The e-commerce platform Amazon is back with another set of new questions today. Every day it brings a fresh Amazon Quiz for its customers that gives them an opportunity to win exciting prizes. You can play the quiz from 8 AM to 12 noon every day on its mobile app platform. Today Amazon Quiz gives you a chance to win Sony Playstation 4.
The winners will get a chance to win gadgets, mobile phones and even Amazon Pay balance and other prizes such as iPhone X, iPhone Xs, Seagate HDD, GoPro Hero 8 Camera, LG Smartphones, Bose Sound Touch 20 Speakers, OnePlus 7T among others. Millions of people are participating in the quiz from different parts of the country to win such gift items.
The quiz is not available for the desktop platform you can only participate in the quiz from 8 AM to 12 noon via mobile app only. The Amazon Quiz contains five easy questions based on general knowledge and current affairs. After giving all the correct answers to the question you will get shortlisted for a lucky draw to select a winner. The results will be announced at the end of the month.
In This Article
May 15 Amazon Quiz Answers
Question 1: Which plant species was recently removed from the ‘tree’ category by amending the Indian Forest Act, 1927?
The Answer is- Bamboo
Question 2: The latest edition of which game series is titled ‘Valhalla’?
The Answer is- Assassin’s Creed
Question 3: What nine-letter term serves as a noun or adjective that refers to the current holder of a political office?
The Answer is- Incumbent
Question 4: Which app, founded by Zhang Yiming, recently crossed 2 billion downloads?
The Answer is- TikTok
Question 5: Which of these football leagues is set to restart on 16th May, 2020 after the stoppage due to the COVID-19 crisis?
The Answer is- Bundesliga
You can follow these instructions to participate in Amazon Quiz:
In an attempt to take on Apple MacBook Pro and Microsoft Surface Book 3 line-up, Dell has redesigned the XPS 15 and introduced an all-new XPS 17 laptops with larger screen sizes so users can see and do more.
As far as the new XPS 17 from Dell is concerned, the XPS 17 returns as the most powerful XPS laptop ever after a 10-year hiatus. Claiming that the XPS 17 is also the smallest 17-inch laptop on the planet, Dell notified, “The virtually borderless, 4-sided InfinityEdge display makes it smaller than 48% of 15-inch laptops available today3, putting the XPS 17 into a class of its own.”
Dell XPS 17 features the latest 10th Gen Intel Core Processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics with Max-Q design. Under the hood, the company has packed a unique thermal design for increased fan airflow to fuel demanding projects.
Now coming on to the redesigned XPS 15, Dell asserted that it is the smallest 15.6-inch performance class laptop. However, the laptop has got an immersive audio-visual experience with a larger 16:10 display and new up-firing speakers.
With the latest 10th Gen Intel Core Processors, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics with Max-Q design and up to 25-hour battery life, Dell claims, “you can easily stream your favourite shows, edits photos for Instagram, render 4K videos or create original sounds and textures on your DAW.”
In addition, the XPS 15 and 17 laptops by Dell are crafted from two pieces of machined aluminum, so they are lightweight, yet strong and durable for users who need to travel often. Beside this, Dell also designed a new hinge to make room for the new 4-sided InfinityEdge display. The XPS 15 and 17 laptops are equipped with Eyesafe display technology reduces harmful blue light while maintaining the vivid colour.
Moreover, Dell claims that its smallest ever HD webcam is discretely hidden at the top of the display. The users will also come across top-mounted mics with advanced echo cancellation and noise reduction technologies.
The XPS family features Windows Hello – a fingerprint reader built right into the power button – so you can safely unlock your PC and get to visiting without entering a password. This will ensure that users join virtual hangouts with friends, co-workers and family on time.
What’s more interesting is that Dell XPS 15 and 17 laptops features Waves Nx 3D audio for speakers tuned by multi-Grammy Award winning producer, Jack Joseph Puig. “On headphones, Waves Nx can track your head movement to align the direction of sound to your visual point-of-view, and on speakers, Nx headtracking puts you in the best seat of the house,” Dell claimed in a blog post.
As far as price and availability is concerned, XPS 15 comes with a price tag of $1,299.99 in the US and Canada (which translates to INR 98326.04). It would be soon available across participating European and Asian countries soon. On the other hand, XPS 17, which is selling at a price point of $1,499.99 (approx. INR 113453.24), is up for grabs in the US, Canada and participating European and Asian countries this summer.
With foldable smartphone becoming popular amongst technology lovers, news is rife that LG is currently working on a new smartphone code-named LG Wing. This much-talked-about handset will come with a screen that swivelled to reveal the keyboard. The smartphone is expected to hit the smartphone market in the second half of CY2020.
As per a recent report from Korean publication ETNews, the 6.8-inch main screen display of what is equipped with another 4-inch sub-screen that aims on increasing content immersion. With this, the report reveals, “When you run the photo app on the main screen, you can run editing functions on the sub screen or watch video content and browse related information.”
So when the main screen of this smartphone code-named as LG Wing is laid horizontally, it is makes a shape of letter ‘T’ by spreading both wings. “Depending on the orientation of the main screen, the sub-screen is located on the side in the vertical view mode and on the bottom in the horizontal view mode,” added ETNews
It is reported that LG Wing will be 5th generation (5G) smartphone like LG Velvet and will derive its power from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 series mobile application processor. As far as camera is concerned, the rear panel will carry a triple-camera module comprising of a 6,400MP main sensor.
With LG Wing, it seems that the company is emphasising on a design and functions that are different from the ‘mass premium’ market strategy.
Besides this, it is likely that LG will also be prepping up for a service to personalize various options including colour in order to highlight the premium image.
Currently, LG Wings is believe to have entered the development phase so that it can make way to smartphone market is the second half this year. “LG Wing is expected to be a product that combines the market responses and capabilities that LG Electronics has accumulated in dual screens and LG Velvet,” the report concluded.
Recently, LG lifted curtains of its mid-range Velvet in South Korea. The company hasn’t given any information about when LG smartphone will be available in international markets.
LG Velvet comprises of 5G-capable Snapdragon 765 SoC, 8GB RAM and a single storage option at 128 GB with up to 2TB microSD expansion. As far as the display is concerned, LG has introduced a 6.8-inch OLED panel with a 20.5:9 aspect ratio and FHD+ resolution (1920 x 2460) known as ”Cinema FullVision”.
With reports that Samsung Galaxy Fold Lite smartphone is in the making and will be rolled out soon, rumour mills are churning one leak after another. Now in a latest series of rumours, Max Weinbach hints that the price of this smartphone could be $1,099. Mind you! This smartphone is rumoured to come without 5G support to fall in the list of budget-friendly devices.
If we believe these rumours to be true, Samsung Galaxy Fold Lite smartphone will run on Snapdragon 865 chipset along with 256GB storage capacity. It seems that this device is line with the original Samsung Galaxy Fold handset.
Weinbach also tweeted, “I’m unsure about that processor but I did find it in the kernel sources of the S20 Ultra. It means they are at least building software for the 865.”
Besides this, the rumours further revealed that Samsung Galaxy Fold Lite will not be equipped with Ultra-Thin Glass (UTG) on its internal screen. So let’s wait and find out what Samsung will do about the scratch protection. News is rife that Samsung Galaxy Fold will likely house a smaller external display like the one on the Z Flip handset. As far as the external screen is concerned, will probably be smaller than before (the original Fold has a 4.6” secondary display).
Made up of aluminium and glass on the sides, Samsung Galaxy Fold Lite smartphone will be available in Mirror Black and Mirror Purple colour options.
Meanwhile, Samsung has partnered with Benow to enable millions of consumers to buy Galaxy smartphones from their neighbourhood stores online. The new digital platform will also help thousands of offline retailers become part of the online ecosystem and reach out to a larger base of consumers.
More than 20,000 offline retailers have already signed up for the digital platform that enables consumers to buy Galaxy smartphones online from their neighbourhood stores.
“At Samsung, the consumer is at the core of everything we do. Our partnership with Benow is part of our broader online to offline (O2O) strategy and is aimed to provide benefits of both offline and online platforms to the consumer. With this new platform, our consumers will be able to browse, select, order, pay and receive their Galaxy smartphone from the comfort of their homes. This will ensure that our consumers don’t have to step out to a physical store at a time when Social Distancing is the new normal. At the same time, the new platform enables thousands of physical retailers to connect with local customers online,” said Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India.
In order to safeguard its users from cyber harassment, Instagram has now lifted curtains off new features that mark the continuation of its effort to lead the industry in the fight against online bullying.
Firstly, Instagram rolled out a new feature to help people manage unwanted interactions at once. In a blog post, Instagram notified that “We know it can feel overwhelming to manage a rush of negative comments, so we’ve been testing the ability to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments.”
Instagram further added that it has discovered that by managing unwanted interactions, people, especially with larger followings, are able to maintain a positive environment on their account.
Wondering how to enable this feature? Well, iOS users can simply tap on a comment and then the dotted icon in the top right corner. Now click on Select Manage Comments and choose up to 25 comments to delete at once. Tap More Options to block or restrict accounts in bulk. On the other hand, Android users can block or restrict accounts by pressing and holding on a comment, now tap the dotted icon and select Block or Restrict.
The second feature that Instagram introduced is highlighting positive comments. According to Facebook-owned photo-and-video-sharing social networking service: “In addition to removing negative comments, we want to give people an easy way to amplify and encourage positive interactions. Soon, we’ll begin testing Pinned Comments.”
Mind you! This feature gives Instagram users a way to set the tone for their account and engage with their community by pinning a select number of comments to the top of their comments thread.
Thirdly, Instagram users can now choose who can tag and mention them. In the blog post, Instagram asserted that it has observed that tags and mentions can be used to target or bully others. Therefore, the Facebook-owned social networking service has now introduced new controls that allow the user to manage who can tag or mention them on Instagram. Moreover, a user can choose whether he/she want everyone, only people they follow or no one to be able to tag or mention them in a comment, caption or Story.
In the fifth edition of our Community Standards Enforcement Report, Guy Rosen, VP Integrity at Facebook, said, “Facebook and Instagram to be places where people can express themselves and have a voice. To create the conditions where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, we must also preserve our community’s sense of safety, privacy, dignity and authenticity. That’s why we have Community Standards, which define what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram.”
The Chinese smartphone company today announced the launch of its new product. On Wednesday the company launched the world’s only open fit Huawei Freebuds 3 with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC). The Huawei TWS Earbuds in India have been introduced at an attractive price that will be available via e-commerce website Amazon soon.
Huawei Freebuds 3 True Wireless Stereo Earbuds will be available for purchase with a price tag of Rs 12,990 in the country. The earbuds are up for registration and have also been listed on Amazon India website teasing its availability. The Notify Me button on the platform is also live now. Customers willing to purchase the wireless earbuds should know that the Huawei TWS Earbuds comes with CP61 Wireless Charge along with no-cost EMI starting from Rs 18/day.
The Chinese electronics brand Huawei says that “Huawei has always been at the forefront of technology innovation and customer delight is our utmost priority. With that said, we are glad to bring to India the world’s only open fit active noise cancellation earbuds. The idea is to make noise cancellation devices more portable. According to a report by Counterpoint Research, the Indian TWS market has posted a massive 700% growth in 2019, becoming the fastest growing market in wearables. Huawei brings a unique offering in this segment with the launch of HUAWEI FreeBuds 3, which is the first Open-fit TWS earbuds to support call noise reduction and accurate real-time active noise cancellation. We have ensured that users get an enriched and enhanced listening experience with the TWS technology. We are certain that this device will be a game-changer in the audio device industry in India.”
Huawei Freebuds 3 True Wireless Stereo Earbuds comes with lots of features including simple and stable connectivity, ultra-low latency, and an impressive approach to noise control. The earbuds are powered by Kirin A1 chipset that provides superior sonics to the device, with outstanding digital sound processing techniques, and a fine-tuned high sensitivity driver to deliver spectacular music and voice reproduction. The Chipset is specifically engineered for the hearable and wearable market that provides FreeBuds 3 stability and ease of connectivity. It sports an Isochronous dual-channel Bluetooth connection technology to bring true stereo sound to wireless earbuds, connecting to both buds simultaneously. According to the company, self-developed dual-channel synchronous transmission mode uses leads to latency remains ultra-low down to 190 ms2, making FreeBuds 3 the perfect wireless earbud for gamers who want instant acoustic feedback for an immersive gaming experience.
The Freebuds 3 comes integrated with 14.2mm dynamic drivers for powerful bass yet a balanced sound. The earphones are claimed to deliver a 20-hour battery life and 4.5-hour ANC usage on a single charge. These come with a connectivity range of up to 150 meters and BT/BLE 5.1 for delivering a robust sound quality experience.
The earbuds come with touch controls. The left earbud can be used to turn on / off ANC whereas the right earbud allows the user to play the next song. Either of the earbuds can be used to answer or end a phone call.
In terms of design, the Huawei Freebuds 3 carries an Apple Airpods like design with curved and natural open-fit design for comfortable and stable wearing. This allows the users to keep them on for hours while listening to music. The wireless earphones comes with a round-shaped charging case that can fit in your pocket as well as in the palm of your hand. The earbuds will be available in two colour options gloss black and gloss white.
As the virtual life is becoming a new normal with the world battling the COVID-19 pandemic, Android users can enjoy some exciting mobile games that are available for free to do away with boredom during their free time at home. Check out the list:
PUBG Mobile
The official PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) designed exclusively for mobile can be played free anywhere, anytime. Powered by the Unreal Engine 4, PUBG delivers jaw-dropping HD graphics and 3D sound along with customizable mobile controls, training modes as well as voice chat. From Erangel to Miramar, Vikendi to Sanhok, players can compete on these enormous and detailed battlegrounds varying in size, terrain, day/night cycles and dynamic weather – from urban city spaces to frozen tundra, to dense jungles, master each battleground’s secrets to create your own strategic approach to win. One can play Solo, Duo, and in 4-player Squads or even larger groups where you can be a lone wolf soldier or play with a Clan and answer the duty calls when help is needed! So keep checking for daily events & challenges that keep PUBG MOBILE always growing and expanding.
Call of Duty: Mobile
Official Call of Duty designed exclusively for mobile phones allows you to access play iconic multiplayer maps and modes anytime, anywhere. It is free to play on mobile with console quality HD gaming along with customizable controls, voice and text chat, and thrilling 3D graphics and sound. Experience the thrill of the world’s most beloved shooter game, now on your phone for easy on-the-go fun. One can either play iconic multiplayer maps from Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare that available for the first time for free; or they can squad up with friends in a brand new 100-person Battle Royale survival map. Moreover, as you play Call of Duty: Mobile you will unlock and earn dozens of famous characters, weapons, outfits, score streaks and pieces of gear that can be used to customize your loadouts. So get set to compete and fight against millions of friends and foes in this thrilling free to play multiplayer shooter.
8 Ball Pool
This is the biggest and best multi-player pool game online. If you are tired of streaming movies, it’s time to play billiards for free against other players as well as friends in 1-on-1 matches. You can even enter tournaments to win big. So level up and earn Pool Coins for your wins. The key to being a great 8 Ball Pool player is positioning of the cue ball. So don’t hit the balls like your life depends on it rather think well before hitting each short.
Ludo King
This game will surely take you in your childhood. Ludo King is a cross platform multiplayer game that supports Desktop, Android, iOS and Windows mobile platform at same time. This game also support offline mode where player can play with Computer or Local multiplayer (play and pass mode). Ludo King is the modern version of the royal game of Pachisi, which is a Ludo game that was played between Indian kings and queens in ancient times. This Android-based game follows the traditional rules and the old school look of the Ludo game. Just like the kings and queens of India’s golden age, your fate depends on the number of the Ludo’s dice.
Asphalt 9: Legends
This game features a top roster of real hyper cars for you to drive that is unlike that found in any other game, from renowned car manufacturers like Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and W Motors. You’re free to pick the dream car you need and race across spectacular locations against rival speed machines around the world. Hit the fast track and leave your limits in the dust to become a Legend of the Track. It gives you a console experience in your hands with meticulously detailed real cars, cool HDR techniques and stunning visual and particle effects that turn every race into a real blockbuster race movie.
Moreover, Asphalt 9: Legends allows you to create your own online community of like-minded racer friends with the Club feature. So collaborate with your fellow speed freaks to race your best and unlock the best Milestone rewards as you drive up the ranks of the multiplayer Club leader board.
Pictoword
If you are looking for an interesting word game to play with friends, Pictoword is a perfect puzzle game for all ages. In this free word play game, you have to link pictures and solve mind puzzle – for example, pics of SAND and WITCH, combine them for SANDWICH! This game can even be played offline while you are on a road trip or in a remote area.
Pokémon GO
If you wish to travel between the real world and the virtual world of Pokémon, Pokémon GO gives you the chance to explore real locations and search far and wide for Pokémon. Now you can invaded the world of Pokémon GO by being at home as Niantic recently made some changes to the game that increased monster spawn rates, meaning it’s easier to see Pokémon while staying inside your house, revealed VirtueBeat.
This will enable people who have been working from home to play Pokémon Go. Besides this, players can even join Trainers across the globe who are discovering Pokémon as they explore the world around them. Pokémon GO is the global gaming sensation that has been downloaded over 1 billion times and named “Best Mobile Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards.
The Japanese electronics major recently increased the price of both the variants of PS4 gaming consoles in India. Amid coronavirus when people as well as children are taking the support of gaming devices to reduce their boredom staying at home to maintain social distancing, the company said that the older price was intended for promotional purpose only. Now the company has announced a limited period special offer on PS4 consoles.
According to the company all PS4 1TB mega pack, which also includes the recently launched 1TB GTA V, God of War, Days Gone, Fortnite DLC Voucher along with code for 3 months of Playstation plus subscription bundle will now be available at Rs 2,000 cheaper than before. The company has reduced the price from Rs 29,990 to Rs 27,990 in the country. The company says that this offer is available only until stock lasts.
Sony PlayStation 4 slim price hiked by up to Rs 2000 and Pro model was upped by Rs 1,720 in the country. After the price revision the consoles have gotten more expensive in India and it cost Rs 38,710 for Pro 1TB model whereas the Slim 1TB came with a new price tag of Rs 29,990. The company had also listed both the products with their updated prices on Sony India website as well as on the e-commerce website Flipkart and Amazon.
The news is rife that as the sales of PS4 hits 110 million Sony has also confirmed the release date for its upcoming gaming console PS5. The gamers and the whole industry has been waiting in anticipation for the company to announce its next release. According to the company, PlayStation 5 will be out in time for Christmas. As per the previous rumours, PS5 was expected to arrive in mid-November.
But according to a new report the company has not released a concrete date for the launch, but it’s not coming anytime sooner than holiday 2020.
“Regarding the launch of PlayStation 5, although factors such as employees working from home and restrictions on international travel have presented some challenges in regards to part of the testing process and the qualification of production lines, development is progressing with the launch of the console scheduled for the 2020 holiday season,” Sony said.
The Japanese electronics major, Sony, has announced the launch of its latest home audio product in the market. The company has launched Sony HT-G700 soundbar that is supported by Dolby Atmos, DTS:X as well as the Vertical Surround Engine. The new Sony device comes with a Soundbar and a wireless subwoofer that arrived in the mid-range segment to compete with other devices being offered at a much higher price.
While announcing the HT-G700 soundbar, “Offering a dynamic, best-in-class acoustic experience is of peak importance when designing our soundbars,” said Mike Fasulo, president and chief operating officer, Sony Electronics North America. “The new HT-G700 soundbar delivers a fully immersive sound experience that elevates at-home viewing and provides customers with a front-row seat to their favourite movies, TV shows and content.”
The Sony HT-G700 has been introduced with a price tag of $599.99 that translates to Rs 45,300. It will be currently available for purchase in the US via Amazon, Best Buy and other authorised dealers but it will be available in the Indian market very soon.
Sony HT-G700 soundbar features:
The HT-G700 soundbar is best suitable for watching TV shows and Movies. It is compatible with Television, 4K Blu-ray player, set-top box or a gaming console with an HDMI port. It can also be easily connected to your device with the help of Bluetooth for streaming music wirelessly or use the HDMI eARC/ARC or optical digital input for full-bandwidth sound.. The Sony soundbar comes with various modes for a better audio experience such as Cinema mode and Music mode that delivers a detailed audio experience while watching a movie or listening to your favourite track. Moreover, there is a Voice mode to customise sound settings to accentuate speech whereas the Night mode optimizes the sound balance to offer clearer sound, even at low volume levels.
The HT-G700 is supported by Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Vertical Surround Engine offering a theatre-like audio experience. The vertical centre speaker has three front speakers which are combined with Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Vertical Surround Engine to produce vertical audio in order to create virtual surround sound. Whereas the wireless subwoofer is capable of delivering a deeper, richer bass sound.
“Hit the Immersive AE (Audio Enhancement) button and the HT-G700 can upscale even regular stereo audio to 7.1.2 surround sound—so every TV show and movie gets the surround sound treatment.”
According to the company, the soundbar has been fine-tuned with S-Force PRO technology that enhanced the sound to fit larger TV screen heights over 55 inches for a more immersive experience.
From now onwards the microblogging site Twitter will be adding labels and will be showing warning messages on the tweets that contain misleading, disputed or unverified information related to coronavirus. Even more, it is also removing the harmful content from the site. This move has been taken by the company to put a stop on the users spreading fake information and rumours that could harm someone.
Twitter in its blog post said that “In serving the public conversation, our goal is to make it easy to find credible information on Twitter and to limit the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content. Starting today, we’re introducing new labels and warning messages that will provide additional context and information on some Tweets containing disputed or misleading information related to COVID-19.”
Twitter is also planning to use these labels and warning messages to provide additional explanations or clarifications in situations where the risks of harm associated with a Tweet are less severe but where people may still be confused or misled by the content. This will make it easier to find facts and make informed decisions about what people see on Twitter. To recall, in March the company began addressing the contents that were fake and contained wrong information that could mislead the users seeking information related to COVID-19.
These labels will also be applied to the tweets sent before the announcement that contains potentially harmful, misleading information related to COVID-19. These labels will be linked to a company-curated page or external trusted source containing additional information on the claims made within the Tweet.
According to the company, these warnings will inform people that the information in the Tweet differs from public health experts’ guidance before they view it.
“Our teams are using and improving internal systems to proactively monitor content related to COVID-19. These systems help ensure we’re not amplifying Tweets with these warnings or labels and detecting the high-visibility content quickly. Additionally, we’ll continue to rely on trusted partners to identify content that is likely to result in offline harm. Given the dynamic situation, we will prioritize review and labeling of content that could lead to increased exposure or transmission. We’ll learn a lot as we use these new labels, and are open to adjusting as we explore labeling different types of misleading information. This process is ongoing and we’ll work to make sure these and other labels and warnings show up across Twitter. Embedded Tweets and Tweets viewed by people not logged into Twitter may still appear without a label,” the company added.
The Chinese electronics major Huawei has announced the launch of its new smartphone in the Indian market. The company introduced its new premium mid-range smartphone called Huawei Y9s. To tease the availability of the device recently the company listed the smartphone on the Amazon India website. To recall, Huawei launched Y9s in China last year and the mobile phone is already available in several other markets. Read on to know the pricing and specifications of the newly launched phone.
Huawei Y9s pricing and availability
Huawei Y9s will be available with a price tag of Rs 19,990 for the lone 6GB RAM with 128GB storage variant. It will be offered in two colour options, Breathing Crystal and Midnight Black. The smartphone is scheduled to go on sale in India via e-commerce platform Amazon from May 19 onwards. Buyers can avail 9 months no-cost EMI, an exchange offer of Rs 1500 and Rs 1000 Amazon Pay Cash Back on the Huawei Y9s.
Huawei Y9s specifications
Huawei Y9s runs on EMUI 9.1 based on top of Android 9 Pie out of the box. It features a 6.59-inch full-HD+ TFT LCD display with 1,080×2,340 pixels of resolution with a pixel density of 391ppi. The device comes with a screen-to-body ratio of 91% along with slim bezels on the top and bottom and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Huawei Kirin 710F processor coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. The internal memory can be expanded by up to 512GB using a microSD card.
For imaging, Huawei Y9s features a triple rear camera set up that includes a 48-megapixel primary camera sensor with f/1.8 aperture. Furthermore, there is a secondary 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens with 120 degrees field of view and f/2.4 aperture and a tertiary 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. It comes fitted with a 16-megapixel pop-up selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture.
The smartphone draws its power from a 4,000mAh battery with support for 10W charging. For connectivity, there is Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 4G LTE, Bluetooth v4.2, BeiDou, GPS/A-GPS, Glonass and a USB Type-C port.
After making so much hype Xioami’s spin-off brand Poco has finally unveiled a new F series smartphone globally. The company launched Poco F2 Pro via an online launch event. All the features and specification of the Poco’s device matches up with Redmi K30 Pro only the branding has been changed. The smartphone comes with the most expensive and latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. Moreover, as the smartphone has gaming and photography focus it comes integrated with the company’s own liquid-cooling technology that will keep the phone cool while intensive gaming sessions. Let’s take a look at what the company has to offer with the launch of Poco F2 Pro.
Poco F2 Pro Pricing and availability
The company has launched Poco F2 Pro globally in two different configurations. The smartphone will be available with a price tag of EUR 499 that translates to Rs 41,500 for the base 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage model. The 8GB RAM with 256GB storage option can be purchased with a price tag of EUR 599 that translates to Rs 50,000. It will be offered in a gradient finish back panel with four colour options Cyber Grey, Electric Purple, Neon Blue, and Phantom White. The mobile handset has been put on sale via two e-retailers Gearbest and AliExpress globally. In the coming weeks will be available via more channels including Amazon.
As of now, there is no word from the company about the availability for the Indian market but in the past, we came across so many reports that have mentioned the arrival of the smartphone in the country. Industry experts tell Gadget Bridge that the smartphone will launch in India in June 2020.
Poco F2 Pro specifications
Poco F2 Pro runs on MIUI on top of Android 10 OS with Poco Launcher 2.0. with Dark mode. The new smartphone features a 6.67-inch full-HD AMOLED display with 1,080×2,400 pixels of resolution,1,200 nits of peak brightness and 20:9 aspect ratio. It also has Widevine L1 certification to play HD content from video streaming services.
Under the hood, there is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor with LiquidCool 2.0 tech for efficient cooling. The smartphone will be offered with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of non-expandable storage.
On the imaging front, Poco F2 Pro has a quad rear camera setup comprising a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 primary sensor, a secondary 5-megapixel telemacro lens, a tertiary 13-megapixel wide-angle lens and lastly a 2-megapixel depth sensor. F2 pro comes with a 20-megapixel pop-up selfie camera. The device is capable of recording 8K videos at 30fps and 4K videos at 60fps.
In terms of connectivity, the Poco smartphone includes a G (NSA SA), 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.1, GPS/ A-GPS, NFC, USB Type-C and a 3.5mm audio jack. The handset boasts a 4,700mAh battery supported with 30W charging tech.
With an aim to become a space superpower alongside the US and Russia, China has launched a Long March 5B rocket with an unmanned prototype spacecraft into orbit from Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China’s Hainan province on May 5th this year. However, a CNN report revealed that an 18-tonne piece of this Chinese rocket flew directly over Los Angeles and New York City before crash-landing in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday after remaining in orbit for few days.
Since 1991, the crash-landing of March 5B rocket becomes the fourth biggest ever debris descending on Earth. The three other larger pieces of rocket debris falling down on our planet were Skylab in year 1979, Skylab’s rocket stage in year 1975 and Salyut 7 in year 1991.
In 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia, which was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet, disintegrated during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members including Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Chawla.
In an interview with CNN, Jonathan McDowell, astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, informed, “For a large object like this (March 5B rocket), dense pieces like parts of the rocket engines could survive re-entry and crash to Earth. Once they reach the lower atmosphere they are traveling relatively slowly, so worst case is they could take out a house.”
Asserting that tracking objects like March 5B rocket that are travelling at a relatively faster pace through the atmosphere is hard to predict, McDowell added “The problem is that it is traveling very fast horizontally through the atmosphere and it’s hard to predict when it will finally come down. The Air Force’s final prediction was plus or minus half an hour, during which time it went 3/4 of the way around the world. It’s pretty hard to do any better.”
McDowell added that re-entry path as well as landing site remained unclear for those tracking the fall of March 5B rocket. At 11:33am ET (15:33 UTC) on Monday, the US Space Force’s 18th Space Control Squadron confirmed that the core stage re-entered Earth’s atmosphere at a location over the Atlantic Ocean.
News is rife that the China National Space Administration, which is the national space agency of China, is also sending a mission to Mars this year by landing a rover on the surface of the Red Planet.
Amazon Quiz for May 13 has gone live. It is becoming more popular as people have to stay at home during the coronavirus lockdown. Daily the e-commerce platform brings a new quiz that gives a chance to its millions of users to win exciting prizes being offered by the company. The quiz contains 5 general questions to which you have to answer correctly. Today you can stand a chance to win a Nokia 7.2 Smartphone.
Daily the e-commerce platform brings a fresh questionnaire to which the contestants have to answer correctly to enter into a lucky draw. The quiz can be played daily from 8 AM to 12 noon. The quiz contains a total of five questions, all the questions are based on general knowledge and current affairs. Only one person will be declared a winner. Amazon will announce the result of the quiz at the end of the month. Only app users are eligible to participate in the Quiz. If you don’t know the answers, every day we update all the Amazon Quiz questions with their correct answers on our website. Check out today’s answers for the Amazon Quiz to win Nokia 7.2 Smartphone.
May 13 Amazon Quiz Answers:
Question 1: Which mountain peak, 3rd highest in the world, is reported to be visible these days from Siliguri in West Bengal?
The Answer is- Kanchenjunga
Question 2: To raise money for COVID-19 relief, which former cricketer is auctioning his bat used during the highest successful run chase in an ODI?
The Answer is- Herschelle Gibbs
Question 3 of 5: What is the name of Elon Musk’s newborn son?
The Answer is- X Æ A-12
Question 4: Chakhao, which recently got its GI tag, is a type of aromatic black rice grown in which Indian state?
The Answer is- Manipur
Question 5: Which country recently launched its first military satellite called Noor 1?
Amid the Coronavirus outbreak across the globe, the Chinese government supported China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) has reportedly shared that smartphone shipments from the factories to vendors across the country has increased by 17 percent in April as against the same period last year.
According to a report by Reuters, “The numbers suggest an early domestic rebound for smartphone makers such as Apple and Huawei and a potential return to normalcy in China for the broader consumer hardware market in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak.”
The news report further stated that the CAICT informed that the handset manufacturer shipped almost 40.8 million smartphones in the month of April this year, registering a 6 million increase from the last year shipment during the same period last year which was 34.8 million.
However, the report by Reuters mentioned that the state-backed think tank for the very first time did not disclosed the percentage of Android devices that were shipped during April this year. This would have helped gain an insight regarding Apple iPhone shipment in China.
Meanwhile, another report by Counterpoint Research stated that Apple showed it is resilient and has revenue diversification during these extraordinary COVID-19 times. The company saw iPhone volumes decline 7 percent but was able to make up the difference with service revenues which grew 17 percent and wearables revenues which increased 23 percent. The company saw iPhone installed bases hit all-time highs in all regions—showing its base remains faithful to the brand.
In a detailed explanation how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the quarter, Apple CEO Tim Cook informed, “The first five weeks of the quarter the company was on pace to have a record March quarter. Weeks six through ten of the quarter, China was in the midst of COVID-19. The iPhone supply plummeted due to travel lockdowns, factory output coming to a halt, and supply chain disruptions. In February, China supply and demand witnessed a steep decline. During the last three weeks of the quarter, China factories recovered to near normal output. But, during this time COVID-19 had moved to Europe, the US, and the rest of the world and global demand fell.”
However, Apple is optimistic about iPhone sales recovery because it sees China as a leading indicator. The Counterpoint Research analysts stated, “February saw a steep demand decline. March saw some recovery. April saw further recovery.”
Owing to the strong stimulus packages in the US and Europe, Apple is optimistic the rest of the world recovery will look similar to China’s recovery. The company did note that the first half of April was ‘rough’, but it saw an uptick the past two weeks. Mind you! The demand for Apple products is not back to pre-COVID-19 lockdown levels.
Huawei’s sub-brand, Honor, has launched a new smartphone in India. Today the company launched Honor 9X Pro in the country. The smartphone will now come with a new Huawei AppGallay as it lacks Google Mobile Services so now you will also get a new play store. To recall the smartphone was launched in China last year and after almost one year it is making its way to the Indian market.
Commenting on the launch, Mr Charles Peng, President, HONOR India said “We are excited to introduce company’s official AppGallery to India market. Not just that, we have also launched HONOR 9X Pro, a promising addition to brand’s most celebrated X series smartphones. We, at HONOR, believe in bringing new innovation to the fingertips of our users and with HONOR 9X Pro, featuring brand’s self-developed AppGallery, we aim to empower our consumers with a choice to experience new innovation.”
“The AppGallery has received a promising response globally, and we are confident to replicate our efforts and the success story in India as well. Moreover, we are constantly working with top developers and app companies to make the AppGallery a more robust app distribution platform. We appreciate our consumers support and love towards the brand, which inspires us to further bring new experiences and offerings for them,” he added.
Honor 9X Pro Pricing and availability
With the launch of Honor 9X Pro, the company has also announced it will be hosting a Special Early Access sale on May 21 and May 22. The registration of the smartphone has already begun and will be run till May 19 via e-commerce website Flipkart. The smartphone has been launched with a price tag of Rs 17,999 for the 6GB RAM with 256GB of storage. It will be offered in two colour options Midnight Black and Phantom Black. The launch offer includes Rs 3,000 and no extra cost on availing EMI options up to 6-months. Moreover, on the purchase of the smartphone, the customers also get a one-time free screen replacement offer on accidental damage valid for 3 months and 7 days return policy, from the date of purchase.
Honor 9X Pro specifications
Like we mentioned earlier also Honor 9X Pro lacks Google Mobile Services so there is no Google Play store, and other Google apps such as Maps, Drive, Photos etc. The Google Play Store has been replaced by Huawei AppGallery. Other apps such as Flipkart, Paytm, Zomato, Amazon, Netflix among others will also be absent. As an alternative to getting access to to your favourite app, you can load APK files to download such apps that are not a product of Google services.
Honor 9X Pro smartphone runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with EMUI 9.1.1. It features a 6.59-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) display. It offers 19.5:9 aspect ratio and 92 percent screen-to-body ratio. Powered by HiSilicon Kirin 810 octa-core processor, the smartphone comes with up to 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The internal storage can be expanded up to 512GB using a microSD card.
On the imaging front, Honor 9X Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup that includes a 48MP primary sensor, a 2MP depth sensor and an 8MP wide-angle lens. For selfies and video calls, there is a 16-megapixel pop-up selfie camera. The smartphone packs a 4,000mAh battery and for connectivity, it has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, USB Type-C, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
A study by Eindhoven University of Technology researcher Björn Ruytenberg lifted curtains of a new series of attacks that break all primary security claims for Thunderbolt 1, 2, and 3. Known as ‘Thunderspy’, this attack targets devices with a Thunderbolt port. According to Ruytenberg, “If your computer has such a port, an attacker who gets brief physical access to it can read and copy all your data, even if your drive is encrypted and your computer is locked or set to sleep.”
Ruytenberg further added that Thunderspy is stealth that does not require your involvement as there is no phishing link or malicious piece of hardware that the attacker tricks you into using. Rather, it was revealed that Thunderspy works even if you follow best security practices by locking your computer when leaving briefly with enabled full-disk encryption. All the attacker needs is 5 minutes alone with the computer, a screwdriver, and some easily portable hardware.
Asserting that all Thunderbolt-equipped systems shipped between years 2011-2020 are vulnerable, Ruytenberg said, “Some systems providing Kernel DMA Protection, shipping since 2019, are partially vulnerable. The Thunderspy vulnerabilities cannot be fixed in software, impact future standards such as USB 4 and Thunderbolt 4, and will require a silicon redesign.”
While conducting the research, Ruytenberg discovered 7 vulnerabilities in Intel’s design that could be exploited by a malicious entity to get access to your system, past the defenses that Intel had set up for your protection. That includes:
Inadequate firmware verification schemes
Weak device authentication scheme
Use of unauthenticated device metadata
Downgrade attack using backwards compatibility
Use of unauthenticated controller configurations
SPI flash interface deficiencies
No Thunderbolt security on Boot Camp
These vulnerabilities lead to nine practical exploitation scenarios. The wired reported that Ruytenberg demonstrated the ability to create arbitrary Thunderbolt device identities, clone user-authorized Thunderbolt devices and finally obtain PCIe connectivity to perform DMA attacks in an evil maid threat model and varying Security Levels.
“In addition, we show unauthenticated overriding of Security Level configurations, including the ability to disable Thunderbolt security entirely, and restoring Thunderbolt connectivity if the system is restricted to exclusively passing through USB and/or DisplayPort,” Ruytenberg added.
In order to help you determine if your system is vulnerable to Thunderspy, Ruytenberg has also created a free and open-source tool, Spycheck. “If it is found to be vulnerable, Spycheck will guide you to recommendations on how to help protect your system,” the researcher added. Mind you! It was notified that Spycheck supports Windows 7, 8.x and all builds of 10, as well as Linux kernel 3.16 and Python 3.4 and later.
Ruytenberg, in the research, stated that he disclosed vulnerabilities 1-5 to Intel on February 10. On March 10, Intel replied that its “engineering team confirmed the vulnerabilities, and that vulnerabilities 3-5 were new to them. After further research, we disclosed vulnerability 6, which Intel confirmed on March 17.”
However, the Wired reported that when it reached out to Intel, the company responded with a blog post stating that “While the underlying vulnerability is not new, the researchers demonstrated new physical attack vectors using a customized peripheral device. In 2019, major operating systems implemented Kernel Direct Memory Access (DMA) protection to mitigate against attacks such as these. This includes Windows (Windows 10 1803 RS4 and later), Linux (kernel 5.x and later) and MacOS (MacOS 10.12.4 and later). For all systems, we recommend following standard security practices including the use of only trusted peripherals and preventing unauthorized physical access to computers.”
Vivo V19 has been launched in India today after several delays due to coronavirus lockdown in the country. The smartphone comes with quad rear camera setup and has a dual hole-punch display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 and it comes with a starting price of Rs 27,990 in the country. The smartphone also includes an in-display fingerprint scanner. With all these features the mobile phone will take on Samsung Galaxy A71 and its predecessor Vivo V17 Pro, which comes with a pop-up selfie camera. Read our comparison to understand the differences and help you decide, which amongst the three smartphones is a better buy.
In This Article
Display
Vivo V19:6.44-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display offering 1,080×2,400 pixels of resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio
Vivo V17 Pro: 6.44-inch full-HD+ 1,080×2,440 pixels Super AMOLED display
Samsung Galaxy A71: 6.7-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display
Processor
Vivo V19: Qualcomm Snapdragon 712
Vivo V17 Pro: Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC octa-core processor
Samsung Galaxy A71: Qualcomm Snapdragon 730
Rear camera(s)
Vivo V19: Quad rear camera setup with a 48-megapixel primary camera with f/1.79 aperture, an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, a 2-megapixel depth sensor for portraits and a 2-megapixel macro lens with f/2.4
Vivo V17 Pro: Quad camera set up includes 48MP+13MP+8MP+2MP
Samsung Galaxy A71: Quad-camera setup with 64MP primary camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, a 5MP depth sensor and a 5-megapixel macro lens
Selfie camera
Vivo V19: Dual hole-punch selfie camera with a 32-megapixel main selfie camera with f/2.08 aperture and an ultrawide 8-megapixel lens with f/2.28 aperture
Vivo V17 Pro: Dual pop up selfie camera with 32 megapixels and f/2.0 along with an 8 megapixel with f/2.2 aperture
Samsung Galaxy A71: 32MP selfie camera
RAM and storage
Vivo V19: 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM with 256GB of onboard storage
Vivo V17 Pro: 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of internal storage
Samsung Galaxy A71: 8GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage
Battery
Vivo V19: 4,500mAh battery
Vivo V17 Pro: 4,100mAh battery
Samsung Galaxy A71: 4,500mAh battery
Operating system
Vivo V19: Funtouch OS 10 skinned on top of Android 10
Vivo V17 Pro: Android 9 Pie with FuntouchOS 9.1 on top
Samsung Galaxy A71: One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10
Price
Vivo V19: Rs 27,990
Vivo V17 Pro: Rs 24,990
Samsung Galaxy A71: Rs 32,999
Our Take
Well, looking at the specs sheet both the Vivo phones are offering a better price than Samsung. Galaxy A71 is offering a bigger screen than the other two phones. A71 and V19 are offering similar batteries and all the three smartphones come with a quad rear camera set up, whereas Samsung is offering a better megapixel set up than the other two devices. However, both Vivo smartphones come with a dual selfie camera whereas Samsung is offering a single 32MP front-facing camera. So, after analysing all the specifications we came to the conclusion that Vivo V19 will be a better choice because if you are looking for a smartphone with all the latest features at a lesser price.
In order to ensure that Samsung’s consumers don’t have to step out to a physical store at a time when Social Distancing is the new normal, the South Korea-based tech giant has now rolled out Samsung Finance+ services in India. The digital lending platform makes it simpler for customers to buy Samsung Galaxy smartphones at easy finance at their homes itself.
Asserting that the consumers are at the heart of everything that Samsung does, Mohandeep Singh, Senior Vice President, Mobile Business, Samsung India, said, “The home delivery of Samsung Finance+ will enable our consumers to buy their favourite Galaxy smartphone at easy finance from the comfort of their homes. Samsung Finance+ is our ‘Make for India’ initiative towards financial inclusion and Digital India. We are confident that the home delivery of Samsung Finance+ will help millions of consumers in India.”
Samsung Finance+ service, which is currently available across 12,000 dealers in nearly 300 towns, could earlier be availed only after customers used to walk-in at select dealerships. However, Samsung is now facilitating home-delivery of Samsung Finance+ service to customers to ensure social distancing norms.
To launch home-delivery of Samsung Finance+ service in India, the smartphone maker collaborated with DMI Finance- a pioneer in the use of technology for transmission of credit to the end customer.
Feeling proud to partner Samsung in extending the successful Finance+ program to home service, Shivashish Chatterjee, co-founder, DMI, said, “These testing times have only strengthened DMI’s resolve to provide hassle-free credit to the widest population possible. Lockdowns and work-from-home make it even more important that people have the ability to get financing to purchase a smartphone from the safety of their living room.”
Wondering how Samsung Finance+ service’s home-delivery works?
Firstly, customers planning to buy a Galaxy smartphone on finance can contact their neighbourhood dealers.
Once the customer reaches out to a dealer, the latter will then send a Samsung promoter to the prospective customer’s house.
Thirdly, the Samsung promoter will help the customer complete the loan journey in the comfort of his/her home.
After filling in the personal details for a simple KYC verification and credit scoring, customers will get multiple offers on various Galaxy smartphones.
The entire journey is fully digital, fast and convenient. Given the importance of social distancing in the current circumstances, Samsung’s new initiative will ensure the customer gets finance for Galaxy smartphone without the need of visiting a store.
Samsung Finance+ service is fully digital as consumers go through a paperless journey with the Samsung promoter assisting the customer through the process. It has customized offer as nearly all consumers applying for finance end up getting an offer on the Galaxy smartphone of their choice. Additionally, it has a wide reach in India through Samsung’s strong retail presence.
Pearson India has rolled out an interactive skill on Amazon Alexa for students and learners of all age groups to learn English. The Pearson MyPedia skill offers a collection of engaging stories coupled with fun facts, trivia, quizzes and rewards. By simply saying “Alexa, open MyPedia” or “Alexa, I want to learn English”, the users can get access to the interactive format of the skill can help them improve English vocabulary, listening, speaking, comprehension and storytelling.
Expressing happiness to add the capability of learning English with the Pearson MyPedia skill, Puneesh Kumar, Country Manager for Alexa Experiences and Devices, Amazon India, said, “Our teams are constantly working to add new features and experiences so that the Alexa voice service is more relevant and useful for users. The combination of interactive learning and the simplicity of voice interactions with Alexa will make this a fun experience for users of all age groups.”
Designed to enhance the interest of students in the English language, MyPedia skill stories can inspire the users to be authors and be imaginative while writing in English. Moreover, the skill’s simple voice interface helps students to learn in an interactive manner by taking their own time.
If you are wondering how you can access it? Well, the MyPedia skill can be accessed on all Amazon Echo smart speakers, Echo Show smart displays as well as the Alexa app for smartphones.
As the world is battling with Coronavirus pandemic, students can leverage the benefits of the MyPedia Alexa skill as it can help them make the most of this unique learning environment while they remain indoors. Interestingly, it provides a holistic approach for students to build their language skills from home to reach greater goals outside academic achievements.
“Considering the current scenario, it is our endeavour to support students of all age-groups by providing rich content and environment, to enhance imagination and creativity amongst students. We have worked with Amazon Alexa team to build Pearson MyPedia skill that will help learners improve their English language abilities through storytelling. The skill can supplement reading and writing of the English language in a new, effective, and fun way”, said Ramesh Subbarao, Vice President – Portfolio, South Asia, Pearson.
‘MyPedia Reader’ is a story book, a guide and a game book for learners to enable them to be more imaginative while writing their stories in the English language. It shares rich and diverse stories by students stemming from their own experiences, issues and aspirations. The stories of this book will prompt the students to ‘think critically’ and ‘write creatively’.
You can purchase ‘MyPedia Reader’ via Amazon Kindle store and read at whenever you are free.
Today, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo announced the launch of the new smartphone in the country. After several delays due to Coronavirus lockdown in the country Vivo V19 has arrived in the Indian market. The device comes with a dual punch selfie camera, quad rear camera set up and is powered by Snapdragon 712 processor. Before it launched in India the company introduced the smartphone globally months back in March. Read on to know more about its specifications and pricing details.
Vivo V19 pricing and availability details
Vivo V19 has been officially launched in India today. The smartphone will be available in two variants 8GB of RAM with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM with 256GB of onboard storage option. The 128GB storage variant will be available with a price tag of Rs 27,990 whereas the 256GB storage model will be sold at Rs 31,990 in India. The device is scheduled to go on its first sale from May 15 via Amazon, Flipkart, Vivo e-store along with their online e-commerce websites as well as offline retailers.
As for the launch offers there will be a 10 percent cash back if the smartphone is purchased using HDFC and ICICI credit cards. The company will also be offering a one-time screen replacement offer along with no-cost EMI options for up to 12 months. The telecom operators such as Jio will be offering benefits worth Rs 40,000, Airtel will be offering Airtel double data along with free Airtel Xstream Premium subscription and a free subscription to Shaw Academy valid for one month. Moreover, Airtel customers will get access to Wynk Music and Airtel Secure Lite. Vivo is also offering additional offline offers on the purchase of V19. The buyers will be offered 5 percent cash back if the transaction is made via IDFC Bank First, one EMI cashback from HDB along with 1.5GB data offer to Vodafone Idea customers.
Vivo V19 specifications
Vivo V19 runs on Funtouch OS 10 skinned on top of Android 10 OS. The device features a 6.44-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display offering 1,080×2,400 pixels of resolution and 20:9 aspect ratio. Additionally, the display comes with a low brightness anti-flicker technology to reduce eye strain and is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 6. The screen sports an in-display fingerprint sensor to unlock the handset. Moreover, under the hood, there is an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 712 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB and 256GB of memory.
In terms of photos and videos, Vivo V19 comes with a quad rear camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary camera with f/1.79 aperture. The camera system is further assisted by an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, a 2-megapixel depth sensor for portraits and a 2-megapixel macro lens with f/2.4.While on the front there is a dual hole-punch selfie camera that includes a 32-megapixel main selfie camera with f/2.08 aperture and an ultrawide 8-megapixel lens with f/2.28 aperture. The camera set up also features modes such as super night selfie, art portrait mode and super macro mode.
On the connectivity front, the Vivo V19 includes USB Type-C charging port, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth version 5.0, dual-band Wi-Fi as well as GPS support. The sensors on the phone include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope and e-compass. The handset boasts a 4,500mAh battery with 33W FlashCharge 2.0 technology support. For connectivity options, it includes Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, GPS, OTG, 2.4GHz and 5GHz dual-band Wi-Fi. The sensors onboard include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor, e-compass, gyroscope.
The Chinese smartphone company Poco is all set to release its next F series smartphone globally. The company will today launch Poco F2 Pro which has been making a lot of news for the past few months. The device is also expected to arrive in the Indian market and is said to be the rebranded variant of Redmi K30 Pro that arrived in the market a few months back along with K30 Pro Zoom Edition. The smartphone could have arrived much sooner but due to coronavirus spread the company kept the launch of Poco F2 Pro on hold. The Poco’s upcoming mobile phone is the successor of Poco F1 series and this time the smartphone will be pricier than its predecessor as it is powered by top of line Snapdragon 865 processor to offer 5G connectivity.
The Poco F2 Pro is all set for a global launch today. The device will be unveiled via an online launch event that is going to start at 20:00 GMT 8+ (5.30 PM IST). The launch event will be live-streamed via the company’s official YouTube channel and across all the social media platforms.
As for the pricing just ahead of the launch the pricing of Poco F2 Pro has been leaked on the web. It is suggested to come with a starting price of EUR 570 that is translated to Rs 46,800 for the 128GB storage variant whereas another report says that the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage model priced at EUR 749 that is translated to Rs 61,500. It is said to come in four colour options Blue, Grey, Purple, and White.
Like we mentioned earlier the Poco handset is the rebranded variant of Redmi K30 Pro is also available in the above-mentioned colour options. In China it was launched in three different configurations, 6GB RAM with 128GB storage variant at CNY 2,999 (around Rs 32,500, 8GB RAM with 128GB storage option at 3,399 CNY (around Rs 36,000) whereas the 8GB RAM with 256GB storage model comes at CNY 3,699 (around Rs 40,000).
Poco F2 Pro expected specifications
Since Poco F2 Pro is speculated to be the rebranded variant of Redmi K30 Pro the specifications and features will remain the same as K30 Pro only the branding will be different. It rumours are to be believed then Poco F2 Pro is going to draw its power from an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 paired with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The device is expected to run MIUI 11 based on top of Android 10 OS. The smartphone will be featuring a 6.67-inch full-HD+ HDR10+ AMOLED display with 1,080 x 2,400 pixels of resolution and 1,200 nits of peak brightness.
It will come with a quad rear camera setup that will include a 64-megapixel primary sensor, a 5-megapixel macro lens, a 13-megapixel wide-angle sensor with 123-degrees of Field of View and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. It will get a 4,700mAh battery support with 33W fast charge.
The Redmi K30 series is getting bigger. Now Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition is the new addition to the existing popular series. The device was being teased by the company soon after the launch of Redmi K30 Pro and Redmi K30 Pro Zoom Edition in March this year. The latest addition to the series is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G processor which is the latest mid-range 5G processor for gamers by the company and Xioami is the first company to bring the first smartphone with the chipset. The 786G is an765G that comes with an upgrade to X52 modem and is supported by sub-6GHz and mmWave bands. Moreover, it supports the Spectra 355 ISP and the Hexagon 696 DSP.
Also, all the devices powered by this chip can have an FHD+ 120Hz screen or support up to QHD+ resolution with the standard 60Hz refresh rate. And the G stands for gaming that uses a Kyro 475 CPU clocked at 2.8GHz, up from 2.4GHz on the 765G. Similarly, the Adreno 620 GPU comes with a 15-percent improvement in terms of graphics.
Xiaomi’s Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition is the first smartphone to have this chipset. All the specifications on the latest device are unchanged except the Qualcomm chip. The Racing Edition has been launched in China with a price tag of CNY 1,999 that translates to Rs 21,300 for the single 6GB RAM and 128GB storage option. The company has listed the device on a Chinese e retailer website JD.com which is now up for reservation until May 11 after which it will go on its first sale on the same day starting 10 AM onwards. The mobile phone will be offered in four colour options Deep Sea Shimmer, Mint Ice Blue, Purple Jade Factory, and Time Monologue. At the moment it has been launched in the company’s home market but the company’s plan is to bring the latest phone to other markets across the world.
Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition specifications
Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition features a 6.67-inch full-HD+ hole-punch display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 1,080×2,400 pixels of resolution. It runs on Android 10 based MIUI 11 and is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G chipset. It will be offered in a single 6GB RAM and 128GB storage option.
For optics. Racing Edition comes with a quad rear camera setup consisting of Sony IMX686 64-megapixel camera sensor with f/1.89 aperture, a 5-megapixel macro lens, a 2-megapixel depth sensor and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens with 120 degrees field of view. While on the front there is a 20 megapixel and 2-megapixel selfie camera sensor.
Just like the standard 5G model Redmi K30 5G Racing Edition also packs a 4500mAh battery with 30W fast charging support. On the connectivity front, there is 5G, 4G-LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type-C port.
Late in December last year the Chinese smartphone company Oppo introduced its popular Oppo Reno 3 series with quad rear cameras and dual-mode 5G support. The series includes Oppo Reno 3 and Oppo Reno 3 Pro. Oppo Reno 3 Vitality Edition was later added to the series in February this year. Also earlier this year the company launched the global edition but with different specifications. Now the company is working on its next series that is going to succeed the existing series. Oppo Reno 4 alleged live images are out in the open and are being shared on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The alleged live image of the Oppo next release Reno 4 have been shared by a famous Chinese tipster called Ice Universe. The upcoming series is going to come with a completely different design from its predecessors. On the back, it showcases a quad rear camera setup placed vertically on the top left corner of the device. Three out of the four sensors could be seen placed vertically aligned whereas the fourth sensor sits adjacent to the third camera sensor. While all the camera sensors are at large in size and popped out the fourth one is smaller in size as compared to the first three sensors. Also, the LED flash is seen sitting just beside the first camera sensor on top.
However, the tipster did not share any details about the camera MP set up but it is supposed to have a primary lens, an ultra-wide-angle lens, a telephoto lens and lastly the fourth sensor could be a Time of Flight (ToF) or it might be a macro or a depth sensor for taking portraits.
In terms of design aspects, the Oppo Reno4 looks identical to the just-launched LG Velvet that also comes with a similar rear panel and large-sized camera sensors. According to a report, there is a less possibility that the company might bring the successor of Reno 3. In the past, all the Chinese companies have never launched a series or a smartphone attached ‘4’ to its name because the number is considered a bad omen in the country. The original source of the leaked image of the Oppo Reno 4 is not known so the picture might also be fake and it can be taken with a grain of salt.
Sony AI and Ana Group’s avatarin have reached a basic agreement to work together to develop next-generation remote control robots by combining the artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology of Sony AI with avatarin’s avatar (remote-controlled robot) technology.
Sony revealed that the Next-generation avatar robots are expected to play a central role in situations where autonomous robots have barriers to safe and cost effective deployment and where it is difficult for people to perform physical tasks.
Interestingly, with the presence of technology, the next generation remote control robots are expected to be used in various situations of everyday life, for example, in offices, stores, and homes.
With an aim to speed-up the deployment of avatar robots to meet various societal needs, Sony AI and avatarin will bring together their respective expertise. This comprises of Sony AI’s machine learning and robotics technology and Sony Group’s sensing and actuator device technology, and avatarin’s remote-controlled robot technology, platform, and numerous use-case test results. Through this joint effort, Sony AI and avatarin will investigate the development and deployment of next-generation avatar robots that are easy for anyone to use.
Stressing that avatars or remote-controlled robots enable many types of work and communication without the physical presence of humans, Hiroaki Kitano, CEO of Sony AI Inc, said, “For the full scale deployment of avatars, we need to combine a wide range of technologies such as robotics, sensors, AI, user interaction, and high-speed communication networks…Through collaboration with avatarin, Sony AI aims to establish a new social foundation for avatars and raise the level of social life.”
According to Akira Fukabori, CEO of avatarin Inc: “avatarin, together with Sony AI, aims to accelerate development of versatile robotic avatars that can be deployed globally to create the world’s newest infrastructure that will allow all of us to share our skills and support one another like never before.”
Sony AI, which was founded on April 1, 2020, aims to “unleash human imagination and creativity with AI. The company combines Sony Group’s imaging and sensing technology, robotics technology, and entertainment assets such as movies, music, and games to transform with cutting edge Artificial Intelligence R&D to accelerate all of Sony’s business areas and create new business opportunities. It also plans to combine AI and robotics technologies to tackle various social and global issues.
