January 12, 2015, 3:55 am
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Alibaba is investing $575 million in Paytm, according to a latest report from The Economic Times. The Chinese e-commerce giant is investing the sum in Indian e-commerce company and digital payments company, One97 Communication.
In a report by the Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the matter says that the deal would give Alibaba and Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group a combined 30% stake in One97 Communications. The company’s founder and chairman Vijay Shekhar Sharma will dilute his shares to accommodate these new investors, while its existing investor SAIF Partners will participate to maintain its 40% equity level.
One97, will issue fresh shares due to which the holdings of existing shareholders will be diluted significantly. Subsequently, Alibaba and Alipay will both put one member on the company’s board in addition to its two founder directors. The latest investment will help Paytm to expand its services.
souce| via
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January 12, 2015, 4:00 am
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Micromax has launched the Canvas Hue (AQ5000), the company’s latest smartphone in the Canvas series. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) AMOLED display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), which is upgradable to Android 5.0 (Lollipop). It features a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
Commenting on the launch, Vineet Taneja, Chief Executive Officer, Micromax said,
At Micromax, customer centricity has always been at the core of developing products. With an AMOLED HD screen, users are guaranteed of a life-like viewing experience through more vivid colors and a crystal clear display. The Canvas Hue is a perfect blend of premium design, seamless efficiency and superior technology that supports the needs of the ever evolving consumers. With the launch of the Canvas Hue, we have again looked at addressing one of the most important needs of the Indian consumers, which is of an extended battery life. We will continue to enrich the consumer experience by delivering state-of-the-art products & services, reinforcing our commitment to raise the bar of affordable innovation in the country.
Micromax Canvas Hue specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 ...
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January 12, 2015, 4:09 am
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A few years ago, the concept of taking a "selfie" using your front facing camera would usually have been rubbished by the complaint that the quality of the image wasn't good enough. During the past two years, we've seen the birth of the selfie generation with the front facing camera quality arguably becoming as important as the rear camera and this is especially true of the new generation of selfie handsets, which includes the HTC Desire Eye.
The Desire Eye follows in the footsteps of other handsets where the front facing camera is a key selling feature; whilst most of these handsets have been targetted towards the Far East markets and featured sensors of around five to eight megapixels, the Desire Eye is targetted at the global market and sports a 13MP sensor on the front (with the same sensor also in use on the rear). That's not all as the Desire Eye also brings the world's first dual LED flash on the front, dedicated to taking those perfect selfies.
On paper at least, the 13MP front camera sensor should produce the best selfies ever as it's the highest front facing sensor on a smartphone to-date - the Oppo N1 had a ...
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January 12, 2015, 4:51 am
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Celkon OCTA510, the company’s first smartphone with Octa-Core SoC is now available from eBay . It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display, is powered by a 1.4 GHz Octa-Core (MediaTek MT6592M likely) processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and a 3.2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot. It comes with dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
Celkon OCTA510 specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display
1.4 GHz octa-core processor
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Dual SIM
8MP rear camera with dual LED Flash
3.2MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Dimensions: 143.5x71x9.1mm; Weight:136g
3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2000mAh battery
The Celkon OCTA510 comes in white color and is priced at Rs. 8,990. This competes with Xolo Omega 5.0 that was launched recently at a similar price tag and share similar specifications. The official launch is expected soon.
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January 12, 2015, 5:57 am
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We started the ASUS ZenLife Giveaway couple of weeks back, and as promised, today we reveal the lucky winners. Before that, we would like to thank all the participants who took their time to participate in this contest, the response was amazing. Are you lucky winner of the Zenfone 5 ? Find it out below.
The winners of #Zenlife giveway are
Ananta Kumar Gupta
Himani Mehmi
Mahek J Fatima
We will be getting in touch with the winners soon to dispatch the Zenfone 5 smartphone.
Please join us in congratulating the winners. And for those you who did not win, we have more giveaways lined up! Thanks once again for taking part and thanks to ASUS India for making this giveaway possible.
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January 12, 2015, 8:54 pm
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Samsung might soon unveil a low end smartphone dubbed as Galaxy J1, according to a new report. The device has surfaced online in images and specs under model number SM-J100.
The Galaxy J1 will be an entry level phone that will sport a 4.3-inch 480x800-pixel display and be powered by a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core Marvell PXA1908 processor. It will have 1 GB Ram, 4GB internal storage and run on Android 4.4 KitKat. Other features include 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-facing camera and 1850mAh battery. The report states that the Galaxy J1 will have some features found on higher-end Galaxy devices, including Ultra Power Saving mode.
Samsung is expected to offer single-SIM and dual-SIM flavors with both 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. The company is expected to announce the smartphone this week as per the report. We recently saw the launch of Samsung Galaxy E5 and E7 in India while the Galaxy A7 was announced yesterday.
via
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January 12, 2015, 9:38 pm
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Idea and Microsoft have joined hands to debut operator billing. The collaboration will enable Idea Cellular subscribers to purchase paid apps from Windows Store through operator billing.
The operator billing support will be available to all Idea subscribers on all Lumia devices and Windows-based smartphones across brands. The amount will be either added to their monthly mobile phone bills in case of their post paid users or will be deducted from their balance in case of prepaid users. Idea claims it is the first telecom company in the country to offer integrated operator billing on Windows Store.
“This development eases a consumer’s access to premium apps on Windows Store through a convenient purchase process. We are happy to be the first operator to partner with Microsoft for Windows Store and offer our consumers the ease to download a range of local and global applications without worrying about the mode of payment,”
chief marketing officer of Idea Sashi Shankar said.
The Windows Store currently offers over 550,000 apps and has seen over 8 billion cumulative downloads to date globally. Idea Cellular has 147.95 million subscribers as on November 2014 according to telecom regulator TRAI, of which about 34 million are data users.
via
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January 12, 2015, 10:30 pm
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MediaTek is said to be working on chips with 10 and 12 cores, according to a report from Chinese blog MyDrivers. The powerful chips will be likely ready by the end of this year.
MediaTek had released the 64-bit architecture processors last year, which includes the octa-core MT6795, MT6752, and MT6732. It must be noted that most mobile apps today do not make use of more than 4-cores. Qualcomm has been focusing on producing more powerful cores, rather than chips with more cores.
A couple of octa-core chips today feature 8 identical CPU cores, while others use ARM’s big.LITTLE technology to pair a group of high performance components with less powerful parts. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to take advantage of such powerful chips in our day to day life.
via
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January 12, 2015, 10:58 pm
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Lenovo has launched the Tab 2 A7-10, the company's latest budget tablet in the A-series. It was announced at the CES last week, packs a 7-inch (1024 x 600) IPS display, is powered by a 1.3GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT8382M SoCs and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It has WiFi support, VGA front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and packs a 3450mAh battery. It has front-facing speaker, Dolby audio and comes pre-loaded with Lenovo DOit apps. Lenovo has tied up with Snapeal to sell the tablet.
Commenting on the launch, Rohit Midha, Director, Tablet Business Unit, Lenovo India said:
This new tablet offers the great build quality and reliability of the Lenovo brand at an affordable price point. We are very confident that this product will redefine the value proposition of the entry level tablet segment and make tablets more attractive to customers. We have partnered with Snapdeal for the first time to tap their unparalleled reach across the length and breadth of the country.
Senior Vice President- Electronics and Homes, Snapdeal.com said:
We are extremely delighted to enter into a strategic association with Lenovo with the launch of TAB 2 A7-10, it is a very attractive proposition for first time users and ...
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January 12, 2015, 11:20 pm
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Google has launched Chrome Remote Desktop that allows Chrome users to access their Mac or PC desktop computers remotely using an iOS device.
Google had announced Chrome Remote Desktop for Android last year in April. The app can be useful for remotely accessing your computer from your iPhone or iPad, it can also be used to give third person a temporary access to your desktop. It even works in combination with a Chrome browser extension, downloadable from the Chrome Web Store.
Once you have the extension and the app installed, you can log in to your computer from your iOS device using your Google account. Chrome Remote Desktop supports remote assistance on PCs running Windows and Linux, while secure file access is reserved for Windows XP and above and OS X 10.6 and above.
via
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January 13, 2015, 12:28 am
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Even though solid hardware is important for a smartphone, software with regular software updates and competitive pricing are important for the success of a smartphone. Micromax intelligently roped in Cyanogen Inc. for its first YU branded device and launched the YU YUREKA budget smartphone last month running Cyanogen OS at Rs. 8,999. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G went on sale in India last month for Rs. 9,999. Both the smartphones are competitively priced and come with 4G connectivity. You might have already seen the photo gallery comparing the YU YUREKA and the Xiaomi Redmi Note. The Redmi Note 4G has the same design, but the internals are slightly different. We decided to compare these smartphones.
Let’s start with the display. Both these smartphones have 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display with a pixel density of about 267ppi. The viewing angles, brightness, contrast, sharpness and color reproduction are better in the YU YUREKA. Since the Redmi Note 4G's screen is reflective, sunlight legibility is not the best. As you can see, the contrast is better in the YUREKA, compared to Redmi Note 4G in which the contrast and colors are muted. Both these smartphones have Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Both the smartphones have ...
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January 13, 2015, 12:45 am
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Motorola has promised that Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its devices from 2013 and 2014 will come "really soon". This was announced by Motorola software engineer Luciano Carvalho on a Google+ post.
Carvalho states in the post that updates take a lot of time because of the varying components between devices. Carvalho explained that Google does not test new versions of Android on non-Nexus devices, leaving that task up to the manufacturers.He further added that limited soak tests of Android 5.0.2 have already begun for some in different parts of the world and if no critical bugs are found, a more broad rollout will begin shortly thereafter.
"Users on the 1st generation Moto products need to make sure they have the latest Motorola Updates Services from the Play Store. If you don't see it showing in your list of apps available for update (or it shows as not compatible) don't worry, it'll be available for you to download it really soon."
posted Carvalho on the Google+ post.
Motorola has already rolled out Android 5.0 Lollipop update to Moto X (2014) and Moto G (2014) in November last year. Moto X second generation also received Lollipop update in India.
via
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January 13, 2015, 1:35 am
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Zomato has continued its expansion and this time the popular restaurant guide has forayed into US markets. The company has also acquired US based bar and restaurant guide Urbanspoon.
Although the financial details of the latest acquisition from Zomato are not known it is expected that the amount is about $60 million (Rs 379 crore). The online food and restaurant discovery guide is now present in total 22 countries including Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, Middle East and others. With the acquisition of Urbanspoon, Zomato will break into the US market, competing against services like Foursquare and Yelp.
"As we stand here now, we felt joining forces with Urbanspoon would be the best way to turbocharge our growth and make our way into the US, Canada and Australia. Without question, this will also help us take significant strides forward in the markets we’ve been sharing with Urbanspoon so far – the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland."
posted Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato in a blog.
The Urbanspoon acquisition will double the traffic to Zomato to more than 80 million visits per month from about 35 million now. Zomato raised $60 million of funding in November which valued it at about $660 million. The ...
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January 13, 2015, 2:01 am
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Last month there were reports about Samsung launching Z1 (Z130H ), the company’s first budget Tizen OS smartphone in India this January. We also saw the specifications of the smartphone. Now Manish Khatri from Mahesh Telecom says that the smartphone will go on sale this week for Rs. 5,700 (MOP) with stock arriving as soon as tomorrow.
It comes with Tizen Store through which you can download several apps, including WhatsApp.
Samsung Z1 specifications
4-inch WVGA (800×480) TFT LCD display
1.2 GHz dual-core Spreadtrum SC7727S processor with Mali 400 GPU
768MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB with microSD
Tizen OS 2.3
Dual SIM
Dimensions: 120.4×63.2×9.7mm; Weight: 112 g
3.1MP rear camera with LED Flash
VGA front-facing camera
3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, A-GPS
1500mAh battery
Samsung Z1 comes in white color and looks similar to other Samsung's budget Galaxy series smartphones. The official launch is expected in a few days.
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January 13, 2015, 2:26 am
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Google has launched its popular Flight Search tool in India that will allow users to search for flights, their prices, timings, etc directly within the search engine.
Users can search, book and compare flights by going to google.co.in/flights from desktop and mobile platforms. Flights can be browsed and sorted with help of filters like price, duration, number of stops and more. At the time of searching for flights on Google, you will get to see a calendar with the lowest fares for the route highlighted for each day. This way users will know which day will be cheapest for them to take the flight.
Once you select your departure and return dates, users are presented with a list of ‘Best flights’, which represents the best tradeoff between convenience and price. Users can even view other flights by scrolling through the summary list or selecting “Show longer or more expensive flights” button. The Flight Search tool will also offer price and duration of flights based on preferences and previous searches.
via
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January 13, 2015, 2:30 am
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Micromax's YU has announced that it sold 10,000 units of Yureka smartphones in just 3 seconds in its first flash sale on Amazon.in. Over 3 lakh people had registered for today's sale. Since everyone tried to buy the smartphone, the website crashed immediately after the sale was open. Some managed to order, but most users were frustrated since they couldn't get the smartphone.
Those who ordered the smartphone today will get a free leather back cover along with the smartphone. This is limited only for first sale said the company. YU confirmed that the next flash sale will happen on January 22nd, Thursday. Registrations for the next sale is yet to begin. It has not revealed the number of units that would go up for sale next week.
Did you try to get the YU Yureka in today's sale? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments sections below. We compared the Yu Yureka with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, check it out to find which is a better choice.
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January 13, 2015, 2:42 am
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The LG G Flex 2 was only announced last week but the handset is already up for pre-order with Amazon Germany. The German arm of the global online giant is offering the G Flex 2 for €599, which is substantially cheaper than the G Flex which originally went up for pre-order at €850 but the retailer hasn't listed a shipping date.
It's presumed that the G Flex 2 will also make it to Amazon UK sooner rather than later (you can actually order it on the German website for delivery to the UK) and in the UK, we've already heard that Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse are both set to stock the handset (the former has a six week exclusive at launch). However our sources tell us that Vodafone UK will offer the handset next month with a launch currently scheduled for two weeks before Mobile World Congress kicks off at the beginning of March.
The G Flex 2 is definitely the next generation of LG's bendy flagship range as it features a smaller yet better resolution display - the G Flex 2 sports a 5.5 inch 1080p P-OLED curved display compared to the 6 inch 720p display on the original G Flex. ...
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January 13, 2015, 3:14 am
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Looking at buying a new Windows Phone in the UK or Ireland but unsure which to buy and whether to take the plunge? Microsoft's new UK promotion might just entice you to hit the Buy button as customers who buy the Lumia 735, Lumia 830 or Lumia 930 can get a free Fitbit Flex with their new smartphone.
The offer begins now and will run up until March 31st and is valid for any purchase from a long list of participating retailers. The retailers include Vodafone, EE, Virgin, 3 and Carphone Warehouse along with serveral other sources such as Amazon and Clove (see source link below for full list). In order to claim their free prize, buyers will need to download Microsoft's Fitbit Gift app on their new Windows Phone device and submit their details to receive the free tracker which is valued at £79.99.
The promotion is somewhat surprising given that Microsoft is yet to launch their own Microsoft Band wearable in the UK and this could have been the ideal launch promotion for that particular wearable. Nonetheless, with Fitbit now having a Windows Phone compatible app for its smartbands since July last year, it should entice many users to take ...
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January 13, 2015, 3:25 am
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Following on from the devastating terror attacks in Paris over the past week, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced he could move to block encrypted messaging applications if he wins the next elections. In essence, this means that apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage or Snapchat that offer "methods of communication that cannot be read by security services even if they have a warrant" could be targetted.
The move is likely to be part of David Cameron's plans for new surveillance powers to reduce the threat of terror attacks in the UK. Current legislation means the powers-that-be can access communications data - such as mobile phones, letters, fixed line etc - with a proper warrant but Cameron said:
"...it is important in the future that we make sure we can get this data where people are using the more modern forms of communication that are being made possible through the internet"
The main question raised by David Cameron and presumably the figurehead speech for the proposals was:
“In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people who, even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary personally, that we cannot read?”
He then went on to answer ...
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January 13, 2015, 3:29 am
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We started our Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Giveaway couple of weeks back on our YouTube channel, and as promised, today we reveal the lucky winners. Before that, we would like to thank all the participants who took their time to participate in this contest, the response has been amazing. Are you the lucky winner of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ? Find out below.
You can check out the winner selection logic in the video below. We shuffled the entries using The Hat, a free application to pick the winners. We made sure the draw was as transparent as possible.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWR8MhAmPb0
The lucky winners are
Choco Pie @roksta_akhil
Rahul Bhandari @DevBhumiLegend
We will be getting in touch with the winners soon to dispatch the smartphone.
Please join us in congratulating the winners. And for those you who did not win, we have more giveaways lined up! Thanks once again for taking part and thanks to Samsung India for making this giveaway possible.
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Alibaba is investing $575 million in Paytm, according to a latest report from The Economic Times. The Chinese e-commerce giant is investing the sum in Indian e-commerce company and digital payments company, One97 Communication.
In a report by the Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the matter says that the deal would give Alibaba and Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group a combined 30% stake in One97 Communications. The company’s founder and chairman Vijay Shekhar Sharma will dilute his shares to accommodate these new investors, while its existing investor SAIF Partners will participate to maintain its 40% equity level.
One97, will issue fresh shares due to which the holdings of existing shareholders will be diluted significantly. Subsequently, Alibaba and Alipay will both put one member on the company’s board in addition to its two founder directors. The latest investment will help Paytm to expand its services.
souce| via
Micromax has launched the Canvas Hue (AQ5000), the company’s latest smartphone in the Canvas series. It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) AMOLED display, is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat), which is upgradable to Android 5.0 (Lollipop). It features a 8-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.
Commenting on the launch, Vineet Taneja, Chief Executive Officer, Micromax said,
At Micromax, customer centricity has always been at the core of developing products. With an AMOLED HD screen, users are guaranteed of a life-like viewing experience through more vivid colors and a crystal clear display. The Canvas Hue is a perfect blend of premium design, seamless efficiency and superior technology that supports the needs of the ever evolving consumers. With the launch of the Canvas Hue, we have again looked at addressing one of the most important needs of the Indian consumers, which is of an extended battery life. We will continue to enrich the consumer experience by delivering state-of-the-art products & services, reinforcing our commitment to raise the bar of affordable innovation in the country.
Micromax Canvas Hue specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 ...
A few years ago, the concept of taking a "selfie" using your front facing camera would usually have been rubbished by the complaint that the quality of the image wasn't good enough. During the past two years, we've seen the birth of the selfie generation with the front facing camera quality arguably becoming as important as the rear camera and this is especially true of the new generation of selfie handsets, which includes the HTC Desire Eye.
The Desire Eye follows in the footsteps of other handsets where the front facing camera is a key selling feature; whilst most of these handsets have been targetted towards the Far East markets and featured sensors of around five to eight megapixels, the Desire Eye is targetted at the global market and sports a 13MP sensor on the front (with the same sensor also in use on the rear). That's not all as the Desire Eye also brings the world's first dual LED flash on the front, dedicated to taking those perfect selfies.
On paper at least, the 13MP front camera sensor should produce the best selfies ever as it's the highest front facing sensor on a smartphone to-date - the Oppo N1 had a ...
Celkon OCTA510, the company’s first smartphone with Octa-Core SoC is now available from eBay . It has a 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display, is powered by a 1.4 GHz Octa-Core (MediaTek MT6592M likely) processor and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat). It has a 8-megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash and a 3.2-megapixel front-facing camera. It has 1GB RAM and 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot. It comes with dual SIM support and 3G connectivity.
Celkon OCTA510 specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD IPS display
1.4 GHz octa-core processor
1GB RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory with microSD
Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Dual SIM
8MP rear camera with dual LED Flash
3.2MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
Dimensions: 143.5x71x9.1mm; Weight:136g
3G HSPA+, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS
2000mAh battery
The Celkon OCTA510 comes in white color and is priced at Rs. 8,990. This competes with Xolo Omega 5.0 that was launched recently at a similar price tag and share similar specifications. The official launch is expected soon.
We started the ASUS ZenLife Giveaway couple of weeks back, and as promised, today we reveal the lucky winners. Before that, we would like to thank all the participants who took their time to participate in this contest, the response was amazing. Are you lucky winner of the Zenfone 5 ? Find it out below.
The winners of #Zenlife giveway are
Ananta Kumar Gupta
Himani Mehmi
Mahek J Fatima
We will be getting in touch with the winners soon to dispatch the Zenfone 5 smartphone.
Please join us in congratulating the winners. And for those you who did not win, we have more giveaways lined up! Thanks once again for taking part and thanks to ASUS India for making this giveaway possible.
Samsung might soon unveil a low end smartphone dubbed as Galaxy J1, according to a new report. The device has surfaced online in images and specs under model number SM-J100.
The Galaxy J1 will be an entry level phone that will sport a 4.3-inch 480x800-pixel display and be powered by a 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core Marvell PXA1908 processor. It will have 1 GB Ram, 4GB internal storage and run on Android 4.4 KitKat. Other features include 5 MP rear camera, 2 MP front-facing camera and 1850mAh battery. The report states that the Galaxy J1 will have some features found on higher-end Galaxy devices, including Ultra Power Saving mode.
Samsung is expected to offer single-SIM and dual-SIM flavors with both 3G and 4G LTE connectivity. The company is expected to announce the smartphone this week as per the report. We recently saw the launch of Samsung Galaxy E5 and E7 in India while the Galaxy A7 was announced yesterday.
via
Idea and Microsoft have joined hands to debut operator billing. The collaboration will enable Idea Cellular subscribers to purchase paid apps from Windows Store through operator billing.
The operator billing support will be available to all Idea subscribers on all Lumia devices and Windows-based smartphones across brands. The amount will be either added to their monthly mobile phone bills in case of their post paid users or will be deducted from their balance in case of prepaid users. Idea claims it is the first telecom company in the country to offer integrated operator billing on Windows Store.
“This development eases a consumer’s access to premium apps on Windows Store through a convenient purchase process. We are happy to be the first operator to partner with Microsoft for Windows Store and offer our consumers the ease to download a range of local and global applications without worrying about the mode of payment,”
chief marketing officer of Idea Sashi Shankar said.
The Windows Store currently offers over 550,000 apps and has seen over 8 billion cumulative downloads to date globally. Idea Cellular has 147.95 million subscribers as on November 2014 according to telecom regulator TRAI, of which about 34 million are data users.
via
MediaTek is said to be working on chips with 10 and 12 cores, according to a report from Chinese blog MyDrivers. The powerful chips will be likely ready by the end of this year.
MediaTek had released the 64-bit architecture processors last year, which includes the octa-core MT6795, MT6752, and MT6732. It must be noted that most mobile apps today do not make use of more than 4-cores. Qualcomm has been focusing on producing more powerful cores, rather than chips with more cores.
A couple of octa-core chips today feature 8 identical CPU cores, while others use ARM’s big.LITTLE technology to pair a group of high performance components with less powerful parts. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to take advantage of such powerful chips in our day to day life.
via
Lenovo has launched the Tab 2 A7-10, the company's latest budget tablet in the A-series. It was announced at the CES last week, packs a 7-inch (1024 x 600) IPS display, is powered by a 1.3GHz Quad-Core MediaTek MT8382M SoCs and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat. It has WiFi support, VGA front-facing camera, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and packs a 3450mAh battery. It has front-facing speaker, Dolby audio and comes pre-loaded with Lenovo DOit apps. Lenovo has tied up with Snapeal to sell the tablet.
Commenting on the launch, Rohit Midha, Director, Tablet Business Unit, Lenovo India said:
This new tablet offers the great build quality and reliability of the Lenovo brand at an affordable price point. We are very confident that this product will redefine the value proposition of the entry level tablet segment and make tablets more attractive to customers. We have partnered with Snapdeal for the first time to tap their unparalleled reach across the length and breadth of the country.
Senior Vice President- Electronics and Homes, Snapdeal.com said:
We are extremely delighted to enter into a strategic association with Lenovo with the launch of TAB 2 A7-10, it is a very attractive proposition for first time users and ...
Google has launched Chrome Remote Desktop that allows Chrome users to access their Mac or PC desktop computers remotely using an iOS device.
Google had announced Chrome Remote Desktop for Android last year in April. The app can be useful for remotely accessing your computer from your iPhone or iPad, it can also be used to give third person a temporary access to your desktop. It even works in combination with a Chrome browser extension, downloadable from the Chrome Web Store.
Once you have the extension and the app installed, you can log in to your computer from your iOS device using your Google account. Chrome Remote Desktop supports remote assistance on PCs running Windows and Linux, while secure file access is reserved for Windows XP and above and OS X 10.6 and above.
via
Even though solid hardware is important for a smartphone, software with regular software updates and competitive pricing are important for the success of a smartphone. Micromax intelligently roped in Cyanogen Inc. for its first YU branded device and launched the YU YUREKA budget smartphone last month running Cyanogen OS at Rs. 8,999. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G went on sale in India last month for Rs. 9,999. Both the smartphones are competitively priced and come with 4G connectivity. You might have already seen the photo gallery comparing the YU YUREKA and the Xiaomi Redmi Note. The Redmi Note 4G has the same design, but the internals are slightly different. We decided to compare these smartphones.
Let’s start with the display. Both these smartphones have 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display with a pixel density of about 267ppi. The viewing angles, brightness, contrast, sharpness and color reproduction are better in the YU YUREKA. Since the Redmi Note 4G's screen is reflective, sunlight legibility is not the best. As you can see, the contrast is better in the YUREKA, compared to Redmi Note 4G in which the contrast and colors are muted. Both these smartphones have Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection.
Both the smartphones have ...
Motorola has promised that Android 5.0 Lollipop update to its devices from 2013 and 2014 will come "really soon". This was announced by Motorola software engineer Luciano Carvalho on a Google+ post.
Carvalho states in the post that updates take a lot of time because of the varying components between devices. Carvalho explained that Google does not test new versions of Android on non-Nexus devices, leaving that task up to the manufacturers.He further added that limited soak tests of Android 5.0.2 have already begun for some in different parts of the world and if no critical bugs are found, a more broad rollout will begin shortly thereafter.
"Users on the 1st generation Moto products need to make sure they have the latest Motorola Updates Services from the Play Store. If you don't see it showing in your list of apps available for update (or it shows as not compatible) don't worry, it'll be available for you to download it really soon."
posted Carvalho on the Google+ post.
Motorola has already rolled out Android 5.0 Lollipop update to Moto X (2014) and Moto G (2014) in November last year. Moto X second generation also received Lollipop update in India.
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Zomato has continued its expansion and this time the popular restaurant guide has forayed into US markets. The company has also acquired US based bar and restaurant guide Urbanspoon.
Although the financial details of the latest acquisition from Zomato are not known it is expected that the amount is about $60 million (Rs 379 crore). The online food and restaurant discovery guide is now present in total 22 countries including Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, Middle East and others. With the acquisition of Urbanspoon, Zomato will break into the US market, competing against services like Foursquare and Yelp.
"As we stand here now, we felt joining forces with Urbanspoon would be the best way to turbocharge our growth and make our way into the US, Canada and Australia. Without question, this will also help us take significant strides forward in the markets we’ve been sharing with Urbanspoon so far – the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland."
posted Deepinder Goyal, Founder and CEO, Zomato in a blog.
The Urbanspoon acquisition will double the traffic to Zomato to more than 80 million visits per month from about 35 million now. Zomato raised $60 million of funding in November which valued it at about $660 million. The ...
Last month there were reports about Samsung launching Z1 (Z130H ), the company’s first budget Tizen OS smartphone in India this January. We also saw the specifications of the smartphone. Now Manish Khatri from Mahesh Telecom says that the smartphone will go on sale this week for Rs. 5,700 (MOP) with stock arriving as soon as tomorrow.
It comes with Tizen Store through which you can download several apps, including WhatsApp.
Samsung Z1 specifications
4-inch WVGA (800×480) TFT LCD display
1.2 GHz dual-core Spreadtrum SC7727S processor with Mali 400 GPU
768MB RAM, 4GB internal memory, expandable up to 64GB with microSD
Tizen OS 2.3
Dual SIM
Dimensions: 120.4×63.2×9.7mm; Weight: 112 g
3.1MP rear camera with LED Flash
VGA front-facing camera
3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth, A-GPS
1500mAh battery
Samsung Z1 comes in white color and looks similar to other Samsung's budget Galaxy series smartphones. The official launch is expected in a few days.
Google has launched its popular Flight Search tool in India that will allow users to search for flights, their prices, timings, etc directly within the search engine.
Users can search, book and compare flights by going to google.co.in/flights from desktop and mobile platforms. Flights can be browsed and sorted with help of filters like price, duration, number of stops and more. At the time of searching for flights on Google, you will get to see a calendar with the lowest fares for the route highlighted for each day. This way users will know which day will be cheapest for them to take the flight.
Once you select your departure and return dates, users are presented with a list of ‘Best flights’, which represents the best tradeoff between convenience and price. Users can even view other flights by scrolling through the summary list or selecting “Show longer or more expensive flights” button. The Flight Search tool will also offer price and duration of flights based on preferences and previous searches.
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Micromax's YU has announced that it sold 10,000 units of Yureka smartphones in just 3 seconds in its first flash sale on Amazon.in. Over 3 lakh people had registered for today's sale. Since everyone tried to buy the smartphone, the website crashed immediately after the sale was open. Some managed to order, but most users were frustrated since they couldn't get the smartphone.
Those who ordered the smartphone today will get a free leather back cover along with the smartphone. This is limited only for first sale said the company. YU confirmed that the next flash sale will happen on January 22nd, Thursday. Registrations for the next sale is yet to begin. It has not revealed the number of units that would go up for sale next week.
Did you try to get the YU Yureka in today's sale? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments sections below. We compared the Yu Yureka with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4G, check it out to find which is a better choice.
The LG G Flex 2 was only announced last week but the handset is already up for pre-order with Amazon Germany. The German arm of the global online giant is offering the G Flex 2 for €599, which is substantially cheaper than the G Flex which originally went up for pre-order at €850 but the retailer hasn't listed a shipping date.
It's presumed that the G Flex 2 will also make it to Amazon UK sooner rather than later (you can actually order it on the German website for delivery to the UK) and in the UK, we've already heard that Vodafone and Carphone Warehouse are both set to stock the handset (the former has a six week exclusive at launch). However our sources tell us that Vodafone UK will offer the handset next month with a launch currently scheduled for two weeks before Mobile World Congress kicks off at the beginning of March.
The G Flex 2 is definitely the next generation of LG's bendy flagship range as it features a smaller yet better resolution display - the G Flex 2 sports a 5.5 inch 1080p P-OLED curved display compared to the 6 inch 720p display on the original G Flex. ...
Looking at buying a new Windows Phone in the UK or Ireland but unsure which to buy and whether to take the plunge? Microsoft's new UK promotion might just entice you to hit the Buy button as customers who buy the Lumia 735, Lumia 830 or Lumia 930 can get a free Fitbit Flex with their new smartphone.
The offer begins now and will run up until March 31st and is valid for any purchase from a long list of participating retailers. The retailers include Vodafone, EE, Virgin, 3 and Carphone Warehouse along with serveral other sources such as Amazon and Clove (see source link below for full list). In order to claim their free prize, buyers will need to download Microsoft's Fitbit Gift app on their new Windows Phone device and submit their details to receive the free tracker which is valued at £79.99.
The promotion is somewhat surprising given that Microsoft is yet to launch their own Microsoft Band wearable in the UK and this could have been the ideal launch promotion for that particular wearable. Nonetheless, with Fitbit now having a Windows Phone compatible app for its smartbands since July last year, it should entice many users to take ...
Following on from the devastating terror attacks in Paris over the past week, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced he could move to block encrypted messaging applications if he wins the next elections. In essence, this means that apps such as WhatsApp, iMessage or Snapchat that offer "methods of communication that cannot be read by security services even if they have a warrant" could be targetted.
The move is likely to be part of David Cameron's plans for new surveillance powers to reduce the threat of terror attacks in the UK. Current legislation means the powers-that-be can access communications data - such as mobile phones, letters, fixed line etc - with a proper warrant but Cameron said:
"...it is important in the future that we make sure we can get this data where people are using the more modern forms of communication that are being made possible through the internet"
The main question raised by David Cameron and presumably the figurehead speech for the proposals was:
“In our country, do we want to allow a means of communication between people who, even in extremis, with a signed warrant from the Home Secretary personally, that we cannot read?”
He then went on to answer ...
We started our Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Giveaway couple of weeks back on our YouTube channel, and as promised, today we reveal the lucky winners. Before that, we would like to thank all the participants who took their time to participate in this contest, the response has been amazing. Are you the lucky winner of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ? Find out below.
You can check out the winner selection logic in the video below. We shuffled the entries using The Hat, a free application to pick the winners. We made sure the draw was as transparent as possible.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWR8MhAmPb0
The lucky winners are
Choco Pie @roksta_akhil
Rahul Bhandari @DevBhumiLegend
We will be getting in touch with the winners soon to dispatch the smartphone.
Please join us in congratulating the winners. And for those you who did not win, we have more giveaways lined up! Thanks once again for taking part and thanks to Samsung India for making this giveaway possible.
