Lenovo completes Motorola takeover after Google sale

Lenovo has completed its takeover of Google's Motorola Mobility division. The acquisition gives the Chinese firm control of the unit's Moto and Droid-branded handsets as well as its 3,500 employees, 2,800 of whom are based in the US. Lenovo said the deal made it the world's third bestselling smartphone-maker after Apple and Samsung. That knocks its country-mate Xiaomi back down into fourth spot, based on data from two market research reports. Lenovo stated that a total of 100 million mobile devices were on course to be shipped from its existing mobile phone business combined with that of Motorola's over the current fiscal year, which ends in March. Little overlap

Motorola has found recent success with its "budget" Moto G models. The original version, released last year was the bestselling phone in the business's history. Moto G The Moto G smartphone has helped reinvigorate Motorola's 86-year-old brand More recently it has also entered the wearables sector with the Moto 360 smartwatch, and announced its first Nexus device - a 6in (15.2cm) "phablet" marketed by Google, which will be one of the first phones to offer the Android 5.0 operating system. Lenovo is the world's bestselling PC maker, a position it attained after the takeover of IBM's personal computer business in 2005. Its smartphones are already big sellers in Asia and the Middle East, but they have not been sold in North America and Western Europe. While Lenovo and Motorola handsets do compete for sales in India, there is little overlap elsewhere between the two divisions at this point. "We're now planning to introduce Motorola-branded products back into China," Aymar de Lencquesaing, Lenovo's president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, told the BBC. Nexus 6 Motorola announced the Nexus 6 shortly before the takeover was completed

"But right now what we intend to do is leverage the stronger brand in each particular market. "For the most part, think of the developed mature world - that's going to be Motorola-driven. Emerging markets will be Lenovo-driven. "Some markets will overlap and over time nothing says that in any given market we couldn't have a dual brand strategy. But, let's put it this way, it's probably smarter for us right now to walk before we run." He ruled out cutting jobs at Motorola and confirmed that the division would remain headquartered in Chicago. 'Quality phones' Lenovo had previously stated that one of the reasons it bought the division for $2.9bn (£1.8bn) was to take advantage of Motorola's existing relationships with network operators in North America and Europe. One analyst said that this could offer a way to launch Lenovo-branded handsets in those regions if the company later decided to make the move. "Lenovo has proven it can manufacture quality phones and it is already well known as a PC brand in Europe and the US," said Ronan de Renesse from the telecoms consultancy Ovum.

"So, it doesn't have the cheap aspect to its brand that some of the other Chinese manufacturers have to deal with." Motorola Motorola's brand has been updated to take account of the acquisition Mr de Lencquesaing added that a nearer-term advantage to the tie-up was that Motorola would benefit from his company's supply-line efficiencies. The takeover does not include Motorola Solutions, which makes communications equipment for utility and emergency workers. The two Motorola businesses formally split in 2011. Google paid $12.5bn to acquire Motorola Mobility in 2012. It said the key motivation for the deal was the firm's patents, which it is keeping hold of.

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Google is developing cancer and heart attack detector

Google is aiming to diagnose cancers, impending heart attacks or strokes and other diseases, at a much earlier stage than is currently possible. The company is working on technology that combines disease-detecting nanoparticles, which would enter a patient's bloodstream via a swallowed pill, with a wrist-worn sensor. The idea is to identify slight changes in the person's biochemistry that could act as an early warning system. The work is still at an early stage. Early diagnosis is the key to treating disease. Many cancers, such as pancreatic, are detected only after they have become untreatable and fatal. There are marked differences between cancerous and healthy tissues. Google's ambition is to constantly monitor the blood for the unique traces of cancer, allowing diagnosis long before any physical symptoms appear. The project is being conducted by the search company's research unit, Google X, which is dedicated to investigating potentially revolutionary innovations.

It marks the firm's latest shift into the medical sector following its work on glucose-measuring contact lenses for patients with diabetes and the acquisition of a start-up that developed a spoon to counteract the tremors caused by Parkinson's disease. Google has also bought stakes in Calico, an anti-ageing research company, and 23andMe, which offers personal genetic-testing kits. Nanoparticles The diagnostic project is being led by Dr Andrew Conrad, a molecular biologist who previously developed a cheap HIV test that has become widely used. "What we are trying to do is change medicine from reactive and transactional to proactive and preventative," he told the BBC. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote Doctor-patient relationships are pretty privileged and would not involve Google in any way” Dr Andrew Conrad Google X "Nanoparticles... give you the ability to explore the body at a molecular and cellular level." Google is designing a suite of nanoparticles which are intended to match markers for different conditions. They could be tailored to stick to a cancerous cell or a fragment of cancerous DNA. Or they could find evidence of fatty plaques about to break free from the lining of blood vessels. These can cause a heart attack or stroke if they stop the flow of blood. Another set would constantly monitor chemicals in the blood. High levels of potassium are linked to kidney disease. Google believes it will be possible to construct porous nanoparticles that alter colour as potassium passes through. "Then [you can] recall those nanoparticles to a single location - because they are magnetic - and that location is the superficial vasculature of the wrist, [where] you can ask them what they saw," said Dr Conrad. Unattached nanoparticles would move differently in a magnetic field from those clumped around a cancer cell. In theory, software could then provide a diagnosis by studying their movements. As part of the project, the researchers have also explored ways of using magnetism to concentrate the nanoparticles temporarily in a single area. The tech company's ambition is ultimately to create a wristband that would take readings of the nanoparticles via light and radio waves one or more times a day. Prof Paul Workman, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research in London, told the BBC News website: "In principle this is great. Any newcomers with new ideas are welcome in the field. "There is an urgent need for this. If we can detect cancer or other diseases earlier, then we can intervene with either lifestyle changes or treatment. "How much of this proposal is dream versus reality is impossible to tell because it is a fascinating concept that now needs to be converted to practice."

His team at the institute is investigating cancer cells and cancer DNA in the blood as new methods of diagnosis and planning treatment. He did warn Google that a diagnosis could increase anxiety and lead to unnecessary treatment, so there needed to be "very careful and rigorous analysis" before this type of blood monitoring could be used widely. The scheme is being made public because Google is now seeking to establish partnerships. But Dr Conrad sought to play down the idea that his firm wanted to run a search tool for the human body, alongside the one it already offers for the internet. "We are the inventors of the technology but we have no intentions of commercialising it or monetising it in that way," he said. "We will license it out and the partners will take it forward to doctors and patients. "These are not consumer devices. They are prescriptive medical devices, and you know that doctor-patient relationships are pretty privileged and would not involve Google in any way." From searching the internet to searching your blood, Google certainly has high ambitions. But is it feasible? The basic principles are sound and mirror the work already taking place around the world. Many research groups are looking at bits of cancer floating in the blood as a better way of diagnosing the disease and also to assess which tumours are more aggressive. But Google will have to address concerns around "false positives", when healthy people are told they are ill. These have plagued the PSA test for prostate cancer, as PSA levels can soar even when cancer is absent. There is also the issue of "over-diagnosis". Who needs treating even if a condition is discovered? There is continuing controversy around breast cancer screening: for every life saved, three women have invasive treatment for a cancer that would never have proved fatal. Screening the body for disease is littered with dangers, and if it is not done carefully, it could make hypochondriacs out of all of us. Big risk? The nanoparticle project is the latest so-called "moonshot" to originate from Google X. Other schemes include the firm's driverless car effort and Project Loon, an attempt to provide internet access to remote areas via a network of high-altitude weather balloons. Jump media player Media player help While such ideas have the potential to make money, there is also a high risk of failure, and Google X acknowledges that several of its ideas have been ditched before being made public. One analyst commented that its parent was in a rare position to make such investments. "Under normal circumstances this is the kind of thing that would worry investors because such projects are too long-term and the miss rate is too high," said Cyrus Mewawalla, from CM Research. "But because Google's core search business is currently so strong, shareholders are not worried at the moment and are allowing the firm to take a gamble." line Analysis: Leo Kelion, technology desk editor icons Google's diagnostic project may never come to fruition, but its significance lies in the fact it represents part of a wider push by the firm into health tech. Bearing in mind this is already a crowded sector, it begs the question: why? The search firm denies that it wants to run its own diagnosis service, with all the privacy headaches that would entail, but the patents it creates along the way could prove lucrative. No doubt the fact that co-founder and Google X chief Sergey Brin has been told that a gene mutation has increased his likelihood of contracting Parkinson's has also focused efforts. And the company clearly believes its expertise in "big data" analysis and its freedom to focus on giant leaps forward, rather than incremental steps, plays to its advantages. It's worth remembering that another much hyped health idea, Google Flu Trends - which aimed to predict the spread of the virus based on internet searches - has been dubbed a failure by some after researchers said it had overestimated the number of cases in 100 out of 108 weeks. And US health watchdogs banned Google-backed 23andme from selling the the heath data part of its genetic screening kits last year. On the other hand, Google's "smart lens" for diabetics shows promise, with Swiss firm Novartis stepping up to license the technology in July. And the forthcoming Android Fit platform, designed to harness data from other apps and wearables, has a good chance of success given the huge number of people using the operating system. Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

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Apple chief Tim Cook: 'I'm proud to be gay'

Apple chief executive Tim Cook has publicly acknowledged his sexuality, saying that he is "proud to be gay". Mr Cook made his announcement to try to help people struggling with their identity, he wrote in a Bloomberg Businessweek article. He has been open about his sexuality, but has also tried to maintain a basic level of privacy until now, he said. This week Mr Cook challenged his home state of Alabama to ensure the rights of gay and transgender people. "I don't consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others," he wrote. "So if hearing that the CEO [chief executive] of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy," he added. Mr Cook said that he had been open about his sexuality with many people, including colleagues at Apple, but that it still "wasn't an easy choice" to publicly announce his sexual orientation. He quoted civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King, saying: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' " Rory Cellan-Jones, BBC News technology correspondent Tim Cook's announcement may come as no surprise in Silicon Valley or across corporate America. But that does not mean that we should underestimate the significance of the leader of the world's most valuable company talking openly about his sexuality. Back in May, a piece in the New York Times asked "where are the gay chief executives?" and struggled to name any openly gay CEOs at America's 1,000 biggest companies.

Apple under Steve Jobs was not a company that took a stand on any issues which were not seen as relevant to its business. Tim Cook has been more forthcoming on all sorts of issues, including equal rights for gay workers, and while he says he does not see himself as an activist, that is how many will now see him. That could embroil him in controversy in the United States, let alone in other parts of the world with less liberal views of sexuality. Mr Cook admitted that going public as a gay man was not an easy choice - but it certainly looks a courageous one. line This week Mr Cook referred to Martin Luther King in a speech in Alabama in which he called for equal rights for people based on sexual orientation and identity. He said that Alabama had been too slow to ensure the rights of ethnic minorities in the civil rights era, and was now being too slow to guarantee gay rights. "Under the law, citizens of Alabama can still be fired based on their sexual orientation," Mr Cook said. "We can't change the past, but we can learn from it and we can create a different future." Mr Cook has championed equality at Apple, but in August said he was "not satisfied" with workforce diversity at the company. Outstanding, a not-for-profit professional network for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) executives, said on Thursday that many LGBT people in the UK felt it was "safer to stay in the closet" when at work. In May a US study by LGBT organisation Human Rights Campaign suggested that 53% of US LGBT employees had not come out at work

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Burkina Faso parliament set ablaze

Protesters angry at plans to allow Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore to extend his 27-year-rule have set fire to parliament.

Correspondents say the city hall and ruling party headquarters are also in flames. A huge crowd is surging towards the presidential palace and the main airport has been shut. MPs have suspended a vote on changing the constitution to allow Mr Compaore to stand for re-election next year. Five people have been killed in the protests, among the most serious against Mr Compaore's rule, reports BBC Afrique's Yacouba Ouedraogo from the capital. The military had earlier fired live bullets as protesters stormed parliament, he says.

Dozens of soldiers have reportedly joined the protests, including a former defence minister, General Kouame Lougue. The main opposition leader, Zephirin Diabre, has called on the military to side with "the people". State TV off air Mr Compaore's whereabouts are unknown, but he has appealed for calm via Twitter. He first took power in a coup in 1987, and has won four disputed elections since then.

Eyewitness Joost Laane told BBC Focus on Africa: I am in an area where many MPs live - and I have seen two of their homes set ablaze and smoke coming out of another two or three homes. Hotel Azalai, one of the main hotels in the city, is also on fire. Two helicopters flew over my house - the president's and a normal helicopter. I cannot confirm whether the president was in one of them. No-one knows what is going to happen next. It is chaotic and tense. We hear sporadic gunfire. There is no TV anymore. So we are depending on internet access and phone calls. The 3G network and the texting system are blocked. line The opposition has called for a campaign of civil disobedience to demand that he steps down in elections next year. "October 30 is Burkina Faso's Black Spring, like the Arab Spring," opposition activist Emile Pargui Pare told AFP news agency. State television has gone off air after protesters stormed the building housing it and ransacked it, Reuters quotes a witness as saying. About 1,500 people breached the security cordon at parliament, AFP reports. Protesters were setting fire to documents and stealing computer equipment and cars outside the building were also set on fire, it reports. line

A massive crowd has also converged on the main square in Ouagadougou, and are marching towards the presidential palace, which is about 5km (three miles) away, our reporter says. A government helicopter flying overhead was firing tear gas at them, Reuters reports. There are also reports of protests in the south-western city of Bobo Dioulasso. The government has been forced to suspend Thursday's parliamentary vote on a constitutional amendment that would have lifted the limit on presidential terms so that Mr Compaore could run for office again in 2015. It is not clear whether the government intends to hold the vote at a later stage, correspondents say. Mr Compaore is a staunch ally of the US and France, which uses Burkina Faso as a base for military operations against militant Islamists in the Sahel region. Both France and the European Union (EU) have called on him to scrap the proposed constitutional amendment. The EU said it could jeopardise Burkina Faso's stability. The US has also raised concern about the proposed amendment.

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White House computer network 'hacked'

A White House computer network has been breached by hackers, it has been reported. The unclassified Executive Office of the President network was attacked, according to the Washington Post. US authorities are reported to be investigating the breach, which was reported to officials by an ally of the US, sources said. White House officials believe the attack was state-sponsored but are not saying what - if any - data was taken. In a statement to the AFP news agency, the White House said "some elements of the unclassified network" had been affected. A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post: "In the course of assessing recent threats, we identified activity of concern on the unclassified EOP network. "Any such activity is something we take very seriously. In this case, we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity. 'State-sponsored' "Certainly, a variety of actors find our networks to be attractive targets and seek access to sensitive information. We are still assessing the activity of concern." The source said the attack was consistent with a state-sponsored effort and Russia is thought by the US government to be one of the most likely threats. "On a regular basis, there are bad actors out there who are attempting to achieve intrusions into our system," a second White House official told the Washington Post. "This is a constant battle for the government and our sensitive government computer systems, so it's always a concern for us that individuals are trying to compromise systems and get access to our networks." The Post quoted its sources as saying that the attack was discovered two-to-three weeks ago. Some White House staff were reportedly told to change their passwords and there was some disruption to network services. In a statement given to Agence France-Presse, a White House official said the Executive Office of the President received daily alerts concerning numerous possible cyber threats. In the course of addressing the breach, some White House users were temporarily disconnected from the network. "Our computers and systems have not been damaged, though some elements of the unclassified network have been affected. The temporary outages and loss of connectivity for our users is solely the result of measures we have taken to defend our networks," the official said. The US's National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Security Service were reportedly investigating.

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