Sunday, February 28, 2016

Apple's 4 inch iPhone is reportedly called iPhone SE and not iPhone 5se


The next iPhone that Apple will reportedly announce will be called the iPhone "SE," not iPhone 5se as previously rumoured, according to 9to5Mac's Mark Gurman.

The SE is said to stand for "Special Edition."

The iPhone SE is expected to come with a 4-inch screen and a similar design to the iPhone 5S with a slightly curved front glass panel. It's also claimed to have an 8MP camera, the powerful A9 processor from the iPhone 6s, Apple Pay, and Live Photos.

Apparently, Apple is ditching the number "5" from the 4-inch iPhone's name to avoid confusion. Indeed, having the "5" in the model name could give the impression that it's a revamped older generation model, which might not be as alluring as a brand new model.

Gurman expects Apple to announce the iPhone SE at an event on March 15, where it's claimed the company will also announce an iPad Pro with a smaller 9.7-inch screen instead of the iPad Air 3.

Facebook launches Canvas to make mobile ads more creative

The social media giant Facebook on Friday launched Canvas a new full-screen, immersive mobile ad experience that loads nearly instantaneously when someone taps on a news feed ad for advertisers across the world. 


You can easily build your Canvas using a combination of videos, still images and call-to-action buttons. In Canvas, people can swipe through a carousel of images, tilt to view panoramic images and zoom in to view images in detail.

Its a product that represents our commitment to creative craft and delivering the best mobile experience for businesses and people, said Chris Jones, head of creative technology, Facebook Creative Shop.

Facebook says test users have responded positively to the ads so far: users spend an average of 31 seconds per ad, and over 70 seconds for the best ones, which sounds like a lot for an ad. Overall 53 percent of users view more than half of the canvas.

Canvas was built to bring your content to life in a fast-loading and seamless experience on Android and iOS. Leveraging the same technology used to display photos and videos quickly in the Facebook app, Canvas loads quickly, as much as 10 times faster than the standard mobile web.


Saturday, February 27, 2016

Motorola Moto X Force now available at retail stores in India


Motorola on Thursday announced that its recently launched smartphones with shatterproof screen - the Moto X Force, is now available with 400 retail stores in India. The smartphone was until now available to buy online from Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal for Rs. 49,999.

Some of the physical retail stores where the Moto X Force (Review) will be reaching are Croma, Spice Hotspot, Vijay Sales, and Poorvika. These 400 retail stores are spread across 15 cities from where the handset can also be bought with EMI options on select bank cards. The Moto X Force will be available in three colour variants - Black, Grey, and White.

The Moto X Force smartphone features Moto ShatterShield the worlds first shatterproof smartphone ultra hi-resolution 5.4-inch Quad HD AMOLED display.

The device is packed with the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor with octa-core CPUs, 3GB RAM and features a 21-megapixel rear camera with rapid focus and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with flash for selfies. It has a 3,760mAh battery and features TurboPower charging that gives up to eight hours of battery life after just 15 minutes of charging.

The Moto X Force comes with 32GB/64GB internal storage and supports an external storage of up to 2TB.

Google+ 7.3 pre-renders pages on WiFi, adds notification filtering, moderation tools, more
An update to Google+ for Android will now preload webpages when on WiFi, adds notification filtering, Community moderation tools, and more in addition to other bug fixes.

Another benefit of implementing Chrome Custom Tabs in the last update is the ability to pre-render webpages. The app will only do so when users are looking at a post with a link on an un-metered network, like WiFi.

The latest iteration of Googles social network is aimed more at communities and collections of shared interests. The updated Android app allows Community moderators to look at the moderation queue to review and remove posts, as well as ban members. Additionally, the apps header now hides itself when users scroll through the Collections and Community tabs.

Other updates include the ability to select multiple items to delete in the Activity Log and a new feature to filter notifications by unread, other, and all. Search autocomplete was removed shortly due to a bug and has now returned. Version 7.3 also fixes 10 bugs and addresses four accessibility issues.


The update is rolling out now via the Play Store.

New Features list:

* 10 bugs fixed

*Community moderators can now see flagged content for review in one place

*It's easy to delete multiple items from the Activity Log

* 4 accessibility issues addressed

* Ability to filter your notifications by All, Unread & Other

* Several Community moderation tools

* Delete multiple items in Activity Log at once

* Hide the top bar when scrolling Collections & Communities

* Even faster Web browsing on WiFi (https://plus.google.com/u/0/+LukeWroblewski/posts/caBp7SZziTS)

Friday, February 26, 2016

Apple releases OS X 10.11.4 public beta 4
Its a field day for beta testers, as Apple has released new developer betas for all of its operating systems iOS 9.3 beta 4, OS X 10.11.4. 


If youre enrolled in the developer program, hit up the Developer Center. If youre not a registered developer, but still want to test drive these new beta features, you can sign up for the Public Beta program. The public betas for iOS and OS X usually trail the developer beta releases by a few days. UPDATE February 23, 11:40 a.m. Pacific: iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.4 are now in public beta.

According to 9to5Mac, the official versions of iOS 9.3 and OS X 10.11.14 are expected to launch around Apples March 15th event. Heres a breakdown of all the new feature we got.

This beta version of OS X El Capitan comes with support of Live Photos, the moving images that can be taken with the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus. Prior to OS X 10.11.14, you could only view Live Photos on the Mac via the Photos app, and sharing was limited to iCloud Photo Sharing. In this developer beta, you can now view and send Live Photos via the Messages app on your Mac.

Just like in iOS 9.3, OS X 10.11.4 also brings support for making the Notes app password-protected. And you will also be able to import data from other note-taking apps, including Evernote. The official OS X 10.11.14 update will also be accompanied by a new version of iTunes.


Thursday, February 25, 2016

Google launches ‘Accelerated Mobile Pages’ in India
Google has launched its Accelerated Mobile Page platform in India. This will help users have a better and faster experience to search content on their smartphones. The web pages on mobile phones to load four times faster using ten times less data.

The initiative is supported by big indian publishing houses like Network18, NDTV, India Today, Hindustan Times and DNA among others in India, Google said in a statement.

"Access to information is at the heart of Google's mission. Unfortunately, today, the mobile web isn't living up to the expectations people have for getting the information they need, particularly when it comes to speed," Google VP Engineering Search David Besbris said.

With an aim to improve mobile web search, Google on Thursday rolled out its new open source initiative Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for better and faster search experience on your smartphone.

AMP is a collaborative effort with publishers and key technology companies who believed that poor mobile internet speed is one of the biggest problems of the web. Since AMP works across devices, platforms and browsers, publishers can publish instantaneously and monetise everywhere.

Additionally, users will also have control over the look and feel of their content just as they do on their desktop and mobile sites today. Basis research data has shown that people abandon websites after just three seconds if the content doesnt load quickly.

The new feature does away with such problems as it helps improve the mobile ecosystem for users, content providers, creators, advertisers and platforms by solving speed and performance problems.

With over 200 million mobile Internet users in India, mobile captured 60 per cent share of all shopping related queries and over 50 per cent share of all travel related queries.

Even for YouTube, over 60 per cent of views were now coming from mobile. In the classifieds space, online job listings saw revival with over 41 per cent job related searches coming from mobile phones, Google said.


How to use Facebook’s Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry reactions on your PC or Smartphone
After initially testing the reaction buttons last year, Facebook started rolling out its new reactions buttons for everyone yesterday. These new buttons essentially let users react to posts in more ways than just like them. With the new buttons, users can express different emotions like Like, Love, Haha, Wow, Sad or Angry. Heres how you can use Facebooks new reaction buttons.

Facebooks reaction buttons are being rolled out for web, as well as its mobile apps. On the web, you dont need to make any changes to settings. The next time you login, go to a post you want to react to and simply hover your mouse on the Like button. Do not click the button, as you will only end up liking the post. A second or two after you hover the mouse on the button, you will see Facebooks new reaction buttons pop up.

On the mobile app, things are slightly different. You will have to tap and hold the Like button, and in a couple of seconds the reaction buttons will pop up. Once you have appropriately reacted to a post (on web or mobile), you will see small reaction icons below the buttons that will show you how many people have reacted to the post and how.


While Facebooks reaction buttons have been launched globally, it seems to be a gradual roll out. If you cant see the reaction buttons yet, dont be dismayed, they will soon appear. On the mobile, you might have to shut the Facebook app completely (even from the background), and reopen a couple of times to be able to see the reaction buttons.


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Xiaomi Mi 5 launched at MWC 2016: Comes in three variants, priced at Rs 21,000
Xiaomi has unveiled its Mi 5 smartphone, the company's flagship model for 2016, at its first appearance at Mobile World Congress. Among the key features of the new smartphone include materials like metal and ceramic, Snapdragon 820 chipset, brighter screen, and better camera.


Like last year's Mi 4 model, the new Xiaomi Mi 5 has a 5.15-inch screen that is 30% brighter. The smartphone is powered by the Android Lollipop-based MIUI 7 custom software; there was no official word on the Android Marshmallow update for Mi 5 at the event. Xiaomi is using UFS flash memory in the new model, which is 87% faster in read-write operations.

Xiaomi will launch Mi 5 in three variants:

  • 1.8GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 32GB storage, 3GB RAM, 3D curved glass body
  • 2.15GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 64GB storage, 3GB RAM, 3D curved glass body
  • 2.15GHz quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor, 128GB storage, 4GB RAM, 3D ceramic body

The three Xiaomi Mi 5 variants are priced at 1,999, 2,299 and 2,699 yuan, respectively. The smartphone will become available for sale in China starting next week and will head to the Indian market soon, Xiaomi's global vice president Hugo Barra said at the event.

Xiaomi Mi 5 Specification and features:

Xiaomi is offering Mi 5 in two finishes: metal and ceramic. The smartphone is based on the company's '3D' design language, which has been previously seen in the company's Mi Note. Mi 5 is the first smartphone in Xiaomi portfolio having the fingerprint sensor in front.

Photography, Mi 5's 16MP rear camera has 4-axis optical image stabilization (OIS) for blur-free photo & videos as well as sapphire glass lens and two-tone, dual-LED flash; it can capture 4K as well as 120fps slo-mo videos. The front camera has 5MP resolution and pixel size of 2 micron.


For connectivity, Xiaomi Mi 5 supports 4G+ (also called LTE-Advanced) networks for faster downloads (up to Cat12) (Speed up to 600 Mbps), NFC, and USB Type C. The battery capacity of the smartphone is 3,000mAh and features QuickCharge 3.0 technology that provides 4 hours of battery life on charge of 10 minutes. Xiaomi claims Mi 5 takes 30 seconds to download a 1080p movie.

On the software side, the Xiaomi Mi 5 is running on the company's famous and quite popular MIUI 7 OS. It is still based on Android, but it is now version 6.0 Marshmallow.


Apple releases iOS 9.3 Beta 4 for Public
According to 9to5mac report, iOS 9.3 inched one step closer to its public launch yesterday with the developer release of beta 4, which brings a handful of new features to iPhones and iPads along with a couple of bug fixes.

 iOS 9.3, which is expected to be released to everyone next month, adds loads of new features for iPhones and iPads including Night Shift mode to change the display temperature for evening reading, Touch ID/secure passwords to protect Notes, new 3D Touch shortcuts on the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, enhancements to the Health and Activity apps, iCloud for iBooks PDF syncing, other features include Wi-Fi calling for Verizon customers and much more.

For CarPlay users, iOS 9.3 also adds the full Apple Music experience with For You and New sections as well as Nearby in Maps. iOS 9.3 also includes a major new education initiative with multi-user support and much more.

Changes in the latest beta include an updated Night Shift icon in Control Center as well as new star icons on popular tracks/singles in Apple Music.



You can see what expert in iOS 9.3 beta 4 in the video bellow.




Freedom 251: Parody website freedom651.com created for the world’s cheapest smartphone, delivery promised in 10 years via drones

The Freedom 251 smartphone has created a lot of buzz, and while people are still waiting to get their hands on the device, others are not leaving the opportunity to take a dig at it. A spoof website has been created with the address freedom651.com with the intention of poking fun at the worlds cheapest smartphone. The webpage is an exact replica of Ringing Bells website, but the text have been changed to things like, Freedom 651, Indias most affordable smartphone by Doesnt Ring a Bell.

The folks behind the website have changed the name of the smartphone to Freedom 651, which is priced at Rs 651. The Buy button has been changed to Dont Buy Now and deliveries are promised after 10 years via drones.  There are other funny elements including stuff like the Freedom 651 has been made from components found on Mars, which is the reason it is cheap, it runs on Android Zucchini, the companys customer care number is 0420-420420, and how its service centers are only found on Mars.

The About Us section of the spoof website mentions that it is indeed a parody website with no intentions of making a smart or any other smart move towards making one The Social media links on the website direct to a Places near Pune tourist information page on Facebook, seemingly created in late 2010.

Ringing Bells has managed to garner a lot of publicity by launching a smartphone for only Rs 251. While much of this seems fishy, the Noida-based company continues to promise delivery of 50 lakh handsets by June 30. Despite having received over seven crore registrations, it only plans to sell 25 lakh units online, and another 25 lakh units via offline stores.


The government and especially the telecom authorities continue to be wary and have ordered an investigations into this matter. Their concern is how a 3G smartphone that costs more than Rs 2,300 to manufacture in the first place is being sold at such rock-bottom prices.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge to be launched in India in March: Sources

Technology giant Samsung's new flagship smartphones -- Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge -- are expected to hit the Indian market in the second week of March, sources said, as the company looks to bolster sales to buck the slowdown in smartphone industry growth.

The South Korean tech giant has, so far, not revealed the prices. It will start rolling out the handsets starting mid-March.

India is an important market for handset makers as it is witnessing strong sales growth rates at a time when global sales are waning.

According to research firm IDC, the global smartphone market saw shipment growing 10.1% to 1.43 billion units in 2015 from 1.30 million units in 2014.

Shipments in India grew 28.8% in 2015 to 103.6 million units over the previous year, making it one of the world's fastest growing markets globally.

Samsung is a leader in both global and Indian market. At the end of December 2015 quarter, it had a global market share of 21.4%, while in India it had 26.8% share.


"We believe in a world that's brighter, sharper, more convenient, and more fun. We strive to deliver on that vision with the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge by marrying elegant design with functionality and providing a seamless mobile experience," Samsung Electronics president of mobile communications business, DJ Koh said.

Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge specs and features

The Galaxy S7 has a 5.1 inch Super AMOLED QHD (1440x2560) Screen and Galaxy S7 Edge 5.5 inch Super AMOLED QHD Screen.

As with previous Samsung phones there will be two processors powering the Galaxy S7 - not at the same time, for different markets. One will have an Exynos 8890 chip and one with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820. Either way you'll get 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.
Rumours of a lower resolution camera are true as the Galaxy S7 models have a 12MP shooter, not 16MP as previously. "That's a downgrade" we hear you shout, but Samsung says an aperture of f/1.7 combined with larger pixels means the camera will allow 95 percent more light into the system for better results. The front camera for all you selfie fans is still 5MP but also has that f/1.7 aperture. Samsung says its the first phone with a Dual Pixel sensor.
Android 6.0 Marshmallow and TouchWiz are pre-loaded with new features including that aforementioned always on display. The Galaxy S7 edge will get improved and new functionality via that curved screen. Users can access double the amount of apps at 10 plus there's a new thing called 'task edge' which is like a computer macro for quickly doing something – like taking a selfie or sending a set message.

The Galaxy S7 features an IP68 rating which Samsung is pitching at water-resistant and a Micro-SD card slot which can take up to 200GB cards. Colours include Black Onyx, Gold Platinum and the edge will also come in Silver Titanium.
The third big thing being requested by users is a removable battery but the news isn't so great on this front. Although the battery is bigger – 3000mAh for the S7 and 3600mAh on the S7 edge model – it's stuck inside the phone. Samsung got two out of three, at least.
You're probably wondering whether Samsung has opted for a USB Type-C port which we've seen on a number of devices in recent months. The answer is no which we think is a little odd, instead the Galaxy S7 phones have the same Micro-USB port.
Gamers can now save battery life by lowering the frame rate thanks to Vulkan API support and Knox v2.6 for enterprises improves security on the phone.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Google is Removing ads from the Right-hand side of search results
The company is rolling out a change worldwide that eliminates ads on the right side of a desktop search results page. It affects all queries in all languages around the world. It also brings Googles desktop search results page in closer alignment with its mobile search results, which (obviously) dont have any space to the right of the screen.

Theres one exception when ads may still show on the right side of desktop search results: Product Listing Ads will continue to appear either above or to the right of search results.


The change was  reported by The Verge Post with Google later confirming the move. 

To make up for the loss of the rest of the right-side ads, Google is adding a fourth ad above the search results, but only on highly commercial queries, as explained in Googles official statement:

Weve been testing this layout for a long time, so some people might see it on a very small number of commercial queries. Well continue to make tweaks, but this is designed for highly commercial queries where the layout is able to provide more relevant results for people searching and better performance for advertisers.

A company spokesperson says this fourth ad might show for searches like car insurance or hotels in New York City.

Google also confirmed that the change is global and affects all languages.

Friday, February 19, 2016

Samsung Unpacked Event to be live streamed in 360-degrees

Samsung will launch its latest flagship smartphones, Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, at its Unpacked at the MWC 2016 on February 21. The company has announced that the live stream of the launch event will be in 360-degrees, hinting at its growing focus on Virtual Reality and devices such as the Galaxy VR. The event will start on February 21 at 7PM CET, which is 11:30PM IST.

During Galaxy Unpacked you will get four options for where to watchfrom the auditorium, stage left, stage right or from center stage. Pick whichever spot is right for you, then use the 360 live streaming to get a complete view of the event from every angle, Samsung said in a release.

You can stream the event in 360-degrees on PC, smartphone and on the Gear VR. Those planning to watch the event live on their PC or laptop need to head over to the Galaxy Unpacked section on Samsungs website. 

Watching on the PC

1. Head to the Galaxy Unpacked page on the Samsung website when the event begins.

2. Choose from one of four viewing positions for the event.

Watching on Mobile

1. Go to the Google Play Store (for Android devices) or the App Store (for iOS devices) and search for the free Unpacked 360 View app.

2. Download the app and install it.

3. Once the event starts, launch the app and you can select one of four viewing angles.


Watching with Gear VR

1. Go to the Oculus Store and search for the Unpacked 360 View app.

2. Download and install it.

3. Launch the app using the Gear VR headset.

4. When the event begins, select one of four viewing angles.


Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Samsung Galaxy Tab E leaked Specs, Features and Price

Last month, specs of a 7-inch variant of Samsung's Galaxy Tab E tablet leaked online. This was followed by reports that the device is heading to the US - it also received the FCC approval. Now, the tablet has leaked in all its glory.

Specs-wise, from what we've heard so far, the device will be powered by a 1.3GHz processor, and sport a 7-inch (1280×800 pixel) display. RAM will be 1.5GB, while internal memory will be 8GB, although expandable. Weighing in at 283g, the 8.7mm thick tablet will pack in a 4,000mAh battery, and run Android 5.1 Lollipop.


It will carry a model number of SM-T280, and there will also be variant (SM-T285) offering 4G connectivity. Reports also say that the tablet's name isn't yet final, and could be launched as Galaxy Tab A 7.0 instead - a March-April timeframe is being tipped for its arrival. It could carry a price tag of around 170 (Approx Rs 13,000 ).

The information about the Tab E comes shortly after features of Samsungs latest flagship tablet Galaxy Tab S3 were revealed ahead of the official MWC 2016 launch. According to leaks, the Tab S3 comes in two variants with 9.7-inch and 8-inch displays respectively.

The one with SM-T819 codename comes with 3GB of RAM, 8-megapixel rear and 2-megapixel front camera, Android Marshmallow and 1.8GHz Snapdragon octa-core processor. The Tab S3 variant with SM-T719 has same set of features including processor and graphics, and is likely to come with 3GB of RAM as well.
Freedom 251, India’s most affordable smartphone launched for Rs 251: Specifications, features and Booking Details


According to BGR report, after a sucessfull launch on India's Cheapest Smartphone Ringing Bell in India. As the name suggests, this ultra-affordable 3G smartphone is priced at only Rs 251. Noida-based Ringing Bells Pvt. Ltd is the company behind this smartphone, and it says that this new smartphone is in line with the Indian governments Make in India, Digital India and Skill India programs. Booking for this smartphone starts tomorrow at 6:00AM, and the window will be open till February 21, 8:00PM.

The Freedom 251 is currently listed on the companys website, but there is an event in New Delhi scheduled for today evening, where Union Defence Minister Sri Manohar Parrikar will launch the Indias most affordable smartphone.

Freedom 251 specifications and features: 

For Rs 251, you get a device with a 4-inch qHD (960×540 pixels) IPS display, and Qualcomm 1.3GHz quad-core processor along with 1GB of RAM under the hood. It also offers 8GB internal storage, which can be further expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card.

The Freedom 251 also features a 3.2-megapixel autofocus camera at the back, VGA selfie camera, and connectivity options like 3G support. On the software front, it runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop. The device is also preloaded with apps like Women Safety, Swachh Bharat, Fisherman, Farmer, Medical, WhatsApp, Facebook and YouTube among others.

Ringing Bells is offering a one year warranty on the Freedom 251, and also boasts more than 650 service centers across the country. The company had recently entered the Indian market by launching another affordable smartphone, called the Smart 101, priced at Rs 2,999.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

LeEco Le 1s Flipkart flash sale 55,000 units sold in 9 seconds
The third flash sale of Chinese smartphone maker LeEcos budget smartphone Le 1s on Tuesday ended in barely nine seconds with a record order of 55,000 units. The response to the silver Le 1s with 4,23,000 pre-sale registrations has proved its popularity than the gold color version. LeEco has achieved a cumulative 20,28,000 registrations in its three flash sales. We believe that with this third highly successful outcome, LeEco has lived up to its global reputation of being a market disruptor and game changer.

We are delighted with the huge vote of confidence that Indian consumers have given us, Atul Jain, COO, smart electronics business, LeEco India said in a statement.

The companys high-end smartphone LeMax was also available on Open sale on Flipkart on Tuesday and it was also sold out. Le Max, the top-selling premium Superphone, which joins the sales in India for the first time, has proved to be a strong contender, Jain added.

The company sold 70,000 Le 1s devices during its first flash sale in a flat two seconds and 95,000 smartphones in 20 seconds during the second flash sale on e-tail major Flipkart. LeEco had on January 20 launched two superphones Le Max and Le 1S in the Indian market.

The Le 1s with all its features and a price of Rs 10,999 is a good buy. Display quality, good user interface, fast charging, lag-free multi-tasking and handy design that lets user work with one hand are some of the features to look for in the phone.

The phone boasts of 2.2 GHz Octa-core Mediatek MT6795 Helio X10 processor with PowerVR G6200 GPU and 3GB DDR3 RAM with 5.5-inch display and 32GB storage.


It has 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with ISOCELL technology and blue glass infrared filter and 5-megapixel front camera, dual 4G/LTE, 3,000 mAH battery and a mirror-finish fingerprint identification system.
Samsung Rolling out Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge with expand Edge Panel

According to Anandtech report, Samsung has officially announced the worldwide availability of the update. As the update being rollout out in phases, it may take a while till it hits your device. Alternatively, you can go to Settings > About Phone > Software Update to manually check for the update.

The update brings all the latest security fixes from Google and the goodness of Android 6.0 Marshmallow including new App Standby and Doze Mode to save battery life, Now on Tap for contextual search, App Links and App Permissions to offer users with greater control on what information they share with the apps. Samsung has also made improvements to the TouchWiz UI to for better user experience.

Samsung has also added new features to the Edge version to make the curved edge display more worthwhile. The current edge panel which is 260 pixels wide barely has enough space for app icon or contact image. However, with the latest update, the edge panel is now 550 pixels wide, which is enough for displaying stocks, sports scores, news headlines and more.

Users can now add up to 10 apps to the new edge shortcut list, and even add the entire folder. Samsung has also added a new tasks edge panel with tools such as a ruler, flashlight and a compass. Also, the tab that triggers edge mode can be customized with transparency and adjustable size. 

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge launch: Teaser video reveals ‘waterproof and wireless charging’ Phone

Days ahead of the official unveiling of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Indonesia posted a video on its official YouTube channel. It shows off the wireless charging and waterproofing capabilities of both smartphones, along with its design. Both smartphones look similar to last years Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

Titled Samsung Galaxy: Get Ready for #TheNextGalaxy, we see Indonesias national archer Dellie Threesyadinda training along with a phone, which many have assumed to be the new Galaxy S7.

Incidentally at one point the phone appears to be waterproof too, if one goes by the video. Also the phone supports wireless charging.

Samsungs The Next Galaxy event is happening on February 21 at 1900 CET (11.30 PM IST).


Lastly, it also shows the camera lens with a caption, bring light to the night hinting at better low-light photography. Samsung had last year patented a new camera technology, called BRITECELL, which claims to provide better low light performance. It has been rumored that the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge would use this new camera technology.

Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge specifications and features: 

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge are expected to sport a 5.1-inch and a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED QHD displays, respectively. Depending on market, these smartphones will either be powered by a Snapdragon 820 or an Exynos 8890 chipset, paired with 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB storage options. Based on the rumors, the Galaxy S7-family is also likely to include microSD card slot for further storage expansion.

For shutterbugs, Samsung is likely to include a 12-megapixel rear camera of f/1.7 aperture for better low-light capabilities and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. On the connectivity front, USB Type-C port, Wi-Fi 802.11ad, NFC and Bluetooth are expected.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge variants are also expected to get the much-needed bump in battery capacity to 3,000mAh and 3,600mAh with Quick Charge feature, respectively. With Apples 3D Touch like pressure sensitive display, both smartphones are likely to run Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box with Samsungs TouchWiz UI atop. 


Monday, February 15, 2016

Microsoft Lumia 650 with Windows 10 OS; Specs, Features and Price

According to a report Twitter handle and Windows blog, Microsoft has expanded its product portfolio with the addition of Microsoft Lumia 650 and Lumia 650 dual sim smartphones. The handsets will be available in selected markets with a price tag of $200. The smartphones come with enterprise features and run on the latest Windows 10 operating system.

Lumia 650 specification and features:

The Microsoft Lumia 650 features a 5-inch HD AMOLED ClearBlack display with 1280x720 pixels resolution. Powering the device is a 1.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor paired with 1GB of RAM. The onboard storage of the device stands at 16GB, which can be expanded up to 200GB using a microSD card.

The smartphone flaunts an 8MP rear camera with LED flash and a 5MP front facing snapper for clicking selfies. Its connectivity options include 4G, LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and packs a 2,000 mAh battery.

Last year, Microsoft launched its flagship smartphones Lumia 950 and 950XL priced at Rs 43,699 and Rs 49,399 respectively. Lumia 950 includes a 5.2-inch display and a hexacore processor while the larger Lumia 950 XL has a 5.7-inch display with an octa-core chip. For the first time, Microsoft has used a QHD display in its Lumia line of smartphones. Both Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL sports 1440x2560p resolution, which pack four times the pixels compared to an HD panel. 


Twitter Loses 2 Million Customers in the last 3 Months

Twitter announced on Wednesday that it lost 2 million users in the last three months of 2015. Shares plummeted as much as 12% in after-hours trading.

According to CNN reports say that; Twitter had 305 million active users by the end of 2015. By contrast, Facebook (FB, Tech30) has 1.6 billion. Google (GOOGL, Tech30) has eight products with over 1 billion users each. Even Instagram surpassed Twitter in September, growing to 400 million users, its growing at a snails pace.

The company is still a relatively niche product that hasnt been able to expand its reach the way that its rivals have. Although it has been able to effectively generate sales from sponsored tweets and partnerships.

With new management, products, designs and features, Twitters growth has stagnated, and its nowhere close to turning a profit.

However, Twitter disclosed that it is testing a new algorithm that will change the chronological order of feeds, hoping to appeal more to casual users who arent obsessed with keeping up with thousands of tweets in real time.

Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, said its new timeline feature has shown real promising growth in user engagement.

Were going to refine our core service and make everything more intuitive, Dorsey said. Theres an opportunity to fix broken windows and confusing aspects that are inhibiting growth. We think the timeline is a big part of that, Dorsey added.

Sales

Fourth quarter of 2014: $479 million
Fourth quarter of 2015: $710 million, up 48%

It wasn't all bad news last quarter. Twitter reported record sales. The company continues to succeed in its advertising initiatives. The company said it had 130,000 advertisers by the end of the fourth quarter, up 90% over the previous year.

But the company said it expects sales growth to slow in the current quarter. It predicted that revenue will be between $595 million and $610 million this quarter, far below the median forecasts of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Profit

Fourth quarter of 2014: - $125 million
Fourth quarter of 2015: - $90 million, 28% improvement

Twitter continues to lose money. Though its losses narrowed, it shows no signs of turning a profit.

Active customers

Third quarter of 2015: 307 million
Fourth quarter of 2015: 305 million, down less than 1%