most important news
CNIL has issued a penalty of $57 million against Google for violating Europe’s strict new data privacy laws. The agency accuses Google of not fully disclosing to users how their personal data is collected nor how the data is eventually used. It further accuses Google of not properly obtaining user consent for showing them personalized ads. Continue reading “Google hit with $57 million GDPR penalty by french watchdog CNIL”
BoAt lifestyle has launched the Alexa powered smart speaker; the Stone 700A in India. It comes with IPX6 water resistance and features 1.75-inch x 2 full range drivers that pump out a power output of 10W RMS. It supports Alexa and connects via Bluetooth V4.2. Continue reading “BoAt Stone 700A Alexa-powered water-resistant smart speaker launched for Rs. 3199”
Samsung has announced new value pack update to Gear S3 and Gear Sport which brings Galaxy Watch functions. The update brings 20 indoor workouts, allowing the smartwatch to track 39 different types of exercise. The update also simplifies the sleep notifications that users receive when they wake up in the morning. Continue reading “Samsung Gear S3 and Gear Sport Value pack update brings Health, UI, app improvements and more”
Samsung Electronics has introduced ISOCELL Slim 3T2; its smallest high-resolution image sensor. It is the industry’s most compact image sensor at 1/3.4 inches and 0.8μm-pixels, said the company. The ISOCELL Slim 3T2 delivers 20-megapixel resolution for both front and back cameras for mid-range phones. Continue reading “Samsung 3T2 Ultra-Slim 20MP 1/3.4-inch ISOCELL sensor for hole-in display smartphones announced”
Telegram is bringing new group permissions which would allow admins to restrict all members from posting specific kinds of content. Or even restrict members from sending messages altogether. Telegram is bumping up the group limit to 200,000 members. Continue reading “Telegram v5.2 update expands group limit to 200,000 members, ability to recover deleted chats and more”
Ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2019, Google has announced that it will introduce India-specific Political Advertising Transparency Report and searchable Political Ads Library in March 2019. These will provide comprehensive information about who is purchasing election ads on Google’s platforms and how much money is being spent. Google says that these will help people better understand the election advertising they see.
Continue reading “Google to introduce India Political Ads Transparency Report and Ads Library ahead of Lok Sabha Election 2019”
Lenovo-owned Motorola is said to be working on reviving the RAZR series with a foldable display. The device is even rumored to go official in February, now we have our first look at what looks like Motorola RAZR courtesy of a recent registration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Continue reading “Motorola RAZR smartphone with foldable display patent surfaces”
Vivo has announced Y89, the company’s latest smartphone in the Y series in China. It has similar specifications as last year’s Z1 Lite that includes a 6.26-inch FHD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display with a notch, Snapdragon 626 with 4GB RAM, Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Funtouch OS 4.0, 16-megapixel rear camera along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera to capture the depth information for portrait shots, 16-megapixel front camera with A.I face beauty, face unlock, metal and glass design, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3260mAh battery. Continue reading “Vivo Y89 with 6.26-inch FHD+ 19:9 display, dual rear cameras, 16MP front camera announced”
OPPO introduced its 10x hybrid lossless zoom technology at an event in China last week. It already said that it will demo the technology at the MWC next month, now it has sent out invites for the event on February 23rd.
In a move to tackle Jio, Airtel has launched a new long-term recharge plan for its prepaid users in India. Under this package, users get unlimited calling, 1GB data per day, and SMS benefits like the rest of the combo packages for 365 days. Continue reading “Airtel launches Rs. 1699 package with 1GB data per day, unlimited calling with 365 days validity”
Samsung has announced its Exynos 7 Series 7904 processor for its mid-range smartphones targeted at Indian market. This includes support for triple-camera support and supports single-camera resolution of up to 32-megapixels (MP). The company said that the third camera in a smartphone can take panoramic pictures with wide angles or add bokeh effects for aesthetic blur in portraits. Continue reading “Samsung Exynos 7 Series 7904 Octa-Core 14nm processor with support for triple rear cameras announced”
Last year WhatsApp restricted Indian users from forwarding more than five chats at once, after introduced an option to send or forward messages to multiple recipients, including groups instead of one user or a group at a time, back in 2016. Today it has announced it will be implementing this change, globally. This will continue help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts, believes the company.
Continue reading “WhatsApp now limits message forwarding to five chats at once globally”
Where are the Indian smartphone manufacturers these days? Where have they gone? This question has been on my mind for a while. Brands like Micromax and Yu, Lava and XOLO have largely disappeared from the scene this past year or two. Our market is inundated with devices from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, Taiwanese brands like ASUS and even Vietnamese brands like Mobiistar. Sure, there is an exception in Smartron, but largely, the Indian brands were nowhere to be seen in 2018.
When XOLO invited me to their event, conveniently titled “A new era” where they launched two new devices, I was pleasantly surprised. Before checking the devices out, I had a quick chat with Sunil Raina from XOLO and I’d like to share what I thought about XOLO’s comeback and what it tells us about Indian manufacturers.
Continue reading “What XOLO’s comeback tells us about Indian manufacturers”
ZAAP has launched “Quick Touch Three” and “Magnetic Touch Two” Mobile Car Mounts in India. These new Car Mounts are designed and developed using ZAAP’s Patented QT Technology and manufactured in South Korea. The company says that the design of both car mounts is done by Marc Nelson who is a well recognized Industrial Designer. Continue reading “ZAAP launches Quick Touch Three and Magnetic Touch Two mobile car mounts”
Verily has announced a health watch in 2017 that is aimed at offering insights into medical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and PTSD. Now, Verily has received FDA clearance for the watch’s electrocardiogram (ECG) technology.
Continue reading “Alphabet’s Verily Study Watch gets FDA approval for ECG feature”
