Food delivery app Zomato took to Twitter on Wednesday to defend its decision to not change the food delivery executive allotted for a customer. The customer had a communal stance and was objecting to his food being delivered from the executive because he was a “non-Hindu”. However, the company did not find the reason appropriate enough and instead, let him go ahead in cancelling his order.
The customer then tweeted the entire incident saying, “Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can’t change rider and can’t refund on cancellation I said you can’t force me to take a delivery I don’t want don’t refund just cancel.” He added another tweet to the thread saying, “@ZomatoIN is forcing us to take deliveries from people we don’t want else they won’t refund and won’t cooperate I am removing this app and will discuss the issue with my lawyers.”
Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN they allocated a non hindu rider for my food they said they can't change rider and can't refund on cancellation I said you can't force me to take a delivery I don't want don't refund just cancel
He even attached screenshots of his order confirmation that showed the rider who was getting his delivery and also the ones of his conversation with a Zomato executive.
In the screenshot it can be seen that the customer had written that he wanted Zomato to either change the rider or cancel the order as it is a “holy month” and he only wanted to “order from a pure veg restaurant.” He further said that he will stop ordering from Zomato altogether if his order is cancelled and will uninstall the app.
Replying to the customer’s request, Zomato said that the company does not discriminate among its riders.
Taking a stand on its decision, the company tweeted, “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion.” Zomato’s CEO Deepinder Goyal also voiced his opinion on Twitter regarding the incident. He tweeted, “We are proud of the idea of India – and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values.”
We are proud of the idea of India – and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values. 🇮🇳 https://t.co/cgSIW2ow9B
Zomato’s and Goyal’s responses to the customer have garnered a lot of appreciation on Twitter. There are scores of people who have retweeted the tweets shared by them and a number of people have tweeted to extend their support to the company’s decision.
Most people said that it was great to see a corporate voice taking a stand against the growing hate against minorities. A lot of netizens applauded Zomato and Goyal’s decision to call out the customer who wanted to cancel the order rather than have a non-Hindu rider deliver it to him.
However, we should mention that there were those who supported the customer who was discriminating the rider on the basis of his religion and tweeted against Zomato and Goyal’s decision.
The other day MediaTek showcased its new SoC Mediatek Helio G90T and G90 for mobile platforms. Aimed at gaming and high-end performance smartphones. After the announcement, the Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi was quick to respond and say that they will be building a gaming smartphone around the new MediaTek G90 and G90T architecture.
The news came out on Xiaomi’s India’s CEO Manu Jain’s official Twitter handle. We have been told that a team of social media experts knob his social accounts, but the news is authentic and real. Xiaomi will indeed go ahead and build a not-very-expensive smartphone on the MediaTek Helio G90T architecture.
In the official tweet, Manu Kumar Jain has asked Mi Fans to gear up for some gaming action. There is no definite timeline given when the smartphone will be made official. However, it seems to be good news for Xiaomi Mi fans, most of whom have been giving flak to the Chinese major after its Redmi K20 and K20 Pro launch. As the situation became controversial after the fans saw the price. Which was not accepted by them and many said the Xiaomi K20 smartphone is steeply-priced and is not for the budget audiences at all. Also, Twitter was abuzz that the smartphone is about Rs 3,000 – 5,000 cheaper in the Chinese market. So why is it being sold at a premium in India?
To which the company CEO had issued out a statement as well on his official Twitter handle the very next day, after its launch. Now with the news of Xiaomi being the first one to jump on the MediaTek Helio G90T boat to build a smartphone might come as relief to many. As in all likelihood, the new gaming smartphone by Xiaomi India will be priced around Rs 15,000 or lower, as some industry experts have told Gadget Bridge.
At the moment no other details are available about the smartphone. RAM, battery and storage is still under wraps. However, we do know certain things, since it will officially use MediaTek Helio G90T. This chipset uses an Octa-core 2.05GHz chip with ARM Cortex A76 power cores and Cortex A55 efficiency cores. The chipset can support up to 10GB LPDDR4 RAM and a camera module comprising of up to 64-megapixel resolution. Over that, FHD+ display with up to 21:9 aspect ratio can also be braced. Not only that, a screen with a 90Hz refresh rate like the one seen on OnePlus 7 Pro can also be put in.
In a few months’ time, we will get to know exactly how many of these features will be incorporated in the new gaming smartphone by Xiaomi.
A good activity tracker or smartwatch is need of the hour if you want to stay fit. Just for that, Garmin Forerunner 245 Music has a 1.2-inch screen with240 x 240-pixel resolution. It comes with a transflective display that repels sunlight making it more viewable while using outdoors along with a bright backlight. We did not face any problem while observing the display during the day as well as night.
However, Garmin Forerunner 245 Music lacks a touch screen, but we did not find any issues as it is easier to press a button while running than swiping and tapping a touch screen. While we were going through the various screen of the sophisticated smartwatch we found various widgets that let you view the weather, calendar, notifications, workout history, heart rate, steps, health stats and can be easily added, removed and rearranged as per the user’s liking and fit. This is our review of the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music.
In This Article
Design
Garmin kept the watch simple. It comes with five metal buttons that seem durable. The first button lets you turn the device on, turn the backlight on and off and when held for a few seconds it lets you view the control menus that include a number of options. Such as power off, find my phone, timers, stopwatch, lock keys, do not disturb, sync, connected and assistance option. The middle button lets you fiddle with settings such as, widgets, data screen, options and holding it lets you view the menus.
However, it comes with so many menus and submenus that you can sometimes get easily confused about all of the watch’s features. The third select down button on the left lets the user scroll through the menu, holding the button controls the music on the Forerunner 245 music.
Now moving on to the right, here it comes with two buttons stacked. The first one is the start-stop button that can be used to start or stop the timer. It also lets you choose an option or to acknowledge a message. The straps are made of silicon rubber and there is a hint of metal on it as well. Yes, we are talking about the buckle which locks the straps together or loosens the grip.
Performance
The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music smartwatch lets the user see notifications from the smartphone, but it does not give you the freedom to reply, make a phone call. It does not support any voice calling assistants like Siri or Google’s voice assistant either.
The device comes with run centric features along with training status analyzer like Training load that keeps a track on your previous seven days of workouts. The comes along with anaerobic and aerobic Training Effect that observes the efficiency of a person’s workouts.
In addition to this, the Forerunner 245 comes with another supportive feature called Incident Detection and Assistance. For this, you must have your smartphone with you that is connected to the smartwatch throughout the run. The assistance feature will send out a message to your emergency contact in the time of need or mishap.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music can be connected to your Wi-Fi networks in an iffy. That will sync your watch with your smartphone without any human intervention devoid of opening the Garmin Connect App.
Music, the key highlight of the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music lets you store your much-loved songs on the Forerunner 245 Music. It gives you an option to enjoy your preferred soundtrack while you are working out without needing to carry your smartphone or iPod.
It has an ability to download up to 500 songs from your laptop onto itself. You can also choose to download the music from music apps like Spotify or Deezer if you are premium subscribers of the available app’s service.
After you sign in into your account via Garmin Connect app on the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music, you can analyse as well as sync your playlists to the smartwatch. It also lets you sync podcasts through Spotify.
The music app suggests various work out the playlist to you such as160 BPM Runner’s Club,” “Power Workout,” and “Beast Mode”. But before accessing you need to first download the songs on the list.
Throughout the run the display was vivid, and we were fond of what we saw. You can browse your overall run stats or see the metrics of the existent lap, easily.
The Garmin Forerunner 245 Music will also let you record your map run. However, you can only view the route and not a map with streets.
Over that, the device can be used to track your running, biking, treadmill, indoor track, walking, strength, cardio, yoga, elliptical, stair stepper, indoor biking, pool swimming, rowing indoors and outdoors, and much more. If you wish to add more applications you can obtain it from the provided Connect IQ Store.
The watch face comes into sight all the time while it comes included with a number of widgets namely steps, performance, health stats, My Day, Sp02, weather, notifications, calendar, heart rate, last run, last ride, music controls, calendar, Garmin Coach, body battery, stress, and more. More widgets can be downloaded as per your preference through the Connect IQ store.
The device is easy, lightweight, and well built. The battery will last for quite a lot of days, even if it is used on a regular basis, and it easily charges up.
When you initially connect it with the smartphone app you will find a screen called My Day. My day is the control panel on your smartphone that can be customized effortlessly. By scrolling down you can opt to Edit My Day. It lets you choose between different options like Heart rate, Pulse Ox acclimation, steps, intensity minutes, sleep Pulse Ox, hydration, floors, body battery, sleep, stress score, weight, and calories. This amazing device also tracks your sleep automatically. Yes, you can sleep while wearing the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music at night. It measures your sleep stages, movement, and Pulse Ox in detail that is stored in your Garmin connect app and online as well. It captures the sleep data as deep sleep, light sleep, and REM sleep, too.
As we mentioned earlier, it comes with an extreme number of settings along with available customizable options that we cannot cover in this review. For instance, in the running app, you can choose and customize data screens characterized under fields namely timer, distance, dynamics, cadence, temperature, elevation, pace, speed, heart rate, compass, navigation, muscle oxygen, etc. However, we advise you to spend a couple of hours to customize it as per your liking and needs.
Our most liked feature on Forerunner 245 Music is the stress readings that helped us to keep a track on our stress levels. Apart from that, the device also comes with a feature called body battery that measures your energy level just by studying your heart rate variability, stress and sleep. As soon as you wake up in the morning it displays your body battery meter charged up to 100% and at the end of the day when you are exhausted, it shows that your body battery is low after a hectic day.
Verdict
As the name suggests Garmin Forerunner 245 lets you store up to 500 songs either through your computer or music application like Spotify or Deezer.
There is no barometer in this watch so it does not measure the number of stairs you climb during the day. It also does not measure the running power if you are not connected to your smartphone. Advanced metrics such as cadence, stride length, the ground contact time of balance can also be analysed in order to improve running form.
It has a battery life of up to seven days in SmartWatch mode and up to 24 hours in GPS mode without music, six hours with music. It is lighter and also comfortable on the wrist. Since it uses Bluetooth, there were plenty of connectivity issues with the smartwatch, as we had to reconnect it multiple times during our time with it. At times connecting with GPS was also a problem. For the price Garmin is asking for this smartwatch, Rs 31,772, these things should have not cropped up. Overall the experience was good, barring the above issues, which play a spoilsport.
Pros:
A lot of Good modes
Good looks
Cons:
Pricey
Bluetooth and GPS connectivity was an issue at times
Lenovo has today launched its new ultraslim PC- Yoga S940 that is backed by Artificial intelligence (AI) in India. The Lenovo Yoga S940 laptop is the newest addition in the company’s Ultraslim PCs range and comes with advanced audio and display technologies.
While Lenovo Yoga S940 can be purchased at a starting price of Rs 1,39,990, the Yoga A940 all-in-one desktop’s price will start at Rs 1,69,990. It will be available at Lenovo.com, leading e-tailers and other Lenovo stores across India. Consumers also have the option of customizing and building their own S940 with the specific features they want, with Lenovo’s ‘Made to order’ program.
In addition to this, Lenovo’s ultraslim PC range includes IdeaPad S540, IdeaPad S340 and IdeaPad S145 laptops and their starting price are Rs 64,990, Rs 36,990, and Rs 23,990 respectively.
Speaking at the launch, Rahul Agarwal, CEO & MD, Lenovo India, said, “The pace of disruption in the smartphone market is raising the bar for innovation in the PC segment and consumers are demanding similar features in all their devices, including laptops. Artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with smart features like facial unlock, voice assistant, makes Lenovo’s Yoga S940 the smartest ultraslim laptop yet. Lenovo’s Yoga S940 is designed for the power users who value security and privacy, alongside a more convenient, personalised and immersive experience.”
He further added, “As the leader in the ultraslim category in India, Lenovo continues to raise the bar for innovation and the new range of ultraslim PCs promise sophisticated design with invincible performance.”
The company has touted Lenovo Yoga S940 to be the world’s first laptop to come with “Contour Glass that wraps around its bezels.” According to Lenovo, this reduces the look of its already razor-thin bezels and results in a more streamlined design.
The laptop comes with a 4K 15-inch HDR display that has up to 500 nits peak brightness, is equipped with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and comes with smart audio amplifiers. The newly launched Lenovo Yoga S940 weighs 1.2kg and is 12.2mm thin. It is powered by up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, runs Windows 10 and has up to 16GB LPDDR3 memory and up to 1TB PCIe SSD storage. On the ther side, the desktop Lenovo A940 has a 27-inch QHD IPS touchscreen display and the company has said that it will prove to be excellent for digital content creators.
Lenovo Smart Assist AI-enabled features that are present in the Lenovo Yoga S940 laptop include:
Option to automatically filter out most ambient noise and blur out distracting backgrounds during video calls.
Lenovo Yoga S940’s AI-powered sensors can detect the absence of user from the front of the screen and auto-lock the display to protect the data from others. The laptop will also be able to detect and alert the user when any uninvited person is “shoulder surfing on the screen”.
Lenovo Yoga S940 can also help in increasing the productivity by shifting open windows and content contextually to a connected external monitor. It does this on the basis of the user’s attention, intent and focus.
Lenovo Smart Assist’s built-in IR camera and Windows Hello offer support for hands-free PC log-in. It also has voice-matching personalization to respond to your voice when speaking to Alexa or Cortana even from far across the room.
Cupertino-based technology giant Apple has announced a number of new things under CEO Tim Cook’s leadership. Ranging from Apple Watch and HomePod to services like Apple TV+, the company now offers a diverse line of products for its customers and loyalists. Among these newly announced products and services by the company is the Apple Card, that was unveiled by the technology giant last spring.
At its 2019 third fiscal quarter earnings call, the company has announced that the Apple Card will start accepting applications in August this year. Speaking about it, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “Thousands of Apple employees are using the Apple Card every day in a beta test and we will begin to roll out the Apple Card in August.”
It is worth mentioning that the Apple Card will be available in a digital as well as a titanium card form. But then, unlike traditional credit cards, Apple Card’s personal identifier would not be a traditional 16-digit number, a CVV code, or an expiration date. Instead of this, the Apple Card will generate these numbers randomly for every transaction in order to maintain security.
Furthermore, the numbers will also be generated on-device and Apple has guaranteed that Goldman Sachs, the credit, would not be able to track how the customers have spent their money. It would not have a record of where you are shopping, what all you have bought and more.
In addition to this, Apple is also offering other incentives for cashback rewards. For instance, customers will be getting 2% back on purchases that they make using Apple Pay and 3% on purchases made at Apple Store. We should mention that these are not the best rewards that are being offered if we compare them to the ones that are offered by other credit cards, but then, the Apple Card does offer a level of convenience for those who already use an iPhone and want to buy more products from the company.
While Apple has announced that the card will start accepting applications in August, it has not given an exact date of the launch of Apple Card. But then, whenever the applications open, Apple customers are expected to get an update on their Wallet app.
If you wish to read about other key new products that Apple has launched under the leadership of CEO Tim Cook, you can check out our entire list over here.
Realme X will again go on sale today in India. The smartphone will be up for sale on Flipkart as well as Realme’s official website. The key highlights of the smartphone include a pop-up selfie camera, Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor and an in-display fingerprint scanner. The smartphone features a 6.53-inch notch-less full-HD display and it houses a 3,765mAh battery with VOOC 3.0 fast charging. Here’s a look at the sale details:
In This Article
Realme X price in India, sale offers
Realme X is available in two RAM storage variants. The 4GB RAM/128GB storage variant comes at a starting price of Rs 16,999, and the 8GB RAM/128GB storage model is priced at Rs 19,999. The smartphone comes in two colour options: Polar White and Space Blue. Both the variants will be going on sale via Realme’s official website and Flipkart today at 12 pm IST.
Coming to the sale offers, Realme.com is offering a 10% SuperCash while purchasing the smartphone via MobiKwik and Paytm first membership. On the purchase of Realme X, Jio is offering benefits valued Rs 7,000 that is applicable when the smartphone is purchased via Realme.com or Flipkart. On the other hand, e-commerce website Flipkart is offering a 5% cashback on Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card. A 5% cashback is also available for those who purchase the device via HDFC Bank Debit Card and Axis Bank Buzz Credit Card along with up to 10% discount on their next Flipkart Fashion purchase.
Realme X specifications and details
Realme X comes with a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) AMOLED display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio along with Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The smartphone runs Android 9 Pie with ColorOS 6.0 on top. It is powered by the Snapdragon 710 SoC paired with Adreno 616 GPU and comes with up to 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM. The device comes with the support of the in-display fingerprint sensor.
For imaging duties, the Realme X smartphone features a dual rear camera setup that includes a 48MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture and a 5MP secondary sensor with an f/2.4 aperture. It sports a 16MP IMX471 pop-up front camera that has an f/2.0 aperture for selfies and video calling.
The connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, USB Type-C port and Dolby Atmos audio. There is no microSD card slot in this smartphone. The device houses 3,765mAh battery and comes with up to 128GB storage.
Japanese electronics maker Sony has reported an 18.4% rise in its first-quarter operating profit on Tuesday. This beats market expectations and the company has said that the increase has happened because of its performance in the image sensor business. In addition to this, Sony has also surpassed the 100 million milestone in terms of PlayStation 4 sales.
Sony had posted an operating profit of JPY 230.93 billion ($2.1 billion) for its April-June quarter, which had marked an increase from the JPY 195.01 billion during the same quarter previous year. We should also mention that this was above a consensus estimate of 173.61 billion yen that was given by eight analysts who were polled by Refinitiv. The profit forecast by the company for the year ending in March was 810 billion yen.
In its earnings report, Sony has also revealed that it had sold 3.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles during the second quarter. If we compare this to the total number of consoles that have been sold by Sony at the end of Q1 – 96.8 million – it is evident that the company has passed the 100 million console units sold milestone for the PlayStation 4.
It is also worth pointing out that after seeing two years of record profits, Sony is now faced with headwinds in the game business. The gaming business is expecting larger costs to develop a next-generation console and according to analysts, it will be made available in 2020. We should point out that this will be more than five years after PlayStation 4 was launched.
However, Sony has also seen higher profits at the image sensor business, which are primarily driven by the demand for large-size image sensors and multiple-lens camera systems for smartphones. These profits have helped the company overcome the weakness that it has faced in the gaming business.
The semiconductor business of the company, which also includes the image sensors, has posted a profit of JPY 49.5 billion, that is an increase from last year’s JPY 29.1 billion.
Sony’s gaming business, on the other hand, has posted a profit of JPY 73.8 billion. However, last year, the division had managed to earn a profit of JPY 83.5 billion.
In the last quarter, sales of Sony Pictures Entertainment have also seen a rise because of Men in Black: International and Spider-Man: Far From Home. Sony has also said that its video game business has gained from better sales in its PlayStation 4 gaming consoles.
The music unit of the company has also improved as compared to the last year because of the absence of equity losses for EMI Music Publishing that has been recorded in the previous year, higher sales and streaming revenue.
Modern gamers are getting more and more used to seeing their favourite titles augmented by significant updates long after release. Just last summer you may have read here about a major new content bundle for Fortnite, and in the time since several other popular titles have hosted similarly impactful DLC. Recently though, the gaming world saw an update even more significant than most: the opening of the Grand Theft Auto Online casino.
So what exactly makes this DLC bundle such a big deal?
For starters, it’s worth noting that GTA players have waited years for this opening. The “Diamond Casino & Resort” within the game has been in place all this time, but previously intrigued gamers saw only an “Opening Soon” banner displayed as a tease outside the building’s entrance. This gave way to all sorts of fun fan theories, rumors and hoaxes speculating on what was really going on inside.
So when the game’s Diamond Casino and Resort finally opened its doors this summer, players naturally started to theorize further about what took so long. One theory, for instance, is that Rockstar, the developer behind the series, wanted to work out a virtual currency system of its own, so as to avoid any uproar over players gambling away actual money on virtual games.
Whatever the reason though, GTA Online’s new casino is here – and it looks set to stay.
What can you do at the casino?
What’s already known about the Diamond Casino is that traditional casino games such as roulette, blackjack, three-card poker and slot machines are all available. One can even partake in horse race betting, in what may be a subtle tribute to the previous series instalment, San Andreas (which offered similar activity). Players can trade actual cash for chips, and use their in-game money to play these games with the potential for in-game winnings (which cannot, in turn, be sold back for real-world money).
This marks far and away Rockstar’s deepest integration of gambling into a GTA game, and may well represent a decision by the developer to capitalize on the ever-expanding popularity of real casino gaming across the internet. Once designated largely for career poker players and those with a niche interest in slot arcades, international gaming sites have taken to offering free games and accessible experiences, which in turn have made them all the more popular. Millions-strong waves of gamers are now familiar with digital casino content, which gives Rockstar a rock-solid foundation on which to present this update.
Meanwhile, fans who wish to abstain from gambling, or just aren’t drawn to the games, aren’t left out. There are also side activities like the casino’s Lucky Wheel, which can be spun once a day for a prize with zero risk of chips or in-game cash. And even beyond this, the Diamond Casino update came with additional features such as new outfits and cars for characters.
How it affects gameplay
In addition to being a fun new stop within the game, the Diamond Casino comes with challenges for additional perks as well. For instance, completing all casino-related co-op missions by August 7th will grant players Diamond Status, which comes with benefits including livery of an Annis S80RR super car – which looks to be one of the most spectacular vehicles this auto-obsessed series has ever seen.
Yet it’s the penthouses that are central to this update. Players who ave up enough GTA cash to buy a penthouse will get VIP Silver Status. And those who shell out for a Master Penthouse can even become part of the Diamond Casino’s business itself, opening up a whole new set of additional missions.
All in all, GTA’s new online casino promises nothing but additional fun. And given the variety of new activities and challenges it offers, combined with the massive welcome mat it lays out to existing online casino enthusiasts, it’s fair to call it one of the most significant pieces of DLC we’ve seen in years.
Taiwanese smartphone maker Asus’ Zenfone Max Pro M1 smartphone was launched in the budget segment in the Indian market last year. The handset received a lot of praise for its powerful specifications and a big battery. Now, the smartphone has started receiving new software update along with new features and improvements. The update also gets the June 2019 Android security patch to the device. However, we should mention that this isn’t the latest update as Android will soon be rolling out the August 2019 security update. The new update also brings the Digital Wellbeing feature that lets the user track the amount of time they spend on each app.
Asus Max Pro M1 users have started receiving the software update in India. The over-the-air update is being rolled-out with the version number 16.2017.1906.056. The users who haven’t received the notification of the new software update can download it manually by going to the Settings menu.
According to the changelog of the update, it includes the Digital Wellbeing feature that offers you real-time stats about your app usage and lets you cut down on the time you spend on your device. In addition to this, the over-the-air update also brings the June 2019 Android security patch that now offers an improved and a faster unlocking PIN and Pattern practice. The new update also optimises the battery consumption and brings an optimised ‘Dark mode’ that facilitates superior system-wide support for the grey palette.
To recall, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 features a 5.99-inch full-HD+ IPS Full View display that has an aspect ratio of 18:9 and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The device is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor paired with Adreno 509 GPU. The smartphone is available in 3GB/4GB/6GB RAM variants. While the 3GB RAM variant comes with 32GB internal storage, the 4GB and 6GB RAM variants come with 64GB onboard storage. All three smartphone variants can hold a microSD card of up to 2TB.
For imaging duties, both the 3GB RAM/4GB RAM variants come with a dual rear setup along with a 13MP Omnivision sensor and a 5MP depth-sensing sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is an 8MP front-facing camera. On the other hand, the 6GB RAM variants include 16MP+5MP dual rear cameras and it sports a 16MP selfie camera. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 mobile houses a 5,000mAh battery and supports 10W charging.
On Tuesday this week, Truecaller found itself in trouble when a number of users took to social media to complain that the app was trying to sign them up for Truecaller Pay without their permission. As the name suggests, Truecaller Pay is the company’s UPI-based payment service.
The reports about Truecaller’s attempts to sign people up for the service without their permission initially surfaced on Twitter this morning. However, users then also started writing about the ‘Truecaller Pay’ issue on the app’s listing on Google Play Store. The company has blamed a bug that is present in the latest version of the app for unauthorized attempts.
Speaking on the matter, it said in a statement, “We have discovered a bug in the latest update of Truecaller that affected the payments feature, which automatically triggered a registration post updating to the version. This was a bug and we have discontinued this version of the app so no other users will be affected. We’re sorry about this version not passing our quality standards. We’ve taken quick steps to fix the issue and already rolled out a fix in a new version. For the users already affected, the new version with the fix will be available shortly, however, in the meanwhile, they can choose to manually deregister through the overflow menu in the app.”
A number of users took to Twitter and tagged Truecaller’s official handle and also its employees to complain about the app’s behaviour. Most of them said that they received text messages that showed that Truecaller had tried to register their bank account details for its payments service. However, since the completion of registration for Truecaller Pay requires UPI PIN and some other details, it could not be completed.
The company has said that Truecaller’s version number 10.41.6, that has been made available for Android on July 24, led to some automatic registrations. While the rollout of the version of the app has been stopped, the company has also published a new version on Google Play Store with a fix for the ‘Truecaller Pay‘ issue that will soon reach the users.
Truecaller also said, “The bug only affected a small fraction of Truecaller’s Android users in India. The rollout of the update was halted immediately after users reported the issue. Any users who have been registered for UPI services will automatically be deregistered at the back end. An updated version with the fix will be rolled out to all users soon.”
Truecaller Pay was launched in India in March 2017 and it is said to be used by over 1.5 crore people in the country.
Security researchers at Google have discovered six different Apple iOS security flaws and the Cupertino-based technology giant still has to successfully patch one among these vulnerabilities.
According to a report in ZDNet, the iOS security flaws have been discovered by two of Google’s Project Zero researchers – Natalie Silvanovich and Samuel Groß. While five of the patches were patched with iOS 12.4 update that was released by Apple last week, one still has to be fixed. We should mention that last week’s update mentioned a number of bug fixes.
The report has also added that all of the vulnerabilities that have been discovered by Google researches are “interactionless.” This basically means that they can function even without any interaction with the user. There are a number of bugs that require the user to perform certain actions to start functioning, but these seem to be more sophisticated than that. In addition to this, it has been reported that these also exploit a vulnerability in the iMessage client.
It has been added that among all the vulnerabilities that have been discovered, four of them rely on an attacker sending a message that has a malicious code to an unpatched phone. It gets executed as soon as a user opens the message. One of these four vulnerabilities is still unpatched. The other two vulnerabilities only rely on memory exploit.
It is worth adding that details of the five patched bugs have been published online, however, the final one will stay confidential until Apple addresses it. But then, we should mention that in case you have not updated your iPhone to iOS 12.4, it is a good time to do it as it will save your device from the vulnerabilities that have been patched.
Silvanovich will also be hosting a talk on the interactionless attacks on iPhone at the Black Hat security conference that is scheduled to take place in Las Vegas next week.
We should mention that it is a great thing that these vulnerabilities were discovered by researchers who were not interested in exploiting them. According to ZDNet, bugs like these are invaluable to those who manufacture intercept tools and surveillance software. The right buyer for these would be ready to pay millions for accessing them before Apple has fixed to patch the software.
So, when they revealed the bugs to Apple, these Google security researchers have done a great service to iOS users across the globe.
After postponing the launch of Samsung Galaxy Fold for several months, Samsung has confirmed to launch its foldable smartphone sometime in September. While it gave out this statement last week, it did not reveal when exactly the device will be getting launched.
Last week, the company announced that it has fixed all the issues of the Galaxy Fold handset and that it is ready to be launched. Earlier this year, Samsung was ready to launch its first foldable smartphone. But before it did that, it sent the device to some reviewers in the US, who reported about the issues in the screen and the hinge design of the Galaxy Fold. Now as per a recent report Samsung will be relaunching the smartphone sometime in the third week of September. The South Korean company will reportedly first start selling the smartphone in its home market and will bring the Samsung Galaxy Fold in a limited number of around 20,000 to 30,000 units.
According to a report by the Investor, the company will officially launch Samsung Galaxy Fold between 18 to 20 September. The report further reveals that the company is fine-tuning the release of the schedule of Galaxy Fold with telecom companies in South Korea.
It is speculated that the smartphone manufacturer will initially roll out a total of 100,000 units in the Korean market. Previously, Samsung announced that its entire production of the Galaxy Fold will arrive at a number of 1 million units.
Image courtesy: Evan blass (evleaks)
“Samsung is seeking to tout its technical prowess rather than focusing on high-volume sales with the Fold,” an official from a local telecom firm was quoted saying by media outlet Yonhap News Agency.
The report says, “Because of the new smartphone’s high price tag and concerns over durability, there is a lot of skepticism. The Fold, expected to be priced at more than 2 million won ($1,689), will likely be able to appeal to a very limited number of consumers who are willing to pay for the limited edition. In April, Samsung put off the release of the phone after finding technical flaws in its display and hinge that connects its right and left halves.”
The report further revealed that following the initial launch in South Korea and the US, the Galaxy Fold is expected to be made available in the UK, Germany, and France.
Microblogging website Twitter is primarily used for public conversations and it is probably the best way to see what is happening in India and to give one’s opinions on current happenings. Beginning conversations and dialogue about various topics has the potential of catalysing cultural exchange and in order to get this to life, Twitter has launched Global #Tweetups.
#Tweetups is the company’s way of getting its online service offline. With this, Twitter eyes to break down the barriers between “diverse cultures and ethnicities through the power of conversation.”
The company has partnered with Shared_Studios (@sharedstudios) to create portals where people will be able to connect with each other to “an almost life-like, full-screen experience.” #Tweetups has been activated by Shared_Studios in 40 locations across the globe ranging from New York to Nairobi, Seoul to Sao Paulo and Los Angeles to London.
In India, it has been set up in Delhi at Select Citywalk Mall in Saket. Another pop-up #TweetUp will be activated at Soho House in Mumbai. So, anyone can walk into the portal and talk to another person sitting anywhere in the world about any topic under the sun.
We should mention that #Tweetups will stay live till August 4. While it is live, #Tweetups will be hosting a series of “curated, experiential activities, including group conversations, bursts of music and dance, and topical discussions around women empowerment and other shared interests.”
It is also worth adding that conversations in these #Tweetups will be started and moderated by local curators.
Twitter has also stated some conversations that one should be looking forward to. These include:
On July 30th, the cast of the upcoming movie Khandaani Shafakhana, Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha), Varun Sharma (@varunsharma90) and rapper Badshah (@Its_Badshah) will have a conversation in line with their movie’s campaign ‘Baat toh Karo’, which seeks to open up and normalise the dialogue around sex and sexuality. You can also follow @sonakshisinha as she will go live from her Twitter handle sharing the experience.
On August 2nd, Ananya Pandey (@ananyapandayy) will be talking about online bullying and the importance of sensitising people towards online health in line with her initiative, SO+ (SocialPositive).
We should mention that this is Twitter’s first on-ground consumer engagement activity at a global level.
What do you think of this activity that Twitter is undertaking? Do you want to be a part of it or would you just rather put forward your opinions on various matter online?
Chinese technology company Xiaomi has finally launched its Black Shark 2 Pro smartphone in China. The company presented the gaming phone at an event that was organized in its home country. Prior to its launch, Xiaomi had officially released the teaser of the smartphone. The key specifications of the newly launched smartphone include Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, 12GB of RAM and UFS 3.0 storage. It comes with an upgraded design that offers an improved grip along with more than two RGB LED lights on each side of the Black Shark logo. The device is equipped with improved DC Dimming 2.0 and Liquid Cooling 3.0+ technology and the company has stated that the device comes with minor upgrading on the display touch.
In This Article
Black Shark 2 Pro price and availability
Xiaomi has launched Black Shark 2 Pro in two variants. While the 12GB RAM/128GB storage variant has been launched at a starting price of CNY 2,999 (approximately Rs. 30,000), the 12GB RAM/256GB storage model can be bought at CNY 3,499 (approximately. 35,000). The smartphone is available in two colour options: Electric Black and Ice Ash. The phone is available for pre-booking already and will go on sale from August 2. Black Shark 2 Pro is expected to be launched in India too.
Black Shark 2 specifications, features
The Black Shark 2 Pro is the upgraded variant of the Black Shark 2 phone that was launched earlier this year. The device features a Liquid Cool 3.0+ technology that has been designed to deal with heat indulgence and comes with support for DC Dimming 2.0. The Black Shark 2 Pro comes with a 6.39-inch full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) AMOLED screen that has an aspect ratio of19.5:9, a pixel density of 430ppi, 240Hz refresh rate and support for TrueView Display technology. The gaming smartphone is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus SoC, coupled with Adreno 640 GPU along with 12GB RAM. The internal UFS 3.0 storage options of the device include 128GB and 256GB. Apart from this, the device houses a 4,000mAh battery with 27W fast charging support.
On the imaging front, Xiaomi’s Black Shark 2 Pro features a dual rear camera setup that includes a 48MP primary sensor with an f/1.75 lens and a 12MP secondary sensor with an f/2.2 lens that has support for 2x optical zoom. The front panel of the handset has a 20MP selfie camera that has an f/2.0 lens.
The connectivity options of the smartphone include 4GVoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, and USB Type-C port. The handset has an accelerometer, an ambient light, and a gyroscope. The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor, measures 163.61×75.01×8.77mm, and weighs 250 grams.
Hong Kong-based company Toreto has strengthened its sound system line-up in India by launching its latest water Resistant Bluetooth speaker – Toreto Boom.
As stated by the company, the Toreto Boom is a next-generation wireless speaker that is best suited for the person who loves adventure and likes to carry their music gadgets with them on their vacations. The portable speaker by Toreto is IPX5 rated, which makes it waterproof. So, the speaker can be used in the rain or even by a poolside. The product comes with a premium rubberized rugged exterior that makes it shock-resistant and gives it a high level of durability.
The next-generation wireless Toreto Boom speaker comes with a 1,500mAh battery that is stated to offer 5 hours of uninterrupted crystal clear music. As the name suggests, Toreto Boom is a wireless speaker that can be connected to your smartphone via Bluetooth connection. Apart from this, it is also capable of playing your favourite soundtrack through USB cable, TF card, FM, and Aux cable.
Toreto Boom wireless speaker is portable and can be used for sports activities, pool parties, camping, and outdoor activities. The company has said that the device’s portability and 10 Watts of sound output make it perfect for all the fun activities – whether they indoors or outdoors. The towering range of 10 meters gives it a lot more flexibility in playing.
The Bluetooth of the device is touted to be highly-optimized and the company says that it consumes less energy. The Toreto Boom portable wireless speaker comes with a unique feature of True Wireless Connection (TWS)that allows you to connect two speakers at the same time through Bluetooth V5.0.
According to the company, Toreto Boom is a sports speaker that gives the impression of being just as sporty as the name suggests. The rubber finish makes it appear stylish as well as cool while making it shockproof and unbreakable.
In This Article
Features:
Bluetooth V5.0 with True Wireless Connection (TWS)
IPX5 protection against Water and Shock
AUX, TF Card, FM and USB Support
1,500 mAh Battery
Operation Distance of 10 meters
Product Weight: 345 grams
Playtime: 5 hours
Output: 10 Watts
Pricing and Availability:
Toreto Boom wireless speaker will be available in a single Black colour variant and it comes with a one-year warranty. The speaker can be purchased at an introductory price of Rs 1,799 via offline retail stores along with all leading e-commerce platforms across India.
TikTok’s popularity has been growing like wildfire. All the millennials are switching to the app and are leaving social media apps like Facebook. If you too want to get started on the app, here are some TikTok tips that will help you. These will tell you all about how you can use TikTok. Take a look:
In This Article
Make your account private
If you don’t want any strangers to view your videos on TikTok, you would need to make your account private. Click on the t profile icon and then select on the right side of the bottom menu bar. Here, click on the three-dot icon on the top right of the screen and then go to ‘Privacy and Safety’. Here, press on ‘Private Account’ option to enable the setting. On doing this, you will also be able to adjust other privacy options.
Upload videos via your smartphone’s Gallery
You don’t necessarily have to create videos via TikTok to share them on the platform. You can just upload them from your smartphone‘s Gallery. For doing this, open TikTok, and press on the ‘+’ icon on the bottom of the screen. This will open the recording screen of the app and here, press on the ‘Upload’ key that is placed on the bottom right. This will open your smartphone’s Gallery. Here, select the video that you want to upload. You can also upload more than one video by choosing the option of ‘Multiple’. The app will also give you an option of editing the video or even to add text and filters to it.
Make GIFs from TikTok videos
You can make GIFs from your TikTok videos. Just select the video from which you want to create a GIF and then tap on the arrow button on the right side of the screen. You will then see an option called ‘Share as GIF’. TikTok will then direct you to a screen where you can edit the length of your GIF. Once you are done, select ‘Generate’. you can then share it on various social media platforms or even via text messages.
Create a lip-syncing video
TikTok became this popular because of its lip-syncing videos. If you are somehow not able to match your lips to the words in the video, you can use the app’s editing tools to make your lip-syncing video look flawless. For doing this, tap on ‘Trim’ button and then drag the slider at the bottom to set a time at which the song will start.
Record videos using a timer
You don’t necessarily have to hold down the record button for shooting videos. Tap on the ‘+’ icon from the bottom of your screen to start making a video. Instead of holding down the big red button, click on ‘Timer’ on the right side and choose the stopping time of your video. TikTok will then display a countdown of three seconds and then, it will begin recording your video.
Download videos from TikTok
If you wish to download a TikTok video, head to the video of your choice and then tap on the arrow icon the right side of the screen. Press on ‘Save Video’ and it will be downloaded to your device.
Use a song from someone else’s video
If you really like the song in someone else’s video, you can select the video and then tap on the vinyl record icon on the bottom right corner of the screen. The app will then show you the name of the song along with videos that have it. You can also incorporate it in your video by tapping on ‘Use this sound’ and then recording.
Create a slideshow using photos
You can also upload a series of photos on TikTok to create a slideshow. Click on ‘+’ sign and choose ‘Photo templates’. After this, choose the template of your choice and then press on ‘Select’. You will then be able to pick the photos of your choice from your Gallery. The order in which the photos will appear on the app will be the same as the order you pick them in. Once done, click on ‘OK’ and then go on to edit and share these pictures.
Use QR codes on the app
Everyone has a QR code on TikTok. It gets created the minute you create your profile. You can access it by going to your profile and then clicking on four squares on the top-right corner. For sharing the code, press on ‘Save Image’. Press on ‘Scan’ to scan someone else’s code and then point it towards the QR code.
Delete your TikTok videos
In case you upload a video on TikTok and then decide to remove it, the app does allow you to do so. Just go to your profile and select the video that you wish to remove from TikTok. Press on the three-dots icon on the right side of the screen and then choose ‘Delete’ on the menu that prompts up.
Chinese technology brand Xiaomi recently launched itsRedmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro smartphones in India. Prior to their launch in India, the company launched both the smartphones in China. While the Redmi K20 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 SoC, the younger sibling has the Snapdragon 730 SoC. Both the smartphones feature a triple rear camera setup and run Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10. Both the smartphones are currently available in three colour variants: Carbon Black, Flame Red, and Glacier Blue. Now, the Redmi K20 Pro has got a new colour variant called Summer Honey White. The new colour variant has been launched in China. However, it now confirmed whether the Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White colour variant will arrive in India or not. In China, the new variant of the handset will go on sale from Thursday, August 1. All the specifications of the new variant are similar to the regular model of Redmi K20 Pro.
In This Article
Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White price
Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White colour variant will be available in three RAM with storage options. The 6GB RAM/128GB storage variant will be available at CNY 2,599 (approximately Rs. 25,900), the second 8GB RAM/128GB storage is priced at CNY 2,799 (approximately Rs. 27,900), and the high-end 8GB RAM/256GB storage option can be purchased at CNY 2,999 (approximately Rs. 29,900).
However, the company has decided not to launch the 6GB RAM/64GB storage model of Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White. The new variant is up for pre-booking and will go on its first sale on August 1.
Redmi K20 Pro specifications
The Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White colour variant is powered by octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, paired with up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. It runs Android 9 Pie skinned with MIUI 10. The smartphone features a 6.39-inch AMOLED Full-HD+ (1080×2340 pixels) display that has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. Apart from that, the device houses a 4,000mAh battery that supports 27W fast charging tech.
On the imaging front, Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White colour variant comes with a triple rear camera setup that comprises of a 48MP Sony IMX586 primary sensor with an f/1.75 lens, a 13MP secondary sensor with a wide-angle lens, and an 8MP tertiary sensor with an f/2.4 lens. On the front, it had with a 20MP pop-up selfie camera.
Redmi K20 Pro Summer Honey White colour variant connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, USB Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Friendship Day is an important day for most people when they celebrate their existing friendships and even form new ones. The day is so important and special that it is celebrated across the world. Each country celebrates International Friendship Day on different days.
The custom of celebrating the day began in the West and nowadays, India and other countries also rejoice it. On the occasion of Friendship Day, people present gifts, chocolates, teddy bears, and other things to their friends. Other than this, they also tie a Friendship band around their friend’s wrist in order to celebrate the special day.
International Day of Friendship or World Friendship Day is celebrated on 30th July. It was first originated from Hallmark Cards in the year 1930 and initially, it was celebrated on August 2.
With the mounting popularity of social media all over the world, there has been a boost in celebrating World FriendshipDay and International Day of Friendship online. Now, to wish each other on Friendship Day, people send WhatsApp stickers and GIFs. Here, we have shared the steps that detail how you can send Friendship Day GIFs to your friends on WhatsApp:
Go to WhatsApp.
Open the chat of the person whom you can to send the GIF.
Click on the emoji icon on the top left of the keyboard.
On doing this, all the emojis of WhatsApp will open.
At the bottom of the screen, you will see three icons: Emoji, GIFs, and Stickers. Click on GIFs icon.
Now, press on the magnifying glass icon to search and write ‘Friendship Day’.
Once you do this, all the GIFs related to Friendship Day will open. You can scroll down to see them all.
Just tap on the one you want to share and hit on the Send icon.
The GIF will be shared.
Now, let’s take a look at how you can share Friendship Day Sticker on WhatsApp. Follow these steps:
Open WhatsApp.
Go to the Emojis icon.
At the bottom of the screen, you will see three icons: Emoji, GIFs, and Stickers. Click on the Stickers icon.
Now, press on the ‘+’ icon on the right of the keyboard window.
This will open all the sticker packs that you have in WhatsApp.
Scroll down and click on ‘Get more stickers’.
This will take you to the Google Play Store. Here, search for ‘Friendship Day Stickers’.
Choose the pack that you want and download it. You will be able to share it on the WhatsApp post.
Rayquaza raid is all set to come to Pokemon Go for the first time in a very long time. Pokemon Go’s parent company, Niantic, has today announced that the Legendary Pokemon will be appearing in five-star raids starting July 31 at 1 pm PT /4 pm ET /9 pm BST on Wednesday and will continue to be there till the same time on September 2, Monday. So, players would get an entire month to hunt for a coveted Shiny Rayquaza.
According to Niantic, and as long-term Rayquaza hunters know, this Legendary falls extremely weak in ice attacks. So much so, that players will be able to bulldoze it using the right team composition. To put up a good fight, players should assemble their best ice Pokemon and then go to raid. We should mention that there is no word on when exactly Rayquaza will be available again. However, if we take a look at its pattern, it will be a long time before it is back. Maybe, it will even take years. So, you should make the most of it while you can.
Keeping Rayquaza aside, we should also mention that Pokemon Go Trainers have another piece of good news. It has also been announced that the storage cap on Pokemon has been raised from 2,000 to 2,500. It is worth noticing that these are basically additional 500 Rayquaza that players are allowed to hold and 500 more slots for all the Ralts that they will catch during the August Pokemon Go Community Day. If nothing else, the extra storage will make your daily play more manageable and enhance the quality of individual grinds.
In an unrelated piece of news, it was reported some time back that Pokemon Go has grossed $2.65 billion over the last three years. The game could do this in spite of the fact that it is free on Play Store and App Store and a big chunk of its players have never made a single in-app purchase. We should also add here that the game has not been launched in China till now and even then, its earnings surpass the first three years of all other major Western-made mobile games. The only exception to this is the Clash of Clans.
We should mention that the game was the eighth biggest earner across all mobile games globally in June 2019. This year, Pokemon Go has grossed $395 million this year, which is a 19% increase as compared to its earnings at the same time in 2018.
Last week, a LinkedIn bug allowed the user to post fake jobs on the platform by numerous companies without asking for their permission. The fake job listings that were posted also included a ‘vacancy’ by Google that said the company is looking for a new CEO, a position that is currently held by Sunder Pichai.
Considering that the job of Google CEO is probably the most desirable one that is there, a number of hopeful people applied for it. But soon after, the company made it clear that a security bug was responsible for the “official-looking” job opening.
According to a report by Mashable, the fake listing showed up on LinkedIn’s “Jobs” page and looked legitimate. The user who posted the job on LinkedIn has been identified as Michel Rijnders. Refer to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, one LinkedIn user posted on the social media platform, “Applying to be CEO of Google on LinkedIn. Sundar’s been doing a great job so far. $GOOG Q2 earnings were strong, so a little strange to see this opening.”
Michel Rijnders, an online recruiter from the Netherlands exposed a severe error on the professional social network. This error set permits users to send an official-looking job opening on almost every company’s LinkedIn business page. So, if someone comes to the company’s “Jobs” page, the fake listing will give the impression of being just like any other job opening posted lawfully by the firm itself.
To prove that this flaw exists, he created job posts for Chief Executive Officer positions for LinkedIn as well as Google. Both sham listings came into sight on the technology giants’ LinkedIn business pages together with their other job openings. The listings became visible in LinkedIn’s job search and it has been reported that Rinjders did not require any approval before posting the job openings. But then, LinkedIn charges people for posting jobs on its platform. Being a premium LinkedIn subscriber, Rijnders was able to post a job opening for free of charge.
In next to no time when LinkedIn realize the fake job listing, they expressed thanks toRijnders and said, “Thank you Michel Rijnders for bringing this to our attention. We’ve removed the posting and we’re resolving the issue that allowed this post to go live. LinkedIn is a place for real people to have real conversations about their careers.”
LinkedIn said, “It’s not a place for fake jobs-we are committed to stopping fraudulent jobs from ever reaching our members through automated technology and the help of our members reporting any suspicious job postings.”
Sony has today launched its new Master Series A9G 4K HDR OLED televisions in India. According to the company, newly launched Sony MASTER series represents the pinnacle of picture quality and provides exceptional colour, contrast, and clarity to the level of a professional-grade monitor. Here’s a look at all the features of Sony’s newly launched TV:
In This Article
4K HDR Picture Processor X1 Ultimate and Pixel Contrast Booster
Sony’s Master Series A9G is the company’s new flagship 4K HDR OLED TV. The new offering is available in 139 cm (55) and 164 cm (65) variants. The company has said that more than 8 million self-illuminating pixels are precisely and individually controlled by Picture Processor X1 Ultimate in the device. In addition to the processor, Sony‘s A9G has Pixel Contrast Booster that ensures enhanced colour and contrast in bright areas. The company has also added that the processor used in the offering is very versatile and scales up SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition) content to near 4K picture quality.
2.2 Channel Acoustic Surface Audio+
In Sony’s Master series A9G, the sound comes directly from the screen of the television. The sound-from-picture reality technology in the television reproduces the position of the sound on the screen. With this, when actors on the screen start speaking, the sound seems to come from them and not from a speaker at the bottom of the screen. Acoustic Surface Audio+ comes with two actuators and two powerful subwoofers and it is touted to deliver multi-dimensional sound. Besides this, a TV Centre Speaker Mode is also present on the TV that provides the choice to use the device as the centre speaker when using it as a home theatre system.
The new A9G TV by Sony combines the brilliance of 4K clarity with the brightness, colour, and detail of High Dynamic Range (HDR). The television comes with a picture mode called ‘NETFLIX Calibrated Mode’ that is developed so that users can enjoy Netflix Originals. According to the company, the Netflix mode reproduces the same picture quality on the TV as the creators intended. In addition to this, the television also comes with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. The TV also has an eARC HDMI input to connect and enjoy Dolby Atmos content on supported audio devices.
Hands-Free Voice Search powered by Google Assistant
Sony’s A9G OLED is an Android TV by the company that has support for a huge range of Google Play apps, including YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Video, Hotstar, ALT Balaji, Zee5, Sony LIV and others. In addition to this, it also comes with a built-in Google Assistant. The built-in microphones on the TV will make the experience a wireless one for the viewers. They would be able to talk to the TV using the Google Assistant to search for what they want or to instruct it for playing TV shows, movies, and more without using the TV remote. It is also worth adding that the TV can also work with smart speakers like Google Home or Amazon Echo. Sony Android TVs will be compatible with Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit.
One Slate Design
Sony’s A9G is very slim in depth and when it is hung on a wall using the new SU-WL850 mount system, it will fit around half the distance of its predecessor. According to Sony, the TV has been designed to appear as though it is floating on the wall. It is also worth mentioning that the new wall mount has a swivel functionality and it will come at no extra cost to the customers.
Sony A8G Series (65-inch and 55-inch models) BRAVIA OLED 4K TV
Sony has launched another A8G series in its BRAVIA OLED 4K TV range today, which is available in 65 and 55-inch screen sizes. The television is claimed to offer significantly enriched visual experience that comes with unprecedented blacks, rich colours, and a wide viewing angle. The TV comes with 4K HDR Processor X1TM Extreme that is said to provide the ultimate 4K HDR viewing experience as it is supported by technologies like Object-based HDR remaster, Super Bit Mapping 4K HDR and Dual database processing. The Android TV also supports Acoustic Surface Audio, Sound-from-Picture Reality, and comes with a built-in Google Assistant.
Price and availability
Sony’s A9G’s 65-inch and 55-inch models are priced at Rs 3,69,990 and Rs 2,69,990 respectively and they will both be available starting August 1. On the other hand, the 65-inch and 55-inch models of Sony’s A8G cost Rs 3,19,990 and Rs 2,19,990 respectively. These models are available already. Interested buyers can go to Sony Centres and all major retail stores to buy the televisions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be seen on the Man vs Wild TV show on Discovery Channel on August 12. In the show, the Prime Minister will be seen venturing into the wilderness of Uttarakhand along with Bear Grylls, who is the host of the popular TV show.
Speaking about the special episode, Discovery Channel has issued a statement saying that it features survivalist and adventurer Bear Grylls. The channel has also said that the episode has been shot in India’s Jim Corbett National Park and that it will be a “frank and freewheeling journey”.
Grylls has also shared a clip of the show on his Twitter account in which PM Modi can be seen riding a small dinghy in a river along with the show host. If you are interested in watching the special Man vs Wild episode, you should know that it will premiere on August 12 and will be available to watch in more than 180 countries across the world on Discovery’s network of channels. In the episode, you will be able to see PM Modi in an avatar like never before.
In another scene from the episode, PM Modi can be seen welcoming Grylls to India and he is holding a weapon that has been carved out of bamboo and other forest materials. He says, “Main aapke liye isko mere paas rakhunga.” This translates to, “I will keep this with me for you.”
In the clip, Grylls can be seen replying with laughter, “You are the most important man in India, my job is to keep you alive.”
In a statement about the episode, PM Narendra Modi has said, “For years, I have lived among nature, in the mountains and the forests. These years have a lasting impact on my life. So when I was asked about a special programme focussing on life beyond politics and that too in the midst of nature I was both intrigued and inclined to take part in it.”
India- where you find lush green forests, diverse wildlife, beautiful mountains and mighty rivers.
Watching this programme will make you want to visit different parts of India and add to discourse of environmental conservation.
He further added, “For me, this show presents a great opportunity to showcase to the world India’s rich environmental heritage and stress on the importance of environment conservation and living in harmony with nature. It was a great experience spending time in the jungle once again, this time with Bear, who is blessed with indefatigable energy and quest to experience nature at its purest.”
How to watch PM Narendra Modi’s Man vs Wild episode
The Man vs Wild episode has been shot in order to promote awareness on the conservation of animals and environmental change. You can catch it on Discovery Channel on August 12.
Additionally, it will also air on Tata Sky Mobile app at the same time.
Last week, the Realme 3i went on its first sale on Flipkart as well as Realme online store. Those who missed the chance to buy the new smartphone can get their hands on Realme 3i today as the handset is all set to go on sale on both the platforms again at 12 PM noon. The key features of the Realme 3i include a 6.2-inch HD+ display, dual rear cameras, and a13MP selfie camera. It houses a 4,230mAh battery and runs a MediaTek helio P60 SoC. Here are the sale details:
In This Article
Realme 3i price, sale timing, sale offers
Realme 3i will be available on Flipkart and Realme online store today at 12 PM (noon) IST. Realme 3i is available in two storage variants. While the 3GB RAM/32GB storage variant is available at the starting price of Rs 7,999, the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant comes at a price tag of Rs 9,999. The device is available in three colour options: Diamond Black, Diamond Blue, and Diamond Red.
During the sale, both the online platforms are offering the Realme 3i along with some offers. Flipkart is offering a 5% cash back on purchases made using the Flipkart Axis Bank credit card. HDFC Bank debit cardholders are also being offered a 5% cashback along with a 10% additional discount on a fashion purchase. The e-commerce website is also offering no-cost EMI options starting at Rs 278 a month.
Realme online store is providing a cashback of up to Rs 5,750 on the purchase of the device. It will include Rs 2,200 value of instant cashback through 22 vouchers worth Rs100 each along with Rs4,800 valued of partner vouchers from MakeMyTrip, Myntra, and Zoomcar. These can be availed by recharging with Rs. 299 prepaid plan. The payment made via MobiKwik will also get a 10% SuperCashvaluedRs 1,500
Realme 3i specifications
Realme 3i runs Android 9 Pie skinned with ColorOS 6. The device features a 6.2-inch HD+ display that has an aspect ratio of 19:9 and a screen-to-body ratio of 88.30%. The display of the newly launched smartphone is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Realme 3i is powered by MediaTek helio P60 SoC, and it comes with up to 4GB of RAM that offers 64GB of storage onboard.
On the imaging front, Realme 3i sports a dual rear camera setup that includes a 13MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens and 2MP secondary sensor. On the front, it features a 13MP sensor that can be used for selfies and video calls.
The handset houses a 4,230mAh battery that has support for 10W charging and comes with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS, Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack for connectivity. It can hold a microSD card of up to 256GB.
Google has really decided to defy all the rules of maintaining secrecy when it comes to its Pixel 4 flagship smartphone. Earlier, the company had shared an official image of the device on its Twitter handle months ahead of its launch. Now, the technology giant has published a blog post that talks about some features of the upcoming Pixel 4.
According to the blog post, the Pixel 4 smartphone will come with Motion Sense, a feature that is based on a project by the company called Soli that was started four years ago. We should mention that Motion Sense lets users control basic functions on their handset like snoozing alarms, skipping songs, and rejecting phone calls just with a wave of your hands.
The company has also said that Motion Sense works with the help of a complex radar system that is placed above the display and can sense even the smallest of movements. Currently, the system is only limited in recognizing simple hand-waving gestures, but then, in future, users will be able to configure it to do more complex things. According to Google, the Motion Sense will only be available in select countries where Pixel has been made available too.
Another very notable feature that has been announced by Google today is Face Unlock. We should mention that this isn’t like the facial recognition that we have on most Android devices today. The feature is closer to the system that Apple had introduced with the iPhone X in terms of complexity and security.
It is worth pointing out that while most Android facial unlock systems only take a picture of your face, the Face Unlock feature on Pixel 4 will scan a 3D map of your face using a dot projector, IR camera and a flood illuminator. Then the information will then be used to unlock it the device. While a picture can be spoofed easily, this will be far more secure. A number of Android devices just unlock even if you place the picture of the person whose face data is saved in front of them. This is obviously considered to be a big security flaw.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnRbXWojW7c
The system that Google is deploying is very similar to what iOS has been using in terms of hardware. Google has also said that it will save the facial data of the person in the Titan M chip in the device and this will ensure that nobody has access to it. This is where Apple’s and Google’s implementation will differ.
The Face Unlock on Pixel 4 will sense the user’s hand movement towards the phone with its Soli radar chip and then power on the Face Unlock hardware. And in case it detects your face, it will unlock your device as you are picking it up so that you go straight to your home screen. Google has also said that its system will work in any orientation, including when it is upside down. The Pixel 4 smartphone will be launched later this year.
Royal Philips has launched the Philips OneBlade under the male grooming category in India. The multitasking tool is capable of styling, trimming and shaving. The OneBlade is built for the men who love trying out different styles with their facial.
Commenting on the launch, GulbaharTaurani, President, Personal Health, Philips India Subcontinent said, “At Philips, our endeavor is to design all our products keeping in mind the evolving needs of our consumers. Our latest addition, the Philips OneBlade stands out in its category and provides a one-stop solution for men looking to embrace their own style without the rigidity of traditional male grooming. It gives a superior cutting performance and empowers millennial men to experience the power of three – Style, Trim, and Shave. We hope our consumers across India would make the most of this innovative product while achieving their best-styled look.”
The company claims that the device allows men to style trim and shave while keeping the skin supple. OneBlade comes with a twin sided blade that can be used for styling and shaping of beard. According to the company, it has a fast-moving cutter that moves 200 times per second for precise sharp edges and comfortable shave. In addition to this, it comes with a single replacement blade, built with a rechargeable handle that suggests three trimming combs of 1, 3 and 5 mm. This can be regularly used for up to four months. On top of the cutter, it is protected with a plate that prevents the blade from touching the skin. The Philips offering comes with a battery that allows the user to make use of the product for up to 45 minutes once fully charged.
Speaking about the product, Virat Kohli, Brand Ambassador for Philips Male Grooming said, “I have always loved experimenting with my looks – it goes with my personality. I prefer Philips products as they guarantee great styling with convenience and comfort. I am really excited about the newly launched Philips OneBlade – it combines trimming, styling, and shaving in one device with the reliability, comfort and convenience one can expect from Philips products. Given my busy schedule, Philips OneBlade is a must-have for me.”
The company claims that the OneBlade styling tool gives the user a clean-shaven look despite the fact that it gently glides all the way through facial hair regardless of the length. The men grooming tool comes with a waterproof body whereas the OneBlade is water-resistant and is capable of grooming and styling both wet and dry hair.
Interested buyers can purchase the Philips OneBlade grooming and styling tool at a price tag of Rs 1,899 via the company’s official website. The device comes with a two years’ warranty along with a one-year extended warranty.
