Some stories can melt your heart in an instant. Disney has always been something for children and the child in you. So, it pleases one to hear that the mass media and entertainment giant will be helping a UK-based start up in making prosthetic hands for children more appealing. And how will Disney help with that? By doing it the Disney way, of course.
Open Bionics is the name of the UK-based start up that focuses on low-cost 3D-printed prosthetics. The company is also a part of Disney’s Techstars Accelerator program. Disney is giving Open Bionics royalty-free licenses to create prosthetics modeled off of Iron Man, Elsa from Frozen, and a glowing, buzzing ‘lightsaber hand’ familiar to millions of Star Wars fans.
But the fun doesn’t just end with the design. It also does things, too. Take the lightsaber hand, for example. You can turn on a set of LED lights that illuminate the prosthetic which also give off the lightsaber-like buzzing sounds. A button also lets you change the saber’s colour because fans know that characters like Luke Skywalker, Yoda and Darth Vader favour different couloured lightsabers.
Similarly, the Iron Man gauntlet will let the child shoot off “rockets”. Well, not really, but with the LED lights and sounds and a vibrating motor it does give off that feeling. But the prosthetics aren’t just expensive toys. They’re made to help the child and provide physical therapy while having fun. The motor gives a haptic feedback to the child when he non-threateningly fires from the Iron Man gauntlet and also serves to indicate the strength of the grip being exerted by the child. Apart from serving a fun light show, the LED lights also lets parents and doctors understand what signals are being sent to the device.
Open Bionics CEO Joel Gibbard told Independent that, “the power of these prosthetics is that the public perception is completely different. All of a sudden they’re not being asked how they lost their hand, they’re being asked where they got their cool robot hand, how does it feel, and how does it work?”
Earlier this year, Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) himself paid a visit to a seven-year old boy and gave the kid a custom-made Iron Man prosthetic gauntlet. Watch the video below that is sure to bring a smile to your face today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEx5lmbCKtY
Open Bionics is hoping to make a big difference with these prosthetic hands and is aiming to have them available by the end of next year at a reasonable price of around $500.
Apple introduced the 3D Touch with their latest iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus. It is, without a doubt, one of the coolest technological improvements from the company in a long while. As you may know already, the 3D Touch makes navigating apps a whole lot easier with the ability to ‘Peek and Pop’, as Apple calls it.
Apps like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook have already begun rolling out updates that make use of the 3D Touch feature. Now WhatsApp joins the list as well. The messaging service rolled out its latest version yesterday and the description mentions how you’ll be able to make use of the 3D Touch feature with your latest iPhone.
While not many found the previous update (starring a message by tapping and holding the message) all that useful, the new update is sure to be a treat for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus users out there who want to get as much out of the 3D Touch feature as they can. As the update mentions, the 3D Touch feature will now allow you to quickly Peek and Pop pictures, videos, links, contact cards, and locations that you send and receive in chats.
Another update is not 3D Touch related but worth a mention. The WhatsApp interface is now mirrored and optimized for right-to-left languages like Arabic.
Yesterday saw the official launch of Google’s Nexus 5X with pre-orders having already begun on Amazon. By now you must be aware of what the Nexus 5X has to offer and the price of the phone as well. Just to refresh your memory, the Nexus 5X will come at a price of Rs. 31,990 for the 16 GB variant and Rs. 35, 990 for the 32GB variant in India.
From what the phone offers in terms of specs, the price is a bit steep, especially when you compare it with the China-only Xiaomi Mi 4c, The Mi 4c comes very close to the Nexus 5X, at least specs-wise. The Mi 4c has a 5-inch display and is powered by a 1.8 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 64-bit processor, 2 GB RAM and USB Type-C port, all similar to the Nexus 5X.
On the camera front, the Mi 4c has a 13 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front, whereas the Nexus 5X features a 12.3 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front. On paper, the Mi 4c seems to have a better camera, however, the Nexus 5X has 1.55 micron pixels that allows for sharper images that can take on the iPhone 6 camera.
Xiaomi’s Mi 4c has a bigger battery at 3,080mAh when compared to the Nexus 5X’s 2,700 mAh battery. In terms of performance, you’ll find both the devices at par, giving a smooth and fast handling.
Keeping these specs in mind, we come to the prices. If the Mi 4c launched in India, the price of the device would have been around Rs 13,500 for 2GB RAM and 16GB internal storage, and around Rs 15,500 for 3GB RAM and 32GB internal. In comparison, the Nexus 5X starts at Rs. 31,990 for the 2 GB RAM and 16 GB internal. Clearly, the Mi 4c offers almost the same specs but at half the price.
Xiaomi is all set to launch its next-gen flagship phone, the Mi5, at an event on October 19 in China. The company announced the event on Weibo. The event may also see the launch of the rumoured Mi Band 2.
From what we know so far, the Mi5 will have a Helio X20 chipset and will not come with the Snapdragon 820 as production of the chipset has been delayed. Other features expected in the Mi5 include 5.2-inch Quad HD (1440×2560) AMOLED display, 4GB RAM and 16/64GB of Internal storage.
The Mi5 is also rumoured to sport a 16MP rear camera with dual LED flash, 8MP front camera and a battery of 3,030mAh capacity. A fingerprint sensor can also be expected as many new devices are now coming out with the feature. The expected price of the Mi5 is around 1,999 Yuan (Rs. 20,500 approx.)
You can also expect some news regarding Windows 10-powered laptops and tablets from Xiaomi. Earlier, the company stated that it would start production of its laptop in the first quarter of 2016. Follow this space for more on Xiaomi’s event.
Update: Sorry folks, it turns out the Mi5 will not be unveiled on Monday. The company denied the rumours on Weibo.
Lenovo has released an invite that doesn’t reveal much except that an event is set to take place on the 21st of October at 11 am in New Delhi. The event is most likely for the launch of Lenovo’s smartphones in India that include the Vibe P1 and the Vibe P1m.
The phones were unveiled at IFA last month, which also saw a host of other Lenovo devices such the iDeaPad, Moto 360, and Lenovo PHAB Plus.
The Vibe P1 smartphone comes with a 5.5-inch 1080p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It is powered by a 1.5GHz Snapdragon 615 64-bit octa-core processor, 5000mAh battery, OneKey Power Saver and Rocket Charge. It also supports the 5G WiFi with its very own WiFi Boost. The talking point of both the P1 and P1m phones is the massive battery and quick charging capabilities.
The Vibe P1m sports a 5-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) display and is powered by 1GHz MediaTek MT6735P processor paired with 2GB of RAM. It also features a slightly smaller 4000mAh battery. One of the main talking points here is the massive battery and quick charging capabilities found in both the phones.
The expected pricing of the Vibe P1 is $279 (Rs 18,167 approximately), while the Vibe P1m is priced at $159 (Rs 10,353 approximately).
In today’s Apple news, Apple Stores will officially open up in India. Apple has tied up with Tata and is set to open at least six Apple Stores at Tata-owned Croma stores by Diwali next month. Croma will dedicate 400-500 square feet in area for Apple at five Croma stores in Mumbai – Malad, Juhu, Oberoi Mall, Phoenix Mall and Ghatkopar – and one in Jayanagar, Bengaluru.
Avijit Mitra, CEO of Infinity Retail, said in an interview with Economic Times that, “We are proud to partner Apple to launch the Apple Store in India and extremely bullish about it. These stores will be modelled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products.”
The Apple Stores will look just like its global counterparts with the same design, furniture like Apple Store’s signature wooden tables, fixtures and lighting. “These stores will be modeled on the global design and will offer the best experience to consumers, showcasing the entire range of Apple products.” Apple will also personally train the sales staff.
So far, Apple has been selling products through premium resellers who run exclusive brand stores under the franchise name, and through other multi-brand electronic stores as well as e-retailers like Amazon, Flipkart and Snapdeal. With this change, warranty will be extended to globally bought Apple devices.
Responding to the fact that India is one of the fastest growing markets for Apple, the company has been increasing its retail presence in India in the past year with five distributors. It has also sped up the launch of the latest iPhones that will see an October 16 release, and now the Apple Stores is all set to open up by the end of Diwali, with more stores to launch later on in other parts of the country.
Google’s Nexus 6P has officially launched in India today. The company had sent out invites for the event starting at 11 am. The Huawei-made Nexus 6P and the LG-made Nexus 5X released ahead of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch that is set to hit the markets on the 16th.
The Nexus 6P will be made available exclusively for Flipkart. Pre-orders for the phones will start tonight and the devices will begin shipping from October 21. Those who pre-order the Nexus 6P will get a Chromecast dongle worth Rs. 2,999 from Flipkart. The devices can also be purchased later on from select offline retailers such as Croma, The Mobile Store, among others.
The Nexus 6P is priced at Rs. 39,999 for the 32GB, Rs. 42,999 for the 64GB, and Rs. 47,999 for the 128GB variant. The 6P features a 5.7-inch QHD touchscreen, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 810 chipset, with 3 GB RAM, a 3450mAh battery, and a USB Type-C port. The camera sports a 12.3MP sensor with laser autofocus, dual-LED flash at the rear and a rather impressive 8MP on the front. This pure Android phone will run on the latest Marshmallow operating system.
Our initial reactions towards the 6P were quite favorable. One of the main highlights of the Nexus 6P is the Nexus Imprint. The fingerprint sensor on the back is fast and fluid in accessibility, which according to Google only “gets better over time” as it learns more about your unique fingerprint. Another major improvement is the camera. The 12MP rear camera takes crisp and clear pictures even in low light due to the 1.55 micron pixels, which is greater than the iPhone 6s Plus.
Compared to the Nexus 5X, the 6P has a more premium look to it. It has a full-metal body, built out of aluminium with diamond chamfers around the edges. The metallic finish of the body is smooth and feels comfortable in your hand, but is heavier than the Nexus 5X, which comes with a plastic body. One concern that arose regarding the leaked images of the Nexus 6P was just how much the black camera bar on the top would put off users. However, on using the Nexus 6P, the bar seemed like a welcomed change and does not stick out as much as one would think.
The Nexus 6P is on the expensive side, but some improvements especially on the camera front make it worth buying if you’re looking at the market for premium handsets. As mentioned, the Nexus 6P will be available for pre-order tonight on Flipkart.
It’s been a long, long time since Blizzard Entertainment of Diablo fame came out with an all new game (not taking into account the multiple sequels and spin-offs of StarCraft, Hearthstone and Warcraft). And now we’ll soon see them back in action with a new first-person shoot game, Overwatch.
Overwatch was first unveiled on November 7, 2014 at BlizzCon. It is a FPS that emphases on cooperative gameplay using a cast of ‘heroes’. The game is creating quite a buzz, and rightly so when you see what the trailer has to offer. It is a madhouse of continuous action and a variety of playable characters all with a unique skill set.
Overwatch is set in a near-future version of Earth, years after the resolution of the global-scale “Omnic Crisis”. This crisis put all of humanity under threat of the artificially intelligent “Omnic” robots. Overwatch is a task force that was formed to put an end to the Crisis and protect humanity.
It will be interesting to see how Overwatch plays out, with Diablo and World of Warcraft fans already aboard the hype train. Watch the gameplay trailer below and see if you can keep up with all the chaos that ensues.
The beta version of the game is set to come out in the next few months. Like with all Blizzard games, Overwatch will be available only for PC, both Microsoft Windows and OS X.
Treyarch, the developer behind the Call of Duty franchise is doing something different this time around with the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. They are going the Netflix way and will release all campaign missions from the start. What this means is that you can choose to jump right to the final chapter without having to work your way up the game.
Netflix does this with shows like House of Cards and Daredevil, where it releases all the episodes at once. The reason behind Treyarch’s move is that it doesn’t really matter. People can choose to start from the end and reach the beginning, or jump from one level to a totally different one, or go the traditional chronological way. It’s totally up to the gamers.
Jason Blundell, director of the campaign and Zombies mode for Black Ops 3 told Eurogamer that,”It gives them the flexibility to consume the content how they want,” He also added that,”Consumers and game players in general are far more mature these days. There are so many things vying for our interests today. It’s about, how do they want to consume it? Maybe they put it down on level two, and then they’re in work the next day, and some guy says, ‘dude, you’ve got to check out level four!’ And he’s like, ‘okay, I’ll have a quick look.’ That’s totally fine. I think it’s their choice.”
This would make giving away spoilers much easier, but Blundell is unconcerned by this, comparing the campaign to Netflix’s House of Cards. “If you see the end you’ll say, I need to understand this more,” Blundell said. “When Netflix release House of Cards with all the episodes, does everyone just jump to the end and go and play the last episode? Sure you can. But it’s about the journey, though, right?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is available for pre-order on Flipkart for PC, PS4, Xbox One. PS3 and Xbox 360 will not come with a campaign mode and will only feature an online mode.
Over the past few weeks, rumours have been on overdrive regarding Samsung’s next flagship, the Galaxy S7. In our previous post regarding the rumoured S7 launch, we told you that the phone will come in two models, one featuring the new quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor and the other having the octa-core Exynos.
There have been rumours in the past suggesting that three S7 devices will be launched instead of two, and that two of them will have the curved display (like the S6 Edge and S6 Edge+) while one will have a flat screen. These rumours, however, have been dismissed as of now. Latest speculation is that Samsung will have only two S7 versions, where one will be the ‘Edge’ version and the other will have a flat display.
However, it looks like the S7 will come in three CPU variants. If rumours are to be believed, the China and US model will receive the new Snapdragon 820 processor. Europe, Japan and South Korea will come with a Samsung Exynos 7990 processor and the final model, rumoured to have an Exynos 7422 will launch in India.
Samsung is looking to get ahead of its competition by having a January announcement and a February launch. The S7 will also likely be the first Android Marshmallow handset for the company. Follow this space for more on the Galaxy S7.
In keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative, OnePlus will start local production of its smartphones in India by the end of 2015. OnePlus will set up shop through contract manufacturing at ‘Foxconn’s Rising Stars’ factorywithin the Sri City Integrated Business City in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
“We are excited to add another significant chapter in our India journey as we look forward to starting local production of our smartphones within a year of our launch in the country. Local production will not only make our operations more efficient in terms of cost and working capital requirements but also help us in making our products available for sale much faster than ever before,”Vikas Agarwal said at an official event in Bangalore that saw representatives of the Government of Andhra Pradesh today.
He futher added that, “Ever since OnePlus debuted in India, we have been deluged with requests for invites to buy our products, with more than 5 million registrations worldwide for our latest release – the OnePlus 2 – alone! With the best of our intentions of fastening up the availability process, we have been constrained by a few supply chain related challenges in meeting consumer demands. The local production will help to address this issue and better cater to the fast growing demands for OnePlus products in India.”
Local production of OnePlus’ upcoming devices will start by the end of this year at the 60,000 sq.ft facility at Foxconn’s Rising Stars factory. The facility is likely to produce up to 500,000 units per month to fulfill the growing demand for OnePlus’ smartphones in India.
Chinese mobile companies like Xiaomi have established a popular base in India and are doing really well. In fact, they seem to be doing better than most other established OEMs. One of the most important point of interest for electronic consumers is the after sale service. Knowing that there are plenty of service centres around for your device, among other things, is what drive customers towards that brand. So it’s even better when these brands come to your doorstep, take your phone, service it, and return it back to you at your doorstep.
This is exactly what Xiaomi India is now providing. The company launched the PickMi service in India. It is a doorstep pick up and drop service for all Mi products at Rs. 189. According to a Facebook post, Xiaomi announced, “PickMi service across India! We bring our service to your doorstep. Call us on 1800-103-6286 and avail our pick up and drop service for all Mi products for just Rs. 189.”
Xiaomi has been busy expanding its services across India. The company has been tweeting and posting updates on Facebook about new service centers being introduced. Last week, Xiaomi opened two exclusive service centres in Rohini and Daryaganj, New Delhi. And just yesterday the company tweeted the launch of a centre in Ambala, Punjab.
Miezu is also getting into the doorstep service game. The company plans on providing the service once it launches around 40 customer care centres across 20 Indian cities.
The focus on customer service by these Chinese brands is providing the right push and the right image for them. Xiaomi is already off to a good start and must now keep up the pace and deliver the goods, quite literally.
The rumored HTC event scheduled to take place on the 20th of October will see the launch of the HTC One ‘Aero’, also known as HTC One A9 smartphone. Leaked images from a couple of weeks ago suggested that the A9 will be an iPhone 6 doppelganger and is expected to come in six colours, one of which is quite similar to the iPhone 6s Rose Gold.
New leaked images of a dummy HTC One A9 handset tweeted by @OnLeaks confirm that the phone will definetely be an iPhone 6 rip-off. There are some obvious aspects to the design of the A9 that reminds one of the iPhone 6. The curved edges, the raised camera hump at the back, the plastic strips at the top and bottom, the speaker grill and 3.5mm audio jack are all reminiscent of the iPhone 6. Though, one difference is that the camera hump is centered in the A9 whereas the iPhone 6 has it in the top left corner.
It also seems like HTC is ditching the front-facing speaker and is going for a sleeker look. The home button will also feature a fingerprint sensor. Again, apart from the oval shaped home button for the A9, the rest of the front design looks very much like the iPhone 6. Moreover, The HTC One A9 is said to be 7mm thick, which is around the same as the iPhone 6 (6.9 mm).
As for the specs of the A9, the smartphone will sport a 5-inch Full HD AMOLED display with 1080 x 1920 resolution and 441ppi, Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor and Adreno 405 GPU, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage. On the camera front the A9 will feature a 13MP rear camera with OIS and a 4MP Ultrapixel front. The HTC One A9 will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
We’ll give you the full monty on the A9 once the phone is officially out. We’ll also know just how much the phone is ‘inspired’ by the iPhone 6 once we get a better look at it.
The Call of Duty franchise is one of the most popular and best selling franchises of all time. The series has sold over 175 million copies so far with around 12 titles across multiple spin-offs. With another game expected to come out shortly, the franchise does not look to stop any time soon.
Call of Duty has had incredible success as a first-person shooter game. While the earlier games revolved around World War II, the later series delved into other storylines like a post-apocalyptic futuristic society in the Black Ops titles.
Treyarch and Activision are now coming out with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 for Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One on November 6. However, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 will not receive the campaign mode and will only receive an online mode, at full price no less.
Like its predecessor, this game will be also be set in a dystopian future. The year will be 2065, 40 years after the events of Black Ops II. The future is riddled with science and technological advancements which is causing much dissent among the people. Technology has become so dominant that robotics is playing and important role now and supersoldiers have been created to fight in the battleground. The story follows a team of black ops soldiers with supersoldier capabilities. And yes, the game will also feature a zombie mode as well.
Pre-orders for the game have already begun with the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions priced at Rs. 3,499 and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions for Rs. 4,299, exclusively on Flipkart as of now.
It’s a little frightening when you start looking at how many electronic gadgets you own. Today, our most precious personal possession has got to be our phones. And the more expensive the phone, the more precious (in Gollum’s voice) it gets.
We all take that extra bit of care when it comes to our laptops and smartphones, or at least we try. But sometimes we tend to do things that have been subject to so many paranoid and not-so paranoid theories. We have decided to take a look at some of them and bust those that have worried you for a long time.
1. Charging Your Phone Overnight Can Damage Battery Life
Not everyone remembers to remove the phone from the charger just before bed time. And in the morning you tend to freak out because you feel you’ve damaged the battery. There is a long running myth that charging your phone overnight can reduce the battery life of the phone or even cause your battery to explode. But is this really true?
This may have been the case for older nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal hydride rechargeable cells that came before the introduction of the li-ion batteries. Now, every phone is fitted with a li-ion battery and rest assured these batteries will not explode. The phones are smarter today. It automatically cuts off the charger once your phone has reached full charge. Apple has stated that “You can recharge a lithium-ion polymer battery whenever convenient, without requiring a full charge or discharge cycle.”
2. Using Third-Party Chargers Will Cause Your Phone to Burst Into Flames
Don’t buy unbranded, cheap knockoffs.
We tend to buy cheaper chargers sometimes because original, company made chargers are a little pricey. And as long as it charges the phone, we assure ourselves that it’s all right. But knockoffs are the reason you hear about gadgets catching fire or bursting. Third-party chargers are alright as long as they aren’t ridiculously cheap. A charger from Belkin, for example, is okay to buy, but it may not charge your device as fast as an original charger.
Knockoffs don’t usually have a brand name, and if they do, they’re pretty much an unknown brand. These are the chargers you want to avoid at all cost. It’s easy to tell the knockoffs from the trustables. You just need to keep your eyes open. Though, we would suggest always going for an original. It might be a little expensive but it’s worth it if you don’t want your phone going all ‘flame on’ on you.
3. Going Incognito is Cool
Not. We all know that every web browser has an incognito mode or private browser. Private browsers do not save your search history and it won’t record where you go and what you do. Usually people use it if they don’t want unnecessary ads popping up since nowadays ads on Facebook, for example, are tailored to what you search on the internet; or it’s used to browse sites that are…questionable.
But what you might not be aware of is that your browser isn’t completely private. Your internet service provider will still know about the sites you visit. Even the law enforcement will know about it, if they’re looking into it. So the next time you visit a site that you’re not really supposed to, remember who’s watching. Just saying.
4. Password Protected WiFi Networks Are Safe From Hackers
Well, it depends on the network really. There’s a home network and a network that is used when you’re not at home. Your home network is usually very safe if it’s password protected (as long as the password is not PASSWORD) and employs WPA or WPA/2 encryption.
Outside networks, though, are a little different, and a little more open to hacking. It’s incredibly easy for hackers to download just the right software to eavesdrop into your network. Once that is done, they can look into any data that is being transferred over the net. “Hackers can launch ‘evil twin’ networks that look like the real thing, grab your password and go to town compromising your security,” said Rich Sootkoos, Boingo’s VP.
So for office networks and other outdoor networks it’s always advisable to protect your info using VPN companies such as Express VPN or IP Vanish.
5. Prolonged Mobile Usage Can Cause Cancer
This and the next one are for the health crazies out there. Years ago some reports suggested that prolonged exposure to the phone over time can cause cancer because of the radio frequencies they emit. It was believed that the radiation from your cellphone could cause certain types of cancer.
While there are many scientific papers on this study, there have been no cases over the years to suggest the authenticity of this. Every electronic device gives off a certain amount of radiation right from your microwave to your refrigerator. While we agree that they can be harmful, you do not need to panic as much as the reports suggest.
So far there have been no documented case that suggest cancer caused by cellphone radiation. Cancer Research UK said that, “So far, the scientific evidence shows it is unlikely that mobile phones could increase the risk of brain tumours, or any other type of cancer. But we do not know enough to completely rule out a risk.”
6. Laptop On The Lap Can Cause Impotency
Apart from the cancer scare, impotency is the next big concern when it comes to using electronic devices. There were theories that keeping your laptop on your lap or a phone in your pocket may result in decreased male fertility. The worry was that laptops could increase scrotal temperature.
These researches were widely declared as “speculation”and that further studies were needed to prove this contention. There is no correlation between increased scrotal temperature and infertility as of now and there have been no such cases that suggest the same. However, a word of caution must be given for anyone who keeps the laptop on their laps for a long time as the heat from the device cannot be a good thing, according to gut feeling. So we’ll just go with ‘mostly false’ regarding this story.
7. More Megapixels Mean Better Camera
Not really. We have come to believe that a camera having a higher megapixel results in better quality images. That’s not the case at all. Megapixels have nothing to do with quality, and only helps if you plan on blowing up the photo. What’s important for quality is the camera lens and light sensor, its processor and its optics.
This is why an iPhone 6, for example, with only 8-megapixel camera can take on those that come with 12 or 16 megapixels. And remember the whopping 41-megapixel Nokia Pureview 808? If you zoomed in on a photo taken by that up to four times, you won’t find any loss in image quality. However, the Pureview 808 actually offers a default 5-megapixel resolution, and you could easily go for an 8 megapixel camera over that and still get the same quality images.
