Nexus 6P users who faced battery drainage, bootloop issue to get up to $400 as compensation: Report

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Google’s Nexus 6P which was launched back in 2015 caused various problems to some users including bootloops, battery drain etc. And these issues were reported by the users of the smartphone in large numbers in 2016. Instead of coming up with a solution, Google is paying a compensation of $400 (approximately Rs 26,600) as per a proposed settlement to a class action lawsuit that was filed by some of the affected Nexus 6P users.

As a result, Google and Huawei would have to pay a total of $9.75 million (approximately Rs 67.39 crores) to its users. But this proposal is yet to receive the court’s approval. The users who have bought the Nexus 6P on or after September 25, 2015 are now eligible for the compensation by Google.

According to a report by The Verge, the proposed settlement between the California based technology giant and Huawei is to pay $400 to the affected Nexus 6P users. The amount is a compensation fee paid by the companies to the affected users who are facing the bootloop and the battery drain issue.

Also, users who received a Google Pixel XL device for their Nexus 6P in a prior warranty exchange programme would receive up to $10 (approximately Rs 700) from Google. And users who experienced the alleged bootloop issue of their device and if they submit the documentation of the issue would be eligible to receive up to $325 (approximately Rs 22,500).

Moreover, the users who face the alleged battery drain issue on their Nexus 6P and they submit the documentation of the issue would be eligible to receive up to $150 (approximately Rs 10,400).

But the proposed settlement states that the users who faced the alleged battery drain issue and the bootloop issue and would receive up to $400 compensation if they were to submit the documentation. And users who would not be able to produce the proper documentation of the issue would still get $75 (approximately Rs 5,200).

But is should also be noted that this agreement is only planned for the users of the Nexus 6P of the US. It means that if a user resides outside of the US and he is/has faced the bootloop or battery drain issue on their Nexus 6P then they wouldn’t be able to receive any compensation. Also, since the proposed settlement has still not received the approval from the court then it might be possible that the drafted process may get tweaked at the time of its public announcement.

It should be noted that the abovementioned problems in the Nexus 6P started happening after Google updated the Nexus 6P to Android 7 Nougat in 2016.

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10 smartphones with the highest RAM in India

One of the key factors that affect a smartphone’s performance is its RAM. The more RAM a smartphone has, the better will be its performance. Here, we have listed down 10 smartphones in India that have the highest RAM. Note that the cost of handsets mentioned are not their launch prices, but instead their current pricing. Check out the list now:

Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus (Rs 1,17,900)

Samsung Galaxy S10+

Samsung Galaxy S10+ had to be on top of our list. The most-high end variant of the smartphone comes with a massive 12GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. This is the maximum RAM/storage configuration that is available in India as of now. Besides this, the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus has a 4,100mAh battery and comes with Android Pie skinned with One UI. The device has an Infinity-O display.

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition (Rs  50,999)

OnePlus 6T McLaren edition 5

Another smartphone with over 8GB RAM on our list, OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition comes with 10GB RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and comes with Android 9.0 Pie.

Honor View 20 (Rs 45,999)

Honor View 20 5

The most high-end of Honor View 20 packs 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The smartphone houses 4,000mAh battery and runs Android Pie.  Honor View 20 comes with a 6.4 inches IPS LCD display and a 25Mp selfie camera that is housed on the screen itself.

OPPO R17 Pro (Rs 39,990)

Oppo R17 Pro was launched with the company’s R17 in the country and it comes with 6.4 inches AMOLED display, 3,700mAh battery and Snapdragon 710 processor. As far as RAM and storage are considered, Oppo R17 Pro comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.

Asus ROG Phone (Rs 69,999)

ASUS ROG Phone

The gaming smartphone from Asus can also offer you a good RAM/storage configuration. Asus ROG Phone comes with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and runs Android 8.1 Oreo. Besides this, it comes with a number of gaming-centric features that you can read about here.

Realme 2 Pro (Rs 15,990)

realme-2-pro

You can go for Realme 2 Pro if you want a smartphone with high RAM/storage combination at a relatively affordable price. The most high-end variant of the smartphone comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor and houses a 3,500mAh battery.

Asus Zenfone 5Z (Rs 31,999)

The smartphone was Asus’ answer to OnePlus 6 and it packed powerful specifications at a relatively affordable price. The device has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. It has a dual rear camera setup comprising of a 12MP and an 8MP sensor and it houses a 3,300mAh battery.

Vivo NEX (Rs 39,990)

vivo-nex

Vivo NEX smartphone is another smartphone that comes with a good amount of RAM and storage capacity. The futuristic-looking smartphone from Vivo has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 processor and has a pop-up selfie camera.

Meizu M16th (Rs 39,999)

meizu M16th

You can also go for the offering from Meizu if you want a smartphone that comes with a big RAM. The device comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and packs a 3,010mAh battery.

OPPO Find X (Rs 59,990)

Oppo Find x

Oppo Find X comes with a slider that houses the selfie camera of the smartphone and it offers a full-screen experience to its users. The smartphone has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The handset is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor and it houses a 3,730mAh battery.

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Samsung Galaxy A70 price announced, India microsite hints at its arrival in the country

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After being announced this week, Samsung Galaxy A70’s price along with other specifications have been revealed in China. Samsung has also started the pre-orders of the Samsung Galaxy A70 in China, and the company has also listed the smartphone in India. Samsung India’s website has created a microsite which shows the details and the main features of the Samsung Galaxy A70 which mean that the device will soon be coming to the Indian markets. Samsung Galaxy A70 was announced at Bangkok alongside the Samsung Galaxy A80 that comes with a rotating camera. The Samsung Galaxy A70 comes with an Infinity-U display and is powered by an octa-core CPU.

Samsung Galaxy A70 price and availability

The Samsung Galaxy A70 is currently available for pre-orders on China’s eShop with varying prices on the different models of the device. The Samsung Galaxy A70 with 6GB RAM is priced at CNY 2,999 (approximately Rs 30,928) while the 8GB RAM variant of the device is listed for CNY 3,299 (approximately Rs 34,000).

Although the Samsung Galaxy A70 has officially been launched but it will start selling from April 26 as per the company’s announcement. As mentioned above that the Indian market has not received the Samsung Galaxy A70, but the official Samsung website shows that the device is coming soon. So, we might expect the launch of the Samsung Galaxy A70 in the Indian markets in the next few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy A70 specifications

The Samsung Galaxy A70 sports a 6.7-inch Full HD+ (1080 x 2400 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with an aspect ratio of 20:9. The device is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 SoC and is paired with 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM options. It also has 128GB of internal storage with support of microSD card of up to 512GB. The Samsung Galaxy A70 packs a huge 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging support and it has an in-display fingerprint scanner.

On the camera front, the Samsung Galaxy A70 comes with a triple-rear camera setup which comprises of a 32MP primary sensor with an f/1.7 aperture paired with an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with an f/2.2 aperture along with a 5MP depth sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

The Samsung Galaxy A70 runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with One UI and it comes with dual-SIM support with a dedicated slot for microSD card. Other than the in-display fingerprint scanner, the Samsung Galaxy A70 also has the facial recognition support.

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Here’s when PUBG Mobile 0.12.0 update will be out for all

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The PUBG Mobile update 0.12.0 has been in beta for a few days now and it has already created a lot of news because of the exciting features that it is getting to the game. And now, Tencent has revealed the release date of the upcoming update.

According to a statement by the company, the latest update of PUBG Mobile will be out for everyone next week. And it is being speculated that the company will roll the stable update out on April 16, and its downtime would be a day before that.

The reason why the update is so awaited amongst fans is that it comes with PUBG Mobile Darkest Night mode. In this mode, players can team up or go solo to fight off a group of zombies and poison gas for 30 minutes. They have to escape within the given time.

Here’s a look at the patch notes of PUBG Mobile update 0.12.0:

  • Survive Till Dawn 2.0 – The PUBG Mobile x Resident Evil 2 game mode is getting a revamp and will now come with new gruesome ghouls and ballistic weaponry. Seems like the gameplay is going to turn very scary now.
  • Darkest Night – Players will be able to team up or drop-in solo to survive the invasion of zombies and toxic gas until they find an escape.
  • Spectator Mode – Players will be able to observe the action by spectating the matches of their friends.
  • Crosshair Modifications – The red dot, holographic, 2x scope and 3x scopes in PUBG Mobile can now be adjusted to different colours. Furthermore, multiple shape variations of the red dot reticle will be available.

You can start playing with all these features right away by downloading the PUBG Mobile 0.12.0 beta update here. You’ll get a much better idea of what to expect from the upcoming stable update. We should add that this update does not seem to have any feature that will help users cut down on their addiction. Even if there is one, it has not been mentioned yet. It is worth noticing that Tencent had promised to roll out a feature like that after it got banned in some states in India.

The last PUBG Mobile got a number of features to the game like PUBG Mobile Prime & Prime Plus subscriptions and dynamic weather to Erangel and Miramar. It also got a new ranked season and Royale Pass Season. As of now, there is no exact date of PUBG Mobile 0.12.0 to exit beta.

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Instagram Stories were visible to users’ non-followers due to a bug

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Privacy was ever the strongest suit of Facebook, and now this undesirable trait is also coming to the image sharing platform owned by the company – Instagram. Due to some technical problems, the Instagram Stories content of some of the users appeared on the profiles of users who didn’t even follow them. Normally, Instagram Stories can be viewed only by people who follow the particular account and it can’t be viewed by people who don’t follow the account. Unless the user does not have a private profile. But somehow Instagram messed up with the privacy filter of their platform – something which Facebook is now known for.

Instagram Stories are displayed on the top of the app on a tray. These stories can be posted by anyone with an Instagram account and it will be visible to those who follow the user. The Stories of Instagram has around 500 million daily active users and the format of the Instagram Stories is inspired from Snapchat. And after it was implemented onto the Instagram app, it became more popular than it was on Snapchat. Instagram Stories work in a way that they allow the user to post content, video, photos or written words on their account but that disappears after 24 hours if not saved. These Stories could initially be seen by all the followers of the user, however, Instagram subsequently rolled out options to hide Stories from some users. More recently, it also rolled out ‘Close Friends’.

But as mentioned above, the bug or glitch in Instagram let some of the users see the Stories from accounts and people they don’t follow. Instagram later confirmed the existence of the bug to TechCrunch and they also claimed that they will resolve the issue in a few hours. But Instagram also said that the bug affected only a small number of users.

Usually people share moments from their personal life on the Instagram Stories section, and for it to become public is a big thing. People who have set their profile to private don’t want to share content on their platform with anyone. But the latest bug revealed their private Stories in front of the other users. It shows that the privacy is a major concern and it also highlights that the potential privacy problems the users might face.

But as of now, the users who were affected with the glitch wouldn’t know if their account was ‘bugged’, unless someone tells them that their Stories was visible or unless Instagram itself tells the users about the problem. But Instagram should explain what actually had happened and why it happened.

In the days of the ongoing General Elections in India, privacy is a serious matter, especially now. And although Facebook isn’t new to controversies and privacy issues but it shouldn’t let its bad characteristics rub on to its other platforms.

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Twitter says it registered 45.6 million tweets about Lok Sabha Elections 2019

Micro-blogging platform Twitter became one of the biggest online websites to know the details and all the other information about the General Election 2019 which started yesterday. On April 11, the first day of the General Election 2019 of India began and Twitter took to its platform to announce that more than 45.6 million tweets related to the elections were tweeted. And currently the #LokSabhaElections2019 hashtag is trending and it is likely to trend time and again till the end of the elections.

It should be noted that on Thursday, April 11, polling started for 91 seats in 18 states and 2 union territories in India. According to Twitter, it recorded 45.6 million tweets related to the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 from March 11, 2019 till April 11, 2019. And on the day of elections, Twitter recorded more than 1.2 million users tweeting about the phase one of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

Twitter has always been one of the most-used platforms by politicians, political parties to get their words to the people and vice versa. Recently, both the parties Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) had posted their manifestos on the platform for the people to see. And they also went on to become some of the top-tweeted moments of the platform. Other than the politicians, political parties and the citizens of the country are also known to use the platform to ask questions, enquire and express their opinion over a number of things. Currently, most people in India are talking about elections in India. Also, according to Twitter, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) has become the most mentioned figure during the first phase of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on Twitter.

Not just Indians, but also NRIs across the world are taking to Twitter to engage in dynamic conversations cantered around the ongoing General Elections in India. People are retweeting, using hashtags, comments and replying to discuss the topics and the subjects which matter the most to them. So, Twitter has become one of the biggest platforms during the elections. Earlier, weeks before the Elections started, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had joined Twitter to let the users and the people know about the ‘know-hows’ of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019.

Earlier, in March 2019, national security was one of the most talked about election-related topic on Twitter. With the end of the first phase of the elections and several more to go, Twitter India and the platform itself is encouraging people and users of the platform to do their part and cast their votes. Twitter is also giving a national platform for the citizens of the country to say their thoughts and express their opinions. Users of the platform can join the conversations by following the #PowerOf18 and @TwitterIndia and express their opinions.

Recently, Twitter released a video in the #PowerOf18 series to encourage the young Indians to participate in the civic discourse and understand the importance of their votes and contribute to the public debate on Twitter.

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Skype now lets users share phone screen on video calls

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Software giant Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned to make is video calling service Skype better. Just a few days back, the company rolled out the ability to make group video calls with up to 50 participants. And now, Microsoft will soon let Skype users share their mobile screens during video calls.

The company has started testing new Android and iOS Skype apps that will come with the screen sharing feature. The feature would enable users to share anything on the device’s display with their friends, family or co-workers.

According to the software giant, the feature will come handy when users want to share PowerPoint presentations, discuss with friends before swiping right on dating apps or when they are shopping online and need inputs.

However, if you want to get access to the mobile screen sharing feature, you will have to be a Skype Insider, which basically means being a beta user. If you can’t wait for the stable version of the feature, you can sign up for the app’s beta here. But we should mention that there is always a possibility of beta versions of apps coming with bugs. To become a beta tester only if you think you will be able to keep up with them.

In its community post, Microsoft has specified that the feature is available for both iOS and Android. The software giant has also shared screenshots of the feature running on iOS. However, some reports say that when they joined the beta, they could not see the feature. So, there is a possibility that the company has not enabled it on iOS beta yet.

As of now, there is no word on when this feature will be rolled out to all. But considering that the feature that allowed video chat with 50 participants was in beta for less than a month, we expect this to be rolled out soon too.

The company rolled out the 50 participants video call feature for everyone last week, and with this, it surpassed all other companies in terms of the number of video call participants.

Skype earlier allowed users to add up to 25 users on a video call, while Apple allowed 32 users on FaceTime. Before Apple enables group video calls on FaceTime, Microsoft was leading the segment with Skype. After a short span of Apple being the leader, the top slot was taken back by the software giant with Skype’s latest update.

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Acer introduces new professional laptops, desktops and monitors with a new branding ConceptD: Price and features

At the next@acer global event, Acer has launched a new brand called ConceptD which will make products for graphic designers, filmmakers, engineers, architects, developers and other creators. The ConceptD’s products will include a new line of high-end desktops, laptops and monitors, and all the new products will have a new design language for a quiet workflow and will have factory-calibrated displays for professional use. At the event, Acer unveiled some of the desktops and laptops in its ConceptD sub-brand.

ConceptD 9, ConceptD 7 and ConceptD 5 laptops specifications, pricing, and availability

The ConceptD 9 laptop comes with a rotating hinge display like the Acer Triton 900 gaming laptop. It holds a 17.3-inch Ultra HD display, and since it is a convertible laptop, the hinged display can be used according to the type of need of the user. It can be used as a laptop, a display or a stand depending on the work of the user. The display also comes with Pantone Validation and covers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color gamut.

The display of the ConceptD can also work with a Wacom EMR stylus and supports up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity for more accurate sketching. It is powered by the newest Intel CPU and Nvidia RTX GPUs. The RAM and storage configurations of the laptop differs as well. The ConceptD 9 laptop has a starting price of $4,999 (approximately Rs 3,47,500).

On the other hand, the ConceptD 7 is a smaller and more portable version offered by the Acer’s sub-brand. The ConceptD 7 laptop sports a 15.6-inch calibrated Ultra HD display panel and it weighs 2.1kgs. Similar to the ConceptD 9, it too packs the latest Intel CPU and the NVIDIA RTX GPU for the processing and graphic power. But it also comes with NVIDIA’s Max-Q RTX series as the laptop is slim. It measures 17.9mm in thickness. The ConceptD 7 starting price is $2,299 (approximately Rs 1,59,900).

Lastly, the ConceptD 5 which is the smallest laptop of the lot is also the slimmest and the lightest in the series. It measures at 16.9mm in thickness and weighs 1.5 kgs. It is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU paired with a Radeon RX Vega M GL GPU. The ConceptD 5 uses magnesium alloy for the lid and palm-rest areas, it also offers narrow display bezels making it a slim professional laptop. The ConceptD 5 has a starting price of $1,699 (approximately Rs 1,18,200).

Jerry Kao, Co-COO of Acer said, “The ConceptD product portfolio was conceived to give creators the tools to focus on the creative process and make beautiful things.”

 

ConceptD 500 and 900
ConceptD 500 and 900

ConceptD 900 and ConceptD 500 desktops specifications, pricing and availability

The Acer ConceptD 900 is the high-end desktop for professional use. It packs a dual Intel Xeon Gold 6148 processors with up to 40 cores, and 80 threads paired with an NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 GPU. The ConceptD 900 comes with 12 memory slots which can give a total of up to 192GB of ECC memory. The chassis of the ConceptD 900 has a matte black finish with amber LED accent lighting, and it is also capable of holding up to five storage bays for RAID 0/1 drives. Since it is a costly desktop aimed at the professionals, it comes with options for upgradability. Users can get three free PCIe x8 and four PCIe x16 slots.

The ConceptD 900 comes with a starting price of $19,999 (approximately Rs 13,91,260) and it will start selling in the US from May onwards.

On the other hand, the ConceptD 500 comes with a sleek and smooth curved design on all sides and it also comes with a woodgrain finish on the top. The ConceptD 500 has a Qi wireless charging pad along with a retractable headphone stand which makes it stand apart from the other professional desktops. It is powered by up to 9th Gen Intel Core CPU paired with NVIDIA Quadro RTX 4000 GPUs. In other words, the ConceptD 500 is an affordable version of the ConceptD 900.

The prices of the ConceptD 500 starts from $1,699 (approximately Rs 1,18,200) and it will be available in the US from June onwards.

conceptD monitor
conceptD monitor

ConceptD CM7321K, CP7271K monitors specifications, pricing and availability

The ConceptD CM7321K sports a 32-inch 4K Ultra HD display panel which is DisplayHDR 1000 certified and has 1152 zones of local-dimming LEDs. The ConceptD CM7321K is aimed mostly for 2D creators and artists and it comes with things like 99% coverage of Adobe RGB colour space and 89.5 percent Rec.2020 for mastering content. The ConceptD CM7321K holds a price tag of $3,199 (approximately Rs 2,22,500) and it will be available in the US from September onwards.

Lastly, the ConceptD CP7271K is the second monitor launched by Acer in its ConceptD series of products. The ConceptD CP7271K comes with 27-inch display which is mainly aimed for the 3D creators and artists. It has a Pantone-validated display and it comes with a colour accuracy of Delta-E <1 along with a wide colour gamut of 99 percent of the AdobeRGB colour space. Being a monitor, the ConceptD CP7271K comes with 93 percent DCI-P3 colour space. It has G-SYNC Ultimate and DisplayHDR 1000 which gives it a professional-grade colour and image detail.

The ConceptD CP7271K will sell for $1,999 (approximately Rs 1,39,100) and it will be available in the US from July onwards.

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iPad Air, iPad Mini 2019 models with A12 Bionic processor go on sale in India: Price and specifications

It’s a good day for Apple fans in India. The Cupertino based technology giant’s recently launched iPad Air and iPad Mini models have gone on sale in India today. The 10.5-inch iPad Air and an iPad Mini 2019 were launched in the United States last month and today, they have finally made their way to India.

The two tablets are powered by Apple’s A12 Bionic chipset and they come with an advanced Retina display. The two devices also have support for Apple Pencil. Here’s a look at the pricing and availability details of the newly launched iPads:

iPad Air (2019) and iPad Mini (2019) price in India

Both the new iPads are available in Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models. The iPad Air (2019) model’s 64GB storage Wi-Fi variant can be picked up at Rs 44,900, and on the other hand, its Wi-Fi + Cellular model is priced at Rs 55,900. The Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular variants of the 256GB storage cost Rs 58,900 and Rs 69,900 respectively.

Coming to iPad Mini, its Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 64GB storage cost Rs 34,900 and Rs 45,900. The same variants with 356GB storage variant are available at Rs 48,900 and Rs 59,900 respectively.

Both the iPads will be available in Silver, Space Grey and Gold colours. As per two Apple Authorised retailers in New Delhi, the new iPads will start selling within the next two weeks. However, the sellers have started taking pre-bookings for it.

iPad Air (2019) and iPad mini (2019) specifications

We’ll start by talking about the specifications of the iPad Air (2019). The newly launched iPad features a 10.5-inch LED-backlit Retina display and has a pixel resolution of 1668×2224. Powered by A12 Bionic chip, the iPad Air (2019) is available in two storage options – 64GB and 256GB.

For imaging duties, iPad Air (2019) has an 8MP rear camera that comes with an f/2.4 aperture and a five-element lens. However, a flash is not available on the device. For selfies and video calls, there is a 7MP selfie camera on the tablet coupled with a Retina flash.

For connectivity, iPad Air (2019) supports Bluetooth v5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and optional LTE support. While the new iPad does not come with Face ID, but it does have support for Touch ID.

Speaking of the new iPad Mini (2019), it has a 7.9-inch LED-backlit Retina display that has a pixel resolution of 1536×2048. The rest of the specifications of iPad Mini (2019) are the same as iPad Air (2019). Both the devices are compatible with Apple Pencil (1st generation).

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Acer updates its Spin 3 Convertible Notebook: Price and features

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Taiwanese electronic and PC maker Acer has updated its Spin 3 Notebook at its next@acer annual global launch event. The Spin series is known for its stylish and convertible laptops aimed at the young professionals. The Acer Spin 3 comes with a slim built with a touch-screen display and it has a 360-degree durable hinge for the flexibility.

The new Spin 3 is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and comes with an NVIDIA GPU which makes the graphic intensive task easy. Known for its flexibility and portability, the Acer Spin 3 is light in weight and packs a powerful processor, a lasting battery, storage and a few features making it a great competitor for its rivals. Here’s a look at the details of the newly launched laptop:

Acer Spin 3 price and availability

The new Acer Spin 3 is priced at $499.99 (approximately Rs 34,655) and it will be available in North America and the European markets June onwards.

The Acer Spin 3 is currently not available in India and the company hasn’t said anything about its India launch. However, it is expected to come to India as it is one of the biggest markets for electronics.

Acer Spin 3 specifications and features

The updated Acer Spin 3 comes with a 14-inch Full HD IPS touch display with support for the company’s Active pen and direct touch on-screen input at multiple points of contact. The laptop has a 79% screen-to-body ratio. The new notebook is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU paired with an optional NVIDIA GeForce MX230 GPU. The updated Spin 3 comes with up to 512GB PCIe SSD and offers up to 1TB of HDD storage. Additionally, it also comes with a dockable and rechargeable pen, and enhanced Wi-Fi 5 performance. The new Acer Spin 3 Notebook weighs 1.7 kgs and has a 9.6mm thin bezels. And since it comes in the Spin series of notebooks, the Acer Spin 3 comes with a 360-degree convertible display so that it can be used as a tablet. The laptop comes pre-loaded with Windows 10 and according to the company, it can give up to 12 hours of battery life on a single charge.

 

Acer-Spin-3_02
Acer-Spin-3

There are two front-facing speakers on the new Acer Spin 3 Notebook which delivers a clear and loud sound in any usage mode. The Precision TouchPad of the Spin 3 also supports Windows 10 gestures and allows the users to work faster and smoother with accurate fingertip and gesture tracking. Since the device supports the Acer Active Pen inputs, it helps the user to take notes, draw or jot down things using the Pen. The new Spin 3 comes with a Gigabit Dual-band Wi-Fi 5 with MU-MIMO technology keeps the users connected.

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Acer adds Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 gaming notebooks to its product line-up: Price and features

Taiwanese electronic and PC maker Acer announced its new Nitro series of gaming notebooks at the annual next@acer global conference. The new gaming notebooks are Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 and they come with a variety of tools and features to make any gamer a happy man. Acer Nitro 7 gaming notebook comes with a sleek metal design and up to 7 hours of battery life.

On the other hand, Acer Nitro 5 comes with an 80 percent screen-to-body ratio and has a narrow-bezel design. Both the laptops are powered by Intel’s 9th generation Core CPU with the newest NVIDIA GPU and with a refresh rate of 144Hz. Here are all the details of the newly launched laptops:

Acer Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 price and availability

Acer Nitro 7 gaming notebook has a price tag of $999.99 (approximately Rs 69,120) and the Nitro 5 gaming laptop is priced at $799.99 (approximately Rs 55,296).

Both the newly launched gaming notebooks are available in North America from March onwards, while in the European markets they will be available from June onwards. The gaming laptops will arrive in the Chinese markets in May, but there is no news about their availability in India. But since they will make their ways to the Chinese markets, we will get to see their launch in India as well.

Speaking on the launch, James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Product Business of Acer Inc said “The new Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 gaming notebooks prove that performance gaming doesn’t need to break the bank. Gamers now have more features packed in sleek designs to elevate their gaming experiences.”

Acer Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 specifications and features

Acer Nitro 7 gaming notebook is aimed at casual gamers who want both design and performance in their machines. It comes with a metal chassis which measures at 19.9mm and has a 15.6-inch high-resolution display with a refresh rate of 44Hz with a 3 ms3 response time. The Nitro 7 is powered by a 9th Gen Intel Core Processor paired with the latest NVIDIA GPU to deliver a lag-free gaming experience.

Nitro-5_AN515-54_01
Nitro-5

 

The Nitro 7 gaming notebook also comes with two slots for the M.2 Gen 3×4 PCIe SSDs which uses NVMe technology in RAID 0 making it fast in its operations. The RAM of the Nitro 7 can be expanded up to 32GB and for storage it comes with up to 2TB of HDD storage.

 

The Nitro 5 gaming notebook comes with either a 17.3-inch Full-HD IPS narrow bezel display, or a 15.6-inch Full-HD IPS display. Both of them have a screen-to-body ratio of 80 percent. Acer Nitro 5 is also powered by a 9th Gen Intel Core processor paired with the latest NVIDIA GPU to offer a seamless gaming experience.

Similar to the Nitro 7, the Nitro 5 too comes with two M.2 Gen 3 x4 PCIe SSDs using NVMe technology in RAID 01 and it also packs RAM up to 32GB of DDR4. The gamers can also stream their games as the Nitro 5 comes with Gigabit Wi-Fi 5 with 2×2 MU-MIMO technology. And lastly, the ports of Nitro 5 include HDMI 2.0, USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 etc.

Both the Nitro 5 and the Nitro 7 comes with dual fans along with the Acer CoolBoost technology and a dual exhaust port which keeps the gaming notebooks cool even in extensive gaming sessions. The CoolBoost technology increases the fan speed by of the laptops by 10 percent, it cools the CPU and GPU by 9 percent compared to auto mode.

Along with that, both the Nitro 7 and Nitro 5 laptops comes with NitroSense which is an app accessible through a one touch NitroSense hot key. Once the app is enabled, the users can instantly visualize the component temperature, loading performance, power usage, and more. It also allows the fan speed monitoring and adjusting in real time, so that gamers can customize the speed of the fans according to their needs. They can also max out the fans when an intensive gaming session is on.

The newly launched laptops come with Killer Ethernet E2500 or Acer’s Network Optimizer to prioritize gameplay and gives a freeze-less and lag-free gaming experience.

Additionally, Acer Nitro 7 and the Nitro 5 comes with Waves MaxxAudio advanced sound optimization technology that boosts the tones to deliver even the smallest sound detail in speaker or headphone. While the MaxxDialog feature allows the laptop by separating the game dialog from music and sound effects. And the MaxxVolume technology delivers maximum volume and clarity without distortion.

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Acer Chromebook 715, Chromebook 714 with fingerprint scanner launched: Price and specifications

Acer has rolled out a range of laptops and gaming devices at its global press conference. At the event, the company also took wraps off two new Chromebooks that are targeted at business users. The newly Chromebooks come with a sturdy metallic build and have a small form factor. They are certified with Citrix and both of them come with fingerprint scanners.

Dubbed Acer Chromebook 714 and the Acer Chromebook 715, the new computing machines can be configured with up to an 8th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and come with USB Type-C v3.1 ports that helps in transferring the data quickly. The machines have a Type-C port on both sides, which gives users a choice of charging the Chromebook from either of the two sides.

Acer Chromebook 714 and Chromebook 715 have a shock-proof anodised aluminium body that has been certified for MIL-STD 810G durability. The company has claimed for both the laptops to be impact resistant and highly durable. Acer also said that Chromebook 714 and Chromebook 715 will be able to withstand drops from a height of up to 48-inches and a vertical force of up to 60 kgs. The touchpad of both the laptops is protected by a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass. The touchpad is also said to be scratch and moisture resistant.

As we mentioned earlier, for added security, both the laptops come with integrated fingerprint scanners. Acer Chromebook 715 and Chromebook 714 also come with Citrix certification that makes them compatible with various networking and cloud computing solutions. We should mention that the Acer Chromebook 715 is the first ever Chromebook to feature a full-size numeric keypad and a backlit keyboard.

Coming to the hardware, Acer Chromebook 715 comes with a 15.6-inch full-HD IPS display and Acer Chromebook 714 packs a 14-inch full-HD IPS screen with thin bezels. Both the laptops will be made available by the company in touch and non-touch sensitive display variants.

The Acer Chromebook 715 and Chromebook 714 can be configured with up to an 8th Gen Intel Core i3 or i5 processor. The laptops will also be available in lower-end models with Intel Celeron and Pentium Gold processors. The storage capacities of the laptops vary between 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB. Both Chromebook 715 and Chromebook 714 come with support for Google Chrome Enterprise solutions and Android apps from Play Store.

For ports and connectivity, both the Chromebooks come with a USB 3.1 Type-C port on both the sides, a USB 3.0 port and a microSD card reader. Wireless connectivity options on the device include Bluetooth 4.2 and a dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac. As far as the battery life goes, Acer claims that both the Chromebooks will last around 12 hours on a single charge.

The base variant of Acer Chromebook 714 is priced at $549 and it will go on sale in the US this month itself. Acer Chromebook 715’s base variant, on the other hand, will go on sale in June and will cost $499.

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Acer launches TravelMate P614-51 notebook, Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktop and 43-Inch Predator monitor: Get all the details here

Acer TravelMate P6 series has been upgraded with a new model, dubbed as the TravelMate P614-51. The durable commercial Windows 10 Pro notebook is claimed to deliver up to 20 hours of battery life and its body is made of a magnesium-aluminium alloy that is said to be stronger and lighter than standard aluminium alloys.

Besides this, the company also unveiled its Predator Orion 5000 desktop PC and a new 43-inch Predator monitor with 4K resolution that has a refresh rate of 144Hz. The desktop is aimed only at gamers. A Cestus 330 mouse, an M-Utility backpack, Galea 311 audio headset and Aethon 300 keyboard were also launched by Acer at the event. Here is a look at the details of all the gadgets that have been launched:

Acer TravelMate P614-51 notebook, Predator Orion 5000 desktop and Predator CG437K P monitor price

Acer TravelMate P614-51 has a starting price of $1,149.99. It will be going on sale in the US in June. Acer Predator Orion 5000 gaming desktop, on the other hand, will be available later this month at a starting price of $1,199.99 (US). It will reach EMEA in June at a starting price of EUR 1,999. The Predator CG437K P gaming monitor will be available in the US and EMEA in September at a starting price of $1,299.

Coming to Predator M-Utility Backpack, it will be priced at $179.99 and Predator Cestus 330 gaming mouse, on the other hand, will cost $69.99. they both will be available in June. The Predator Aethon 300 gaming keyboard will go on sale in June at $119.99 and the Predator Galea 311 gaming headset will cost $99.99.

Acer TravelMate P614-51, Predator Orion 5000 desktop, Predator CG437K P monitor specifications

Acer TravelMate P614-51 comes with a biometric fingerprint authentication and an IR camera with support for Windows Hello. The newly launched laptop sports a 14-inch full-HD IPS display and has viewing angles of 170 degrees. The device has a full-sized backlit keyboard and a 180-degree hinge design because of which it can lay flat. The Acer TravelMate P614-51 laptop is powered by up to eighth-generation Intel Core i7 processor coupled with up to 24GB DDR4 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU. Other than this, it also has 1TB of Gen 3 x4 PCIe SSD that is based on NVMe technology.

The new notebook by Acer has been certified by Skype for Business and has a four mic array that is claimed to pick up vocals even from 6.5 feet away. The TravelMate P614-51 has support for 4G LTE connectivity via eSIM coupled with 802.11ac 2×2 MU-MIMO technology. The company has also added support for NFC and the device comes with a microSD card slot and Intel Thunderbolt 3. It also has an integrated Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chip that is touted to provide hardware-based protection for passwords and the device has encrypted keys and for another layer of protection, the device comes with Intel vPro.

Coming to Acer’s Predator Orion 5000 desktop PC, it is powered by an overclockable octa-core ninth-generation Intel Core i9-9900K with Z390 chipset and dual-channel DDR4 RAM. The device is backed by an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 GPU and comes with a Cooler Master CPU Liquid Cooler. The company has added an Easy-Swap expansion bay that comes with support for 2.5-inch form factor SATA I/II/III SSD and HDD drives. In addition to this, it also has support for 2.5Gbps Ethernet.

The desktop also comes with an RGB lighting pattern and according to Acer, the light bars and case fans have support for 16.7 million colours. The company also announced the Predator 43-inch LFGD gaming monitor that comes with the model number CG437K P. The newly-launched monitor comes with support for 4K UHD resolution and it has a refresh rate of 144Hz.

The display panel of the Predator LFGD monitor CG437K P has a 90% colour gamut and has certification from VESA-Certified Display HDR 1000. The monitor also comes with three HDMI ports, a USB Type-C and a DisplayPort.

The Predator monitor comes with a light sensor that helps in saving power. There is also a proximity sensor that puts the screen off standby mode when users move the front of the monitor. The sensor also puts it back into the sleep mode when there is no movement on the device.

Besides this, Acer has also showcased its Predator M-Utility Backpack that comes with a water repellent design and is aimed at gamers, streamers, photographers. The Backpack can hold up to a 17-inch laptop. The company also has a Predator Cestus 330 gaming mouse that sports a 16,000 DPI and has 7 programmable buttons.

In addition to this, there is also Predator Aethon 300 gaming keyboard that comes with Cherry switches (MX Blue) and teal blue backlighting. It also has anti-ghosting on all the keys. Last, but not the least, the company has unveiled Predator Galea 311 foldable gaming headset that has 50mm drivers and support for Acer’s TrueHarmony, a 3.5mm headphone jack connector and a hard key mutable micro.

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Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and ZenFone Max M2 begin receiving the Android 9.0 Pie update: Get all the details here

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Two budget smartphones from Asus – Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the Asus ZenFone Max M2 – are finally receiving the much-awaited Android 9.0 Pie update in India after continuous delays. The Android Pie update for both the devices were to be rolled out in February, but at that time, the company had said that the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the Asus ZenFone Max M2 will be receiving their updates by April 15.

This time, the company has kept its word and released the Android Pie update for both the smartphones. The new update brings April’s security patch for the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the Asus ZenFone Max M2 along with other fixes and improvements over its earlier update. Although the users of the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and ZenFone Max M2 will receive a notification about the update automatically, but if they haven’t, they might want to download the update manually.

On its official Indian forum, Asus announced about the rollout of the new update for ZenFone Max Pro M1 and ZenFone Max M2. The firmware version of the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 is v16.2017.1903.05 and it is 1.55GB in size. But the users who had already downloaded the Android Pie beta version will get an update size of 392MB. On the other hand, the firmware version for the Asus ZenFone Max M2 is v16.2018.1903.37.

Changelog of the new update states that the new update brings Android 9 Pie update along with a new security patch. But Asus hasn’t mentioned if the security patch April 2019’s or older. There are many users on the forum who are complaining about the download issue of the new update. Before downloading the update, a strong Wi-Fi connection is recommended so that the download is not interrupted or paused in between.

To download the update, the users need to go to the Settings of the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 and the ZenFone Max M2, then they need to tap on System. Once there, they need to find the System Updates and tap on it. If the network is strong, the device will automatically begin searching and will download the new update. Once downloaded, the users will be notified about the completion of the download. To install the update, it is recommended that the users should keep the batteries of their devices more than 20% for an uninterrupted software update.

But if the user is unable to download the update it means that there is a bug in the update file which would be fixed by the company soon. Also, there is no word about the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M2’s update but the Taiwanese electronic maker has promised the update before April 15.

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Acer Predator Helios 700 gaming laptop with HyperDrift keyboard, revamped Predator Helios 300 launched

Taiwanese electronics maker Acer has launched a new member to its Helios gaming laptop range called the Predator Helios 700. The newly-launched laptop comes with a unique slide-out keyboard, which the company calls as HyperDrift.

The keyboard has two additional cooling fans to tame the heat that is generated from gaming sessions on the device.  Acer has also refreshed its Predator Helios 300 laptops by revamping its design and updating the main specifications. Here’s a look at all the details of the two newly launched laptops from Acer:

Acer Predator Helios 700 price and specifications

Acer’s Predator Helios 700 laptop sports a 17-inch full-HD IPS display that has a refresh rate of 144Hz, a response time of 3ms and Nvidia’s G-SYNC technology. The newly launched device is available in different CPU and GPU configurations. They are powered by up to 9th generation Intel Core i9 CPU and for GPU they either come with Nvidia GeForce’s RTX 2080 or RTX 2070.

The device packs 64GB of DDR4 RAM, Killer DoubleShot Pro networking with Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX 1650 wireless chip and Killer E3000 ethernet port. It also has a 5.1 speaker system and fourth generation AeroBlade 3D fans. Some models of the Acer Predator Helios 700 also come with vapour chamber for cooling.

Among the biggest highlights of Acer gaming laptop is its HyperDrift keyboard, which can slide outwards and it comes with two additional air intakes and a glass panel. The glass panel gives users a peek at the heat-pipes that are used in the laptop. The palm-rest area provides a more comfortable position for gaming.

In addition to this, there is a trackpad, per key RGB backlighting, MagForce WSAD keys. Acer Predator Helios 700 laptop comes with a Turbo hotkey for instant overclocking and Predator Sense software to monitor your GPU and CPU status.

The newly launched laptop’s starting price is $2,700 and it will be made available in April this year. However, EMEA regions will get it in July, while China will get it in June.

Acer Predator Helios 300 price and specifications

Coming to Acer Predator Helios 300, it has got a revamp in design. The metal chassis now comes with teal blue accents and the redesigned keyboard comes with ‘Predator’ fonts. The display of the device has narrower bezels and the laptop has up to a 9th generation Intel Core i7 CPU coupled with up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 with Max-Q graphics card.

Acer Predator Helios 300 has up to 32GB of RAM and up to two PCIe NVMe SSDs in RAID 0 along with a standard mechanical drive. The device will be available in 15.6-inch of 17-inch full-HD IPS display sizes that come with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and have a response time of 3ms.

Other than this, the Acer Predator Helios 300 comes with the company’s own AeroBlade 3D fans, CoolBoost technology and four-zone RGB backlighting. It also has an enlarged spacebar and sculpted WSAD keys.

The laptop’s starting price in the United States is $1,200. It will be available in China in May and come to EMEA regions in June.

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Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO and Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO smart TVs launched in India: Price and specifications

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Indian television maker Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd. has launched a new TV range called Kodak XPRO in India today. There are two TVs in the series –  Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO with 32-inch screen and a Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO that comes with a 40-inch screen. Both the newly launched smart TVs come with a variety of features at an affordable price. The 32-inch variant of the smart TV comes with 1366 x 768 pixels display while the 40-inch variant of the smart TV comes with a 1920 x 1080 pixels display. They are powered by a quad-core CPU coupled with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage.

Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO and Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV price and availability

The Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO TV holds a price tag of Rs 10,999 while the Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV is priced at Rs 16,999. Both smart TVs comes with only one colour option – Black. Both the newly launched smart TVs will be exclusively available on Flipkart till April 20.

Speaking about the recent launch of the new series, Avneet Singh Marwah, Director and CEO of SPPL said, “It gives me massive delight to present our latest offerings in the Kodak HD LED TV family.  The satisfaction of our customers has always been our top-most priority and we will work more earnestly towards the aim of offering them top tier innovation and reasonable prices.”

Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO and Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV specifications

The Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO TV is a 32-inch variant of the smart TV and it is powered by a quad-core processor clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with a Penta Core ARM Mali 450MP with clock speed up to 750MHz GPU. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage. The display size of the smart TV is 80 cm and it comes with a 1366 x 768 pixels resolution display. The maximum audio output of the TV is 20W and it comes with five sound modes to choose from — Standard, Music, Movie, Sports, User. Being a smart TV, the Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO TV comes with some pre-loaded apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Gmail, Facebook, Hotstar, Easy Share etc which can be used by the user as per his/her choice. Lastly, the Kodak 32HDXSMART XPRO TV runs Android 7.1 Nougat and supports Wi-Fi connectivity along with USB connectivity.

kodak new smart TV
kodak new smart TV

On the other hand, the 40-inch variant of the smart TV, the Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV is also powered by a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.5GHz coupled with a Penta Core ARM Mali 450MP with a clock speed up to 750MHz GPU. It has a screen size of 102cm and comes with a 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution display. That’s the only difference between the two smart TVs, rest of the specifications of the Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV as the same as that of 32-inch variant’s. It has 1GB of RAM and 8GB of flash storage. The display size of the smart TV is 80 cm and it comes with a 1366 x 768 pixels resolution display. The maximum audio output of the TV is 20W and it comes with five sound modes to choose from — Standard, Music, Movie, Sports, User. The Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV also comes with few pre-loaded apps such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Gmail, Facebook, Hotstar, Easy Share etc which can be used by the user as per his/her choice. Lastly, the Kodak 40FHDXSMART XPRO TV runs Android 7.1 Nougat and supports Wi-Fi connectivity along with USB connectivity.

kodak new smart TV
kodak new smart TV

With the launch of a new smart TV series in India Kodak is attempting to bring the smart features to the Indian consumers at an affordable price.

kodak new smart TV
kodak new smart TV

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Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 starts receiving Android Pie update in India

Taiwanese smartphone maker Asus has today rolled out the Android Pie update for its Zenfone Max Pro M2 smartphone in India. We should mention that the update for Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 comes just a day after the updates for Zenfone Max M2 and Zenfone Max Pro M1 smartphones. The update has started rolling out over the air in a phased manner, so don’t be surprised if your friend gets it before you do.

Apart from Android Pie improvements, the latest update for Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 gets the March 2019 Android security patch. It is worth adding here that the three smartphones have finally been updated to Android Pie after a few delays. However, the company promised last month that it will be rolling out the update to Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2, Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Zenfone Max M2 latest by April 15. And Asus did keep its word.

The smartphone maker took to its forums in India to announce that the Android Pie update for Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 has started rolling out. It is worth noticing that the update comes with firmware 16.2017.1903.061. In case you haven’t received the notification for the update, you can head to the settings of your device to check for the Android Pie update. Go to Settings > System > System Updates.

We recommend you to download the software when your handset is connected to Wi-Fi and is on charge. The beta update of Android Pie only started rolling out to Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 users in February this year.

To recall, Asus Zenfone Max Pro comes with a 6.3-inch Full-HD+ display that has an aspect ratio of 19:9. The smartphone by Asus is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor clubbed with 3GB/4GB/6GB of RAM. The smartphone is available in two storage models – 32GB and 64GB.

On the camera front, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2 comes with a dual rear camera setup that comprises of a 12MP primary sensor and a 5MP secondary sensor that can be used for depth-sensing. The device houses a 13MP sensor on its front panel coupled with flash for selfies and video calls. However, the key highlight of the smartphone is its enormous 5,000mAh battery.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro comes with a fingerprint sensor embedded on its back panel and for connectivity, it has 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v5.0, GPS, a Micro-USB port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

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Jio News with support for 12 Indian languages launched on Android, iOS and Web

Reliance Jio has today expanded its range of services in India with the launch of Jio News. As the name suggests, Jio News is an online aggregator that is available for both iOS and Android platforms. It can also be accessed on the Web. The new service is aimed to provide its users with real-time news updates about various major events such as Lok Sabha, Assembly Elections 2019 and IPL 2019.

Jio News comes with support for over 12 languages and is said to offer news content from over 150 live news channels, more than 800 magazines and 250 newspapers. It also curates news from various online blogs and news websites in India and across the world. The service uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to bring users content that they would find to be most relevant from thousands of news pieces that are available.

The languages in which Jio News is available in include Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, and Urdu among others. It is worth noticing that all of these are widely spoken in the country.

In a press statement, Reliance Jio has claimed that Jio News users would have the ability to personalise their homepage. They will be given options to choose from various topics of interest like politics, sports, entertainment, business, technology, lifestyle, fashion, health, and finance. They can choose the ones that they like reading about and Jio News will send them articles related to that particular topic.

You would not only be getting news articles via the service as Reliance Jio will also be offering users over 150 live TV news channels via its Jio News service. It will also show trending videos of multiple genres including automotive, Bollywood, fashion, health, technology, and sports.

Jio News comes with Jio XpressNews, Jio Mags, Jio NewsPaper along with live TV and videos. The company also mentioned in a statement that it issued that all the existing users of these apps will be migrated automatically to Jio News app. Furthermore, if you are a Jio user, you will receive ‘premium access’, whereas non-Jio users will get access to all the available features by logging into the app for a trial period.

Jio News app will also come with a dedicated Newsstand section that will let users read magazines and newspapers without downloading them. In addition to this, the app provides the ability to read magazines and newspapers from the past as well. The Jio News app can be downloaded via App Store and Google Play Store.

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Anker Soundcore MotionQ wireless speaker launched in India: Price and details

Chinese electronics and peripheral maker Anker has launched a wireless speaker in its audio gear category named Anker Soundcore MotionQ. The company usually makes power banks and other equipment to charge a smartphone. However, even in the past, Anker has also made a number of audio gears under its Soundcore sub-brand and the newly-launched wireless speaker is the latest addition to the speaker family. The Anker Soundcore MotionQ has an IPX7 certification which makes it water resistant and it works on multiple platforms. The Soundcore MotionQ wireless speaker comes with a variety of features such as 360-degree sound output, great battery life and has a classy fabric wrapped exterior.

Anker Soundcore MotionQ price and availability

The Anker Soundcore MotionQ is priced at Rs 5,499 and it is available on major online shopping platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon as well as offline stores.

The Anker Soundcore MotionQ comes in four different colours for the users to choose from – Black, Blue, Red, and Grey.

Anker Soundcore MotionQ features

The Anker Soundcore MotionQ comes with Bluetooth connectivity using which it can be connected to smart devices like smartphones, laptops, tablets and any other music playback platform. It also has dual 8W drivers positioned for 360-degree sound output which makes it a multi-directional speaker with sound output for every direction.

As mentioned above, the Anker Soundcore MotionQ comes with an IPX7 rating, which means that the speaker can be fully submerged in water for up to 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1 metre and not get damaged. Holding a water resistance rating makes the Anker Soundcore MotionQ a great audio equipment for outdoor activities. The Anker Soundcore MotionQ comes with a fabric-wrapped exterior which makes it a classy and premium looking device. The controls of the Anker Soundcore MotionQ sits at the top of the speaker.

anker wireless speaker
anker wireless speaker

According to the company, on a single charge, the Anker Soundcore MotionQ can give a battery life of 10 hours. It also comes with a built-in microphone, which, on being enabled gives the user the ability to make or receive voice calls making it a hands-free device. Also, if the user has two Anker Soundcore MotionQ speakers, then he can wirelessly daisy-chain them to make them play at the same time.

The Anker Soundcore MotionQ has many competitors comparing its price tag, but its closest rival is the Boat Stone 700A which comes with a lesser IPX6 rating. The Stone 700A also comes with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Assistant support which can be activated at a push of a button on the speaker – a feature that is not present in Anker Soundcore MotionQ.

Furthermore, Anker recently launched its Soundcore Spirit and Spirit Pro wireless earphones in India. The Soundcore is priced at Rs 3,999 while the Soundcore Spirit Pro has a price tag of Rs 4,999.

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How to block all Game of Thrones spoilers from the internet

There are barely any days remaining for the final season of Game of Thrones to come. The first episode of the popular fantasy show will be aired on April 14 in the Unites States. And fans in India will be able to simultaneously watch it on HotStar on April 15. However, as the date of the show’s release draws closer, the internet is becoming more and more crowded with Game of Thrones‘ spoilers.

Some of us love reading theories and coming across small hints that give us an idea about what to expect from the show, other people think that they only ruin the experience of watching the show that is known to surprise its fans with various plot twists and shocking deaths.

If you are among the latter, we have something for you that you will certainly thank us for. We are about to tell you how you can block Game of Thrones spoilers altogether from the internet so that your experience of watching the show remains good. Here’s what you need to do for it:

Download the ‘Game of Spoils’ Chrome extension

The first thing that you need to do to block Game of Thrones spoilers is to download the ‘Game of Spoils’ Chrome extension. Actually, that’s all that you technically have to do as the extension would do the rest. Let us tell you how exactly it works.

Once you add this extension on your Chrome browser, it will automatically be enabled. And when that happens, Game of Thrones spoilers from all popular platforms are blocked automatically. All that you will see is blacked out spaces in place of the spoiler with a message that a spoiler has been blocked. Even to do this, the extension uses famous lines from the show like “a potential spoiler here did not live through the long night”, “a potential spoiler here was grimly beheaded for desertion” and “a potential spoiler here was slain by a shadow.”

It worked well for us on Google and Facebook. In fact, on Facebook, we even tried to use with Game of Thrones’ official page, and we could not see anything except black spaces.

The exception

One social network that we found to be an exception is Reddit. It simply does not work on the platform.

Hide instead of block

If you are not someone who likes to see black spaces all over their screen (considering the number of spoilers that are lurking around), there is one option you can use. Just press on the extension in your Chrome tab and enable ‘Hide instead of block.’ It’s a good way of avoiding spoilers without seeing black spaces on your screen.

Manage blocking

The extension basically uses some keywords to identify what content may potentially be spoilers and block those. So it must be using keywords like ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Jon Snow’, ‘Cersei Lannister’, ‘Westeros’ among others.

In spite of this, if you do come across a spoiler, you can go to the extension and add other keywords below ‘Specify Spoiling Phrase’ and then enable it. It will help you block other keywords as well.

You can head to the Chrome extension by clicking here.

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Realme 3 Pro to be launched in India on April 22, will have support for Fortnite

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Oppo’s former sub-brand Realme is planning to launch its Realme 3 Pro on April 22 in India. The company revealed about the launch of the device through a tweet from its official account today. Realme 3 Pro will be the successor and the beefed-up version of the Realme 3 which was launched in India last month in March. Also, Realme’s CEO Madhav Sheth also tweeted that the upcoming Realme 3 Pro will be the first device in its segment to support the mobile game called Fortnite. The Realme 3 Pro is peculated to directly compete with the likes of Redmi Note 7 Pro, a mid-range offering from Xiaomi launched in February 2019.

Talking about the launch, Realme’s official Twitter account tweeted that the next device will be launching on April 22. The company also mentioned that they will be launching the device at Delhi University at 12:30pm IST.

Furthermore, Realme’s CEO Madhav Sheth previously tweeted that the Realme 3 Pro will be focused on gaming and it will have a gaming-focused hardware. He also went on to say that the Realme 3 Pro will be the first phone in the segment to support the graphic intensive battleroyale called Fortnite. Sheth also dissed the Redmi Note 7 Pro in his tweet saying that the Redmi Note 7 Pro couldn’t play the game. His tweet read, “Tried to play this game on some latest ‘Pro’ devices but none of them could manage. When it comes to speed, chipset matters.”

Although Sheth mentioned at the end of his tweet that ‘chipset matters’ and yet he hasn’t revealed the exact chipset the Realme 3 Pro will be powered by. However, at an announcement by the company last month, it was revealed that the devices will come with 48MP primary sensor. And since he compared the upcoming device with the Redmi Note 7 Pro which comes with the Snapdragon 675 SoC, which is one of the best mid-range CPUs.

Earlier, CEO Sheth had also shared some camera samples of the Realme 3 Pro. While two of them showed the camera performance of the rear mounted cameras, one was a sample from the front camera. Looking closely at the camera samples indicates that the Realme 3 Pro could have dedicated HDR support on the primary camera while the selfie camera’s resolution will be higher than 13MP. Since Realme 3 Pro will be the successor of the Realme 3 which had the MediaTek Helio P60/P70 chipset, it would be interesting to see what chipset the company is using on its latest smartphone. And since the device can support Fortnite which not many mid-range smartphones support could mean that the device would be optimised for gaming.

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Samsung Galaxy A20e with 3,000mAh battery, dual rear cameras launched: Here’s the complete list of specifications

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In yesterday’s ‘A Galaxy Event’, Samsung unveiled its new smartphones in the Galaxy A-series in three cities around the world – Bangkok, Sao Paolo and Milan. A day after the event, the company has unveiled a new device, Samsung Galaxy A20e in Poland which is a watered- down version of the Galaxy A20. The newly launched Samsung Galaxy A20e sports an Infinity-V display and comes with a dual-rear camera setup. The design and aesthetics of the Samsung Galaxy A20e is quite similar to the Samsung Galaxy A20. The Samsung Galaxy A20e has a poly-carbonate built and comes with a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Samsung Galaxy A20e price and availability

Even though the device has been launched, Samsung hasn’t said anything about the availability and the price of the device. Samsung Galaxy A20e comes in two colour options – Black and White.

Samsung Galaxy A20e specifications

Samsung Galaxy A20e sports a 5.8-inch HD+ (720 x 1560 pixels) TFT Infinity-V Display panel which is smaller than the original Galaxy A20 that comes with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display. The smartphone is powered by an octa-core Exynos 7884 SoC paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of inbuilt storage. Samsung Galaxy A20e also supports a microSD card for expandable storage. The device also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner similar to the Samsung Galaxy A20 and it packs a 3,000mAh battery with 15W fast charging technology support.

On the camera front, the Samsung Galaxy A20e comes with a dual-rear camera setup comprising of a 16MP primary sensor with an f/1.9 aperture clubbed with a 5MP secondary sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. While on the front, there is an 8MP selfie camera with an f/2.0 aperture.

Till now, there is no official comment about the availability or the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy A20e but it is expected to be cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy A20 which sells for Rs 12,490 in India.

galaxy a20
galaxy a20e

Talking about the Samsung Galaxy A20, it was launched in India last week and it sports a larger screen than the Samsung Galaxy A20e. It is also powered by the Exynos 7884 SoC coupled with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. The Galaxy A20 runs Android 9 skinned with One UI and it packs a larger battery of 4,000mAh with fast charging support.

Samsung Galaxy A20 also comes with dual-rear camera setup with a 13MP primary camera paired with a 5MP secondary camera. On the front, there is an 8MP camera.

galaxy a20e
galaxy a20e

Unlike the plastic build of Galaxy A20e, the Samsung Galaxy A20 comes with a ‘Glasstic’ built which is a combination of plastic and glass.

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Facebook rolls out new guidelines for groups, will limit reach for spreading fake news

Social media giant Facebook has announced some updated today in order to reduce the reach of harmful content on the platform. Among the most notable changes that have been introduced have been made to Groups. Going forward, the reach of Facebook Groups that “repeatedly share misinformation” will be reduced so that fewer number of people get to see content from them on their News Feed.

It is worth adding that this is an important change as at the time of 2016 US elections, it was the group pages that were used to distribute propaganda and misinformation.

Besides this, another change has been introduced to cut off low-quality publishers from users’ News Feeds. Facebook will now be measuring is the publisher is only popular on its platform or is well-read otherwise too. And the platform will take this into consideration to determine whether or not they deserve News Feed promotion. This will let Facebook decide whether a publisher is valued at a broad level or if it has just figured out how to rank well on the News Feed.

Furthermore, Facebook is making changes around fact checking stories. While the Associated Press will be checking facts for some videos in the US, Facebook will be adding ‘Trust Indicators’ for users. These indicators will come from The Trust Project, that is a group which is built by news organisations that make those determinations.

After 2016 elections, Facebook has been working to remove misinformation and propaganda from its platform. It has launched its fact-checking tools, limiting the spread of stories that can cause problems, and flagging news as fake. Today, Facebook has added the following new changes to its platform:

  • Expanding the News Feed Context Button to images.
  • Adding Trust Indicators to the News Feed Context Button on English and Spanish content.
  • Adding more information to the Facebook Page Quality tab.
  • Allowing people to remove their posts and comments from a Facebook Group after they leave the group.
  • Combatting impersonations by bringing the Verified Badge from Facebook into Messenger.
  • Launching Messaging Settings and an Updated Block feature on Messenger for greater control.
  • Launched Forward Indicator and Context Button on Messenger to help prevent the spread of misinformation

Speaking on this development, Facebook said in a blog post, “For the past two years, for example, we’ve been working on something called the Safe Communities Initiative, with the mission of protecting people from harmful groups and harm in groups. By using a combination of the latest technology, human review and user reports, we identify and remove harmful groups, whether they are public, closed or secret. We can now proactively detect many types of violating content posted in groups before anyone reports them and sometimes before few people, if any, even see them.”

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Redmi Y3 with 32MP selfie camera teased to launch in India soon

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Last month, we mentioned that Xiaomi may be working on the next iteration of its Redmi Y-series smartphones. Following that report, there were many news and leaks about the Redmi Y3 being in development. And now, the Redmi Y3 has been teased to launch in India soon.

Although the Redmi Y3 hasn’t even been officially announced yet, but teases and leaks about the device has been popping up in China and on the internet as well. So, it may be a possibility that the company may be gearing up to launch the Redmi Y3 in India and in China at the same time. According to some teasers by Xiaomi, the Redmi Y3 will sport a 32MP selfie camera.

Earlier today, the Redmi India’s official Twitter handle shared a video with the hashtag ‘#YYY’ which indicates that the Y-series device might be launched sooner than we expected. The video hints that the Redmi Y3 will have a big battery, and the tweet reads “You never run out of juice. Y should your phone? #YYY. How long does your phone last on a single charge?”

Also, a video was posted on the same Twitter handle with the Xiaomi’s India Chief Manu Kumar Jain taking selfies with a ‘new upcoming Redmi phone’. Jain also confirmed that he took 32 selfies with his colleagues, which further hints about the Redmi Y3’s 32MP selfie camera. The video ends with the message ‘Stay Tuned an exciting message is coming your way soon’ which reveals the upcoming Redmi Y3 smartphone.

While in China, the Redmi General Manager Lu Weibing took to Weibo to confirm that a 32MP selfie camera Redmi phone is indeed in works. He also asked the users to guess the name of the phone. The 32MP selfie camera will be the Redmi Y3’s main focus point similar to the Redmi Y2, which was also a selfie-centric device with 16MP front camera. But since the Redmi Y2 had the name of Redmi S2 in China so the upcoming Redmi Y3 could be launched with the name of Redmi S3 in the Chinese market.

The 32MP camera of the Redmi Y3 can be Samsung’s 32-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GD1 image sensor. The Samsung’s 32MP sensor was announced last year in October 2018 alongside the 48-megapixel ISOCELL Bright GM1 sensor which was used in the Chinese variant of the Redmi Note 7.

Furthermore, tipster Ishan Agarwal also mentioned that the Redmi Y3 is an upcoming device to be launched in India. Earlier, the Redmi Y3 was also spotted on the Wi-Fi Alliance listing last month running Android 9.0 Pie skinned with MIUI 10. But all the leaks and teases aside, there is no official launch date of the device in China or in India yet.

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Google’s Currents app launched for G Suite users as a replacement for Google+

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At the beginning of this month, Google finally killed off its social networking website – Google+. However, it seems like the company already had a Plan B ready before it bid farewell to Google+. The search giant has rolled out an app specifically for its G Suite users called Currents.

The company has said that the newly launched app “enables people to have meaningful discussions and interactions across your organization, helping keep everyone in the know and giving leaders the opportunity to connect with their employees.”

According to Google, Currents has a fresh look and feel about itself, as compared to Google+. The app is said to be designed in a way that it makes it easier for users to post content and tag it quickly. You can add people from your own company to Currents and the app will automatically give more priority to posts from your firm’s top executives in order to make sure that all employees get to see them.

As of now, Google’s Currents app is available in beta, and the search giant has said that G Suite companies can request access for it. Furthermore, people’s or company’s Google+ posts will be transferred automatically to the Currents app. However, it is worth adding here that these would only be from Google+ accounts linked to G Suite, not the personal ones.

It is also worth noticing that Google has recycled Currents name, as it was earlier a magazine app that was a predecessor of Google Play Newsstand. Later, of course, Google Play Newsstand itself got replaced by Google News.

To introduce the app to the world, Google has said on its blog post, “Currents is replacing Google+ for G Suite, and has a new look, feel, and set of features. All of your organization’s existing Google+ content will automatically transfer to Currents once you are enrolled in the beta.”

It also added that this move will affect both end users as well as admins.

Google also placed emphasis on how the network is meant to connect with people working in the same company as you. It said, “Currents connects employees to useful and timely content that is personalized to their role and interests. Giving employees access to relevant content keeps them connected to the organization and creates more learning opportunities.”

Speaking on the same top, it further added, “Content in the home stream is ordered by relevance so it’s prioritized for what is most important to that individual, or users can choose to sort it chronologically.”

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