Author: Meenakshi Rawat

With this New Feature, Facebook Messenger is Now Ready to Take on Skype

Voice-Calling within the app is a recent trend every established and emerging messaging software company is following. Recently, Facebook joined the drift and updated its Messenger service to enable voice-calling in the app. Now users can talk face-to-face with their friends anywhere through Facebook.

Initiating the voice chat service is a child’s play, and users just have to tap on the video icon in the top right corner of the screen to pop up a voice call. The service is available for iOS and Android users as of now. Countries that will be able to access this feature are Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Laos, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, the UK, the US and Uruguay. The tool will soon arrive in other countries “over the coming months.”

The standard messaging service on Messenger still exists. Users can anytime stop a voice call and get back to the customary messaging platform and vice-versa. The company claims that there are over 600 million active users of its Messenger app, and the voice-calling tool will help them with real-time video communication.

Facebook’s Messenger platform is on a development spree. Previously, it added the ability to send money to friends via Messenger, which was followed by the release of Messenger platform for Developers to help people connect with businesses.

Check out the video below for a detailed description of voice-calling on Messenger:

April 28, 2015
Apple Watch Already Has More Than 3,500 Apps Available in the App Store

The Apple Watch is the first smartwatch by the Cupertino-based giant, and the company is extremely proud of it, especially its apps. Yesterday the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook while disclosing about the total earnings of the company, boasted about the massive amount of apps ready for the Apple Watch. Tim stated that over 3,500 apps were available.

Cook further elaborated how significant this figure is as the iPad had only had 1,000 apps ready at its launch in 2010, and iPhone App Store had just 500 apps when it first debuted in July 2008.

Cook briefed in a meeting –

We’re far ahead from where we expected to be from an application point of view. We had an internal goal of beating that 1,000 [that the iPad had] and we exceeded that.

As Apple allowed the third-party apps to make their presence on its Watch, developers have been submitting the ready apps for approval since March 31. The creation of apps wasn’t an easy task for developers as Apple limited the access to functional hardware. Most of those apps have been approved, and Apple Watch users can install any tool from the plethora of apps. Some of the Indian apps for the Apple Watch include NDTV News, HDFC and Cleartrip.

This seems like an important announcement, however we need to keep it in mind that the presence of apps was considerably less in 2010, when the iPad was first introduced. It would not be fair to compare the iPad with the Apple Watch. Recently, it was also learnt that developers are also creating a set of games for the wearable, which is a challenge. Know more about the Apple Watch games here.

April 28, 2015

Lenovo Launches the Affordable A5000 With 4000mAh Battery in India; Price Revealed

The newest A-series smartphone to launch in Russia few days back, the A5000, was speculated to arrive in India soon. Today, the handset has finally made it to the Indian soil. The A5000 is introduced at a price of Rs. 9,999 and is currently listed on the company’s online TheDoStore. Lenovo is taking pre-orders for the A5000, which will ship by April 30, as mentioned on the website. The phone will be available in two colour options – white and black.

The A5000 flaunts a 5-inch HD IPS display (1280×720 pixels). Inside is a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor with 1GB RAM that provides processing speed to the device. The 8GB internal storage capacity of the device can be expanded up to 32GB via MicroSD card. The smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat.

Optics includes an 8MP rear camera with autofocus and LED flash, while the front is a 2MP camera to click selfies. Connectivity options include GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi 802, GPS, Micro-USB, and Bluetooth 4.0. The dual-SIM device gets its juice from the massive 4000mAh battery.

At the price of Rs. 9,999, the new Lenovo handset will compete with Honor 4X, Redmi 2 and the new Moto E LTE.

Check the specs sheet of Lenovo A5000 below:

Specification	Lenovo A5000
Display	5-inch HD IPS (1280x720p) display
Processor	1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek processor
RAM	1GB
Storage	8GB
Expandable Upto	32GB
Main Camera	8MP
Front Camera	2MP
Battery	4000mAh
Operating System	Android 4.4 KitKat
Price	Rs. 9,999

April 27, 2015

Airtel Introduces Super Cheap Unlimited Voice Calling Schemes for Broadband Subscribers

Following the footsteps of Indian cellular service provider BSNL, Airtel has announced plans to boost its landline service. Bharti Airtel launched an unlimited voice calling service for its broadband customers in the country.

The telecom company announced two voice packs: there is a Rs. 49 pack for unlimited local calls for a month, and the other is Rs. 99 per month plan to make unlimited local and STD calls.

Airtel said in a statement –

In an industry first, it will announce that its broadband customers can enjoy free voice calls to any network in the country 24×7. Customers can enjoy unlimited free local calls with the pack priced at Rs. 49 per month and unlimited free STD+local calls at Rs. 99 per month to any network, anywhere in the country to both landlines and mobile phones round the clock.

The new offers are for non-commercial use, and allow users to make calls to both fixed lines and mobile numbers.

Airtel has an extensive network of fixed-line telephone and broadband services in 87 cities of India, but its user base is smaller in comparison to BSNL. According to a study by TRAI, Airtel has around 3.39 million landline customers in the country, while BSNL had more than five times the fixed-line subscribers, at 16.6 million.

Recently, BSNL announced free unlimited voice calling from 9pm to 7am across India, which will kick off from 1st May.

April 27, 2015
Motorola Quietly Cuts the Price of Moto X (Gen 2) in India

Once again, Motorola has slashed the price of the Moto X (Gen 2) in India. The 16GB smartphone will now be available at Rs. 26,999, which was previously priced at Rs. 29,999. Along with that, the 32GB version has also received a similar price drop of Rs. 3,000. The higher storage variant is currently available on Flipkart for Rs. 29,999.

Motorola earlier announced a price cut of Moto X (Gen 2) 16GB while launching the 32GB version of the handset. The device was released at a launch price of Rs. 31,999.

Recalling the specifications of second-gen Moto X, the handset boasts a 5.2-inch (1080x1920pl) AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Inside is a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor bundled with 2GB of RAM. Running on Android 4.4 KitKat, the phone can be upgraded to Lollipop.

Back of the phone sports a 13MP camera with autofocus, dual-LED flash, and the front has a 2MP shooter. The device gets fuelled up by a 2300mAh battery. The 16GB and 32GB variants come with identical specs and differ only in memory storage, which can’t be expanded.

Click here to buy now:

April 27, 2015
Google Hints at a New Device in Project Fi Video; Next-Gen Nexus 5 May be in the Works

The Nexus 5 has been touted as one of the best products to roll out from the Google lineup. The handset, featuring a Full HD Display and 2.3 GHz processor, came with an affordable price tag and sold like hot cakes. Now there are reports stating that the internet giant is working on a refreshed version of the flagship. The next device has tentatively been titled as Nexus 5 2015.

A technology portal called Android Origins states that a new version of Google Nexus 5 might release in two variants. The video released last week by Google on Project Fi also displayed a new device, which resembles the Nexus 5 from the front. The device render stayed for almost 16 seconds on the video with Project Fi support on it.

Google’s recent mobile carrier plan that allows users to switch between Wi-Fi and cellular networks is limited to Nexus 6 only. The company announced that its upcoming devices will come with support to Project Fi. It’s quite possible that Google was talking about the next-gen Nexus 5. Since it is called Nexus 5 2015, the device is expected to release sometime this year.

According to the source, both Huawei and LG will be working on the Nexus devices. LG will be responsible for the Nexus tablet or the Nexus phone, while Huawei can bring out inexpensive versions of the two.

Have a look at the Project Fi video below from timeframe 0.16 to 0.32 to check out the phone renders:

April 27, 2015
Nokia Denies Comeback to Smartphone Business, Says “Reports are False”

The former leader of consumer smartphone manufacturer Nokia recently made headlines for considering making a comeback in the mobile manufacturing business. The firm heard the recent buzz over Internet and came out to publically announce that the information was false. The report of Nokia planning to return to the mobile business was surfaced by the reliable technology portal Re/Code, which stated that the news was disclosed by a Nokia Networks executive.

The exact statement by the Finnish reads –

Nokia notes recent news reports claiming the company communicated an intention to manufacture consumer handsets out of a R&D facility in China. These reports are false, and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks executive.

Nokia reiterates it currently has no plans to manufacture or sell consumer handsets.

Re/Code claimed that Microsoft-acquired Nokia is planning to bounce back to the smartphone business sometime next year. It also stated that several ambitious projects are in the making, and one among them is a virtual reality device. The company recently launched its first Nokia-branded Android tablet, along with an Android app called Z Launcher.

Nokia was acquired at a whopping price of $7.2 billion last year by hardware and software leader Microsoft. It was learnt that Nokia can’t use its brand name on smartphones till Q4 2016. Since Nokia was launching one or the other products lately, the news didn’t seem unfitting.

A while back, the company disclosed its move of acquiring Alcatel-Lucent for $16.5 billion. The new firm formed is called the Nokia Corporation. The acquisition will give a boost to its patent licensing business and networks division, which makes for 90 percent of the total revenue. The company is in talks with potential buyers to sell its maps business “HERE“.

April 27, 2015
Rumour Roundup : All That We Know About LG’s Next Flagship Smartphone

The upcoming phone by the Korean electronics manufacturer LG is the current hot topic. The smartphone is expected to compete with Apple’s iPhone 6 and Samsung’s Galaxy S6. While the company officially unveils the LG G4 on 28^th of this month, let’s walk you through the speculations about the next LG flagship.

The new G4 by LG is said to feature a 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) display. This was officially stated by the display manufacturing unit of the company. The phone will come with a 2.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor along with 2GB and 3GB RAM options. The 2GB variant will have 16GB storage space, while the 3GB RAM model will come with 32GB onboard storage capacity, both expandable up to 128GB. The phone will have Android 4.4.4 KitKat installed with the company’s UX 4.0 UI.

A video released by LG narrates that UX 4.0 sports a lot of features like Quick Shot, Smart Board and Smart Notice 2.0 along with Smart Calendar app and Super Fast Gallery.

The camera specifications include a 13MP rear shooter with Optical Image Stabilization and Laser Auto Focus Dual Flash. The front will boast a 2.1MP snapper. The company recently teased the camera specification of the device which confirms that the G4 will feature a camera of aperture f/1.8. A sufficient 3000mAh battery will fuel the device.

LG G4 will come in nine different back panels, out of which three are standard, and six are crafted back panels made of real leather. The colour options include yellow, brown, silver and more.

Over a week back, LG accidently opened the LG G4 website that uncovered the above-mentioned details. Though, we can’t consider them as final until LG officially brings out the device. Let’s wait and watch if this device finds a niche in the over-flooded smartphone marketplace, where many affordable phones are ready to take on the high-end flagships.

April 25, 2015
Government Body NIXI Stands for Net Neutrality, Says its Against Selective App Bundling

Yesterday the deadline to cast a vote for saving the internet ended. Though we have to wait for the final take of the government on the issue, Neutral Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has given its answer. The body under IT ministry said that it fully backs Net Neutrality and any move to bundle apps would go against the concept of Internet.

NIXI made a remark –

National Internet Exchange of India as the neutral exchange in the country, strongly supports Neutrality of the Internet which is the only way forward to make the Internet open, free and innovative.

Any move by Telcos to bundle application or content selectively will hamper the very basic concept of Internet.

The government-run organisation also expressed concern over the impact of discriminatory Internet on budding businesses. NIXI commented, “Under these circumstances any dilution of the neutrality of the Internet, is expected to affect the freedom of expression, development of innovative ideas and newer applications and entrepreneurship of youngsters and start-ups.” A couple of days back, a number of tech start-ups wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister of India asking for a free internet. They mentioned how the emerging companies would suffer and would never be able to become the next Google and Amazon.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is yet to give a response to over 1 million emails supporting SaveTheInternet.in campaign, but the organisation is not bound by any time frame. In such circumstances, the telecom operators are open to implementing any plan. The volunteer group behind ‘Save the Internet’ program is requesting the government to impose a temporary restriction on telcos to roll out any plan until the final verdict.

April 25, 2015
Xiaomi Wants to Become an Indian Company, Says Company CEO Lei Jun

Xiaomi has exhibited many a times how important India is as a marketplace for the Chinese electronics manufacturer. It has set up an R&D centre in Bangalore (India), launched a warehouse and is showing interest to invest in Indian start-ups. The China’s Apple is now planning to begin local manufacturing in India and is reportedly in talks to set up a plant, as per Economic Times.

The Founder and CEO of Xiaomi Lei Jun said in a statement –

The most important market for us in 2015 is India. We want to become an Indian company. So, we want to build an R&D team, manufacture phones, set up data centre in India and invest in ecosystem companies in India.

He further disclosed the company has a team working on local manufacturing project. It is in conversation with its partners along with the government of two nations. Xiaomi wishes to make it happen as early as possible, but all this would take up to two years. The unit yet to establish in India will initially assemble the devices.

The electronics start-up which emerged in 2010 has become a customer favourite all over world. The devices offered by the firm come with considerable specifications and a reasonable price tag. It now stands neck and neck with notable electronics players like Apple, Samsung, HTC and more who are in the smartphone game since long.

Recently, the world’s third-largest smartphone producer conveyed that its goal is to become an Internet giant, not a handset dealer. It expects to reap nearly $1 billion from mobile services this year. Xiaomi aims to make Internet services e.g. smartphone games and payment app a pivotal part of its business and hopes to turn smartphone buyers into paying customers with its services.

India is on top of the company’s list to expand outside China, and the company launched Mi 4i in New Delhi. It is the cheaper version of Xiaomi Mi 4 costing Rs. 12,999 and includes an India-specific feature called Visual IVR. Xiaomi is presently the world’s most valuable technology start-up.

April 25, 2015
Paytm Steps into E-Commerce Market with the Launch of New Seller App

Indian mobile payment start-up Paytm is forcing itself to the rapidly growing e-commerce market in India. Lately, the online payment platform announced itself as a new-fangled e-commerce company and said it would work with emerging businesses. The start-up firm, aiming to become India’s Taobao, came up with two big announcements -One is the wallet app, and the other is a platform for sellers that allows both individuals and businesses to sell their products.

The Founder and Chief Executive of Paytm owner One97 Communications, Vijay Shekhar Sharma said in a statement –

Everyone is moving to mobile now, but that is what we started with. We see opportunity in enabling payments in everyday use cases.

The mobile payment service has updated its website to tie-up with more sellers. At the top left of the Paytm homepage, users will now see a ‘Become a Seller’ button (a seller app), clicking which small and medium-sized firms can exhibit their products on a widely recognised platform. The emerging businesses can display their catalogue, manage their inventory and orders on Paytm. The listing would be absolutely free, and connecting merchants don’t have to pay any fee for enrolling themselves on Paytm. This will help flourish start-ups as other websites charge 10%-15% commission.

It also launched Paytm Wallet app that allows users to transfer money within the wallets. The app offers users to transfer money to a bank account from the wallet so that they can cash out the required amount. Sharma added to his comments, “We have about 66 million wallets, which we want to take to 100 million by the year end. We’re doing 1 million money transfers a day on the beta version of the wallet app.” Paytm Wallet accounts are RBI approved. A user can make a monthly transaction of maximum Rs. 1 lakh.

Paytm getting financial support by Alibaba’s finance arm Ant Financial presently holds a 25% stake. Eric Jing, Ant Financial’s chief operating officer, stated that it is sharing its learnings from China’s Taobao with the Indian mobile service provider. The company expects to earn over $4 billion (Rs 25,360 crore) by the year end and take onboard 1,00,000 sellers, which is 33,000 as of now. Paytm is spending more than Rs 500 crore on marketing this year.

Paytm kicked off as an online recharge website, and monitoring the recent business trend of operating from mobile, the company planned to turn into an e-commerce company. The increased usage of smartphones and internet availability has paved way for websites to become a mobile-only business. The new investors will strengthen Paytm’s position in India and help gain a stronghold in the country where already established players like Amazon, Flipkart, and Snapdeal enjoy a majority.

April 25, 2015
Motorola Introduces Steel Variant of Moto 360 in India

Months after releasing the leather version of Moto 360, Motorola has now announced the steel version of the smartwatch in India. The wearable with steel bands is available exclusively on Flipkart and comes in silver and black colour options. The new variants are priced at Rs. 19,999, which is Rs. 2,000 above the regular version.The smartwatch is the most appreciated wearables of all and holds some amazing features and specifications. The device has a 1.65-inch display and comes with Gorilla Glass protection. The water-proof Moto 360 runs on Google’s Android Wear OS and offers voice control. It is powered by a TI OMAP 3 processor along with 512MB of RAM and 4GB internal memory space. The 320mAh battery of the device can keep it running for up to 12 hours, as claimed by the company. The Moto 360 comes with Bluetooth 4.0 and sensors like pedometer and heart-rate monitor.

The company came up with a Gold edition as well, but for now, there is no word on its price and availability in the country. Meanwhile, we surfaced the news that the US-based firm is working on the successor of Moto 360. The smartwatch is in testing mode and can be announced any time soon.

Keep checking back for more updates.

April 24, 2015
Now Google Lets You Send Directions From Desktop to Your Android Phone

The Maps app by Google is a must-have tool while commuting from one place to another. Users need to type in the address or speak it to Google to get directions to the location, but what if you can avoid all that hassle. The search engine biggie has launched a new feature that allows sending directions from Chrome browser to your handheld device. Now users can search commute routes before leaving for the destination.

The announcement was made public by the company itself through its Google+ page. The process is as simple as searching on Google. Just type in send directions in the Chrome omnibox and add the final point. Tap on the ‘Send directions to my phone’ option and it will send the directions to your device. The Google Maps will load automatically with the specified location and will navigate to your destination.

It looks like the feature is not accessible in India as of now, but is expected to arrive soon. The hardware and software company launched ‘Find my Phone’ feature a week back that helps locate your missing Android device. It also revised its search algorithm to boost mobile-friendly websites and slipped a list of relevant apps within search results for you to download. All the moves are in favour of its users.

April 24, 2015
Samsung Teases Round Display of its Next Gear Smartwatch

The next Gear smartwatch is the most-awaited product to come out of the Samsung factory. Till date, quite a few details were known about the next wearable device, but now we have significant information about its form factor. The Korean electronics giant today gave a slight glimpse of its next Gear smartwatch that confirms of it boasting a circular display. The revelation was made in a press release that speaks of developers getting an early access to the Software Development Kit (SDK) for the company’s next-generation smartwatch.

A round smartwatch is the first for Samsung, who has previously released rectangular and curved screen watches. It would look like Moto 360 that has gained critical acclaim.

An image (provided above) was affixed to the official statement that let slip a brief sight of its watch face. Below are five more round watch faces that appear to be freshly designed. The company seems to have partnered with CNN, Baidu, Yelp, Apposter, and FidMe and is looking for more businesses for a tie-up.

The Suwon-based electronics firm announced that it is building up an ecosystem for the seventh generation Gear smartwatch. It sent an open invitation to members of the global developer community saying that they can get early access to SDK of next Gear device. CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics, JK Shin commented –

Samsung has actively adapted its approach to wearable device development as the leader of the rapidly developing category. Through meaningful and progressive innovation, Samsung welcomes to developers and industry leaders to join this open collaboration effort to enrich and create unique user experiences for a new smart mobile life.

The company was expected to unveil the smartwatch at Mobile World Congress 2015 alongside Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but instead, Samsung showcased virtual-reality headsets. It is expected that the next Gear device will run on Tizen OS with Exynos 7420 powering it. The smartwatch may launch in two variants. The company hasn’t come up with an official announcement till now, and we expect to hear it soon.

April 24, 2015

Xiaomi Brings Out the Lighter ‘Mi 4i’ With a 13MP Rear Camera

The time for which we all had been waiting for has come. Xiaomi has finally pulled the curtain off the ‘i’ mystery and showcased the world, Xiaomi Mi 4i. The Chinese electronics manufacturer has been teasing the device for quite some time. As speculated, the fresh handset is an affordable variant of Xiaomi Mi 4 and comes at a price of Rs. 12,999.

Talking about the exterior of the handset, the Mi 4i sports a polycarbonate unibody. It weighs a mere 130g and features dimensions 138.1mm x 69.6mm x 7.8mm. As compared to the original version, the Mi 4i is slightly smaller and lighter than Xiaomi Mi 4.

The device has a 5-inch Full HD OGS IPS display with 441ppi pixel density. The screen comes with a new technology called Sunlight display that adjusts the brightness when outdoors. The processor powering the phone is a 64-bit octa-core Cortex-A53; the four cores clocked at 1.7 GHz and the other four at 1.1 GHz. The device has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage onboard. The phone doesn’t have a MicroSD card slot. There is an Adreno 405 catering to graphics quality. On the software front, the Mi 4i runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop with the company’s MIUI 6 on top.

Coming on to the camera, then the Mi 4i has a changes camera setup. The phone boasts a 13MP shooter with F/2.0 aperture along with dual-LED Flash and Autofocus, while the front is a 5MP shooter with F/1.8 aperture. The camera app has got some new features like image filters. Besides that the current tools have been modified to provide better picture quality such as HDR and Beautify.

The dual-SIM device is powered by a 3120mAh battery. Connectivity options include microUSB 2.0, Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi. The handset will be available in white, blue, orange, yellow and pink colour options. The handset will be available from April 30 on e-commerce site Flipkart. Meanwhile, users can register to for the same today from 8pm.

Check out its specs below:

Specs	Xiaomi Mi 4i
Display	5-inch Full-HD, 441ppi
Processor	64-bit octa-core Cortex-A53
RAM	2GB
Storage	16GB
Camera	13MP Rear, 5MP Front
Battery	3120mAh
Operating System	Android 5.0 Lollipop with MIUI 6
Price	Rs. 12,999

April 23, 2015

Author: Meenakshi Rawat

Specs

Xiaomi Mi 4i