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Your Samsung Washing Machine May Explode Too Warn US Feds

What appears to be an excellent street of horrible luck for the South Korean tech giant, Samsung, the latest news paints a poor picture for the home appliances division .

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning that models of Samsung top-loading washing machines have safety issues.

This comes after several disgruntled Samsung Washing machine owners who suffered the “explosion” in their homes, in some cases with parts flying all across the living room, in other ripping the wall of their garage. According to the suit filed by the complainants, Some washing machines, vibrate violently under heavy loads, causing the tub to “become unfastened, resulting in a dramatic centrifugal explosion that destroys the machine and nearby property.”

Three independent women from Texas, Indiana and Georgia have filed the suit, and claim that Samsung has been aware of the problem for many years and has done little or nothing to warn the consumers.

According to the warning by the CPSC people use only the delicate cycle to wash bedding and water-resistant and bulky items because the lower spin speed “lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged.”

An investigation revealed that 21 people have reported to the CPSC that their machine exploded or blew apart since last year, according to ABC News. Samsung and the CPSC are advising consumers to use the delicate cycle only when washing bedding and bulky items.

Samsung’s website offers the following statement:

In rare cases, affected units may experience abnormal vibrations that could pose a risk of personal injury or property damage when washing bedding, bulky or water-resistant items

And also goes on to say, that its consumers of the washing machine “have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011.”

This incident comes right after the Note 7 explosion fiasco faced by the company, which has reduced not only the market value of the company but the public morale towards the brand as well.

September 29, 2016
Hands on with the Xperia XZ

The minute you put your hands on the Sony Xperia XZ you are reminded of the premium feel of the Xperia Z series phones. The Xperia XZ is a flagship in the true sense and Sony has launched it as a replacement of the Xperia Z5 which is a good thing.

The in-hand feel of the handset is brilliant thanks to the use of the new material called Alkaleido, which allows the phone to be a lot more robust than traditional aluminium chassis’ and is less prone to damage.

The premium build handset from Sony also features IP68 water resistance much like the Samsung Galaxy S7 or Note 7 and is also completely sand proof. The Sony Xperia XZ is the only smartphone from the company launched this year with that certification.

The display on the Sony Xperia XZ is just a Full HD 1920 x 1080px resolution display but has great colour and brightness and is easily viewable indoors and outdoors. The viewing angles on the screen are great too.

The phone runs Android 6.0.1 with a beta software at the moment so we did see some glitches and issues with the software builds. Sony has assured that the final retail units will come with a finished user interface.

The camera which is the hero features 5 axis image stabalization and 4k video recording. You also get subject tracking and predictive autofocus, which works great. However, getting around the camera menu and UI is a little mind boggling and to shoot 4k video you need to jump into a specific app.

Hopefully Sony updates the camera software in a coming update, because it needs much work to leverage the many features that this great camera hardware has. Sony has cleaned up the UI to quite an extent and you can disable the non wanted apps from the UI. The overall software seems snappy.

Battery is a low 2900 mAh, however bundled with quick charge 3.0 so that you can easily get a few hours of talk time in 10-15 minutes of charging via the USB Type-C port. The phone works over 4G on both SIM-cards and has VoLTE, we however were not able to test it just as yet.

All three colours of the Xperia XZ look great and feel great in the hand, the back is easy to wipe clean and the front houses a curved Gorilla Glass 4 which will deliver the needed frontal protection.

September 29, 2016
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Pre-Orders Start Tonight on Flipkart

Flipkart is the official India partner for the sale of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in India and pre-orders start tonight, 29th Sept just a minute short of midnight at 23:59 hours .

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be sold on Flipkart’s special page here and will be available in limited quantities. You can check out the full list of specifications and options for pricing by clicking here.

The iPhone 7 will go on sale with a starting price of Rs. 60,000 for the 32 GB variant, while the iPhone 7 plus begins at Rs. 72000. Officially the iPhone 7 series hits the stores on October 7, pre-ordering will secure a spot.

The most coveted jet-black colour will have very limited quantities and reports say, that it may not appear for pre-order at all.

September 29, 2016
Pixel and Pixel XL Leaked by Case Makers

Ahead of the 4th Oct official release for Google Pixel and Pixel XL set to replace the Nexus brand, Case makers are outing accessories for the phones, and renders show us an up-close look at the two phones. The phones which are very identical to the HTC One or iPhone in terms of design language will be available in two sizes. According to leaks the phones will also have a dual material design ; a unibody Aluminium shell with a glass half insert.

Large fingerprint scanners sit in the back of the phones along with a G from the Google Logo. Specs wise both phones are expected to have Snapdragon 820 chipsets, 4 GB of RAM and 12 MP main + 8 MP front cameras. The Pixel XL will offer up a large screen 5.5 inch display with QHD resolution (whereas the Pixel will show up in a 5 inch 1920 x 1080 px size ) and a large battery according to reports. The mindset that Nexus phones are cheap, will also be removed as the Google Pixel phones will not be cheap, but will offer a clean Android experience. The phones are expected to start at a $649 price tag and come in 32 GB and 128 GB storage options.

The Pixel phones were earlier also spotted in the Nest Outdoor camera commercial in the Netherlands.

September 24, 2016
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Emits Smoke On Indigo Flight, No Damage

Looks like that break Samsung needs, is still a far distance away. Aboard an Indigo flight, a Samsung Note 2, started to emit smoke while in the overhead baggage bin. A passenger spotted the smoke and alerted the cabin crew, who then took remedial action. Although, no harm was done and the flight reached it’s destination safely, Samsung phones seem to be under scrutiny.

Samsung has already faced a global down play with the Galaxy Note 7 Recall, the company has lost billion on the market value and bad news continues to pour in.

The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has called in the Samsung top brass in for a meeting on Monday. If the DGCA decides to ban Samsung phone aboard airlines, it may set the fate of Samsung phones permanently in India.

Samsung in their typical “no responsibility” manner have issued a statement :

We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority. We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information, and are looking into the matter.

The statement comes from a “Samsung Spokesperson” at a time when no employee is ready to put a face to the fiasco and step up. Samsung has handled the whole Note 7 recall poorly, and more bad news seems to continue. DGCA made a statement :

We advise flyers to exercise caution while flying with Samsung Note devices . They should either keep these devices switched off or not travel with them”

So did Indigo Airlines:

IndiGo confirms that a few passengers travelling on 6E-054 flight from Singapore to Chennai noticed the smoke smell in the cabin this morning (September 23, 2016) and immediately alerted the cabin crew on board. The crew quickly identified minor smoke coming from the hat-rack of seat 23 C and simultaneously informed the pilot-in-command who further alerted the ATC of the situation on board.Taking precautionary measure, the cabin crew on priority relocated all passengers on other seats, and further observed smoke being emitted from a Samsung note 2 which was placed in the baggage (of a passenger) in the overhead bin. The crew discharged the fire extinguisher which is as per the standard operating procedures prescribed by the aircraft manufacturer, and quickly transferred the Samsung note 2 into a container filled with water in lavatory.

Samsung India Service centres are refusing to replace the Note 7 handsets bought oversees, despite them being flagged as hazardous on Samsung’s own website. As a rule of a Global recall Samsung should recall all phones, whether sold through official or unofficial channels as they pose threat to the well being of human life at this moment.

September 23, 2016
GoPro Launches Hero 5 and Karma Drone

GoPro may have led the action camera market since the inception of the brand, but the launch of their new Karma drone has had the whole world excited for a long time.

The Hero 5 Black is the latest camera to be added to GoPro’s Lineup. The new action camera comes with a  2-inch Touch Display will capture  Video Resolutions up to 4K at 30 Frames per Second. You also get still images with a resolution of  12MP. A new feature will enable auto-upload of photos and video to cloud when camera is charging

GoPro Hero 5 includes voice control with support for 7 Languages . This is also the first GoPro camera to be waterproof without an additional housing, and it does that till 33 Feet (10m)

The Gopro Hero 5 works with existing GoPro mounts and the new Karma drone. Stereo Audio Recording and Advanced Wind Noise Reduction is added for better video sound capture. Electronic Video Stabilization and a Distortion-Free Wide Angle Video and Photos with New Linear-View Setting

The GoPro Hero 5 will capture RAW and WDR Photo Modes and has inbuilt GPS.

GoPro

The Karma Drone is something the company has been teasing for a while, the drone comes with a stabalization handle and the company is calling it a complete system. The drone comes in a backpack case and travels with its propellors and landing gear folded. You can remove the camera and Gimbal from the Karma Drone and install it on the Karma handle for a stabilised hand held video experience.

The Karma handle can then be mounted using GoPro mounting attachments on various things like helmets, bikes and cars.

Features include :

A game-style controller features an integrated touch display, making it fun, fast and easy to fly without the need for a separate phone or tablet to see what your drone sees.

The 3-axis camera stabilizer can be removed from the drone and attached to the included Karma Grip for capturing ultra-smooth handheld and gear-mounted footage.

Karma will be available October 23rd in the following bundles:

·      Karma without a GoPro camera for $799.99 MSRP

·      Karma bundled with HERO5 Black for $1099.99 MSRP

·      Karma bundled with HERO5 Session for $999.99 MSRP (available in early 2017)

September 20, 2016
Google to Launch Pixel on Oct. 4 , Phone Leaked Ahead of Launch

The revision to the Google Nexus Phones, the Pixel, is set to launch on Oct 4th 2016, and Alphabet has shared the invite for the same. An interesting taser video of the launch has been put by Google and it shows silhouettes of the handset transforming from a flat line to a smartphone shell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNnCtmyujLA

The event will begin at 9AM in San Francisco according to the company invites. The Pixel and Pixel XL are the two phones that the company is working on launching.

According to rumours the 5-inch model of Pixel smartphone will start from $649, while the Pixel XL will be priced higher. New leaked pictures show that the phones will have a fused metal and plastic chassis, with an aluminium part covering the bottom back. The phones will apparently be made by HTC, but no clear information has leaked on that.

September 20, 2016
Two Arrested in Delhi For Stealing iPhones Worth 2.25 Crores

The price of possession of iPhones may have been too much for two Delhi persons who were caught with a consignment of 900 stolen iPhones.

The value of the total shipment considered to be 2.25 Crore. Mehtab Alam, 24, and Arman, 22, from Mahipalpur in New Delhi, decided to quit their jobs and jump the truck they used to drive previously to attain the stolen goods.

The two robbers held the truck driver captive before robbing the mobile phones near Rajokri flyover. They were caught within 48 hours at Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area. The gang of the robbers is estimated to be of 8 people

The robbery comes just weeks before the official launch of the iPhone 7 in India, which is said to happen on the 7th of October. The iPhones recovered from the loot are older model iPhone 5S’ and were being shipped from the warehouse to the distribution centre.

September 16, 2016
iPhone 6s, 6s Plus And iPhone SE Get Price Cuts Of Upto Rs. 22000

After the huge success of the iPhone 7 prior to its official launch in India, Apple India is trying to sell off it’s old stock of the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus and the iPhone SE which was launched early 2016. The price cuts are significant, however, understanding the reasoning behind it, even more so.

One of the main reasons for the price cut, is the launch of newer variety of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which was announced along side the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. The new iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus which will now be available in only a 32GB storage and 128 GB storage capacity seem to haver a newer-gen of the same chip which is said to be more battery efficient and a higher quality of the Nand Flash.

Apple India has discounted the current stocks of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus by upto Rs. 22000 (for the 128 GB iPhone 6s Plus) to eliminate the existing stocks. Apple will sell the new variants with the 32 GB and 128 GB capacities for renewed pricing when it launched in October alongside the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple iPhone 6S (128GB) which is currently priced at Rs 82,000, will now be available at Rs 60,000 after a price drop of Rs 22,000. The iPhone 6s Plus (128GB) will sell at Rs 70,000 post the Rs. 22000 discount. The iPhone SE on the other hand just gets a discount of Rs. 4000 on the 64 GB variant. However the price cut is on official prices, while most sellers are already selling the iPhones at similar prices on websites like Amazon (see below.=)

If you don’t care about a more efficient chip, now is a fantastic time to buy the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus. Else, hold on for the officially renewed iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

Related Video

September 15, 2016
One of the Exploding phones Was Not a Galaxy Note 7 But A Galaxy Core Prime

Samsung may be already suffering from a Galaxy Note 7 recall crisis, but that does not mean it is entirely out of the water. One of the phones reported in the initial set of exploding phones, the only one which physically harmed any one turned out to be a galaxy Core Prime. A 6 year old boy was rushed to the emergency room when a the Galaxy Core Prime exploded. This means that the battery incident may not be isolated but across other Samsung handsets as well. The 6 year old boy has suffered bodily injury and burns on his hands.

The 6 year old boy was reportedly playing video games, when the phone caught fire and filled the whole room with smoke. Luckily the grandparents were around to rescue the boy and take him to the Emergency room.

A few weeks ago Samsung initiated a global recall of it’s Note 7 handsets that have a battery manufacturing defect causing the batteries to short out and catch fire. Samsung is also planning to push a software update to the devices not yet recalled limiting the charging capacity to 60%.

As a reminder, please be vigilant when allowing children to play with electronics.

September 14, 2016
Apple iPhone 7 Rips the Antutu Benchmark with a Score of 178,397

Apple iPhone 7 will start shipping out to waiting customers on the 16th of this month. However benchmarks and performance reports have started to pile in, possibly thanks to review devices.

The iPhone 7 recently popped up on Antutu with a score of a whopping 178,397, which puts its underrated 2 gB of ram and Apple Proprietary A10 Fusion chip leaps and bounds ahead of the Snapdragon 820 paired with 6 GB of RAM and the top Android device score of 140288 on the OnePlus 3.

The iPhone 7 plus which is sad to have 3 GB of RAM is expected to score a higher result. This basically demolishes all claims that you get the choice of better hardware with an Android device. If performance is what you are basically looking for then, the iPhone 7 takes the cake.

We should see more information pop up in the coming days, close to launch and after the 16th, especially, when the iPhone 7 gets taken apart.

September 13, 2016
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus To Launch In India 7th October

Apple is launching the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus in India on 7th October according to the official Apple website.

The Apple iPhone 7 is expected to launch Starting for Rs. 49999 for the iPhone 7 at 32 GB and Rs. 57999 for the iPhone 7 Plus at the same capacity.

Rose Gold

India is one of the largest markets for the iPhone according to Apple, and despite the fact that the phone will not be available in current cycle Apple plans to bring it to India early October. You can get all the details of the new iPhone here .

The new Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus come with improved hardware and design, the phones are now iP67 rated making them out and water resistant.

Apple iPhone 7 plus has two 12 MP camera setup with one wide and one Telephoto lens allowing for 2X real zoom and 10x digital software zoom.

Apple has removed the 3.5mm headphone jack and made the included earphone work with the lightning connector. The company has also launched wireless AirPods which offer true wireless connectivity and connect using the W1 chip designed by Apple.

September 8, 2016
Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Launched

Apply has finally lifted the curtains off of its new flagship phone line. The Apple iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus will replace the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus in becoming Apple’s most selling phones.

There are a bunch of changes with the new iPhones, for starters there is no 3.5 mm headphone jack, as it seems the rumours have come true. Apple has removed the headphone jack from the latest iPhones and added stereo speakers.

Design wise there are slight changes to appearance, we have a new thinner design along with a revised set of antenna lines that sit at the edges of the phone instead of twisting around the back. The iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 plus get a new camera setup.

The new Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have a new IP67 rating making them officially water and dust resistant.

Hardware wise Apple has added the new Apple A10 fusion chipset, with Quad cores, which offers upto 40% more performance and 50% faster graphics over the previous generation iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s plus. The graphics are now 240x the original iPhone. Two out of the four cores are high efficiency cores that will work when no performance intensive take is running, considerably increasing battery life performance.

The Apple iPhone 7 Camera now has a f/1.8, 6 element lens with a new 12 MP sensor, a new set of color coded Quad-LED flash and a Flicker Sensor that checks ambient light flicker and adjusts the camera to compensate for that. A New Image Signal Processor does 100 billion photographic calculations in 25 ms and delivers a better contrast image. The new camera allows developers to take advantage of live photos, users can also edit their live photos. Developers will also get access to wide color RAW images which the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will now shoot.

The front gets a 7 MP FaceTime camera on both the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The Apple iPhone 7 plus on the other hand, gets a new dual 12 MP camera setup, just like the LG V20 you will get a wide lens and a tele lens. Allowing 2X optical zoom and a new 10x software zoom.

Apple is also working on a new depth effect which much like the HTC One M8 from many years ago will allow the cameras to use both sensors to get subject and background mapping allowing the ISP to store images and shallow depth of field data. You will be able to live preview the effect before you click the picture , a feature that even DSLRs do not offer, this is limited to the Apple iPhone 7 Plus. The depth effect will be pushed out in a software update later this year

Since Apple has removed the 3.5 mm headphone jack, the included EarPods will now have a lightning connector, and you will also get a lightning to 3.5mm headphone connector in the box.

Apple has also launched new AirPods that offer wireless audio for upto 5 hours and have a included battery case that gives an additional 24 hours of charge, which can be charged via a lightning cable. These come separate and will cost US $ 149

The Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus have new displays that support wide color in true cinema style, no changes in resolution. Apple iPhone 7 gets a 4.7 inch display with 1334 x 750 px resolution giving ~326ppi. Whereas, the Apple iPhone 7 Plus gets a 5.5 inch display with 1920 x 1080 px resolution and a ~401 ppi.

The iPhone 7 will now sell in 32 GB , 128 GB and 256 GB capacities (jet black will be only available in 128 GB and 256 Gb variants). The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will now be available in a 32GB and 128GB capacity with the SE in 16GB and 64GB capacities. Everything else in the iPhone line up has been axed.

The iPhone 7 Goes on pre -order Sept 9th in the US and many other countries and on sale Sept 16th starting US $ 649 for the 32 GB iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be available at launch in a bunch of countries including US, UK, China, Ireland, Germany, France and Hong Kong among many others. It is expected to come to India on 7th October according to Apple India, and will sell starting Rs. 49900 for the iPhone 7 32 GB variant.

September 8, 2016
Apple Introduces New Apple Watch Series 2

Loaded with the WatchOS 3, Apple has launched the new Apple Watch Series 2 at the Apple event in San Francisco. Apart from the fact that Pokemon Go will be now on Apple Watch, the new Apple Watch Series 2 will be Water resistant till 50m, it is rated as a swim watch, meaning now you can swim with Apple Watch Series 2.

Apple has designed a new System on chip for the Apple Watch Series 2, giving an output of 60fps for the display the new redesigned CPU and GPU. The display is now 1000 nits which is exceptionally bright.

The new Apple Watch Series 2 also has built in GPS so that you don’t have to carry your phone when you go for a run. You can sync up the data with the iPhone once you return to it.

The new Apple Watch Series 2 will also be available in a new white ceramic variant, which looks pretty amazing. Apple has also tied up with Nike for a Apple Watch Series 2 Nike Fit which has an aluminium casing and new perforated Nike wrist strap.

Apple Watch Nike

Apple is making sure that the Apple Watch Series 2 conforms to the Green rules for all their products.

The original Apple Watch will get a dual core processor and a lower price tag. The Apple Watch Series 2 will go up for Pre-order on Sept 9th and on sale September 16th.

September 7, 2016
Amazon Puts iPhone 7 Accessories up Before Apple’s Launch

It seems Amazon simply cannot wait for Apple to launch it’s next phone as the company takes lead on launching its new Accessories page for the iPhone 7.

You can find the page here, it clearly shows the new dual camera setup expected in one of the models of the iPhone, namely the iPhone 7+

The cases for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7+ also seem to show off new design features. You can hit the page and browse the designs for your viewing pleasure, till Apple announces the iPhone 7 in just a few minutes.

September 7, 2016