Earlier today, Apple announced with an official statement, that the company will discontinue the iPod Nano and iPod shuffle. The company spokesperson made the following statement in an e-mail, “Today, we are simplifying our iPod lineup with two models of iPod touch now with double the capacity starting at just $199 and we are discontinuing the iPod shuffle and iPod nano.”
The news of Apple pulling the plug on its traditional music players was somewhat expected. It has been three years since Apple discontinued the iPod Classic. Apart from the iPod Classic, iPod Nano and iPod shuffle were the only iPods which didn’t run an iOS. Apple already expected that its iPhone, iPad and iPod touch will take over the traditional music players. As none of them support Apple Music, Apple’s online streaming service for audio and video. It had already been predicted at the time of the launch of the first iPhone, that the iPhone, which included an “iPod” app for playing music would lead to iPod’s fall.
The last standing iPod, the iPod Touch (which is essentially an iPhone without the cellphone service) has also been “simplified” with two new models, killing the earlier 16GB and 64GB models. The new iPod touch lineup includes a 32GB variant priced at $199 and a 128GB model priced at $299.
The iPod Nano was last updated in 2012 with bluetooth support for wireless headphones and speakers. Apart from updating the colour options in 2015, no significant update has been available since past 5 years. The iPod Shuffle which was launched in 2005, saw its last upgrade in 2010 along with the updated colour options. The fact that no major upgrades were made available for both the traditional iPods was an indicator enough.
For those who plan on visiting Apple’s Website for hoarding the classics before they disappear, Apple has taken down the pages from the website. Nonetheless, the last of the traditional iPods might still be available online, till the stocks run out.
India being an agrarian economy, is largely dependent on farmers, the seasonal monsoon and a reliable irrigation system. In a country where power cuts are in abundance and money is scarce, being able to get a proper irrigation system going is a real challenge. Taking the present scenario in account, the farmers face multiple challenges to simply irrigate the fields. Apart from the endless power cuts and the cost of fuel, other factors like the safety, sustainability and durability of the irrigation system are extremely questionable.
Farmers currently resort to a device called “Jugaad pump” for irrigating the fields.This irrigation system is powered by a functional motor bike and is used for extracting water from open channels and ponds to deliver water for irrigation. While this “Juggad” works for some time, the bike run pump is not the ultimate and long term solution. A team of researchers from IIT Delhi has decided to build a solution which is sustainable and durable.
IIT Delhi researchers are designing solar pumps and invertors that are cost effective and energy saving. The project which is in partnership with industry partner Shakti Pumps Limited, will boost the productivity of the farmers and has received a massive funding of Rs 1.12 crore. The IIT Delhi research team includes Prof. Bhim Singh (Principal Investigator) and research scholars Utkarsh Sharma, Aryadip Sen, Md Kashif, Rashmi Rai, Hina Parveen, Yalavarthi Amarnath.
The research is carried out as a part of the project titled – Design and Development of Solar PV Based Super Efficient Agricultural Pumps and Hybrid Multidimensional Inverters- and falls under the Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
The project is based on decreasing the irrigation cost, or the cost of the energy (electricity or diesel) to drive the water pumps in remote areas where electricity is not yet available. The current irrigation cost in remote areas is upto 30% of the total input cost incurred by a farmer. This cost can be drastically reduced by solar powered water pumps.
The solar pumps will incur one time installation cost and expected battery maintenance cost approximately every two years. The pump will convert solar energy into electricity and employ Direct Current (DC) as opposed to the Alternating Current (AC) which is being currently used by most farmers. A DC powered battery is more efficient and durable and will keep the solar powered pump working for a longer period.
Project investigator Prof Bhim Singh says, “Besides development of super-efficient pumps we aim to design solar water pump with suitable motor considerations and variable frequency operation. We will subsequently be designing and developing the on grid/off grid hybrid inverter,”
Professor further states that the project is aimed at design and development of the industrial products under three verticals. The team will also develop cost efficient inverters running on solar power which can be used to light up the household and feed the electrical grid. The final deliverables would include new technology in electrical drives fed from solar power, novel motor and pump design along with the hybrid inverter design.
This project can help improve the lives of millions by making solar powered technology available at an affordable cost. But the maintenance cost after approximately every two years may make the farmers stick to their traditional method. A one time installation of the solar pump is expected to be expensive as well which may dissuade farmers not willing to incur the installation and the additional maintenance cost.
Every smartphone is preceded by numerous leaks and renders that keep the potential owners guessing. More often than not the leaks turn out to be a thing of passing. New rendered images of the 2nd gen Google Pixel suggest that the smartphone might ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack for a single USB-C port.
It’s no joke that every phone that launches with a headphone jack these days is met with extra adulation since the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 plus ditched it for a “jack-less, wireless future.” To see reports of Google Pixel 2 ditching the headphone jack is quite surprising considering their famous jab at Apple when the Pixel and Pixel XL were launched with the adored headphone jack.
It is worth mentioning that these are rendered images and nothing is set in stone. Pixel and Pixel 2 have been under the radar for a while especially since the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ stormed on to the scene and grabbed all the attention. With the dust now settling in after the S8 and S8+’s launch, the attention is back on Google’s 2nd gen smartphones and its fair to say that this won’t be the last leak for the phones.
The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel Xl 2 are expected to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset, with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. Google will launch the phone with Android O and improved cameras and bigger battery life.
MIUI has long been one of the most polarising custom Android skins. It has garnered quite a fan base across the board but also has its fair share of cynics, and you can’t disregard either. For long, MIUI has been a highly customisable but also slow and unstable skin that a lot of people love to hate. Even Xiaomi’s latest flagship Mi 6 with all the high end specs was found to be a little slow in certain areas. To deal with all that, Xiaomi has launched MIUI 9 with new features. It is worth noting that MIUI 9 will for the time being just be available in China, and the release date for other markets has not yet been announced.
Faster App Launching Speed
One of the main criticisms of MIUI has been its sluggish nature and the slow speed of general usage even in the flagship devices. Keeping that in mind, Xiaomi has promised much faster app launching speeds and navigation between multiple apps will be snappier as well. Performance enhancements are always welcome and this looks to be a step in the right direction for the Chinese giant.
Under The Hood Updates
Xiaomi has also introduced MIUI 9 with a few features that run in the background for example application prioritisation. This basically means that apps in the foreground will use up more power, but that has been on Android for a while. It also has better cache management, a new file system and a bunch of other tweaks to make the user experience crisper and snappier.
The ‘Smart’ Features
Xiaomi has also launched its Smart Assistant to compete with the likes of Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa and even Bixby. The voice assistant will be available in China only for the time being as localisation of the software may take time. Image search allows you to search your image talliers by image context keywords, so if you a looking for pictures with dogs that you have clicked you will be able to do that. The Smart App Launcher is a feature that makes a lot of sense as well. It basically means that you can open up a relevant app on the basis of the content on your current app. For example, if a friend sends you a restaurant’s name, you can open up Zomato to look up the restaurant.
Split-screen Is here, Finally.
The split-screen feature was one of the major upgrades in Android Nougat and a plethora of phones from mid-rangers to flagships have embraced this handy little feature. Xiaomi, on the other hand, has launched it just now with MIUI 9 and it’s a welcome update.
Xiaomi will begin to roll out the MIUI developer beta 9 from August 11 to the Xiaomi Mi6, with more phones will follow suit in the coming months. There is no clarity as to when Xiaomi will launch MIUI 9 in the global market.
Meizu’s new Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus dual screen rumours caught our attention a while back, thanks to the super AMOLED touchscreen on the back. Proving that the rumours were true, Meizu recently sent invites for the announcement of its Pro 7 lineup on 26th of July.
Meizu announced the Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus in a tweet on Wednesday. The Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus were launched with an interesting feature – dual super AMOLED display for the front as well as the back of the handsets. Designed by the design studio “Frog,” the 1.9-inch screen lights up when flipped over and can be used to display notifications, weather, time, playing music or maybe for a quick selfie session using the rear camera. Unlike LG and HTC’s “Second Screen” iterations, Meizu Pro 7 phones may be more practical and cooler versions of the dual screen setup. Priced at $430 and $530, the Pro 7 and Pro 7 Plus are expected to go on sale from 5 August 2017 in China.
The 5.2-inch Pro 7 features a 1920 x 1080 pixel Super AMOLED display and is powered by Helio P25 chip. 4 GB RAM and 64 GB onboard storage brings the phone to par with 2017 flagships. The Pro 7 has a 3000mAh internal battery and support for ‘mCharge 4.0’for faster charging. Meizu claims that mCharge 4.o technology will provide upto 67 percent battery charge in 30 minutes.
A high edition version is also available for the Pro 7 with an extended 128 GB memory and the Helio P30 chip which has a 10-core processor made by 10 nm manufacturing process, making it the first smartphone to use the technology. The higher version of Pro 7 also has IMG PowerVR 7XTP GPU.
Pro 7 Plus
For an extra $100, the Pro 7 plus boosts almost all those specs in the Pro 7 variant. A slightly larger variant of the Pro 7, the Pro 7 Plus offers a 5.7-inch QHD display, 6GB of RAM, a Helio P30 processor, and a choice of 64GB or 128GB of storage. Unlike the Pro 7, the Pro 7 Plus offers a slightly larger 3500mAh battery and offers support for ‘mCharge 3.0’. The phone also has a 10nm chipset including 10 cores made up of three clusters — two Cortex A73 cores that go up to 2.6GHz, four Cortex A53 cores clocked at 2.2GHz, and four energy-efficient Cortex A35 cores at 1.9GHz and a IMG PowerVR 7XTP GPU.
Both the smartphones have M touch fingerprint sensors, run Android Nougat 7.0 based Flyme skin and have Hi-Fi audio. The phones are decked with Sony’s IMX386 imaging sensors and 12 MP dual-camera setup – a primary RGB sensor and a secondary monochrome sensor with f/2.0 aperture for improved low-light performance, as well as a 16MP front-facing camera.
Though the phones are set to be up for sale on 5th August in China, no information about the release in other countries have been disclosed yet. Implying that the wait may be a bit longer than we expected. Meizu also announced the ‘Meizu Flow headphones’ along with the unveiling of the smartphones indicating that unlike Apple, the phones has decided keep the 3.5mm headphone jack.
Lenovo-owned Motorola has launched its flagship for the year, the Moto Z2 Force with a shatterproof display technology. With a lot of high-end specifications, the 2nd-gen Moto Z phone will be the flag-bearer for Moto this year. It goes on sale in the USA on August 10th and is already available for pre-orders.
Moto Z2 Force has got the hardware to compete with any flagship device this year with 4 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset. It has Android Nougat out-of-the-box with a promised update to Android. Let’s just say, pretty standard stuff for an expensive 2017 flagship device. The USP of Moto Z2 Force is three-fold. It has a shatterproof display that won’t crumble after a few regular drops thanks to a shatter-resistant coating on the display. Next up are the Moto Mods, which is why the design and the feel of the phone have been retained, except that it’s much thinner now thanks to a 2,730 mAh battery. The previous gen Moto Z had a 3,500 mAh battery, so to ship a new phone with that big a slump in battery size, just to make it thinner seems like a tricky decision. What’s also missing is our beloved 3.5mm headphone jack, so if you’re still living in the good ol’ days of wired headphones then you need to either make a shift to the wireless universe or live the dongle life, a USB C dongle is included in the box. Another significant change is the camera setup. It now has a dual-lens camera setup with dual 12MP sensors with an f/2.0 aperture. One camera shoots in monochrome, and the other shoots in colour, similar to what we saw on Huawei devices and recent Nubia M2. The Z2 Force also has laser AF, phase detection but no mention of optical image stabilisation. Similar to Apple’s portrait mode, the dual-lends setup has allowed Moto to implement a depth-of-field effect on the Moto Z2 Force.
The Moto Z2 Force doesn’t have the edge-to-edge display from the Galaxy S8 or a huge / relatively large battery one would expect, but with a price tag of $720 (roughly INR47,000), it competes with the big boys of the current flagship market aka the Samsung Galaxy s8 and its bigger sibling the S8+, Apple’s iPhone 7 and 7 plus. The release date in India has not been specified and it is likely that the phone may not launch in India at all as the company stayed away from the Force variant last year.
HMD Global is gunning to unveil Nokia’s first android flagship- the Nokia 8 on August 16th. The phone maker has started sending out media invites to an event in London on August 16th. What’s interesting is that this invite comes just days after the Nokia 8 was leaked. Prepare for a pleasant throwback because Nokia 8 is set to become the first smartphone with Nokia’s branding to ship with the Carl Zeiss optics. Expect a spec’d out smartphone with the prospect of owning a premium Nokia branded phone in the longest time!
The Nokia 8 is rumoured to have a dual-camera setup which has become a standard now on flagship devices. Expect dual 13-megapixel cameras with Carl Zeiss Optics. The Nokia 8 is rumoured to be sporting a 5.3-inch display (2560 x 1440), Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB internal storage and dual-SIM options.
Expect a snappy fingerprint scanner and an iris scanner on Nokia’s latest phone. The Nokia 8 is expected to ship with a large 3,800 mAh battery with quick charge. While the price is nowhere near certain, it is rumoured to be priced much like a premium flagship, carrying a hefty price tag of $675 (INR 44,000 approximately). They phone may be launched in several colours including Blue, Steel and Gold-Copper colours.
The date is set and in just a little more time, we will have the first ever Nokia branded premium Android smartphone! Who’s ready for the throwback ride?!
Some of the fondest memories of a comic book reader are peeling off the plastic wrap off of the comic book and turning the cover page. That sound of fresh paper rattling still makes us a little giddy inside. As much as we hate to admit, digital books are the present and the future. The purists still believe that nothing’s better than the feeling of a physical book in the hand and the sound of the rattling pages is unparalleled. But, the success of Kindle and reading apps tell us a different story. The handiness of a small gadget essentially carrying your whole library is too good a deal for avid readers to not look into. The comic book readers have long been waiting for a solid platform to satiate their digital comic book cravings.
We went on a spree to find you the perfect app for comic books and boy do we have a good one! Comics by ComiXology is all you’ll ever need and it is great. With a collection of over 75,000 graphic novels, comics and manga this is your one true flight-mate.The collection is mostly paid but there are a few free comic books to get you started.
As is with every app, to access the full library you need to buy the books and read them offline while you are on a flight or a place where you can’t access the internet. From Archies to DC and Marvel to Appleseed, the collection is huge and it’ll take you the long time to even try and finish reading the whole library. Another important box that this app checks out is the UI. An easy-to-use app with proper refined categories and an easy payment method makes using the app an absolute walk in the park. It has all the necessary tabs to help you find the comic book you’re looking for. The text is crisp and the images are sharp to keep you immersed in whatever you’re reading.
Available for free, this app is a must-have for all you comic book/graphic novel enthusiasts who travel a lot and can’t afford to give up the precious space in your hand-baggage. This handy little app will soon become your go-to saviour from the perpetual boredom. Check out the app below and tell us what you feel about it!
[button type=”link” link=”https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iconology.comics&hl=en” variation=”btn-info”]Explore The App Here[/button]
Every now and then, we stumble onto greatness while scouring the internet. The piece of tech in the centre of attention here is the Robotic Glass Cleaner, and it blew us away with how easy (and an excuse to procrastinate longer) it made our lives! Our office has quite a lot of glass walls which you would’ve noticed in our office tour video a few days ago. What we also showed you a glimpse of, was this futuristic looking uber cool glass cleaner. Now, what this device essentially does is clean your glass walls in a circular motion with the use of its plush soft micro fibre padding. And we don’t need to tell you how awesome micro-fibre is!
The design of the glass cleaner is extremely cool and looks like a thing from the future with its round paddings and a black-and-white colour scheme giving it a robotic feel. Hence, the name as well. It’s extremely sturdy and won’t break down on you anytime soon. It comes with a safety harness to break a fall in case it isn’t connected to a power source and the battery runs out. that brings us to its functionality, and boy is it a keeper! The glass cleaner moves horizontally or vertically on auto mode and also has a manual mode where you can change its directions from the accompanying remote control and the smartphone app. It really is extremely satisfying to just sit and watch it spread its magic of cleaning. We aren’t talking up this product because it actually is the most hard working member at our office.
The price is a huge factor for whatever people decide to buy, and this extremely handy tool retails for $150.With the coupon GBS60 you can save an additional 20-30$. It is an investment if you ask us and our spick and span glass walls will back us up here. This Robotic Glass Cleaner should be a part of every dream setup, be it an office or a home. Check out the link below to see how the magic happens and tell us what will prompt you to add this tool to your repertoire.
[button type=”link” link=”http://igy.me/2vSCBVF” variation=”btn-info”]Buy the Robotic Glass Cleaner here![/button]
The good ol’ MS Paint, the tool that inspired the lot of us to become artistes is getting ‘deprecated’, according to Microsoft. In a recent announcement by Windows, it listed out the features and software that will be in the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The iconic MS Paint was first introduced by Microsoft back in 1985 ie 32 years ago! MS Paint will be missed, not for its functionality but for just being, well Paint. It’s like that old t-shirt which doesn’t fit you anymore but you can’t give it away either because it was cool a several year ago. MS Paint getting the axe doesn’t come as much of a surprise though, as Microsoft is now pushing Paint 3D as the next big thing in their repertoire.
As per the announcement, don’t expect MS Paint to vanish off the face of the earth just yet, as it states that MS Paint will ‘deprecated’ rather than ‘removed effective immediately.’ What this essentially means is that the software is not in active development and can be removed in the future updates. MS Paint will be available through the App Store with its functionality integrated with paint 3D. If you’re wondering what this Paint 3D is, then here’s a small introduction: It is nothing like our ‘masterpiece creator MS Paint.’As the name suggests, it is designed to make in 3D. Paint 3D will let users turn parts of photos, artwork into full-fledged 3D objects. It was announced back in April 2017 with the Creator’s Update. It also lets users work on a 2D image and convert it into 3D artwork.
MS Paint is here to stay, it will just have a new home soon, in the Windows Store where it will be available for free.
The final word on when MS paint will be removed in its entirety is not out there, yet. The Windows 10 Creators’ Autumn update will start rolling out soon, although a definitive date has not been announced, expect the gradual removal MS Paint as soon as the update starts rolling.
Last year was all bout smartphone fires and about the infamous Samsung Galaxy Note 7 which was LIT (pun intended)! Long story short, lots of Note 7 handsets started randomly catching fire and Samsung recalled all the units and hence, the ‘Note 7 bursting into flames’ jokes came into being. In a rather bizarre news, a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 was caught on tape bursting into flames in a shop in Bengaluru.
As the shopkeeper was trying to insert a Sim card in the phone, it caught fire after an explosion and burned the handset’s entire body. In the video, you can see that the phone isn’t connected to any charger or an accessory and quite astonishingly burst into flames while the retailer was handling the phone. A lot of similar cases are a result of overheating due to charging, so this is a rather rare case and quite bizarre.
Image via TechCase
In a yet another Firegate incident, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 bursting into flames seems like an isolated incident and although it is scary, no one in the incident got hurt. After Samsung Galaxy Note 7, this news comes in as a shock as we expect all the smartphone makers to be on top of their stop-the-phone-from-catching-fire game. We will reiterate that this is an isolated incident and doesn’t necessarily indicate and serious or inherent problem in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4.
Late on Monday, Xiaomi released a statement which indicates that it believes the video is of an unrelated incident. Here’s Xiaomi India’s statement on the incident:
At Xiaomi, customer safety is of utmost importance to us. We investigated the Redmi Note 4 in the images, and concluded that it was a case of damage due to a faulty third-party charger used by the customer. Nonetheless we worked with the Poorvika store where the unit was bought, and replaced the customer’s damaged unit with a brand new Redmi Note 4. However, after a thorough investigation, we cannot validate the source of this video, as it has no relation to this case, and was not from the Poorvika store. In fact, it is unclear if this separate and unrelated incident depicted in the video involved a Xiaomi device.
Note- It appears that the video is fake and iGyaan has received the following statement from Xiaomi
At Xiaomi, customer safety is of utmost importance to us.
Recently, a video has been shared across a few news publications claiming that a Redmi Note 4 unit experienced an explosive scenario. We would like to state that this video has no relation to the concerned Redmi Note 4.
After an internal investigation, we found that the only recent incident of a burnt Redmi Note 4 stemmed from a Bangalore based customer – Arjun. He had purchased a Redmi Note 4 from a Poorvika store in Bangalore on 1st June 2017. His phone was damaged at his home on 17th July 2017, following which he took the phone to the aforementioned Poorvika store on the same day.
As soon as we were alerted to this incident, we took the device back. After a thorough technical investigation, we found out that the damage was caused due to a faulty third-party charger used by the customer. In addition, there were signs of physical damage on the phone as well.
We advise our customers to only use Xiaomi authorized chargers and accessories.
Regarding the video being circulated, we would like to clarify the following points:
(1) The video was attained from a random WhatsApp group, and has nothing to do with this recent Redmi Note 4 case.
(2) In fact, there is no evidence in the video to suggest that the device is a Redmi Note 4 or any other Xiaomi phone.
(3) The video is not from the aforementioned Poorvika store, or any other Poorvika store. On further investigation, we found that the CCTV video was from a retailer in Anamangad, Kerala. Xiaomi India only started selling devices at 3G and Fone 4 stores a few weeks ago in Kerala.
(4) The CCTV video was recorded on a different date, not 1st June (when Arjun bought the phone) or 17th July (when his phone got damaged).
(5) The customer in the video is not Arjun. He has confirmed to Xiaomi that the people in the video does not include or represent him or any of his relatives.
It is unfortunate that a member of the technology blogging fraternity used a video of an unrelated incident attained from a WhatsApp group, and merged it with the above-mentioned case involving Arjun, without doing any investigation. We find this behaviour very irresponsible and disturbing. We are currently evaluating legal action against this publication.
To all our Mi Fans, we would like to re-emphasize that safety is of utmost importance to us! All of our devices go through stringent quality tests to ensure that you get the best quality. We will once again encourage everyone to only use Xiaomi authorized chargers and accessories.
Smartphones have upped their camera game in the past few years resulting in a steep rise of interest in photography. The ease with which you can click beautiful pictures with these immensely spec’d out smartphone cameras is bound to make anyone a “photography buff.” 4K video recording, dual-lens camera setups and whatnot, smartphones of the present age are judged based on what they offer in the camera department, such is the essence of cameras nowadays. Don’t get us wrong, the DSLR’s of the world are here and will live on in the foreseeable future, and that’s the reality. But the need to go old- school in tech has become a strong phenomenon these days. From the resurgence of vinyl records to people resorting to B&W filters on apps like Instagram. That is where this Kickstarter program comes into play, the space of old school tech winning people’s hearts.
No, we’re not talking about polaroids, we are talking pinhole cameras. Now before you leave this tab and head over to Google to know what this is, give us a chance to tell you about it. A pinhole camera uses a single small aperture – a pinhole – instead of a lens. The ingenious process of pinhole photography involves exposure of film using light filtered through a small hole in a light-proof box. It strips photography into its bare bones- Light. As light passes through this hole, an image is exposed on the film loaded inside the camera. Due to such a small size of the aperture, it may take anything between a few seconds to a couple of hours to expose a photograph.
Sounds tedious, no? But, the pleasure of handling a camera that uses a process dating back to the 1880s is unparalleled. The whole purpose of this camera is to give you a chance to travel back in time and experience photography before there were filters and touch screens. The new pinhole camera by London-based designer Kelly is an improvement in many aspects over her 2013 version of the pinhole camera.
Unlike the 2013 model, the new VIDERE pinhole camera shoots on 35mm film which is easily accessible even in today’s all-things-digital world. It also has a tripod thread for stability along with a new ultra-hardwearing shutter. As per the DIY process, it goes from a flat pack to shooting mode within an hour! The VIDERE 35mm pinhole camera packs a punch with stability options, an easily accessible 35mm film process and a good ol’ throwback!
It’ll be interesting to get our hands on a piece of tech like this and experience photography from the simpler times. You can check out the product below on Kickstarter and tell us your thoughts on old-school gadgets making their way into our lives at this point in time!
[button type=”link” link=”https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kellyangood/kickstarter-gold-videre-35mm-diy-pinhole-camera-ki?ref=category_popular” variation=”btn-info”]Check Out The VIDERE 35mm Pinhole Camera[/button]
Samsung has finally made it official that the Galaxy Note 8 will be launched at 11 a.m. ET on the 23rd of August in New York’s Park Avenue Armory.
Samsung sent out the press invites and made the announcement that the Unpacked event would focus on “Samsung’s newest mobile device.” The invitation teaser shows an image with the silhouette of a device with an Infinity Display (similar to the one featured on the Galaxy S8) and thin bezels on the top and bottom. The S-Pen-like stylus in the teaser is also a big giveaway.
Though the name “Note 8” was to be seen nowhere on the unpacked event invitation, it was quite obvious from the “Do Bigger Things” and the outline of a phone.
The Galaxy Note 8 is said to feature a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED curved infinity display, a Snapdragon 835 a massive 6GB RAM with 64GB on board storage. The device is also rumoured to have horizontally placed dual cameras, which are expected to be 12MP.
The Unpacked event is extremely important for the company, considering the last year’s Galaxy Note 7 lineup was recalled thanks to faulty batteries. While Samsung has been extra cautious and playing it safe all this time, the last year’s recall of the Note 7 handsets still has the company dealing with losses in excess of US$ 5 billion.
Samsung was also recently reported to recycle the recalled Galaxy Note 7 devices as the Note FE and salvage about 157 tons of rare metal like gold, cobalt and copper. By staying true to its promise of recycling faulty devices, the company has earned much appreciation.
Samsung also regained consumer trust with the introduction of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus in March. None of the devices have had any battery related troubles since they went up for sale. The launch of the Galaxy Note 8 will be a major milestone for the company.
The latest in our top 10 tech segment are tech accessories under INR 1000. We scoured the web for best accessories to buy when them rainy days strike and for those who are looking for a perfect gift to give to your geeky friend, this is the place to be.
1. Clip-On Lens Kit
It’s time to get up close and personal with photography. The clip on lens kit consists of 3 in 1 detachable lenses for your smartphone. Available in three variants, fish-eye, macro and wide angle, this lens kit will add an extra element to your basic smartphone pictures. The fisheye lens offers a wide hemispherical image whereas the macro lens is used for clicking extreme close-up pictures of a far away object. The wide-angle lens projects a substantially larger image circle than would be typical for a standard design lens of the same focal length. Put those photography lessons to use and mount these lenses to any smartphone’s existing camera lens at just INR 899.00
2. Gaming Mouse Pad
We know how the mouse pad is never long enough to accommodate your mouse, keyboard and gaming gadgets. This gaming accessory is a perfect fit for all your gaming needs and is priced at INR 890. The HAVIT HV-MP830 Professional Gaming mouse pad is long enough to comfortably place all your stuff and its anti-skid base keeps it from sliding off the table. Made from high-quality fine mesh cloth, the gaming mouse pad is durable and ensures smooth working of the mouse.
3. Five-in-One Car Charger
This car accessory is one of a kind. Owing to its unique design, this Tantra 5 USB port smart car chargers capable of charging 5 devices at once. The charger consists two parts, one with 2 ports (4.8A) for the front seaters and the other 3 ports (6A) for the people in back. It also features rapid charging with intelligent recognition IC which detects your device’s current charge requirement to deliver fastest possible charging speed upto 2.4A per port.
4. Self Stirring Mug
Today I don’t feel like doing anything…
This self stirring mug is self explanatory and perfect for those lazy days. This battery powered mug has a dedicated button for stirring at the bottom, a double 304 stainless steel design along with a top storage unit for cookies, biscuits, crackers and even protein powder for those fitness junkies. At a price of INR 850, keep them frothy cappuccinos coming.
5. Programmable Timer Switch
The Walnut Innovations Programmable Timer switch is an energy-saving electronic timer with a load capacity of 1000 WATTS. Priced at INR 773, this smart timer can also serve as a security device by programming to turn on the house lights at a specific time in case you plan a trip and don’t want your house to appear vacant. This timer can also be used to charge your phone and save it from over charging the device.
6. AmazonBasics Nano BT Speaker
Perfect for the bathroom singers, this portable nano speaker is water resistant and available in different colours. For the price of INR 999, this bluetooth speaker can last upto 6 hours on a single charge and takes upto 2 hours to get fully charged. The speaker also has a built-in mic for making phone calls and power and volume-control buttons.
7. Mini Foldable Handy Tripod
This mini tripod can hold a camera of approximately 3kgs and is foldable, light weight and sturdy. It also doubles up as a camera stabiliser and opens up to height of approx 12-13 cm. This mini table top tripod can mount DSLR, digital camera and smartphones and is priced at INR 599.
8. Dragon War Gaming Mouse
This customizable gaming mouse from Aries is available in two colors – red and white. You can change the DPI from 800 to 3200. With six control buttons and eight programmable keys, the INR 990 gaming mouse can be programed with the included software. It also offers a braided cable and gold plated USB connector.
9. Sensy Smart Remote
Though this smart remote is originally priced at INR 1199, but for the first time, we have managed to bring the price down to under INR 1000. All you have to do is use Coupon Code: ZMBDHRMM on Amazon. The Sensy Smart Remote allows you to control your set-top box and TV from your smartphone using voice commands. You can also search and discover information regarding TV shows, switch between channels, set reminders and is compatible with Android & iOS.
10. Gel Wrist Rest
The name says it all. This gaming accessory is a must for every gamer. Simply keep the wrist rest under your wrist while typing or gaming for extra comfort. Filled with gel the wrist rest conforms to the shape of you wrist and provide proper cushioning. The Belkin -Wave gel filled wrist rest is available at INR 963.
The recently launched “JioPhone” has taken the internet by storm. The handset was introduced as “India Ka Smartphone” with 4G-enabled features and was launched at an “effective price” of Rs. 0. Available for pre-booking from JioPhone will be available from August 24 and here is everything we know about JioPhone.
Launch And Availability
The phone was announced at Reliance Industries 40th annual general meet in Mumbai yesterday. The handset will be available on August 15 – for limited testing and will be up for pre-booking from August 24 onwards via the MyJio app or at Jio offline stores. Those who pre-book the JioPhone will be available to get their hands on the device September onwards. The company targets to make 5 million phones available every week at a first come first serve basis.
Price
Price is one of the major attractions of JioPhone. Mukesh Ambani announced that the phone will be effectively for free with one time deposit of Rs 1500 which is refundable after 3 years on return of the handset. The release of the JioPhone will also be a step forward for the company in tapping the estimated 50 crore feature phone users who have not been able to join the Jio 4G bandwagon due to high-priced smartphones.
Plans
JioPhone users will have different plans on a monthly, weekly or daily basis to suit their needs.
For the price of Rs 153 per month, users will get free voice and SMS, and unlimited data (high-speed data FUP is 500MB per day)
Rs. 309 per month for free voice, SMS, unlimited data and the support for mirroring your screen on a TV.
Rs. 24 for two days users will get free voice and SMS, and unlimited data (high-speed data FUP is 500MB per day)
Rs. 54 per week users get free voice and SMS, and unlimited data (high-speed data FUP is 500MB per day)
Features and Specifications
The JioPhone was introduced by siblings Akash and Isha Ambani, revealing standard feature phone functionality along with phone’s support voice commands. The design looks familiar and is easy to use, unlike the complex smartphones available in market. The handset also comes preinstalled with a browser and Jio apps like Jio Cinema, Jio Music etc.
Despite the price, the feature smartphone is loaded with specs.
Here’s a list of these features –
2.4-inch QVGA display.
2MP Rear Camera and a VGA front camera.
Multilingual Alphanumeric Keypad.
512 MB RAM.
Runs on KAI OS (OS version of the Firefox OS).
Dual Sim Feature.
4-Way Navigation.
Supports digital payment via NFC (to be enabled with software update)
Voice Commands to call, message, open apps and more.
JioPhone will support 24 Indian languages including English and Hindi.
2000mAh battery (Upto 10 Hours).
4GB Internal Storage along with SD card slot for upto 128GB expandable memory.
Supports 4G VoLTE for calls and data.
Offers SOS support button which can be accessed by long-pressing the ‘5’ button on the keypad to send a distress message. The message includes the location details of the user.
Torch light, Headphone Jack, Video playback and pre-installed Jio Apps.
Wireless networks – Bluetooth v4.1 +, Wi-Fi and FM Radio.
Phones shipped November Onwards will be fully Made in India.
The “India ka smartphone” with 4G VoLTE support, unlimited voice calls, dual sim feature and the unbelievable price makes up for the few misses. With the launch of JioPhone, Mukesh Ambani has made it possible for every Indian to purchase a smartphone and access the 4G VoLTE support.
