United News of Bangladesh

Newly-renamed Meta is investing heavily in its futuristic “metaverse” project, but for now, relies on advertising revenue for nearly all its income. So when it posted sharply higher costs but gave a weak revenue forecast late Wednesday, investors got spooked — and knocked almost $200 billion off the valuation of the company formerly known as Facebook. Meta’s shares fell 22.6% to $249.90 in after-hours trading. If the drop holds until the market opens Thursday, the company’s overall value, known as its market capitalization, is on track to drop by a figure greater than the size of the entire Greek economy, based on data from the World Bank. Read:Meta’s campaigns strengthened Bangladesh govt’s COVID response The metaverse is sort of the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” in which you can immerse yourself instead of just staring at a screen. Theoretically, the metaverse would be a place where people can meet, work and play using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices. But building it is not likely to be cheap. Meta invested more than $10 billion in its Reality Labs segment — which includes its virtual reality headsets and augmented reality technology — in 2021, contributing to the quarter’s profit decline. It expanded its workforce by 23%, ending the year with 71,970 employees, mostly in technical roles. Read Plenty of pitfalls await Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ plan The company also said revenue in the current quarter is likely to come in below market expectations, due in part to growing competition from TikTok and other rival platforms vying for people’s attention. Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s chief operating officer, said in a conference call with analysts that global supply chain issues, labor shortages and earlier-than-usual holiday spending by advertisers put pressure on the company’s advertising sales. Another problem: Recent privacy changes by Apple make it harder for companies like Meta to track people for advertising purposes, which also puts pressure on the company’s revenue. For months now, Meta has been warning investors that its revenue can’t continue to grow at the breakneck pace they are accustomed to. Read In the middle of a crisis, Facebook Inc. renames itself Meta “It is time for a reality check on Meta’s position for the metaverse,” said Raj Shah, an analyst at the digital consulting firm Publicis Sapient. “The metaverse is a long way from being profitable or filling the gap in ad revenue after Apple’s policy change.” People’s changing online behavior is also limiting Meta’s money-making abilities. More people are watching video, such as Instagram’s Reels (a TikTok clone), and this makes less money than more established features. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based company said it earned $10.29 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the final three months of 2021. That’s down 8% from $11.22 billion, or $3.88 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose to 20% to $33.67 billion. Read What the metaverse is and how it will work Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.85 per share on revenue of $33.36 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. Meta Platforms Inc. took on its new name last fall to emphasize Zuckerberg’s new focus on the metaverse. Since then, the company has been shifting resources and hiring engineers — including from competitors like Apple and Google — who can help realize his vision. Zuckerberg is betting that the metaverse will be the next generation of the internet because he thinks it’s going to be a big part of the digital economy. He expects people to start seeing Meta as a “metaverse company” in the coming years, rather than a social media company. Read:Plenty of pitfalls await Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ plan For now, though, the metaverse exists only as an amorphous idea envisioned — and named — by the science fiction author Neal Stephenson three decades ago. It’s not yet clear if it’ll be the next iteration of human-computer interaction the way Zuckerberg sees it, or just another playground for techies and gamers. This could be spooking investors, who tend to prefer immediate, or at least quick, results on investments. “There’s a lot of uncertainty about Meta’s investments in the metaverse and if or when they will have a positive impact on the company’s bottom line,” said Debra Aho Williamson, an analyst with Insider Intelligence. Read How Do Social Media Influencers Make Money? “While we expect Meta to ramp up testing ads and commerce within its metaverse offerings this year, those efforts will be highly experimental and not likely to drive much revenue in the near term,” she added. Meta said it expects revenue between $27 billion and $29 billion for the current quarter, below the $30.2 billion analysts are forecasting.

Vivo started 2021 by introducing new devices; the latest phones of the V Series, Y series and X Series were released throughout the year. The top-selling vivo phones in 2021 were X60 Pro, X70 Pro 5G, V21, Y21, and Y12s. X60 Pro arrived with a state-of-the-art imaging technology co-engineered in collaboration with ZEISS, a world leader in optics and optoelectronics. The phone's Gimbal Stabilization 2.0, Superb Night Camera 2.0, 12GB RAM and 256GB ROM make it a powerful player. READ: Vivo showcases tech trends for 2022 X70 Pro is equipped with a rear-quad camera array of a 50MP + 12MP + 12MP + 8MP setup together with an Ultra-Sensing Gimbal Camera. V21 comes with a 44MP OIS Night Selfie System and diverse features to address the challenges of night photography. Also, it includes a Selfie Spotlight and AI Night portrait with AI Night algorithm for an ultimate night selfie experience packed in a super sleek and stylish Ultra Slim AG Design. The slim and slender Y21 has a 2.5D flat frame and has a 5000mAh large battery. It is a piece of lightweight tech that offers a premium and comfortable hold.  Read Best Upcoming Smartphones in Bangladesh in February 2022 Y12s features a long-lasting 5000mAh battery, an Ultra-Swift Side-Mounted Fingerprint Technology and AI Dual Camera. 

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has made its place in the world's top 10 most valuable brands of 2022, announced recently by Brand Finance Global 500. This year, Huawei has jumped six places in comparison to last year in the annual Brand Finance Global 500 index.  Huawei has become the ninth most valuable brand in the world with a 29 percent growth to $71.2 billion. READ: Huawei Bangladesh for collaborative efforts to widen digital education, online learning scopes Despite the unprecedented situation created by the pandemic, the company focused on its ICT services and ploughed revenue back into innovations. Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping said, "Despite all the trials and tribulations, the company worked with customers and partners to ensure business as usual. After adjusting its strategy accordingly, overall performance was in line with our forecasts." Read Vivo showcases tech trends for 2022 Leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance adjudicates 5,000 of the biggest brands and publishes reports every year, ranking the most valuable brands across different sectors. This year, alongside Huawei, Apple has won the world's most valuable brand title whereas WeChat has become the world's strongest brand. 

Vivo announced a series of technological advancements that will shape 2022 at its recently concluded Vivo Developer Conference, showing strengths in system performance, application services, IoT and industry opportunities. To enhance computing performance that allows better smoothness and increases the efficiency of power consumption, vivo has designed computing engines including a high real-time computing engine, intelligent scheduling computing engine and high-speed data-chasing-loading computing engine. Zhou Wei, vice-president of vivo and head of vivo Artificial Intelligence Global Research Institute, introduced them at the event. Read: Vivo's V23 5G available in stores now Also, vivo has invested in innovation to enhance memory management efficiency and performance. The company optimised an independent virtual cache unit to ensure comprehensive management of the system resident memory life cycle, application memory allocation, and DRAM and SoC internal cache. There are multiple times consumers face an issue with signals and poor network connection in their smartphones. Being a handheld device, smartphones face signal obstruction due to some postures. Vivo's latest innovation, Unique Antenna RF Design, will solve such signal obstructions faced by the users. Read Apple’s holiday iPhone sales surge despite supply shortages In addition, AI technology can identify when the Wi-Fi signal is weak. The system can intelligently select the best network to ensure a better internet experience, largely reducing the freezing rate when encountering weak Wi-Fi signals. Vivo's IoT ecosystem is also empowered by its technological advancement that upgrades and optimises the connection of devices, the efficiency of data flow, and quick apps, offering a more enjoyable smart home experience to users. Read OPPO recognizes unsung heroes of Bangladesh

Apple shook off supply shortages that have curtailed production of iPhones and other popular devices to deliver its most profitable holiday season yet. The results posted Thursday for the final three months of 2021 help illustrate why Apple is looking even stronger at the tail end of the pandemic than when the crisis began two years ago. At that point, Apple’s iPhone sales had been flagging as consumers began holding on to their older devices for longer periods. But now the Cupertino, California, company can’t seem to keep up with the steadily surging demand for a device that has become even more crucial in the burgeoning era of remote work. Read Vivo showcases tech trends for 2022 “IPhone has never been more popular,” Apple CEO Tim Cook crowed during a conference call with analysts. The company’s Mac computers and, to a lesser extent, iPads also continue to proliferate. With the iPhone leading the way, Apple disclosed it now has more than 1.8 billion devices worldwide now in use. Apple’s inability to fully satisfy the voracious appetite for iPhones stems from a pandemic-driven shortage of computer chips that’s affecting the production of everything from automobiles to medical devices. But Apple so far has navigated the shortfalls “in almost Teflon-like fashion,” Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said in a Thursday research note. That deft management enabled Apple to report iPhone sales of $71.63 billion for the October-December period, a 9% increase from the same time in the previous year. READ: Apple iPad 9th Generation 2021 Review: Is it a value-for-money device? Its shares gained more than 5% in Thursday’s extended trading after the Apple’s fiscal first-quarter numbers came out. The supply issues looming around Apple’s devices have magnified the importance of the company’s services division, which is fueled by commissions from digital transactions on iPhone apps, subscriptions to music, video streaming and repair plans. The up to 30% commissions Apple collects from apps distributed through its exclusive app store have become a focal point of a fierce legal battle that unfolded in a high-stakes trial year, as well as proposed reforms recently introduced in the U.S. Senate seeking to down the company’s barriers preventing consumers from using alternative payment systems. Read Samsung Electronics' revenue hits record high in 2021 For now, though, the services division is still booming. Its revenue in the past quarter hit $19.52 billion, a 24% increase. Apple is widely believed to be maneuvering toward another potentially huge money-making opportunity with the introduction of an augmented reality headset that would project digital images and information while its users interact with other physical objects and people. True to its secretive form, the company has never said it is working on that kind of technology. But Cook has openly shared his enthusiasm for the potential of augmented reality in past public presentations, and reiterated that point during Thursday’s conference call. READ: Apple iPhone 13 Review: Know the upgrades and new features “We see a lot of potential in that space, and are investing accordingly,” he said in response to a question. Some analysts believe the long-rumored headset could finally roll out later this year — unless it’s delayed by supply shortages.

Youth-centric brand realme's Number Series will bring the new 9 Pro Series to the global market soon. The series will support all the benefits of 5G networks and is the first to adopt the MediaTek Dimentsity 920 5G Processor, the company said. Read MediaTek or Snapdragon Chipset: Who Will Win the Race in 2022? Realme was the fastest-growing 5G Android smartphone brand globally in Q3, with robust growth in India, China and Europe, according to the latest data released by market analyst firm Counterpoint Research. Realme was able to outgrow the market with its 5G smartphone sales growing 831 percent YoY compared to the global growth rate of 121 percent. 

Plagiarism checker tools and software are very beneficial in many facets of life. On one hand, they teach professionals to appreciate other people's work and refrain from plagiarizing it. From another standpoint, these programs assist in safeguarding the copyright and securing internal papers of a company. Here we have compiled a list of plagiarism detecting programs that are completely free and are going to help you. Top Plagiarism Detection Software You Can Use Free of Cost Grammarly You may use Grammarly for free to check for grammatical issues in your paper, Docx Word file, or web page, but you must upgrade to check for plagiarism. The user can copy and text into Grammarly from a text file. It can detect deliberate plagiarism and an incorrectly quoted quotation by doing a deep search throughout the web. The companies, organizations, teachers, or editors can use this checker on a regular basis to assess papers provided by freelance writers and to locate missing citations. Read Best Upcoming Smartphones in Bangladesh in February 2022 Grammarly is a preferred plagiarism checker by many professionals since it finds instances of plagiarism in the writing and on this site. These sorts of insights aid in self-editing and assure that the users can generate unique content, which is beneficial for SERP ranking. Grammarly's premium plan offers a more precise plagiarism detector. Monthly Subscription fee is $30 (BDT 2578). Subscription is $60 USD (BDT 5156) per three months. And, the annual Subscription charge stands at $144 (BDT 12374) per year. Conversion rate BDT 85.93 to 1 USD. Plagiarisma This software is compatible with Microsoft Windows, BlackBerry, Android, Moodle, and the Web. It identifies instances of plagiarism in essays, research papers, coursework, and dissertations. It facilitates access to rank a content organically in Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Users can check research papers and articles from Scholar, and Books. The users can verify a text using a URL, an online service, or a file upload. This tool is multilingual in nature, supporting over 190 languages. Read Best Productivity Tools, Apps, and Software to Organize Your Work The users can simply copy and paste the text or write it in the relevant section, enter a URL, or upload a file from the computer. HTML, TXT, RTF, DOC, DOCX, XLSX, XLS, PDF, EPUB, ODT, FB2, and PDB are all supported file formats. However, there are daily restrictions on the number of plagiarism checks.  ProWritingAid This flexible application is an excellent alternative for authors on a budget who wish to verify their work for plagiarism swiftly and simply. This copyright checker may be used to examine writings while the users are working in popular tools such as Scrivener. Alternatively, the users can also post an article, essay, or document in this platform to check plagiarism. The users can utilize the plagiarism checker to scan book chapters for missing quotation citations when writing a book, article or research paper. The reports' accuracy will certainly amaze you. The users must purchase credits in order to conduct a plagiarism report on a piece of work.  Read Top free infographic tools and software The paid version is available at $79 (BDT 6789) per year. Conversion rate: BDT 85.93 equals 1 USD.

OPPO has acknowledged some  genuine heroes who faced strong challenges for creating a better future for Bangladesh though its 'Stories of Heroic People' campaign. OPPO also extended support for their future endeavors as it believes in serving society as their mission states, 'Technology for mankind, Kindness for the world'. Read:Oppo Reno7 SE 5G Review: Can it rule the upper mid-range segment? In collaboration with BURO Bangladesh, OPPO Bangladesh granted the heroes and their storytellers cheques and gifts as the recognition of their contribution to Bangladesh on Thursday, at the head office premises at Dhaka, said a press release. OPPO photographers and content creators captured the hero's emotions alongside with their heart touching stories by the OPPO Reno6. The stunning AI Quad Camera with Bokeh Flare Portrait featured smartphone was used to capture and show emotions with better imaging features because every emotion deserves a portrait. Read Best Upcoming Smartphones in Bangladesh in February 2022 Dulal Sir was subjected to inhuman torture at the hands of Pakistani forces during the liberation war. However, upon his survival, he again devoted himself to patriotism. Later, 65-year-old Dulal Sir built several educational institutions and mosques in his area to ensure education for all. He also taught students in Anirban Vidyalaya. Hailing from Batiaghata Upazila of Khulna, 70-year-old freedom fighter and village doctor Rabindranath Biswas treated war-wounded freedom fighters in 1971. Since then, he has been providing free medical services for the poor and needy people. Although his name is not on the list of freedom fighters, he is not disappointed because to him, human welfare is more important to him than recognition. Read: Shakib Al Hasan becomes brand ambassador of Oppo On the other hand, Sajedul Islam has been involved in various social activities as a volunteer. He donates blood himself and encourages others to donate. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he joined hands with Gopalganj Bandhu Mahal and provided free oxygen cylinders to dying patients. The stories have been selected from thousands of stories collected in the 'Stories of the Heroic People' social activity campaign which was conducted during the national victory day as a tribute to the national heroes. Through the lens of Reno6 every picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures are a testament to that. It is incredible how these people, in spite of the tribulations in life, manage to support the country and uplift others' lives with such resilience. Read Tesla Smartphone Model Pi: Leaked features, release date

Samsung Electronics, South Korea's tech behemoth, posted its highest revenue last year on solid global demand for semiconductors, the company said on Thursday. Consolidated revenue gained 18.1 percent over the year to reach a new high of 279.6 trillion won (232.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021. Operating profit soared 43.5 percent to 51.63 trillion won (43 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, marking the third-highest figure in the company's history. Net income jumped 51.1 percent to 39.91 trillion won (33.2 billion U.S. dollars). Read Telenor unveils 5 tech trends that will shape 2022 The record revenue was driven by the semiconductor business. Revenue in the chip-making unit amounted to 94.16 trillion won (78.2 billion U.S. dollars) last year, accounting for one-third of the total. Samsung's fourth-quarter revenue also hit a quarterly high due to the expanded sale of premium smartphones, TVs and home appliances as well as the robust chip demand that offset the lower chip price. Revenue advanced 24.4 percent from a year earlier to 76.57 trillion won (63.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the three months ending Dec. 31. Also read: Samsung Galaxy S21FE 5G hits stores Operating profit surged 53.3 percent to 13.87 trillion won (11.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the October-December quarter, and net income spiked 64 percent to 10.84 trillion won (9 billion U.S. dollars). The semiconductor division recorded an operating profit of 8.84 trillion won (7.3 billion U.S. dollars) on revenue of 26.01 trillion won (21.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter. Samsung said overall chip demand was strong in the fourth quarter despite a slight fall in average selling price and a continuation of global supply chain disruption. Read Symphony exports smartphones to Nepal The company expected server chip demand to grow this year thanks to the increased IT investment and new high-core central processing units (CPUs), saying that mobile chip demand may increase with the expanded 5G lineup. The display panel business registered an operating profit of 1.32 trillion won (1.1 billion U.S. dollars) on revenue of 9.06 trillion won (7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the fourth quarter. Mobile panel earnings continued to improve in the quarter on solid demand for newly-launched smartphones, but large panel earnings widened losses on a lower price for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. Read Walton brings 11th Gen laptops Samsung forecast that robust demand for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels may continue this year based on rising 5G penetration and the growth of the foldable phone market. The mobile phone and networks business logged an operating profit of 2.66 trillion won (2.2 billion U.S. dollars) on revenue of 28.95 trillion won (24.1 billion U.S. dollars). Overall market demand was driven in the fourth quarter by the strong year-end seasonality and the increased sale of premium smartphones, such as foldable lineup and Galaxy S series, while the sales of PCs, tablets and wearable devices also contributed to the revenue growth, according to Samsung. Read Walton, Buet sign MoUs to work on research, innovation The tech giant noted that uncertainties would remain over the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and the component supply shortage, but it expected the market of smartphones and wearable devices to continue growing this year. The consumer electronics unit logged an operating profit of 700 billion won (581.6 million U.S. dollars) on revenue of 15.35 trillion won (12.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the final quarter of last year. Demand for TVs and home appliances increased in the fourth quarter due to year-end seasonality, but the growth slowed on the back of the fading effects of pent-up demand. Read realme registers stunning global growth in 2021 Samsung forecast that demand would rise this year for premium and super-large TVs, predicting a sluggish market for home appliances. Samsung's capital expenditure totaled 48.2 trillion won (40.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, including 43.6 trillion won (36.2 billion U.S. dollars) for semiconductors and 2.6 trillion won (2.2 billion U.S dollars) for display panels.

The 2022 Samsung Lifestyle TVs won the "Eye Care" certification from Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker in Germany, one of Europe's largest technical-scientific associations with more than 36,000 members.  The certification applies to Samsung's 2022 Lifestyle TV models including, The Frame, The Serif, and The Sero. The screens are evaluated on various categories, including safety, gentle to the eyes, flicker level, uniformity, and colour fidelity. The new Lifestyle TVs were assessed for safety from blue light emission and melatonin inhibition levels based on a light hazard classification method set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Read Samsung unveils 'Together for Tomorrow' vision Samsung's 2022 Lifestyle TVs satisfy the IEC's standards for screen flickering, which can cause eye fatigue or headache for viewers. They were also recognised for excellence in colour fidelity and picture quality uniformity, both elements of which contribute to the eye comfort level while watching TV. The TVs were also verified as glare-free by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a leading independent safety science company. UL's verification validates the glare-free claim by assessing the products against the unified glare rating testing standard set by the International Commission on Illumination. Read Telenor unveils 5 tech trends that will shape 2022 Samsung's new Lifestyle TV models use a new Matte Display with anti-glare, anti-reflection, and anti-fingerprint properties to deliver the optimal brightness and provide the best picture quality without glare. These glare assessments were calculated based on test results of watching TV in both 300 lux, which is equivalent to a brightly lit work area, and in 70 lux, which is usually the value for a dimly lit work area. Also, Samsung's new 2022 QLED models received the world's first "Pantone Validated" certification from Pantone, the world-famous brand in the global colour industry and creator of the Pantone Matching System. Read Best Screen Brightness Control Apps, Software to Relax Your Eyes These models receiving this recognition from Pantone include all 20 newly released models – 15 QLED TVs in both 4K and 8K and five monitors. Samsung's 2022 QLED TV line-up was recognised for its accurate expression of 2,030 Pantone colours and newly added 110 skin tone shades.