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Nikon D5 D-SLR Camera Launches in India

Launched globally two days ago, Nikon D5 arrives in India today. The new Nikon camera was officially unveiled at CES on Tuesday. The camera boasts a new 20.82-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. This along with a 180,000-pixel RGB metering sensor will deliver more accurate tonal gradations and detail, according to Nikon.

Nikon’s newest flagship camera is powered by a new EXPEED 5 image processing engine. Some notable features include 4K/UHD video recording. The Nikon D5 can shoot 4K movies (3840×2160 pixels) at 30p/25p/24p in dot-by-dot native pixel crop, which ensures the highest image quality as well as record Full HD (1080p) videos at frames up to 50p/60p in multiple formats.

Capturing lowlight images will be a cinch as the camera provides a native ISO range from 100 to 102,400, extendable up to a whopping 3,280,000 equivalent at the Hi 5 setting. The D-SLR also comes with what Nikon calls a ‘next-generation AF’ system boasting 153 focus points and 99 cross-type sensors.

“Nikon D5 is a professional’s formidable photography partner, sporting a phenomenal new autofocus system, highest standards of expanded ISO sensitivity, turbocharged workflow, and exceptional durability, for superlative flexibility to shoot both stills and 4K movies. The new-fangled D5 outperforms the expectations by delivering a potent fusion of extensive image capturing power alongside a detailed and immediate acquisition performance, regardless of the environment. Nikon D5 is ‘I AM VISION OUTPERFORMED’.” said, Mr. Sajjan Kumar, Vice President – Imaging Division, Nikon India Pvt. Ltd.

January 7, 2016
Uber Fined $20,000 Over ‘God View’ Tool in the US

Uber’s ‘God View’ tool allowed employees to access and track the location of Uber drivers and customers without their permission or their knowledge. The company ran into trouble with the tool in 2014 when an Uber executive tracked the whereabouts of a Buzzfeed journalist while she was not aware of it.

When the issue was brought out in the public, required action was taken against the executive. The concerned executive explained the act by saying the reporter’s location was monitored because she was 30 minutes late for a meeting. Uber later declared the act to be one of “poor judgement”.However, the cat was out of the bag now and had attracted the attention of the lawmakers. What started in 2014 has now finally concluded with a $20,000 fine being imposed on Uber. The settlement was reached between the company and New York Defence Attorney General Eric Schneiderman yesterday.

The settlement also requires Uber to revise its privacy policy. Geolocation for both the driver and the customer would now be encrypted and password protected. Additionally, ‘God View’ would now be available only to a handful of employees, unlike before when a large number of them could use it. The use of the tool is justified only for “legitimate business purposes”, says the company.

January 7, 2016
Microsoft Surface Pro Range Launches in India

Microsoft fanboys, the day you’ve been waiting for is here. United States based tech giant, Microsoft has launched its highly appreciated laptop killer range, the Surface Pro in India today. The Surface Pro 3 models start at Rs 73,990, while the Surface Pro 4 range starts at Rs 89,990. The country being a make or break market for Microsoft, this over-the-top pricing for the Pro 3, and Pro 4 range could hurt Microsoft in the long run.

The Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch Pixel Sense display, that can output a maximum resolution of 2736 x 1824 (267 PPI). It will run on a 6th Gen Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processor. The device will have 4GB,8GB,16GB RAM depending on the variant of choice, and will be available in storage options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB SSD drives. To add to this, the Surface Pro 4 will also come equipped with Intel HD Graphic chips, or an Intel Iris chip for the top of the line i7 variant.

The hybrid tablet will be powered by Windows 10, and the cool thing about the the device is that it turns into a fully-powered laptop while running a desktop software. Battery life is promised at just over 9 hours on a single charge, and the device will weigh not over 786 grams.A 5MP front, and 8MP camera at the back are also found on the tablet.

Surface Pro 3, on the other hand, has a smaller 12-inch ClearType screen that can output maximum resolution of 2160x1440p and will be available in Core i3 and Core i5 processor options. Further specifications reveal variants with 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD; 8GB RAM and 128GB SSD; and 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD. The tablet comes with the same connectivity options as its newer sibling, but the camera on the front and back have 5MP resolution.

January 7, 2016
This Drone Can Carry a Man

If you’re looking for little man-made contraptions humans could fly in, seek no more. A Chinese company, Ehang Inc., unveiled what is being touted as the first ever drone capable of carrying a human being, on Wednesday at CES .

The Ehang 184 was unveiled yesterday as an electric-power drone that can carry up to 220 pounds and is capable of flying for 23 minutes. It looks like a small helicopter, but of course, along with the four doubled propellers of a drone. The air-conditioned cabin has room for one person and is capable of being charged fully in only two hours. It also has a reading light and space for a back-pack, just because.

The passenger is required to give two commands “take off” and “land” once the flight plan has been put in order; both these commands are taken care of using the Microsoft Surface tablet. The drone is designed to fly 1,000 to 1,650 feet off the ground with a maximum altitude of 11, 500 feet. The highest speed it can reach is 63 miles per hour.

Shang Hsiao, co-founder and Chief Financial Officer for Ehang aims to sell the drone at $200,000-$300,000. However it seems there will be a while before the drone is declared legally safe in all aspects. The Federal Aviation Administration is already trying to regulate America’s sudden increased interest in drones. It would be interesting to see them tackle another addition to the territory.

January 7, 2016
iPhone 7 Leaked Parts Reveal Design Change from iPhone 6S

Following the release of the iPhone 6s series, the crowded corridors of internet have already been abuzz with news,and leaks of the next range of phones from the Cupertino based company. Some might call it pre-mature to make predictions about the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, which are not due until September this year, but fresh leaks surfacing on the Internet seem credible enough to be worth taken note of.

According to new leaked pictures of the the backlight screen for the iPhone 7 published by Taiwanese website Apple Club, there are clear suggestions of design changes in the upcoming iPhones. It had been previously claimed that the handset will win the race to dump the headphone socket, relying on the lightning port, or use wireless headphones to do its work. This new leak has only made these rumours grow stronger.

Side-by-side pictures comparing the leaked images with the one used in the Apple iPhone 6s also show flex cables located on the left side of the iPhone 7 backlight while the iPhone 6s backlight has it on the opposite side.

These moves will possibly help the new range of iPhones achieve between 6.0 mm and 6.5mm thinness, and a design that’s waterproof. The devices may also have a faster TSMC-built A10 chip and non-metallic casing with hidden antenna bands.

January 7, 2016
Self-Charging Batteries to End Smartphone Battery-Life Woes

We have seen some incredible breakthroughs in technology lately but one issue that still needs to be solved is that of battery trouble. No matter how fancy a gadget gets, it is almost always limited by its battery life. The next big thing the world of tech requires is never-ending batteries, and looks like MIT is paying attention.

A group of researchers at the university are working on self-charging batteries, which in turn means never-ending battery life. The idea is to produce electrical energy out of the mechanical energy of locomotion. The mechanical energy produced as a result of walking can be used to charge electronic devices.

The procedure involves two thin sheets of lithium alloys to serve as electrodes with a porous sheet of polymer, after it has been soaked in liquid electrolyte, placed in between. This design is efficient at moving lithium ions, while at the same time being attached to sensors on the joints on the body like knees or wrists. The sensors would absorb mechanical energy of locomotion and convert it to electrical energy.

This tech could also be used to charge wearables like smartwatches, along with phones. However there is still a long way to go. Right now, the use of this technique can achieve 15% efficiency for a gadget at best. The research team hopes to increase this efficiency to a 100% soon.

January 7, 2016
Nextbit Robin ‘Cloud Phone’ to Start Shipping in February

Back in September, we brought you news that Nextbit Robin – the first smartphone to offer cloud storage, which was started as a Kickstarter campaign, had begun pre-orders in India along with a bunch of other regions. The price of the phone is Rs. 26,000 ($399), which excludes shipping charges of Rs. 4,600 ($70).

Now, two months later word is that the startup will start shipping of the devices in February. Nextbit has announced that it will deliver the Robins to the first 1000 people who backed the project on February 16. The initial deliveries, however, will be of the GSM versions, while the CDMA models will ship later this year.

Nextbit Robin Midnight

Nextbit Robin is equipped with features sure to woo customers, the highlight of which is the cloud-based storage option. The phone promises no more storage woes by automatically backing up your data to the cloud, and therefore emptying the phone’s inherent storage.

Robin was initially put up as a Kickstarter project from where it received an immense response of $1,362,000 (about Rs. 8.9 crores) in terms of funding. The company’s goal had been no more than $500,000 or about Rs. 3.26 crores.

The specifications of Nexbit Robin include a 5.2 inch HD screen along with 1080×1920 p resolution. The plastic body of the phone has Qualcomm hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor on the inside. 3 GB RAM and 32 GB of in-built non-expandable storage are some of its other specs. The phone also boasts of a fingerprint sensor.

In terms of the two cameras, the phone packs a 13 MP for the main camera and a 5 MP for the front camera. The battery is marked at a 2,689 mAh, and it has a USB Type-C port. The operating system is Android 6.0 Marshmallow. There are two colour variants for the handset: Mint and Midnight.

January 7, 2016
Netflix Available Globally

Netflix arrives in India -guess who can finally use the phrase “Netflix and chill”? The announcement was made during a keynote by Co-founder and Chief Executive Reed Hastings at CES 2016, while the service went live simultaneously.

Netflix is now available in 190 countries and needless to say, India is one of them. Viewers can now stream their favourite movies and TV shows on almost any Internet-connected device like smartphones, computers or tablets.

The Basic plan costs Rs. 500 per month while the Premium one is priced at Rs. 800 per month. Users can try the service for free for the first one month by signing up at www.netflix.com/in . Which Netflix show will you be streaming first? Let us know in the comments below.

January 7, 2016
Xiaomi Mi 5 Running Snapdragon 820 SoC Confirmed for February Launch

Rumours of Xiaomi’s next flagship had been doing rounds on the internet for sometime now, and earlier today Xiaomi Co-Founder and Senior VP Liwan Jiang through a Weibo post put them to rest by confirming to the world the Chinese phone maker’s plans of launching the much anticipated Xiaomi Mi 5 in the coming months.

As revealed by Jiang himself, Xiaomi has already started mass production of its next flagship, Mi 5, and the phone will hit markets shortly after the Chinese Spring festival, which will be February the 8th this year.

The Xiaomi Mi 5 with the latest Snapdragon 820 processor is ready and in volume production. It will be released after the Spring Festival to have enough time for stocking up – Xiaomi Senior VP Liwan Jiang

Though no official word is out on the specifications of this much awaited device, but according to leaks, and the ever churning rumour mills of the Kingdom of Internet, the Mi 5 is slated to feature a 5.2-inch display with Quad HD resolution. 3GB or 4GB RAM, with a minimum of 32GB Internal storage. The camera on the device is expected to be a 16-megapixel at the back, and an equally impressive 13-megapixel snapper at the front.

This power hungry device is set to pack a battery of 3600 mAh with support for Quick Charge 3.0 technology. At the software end, the handset will run MIUI 7 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

January 6, 2016
Letv Launches World’s Thinnest TV, First Smartphone with Snapdragon 820

Letv made its presence felt at CES 2016 today in a big way. The internet and technology conglomerate unveiled the world’s thinnest TV. Yes, it’s Letv who has done it this time with a Max65 Blade that actually lives up to its name.

Because the 65-inch TV was designed to set a new record for slimness, it comes with a separate speaker rather than a built in one.

But just when you thought Letv had managed to inspire awe in those present at the event with the TV, the company pulled another surprise by bringing out the world’s first smartphone with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 820 chipset. Yes, it is Letv again that has beat the likes of Samsung to become the first company to use the Snapdragon 820 SoC for its new smartphone, Le Max Pro.

Along with this powerful new chipset under the hood of the device, the Le Max Pro will be featuring ultrasonic fingerprint technology made possible by the chipset and it will also support WiFi ad. Letv has indeed managed to steal the spotlight at CES 2016 with these two announcement.

Another interesting point to note is that it was confirmed that Samsung would have the exclusivity of the new Snapdragon 820 chipset for the first quarter. So, seeing that Letv has managed to sneak in its own device sporting the new SoC first could mean that other companies ready to release their Snapdragon-powered flagships might not need to wait until April to do so.

January 6, 2016
Asus Zenfone Zoom to Arrive in India Before US

Asus had announced the Zenfone Zoom at CES last year, and now a year after the announcement there is finally some news on its arrival in India. The phone was launched in Taiwan, the home to the company, last month, and was expected to be made available in the US next month.

Though it was supposed to arrive in India in Q3 2015, but clearly that did not happen. The latest update on this comes in an official statement by Asus,

“Scheduled to hit the Indian market later this month, the new addition to ASUS’ expanding smartphone range, the imaging-masterpiece will truly enable the users to ‘See The World Up Close’!”

The company claims to “reinvent smartphone photography” with Zoom which sports a 13 MP camera that has 10-element lens, 3X optical zoom, and optical image stabilization. The back of the smartphone is reminiscent of the Nokia Lumia 1020. In terms of specs, Zoom has a 5.5 inch, Corning Gorilla Glass display, 3,000 mAh battery and it runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop. There has been no mention of the Indian price of the phone yet, but in the US it is expected to be $399 (about Rs. 27,000).

January 6, 2016
Vodafone to Soon Roll Out 4G services in Major Indian Cities

India’s second largest telecom operator, Vodafone, has revealed plans to roll out 4G services in major cities including Delhi, and Mumbai by end of March, 2016. The Britain based operator, which has one of the widest network in terms of reach in an official statement communicated,”Vodafone has already launched its high speed 4G services in Kerala. The intensity of its roll-out will continue with major metros like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi to be launched by March 2016″

In a bid to showcase it’s superior customer service, it has already started to issue 4G ready SIM cards in Mumbai. Vodafone India Business Head Mumbai, Ishmeet Singh said,

“The company is fully geared up to launch 4G services in 1800 Mhz band in Mumbai very soon. We want our customers to be 4G-ready so that they can start experiencing the benefits of high-speed mobile Internet services as soon as they are launched commercially. Hence, this facility to upgrade to 4G-ready SIMs in advance”

Vodafone is also planning on home delivering 4G-ready SIMs to its premium high-value customers in Mumbai, and formal communication for it is already being sent out.

January 6, 2016
5 Free Apps to Help You Keep the Fitness Resolution This Year

This New Year’s resolutions all around seem big on fitness. People in the virtual space have been talking a lot about being fit -from a deluge of pre and post work-out selfies to this never ending high of fitness-junkies. Yes, we get it -life is so much better after a work-out, and even better if your entire Facebook friend-list knows about it.

If fitness is your cup of tea, because of reasons mentioned above, or (hopefully) different ones, and if you too made a resolution about a healthier body and mind in 2016, we are here to help you keep it. Find below a list of five diet and exercise related apps to motivate yourself to keep in shape. Here goes:

Nike+No list on fitness apps can be complete without this. If you already don’t know about this cool and pretty useful app, this is why Nike+ is important -it made running so much better with its constant motivation in the form of trophies, badges and NikeFuel. It allows users various running programmes and challenges to choose from, along with the option of syncing it with your social media accounts. Nike definitely got it right with this one. It is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Tabata Stopwatch ProNow that we are on the topic of cardio, let’s talk about Tabata. This amazing four minute work-out is made for those who live life on the go. Doing this work-out once in the morning and once in the evening will let you maintain a basic standard of health. The biggest hurdle in doing Tabata is keeping the time in check. But worry not, Tabata Stopwatch Pro is here to save the day. It not only plays your favourite song during the work-out but also notifies you of time intervals every 20 and 10 seconds. It’s available in both the App Store as well Google Play.

Daily YogaIf cardio is not your thing, why not try your hand at flexibility and stretching with some good, old Yoga? Daily Yoga is an app which instructs users in Yoga for different parts of the body through comprehensive videos. Depending on the body-part and the trouble you’re facing -from aches to soreness in muscles to fat, Daily Yoga sufficiently covers all requirements. The app is available in the App Store and Google Play.

Calorie Counter – My Fitness PalOptimum health requires both physical exercise and a balanced diet to work in unison. Now that we have got the former part covered, it’s time to move on to the latter -that is, the right diet. Calorie Counter, as the name suggests, lets you keep a check on the daily consumption of carbs and fats. You can enter in the meal and it would give you an estimate of your calories. Once you start using it, you’d be pleasantly surprised with how customizeable this app is. Calorie Counter too is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Hydro Coach and Daily Water Free ‘Nuff with all the huffing and puffing -make sure to keep the body well-hydrated. That’s much easier said than done; making sure to drink enough water is one of the most useful but also the most underestimated hacks ever. Enough water keeps the muscles replenished and healthy enough to take on any exercise regimes. It also keeps the metabolism up and running on its feet making sure your diet and exercise is optimised in the most efficient ways. While Hydro Coach is a useful app for Android phones that will give you regular reminders to drink water, Daily Water Free is the answer for iOS users.

January 6, 2016
Microsoft to Launch Surface Pro 4 in India Tomorrow

Microsoft’s flagship 12 inch hybrid tablet that promises to put your laptop out of business for good is all set to take up Indian markets by storm in the coming days. Microsoft has started sending invites of the launch event for the Surface Pro in India on the 7th of January, 2016. Microsoft fearing a backlash because of the high price of the series had shied away from introducing the Surface Pro range in India for a long time, but its seems the company has decided to cast those apprehensions aside, and trust its loyal user base in the country.

The Surface Pro 4 whose pricing has not been disclosed by the company yet, looks set to retail in India over the Rs. 60,000 mark. For the hard earned money you spend, Satya Nadela, and Co. present to you a gorgeous piece of consumer hardware that can easily take on all the productivity tasks that you throw at it. This hybrid tablet is a sure-shot upgrade from the Surface Pro 3, but still leaves you wanting more when it comes to battery life.

The Surface Pro 4 features a 12.3-inch Pixel Sense display, that can output a maximum resolution of 2736 x 1824 (267 PPI). It will run on a 6th Gen Intel Core m3, i5, or i7 processor. The device will have 4GB,8GB,16GB RAM depending on the variant of choice, and will be available in storage options of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB SSD drives. To add to this, the Surface Pro 4 will also come equipped with Intel HD Graphic chips, or an Intel Iris chip for the top of the line i7 variant.

The hybrid tablet will be powered by Windows 10, and the cool thing about the the device is that it turns into a fully-powered laptop while running a desktop software. Battery life is promised at just over 9 hours on a single charge, and the device will weigh not over 786 grams. Not bad we say.

The Surface Pro 4 on paper looks like a device which if priced right could easily make deep inroads into the Indian consumer market, and keeping in mind how carefully Microsoft has been looking at India in the past year or so, come 7th of January, 2016 Indian consumers could well expect this game changer from the tech giant to be priced reasonably, and make way into their homes.

January 6, 2016
Asus Launches New EeeBook Series in India

Asus has expanded its portfolio with the launch of the Asus EeeBook E402 and Asus EeeBook E205SA in India today. The former is a 14-inch compact and lightweight notebook with HDD expansion slot up to 3 TB, while the later is an entry level convertible notebook with a sensitive and accurate touch display and up to 8 hours of battery life.

Asus has launched the two notebooks seeing the growing demand for affordable, compact and ultra-portable computing devices in the country. The company claims that their EeeBook series are pocket-friendly notebooks that are “elegantly crafted for high mobility and style”.

Asus EeeBook E402

Both the notebooks run on the latest Windows 10 64-bit OS. The 14-inch EeeBook E402 measures at 2.19 cm in thickness and weighs 1.65 kg. The device is powered by Intel Dual-Core Celeron N2840 processor and has an on-board memory of 2GB. The notebook also comes with Intel HD Graphics 4000, VGA web camera, and a 2-Cell Li-ion prismatic battery pack. Asus also claims that the E402 offers a large display, upgradable storage option and comes packed with technology aimed at improving user experience, all at an affordable price tag of Rs. 23,990.

The notebook features SonicMaster technology for audio, Splendid technology for the demanding viewing standards, and the company’s own Smart Gesture technology for multiple Windows gesture on the large touchpad.

Asus E2055A

Meanwhile, the entry-level 11.6-inch EeeBook E205SA comes with a metallic finish that gives it a premium look. The 360 degree convertible notebook weighs 1.20 kg and is being offered in two colour options – Dark Blue and Crystal Silver. Furthermore, the notebook promises 8 hours of battery life on a single charge, powered by a reversible USB-Type C port, and is priced at Rs. 18,999.

January 6, 2016