Snapchat has launched a key update that allows you to recognize your closest friends based on a complex tier system of emojis. Previously, anyone could visit your Snapchat profile and check out who you sent the most number of snaps to. Hence, friendships would be questioned if a person did not appear in the ‘Best Friend’ list.
The app ditched the Best Friend feature in January, and now they are back with a new personal way to see who you’re closest to. The new Friend Emojis on your screen of incoming snaps will only be visible to you. Next to some of your Snapchat friends’ names, you will see an emoji that indicates the status of your photo-sharing friendship. Here is how the new Snapchat emoji looks like:
Gold Heart: You are the #1 Best Friend. This is the person to whom you send the most number of snaps, and they snap back at you the most too.
Grimace/Grit Teeth: A Mutual #1 Best Friend: You send the most snaps to the same person that they do.
Smile: One of your Best Friends: One of the people to whom you exchange snaps the most after your Best Friend.
Sunglasses: One of your best friends is one of their best friends: One person to whom you snap the most is also the person another friend snaps the most.
Smirk: You are their Best Friend but they are not yours: You don’t send them many snaps, but they send you a lot.
Fire: You two are on a Snapstreak: You have snapped this person every day, and they have snapped you back. Increases with number of consecutive days.
Snapchat has also bought in some technical changes that include a new low-light mode for your phone camera, simply by clicking on the Moon icon on the top of the screen. Also, a new bracket has been added- friends who have not snapped in a while will fall under the category of ‘Needs Love’.
Amid all the speculations about the upcoming LG flagship, the Korean electronics titan has made public a new teaser video. The 42 second video clip doesn’t let slip much about the device, however it reveals one important detail. The LG G4 will feature a standalone f/1.8 camera aperture, giving it a (very) slight edge over the Samsung Galaxy S6. The firm has yet again used the video to reiterate the launch date of LG G4 as April 28.
This time, LG is not relying on leakers and the company itself is teasing LG G4’s features bit by bit. Before this, LG announced that the device will boast a Quad HD display and few days later, a video sharing little details of the fresh user interface UX 4.0. The latter one gave a fair idea of the upcoming elements and its smartness.
As the video announces, the LG G4 features an aperture of f/1.8, which means that aperture opening is wide enough for more light to reach the sensor. The teased aperture puts back many high-end smartphones like Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, iPhone 6 and Sony Xperia Z3, whose camera aperture size is smaller than the G4. Along with that, the video demonstrates the same camera module as found on the previous iteration.
The smartphone is expected to sport a 5.5-inch Quad HD (2560 x 1440) display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage space. Running on Android 5.0 Lollipop, the device flaunts a new interface, UX 4.0, that gives an all new appeal to the handset. It is said to pack a 15MP rear shooter and a 7MP camera upfront.
It’s likely that the tech giant will tease more features of the smartphone ahead of the official launch. Keep checking back for updates on the LG G4.
Microsoft has been proactively working to expand its smartphone product portfolio in the Indian market. The company has launched two new devices in the country, the Lumia 640 and 640 XL.
Lumia 640 sports a 5.0 inch, 720 x 1280 pixel display with a pixel density of 294 ppi. It is powered by a Quad-core 1.2 Ghz, Snapdragon 400 processor along with 1 GB RAM. It offers 8 GB RAM that is expandable up to 128 GB. It runs Windows Phone 8.1 with Lumia Denim and will be updated to Windows 10 when the new OS is launched. The phone is juiced up by a 2500 mAh battery. It offers an 8 MP main camera and a 1 MP selfie shooter on the front.
The Lumia 640 XL, as the name suggests is the bigger of the two siblings. It sports a 5.7 inch, 720 x 1280 pixel display with a density of 259 PPI and is protected with Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Just like its smaller sibling, it is powered by a Quad-core 1.2 Ghz, Snapdragon 400 processor along with 1 GB RAM. The 640 XL flaunts a 13 MP camera on the back and offers a 5 MP camera on the front for your selfie considerations. The device incorporates a 3000 mAh battery to take care of its XL needs.
The two devices look better than the recent launches from the company that were targeted at the lower end of the market. These devices will be strengthen the affordable segment of Windows Phone offerings. The Lumia 640 is priced at Rs. 11,999 and the Lumia 640 XL is priced at Rs. 15,799. Microsoft is offering a one-year free subscription to Microsoft Office 365 and 1 TB of OneDrive storage with both the devices. While the Lumia 640 will be available exclusively on Flipkart, the 640 XL will be available for purchase everywhere.
After several years, Twitter has revamped its Quote Tweet feature to include more space, as demanded by its users. Twitter has finally announced the new update, ‘retweet with a comment’, that will allow users to add a comment to any tweet. Twitter began testing this feature last summer and it was officially released on 6th April. It is currently rolling out for iPhone and web users.
One of the main complaints about ‘quote retweets’ in the past was that the users hardly had any characters left to add a comment. The new update allows users to embed a tweet in their tweets and add up to 116 characters to any tweet, regardless of the fact of how many characters the original tweet contained. This will allow them to share and comment on tweets without having to shorten the original tweet, that means that the context and the meaning remains unchanged.
Right now, the update is being rolled out to iPhone and web users.
Since the launch of Zenfone 2 at CES 2015, folks have been eagerly waiting for the device to launch in the Indian sub-continent. Taiwanese electronics manufacturer has confirmed that the device will arrive in three variants in India. The firm hasn’t spoken about which models will be releasing, but the speculations are that these variants could possibly be the ZE551ML, ZE550ML, and ZE500CL.
Though, the company is yet to disclose a launch date of the handset.
Till date, ASUS has three five variants of the Zenfone 2. The ZE551ML is the top-tier device with 4GB and 2GB RAM options with 32GB and 16GB storage capacities respectively. The other two devices, as we said can be ZE550ML and ZE500CL, fit well in the Indian market’s high-specs low price approach.
Talking about what all can be expected from the upcoming ASUS handsets, then Zenfone 2 ZE551ML boasts a 5.5-inch Full HD (1920x1080p) IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. It runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS with custom Zen UI on top. A 64-bit 2.3GHz Intel Atom processor Z3580 with PowerVR G6430 GPU is equipped to the device bundled with 4GB RAM. The Zenfone 2 ZE551ML packs 13MP “Pixelmaster” rear camera along with a 5MP selfie snapper. The device might arrive at a price of Rs. 18,000.
The Zenfone 2 ZE550ML also sports a 5.5-inch screen but has an HD IPS (1280x720p) display. It stuffs a 1.8GHz Intel Atom quad-core Z3560 with PowerVR G6430 GPU with 2GB RAM and 16GB storage. The model also runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop OS with custom Zen UI. With 13MP rear and 5MP front camera, the ZE550ML variant is expected to be priced at around Rs. 11,900.
The ZE500CL is a cheaper sibling of all and is anticipated to cost only Rs. 9,500. It features 5.0-inch HD (1280x720p) IPS screen, 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560, 2GB RAM and 16GB expandable memory space. The handset runs on the latest Android Lollipop, and flaunts 8MP rear and 2MP front shooter.
Precise details about the models and their pricing will unfold with the official launch.
Nikon seems to be keeping up with the trends. The company has come out with an ccessory for its compact line of cameras, the Nikon selfie stick. Titled as N-MP001, the selfie stick carries Nikon brand tag and is compatible with Coolpix range of point-and-shoot cameras. The handheld selfie stick can affix with the following Coolpix models: S6900, L32, AW130, S33, S7000, S3700 and S9900.
The stick weighs approximately 0.19kgs and can balance a camera of up to 0.4kgs. In its compact form, the device measures 7.28 inches, however, it can be stretched out to a full length of 28.54 inches.
N-MP001 can be attached to any compatible shooter to click selfies from a distance, or it can be connected to the tripod mount of your camera to conveniently take self-portraits. Also, there’s a tripod stand at the base of the handle for connecting it with a tripod or monopod. The foam grip of the Nikon selfie stick holds the device in place at the ground, and the hand strap has been designed for easy handling when not in use. As per Nikon, it has a fixed pan-head that allows you to change the position of the camera when attached to the Selfie stick.
Nikon’s signature product is up for pre-orders for $59.95 in select countries. The Japanese imaging company hasn’t stated when it will ship.
Lenovo, which had introduced its competitor for the affordable market, the A6000 a few months back is ready to bring its latest product for the segment. The Lenovo A7000 will take on the likes of Redmi 2, Yu Yureka and other sub-Rs.10000 devices.
The A7000 sports a 5.5 inch, 720 x 1280 pixel display with a pixel density of 267 PPI. It is powered by an Octa-core, 1.5 GHz Mediatek chipset along with 2 GB RAM. The handset sports 8 GB internal storage that can be expanded up to 32 GB. It runs Android 5.0 out of the box and is juiced up by a 2900 mAh.
The handset flaunts a 8 MP main shooter and a 5 MP selfie shooter at the front. The stand out feature of this device is the Dolby Atmos sound that churns out a fuller multimedia experience. When listened to on headphones, the sound from the smartphone feels like it’s coming from all the directions. The company claims that the device can optimize all audio content to deliver the Atmos experience.
With an all round feature list, the A7000 has a price tag of Rs. 8,999. The device will be available through flash sales on Flipkart. The registration for the flash sale will begin today at 2PM and will end on the midnight of 14th April. The first sale for the Lenovo A7000 will be held on 15th of April, so if you were waiting for this feature rich affordable device, now is the time to register for it.
Smartphones have become an even essential part of our lives. With the addition of payment systems, smartphones will soon take over the role of your wallet. While Samsung and Apple have already introduced their payment systems, other manufacturers are joining in. Microsoft, the makers of Windows Phone devices, have also announced that they will be unveiling their payment system soon.
Microsoft had showcased a tap to pay feature on its devices at a conference for Windows hardware makers in China. It was said then that this feature would not require support from the network operators. Just like Samsung and Apple Pay, this feature will also be based on NFC.
Microsoft’s plans were brought to light by Faisal Khan, a banking consultant. He found that Microsoft has already got permission from the American state of Idaho and has applied for licenses in all the states of the country.
Mobile payment was available on Windows phone through the Softcard app but the service closed down when Google bought Softcard. Bill Gates had predicted, after the launch of Apple Pay, the technology will soon be available on all smartphones. Considering the speed at which things are moving, it might be easy to visualize such a future.
When Microsoft made official its biggest innovation of the year, Windows 10, everybody was excited to hear about all the modifications it brought with it. It was not just another Windows upgrade, but was a whole new effort to push something fresh. Among other revelations that thrilled the audience, a huge amount of attention was gathered by the modern browser Spartan.
Spartan is an entirely new web browsing platform for Windows 10 that holds a bunch of really cool new features. The browser has been designed to meet the demands of the today’s fast striding world with a pinch of simplicity. Spartan is the way ahead for Internet Explorer (IE) and a dive into the revolutionary world of the future.
Here are some of the major differences that makes Spartan stand apart from the fast-fading Internet Explorer.
1. Faster Rendering Engine:
The most vital and unnoticeable change that makes Spartan a real spartan is the all-new rendering engine ‘Edge’. It is the core of Spartan and is much faster than the existing renderer, Trident. It loads complex pages many times faster than the IE, making it a strong competitor of Google Chrome.
Meanwhile, Windows 10 comes with two rendering engines as the latest Windows version comprises of two browsers. The Explorer works on Trident, while Spartan is powered by Edge; the latter is the default rendering engine on Windows 10.
2. Voice Assistant Cortana:
Cortana is another significant development that has made Windows and Chrome users restless to try their hands on it. The web browser assimilates with the company’s digital assistance service, Cortana. Through the smart assistance, Windows 10 users can get information on flights, hotel bookings and other vital data on their browser. One can track a particular flight just by typing its name and all the data like departure time, arrival time and current status will appear.
3. Note-Taking Mode:
Spartan has made it easy for users to highlight a specific section on the web page. The note-taking tool facilitates users to add comments and annotations to the web pages with the help of stylus. These pages can also be sent to a friend. As all the browsers support the web note service, the messages can easily be read by any of your friends or colleagues using a different version or OS.
4. Clutter-free reading mode:
IE will be replaced with Spartan which will be the browser of the future for Microsoft.
One of the major modulation that is sure to mesmerise users is the clutter-free reading mode. The feature crops the important details and throws it ahead to focus on the information. The rest unwanted stuff is dumped in the background by default, giving users a de-cluttered view of the web page.
5. Customizable reading list:
It’s an another new feature in Spartan that offers users a facility of read PDFs and web pages offline. It’s a cross-platform feature that syncs URLs between devices. The feature is almost exactly like what Apple has already offered with its Safari browser.
6. Simple interface with Group Tab Feature
Microsoft has kept its web browser simple because the more simple, the more elegant it looks. The interface is quite light, which makes it all the more appealing, and the icons have been designed for easy and quick understandability. Along with that, there’s a group tab feature that keeps multiple tabs in an organized manner. One can split work tab from personal tab to declutter the messy screen.
With the launch of Spartan, Internet Explorer – one of the vital means to bring internet to the masses since 1995 – has taken a backseat in Windows 10. It is estimated that Project Spartan will soon be a pivotal part of the golden tech history.
The online fashion retailer Myntra has decided to shut down its website completely. From May 1 this year, the online vendor will become an mobile retailer, limiting itself to the app only. It’s a first by any e-commerce player to slay off its web division to become a mobile only entity.
The reputed publishing daily says that although Myntra officials haven’t commented on the report, they’ve got a trusted insider source who has revealed about the company’s advertising and marketing plans. According to the source, the same will soon be made official by the company.
With the earlier announcement, Myntra officials unfolded their revenue source and stated that almost 80% of the traffic comes from mobile. Sales rate is also high through mobile application, reaching 70% as compared to the desktop platform.
The growing innovation in tech sector is drastically changing the shopping behaviour of buyers. The e-tailer has seen rapid growth rate in just nine months and Flipkart is likely to follow soon. This all indicates the progress in the mobile technology domain and the ability of Indians to adapt quickly.
A couple of days back, OnePlus launched its promised Android-based ROM OxygenOS, thereby reducing its dependance on Cyanogen. It’s the first in-house version of OxygenOS by the Chinese firm and is based on Android 5.0.2 Lollipop.
The new custom ROM is built on “back to basics” approach and is said to be light with subtle essential features. The company hasn’t played on gimmicks or bloated features, and has built OxygenOS to provide maximum performance and battery life.
Let’s have a look at its features:
1. Quick Notifications Customization
The OnePlus’ OxygenOS offers the Quick Settings option which brings with itself the freedom to customise tiles. In the notifications bar, users can add, remove and re-arrange toggles and can make them disappear just by turning them off. This way, you can have an absolutely empty notifications tray.
2. Freedom of Customization
OnePlus One users really have the freedom to customize with OxygenOS. One can pick from the various wallpapers and set it as thier lock screen. Besides which, users can choose from hardware and software navigation keys from the Setting menu and can disable the capacitive touch screen buttons at the bottom. They’ve provided various short keys for the hardware navigation keys like adjusting the backlight, customizing home button, menu button and more.
3. Off-Screen Gestures
OxygenOS incorporates many off-screen gestures like Double tap to wake up the screen, drawing O to open camera, drawing V to toggle flashlight and pressing three fingers together to start music.
All the other features are unaltered and OnePlus has opted for a minimal-change strategy. OnePlus will release more versions of OxygenOS and the company has asked users’ to provide feedback to help them further make a better and user-friendly OS. The Chinese brand hasn’t released an OTA update and the One users have to install the update using a 6-step installation guide, which is slightly tedious for an average smartphone user.
The South Korean equipment manufacturer LG is forcing spotlight on itself, by revealing information about the LG G4 bit by bit. A recent disclosure by LG’s display manufacturing department claimed that the G4 will have an enhanced 5.5-inch Quad HD display and now LG has officially announced the arrival of its ultra-advanced user interface, UX 4.0.
A teaser video publicized by LG exhibits the UX 4.0 as a step towards making UI friendly to customers. The clip depicts quite a lot of features that seem to be a step in the right direction. The Quick Shot feature allows users to click photos instantly. One doesn’t need to unlock the screen first and surf into the vast array of apps to start a camera. Just tap the volume button twice and the camera will be ready to shoot.
The camera comes with various camera modes along with Expert mode that is claimed to have DSLR-like qualities. This mode is said to use geo-location to group photos into an album taken at a single location.
Then there are a few other smart injections like its updated Calendar app, Gallery, Smart Board and Smart Alert. With the Calendar on LG G4, users can drag and drop any event to Calendar from their social networking site. The refurbished Gallery now lets you commemorate memories by grouping them according to date or location.
The Smart Board feature accumulates information from various apps within your device like Calendar, heath and music, and throws them on a single widget as collective information. The Smart Alert is where the smartness of the new UX 4.0 gets apparent. It not just notifies users about the weather, but also gives suggestions depending on the climatic conditions. Which means it will suggest you to go for a swim, play basketball, go for cycling on a sunny day.
Nevertheless, we would be able to see UX 4.0 in action only with the launch of LG G4 on April 28. Till then, here’s the official teaser:
Android users of WhatsApp are elated to find the voice calling feature of the messaging app has finally come to their devices. At its recent developers conference, it was announced that the voice calling feature might be available for the iOS ecosystem soon. This lead many Windows Phone users to ask whether they’ll be getting the feature soon. Well looks like the Facebook owned messaging giant now has good news for its Windows users.
WhatsApp has confirmed that the voice calling feature is in its developmental stage. This was revealed when one Windows user inquired about the arrival of the feature on their devices.
There is no timeframe mentioned as of yet for the arrival of the voice calling feature on Windows phones. WhatsApp’s founder had stated during the developers conference that voice calling would be available on its iOS app in a few weeks. So as of now it isn’t sure which of the two will get the feature first, but considering the massive user base of Apple, our bet is on iOS devices.
The launch occasion of Samsung’s latest flagships, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, was grand. The event witnessed close to 1,000 people and most of them appreciated both the devices. But what if all those admiring attendees were actually pretending to be lured by the fresh offering? A latest report surfaced by Shanghai-based news outlet The Paper confirms that around 400 to 500 people present in the press conference were planted there to promote the products.
According to the report, a recruiting specialist was hired to bring fake fans and they were paid a certain amount to appear in the event. The source contacted one of the recruiter and he notified that around 100 people were brought by him to the Galaxy S6 launch conference. Some other recruiters were also hired for the job and the total number of paid fans reached 400-500. This accounts to half the population attending Samsung’s official launch event.
The source also brought to light that it was the demand of the Korean electronics firm to bring young people to the show. As per the company’s directions, the fake attendees should look like students and don’t have to be more than 30 years. The company paid each of the clients 30 yuan ($4.80) for an hour and the recruiters were paid 20 yuan ($3.20) to bring each person. The paid fans were asked to like Samsung’s page on Baidu as well. The Paper also disclosed that the hired fans were informed to tell the press that they were true Samsung fans and were fascinated to see Samsung’s brand new handsets.
However, the company is denying to all the reports and is calling them “totally groundless and bogus.” A statement released by Samsung reads –
Our findings have indicated that under no circumstances has anyone been hired or given money to attend the event. In fact, the more than 1,100 attendees, including consumers and industry officials, have all been formally invited to the Shanghai Culture Square where the event took place.
It’s not the first time Samsung is accused of adopting unfair practices. Back in 2013, Samsung was charged for spreading negative remarks about HTC through Taiwanese students.
Samsung is losing a major chunk of its fan base in China to Apple and Xioami. The newcomer in the smartphone business, Xiaomi, has showed tremendous results and is leading the race in China and India as well. Samsung doesn’t want to rely on its smartphones only and is trying every possible bit to regain its lost status.
OnePlus users were finally delighted to see the launch of the new Oxygen OS by the company. It had been in works for quite a while and it has now finally reached OnePlus One devices. In the meanwhile, the company was also supposed to launch the new version of CyanogenMod for its customers but it seems like they have to wait a while to get their update.
OnePlus has said that the new update has been delayed due to certification issues at Google. Cyanogen is proactively working to release the new update, and its boss, Kirt McMaster was visibly frustrated with the mounting queries for the date of arrival. It was the OnePlus bosses who had promised an estimated time of arrival (ETA) for the latest CyanogenMod OTA update.
An interaction with the co-founder of CyanogenMod, Steve Kondik was posted on the forums of OnePlus. Steve said that they are in a scramble mode and really want to bring their hard work to the public. In one of the latest posts, Steve has said that it might take about four more days to get the certifications done. He added that he might write about what all transpired behind the scenes to bring the new update once it came to the market that we bet would be exciting to read.
The comment was posted on Friday, hence we should expect the update within the next two days. OnePlus updates have faced delays in the past and though it is appreciable that it wants to give top-notch service to its customers but it’s rather necessary to give them a quality bug-free update.
