Author: Sushant Talwar

Motorola India ‘Shatters’ iPhone 6s in New Teaser

Motorola India yesterday launched a teaser for its upcoming Moto X Force smartphone. The device’s major highlight is its shatter-proof display which is gloriously demoed in this teaser while taking a jibe at some other well-known smartphones out there including the iPhone.

Today it has taken the fight directly to Cupertino-based tech giant, Apple. In a new video shared through Motorola India’s YouTube channel, the company takes a jibe at the iPhone mocking it for the infamous “bend-gate” situation that iPhone 6 users had to face. It further shows an iPhone 6s being dropped from an unspecified height (we’re guessing 10 feet) and switching to the next shot to reveal that the iPhone’s display has succumbed to a gruesome end.

Moto in the video starts by saying” First they bend, then they, break”, and ends it by saying ” and then they choose” followed by the Moto X logo with the words “coming soon” beneath it showing up on screen. Well, if this is what they did to the iPhone, we can only imagine what the marketing team at Motorola has in store for the other big dog in the market, Samsung.

January 19, 2016
Lenovo K4 Note VR Bundle Goes On Flash Sale

Lenovo K4 Note with ANT VR bundle will be available for purchase on its first flash sale today. The much-anticipated flash sale for which 4,80,566 people have registered will go live on Amazon at 2 P.M IST today. The K4 Note VR bundle is priced at an attractive price of Rs 12,499.

Amazon will see another sale go live tomorrow at the same time exclusively for the Lenovo K4 Note. The K4 Note will be up for sale at a discounted price of Rs 11,999. In what will be welcome news for customers who have registered for the VR Bundle, it has been announced that they will be eligible for the 20th, January K4 Note sale as well. For customers who would like to buy just the ANT VR headset, it is also available on Amazon for a reasonable price of Rs 1,299.

For all you curious souls, the Lenovo K4 Note comes to the market with impressive specifications. The phone sports Lenovo sports a 5.5-inch Full HD Display(401 ppi). It comes equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Under the hood, it houses an octa-core 64-bit Mediatek MT6753 processor paired with 3GB RAM. It also comes with internal storage of 16GB which is expandable up to 128GB using a microSD card slot.

The phone on the outside features a curved back, and will be 3.8mm thick. It also includes a fingerprint scanner. The K4 Note is the first smartphone to come with Dolby Atmos sound technology on speakers. It also supports 4G connectivity on both the SIM slots.

For all your photography needs, the device packs a 13MP rear camera with dual-LED flash. It also features a 5MP front facing camera. The connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1, USB OTG and A-GPS. The phone gets its juice from a 3300 mAh battery pack.

January 19, 2016
Apple iPhone 7 to be Li-Fi Ready?

After the removal of the 3.5mm jack, and the addition of a new ‘whole body’ speaker system for their new iPhone, Apple is looking to bring some more out of the box creativity to their next phone.

According to reports, Apple is looking at exploring Li-Fi feasibility in the next iteration of the iPhone. This was first reported by a user on Twitter when he spotted ‘Li-Fi Capability’ mentioned in the code of iOS 9.1. This could be an indication that Apple is already testing Li-Fi for its next handset.

Li-Fi is a technology capable of transmitting data via light. What makes Li-Fi so compelling is that it’s more effective than Wi-Fi and can transmit data more than 100 times faster than a standard Wi-Fi connection.The tech uses smart LED light bulbs that flash on and off very quickly, faster than a human eye would be able to see and sends binary information through this blinking.

It can’t be said for sure that Apple will include Li-Fi in its next phone, but if it does, it will herald a new beginning, one that will be full of light, and fast speed wireless data internet.

January 19, 2016
Airbus and Uber Partner to Provide On-Demand Helicopter Service

After taking over your city roads, Uber now has plans to take over the vacant skies too with its latest marketing strategy. According to reports, the famous on-demand cab service will be partnering with Airbus to bring to its customer base a new offering, one which will involve helicopters to ferry them around the city.

According to the information disseminated by the company, this will be a pilot project which will include helicopter rides around Utah city during the Sundance Film Festival this month. Reports further cite, that the service will use H125 and H130 helicopters to ferry passengers. Uber will use its cars to get passengers to and from the landing site. Pretty innovative indeed.

Uber has offered helicopter rides before. In 2013, it tried this idea during the United States Formula 1 Grand Prix in Austin. The rides cost a minimum of several hundred dollars back then, and it is expected that these rides during the Sundance Film Festival will also cost a bomb. Nonetheless, this is a positive move and shows that both Uber and Airbus are looking to expand their horizons for potential customers.

We can’t really say if something like this could be done in India soon, or for that matter, if at all it’ll be rejected outright because of the high fare of such Uber powered helicopter rides, but one thing we do know for a fact is, it’ll be pretty cool to see Uber Helicopters show up on our Uber smartphone app.

January 18, 2016
ZTE Nubia Prague S Unveiled

The chinese smartphone company, ZTE, today launched the Prague S, under the branding of its premiuim Nubia range. The chinese smartphone maker revealed that this new handset from the company will be available for pre-order in China starting from 23rd January priced at $380( Approx Rs 25,000). The smartphone will come in Silver and Rose Gold colour options.

The ZTE Nubia Prague S features a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display with 1920×1080 pixels resolution. The display is scratch resistant with a coating of Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on top. The device is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, paired with 3GB of RAM. The internal storage of the smartphone is 64GB which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.

The ZTE Nubia Prague S comes equipped with a 13.0-megapxiel rear camera with LED flash and an 8.0-megapxiel front facing camera. On the connectivity front the smartphone includes 4G, LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS chips and all of this juiced by a rather meek 2200 mAh battery.

On the outside the smartphone flaunts an aluminium frame body and it also houses an Eyeprint ID scanner. It also comes equipped with Dolby audio and Dolby decoder for a rich audio experience.

January 18, 2016
YouTube Urdu Launched in Pakistan

Google has unveiled a new Urdu language variant of YouTube in Pakistan. Users from the country will be redirected to the new web address YouTube.com.pk which will be a repository of local Urdu language videos from the country.

The launch of this new site is regarded as a step in the right direction to get the ban on the website revoked which has been in place since 2012. The new homepage, YouTube.com.pk, will boast of local language and content, but is presently not accessible within Pakistan. The blockade could be lifted in the coming weeks as the country’s Supreme Court is expected to come up with a decision whether YouTube should be accessible again or not.

Goutam Anand, Director of Operations and Content, YouTube Asia Pacific, had this to say about the launch, “With these launches, we hope to pave the way for the work of more local creators, personalities and musicians to shine on the world’s largest and most vibrant video community. To all our YouTube viewers and creators from South Asia and around the world, we can’t wait to see what you share.”

January 16, 2016
Indian’s Can’t Stay Away From Smartphones Even on Vacation, says Study

There’s no fighting the argument that we Indians are a race of proactive beings, always on the move, forever busy with work. There’s also no denying the fact that we live in an age where smartphones and gadgets do more than just the needful and ensure we never lose connectivity with work. Sadly, these two working together doesn’t get us any accolades.

The Egencia/Expedia Mobile Behaviour Mobile Index, a global study of mobile-device-related behaviour and preferences among travellers conducted across multiple countries and continents, found that India (by 80 per cent) leads in checking in with work at least once a day.

“In India, constant connectivity is a priority when mobile devices are carried in hand from work to home and now on vacation too. When we’re more efficient and productive using mobile devices and apps that provide a seamless experience, the quality of our vacation improves and the work-life balance can be prioritized,”- says Egencia India country director, Amit Arora

The sample size for the study consisted of 9,642 adults from 19 countries aged 18 and above owning a mobile device by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm.

The detailed study found that almost 30% Indians spend over 30 minutes checking e-mails, texts or voice mails daily, while 13% of us (highest in the world) make sure to spend over an hour on such work, and productivity related activities.

To hammer the point further home, Egencia revealed that Indians carry their work around with themselves even on vacations. According to the findings, 74% of Indians find Wi-Fi hotspots while on holiday to stay in touch with work.

The findings also reveal how dependent Indian travellers have become on smart-phones for their multimedia, and work related needs.

“The dependency on smartphone and gadgets have increased over a span of time and it is very well reflected in traveller behaviour. About 56 per cent Indian travellers are addicted to their mobile devices, while 36 per cent Indians carry a rechargeable pack or case or portable charger or spare battery to use as a backup when travelling,” Expedia India Marketing Head Manmeet Ahluwalia said.

January 16, 2016
Huawei P9 Leaks Reveal Impressive Specifications and a Revamped Design

CES saw a lot of big companies show off their new phones, and upcoming projects, but Huawei, the thirld largest phone maker in the world in terms of sales volumes, revealed nothing, leaving its fans guessing what the company has in works for them. But worry no more, new leaks suggest that all the suspense, and the wait was worth it.

Reports, and leaked design schematics reveal that Huawei is delivering final touches to what is going to be its next offering, the P9, which can be expected to be unveiled by the company in the coming weeks.

The schematics reveal major changes to the design of the phone from last year’s P8. The new phone will come with a physical home button which according to reports will also house a finger print scanner. The phone will also sport dual-cameras along with dual-led setup at the back. There’s also a speaker at the bottom, with a headset jack nearby.

On the specs front the phone is rumoured to come with a 5.2 inch Full HD Display, 3000 mAh battery, and 4 GB of RAM, but most interesting is the news of the P9 coming with a Kirin 950 SoC. That means that the phone will have an octa-core CPU and the Mali-T880 MP4 GPU.

Want to know what that translates to in real life? Well, something very impressive according to benchmarks reports posted on GeekBench. The website today listed an anonymous Huawei device with the Kirin SoC on board clocking up a serious Multi-Core score of 7313. That score is more than the previous best clocked by the X20 Helio Deca-Core processor.

If these leaks are indeed true, and the benchmark results anything to go by, it looks like Huawei has in works a powerhouse waiting to be unleashed. Can’t say we’re not excited.

January 16, 2016
Fixstars Launches 13000M : World’s Biggest SSD

While the personal computer industry is still trying to make the massive transition from mechanical Hard Drives to Solid State Drives, a new entrant has jumped into the fray to tilt the balance towards the newer technology’s favour.

For years now, SSDs have lurked in the shadows, and because of technological constraints have trailed HDD’s in terms of storage space, but all of this is about to change now. Meet Fixstars SSD-13000M.

This dull looking SSD from Fixstars comes with a massive 13TB of NAND-based flash memory, and is the biggest SSD so far. Put that in context with the fact that the biggest 2.5 Inch HDD available in the market is a 10 TB storage device by Seagate, you understand how impressive the tech behind this piece of computer hardware is.

But as with most good things, this SSD also comes at a cost, and I’m not talking about the interesting price tag of $13000( approx Rs 8,50,000) that it comes at. According to Fixstars own benchmarks, SSD-13000M because of its size loses out a bit on the speed. The company here has decided to go for steady performance instead of speed.

This device is not focused at home users, and as such the steady performance at the exorbitant price does end up making sense. Considering that it’s no trivial task to combine, and validate so much NAND per drive, such pricing for the device can be considered acceptable.

The Fixstars 13000M uses a specialized disk controller designed by the company and 15nm Toshiba MLC NAND memory. Sequential speed is listed as 580MB/s, sequential write is 540MB/s. Power consumption is listed to be 3W at idle and up to 6.5W under load.

It can be years before NAND Technology becomes cheap enough for such applications to make its way into our homes, but for enterprise users with cash to burn, this offering from Fixstars does make a compelling argument in its favour.

January 15, 2016
Asus Zenfone Max with 5000mAh Battery Goes on Sale

Asus India’s latest enterant to the already crowded market is a phone that sets itsellf apart from the crowd. The new Zenfone handset promises what its buddies couldn’t offer, a long battery life. The Selfie, and Lazer range phones albeit good, still did lack in stamina, and that is where this phone excels.

The Max, with it’s enormous 5000mAh battery, not only offers a phone that won’t die on you mid way through the day, but surprise surprise, it can also double up as a portable charger for other power hungry devices that might need some assistance. Well, that my friends, is an offer that even Don Corleone can’t refuse.

On the specifications front, the phone holds out its own in the crowded budget phone segment. ZenFone Max features a 5.5-inch HD (720×1280 pixels) IPS display which has 10 finger touch support and comes with anti-fingerprint coating. The phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 quad-core processor which is paired with 2GB RAM, Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system and Adreno 306 graphics processor.

On the photography front, the phone integrates a 13-MegaPixel rear and 5-MegaPixel front PixelMaster camera with an f/2.0 aperture lens and laser auto-focus. It also comes along with a low-light mode that claims to capture up to 400 percent brighter photos at night or low light condition without utilizing the flash.

The Asus Zenfone Maxx has started retailing for Rs 9,999 , which to be honest is decent pricing for a phone with nice specs, and outstanding battery life, as such making it highly recommended.

January 15, 2016
Samsung Galaxy S7 to Have Apple’s ‘Live Photos’-Like Feature

One of the coolest, and most loved things about the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus when it launched was the inclusion of Live Photos. A really fun feature to use, it helps you click photos with short video clips just, and after the photo so that you can immerse yourself in the emotion of the photograph whenever you look at it.

It’s a fun feature, but not something ground-breaking that we expected Android to bring to their devices, but such is the lack of ingenuity in the smartphone market these days that we have Samsung’s already porting the idea on to their next flagship.

According to reports, Samsung is planning to bring a Live Photos-like feature to the Galaxy S7 under the name of Vivid Photos. But, Samsung’s version will be a bit different than Apple’s offering. Vivid Photos will not capture sound, but only the image. These images will be saved as GIFs, and will be particularly of interest to users who’ve struggled to upload Live Photos on Facebook. Let’s see if Vivid Photos works as well for Samsung as Live Photos did for Apple.

January 15, 2016
Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 with Snapdragon SoC Confirmed for India Launch

Xiaomi yesterday through its social media handles teased its loyal fanbase in India with vague communication of an “exciting announcement” for today, and we are glad to say it’s lived up to the said promise. Xiaomi has announced a Redmi Note 3 Explorer contest for 100 lucky winners from the country, effectively confirming that the Redmi Note 3 will make its way to Indian markets soon.

The Redmi Note 3 was launched in China last year with a MediaTek chipset, but Xiaomi is now bringing a new variant to India that is powered by a Snapdragon 650 SoC. No pricing details have been announced, but the 16GB variant will retail in China for RMB 999( approx Rs 10,000). Another 32 GB variant will also be available in the future.

The Redmi Note 3 announced today varies in two ways from the version announced back in November. Firstly, it replaces the Helio X10 chipset with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 64-bit 1.8GHz hexa-core CPU, Adreno 510 GPU, integrated X8 LTE with Cat 7 speeds and support for VoLTE.

Secondly, this refreshed model will feature a 16-MP shooter with f2.0 aperture, and phase detection autofocus. The earlier model only came in with a 13-MP camera on board.

Xiaomi Note 3 that makes it way to India will showcase impressive specs. It will boast of a 5.5-inch 403ppi Full HD display, and come equipped with a dedicated Reading mode. Xiaomi is expected to launch two variants as it has done in China, 16GB storage variant with 2GB of RAM, and 32GB storage variant with 3GB of RAM.

The phone also has a 5 MP front facing camera. It will get the juice it needs from a beefy 4,050 mAh battery, and will feature connectivity options like dual-SIM card slots, 4G LTE support, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and GPS.

January 14, 2016
Credit Card Sized Device To Charge Your Phone Using Water

CES 2016, saw a lot of crazy concepts, but none of them could match this one for ingenuity. Move aside portable chargers, forget about finding electric outlets to charge your phone, the JAQ is here to save the day.

Swedish startup MyFC unveiled this cool device which is small enough to slip into your pocket. It is a fuel cell charger, and uses saltwater and oxygen to convert chemical energy into electricity. Precious electricity that can later be used to charge your power hungry phone.

The charger consists of two pieces, a credit card-shaped power card and a port for the card that’s roughly the size of a smartphone. The card contains saltwater, which fuels electricity producing chemical reactions when you slip the card into the port. The port can be connected to your phone using a normal usb cable.

According to the information on the company’s website, one JAQ power card produces close to 1,800 mAh, enough to charge an iPhone 6S. Larger devices, like tablets, can also be charged with the fuel cell, but it’ll take more than one power card to get them fully juiced.

But JAQ cards come with a catch. These power cards are good for just one use. After that,the saltwater in them stops producing the chemical reactions required for generating electricity.

The JAQ isn’t available for purchase just yet, but the company plans to start shipping the product to American users later this year. It is expected to be sold on a subscription bases, though the company also plans to make these cards individually available for $1 each( Approx Rs 60).

January 14, 2016
Apple Watch 2 Trial Production to Begin This Month

Apple’s second run at striking gold is expected to start sooner than expected. If leaks coming out of China are anything to go by, Apple has decided to start trial productions of the Apple Watch 2 before this month’s end.

The manufacturing of this much awaited second generation smartwatch will be handled by Quanta, the same company which manufactured the Apple Watch last year, but the Cupertino based company is looking at new partners for handling the manufacturing of Apple Watch 2.

Not much is known about the specs of the Apple Watch 2, but rumours suggest the second generation watch could come equipped with a Face Time Camera, different display, and an improved processor. Addition health related features are also being rumoured for the Apple Watch 2.

The product is expected to launch alongside the 4-inch iPhone 5e that has been doing rounds on the Internet sometime in March. Watch this space for latest updates.

January 14, 2016
LG K7 Specifications Revealed

The younger sibling of the LG K10 will hit stores this week. The K7, or LG Tribute 5 depending on the region you buy it from will honour LG’s signature phone design, and will be available to buy starting tomorrow. It will cater to budget concious customers looking for a phone under the Rs 10,000 mark.

This Android phone which will come with Lolipop 5.1 out of the box has a 5-inch 480p display. The phone has a matte peblle curved design, and also features the new 2.5D Arc Glass design. It comes in Titan carbon gray color, and is smaller than the K10 at 143.6 x 72.5 x 8.9mm.

The phone is expected to feature a 1.3Ghz Quad Core Chip in the model that makes it to India. It has 16GB of internal storage onboard with 1.5GB of RAM, another option could also be made available with 8GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.

The K7 will feature a 8MP rear camera and 5MP front-facing camera and will come equipped with software features like gesture shot, gesture interval shot and a screen-lit “flash” for front-facing selfies.

January 13, 2016