Blog

Barack Obama Launches Facebook Page, Gains 200,000 followers in 3 Hours

When American president Barack Obama joined Twitter in May, 2015 he broke Robert Downey Jr.’s record of reaching one million followers in the fastest time ever according to Guinness Book of World Records. Obama reached the number in under five hours, while it took Downey Jr. over 23 hours to achieve the same.

The Prez has now taken to Facebook and seems to be setting new bench-marks of popularity on the social media platform already. Within hours of announcing the account, he has over 600,000 followers on his Facebook page.

Hello, Twitter! It's Barack. Really! Six years in, they're finally giving me my own account.

— President Obama (@POTUS44) May 18, 2015

The inaugural post of the page is a video of President Obama walking across the White House grounds, also a national park.

Hello, Facebook! I finally got my very own page. I hope you’ll think of this as a place where we can have real conversations about the most important issues facing our country – a place where you can hear directly from me, and share your own thoughts and stories. (You can expect some just-for-fun stuff, too.)I’m kicking it off by inviting you to take a walk with me in my backyard – something I try to do at the end of the day before I head in for dinner. I say this often, but that’s because it’s always at the front of my mind: We’ve got to preserve this beautiful planet of ours for our kids and grandkids. And that means taking serious steps to address climate change once and for all. Now, we've made a lot of progress to cut carbon pollution here at home, and we're leading the world to take action as well. But we’ve got to do more. In a few weeks, I’m heading to Paris to meet with world leaders about a global agreement to meet this challenge.I hope you'll join me in speaking out on climate change and educating your friends about why this issue is so important. At a time when nearly three in four adults online use Facebook, this feels like a great place to do it. Share your thoughts in the comments, and pass this message on to folks you think need to see it.If we're all in this together, I'm confident we can solve this and do right by future generations. Posted by President Obama on Monday, November 9, 2015

Needless, to say, like of the President's social media activity, this Facebook account is also taken care of by an entire team of tech-professionals. He is known to have roughly 20 techies to take care of his various social media accounts across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Here's a screenshot of the page.

November 10, 2015
Siri Beats Google Now and Cortana in Accuracy Tests
Ever wondered who will take the cake in a face-off between Siri, Cortana and Google Now? You are not the only one if you have because a company called Experts-Exchange in the US thinks just like you. The three virtual voice activated personal assistants were put to a test where they were asked four questions each and given three tasks to complete. The participants had to keep a record of the follow-up question each assistant required and closely watch for accuracy.

The following questions were made part of the test:
- Who won the Super Bowl in 1978?
- How many calories in a muffin?
- Where can I buy tires?
- When is “Kung Fu Panda 3” coming out?
The three tasks that the virtual assistants were supposed to perform included:
- Ask your phone to set an appointment
- Turn the Wi-Fi setting on
- Send a text message.
In terms of the stats, when the first question was asked about the Super Bowl in 1978, Siri answered correctly 95.3% of the times, satisfying 86.1% of the participants. Google Now answered it correctly 88% of the times, and 80% of the times it responded with a web search. As far as Cortana goes, the wrong answer was given a mere 3.3% of the times.

When asked to set an appointment, Siri once again took the lead by being correct 92.3% of the times, satisfying 89.2% of the users. This was followed by Google Now being correct at 81.3% and satisfying 80% of the users. Cortana came in last with 73.3% and 70% respectively.

The total number of satisfied users for the three virtual assistants were 81% for Siri, followed by Google Now at 68% and Cortana at 57%. Siri also had the lowest number of incorrect answers, and found itself in a tie with Google Now for having least answers that were responded with a web search.

While the test results should be a matter of concern for Google and Microsoft, it should be noted that there was a certain pattern that both, virtual assistants as well as participants, followed. People living in the Western states seemed more satisfied with Siri than those living in the Eastern parts of the country. Conversely, Google Now and Cortana saw themselves faring better with people from Eastern states.

Also, follow-up questions with Google Now and Cortana were twice as much for women as men. On the other hand, Siri asked more follow-up questions with men than with women. This suggests a pattern and structure in the manner the questions were put forth by both men and women.

Have you ever conducted a similar face off? Which is your favourite virtual voice activated personal assistant? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: [tw-button size=”medium” background=”#07ABE2″ color=”” target=”_blank” link=”http://www.phonearena.com/news/Testing-shows-Siri-beating-out-Google-Now-and-Cortana-for-accuracy-user-satisfaction-and-more_id75601″]PhoneArena[/tw-button]
November 10, 2015
HTC’s One X9 to Release Early Next Year

According to an HTC ROM developer the HTC One X9 will be launched early next year around January to March 2016 and unfortunately it won’t be a high-end smartphone. The source has further suggested that this new handset might be priced lower than the One A9.

HTC E56 (One X9) targeted Q1 2016 Device will be positioned lower than HTC One A9 It will be released ~2-3 months before flagship “M10”

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 9, 2015

The availability of the One X9 will reportedly be around the first quarter of 2016 and there’s more; HTC might reveal a flagship successor to the One M9 called the One M10. As of now, there is no information about the M10, but we do know that the rumoured specs for the X9 are reportedly incorrect. There won’t be a Quad HD screen, or the Snapdragon 820 or the MediaTek Helio X20 processor or 4 GB of RAM, and not even a 3,500 mAh battery.

HTC One X9 rumours (1/2): Snapdragon 820 or MediaTek Helio X20 – Wrong 3GB or 4GB RAM – Wrong 32-128 GB ROM – Wrong 1440p screen – Wrong

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 9, 2015

HTC One X9 rumours (2/2): 23MP rear camera – Wrong 4UP front camera – Correct 3500 mAh battery – Wrong

— LlabTooFeR (@LlabTooFeR) November 9, 2015

However, Twitter ‘leakster’ @evleaks suggest that the X9 or the E56 might feature a 5.5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 pixels, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, 4 MP UltraPixel front-facing camera, 13 MP rear camera, and a 3000 mAh battery.

.@stagueve All wrong. E56 sports a Mediatek SoC & 5.5″ FHD display. Memory is just 2GB/16GB, camera 13MP/4UP (OIS), w/ a 3000mAh battery. — Evan Blass (@evleaks) November 9, 2015

Apart from tweets and specs leaks, there have also been a couple of images leaked by @TechTA.

This leak shows us both the front display and the back cover of the alleged smartphone. The first thing we notice is the dual-LED flash that is located in the upper left corner of the One X9, it can also be implied that this device could sport three capacitative buttons below the display, back, home and overview. Thirdly, there might also be BoomSound speakers included within the HTC mid-ranged smartphone.

As of now, this is all the information that is available, so until then, stay tuned and we will bring you all the facts you need to know regarding this handset.

November 10, 2015
Apple’s iPad Pro To Go On Sale Globally This Wednesday

Apple has officially announced that the iPad Pro will be available for purchase on the official Apple website from the 11th of November 2015. The company has further said that, later this week, you might even find the iPad Pro at Apple Stores and certain carrier locations. However, let us note at the onset itself, that these dates will not apply to India, and as of now there are no details as to when it will release here.

https://youtu.be/4AZR8a5XVSs

The iPad Pro comes in two variants – Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi plus cellular. So, the Wi-Fi only iPad will e available at $799 (Rs.53,018) with 32GB internal storage, while the Wi-Fi plus cellular version will be priced at $1,079 (Rs.71,597) with 128GB of internal memory. The Apple Pencil will arrive at $99 (Rs.6,569) and the smart keyboard at $169 (Rs.11,214). Along with this Apple is also providing an iPad Pro smart cover in polyurethane at $59 (Rs.3,914) or silicon at $79 (Rs.5,242).

“The early response to iPad Pro from app developers and our customers has been incredible, and we’re excited to get iPad Pro into the hands of customers around the world this week.” – said Philip Schiller, SVP Worldwide Marketing, Apple.

Apple is also going all out in the customer services department by announcing that a user purchasing the iPad Pro from a physical Apple Store will also be given the option of getting their device set up for them by an Apple Store representative. Furthermore, these customers can also have their email and other apps set up for them at the store for free.

Before you buy anything though, let us give you a small recap of the iPad Pro’s features. It comes with a 12.9-inch IPS screen carrying a 2048 x 2072 resolution with a pixel density of 265ppi. It runs on the Apple A9X SoC which is under the hood and has a 4GB of RAM inside. On the camera front, it comes with an 8MP primary camera and a 1.2MP camera up front. The battery is expected to last you about 10 hours of use between charges.

Let’s see when this much anticipated Apple device arrives in India. It would be interesting to see the response of the Indian market to the iPad Pro after the unexpectedly low sales of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Watch this space for all the latest updates.

November 10, 2015
Here Are a List Of Smartphone Deals You Can Get This Diwali
Diwali is right around the corner and we are all receiving and sending gifts to one another. However, picking the right gift is always a very tricky affair. So, in order to make it slightly easier for you, we bring you a list of smartphones in different ranges that could help you pick your Diwali present.

Low-Range Smartphones (Rs.5,000 – Rs.10,000)

1. Moto E 2nd Generation: Motorola has been doing quite well this year with its budget smartphones and the Moto E 2nd Gen is definitely one worth sending out as a Diwali present.

This phone boasts a:
- 5MP primary camera with auto focus, HDR and 0.3MP front facing camera
- 4.5-inch (11.43 centimeters) quarter HD IPS capacitive touchscreen with 960 x 540 pixels resolution
- Android v5 Lollipop operating system with 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 quad core processor, 400MHz Adreno 302 GPU, 1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB and dual SIM (GSM+UMTS)
- 2390mAH lithium-ion battery
You can buy this phone on Amazon India for Rs.4,999.

 

2. YU Yuphoria: This smartphone from Micromax’s YU comes with:
- 8MP primary camera and 5MP front facing camera
- 5-inch (12.7 centimeters) HD IPS capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and 294 ppi pixel density
- Android v5.1.1 Lollipop operating system with Snapdragon 410 quad core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB and dual SIM (GSM+GSM)
- 2230mAH lithium-ion battery providing talk-time of 7 hours and standby time of 160 hours
You can avail of it on Amazon India at Rs.6,499.

 

3. Micromax Canvas Nitro A311:
- 13 MP Primary Camera
- 16 GB ROM
- Android v4.4.2 OS
- Dual Sim (GSM + WCDMA)
- 1.7 GHz Mediatek 6592 Octa Core Processor
- 2 GB RAM
- 5 Inch HD IPS Touchscreen Display
- 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, FM Radio
- 2500 MAh Battery.
Available on Flipkart for Rs.7,999.

Mid-Range Smartphones (Rs.10,000 – Rs.20,000)

1. OnePlus One:
- Android Lollipop with CyanogenOS 12 and OxygenOS – 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad core processor, 578MHz Adreno-330 GPU, 3GB RAM, 64GB internal memory and single Micro SIM
- Multi-touch IPS 5.5″ (13.97 cm) Corning Gorilla Glass 3 (full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels @ 401 PPI) touch-screen by JDI with LTPS technology
- Long lasting 3,100 mAh Li-Po battery and best-in-class camera (13MP Sony IMX214 rear with dual LED flash & 5MP front with 1080p@30fps); 6 lenses to avoid distortion and color aberration, 4K resolution video with stereo recording
- 4G LTE, Bluetooth v4.1, GPRS, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac with Miracast
This phone is exclusively available on Amazon India at a Diwali price of Rs.17,999 instead of Rs.19,999.

 

2. Mi 4 (16GB):
- 13MP primary camera with 4K UHD video recording and 8MP front facing camera
- 5-inch (12.7 centimeters) IPS HD capacitive touchscreen with 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution and 441 ppi pixel density
- Android v4.4.4 KitKat operating system with 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, Adreno 330 GPU, 3GB RAM, 16GB internal memory and single SIM
- 3080mAH lithium-polymer battery
The Mi 4 which was originally priced at Rs.14,999 will now be available on Amazon India at Rs.12,999.

 

3.Micromax Canvas Knight 2 E471:
- 13MP primary camera and 5MP front facing camera
- 5-inch (12.7 centimeters) AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution
- Android v5 Lollipop operating system with 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 octa core processor, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory expandable up to 32GB and dual SIM (GSM+GSM)
- 2260mAH lithium-ion battery providing talk-time of 7 hours 45 minutes and standby time of 335 hours.
 

High-Range Phones (Rs.20,000 and above)

1. OnePlus Two:

The star smartphone of the year comes with –
- 13MP primary camera with f/2.0 Aperture, 1.3 µm Pixels, 6-lenses, Dual LED Flash, advanced Laser Autofocus with Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) and 5MP front facing camera
- Designed with premium stainless steel frame and multi-touch IPS 5.5″ Corning Gorilla Glass IPS LCD (full HD 1080 x 1920 pixels @ 401 PPI, 1500:1 contrast ratio; 178 degrees viewing angle)
- OxygenOS based on Android Lollipop 5.1.1 with Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (64 bit with 1.8GHz Octa-core SoC) featuring 4G LTE, Adreno 430 GPU; 4GB LPDDR4 RAM; 64GB eMMC5 storage
- 3,300 mAh Li-Po battery; Dual Nano SIM, Fingerprint sensor, USB Type-C port and 3-way physical alert toggle switch
It is now available on Amazon India at Rs.24,999.

 

2. HTC One M9 Plus (Gold-Silver, 32GB):
- 20MP primary camera with sapphire cover lens, auto focus, BSI sensor and ultrapixel front facing camera
- 5.2-inch (13.2 centimeters) capacitive touchscreen with 1440 x 2560 pixels resolution
- Android operating system with 2.2GHz,Mediatek MT6795T helio X10 octa core processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory expandable up to 2TB and single SIM
- 2840mAH lithium-ion battery providing talk-time of 23 hours on 2G, 13 hours on 3G networks and standby time of 598 hours on 2G, 626 hours on 3G networks
The HTC One M9 Plus is available at Rs.39,705, which originally would have been Rs.53,900.

 
3. Samsung Galaxy S6 (Gold, 64GB):
- 5.1 inches (~70.7% screen-to-body ratio)
- Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
- 1440 x 2560 pixels (~577 ppi pixel density)
- Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & Quad-core 2.1 GHz Cortex-A57
- 16 MP, 2988 x 5312 pixels, optical image stabilization, autofocus, LED flash
This phone that is originally priced at Rs.58,699 will now come at Rs.39,990 this Diwali 2015.
 

4. iPhone 6:

This list would be incomplete without the iPhone, the iPhone 6 comes with –
- 4.7-inch (diagonal) Retina HD display with 1334-by-750 resolution
- A8 chip with M8 motion coprocessor
- 8-megapixel iSight camera with Focus Pixels and True Tone flash
- 1080p HD video recording at 60 fps and slo-mo video recording at 240 fps
- FaceTime HD camera
- Touch ID fingerprint sensor
- LTE1 and 802.11ac Wi-Fi
We hope this list solves at least one-quarter of your problems (all offers and prices are subject to vary as they are applicable only for limited periods of time). Until then Happy Diwali from us! Have a safe one.
November 10, 2015
Gamergate Cannot be Sorted From the Outside, Says Australian Senator

Some of you may be aware of Gamergate. For those who don’t know, Gamergate was a controversy that began in August 2014. It concerned issues of sexism and progressivism in video game culture. Gamergate began when a former boyfriend of Quinn wrote a lengthy disparaging blog post about her, leading others to falsely accuse her of entering a relationship with a journalist in exchange for positive coverage. Quinn denied the charges, but in the internet world, things escalated quickly.

The movement resulted in women being harassed online, being driven from their homes in fear of threat and violence. Most of the harassment were coordinated through online discussion forums in websites like Reddit, 4chan and 8chan.

Things have changed since then. In the course of two years, the audience for gaming has become more diverse. “The fight has how become about how broad and welcoming the gaming industry can be. Australian Greens senator for Western Australia, Scott Ludlam told Mashable Australia the government has no direct role to play in Gamergate, but doesn’t rule it out entirely. “I don’t think the government has a role in culture wars,” he said. “Anytime a government is engaging in a culture war it always tends to end badly.”

There is a palpable tension in the going community over whether women and minorities will be included as the industry grows, and Ludlam understands this. But resolution won’t come via legislation. In the end the issue has to be dealt with internally.

“Ultimately, something like GamerGate can’t be sorted from the outside,” he concluded. “It’s a cultural hand grenade for this community that only it can sort out. It’s not going to get resolved by someone passing a law.”

November 10, 2015

Amazon Offers Exciting Discount On OnePlus One This Diwali

Chinese smartphone vendor made a huge entry into the Indian markets with their OnePlus One. Initially we didn’t know what to expect of it, but eventually we were pleasantly surprised as OnePlus One arrived with top notch hardware for its time. Take a look at some of its specifications:

Operating System	CyanogenMod 11S based on Android 4.4
CPU	Qualcomm© Snapdragon™ 801 processor with 2.5GHz Quad-core CPUs
GPU	Adreno 330, 578MHz
RAM	3 GB LP-DDR3, 1866MHz
Storage	16/64 GB eMMC 5.0, available capacity varies
Cameras	13 Megapixel – Sony Exmor IMX 214 / 5 MP Front
Battery	Embedded rechargeable 3100 mAh LiPo battery

Today, we bring you some good news, that Amazon India is offering a Diwali Special offer on the OnePlus One. The smartphone which was originally priced at Rs.19,999 will now be priced at Rs,17,99 this Diwali.

The phone comes with superior specs and an impressive body. It comes in a sandstone version with chrome and metallic accents, logos, buttons and the Cyanogen logo printed at the back. If you are still not sure about whether to buy this phone or not, click here for other specs, details, unboxing and a hands on review to help you make your mind.

November 9, 2015

Instagram Rubbishes Rumours About 3D Advertising

The internet has been abuzz with rumours suggesting that Instagram was experimenting with 3D advertisement techniques in order to exploit Apple’s 3D Touch and the Apple Pay technology on the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

According to rumours, Instagram was believed to be working on this new project in order to increase its financial gains. They wanted to do this by allowing users to make purchases directly from Instagram using Apple Pay and Force Touch.The iPhone’s new Force Touch technology would now offer Instagram users more than just two options -to buy or browse- when tapping on the Shop Now button to purchase a product. Easier shopping options would mean increased sales on Instagram, and therefore higher profits for the company.

The Force Touch feature, first introduced in the Apple Watch and the new 13-inch MacBook was recently also unveiled in the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. ‘Force Touch’ is a feature that differentiates between three different kinds of touch, as opposed to two, and responds accordingly. A user can perform various tasks in a much simpler and more efficient fashion.

However, unfortunately for iPhone users, Instagram has rubbished all these rumours and explicitly said that are not working on any such innovation currently. Oh well, no harm done anyway except that iPhone 6s and 6s Plus users would have to carry on with the traditional ways of retail transactions, for now.

November 9, 2015
HTC Launches the Desire 728G in India, Priced at Rs. 17,990

Last month we had mentioned HTC is planning to launch the Desire 728G in India. Today, HTC has indeed launched the phone at a price of Rs. 17,990. The smartphone is offered in Purple Myst and White Luxury colour variants and is available at major offline retailers.

“The new HTC Desire 728G Dual SIM brings distinctive design into a feature-rich smartphone, providing you with a great value smartphone which you can truly make your own. We want to provide a powerful, fully customisable experience to our customers, and the HTC Desire 728G Dual SIM brings this in abundance,” said Faisal Siddiqui, President, HTC South Asia during the launch.

The HTC Desire 728G Dual SIM is housed in a stylish, elegant body and boasts a clean yet striking finish. The device features a 5.5-inch HD (729×1280 pixels) display. It is powered by a 1.3GHz MediaTek octa-core processor paired with 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage expandable up to 2 TB via MicroSD card slot.

The handset also features a 13 MP primary camera with BSI sensor, f/2.2 aperture and LED flash, and a 5 MP front camera with 1080p video recording capabilities, a 2,080 mAh battery, and will run on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. Other connectivity features include dual-SIM card slots, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1 and GPS. The dual SIM, however, does not support 4G.

Online sales of the HTC Desire 728G have yet to begin. We’ll bring word as and when the device becomes available with online retailers in India.

November 9, 2015
Xiaomi Releases the Mi Band Plus and Mi Power Bank

Xiaomi has released two new devices in China, one of them is a fitness band called the Mi Band Plus (or Mi Band 1S) and the second one is the Mi Power bank.

Mi Band Plus Or Mi Band 1s

What’s different about Xiaomi’s new fitness tracker? Well, it comes with a heart rate sensor, which was not present in the previous edition of Xiaomi’s fitness tracker, the Mi Band.

Let’s talk a little more about the heart rate sensor. Firstly, it is based on an optical heart monitoring technology which tracks the blood by illuminating the capillaries with LED. The heart rate sensor monitor will be available as an accessory to the Mi band package.

Apart from tracking one’s heart rate, the Mi Band Plus can also track steps and can estimate the calories burnt along with the distance covered. It is also capable of monitoring the quality of your sleep and can also reportedly nudge you with vibrations before your alarm wakes you up with a start. The Mi band Plus will also alert you for incoming calls and will let you unlock your phone with it.

With the functions out of the way, we can now move over to the slightly static design. The Mi Band Plus looks a lot like the Mi Band and comes with the same hardware and rubber strap. However, there is a slight difference in its weight by 0.5 gms and dimensions at 37×13.6×9.9 mm, which is just slightly larger than the Mi Band.

Mi Power Bank (20,000mAh)

Xiaomi has also announced the Mi Power Bank along with the Mi Band Plus or Mi Band 1S. This device will come with a capacity of 20,000 mAh and will come with a plastic body, as compared to the metal body that the company’s other power banks come with. Xiaomi has also mentioned that the battery within the device will be made by LG or Panasonic and will come with a conversion rate of 83 percent with a 5.1V and 3.6A output.

Both devices sound extremely promising, however, they have been released exclusively in China. The Mi Band Plus will be priced at $16 which is approximately Rs.1,062, while the Mi Power Bank is expected to be priced at $24 which is approximately Rs.1,593.

No word yet on when the devices will launch in India. We’ll update you as soon as we have more news on that.

November 9, 2015
Virtual Reality Takes Art to the Next Level With This Digital Art Museum

There is a way for art to reach the masses if one knows how to promote it. Digital art has been trying to gain a following in both the digital, and the non-digital, ‘real’ world. The problem, though, is that real-life digital art in a physical form tends to fade away after a few weeks, while soft copies risk losing their aesthetic value.

To fight both these plagues, a team of artists have come up with a museum that provides both a real-life virtual reality exhibit, while at the same time does not lose out on the aesthetics. The dates for the exhibition are November 14th through to December 19th and the location is Brooklyn, New York. However, it can be accessed through Mac and Windows apps that can be run from home.

The museum is called the Digital Museum of Digital Art or DiMoDA, and it gives artists the ability to reach a wider audience without diminishing the impact of their work. The artists promise a trippy experience with 3D psychedelia artwork that is possible because of virtual reality. Things here aren’t fixed in place and you’ll be able to experience a 360-degree view of the art.

A generic digital art specimen.

The atrium of the museum is designed and modeled in 3D by Alfredo Salazar-Caro. Viewers wear the Occulus Rift VR headset to enter DiMoDa. Viewers will then immediately approach a number of ‘portals’ which can be used to access the ‘wings’ of the museum. Exhibiting artists have complete control to shape the virtual environment in which their works are installed inside the museum.

DiMoDA will present works by Claudia Hart, Tim Berresheim, Jacolby Satterwhite and a project by Aquanet 2001. The idea was conceived in 2013 by Alfredo Salazar-Caro and William James Richard Robertson, DiMoDA launches in November of 2015 with its first exhibition as a pavilion in The Wrong Biennale and a physical exhibition at TRANSFER in New York from November 14 through December 19th, 2015.

November 9, 2015
Apple Offers Discount Up to Rs. 34,000 In a First of Its Kind Offer

For the first time in the history of selling iPhones in India, Apple is offering a buyback on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus of up to Rs. 34,000 within a month of their launch in the country. The new iPhones are the most expensive in India as compared to other countries around the world. Thus, the buyback scheme is undoubtedly Apple’s attempts to boost its sales post a lukewarm Indian response to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

Other than owing to the unexpectedly high price of the new iPhones, which falls between Rs. 62,000- Rs. 92,000, the fall in the price of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus from last year by Rs. 8,000- Rs. 9,000 has further led to reduced sales of iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.

One of Apple’s four iPhone distributors, Ingram Micro, has announced the buyback scheme in some Apple stores and a couple of other multi-brand cellphone stores in South India, soon to be available elsewhere in the country. This move will be followed by the other three distributors as Apple attempts to meet its target sales for the October-December quarter.

A senior executive of one of the leading trade partners in the country commented on this, “Earlier companies offering buyback used to give indirect subsidy to retailers to compensate and it was the retailer’s headache to sell the old phone, but this time the entire process is driven by Apple.”

The buyback scheme of Rs. 34,000 on the latest iPhones is against iPhone 6. The offer also includes some hi-end Samsung handsets as well. A separate website has been created by Apple where details of old handsets can be uploaded by retailers against which new models can be bought. This buyback scheme by Apple has followed a 7-11% discount on iPhone 6s and 6s Plus on major e-commerce websites in India. Is the new scheme incentive enough for you to give the new iPhones a try?

November 9, 2015
Pinterest To Launch New In-App Visual Search Feature

Pinterest has teamed up with Berkeley Vision and Learning Center to create a new feature on the addictive browsing website which will help enhance your search. This feature will allow you to select an item of your choice in a pinned photo and search for similar items within Pinterest. Basically, what we’re trying to say, is that, Pinterest is going to launch a new visual search feature within the website.

The new search feature works very simply, you just have to click on the search button, and then use an adjustable box over the photo to zoom in on the item of your preference. Furthermore, you can even add key words to specify your search.

“We optimize on visual similarity, not just duplicates to power Pinners to discovery exact results, as well as unexpected results that may be similar in style or pattern or shape.” says Pinterest engineer Andrew Zhai.

This new feature will also help you save time in two possible ways. Firstly, you won’t have to Google search an image, and can instead stay within the website and fine similar items that you might be interested in. Secondly, it saves us the time of browsing endlessly on this website. We all do it, and it is completely enjoyable, unless we have something very important to do and instead of doing that, we’re just browsing through Pinterest.

This feature will go live on today and will be available on iOS, Android and the web.

For more information, click here.

November 9, 2015
Let Your Smartphone Help Cure Cancer as You Sleep: DreamLab

Set your smartphone to work as you sleep. Let it help cure cancer. DreamLab, which is a three year old collaboration between Vodafone Foundation and Australia’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, has started an initiative that attempts to use smartphones to get some help in curing cancer.

You need to begin by downloading the free app from Google Playstore and ensure that the phone is being charged. Next, choose the type of cancer research you want to support -ovarian, pancreatic, prostrate or breast, and then simply choose the amount of internet data you’d like to donate.

This initiative has been made live only in Australia as of now. If the nation there puts their smartphones together, it will provide Garvan with a supercomputer to be able to conduct cancer research more skillfully. Garvans’s head of the breast cancer unit, Dr. Samantha Oakes, said in an official statement:

“As a nation who loves their smartphones, we now have a tremendous opportunity to put them to good use and help find a cure for cancer. Together, we can come to a greater understanding of how to treat it more swiftly. With the help of game-changing innovations like DreamLab, I am hopeful that we will see cures of certain types of cancer in our lifetime.”

The Institute further stated that with 100,000 DreamLab apps working on smartphones in a nation which has about 5 million users, the rate of processing data would increase by 150,000 times and with a speed 3,000 times faster than the current one. The initiative seems a big step in the field of cancer research. Let’s see how long India would have to wait before something like this makes its way to the country.

November 9, 2015
The New York Times Shows the Future of Journalism With its Virtual Reality App

Something happened today. There was a sudden burst of virtual reality news all at once that has people everywhere believing that technology has indeed taken the next step. Today, The New York Times has taken a step towards VR by introducing Google Cardboard with their magazine, YouTube updated their Android app to support virtual reality videos, and finally Samsung plans on launching its Gear VR this month. Take a moment to soak all that in.

So, talking about The New York Times, the American daily newspaper that started in 1851 has now taken a step into the future. It launched the NYT VR app that gives a virtual reality experience of news along with headphones and (optionally) a cardboard viewing device. According to a blog on the NYT website, the goal is “to simulate richly immersive scenes from across the globe.”

The app started with three portraits of children “driven from their homes from war and persecution.” The first is of an 11-year old boy named Oleg from eastern Ukraine, an 12-year old Syrian girl named Hana and a 9-year old South Sudanese boy named Chuol. To watch the 10-minute short film, you’ll have to download the app and thereafter the film can be downloaded. Though the films are promoted for VR headcount, they can still be viewed normally.

Some 30 million children are displaced. Chuol, 9, escaped into a vast swamp in South Sudan when fighters swept into his village.

“This new filmmaking technology enables an uncanny feeling of connection with people whose lives are far from our own,” writes Jake Silverstein, editor of the magazine.

The New York Times has been at the forefront of journalism for 119 years. The NYT VR app is the future of journalism. The stories will provide you an immersive 360-degree video experience. NYT promises to post new stories told in virtual reality every month. The app is available for download on iOS and Android.

November 7, 2015