After making news with Moto X Play and Moto X Style, Motorola is all set to launch its new smartphone, Moto X Force, in India next month. The smartphone is expected to hit the market with its current price tag of $624 (Rs. 40,000 approximately) and $720 (Rs. 47,000 approximately) for the 32GB and 64GB variants respectively.
Moto X Style and Play
The highlight of the device is its super-hardy screen. Motorola claims to have integrated a ‘Moto Shattershield’ technology in the display of Moto Force which, it says, is the first shatterproof screen in the world. The company feels confident enough to affirm the screen would stay intact for up to four years, owing to the multiple layers of different materials used in making it capable of absorbing shock and providing protection against cracking.
Moto X Force has been already launched as Droid Turbo 2 exclusively for Verizon users in the US. Moto X Force is the name of the global variant of this smartphone which will go on sale in Latin America, EMEA, and APAC (including India) starting this November.
https://youtu.be/JJWmBFV2GHM
On the specs front, Moto X Force packs a 5.4 inch Quad HD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chipset along with 3 GB of RAM. The two internal storage options of 32 GB and 64 GB are expandable up to 2 TB with the help of a microSD card.
The phone comes equipped with a 21 megapixel main camera along with a 5 megapixel selfie camera. The battery is marked at a 3,760 mAh, which Motorola claims is sufficient for lasting up to two days of mixed usage. The battery also features Quick Charging support. In terms of connectivity, Moto X Force includes single-SIM card slot, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and runs on 5.1.1 Lollipop.
Whether or not a consensus has been reached on the pronunciation of the word, GIFs are all set be a bigger part of our virtual lives. VSCO Cam have decided to follow suit with lots of other developers and come up with its own GIF-making app. However, the glitch is this app is only for iOS users.
https://youtu.be/cthr_L7wt5A
DSCO, an Instagram-like app, is unveiled by the company for achieving the moving image effect for a footage of few seconds. This mobile photography app allows you to choose filters and presets, developed along with MTV and others, for your GIF before posting it on one of the social media platforms or on the company’s own portal. The app is available as a free download for all iOS users.
Netflix, the internet media streaming service, is planning to widen its reach by entering into the Middle East. The service is looking to target a population of 370 million, which includes a young, media hungry demographic.
John Evers, vice president and head of communications for Europe, Middle East and Africa at Netflix, confirmed plans of expansion by the end of next year. “We plan to complete our global expansion by the end of 2016. Of course the Middle East is part of that, hence our hiring,” he told the IGN Middle East gaming news website.
Starz, IcFlix, Telly and OSN Play are some OTT subscription services that already exist in the Middle East and have received a fair bit of subscribers already, which suggest that the market is ready for the big one.
Icflix was launched in 2013 and reportedly has 250,000 subscribers across the Middle East and North Africa, which include Egypt, Morocco, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. The streaming service offers Hollywood, Bollywood, and Arab content which include Egyptian productions as well.
Meanwhile, Netflix currently caters to over 69 million subscribers in more than 50 countries. Netflix is on a global expansion mode and is expected to cross 100 million subscribers in 2018. India is yet to receive the service, and we may just hear something on that front soon enough given that India has a a huge number of OTT subscribers as well.
Micromax is certainly speaking out loud about its upcoming Yu Yutopia. CEO Rahul Sharma said that it would be the “most powerful phone on the planet”, however, the Indian smartphone makers have gone even further with its new teaser on Facebook that read- “Calling a 1080p Display a 2016 Flagship killer? #WhySettle #YUTOPIA.”
The new teaser is an obvious dig at the “2016 flagship killer” OnePlus 2, however, apart from that they’ve also confirmed that the Yutopia will come with a Quad HD display. The Facebook teaser also includes a blurred image of the OnePlus 2 with the words “Never Settle For 1080p” on it.
Therefore, with this teaser and the previous one, we now know that Yu’s next premium smartphone will sport a metal build, as compared to its usual plastic build and a Quad HD display for the first time.
However, speculations about the upcoming Yutopia’s specifications include a 5.2 display, 64 bit class Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 backed by a 4GB RAM, Cyanogen 32GB memory with expandability and a rumoured 21MP primary camera with an 8MP front camera.
The company has not confirmed any of the rumoured specs so until then, let’s just hope all the mud-slinging pays off.
After teasing audiences for a while on social media, OnePlus launched OnePlus X in India today. The company launched its predecessor, OnePlus 2 in July this year. OnePlus 2 had been made available for sale on an invite-only basis initially, but later it was put up for open sale as well.
OnePlus X
The glass ceramic limited edition variant of OnePlus X costs Rs. 22,999. The price is same as that of the 16 GB variant of OnePlus 2. However, the 16 GB variant of OnePlus 2 is priced at Rs. 22,999 which is far ahead from the Rs. 16,999 of OnePlus X onyx-back variant.
OnePlus X has only one storage option which is 16 GB, but it’s expandable upto 128 GB with the help of a microSD slot. Find a comparison of the specs of the two OnePlus devices below and let us know which one you would be willing to stake your money on.
OnePlus 2
Specs
OnePlus X
OnePlus 2
Display
5 inch full HD Amoled display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
In addition to the above mentioned specs, OnePlus X has dual sim, two variants -one with an onyx back, the other with a glass-ceramic back which is a limited edition variant, 11 mm drivers and is available in two colours -gold and graphite.
We had earlier reported that OnePlus’ latest smartphone will be launched in India on the 29th of October. The company has indeed lifted the veils off the OnePlus X today. This is the third entry in the company’s lineup and it falls under a whole new category for OnePlus – not exactly a mid-range device but also not a ‘flagship killer’.
The OnePlus X was touted as a smaller version of the OnePlus 2. Recent leaked images also suggested that the company was not going with the OnePlus 2 design for the X, which made sense given the poor response towards the OnePlus 2’s look.
The phone was launched today in New Delhi. The GM of OnePlus India, Vikas Agarwal, said that the OnePlus X is made for a design conscious user and brings a feeling of high quality. The company has introduced for the first time a glass-ceramic variant for the phone. The OnePlus X onyx will come with a black glass plate and round edges while the OnePlus ceramic comes with angled edges that will reflect light. The ceramic variant is limited edition with only 10,000 units available.
The specs of the phone keep with past rumours. The OnePlus X sports a 5-inch AMOLED display (1920×1080), with a primary camera of 13 MP and a 8 MP front. The device runs on a 2.1 GHz Snapdragon 801 chipset. It features a 3 GB RAM with 16 GB internal storage and is expandable up to 128 via MicroSD card slot. The phone includes an alert slider, like the one found on OnePlus 2. The OnePlus X weighs around 138 gm for the onyx variant and a heavier 160 gm for the ceramic variant.
As expected, the OnePlus X is available through invite only. The handset comes at a very affordable price tag of Rs. 16,999 for the onyx variant and Rs. 24,999 for the limited edition ceramic body. The price is great for a phone that aesthetically looks high-end but isn’t. The device will be sold exclusively on Amazon from the 5th of November. Have a look at the spec table below.
Specification
OnePlus X
Display
5-inch full HD AMOLED screen, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Samsung’s newest addition to the tech world includes an 18-inch device which is a hybrid between a TV and a tablet. With its size and measurements and a handle in its design, the device is meant to be carried around like a briefcase. It’s clear from the start the main purpose of this gadget, Galaxy View, is video streaming and viewing. But honestly, don’t we already have laptops and television sets for that? The physiological need to watch videos to the extent of lugging around an 18-inch device is a little hard to imagine.
The Korean company claims that Galaxy View is an attempt to achieve a middle ground between a TV and a tablet. However the screen has no 4K, QuadHD or Retina display. What it does have is full HD 1920X1080 resolution display instead. The screen specs were chosen keeping in mind the battery life. The Galaxy View can provide up to 8 hours of viewing with 5,700 milliamp-hour battery.
The team at Samsung cannot have enough of their little baby. Sean Bornheimer, a senior manager of product for Samsung Design of America says,
“Multiple people can view, which is very difficult with other kinds of portable devices. It’s really about the experience and less about the specs.”
The operating system of the device -since we’re unsure of what else to call it – is Android 5.1.1 Lollipop and it comes with a 1.6 GHz octa-core processor and 2 GB of RAM. The two variants are marked at 32 GB and 64 GB memory respectively expandable up to 128 GB. The base model is wi-fi only but an LTE model would be made available soon, claims Samsung.
It is unclear what exactly Samsung aims to achieve with this device, or who exactly is the target audience. However, because the specs of the device are not high-end, the price can be expected to be low enough to draw customers. Either way, all the best with being adventurous, Samsung.
When Apple launched the first iPod 14 years ago on October 23, 2001, very few imagined the impact it would create in the way we consume music. For all the hate Apple receives today by dedicated groups out there, even they would have to agree that back then when Apple said it would come out with something revolutionary, it meant it.
The iPod was perhaps one of the best inventions of the 21st century. The device literally changed the way we listen to music and single-handedly dethroned the traditional Walkman and CD player. 13 years later, on September 9, 2014, Apple quietly decided to kill the classic iPod.
The sixth generation 160GB iPod Classic was the last Apple product in the iPod line to use the original 30-pin iPod connector and the Click Wheel. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, the iPod Classic was discontinued because the parts were unavailable and a redesign was unwarranted given the small amount of consumer interest in the product.
Blame it on a generation that was moving towards all things touchscreen, the iPod Classic indeed was seeing low demand. But that doesn’t diminish the fact the Apple had made a serious dent in technology and the music world with the iPod Classic.
Walkman of the 21st Century
The idea behind the invention of the iPod was to create a portable music device that was not “big and clunky or small and useless”. One of the reasons Apple is what it is today is because its founder, Steve Jobs, was bent upon making technology sleek and beautiful. This is what they wanted to with the music player. Successive generations of the iPod Classic saw not only a sleeker, beautifully crafted device but also having a sturdy construction and a massive storage capacity to the pleasure of music lovers.
The Feel of the Iconic Wheel
iPod (3rd Gen)
One of the main reasons the iPod Classic was so successful was because of its simplicity. The device had a decent sized screen and a Touch Wheel that was replaced with a Click Wheel with the 3-gen iPod. The wheel made using the iPod ridiculously easy. A scroll from left to right or right to left let you navigate through thousands of songs and artists in your collection. There was also a center select button, and four auxiliary buttons around the wheel. And that’s really all one needed.
The wheel added that extra bit of flair that came with the device’s sturdy yet sleek design. Navigating through your library was simply too easy. One could even do it without lifting one’s thumb. In all honesty, touchscreens may be the present technology, but even that can’t compete with the wheel’s functionality. Music needed a device that made listeners feel the music; that made them want to listen to music all day. That kind of feel of a personal music player died with the iPod Classic.
A Hundred Albums, A Thousand Songs
It started off with a 5 GB storage and went up to 160 GB by the sixth-gen model. But even an iPod with 30 GB or 60 GB storage was enough for music lovers. The point is that Apple provided a device that had a massive storage for users to keep their entire collection of music all in one place. Spotify and Apple Music is useful in certain circumstances, but you can never get the feeling of owning your own music with them. For years Vinyl collectors bemoaned the emergence of MP3 players as it meant you couldn’t own a physical object. Now music streaming has literally killed the idea of owning music.
iPod (6th Gen)
The iPod Classic let you access hundreds of albums and thousands of songs in a single device. The Guardian‘s Will Dunn lamented the demise of the iPod: “There’s still a huge affection for the iPod Classic and it’s not hard to see why – Spotify might offer 20 million songs, but 120GB of music is more than most people need, and your iTunes library doesn’t carry data charges or a subscription fee. Also, I think the Classic is a more distraction-free listening experience – I’m more likely to get through a full album on one.”
A Pure Music Experience
Today, one is surrounded by the latest in technology. You probably have a phone with 32 GB space or higher. And yes, you do have songs in them too. But they’re still devices that are used primarily for other purposes and can never provide one with the same feel as a dedicated music player. Another point one should remember about the iPod was the massive battery life. You could go through a week of music on a single charge.
Do we really have a device today that looks and feels like a music player? Even the iPod Touch models don’t really look the part. If you go on Amazon or Flipkart today and type in music players, you’ll be surprised to see that there is not one good music-dedicated device that would take your fancy.
People Still Want a Portable Music Player
It’s true. Technology may have changed, but people haven’t. The need for a small, portable music player still exists in the world. Don’t believe us? Well, when Apple decided to call it a day with the iPod Classic, a lot of people rushed to Apple retailers to buy the last of the remaining stock. The sales of the iPods (what was left of them) suddenly saw a rise and even saw some of them being sold for four times the actual value.
What one can take away from this is that the news reminded people just how important the music player was. until a few years ago, before streaming become the new thing, music was something that people loved to ‘own’. Steve Jobs was against the idea of music streaming and he pretty much summed up what music meant to him as well as to many others:
“These services treat you like a criminal. And they are subscription-based and we think subscriptions are the wrong path. One of the reasons we think this is because people bought their music for as long as we can remember. When you own your music it never goes away. When you own your music you have a broad set of personal use rights – you can listen to it however you want.”
Maybe instead of discontinuing the iPod Classic, Apple could have thought of ways to refashion it, adding present-day technology while still keeping the ‘Classic’ look and feel. It probably would have been worth a try. Maybe some day a company might come along and bring back the love for music the way Apple did.
Following the official announcement of its revenue and profits for the fourth quarter, Apple reported that one third of iPhone buyers during the quarter had been using Android devices before the switch. The company also claims this shift to be the largest ever since they started tracking people’s movements from one OS to another, three years ago.
Needless to say, Tim Cook is more than just glad about the news, especially in the light of the lukewarm response the new iPhones have received since their launch in September. Cook comments on the switch of so many users to iOS and says,
“That number is the largest that we’ve ever recorded since we began measuring it three or so years ago. It’s a huge number and we’re very, very proud of that number.”
No doubt this movement has been one of Apple’s goals for a while now and the company has left no stone unturned in achieving it. The recent ‘Move to iOS‘ app of the company which allowed users to switch their Android devices to iOS is one such attempt.
The fourth quarter ended on the 26th of September, which means it could include only two days of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales. With the new iPhones not faring as well as Apple expected or would have preferred, it would be interesting to see Apple’s report for the next quarter. There will be more colourful bits of news for both Apple loyalists as well as haters once that report is made public. Hold your breath until then.
When the Facebook Messenger was launched for the first time in August 2011 as a standalone app for mobile phones, it was unclear where the company is headed with it. No doubt it was very convenient to have quick access to all Facebook messages, but the app didn’t serve any other purpose beyond that. In the face of other IM services like WhatsApp and Blackberry Messenger, the app was almost useless.
Other than eating up a lot of the phone memory and battery, Facebook Messenger for mobile phones did not do much. However, with the recent updates to the Messenger it seems Facebook might be headed somewhere with it.
Post the update of the Facebook Messenger, users would no longer require phone numbers to communicate with each other. Only your name and Facebook Messenger would be sufficient for people to contact you. The “Other Folder” would cease to exist and the user would have the option of accepting or rejecting new requests.
Messages of people in your Facebook contact list or those whose phone numbers are recorded in your synced phone would be directed towards your inbox. The others would simply fall under the category of ‘pending’ messages.
A message from a contact would be differentiated from one from a stranger and therefore would be presented to the user accordingly for response. Therefore those worried about privacy concerns can let go of the anxiety. Additionally, ‘ignoring’ people’s requests on the Messenger won’t give them any notification. So you can ignore the messages away without the fear of coming across as a sociopath.
This development in the Messenger seems like an attempt by the company to provide people a new mode of communication where they don’t even have to depend on phones or emails. They would instead have to depend on Facebook.
If there was a way for humanity to achieve a stage where there were no diseases, viruses, human frailties or any form of intellectual incompetence, why wouldn’t you want to stretch your hand and grasp it? But how far would you stretch it -is the question. Would you be willing to let go of humanity as we know it today?
The intricacies and nuances of the discussion are, of course, endless. Reasons both for and against it are just as meaty and relevant on both sides. Let’s begin with what Transhumanism essentially aims to achieve.
Internationally accepted symbol of transhumanism.
Transhumanism:
Transhumanism simply refers to a philosophy which seeks to improve the efficiency and capability of mankind using technological advancements. If you’ve ever wondered about cryogenics, you’ve had a brief fling with the notions of this philosophy. If evolution has led us to where we are today as a species, what should stop us from taking over from here and determining where we go next?
Achievements of Transhumanism:
Lasik eye surgery: Poor eye-sight is a handicap in itself and anybody who has suffered from it would understand the importance of the convenience of leading a life where glasses are not required for clear vision. Needless to say, Lasik eye surgeries have made lives easier for many people with zero or negligible side-effects at an affordable price.
Vaccination: Diseases like Smallpox and Rinderpest have been completely eradicated with the help of vaccinations. An enhanced immune system and protection from disease causing viruses is an outcome of scientific as well as technological advancements, thereby part of transhumanism.
Hearing Aids: Technology has ensured to set right impairments wherever it can, and this includes partial or complete deafness. Hearing aids have been around for a while now and have changed the lives of countless people all over the world.
A bionic man specimen in Washington.
Artificially Developed Limbs: Another contribution of transhumanism is prosthetic limbs. They have been developed as a direct offshoot of technological advancements for those who have undergone any kind of bodily amputation. It is an ever growing, ever expanding field of the medical industry and continues to make improvements with every passing day. Bionic men and cyborgs don’t seem that far a reality in contemporary times, do they now?
Iron Man: Need we say more? Go ahead and feast your eyes post all that serious tech-jargon.
A Cool Example of Transhumanism:
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been the talk of the town for a while now. This is a technique for speeding up reaction times and learning speed by -wait for it- supplying your brain by a very weak electric current. It has been practised by the US military to train snipers. This practice has its fair share of haters, and with good reason. But that doesn’t make it any less intriguing.
A Not So Cool Example of Transhumanism:
Transhumanism grapples with the idea of uploading your memories and thoughts to a computer -a la Dumbledore and his pensieve, just not as cool and a more than a little disturbing. Hollywood has given us enough examples on how wrong this can go, latest being the Johnny Depp starrer Transcendence.
Johnny Depp in Transcendence
Potential Pitfalls:
Growth and Stagnation: Transhumanism is often viewed as the epitome of growth and progress. Transhumanists believe humans are a work in progress of sorts and therefore why should our current stage be the final stage of evolution? Why shouldn’t we control the direction of evolution from here? The instinctive human need is to move forward, develop and evolve, but what if transhumanism is not a step towards evolution but towards stagnation instead?
If we truly manage to achieve a world with no diseases, perfect immunity and consequently, a drastically reduced or nil death rate, it would be interesting to see what becomes of our overly-populated planet. If we decide to let go of procreation to deal with the problem of limited space, it leaves us with a world frozen in stagnation. Not exactly what we had in mind when we set out with the growth proposition, is it now?
Dehumanization: Humans would cease to be what they are the moment external tampering with not simply a body part but the very core of existence begins, which is what transhumanism aims at. However, we are not sure if that’s exactly a bad idea or not.
Inequality: The fact that technology would be used for enhancing intelligence or the mortality rate also implies that it would entail a certain financial cost. This inadvertently means that money would determine intelligence and mortality of an individual, once again sparking off a whole set of debates about the consequent inequality this will lead to.
Android arm and human arm: A transhumanist version of Michaelangelo’s Creation of Adam
The Unknown Ahead: Honestly, no one has any clear idea of where we are headed with transhumanism. Those who endorse it may conjure up eutopic visions of a perfectly healthy and prosperous society, but the opposite side of the spectrum is also taken care of by those who reject transhumanism. Something as small and apparently harmless like smartphones have completely turned our lifestyle on its head, and given rise to a parallel reality of the virtual world. Let’s see where we end up with transhumanism.
A world of eternal life, superhuman strength, complete eradication of diseases and highly advanced mental faculties is what transhumanism seems to be offering. It has insidiously embed itself in our lives with present technologies like genetic engineering, information technology, and those in their more nascent form like molecular nanotechnology and artificial intelligence; all of it is a part of transhumanism. The question is, how much you will be willing to risk or get absorbed in.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in Delhi today and hosted a Townhall Q&A at the Indian Institute of Technology to a crowd of around 900 students. The visit was posted by Zuckerberg early this month on his Facebook page.
Zuckerberg had posted that he was eager to meet and hear directly from one of Facebook’s “most active and engaged communities.” India has the second largest user base of Facebook with over 130 million active users.
The Townhall Q&A started at 12 pm. Zuckerberg took the stage amidst a round of applause by the crowd. He expressed the importance of the Townhall Q&A in helping the social media site work better for every country.
Why India?
The questions began soon enough. The first question posed was regarding Zuckerberg’s interest in India. The Facebook CEO answered by saying that India still has a billion people who don’t have internet accessibility. One of his major interests is to bring basic internet access to as many people as possible, if not all. Zuckerberg is especially interested in bringing internet connectivity to rural areas. “We want to get the next billion people online,” said Zuckerberg.
“India is the largest democracy. It is one of the countries where you cannot connect the world without connecting India.”
Three Key Issues: Availability, Affordability and Awareness
A followup to the previous question was how Facebook plans on bringing internet to the rest of India. Naturally, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned Internet.org. He posed stats saying that the internet growth rate in India has doubled through Internet.org. Availability, affordability and awareness are three key areas that need to be addressed in order to bring internet.
Solar-powered planes that beam down connectivity, apps that use less data, Free Basics that provide basic information and communication tools not only provide free internet but also raise awareness of what can be found on the internet, are some of the ways the company plans on tackling the three issues.
“Internet.org and Facebook support Net Neutrality a hundred percent.”
Death to Candy Crush Invites
The top voted issue, that wasn’t exactly a surprise if you’ve been following Mark Zuckerberg’s post, was how to avoid getting Candy Crush invites. Based on the sheer number of votes, the question deserved to be asked. However, the answer did not help concerned and annoyed citizens. Zuckerberg stated that the company is working on getting rid of the problem. “I told my developers that can we have a solution to this problem (Candy Crush requests on Facebook) by the time I do my Q/A… So we are doing it now.”
Facebook VR and Artificial Intellegence: A Connected Future
Other questions asked were related to Facebook’s VR technology as well as artificial intelligence. With VR, the company wants to make video experience on Facebook more real than ever. And with AI, Facebook wants to make content more accessible for everyone, especially the physically handicapped. So, for example, a person who is blind will be able to understand a picture by having Facebook’s AI describe the picture.
There were some lighthearted moments during the Q&A where Zuckerberg was asked what he would do if he had superpowers given by aliens. Zuckerberg answered by talking about the VR headset that is very much like having superpowers, or at least will be in 10 years time. “Through technology, you can pretty much have abilities similar to super powers.”
Towards he end of the Q&A, Zuckerberg spoke about startups and the importance of knowing what you want to do rather than going in with little or no knowledge.
“None of the people who built big companies thought that they would be as big as they ended up being… So my advice is focus on what you care about and not the decision to start a company”
Apple -that one company everyone loves to hate is in the news again. And this time for making incredible amounts of money at the end of another fiscal fourth quarter. The California-based tech giant announced its revenue and profit for the quarter which ended on the 26th of September. The company reports a quarterly revenue of $51.5 billion and a quarterly net profit of $11.1 billion. This is in contrast with numbers in the same quarter last year which were $42.1 billion along with a net profit of $8.5 billion. Yes, that’s a lot of money.
There was an increase in the sales of iPhones, Apple Watches and Macs in the final quarter, helping the company increase its revenues. However, since the quarter ended on the 26th of last month, only a two day sale period of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus can be taken into account for this. Even though Apple fell a little short of the expected sales of these new iPhones they are still faring well in the rest of the world. However, this is not true for India where these devices have not received a very enthusiastic response. Owing to a price difference of almost Rs. 20,000 in India and the US.
“This continued success is the result of our commitment to making the best, most innovative products on earth, and it’s a testament to the tremendous execution by our teams.”
This is what Tim Cook has to say about the new reports. Yes, it has definitely got nothing to do with some brilliant marketing strategies and publicity tactics which is responsible for a good chunk of attention Apple always manages to draw to itself. With companies like Samsung and Microsoft making devices with similar or better specs, Apple should be commended on always managing to convince customers to shell out just that extra wad of cash and opt for its devices instead of cheaper, better counterparts. Would you be willing to stake your money on Apple or do you think other companies have better to offer at a far less price?
We’ve been hearing about it for a while now. BlackBerry will soon be out with the BlackBerry Priv and we will know if the company’s Android-powered gamble has paid off or not. Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of rumours and leaks about the device that have revealed everything there is to it.
But now that we know what to expect, let’s see whether BlackBerry can bounce back with the Priv or not. Let’s have a look at what’s going for the Priv and what isn’t.
The Good
The BlackBerry Priv is the company’s last lifeline. BlackBerry is literally going all in with this one, which means that it will do everything it can to make sure the device is everything a BlackBerry fan (if there are any left) hopes for. This is a good thing. This means that the company will look to work on some key areas that were a problem with its previous phones such as having more native apps and freedom to customise.
This is also one of the reasons the Priv is the company’s first Android-powered device. BlackBerry knows that its own OS has been far too restrictive. Furthermore, every mobile brand (except Apple) has either adopted Android or has left the game. So, there really was’t much of an option for BlackBerry.
Let’s talk about the device now. Yes, it’s Android-powered, but it is very much a BlackBerry phone. Privacy and security is of major importance here and that’s what Priv stands for. The handset is a hybrid. It has a full touchscreen as well as a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. This means the phone caters to both touchscreen fans as well as keyboard loyalists. And given that very few devices today offer a keyboard, this may just work in BlackBerry’s favour.
The phone looks sleek despite having a slide-out keyboard. It has the traditional BlackBerry feel to it and a bit of nostalgia is always welcome. From the promo of the Priv, the UI and overall functionality looks smooth, but one can’t judge everything from a video clip.
Finally, renders of the handset suggest that the Priv will have a curved display similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Edge series. Sure, BlackBerry is borrowing ideas here, but at least it’s open to trying something different.
The Bad
It has been a few years since BlackBerry has been in the game. In today’s world, a break of 2-3 years can be really bad. You have a number of new players today. Startups like OnePlus have done well to gain a fan base. The competition is fierce, to say the least. Can BlackBerry take them on?
Two years is enough for loyalties to change. No doubt there were and perhaps still are BlackBerry loyalists. But it is also safe to assume that BlackBerry has lost a lot (and we mean a lot) of customers over the years. So the company may not see sales of the Priv take off initially, as was the case with Z10, its previous handset. Sales of the phone will mostly rely on how initial customers take to it and by word of mouth. Yes, it is not easy to convince people to buy your product today. Especially when it comes to a smartphone.
The Ugly
It all boils down to the price, really. And from what we have heard and is pretty much confirmed now, the Priv will come with a not-so-modest price tag of $699. What’s more, the Indian pricing of the device is rumoured to be over Rs. 50,000. Now this is a serious gamble by the company. Many potential buyers were hoping that the Priv will be reasonably priced. Given that this is a comeback phone, one would have expected the company to focus on getting as many units out as possible. But at $699, we’re just not sure how many handsets will make it out of the stores.
The price is especially ridiculous given that there are loads of other phones out there that are cheaper and provide better specs than the Priv. In case you’re wondering, the Priv is said to come with a Snapdragon 808 processor and 3 GB of RAM with 32 GB extendable storage. It features a 5.5 -inch curved display with a 1440×2560 pixel resolution and 537ppi. Finally, the Priv has an 18 MP primary camera and a 5 MP front. Now while the specs of the Priv aren’t bad, it certainly doesn’t deserve a Rs. 50,000 price tag.
But this is just what we feel right now. The phone will be out soon enough and so will the verdict. For now, you can leave your comments below on whether you think BlackBerry has a win with the Priv or not.
2. The Apple Watch is set to arrive in India next month: Despite being globally launched as early as March this year, the Apple Watch is going up for sale in India on the 6th of November. Prices are expected to start from Rs. 35,000.
4. Samsung launches two budget phones in China: Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7, expected to make their appearance in India early next month, have been launched in China. They are currently priced at $150 and $200 respectively.
5. iPhone 6s arrives to a disappointing response in India: iPhone 6s sales has not seen the same enthusiasm as iPhones always witnessed in India. One of the main reasons for it could be the price which is almost Rs. 20,000 higher than its price in the US.
If you have any tech related questions, leave them in the comments below or put them up on Twitter with the hashtag #WYWO .
