Author: Nikita Noronha

Google Hangouts Breaks Free from Gmail, Gets its Own Website

The successful Google Hangouts has now been given its very own space by Google. As of last evening, the messaging service will not be restricted to just Google+ and Gmail. You can just go to hangouts.google.com to start talking.

The site puts Hangouts’ three key features — instant messaging, voice calls, and video chats — front and center, with big buttons to start up each of them. Thus, this change is going to allow every type of user to be on hangout in comparison to just those, who were always on Gmail and could hence use the facility.

It is natural for Google to have invested their time into giving Hangouts its own web service and a modern design. There are a large number of people using Google accounts and it only made sense for the company to pick up on that and make it easier and convenient for everybody, just like Facebook did, by separating its messenger.

The Verge stated that the Hangouts app has been overhauled on both iOS and Android, bringing it up to date with Google’s Material Design style and making the service a bit easier to use. So now, anyone can use Hangouts in any manner they wish, without its strings being attached to Gmail or Google+.

August 18, 2015
Xiaomi Redmi Note 2 May Not Arrive in India After All

The Redmi Note 2 turned out to be a huge success in China, soon after its launch last week. Xiaomi claimed to have sold 800,000 units in just 12 hours, which set a new record for the company. With this success riding on their backs, one would assume that the device will launch in India as well, however, the company stated that it had no such plans.

Unfortunately, for Indian fans, Xiaomi has run into some legal tussles and hence, will refrain from launching the Note 2 in India. The Redmi Note 2 and Redmi Note 2 Prime run on MediaTek’s Helio X10 chipsets and hence Ericsson filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the Chinese company, barring it from launching a device that boosted Xiaomi’s success rate. However, the court has allowed the company to sell devices running on Qualcomm’s silicon.

A Xiaomi spokesperson commented:

We are continuously evaluating new products that can be launched in India. But, as of now we do not have plans to launch Redmi Note 2 in India.

The case was filed because of Ericsson’s Standard Essential Patents for wireless technology standards like GSM, Edge and 3G. Ericsson is supposed to licence their patents under the FRAND (Free Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory) terms. However, they claim that Xiaomi did not pay them any royalty before or after using technology innovations that were covered under their patents.

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it looks like all Redmi Note 2 fans are going to have to wait a while or look for other options.

August 18, 2015
Name Game: Google Teases the Name of the New Android M

Remember the last time we asked you to guess what the next version of Android will be named? It’s entertaining to see which candy will get to hold the coveted title of being the latest Android OS’ name. Last year, it was Lolllipop and this October, we should hopefully see what Android M is going to stand for.

Googlers Nat and Lo were seen having some fun with the names as well as giving us a sneak peak of the new Android statue that will be displayed in the front lawn of the Google HQ, like every year. Take a look at the video below:

Apart from a new name, the Android OS will see a hoard of updates like support for Android’s version of Touch ID, better battery life management, improved permissions settings for apps and a smarter Google Now.

Th funfilled video leaves you thinking of all the delectable edibles that start with the letter M. So go ahead, tell us what you think it’s going to be as we wait for October to come.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://www.in.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/Google-starts-the-guessing-for-the-official-name-of-Android-M/articleshow/48501688.cms”]Techradar.india[/tw-button]

August 17, 2015
Leaked: Google’s New Nexus 5 Built By LG

Google stopped selling its 2014 Nexus Flagship earlier this year, and all tech fanatics are now looking forward to the possibility of a new and improved version of the Nexus 5 releasing. A rumour of course, stated that Google along with its partners LG and Huawei were working on producing two new Nexus phones this year.

A photo leaked via twitter showed us what could possibly be a peak at the new Nexus 5. The picture simply shows the back of the device that has a red circle at the end, which is probably the LG logo suggesting that it isn’t a Huawei collaboration, this time. Also can be seen, is a camera lens and similar sized circle that looks like a fingerprint scanner.

https://twitter.com/MKBHD/status/633092867670544384/photo/1

Renders also showed the rumoured Huawei Nexus 6, that was leaked around the same time. If these rumours are to be believed, then this new upcoming Nexus could actually prove as a boon for not just just Google in its forbidden territory, China, but will also help Huawei to establish a hold in the United States.

There are no official statements issued by either of the companies as of now, and report suggested that the phones are likely to hit the market, this fall. Watch this space for more updates.

August 17, 2015
Government Contemplates Giving 1GB of Free WiFi Per Month

In a rather exciting turn of events, the Delhi Government has moved a step closer to their promise of free WiFi. They have proposed to provide free WiFi usage of 1GB for a month.

Supposedly a phase by phase initiative, the government will provide the much needed facility first to all government and private college said Ashish Khetan, vice-chairman of Delhi Dialogue Commission. In the second and third phases, Khetan has stated that WiFi will reach other parts like rural areas and unauthorised colonies respectively.

“The minimum speed of the WiFi that we are proposing is 1 Mbps for good user experience and each user should get 1 GB of downloads for a month free.”

While it is great news that the government has finally listened to its citizens and proposed such a novel idea, they have said that they won’t be taking any infrastructural responsibility. They expect companies which have expertise in that field to develop the infrastructure while they provide the WiFi service only, thereby making sure the quality of services provided is impeccable.

“One thing that we want to do is that when we announce public wi-fi, the experience of the service should be best. When we announce a policy, it should be on an expected line. It should be on the expectations and aspirations of the people,” Khetan said.

The government believes that free WiFi will help the business sector and boost the tourism in India. He stressed on the fact that this was the AAP governments best received proposition and that they will cease to disappoint. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope for the same.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-government-proposes-free-wifi-upto-1gb-for-a-month/articleshow/48467459.cms”]economictimes.indiatimes[/tw-button]

August 14, 2015
Samsung Teases At Releasing a New Gear S2 Smartwatch at IFA Berlin

As expected, Samsung at the Unpacked 2015 event, revealed a new Gear S2 smart watch. The model seems to have stylised itself, quite bit with a round face, metal body and new user interface. It likely to run on Samsung’s Tizen OS rather than Android Wear, like the original Gear S.

The new UI design which consists of a circle of apps around the interface cements the fact that it isn’t a part of the Android Wear devices, at all. While we know no nothing more about the awaited smartwatch, Samsung has promised its fans that it will reveal the Gear S2, fully, at the IFA Berlin, next month. So stay tuned for regular updates.

August 13, 2015
Lenovo Asks Motorola To Take Over Its Mobile Division

Lenovo has reported a rather gloomy fiscal report this year, regarding its PC and smartphone businesses. With the company struggling to keep up its numbers in the market it has decided to lay off about 10% of the company’s employees from its non-manufacturing sector.

Lenovo’s reported revenue is $10.7 billion, which is still lower than the $11.29 billion forecast. It has also been reported that Lenovo’s net income is 5% lower as compared to last year. This situation has led Lenovo to lay off 3,200 people and a total of 5% of Lenovo’s 60,000 staff.

The justification of this move, is to keep the company afloat and running. However, the interesting bit is, that Lenovo is also planning to use the profits earned to restructure the mobile business. It has plans to rethink its handsets and have only a few signature models.

Hence, Lenovo has asked Motorola to take charge of its mobile division. Reports also suggest that Lenovo’s CEO has written a letter to the employees urging them to better the company’s mobile business group and thinks that, with Motorola in charge of the mobile division and Lenovo in charge of the PC division, both companies should be able to bring Lenovo to the forefront, once again.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://www.gsmarena.com/lenovo_plans_to_lay_off_over_3000_employees_and_put_motorola_in_charge_of_mobile-news-13516.php”]GMSArena[/tw-button]

August 13, 2015
Xiaomi Launches its Very Own Palm Sized WiFi Router

Xiaomi seems to be on a roll. Along with the launching of the MIUI 7 for China and the new Redmi Note 2, they have released a palm sized WiFi router too.

Known as the Mi WiFi Nano, it is the third of Xiaomi’s router collection that already consists of the Mi Wi-Fi (for enterprise use), Mi Wi-Fi Mini. This compact router comes at the delectable price of Rs. 800 and features 300m 802. 11n network and comes with external PCB antenna.

Other specifications include a micro USB port that allows the device to be powered by a power bank. It can run for 30 hours while being plugged to a 1000mAh Mi Power Bank.The router is available in an assortment of colour options such as black, white, yellow, pink and baby blue.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://www.ibnlive.com/news/tech/mi-wi-fi-nano-xiaomi-launches-an-inexpensive-palm-sized-wi-fi-router-1039088.html”]ibnlive.com[/tw-button]

August 13, 2015
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 is Now Official

The Snapdragon 820 is said to pull the Snapdragon 810 out of darkness, as the company revealed some legitimate information on its newest upgrade.

First things first – it will use custom 64-bit Kryo cores, bye bye Cortex. But what the company has revealed is mostly about the GPU and ISP. The Snapdragon 820 will use the new generation Adreno 530 GPU, Snapdragon 618 and 620 will use 510. All 5-series Adrenos will support OpenGL 3.1 (with 3.2 coming later) and the new Vulcan API.

With these specifications in mind, Qualcomm is confident that there will be a 40% improvement in performance couple with a 40% cut in power. The same goes for the Adreno 510 GPU, which should have the same perks over the 405.

The Snapdragon 820 is said to be supported by 14nm or 16nm chips (down from 20nm for the S810) and the power will be further boosted by a standalone power manager for the GPU. However, this hasn’t been made official, yet. The GPUs support HDMI 2.0 and up to 4K @ 60fps output, they’ll even manage 4K output wirelessly (though capped at 30fps).

Along with the above mentioned upgrades, we will also see the ISP being upgraded. The new Spectra Camera Image Signal Processor is said to be smoother at handling small camera pixels, hybrid autofocus (i.e. added phase detection AF), low-light performance and leaning on the GPU for software “optical zoom.”

The new Snapdragon will support dual cameras at the back and unlike its predecessor, the 820 will allow different focal lengths. The ISP and GPU will simulate zoom steps in between both focal lengths to achieve a smooth transition similar to proper optical zoom.

No other information has been yielded, other than the fact that Snapdragon 820 will be available on devices from 2016. Watch this space for more information.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://www.gsmarena.com/snapdragon_820_gpu_detailed_adreno_530_is_fast_cool-news-13499.php”]GSMArena[/tw-button]

August 13, 2015
Twitter Officially Got Rid of the 140-Characters Limit From Direct Messages

We had earlier brought you the exciting news that Twitter was going to get rid of the 140 character limit that was put on its Direct Messages. Now it is has been officially followed through.

If you logged in today and checked your Direct Messages you will find that the 140 character limitation is missing and now you can chat away to your hearts content, in a single Direct Message.

While the whole concept of Twitter is supposed to have you sharing your opinions on a public forum, Direct Messages allows you to have personal chats about the memes, news, movements, and events that unfold on Twitter. Therefore, Twitter aimed to work on the Direct Message feature to make it personal, but fun.

As for the public side of it, nothing changes. You will have to say what you need to in 140 characters itself, coupled with memes, videos and emojis, if you wish.

The relieving and drastic change will be executed on Android and iOS apps, as well as twitter.com, TweetDeck and Twitter for Mac. The company says that the rolling out of the change worldwide, will continue in the next couple of weeks.

If you’re dying to try a restriction free Twitter, make sure you have the latest version of the app so that you get the update right away, Sending and receiving Direct Messages via SMS will continue to be limited.

So go ahead, speak your mind.

August 13, 2015
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Show Your Boarding Pass at International Airports

Air travellers are refusing to show their boarding passes to the shops in the airport after finding out that the shops were using the information to avoid paying VAT, that too, without giving an added discount to customers. The revolt of sorts, took place on August 8th.

Popular airport stores like WHSmith and Boots are now having to deal with angry customers who are outright refusing to show their boarding passes, just to ‘boost retailers’ profits. It has also been said that readers are now coming out and backing the Independent’s campaign to end the rip off many citizens have been witnessing.

“That’s the last time I show an airport shop my boarding card on principle,” said one tweeter.

The reason that shops don’t want to pay the 20% VAT is because passengers travelling outside the European Union have no purchase tax. Research suggests most of these stores don’t pass the savings on to customers.

A possible solution to this problem is if retailers share the reclaimed VAT with its customers, however the retailers have refused to give in to a dual pricing system, deeming it a ‘practical impossibility.’

Source:[tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_self” link=”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/air-travellers-refusing-to-show-boarding-passes-at-airport-shops-after-news-that-the-information-is-used-by-stores-to-avoid-paying-vat-10449107.html”]Independent.uk[/tw-button]

August 13, 2015
According to IDC, India’s Smartphone Market Will Overtake USA’s by 2017

International Data Cooperation (IDC) recently reported that, after a slow start in the first quarter, the smartphone shipment in India grew 44% to 26.5 million units, in the June quarter. Not just this but we can also expect a huge leap forward over the next few years, as people will switch to smartphones and 4G-enabled devices.

“By 2017, we expect India to overtake USA to be the second largest smartphone market globally,” it said in a statement issued by IDC.

“This strong second quarter performance saw smartphone shipments grow by 19%, following a sluggish first quarter this year,” IDC added.

However, we should note that the IDC hasn’t released shipment numbers for the January-March 2015 quarter. Samsung maintained its leadership in the Indian smartphone market with 23% share, followed by Micromax (17% ), Intex (11%), Lava (7%) and Lenovo (6%).

Times of India accompanied this information with the fact that the overall Indian mobile phone market has actually shrunk by 6% in the said quarter on a year-on-year basis. 59.4 million units were shipped in the June quarter, as compared to 63.2 million units being shipped in the second quarter of 2014.

“e-tailers have opened additional avenues for growth for many vendors in India, who would have otherwise struggled to get a hold in the complex distribution network,” IDC India Mobile Phone team Research Manager Kiran Kumar said. This explains the reason for such magnanimous growth as vendors are using online retail or “eTail” to infiltrate the market. However, India continues to be a retail dominated market, even as companies like, Lenovo and Xiaomi are continuing to expand in the subcontinent.

A second reason is that Chinese phone companies like the above mentioned, as well as Huawei and Gionee account for 12% of the total smartphone market in the second quarter. This means that China has tripled its shipments to India,thereby doubling the units shipped, from last year.

The IDC concludes by saying that, at the rate India’s going, it might be able to overtake America’s Smartphone market by 2017. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?

August 12, 2015
5 Facts About Google CEO Sundar Pichai that Ought to Inspire You

While every Indian is ecstatic at the thought of Sundar Pichai becoming the newly appointed CEO of Google, how much do we really know about the whizkid who made it to the top ranks of the $66-billion revenue, $16-billion profit, company?

Here are a few things we should know about the Indian who made it to the top, for the sake of making our morning a little inspiring.

1. He was born in Chennai and did his schooling in PSBB Jawahar Vidyalay. He belonged to a modest family where his dad managed a warehouse that made electric components. It is from there that Pichai developed an inclination towards technology and went on to pursue an undergraduate degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kharagpur.

Source: www.bloomberg.com Pichai with his parents in 1997

2. Pichai also has an MS degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the prestigious Wharton School of Business (where he was awarded the Siebel scholar and the Palmer scholar). So he was always at the top of his class and continues to be so, even to this day. He’s only 43, after all.

3. While work politics play a huge role in most offices, and ego clashes occur on a regular basis, the reason that Pichai stood out so much is due to his simplicity and his ability to create brilliant teams. Caesar Sengupta, a Vice President at Google who worked with Pichai for eight years said, “I would challenge you to find anyone at Google who doesn’t like Sundar or who thinks Sundar is a jerk.” How many of us can find one person like that at our respective workplaces?

4. Pichai made a breakthrough in Google after he was given the opportunity to handle Toolbar. Although he joined in 2004, he created a lot of revenue for the company as the toolbar was a huge success and made Google come up with its own Browser in 2008.

5. Lastly, Pichai almost left Google in 2011 to become the Product Head at Twitter. However, his work and reputation had reached such heights that Google offered him a whooping 50 million dollars to stay back in the company. Naturally, he declined Twitter’s offer and look where he is today!

Source: free-stock-illustration.com
Sundar Pichai with his wife, Anjali Pichai

Pichai is a family man with a wife and two children and enjoys playing chess in his free time. He isn’t known to be a workaholic and is popular for his impeccable work ethics. While we as Indians, feel extremely proud of his accomplishment, let’s be inspired by his success. Don’t you think?

August 11, 2015
Now Use Your Home Button to Summon Cortana Instead of Google Now

Just last month, Microsoft released a private beta version of its Cortana digital assistant which had similar features to the Windows 10 and Windows phone version. Now, Microsoft, while going further in Android’s direction, has come up with an updated app. You will now be able to replace the Google Now shortcut (by pressing and holding the home button) with Cortana, instead.

The updated Cortana version will not include the “Hey Cortana” support because of hardware limitations that prevent her from always listening to your command. This new update lets Microsoft take over a common way of launching Google Now, although, you will still be able to access Google Now’s features. Microsoft hopes that Android users will experience Cortana and even make it their default home button setting, if possible.

Click here if you want to test Cortana.

August 10, 2015
Time to Check Your Email! OnePlus Sends Out First Wave of OnePlus 2 Invites

We’ve told you how to get your OnePlus 2 invites, we’ve told you about how the company will be giving away their invites and we’ve seen you flock the page with queries and requests asking us to give you invites. While we can’t deliver the last bit, yet, we bring you good news anyway.

Shortly after the OnePlus 2 was launched, 2 million OnePlus fans made reservations for the much awaited phone. Well, the good news is that the company has sent out its first wave of invites!

That’s right. While the company hasn’t mentioned exactly how many invites they’ve dished out, you can now check your mail to see if you’re one of the lucky ones to be acquiring the OnePlus 2, with an invite from the company itself. So, we do wish you all the luck.

If you haven’t received the OnePlus 2 invite yet, watch our hands-on and unboxing video to sense what the OnePlus 2 will look and feel like:

August 8, 2015