A Roundup of Some of the Top Tech Stories I Missed

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I have been mute on the blog end since Tuesday last week. My apologies, I'm back and better. Here is a roundup of some of the trending Tech stories I missed.

Facebook Plans To Use Laser Beams for High-Speed Internet

The Social Media giant's team of engineers published a paper in the scientific journal Optica demonstrating the feasibility of using commercially available fluorescent materials to transmit data via laser beams through open space at speeds up to 2.1 Gbps. That's more than double the speed of the fastest download speeds possible over a 4G wireless connection.

Introducing Corning Gorilla Glass 5

The glass company presented the fifth iteration of its super-resistant Gorilla Glass at an event at its offices in Palo Alto, California. The latest version of Corning's Gorilla Glass can survive nearly human-height drops and will be introduced into new phones starting September.

You Don't Need to be a Celebrity to be Verified Twitter Lets Anyone and Everyone Apply for a Blue Badge

Twitter announced it has opened up the application process for verified account status, which previously was reserved for celebrities and other high-profile users. Any user may now file an online application to have an account verified. Twitter account verification, denoted by a blue badge icon, flags individuals and organizations as authentic, the company explained.

Facebook Messenger App Hits 1 Billion Active Monthly Users

Facebook is reporting that Messenger has reached more than 1 billion active monthly users.

This was stated on the company's blog:

“Today we are announcing that more than 1 billion people now use Facebook Messenger every month, making Messenger one of only a handful of apps worldwide that touch so many lives,” 

Pokemon Go is Taking Over the world

Pokemon Go is an Augmented Reality mobile game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. It was launched in some parts of the world on the 6th of July 2016. Making use of GPS and the camera of compatible devices, the game allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, who appear on device screens as though in the real world. In just 2 weeks after launch, the game has about 30 million downloads with 26 million active daily users in the US alone. It is now one of the most used apps on smartphones surpassing the record held by another mobile game, Candy Crush Saga. It took only 13 hours for Pokemon go to reach the top of the highest-grossing app chart in the US. The game is not yet available in Nigeria, but I was able to download and played a couple of times. 

Google Released Final Developer Preview for Android Nougat

Google yesterday released the final developer preview of its mobile operating system. The latest 

OS update will introduce a number of new features-

• support for multiple windows 
• enhanced notifications 
• new emojis.

Android Nougat will bring new improvements for better battery life and memory, along with changes designed to make it easier for Android for Work users to manage accounts, passwords, and secondary devices.

Apple iPhone 7 Leaks

According to leaks from one of the most accurate leak sites on the net, Nowherelse.fr, Apple will release three new iPhone 7 models in September: the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 Pro.

The iPhone 7 Pro will come with a dual lens rear camera as well as a Smart Connector (identifiable by the three dots on its lower back) which allows connected peripherals to simultaneously share power and data. Currently, it is only available on the iPad Pro range.

Samsung Galaxy 7 Rumors

It is no longer a rumour that the next Galaxy note will be called Galaxy Note 7 and will be launching on the 2nd of August.

Samsung's Galaxy Note7 is a big bet that may pay off for the entire industry https://t.co/eIJk8V6biH pic.twitter.com/mLDhmEpvuB

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) July 19, 2016

Leaked images from Evan Blass - @evleaks has revealed what the device will look like.

Expected Features 

• Dual-edge display
• Fingerprint scanner
• Iris scanner
• Water-resistant
• USB Type-C port.
• 6-inch QHD Super AMOLED display
• Two iterations featuring Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 and Exynos 8893 SoCs
• 6 GB of RAM. (Snapdragon 820 processor paired with 4 GB RAM).
• Storage- 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB, with the option to expand. 
• Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based TouchWiz Grace UX operating system 
• 12-megapixel rear camera, 5-megapixel front camera 
• 3600mAh battery.