Facebook adds support for photos and videos to its ‘Life Events’ feature: Here’s how to use the updated feature

Social networking giant Facebook has revamped its ‘Life Events’ feature. The updated feature can now include photos and videos of other people or pages tagged. To be more specific, till now you could only share your life events such as getting a new job or announcing your engagement on Facebook, and going forward you will be able to spruce up these posts with images and videos relating to the life event too. With its Life Event feature, Facebook attempts to make its users’ digital life similar to real life. As Product Manager of Facebook David Harris puts it, Just as they are in real life, life events on Facebook are distinguished from other everyday moments. To ensure these moments stand out, even more, we’re redesigning this feature to give you more ways to commemorate your life events and help your friends see these important milestones”. He further added, “The photos and videos in your post also include subtle animations, like slowly zooming in. Just as before, when you create a new life event, you can include an icon to represent your update.” In case you don’t have an image for a particular life event,  you would be able to select from a plethora of artwork on Facebook to share in your post. The feature would be soon available in iOS, Android and Desktop. For those who don’t know how to create a life event on Facebook, here’s how to do it:
  1. Go to your profile and click on ‘Whats on your mind?’. Then select Life Event from options underneath.
  2. A list of life event categories would appear for you to choose from. They are Work and Education, Family and Relationships, Home and Living, Health and Wellness, Travel and Experiences. Select the life event you wish to share on Facebook.
  3. This opens up a text field and a space for adding pictures. You would be able to choose from animated art on Facebook or from pictures in your camera roll.
  4. Following this, write a description of your choice.
  5. You can choose whom you want to show the Life Event with the help of the privacy button on the social networking platform.
  6. Click on save and the event would be added to your timeline and it will also get automatically shared on your friends’ news feed unless you opt to otherwise
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Google Shopping rolled out in India: 7 things you should know

Technology giant Google has launched its Shopping service in India and has promised that it would make the shopper’s online shopping experience easier and quicker. Much like Amazon and Flipkart, it will be acting as a connector between retailers and consumers. Google Shopping has regular options which enable users to review prices from multiple retailers and filter through various offers available, but there are also some things that are different. Here’s everything that you should know about Google’s newly launched Shopping service in India:

Google Shopping will help you find the best deals

online shopping 6 Google Shopping curates pricing of a particular product and offers available on it from multiple retailers. What’s more, the results will include products from merchants and sellers who have registered with Google as well as from e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Myntra. So users will be able to find where they are getting the best possible deal on the product they wish to buy. Besides this, Google has a sub-section section of Top Deals for every category of products. This shows various products the user may be interested in that are available on a discount.

The shopping experience will be personalised for each user

online shopping 5 Google has claimed that the shopping experience via its new service will be unique for every user. When we used the new service, we saw a dedicated section name ‘Picks for you.’ This section had the products the search giant though we may be interested in, along with a sub-section called ‘Top Deals’. It is worth noticing that Google has divided picks for its users according to various categories. So when you open the Home Page, you may see Google’s picks for you in Electronics and some picks in Books on scrolling a bit down. In our experience, we saw the items we have most searched for on top.

You can access Google’s Shopping service across all your devices

online shopping 4 One very good aspect of Google Shopping is that there isn’t a dedicated app of Chrome extension that you need to download to access it. There is a Shopping tab that Google has added to its Search, there is a separate Google Shopping Home Page and users can also access the shopping service via Google Lens.

There are different categories to choose from

google shopping As of now, there are 10 categories of products that shoppers can choose from in Google Shopping including Cell Phones, Speakers Headphones and Headsets, Men’s Clothing, Women’s Clothing, Books, Watches, Makeup, Personal Care, Appliances and Home Decor.

You will get a wider variety of products

online shopping 2 As we mentioned earlier, not only does Google Shopping curate results from merchants who have registered with it, but also from other online shopping websites. So, if you search for a particular product, you will automatically see results from other shopping sites on one single place, which means you don’t have to search for it separately anywhere. And needless to say, the search results that you will get will be far more than what you can get on any e-commerce website. Furthermore, merchants don’t require to run ad campaigns or pay a fee to list their products on Google Shopping. So, it becomes an obvious choice for them to opt for it.

Customers will be able to see trending products

Google’s shopping service will show customers what products are trending across different categories and various deals that can be availed on buying those products.

Transactions and delivery of products will be handled by merchants

online transaction We should mention that Google shopping just a connector between retailers and shoppers. If you choose to buy something from Google Shopping, the merchant you are buying from would handle the transactions and delivery of products. For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. [td_smart_list_end]

Huawei Nova 4 Honey Red gradient colour option teaser leaked

Huawei has shared a teaser of its upcoming Nova 4 smartphone which showcases the back panel of the handset. The teaser shows that Huawei Nova 4 smartphone has a gradient finished back which has Red and Purple colours. The company has decided to call this colour variant of Huawei Nova 4 as Honey Red. The teaser also shows that the device has a fingerprint sensor embedded on its rear panel, which also houses the vertically stacked triple camera. The teaser reminded the customers of Huawei Nova 4’s – 17th December. The triple camera setup of Huawei Nova 4 will reportedly consist of a 20MP sensor, a 16MP sensor and a 2MP sensor. Reports have also suggested that the most ‘high-end’ version of the device will come with a 48MP sensor instead of the 20MP one. As of now, there is no clarity on the RAM and storage configurations of the ‘most high-end’ variant of Huawei Nova 4. Most reports suggest that the smartphone will have 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, but an earlier listing claimed the presence of 6GB RAM in the device. A recent leak by Weibo has revealed some of its specs. The Huawei Nova 4 is expected to sport a 6.4-inch full-HD+ display that will come with an aspect ratio of 19.25:9. It will reportedly be powered by a HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC clubbed with 8GB RAM and 128 internal storage. The about-to-launch smartphone is said to house a 3900mAh battery, come with support for dual-SIM cards and have 156.47×74.8×8.2mm dimensions. Other sensors on the upcoming Huawei Nove 4 will include Light sensor, Proximity sensor, Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, Compass. The smartphone’s images have also been spotted in TENNA list which has confirmed that it will house the selfie camera in a punch-hole-cut-out at the top-left hand corner of its display. According to the listing, Huawei Nova 4 will run Android 8.1 Oreo version. The Huawei Nova 4 will be one of the first smartphones to sport a display hole for selfie camera. The first ever smartphone to launch with a display hole was Samsung Galaxy A8s. Once the Nova 4 is out in the market it would hopefully give a good competition to the Samsung Galaxy A8s. It would be intriguing to see how consumers respond to the product. Let’s stay tuned. Image courtesy: Weibo
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This country may see the ban of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR

American chipmaker Qualcomm has asked courts in China to put a ban on the sales of Apple’s iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR models in the country. The company has won a preliminary injunction against older models of iPhone and only asked the court for the extension of the ban after its victory. To recall, on Monday a court in China had ordered to ban the sales of some older Apple’s iPhone models because the Cupertino-based technology giant has violated Qualcomm’s two patents. It is worth noticing that prior to the judgement, most intellectual property lawyers thought of the potential ban as just an instant threat. The case was filed by Qualcomm and it is a part of the global patent dispute between the two companies and it includes a number of lawsuits. Post the judgement, Qualcomm wants the ban to be extended to the latest models of iPhones, that was launched in September this year. Qualcomm is being represented by Jiang Hongyi, a lawyer at Lexfield Law Offices, in its patent suits. Hongyi confirmed that Qualcomm wants to get the ban extended to iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR in the country to Financial Times saying, “We plan to use the same patents to file suit against the three new iPhone models.” However, Apple seems to have not given up on this matter yet. The Cupertino based technology giant said on Monday after the judgement was passed that its phone models are still on sale in mainland China and went on to say that it has filed a request for reconsideration with the court. It is worth noticing that this is the very first step in an appeal process that may be very long and can actually be taken to China’s Supreme Court. The company also states that its latest iPhones – iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR (review) – are not a part of the ongoing case in China. We should point out that Apple would take this ban extremely seriously considering the fact that China, Hong Kong and Taiwan accounted for around a fifth of Apple’s $265.6 billion in sales in the last fiscal year.
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Bitcoin scammers are sending bomb threats to demand ransoms

Spammers have reportedly threatened business, schools and other places with bomb explosions in order to force them to pay Bitcoins. The police is in the countries that have been threatened is being cautious and it has people about these threats. People have also been asked to report to the police if any suspicious article is found in any location. But then, till now the police hasn’t found any evidence of the bomb explosives and the possibility of threats being fake is being considered. The threats have been made in the US, Canada, New Zealand and some other English-speaking countries and investigations have been carried out ubiquitously. The spammers have made these threats via email. One of the emails printed by the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa has the subject line “Do not waste your time”. In the said email, the sender is asking Bitcoins worth $20,000 saying that a man has already carried an explosive device to the building where the business is conducted and he will detonate the bomb if he sees any kind of unusual behaviour or if the police get involved. The email further states that for the senders, this isn’t anything personal and they are doing it for business purposes only. The email continues to say, “If the explosive device detonates and the authorities see this letter: We are not terrorists and don’t [sic] assume any liability for explosions in other places.” It is worth noticing that the explosive device varies from one email to another, and does the Bitcoin wallet address. The spammers may have chosen to have different wallets in order to verify which targets have paid the Bitcoins demanded. Currently, the police are unaware of how many places this threat has been imposed and how many people have confirmed to the threat by paying ransoms. Until now one threat has been noted in the UK, but it is dubious of that being related to this scam. Five Toronto stations have been shut down due to bomb threats. Many buildings have been evacuated which includes schools, hospitals, Call of Duty game developer Infinity Ward and the ‘News and Observer’. The FBI has said, “we are aware of recent bomb threats made in cities around the country, and we remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety.” After receiving a threat from an anonymous caller, the Columbine High School was closed yesterday. Police have found several places where threats have been given and is continuing its investigations in the same regard. They have also been testifying the credibility of these threats and updating people about their work through tweets.
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Google takes on Flipkart and Amazon with its Shopping service in India

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E-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart have a brand new competitor in the Indian market and it’s none other than technology giant Google. The company has unveiled ‘Google Shopping’ in India that promises to ease online shopping experience by enabling users to review prices from multiple retailers, filter through various offers available online and quickly find products that they are looking for. The experience will be a personalised one for each shopper and will be available across all Google products. So shoppers can go to Google Shopping home page, a dedicated Shopping tab on Google Search or shop via Google Lens on their devices. The service will also enable customers to see products that are trending across different categories and various deals that are available with them. So, users will be able to select the best deal available on a particular product because prices and offers from various retailers will be curated in one single place. The service also benefits retailers, as the technology giant’s ‘Merchant Center’ will allow them to list their products on Google Shopping without paying for ad campaigns. Google’s Merchant Center is also available in Hindi. Speaking about Google Shopping, Google Vice President Product Management Surojit Chatterjee was quoted saying, “India has over 400 million internet users. However, only one-third of these have shopped online and that number includes those buying railway tickets online. From seasoned desktop shoppers to first-time users with entry-level smartphones, we hope this new shopping experience will make finding what people are looking for just a little bit easier.” He explained the concept of Google Shopping further by saying that it will act as a connector between retailers and consumers, but transactions and delivery of products will be handled by the merchants. Chatterjee further added, “There are an estimated 58 million small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India, of which 35 per cent are engaged in retail trade. However, a very small number of them have an online presence, this is a huge opportunity for retailers to surface their merchandise to the millions of online consumers.” He also said that with Google Shopping, the company eyes to support the entire retail ecosystem including online shopping websites, large retailers, small local shops by providing them with tools, technology and scale to bloom in the digital economy. What makes it even better for merchants is the act that they wouldn’t have to pay any fee for listing their products on Google Shopping. If you are a consumer, you can go to the Shopping tab in Google Search to see various prices of the product you are searching for from different retailers. If you are using Google Lens to shop, then you can look for products like clothes, furniture, and home decor under the ‘Style Search’ option.
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TRAI makes the process of mobile number portability faster

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If you have been planning to port your mobile phone number, here’s some good news for you. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made some amendments to Mobile Number Portability (MNP) regulations that were being followed till now. The amendments have been made to make the process of portability easier and quicker for people. According to the Mobile Number Portability regulations, the timeline for porting a mobile number within the same circle or ‘Intra-Licensed Service Area (Intra-LSA)’ is two days. However, if you are getting your number ported to a different circle or ‘Inter-Licensed Service Area (Inter-LSA)’, the limit is four days. The new regulations also state that if a telecom operator gives any misinformation about portability or wrongfully reject any portability request, it would have to pay a penalty of up to Rs 10,000. The stricter norms should definitely make it easier for users to get their mobile numbers ported. TRAI has been quoted saying, “If any access provider or mobile number portability service provider contravenes the provisions… (it shall) be liable to pay an amount, by way of financial disincentive not exceeding Rs 10,000 for each wrongful rejection of the request for porting.” That’s not all. The regulator has decreased the validity period of Unique Porting Code (UPC) from 15 days to four days. This rule applies to all Licensed Service Areas (LSA) except the ones in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and North-East. In LSAs situated in these states, the validity for UPC still happens to be 15 days. Changes have also been made to regulations regarding corporate porting. Till now, there was a limit of 50 numbers in a single authorization letter. However, now that has been increased to 100 numbers per authorization letter. Speaking further on the matter, TRAI said, “Post implementation of this regulation (amendment), appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) parameters will be devised by the authority to monitor the role of MNPSPs (Mobile Number Portability Service Providers) and Access Providers in the new scenario.” The amendments made by the regulator are surely in favour of the customers, for whom it will now be easier to port numbers. We will have to wait to see how the new regulations are implemented.
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How to authorise a computer on iTunes

There are many benefits of authorising your computer on iTunes. On authorising your Mac or PC, you basically enable your device to access apps, music, movies, audiobooks and other content. And it is very simple to authorise your device on iTunes. It is worth noticing that if you want to authorise a computer in iTunes, it can only be done via iTunes on that particular computer only. You can’t use iTunes on any other device for it. Read our step-by-step guide to authorise your computer on iTunes:  
  1. Open iTunes and sign in with your Apple ID
  2. There will be several menu bars out of which you need to select ‘Account’
  3. Once you go to ‘Account’ there will be a list of options appearing. Select the option of ‘Authorisations’ in the dropdown menu.
  4. This will further open up more options. Among them, you need to choose ‘Authorise This Computer’.
  For both Windows and Mac users, the process is the same, however, if you are a Windows user and you don’t see the menu bar appearing, press Ctrl+B on your keyboards.   You can authorise up to 5 computers, which means that you will be able to access your content in five different computers. It is also necessary that one checks the number of authorisations so here are the steps for you to follow how to do it:  
  1. Just like earlier open iTunes and sign in with your Apple ID.
  2. If you are a Mac user, go to the Menu Bar and select ‘Account’ and choose the ‘View My Account’ option. The steps are the same for Windows users too, but in case they don’t see the menu bar, they can press Ctrl+B on their device’s keyboard.
  3. Now enter your password and then press Return or Enter key on your keyboard. You may alternatively have to click ‘View Account’.
  4. In the Apple ID summary sections, you can find the number of accounts you have logged in with or the number of computers which are authorised. It is worth noticing that this section will only appear once you authorise two or more computers.
  5. In case you see more number of computers than you expected, then you can deauthorise all computers and reauthorise the ones you are still using.
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MediaTek Helio P90 with Google Lens and enhanced AI capabilities unveiled

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Just two months after the launch of its Helio P70 SoC, chipmaker MediaTek has launched its successor. Called Helio P90, the new chipset is claimed to enhance the AI performance of devices and comes with a faster CPU. The new chip by Mediatek has support for Google Lens and ARCore. The company has said that MediaTek Helio P90 is built on TSMC 12nm FinFET process and is expected to be seen in devices that will be launched in Q1 2019. Compared to the predecessor of the chipset, all the key power units of Helio P90 SoC are improved. The CPU cluster of the processor is different from its predecessor and they aim to optimize the device better. The company has also claimed that the new processor makes the AI functionalities of the smartphone more accurate and improves the camera capabilities too. The chipset is likely to get featured in mid-range smartphones in the upcoming year. TL Lee, General Manager at MediaTek was quoted saying that among the important updates are support for 480 fps slow-mo videos and triple ISP for RAW images. He also said that the AI shots taken by the smartphone in lowly-light areas would be better with the new processor. The GPU of the chipset has also been changed. Helio P90 processor comes with IMG PowerVR GM9446 at 970 MHz and it has been claimed that the GPU would enhance the gaming performance of the device by 15% as compared to the Mali-G72 MP3 that was used in Helio P60 and Helio P70 chipsets. MediaTek has also partnered with technology giant Google, so developers can make use of the AR and MR accelerations of the new mobile platform to make applications using frameworks like TensorFlow, TF Lite, Caffe and Caffee that are based on MediaTek’s NeuroPilot SDK. It is worth noticing that earlier this month, American chipmaker Qualcomm also launched its Snapdragon 855 mobile platform, which promises to enhance the AI capabilities of smartphones. The key feature of the new processor is its support for 5G connectivity. We are expecting to see the processor in almost all major Android flagships that will be launched next year.
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Micromax’s ‘notched’ smartphone with dual rear cameras to launch on December 18

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Last month Micromax announced its first Google-certified Android television in India and now, the home-grown consumer electronics maker is all set to introduce a new smartphone in the country. It will be the first-ever smartphone by the company to sport a notch on its display. Considering the most smartphones by Micromax fall in the budget segment, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that the notch design phone will fall in the same category too. Micromax is planning to unveil the device in India on December 18 and the company has sent a save-the-date invite to members of tech press in the country. The poster has an outline of the smartphone that is set to be launched and it shows curved corners of the device along with a notch on the display. It is worth noticing that while waterdrop-shaped notch has garnered a lot of popularity off late, the on the smartphone in Micromax’s poster is like the notches we have seen on iPhones. We should also point out that Micromax has tweeted about its upcoming device along with a teaser image that shows a notch on the top of the smartphone’s display. Along with the tweet, Micromax has used the hashtag #AboveTheRest and it is being speculated that this could point towards the device being unveiled in a new lineup by the company. The teaser image of the smartphone shared by the company says, “Does the powerful excite you?” Another tweet by Micromax says shows a notched smartphone with a dual rear camera setup and an LED flash on its back panel. Along with the tweet, the company has written, “The countdown is on.” A different hashtag has been used with this tweet – #NotchAboveTheRest. https://twitter.com/Micromax_Mobile/status/1073208079368413184 As of now, no details about the upcoming Micromax smartphone have surfaced online, so we would have to wait till we have more to tell you. The handset will be Micromax’s seventh smartphone to launch in 2018. It is worth noticing that the company had previously said that it plans to launch 13 smartphones between September 2018 and March 2019. The last smartphone to be launched by the company was Micromax Bharat 5 Infinity Edition which sports an 18:9 FullView display, runs Android Ore (Go Edition) and houses a 5,000mAh battery. Before Bharat 5 Infinity Edition, the handset maker had launched its Micromax Spark Go smartphone that featured a 5-inch FWVGA display, packed a 2,000mAh battery and was powered by Android Oreo (Go Edition).
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Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 6 and Nokia 5 start receiving December security update

HMD global has started releasing the security update of Nokia 6, Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 5. According to the changelog of the said devices, the security update for Nokia 8 Sirocco is 80MB in size and for Nokia 5 and Nokia 6, it is 100MB. It is worth noticing that Android 9.0 Pie hasn’t yet been rolled out for the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6. The same goes for Nokia 8 Sirocco, even though it is a flagship device. However, since HMD global has started a public Beta test of Android 9.0 Pie for Nokia 8, it will probably receive the update soon. Nokia’s site security update tracker–from where people check the when their phone’s update would come–has become obsolete because it shows update only until 13th November. The site was previously very useful to people as they could check for updates from time to time. Speaking of the features of the aforementioned phone, Nokia 5 sports a 13MP main camera and an 8MP selfie camera, houses a 3000mAh battery and comes with a 5.2 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen. And Nokia 6 has a display screen of 5.5 inches, an 8MP selfie camera and 16MP main camera. The smartphone houses a battery of 3000mAh. Speaking of Nokia 8 Sirocco, it comes with 6GB RAM, is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, and features a 5.5-inch QHD pOLED display, and a 3260mAh battery. Recently, HMD Global launched its much-awaited Nokia 8.1 in India. The smartphone sports dual rear cameras with 12MP and 13MP sensors and Zeiss optics and has a 6.18-inch PureDisplay. Unlike the aforementioned devices, the brand new Nokia 8.1 was launched with the latest version of Android 9.0 Pie. The newly launched Nokia 8.1 it comes with a Snapdragon 710 processor and is available with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage  The screen, which is 6.18-inch, comes with an aspect ratio of 18.7:9. The smartphone can support microSD cards of up to 400GB and houses a 3,500mAh battery.
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Xiaomi Redmi 6A price slashed, now available starting Rs 5,999

Xiaomi has reduced the price of its smartphone, Redmi 6A. The company had increased the price of its smartphone last month to Rs 6,599 and Rs 7,999 for the base model and 32GB variant respectively. Now with the wake of 2018, it has again revised back the price back to what it was originally – Rs 5,999 for 16GB model and Rs 6,999 for its 32GB variant. You can buy the smartphone at its ‘discounted’ price via Amazon India, Xiaomi’s official website and Mi Home stores.   Speaking about the specifications of Xiaomi Redmi 6A smartphone,  it has a 5.45-inch HD+ display with a resolution of 720×1440 pixels and an aspect ratio of 18:9. The smartphone houses a 3,000mAh battery and sports a 13MP primary camera and 5MP selfie camera. Connectivity options of the smartphone include 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, dual SIM card slots and GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB port. Xiaomi Redmi 6A runs Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with MIUI and is powered by a MediaTek Helio A22 SoC clubbed with 2GB RAM. It comes with 16GB/32GB internal storage and can hold a microSD card of up to 256GB.  The smartphone houses a 3,000mAh battery.   The increase in price occurred due to the depreciation of the rupee value which happened a month back. The value of the Indian currency depreciated by 15 percent compared to the dollar.   Commenting on the price cut of Redmi 6A, Xiaomi has been quoted said, “Extending our celebrations further post festive season while ending the year on an exciting note, we are thrilled to announce that our Redmi 6A will witness a price drop, going back to the original price. Redmi 6A will now be available at its initial price of INR 5,999 for 2GB+16GB variant and INR 6,999 for 2GB+32GB variant. The new prices are effective from 13 December 12 Noon onwards across all platforms.”   Speaking further about the pricing of its products, Xiaomi said that the costs of its products have been genuine and it claims that its customers are very satisfied with them.  
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This is how much all the models of Samsung Galaxy S10 will cost

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Samsung Galaxy S10 is surely among the most awaited smartphones of 2019. Reports and rumours about the smartphone lineup have been surfacing online for weeks now. The South Korean technology giant’s upcoming flagship lineup will reportedly come with four variants and among these, one is a 10th-anniversary model. A fresh report in Gizmodo UK has surfaced which reveals the pricing details of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphones. The report cites a source at a “major tech retailer” and talks about three models of Samsung Galaxy S10. According to the report, Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite will come with a 5.8-inch display and 128GB onboard storage will bear a price tag of GBP 669 in the UK. On converting this to Indian currency, it becomes approximately Rs 60,500. It is worth noticing that the reported cost is lower than Samsung Galaxy S9, which was launched in the UK at a starting price of GBP 739 (approximately Rs 66,800). Speaking of the regular Samsung Galaxy S10 model, it is expected to sport a 6.1-inch screen and according to the report, the 128GB variant of the mobile phone will bear a price tag of GBP 799 (approximately Rs 72,200), and the 512GB storage model will cost GBP 999 (approximately Rs 90,300). Coming to 128GB model of Samsung Galaxy S10+, it is being said that it will go on sale in the UK at GBP 899 (approximately Rs 81,200), and the 512GB model of the same smartphone will be available for purchase at GBP 1,099 (approximately Rs 99,300). But that’s not all. The report in Gizmodo UK also speaks about the 1TB variant of Samsung Galaxy S10+, which will reportedly be available in the UK GBP 1,399 (approximately Rs 1,26,400). There is a possibility that this is the special 10th-anniversary edition Galaxy S10 model that is reported to sport a 6.7-inch display and feature six cameras. The special edition Samsung Galaxy S10 may also come with 5G connectivity. According to Gizmodo UK, Samsung will be launching its upcoming flagship lineup at a dedicated event that will be held right before the Mobile World Congress 2019 begins. To be more precise, the Samsung Unpacked event is reportedly scheduled for February 20. Other features of the upcoming lineup will include an Infinity-O Display, an on-screen fingerprint scanner and the ability to wirelessly charge other devices. The last feature we mentioned is reportedly named as Powershare.
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Best smartphones of 2018

With the year coming to an end, we have listed down the best smartphones that were launched. These include smartphones across all price segments – be it premium, mid-range or entry level. If you have been planning to treat yourself with a smartphone as the year ends, you can pick one among these options:

iPhone XR

September saw the launch of Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup. Besides, iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, the Cupertino based technology giant launched the iPhone XR, which is supposed to be its affordable variant. iPhone XR features a 6.1-inch LCD screen and comes with a 12MP wide angle rear camera. The smartphone is available in three storage options — 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. Its battery life is said to be 1.5 hours more than that of iPhone 8 Plus. Powered by A12 Bionic processor, iPhone XR runs iOS 12 software.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

galaxy-note-9 Samsung Galaxy Note 9 features a 6.4-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display and is powered by Exynos 9810 processor. The device is available in 6GB RAM/128GB storage and 8GB RAM/512GB storage options. Users can also install a microSD of up to 512GB. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 houses a 4,000mAh battery and sports a dual rear camera setup that has a 12MP wide-angle autofocus sensor and a 12MP telephoto autofocus sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is an 8MP autofocus sensor. The Android 8.1 Oreo-based smartphone comes with an upgraded S Pen and supports Dex. Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s starting price in India is Rs 67,900.

Google Pixel 3 XL

Google’s flagship of the year sports a 5.5-inch FHD+ flexible OLED display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Google Pixel 3 comes with 4GB of RAM, Adreno 630 GPU and is available in 64GB and 128GB storage options. The smartphone runs Android 9.0 Pie out of the box and is touted to come with Pixel Visual core and Titan M Security Module. For imaging duties, Google Pixel 3 features a 12.2MP dual pixel single rear camera that has support for features like autofocus with dual phase detection, OIS, EIS and spectral & flicker sensor. The smartphone comes with dual front cameras with an 8MP wide-angle sensor and an 8MP secondary sensor with 75-degree field-of-view. It is available in India at a starting price of Rs 71,000.

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei Mate 20 Pro runs Android 9.0 Pie skinned with EMUI 9.0 and sports a 6.39-inch QHD+ curved OLED display. The smartphone comes with an in-display fingerprint sensor and is powered by the company’s flagship HiSilicon Kirin 980 processor clubbed with 6GB RAM. Huawei Mate 20 Pro offers 128GB storage and can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB. Huawei Mate 20 Pro features a triple rear camera setup that is comprised of a 40MP primary wide-angle sensor, a 20MP ultra wide angle sensor, and an 8MP 3X telephoto sensor. For selfies and video calls, the smartphone houses a 24MP RGB selfie camera that supports 3D facial unlocking. Huawei’s latest flagship houses a 4,200mAh battery that supports 40W SuperCharge technology and wireless reverse charging, which enables it to be used to charge other Qi wireless devices. In India, the smartphone is priced at Rs 69,990.

OnePlus 6T

OnePlus 6T phone OnePlus 6T is surely among the most popular smartphones of the year. The smartphone is available in 6GB and 8GB of RAM and comes in 128GB and 256GB storage options. OnePlus 6T’s starting price in India is Rs 37,999 and it boasts of features like 6.41-inch optic AMOLED display, Snapdragon 845 processor with Adreno 630 GPU, a 16MP selfie camera and 3,700mAh battery. The smartphone has the same set of dual rear cameras as OnePlus 6 but comes with additional modes. OnePlus 6T comes with a waterdrop-style notch on its display and the Android 9.0 Pie based smartphone has an on-screen fingerprint sensor.

Asus Zenfone 5Z

Asus zenfone 5z The next one on our list is Asus’ answer to OnePlus 6 that was launched earlir this year. Asus Zenfone 5Z has a 6.2-inch full HD+ IPS display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor clubbed with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. The smartphone is available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB storage options. Asus Zenfone 5Z’s base model in India costs Rs 29,999 and the most high-end one bears a price tag of Rs 36,999.

Vivo NEX

With Vivo NEX, we saw a very futuristic looking smartphone by the Chinese smartphone brand that came with an almost full-screen experience and had a pop-up selfie camera. The smartphone is among the first few which ditched the notch and it sports a 6.59-inch FHD+ super AMOLED ‘Ultra Fullview’ display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset clubbed with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. Vivo NEX sports a dual rear camera setup with 12MP and 5MP sensors and has an 8MP selfie camera. The smartphone is priced at Rs 44,990 in India.

Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018)

Samsung Galaxy A9 The world’s first smartphone to come with four rear cameras, Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) is available at a starting price of Rs 36,990. Among the key features of the smartphone are its 24MP+10MP+8MP+5MP rear cameras, a 24MP selfie camera, 6.3-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display and its 3,800mAh battery.

Nokia 6.1 Plus

Priced at Rs 15, 999, Nokia 6.1 Plus is surely among the best budget smartphones we saw this year. The Android 8.1 Ore-based handset comes with a 5.8-inch full-HD+ display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor clubbed with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The smartphone by Nokia comes with 16MP+5MP dual rear cameras and a 16MP selfie camera. It houses a 3,060mAh battery.

Moto G6

This one is another good budget option you can consider buying. Moto G6 comes at a starting price of Rs 13,999 and sports a 5.7-inch FHD+ IPS touchscreen. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 CPU, the smartphone comes with either 3GB or 4GB RAM and is available in 32GB and 64GB storage options. Moto G6 features 12MP + 5MP dual rear cameras and houses a 3,000mAh battery.

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1

Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1 If you want a smartphone with a big battery, then Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 is the right choice for you. The smartphone is available in 3GB RAM/ 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage options and comes at a starting price of Rs 10,999. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 sports a 5.99-inch full-HD+ IPS Full View display and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor. The key highlight of the device is its 5,000mAh battery.

Honor 8X

Honor 8X is another budget smartphone that you can consider. It is available with 4GB or 6GB RAM and comes in 64GB and 128GB inbuilt storage options and the base model costs Rs 14,999. The smartphone sports a 6.5-inch fullView display and is powered by an octa-core HiSilicon Kirin 710 processor. Honor 8X comes with dual AI camera setup on its back panel with 20MP and 2MP sensors.

Honourable mention: iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max

Apple iPhone XS Apple’s flagship smartphones feature an OLED HDR Super Retina display and are powered by the A12 Bionic processor. While the display of iPhone XS is 5.8-inch in size, iPhone XS Max sports a 6.5-inch screen. The smartphones come with a dual rear camera setup with a 12MP wide-angle lens and a 12MP telephoto lens. There is also a 7MP TrueDepth camera for selfies. The new iPhones are available in 64GB, 128GB, and 512GB  storage options and run iOS 12. While the cost of iPhone XS starts at Rs 99,900 in India, iPhone XS Max is available at a starting price of Rs 109,900. For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. [td_smart_list_end]

Flipkart Honor Days Sale: Discounts available on Honor 10, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 9i and more

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor and e-commerce giant Flipkart are holding the Honor Days Sale, which begins today and will go on till December 16.  As a part of Honor Days Sale, six smartphones by the company can be bought at discounted prices on Flipkart. These include Honor smartphones in the budget as well as the premium segment. Prices of Honor 10, Honor 9i, Honor 9 Lite, Honor 9N, Honor 7S, and Honor 7A smartphones have been reduced for this week and the discounts on the handsets range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 8,000. It is worth noticing that the two companies also collaborated earlier this year to offer discounts to customers with Honor Days Sale. The previous sale by the two companies was scheduled from November 26 to November 29. Let’s start talking about the offers that are available on Honor mobiles on Flipkart. Honor 10 smartphone, which is normally priced at Rs 32,999, can be bought at Rs 24,999 during the Flipkart Honor Days Sale. The smartphone has a discount of Rs 8,000 on its original price. Honor 9i smartphone is also available at a reduced price on the e-commerce website. While it was earlier priced at Rs 14,999, it can be picked up at Rs 11,999 till Sunday this week. The price of Honor 9i has been slashed by Rs 3,000 by the company for the said time period. Honor 9 Lite comes in two storage variants. While one comes with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage, the other has 4GB RAM and packs 64GB of onboard storage. The former is priced at Rs 14,999, while the latter costs Rs 10,999. But during the sale, they can be bought at Rs 11,999 and Rs 9,999 respectively. You can also buy the Honor 9N smartphone at a reduced priced during the Flipkart Honor Days Sale. Normally, the 3GB RAM/32GB storage model of the smartphone costs Rs 11,999 and the 4GB RAM/64GB storage variant is priced at Rs 13,999. This week, you can buy the two models at Rs 8,999 and Rs 10,999 respectively. There are discounts available on Honor’s entry-level smartphones too. Honor 7S, which earlier came at a price tag of Rs 6,999 is now available at Rs 5,999, and Honor 7A smartphone is also available at a reduced price of Rs 7,999.
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Samsung Notebook 9 Pen laptop announced: All that you need to know

The updated version of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen laptop is finally out. The newly launched Samsung laptop comes in two variants – one with 15-inch display and the other with 13-inch screen. Both the displays of the laptop have a resolution of 1080p. The key feature of this new model is an upgraded S Pen that, according to Samsung, comes with half the latency and is two times faster than the previous model. The new S Pen by the South Korean technology giant comes with multiple user replacement tips that would enable users to customise different drawing styles.   Most other specifications of the laptop are expected to be the same as its predecessor. The battery life of the laptop’s predecessor did not garner much appreciation, so we will have to wait to find out if that has been improved in the upgraded Samsung Notebook 9 Pen laptop. The new laptop by Samsung runs Windows 10 software and its dimensions are 348x229x15.4mm. The price of the Samsung Notebook 9 Pen laptop is expected to be announced at CES 2019 which will be held in January. However, there is no official word on when exactly the technology giant will make further announcements about the laptop.   The laptop has a convertible design and comes with drawing app support and distinct graphics. With these features, the company seems to have aimed it at artists and graphic designers who are required to move around with their laptops.   Considering the S Pen, it is reminiscent of a lot of Samsung’s expensive gadgets. One of the prominent ones is the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 which was launched back in mid-October and is a flagship model. To recall, the tablet comes with a 10.5 super AMOLED display with narrow bezels and has an aspect ratio of 16:10. It is powered by a bulk battery of 7,300mAh which helps it to last for a very long duration with one-time use. Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 features four speakers by AKG and Dolby Atmos immersive sound technology. In India, it is priced at Rs 57,900.
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OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition with 10GB RAM launched in India: Price, specifications and more

Chinese smartphone brand OnePlus has launched its fifth-anniversary special smartphone in India – OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. The smartphone was unveiled globally on Tuesday and got launched in India a day later. It is the most premium model of OnePlus’ current lineup and comes with 10GB RAM and Warp Charging technology. As the name suggests, the smartphone maker partnered with racing giant McLaren for its special edition smartphone. The back panel of OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition comes with the racing company’s logo on it and the side edges of the smartphone are Papaya Orange in colour. Here’s a look at the pricing details and specifications of the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition:

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition price in India

OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition is only available in 10GB RAM/256GB storage configuration and is priced at Rs 50,999 in India. The special edition smartphone will be going on sale in the country starting December 15 and will be available for purchase on Amazon India and OnePlus India’s website. You can also pick it up from OnePlus exclusive offline stores. A special sale of the newly launched device will also be held on December 13 at the OnePlus Experience Store in Connaught Place, New Delhi. The company is offering launch offers to customers on its 5th anniversary special OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition. These include a cashback of Rs 2,000 on EMI transactions done via Axis Bank cards, a cashback of Rs 1,500 on all transactions done via Axis bank credit or debit cards, up to 6 months of no-cost EMI on buying the smartphone from Amazon India, OnePlus’ official website and OnePlus offline stores. You can also exchange your old OnePlus handset and get an additional discount of Rs 3,000. A discount of Rs 2,000 is also available on exchange of other devices on Amazon India, OnePlus India and OnePlus offline stores.

OnePlus 6T features and specifications

The new mobile by OnePLus comes with a subtle carbon fibre pattern that has been used beneath its glass back panel that houses that Speedmark McLaren logo on it. The logo is made of F1 AA-grade carbon fibre that has been designed by McLaren. The edges of the special edition OnePlus 6T have McLaren’s signature Papaya Orange colour on them and the charging cable of the smartphone is also Orange instead of Red. OnePlus 6T McLaren comes with new Warp Charge 30 charging technology that offers 30W fast charging capabilities. The company has claimed that it can offer a day’s worth of change in 20 minutes. Apart from RAM and storage, other specifications of the smartphone remain the same as OnePlus 6T’s (review). As we mentioned previously, OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition comes with 10GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage. Other specifications of the device include OxygenOS based on Android 9.0 Pie, 6.41-inch full-HD+ AMOLED display, Snapdragon 845 processor, 16MP+20MP dual rear cameras, 16MP selfie camera and 3,700mAh battery.
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Honor 8C review:  Solid built meets smooth performance

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor recently took the wraps off the first ever smartphone to come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 632 processor – Honor 8C. The smartphone has a 4,000mAh battery and the company has touted its cameras AI enhancements to be the best. We spent a few days with Honor 8C smartphone to know if it manages to make a mark in the already overcrowded budget segment. Read the rest of our review to know if Honor 8C is the right buy for you:

Honor 8C design and display

We’ll begin by talking about the design of Honor 8C. The body of the smartphone is completely made of decent quality plastic. Honor 8C is tall, yet it is slim enough for easy one-handed usage. Although the smartphone felt solid to hold and we liked its overall look and feel, it doesn’t feel premium when compared to other smartphones in the same range. Since others are made of glass and metal. But, in the budget segment, it’s not exactly the primary concern for anyone. The front is dominated by the 6.26-inch display that has a notch on top, which houses the earpiece and selfie camera. We should mention that the borders outlining the display of Honor 8C smartphone are not as slim as the ones we have seen on other smartphones lately. The chin is the thickest of all and the difference is quite noticeable. Honor 8C 2 If you don’t like the notch of the device, you can hide it using an option in the Settings menu. Flip over, and you’ll see the plastic back panel of the smartphone which looks extremely glossy. It is worth noticing that the back panel of the device is prone to getting fingerprint smudges, but the smartphone comes with a plastic cover in the box which will help you with this problem. The fingerprint scanner of Honor 8C mobile is embedded on the back panel of the smartphone. The dual rear cameras and the LED flash are vertically stacked on the top left of the back. While ‘AI Camera’ is written right below it, the Honor branding is on the bottom left. We should point out, that like Honor 8X, the dual rear cameras are not in a single module and are placed separately on the device. Another thing that is similar between the two devices is that the AI Camera and Honor branding can only be read properly on holding the device in landscape mode. While the left edge of the smartphone houses the SIM tray which has two nano-SIM slots and a dedicated microSD card slot, the right edge has the power and volume rocker buttons. The bottom edge has a micro-USB port, the primary microphone and a speaker grille. The secondary microphone and the 3.5mm headphone jack are placed on the top. In a nutshell, Honor 8C has a decent design and like we said decent built quality. Honor 8C Coming to the display of the smartphone, the Honor 8C features a 6.26-inch HD+ (720×1520 pixels) TFT IPS LCD screen that has an aspect ratio of 19:9. The display of the device was reasonably good. The images displayed were sharp and clear. The colours showcased were accurate and vibrant and they remain consistent at different viewing angles. You may have to manually adjust the brightness, as the default wasn’t bright enough.

Honor 8C performance and cameras

Before we start talking about the performance of Honor 8C, we’ll take you through the rest of the specifications. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm’s new 14nm Snapdragon 632 processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Another storage variant with the same RAM and 32GB of onboard storage is also available for purchase. Honor 8C 3 We got the former for review, which is priced at Rs 12,999. Both the variants of the Honor 8C smartphone can hold microSD cards of up to 256GB. Honor 8C houses a 4,000mAh battery to power the device. The connectivity options on the device include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, a Micro-USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Speaking about the software of the device, Honor 8C runs Android 8.1 Oreo with a layer of Honor’s EMUI 8.2 on top. There are a number of features available because of this, but then there is bloatware too. You’ll find some Google apps and some Honor’s own native apps on it. For instance, the device has Gmail, Google Chrome and Android Messages, but the Dialer and Gallery are Honor’s. Honor 8C 4 Apps like Facebook, Netflix and Camera 360 come pre-installed and there are a number of Honor’s own apps. What covers up for it is the one-handed mode on the device and its ability to run two accounts of the same app at the same time via a feature called App Twin. The performance of Honor 8C, during our time with it, was mostly good. The smartphone handles day-to-day tasks with ease, considering that it falls in the budget segment. We launched and switched between multiple apps and Chrome tabs during our time with it, and we did not see hardly any lag in Honor 8C’s performance. To push it further, we used navigation via Google Maps in PIP mode and watched YouTube videos simultaneously. Honor 8C handled that with ease too. In spite of the multi-tasking, the smartphone didn’t warm up. Gaming was another good aspect of the smartphone, especially when compared to other budget smartphones. We played games like Temple Run 2 and Alto’s Odyssey, and Honor 8C took it well. Heavier games like Asphalt 9 could have been better, but then, we didn’t expect a budget smartphone to run them as flawlessly as handsets with better processors do. Honor 8C 6 The call quality of the smartphone was good. There was no problem with the reception and we managed to make calls in areas like basements too. The face unlock feature worked perfectly in well-lit areas, and dimly lit areas it was mostly good. The fingerprint sensor of the device was extremely quick and accurate. It detected our finger even when it was moist. The battery of Honor 8C was undoubtedly its best feature. The 4,000mAh battery of the smartphone lasts an entire day with heavy usage involving social media, YouTube videos and gaming. If your usage is moderate, it’ll last more than a day. It took us around two hours to completely charge the device. For imaging duties, Honor 8C has a dual rear camera setup with 13MP and 2MP sensors and an 8MP fixed focus camera on its front panel. The camera app of the smartphone supports the Pro mode that enables users to adjust the exposure, shutter speed, white balance and more. Honor 8C camera sample 2 Honor 8C is touted to detect 22 different types of objects and more than 500 types of scenes. The smartphone also has an AI mode, much like the Honor 8X. The images that we took in well-lit conditions were sharp and had a reasonable amount of details. We liked the photography on the device. But then, we did feel that the AI mode oversaturate the images taken. While some may like it, we prefer to have more natural looking colours in pictures taken. The images in dimly lit areas could have been better too. Some of them lacked clarity and looked dull. In fact, in dimly lit conditions, AI helped us click some better images. However, we still observed some noise in the images taken. Honor 8C camera sample The selfies taken were mostly good, but in dimly lit areas, the selfie camera’s performance suffered too. The selfie camera of the device also has a beauty mode that does improve the quality of the images taken. The low-light performance of the selfie camera could have been better as well. We ran some benchmark tests on the device, where it scored 1,04,098 in Antutu, it managed 1,277 and 4,801 in Single and Multi-core scores of Geekbench 4.

Verdict and final thoughts

The smartphone excels in some areas but fails to make a mark in others. The design is decent but common, the display is reasonably good, the performance of the device with multitasking included is smooth, and the battery is the key highlight. The built quality of the device and its accurate fingerprint sensor are a plus too. On the downside, the smartphone comes with bloatware and its camera’s low-light photography is not at all impressive. For us, the performance of any device is the most important and Honor 8C is good as far as that goes. And the battery life makes it even better. At Rs 12,999, you wouldn’t regret buying it. Just don’t expect that cameras to do an outstanding job. Pros – Solid built, Lasting battery, Smooth performance Cons – Average low-light photography, Bloatware, cluttered software
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Google not to operate in China, says Sundar Pichai

The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai has declared that he has no plans to launch Google in China. He said that he would be very straight forward about this and has no setbacks in this regard. His main objective is to provide users with information which according to him is a fundamental right. Since in China, he cannot operate freely in terms of the above, he would rather not operate there. China has a strong censorship policy, which includes digital censorship. Google used to operate in China until 2010. After China’s censorship policy began, it started to compromise with freely communicating information to netizens that is deeply rooted in the company’s core values. “We have no plans to launch in China. We don’t have a search product there. Our core mission is to provide users access to information and getting access to information is an important human right” Pichai said. A congressman, David Cicilline said that since Google’s resignation to operate in China after the strict censorship rules became active, the state of the country hasn’t changed in this regard. Earlier when Google was planning to relaunch in China through an app by negotiating with the censorship rules, it was protested against by human rights activists, and some Google employees. When Cicilline asked Sundar Pichai that whether he has any plans to operate in China by conforming to the censorship rules, Pichai asserted “Congressman, I commit to engaging one of the things which is important to us as a company. We have a stated mission of providing users with information and so we think it’s in our duty to explore possibilities, to give users access to information and I have that commitment but you know as I said earlier on this, we will be very thoughtful and we will engage widely as we make progress.”
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Samsung gets caught promoting its smartphone via iPhone again

Just days after Apple fans got a chance to troll Samsung, the South Korean technology giant has landed itself in a similar situation all over again. And believe it or not, it’s for exactly the same reason. Earlier this month, it was reported that a tweet on Samsung Nigeria’s Twitter account, which was promoting the display of flagship tablet Galaxy Note 9, was actually posted by an iPhone. Unless someone is living under the rock, they would know that whenever a tweet is sent out through Twitter’s iOS app, ‘via Twitter for iPhone’ gets automatically written right beneath it. It happens by default and one cannot disable it. But Samsung‘s marketing team seems to forget this time and again. This time, the exact same thing was done by Samsung India. Samsung Mobile India posted a tweet promoting the camera of Galaxy A9 (2018) mobile. And interestingly, ‘via Twitter for iPhone’ is written right below it. Famous YouTuber Marques Brownlee took a screenshot of this and shared it with his followers on Twitter. It is worth noticing that he was also the first person to catch Samsung Nigeria’s tweet. We should also point out that Samsung India has now deleted the tweet. In another incident last month, Samsung Saudi Arabian Twitter handle had promoted the Galaxy Note 9 via Twitter’s iOS app too. That makes a total of three incidents in two months, and if you ask us, that’s quite a lot. One thing we can be sure of is that there are people in Samsung’s team who are responsible for promoting its products but are themselves using iPhones. And we don’t have to state the fact that Apple and Samsung arch rivals. Furthermore, such incidents are not limited to the online space. To recall, a few weeks back, Russia’s Kseniya Sobchak was spotted using an iPhone X during a television interview. Sobchak has been hired by Samsung to promote their smartphones in her country by using them publically. Whenever there is an agreement of this sort between an influential person and a company, that individual is not supposed to use the company’s competitor’s products in public. Due to this, it was reported that Sobchak had to pay Samsung $1.6 million after her interview.
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Mortal Kombat 11 season pass and premium edition leaked

The release date of Mortal Kombat has been fixed, April 23, 2019. This game would be available on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch. An event scheduled for the games fans is 17th January. It appears that the information regarding Mortal Kombat 11 Premium Edition (as the name is now escaped) has leaked thanks to GameStop Italy. The special edition would contain a game and a steel case as revealed by GS Italy. Details regarding the Battle Pass have been removed, however, this game’s edition revalation is still available on GameStop Italy’s website. A translation of the GameStop listing on Mortal Kombat fan site said, “Mortal Kombat is back and is more fit than ever in this new and fantastic evolution of the iconic title. Users can customise the variants of their fighters down to the smallest detail, gaining unprecedented control over the aesthetics of the characters. The new graphic engine renders in the smallest details every crushed skull and torn heart, immersing yourself completely in the action of the bloodiest scenes. In addition, the new list of fighters includes unpublished characters and the Klassics of the series, protagonists of fantastic movies in the story mode of the epic saga that has been going on for more than 25 years.” There will also be a strong multiplayer feature geared towards e-sports like an improved matchmaking and rewards system. In Mortal Kombat premium edition one would get six characters, six battle passes, steel case and a copy of the game. One important thing to note here is that pre-ordering the game would help you gain access to the Mortal Kombat 11 beta as bonus. This game series was announced at The Game Awards 2018. Also, a written statement for the title indicates that the maligned gear system from Injustice 2 will make a comeback soon. Seems like fans are in for a treat with this game. One would get to see the old roaster back in action along with a bunch of new characters joining the ranks. It will be one action packed game that should provide excellent graphics as well as a brilliant multiplayer mode.
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OnePlus 6T McLaren edition to launch in India today, watch the livestream here

The brand new OnePlus 6T McLaren edition is all set to launch today at an event held in Mumbai. OnePlus 6T has always launched flagship phones and this one is no different. Just like others it might create a huge fanbase. “The Salute to Speed” event is being organised to mark the fifth anniversary of OnePlus and it has been sending invites for the same since a week to ten days now. However, if you can’t watch attend the event, you can always watch it’s livestream. The event will happen in Mumbai at 6:00PM(IST). Just head to the official YouTube channel of OnePlus and you’ll find the video there itself. For your convenience we have posted the link to the video for you here: Similar to the normal edition of OnePlus 6T, the One Plus 6T McLaren edition as few differences that sets it apart. To begin with it comes with 10GB RAM, this makes it the first smartphone to have this much memory here. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and has an internal storage of 256GB. It also has a ‘Warp Charge technology’ which helps it fast charge rapidly with a 30W charger. It is the rebranded version of ‘Dash Charge’. In terms of its appearance, it comes with a Orange colour scheme. It has a carbon fibre patter under the smartphones glass rear panel. The charger and USB-to-3.5mm audio dongle come with a dual tone colour scheme, too. It has a display 6.41-inch Full HD+ Optic AMOLED with a resolution of 1,080×2,340 pixels. Also, it has a waterdrop notch, which increases the screen to body ratio. A fingerprint sensor is there as well under the screen, just like the one found on OnePlus 6T. In terms of camera it sports a dual-lens rear camera with a 16MP and a 20MP sensor. The front facing camera is of 16MP, which can be used for selfies and video calls. The smartphone is powered by a 3,700mAh battery. Its dimensions are 157.5×74.8×8.2mm and weighs 185grams. And yes, it runs on the Android Pie 9.0 which is the latest OS by Android. Connectivity options include WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth and GPS. Messaging options include SMS, MMS, Email, Push Email and IM.
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Sundar Pichai explain why Googling the term ‘idiot’ leads to pictures of Donald Trump

Questions regarding the authenticity of Google came up after Donald Trump’s pictures showed up by typing ‘idiot’ in the Google search engine. Questions such as whether Google is biased towards conservatives popped all around. The enquiry came from Rep. Zoe Lofgren(D-CA) who was trying to refute the idea of Google trying to manipulate search results. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google gave a long explanation to absolve himself and his team of any allegations of tainting a politician’s image. He said, “Any time you type in a keyword, as Google we have gone out and crawled and stored copies of billions of [websites’] pages in our index. And we take the keyword and match it against their pages and rank them based on over 200 signals — things like relevance, freshness, popularity, how other people are using it. And based on that, at any given time, we try to rank and find the best search results for that query. And then we evaluate them with external parameters, and they evaluate it to objective guidelines. And that’s how we make sure the process is working.” He is trying to describe Google as a third person to all these events, that it has nothing to do with tainting the image of Trump. Third person in the sense, that it only relates keywords with websites based on things like relevance, freshness popularity etc. Rest it has no hand in anything. It is not a new thing considering that in the mid-2000s George Bush’s pictures used to appear as a result of typing “miserable failure”. Technically, these kinds of occurrences happen on the basis of a process called “Google Bombing”. What happens is that outside parties toying with Google search results. SEO tactics often result to such blunders which is why search engine companies become the scapegoat. People probably upvoted or linked posts with the word “idiot” to images of Trump which happened at a mass level which led to this.
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Bomb threat in Facebook building, staff evacuated

For any company security of its employees is of utmost importance. That is why most companies have a red button located in the boss’s cabin in case natural disasters, bomb threats or other security issues. On Tuesday night, there was a bomb threat at Facebook’s Menlo Park campus, which houses both Instagram and Facebook staff. They were immediately evacuated after the threat. A bomb squad was alerted, which instantly came into action, but after search they didn’t find any suspicious article. The news of the explosive being kept in the building came from the New York Police Department Crime Stopper unit. Local authorities were informed after this. The Menlo Park police department warned people to avoid staying in the building’s vicinity today. The NBC Bay Area posted information about the bomb threat. It said that the tip off about the possibility of the bomb being in the building was first given by New York’s crime stopper unit to the officials in the Bay area. It is after then that local police of the Menlo area were alerted and jumped into the scene to evacuate the staff out of the Facebook office swiftly. A few months back, there was a gunfire at YouTube’s office too, which left three people injured and one dead. The reportedly dead person was the perpetrator herself. She was identified as Nasim Najafi Aghdam. The motive behind her crime was unknown however, a YouTube video on January showed her claiming that YouTube had “discriminated and filtered” her content which resulted in a loss of her time and money.
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HyperX Launches Alloy FPS RGB Gaming keyboard in India

A new gaming keyboard has been launched by HyperX, a subsidiary of Kingston Technologies, which is called the Alloy FPS RGB. The keyboard features a solid steel alloy framework in a compact design that gives enough space to the mouse and mousepad. The keyboard is backed by two years of warranty and can be bought from the HyperX network of retail and e-retail outlets in India Coming at a price of INR 12,900 the Alloy FPS RGB Keyboard features Kailh Silver Speed mechanical key switches that results in a shorter key time travel and less actuation force for faster gameplay. With this feature HyperX is augmenting its line of Alloy FPS keyboards. The Kailh Silver key switches have passed 70 million key presses ratings. Gamers would love this feature. A unique game mode leads to disabling of the Windows key to prevent gameplay interruptions, 100 percent anti-ghosting and full N-Key rollover functionality. The Alloy FPS RGB features an easy access USB charging port which is located at the back of the keyboard. Along with this, the keyboard comes with a detachable braided cord. The keyboard’s unique feature is going to provide gamers with a unique and exciting gaming experience. As Marketing Director of HyperX India, Vishal Parekh while talking about the Kailh Silver Speed key switches puts it, “These switches are designed with a shorter actuation point for ultra-rapid responsiveness and faster gaming performance resulting in less fatigue, making it ideal for gamers looking for an advantage over their rivals.” The in-built software, NGenuity provides LED lighting and per key RGB customization, too. A special game mode is also present on HyperX alloy FPS RBG keyboard. Over that, three custom lighting profiles can be saved directly on the on-board memory of this keyboard for on-the-go lighting and macro settings. Another noteworthy factor of this keyboard is that it can be very suitable to both amateurs and professionals. The Alloy FPS RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard has the following key specifications:
  • Type: Mechanical
  • Backlight: RGB (16,777,216 colors)
  • Light effects: Per key RGB lighting and 5 brightness levels.
  • On board memory: 3 profiles
  • Connection type: USB 2.0 (2 USB connectors)
  • Polling rate: 1000Hz
  • Media control: Yes
  • Game Mode: Yes
  • OS compatibility: Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7
  • Key switches: Kailh Silver Speed
  • Dimensions:
o   Width: 442.26mm o   Depth: 129.81mm o   Height: 35.59mm
  • Weight (Keyboard with cable): 1100g
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