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Motorola Launches India’s First Moto Care Centre in Bangalore

Motorola has announced officially that the first Moto Care centre has been set up at Jayanagar Road, Bangalore. This is the first of the many service centre that the company has promised, which will soon be up and running all over the country.

This service centre will serve as a walk-in service support location for Motorola customers. The Experience Zone will cater to the needs of prospective buyers who want to experience products like Moto G, Moto X (2nd Gen), Moto Turbo, Moto E, Moto 360 and other Motorola products at the centre. The Zone can also assist online ordering via Flipkart.

It has been added that the centre will not only facilitate customers directly in Jayanagar, but will also benefit customers from neighbouring locations of Bangalore such as MG Road, Koramangala, Indiranagar and Rajendra Nagar. For its customers elsewhere in India, new reaching out options include the Moto Care app and the helpline number. For its customers in Delhi, Motorola has initiated a pilot project which provides Moto vans for servicing the device within few hours. The Moto van service is valid up to 30 days of the purchase.

Motorola recently launched the new version of its Moto E in India, along with the Moto Turbo, their flagship model. The company has seen a lot of success in the country with the Moto G and Moto E smartphones. This move will only help better the company’s position in the market.

March 31, 2015
Jay Z Ropes in the Biggest Music Stars For His New Music Streaming Service, Tidal

Jay Z is one of the royalties of the music industry. He has had a long and eventful career, and his wife Beyonce enjoys a similar status in the music industry. Jay Z is also a successful entrepreneur with a personal net worth of $560 Million with investments in several brands. Now he is using his status in the industry to offer a new music streaming service called Tidal and for this he has invited the who’s who of the music industry.

Tidal is a subscription-based music streaming service that has been in operation since October 2014. The music service combines lossless audio and high definition music videos which are curated by the editors. The most attractive bit about this service is its ownership. The musicians will have the stake in this streaming service, thereby guaranteeing them a return on their creation. This means that the musicians will have direct control over their product on Tidal.

For the announcement of his involvement, Jay Z invited the most notable faces of the music industry. The list includes Madonna, Kanye West, Nicky Minaj, Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin, Alicia Keys and the eccentric Daft Punk. These celebrities began promoting the service under the hashtag #TIDALforALL on Twitter.

The game changes now. LIVE on http://t.co/EjEyEz1Ety #TIDALforALL pic.twitter.com/8r7cXeLt0r

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 30, 2015

Access to content on Tidal will be available in two subscription plans, $10 a month for a compressed format (the standard on most digital outlets) and $20 for CD-quality streams. Tidal’s parent company had reported last autumn that the service has about 512,000 paying users. That number will significantly rise, thanks to Jay Z’s involvement.

But Tidal has a long climb ahead in the streaming service business which is currently ruled by the likes of Spotify and Pandora. Also, while the artists may be on board, but the distribution rights of the songs are still held by the studios who produce them, so that bit needs to be ironed out. The biggest challenge for the service, of course, is to find consumers who are ready to pay for the music instead of going for the plethora of avenues on the Internet to get music for free. Jay Z may have had 99 Problems, and now this will be a major one.

The concept of Tidal sounds interesting as it would let users listen to the high-quality audio while the revenues generated will directly reach the artists. But the service should also be equally kind to budding musicians who face tremendous pressures to get their art recognized and eventually get paid for it.

Here is the video of all your favourite music superstar coming together for Tidal:

March 31, 2015
Xiaomi Announces a Bunch of Smart Products Along with Redmi 2A and Mi Note Pink Edition

On the grand occasion of completing five years in the market, Xiaomi brought out a slew of products. Earlier today, we mentioned the super cheaper Xiaomi Redmi 2A. And the Mi Note Pink Edition, which is just another Mi Note clad in a pink body. Now we will shift our focus to the other highlights of the day:

55-inch Mi TV 2

Xiaomi expanded its Mi TV 2 lineup today with the release of a newer version of Mi TV 2. The latest addition is the 55-inch 4K model, which is quite bigger than 40-inch variant released last week.

The TV sports a 55-inch Samsung LCD panel of (3840×2160) resolution along with MStar 6A928 processor. The device houses 2GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage capacity. Priced at 4,999 RMB (Rs. 50,380 approx), the TV stuffs aluminum Bluetooth subwoofer and speaker soundbar.

Mi Smart Scale

Another product unveiled today was asmart scale that looks pretty cool with its sleek design and rounded edges. The scale depicts weight by means of 161 white LEDs fitted onto the device and it displays weight between 5Kg to 150Kg. The smart scale connects to the smartphone with Android 4.4 and above and iOS 7 and above via Bluetooth.

The Mi scale can track record of as much as 16 people, which helps it measure the progress of each individual. The weighing scale is lowly priced at $16 (somewhere around Rs. 990).

Mi Smart Plug Board

The last offering of the day, is the Mi Smart Plug Board. It comes with 3 standard ports and 3 USB ports to charge mobile devices. The company claims that the Smart Plug Board is more energy efficient than the standard chargers. Mi plug board comes at a minimal price of $8. It allows users to turn the power on and off via Mi Connected Home App.

Meanwhile, these products have only been launched in China and we’re uncertain about if Xiaomi will release them in other markets.

March 31, 2015
Images of the 4-inch iPhone 6c Surface Online

We’ve barely recovered from the Apple Watch and MacBook hype, and already there are pictures of what the next iPhone might look like, floating online. Pictures of the new ‘iPhone 6c’ have been posted by Future Supplier, which show what possibly could be the successor of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

As seen in the photo, the device sports an approximately 4-inch screen just like the iPhone 5, 5C and 5S. One of the few prominent differences include the cut-out of the camera flash. The cut-out on the 6C is elongated, unlike the round ones on the current iPhone line-up. Only the iPhone 5S has the elongated shape of the camera flash, thanks to the introduction of the True Tone flash. Additionally, the hole for the camera does not appear to be a protruding out.

At the bottom of the handset, the iPhone 6 has six speaker holes on the left side of the lightning connector when faced down, and one microphone opening next to the headphone jack. While most of the design remains the same, the new photos of the assumed 6C, however, show eight speaker holes positioned in two rows on a thicker body.

There is a possibility that the images may be fake. Apple is not expected to unveil the next iPhone for the next few months. Hence, there is a chance that the design of the speculated iPhone 6C may change by the time the arrival date arrives.

March 31, 2015
Xiaomi Unveils a Pink Edition of Mi Note on its 5th Anniversary, Priced at Rs. 25,200

A while ago, we spoke of Xiaomi teasing a device made for women. Today, on its fifth anniversary, the Chinese smartphone brand ended all speculation and raised the curtains off the Mi Note Pink Edition. The handset is nothing but a regular Mi Note with a uniform pink coloured body. The device is launched at the price tag of 2,499 Yuan, which translates to around Rs. 25,200.

As aforementioned, the Pink Edition of Mi Note holds the same specifications and features. The handset touts a 5.7-inch full HD (1920×1080p) display and is fitted with a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor along with Adreno 330 GPU. RAM of 3GB capacity runs the handset and the onboard storage space stands at 16GB. The pink variant features a 13MP rear camera and a 4MP selfie snapper.

On April 8, the limited Mi Note Pink Edition will go on sale in China. Interested customers need to hurry up as only 20,000 units have been manufactured. To compensate the slight bump in price, Xiaomi is offering customers a power bank of 5,000mAh, along with the smartphone.

Prior to this, the world’s third largest smartphone manufacturer released a Bamboo edition of Mi Note. The special edition had a bamboo back and came at a price of RMB 2,299. The handset is on sale in China.

March 31, 2015

Xiaomi Unveils the Redmi 2A, Its Cheapest Smartphone Yet

Xiaomi is celebrating its fifth year in business today. The Chinese electronics company has unveiled a bunch of new devices just for this occasion. One device that catches the eye immediately is the new Redmi 2A. Xiaomi has made its already low priced Redmi 2 even cheaper in this latest version.

Xiaomi Redmi 2A differs from its sibling, the Redmi 2 only in terms of its processor. The device is powered by a Leadcore L1860C quad-core Cortex A7 1.5GHz processor. Apart from that, it packs in the same specifications as the Redmi 2 including the 1 GB RAM and 8 GB of internal storage.

The handset is priced at RMB 599 (Rs.6000) which makes it slightly cheaper than the Redmi 2. It is not sure as of yet if the device will come to India, but buyers would have to consider if they want to pay Rs.1000 less for a new processor or get the Snapdragon powered Redmi 2. Well, it’s still good that they now have a choice, something that a consumer always appreciates.

Specs	Redmi 2
Display	4.7 inch, 1280×720 pixels 312 ppi
Processor	1.5GHz Quad-core Leadcore L1860C
RAM	1GB
Storage	8GB
Expandable Up to	32GB
Main Camera	8 MP
Front Camera	2 MP
Battery	2200mAh
Operating System	Android 4.4 KitKat with MIUI 6.0

March 31, 2015

LG Sends Out Invites; the G4 Expected to Arrive on 28th April

South Korean company, LG, has started sending out press invites for an event which will be held on April 28th. This event may likely see the launch of the company’s next flagship, the LG G4. The South Korean electronics giant will hold the events on April 28 and April 29 (due to time zones) in six cities: New York, London, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, and Istanbul.

The official invite simply reads ‘See the Great, Feel the Great’. The invite also features a leather background signifying that the new LG G4 may sport a leather rear case. The invite also hints that LG will focus on using high-end materials for the phone.

According to GSMArena, the rumored specifications of this handset include a 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It is also said to feature Android Lollipop, possibly Android 5.1. Camera specifications include a 8 MP front camera and a 16MP rear camera with optical image stabilization and Laser Auto Focus. The flagship is also rumored to sport a radically new design, including a curved display.

According to reports, the G4 launch was delayed until April to avoid the MWC clash, which took place from 2nd March to 5th March. This was done with the intention of avoiding the hype created by Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The reports also suggest the LG G4 might be a complete change from the previous generation LG G3.

March 31, 2015
Google Makes the Gmail App an Integrated Inbox for All Your Email Accounts

Google understands the need of users to maintain several accounts at a time, and has found out a hassle-free solution to help bring them all in one place. Google has announced a Gmail update for Android users that makes Inbox a unified place to access emails from your multiple accounts. Which simply means, whether you have a Yahoo account or an Outlook ID, you can add them all to send and receive messages through the consolidated Gmail app.

The Gmail update holds a new option called ‘All Inboxes’. This option comprises of a list of all your added accounts and one can continue the conversation from different handles through ‘All Inboxes’. This upgrade relieves users from the inconvenience of hopping from one tab to another.

Along with providing a combined Inbox, the internet giant has added a slew of other features too. Like Gmail, Google has added a threaded conversation support to other accounts as well, which keeps the emails in an organized manner. The messages remain stacked at a place as one conversation. Also, the upgrade opts for a smarter search tool. Users can find better results with the improved auto-complete feature which makes their search quicker.

Followed by them are a few other inclusions like more responsive animations and larger attachment previews. A button of ‘Save to Drive’ can be spotted in the update where users can save the files with a single tap.

The official blogpost of Gmail states that the upgrade was made available from yesterday onwards, and Android users can update Gmail to find the changes. Meanwhile, the company hasn’t notified about its roll out for iOS users as of now, but it is expected to arrive soon.

March 31, 2015
Indian Government Puts Greater Stress On Using Open Source Software

The software markets around the world are dominated by US based products. With the revelation of the NSA snooping on the data of major companies like Google, Microsoft and other players, the governments around the world have become vary of using such products. The Indian government too is taking measures to reduce the dominance of US based products in its workflow and hence has introduced a new Open Source Software(OSS) Policy.

With the use of open source software, the government intends to bring greater transparency. It is also looking to invest in propriety software for official functions. The development costs of OSS’s are also lower than the big brand software.

An official statement said that the new policy will be applicable to the central government institutions, and state governments will have to induct the policy when they upgrade their e-governance systems. It also added that under the Digital India program, the government intends to bring low-cost, but high-quality services to the citizens and OSS are an optimal way of going about with the plans.

All government institutions, under this policy, would have to consider OSS for implementing the E-governance model. The source code of these softwares will be available to community/adopter/end-user to study and modify the software. These softwares will also be “royalty-free.”

India’s stand for open source software is appreciable and will lead to greater transparency. The governments of US, UK, Germany and many European nations have stressed on OSS platforms too. India’s crowdsourcing platform, MyGov.in has already been built on open source platforms.

March 31, 2015
Microsoft Releases Project Spartan For Testing With Windows 10 Technical Preview

Microsoft is going for a major revamp with its new operating system, Windows 10. The latest OS will also come with an all new browser, known at present as “Project Spartan”. Microsoft has unveiled Spartan during the consumer preview of Windows 10 in January, and it looked competent enough to take on the likes of Chrome, Safari and others. The latest technical preview of the Windows 10 has now been released, and Microsoft is now giving developers the chance to play with the new browser.

Project Spartan comes with a brand new rendering engine. This new engine will be faster and will facilitate the new sharing features. The preview also features the most talked about feature of inking, where users can add annotations to existing pages and share them through various channels.

Cortana, Microsoft’s voice assistant, presently found in Windows Mobile will also be available in Windows 10. Cortana will lead to faster searching capabilities and can be easily conjured up when required. Cortana in Spartan will be available in the US versions of this build, and available more broadly later.

Project Spartan was unveiled at the Windows 10 consumer preview event held in January.

Project Spartan will offer a reader friendly view to spare you from the usual distractions of a regular website. The browser can collect all that you read and lets you save any web page or PDF to let you access them in a distraction-free reading space.

If you want to take Project Spartan out for a spin, you need to sign-up for the Microsoft Insiders Program and get started for free. You would need to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview, Build 10049. As Project Spartan gains more prominence, Microsoft’s premier internet browser, the Internet Explorer will be pushed into the background. With Windows 10, Microsoft is attempting to take down its competition, who have got an opportunity to advance, thanks to its own folly called Windows 8. So Microsoft has to offer several unique features in Windows 10 to maintain its dominance in the operating system market.

March 31, 2015
Xiaomi to Bring Out a Sub-Rs. 5,000 Smartphone on April 8 : Report

Xiaomi is known as an electronics firm that offers premium handsets at a reasonable price range. Since long, rumour mill has suggested Xiaomi is planning to release an entry-level smartphone. The same device has now appeared online through a leaked image. The handset is expected to debut on April 8 and will cost 499 Yuan (approximately Rs. 5,000).

From what it appears from the first look of the upcoming phone, it seems to be a cheaper version of Redmi 2. Some reports have also surfaced that throw light on the inner details of the smartphone. According to Chinese blog Mydrives.com, the phone will sport a 4.7-inch (720x1280p) screen. A 1.6GHz Leadcore LC1860 quad core processor, along with 1GB of RAM. The device will run on Android 4.4 KitKat with MIUI skin on top.

Coming to its optics, an 8MP rear camera paired with a 2MP secondary shooter will sit on the device. The storage option includes 8GB of inbuilt space, which at this point of time is unknown if it would be expandable.

Until now, it is not known if the smartphone will make it to countries outside China, but some online publishers are claiming it may arrive in India by April 8. Few days back, Xiaomi teased a picture of a dress that had a NSSJ caption on top. The smartphone is stated to launch today at the occasion of the company’s fifth anniversary.

The launch event can take place anytime soon. We will keep you updated with information on the availability of the latest device as soon as something arrives. Keep checking back.

March 31, 2015
After Spending Heavily On Spectrum Auction, Telecom Companies Might Increase Tariffs

The spectrum auctions have come to a close, and the government has received total payment of Rs. 1,09,874.91 crores this time around. But what might be a good amount of revenue for the government, might not be good news for the mobile subscribers in India says Moody, the global financial credit rating agency. It means that the telecom companies might soon hike their tariff’s to make up for lost resources.

Moody said that the high rates of spectrum will tremendously increase debts and is negative for the credit of the telecom companies, and they would increase their tariffs to address the issue. It said that the hike will be gradual so as to keep their market.

Moody also mentioned that the companies would be able to recover a good amount of their departed fortunes with the increase in demand for 3G data plans. Telecom Minister of India, Ravi Shanker Prasad said that as per expert analysis, the annual load on the companies will be Rs. 5300 crore.

The latest telecom auctions saw significant spending on the parts of the network providers. Idea Cellular made a commitment to pay Rs. 30,306.98 crore followed by Airtel at Rs. 29,130.20 crore and Vodafone with Rs. 29,959.74 crores. Other telecom companies too pitched thousands of crores to secure spectrum and stay in business.

It is also being said that due to the massive investment in spectrum acquirement, the companies might slow the expansion of their 3G and 4G services. They might hold off major investments for the next phases of upgrades. So this would also be a disappointment for the users who have been waiting to use their new LTE enabled smartphones to their maximum potential. So dear Indians, brace up, the hike is coming.

March 31, 2015
Microsoft Releases Two New Trailers and Reveals the Launch Date for Halo 5: Guardians

Microsoft’s Halo is one of the most popular games in the market. This year, the fifth installment will be up for grabs on October 27. The date of launch was mentioned in the two new trailers released by Microsoft during the season finale of “The Walking Dead.”

Both the trailers are shot in live action and seem like a juxtaposition of each other. It shows the scene, but the two characters are on opposite ends in both videos. According to some decrypters on the internet, it is said that a super soldier named Locke believes Master Chief, the protagonist from the previous “Halo” games, is a traitor, but the reason is unknown.

Halo 5: Guardians is developed by game makers. 343 industries who had also created the previous two offerings under the banner of Halo. It is said that the trailer indicates the possibility of controlling multiple characters in the latest version of the game.

Over the years, Microsoft has seen tremendous appreciation and demand for this game. The fifth edition will come to Xbox consoles on 27th October this year; so you know when to clear up your schedule and warm up your Xbox for unending Halo sessions.

Here are both the new trailers for Halo 5: Guardians.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHQiYPiNVEE#t=61

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rd8FWUCCZk

March 30, 2015

Microsoft Lumia 640 and the Bigger 640 XL Expected to Land in India Next Month

At the recently concluded tech carnival, Mobile World Congress, Microsoft brought to the world two affordable smartphone innovations, Dual SIM Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL. The handsets come preloaded with Windows 8.1 and offer free Office 365 for one year. The Lumia smartphones are now making way to the Indian land and as per reports, both the devices will hit the Indian market in early April.

As per India Today, the company is presently importing the devices from Vietnam, and a total of nine batches have made it to Mumbai. As per the import/export tracker, the Lumia 640 is priced at Rs. 4,683, while the bigger Lumia 640 XL will cost slightly higher at Rs. 6,710. However, it should be noted that these are not the final prices, and the original price could be a tad higher.

Recalling the key specifications of the handsets, the Lumia 640 sports a 5-inch HD display which is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. The company has equipped the device with 1.2GHz Qualcomm 400 quad-core processor paired with 1GB RAM and 8GB storage. It comes in four colour options – cyan, orange white and black.

The rear camera is 8MP and comes bundled with LED flash. A 1MP snapper with wide angle lens sits at the upfront. For now, the handsets will ship with Windows 8.1, but it will soon upgrade to Windows 10.

On the other hand, Lumia 640 XL is the bigger sibling of the Lumia 640. It has a 5.7-inch screen and packs the same processor as that of Lumia 640. It comes with a 13-megapixel camera with LED flash and Carl Zeiss optics, and the front has a 5MP shooter with wide angle lens. A bigger battery of 3,000mAh is fitted onto the phone which keeps the device running for a full day usage.

Both the devices come in two variants – 3G and LTE. As always, the LTE variants will cost slightly higher than the 3G version.

Have a look at their spec sheet:

SPECS	MICROSOFT LUMIA 640	MICROSOFT LUMIA 640 XL
Display	5-inch IPS (294ppi)Gorilla Glass 3	5.7-inch IPS LCD (259ppi)Gorilla Glass 3
Processor	1.2GHz Qualcomm 400 quad-core	1.2GHz Qualcomm 400 quad-core
RAM	1GB	1GB
Storage	8GB	8GB
Expandable Upto	128GB	128GB
Main Camera	8MP	13MP
Front Camera	1MP	5MP
Battery	2500mAh	3000mAh
Operating System	Windows 8.1	Windows 8.1
Price	€160 (near Rs. 11,000)	€220 (near Rs. 15,000)

In case you missed our hands-on video, do watch the clip below:

March 30, 2015

LG Quietly Releases Spirit with Android Lollipop in India, Priced at Rs. 14,250

Earlier today, LG announced the global roll out of its four mid-range smartphones – Magna, Spirit, Leon, and Joy; all these devices were officially launched in February this year, ahead of MWC. Just a few hours after the announcement, one of the four models made an appearance on LG India’s official website. It is listed on the company’s India-specific website with a price tag of Rs. 14,250. The device comes in two different colour options.

Throwing light on the specifications of LG Spirit, the device holds an HD 720p touchscreen display of 4.7-inch. It features a 1.3GHz quad-core processor bundled with 1GB of RAM. The onboard storage space of the phone is 8GB, which can be extended via MicroSD card up to 32GB. LG Spirit runs on default Android 5.0.1 Lollipop with the company’s UI on top.

The phone features an 8MP camera at the back with LED Flash and autofocus, while the front holds an average 1MP shooter. The device comes with connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS/ A-GPS, and Micro-USB. A battery of 2100mAh is equipped with the device along with the key feature ‘Knock Code’.

The dual-SIM handset is slightly curved to fit in the palm of the user. At a price of Rs. 14,250, the phone will get a tough competition from lowly priced Yu Yureka and Xiaomi Redmi 2.

Below are the specifications of LG Spirit:

SPECS	LG SPIRIT
Display	4.7-inch 720p
Processor	1.3GHz quad-core
RAM	1GB
Internal Memory	8GB
Expandable up to	32GB
Camera	8MP rear, 1MP front
Battery	2100mAh
Operating System	Android 5.0.1 Lollipop
Price	Rs. 14, 250

March 30, 2015

Blog

55-inch Mi TV 2

Mi Smart Scale

Mi Smart Plug Board

Specs

Redmi 2

SPECS

MICROSOFT LUMIA 640

MICROSOFT LUMIA 640 XL

SPECS

LG SPIRIT