Author: Rosheena Zehra

Samsung Galaxy J3 Launched with 5-inch Display and a Quad-Core CPU

After receiving TENAA and 3C certifications this month, Samsung’s new smartphone Galaxy J3 has now been listed on the company’s China website. However, the name of the device has been slightly altered, it’s called Galaxy J3? now.

In terms of the specs, the phone packs a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU, along with 5-inch 720p Super AMOLED display. It further has a 1.5 GB RAM and 8 GB of expandable internal memory. The battery is marked at a 2600 mAh. The main and the front cameras are marked at 8 MP and 5 MP respectively. With a measurement of 142.3 x 71 x 7.9 mm, the device weighs a 138 g.

Though the TENAA certified model was running on Android 5.1.1, the official listing doesn’t mention the operating system of the phone. Milk Music app and a Smart Manager tool are some of its other highlights on the software front. The official listing also doesn’t mention the price and the availability of the phone in other markets. Watch this space for more updates.

November 21, 2015
LG Cancels World-Wide Rollout Of New Smartwatch Due to Technical Glitches

If sources are to be believed, LG has cancelled the rollout of its latest smartwatch, Urbane 2nd Edition, worldwide because of an specified “hardware issues”. AT&T notified customers of a “quality issue” with the gadget and offered them a refund.

Additionally, Android Police received an email from LG, post their review of Urbane, in which LG clearly mentioned that the glitch with the Watch “affects the day-to-day functionality of the device.”

LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition is the first Android Wear device with a 4G LTE support. On the display and resolution front, Urbane is equipped with a 1.38-inch fully circular P-OLED display, and 480 x 480 pixels along with 348 ppi. Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, 768MB of RAM, and 4GB of built-in memory are some of the other features to be part of the deal.

However, before you get too excited, it should be pointed out that LG has gone ahead to comment that they are unsure when and if the watch will be available for order in the future. According to the company, this can only be decided “at a later time.” Let’s see if Urbane 2nd Edition manages to make its entrance into the tech world, and if it does, how does these hiccups influence audience’s response towards it.

November 20, 2015
Moto X Force With its Crack-Proof Screen is All Set to Hit the Indian Markets

Last month we had reported about Moto X Force arriving in India in November. And now, Motorola has announced an imminent release of the Moto X Force in the country. The phone, famous because of its ‘crack-proof’ screen, will soon hit the Indian markets.

The country head for Motorola India, Amit Boni said in an official statement that the smartphone will soon arrive in India. This news follows a global press release where Motorola had mentioned that the Moto X Force, launched as Droid Turbo 2 in the US last month, would come to India in November. The smartphone is expected to hit the market with its current price tag of $624 (Rs. 40,000 approximately) and $720 (Rs. 47,000 approximately) for the 32GB and 64GB variants respectively.

On the specs front, Moto X Force packs a 5.4 inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chipset along with 3 GB of RAM. The two internal storage options of 32 GB and 64 GB are expandable up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card.

The highlight of the device is its super-hardy screen. Motorola claims to have integrated a ‘Moto Shattershield’ technology in the display of Moto Force which, it says, is the first shatterproof screen in a phone ever. The company feels confident enough to affirm the screen would stay intact for up to four years, owing to the multiple layers of different materials used in making it capable of absorbing shock and providing protection against cracking. The phone also boasts of two touchscreen layers, which make sure that the smartphone can be used even if one of the layers is cracked.

Needless to say, Motorola cannot stop talking about its first ever shatter-proof phone in the world. Let’s see if Moto X Force manages to live up to all the expectations. Watch this space for all the updates

November 20, 2015
Huawei’s Rose Gold Watch Goes Up For Sale at $699

Huawei has released a new version of its first smartwatch, the Huawei Watch. The Chinese company has launched the most premium variant of the Watch which comes equipped with a 22K rose gold plated stainless steel case with “coin-edge top ring”.

The rose gold version of the Huawei Watch is available on the company’s official online US store. Even though right now only one variant of the Watch is available, Huawei promises another with “an alligator pressed brown suture fine-leather strap” soon. The Watch comes in limited quantity and is priced at $699 or about Rs. 50,000.

If you’re willing to scoop out another $100, the Watch will also be made available with a different configuration along with a 22K rose gold plated stainless steel link band, priced at $799 (close to Rs. 57,000). But this variant is yet to be up for sale.

Looks like Apple is not the only company to have left us a little more than surprised with its roof-high pricing of fancy smartwatches, the rose gold variant for a gadget isn’t so new either. Does a Huawei rose gold gadget appeal to you more than an Apple gadget with a similar physical design?

November 20, 2015
Would You Buy a Phone With 9000 mAh Battery?

Chinese maker MACOOX has come out with its new phone powered by a 9000 mAh battery. The phone is called EX1 and comes equipped with 1 GB of RAM, 8 GB of internal storage and an undisclosed quad-core processor. On the display front, the phone measures a 4.5 inch, and has a main camera of 8 MP and a selfie camera of 2 MP.

However all is not perfect in paradise -the EX1 comes with a bulky body of 14-15 mm in thickness. Unless you are planning to wear trousers with huge pockets, carrying this device might be a little bit of a bother.

According to sources, the phone appears to be a handset glued to a power-bank. Why not just carry your stylish, sleek smartphone along with a power-bank instead, right? We have the same question. Let us know if you come up with an answer for that one.

November 19, 2015
Hasbro Helps You Fight Loneliness With its New Robotic Kitty

Good bye, ‘forever alone’ moments as Hasbro comes up with a solution for the lonely. The company has come out with a robotic cat which purs, meows and responds to touch. You don’t have to worry about cleaning up after them, feeding them, deciphering their unpredictable mood swings and selective affection with these new kitties.

The Joy for All companion pets are primarily designed for the elderly who often find themselves struggling with loneliness. But feel free to get yourself one of these furry robots if they catch your fancy. They are up for sale at a price of $99.99 or about Rs. 6,600.

Just recently, Japan had introduced us to Pepper, the first ever fully functional humanoid robot meant to provide companionship. A lot of people seem to be welcoming the idea of finding warmth and comfort in Artificial Intelligence and its various forms. Would you be willing to try and connect with an AI a la ‘Her’? Let us know in the comments below.

November 19, 2015
Google’s Next Glass Will Not Have Glass

The team of Google Glass, now called Project Aura, is reportedly working on three new prototypes of wearable technology. One of them happens to be a gadget which relies entirely on audio. It is unclear at this point how it will be different from any other pair of headphones or a Bluetooth earpiece. However, it is highly likely to be part of the Project’s work on hands-free computing.

Started in June as the successor to the Google Glass division, Project Aura was initially part of Google X “moonshots” lab. It’s now headed by Tony Fadell, the Nest Labs CEO, along with the reputed designer, Ivy Ross.

When Amazon laid off a bunch of its engineers, many of whom were audio experts, Google gave them refuge. Now they seem to be working on developing the audio-focused gadget for Google.

At the same time, Project Aura won’t get rid of screens altogether. The company is working on two other devices other than this audio-only gadget. The other two gizmos are likely to have screens and are reportedly meant for businesses that require head-mounted display. Let’s see how this Project and its goals pan out. We’ll update you as soon as we have more information.

November 17, 2015
The ‘Lol’ Emoji is Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year

Language purists are not going to be happy with this latest linguistic development. In a first of its kind incident, the word of the year chosen by Oxford English Dictionary is not even a word to begin with, it’s an emoji. Oxford Dictionary’s lexicographers study linguistic trends every year and announce a word annually. In the past words like ‘GIF’ (2012), ‘selfie’ (2013) and ‘vape’ (2014) have made it to the list.

The close contenders this year were ‘dark web’, ‘refugee’, ‘they’ and ‘lumbersexual’, among others. However, needless to say, the emoticon won hands down.

“You can see how traditional alphabet scripts have been struggling to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st century communication. It’s not surprising that a pictographic script like emoji has stepped in to fill those gaps,” says Oxford Dictionaries’ president Casper Grathwohl.

The emoticon is a smiley face weeping tears of laughter and is officially called “Face with Tears of Joy”. The emoji is also a replacement for ‘LOL’ in virtual lingo. It is believed to reflect the “ethos, mood or preoccupations” of the times.

The usage of emojis started as early as 2003 but the past couple of months has seen a surprisingly increased use of the little pictographs to convey emotions in an otherwise dull and emotionless mode of communication, even leading to the recent addition of an emoji keyboard in the tech world.

The emoji announced by OED was chosen in conjunction with technology firm SwiftKey. It was the research of this firm which affirmed that the emoji was the most-used around the world in the last year. If you were to choose a word for 2015, what would it be?

November 17, 2015
Apple iPad Pro Units Unresponsive and Prone to Freezing While Charging

Tim Cook has been in news lately for making confident comments about Apple devices and calling the recently launched Microsoft Surface Book “deluded“. However, the comments may have come a tad too soon in the day as some users are already complaining of glitches in the recently launched iPad Pro 4.

There have been numerous complaints on Apple Support forums -all playing to the same tune:

“I’m having the same problem. I’ve charged my new iPad Pro twice and both times it required a hard reset to get it working. Very frustrating.” Another complaint: “I have the exact same issue. When I connect my iPad Pro to the charger for more than an hour, it goes dead. It takes multiple hard resets to bring it back to life.”

The device freezes or gets unresponsive during charging. Apple is aware of the problem and has given tips like performing a factory reset and restarting the device using iTunes. Affected users can also hold down both the Sleep/Wake as well as the Home button simultaneously for a few seconds to force a restart on the tablet.

Many iPhone 6, 6s and 6s Plus units have also been facing the same glitches lately. This means it could be an iOS 9 problem which could be fixed with a simple software update. Either way, post all the confidence that surrounds the launch of every Apple device, these problems are a bit of a downer. We’ll hold our breath until Tim Cook has something to say about this as well. Is that the sound of Microsoft giggling behind the curtains?

November 17, 2015
Amazon Kindle Gets More Stylish, Now Available in a New Colour

Amazon is making life a little more interesting for bibliophiles with its new colour variant of Kindle. In an official statement made today, the company announced a white colour Kindle model now up for grabs.

The e-book reader packs all the features of the previous black coloured Kindle which includes glare-free touchscreen that reads like printed page, weeks-long battery life, enough storage to hold thousands of books, adjustable text size, Goodreads, X-Ray, Whispersync, and easy access to a vast selection of books.

Additionally, the e-book reader also boasts of over 500,000 titles under Rs. 99 and 1.5 million titles under Rs. 299. The user will also have access to over a million books at a starting price as low as Rs. 199 a month.

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The new white Kindle priced at INR 5,999/- is now available on www.amazon.in/Kindlewhite. Customers will also be able to pick it up across 680 plus retail outlets in India.

November 17, 2015
OnePlus Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update Cycle Announced for One, Two and X

Users with OnePlus devices, time to rejoice for the company has announced its Marshmallow update schedule. Even though the company has still not revealed exact dates, the announcement mentions updates in early 2016.

This is what the company had to say in an official statement.

“For the OnePlus One, Cyanogen OS will be updating to Marshmallow in the first quarter of 2016. We created a community build of OxygenOS for the OnePlus One, but this isn’t what the product officially ships with. We will be updating the community build of OxygenOS for the OnePlus One when time allows.

The OnePlus 2 will also be updated in Q1, and the update will include the new standard Marshmallow API for the fingerprint sensor… We are working hard to bring Marshmallow as soon as possible to the OnePlus X, and will update you on a time frame at a later time.”

OnePlus has been in news lately after releasing one device after another – OnePlus 2 and OnePlus X respectively, both having wooed customers in their own special ways. And now the Android M update will be here too to provide customers with a smoother, more efficient experience.

November 16, 2015
There Will Not Be a Macbook/iPad Hybrid, Says CEO Tim Cook

Just a couple of days after his comment on the Microsoft Surface Book where he called it “deluded”, Tim Cook has rubbished any rumours and speculations of a Macbook and iPad hybrid. This comment follows what Apple marketing head Phil Schiller said about the hybrid market. He sees it as a nascent realm unlikely to grow into anything significant.

Elaborating further, while talking to an Irish newspaper, Cook said any hybrid device would mean an inefficient product that would satisfy neither the iPad user nor the Macbook user.

“We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad. Because what that would wind up doing, or what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You’d begin to compromise in different ways,” said Tim Cook, CEO, Apple

November 16, 2015
Is Microsoft Late in Launching Cortana in India?

Cortana, the voice-based virtual assistant, was launched in India for Windows 10 users yesterday, with the Indian accent and voice support. It is part of the November update which the company announced on Thursday.

Thanks to leaks, some Indian users managed to get to lay their hands on this new addition by Microsoft weeks ago. But now it’s finally here officially and how. Microsoft says it took time in launching it in the country because it was working on an Indian voice and accent.

Cortana for India is complete with India-specific knowledge as well. Not only will it be able to understand the Indian accent but you can also talk to the voice assistant about golgappas and cricket, says Microsoft. Indian festivals and customs are two other things Cortana now recognises.

When asked about Diwali, Cortana says, “in the courtyard of AI imagination, I would light up a thousand diyas.”

The virtual assistant was first introduced in the country in September as part of Microsoft’s Insider Preview program with the promise of an update to be rolled out later. Microsoft claimed it was still working on improving voice support.

Users can now use Cortana to book tickets using Book My Show app. However, what is perhaps the most interesting feature that Microsoft cannot stop talking about is clicking selfies using simply voice commands. The virtual assistant with its added features is also capable of looking into your emails and reminding you of appointments and events, or reschedule meetings if need be.

But after its global launch months ago, is Microsoft a little too late in bringing it in India? Whether or not the delay is a disadvantage, Cortana definitely has an edge over its Apple counterpart, Siri, with its knowledge of Indian customs and accent. Let us know which voice assistant would you rather prefer in the comments below.

November 14, 2015
$75 Smartphones by Cyanogen to Enter the Market Next

Cyanogen is working on developing $75 dollar handsets in collaboration with multiple OEMs. The highlight of these devices would be high performance, inexpensive software and minimal software bloat.

The operating system would be CyanogenOS 13 inspired by Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The ROM variant which will be equipped with CyanogenMod 13 will be out sooner than CyanogenOS 13 which is expected to arrive by early 2016.

Provision of SDKs for custom apps, differing based on OEM and region, will be made part of these new Cyanogen devices. Care will be taken to ensure there are no overlaps between apps so that no two apps perform the same function. For example, in Google Android devices there are often two browsers or calendars and so on.

Currently, Cyanogen has tied up with companies like Yu, ZUK and BQ, to name a few, to power phones. However, the $75 devices won’t be the only devices Cyanogen would be offering. There has also been a mention of a flagship as well. Time to sit back and hold our breath for this new addition to the smartphone industry.

November 14, 2015
Apple Watch Successor in Works : Confirms Apple Supplier

The Taiwanese company, Quanta Computer, the company which assembles the wearable device for Apple, says that work has already begun on the successor of the Apple Watch. Barry Lam, the chairman of Quanta Computer has confirmed the news.

The comment about the reiteration of the Watch was recently made by Lam at an investor meeting. He affirmed that the device would perform better than its predecessor. Rumours about a launch at the end of Q2 next year are rife.

Rumours about a 2016 launch of the next-gen variant of the Apple Watch have been around for a while now. The gadget is expected to have enhanced features with the same external design and body. The square screen of the Watch is highly likely to stay. This is all from Apple on the Watch front for now. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more.

November 14, 2015