additionally, the online services for these games will cease on December 8.
Still going strong today, the Battlefield franchise is EA’s answer to the Call of Duty franchise. While the latter focuses on more arcade-like shooting, Battlefield tries to infuse more strategic gameplay into historical and modern-day shooting.
On the other hand, Mirror’s Edge is a classic first-person parkour adventure. At the time, the title was notable for its fluid movement and easy-to-read visuals. It even spawned a sequel, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst.
Anyone who owns these titles can still play through them after April. However, come December, players can only go through the offline single-player campaigns of these games.
SEE ALSO: Blumhouse is getting into gaming

TikTok is in for another fight. Recently, the American government upped its efforts to ban the video-sharing platform from the country. The company is preparing to fight back. Ahead of a potential ban, it is enlisting the help of its most precious resource: TikTok users.
Today, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew shared a video to update the entire community about his impending congressional hearing later this week. In the video, the CEO thanks the American userbase in helping the platform grow, enumerating important numbers ahead of the hearing. For example, TikTok now has 150 million users — which, Chew notes, is half of the population of the United States — and 7,000 employees in the country.
The video then goes on to share the government’s plans to ban TikTok, potentially taking the app away from the big numbers that Chew mentioned. Further, the CEO is asking all these users to share what they love about the app in the comments of the video.
@tiktok Our CEO, Shou Chew, shares a special message on behalf of the entire TikTok team to thank our community of 150 million Americans ahead of his congressional hearing later this week.
For years, the American government has hounded the app over its Chinese ownership. The company — especially parent company ByteDance — has the potential to act as a conduit for Chinese surveillance, the government argues. The company has tried to counter these claims by increasing its employees in the country.
Now, the fight is coming to a head with several government bodies and other countries banning the app outright. It’s unknown how Chew is planning to attack the incoming congressional hearing. However, it’s likely that the company will leverage user feedback to buoy the app as an essential part of the current American landscape.
SEE ALSO: UK starts banning TikTok
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