Author: Rosheena Zehra

Delhi NCR Most Active in E-Commerce According to Flipkart, Amazon

Flipkart studied consumer trends and preferences between 1st January and 14th December 2014, and concluded that mobile phones and accessories are the most in demand products across India. Additionally, Delhi NCR ranked as the city with maximum purchases of mobile phones, beating Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai – in that order. Another set of stats by Amazon revealed that 60% of its customers belong to Delhi NCR.

Mobile phones and accessories, LED television sets and smart wearables are doing immensely well with customers. It has also been revealed that 69% of online customers were males -yes, that’s the sound of shattering stereotypes related to shopping.

Top Selling Mobile Phones Brands	Top Selling Smart Wearables Brand	Top Selling TV Brands
Lenovo	Motorola	Vu
Motorola	Samsung	Micromax
Xiaomi	Apple	Samsung
Micromax	Moov	LG
Samsung	Honor	Panasonic

The age group that dominates the e-retail space is 25 to 34 years, predominantly office-goers followed by students. Is that what you’re doing all day at work or in college then?

This huge shift to online shopping marks a significant development in the consumer-supplier relationship. As more and more buyers become tech savvy, the movement to online platforms gains immense importance, especially when it comes to electronic goods. Looks like it’s been a good day for technology.

December 16, 2015

First of its Kind Sapphire Display to be Part of Bluboo’s Upcoming Smartphone

Bluboo, the Chinese manufacturer, may not exactly belong to the same league as OnePlus, Xiaomi or Huawei, but it’s definitely trying its best to make it there. The company is now reportedly working on Picasso, its new smartphone, and is trying to make it the first of its kind device.

Sources suggest that Picasso has an entirely sapphire display and is undergoing security and reliability tests right now. Sapphire is the second hardest element in the world after diamond and therefore is quite a fancy choice for the screen of a gadget.

A sapphire screen is highly resistant to scratches and breaking. Because sapphire is very costly, screens made out of the material have been restricted to small, premium and luxury devices in the past like high-end watches and some Vertu smartphones.

Bluboo incorporating sapphire in the screen of Picasso is definitely a first of its kind move. However, let’s see what this does to the price tag of the smartphone. Do you think smartphones need a sturdier screen, and if yes, could Bluboo may have found an (albeit super-expensive) answer?

December 16, 2015
iPhone 6s Gets an 11K Price Cut in India

We hate to say,”we told you so”, but the cat is out of the bag. It is no big secret that India was one of the most expensive places in the world just two months ago if you were planning to buy the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. But as predicted by iGyaan a couple of weeks ago, the iPhones have undergone significant fall in pricing.

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, launched with a starting price of Rs. 62,000 and going up to a Rs. 92,000, were much costlier than the same products in the American and European markets. The prices have now come down significantly, especially after a decline in the demand in the country.

 

The iPhone 6s shows a whopping price drop of Rs.11,000. There is a fall in prices of the iPhone 6s Plus as well but this isn’t as drastic as the 6s. Also, what is surprising is that the cheapest iPhone 6s Plus is the rose gold variant at a price of about Rs. 65,000 and Rs. 84,000 from its earlier Rs. 72,000 and Rs. 92,000 respectively. The rose gold variant was the most popular option for pre-order globally, but clearly it didn’t go down too well with Indian consumers.

 

Additionally, the iPhone 5s which was launched last year in 2014, is being sold at a price lower than most of the places in the world. The phone now falls in the mid-range price bracket with a price close to 20K.

 

Looks like there has never been a better time to buy iPhones in India.

December 16, 2015
OPPO to Open 200 Service Stores Across India, Offer Extended Warranty

OPPO launched its ‘After Sales-Service Policy’ today which proposes a renewed and more efficient effort on the company’s part to provide customer support. The company plans to open 200 service centres all across India in an attempt to strengthen its position not only in the country but also the global market.

All OPPO smartphones purchased after 15th December that will have an extended service warranty of two years applicable across all OPPO service stores in India.

Additionally, the company also announced that any handset which develops a functional defect within the first 30 days of the purchase would be rendered “Dead After Purchase” and will be replaced. If the handset ends up with any of the problems the company has included in its Schedule “Performance Failure Table” during the first two years of purchase, customers would have the option of getting the device serviced under warranty or maintenance.

Similarly, all accessories such as charger, battery, data chord headset and internal battery all will now come along with a 6 month warranty. Let’s see if putting in this extra effort to ensure customer satisfaction helps OPPO fare better in the country.

December 15, 2015
Renders of HTC One X9 Surface Online

We have been talking about the HTC One X9 for a while now, with its TENAA certification and an expected early release next year. And yet again, the phone is in news. The latest in the series of One X9 updates is leaked renders of the device.

It shows the phone from various angles, giving us a better look at it. On the specs front the One X9 will sport a 5.5-inch full HD (1920x1080p) display and run on the Android Lollipop OS powered by 2.2GHz Octa-core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage (expandable up to 1TB). It will feature a 13MP camera on the rear and a 5MP front.

Even though nothing is known of the official launch of the device, it is expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2016.

December 15, 2015
Samsung Galaxy S7 to Have a Pressure Sensitive Display

Expected to make its debut during the Mobile World Congress in February 2016, Samsung Galaxy S7 is likely to arrive with a pressure sensitive display.Though Samsung is tight-lipped about its new smartphones, its silence hasn’t done much to keep speculations and rumours in check as Wall Street Journal reports that the display of S7 will be pressure sensitive.

Looks like Samsung is all set follow in the footsteps of Apple which cannot stop talking about the 3-D Touch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge

Additionally, Galaxy S7 will have a Type C USB Port which means the device will charge significantly faster. WSJ quotes sources that say that a single round of charging would “allow for a full day’s charge in under 30 minutes and in some cases significantly faster than that.”

There are rumours of a retina scanner as well to be included in the smartphone, but things are quite uncertain at this point. Like the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7 will arrive in two variants, that is, S7 and S7 Edge. Once unveiled in February, it would take another couple of weeks before the smartphone is finally up and ready for shipping hopefully in March. Hold your breath until then.

December 15, 2015
Apple Reportedly Working on OLED Displays in a Secret Taiwanese Lab

Sources have revealed that Apple has opened a lab in Taiwan and has recruited at least 50 engineers to work on display tech for iPhone and iPad. It is further suggested that many of these engineers previously worked for companies like AU Optronics and Qualcomm.

While the company is working on making its displays thinner, lighter and more efficient, Bloomberg says Apple is working on OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) displays. They are not only thinner, but also require no back-lighting. LG and Samsung have previously employed the same tech in the screens of their various products from television sets to mobile phones.

The Apple iPad Pro

If Apple manages to incorporate its own in-house OLED displays, its supply demands from other manufacturers would go down, giving the company an edge over its counterparts. Any progress on the display front would mean less dependency on companies like Samsung Electronics, Sharp Corp. and Japan Display.

Meanwhile, there is immense secrecy around the lab with no external signs of Cupertino company anywhere close to it. Apple has declined to make any official comments about it.

Source

December 15, 2015
Samsung Drags Apple to Supreme Court Over Patent Lawsuit

Looks like the two tech-giants have taken it upon themselves to take care of the drama front of the tech world. As lawsuits and courtroom scenes between Samsung and Apple continue to persist, here’s the latest update.

Samsung had agreed to pay Apple $548 million this month after negotiating an initial penalty of $1 billion over a patent copyright infringement lawsuit. While many saw this as a stroke of luck for Samsung to be able to pay only half the amount of the initial fine, Samsung clearly disagrees.

The company requested the verdict to be over-turned by the Supreme Court by filing a motion with the highest court in the United States. Samsung believes the previous jury was not given enough material to understand the patent thoroughly.

Since the cases in the American Supreme Court are chosen by the justices, there is no surety that Samsung will get a chance to fight it out with Apple there. But if it does indeed land up there, both companies will be required to make 30 minute long oral-arguments each, along with file briefs. Time to bring out the popcorn and sit-back, folks. Team Samsung or Apple?

December 15, 2015
New Samsung Galaxy A9 Leaked Images Reveal a 6-inch Display and 4000 mAh Battery

Leaked images from China have emerged revealing that contrary to what we know so far, the Samsung Galaxy A9 is going to have a 6 inch 1080p Super AMOLED display. It will also have a battery marked at 4000 mAh to match the huge screen.

The other specs are expected to include a 13 MP main camera, 8 MP front camera, 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage. Additionally, the phone would also have a fingerprint scanner, will run on octa-core Snapdragon 620 and come equipped with Samsung Pay.

Galaxy A9 will be part of Samsung’s Galaxy A line-up for 2016 and therefore is expected to arrive by January next year, first in China and later in rest of the world. It would be priced around $450 or close to Rs. 30,000.

December 15, 2015
YU Will Launch “Something Else” With Yutopia

Yu tweeted yesterday that the newest smartphone by the company, Yutopia won’t be the only product to be launched at the official event on the 17th of this month.

The beast just got a company to make things more interesting. Get ready to find out soon. #Yutopia pic.twitter.com/MRXF0bULox

— YU (@YUplaygod) December 13, 2015

The event was initially supposed to take place on 7th December but it was pushed back by ten days. The reason given by the company was that there are two products lined up for release and now both will be launched together.

We were putting our stakes on another smartphone, probably a Yutopia Plus. However, sources have confirmed that it’s not another phone. It could be something as disappointing as another power bank. Surprise, surprise. Or something as simple as a smartwatch or another OS. Let’s hold our breath for a less anticlimactic launch until the product is made official.

December 14, 2015
Amazon Removes Hoverboards From its Website Due to Rising Explosion Scare

Earlier in December, the UK government had been forced to confiscate over 15,000 hoverboards because they were considered “unsafe” and potential fire hazards.

“Many of the items detained and sent for testing have been found to have noncompliant plugs without fuses, which increases the risk of the device overheating, exploding or catching fire,” said UK’s National Trading Standards

When security tests were conducted on hoverboards as they were shipped from different manufacturers, about 88% of them were declared a safety threat for users. These self-balancing scooters have also been in the news for getting banned by the UK government based on the 1835 Highways Act.

In the wake of accidents related to hoverboard-explosions that have continued to persist despite these measurements by the government, Amazon has finally decided to look into the matter. Not only has it started questioning the safety standards of manufacturers, it has also removed many hoverboards from its website as was reported by Best Reviews.

This little piece of tech has been at the receiving end of many jokes on social media. Users have been tweeting and condemning the “evil” hoverboard all over.

lol all these hoverboards exploding got me like pic.twitter.com/4eDXxPLjBZ

— EYE-SLAY-YA (@kingIsaiah16) December 9, 2015

In the recent weeks, the United States has witnessed ten recorded incidents of hoverboard fires in nine states, leading to active investigation of the situation. Additionally, major airlines all over the world have banned hoverboards from flights as market gets flooded with more and more cheap rip-offs.

The future of hoverboards seems very uncertain at this point. It would be interesting to see how these self-balancing scooters come back after such a major blow. Watch this space for updates.

December 14, 2015
Samsung’s New Virtual Assistant for Mobile Phones Could Arrive Next Year

Virtual assistants seem to be the shiny new toy in the world of smartphones these days. Apple’s Siri led to Microsoft’s Cortana and it simply doesn’t end there. Joining the fray is Samsung with its own rumoured new voice assistant for mobile phones.

Samsung is developing a Virtual Assistant for its devices. It will build on S Voice app with search engine and clever notification.

— S_leak (@sleaknow) December 10, 2015

Samsung already has a voice assistant called S Voice but it’s nowhere close to its Apple and Microsoft counterparts. This is what the company is perhaps working on improving. The new assistant is expected to run on Samsung devices using the S Voice app.

Needless to say, the features would be enhanced and upgraded to ensure an over-all smoother and efficient experience for the user. Because the company has had a history of launching new software with new hardware, we can expect to see the voice assistant with the launch of Galaxy S7 in February 2016.

Via: SamMobile

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December 14, 2015
A Smartphone With 10,000 mAh Battery That Will Last You 10-15 Days

Oukitel is reportedly working on a phone that comes equipped with 10,000 mAh battery. Could this mean gone are the days of power-banks and bulky battery cases? The company’s new smartphone K10000 will last 10-15 days per charge under ‘normal’ usage.

Yes, this does seem a little too good to be true, and your doubts are not unfounded. The phone has a modest quad-core 1GHz MediaTek processor, 720p screen, 8-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front cam and only 16GB of expandable storage.

Basically, the device is more like a power bank which has a basic phone attached to it. Don’t be surprised if there is not 3G or LTE support on the K10000. The phone is priced at a $240 (about Rs. 16,000) and begins shipping on January 21st.

This won’t be the first of its kind device though. Recently, a Chinese company too launched a phone with 9,000 mAh battery. However, once again that was the only highlight of the device, with its low end specs and bulky design. There seems to be still a long way to go before companies start combining decent specs with a long-lasting battery in their smartphones.

December 14, 2015
3-D Printed Soles in Shoes Combine Fitness With Technology

World’s new obsession from the world of tech seems to be with 3-D printing these days. From pens that let you create miniature structures from out of thin air to printers that print three-dimensional metallic objects – 3-D printing has seen some quite impressive breakthroughs lately.

The latest in the development of this realm is shoes with 3-D printed soles to meet the specific requirements of each wearer. Researchers at New Balance are looking into creating a mid-sole which takes care of the demands of a person who lands on their heels as well as one who uses the mid-region of the foot.

The team is working with a Boston based design studio called Nervous System to design a sole which can be customised and therefore be user-specific. Jessica Rosenkrantz, Nervous System’s creative director mentions the use of a proprietary elastomer to create a geometric structure equipped with a sensor grid inside it.

Depending on the date collected by this sensor, the shoe-sole will be customised making sure the wearer gets the most efficient and optimised experience. Brands like Adidas have experimented with 3-D printed soles recently and employed similar biomechanics in their running shoes. Following suit, New Balance too aims to introduce its shoes with 3-D printed midsoles in 2016.

December 13, 2015
Now Use the Apple Watch to Control Your GoPro

GoPro has an iOS app and it’s great. But this was not enough and so, now the app has an amazing update which allows GoPro to be controlled using the Apple Watch.

The most important GoPro functions like starting or stopping recording, previewing shots and adding “HiLight” bookmarks can now all be taken care of using the Watch. This iOS app is compatible with the GoPro HERO3 or any of the Wi-Fi equipped GoPro models, though previewing shots on the Apple Watch is not compatible with the HERO3 or the HERO2 with Wi-Fi Bacpac.

The app has definitely made things more convenient for GoPro users by allowing them easier movement, especially if their devices are needed to be mounted in inaccessible locations minus any kind of viewfinders.

Apple Watch, after being panned by the majority of users, has still a long way to go in terms of customer satisfaction. The GoPro-Watch app has definitely helped its case but it’s still not too conclusive a factor. While GoPro users stand to benefit incredibly from it, it is pretty much pointless for others.

December 12, 2015