Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Russian Internet Giant Yandex Launches Its First Smartphone (venturebeat.com)

Posted by msmash on from the how-about-that dept.

Russia's Yandex has launched its first ever smartphone as the company seeks to leverage its dominant position in apps and services into hardware sales. Yandex, which runs the most popular search engine in Russia, hopes its Yandex.Phone will bind users closer to its suite of products, from food delivery and taxi hailing apps to marketplace and music streaming platforms, as competition rises for online services. From a report: The Yandex.Phone is a 5.65-inch Android-powered phone that will cost 17,990 rubles ($270) when it goes on sale tomorrow. In terms of specifications, Yandex.Phone is a fairly mid-range device, sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 16-megapixel / 5-megapixel dual rear camera.

In place of Google Assistant, which is standard on most Android phones, the company is also pushing its own intelligent assistant, Alice. This isn't the first piece of Yandex hardware to sport Alice since it was unveiled in 2017 -- earlier this year, Yandex launched a $160 smart speaker that also included the virtual assistant. It's not entirely clear what the default apps on the phone will be, but judging by the official photos it seems pretty clear Yandex is positioning its own services at the forefront of the device and favoring its own search engine. That said, Google's apps are also bundled.

37 comments

  1. Finally by 110010001000 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Finally a phone I can trust. And Alice sounds like a good idea too. Nothing possibly is bad about this, but I am sure some Slashdotter will try and spin it that way!

    1. Re:Finally by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      Alice is mostly useless, behaving more like a chat bot than a digital assistent.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    2. Re:Finally by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Oh, just like Siri and Cortana or Google Assistant.

    3. Re:Finally by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      No, these have at least some uses like switching off the smart lights. Alice can't, but she can be sarcastic instead.

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
    4. Re:Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I cant wait until Mycroft sees some actual use, seems like we need an open self-hosted assistant instead of this proprietary crap.

    5. Re:Finally by mnemotronic · · Score: 1
      Are the lyrics to Jefferson Airplane's "Go Ask Alice" floating around in anyone else's head?
      (with mods....)

      One app makes you larger
      And our app makes you small
      And the ones that Vlady gives you
      Don't do anything at all

      Go ask Alice
      When she's ten feet tall
      And if you go chasing twitter
      And you know you're going to fall

      Tell them a hookah-smoking caterpillar
      Has given you the call
      Call Alice when she was just small
      When the men on the chess board get up and tell you where to go

      And you just launched some kind of search
      And your device is moving slow
      Go ask Alice
      I think she'll know

      When opponents and reporters
      Have fallen sloppy dead
      And the orange knight is talking backwards
      And the Red Queen's lost her head
      Remember what the dormouse said

      Feed your head
      Feed your head

      --
      The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
    6. Re:Finally by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Isn’t that called “White Rabbit”?

      Not that I am old enough to remember, nosiree bob.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    7. Re:Finally by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shut up you fat retard.

  2. KGB phone? what could go wrong? by bettodavis · · Score: 0

    Given the ease of planting spyware in modern smartphones and devices with Wifi and GPS (ergo contextual and situational knowledge + access), I'm not sure it is a good idea to trust devices from countries known to deliberately spy and hack sensitive networks in the USA.

    If you think NSA accessing Google/Facebook logs is scarier, think again.

    1. Re:KGB phone? what could go wrong? by darkwing_bmf · · Score: 4, Funny

      More options is always good. Now we have a choice of Russians or Chinese spying on us!

    2. Re:KGB phone? what could go wrong? by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 1

      More options is always good. Now we have a choice of Russians or Chinese spying on us!

      Nah, I doubt it will sell in the West. At least, not without rebranding. But what do I know, we may one day see Alice here, we're all mad here.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    3. Re:KGB phone? what could go wrong? by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      Now we have a choice of Russians or Chinese spying on us!

      HEY! Don't forget about Australia!

      Software is just as good as Hardware, I'll have you know. (Fuming...)

      And the US's NSA? They're not part of the landscape, they ARE the landscape.

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
    4. Re:KGB phone? what could go wrong? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Given history of american-sponsored color revolutions, terrorist organizations (al-Quaeda, anyone?), civil wars and how NSA/CIA/Facebook/Google was involved in it (Syria, Ukraine for example), NSA access to logs of russian citizens is way more scary for them than FSB/KGB/whatever.

  3. snap overlording causes ubuntu exodus? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    former fans now turned into hostage/refugees? fedorians in close pursuit? burgeoning era of open honest communications & commerce relocating? stuff that matters?

  4. Merry Christmas Donald! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A perfect gift for you to stay in touch with Mr. Putin!

    1. Re:Merry Christmas Donald! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, but they should have used the name Putin instead of Alice.

  5. "Yandex.Phone" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There seems to be an unnecessary period in each instance of Yandex Phone in the summary

  6. I've used Yandex, seems competent. by pecosdave · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I started using Yandex when it became obvious Google was biasing its results politically.

    As far as U.S. politics is concerned it looks like Yandex was probably neutral. Unfortunately as a Russian search engine, even though I was using the English interface it gave way too many Russian language results so I've mostly abandoned it for DuckDuckGo and Ecosia.

    Yandex, I have to say was solid and well made. I do believe there's more here than another "Fire Phone".

    --
    The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
    1. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...I started using Yandex when it became obvious Google was biasing its results politically.

      Yandex was your first choice for unbiased results?

    2. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by Puls4r · · Score: 1

      They're a Russian company - in a country of companies not known for high tech consumer products. Next to China, and just a little way from Korea. Unless Yandex gets some major government protection, they'll either go under or be acting as someone's distributor pretty quickly.

    3. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I started using Yandex when it became obvious Google was biasing its results politically.

      Yes, America where "biased" means, "accurate."

      Google should massively push down bullshit, as should any legitimate source of information. There job is to return accurate results not to spoon feed the indoctrinated more blue pills.

    4. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 3, Funny

      I started using Yandex when it became obvious Google was biasing its results politically.

      Yes, Putin is the most unbiased man in the world. Every country should have media controlled specifically by his cronies. Those Western people know not how magnificent and non-duplicitous Putin is.

      May Putin one day rule the world and we all live in perfect harmony.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
    5. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What Yandex does in terms of user tracking is sketchy AF: https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2017/11/15/no-boundaries-exfiltration-of-personal-data-by-session-replay-scripts/

    6. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by mutantSushi · · Score: 1

      I'm responding because I had similar reason to start using Yandex, but I don't relate to why you stopped using it.
      How is it so abnormal to have multilingual results when searching internet, a global multinational phenomena?
      I have to imagine most of rest of world has similar experience re: overabundance of EN, so what is problem?
      IME, vast majority of (2%) "Russian" Yandex results (I'm searching with Latin alphabet English terms, after all)
      are merely Russian version of sites like Wiki, which is the result of those sites returning RU version to .ru search bot.
      (and the EN version is either directly linked when you click on search entry, or at most 1 more click away)

      Anyhow, from what I understand, DDG results are merely pastiche of Google + MS search results anyways,
      so you aren't escaping their "bubble", you are merely getting the non-personally-targetted average version.
      The idea DDG is truly independent alternative seems ridiculous just on that grounds, never mind consider how
      well they have been effectively publicized vs alternatives like Yandex, DDG is even included on my latest Android.

      About the phone, I had impression they were going with non-Android Sailfish OS, although this may just be
      temporary product on route to that goal?

    7. Re:I've used Yandex, seems competent. by pecosdave · · Score: 1

      It did seem to prefer Russian over English, even site versions, which I understand completely, they are offering a patch so I as an English speaker can use it, they are Russian at the core. I still use it some. I've often wondered how much it must suck to speak any language other than English and try to use the web. I know there's stuff out there for speakers of other languages, but English seems to be where it's at online.

      I understand DDG used to be more of what you're describing, but it's got it's own spider now. I'm not 100% sure of the particulars, but I'm liking it.

      Sailfish has caught my interest before, and the pure-Linux phone on the horizon definitely has my attention. Google is following Apple into the void and I don't want much to do with it. Apple just got an award thanking them for their censorship, and Google is working with the Chinese bother there and here.

      I want to be as far away from that crap as I can be.

      I've of course been ridiculed for choosing Russia above. Honestly, Russia for all their spying and what have you isn't out to get us like China is. I'm not going to get too close to Russia, but overall I think their current media image is being intentionally and unfairly skewed toward evil.

      --
      The preceding post was not a Slashvertisement.
  7. You listen to call, we listen too by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    For quality purposes this call may be recorded or monitored. You should try to be a quality person.

  8. Alice??? by wolfie_cr · · Score: 1

    why not Ekaterina or Svetlana??? or Oksana?? they can leverage names that invoke sexy girls but no..........."alice" which invokes https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    1. Re:Alice??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, Putina.

    2. Re:Alice??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Because Alice comes before Alexa.

    3. Re:Alice??? by wolfie_cr · · Score: 1

      Alexa??? the ugly daughter of billy joel???

    4. Re:Alice??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Should have been named Eve.

    5. Re:Alice??? by dunkelfalke · · Score: 1

      This is probably the reason:
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik...

      --
      "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
  9. Alice by isny · · Score: 2

    Alice is always one side of the alice->bob secure messaging.

  10. In Russia.... by ZoomieDood · · Score: 2

    Our phones watch YOU!

  11. Found the libtard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stupid retarded liberal to say NSA/CIA are good guys while ignoring MILLIONS of murders for they are responsible and buying Russia conspiracy theries. This is why smart regular hard working americans voted for Trump and strongly support his agenda of eliminating the liberalism disease wherever it emerges. Anti-Russia rhetoric is stupid and only hurts amazing relations between are two countries.

    1. Re:Found the libtard by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Amazing relations like planning to cancel the INF Treaty.

      If Iran is any indicator Trump will be very smart about this as well.

  12. Grrreat IA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    alice, the IA that killed everyone in resident evil?