Microsoft has started rolling out its latest Denim update to Lumia devices. The update brings new features from Windows Phone 8.1 as well as some Lumia specific features which are exclusive to Microsoft’s own devices.
For starters, the Lumi devices will get a Cortana voice activation which is available in the U.S. but will now also be available in China and the UK in “beta” and in “alpha” in Australia, Canada India, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The update adds improvements to the Cortana like natural-language scenarios, snooze times for reminders and being able to access Cortana in the car through the car-kit integration.
The Cortana will get active by simply calling out "Hey Cortana" when the phone is in idle state. Moving on the update will add live folders on start screen. Other features include the ability to create app folders and get fitness and health related information from the Glance screen. In addition, Internet Explorer is even receiving enhancements that enables fast browsing and better downloading speeds on mobile websites.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyXpRhyHMVI
"The owners of the Lumia Icon, Lumia 1520, Lumia 930 and Lumia 830 will also get an updated Lumia Camera, delivering images of the highest quality at the fastest speed with only milliseconds between shots. ...Microsoft has started rolling out its latest Denim update to Lumia devices. The update brings new features from Windows Phone 8.1 as well as some Lumia specific features which are exclusive to Microsoft’s own devices.
For starters, the Lumi devices will get a Cortana voice activation which is available in the U.S. but will now also be available in China and the UK in “beta” and in “alpha” in Australia, Canada India, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. The update adds improvements to the Cortana like natural-language scenarios, snooze times for reminders and being able to access Cortana in the car through the car-kit integration.
The Cortana will get active by simply calling out "Hey Cortana" when the phone is in idle state. Moving on the update will add live folders on start screen. Other features include the ability to create app folders and get fitness and health related information from the Glance screen. In addition, Internet Explorer is even receiving enhancements that enables fast browsing and better downloading speeds on mobile websites.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyXpRhyHMVI
"The owners of the Lumia Icon, Lumia 1520, Lumia 930 and Lumia 830 will also get an updated Lumia Camera, delivering images of the highest quality at the fastest speed with only milliseconds between shots. ...
Xiaomi is expected to launch the Mi 4 smartphone in India on January 28th, according to a report from ET. At the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro launch event in China, Xiaomi's Vice President Hugo Barra said block your date for 28th. Earlier Manu Jain, Operations Head of Mi India said that they would be launching the Mi 4 smartphone at the end of January.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iTQj4QHbtw
Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 4 smartphone back in July last year. The Xiaomi Mi 4 and the Mi Pad were expected to launch by the end of 2014, but it didn't happen since Xiaomi was busy with the roll out of Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G smartphones.
Xiaomi Mi 4 specifications
5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) IPS display with 441 PPI resolution with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection
2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor
MIUI V5 on top of Android 4.4 (KitKat)
13MP rear camera with LED Flash, Sony IMX214 BSI sensor, 6-element lens, f/1.8 aperture, 4K video recording
8MP front-facing camera with Sony Exmor R sensor, 5-element lens , f/1.8 aperture
8.9mm thick and weighs 149 grams
3GB RAM, 16 / 64 GB internal memory
Infrared LED
4G LTE, 3G, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), WiFi Direct, Bluetooth and GPS
3080 mAh battery
The Mi ...
Lenovo has launched A6000, the company’s latest budget smartphone with 4G connectivity as it promised. It was announced at the CES last week, packs a 5-inch HD display, is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor with Adreno 306 GPU and runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with Vibe UI on top.
It has dual SIM support, dual speakers with Dolby Digital support, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal storage with expansion slot and a 2300mAh battery. It has 4G LTE support, including support for TD-LTE 2300MHz (Band 40) and FDD-LTE 1800MHz (Band 3) for India.
At the launch, Sudhin Mathur, Director- Smartphones, Lenovo India, said:
Lenovo as a leader in smart connected devices is committed to staying ahead of the curve. The A6000 is the perfect choice for the youth/millennials who want a trendy phone loaded with future proof features and yet not being heavy on the pocket.
Amitesh Jha, Vice President – Retail, Flipkart, siad:
We are happy to partner with Lenovo again for the launch of A6000. The response has been very good to their last 2 phones we partnered on-Vibe Z2 Pro and Vibe X2. With the A6000 we are again providing a leading edge device at a great price.
Lenovo A6000 specifications
5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) ...
Xolo has released Android 5.0 (Lollipop) update for its Xolo One smartphone, as it promised. Xolo becomes the first Indian company to roll out Lollipop update for its device.
The Android 5.0 Lollipop brings Material Design with bold, colorful, and responsive UI, better notifications, battery saver feature, better security including Android Smart Lock, New Quick Settings, Improved network handoffs, flexible sharing, faster, smoother and more powerful experience with ART, 15 new languages and more.
The update is available over-the-air (OTA), and you can also download the 557MB file from the official Xolo software update page and load it to the smartphone manually. You can also find complete instructions from the Xolo support page.
Xiaomi announced the Mi Note and Mi Note Pro smartphone yesterday. In addition to the two phones, Xiaomi also introduced two accessories - Mi Box Mini and Mi Headphones.
The Mi Box Mini is a smaller version of company's Mi Box that is a set top box for streaming video and music. Priced at $30, the Mi Box Mini has an HDMI port, Cortex-A7 quad-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB storage, and dual band Wi-Fi 802.11n. It can output 1080P video, Dolby and DTS audio. The device is available in various color options including red, orange, purple, blue, and yellow. The box will be available for preorder starting Jan. 20, and orders are expected to ship a week later.
Xiaomi also unveiled the Mi Headphones features "50mm large beryllium diaphragm speakers with interchangeable over-ear and on-ear covers". The company said the super low 32-ohm impedance will make the Mi Headphones will enable users to listen to FLAC and APE tracks. The headphones boast not just of high-quality (and probably expensive) materials, it also promises to employ those for a premium listening experience. Priced at $80 the headphones will go on sale in coming weeks.
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Micromax's YU launched the YUREKA smartphone last month for Rs. 8,999. It sold 10,000 smartphones in just 3 seconds in the first flash sale earlier this Tuesday, January 13th. At that time the company confirmed that the second flash sale will take place on January 22nd. Today Amazon.in has started registrations for the second sale. You just need to click subscribe that will be considered as registration. Customers who had registered but couldn’t purchase the YUREKA on 13th Jan, will now be automatically pre-registered for the next sale, said the company.
YU Yureka has a 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (4×1.5GHz + 4×1.0GHz) processor, runs on Cyanogen OS 11 based on Android 4.4 (KitKat), features a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash, 5-megapixel front-facing camera, comes with 2GB RAM, 16GB of internal storage with expansion slot, 2500mAh battery and has Cat4. LTE support, including support for 4G LTE bands (TDD B40 2300MHz and FDD B3 1800MHz) for India.
Amazon started shipping the Yureka smartphones to customers few days back. It offered a free leather back cover along with the smartphone for first sale.
YU and Amazon.in have not revealed the number ...
Google has rolled out a Classroom mobile app that is aimed at connecting teachers and students. Available on Android and iPhone, the app will encourage digital collaboration between them.
The new apps let students take photos of assignments and documents they want to share with teachers and access the files they need for their school work. It will also be integrated into the share functionality of many other apps, so users can attach PDFs, drawings and other media to Classroom assignments. Moving on the new app automatically caches video streams and assignment information each time the app opens with an Internet connection so that content can be accessed for offline viewing later.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2fC7yrj984
In addition to the app, Classroom for desktop is getting a teacher assignments page and class archiving. The former lets teachers review completed and outstanding student assignments on a single screen while the latter archive individual classes to make them read-only and remove them from the main Classroom home page
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA3T_osf_FQ
It must be noted that the Classroom app is available only for those who have a Google for Education account.
App Link - Android and iPhone
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Google has announced that it is putting an end to the Glass Explorer program. The company will move the product out from its 'X' experimental incubator.
Google has announced that it will stop selling the wearable computerized glasses from its Explorer program, which made Glass available for consumers, after Jan.19. The company will stop taking orders from next week, but will still support the companies currently using it. The Glass will now be a stand-alone project under the leadership of former Apple Inc. executive Tony Fadell who leads Nest Labs. Current Glass chief Ivy Ross will still be running day-to-day operations of the Glass organization.
"As part of this transition, we’re closing the Explorer Program so we can focus on what’s coming next. January 19 will be the last day to get the Glass Explorer Edition. In the meantime, we’re continuing to build for the future, and you’ll start to see future versions of Glass when they’re ready"
said Google Glass on a Google + post.
The Explorer programme, which gave software developers the chance to buy Glass for $1,500 was launched in the United States in 2013. It was then opened up to anyone and was launched in the UK last summer. Current users will still be able to use ...
Microsoft may have launched the Lumia 532 earlier this week but it's bigger sibling the Lumia 535 is finally available in the UK. The first handset to bear the Microsoft branding instead of Nokia, the Lumia 535 brings Windows Phone 8 to the entry level market and equipped with features such as Cortana and Action Centre, on paper it offers an experience that can rival any of the competition.
Amazon has listed the Lumia 535 for exactly £97.32 SIM free and other retailers such as Clove and Unlocked Mobiles (who have the handset in stock already) are offering it for £100 or less which seems to be Microsoft's recommended UK pricing for the handset. As the follow up to the supremely successful Lumia 520 and Lumia 530, the Lumia 535 will hopefully bring Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 OS to the masses.
The Lumia 535 sports a 5 inch 540 x 960 pixels display, a 5MP rear camera (with LED flash), 5MP front facing snapper and 8GB internal storage that can be expanded by a microSD card. It's powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 200 processor with 1GB RAM and offers 42Mbps DC-HSPA (3G) connectivity. It's powered by a 1905 mAh battery and ...
Wikipedia has updated its Android app with Material Design features. The latest update brings a refreshed look to the app and improves the UI and search.
First up, the app puts more focus on images and articles now feature a contextual header image and tapping other pictures displays them in a pop-up with a caption. Users will not need to text re-size in order to match their device as images expand and fit to your screen in a tap. Now a;; galleries of images are organized in a swiping format.
'Read More’ section at the end of each page will show links related to the article. The search functionality has been improved and includes more defined and higher contrast search bar and a list of recently searched topics. Finally, the latest update adds an image viewer that allows users to view a larger version of any image via a pop-up panel (image appears unobscured if tapped on) and swipe left or right to view the previous or next image.
App Link: Wikipedia
Microsoft has updated its Band fitness tracker in first major update. The company started rolling out additional features to the Band such as guided workout and more.
For starters, the Band fitness tracker is getting 12 Guided Workouts that Microsoft has sourced from various partners, like Gold’s Gym and Men’s Fitness magazine. Users will have to load the workouts from the Microsoft Health app to the wearable gadget. Earlier in January, Microsoft pushed a general software update to the Microsoft Band and to the Health app, which primarily addressed performance and fixed a few bugs.
The Microsoft Band uses a series of timers and wrist buzzes to guide the user through the workouts. Some of the workouts use common exercise equipment like kettlebells, dumbbells, plyometric boxes, and jumprope. Users can find video instructions for the workouts in the Health app. Microsoft launched the fitness tracking band last year in October for $199. Check out our unboxing and photo gallery to know more about the Band.
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Sony SmartWatch 3 and SmartBand Talk are priced on official Sony India website at Rs. 19,990 (MRP) and Rs. 12,990 (MRP). Both these were unveiled at IFA 2014 back in September.
The Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50 powered by Android Wear has a 1.6-inch (320 x 320 pixels) TFT LCD capacitive touch screen display, powered by a 1.2 GHz processor and offers notification for messages, calls and more when connected to the smartphone over Bluetooth. It is waterproof with IP68 ratings
Sony SmartWatch 3 SWR50 specifications
1.6-inch (320 x 320 pixels) TFT LCD capacitive touch screen display
1.2 GHz processor
4GB internal memory, 512MB RAM
Android Wear platform
IP68 Certified for Waterproof
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, NFC
Accelerometer, Compass, Gyro
420 mAh battery with up to 2 days on typical usage and up to 4 days standby
The Sony SmartBand Talk SWR30 wearable has a 1.4-inch e-paper display to view notifications from your smartphone, get time and monitor Lifelog activities. It also has built-in microphone and speaker so that you can talk into it and hear your caller when connected to a smartphone. It has Bluetooth and NFC support and is waterproof with IP68 ratings.
Sony SmartBand Talk SWR30 specifications
1.4-inch (296×128 pixels) Curved always-on E Ink display
ARM Cortex-M4 32-bit processor
IP68 Certified for Waterproof
Weight: 12 grams ...
HTC has started sending out invites for the the announcement of its next flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 1st. The invite just says utopia in progress on a starry sky, highlighted by a single burst of light and Join us to see What's Next.
HTC unveiled the Desire 826 smartphone at the CES earlier this month, but it did not introduce the most expected flagship One series smartphone codenamed Hima.
According to earlier rumors, HTC Hima is expected to come with a 5.5-inch Quad HD / 1080p display, Snapdragon 810 SoC, 3GB RAM, Android Lollipop with Sense 7.0, 20.7 MP rear camera, 13MP or 4MP UltraPixel front camera and a 3,500mAh battery. It is also expected to come with the usual dual front facing Boomsound speakers.
There are huge expectations for the next flagship HTC smartphone as usual. The HTC event at the MWC is set for March 1st, 4PM CET (8:30PM IST).
Apple is rumored to be working on a 12.9 inch iPad Pro. Now, a new report claims that the company is planning to launch a stylus with the upcoming iPad Pro.
Renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities has stated that Apple will launch a stylus accessory to enhance the user experience on the rumored iPad Pro that is expected to be announced in second quarter of 2015 .Kuo believes that users will not need a stylus initially and hence Apple will launch it as an optional add-on. The report notes that the stylus will be simple to start and future generations of the device will add features like 3D handwriting to allow the user to write on other surfaces or even in the air.
"Given that it's more precise than a person's fingers, a stylus can be more convenient to use than the combination of keyboard and mouse in some cases. Therefore, we believe Apple's stylus will improve the user experience of 12.9-inch iPad."
wrote Kuo in his report.
In addition, the stylus is said to get advanced features like built-in gyroscopes or accelerometers. Moreover, Kuo adds that the stylus will use a Lightning connector to charge Apple also believed to be evaluating a ...
Facebook is planning to bring new features to its Messenger. The social network is testing a new voice transcription feature that allows users to read transcriptions of the voice messages they send and receive.
David Marcus of Facebook's messaging team recently posted on his Facebook account a screenshot of a new feature dubbed as video chat transcriptions. The transcription happens automatically as soon as you tap the microphone icon, speak into your phone and transmit the audio clip to your recipient, who then has to actually listen to it in order to hear what you have to say. This voice transcription appears beneath the voice clip itself.
Facebook is currently testing this feature on a 'tiny scale' to see how users are responding before rolling it out to a larger audience. The latest feature is similar to Google Voice that automatically converts your voice clips into message. The social network recently bought speech recognition start-up Wit.ai that can be helpful for this feature.
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Twitter has hired Taranjeet Singh as Head of Sales for its India operations. His main responsibilities will be to increase the commercial opportunities for Twitter in India.
“India is a very important market for us - we’ve seen strong usage of our platform across the board last year and now is a great time to increase our local sales presence by bringing in Taranjeet as our country business head. We’ve seen growing momentum from brands and agencies to use Twitter to connect with their audiences in real-time for major events as well as everyday moments in India. Taranjeet will lead our partnership with brands for maximize their creativity and deepening their customer engagement on our platform to take our sales business to the next level in India.”
said Parminder Singh, Twitter’s Managing Director for Southeast Asia, India and Middle East and North Africa in a press release.
Based in Gurgaon, Taranjeet will work closely with brands and agencies to maximise the value of real-time marketing on Twitter for live, public conversations. He has more than 19 years of sales and business development experience and a comprehensive understanding of the media industry. In his last assignment as the Sales Director, South Asia for BBC ...
Micromax Bolt A066, the latest smartphone in the Bolt series has been listed on the official website. It doesn't have dual front-facing speakers like the Bolt AD3520 that went on sale earlier this month, but this has similar specifications, including a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, dual-core MediaTek SoC, Android KitKat OS, dual SIM support and 2G (EDGE) connectivity.
Micromax Bolt A066 specifications
3.5-inch (320 x 480 pixels) TN display
1.3 GHz dual-core MediaTek MT6571 processor
512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD
Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)
Dual SIM (GSM + GSM) with dual standby
2MP rear camera with LED Flash
0.3MP front-facing camera
3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio
2G (EDGE), WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
1300mAh battery
It comes pre-loaded with Clean Master, Dr safety, Opera mini, Reverie phonebook & smartpad, True caller, Zapr and games such as Gravity, Marble and Giga Jump The Micromax Bolt AD3520 comes in Tranquil Green, Pristine White, Raging Red and Smokey Grey colors and is expected to go on sale soon.
Google is in talks to buy mobile payment company Softcard, according to a latest report from TechCrunch. The tech giant has made an offer for an amount less than $100 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Softcard is jointly owned by AT&T Inc, Verizon Communication Inc's Verizon Wireless Inc and T-Mobile US Inc. It is an NFC payments app on Android and iPhone, like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, which allows users to buy things with their smartphones. The report also states that Google also appears to be interested in Softcard’s more than 120 patents and applications for patents. Earlier this month, SoftCard laid off 60 employees.
The deal could help Google to compete with Apple's new Apple Pay service along with PayPal, Amazon and others. Google's on Wallet service has failed to pick up any traction since its launch from 2010. It is known exactly what plans Google has for Softcard after its acquisition.
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Swipe Technologies has launched the Swipe Ultimate Tab 3G, the company’s latest Windows 8.1 2-in-1, an upgraded version of Swipe Ultimate tablet with inbuilt 3G SIM support and direct USB 3.0. Most of the specifications are similar, including a 10.1-inch (1280×800 pixels) IPS screen, quad-core Intel Atom Z3735 processor, 5-megapixel rear camera, 2-megapixel front-facing camera and magnetic keyboard that has a touchpad so that it can double up as a laptop.
Commenting on the new launch, Shripal Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Swipe, said:
Personal computing is a dynamic area where consumer preferences are changing at extreme pace. Staying ahead of the curve is essential to survive in this space. We take extraordinary efforts to anticipate the changing preferences of consumers and develop products that will satiate demanding consumers of today. We have made our latest offering more powerful with a more powerful Intel processor and inbuilt 3G SIM support along with direct USB 3.0 slot to ensure that our customers get the best experience as a laptop. Thanks to our efficient production process, we are able to deliver all of this at an attractive price point.
Swipe Ultimate Tab 3G specifications
10.1-inch (800 x 1280 pixels) multi-touch IPS display with Zero Air Gap touch, 178-degree viewing angle, Scratch resistant glass
1.33GHz quad-core Intel Atom ...
