Google has been proactively expanding the reach and utility of the Android ecosystem. It is now on smartphones, tablets, TVs, smartwatches and even in cars (with Android Auto). Now the tech giant is looking at a whole new arena to establish its dominance, and they have chosen the field of virtual reality.
Virtual reality as a new device ecosystem is growing rapidly. Major brands such as Samsung, HTC, Sony and others have unveiled their VR headsets that will be arriving in the market soon. In our first person experience with these headsets, we have found them to be promising, and it had tremendous potential as a new consumer medium. It is, therefore, obvious that Google wishes to be a frontrunner in the game.
HTC recently forayed into Virtual Reality with the HTC Vive
The report was published in the Wall Street Journal, but Google hasn’t confirmed it as of yet. The report says that the Silicon Valley powerhouse has engaged tons of engineers to create a version of Android for the VR devices. This version will also be given out for free just like all the other Android counterparts.
Google has already ventured in the VR game with its low-cost cardboard project. Users can get the affordable glasses, install the cardboard app, and they are ready for the VR experience. But the professional VR headsets offer more features than the cardboard contraption. A VR version of Android might include functionalities for touch controls and improved features. As of now it is not clear how the VR version of Android would look like, but with the right partners, Google might end up at the top of one more segment of the electronic market. Also, as it is a free offering, it might encourage other brands to step in the VR game to increase competition. This will also lead to an increase in the number of apps, games and other content for the VR headsets. It seems the age of virtual reality is finally upon us.
Lenovo had been in the news before MWC 2015 for all the wrong reasons. The revelation of the Superfish bug brought public outrage towards the company along with an incident of their website getting hacked. Well, Lenovo pulled a brave face and introduced the new A7000 that looks like a great multimedia handset that comes with a pocket-friendly price tag.
The Lenovo A7000 is a great handset to look at. It is available in black and white color variant and feels like a premium device. It might feel a bit bulky with its 8 mm thickness, but it makes the device feel robust. The device is comparable with its sibling, the A6000, that the company unveiled at the CES 2015.
The A7000 has a spec sheet that will enthuse any multimedia enthusiast on a budget. It has a 5.5 inch, 720 x 1280 pixel display with a density of 267 ppi. It is powered by a 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 A7000 also has some good listing in its camera space. It has an 8 MP main shooter and a 5 MP selfie shooter. The images clicked from the device were found to be crisp but we need to bring the device to test it out thoroughly.
Lenovo’s multimedia credentials are amplified here with the addition of Dolby Atmos audio in the device. When listened to on headphones, the sound from the smartphone feels like it’s coming from all the directions, thereby gives a fuller audio experience. According to Lenovo, the A7000 can enhance sound quality of any content for the pleasure of the user.
For the user interface, the A7000 runs the Vibe UI, which is based on Android 5.0 Lollipop. It borrows features like multitasking panel from the stock Android but, fortunately, offers capacitive buttons below the display instead of placing it within the UI.
The A7000 has a good features list, and while we still have to test it out for ourselves, it looks it can take on the likes of Redmi Note and Yu Yureka. A slightly generous expandable storage of at least 64 GB would have done good for the consumers, as well as the company. Lenovo has said that the device will be priced at $160 (approx Rs. 10,400), which is a bit pricier than its competition in the Indian market. But Lenovo can take advantage of the shortage of stocks of the other devices to attract customers to itself.
A few days WhatsApp began banning those users who had been using third party applications like WhatsApp+. The messaging app stated privacy concerns for the ban. WhatsApp has come out and said that the move is just temporary, and users can follow some easy steps to start using their service again.
The bans were handed down for a 24 hour period. Users could uninstall the third party app and install a fresh version of the official app from the app store, and they would be re-instated back. But recently a Google+ post saying that Whatsapp is starting a Permanent Account Disable purge caused a lot of concerns amongst the users.
WhatsApp has come out to clear the air. Earlier, WhatsApp used to ban the third party app users for a period of 24 hours, and the message showed up with a countdown clock, but now it’s extended indefinitely and the countdown clock has been removed. The company said that the third party app users will be unblocked only after they have uninstalled the third party app. They are not permanently banned from the service.
WhatsApp had claimed piracy and security concerns for the ban. It cited the case of Snapchat where users’ personal content were hacked in through third party app. So if you want to use the official WhatsApp app, you would have to delete WhatsApp+, WhatsApp Reborn, OgWhatsapp or any other third-party client from your smartphone.
This feels like a case of arm-twisting by the messaging giant, but it sure is needed to increase security. There is accountability with the official app, but there is none with third party apps. It’s better to take the safer approach than trade your personal information for a few new emoticons on a third party app. WhatsApp is anyways introducing features such as voice calling soon, so you would be better off sticking with the official WhatsApp.
Less than a week back, Motorola added one more affordable device to its smartphone lineup. The new addition was the 2015 edition of Moto E. The Moto E (Gen 2) arrived and was showcased at the Mobile World Congress. The device is already up for sale in more than 50 countries and comes in two versions – Moto E (Gen 2) and Moto E (Gen 2) LTE.
At MWC 2015, we got a chance to get our hands on the device.
Speaking of the design of the phone, then Moto E 2015 version features the same plastic design. The circular edges, camera and speakers sitting on the device might remind you of the first-gen Moto E, but there are a lot of features in the new handset like Quick Capture, Active Display and more. It has a superb built and is designed to remain unaffected by accidental drops and falls.
Unlike Moto E, users can now personalize their devices. The new interchangeable, colourful bands and grip shells have been introduced that give the phone an appealing look. The bands come in six different shades (Golden Yellow, Turquoise, Blue, Raspberry, Purple, and Red) and for back plates any colour can be chosen from Golden Yellow, Charcoal, Turquoise, Blue, and Raspberry.
Both the 3G and 4G versions of Moto E tout a bigger 4.5-inch qHD (540×960 pixels) screen. Running on Android 5.0 Lollipop, the 3G version is powered by a 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 bundled with 1 GB RAM and 8GB onboard memory space. The 4G model, on the other hand, is a bit faster with 1.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with same 1 GB RAM and 8GB memory. Optics of both the versions is identical at 5MP rear and 0.3MP secondary camera. The smartphone arrives in India on 10th March, priced at Rs. 6,999.
OnePlus recently announced they’ll be venturing into a new product category, and now surprisingly the company has announced that it’ll be debuting in more European markets for its One smartphone. No specific launch date or prices have been announced, though they have mentioned countries where the smartphone will be launched which includes 16 European countries.
OnePlus will be holding event an in Warsaw on March 9, followed by Prague on March 10 and finally Budapest on March 12. Meanwhile, OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei announced at MWC 2015 that the company is all set to venture into a new product category next month.
He also said that it’ll neither be a smartwatch or a tablet, while word is that the next OnePlus smartphone is likely to get a metal frame, replacing the polycarbonate body its 2014 One smartphone that was simply avante grade.
In addition, those of you interested to get the OnePlus One without those pain staking invites can buy the device every Tuesday on the company’s official website.
When we speak of Instagram, the first thing that hits our mind is a picture-oriented app that narrates stories by means of single pictures. It has been designed to upload one picture at a time with a little description if you want. But now, Instagram is changing the very base of its foundation to help advertisers describe stories through multiple pictures.
The online mobile photo and video-sharing app has debuted a slideshow feature called ‘carousel’ that lets users view to flick a series of photos. From now on, a series of dots will appear below the post to depict that it’s a carousel. One can swipe the pictures left and right to see more images.
The facility to load multiple photos at a time is restricted to advertisers only.
The company wrote on its blog post:
One way to look at it is carousel ads bring the potential of multi-page print campaigns to mobile phones—with the added benefit of taking people to a website to learn more.
Also, there is a ‘learn more’ button at the bottom of the dots that takes user to the advertisers’ website. The format is still not fixed and the company is working for a more systemic and appealing design. The new button will directly push a huge chunk of customers to the advertised website, profiting their business.
The spokeswoman of Instagram announced that it was cracked for brands for experimental purpose, “Once we iterate and see how people engage with the content, [we] may explore the possibility of bringing it to other types of users on Instagram.”
Well, this clearly shows that a stable version for users will soon follow. You can watch the below video to have a clear picture of how carousel works:
Micromax subsidiary YU held the eighth flash sale today on Amazon India. Even after months of its launch, it has received an amazing response from the users. The flash sale kicked off today at 2 pm and the flagship killer went out of stock in mere 7 seconds.
Amazon India took to Twitter to confirm the same –
The YU Yureka is an easy favourite since it offers superior specifications at a budget price of Rs. 8,999. The 5.5-inch device runs on Android-based Cyanogen OS 11 and features Cat. 4 4G LTE connectivity. With 64-bit 1.5GHz octa-core Snapdragon 615 SoC, 2GB RAM, and 2500mAh battery, YU Yureka offers a massive rear camera of 13MP.
Meanwhile, the Indian electronics brand has announced the successor of its first smartphone. Codenamed “Project Caesar“, the phone will come with the Android Lollipop version of Cyanogen OS.
Android is the undoubted top dog of the smartphone operating system. Its closest adversary, the iOS lags behind in terms of market numbers. There is no third party challenger to its dominance either; major operating systems like Windows, Blackberry, Firefox, etc. are still struggling to create a space for themselves. In this situation, some companies are looking at Ubuntu as an alternative to the behemoth called Android.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux-based operating systems in the world. It is a light operating system that is developed by UK-based Canonical Ltd. and is offered free of cost. Canonical had previously announced the smartphone version of Ubuntu back in 2013 and tried unsuccessfully to fund it through crowdfunding. The company later partnered with mobile makers BQ and Meizu and the operating system is now finally seeing the light of day.
BQ’s Aquaris e4.5 Ubuntu Edition
At the MWC 2015, BQ and Meizu showcased their Ubuntu based devices. BQ had already unveiled its Ubuntu device earlier, and it is called the Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition. It comes with a 4.5-inch qHD display along with a 8MP camera and is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core MediaTek processor. This will be an affordable device and will be priced at $195 (Approx. Rs. 12,000).
Meizu’s phone, on the other hand, is based on its MX4 handset. It flaunts a 5.36-inch 1920 x 1152 display with a 20-megapixel camera and is powered by an eight-core MediaTek 6595 processor. This phone will have a better appeal in the market in comparison to the offering by BQ.
Meizu’s MX4 Ubuntu has better features and design amongst the two devices.
The Ubuntu OS is fairly new and would lack the apps that would attract the consumers. To make it easy for developers to easily create apps for the ecosystem, the OS offers categorized home screens called ‘Scopes.’ This scopes can be used to plug in content from apps like Instagram, Grooveshark, Soundcloud, etc. The company says that by using these specific Scopes, developers wouldn’t have to go through the lengthy process of coding apps to optimize them for Ubuntu.
Canonical also has long term plan for the ecosystem, and it intends to bring seamless interconnectivity between the various Ubuntu devices. But it is still unsure as to how this operating system would challenge the dominance of Android and attract consumers to a new user experience. We’ll only know for sure about he prospects of the Ubuntu OS when the devices finally come to the market.
This year’s MWC in Barcelona was no different, we saw a slew of innovative devices – from curved to waterproof smartphones to super-thin tablets and trendy smartwatches. With the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona coming to a close, we have handpicked some of the best moments from this year’s edition.
Here’s our pick of some the best products showcased at this year’s MWC.
Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge
As expected, Samsung announced two versions of the flagship – one with the standard screen while the other one is a curved display. Samsung has certainly improved upon certain aspects of its current flagship. Despite having a non removable battery, the design is certainly a notch up compared to its boring bland predecessor. And how can we miss out on the S6’s curved sibling, the S6 Edge is one weird looking thing you might actually want. Do check out our exclusive hands on with the S6 and S6 Edge here.
HTC One M9
The latest flagship from the Taiwanese manufacturer gets an all new classy outer shell. A slightly beefier 64 Bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 runs this handset along with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage. Some would argue HTC has brought the same design aesthetics with its latest flagship, we quite like the device. Everything runs on a highly optimized 2800 mAh battery, bundled with Android Lollipop 5.0.2 out of the box and HTC’s new Sense 7 promises a major improvement in the battery life, and out of experience there is a big difference. The quick charge also improves the charge times and you will be on the go in just a few.
Check out our exclusive hands on with HTC’s latest flagship here.
Sony Xperia Z4 and M4 Aqua
Sony pretty much surprised all of us by not launching a successor to the Xperia Z3. Though they did announce a super sleek Xperia Z4 tablet along with a IP68 certified Xperia M4 Aqua smartphone.
The Xperia Z4 tablet is about as slim a tablet can get, with thickness at a mere 6.1 mm and weighing a meager 393g. The device will work with PlayStation 4 Remote Play, allowing users to stream the games straight on the console. The tablet will launch in two variants – LTE and Wi-Fi-only.
Meanwhile, the M4 Aqua, as the name signifies is a IP68 certified water proof device, which prevents it from any damage until 1.5m underwater for up to 30 minutes. It’s got everything you would ask of a mid range smartphone. We were left quite impressed with device during our initial hands-on.
HTC Vive
It seems we finally have a headset that really matters. HTC and gaming giant Valve tag team to bring out their own Occulus competitor – the HTC Vive. Everyone’s going bonkers over its dual 1200x1080p resolution display experience, which according to iGyaan’s Editor-in-Chief isn’t easy to describe.
HTC has collaborated with many game developers such as Vertigo Games, Wemo Labs, Google, Owlchemy and others to generate content for the HTC Vive. The headset is slated for a launch this year, it seems the VR war gets more intense by the day.
Do check out our exclusive heads on with the HTC Vive.
Microsoft’s Folding Keyboard
Microsoft has been coming up with some great accessories recently, and the Redmond giant yet again showcased a nifty little folding keyboard for iOS and Android. A great alternative for those constantly on the move, it certainly redefines the whole concept of a portable keyboard.
Huawei Talkband B2
Huawei announced its Talkband B2, an enigma of sorts as it acts as a fitness band, an earpiece, all merged into one. It can make calls when paired with an Android device or an iPhone, act as a fitness tracker, but what is really amazing is the fact that it can transform into an earpiece.
Sandisk’s 200GB Memory Card
Sandisk announced a massive 200GB microSD Card at MWC 2015, claimed to be the largest commercially available microSD card. The card will sell for about $400 when it arrives in Q2 of this year, and your phone should be compatible with SDXC standard to make the card work. It is claimed to have transfer speeds of about 90MB per second, or approx. 1,200 photos per minute.
In a bid to stay informed about the callers’ identity, an intelligence agency has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to block the use of WePhone app. The tool allows you to conceal the identity of the caller.
Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications and IT, enlightened members of Lok Sabha about the issue –
A reference from an intelligence agency was received by the Department of Telecommunications to block the ‘WePhone App’ which facilitates its subscriber to spoof the Calling Line Identification (CLI) through Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platform.
The WePhone app works on the simple mechanism of transferring the call to the server abroad, which marks for the original location of the caller. This makes it really difficult for the intelligence agency to track the location of the call.
DoT formed a technical committee who found out that a number of computer or mobile applications can be skipped from the getting identified. Mr. Prasad talked about the committee report saying, “Based on the recommendations of the committee, the matter was taken up with the Group Coordinator, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, who issues the direction for blocking such identified websites.”
The statement depicts the intentions of the intelligence agency in clear light, but it is yet not confirmed if the government has carried out the request.
Apple’s bigger and better iPhone 6 and the Plus versions were a game changer. They successfully reminded the world why the company is the top smartphone maker in the world. They are a major reason for the enhanced demand of iPhones in the past year. The Cupertino-based beast is not lost among the admiration, and is working towards bringing out an even better iPhone 6 successor.
The next iPhone, expected to be called the iPhone 6s, is in works. The information came through a reliable source of Apple Insider who said that the next iPhone will ship with an upgraded 2GB RAM and an Apple SIM. The inclusion of 2GB is long overdue, and with the latest Apple flagships packing so many unique features, this bump up was much required. All iPhones released after iPhone 5 pack 1 GB of RAM.
The concept of Apple SIM debuted last year when it was fitted onto the iPad Air 2. The source says that Apple may pre-install the SIM on the next iPhones so that users can choose from a variety of short-term plans from select carriers in their countries for the devices.
Apple Insider has also stated the possibility of Force Touch on next iPhones. The feature was introduced with Apple Watch, which makes the device a bit brainy. Force Touch uses tiny electrodes around the flexible Retina display to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press, and trigger instant access to a range of contextually specific controls. This feature adds the possibility of embedding more gestures on to the device.
LG was one of the major company that didn’t bring out any major flagship device at the MWC. LG said that they needed to do work on their new device and hence decided to postpone the launch of this year’s flagship. Instead, the company brought four mid-range devices at the conference. The Korean company though had some big news in its kitty; it announced that it would be bringing a new flagship that will be a step above the G-series.
LG Electronics Mobile chief Cho Juno said that the company is working on a new device that will have higher specs than the G4. This device will be brought to the market in the second half of the year. This means that the LG G4 would be losing its status as the LG flagship. There aren’t any more details about this new device as of yet.
Cho Juno did talk about the upcoming LG G4 and gave away some details about the new device. The new G4 is expected to be radically different from the previous generation G-series devices, both inside and outside. It might feature a new metal body along with an overhaul of the software too. They will be unveiling the new LG UX 4.0 before the announcement of the G4. The phone might be announced in the coming few months.
Mr. Juno also said that the company is working on high-performance processors to break free from the Qualcomm ecosystem. There is an indication that the chipset might also appear in the LG G4, but that doesn’t seem like a possibility as of now. The company plans to bring the new chipsets to all the new handset offerings. Samsung has already powered its new flagship, the Galaxy S6 with its homegrown Exynos processor. It seems the companies are doing everything in their power to establish a unique space for themselves in the brutal terrain of the smartphone market.
The Selfie culture refuses to die down. Every major pop culture personality has posted a selfie of their moment in time, even the Pope found himself in selfie. There has been a barrage of accessories in the market such as cameras, selfie sticks, drones and other products whose sole purpose is to give you that perfect self-portrait. A new Kickstarter project called Podo is a tiny camera that you can stick anywhere and use it to click selfies.
Podo is a tiny square camera that is easy to carry around and is ready to get clicking at a moment’s notice. It can take 8-megapixel photos and video at 720p/30 fps. It has 4 GB of internal storage and has a 600 mAh battery that the company says will be good enough for shooting two hours of video. The device can be controlled with an Android or iOS smartphone through Bluetooth and the companion app. It also has a ring flash with 8 LED’s which lights the scenes better than the conventional flash.
The camera offers multiple shooting options. You can set it to click single snaps, double exposure and burst sequences. You can also use the video mode that records 15-second clips for your Instagram feed. Podo also lets you shoot timelapse in Auto Mode and exports it in the form of video or animated GIF.
The USP of the device, of course, is that it can be stuck on any solid surface, as claimed by the developers. The stickable back is attached to a hinge that lets you adjust the tilt of the camera which will be convenient for the users to frame their images.
On Kickstarter, Podo has managed to generate a lot of buzz. As of now, It has gathered $93,708 against its goal of $50,000 with 47 more days to go. Early backers will get to own the device for $79 which is fairly pocket-friendly. So if you are a selfie maniac, this device looks like a must have for you.
Motorola released Moto Maxx, a phone with 3,900mAh battery, in November last year and now the phone is arriving in India with a new name ‘Moto Turbo’. The India Head of the company Amit Boni confirmed the same in an interview with Times of India. Boni stated:
We will be launching the Moto Turbo for our consumers, which has the latest Qualcomm processor, high-resolution 21MP camera and long-lasting battery life with a 3900mAh battery, and is built on pure Android for the fastest, most flexible and easiest user experience. The price will be worth it.
The US-based firm claims that Moto Turbo aka Moto Maxx sustains up to 48 hours of mixed usage. Also, there is company’s Turbo Charger support with the phone that powers the device for eight hours of usage in just 15 minutes. Other specifications include a 5.2-inch QHD (2560×1440 pixels) display, 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor, 3GB RAM, and onboard 64GB memory space.
Seeing the top-notch specs, it can be estimated that the device will fall in the high-end segment. Meanwhile, Motorola is rolling out Moto E (Gen 2) in India on 10th March.
Thanks to a newly discovered security flaw, millions of users surfing through mobile browsers of two top companies are now vulnerable to hackers. Codenamed as FREAK (Factoring RSA Export Keys) attack, the flaw allows hackers to intercept the electronic communication of Apple’s Safari and Andriod browsers from Google.
As of now, researchers haven’t found any evidence of the flaw being exploited by any hacker, but the companies don’t wish to take a chance. The internet search giant, as well as Apple, are working in a direction to fix it.
According to the researchers, the problem has its roots in a decade-old U.S. government policy that prevents consumers from having access to secure encryption.
[quote text_size=”small” author=”Edward Felten” author_title=”Professor of Computer Science and Public Affairs at Princeton”]
This was a policy decision made 20 years ago and it’s now coming back to bite us.
[/quote]
The flaw is caused by poor implementation of the encrypted link between browsers and the websites visited by users. Researchers also found out that they could attack from websites that are considered secure, and make them use weaker encryption for easy hacking. These websites can range from official US government sites like Whitehouse.gov, NSA.gov and FBI.gov to banks.
Meanwhile, Apple has clarified that it will provide a software update to address the vulnerability by next week, while the former on will share the same through device makers and wireless carriers.
