TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

INSTAGRAM UPDATE

2018-08-29T04:28:00.001-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

As rumoured earlier, Instagram has opened its verification process to all users on its platform. Instagram users with large audiences can request for verification through a form within the app.

Verified accounts have a blue tick next to their username indicating that the account is genuine. Every verified account request will be reviewed by Instagram to see if it complies with the company’s criteria.

How to apply for a verified account on Instagram

Go to your profile on Instagram and open the Settings menu.

Scroll down to the bottom and select “Request Verification”.

You will then need to provide your username, full name and a copy of your legal or business identification.

Once your request is reviewed, you will receive a notification confirming or declining it.

Along with verification requests, Instagram also made two new announcements which are part of its “About This Account” feature. Users will now be able to evaluate the authenticity of accounts by allowing them to see the advertisements an account is running, the country where the account is located, username changes in the past year as well as other details.
Keeping people with bad intentions off our platform is incredibly important ... that means trying to make sure the people you follow and the accounts you interact with are who they say they are, and stopping bad actors before they cause harm,” Instagram co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Mike Krieger said.

Instagram also said it will allow the use of third-party apps such as DUO Mobile and Google Authenticator for two-factor authentication to help users securely log in to their accounts.

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security on top of usernames and passwords by prompting users for information they have access to.

Earlier this month, Facebook introduced this feature for users who managed pages with a large U.S. following, seeking to make it harder to administer a page using a fake or compromised account.

These features will be broadly available in the coming weeks, the photo-sharing app said in a blog post.

GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK new $1 trillion payments MARKETING

2018-08-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Surendrasingh Sucharia always has a few thousand rupees in his pocket, but can’t recall the last time he used cash. The 29-year-old product manager in Bangalore uses a string of smartphone apps including ones from Google and India’s Paytm to pay for everything from $40 bags of groceries to street food that costs pennies. A bewildering array of digital payment businesses from global names like Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp to Google are in a slugfest to win Indian users. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is acquiring a stake in the company behind payments leader Paytm. Meanwhile, a string of other big-name players are also expanding in the country’s digital payments market including its banks, its postal service, and its richest man, Mukesh Ambani. India saw a brief spurt in digital payments two years ago when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government banned most of the nation’s existing bank notes, although the spike petered out as new bills were printed. But over the past year, a string of new apps have made payments increasingly easy, and the discounts and cash bonuses they offer are proving irresistible to young, urban users like Sucharia. Credit Suisse Group AG now estimates that the Indian digital payments market will touch $1 trillion by 2023 from about $200 billion currently. Cash still accounts for 70 percent of all Indian transactions by value, according to Credit Suisse, and neighboring China is far more advanced with a mobile payments market worth more than $5 trillion. But local players have a stranglehold on China’s digital payments space. Modi’s administration, meanwhile, has welcomed foreign firms in order to expand financial services across India. “This kind of a promising market exists nowhere else,” said Vivek Belgavi, a Mumbai-based partner at consultancy PwC India with an expertise in financial technology. Still, the Indian payments market remains a chaotic field where the rules are hazy on what players can offer. And users often switch between apps. Rahul Matthan, a Bangalore-based lawyer, says he’s used every one of the leading payment apps, although he now confines most of his transactions to BHIM, Paytm and WhatsApp payments. Experts like Vinayak HV, Singapore-based senior partner at McKinsey & Co., say profitability isn’t close on the horizon for the industry. While it’s too early to call the game, here are a few players with a shot at winning: Facebook’s WhatsApp: Began beta testing its payments service on a million Indians in February this year. Pros: WhatsApp is India’s most popular messaging app, whose quarter of a billion users text family and friends all day. It doesn’t need to put in cash to acquire customers and that’s a massive advantage. Cons: The service is stuck in beta mode, and its country-wide launch has been impeded by regulatory questions over areas like storage of user data. Meanwhile, the government has been upbraiding WhatsApp for not curbing fake videos that have gone viral on its messaging service and led to the lynching of over two dozen Indians. This could further delay the full-fledged launch of its payments business. Google’s Tez, Now Rebranded as Google Pay Google says its India payment app crossed 50 million app downloads a few weeks ago. On Tuesday, the company said it was rebranding the app as Google Pay. It’s been swiftly adding users and sprinted to increase total number of transactions using the country’s Unified Payments Interface, or UPI, a system that’s linked to over a 100 banks and facilitates real-time digital transactions. Pros: Google’s Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said the app is central to the company’s India strategy and also key to its global payments push. The payments app has localized, supporting several Indian languages, and is chasing young users with games that offer cashbacks. Cons: The Google payment app is lagging rival WhatsApp whose strong base of users come from its messaging service. Google has belatedly introduced a chat feature. Flipkart’s PhonePe: PhonePe says it has 133 million app downloads. Pros: When Walmart Inc. acquired a majority stake in PhonePe’s parent Flipkart Online Services Pvt. , the payments app also acquired a global backer. All signs are that PhonePe is already gaining from Walmart’s financial heft with a recent infusion of about $66 million from Flipkart. Cons: Flipkart rival Amazon has been steadily pumping capital into its own wallet, Amazon Pay, and increasing its user base. Paytm: Backed by China’s Alibaba as well as Ant Financial Services Co. and now Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Paytm is India’s largest digital payments company and says it has 150 million app downloads. Pros: An early player, it got a boost from India’s demonetization drive in 2016, when a scarcity of cash sent millions scurrying toward providers like Paytm. The company has since built a wide network of merchants and outlets with a robust system of cashbacks and discounts to keep users locked in. Cons: Paytm’s users have to go through a multi-step enrollment process since it’s a licensed payments bank, unlike most of its digital wallet rivals like PhonePe. The regulator recently barred Paytm temporarily from enlisting new users for non-compliance with procedures. The company said it has responded to the regulator’s concerns. BHIM: Has 32 million app downloads. Designed by UPI, it’s the government’s own play in digital payments. The app is simple and fast, appealing to non-technologically savvy users in smaller towns and rural India. Pros: The government has been actively pushing BHIM, using Modi’s face to promote its brand, setting transaction targets for banks and state-owned utilities to boost its user base. Cons: Despite an initial popularity burst, it hasn’t been able to keep pace with rivals whose bottomless pockets have kept users hooked with sweeteners. Next in Line: A brand new India Post Payments Bank, set up by the state-owned Department of Posts, is starting operations with 650 branches and thousands of trained postmen fanning out to far-flung corners to teach users how to use its app. Also, Ambani’s digital payments business via his Jio mobile service, has the potential to jolt rivals.

SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 Gets Low Repair Score

2018-08-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 9 at an event in New York earlier this month, and the smartphone came with slight upgrades to its design, upgraded specifications, and an improved S Pen. Samsung's Galaxy Note line is known for its low repairability score, and iFixit did a teardown of the Galaxy Note 9 to see if the tech giant had made any changes this time around. Unfortunately, upon dissection, iFixit found issues with battery replacement, opening up the phone, and display repairs as well and therefore gave it a low repairability score of 4 out of 10.

iFixit notes that the Galaxy Note 9 is glued together with strong adhesive, and they had to show it heat, use suction, and slice the panel open. Once opened, they found the massive 4,000mAh battery to be glued down, making it difficult to replace. Also, iFixit notes that the battery weighs more than what it weighed on the Galaxy Note 8. Even the S Pen was difficult to open without damage.

The DIY repair site gave the Galaxy Note 9 a low repairability score because of the difficulty in replacing the battery, and servicing even a small component requires the engineer to 'painstakingly un-glue (and later re-glue) the glass rear panel.' Furthermore, 'display repairs require replacing the entire chassis or tediously separating the gluey cracked glass.'

iFixit has some positives to say about the Galaxy Note 9 as well. It claims that the components are more modular for easy removal, and the screws used are standard Phillips screws making it easy to unscrew them. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 price in India starts from Rs. 67,900 for the 6GB RAM/ 128GB storage variant, while the 8GB RAM/ 512GB storage variant costs Rs. 84,900

GOOGLE LATEST NEWS

2018-08-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Google will contribute $1 million (nearly Rs 7 crore) to the relief and restoration work in Kerala which has been battered by severe floods, a top company official said here on Tuesday.

"Google.org and Googlers will contribute $1 million to the relief work in Kerala," Rajan Anandan, Vice President, Southeast Asia and India, said at the Google for India event.

Google Crisis Response team has launched several measures to help victims of Kerala floods.

Among other measures, it activated the "person finder" tool that fetched 22,000 records, Anandan said.

Apple too, announced last week that it is donating Rs 7 crore towards the ongoing relief work.

"We're heartbroken by the catastrophic flooding in Kerala. Apple is donating Rs 7 crore to support the life saving work Mercy Corps India and the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund are undertaking to support survivors, help those who have been displaced and rebuild homes and schools," the Cupertino-based iPhone maker said in a statement.

Apple has also added support banners to its home page, along with App Store and iTunes Store, allowing customers to donate to Mercy Corps.

Apple customers can donate $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, or $200 to Mercy Corps using credit and debit cards.

As many as 417 people have lost their lives ever since monsoon rains began lashing Kerala on May 29, with some 8.69 lakh displaced people sheltered in 2,787 relief camps.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday that the deaths began since the monsoon rains started on May 29 but 265 of the casualties were reported from August 8 when torrential downpour triggered the worst flooding in the state in nearly a century.

There have been other companies as well that have donated money for the flood victims. Hyundai India and TVS Motor Company donated Rs 1 crore each to Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), while Mercedes Benz-India donated Rs 30 lakh. Beverage alcohol major Diageo India also donated Rs 1 Crore towards CMDRF.

Several other companies have been pitching in to help the victims in other ways. E-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket and Zomato have been partnering with various NGOs to help with the relief work. Google has made available a Person Finder tool to help find missing people in Kerala. Paytm started accepting donations for the CMDRF and collected over Rs 30 crore.

Telecom operators too are trying to help by offering data and voice call benefits to prepaid customers and bill payment extensions to postpaid customers. Idea and Airtel launched missing person services as well.

ASUS ZENFONE MAX PRO MI

2018-08-27T20:23:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

aiwanese smartphone brand Asus has launched a new Blue colour variant of its recently launched Zenfone Max Pro (M1). With the launch of the Blue colour variant, the Asus ZenFone Max Pro (M1) will now be available in three colours -- Black, Gray and Blue. The Blue edition of ASUS ZenFone Max Pro (M1) will be available for sale starting August 30 exclusively on Flipkart.
The smartphone retails at Rs 10,999 for 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant and Rs 12,999 for 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant. Asus had recently announced a higher variant of the Zenfone Max Pro (M1) with 6GB RAM/64 GB storage along with camera upgradation of 16MP front camera with dual rear camera with (primary) 16MP and (secondary) 5MP at Rs 14,999.
Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 sports a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 1080x2160 pixel resolution and has an aspect ratio of 18:9. The smartphone is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor and runs Android 8.0 Oreo operating system.

Asus also boasts about the 5-magnet speaker with NXP smart amplifier that is said to ensure that the speaker quality is not compromised due to over- or under-charging of device. The device packs in an accessory called Max box that is said to amplify the sound from the device up to 2 times.
The Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 packs a 5,000 mAh battery which the company claims can deliver up to 199 hours of music playback, up to 34.1 days of 4G stand-by and up to 25.3 hours 1080p video playback. The smartphone also boasts of a 5-magnet speaker with NXP smart amplifier. The smartphone comes with a triple SIM card slot. Connectivity options include 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-
Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

REALME 2 UPDATE

2018-08-26T19:39:00.001-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Realme 2 has now been spotted with its display and battery specifications online. As part of Flipkart’s ‘Notify Me’ page for the phone, the e-commerce platform has added these details. Realme 2 is set to launch in India on August 28, and the phone has been marked as a Flipkart exclusive.

On Flipkart’s exclusive page for Realme 2, one can spot tha battery logo with ‘4230mAh’ written inside, as well as a diagonal line across an image of the phone, with ‘6.2’ written at the phone’s centre. Also, the Realme 2 poster shows a dual-camera configuration, which will feature on the phone’s back. This phone features a notch over the display, which the company has promoted from the hashtag #ANotchAbove. This also appears to suggest that Realme 2 could feature Face Unlock, though it is not known if the front camera could have AI-backed features as well.

Also read: Realme 2 India launch on August 28, will be priced under Rs 10,000

Realme 2 with the company’s trademark diamond cut design. rear-mounted fingerprint sensor as well as vertically-stacked dual-rear cameras. The phone will be priced under Rs 10,000, as confirmed by Realme, and will be available in Red, Black, and Blue colour variants. While Realme 1 runs the Helio P60 processor, Realme 2 is likely to run a Snapdragon processor, which was also confirmed by Qualcomm. While this phone will show a notch over the display, the back will resemble the diamond cut pattern that was found on Realme 1, launched in May this year.

Outside the phone specifications, the other big change to be observed is the phone’s branding. While Realme 1 was launched as an Oppo device, this phone is being launched independently, as Realme appears to have separated its operrations from Oppo.

Samsung Galaxy A8 Star AVAILABLE AND SALE IN INDIA

2018-08-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Samsung Galaxy A8 Star was launched in India last week, and went on sale via Amazon India today. To recall, the Samsung Galaxy A8 Star is the global variant of the Galaxy A9 Star, which was launched launched in China a couple of months ago. A premium mid-range smartphone from the South Korean consumer electronics giant, the Samsung Galaxy A8 Star offers 6GB of RAM, a Super AMOLED Infinity Display, and dual rear cameras with the company's 'Dual Rear IntelliCam' tech. The company is also touting features such as Pro Lighting and Smart Beauty for the front camera, as well as Bixby virtual assistant integration.

Samsung Galaxy A8 Star price in India, launch offers
The Samsung Galaxy A8 Star price in India has been set at Rs. 34,990. Launch offers include a free 1-year screen protection plan, no-cost EMIs from Bajaj Finserv and all major credit cards, and 5 percent instant discount using an HDFC Bank Credit card.

Samsung Galaxy A8 Star specifications
The dual-SIM (Nano) Samsung Galaxy A8 Star runs Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung Experience UX on top and features a 6.3-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity Display panel along with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio and a 2.5D and 3D glass protection that sits alongside the metal frame. There is an Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 SoC that includes quad-core 2.2GHz Kryo 260 and quad-core 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs, coupled with 6GB of RAM. As we mentioned, the smartphone has a Dual Rear IntelliCam setup at the back that includes 16-megapixel and 24-megapixel sensors, both featuring f/1.7 aperture lenses on top. Samsung has also provided a 24-megapixel sensor at the front along with an f/2.0 aperture. The front camera works with Smart Beauty and Pro Lighting features and supports AR Stickers. Furthermore, there is a Face Unlock feature that lets you unlock the screen using your face.

Samsung has provided 64GB of onboard storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 400GB). In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy A8 Star has 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There is a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Besides, the handset packs a 3,700mAh battery and measures 162.4x77x7.5mm

Rootless Pixel Launcher AVAILABLE now on the Google Play

2018-08-26T19:23:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

When we talk about custom launchers, often people will mention the ones based on or similar to the Google Pixel Launcher. There’s Lawnchair, Lean Launcher, Rootless Pixel Launcher, Ruthless and more. Rootless Pixel Launcher is an especially interesting one in that it’s based on Android’s open source Launcher3 and merged with decompiled Pixel Launcher sources. It’s developed by Amir Zaidi, who has been working on the project since the original Google Pixel released. Lean Launcher and an upcoming Lawnchair release actually already use it as a base and add their own features on top of it. In a sense, Rootless Pixel Launcher is simply a stable software base which other developers can take and add to.

There is one downside to the way it does things though: It uses the Pixel Launcher’s original package name. This is so it can display the Google Now Panel and the “At a Glance” features without resorting to using any kind of companion application. That’s changing with Rootless Pixel Launcher 3.8 so it can be released on the Google Play Store.

First, the Rootless Pixel Bridge is what allows this launcher to make its way over to the Google Play Store. It uses a similar method to what Nova Companion does, except Amir Zaidi tells me that it is compatible with any launcher. It’s completely open source as well so that developers can learn how to implement support for it into their own launcher. The install process is documented above—it really is that simple. All the Rootless Pixel Bridge does is act as a handshake forwarder so when Google makes changes to their API it should still work fine. The developer will just need to make changes to their launcher to accommodate those API changes.

Rootless Pixel Launcher 3.8 is still based on Android Oreo, with a future release possibly planned with the release of Android 9.1. For now, there’s no real reason to go through the decompilation and deobfuscation process of Android Pie’s Pixel Launcher. There aren’t enough new features to justify that process, so instead, we’re getting to see the Rootless Pixel Bridge and some other small changes and improvements.

The Google Play Store link is down below. Be aware that you can’t import your old layout from previous versions and that you’ll have to reinstall. This is because of the signing key to accommodate a Play Store release. Google Pixel users will also have to wait for the Magisk module to release for the Rootless Pixel Bridge. The Bridge acts like the Google Pixel launcher does to the Google App, which will conflict with the real Pixel Launcher on your

NOKIA 6.1 PLUS UNBOXING

2018-08-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

The Nokia 6.1 Plus features 64GB of storage, and the Nokia 5.1 Plus has 32GB of storage. Both smartphones allow storage expansion using a microSD card (up to 400GB) and have 3,060mAh batteries with support for fast charging. One of the biggest USPs of both phones is the fact that they are a part of the Android One programme. They offer an optimised experience with stock Android, two years of Android version updates, and three years of monthly security updates guaranteed. HMD Global has confirmed that both smartphones will receive the Android Pie update in the coming months.

On the imaging front, both phones feature dual camera setups at the rear. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has a 16-megapixel primary camera with an aperture of f/2.0, alongside a 5-megapixel monochrome camera with an aperture of f/2.4. The Nokia 5.1 Plus in comparison has a 13-megapixel primary camera with an aperture of f/2.0, alongside a 5-megapixel depth sensor. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has a dual-LED flash while the Nokia 5.1 Plus makes do with a single-LED flash.

On the front, the Nokia 6.1 Plus has a 16-megapixel fixed-focus camera with an aperture of f/2.0, and the Nokia 5.1 Plus has a 8-megapixel fixed-focus camera with an aperture of f/2.2. Both phones share camera app features such as a live bokeh mode, AR stickers, dual-sight mode (allowing you to superimpose shots taken with the front and rear cameras simultaneously), beauty mode, and AI-assisted portrait lighting.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus look good and run a stock build of Android with the promise of timely updates. The Nokia 6.1 Plus has been priced at Rs. 15,999 and will go on sale on August 30 via Flipkart and Nokia's online store. The sleek and compact smartphone has been priced aggressively and looks set to give the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (Review) and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 (Review) a run for their money. HMD Global is yet to announce the price of the Nokia 5.1 Plus in India. The smartphone will go on sale by the end of September and will face tough competition from the likes of the Realme 1 (Review) and the lower variants of the ZenFone Max Pro M1.

Stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for our full reviews of both smartphones, in which we will evaluate their design, displays, software, performance, battery life, and cameras.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus has a 5.8-inch full-HD+ display and the Nokia 5.1 Plus has a 5.8-inch HD+ panel. In the limited time that we had, we found the display on the Nokia 6.1 Plus to be quite satisfactory, with vivid and punchy colours, and good viewing angles. However, we were disappointed with the viewing angles on the Nokia 5.1 Plus. A detailed analysis of the displays will have to wait till we conduct the full review of both phones.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, paired with 4GB of RAM. This is the same processor used in the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 (Review) and Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro (Review) which are priced starting at Rs 10,999 and Rs. 14,999 respectively. The Nokia 5.1 Plus in comparison has 3GB of RAM and is powered by MediaTek's Helio P60 processor, which features a dedicated neural processing unit capable of handling deep learning for facial detection as well photo and video enhancement.

In our limited experience, both phones performed admirably, with fluid animations, minimal load times for first-party applications, and little to no shutter lag in the camera app. The Nokia 5.1 Plus did crash on us a few times, but an HMD Global representative told us that phone was running pre-production software so we wouldn't read too much into that at this stage.

Both phones look similar from the back. The dual-camera setup is placed in a pill-shaped housing, underneath which is a circular fingerprint sensor, and a vertically oriented Nokia logo. The Android One logo is placed at the bottom along with the obligatory regulatory information.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus features accents around the rear camera module, fingerprint sensor, power button, and volume button, which add flair to what is otherwise an understated design. The Nokia 5.1 Plus only features an accent around the rear camera module.

Both smartphones have a USB Type-C port and a single loudspeaker at the bottom. We are glad to see that HMD Global has not gotten rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is present at the top. In our limited experience, the rear-mounted fingerprint scanner on both phones was quite snappy, and the setup process was swift as well. The phones also support face recognition, a detailed assessment of which we will include in our full review.

Hot on the heels of the launch of the Nokia 2.1 and Nokia 5.1, HMD Global has launched two new smartphones in India, the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus, which feature notched displays and glass rears. The Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus were launched in China back in May as the Nokia X6 and Nokia X5 respectively. Both smartphones are a part of the Android One initiative and run a stock build of Android 8.1 Oreo. They feature an all-screen design with 19:9 displays. We got to spend some time with both smartphones and here are our first impressions.

With the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus, HMD Global has embraced current design trends head-on. The notch on the Nokia 5.1 Plus is a fair bit larger than the one on the Nokia 6.1 Plus. Despite the notches, these phones don't have borderless screens, and there are a significant chins where HMD Global has placed the Nokia logo.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus will be available in three colour options - Gloss Black, Gloss White, and Gloss Midnight Blue. The glossy finish looks attractive but picks up a lot of smudges and fingerprints.

Unlike the Nokia 5.1 and Nokia 6.1, which feel hefty and solid, the Nokia 6.1 Plus and Nokia 5.1 Plus come across as a bit light and delicate. We will have to wait and see how they hold up to the stresses of daily use in our full review. On the positive side, they are compact and pocketable, and are much easier to hold in one hand thanks to the tall aspect ratio and curved edges.

AIRTEL LAUNCH UNLIMITED DATA BROADBAND PLAN

2018-08-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Just days after Reliance Jio started taking registrations for the highly anticipated Jio GigaFiber broadband service, Bharti Airtel has started expanding its truly unlimited broadband data offerings in more cities. The latest move, which is certainly aimed at taking on Jio GigaFiber, comes days after Airtel was spotted offering unlimited broadband plans in Hyderabad - without any explicit FUP limits. With the expansion, the same treatment has now been given by the New Delhi-based telco to its broadband subscribers in circles such as Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Delhi-NCR, Indore, Jamnagar, Kolkata, and Mumbai, among others. Airtel is also offerings benefits such as Amazon Prime subscription and data rollover to take on the GigaFiber service that is touted to deliver up to 1Gbps download speeds.

Initially, Airtel was offering unlimited broadband data to its subscribers in Hyderabad. The service provider notably brought unlimited data for all the existing plans in the city, even with the lowest, Rs. 349 plan that offers 8Mbps of Internet speed along with unlimited local and STD calls. However, as the Jio GigaFiber service is about to hit certain circles in India, Airtel has expanded its unlimited broadband data offering and removed the existing FUP limits to other circles as well.

As specified on its official site, Airtel subscribers in Mumbai can now avail unlimited broadband data with the Rs. 699 and Rs. 1,999 plans. Similar is the case for subscribers in Ahmedabad, Infocity Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, and Surat where the operator is offering unlimited broadband data on the Rs. 499, Rs. 599, and Rs. 1,099 plans. For subscribers in Chandigarh, Delhi, Indore, Jaipur, and Kolkata, Airtel has introduced its unlimited broadband offering on the Rs. 1,999 plan. Besides, there is unlimited broadband data on the Rs. 499 and Rs. 1,999 plans in Agra, Ambala, and Karnal.

It is worth pointing out here that while Airtel says that it is offering unlimited broadband data with no speed drop, it does specify the limit. The operator is also importantly offering the unlimited data benefit for personal and non-commercial use, like what debuted in Hyderabad last month. "It is clarified and stated that this benefit is only meant for personal and non-commercial use, and is not intended for any commercial use, or special or enterprise plans. The Fair Usage Policy for the unlimited plans is capped at 3,333GB (3.3TB) post which customers can enjoy unlimited speeds at 1024 Kbps," the company revealed in its terms and conditions.

Having said that, the monthly limit of 3.3TB is quite sufficient for home usage and far better than what Airtel subscribers were getting previously. But essentially, the operator is still putting in place a FUP limit. However, it has started marketing the select plans with unlimited broadband data to start retaining its existing subscribers and attract new subscribers ahead of the public debut of Jio GigaFiber.

Alongside the unlimited broadband data offerings, Airtel is giving benefits such as Amazon Prime subscription and unlimited local and STD voice calls to persuade subscribers. There is also Airtel V-Fiber service that is touted to up to 300Mbps speed. The expansion of the unlimited data offering was first spotted by TelecomTalk.

NOKIA 6.1 ANDROID PHONE NEWS

2018-08-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

You may not have heard the Nokia 6.1 aka Nokia 6 (2018) all that much of late, but that is because it is flying under the radar. Despite low buzz around it, this is one of the best phones you can buy in the market, especially at a price point of around Rs 15,000, and particularly if you are buying the phone offline. Now HMD Global, the company that makes and sells Nokia phones, has reduced the price of the Nokia 6.1 in India. The phone, after a price cut of Rs 1,500, is going to be available at a starting price of Rs 15,499 instead of 16,999. This is for the 3GB RAM variant. The 4GB RAM variant will now have a price of Rs 17,499 instead of Rs 18,999.

Do keep in mind that this is the new MRP. Unlike many online-only phones that sell at their MRP, the Nokia 6.1 has been priced keeping in mind the offline market and propensity of shoppers to bargain. So in actual market the Nokia 6.1 is likely to be available even cheaper.

As a phone, the Nokia 6.1 could be called a mixed bag. It has a fantastic build quality, and a design that most people will like. It also has great software, which is basically pure Android or in other Android One version of Oreo. And it is scheduled to get Android 9 Pie update in the coming months. It also offers great battery life.

But at the same time, there are parts that could have been better. In our review, we found the Nokia 6.1 cameras to be average and its display to be lacking some of the brightness that its predecessor Nokia 6 had.

As far as the specifications are concerned, the Nokia 6.1 is powered by Snapdragon 630 processor, comes with up to 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, 16-megapixel primary camera, 8-megapixel front camera, and a 5.5-inch display.

The price cut on the Nokia 6.1 comes days before HMD Global is expected to launch the Nokia 6.1 Plus phone in India. On August 16, HMD India started teasing its upcoming phone on social media, calling it the "most awaited phone". It is expected that the Nokia 6.1 Plus will be priced around Rs 20,000 in India.

XIAOMI MI8 UPDATE 8GB RAM AND 128 GB STORAGE

2018-08-15T20:52:00.002-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

iaomi has launched a new 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the Mi 8 in China. Previously, the configuration was limited to Xiaomi's limited Mi 8 Explorer Edition device. Xiaomi has launched the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the Mi 8 in China for CNY 3,299 which roughly translates to Rs 33,000. Just like the originally launched Mi 8, the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage variant of the phone is also a China-only exclusive.

The new variant shares all the specs of the original Mi 8, differing only in RAM and ROM. This means that it also has a 6.21-inch full-screen full-HD+ AMOLED notched display with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio and always-on support. The notch results in a screen-to-body ratio of 88.5 per cent, according to Xiaomi. In terms of core hardware, the Mi 8 comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor.

The dual-SIM phone runs Android Oreo-based MIUI 10 and supports what Xiaomi is calling dual-frequency GPS that apparently "eliminates interference from buildings and reduces signal delays, increasing the accuracy of navigating." There is no 3.5mm headphone jack which means the same connectivity port -- USB Type-C -- will be used for audio out, charging and data syncing.

In terms of optics, the Mi 8 possibly has the same dual rear cameras as the Mi Mix 2S although Xiaomi seems to have made some changes inside so it offers a better DxOMark score of 105 for photos. The Mi 8 comes with a dual camera setup on the rear -- 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel -- where one lens is wide-angle while the other is telephoto. It offers 2X optical zoom and 10X digital zoom and should technically result in clearer distant shots and professional bokeh effects in portraits.

The dual camera system on-board the Mi 8 is assisted with 4-axis OIS which should technically entail in more stabilised videos. The primary sensor, which is a Sony IMX363, has large 1.4um pixel size, an aperture of f/1.8 and also there is dual pixel autofocus along with hardware-based multi-frame noise reduction. The secondary sensor meanwhile has an aperture of f/2.4. What really adds a third dimension to Xiaomi's new phone is AI. Just like the Mi Mix 2S, the Mi 8 is capable of detecting over 200 scenes across 25 categories and then accordingly it can optimise contrast and saturation in photos. It also comes with a studio lighting feature like the iPhone X.

On the front, the Mi 8 comes with a 20-megapixel camera that's also capable of shooting AI-based portrait SELFIES

OPPO R17 PRO

2018-08-15T20:43:00.002-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

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addition to the all-new camera setup, the Oppo R17 Pro is likely to come with a Snapdragon 710 SoC. As spotted by Telefoonabonnement.nl, a Geekbench listing has tipped the availability of the new chipset. The listing also highlighted that the smartphone has 8GB of RAM.

If we believe some ongoing rumours, the Oppo R17 Pro features a 6.4-inch display and come with 128GB of onboard storage. The handset is also reported to run Android 8.1 Oreo-based ColorOS 5.2 and pack a 3,500mAh battery.

Oppo hasn't revealed any details about the launch of the R17 Pro. However, the company has already listed the Oppo R17 and is set to start taking its pre-orders in China from August 18.

Oppo R17 Pro may be the Chinese industry's answer to the variable aperture camera first featured on the Samsung Galaxy S9 family. The new smartphone by Oppo, which notably comes just a day after the Oppo R17 emerged officially, is touted to debut with a Smart Aperture technology that will enable users to capture dynamic lighting by adjusting the aperture sizes. It is separately reported that the Oppo R17 Pro could come with a triple camera setup. Huawei already adopted the technology to offer as many as three rear-facing camera sensors with the launch of the P20 Pro back in March. Oppo might use a similar technology on the Oppo R17 Pro. Meanwhile, the benchmark scores of the upcoming smartphone also emerged with a Snapdragon 710 SoC. This is unlike the Oppo R17 that debuted on Monday with a Snapdragon 670 SoC.

As teased in a video posted on Weibo, Oppo is set to bring the R17 Pro with a variable aperture feature that it calls Smart Aperture. The handset, as detailed in the video, will have two f-stop numbers, particularly f/1.5 and f/2.4, that will interchange through the software to adjust the amount of lighting and ultimately enhance shots. While the concept of variable aperture is not new in the market of still cameras and DSLRs, Samsung adopted this development first on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ and calls it Dual Aperture. The same technology has also been inherited by the Galaxy Note 9.

Alongside the variable aperture, the Oppo R17 Pro will have a bunch of artificial intelligence (AI) powered camera features, including a Super Night Mode. GizmoChina also reports that leaked marketing material by Oppo is doing the rounds of the Internet, and has hinted at the availability of a triple camera setup on the Oppo R17 Pro. It is unclear that how the Chinese company will leverage the addition of the third sensor that sits in line with the two sensors on the R17 Pro, as seen in the alleged marketing material.

Huawei brought a triple rear camera setup on the P20 Pro by partnering with Leica. The company offered an 8-megapixel sensor with 3x optical zoom, 40-megapixel RGB sensor, and a 20-megapixel monochrome sensor. Oppo could use a similar configuration on the R17 Pro that appears to have a vertically-placed triple rear camera setup.

MI A2 AVAILABLE AND SALE IN INDIA AMAZONE MI STORE OFFLINE BUY NOW

2018-08-15T20:08:00.002-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

Xiaomi Mi A2 (Review) will go on sale in India for the first time today at 12pm IST via Amazon, Mi.com, Mi Home, and Mi Preferred Partner Store. To recall, the smartphone was launched globally last month in Spain. The smartphone is part of the Android One initiative, which means it is certified by Google to run an optimised version of stock Android, and due for timely updates. The Mi A2 is successor to the Mi A1, and it was launched in India last week. Chinese company Xiaomi has already revealed the Mi A2 launch offers, and the smartphone went up for pre-orders last week itself.

Mi A2 price in India and booking details
The Xiaomi Mi A2 price in India starts from Rs. 16,999 for the 4GB RAM/ 64GB inbuilt storage variant. It will come with a soft case in the box. The 6GB RAM/ 128GB inbuilt storage variant was also launched, but, the smartphone will be coming soon, and no price has yet been revealed. It will be made available in Black, Gold, Lake Blue, and Rose Gold colour options

Xiaomi Mi A2 specifications
The dual-SIM (Nano) Xiaomi Mi A2 runs stock Android 8.1 Oreo, and being a part of the Android One programme from Google, is certified to offer an optimised Android experience and timely updates. The company is promising "minimal preloaded apps." The smartphone sports a 5.99-inch full-HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and pixel density of 403ppi. It is protected by 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 5. The Mi A2 is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 660 SoC (four cores clocked at 2.2GHz and four cores clocked at 1.8GHz) coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 sports a dual rear camera setup, with a 12-megapixel Sony IMX486 sensor in the primary camera, featuring 1.25-micron pixels with an f/1.75 aperture. It uses a 20-megapixel IMX376 sensor as the secondary rear camera, with 2-micron pixels, 4-in-1 Super Pixel tech, and f/1.75 aperture. The rear camera setup also features a flash module. On the front, the Mi A2 bears the same 20-megapixel sensor, complete with a soft-light flash module.

Xiaomi is touting several 'AI Camera' features, including Portrait mode (available on the front camera as well), Beauty Mode 4.0, and face recognition. There is also a 'Smart Lens Selection' feature, that chooses the appropriate rear sensor based on the lighting conditions. The smartphone also offers electronic image stabilisation (EIS) for video recording. As we mentioned, the Xiaomi Mi A2 comes in two inbuilt storage options - 64GB and 128GB - depending on the variant purchased.

Connectivity options on the Mi A2 include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (dual-band, 2.4GHz and 5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0, GPS/ A-GPS, and a USB Type-C (v2.0) port - there is no 3.5mm headphone jack on the phone. It bears a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel, while other sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, digital compass, gyroscope, and proximity sensor. The Xiaomi Mi A2 sports a 3,000mAh battery that supports Quick Charge 4+, however, the smartphone will ship with a regular 10W charger in the box. It measures 158.7x75.4x7.3mm, and weighs 168 grams.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR JIO BROADBAND

2018-08-15T19:32:00.000-07:00

TECHNIAL INDUSTRY

After 4G mobile services, Reliance Jio on 15 August started registration for optical fiber based fixed-line broadband service through which it has claimed to offer download speed of one gigabit per second."JioGigaFiber. Make your neighborhood #Gigaready with Gigabit wifi, TV, smart home, free calling and more," read the registration option in MyJio App.At present, major rivals of Jio offer download speed up to 100 megabits per second for around Rs 1,000 per month for home users.

Jio claims to offer around 10 times more speed to home users. Though the company has not disclosed its price yet, however, there have been reports that it will trigger a stiff competition among telecom firms. Here are the following steps to register for Jio GigaFiber:
Go to the official website of Ji0 GigaFiber.
Then you'll have to enter your address. You'll see your current location written, you can change it by moving the pin on the map or by pressing on the 'Change' button.
After you've jotted down your address, hit the 'Submit' button.
The screen might still show the default address, but do not get worked up. Just move on to the next step which is to select whether the address you've entered is your home or work address.
Then fill in your details: name, contact number, and press on the 'Generate' OTP button
Enter the OTP that you receive then select the type of your locality whether it's a society, township, developer so and so forth.
And now for the final step, tap on 'Submit'.
Jio's entry in mobile services led to a free voice call for the first time, and data prices dipped by over 95 percent since the time it commenced services.The service will be launched simultaneously across 1,100 cities for homes, merchants, small and medium enterprises and large enterprises, according to an announcement earlier made by Reliance Jio's parent firm Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh D Ambani."For the home, this will mean ultra high definition entertainment on your large screen televisions, multi-party video conferencing from the comfort of your living room, voice-activated virtual assistants who obey your every command, virtual reality gaming and digital shopping," Ambani had said.He said that Jio broadband service will enable smart-home solutions where hundreds of devices like security cameras, home appliances even lights and switches can be securely controlled by their owners using a smartphone from both inside and outside the home.India jumped to number one in terms of mobile broadband service from its global rank of 150 after the launch of Jio 4G services.Ambani in his last annual general meeting speech said that India is ranked quite low at 134th in the global ranking for fixed broadband due to poor fixed-line infrastructure."In countries with better-developed communication infrastructure, more than 80 percent of data consumption happens indoors through fixed line connectivity in homes, in offices and other premises...Jio is determined to move India to among the top 5 in fixed-line broadband, too," Ambani said.Inputs from Press Trust of India.Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.TAGS

you wait for Nokia 6.1 Plus? AND Xiaomi Mi A2 is now in India

2018-08-15T07:40:00.002-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

In fact, the performance might just be a touch better thanks a well-optimised software, which is what you'll get with the Nokia 6.1 Plus. As an Android One device, the Nokia 6.1 Plus will run a clean and stock Android Oreo out of the box. It will also receive monthly Android security updates straight from Google and will also be eligible Android P and Android Q in the future.

-- Both the Mi A2 and Nokia 6.1 Plus are Android One phones, which means you should see a similar software experience on both. So far Nokia has not disappointed with its Android One phones this year and things look positive for the Nokia 6.1 Plus as well.

-- Nokia phones have also impressed with their battery life and that's largely due to an optimised software. The Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with a 3,060mAh battery capacity, which is just a touch better than the 3,000mAh battery inside the Nokia 6.1. When I reviewed the Nokia 6.1, I was quite impressed with its battery life which lasted a full day on above average usage and had a great standby time as well. This means we can be just as optimistic with the Nokia 6.1 Plus as well and this could really give it an edge over the Mi A2 which didn't quite impress us in the battery department.

-- The Mi A2 is a solid mid-range smartphone from Xiaomi and has earned a lot praises in our review, especially for its performance and cameras. But the device does come with some issues such as poor brightness and a battery life that leaves you wanting more. The Nokia 6.1 Plus could match the Mi A2 in terms of performance and software and may get an edge over the Mi A2 in terms of design and battery life as well, which is reason enough to wait for the Nokia 6.1 Plus.

-- The two factors that will really decide whether the Nokia 6.1 Plus is a Mi A2 challenger will be the pricing and cameras. The Mi A2 has some of the best cameras in this segment while HMD is yet to come with with impressive camera phones. Without a hands-on review it's hard to say whether the cameras on the Nokia 6.1 Plus is any good. As for the pricing, we expect the Nokia 6.1 Plus to fall well under Rs 20,000 and anything close to Mi A2's Rs 16,999 price tag will really heat things up

Xiaomi has launched the Mi A2 in India which replaces last year's Mi A1. A lot of hype and anticipation surrounded this phone as it not only promises to bring the best of Xiaomi's hardware but also the best of Google's Android software. The Mi A2 is an Android One phone and the only series from Xiaomi that does not come with a custom MIUI skin on top. The device was launched in the country for Rs 16,999, which is slightly higher than the Mi A1. And while the Mi A2 is likely to see the same stellar response as its predecessor, there's another phone that could soon steal its thunder.

The Nokia X6 which was launched in China is now being made available globally as the Nokia 6.1 Plus. This phone is expected to launch in India at an event on August 21. HMD has not confirmed the device, but considering that the company has already launched most of its 2018 lineup in India, the Nokia 6.1 Plus is the most likely candidate. Moreover, it is a phone that has been highly demanded by fans around the world, including India, which is what pushed HMD to announce it globally in the first place.

The Nokia 6.1 Plus is seeing a similar hype and anticipation as the Mi A2. It may also be the phone that will take on the Mi A2 head-to-head at least from a price perspective. The Mi A2 offers a lot for its price including an 18:9 display, metal unibody design, some really stellar cameras and a pretty powerful processor, among other things. The Nokia 6.1 Plus will have a fight ahead but here is why you should wait for the phone before you decide on the Mi A2.

-- The Nokia X6 aka Nokia 6.1 Plus is the first notched Nokia phone from HMD and boasts of an edge-to-edge display with minimum bezels that makes it look very 2018. It sports a 5.8-inch FHD+ (1080x2280) 19:9 display on a compact form factor. This is a noticeable upgrade over the Nokia 6.1 which comes with plenty of bezels all around and a 5.5-inch display.

-- One of the biggest highlights of the Nokia 6.1 Plus is its all-glass design. The device sports Gorilla Glass 3 on the front and back to give it a premium look at an affordable price. The design will likely trump the Mi A2's all-metal design which a mix of the Mi A1 and Redmi Note 5 Pro. Of course, the trade off is that it also makes the Nokia 6.1 Plus a lot less sturdy and weak compared to all-metal devices.

-- The Nokia 6.1 Plus comes with a Snapdragon 636 processor, which is slightly less powerful than the Snapdragon 660 SoC that's powering the Mi A2, at least on paper. But the chipset is by no stretch any less powerful in real-world testing. We've seen it powering the Redmi Note 5 Pro and we expect a similar kind of performance with the Nokia 6.1 Plus as well.

NOKIA 2.1 NOKIA 3.1 and NOKIA 5.1 available HERE in India: Price, specifications, NEW features

2018-08-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

TECHNICAL INDUSTRY

The 3 GB RAM variants of the Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 3.1 are available for sale along with both variants for the Nokia 5.1. The Nokia 2.1 is retailing for a price of Rs 6,999 and it is available in three colour options while the Nokia 3.1 is priced at Rs 11,999 and it is also available in three colour options.The Nokia 5.1 has been priced at starting from Rs 14,999 and the Black colour variant will be available in a few weeks. While both the Nokia 3.1 and Nokia 5.1 are powered by the Android One program from Google, the Nokia 2.1 is part of the Android Go program, wherein the phone runs on a customised version of Android which is less heavy on the processorWhile purchasing the devices on Paytm Mall, users having an ICICI debit/credit card can avail a 5 percent cash back. There will also be an additional 10 percent cashback on Paytm recharges as well.Specifications of the Nokia 5.1 include a 5.5-inch FHD+ (2,160 x 1,080 pixels) display in an 18:9 display aspect ratio which is an upgrade from the previous 5.2-inch unit on the older Nokia 5 model. Inside, Nokia goes with a MediaTek Helio P18 SoC clocked at 2.0 GHz and is paired with 3 GB RAM and a paltry 32 GB of internal storage, given its price tag.The new Nokia 3.1 variant gets a spec bump with 3 GB RAM instead of the underpowered 2 GB RAM model and packs in a 5.2-inch IPS LCD display with HD+ (1,440 x 720 pixels) resolution. The cameras also gets bumped up to a 13 MP primary cameras and an 8 MP front-facing camera for selfies.The Nokia 2.1 is an entry-level device and is priced at Rs 6,999. The device features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC and comes with a paltry 1 GB RAM paired with 8 GB of internal storage.