These days if there is another gadget which is more sought after than a smartphone, it’s a powerbank. Since smartphone manufacturers have failed miserably at providing batteries that last more than a day, the powerbank industry is currently booming.
OnePlus and Xiaomi, two manufactures that entered the Indian market last year, recently launched their own battery packs in the country. If you haven’t noticed, the young Chinese companies have kept an eye on each other. Their current flagships, the Mi4 and the One, both come with similar specifications and a similar price tag. So much so that the OnePlus One and Xiaomi Mi4 have even faced price cuts at the same time.
Now it seems like OnePlus and Xiaomi are playing the same game with their powerbanks.
OnePlus, after teasing their portable charger endlessly, finally brought it to India earlier this month. The charger provides 10,000mAh of power, can easily slip in your pocket and apparently charges the OnePlus One 3 times on a single charge. OnePlus introduced the power bank at an affordable price tag of Rs. 1,399. Less than a month later, Xiaomi retaliated.
Yesterday, Xiaomi announced they’re bringing in the massive 16,000mAh external battery, priced same as OnePlus’ power bank, down to the last Rupee.
Other than the amount of power they provide and their design, the two power banks are almost identical in features. Both feature two USB 2.0 ports and one Micro-USB port; both can charge two devices at the same time. Since it’s an additional device you need to carry around, it is worth mentioning that the OnePlus power bank weighs 225g and the Xiaomi power bank weighs, 350g.
We have an inkling that the OnePlus powerbank may face a price cut within the next few weeks. Only time will tell how the company decides to play its cards – it’s time for their move.
It is shocking when one of the largest cab services in the world suffer a blow like Uber did in 2014, in India. The rape unnerved thousands and the company’s fortunes sank in a country where they had the largest following, after the US.
A year later, Uber has recovered and has come a long way from having a marred reputation. They recently revised their privacy policies and have resolved to tighten their riders security. There’s no room for worry because here’s why Uber just got safer and hence, cooler.
We care deeply about the privacy of our riders and drivers. It’s why we’re always looking at ways to improve our practices.
[pullquote_right] the driver can access your personal data and past rides only if you wish. [/pullquote_right] Recently, Uber’s Katherine Tassi, who manages the Counsel of Data Privacy at Uber Technologies, announced that Uber has doubled the size of their privacy team and tightened the leash on their policies. That means three important benefits:
Uber will now make sharing background information of the rider, optional. This means that the driver can access your personal data and past rides only if you wish.
The texts that have been shared between the driver and rider will be accessible to the company so there is a limited scope of malicious activities.
It will also have an option to share your contacts with the app. This means that your friends and family can receive exciting new offers, if you wish to give Uber that information.
With their privacy and security in place, the app is likely to be updated on July 15th.
[tw-divider][/tw-divider]
Unfortunately, India isn’t going to experience the other updates that have taken place. Uber has partnered with Spotify to bring your type of music to your cab ride, when you’re party hopping or just heading home on a regular day. It would’ve been great to have this feature as one can just connect their Spotify account to the music tab of their Uber app and listen to their favourite tracks, instead of balmy item numbers or loud Radio Jockeys. Hopefully, Uber will develop an alternative for their growing number of riders in India.
Lastly, many might not know that one can only book an Uber minutes or half an hour before they want a ride. This is very tricky for nervous travellers who want to be organised and book a cab at least a day in advance. You don’t want to bank on it if you have an early morning flight to catch. Nevertheless, if you do trust Uber showing up on time and if you’re a disorganised traveller, this feature wouldn’t bother you too much.
As of yesterday, the internet was in a frenzy with people saying how fed up they were with a code that shuts down their iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches. The hardy giant that is known for its immunity against any virus, witnessed an obstinate bug take over its OS.
The ‘Unicode of Death’ as it is called, is said to have a code that contains Marathi and Arabic symbols. When sent as a text message, it shuts down your iPhone, causing it to reboot without prior notice and even crashes apps. The bug is so effective that it can even work when the message shows up on your home screen.
The crashing seems to occur in iOS 8.1, iOS 8.2 and iOS 8.3 versions and can be transferred from Android to iOS.
We are aware of an iMessage issue caused by a specific series of unicode characters and we will make a fix available in a software update.
While Apple issued a statement acknowledging the problem, they also gave tips for a temporary solution.The company even promised that an upcoming software update will fix the problem permanently. Until then, here are the official instructions from the company:
Ask Siri to “read unread messages.”
Use Siri to reply to the malicious message. After you reply, you’ll be able to open Messages again.
In Messages, swipe left to delete the entire thread. Or tap and hold the malicious message, tap More, and delete the message from the thread.
9to5Mac, an online magazine dedicated to Apple, also suggested three more ways to combat the bug. Keep yourself armed with these tips:
1. Tell the offender to immediately send another message thereby cancelling the effect of the initial strand.
2. Send yourself a message via Siri, the share sheet or your Mac.
3. Some users said that sending a photo via the photo app can allow them to access the message history and delete the conversation.
Most people are using the code as a revenge tool against their ex-boyfriends and girlfriends and some are enjoying pranking their friends. While the problem seems to annoy some, it’s leaving others amused.
However, The ‘Unicode of Death’ can adversely affect your device if not handled with caution. Beware.
In the physical world, it may be difficult for you to cut some annoying people from your life. And admit it, we’ve all been in that situation where we wish we could ‘block’ that obnoxious boss, a lecherous acquaintance or maybe a spiteful ex, without confrontation. Facebook understands this and makes it super easy to shut someone out, without being harassed. Here is a three-step process to severe ties, instantly. Just virtually, of course.
1. Go to the profile of the person you wish to block.
2. Click the three dots “…” alongside Message and a list will appear
3. Select ‘Block’ to restrict the person from sharing things with you.
How Does Facebook Blocking Help?
As soon as you confirm, the user will be blocked from receiving any notifications from you. Blocking is not permanent and you may choose to unblock anyone, anytime. It’s extremely efficient and the person will not be notified about the blocking. He/She can’t even find you on the social networking site, even if they try. If that sounds a bit harsh, then there are options to unfriend them or hide the particular post which you don’t want to see on your wall.
There are no surprises that the first lot of the Yuphoria sold out within seconds. The inception of YU as a brand is relatively recent. However, Micromax, its parent company, has been around for a while. Yu was started as an online exclusive spinoff resulting in deeper competition for the likes of Xiaomi and others who mastered this domain. The success of the Yureka has proved that Indian brands are ready to change their old decaying methods
The Yuphoria is YU’s new handset. However, the company is not pegging it as a sequel, more like a different segment hero. The Yuphoria is their budget end of the spectrum, but YU as a company have ensured that people don’t think of this handset as a budget handset.
Overview
The Yuphoria is priced at a low Rs 6999/- however it packs in a big bang for its buck. Good construction is what YU and Rahul Sharma played off well while launching this device. Packed with more than you can expect from a budget handset. However, the market is now saturated, with the likes of Honor, Xiaomi, and Lenovo. So what makes the Yuphoria different and why is it getting attention? For Starters, in its entirety the Yuphoria handset will be assembled in India. It was made clear at the launch that the initial lot would come from China, however, post the first few thousands, the Yuphoria will be assembled in their local plant in India.
Hardware
The Yuphoria promises a lot and packs a decent set too. No, it is not game changing in performance, but its got a good lineup.
For a price of Rs. 6999/- one begins as thinking of this handset from YU as a no-brainer.
Specification
YU Yuphoria
Display
5-inch IPS HD
Resolution
1280×720 pixel (294ppi)
Additional
Protected by Gorilla Glass 3
Processor
1.2GHz Quad Core, ARM Cortex- A53
Chipset
Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 | 64bit
GPU
Adreno A306 3D Graphics Core | 400 MHz
RAM
2GB
Internal Memory
16GB
Expandable Up to
64 GB
Sim Cards
2 x LTE Enabled Sim Card Slots
Primary Camera
8MP
Secondary Camera
5MP
Connectivity Options
4G LTE
Battery
2,230mAh
Operating System
Cyanogen 12.0 (Android 5.0 based)
Price
Rs. 6,999
Build and Design
[pullquote_left] The included screen protector is a great freebie [/pullquote_left]
The YU Yuphoria may be a budget handset, but it feels like a lot more. The phone has fantastic construction for its price, an all metal frame, made from stamped parts, which have been laser welded into place. The edges give the phone a lot of rigidity and strength, which in turn gives a reassuring feeling to the holder. The back has a soft touch rubberized back panel, which is not prone to fingerprints. The fat lens cap, however, is like an oil slick ; slippery and constantly smudgy.
The design is very Lumia-like and resembles good-old Nokia Lumia handsets with the metal frame shape and fat lens in the back centre. There is a very slight, almost negligible, lip on the front glass of the handset that may attribute to some protection for the front glass. However the included screen protector is a great freebie, especially for a device that may not see case manufacturers running after it.
Performance and OS (Cyanogen)
The Yuphoria is not a benchmark king, but then again it costs Rs 6999. We ran several benchmark tests, and the results were average. We weren’t surprised by the performance because the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 is fairly limited in capability. However the way cyanogen is built, and the use of Android 5.0.2 on the inside will make day to day operations a breeze. Expect no lag in the usage of the device, while switching from and to backgrounded apps, making calls, browsing the internet.
The 64-bit architecture comes into play here, and while you won’t get the best “extreme” performance scenarios, the handset can handle high-end games at lower graphics.
No special points for guessing that Cyanogen 12 works well on the Yuphoria. The Lollipop version of Android with Cyanogen’s custom tweaks have made sense for this budget device, eliminating daily bothersome lags. Post many days of use, the operating system on the device remains smooth.
Many things are easier thanks to Cyanogen. You get tap to wake and sleep, but you don’t get screen-off gestures that let you turn on the flashlight or jump into the camera.
Benchmark results were off the usual expectations, and low. If you are expecting a performance workhorse, this truly is not your price segment, nor is the Yuphoria your device. This device runs smoothly through the day and will keep up with almost all sorts of usage as long as you are not going to work it too hard. It tends to heat up, however, the plastic back panel doesn’t let you bear the brunt of it. The metal frame appears to have been insulated to prevent it from getting hot.
Multimedia and Camera
YU’s promotions prior to the launch of the Yuphoria included a music demo which showed off the loudness of the speakers. No, do not expect that at all. However, the AAC Technologies manufactured speakers are loud and clear and placing the Yuphoria flat on the table causes them to muffle out.
The camera is an interesting mix while the Yuphoria has a smaller MP size it has a wider aperture lens. You also get a big 1.4-micron pixel size that drastically improves low light performance. However, when the images are viewed on a larger screen, noise is apparent.
The front facing camera is equipped with a 5 MP sensor that allows for higher resolution imagery however images are still noisy. Contrast is pretty good, and colour saturation is more accurate than many in this segment, but still off.
Cyanogen’s camera app is the same as what you saw in the previous version and adds just a few changes. Functionality remains simple, and you can swipe down to add effects/filters and jump to the settings to enable face detection etc. The camera is fast and snappy especially for a shooter in this class. YU paid special focus to the camera at the time of launch, however, it may not be a magical clicking machine that they promised, but it does overtake many in the region.
Phone and Networks
What good is a smartphone that makes no calls? The Yuphoria does not have that problem. The phone has been designed to accept 4G Sim Cards, which might be an excellent option. However, considering the rollout speeds of India’s 4G capabilities, you might be many models down by the time you get to use it.
The LTE band support makes the phone great for travel, again something that may only be useful depending on how much you travel. The connectivity is good, and dropped calls appear to be a non-issue with the Yuphoria.
Battery
Unlike the Yureka, the Yuphoria has great battery life and there are no signs of the heating issues mentioned before.
Talk time standards were good when tested with 3G network, giving an average of 6 hours of talk time in a day of use.
The battery also charges quickly, giving you a full charge in about 1.5 hours. However, it’s not the fastest we have seen. The supplied “fast charge” charger would be the best way to charge this handset.
Battery Test
2G
3G
WiFi
NO Connection
Phone Calls
8 Hr
6 Hr
N/A
NA
Gaming
N/A
N/A
7 hours
8.5 hours
Music Playback
10 Hr
10 Hr
9 Hr
13 Hr
Internet Only
10 Hr
6 Hr
4.5 Hr
N/A
Conclusion
In a market that is a mess, with all kinds of phones from all kinds of companies, there seems to be some hope. The YU Yuphoria illustrates that you don’t need to pack loads of money to get a good smartphone experience. That’s what the Yuphoria is; A Good Smartphone Experience. But, it also just stops there, leaving a large void for improvements. As technology becomes more and more affordable, you might see what you call today “high end” trickle down to this price bracket sooner than you expect.
[pullquote_left] The Yuphoria will not impress the true geeks, the power hungry or even the benchmark crazy [/pullquote_left]
The Yuphoria makes for a good first smartphone, a good built premium feel smartphone, a good gift, a great new Android phone if you are replacing something in this price bracket, or even a second phone to already have a special device. The Yuphoria will not impress the true geeks, the power hungry or even the benchmark crazy. The Camera is good, the battery is good and phone call capabilities are excellent. Cyanogen makes for the best experience of “Raw Android,” and the Yuphoria gives it at a mighty impressive price tag.
Just like any other domain, you do have alternatives from Lenovo and Xiaomi. But none of them run Cyanogen, and none of them are made of metal.
Google kicked off its annual developers’ conference, the 2015 I/O yesterday in San Francisco, California. As anticipated, the search engine giant threw light on the much-awaited version of Android OS, disclosing functions of Android M in fine detail. Along with some anticipated features like app permissions, Photo app, Android Pay; there are many more additions to the Google ecosystem.
Here are all the important announcements by the company:
1. App Permissions
Google has tweaked Android M to terminate the traditional way of gaining app permissions. Unlike the current practice, users can permit apps to use a particular function and can also revoke its use. Google has defined eight parameters to give apps permission. These include camera, location, contacts, calendar and few more. With Android M, users can now easily understand the different parameters an app is accessing.
2. Resolved Battery Issue
With Android Lollipop, Battery drain was one of the major issues that ticked off Android users to a large extent. The tech giant has introduced a new feature that helps the phone battery run for an extended period of time. Dubbed as Doze, the feature uses motion detection to check if the smartphone is left unattended for a while. The screen then automatically goes to sleep, reducing the background activity; hence giving the phone a longer battery life.
3. Chrome Custom Tabs to Switch Between Apps
Android M comes with an interesting feature called Chrome Custom Tabs that appear like an in-app Chrome browser. It loads pages faster, filling vital information like email and password. Another important function is that it allows developers to add custom features on top of the apps. For example, Twitter can provide a tweet on any app, which will direct the user to the Twitter app loading it automatically. It allows for quick movements between two applications.
4. New Google Photos App
Google Photo app is a refurbished app with an ability to back up photos and videos, and that too free of cost. However, there is a restriction on their size, but you can upload as many as you wish. These images can be segregated on the basis of location, people, time interval and more. Besides the new app, some interface tools were also introduced for the purpose of sharing and making collages and turning them into movies. As per the company, the app is now available on Android, iOS and web.
5. Maps and Chrome Go Offline
This new feature by Google will help internet users access its products in every corner of the world. A dedicated search results page is built for faster loading by showing fewer images. Users will be able to save web pages offline just like YouTube videos. Along with that, Google Maps has been given a push offline where users can access a bunch of features with no internet connectivity like reviews and information, and give turn-by-turn directions offline. The feature will work in areas with poor internet connectivity.
6. Revamped Android Wear
Android Wear has been updated with a slew of new apps and features. There will be a convenient option to call Uber cabs now. Just like the always-on screen, apps will also remain on always showing information in black and white mode, taking care of the battery. Navigating through Google Maps to get constant direction status and many more features that requires the screen to be on, will be a lot easier. A new app launcher is inculcated as well, along with a feature to convert drawings to emojis.
7. Smart Home
Another expected update was the Smart Home launched along with an operating system Project Brillo and a communication system Weave. Brillo is a trimmed down version of Android, while the latter is Google’s IoT that allows devices to communicate with each other. Both the softwares work together to make your homes truly smart homes. Once both Brillo and Weave are installed on the smart devices, Weave can command devices like refrigerators, ovens, lift bulbs, door locks, etc. The system has build-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support.
8. HBO Now on Android
Far from our anticipation, Google announced the arrival of the streaming-only service HBO Now on Android and Chromecast. There is no definite time of its launch on the platform, but speculations are rife about it coming in June this year. Surprisingly, there are no fresh Chromecast or Android TV this time.
9. Redesigned Google Cardboard
Seeing the current trends of bigger phones, the tech major decided to reconstruct its affordable VR headset, Google Cardboard. The new version of Google Cardboard can hold phones with six inch displays. A cardboard button will appear on the new version instead of the original magnet clicker that is said to work with any phone. Google has launched a dedicated Cardboard app, along with a virtual reality education tool Expeditions for educational purpose. The bigger VR headset can be acquired through Google’s partners.
10. Google VR Camera Rig
The company seems to have given a deeper thought to the recently explored virtual reality domain. VR headsets have been available for quite a while, but the content for them was missing. Google in partnership with GoPro has built a VR camera rig, Jump, that is a 16-camera array designed to shoot 3D VR content. The VR camera rig will shoot content and the assembler of Google will weave them together figuring out the depth of different images. It can build content for the VR headsets as well as video-sharing websites like YouTube.
If you’ve been following the rich and fabulous life of Vincent Chase and his crew since the beginning, we know what you’re going to be doing on 3rd June. One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Entourage, releases next week, and creator Mark Wahlberg is doing everything he can to make sure we stay excited.
He reveals how closely the show resembles his life and tells us about the people behind the characters of Johnny, E and our personal favourite, Turtle.
Watch him talk about the upcoming movie here:
If you didn’t know already, Entourage is based on a HBO Comedy TV series. The show/movie trails the life of movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his boys, “E” (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), Drama (Kevin Dillon) and agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven). The boys live the life, in Los Angeles, trying to make their way into Hollywood.
While the movie releases on 3rd June, in the US, Book My Show states that we Indians might have to wait till the 19th of June to watch it in theatres. Get ready, the boys are back.
Catching up with the ground-breaking innovations of Google and Apple, Microsoft updated its latest Windows OS with the delayed but functional voice assistant Cortana. Windows’ personal virtual companion was rightly named after the fictional character of Halo game series as it had similar personality traits like intelligence and wittiness. But recently, Microsoft made an announcement that dilutes the exclusive rights of Windows Phone users. The Redmond-based tech behemoth launched an app called ‘Phone Companion’ that will make Cortana and many other apps privileged to Windows Phone users across platforms. It means users will soon be able to download Cortana and Music apps on their Android and iOS smartphones.
As soon as a user plugs in the iOS or Android device to a Windows 10 running machine with Phone Companion pre-installed, a slew of apps become available to the user for installation. The list includes Microsoft Office, OneDrive, Skype, OneNote, Outlook, Cortana and Music. Phone Companion will help set up your phone to work seamlessly with Windows 10. Although, the Cortana functionality would be limited on iOS and Android platforms, the most basic feature of questioning Cortana would be there for all operating systems. Along with that, users will receive flight notifications, alerts including geographical ones, pre-set reminders and much more. The apps will be available in late June on Android and later this year, on iOS.
Cortana was one exceptional feature that caught hold of everybody’s attention. Even with the presence of Apple’s Siri and Google’s virtual assistant Google Now, tech critics were compelled to accolade Cortana for its humorous responses, exceptional performance and being an all time companion. With Cortana invading the two major operating systems, it is likely to corner Siri and Google Now to a certain extent. The content on the devices will be more synchronized with the aforementioned set of apps. Photos, files and songs saved on your handset, will automatically transfer to your PC for easy accessibility.
Here’s the video demonstrating how the Phone Companion app will work:
https://youtu.be/lXREpLEwgOY
According to Microsoft, the company “set up with the goal to make Windows 10 for everyone” and this led to the release of the Phone Companion app. But does this move really favour Microsoft? The firm is dropping its unconventional invention in the wide ecosystem of Android and iOS, which it could have cashed in on. The exclusivity of Cortana on a Windows Phone could have given a push to the company in the smartphone segment, which Microsoft is in dire need of. The recent move can further plunge the demand of Windows Phones in the market as users now have the option to activate voice assistance on their handsets.
If you examine Microsoft’s current trend with respect to its apps and softwares, you’ll see that Microsoft is making its distinctive tools, omnipresent. It started with Microsoft Office, earlier exclusively available to Windows Phone users, and Skype and many other apps soon added to the universal apps listing. It’s a plus for Windows’ antagonists, Android and iOS, but it is uncertain if this move turns out to be profitable for Microsoft. The tech firm could have easily tapped on Cortana and Continuum features to convert them into increased market shares. Seems like Microsoft is opting for a different approach to make a higher podium for itself in the flooded smartphone market. But if the strategy fails to work, Microsoft’s smartphone division may soon face a similar situation to Nokia.
A few days back, under the cover of Flipkart’s Electronics Sale, Motorola was offering its devices at a considerably lower price tag. The marketing strategy rushed customers to buy devices from Flipkart, since the sale only lasted for two days. Now, the good news is, most of Motorola’s phones have retained the tempting offers even after the sale is over. It gets us wondering, if should we ready ourselves for the 2015 lineup. Is Motorola clearing up stocks to make room for this year’s iterations?
Here’s a quick look at the ongoing offers – the high-end Moto X (Gen 2) is currently available for Rs. 21,999, a massive drop from its original launch price of Rs. 31,999. According to our review, the right mix of design build quality and top notch hardware makes the Moto X (Gen 2) an aggressive competitor in the major smartphone market. In most countries, the phone is available at a cheap price and with a contract, but in countries like India, it has to be bought outright.
Watch the Moto X (2nd Gen) Review here:
The Moto 360, Motorola’s coveted smartwatch, is now available in the market for a mere Rs. 12,999. This isn’t news, the smartwatch globally faced a price cut, shortly after the Apple Watch went on sale. Motorola’s first wearable went on sale in India back in October last year, priced at Rs. 17,999. It is one of the few Android Wear devices with a round display.
Moto G (Gen 2) is available for Rs. 10,999, which was originally priced at Rs. 12,999. The only two products by the company which are being sold at the prices they were launched at, are the premium Moto Turbo (Rs.41,999) and the budget Moto E(Gen 2.)
Only Moto Turbo’s price remains unchanged.
The reduction of pricing on Motorola devices isn’t anything new, the company has been steadily cutting them down since the past year. This also leads to the question; should you invest in the current models, or wait and save till the new ones arrive? Recently, both Moto G (Gen 3) and Moto X (Gen 3) were leaked, indicating their imminent release. We’ve even heard that the next iteration of the Android Wear-based Moto 360 is on the cards.
Over the past few years, Motorola has established its place well in the Indian smartphone market. Other than the Chinese contenders, OnePlus and Xiaomi, Motorola is the company known for delivering noteworthy products at affordable pricing. Though the company only retails online via Flipkart, they have recently made efforts to reach potential customers, offline. The company opened up its first experience store in Bangalore where consumers can test and try their products, before making their purchase online. They’ve also attempted to strengthen their after-sales services.
Like we said, if you’re thinking about investing in a Motorola product – now would be the right time!
OnePlus Two, the successor of last year’s flagship killer, is anticipated to boast an unprecedented set of specs while maintaining the impressive price scheme. It has already created a buzz with the revelation of it’s price ahead of the launch, i.e. 2499 Yuan or Rs. 25,700, and a fingerprint scanner that is expected to be much better than Apple’s Touch ID. Now, fresh specifications of an unknown OnePlus device have surfaced on Geekbench Test results, that may be the rumoured OnePlus One variant, or the future flagship OnePlus Two.
The benchmarking report speaks of a new device, OnePlus One, with model number A2001. This is different from the model number of the original OnePlus One, which was A0001 running on quad-core Snapdragon 801. The test results confirm that the next smartphone is armed with an octa-core processor, with each core clocked at 1.55 GHz. The device would run on the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop.
Another notable detail of the spotted OnePlus handset includes 3GB RAM, which is a little disappointing for OnePlus fans who were expecting an upgrade. Here are the complete benchmark results.
Earlier this year, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau announced another smartphone release alongside OnePlus Two. There is a possibility that these benchmarks are of the other OnePlus device, which is rumoured to be called OnePlus Lite.
The Chinese smartphone firm hasn’t announced its forthcoming device yet, but there are reports of the OnePlus smartphone coming in the next few weeks. It is still unclear if it would be another flagship or a low-end alternative of OnePlus One, but the coming weeks will unfold many unanswered questions by the company.
Do you think you’re taking full advantage of using one of the best computer systems in the world? Apple has hidden a few interesting hacks on your Apple MacBook, which are worth taking note of.
Here’s a list of 5 fun things you could do with your MacBook:
1. Have Your Emails Read to You, in an English Accent
Not only is it super simple to get your Mac to read out text for you, you can even pick and choose the voice/accent you like. To have text read out to you, highlight the text, right click and pick the ‘Speech’ option, followed by ‘Start Speaking’. To change the voice, visit ‘Diction and Speech’ in System Preferences. Since we’re partial towards English accents, we like ‘Daniel’ from United Kingdom read out our articles to us.
2. No, you don’t need to print a document to sign it.
In this age of technology, did you really think you had to print a document, sign it, and then scan it again? No. Those days are long gone. You can have signatures saved up on your Mac for quickly sending out a document.
To save your signature, launch the Adobe Reader, pick ‘Tools’ from the top bar and then ‘Annote’. Which will then give you the option to manage your signatures. Now ‘Create Your Signature’ by signing a white piece of paper and holding it up for the camera which has been launched.
This might sound like a tedious procedure, but it’s way better than relying on your printer/scanner in the future. Not just that, you can save multiple signatures at the same time.
3. Too Lazy to Open the Calculator? No Problem.
You can use the search bar of your computer to work out a quick calculation. It isn’t too hard to locate a calculator on your desktop, but this trick saves that extra second.
4. Selective Screenshot
We’re all aware that by using Command + 3, you can screenshot the entire screen, but have to tested out Command + 4? You can pick and choose exactly the area of the screen you’d like to grab, without getting the unnecessary background of your desktop.
5. Quickly hide your browser
For times when you’re sneakily keeping up with the Kardashians, this is a nifty trick everyone should know. Command + H, and your browser is instantly hidden. We suggest you keep an official looking document in the background, just to add authenticity.
Panasonic’s new range of products may hold more interest for adventure seekers and mountaineers. The company today has launched two Toughpads and a semi-rugged Toughbook, an expansion of Panasonic’s Toughpad line. The company states that a growing number of organizations see value in a device that boosts employee productivity by expanding the concept of the workspace, allowing tablets or laptop users to do more while on the go between meeting rooms, job sites or office locations.
The two Toughpads, FZ-E1 and FZ-X1, are resistant from a drop of 10 feet on concrete with MIL-STD-810G specifications and is IP65/IP68 dust and water proof. Both devices sport a 5-inch 720p display with a 1.3MP front camera. Memory specification includes 32GB of internal memory which can be expanded via microSD card. The Windows 8.1-based Toughpad FZ-E1 is priced at Rs 1,19,000 while the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean version, Toughpad FZ-X1 costs Rs 1,09,000.
Panasonic FZ-X1
Panasonic FZ-E1
As for the semi-rugged Toughbook CF-54, it runs on the new 5th gen Intel Core i5-5300U vPro processor. It has a hot-swappable battery option, and its single battery can last up to 11 hours. The new semi-rugged Toughbook CF-54 is the thinnest and lightest semi-rugged PC in its category, according to Panasonic. It is priced at Rs 1,39,000.
Panasonic Toughbook CF-54
The notebook also has a broad range of customization options. Panasonic hopes to increase its presence in the Rugged IT devices segment from 60% to 65% with these latest entrants in this department.
Apple hasn’t said anything about the next iPhone 6 iteration, but rumours about Apple’s upcoming flagship are spreading like wild fire. Until now, speculations surfaced about the much-awaited iPhone 6s, but today, 9to5mac has confirmed the improved version under works. The online publication reporting Apple’s developments showed off some pictures of the rumoured iPhone 6s alongside other features that gives us a fair idea of what the device will look like.
The leaked pictures show iPhone 6s in a rose gold colour with a dual-lens camera at its back. It packs the most radical camera in the history of iPhone. Huawei Honor 6 Plus was the first smartphone to boast a parallel dual lens.
Next to the dual lens is a True Tone flash, which would supplement light in low-light conditions. The rose gold variant is in line with the previous rumours, which suggest that the upcoming iPhone will come in colour options to match the Apple Watch Edition. That means, we will soon come across silver and space grey variants as well.
As reported earlier by an analyst from KGI Securities, the forthcoming iPhone 6s will sport a bumped up camera of 12MP. Powered by a next-gen A9 processor, 2GB RAM will equip the device with newfangled features like Force Touch. Some of the changes the ‘iPhone 6s’ is said to include is a new design using an improved casing material and a newly resurrected inner design. One more microphone is said to be added near the new handset’s speakers in an attempt to improve sound quality.
Android phones were the only devices that were left for Office apps. Following the roll out of Office preview apps for iPhone, Windows Phone and Android tablets, Microsoft has today launched Word, Excel and Powerpoint apps for Android devices. This release will only see the beta, or preview version available. Microsoft said in its statement:
The Office for Android phone apps are modern, optimised for touch and designed to work on the go.
Users will be able to create, open, save files from their Android devices and access them through services like OneDrive, SharePoint, Dropbox and Google Drive. Collaboration within a group project will become easier as Office for Android allows users to track changes, comment and markup documents. These apps are optimised for touch and smaller screens, with the Menu button at the bottom of the screen instead of the top for user-friendly thumb use.
To download the apps, users will have to join the Office for Android community on Google+. Once users have joined, they will receive links for downloading each app separately, for Word, Excel and Powerpoint. But be warned, users will not be able to access these links unless they are approved. Microsoft also recommends a device with at least 1GB of RAM and Android 4.4 or later versions.
Apple has an edge over other smartphone brands for its unique Continuity feature that lets iPhone partner with other iOS devices. Samsung is not falling behind to give its users the distinctive tool and has launched a Continuity clone for Samsung devices. Titled Flow, the application integrates all Samsung devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops, allowing applications to seamlessly transit your activities across devices. The application in Beta version is available for download on Play Store.
Just like Continuity, the tool allows transfer of any activity from one device to another. Flow uses Android’s built-in Share feature, which makes it easy for developers to lend support to third-party apps. Since users have to tap on the share button, the feature should work with most apps, according to the company.
According to the promotional video released by Samsung, Flow can send a link from say a mobile to a tablet, so that you can pick up on the tablet where you left. One can also move a call to any of the Samsung devices without any interruption. This includes video chat as well. Flow doesn’t offer transferring activities only, but also allows you to set reminders of a particular activity to resume it later. Just select the right device and tap Remind later for later viewing. You can resume editing of share images, Office files, and can share directions, movies and more.
Users have to set the Flow app on all of their Samsung gizmos once, and then they can continue transporting the activities. It can be activated by using the share button within the app, and some apps also come with a dedicated Flow button. The app compatibility is limited to a handful of devices running on Android 4.4 and above. These include Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Tab S.
The app is no doubt remarkable, and such efforts will give a push to Samsung’s market. A fraction of people who consider Apple the best for its unconventional features like Continuity, will definitely take a second to switch.
