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Report: Pre-Order the New iPhone 6s, 6s Plus September 11 Onwards

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are both said to arrive on the 9th of September 2015. However, a leaked image from a company in France suggests that its employees can start pre-ordering the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, starting September 11th 2015.

This new date also would suggest that the announcement of the two new iPhones should be on the 8th or 9th September, thereby further confirming rumours. According to these reports then, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus should be available from the 18th of September 2015.

These new devices are expected to come with a 12MP camera, an A9 SoC, 2GB of RAM, and the much awaited Force Touch. Apple, however, has not confirmed any of the rumours.

Source

August 22, 2015
Asus Deluxe Edition Zenfone 2 Comes With 256GB Internal Storage

Asus has unveiled the Deluxe Special Edition of Asus Zenfone 2 in Brazil on Friday. The feature that makes this phone truly ‘deluxe’ is the fact that it comes with a 256 GB of internal storage.

Other general specifications include, a Gorilla Glass 3 protected 5.5-inch display with a 1080 x 1920 resolution, an Intel Atom Z3580 SoC along with an octa-core 2.5GHz CPU and a PowerVR G6430 GPU. The phone also comes with an additional expandable microSD card slot up to 128GB along with a 4GB of RAM space.

The camera comes with a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. Other connectivity features include, 4G LTE (Cat.6), 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS connectivity, Dual SIM, Dual Active capabilities and the Asus Boostmaster fast charging technology. It is powered by a 3000mAh battery and runs on the Android 5.0 with Zen UI.

Along with all this, the Deluxe Edition Zenfone 2 also comes with an exclusive version of the racing game Asphalt 8, and two new back covers -Black with red, and White with red.

The Asus ZenFone 2 Deluxe Special Edition will be available in Brazil next month. Pricing of the product is unknown for now, as is its availability for other countries.

August 22, 2015
Apple Begins Replacing iPhone 6 Plus’ With Faulty Cameras

Apple Inc. has announced the launch of its iSight Camera replacement program for the iPhone 6 Plus. This program is said to help replace the camera module in some of the iPhone 6 Plus devices that have allegedly come with a faulty rear camera.

According to some statistical reports, some of the iPhone 6 Plus models that were sold between September 2014 to January 2015 might have had a component that made photos to look blurry. This particular component also prevents the camera from focusing and could be related to the Optical Image Stabilization, since this device also comes with a much larger screen.

Therefore, all the iPhone 6 Plus models that are facing this problem and have an eligible serial number will get their cameras replaced by Apple, free of cost.This service can be obtained through Apple’s online support team, an Apple retail store, or an Apple Authorized Service Provider.

The company has recommended users to back up their data to iTunes or iCloud in order to get ready for the replacement process, and iPhones that have other damages need to be fixed first, before replacement of the new camera.

Specifically, this new iSight Camera Replacement Program will cover iPhone 6 Plus iSight cameras for three years after the first retail sale of the unit.

Click here to check if your iPhone 6 Plus eligible for the program.

August 22, 2015
Upcoming Android Devices Will Come With Less Google Bloatware

We had earlier reported about how Samsung was planning to introduce apps to delete bloatware in China. It has now been reported that Android users all around the world will soon be getting less bloatware on their phones. Therefore apps like – Google+, Google Play Games, Google Play Books and Google Newsstand will not come pre-installed.

Some new devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 already doesn’t have Google+ pre-installed. The problem of bloatware did upset many customers and perhaps even companies that decided to use Android as their operating system. Hence, if a company wanted to make an Android handset with the Gmail app, it would also necessarily have to pre-install Google+ and Google Newsstand on it.

However, this new report does not mean that the pre-installed apps are soon to become redundant; they will be available on Google Play Store for those who want them and will be regularly updated too. This new move seems to give users a chance to choose what they do with their storage and companies a chance to provide more storage space and memory to the users.

Source

August 22, 2015
List of Samsung Devices First in Line to Receive Marshmallow
We had recently announced the introduction of Android’s new update called the Android 6.0 Marshmallow. New reports now suggest that there are plans for this new edition to be updated on a few Samsung smartphones, once it is released. The Marshmallow is said to bring with it features such as – app permissions, memory usage tracking, power saving, auto back up etc.

A rumour suggest that the initial batch of Samsung’s Android gear could be updated to the Android 6.0 Marshmallow. This list includes the:
- Samsung Galaxy Note5
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Duos
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Duos
- Samsung Galaxy Note Edge
- Samsung Galaxy ALPHA
- Samsung Galaxy Tab A
However, this information has not been confirmed by Samsung but according to the rumours, these devices should get updated by early 2016.

For more information on Android Marshmallow, click here.

Source
August 21, 2015
Upcoming Samsung Note 5 Variant Might Come With a 4100 mAh Battery

Recent rumours suggest that the Galaxy Note 5 might actually come with a 4,100 mAh battery after all. These rumours were flying around even before the product released, however, were proved wrong once the Galaxy Note 5 was seen to arrive with a 3,000 mAh battery only.

PhoneArena reports that the Galaxy Note 5 Active model, which will be released in November this year will sport a 4,100 mAh battery. This upgraded device is said to release on AT&T, and along with the new battery will come with an IP68 waterproofing certification.

Even though these rumours remain unconfirmed, we do know that Samsung had once upgraded the Galaxy S6 Active similarly. So, this might after all be good news for Samsung users.

The speculated date of release is – 8th of November 2015.

August 21, 2015
Report : Google India Takes a Stand Against Net Neutrality

According to various news reports, Google could be lobbying against net neutrality in India, as it has been asking the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to support zero rating plans.

The zero rating plans allow people to use certain web services for free, this basically also allows telecom operators to selectively offer its users access to certain applications/websites without incurring any data charges. Therefore, any telecom company that signs up for this plan would have to pay the telecom provider a large sum of money in order to make their apps and services free for users.

Early this year, Airtel had decided to offer its own Airtel Zero plan in India. This plan was said to be in violation of net neutrality. Very recently though, MediaNama reported an email exchange between Google and the IAMAI, which suggested that Google was trying to push for the removal of zero rating plans from the IAMAI’s submission to the Department of Telecom. Google has further argued that there was no unanimity among internet companies on this issue and therefore, should be removed.

In the recent past, Google has been a part of the zero rated plan, but has put it on hold to provide free data to end users in India. Some companies have still not responded to the net neutrality debate in India, however, Facebook is reported to have taken a stand supporting zero rating.

Let us know your comments on the zero rating plans and net neutrality.

Source

August 21, 2015
Check Out Samsung’s Bold New Move To Challenge Apple Head-On

In a rather bold move by Samsung, the South Korean smartphone company has launched a new promotional offer that is aimed directly at iPhone users. They will now let iPhone users take one of the three new models for the “ultimate test drive” for a full month!

Customers will need to visit the special Samsung website from their iPhone in order to qualify for this offer. Once logged in, you will have your current carrier and then select which Galaxy model you would like to try. Currently, the Galaxy S6 Edge, S6 Edge+ and Note 5 are on the list.

After choosing the phone you will have to enter some basic information along with your credit card details. Those who continue to use the product beyond the 30-day trial period, will be charged the full price, while those who return it on time will only be charged $1.

After completing all the necessary steps, you will be charged $1 to verify your credit card details and then you should receive your test phone soon. The phone is said to come with a data plan, however, it has not yet been mentioned whether it will be a limited or special unlimited plan for testers.

So, iPhone users, are you ready to give Samsung a chance?

August 21, 2015
China Times: Apple Might Reveal the iPhone 6C in November

We are all awaiting the two new iPhones that are expected to be launched this September – the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. The 6S is expected to come with a 4.7 inch display, while the 6S Plus might come with a 5.5 inch display.

However, rumours say that the third product is now expected to be launched only in November. This new device is speculated as being the iPhone 6C. According to further reports, Foxconn is planning to increase its workforce in order to manage iPhone output better, and an insider from Foxconn has also allegedly said that they would be making the iPhone 6C for Apple soon.

No final announcement about this has been made by Apple Inc, but they are expected to unveil their 2015 iPhones on the 9th of September and then launch them on 18th September 2015.

August 21, 2015
Here’s the 16 Year Old Who’s Challenging Google Search

16 year old, Anmol Tukrel is an Indian-origin Canadian citizen who is now challenging the Google search engine. He has designed a personalised search engine that he claims is 47 percent more accurate than Google and is 21 percent more accurate, on an average.

This search engine was created as part of a project for the Google Science Fair, which is a global online competition open to students aged 13 to 18 years. He said that he took a few months and approximately 60 hours to code the engine. This is what he told Times of India:

“I thought I would do something in the personalized search space. It was the most genius thing ever. But when I realised Google already does it, I tried taking it to the next level.”

Tukrel’s development is also said to be the only computer with around 1GB of free storage space, a python-language development environment, a spreadsheet program and an access to Google and New York Times. Reports also suggest that, in order to test the accuracy of his search engine, he limited the search quest to this year’s articles from New York Times.

This development is also said to take into account location or browsing history, but also tries to understand context and meaning.

So, does India already have the next Google CEO in the making?

August 21, 2015
Gartner: China Smartphone Sales Drop In the Second Quarter

New reports suggest that smartphone sales in China have fallen for the first time in their second quarter. This report come as a surprise, since China is the world’s biggest market for smartphones.

Sales had dropped by 4 percent making it the first year-over-year fall said Gartner Inc, a market research company.

“China has reached saturation — its phone market is essentially driven by replacement, with fewer first-time buyers,” said Anshul Gupta, research director at Gartner.

They also said that the worldwide smartphones sales grew at the slowest pace since 2013, with China accounting for 30 percent of the total smartphones sales during this second quarter.

However, Apple’s smartphone sales rose to 14.6 percent from 12.2 percent, a year earlier. In fact, the iPhone sale in China rose by 68 percent to 11.9 million units. These numbers are attributed to Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Samsung is also said to have suffered a fall to 21.9 percent from 26.2 percent, despite the introduction of the S6 models.

Huawei on the other hand, reported the highest sales growth rate at 46.3 percent due to strong international sales and 4G smartphone sales in China. So, let’s hope that China’s smartphones that have taken India by storm, positively impact China too.

August 21, 2015
Top 5 Features of Android Marshmallow
Three days ago, Google announced the sweet its Android OS was named after; Marshmallow. Now that it’s out in the open, let’s take a look at 5 noteworthy features it has:
1. App Permissions : You’re the Boss
This feature has gotten a makeover and Google will now allow users to take a call on which permissions they want to allow or revoke, based on the usage of these functions. Unlike right now, where you don’t have a choice but to agree to all app permissions on first install or updates, in Android M, you will get a notification asking you to allow an app to use a specific function.

Google helps to give permission in parameters like, location, camera, contacts etc. So if you’re using WhatsApp and you want to send a voice message, the App Permissions tab will pop up, asking you for permission to use the microphone. You can also revoke the permission later if you so wish. This is exactly the way Apple handles it on iOS.

2. Better Web Experience: Custom Chrome Tabs

The web browsing experience has been further enhanced with Chrome Custom tabs, a new feature, that will let you include webviews within a particular app, without switching to the Chrome browser on your phone. Features such as automatic sign-in, saved passwords, autofill etc., will work on the apps seamlessly. The Chrome Custom tab also blends with the colours and fonts of the app it is being opened with to make it more seamless than it already is.

3. App Linking

Known as Intents, Android currently supports the app linking system, which lets you open a web link in a web browser or app. Before, if you had a Twitter link in, say your inbox and you clicked on it, you got a prompt asking if you want to open the link in your browser or within the Twitter app, which is installed on your phone.

So now, Android M will first let developers add an auto-verify feature within their code, which will, in turn, help open the link within the respective app (provided the app is installed on your phone). Instead of giving you the option. Don’t worry about the security because it is only after post-authentication and verification, that this feature will follow through.

4. Android Pay

With this feature, all you need to do is unlock your phone, keep it near and NFC (near-field communication) terminal and voila, your payment is done. You don’t even have to open the app for this because payments are done by using NFC and host card emulation techniques for smooth tap-to-pay services.

Worried about security again? Google claims that once you share your credit card details, it creates a virtual account number. So, your real card number isn’t actually shared with the store you’ve shopped from.

5. Power management

Since battery is a perpetual problem, Android M will feature something called ‘Doze’ that will optimally manage the background processes.The OS keeps a watch on the motion detection sensor and if it sees no activity for a while, it shuts down some processes. However, alarms and high priority notifications can still be activated on this mode. Confident about this feature, Google claims that it helped the Nexus 9 to increase its stand by time by almost double, as compared to Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Although those were just top 5, features like the standardised finger support and the USB Type-C for charging support, will just make your life easier. You can authorise an Android Pay transaction, unlock your device or make Play Store purchases, all with the sensor. Similarly, a USB Type-C has a bi-directional port which you can use to charge the phone along with another device.
August 21, 2015

Karbonn Launches the Affordable Aura 9 With a 4,000 mAh Battery

Having a smartphone with endless battery is something most of us dream about. Karbonn has launched the new Aura 9 smartphone with a 4,000mAh battery in India, today. This phone is priced at Rs. 6,390 and offers up to 10 hours of talk time and 300 hours of standby time.

The Karbonn Aura 9 comes with a 5-inch HD (1280×720 pixels) IPS-LCD display and a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM space. It has an internal storage of 8GB that is expandable up to 32GB via a microSD card slot.

On the camera front, it comes with an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front camera. Other connectivity options include dual-SIM card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. The device is run on the Android 4.4 KitKat OS and also supports the Smart Gesture Control feature that allows for quick navigation, even when the phone is locked. Apart from the powerful battery, another ineteresting feature is that the Karbonn Aura 9 will come with a support for 21 regional languages.

Here are the specifications:

Features	Karbonn Aura 9
Display	5-inch HD, IPS-LCD display
Resolution	1280×720 pixels
Processor	1.2GHz quad-core
OS	Android 4.4 KitKat
RAM	1GB
Storage	8GB internal storage with microSD card expandable up to 32GB.
Rear Camera	8MP with LED flash
Front Camera	5MP
Connectivity	dual-SIM card slots, 3G support, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0
Battery	4,000 mAh
Price	Rs.6,390

Watch this space for more updates.

August 20, 2015

Huawei Releases the Honor 7i With an Interesting New Camera Design

Huawei has released a new smartphone in Beijing called the Honor 7i with a flip-up camera at the back.

The flip up camera at the back allows you to use the Honor 7i’s rear-facing camera as a front-facing camera as well. It can actually be set at any angle within 180 degrees and come with a 13MP sensor with a f/2.0 aperture. The special features include, Auto Exposure, Auto White Balance, Automatic Face Recognition and Auto Smile Shutter. The camera is also said to be able to provide low-light performance due to SLR grade iSP.

Another interesting feature is it’s side-placed fingerprint scanner. The other features of this phone also include a 5.2-inch 1080p LCD Negative display, along with 3GB of PDDR3 RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

The smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 616 64-bit octa-core processor and comes with a 3100 mAh battery. Other connectivity features include a dual-SIM and 4G LTE connectivity.

The Honor 7i is up for pre-order today starting at 1,599 Yuan (approx Rs.16,382). However, there are no reports suggesting if the company will release the product outside Asia or not.

In the mean time, watch the video:

August 20, 2015
Samsung May Release a Dual-SIM Variant For the Note 5 and S6 Edge+

We have covered Samsung’s newly released handsets – the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+. Both devices created a frenzy before its release, however some users might have been disappointed when they found out that neither of the products came with a dual-SIM nor an expandable storage. Worry no more because according to reports, both these handsets will soon be available with a dual-SIM mode. But, there are no reports of the devices to include an expandable microSD slot yet. All other specifications will be the same.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ Dual SIM is reportedly available for purchase on eBay, from a seller in Singapore. The seller also claims to have all four colour options in his stock and has priced the device at $999.99 (approx. Rs.65,469). The device will be shipped to the purchaser via FedEx, say reports.

There have been no official reports as to which markets will be getting the dual-SIM models however, going by the previous sales production techniques of Samsung, we can probably expect the dual-SIM versions to become available almost everywhere, soon.

August 20, 2015