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#LetsTalkShop with Amit Boni from Motorola India

When Motorola departed India in haste, shutting down operations and basically calling it quits, a large chunk of Moto believers were left disheartened. Motorola was always perceived as a quality brand, the real inventor of the mobile phone and an innovation driver.

With Motorola’s global operations in trouble the company took a breather to rework strategies and work towards exciting products says Amit Boni, who now heads Motorola Mobility India’s reenergized operations.

In a very candid and exciting conversation with the man we learnt that the company has inherited a lot of traits from ex-parent Google and the business strategies going forward seem to be well in order.

Motorola really researched the Indian market before returning with its new lineup, and found the Flipkart model to be a success runner and in a price conscious market like India, a steady pricing system.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Amit Boni” author_title=”GM, Motorola Mobility India”]

We wanted to ensure our customers pay one price for our phones throughout India.

[/quote]

Amit says Motorola is keen to begin the relationship when the buyer purchases a Motorola product and will ensure that service is never an issue for the customer. The company has a strong foothold in India for service and Motorola is keen on expanding the service base.

Xiaomi is not a threat, says Amit, we are happy with competition and going forward are ready to provide a better consumer experience. This sort of competition helps us stay grounded he claims, allowing the company to know where they stand.

[quote text_size=”small” author=”Amit Boni” author_title=”GM, Motorola Mobility India”]

Xiaomi’s entry in India using Flipkart is a validation of Motorola’s excellent strategy

[/quote]

Motorola wants to bring products to India as fast as they can, and they are really excited for the Moto 360. The Moto 360 will suffice in a market that has seen some disappointing products, says Amit.

While he stayed mum on future products, he smiled through our questions and demand for some exciting news.

Watch the full video below for the juicy bits and a whole list of other questions.

August 10, 2014
How Do They Do It : Chinese Phone Pricing Explained

Many of you have inquired as to how the Chinese smartphone manufacturers are capable of bringing high speced devices that are priced so low. Here we attempt to explain how the likes of Xiaomi and others go about their business of creating havoc in the mobile markets everywhere.

Both Motorola and Xiaomi have kept prices low by using the e-tailing route

It is estimated that companies like Xiaomi are selling their phones at a loss of Rs. 1000 so that they can create a market buzz around their products. Xiaomi is bringing in just about a 1,00,000 units of their phones to India and have been selling them out in periodic flash sales. By bringing in a limited number of device the company start a stampede and this causes other competitors to reduce their prices, something we saw Motorola do when they slashed Moto G’s price by Rs. 2000. By using this strategy, Xiaomi, with its limited marketing budget has made its name shine out in the market.

However there is a downside to this marketing technique. The flash sales are now confusing and sometimes irritating the potential consumers who want the phone but cannot buy them. It has started to create a negative perception amongst such consumers. They are now seeking alternatives to the phone.

Now here is where the internet marketing convenience adds in. Basically, by just using an online sales channel, a strategy devised by companies like Motorola, the companies get to save massive amounts in distribution, marketing, dealership and other costs. And hence these high speced products reach the consumers in what can be called shockingly low prices, well its shocking for big brands at least.

It is also speculated that another Chinese smartphone manufacturer, One Plus, intends to try its luck in the Indian market. Their phone, the One Plus One is a high speced powerhouse which comes at mid segment prices. They too have limited stocks and might take the Xiaomi approach. But if these companies plan to stay in the Indian market for the long run, they need to come with stocks in accordance with the demand in the market. Or else they will just act as an inspiration to companies with already big reach to bring similar products and in turn, take away these companies potential customers.

August 9, 2014

Samsung Slyly Adds New Black Colour to the Tab S

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S was introduced in two colour variants, white and bronze. Recently they’ve added a new black option. It’ll be nice to have a variety to choose from, especially for those who prefer the sleekness of black. You can order the device from the Samsung e-store.

The Tab S 10.5 and Tabs 8.4 both run on the Exynos 5 Octa chipset, have 3 GB of RAM and 16/32 GB storage capacities. Watch our Hands On with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S here.

See the full details below.

Specifications	Galaxy Tab S 10.5-inch	Galaxy Tab S 8.4-inch
Battery capacity:	7,900(mAh)	4900(mAh)
DISPLAY	10.5-inch Super AMOLED display Resolution:2560 x 1600 pixels	8.4-inch Super AMOLED display Resolution: 2560 x 1600 pixels
CAMERA	Rear camera: 8-megapixel Flash: LED Front camera: 2-megapixel	Rear camera: 8-megapixel Flash: LED Front camera: 2-megapixel
RAM	3GB	3GB
Processor	Octa-Core Exynos 5 (A15 1.9 GHz & A7 1.3 GHz)	Octa-Core Exynos 5 (A15 1.9 GHz & A7 1.3 GHz)
Internal Storage	16GB/32GB expanded up to 128GB	16GB/32GB expanded up to 128GB
Software	Android 4.4 Kitkat	Android 4.4 Kitkat

Thanks Ayush.

August 9, 2014

Microsoft’s Xbox One Now Available for Pre-Order on Amazon India

Microsoft’s Xbox One will be available in India on 23rd Sept 2014 starting at Rs. 39,990 it is now available for pre-order. The Xbox One with Kinect is priced at Rs. 45,990. They will be sold exclusively through Amazon India. Amazon is also running a couple of promotional offers for the first 1000 customers who book the console.

The special offers are worth Rs. 10,000 and it includes : Rs. 3,000 off on an additional controller, 2 free Blu-rays worth Rs. 2,500, a discount of Rs. 2,000 on speakers, and Rs. 1,000 off on backpacks. The Xbox One standalone variant comes with a free game, Fifa 2015 whereas the Kinect variant of the console comes with a free Dance Central Spotlight DLC and Fifa 2015.

The bundle includes the Xbox One console with a 500GB hard drive, Xbox One Wireless Controller, and a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members.

The Xbox One with Kinect will have a number of special experiences such as gesture controls, biometric sign-in, controller paring, Skype video calls, direct personalization, instant scanning of QR codes.

Both the Microsoft Xbox One uses an incorporated CPU-GPU design by AMD, including an 8-core low power x86-64 AMD “Jaguar” CPU. The Xbox One’s CPU cores runs at 1.75GHz.

Xbox One is also packed with features like the Game DVR/Upload which lets you capture and record your greatest game moments and through ‘Upload Studio’ you can easily edit and share clips with your friends and community. It also offers many apps such as Skype which is specially designed for Xbox One, Internet Explorer, OneDrive, Twitch, Machinima and IGN which are integrated flawlessly with your games and TV experience.

Pre-Order Now

 

August 9, 2014
Image of HTC One M8 Running Windows 8.1 Leaked

It was reported a few days ago that HTC is intending to bring Windows Phone OS back to its stable with a One M8 windows variant. The company which was at the forefront of smartphone technology during its beginning days had begun its operations with the Windows Mobile OS. HTC had quit the Windows game for a while and had concentrated on bringing awesome Android devices to its consumers.

WPCentral managed to screen grab a blunder by the Dutch Telecom company, Telfort. In one of its advertising visuals, the company accidently posted what looked like a HTC One M8 running Windows Phone OS. Telfort took down the image as soon as it realized its folly.

The phone as shown in the promotional image also shows a Cortana tile which further confirms the phone running the Windows Phone 8.1. Apparently according to WPCentral the phone might be just around the corner and might release on August 19 at a press event in New York City. That will be a pleasant surprise for all Windows and HTC enthusiasts. The Windows sibling of the phone might be called One W8.

HTC might also use some of the lessons it learned with its Android smartphones to give a better Windows Phone experience than it did in the past, when it released HTC 8S, 8X and 8XT.

HTC has made some of the most beautiful phones in the Android ecosystem and so it will be real fun to see its take on a revamped Windows release.

August 9, 2014
uBeam to Bring Revolutionary Wireless Charging Technology to Market

Los Angeles-based startup uBeam is developing a wireless charging technology that will allow people to charge their devices without cords and without having to be right next to the charging station.

The uBeam system developed by Meredith Perry uses ultrasound and converts electricity into sounds, that are then transmitted by ultrasound to the required devices, charging them in the process.

Originally Perry studied astrobiology at the University of Pennsylvania with the goal of finding life on other planets. However during this process she accidentally stumbled upon the wireless charger technology to charge portable electronics using the ultrasound system. Perry explained :

“This is the only wireless power system that allows you to be on your phone and moving around a room freely while your device is charging. It allows for a Wi-Fi-like experience of charging; with everything else you have to be in close range of a transmitter. If wireless power is everywhere, then the size of your battery can shrink because it’s always charging. You’ll never need a cord again, and you won’t need international charging adapters.”

Ms. Perry’s company, uBeam, announced on Wednesday that it took an early prototype concept of this technology, first developed for Ms. Perry’s college innovation competition, and turned it into a fully functional prototype that the company now plans to build for consumers.

The company’s technology converts electricity to ultrasound, which is then picked up by a receiver in the device, where the ultrasound is converted back into energy. The transmitters can fill a room with ultrasound, charging devices that are equipped with receivers (much as Wi-Fi can provide connectivity to an entire room). Larger transmitters are being developed for stadiums and other large spaces. uBeam’s charging technology is expected to enter the market within the next two years.

Check out their video here:

August 9, 2014
Microsoft’s Next Lumia 720 Offering Might be a Selfie Friendly Phone

Microsoft is seriously getting into the mobile game, which it really needs to compete against its arch rival Apple. The company will try to appeal to the youth demographic by introducing a Selfie centered phone.

Wpcentral reports that a successor of the Nokia Lumia 720 is being planned by the company. The phone currently codenamed Superman would probably be called the Nokia Lumia 730. The Phone comes with a 4.7 inch screen which is bigger than its predecessors 4.3 inch screen.

The Images of Lumia 720 Successor were featured by Wpcentral

To power up the selfies, Microsoft will pack the phone with a 5-megapixel camera into the phone. Though additional information about the specs of the phone are not yet leaked but it’s said to be running on a new firmware called Debian Red. It is said to be a Lumia specific firmware and will coincide with Windows phone 8.1 update 1 and Update 2 releases. This will be Microsoft’s way of separating its phones from other Windows manufacturers. The details of this firmware aren’t certain as of yet.

Microsoft is late to the smartphones party and apart from HTC, no major handset manufacturer has shown the intention to manufacture the Windows Phone OS based products. With a selfie-centric phone, Microsoft may be able to impress some Windows phone enthusiasts, but to have a bigger market it really has to give the consumers something different.

August 8, 2014
Microsoft Offers Chinese Employees Free Nokia 630 to Quit Jobs

You may have heard of a lot many schemes employees are offered when the exit door is shown after an acquisition. There are severance packages, voluntary retirement schemes and other options provided to soon-to-be-ex-employees. But then comes Microsoft doing something that can be seen as borderline evil.

Being taken over by one of the biggest tech giants must have made the employees of Nokia’s former factory in China optimistic about their future. But all hopes were lost when Microsoft announced massive job cuts last month. A majority of the 18000 jobs to be cut by Microsoft will be from Nokia’s stable.

Microsoft said that it will notify those employees in the coming 6 months. The process seems to have started at the Chinese factory where the employees are being offered a Nokia 630 as a consolation for leaving the job.

This is a measly goodbye gift from Microsoft. The phones are being offered on a first come first serve basis for 300 employees. The employees weren’t even explicitly told about their job losses and are unsure about the severance plans by the company. Hopefully after the story coming in international light, Microsoft might give a better deal to these employees.

August 8, 2014
Canword: All Your Information in One Place, Instantly

“Wow, that was fast,” that was our first reaction when Canword installed on our smartphone, almost instantly. The company flaunts the fact that it takes 10 seconds to install and only 10 more to set up.

Canword is a feature-laden compilation app for browsing feeds that you prefer. The app tailors the content according to your interests. You can select from a wide assortment of genres such as art, technology, breaking news, fun, food, etc.

Canword is rather easy to set up; the home screen gives you the option to choose your interests from which it tailors a personalized feed. How is it different from the likes of LinkedIn Pulse or Google Currants? It has more functionalities in terms of saving the articles, seamless assimilation with social media and best of all, it’s Made in India. Also, it lets you get feeds from your social media accounts at one place to give you further convenience. Through Canword, you can share the stories you like to your Facebook and Twitter simultaneously.

The features provided by this app are great for folks who want the information they need, consolidated in one place for a quick skim. Quite like the other readers, Canword lets you read the entire story in the app itself but some links do get directed to the original webpages. The app stitches the feed together using geographical locations. If you want a wider reading space and don’t want to be geographically restricted, it can easily be circumvented if you link the app to your Facebook account.

The journal feature of Canword allows you to bookmark stories for later read.

It has a personalisation feature, through which you can change the appearance of the stories on the app. The option for increasing or decreasing text size will also come handy for folks with visual issues or people who prefer a bigger font size. The app is created by Harscelle Goenka and his team at Valvirt Technologies Pvt. Ltd. The team took three months from conception to launch this app. It was designed and developed right here in India. Being a startup themselves, the makers have a special category for start-ups, found only on Canword. The young team seems confident about their app and have received predominantly positive reviews on the Play Store.

You can download the app for Android phones here, and for iOS devices here.

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August 8, 2014
Apple May Bring Siri-like Personal Assistant to the Mac

In a development similar to the movie ‘Her’, Apple is planning to bring a voice based personal assistant to their desktop systems that run on Mac OSX platform. The company had filed a patent application back in February which was released yesterday.

The patent doesn’t exclusively mention Siri, but instead uses the term Apple’s “digital assistant”. The new personal assistant or what some may call desktop Siri, will be able to deliver Siri’s functions with added features. It can be conjured up using predetermined gestures on the touchpad or through an icon on screen.

Apple’s patent application also states that the digital assistant will be capable of performing tasks of operating systems like moving files, type and send emails, access internet and look for files, photos or play videos on YouTube. The biggest issue though will be people not just screaming at their phones, but their computers too.

The Yosemite beta has no Siri like feature as of yet so it most probably will be up and running in the next outing of the OSX. It will be a welcome surprise though if Apple includes the assistant in this release itself. But Apple thrives to perfecting its offerings to its best capabilities before bringing it out for its users, so this feature may still be a distant dream.

In the end, this seems like the natural order of things. Maybe the future where we bid farewell to keyboards and mouse is around the corner.

August 8, 2014
Apple and Samsung Agree to Dismiss their Patent Battle

Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are starting to wind down their global patent dispute. Smartphone giants announced in a joint statement that they will drop all patent lawsuits outside the U.S. However, the two companies still haven’t settled their patent disputes within the U.S.

The two companies have sued each other in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the UK, France, and Italy, and all these cases are being dropped, without being settled and without any cross-licensing agreements being negotiated. The companies disclosed the change in legal strategy in a joint e-mail. Apple and Samsung said they would push ahead with the most high-profile cases taking place in the U.S.

Apple first sued Samsung in the U.S. for copying features of the iPhone in 2011. Samsung then sued Apple for patent infringement in South Korea, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy and the U.K. Apple filed countersuits in five of those countries.

“Apple and Samsung have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States,” the companies said in a joint statement. “This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts.”

Earlier, Apple and Samsung agreed in June to drop their appeals of a patent-infringement case at the U.S. International Trade Commission that resulted in an import ban on some older Samsung phones. In the U.S., Apple had two victories against Samsung: $930 million in 2012 and $120 million in May of this year. The case is still unresolved though.

August 8, 2014
Top 5 Once-Popular Websites That Are Now History

The internet has led to some amazing success stories, Amazon, Yahoo, iTunes, eBay, Facebook, Google. But it has seen some dark days too. When the dot com bubble burst around 2000, many companies who made millions in pre-Google era failed miserably. Some failed because of the dot com bust, others were ahead of their time and some simply disappeared. We are listing 5 of these websites which are now defunct successes.

1. Google Answer

Google Answers was an online knowledge market. It worked like a traditional search engine but paid one. You pay someone else to do the search for you. People would post questions which would then be answered for a fee, or “bounty”, ranging from $2 to $200 by contractors who completed a registration process. There were of course restrictions: links to adult oriented sites, copy righted material, plagiarism and questions of uncertain legality, i.e. “How do I make a bomb?” were not allowed. The site launched in April 2002 and lasted for four years before Google shut it down. Some of Google Answers contractors went on to form another online knowledge website, Uclue.com.

2. Yahoo! Auction

Launched in 1998 as as direct rival for eBay, Yahoo! Auctions used the same proxy bidding system as eBay and even had its own version of PayPal, Yahoo! Wallet. The big difference between the two was Yahoo! Auctions had no seller’s fees, all revenue was from ad sales. This would have made Yahoo! Auctions more popular than eBay, but somehow the site just never made it. Maybe it just wasn’t trusted like eBay. Either way, the U.S. and European sites failed in 2003. Though the site still operates in Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan but for the rest of the world, this site is nothing but a memory.

3. Ogrish.com

Ogrish.com was a website featuring uncensored video and photos of war zones, accidents, executions and other similar material. For example, in 2002, graphic pictures and videos of the jumpers of the September 11, 2001 attacks were displayed. In summer 2004 the site was targeted for hacking attacks from South Koreans after Ogrish uploaded the execution video of Kim Sun-il. In September 2005, graphic pictures of Hurricane Katrina victims were posted. As you can imagine the site proved very controversial and was banned in many countries including Germany (Wow, they really had to have crossed a violence threshold to get banned by the Germans.) Over time Ogrish.com became less about blood and guts and more about uncensored news and video. Today, Ogrish.com redirects to LiveLeak.com, a video sharing and “citizen journalism” website which was among the first to feature footage of the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

4. Nupedia

Nupedia was an online encyclopedia, launched in March of 2000. But while its sister site, Wikipedia, went on to become one of the biggest websites in the world, Nupedia faded into obscurity. What happened? Unlike Wikipedia, Nupedia was not open to public editing. Each article had an extensive peer-review process which resulted in infrequent updates. In fact, Wikipedia was originally created as side-project to get around this very problem. By the time it folded in September 2003, Nupedia had a mere 24 articles.

5. Audiogalaxy

The original Audiogalaxy system was created in 1998 by Michael Merhej as an FTP site index called The Borg Search. It quickly evolved into a robust peer-to-peer system with client software (the Audiogalaxy “Satellite”), a web-based search engine, always-on searching for requested files, auto-resume and low system impact. It quickly gained ground among file sharers abandoning Napster in 2001. From 1998 to 2002, it was a file sharing system that indexed MP3 files. From mid-2002 to mid-2010, it was a promotional website for the Rhapsody music subscription service. From mid-2010 through 2012, it was a personal audio placeshifting service. Audiogalaxy finally ceased operations on January 31, 2013.

August 8, 2014
Google May Bring Multi-User Support to Android Smartphones

Google may bring multiple user support to Android smartphones. The feature was mentioned by a Google project member in an official developer forum. In a discussion thread regarding multiuser functionality in Android handsets, the Google employee posted the following reply to forum members: “The development team has implemented this feature and it will be available as a part of the next public build.”

Although the statement isn’t exactly specific, but “the next public build” refers to Android L, unless Google is planning to introduce the feature in another minor KitKat update, which seems unlikely. Already available on Android tablets, the multi-user feature will surely make owners of Android smartphones a tad less wary of leaving their devices to others, especially children. It would also be useful to small businesses who want to create separate accounts for their office and home without investing in enterprise-managed mobile devices.

Google introduced Android L at this year’s Google I/O. Google has already made the developer preview available. As of now the update is available only for the Nexus 5 and Nexus 7.

According to reports Moto X and G will be first in line getting Android L updates. Android L is expected to be launched later this year, although no clear date has been mentioned yet. Motorola vice president of product management Punit Soni recently responded to a Google+ query on the smartphone receiving the L update. “Moto X is still going to get Android L (5.0) right?,” asked a user, to which Punit Soni simply responded, “Yup”.

August 7, 2014
Google Buys Emu Messaging Service to Boost its Messaging Might

Google has bought an intelligent, personal assistant based messaging app called EMU. The app is created by an ex-Google and an ex-Apple employee who worked on Siri. The basic premise of the app is close to what Google Now offers. It goes through your conversations and picks up leads to provide the users with recommendations related to their interest.

Emu began as an Android app, and its superior assistance feature must have prompted Google to loosen its purse strings. The app is capable of scheduling appointments to the calendar, set reminders and setting restaurant reservations with convenience like never before.

This is how the website looked soon after the acquisition announcement.

Messaging is where a lot of big companies have been investing. With Facebook buying Whatsapp, it was evident that messaging apps have grown in prominence and have overtaken the good old SMS. Now there is a race to perfect a messaging app. Apple, at WWDC this year has already presented a unique messaging feature which intertwines all its ecosystem’s messaging features. Apple’s messaging features were appreciated even though they seemed “inspired” by the features of various apps like Whatsapp, Snapchat, etc.

It is said that Google’s acquired Emu to strengthen its Hangout app, thereby giving an alternative to what Apple has to offer. Emu founders have announced that the app will cease to exist as an independent app and will be shut down by August 25. It will be interesting to see if Google plays the messaging game. Will it repeat its email success with Gmail or we’ll end up with another Google Plus fiasco?

Emu is impressive the way it was introduced and Google might have learnt its lessons by now and may be ready to go head-to-head with Apple.

Check out what the app can do in this video. Caution: They have a catchy background score that will be stuck in your head all day long.

August 7, 2014
Facebook Updated its Messenger App With Android Wear Support

Android Wear is the platform of choice for many, and Facebook recently added itself in the list. They’ve updated their popular Messenger app to work with Android Wear, leaving your phone to rest in your pocket.

Facebook recently had pulled out the chat option from its app, making Facebook Messenger a standalone app. Mark Zuckerberg is”The reason why we’re doing that is we found that having it as a second-class thing inside the Facebook app makes it so there’s more friction to replying to messages, so we would rather have people be using a more focused experience for that,” Zuckerberg said.

In an announcement by Facebook’s Ian Lake, an updated version of the Messenger, version 9, will include lots of new Android Wear focused improvements. First on the list is voice replies. The update includes the ability to tap the reply button when a message comes in, and speak what you want to say. Also included is the ability to mute a conversation directly from the Android Wear device.

Lake also mentioned that users will be able to reply to messages with the ‘thumbs up’ icon. No word on whether or not Facebook will follow suit and expand the selectable replies beyond just a ‘thumbs up’, but with Wear support constantly growing, we can’t help but imagine that new features are just around the corner.

Even with the shortcomings wearables can bring, this is still a major app supporting Android Wear. These are still early days for Android Wear, and Facebook Messenger support is pretty impressive

August 7, 2014