Author: Happy Nagashetti

This Tiny Chip by Justin Timberlake Promises an Amazing Music Experience

It’s good to see entertainment professionals engaging in technological innovation. We saw Dr.Dre managing his multi-billion dollar audio equipment company, then we saw Ashton Kutcher working on some amazing tablets and notebook for Lenovo. Now Justin Timberlake has partnered with a company called AfterMaster to boost the quality of the audio on any device.

AfterMaster takes any music you are playing and tunes it in real time to give the best possible audio output. The company has partnered with ON Semiconductor, who has put AfterMaster’s technology on a chip. This chip can be embedded in TVs, headphones, laptops and all other gadgets.

The chip can be embedded in almost any device capable of playing media.

It’s not just music that gets a boost in quality, the company claims that any audio, video, audiobooks and other forms of media also benefit from their technology. It makes their audio louder, clearer and closely resemble studio-based sound.

Justin Timberlake is the co-owner in this enterprise, and he will surely increase the brand value of this product. AfterMaster sounds like an amazing technology that can transform the way we listen to music. Right now the company is looking for electronics manufacturers who’d be willing to induct the AfterMaster chip in their devices. Now this is a kind of technological innovation that gets us excited.

January 17, 2015
Now, Purchase an Apple Iphone6 by Vodafone with Zero Down-Payment

Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in India in the October of 2014. The devices received acclaim for their features such as continuity and Apple Pay, but also drew flak for issues such as “bendability” in the iPhone 6 Plus. The devices are priced for the premium segment so they are out of reach of many. If you really wanted to own Apple’s latest flagship, Vodafone is giving you an option to own the device that is light on your pocket.

In the open market, the 16GB variant of the iPhone 6 comes for Rs 53,500 and the iPhone 6 Plus is priced at Rs 62,500. But Vodafone is offering the handsets for a monthly EMI of Rs 3,599 for both the iPhone variants. The period of EMI is 24 months. The monthly EMI includes handset cost, local/STD calls, local/national SMS and 3G data and applicable taxes.

The best part about this deal is that there is zero down payment for the 16 GB variant of the iPhone 6.The iPhone 6 Plus though is available for a down payment of Rs 8,490.

Vodafone India has launched tariff plans today where the customer can make calls, send SMS and access 3G data bundled with an iPhone starting at Rs. 2,099.

The company has also offered deals with a 12 month EMI option or upfront cash payment. Vodafone has also offered an additional cash-back offer of Rs 3,000 for all models of the iPhone 6 Plus and iPhone 5s.

January 16, 2015
Fujifilm’s New Mirrorless Camera is a Treat for Selfie Lovers

‘Selfie’ is a trend that refuses to die down. The proliferation of smartphones with front-facing cameras is giving a tremendous boost to it. Smartphones are fast eating into the market shares of camera makers and all they can do is try to catch up. Fujifilm has now taken an effort to cash in on the Selfie mania with its new X-A2 camera.

The Fujifim X-A2 is a mirrorless camera with a 175-degree flip screen which you can use to click selfies. The camera looks retro which gets extra points in the design category. It supports interchangeable lens and gives you far better selfie images than your phone’s front facing camera could.

Flip the display towards you and the camera automatically sets to face and eye detection

As soon as you flip the screen towards yourself, the camera adjusts the settings to enable face detection so that your prized moments are in perfect focus. The camera comes with 16-50mm (24-76mm-equivalent) f/3.5-5.6 lens which would let you take wider selfies. The X-A2 comes for a price tag of $550 which is pretty steep if you’re buying it just for its advanced selfie feature. Also by adding $150 more, you get a 50-230mm (76-350mm-equivalent) f/4.5-6.7 lens.

Maybe the end of the pocket camera is near. As smartphones get better and better at their imaging capabilities, handheld cameras will see their market share dip. But if you got the money and you want a nice retro looking camera with some great selfie capabilities, then this one would be the one to buy.

January 15, 2015
Amazon Apologises For Yu Yureka Price Glitch

E-commerce website, Amazon India, on Wednesday, addressed a glitch that took place during the online sales of the Yu Yureka. The website has got exclusive online retail rights of the Yu Yureka in the country. While the phone is actually priced at Rs 8,999, some of the users were shown the price as Rs 12,499 or higher because of a technical error. The US based firm apologized for the same on Twitter and is presently working to address the customers who were impacted by it.

As of now, it is still not clear what went wrong that led to this price shoot up. The first glitch took place during the first sale of the Yu Yureka in which the company offered 10,000 units for a flash sale.

After the sale on Tuesday, YU announced that it sold off 10,000 units in just 3 seconds. However, later on, some reports alleged that only 3000 units were placed for the flash sale, and even fewer units were sold. Yu has categorically denied the allegations and stood by their stand that they sold 10,000 units.

January 15, 2015
Here’s Everything Xiaomi Launched Today (Other Than the Mi Note)

Chinese smartphone powerhouse, Xiaomi has kicked off the year with the launch of its new flagship, the Xiaomi Mi Note. Going much further than its predecessors, this device directly takes an aim at the big name flagships and as usual comes with an extremely competitive price tag, although still higher than the usual Xiaomi pricing. The device packs some exceptional specs and the Pro version goes on to challenge the smartphones on the top of the food chain.

At the stage, Xiaomi founder and CEO, Lei Jun stated “We want to be the biggest phone company in the world,” and they delivered their products accordingly. It has expanded its portfolio to challenge the dominance of big brands with this launch event. So let’s take a look at all the other products that Xiaomi has unleashed today from its stage that got overshadowed by the awesomeness of the new Mi Note and Mi Note Pro.

Mi Smart Home App

Xiaomi began with explaining its plans to enter into the smart home market where the smartphone will be command center. The company offers a Smart Home App which connects all the appliance with one app.

Xiaomi has invested RMB 1.26 Billion($203 Million) in home appliances company Midea last December, to take its smart home objective forward.

Mi Headphones

Apple bought Beats and Xiaomi, as always following footsteps, launched its own headphones. They have dual 50 mm drivers and exchangeable ear cups.

In true Xiaomi fashion, these headphones are priced at 500 Yuan or about Rs. 5000. The Mi Headphones look attractive but we can only be sure about their quality when we put them to test.

Mi Box Mini

The next launch was the Mi Box Mini which is a tinsy tiny set top box from Xiaomi. This device is powered by a quad-core 1.3GHz processor along with 1GB RAM. It has 4GB internal flash memory and supports 1080p resolution along with Dolby and DTS audio and dual band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

So overall Xiaomi did what it is known for and it sure was a good show. Now that the products are out, get ready for a long line of speculations about their date of arrival on the Indian shores. Xiaomi does consider India an important market, but it may consider releasing these devices in India only after it gets out of the legal hassles it is facing in the country.

January 15, 2015
Asus Brings the Super Sleek EeeBook to India for Rs. 20,000

Asus has won a lot of hearts in India over the last year with its ZenFone line of smartphones. The Taiwanese electronics company has a healthy portfolio of devices in India which includes, notebook, tablets, desktops and a lot more. The company is now going to bring the affordable and stylish EeeBook to India for a price of Rs. 20,000.

Asus EeeBook will take a direct aim at Google’s Chromebook-based devices. The EeeBook is a lightweight notebook which is powered by a 1.33 GHz Quad-core Intel Atom processor along with 2 GB RAM. It comes with a-11.6 inch display with a screen resolution of 1366×768.

Just like the Chromebooks, the EeeBook is a cloud based device. In the UK, the device comes with a one-year subscription to Office365 and 1TB of OneDrive storage, which is worth £60. There is also a free two-year subscription to Asus’s WebStorage service with 500GB of space. So in terms of space, the cloud will come to your rescue. The 32 GB internal storage gets used up really fast so you’d have to keep an external storage device on you.

The Asus EeeBook gives more functionality than the average Chromebook, as it runs on the Windows operating system so you can use all your favorite softwares on the device. This bit makes it more practical and a better purchase for a country like India where internet connectivity is limited. The pricing of the EeeBook is also lower than the Chromebooks in the market which gives it an extra edge.

January 15, 2015
Hands On with the New Tizen-Based Samsung Z1

Android has taken over the market share and is widely available across multiple brands. Companies like Samsung, LG, Motorola and a lot of other companies have greatly benefitted from the Google’s open source operating system. But several electronic giants are attempting to come out of Android’s shadow and set up their own operating systems.

Samsung is attempting to break free from Android’s dominance with its homegrown Tizen OS. Samsung had already inducted Tizen in its Gear family of smartwatches and now they have launched the first phone based on the OS.

We got our hands briefly on the new Samsung Z1 which is the first phone based on the new operating system.

The Samsung Z1 totally looks like something that came out of Samsung’s stable. It has recognizable features including the physical button at the center. The phone has a metal-like casing that along with the polished back panel gives it a premium feel.

The Z1 is being marketed as a multimedia device and offers multitude of content through its tie-up with hungama.com and live tv options like BoxTv. But it comes with a 4-inch WVGA display that doesn’t feel adequate for a complete multimedia delight. The bit that is appreciated is the expandable storage option which is up to 64 GB; an amount great for multimedia hoarders.

Tizen OS looks and feels like the TouchWiz UI

Tizen OS looks and feels like the TouchWiz UI on Samsung’s Android devices. The only thing missing is the app drawer. The drop down menu too looks exactly the same as TouchWiz UI with similar setting options. It will be familiar interface for anyone switching from an Android device or upgrading from a feature phone into a smartphone.

Samsung claims most of the major apps are available on Tizen OS

The company has attempted to bring features from its higher end devices on Z1 like the ultra power saving mode, which up until now has been available on premium handsets like the Galaxy S5 and Note 4. It also offers 500 MB of free data plan with Reliance and Aircel for six months.

Overall, in the brief amount of time we spent with the device, we were excited to see Samsung trying to bring something new to its consumers. The device still falls short of competing with products like the Redmi 1S and the Moto E but is still a good effort. The company said that they will be refreshing their line-up of devices over the future and we would like to see where the new path leads Samsung.

January 14, 2015
Adobe, Intel, Google, and Apple Reach Settlement in Employee Poaching Lawsuit

Silicon Valley’s biggest names got together to a reach a settlement in an employee poaching lawsuit. The case was filed against Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe in 2011 by tech sector workers. It stated that these tech giants limited job mobility for workers and thus limited salary growth too. Now these companies have come together for an agreement to settle the case.

Last year, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California, rejected the settlement amount of $324.5 million, calling it too low. The settlement was rejected after one of the complainant objected to the amount. That complainant has agreed to the new undisclosed settlement amount which was offered by the tech giants. Judge Lucy Koh has said that to match the earlier settlement, the amount must be at least $380 million to address the loss of potential wages to the employees.

The case is mostly based on the emails between Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs and ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt along with heads of other rival companies. The emails detailed their plans to resist from poaching each others’ top engineers. This would lead to limited opportunity for the engineers to grow in the market.

The complainants (plaintiffs) will be filing a detailed explanation of the new deal “imminently”. The Judge will then have the option of accepting or rejecting the settlement. Guess the lesson from this case is to be good at your job, but not that good that your employer will try to keep you in forever.

January 14, 2015
Apple Patents Action Camera Designs, Plans to Take on GoPro

Apple has pioneered a lot of technological advancements that we giddily enjoy today. Think multiple font faces, personal computers and of course, their sweet smartphone. Having made its entry into the wearables segment last year with the Apple Watch, the Cupertino based giant has now patented a design for an action camera.

Apple will take a direct hit at GoPro with this one. In its patent document, the company calls out GoPro’s HD Hero2 cameras for creating “excessive wind resistance’” while mounted, and being “susceptible to damage” from vibrations.

The design of the camera and accompanying wearable.

The new camera design is based on the patents that Apple acquired from Kodak in 2013. This camera can be controlled by a smartwatch. The designs indicate a system of multiple camera sensors that assist the device in covering multiple angles and also multiple directions. The device also describes multiple mounting options like the GoPro; it can be used as a handheld camera and can also be mounted on cars, jibs, bikes, etc. So it checks all the requirements to be an action camera and also comes with a wearable remote.

GoPro’s stock saw significant damage after the news of Apple’s patents. According to CNN Money, the stocks of GoPro fell by 10% on Tuesday. But it shouldn’t be a major cause of concern for GoPro, which is still the king of action cameras. Apple, just like any other major corporation, has a history of acquiring patents which rarely make it to the consumer’s hands. But it did manage to generate hype. GoPros phenomenal success has brought in a barrage of new action cameras like HTC Re, Poloroid Cube Mini, Sony HDR-AS20 HD POV Action Cam and others.

We don’t completely discount the chances of an Apple action camera. As the smartphone market and the wearables segment gets more saturated, companies might look at other areas of interest. Apple can also make use of its Apple watch as a controller, thus increasing its functionality.

January 14, 2015
The New Avengers Trailer Warns of Impending Doom

Ever since the demise of Shield in Captain America 2, the world of the Avengers is going downhill. The next big movie event from the Marvel’s Cinematic Universe(MCU) is the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron and Marvel has just released a second trailer for the movie.

From the looks of it, Earth mightiest heroes are going to face their most formidable enemy yet in the form of Ultron. Tony Stark created Ultron, an artificial intelligence based peacekeeping program that turns against the Avengers. The trailer also shows Iron Man going against the Hulk in his new Hulkbuster suit. The amount of carnage is disconcerting, and we can’t wait for the movie to come out to see how Earth’s defenders will take on their biggest challenge yet.

January 13, 2015
All 2013 and 2014 Motorola Devices to Get Lollipop Update Soon

There is finally some good news on the horizon for Motorola users. After a considerably long delay, Motorola has announced that it will be bringing out Android Lollipop updates for all its handsets released in 2013 and 2014.

In a post on Google Plus, Motorola Engineer Luciano Carvalho has said that the company is currently working hard to bring the update to its consumers. He has not specified the exact date and has just said that the updates will arrive “real soon”.

It is also mentioned in the post that the company has released an Android 5.0.3 update as a limited soak test. The reason cited for the delay is the bug ridden launch of the Android Lollipop. The post says that the team at Motorola are constantly finding bugs and fixing them, and they will reveal the update once it’s completely bug free.

Motorola is one of the best companies out there in terms of timely updates. The devices launched by the company are really popular and get proactive support from the company. So if you are a Motorola user, the wait for your Lollipop will soon come to an end.

January 13, 2015
US Military’s Social Media Accounts Hacked By ISIS Sympathizers

Last year saw some mega hacks attacking some of the most prominent names in the world. First there was the iCloud hack which led to a leak of personal images of Hollywood actresses. Then came the supposed attack from North Korea on Sony Pictures, which did some considerable damage to the production house. But today something even unprecedented happened; social media pages belonging to US Military establishment have gotten hacked by alleged ISIS sympathizers.

The Twitter and YouTube accounts of US Central Command (Centcom) were hijacked by the hackers who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State. They started posting propaganda videos and threatening messages on the websites. The hackers also uploaded some military documents which Centcom claims aren’t confidential and are available on the internet.

The hackers took over the twitter page and left threatening messages for the US Army.

US Centcom is dedicated to the combat missions undertaken in Iraq, Afghanistan and the rest of the middle east. This is definitely an embarrassing situation for the most powerful military in the world.

Following the information about the hijack, the hacked pages were taken offline but not before the perceptional damage was done. Centcom spokesperson has said that the US military network hasn’t been compromised by the hack, and they see this attack as a case of “cybervandalism.” They also added that none of the documents released by the attackers came from the Centcom’s servers or any other social media website.

After Hijacking the YouTube page the attackers posted propganda videos.

The case is being overseen by the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI). The White House also released a statement that said that they are considering the attack seriously and “examining and investigating the extent of the incident.” Several Miltary experts have said that this is an attack on the social media pages and not on the US Military network and hence isn’t a major breach.

The twitter page was taken down for a while and now its back online.

These major releases show that if something is on the internet, it can be stolen with ease. So in these times, just consider any information you have saved on the internet is up for grabs and live in peace with that thought.

January 13, 2015
Flipkart Imposed With Rs. 23.51 Crore Fine For Evading Taxes

Flipkart is the king of the e-commerce space in India. In just a few years of its existence, it has made a name for itself as a trustworthy marketplace. The company has a base of more than 26 million registered users. But it found itself in an unfavorable situation when the Income Tax department slammed a penalty of Rs. 23.51 crore.

The Income Tax (IT) department from Noida and Ghaziabad carried out raids at the Dasna based warehouse of the company in Ghaziabad. The books of the firm were seized by the authorities, and several irregularities were observed. According to the officials the company collected taxes from the consumers but didn’t deposit it with the tax department.

The officials of the department also said that the trading partners listed by the company were also bogus firms. These are some serious allegations against Flipkart and all it said in return is that it would extend full support to the authorities.

E-commerce companies have worked under the government radar for a while but recently there has been an increased focus on their workings. E-commerce markets are also opposed by the conventional brick and mortar shop owners as they provide heavy discounts that discourage customers from buying the products from shops, especially in the electronics arena. We’ll be looking into this story as more details arrive; keep checking this space for more.

January 12, 2015
The Stylish Avegant Glyph VR Headset Could be Your Personal Movie Theatre

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets are fast gaining ground in the consumer electronics market. This year’s edition of CES saw many players showcasing their versions of VR headsets. They came in all shapes and sizes and offered different features. One such headset was the Avegant Glyph, which takes a new approach to providing a VR experience.

Avegant Glyph arrived last year at CES and presented a unique device. It was a bit bulky and had massive earphones. This time around, the device gets a lot sleeker and sexier. On the first look, the device looks like a headphone that slipped off your head and is now sitting in front of your eyes. It almost makes you feel like Cyclops from X-men.

The device is available in White and Grey color variants.

The device uses Virtual Retinal Display technology which is presented without any screens. The device projects an image that is directly formed on the retina of the user’s eyes. The developers say that their intention is to mimic natural vision and thus brings down the eye strain that is felt in most of the VR headsets after continual use.

One other aspect, in which the Glyph is different from its competition, is its 45-degree field of view. According to the developers, this will help the users to start playing content they already own instead of trying to find content made specifically for the VR headsets. When you have the headset on, you’ll get the experience of sitting in a movie theatre with your giant displays. It even runs 3D videos, so it’s an all-round visual entertainment option. It plays almost all your content and connects to your smartphone so you could actually be engaged in your virtual big screen on the move. So now, instead of watching Avatar or Gravity on your tiny display, you can watch on a giant virtual display in your own time.

The device is up for preorder at a price of $524 which might be a bit steep but it sure gets style points. The deliveries are supposed to begin for Kickstarter backers from the fall of 2015 and will be available for the general public by the end of this year. So if you are looking for a movie theatre experience that you can enjoy on the move, the Avegant Glyph maybe an option for you. Just be ready to attract a lot of stares wherever you wear it.

January 12, 2015
With More Than 700 Million Users, WhatsApp is Growing Strong

WhatsApp has rapidly grown from a meager messaging app to a formidable force that has made SMS nearly obsolete. The app is available on all the prominent mobile platforms. The app is rapidly gaining a massive user base and a new report by BI Intelligence shows, at present, it is being used by over 700 Million folks.

WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum wrote a Facebook post where he made the announcement of the 700 million strong user base. He also mentioned that the users of WhatsApp send over 30 Billion messages every single day. This clearly shows why the network providers are so infuriated by the free messaging services as these apps are causing a massive dent in their revenues.

In four months since August last year Whatsapp has added 100 Million new users

The rate of growth of WhatsApp is exponential too. Just last August the company had announced that it had gathered 600 Million subscribers. The speed of adoption is similar to its parent company, Facebook, which now hosts the profile of over 1.28 Billion monthly users and which is rapidly growing.

WhatsApp is not just a messaging app anymore. It is being utilized for political, marketing, spreading information and even entrepreneurial collaboration. It will, in the coming future face some challenges from the network providers and vested interests, but if the past and the latest report is any indication, WhatsApp is only going to get stronger.

January 12, 2015