9 features of ‘new’ Gmail you must know about

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The way Google comes to our mind when someone says they want to browse the internet, one immediately tends to think of Gmail when somebody says that they are sending an email. It is undoubtedly of the most popular email services today. And this week, it has been revamped to incorporate more features that are likely to make the users experience better. It is notable, that this is the biggest overhaul that Gmail has got in the last five years. The email service has got a change in design, and with that new features enable users to ‘snooze’ emails and ‘nudges’ them to respond to messages. Over that, for those who love their privacy, Gmail has come up with a ‘Confidential Mode’ that also made headlines a few weeks back. However, the changes in Gmail are being rolled out in a phased manner, so it may take some time before you get to see them. Here, we have made a list of new features of Gmail you should know about: ‘Snooze’ emails to read them later With the latest overhaul, on hovering over an email in your inbox, you’ll see various email shortcuts including Archive, Delete, Mark as Read, and Snooze. While the first three options were already available in Gmail, Snooze has been added just now. On snoozing an email, it resurfaces again in your inbox later in the day or week, or even next week. Besides this, Gmail now also offers the option of clicking on attachments without opening or scrolling through large conversations. Access your favourite Google apps via Gmail Do you use certain Google apps like Calendar etc? With the latest revamp, Gmail has shortcuts for accessing these apps directly from the email service itself. You would be able to see them on a side panel on the right once you start receiving the new features. With this, users can easily take down notes or add something to Google Calendar without switching tabs or leaving Gmail. Get a reminder to reply to emails with ‘Nudge’ Do you often forget to reply to emails? You may like this AI-powered feature, if that’s the case. With ‘Nudge’, Gmail will remind users to respond to emails they haven’t replied to or follow up for emails they haven’t got a response for. So don’t feel surprised if Gmail prompts you with text saying “Sent X days ago. Follow up?” or “Received X days ago. Reply?”. Use ‘Smart Reply’ on web Anyone who is used to Gmail, would really appreciate the feature of Smart Reply on its app. For those who don’t know, whenever we receive an email on Gmail, the service prompts three replies one can choose from. While this feature has been available on Gmail’s mobile app for almost a year now, it is finally making its way to web now. Get ‘Risk Warnings’ The email service will now begin warning its users to alert them about any email received from a source that may be potentially risky. If you happen to receive an email that may not be safe to click on, Gmail will display a warning that reads – “”This message seems dangerous” coupled with a ‘Delete Now’ button. Get notified about important messages With the overhaul, users can opt to receive high-priority notifications to get alerts about messages that may be important to them. In addition to this, Gmail will also suggest users to unsubscribe from newsletters they don’t engage with. However, these two features will only be available on mobile. An all new ‘Confidential Mode’ With the Confidential Mode, senders can stop the receiver(s) of the email from forwarding, copying, downloading or printing messages. This mode can prove to be particularly handy if one is sharing sensitive information on email. Furthermore, the mode also gives the sender the option of making an email expire after a certain duration. For more security, one can also use two factor authentication. With that enabled, the recipient will first have to enter a Google generated pass-code that they will receive via SMS to read the email. Use the ‘Native Offline mode’ This feature will be coming to Gmail in a few more weeks, but it is definitely a much awaited one. With the native offline mode, one can work on up to 90 days old messages on offline mode. They can search for these messages, respond to them, and delete or archive them. Create a to-do list with ‘Tasks’ Gmail is now adding ‘Tasks’ on web and at the same time, it has launched its Android and iOS apps too. One can use ‘Tasks’ to create tasks and subtasks so that they remember what all needs to be done. The option of adding due dates and notifications further ensure that the user is reminded of everything in his to-do list. One can create a to-do on Tasks simply by dragging and dropping an email from Gmail to Tasks. More over, items from your to do list which have a due date will also automatically appear in your Google Calendar too.

Five must-have gizmos for your kitchen

They say too many cooks spoil the broth but when it comes to gadgets in the kitchen, the more the merrier. That said, here is our list of five tech toys no self-respecting cook-room should do without. A WASH WIZARD Considered the easiest way to clean your dishes, a dishwasher is a good investment. Take Faber’s semi integrated dishwasher for instance. Features include, a foldable bottom rack, an adjustable upper and third layer cutlery basket. As for tech specs, it has a special sensor that sets the wash cycle in accordance with the soil level of the crockery, delayed start option where the wash cycle can be delayed to make use of the most convenient time as per the consumer, and dual zone wash function that allow the user to use either lower or upper basket when there are less utensils are (this save consumption of water, time and energy). PRICE: Rs 10,000 upwards SIP IN STYLE Healthy eating are not only the buzz words of last season; the trend has only garnered more attention. Enter slow juicers. The reason for their growing popularity is the fact that unlike normal juicers these produce next to no heat and so retain all the nutrients of the vegetable or fruit. Regular the juicers use centrifugal force to extract the juice and the extreme heat generated destroys the essential enzymes. The heat also results in oxidation and reducing the nutritional value. On the other hand, slow juicers first crush and then press the fruit to extract maximum amount of juice. Since there is very little heat generated, the nutrient levels stay intact. This is why TTK Prestige’s latest offering is a slow juicer called PSJ 2.0. It comes with a powerful motor which easily separates seeds from juice providing maximum extraction. PRICE Rs 12,699 BEAT THE HEAT It goes without saying that a refrigerator is a top-priority gadget in the kitchen. But like all things they too have evolved from being the small cubbyholes to smart and innovative cooling machines. Haier’s latest eight-in-one convertible bottom mounted refrigerators (BMR) caught our eye. BMR implies that the freezer and fridge are interchangeable. Haier says that this conversion can happen within a time span of 50 minutes. Their premium models come with additional features such as twin inverter technology which automatically adjusts the cooling efficiency of the refrigerator. PRICE Rs 31,050 to Rs 40,150 PURE, FOR SURE Ask anyone, anywhere, safety comes first. In India that hold especially true for drinking water. The country went from boiling water to loving filters to finally inventing water purifiers. But then they didn’t stop there, today they work in tandem with the internet. Don’t believe us? Take a look at Dr Aquaguard TM Intelligenz by Eureka Forbes. It is a WiFi enabled purifier that senses, monitors, alerts, responds and troubleshoots. Through the Dr Aquaguard Intelligenz app on smart devices the purifier can be controlled and managed from anywhere. The purifier also senses the quality of the water and chooses the optimum purification technology RO+UV or UF+UV. PRICE Rs 29,999 RAISE A TOAST Breakfasts are incomplete without the perfect toast. No kitchen should be without a toaster no matter what shape of size it comes in. Opt for the yellow toaster from Morphy Richards if you want the gadget to jazz up you space besides giving you a good toast with several browning options. We also like the Havells Toastino 4 slice grill and BBQ that has a timer setting and adjustable thermostat which ensures perfect results every time. Equipped with 2,000W heating to let the grill plate quickly heat up, it also has an adjustable temperature knob. PRICE Rs 4,950

Reliance JIO and Airtel to bring Apple Watch series 3 cellular version to India on May 11

Well, it is about time that the smartest smartwatch comes to India in its cellular avatar. Both, Reliance JIO and Airtel have announced that they will bring the cellular version of the Apple Watch Series 3 to India. The sale will officially start on May 11, with pre-bookings to open on May 4. People who want to pick the smartwatch can either go to the Airtel’s and Reliance JIO’s websites or can head to Reliance Digital offline stores to make a purchase. For the unaware, the Apple Watch Series 3 cellular version was also announced at the yearly Apple event last year in their new spaceship office in USA. So, what’s more which one can extract from the Apple Watch Series 3 cellular version? Well it is quite similar to the normal variant of the smartwatch, however in the cellular version users can now make or receive phone calls from the watch itself. One does not need to have it connected to the Apple iPhone anymore all the time. Reliance JIO is giving its customers the option of getting Apple Watch Series 3 cellular edition delivered to their homes with the choice of mobile portability. While, Airtel users will get cellular services for free on the device if they have a postpaid, Airtel My Plan or Infinity plan with the company. The reception of Apple Watch series 3 on the Indian shores has been nothing but lukewarm. While lot of the customers aspire to own one, many stay away from buying one. Also then there is the case of app makers shying away or stopping services completely for the Apple watch. Instagram to be the latest one. Ebay and Google maps also went away and took a different turn. Hopefully Apple comes up with something really nice this year, with the new versions, that will again woo the app makers to develop more software for the largest selling digital watch on the planet.

Huawei P20 Pro, P20 Lite launched in India: Price, specs and more

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Dual rear camera setup is not an uncommon trend in the smartphone industry anymore. Last year there were a number of devices including iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X which featured two rear cameras instead of one. Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei today went a step ahead, and launched its flagship smartphone of the year — Huawei P20 Pro – with three rear cameras. Globally, Huawei P20 Pro was launched in February during MWC 2018 Conference in Barcelona. At its India launch, Huawei has also launch P20 Lite along with their flagship device of the year. While Huawei P20 Pro is priced at Rs 64,999, Huawei P20 Lite bears a price tag of Rs 19,999. Both the smartphones will be available on Amazon India’s website starting May 3 and that is when the launch offers will be revealed too. Among the two smartphones it is Huawei’s flagship P20 Pro that comes with high-end specifications. The smartphone features a 6.1-inch full HD+ OLED display that comes with thin bezels and has a Notch on the top. The Notch houses the sensors, receiver and the selfie camera of the smartphone. Huawei P20 Pro runs on Android 8.1 Oreo skinned with EMUI 8.1 and is powered by octa-core Kirin 970 processor. It offers 6GB of RAM and has 128GB of onboard storage. However, the most talked about feature of Huawei’s smartphone is its triple camera setup at the back. The phone has a 40MP RGB sensor, 20MP monochrome sensor and an 8MP camera with 3x optical zoom. For selfies and video calls, there is a 24MP front facing snapper. Huawei P20 Pro houses a 4,000mAh battery. Speaking of Huawei P20 Lite, the set of specifications do differ from that of P20 Pro. While Huawei P20 Pro runs Android 8.1 Oreo, P20 Lite is powered by EMUI 8.1 based on Android 8.0. The smartphone has a 5.8-inch TFT LCD display, which is smaller than Huawei P20 Pro’s. Another difference in the display is that Huawei P20 Lite supports Full HD+ screen resolution. The device runs on octa-core Kirin 659 processor coupled with 4GB RAM. Users get 64GB of onboard storage and they can further install microSD cards of up to 256GB. For imaging duties, Huawei P20 Lite comes with 16MP+2MP dual rear cameras. For selfie lovers, there is a 16MP front facing snapper and the smartphone houses 3000mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro receives a price cut in India

If you are looking to buy a smartphone in the mid-range segment, you have another option to consider. Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro, which was launched in India in April 2017, has received a price cut of Rs 2,500. The smartphone was earlier available at a price of Rs 27,990, and post the reduction in its price it is available at Rs 22,400. The reduced price of the smartphone is now visible on Samsung’s official website as well as on Amazon India’s website. A Paytm Mall cashback offer is also being promoted by Samsung on its website. If one buys the Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro via Paytm Mall, the offer effectively brings down the price of the smartphone to Rs 22,400. To recall, Samsung Galaxy C7 Pro features a 5.7-inch full HD super AMOLED 2.5D Curved Glass display and is powered by a 2.2GHz Octa-core Snapdragon 626 processor. The smartphone comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB on-board storage. For more storage, users can install microSD cards of up to 256GB. Samsung’s Galaxy C7 Pro smartphone sports 16MP cameras on both front and back, however, the primary camera comes with dual LED flash and has support for PDAF. The dual SIM smartphone houses a 3,300mAh battery and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The smartphone will soon also be getting support for Samsung Pay. For connectivity, it comes with 4G LTE, USB Type-C, NFC, GPS/ A-GPS, Bluetooth v4.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Last week, Samsung was also in news when its Galaxy A5 (2017) smartphone started receiving an Android Oreo update. It was reported that the update got with itself Samsung Experience 9.0 along with a number of tweaks and an upgrade in performance. The smartphone was launched in January 2017 and initially was powered by Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. It got an upgrade to Android Nougat in September last year. According to reports, the update for Galaxy A5 (2017) is currently being rolled out in Russia and Romania

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 smartphone launched in India: Price, tech specs and other details

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Taiwanese technology company Asus today expanded its budget line-up in India with the launch of its Zenfone Max Pro M1 smartphone. Asus’s smartphone has made its global debut today and is currently available in two variants — 3GB RAM/ 32GB internal storage and 4GB RAM/64GB onboard storage. While the 3GB RAM variant is priced at Rs 10,999, the 4GB RAM variant costs Rs 12,999. At this price, the smartphone competes with the likes of Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphone. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 will be going on sale via Flipkart starting May 3 and the E-commerce giant has announced ‘Complete Mobile Protection’ for the smartphone. The offer covers faults like broken screens, liquid damage, and some other hardware and software issues at a price of Rs 49 for a year. Besides this, Asus has also partnered with Vodafone for the launch offer. As a part of the offer, Zenfone Max Pro M1 buyers who have Vodafone prepaid connections will be getting 10GB data per month for a year on recharges of Rs 199 and above. The company also announced offers for post-paid users including 10GB complementary data a month for 12 months (for those who are using the Rs 399 Red plan) and free Red Protect access for those using Rs 499 plan. Coming to the specifications, the dual SIM smartphone features a 5.99-inch full-HD+ IPS Full View display with 18:9 aspect ratio. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 comes in the two aforementioned storage variants and can hold a microSD cards of up to 2TB. The newly launched smartphone from Asus runs Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box and not the company’s own custom ZenUI. It will also be receiving Android P and Android Q updates. Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 sports a dual rear camera setup with a 13MP primary Omnivision sensor and a 5MP secondary depth detecting sensor. For selfies and video calls, there is an 8MP front facing camera. Both the primary and front facing cameras come with soft-light LED flash. Over that, Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 houses a 5,000mAh battery and comes with face unlock and fingerprint sensors. Connectivity options of the phone include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/ A-GPS, BDS, GLONASS, Micro-USB, and a 3.5mm jack. A 6GB RAM/64GB internal storage of the smartphone with 16-megapixel + 5-megapixel dual primary cameras and a 16MP front facing camera is also expected to be launched at Rs 14,999 soon.

Noise Play 2 action camera with 4K recording launched in India

While the Noise Play action cam has been available in India for some time now, many of its users wanted a superior video quality. Listening to their consumers the company has gone ahead and brought out the second version of its popular action camera called Noise Play 2. This action camera is similar to look at, like the first variant. However, the makers have kicked up the features and introduced 4K video recording to the device. Noise Play 2 has 16 MP picture sensors and a wide angle lens to capture a broader image. Different shooting modes have been introduced to the camera starting from time lapse to slo-mo. The camera comes with a mounting attachment in the box and more can be bought from the store. Noise play 2 is also equipped with 3-axis gyro sensors and electronic image stabilisation. For most users a good battery life is essential, for that the company went ahead and added a 1,200 mAh battery in the small frame of this actions camera that can provide over 2 hours of continuous video shooting. Sadly, this action camera does not come with on board storage, but one can install a microSD card in with up to 128 GB space. The clicked images or recorded videos can be previewed or seen on the 2-inch IPS display screen. Also, if you ask us, the minimalistic design of the Noise play 2 does look nice. Priced at just Rs 9,999 it might be a good option for people who are looking for 4K action camera in a budget, since the latest GoPro is 3-4 times more expensive than this one. Noise Play 2 is available on Flipkart as its exclusive online sale partner.
 

How to recharge your prepaid mobile number using Facebook

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Social media giant Facebook’s Android app got a revamp this week. For starters, the user interface of the app looks cleaner and the icons look different from what they were before. With this, Facebook’s app has also got a feature that will prove to be very useful for prepaid mobile users. Starting this week, Android smartphone users can get prepaid recharges done via Facebook’s app. With this feature coming in, we can also expect the option of other utility payments coming to Facebook soon, even though there is no word from the social networking giant on it so far. If you think that Facebook’s new feature will prove to be useful for you, here’s how you can use it: Step 1: Open Facebook’s app and press the hamburger icon. Step 2: Scroll down and select ‘See More’. Step 3: Press on the option of ‘Mobile top-up.’ This will take you on a page that says ‘Top up your pre-paid mobile on Facebook’. Step 4: Select ‘Top Up Now’ on this page. After this, you will have to give Facebook permission to make and manage phone calls. Step 5: Now, you will have to enter your mobile phone details. Once you enter your number, Facebook will automatically detect your operator. However, you can also change it in case it’s incorrect. When we tried changing our telecom operator, we could choose from options including Airtel, BSNL, Idea, Jio, MTNL Delhi, MTNL Mumbai, Tata DoCoMo, Telenor, and Vodafone. Step 6: Also enter the top up amount. You can also browse for plans to know which one will be the best option for you. Various categories included Special Tariff Voucher, Recommended, Top-up, Roaming, SMS, Full Talktime, among others. Step 7: Press on ‘Review order’ once you have entered all the information. Step 8: Now, the app will ask you to enter your credit/debit card number. Enter all the details and click on ‘Place Order.’ Step 9: You will now receive a One-Time-Password that you’ll have to enter in order to execute your recharge.

Roomba’s brother enters India, Braava 390t launched at Rs 25,990

Move over magic wand, for now there’s a solution that will help us do away with the hassles of mopping the floors daily. Roomba is the cleaning robot that is already available in the Indian market. Braava 390t, from the makers of Roomba — iRobot, features an ivory-coloured, square-shaped robotic floor mopping device. Unlike other gizmos, Braava 390t starts its cleaning action without manual programming. Three buttons ‘start’, ‘sweep’ and ‘mop’ are all you need to cover an area of about 1,000 sq ft for the next 210 minutes (at a single go). With this new machine, areas such as those under the bed or below the couch, which you were not able to reach previously can easily be cleaned. Other features include a pro-clean system and dual-cleaning modes for dry and damp cleaning (sweeping and mopping). You can also fill it with mild solutions or plain water for surfaces such as vinyl, hardwood and laminate. It doesn’t end here, there are other high-tech features that will change the way you view cleaning. It’s iAdapt 2.0 Navigation process over 60 decisions/sec automatically analyses room contours to avoid rugs, stairs and other obstacles. The Northstar Navigation Cube serves as an in-house GPS, while advanced sensors help in navigation and cleaning. Further, its Pro-clean Reservoir Pad dispenses liquid in a phased manner for superior cleaning. What do you get in the box? The Braava 390t bundled package includes Northstar Navigation Cube and “C” batteries, 1 Multi-purpose cleaning pad, 2 microfiber dry mopping cloths, 2 microfiber damp mopping cloths, 1 Pro-clean reservoir pad, 2,000 mAh NiMH, EU adaptor and a Turbo charging cradle. It is priced at Rs 25,900 in India and can be purchased on Amazon.iniRobot India’s website, and iRobot’s offline outlets.

Acer launches Avengers Infinity War special edition laptops in India: Price, specs and more

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The Avengers Infinity War movie by Marvel is set to release next week. It is supposed to be the biggest block buster from the movie house bringing many of its super heroes on to one screen. Today, Acer has announced introduction of three new special edition Marvel laptops. “We’re excited to work again with Disney Consumer Products and Marvel to bring technology even closer to consumers through their favourite characters,” said Mr. Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO and Consumer Business Head, Acer, India. The first one is Acer Aspire 6 Captain America Edition, which has a premium aluminium cover featuring captain’s iconic star logo that can be seen on his Shield too in the movies.  The notebook is powered by an 8th Gen Intel Core i5-8250U CPU and NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics card. It also comes with 8 GB of DDR4 memory (user-upgradeable to 20GB) and 1 TB of SATA HDD storage. Over that, Acer Aspire 6 Captain America Edition packs a HD camera with HDR while Dolby Audio Premium provides audio drivers. Gigabyte Ethernet is also available. As for the display this one has a 15.6-inch FHD display and run Windows 10. Couple of USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports are also thrown in the mix. One can get the special laptop at Rs 63,999. Next up is the Acer Nitro 5 Thanos Edition. This is a special edition gaming laptop built for entry level games. This also features a 15.6-inch FHD display. The notebook’s top cover features a Thanos portrait decorated by IMR (In-Mold Roller) finishing technology, this special edition of Nitro 5 is powered by NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card with 4 GB GDDR5 VRAM plus a 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7300HQ CPU. As for the RAM it has 8 GB of DDR4 memory upgradable to 32GB. For fast boot-up time and short game loading, the laptop comes equipped with a 128 gig SSD drive paired with a 1 TB HDD for storage. It is priced at Rs 80,999 Last one is our favourite because we love Iron man and he is the best super hero in the Marvel series right after Logan (Wolverine). It is called the Acer Swift 3 Iron Man Edition. Weighing 1.6 kg, the Acer Swift 3 Iron Man Edition a sturdy aluminium top that has a glowing arc reactor. Under the hood it has the 8th Generation Intel Core i5-8250U processor, Intel UHD on board graphics unit 620 and offers up to the claimed 10 hours of battery life. Acer Swift 3 comes with a 14-inch Full HD IPS anti-glare display, 256 GB SSD, 8 GB of memory and 802.11ac Wi-Fi with USB 3.1 type C and HD webcam support. This one can be picked up for Rs 79,999. The trio will be available on Amazon starting April 23, 2018.

Moto G5S gets a permanent price cut, now available at Rs 9,999

Initially priced at Rs 14,999 the Moto G5S has got a price cut and this time seems to be final. Last week it had got a what seemed to be temporary price slash, but now the company has officially announced that the Moto G5S will be available at Rs 9,999 that is 5,000 rupees less now. The phone is available on Amazon.in and will be available at the discounted rate on the multi-national E-commerce store now. The Moto G6 is around the corner and many, including us, were hoping to see a price cut for the current generation. This is a common practice since the companies want to sell out the remaining stock of a mobile phone at an extremely discounted rate before the new line-up comes into play. Industry insiders tell us that the new Moto G series will come to India in mid to end of May. The global launch of the G6 is happening on April 19 in Brazil. Coming back to Moto G5S, spec-wise the smartphone sports a Full HD 5.2-inch IPS touchscreen with 16:9 aspect ratio. It runs the Android N and is unlikely to be upgraded to Oreo. Under the hood it runs a 430 Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset with 4 GB RAM and 16 GB memory. It is available in three colours in India, these include Fine Gold, Lunar Grey and Oxford Blue, which was one of the best-selling for the company. As for the cameras, Moto G5S has a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture and comes with LED flash with it. The front shooter is powered by 5 MP sensor wide angle lens. The Mot G5S is one of the best offering by Moto and its best sellers in India. The price cut should get the sales running again, but if you have a budget of over 12K then our suggestion is to wait for the next version. However, for under 10K this is a good option to go for.

Sony refreshes its headphones and wireless speaker range, launches a sling of new audio devices.

After the announcement of Energy Sistem’s entry from Europe and its complete range of headphones, and BT speakers in India, it is the turn of Sony to bring its 2018 range of audio devices to India. Today Sony has refreshed its range of headphones and Bluetooth speakers and in all have launched three BT speakers and six headphones. The headphones range includes three wireless headphones – SP 500, SP600N and SP700N. Aimed at gym goers and people who want extra light comfort is the best of the lot – SP700N. These are upgrades to its younger sibling launched in 2017 and sports a splash proof design, active noise cancellation and above all Google Assistant support. At a price of 12,999 these come with its own charging case just like the ones found with Apple Air Pods. With a similar set of features SP600N is priced at Rs 9,900 and SP500 with 10 hours of battery life support is also priced at Rs 9,990. Three more headphones have been launched along with this in the sports range – CS300 priced at Rs 2,990, CH400 at Rs 3,790 and CH500 at Rs 4,490. The CS300 is a behind the neck headphones, which support both Google Assistant and Siri. Lastly, Sony India also brought in three fresh off the press BT speakers in the form of XB41, XB31 and XB21, priced at Rs 13,990, Rs 9,990 and Rs 7,990 respectively. All three are IP68 rating ready waterproof and dust proof. Each speaker can be interconnected with another 100 wireless speakers at the same time, making them perfect choice for a house party or multi-room listening. Over that, XB41 and XB31 can be used as a power bank to charge smartphone. Seems like Sony thought of it all haven’t they?

Huawei tweets P20 Pro launch teaser in India, might come in last week of April

The action is just getting heated up. Dual cameras might become a thing of the past, as a new three camera setup by Huawei is on its way in the form of P20 Pro in India. The smartphone was announced globally at an event in Paris in March. Now the Twitter account of Huawei India has posted a teaser tweet indicating that the Huawei P20 Pro smartphone will be launching in India soon. We hope with the P20 Pro the Chinese company will also bring the normal version of the smartphone to India. The rumour mill is already churning and various reports say that the phone/s is/are likely to come to India in the last week of April or first week of May. The price is still a mystery, but going by the recent strategy that Huawei has been following it will be aggressively priced to take down its competition. Specs-wise the Huawei P20 Pro sports a 1,080×2,240 pixel AMOLED 6.1-inch touchscreen featuring 18.5:9 aspect ratio. It features a notch too, just like the one found on Apple iPhone X. Inside, it is powered by a Kirin 970 chipset, which also has 6 gigs of RAM and 128 GB onboard memory. However, the USP of the device is not its firepower or screen, but its 3 camera setup. Yes, the Huawei P20 sports not two but three cameras at the back (20MP monochrome, 8MP telephoto and a 40 MP primary sensor). This should be a delicious combo for photography enthusiasts who love to click as they go. The phone also embodies a 4,000 mAh battery inside, which should keep it alive for at least a day after a full charge. The Huawei P20 Pro globally is available in four colours, Blue, Gold, Black and Twilight. However, we just might see three coming to India. All in all, this smartphone is one of the most awaited mobiles to come to India. The hype is huge, let’s see if the phone really delivers when it comes to performance.

Thomson comes back to India, launches 3 smart TVs starting from Rs 13,490

Couple of years ago Thomson, the French TV company, went out of India reasons best known to them. Now, the company is back in the country with a range of new televisions that support 4K UHD displays and are ready to take on the likes of Xiaomi Mi TV affordable lineup. Thomson has brought 32 (Rs 13,490), 40 (Rs 19,990) and 43-inch (Rs 27,999) smart TV’s to India that have Android for TV’s on them.  The televisions will start selling via Flipkart in a flash sale on April 13th, 2018. “Technicolor, owner of Thomson brand is very proud to sign a long-term license with SPPL as a strategic partner to develop Thomson’s presence in India”, stated Claire Villeneuve, Head, Intellectual Property and Licensing, Technicolor, France The Thomson 43 UHD 4K Smart TV features apps like Gmail, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Netflix and runs on Android 4.4.4.0. Users can download any app from the play store they like, too. The company says the three products are priced very aggressively for the cost sensitive consumer of today who is well-informed, uncompromising and discreet. At the moment the new smart TVs from Thomson do look disruptive and can probably take a piece of the growing smart TV segment pie. With ta pricing like this, we are sure more consumer will go and buy these thin tubes. However, as suggested earlier they do have stiff competition from makers like Xioami and Kodak, who too are selling 4K and HF smart TVs at a very low price point.

Lenovo India launches new ThinkPad series of laptops in T, X and L series

Lenovo is the latest to refresh its ThinkPad series of laptops. The global manufacturer has brought in the latest notebooks with 8th generation of Intel Core processors into India. First to come are the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Starting from Rs 1,21,000) and X1 Yoga (Starting from Rs 1,26,000) notebooks that sport Dolby Vision HDR and 500 Nits peak brightness displays. The X1 Carbon also features a 14-inch screen and is one of the lightest business notebooks in the country. Commenting on the launch, Rohit Midha, Director, Commercial Named Account, Lenovo India said, “The digital transformation has catapulted businesses to transform their workforce. The latest Think portfolio is in line with the changes that new technologies have brought about. With the new Intel® processor coupled with the legendary attributes of our Think product, the latest thin and light range is well equipped for the mobile workforce of today and tomorrow.” Next are the Lenovo ThinkPad T480 starting from Rs 69,000, T480s starting from Rs 86000 and T580 starts at Rs 74000. All of them will be available starting April, 2018. The laptops sport IR cameras and fingerprint sensors. The T580 also has the option to come with a discrete graphic card and can supply up to a whooping 27 hours of battery life. And lastly the ThinkPad L Series has got a makeover too. The Versatile Business Machines will start its sales from April 2018. As for price the ThinkPad L380 Yoga starts from Rs 65,000, L380 starts from Rs 61,000, L480 starting from Rs 54,000 and L580 comes at Rs 55,000. These too will have the latest Intel 8th gen of Core CPU’s. These are built for the lower end of the market and come in 13, 14 and 15-inch display sizes. The configuration of the laptops can be picked according to your work type from Lenovo’s online shop.

Epson launches TW650 and TW5650 entry level Full HD home projectors in India: Price, Specs and other details

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With the IPL season on it makes perfect sense to bring a projector home. Not only will it enhance the viewing experience, but your house guests will love you for it. Epson has just launched two affordable projectors in India called TW650, priced at Rs 58,999, and TW5650, priced at Rs 95,999. Epson says the projectors are aimed at first time consumers who want the joy of a big screen in their homes. The TW650, comes with a high brightness of 3,100 lumens as well as an improved contrast ratio of 15,000:1 for enhanced viewing whereas The EH-TW5650 comes with brightness of 2,500 lumens and contrast ratio of 60,000:1. Both the Epson projectors also feature quick corner and horizontal keystone slider that enables the users to adjust the screen when the projector is kept at awkward angles. The TW5650 also comes with les shift and can zoom 1.6 times. “Our two new home theatre projectors are packed with high end features and HD connectivity to bring an immersive cinematic home theatre experience to users at an amazingly affordable cost. We continue to bring improved specs and more innovative features to our home projectors, while bringing down costs and making home theatre projectors more accessible for our customers in India. Epson’s position as the No. 1 brand in India and worldwide is a testimony to our consistent efforts to deliver the best and innovative audio-visual technology” said Mr.Samba Moorthy, President, Epson India.   Product specifications include:
Model   EH-TW650 EH-TW5650  
Technology Projection System 3LCD Technology, RGB liquid crystal shutter 3LCD Technology, RGB liquid crystal shutter  
LCD Panel 0.61 inch with MLA 0.61 inch with MLA  
Image Lamp Light UHE, 210 W, 4.500 h durability, 7.500 h durability (economy mode) UHE, 200 W, 4.500 h durability, 7.500 h durability (economy mode)  
Color output 3.100 lumen- 1.925 lumen (economy) In accordance with IDMS15.4 2.500 lumen- 1.650 lumen (economy) In accordance with IDMS15.4  
White output 3.100 lumen – 1.925 lumen (economy) In accordance with ISO 21118:2012 2.500 lumen – 1.650 lumen (economy) In accordance with ISO 21118:2012  
Resolution Full HD 1080p, 1920 x 1080, 16:9 Full HD 1080p, 1920 x 1080, 16:9  
Contrast Ratio 15.000 : 1 60.000 : 1  
Aspect Ratio 16:9 16:9  
Color Reproduction Upto 1.07 billion colours Upto 1.07 billion colours  
Optical Projection Ratio 1,02 – 1,23:1 1,33 – 2,16:1  
Image Size 30 inches – 300 inches 30 inches – 300 inches  
Connectivity Interfaces USB 2.0 Type A, USB 2.0 Type B, Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11b/g/n, VGA in, HDMI in (2x), Composite in, MHL, Cinch audio in VGA in, HDMI in (2x), MHL, USB 2.0 Type A, USB 2.0 Type B (Service Only), Stereo mini jack audio out, Wireless LAN IEEE 802.11b/g/n, Miracast  
Epson iProjection App Ad-Hoc/ Infrastructure Ad-Hoc / Infrastructure  
Advanced Features Features AV mute slide, Automatic keystone correction, Built-in speaker, Horizontal and vertical keystone correction, MHL audio/video interface, Quick Corner, Split-Screen-Function 3D depth adjustment, Built-in speaker, Epson Super White, Frame interpolation, Horizontal and vertical keystone correction, MHL audio/video interface, Quick Corner, Screen Mirroring, Split-Screen-Function, Wireless LAN capable, iProjection App  
2D color modes Dynamic, Cinema, Bright Cinema Dynamic, Natural, Cinema, Bright Cinema  
General Energy Use 298 W, 219 W (economy), 0,2 W (standby), On mode power consumption as defined in JBMS84 264 W 296 W, 227 W (economy), 0,2 W (standby), On mode power consumption as defined in JBMS- 84 256 W  
Product Dimensions 302 x 252 x 92 mm (Width x Depth x Height) 309 x 285 x 122 mm (Width x Depth x Height)  
Product Weight 2.7kg 3,5 kg  
Warranty 24 months Carry in, Lamp: 36 months or 3.000 h 24 months Carry in, Lamp: 36 months or 3.000 h  
Price Rs. 58,999 Rs. 95,999  
 

Google Home and Home Mini smart speakers launched in India: Price, details, specs and more

Finally, the wait is over and Google has brought its smart speakers range to India. Before this Amazon had brought its Echo range of smart speakers to India, which ran with their own AI system known as Alexa. Now with the introduction of the Google Home and Home Mini smart speakers in the Indian Market, there is some competition for them. Google Home is the bigger speaker that was first showcased at a Google i/o event and has a larger audio driver in it. The Home Mini aimed at first time users was also showcased at Google i/o event last year in USA. Both are powered by Google’s own assistant which you find on all the Android smartphones. Google Home sports a touch surface interface on the top side that has play/pause and volume buttons. However, it is best controlled with your voice. For which a far-field voice recognition mic is placed on the top panel. It has a high excursion speaker with 2-inch driver and dual 2-inch passive radiators that deliver clear highs and rich bass. Google Home is available for Rs 9,999 and the Home Mini will sell for Rs 4,999. As for the Google Home Mini’s specs, this small voice activated speaker has 4 lights on it, which turn orange when the MIC is muted. For connectivity both Google Home and Home Mini support Wi-Fi and they need to be actively connected to the internet. The smart speakers will be available, no points for guessing, on Flipkart from today onwards and offline stores, too.

Apple iPhone 8 and 8 plus now available in red colour, iPhone X just gets a red case

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After last year’s red variants of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple has gone ahead and announced red colour versions of the latest iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. The phones will start shipping in USA from April 13 with a starting price of $699 (roughly Rs 68,000). This refreshes the iPhone line-up mid-season, which should help boost sales of the less popular iPhone. The iPhone 8 and 8 plus got lukewarm reception when they were launched in Sept last year, thanks to its bigger brother the iPhone X. People all around the globe waited for the iPhone X and sales of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus suffered because of it. Now in a bid to push the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sales (and also raise awareness), Apple has brought the new colour variants. The phones have a matte red aluminium finish and feature 64 GB and 256 GB storage options. The pre-orders of the smartphones start in the US from today, April 10. The basic aim (as Apple says it) is that the company wants to support and raise awareness to fight HIV AIDS in Africa. In the first phase the red version of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus will sell in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and UK, besides USA. Sadly, India will need to wait for a little longer as May has been decided for the phones to come to this side of the globe. Disappointingly, there is no red version of the iPhone X available. Only a red leather case has been launched for the Apple iPhone X. We for one would have loved to see a red variant of the iPhone X. Oh well, maybe next year we might see a red version of the 2018 model of the Apple iPhone X.

How to delete your Facebook account forever or for sometime

After the Cambridge Analytica fiasco on Facebook, many feared their personal information has been leaked to other companies or misused in some form. Well, the leak was real and there is no legit way of understanding whose personal data has been used and sent to how many. The estimates go into millions and your precious personal data can be one of the many. If you fear your information has been harvested without your consent from Facebook and want to delete your FB account, or at least temporarily disable it (till the system becomes more secure), follow these steps:
  • Deactivate your account for some time
Doing so will temporarily disable your Facebook account and also at the same time eliminate your name from the things you have shared or tagged. To do so just click on the down arrow button on the top blue bar of Facebook on your desktop/laptop and scroll down to deactivate your account. The system will ask your password to confirm. You can again activate your account by logging on to www.facebook.com and keying in the user name and password.
  • Deleting the account forever
Had enough of the social media website? Don’t want your personal data to be leaked to anyone else. You can delete the FB account once and for all. Remember doing so will delete everything you ever stored or created on Facebook, including messages, videos and photos. You would need to visit Facebook’s account deletion page here and press delete my account. Some websites do say that it will take between 60-90 days for the servers to fully delete your data. However, once you click delete you will not be able to access it ever again. So tread carefully.

New range of headphones and audio devices to come to India by Energy Sistem

Energy Sistem, an audio technology firm from Spain, has brought it full range of headphones and speakers to India. The India leg is in partnership with Alchemie Commerce Pvt Ltd and together they are aiming to keep the pricing very competitive. Mr K Sunil, Managing Director, Alchemie Commerce commented “We are excited to partner with Energy Sistem, a seasoned brand and a specialist in personal audio products in over 40 countries around the world.Globally, Energy Sistem continues to fulfil its role as a brand which provides quality products with superior design and technology by redefining portable audio solutions. Now is the perfect time to provide the same superlative experience to theIndian customers. We are confident that Energy Sistem’s powerful products will change the dynamics of the Indian market.” The range will include everything from headphones, audio neck bands, sports audio plugs, Bluetooth speakers and full range tower audio systems. They will go up against the likes of Sony, Sennheiser, JBL and Bose in the country. However, the price will be much less than them. Speaking at the launch, Ms Natalia Ovsyannikova, Country Manager, EnergySistem commented, “It gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of Energy Sistem in India.At Energy Sistem, we aim to create quality products to make our users’ daily lives easier and allow them to enjoy their music whenever and wherever they like. Our products are aimed at customers who live every moment to the fullest. Behind the brand, there is a multicultural team of 150 people of 16 different nationalities who are able to make difficult things happen in a simple way. We are confident that Energy Sistem will create a long lasting relationship with its customers in India. While the industry is estimated to be at INR3000 Crores, we expect to reach revenue of INR 250 Crores by 2020”

MSI launches G65 Stealth, GE Raider RGB and GT75 Titan gaming laptops in India

MSI might have been a name that was synonymous with gaming motherboards and graphic cards in the wee years of its existence. But, now it has become a well-known brand in the gaming laptop segment too. MSI has refreshed its gaming laptops line-up and has introduced them with new 8th generation of Intel Core CPU’s.

First up is the MSI GS65 Stealth thin gaming laptop. It is the first gaming laptop to feature a 144Hz 7ms IPS display with 4.9mm thin form factor. While the bezels are extremely thin, the company has not compromised on the placement of the webcam. MSI left just enough room in the top bezel for the webcam, as opposed to being awkwardly placed at the bottom of the screen.

To power the 144Hz screen, the MSI GS65 Stealth thin gaming laptop is equipped a NVIDIA GTX 1070 graphic card. It also features the latest 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor, which provides up to a 40 percent more performance over the previous generation. The GS65 Stealth Thin can be pre-ordered from Flipkart, Paytm, and authorized sellers at a starting price of Rs 1,69,990.

The second one in the line-up is GE Raider RGB Edition gaming notebook which was announced at CES this year. The GE63/73 Raider RGB Edition is inspired by sports cars and the PC Master Race’s love for RGB. It also supports the latest Intel 8th gen core i7 CPI and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics unit. The configuration is cooled by MSI Cooler Boost 5, a cooling system with dual fans and seven copper heats pipes. This gaming laptop will be available on pre-order at Flipkart, Paytm and all authorized sellers with a starting price of Rs 1,64,990.

Last in the new basket is MSI GT75 Titan with new 8th generation Intel core i9 Hexacore overclocked CPU. Together with NVIDIA graphics and mechanical keyboards, the new GT series pushes performance beyond its limits. Combined with MSI’s Cooler Boost Titan, the six-core 12-thread formation results in up to a seventy percent performance kick. The starting price of MSI GTI75 is Rs 2,99,990.

Get 102GB of data with this JIO pack for 51 days, IPL special

Reliance JIO is back with yet another offer that will bowl many over. The company has been really aggressive with its data and voice call offers over the last one year, which has helped them get many customers in the country. IPL is right around the corner and banking on the big season Reliance has decided to come out with a fat data plan. This time Reliance JIO is offering a new prepaid pack that will give the consumers 102 GB of data at Rs 251 (recharge). The plan will be valid for 51 days and is also said to give full access of live IPL matches to the users on smartphones. With this, JIO has also launched a new mobile game that can be played during the IPL 2018 season. Yes, there will be prizes given during the game. The game will be available for 7 weeks and will support 11 languages. Known as JIO Cricket Play Along live game, it can be played on any smartphone. This is a great way to attract more customers to the JIO bandwagon and IPL is one big attraction for a cricket frenzy country like ours. Apart from this Reliance has also announced JIO Dhan Dhana Dhan live TV show that will be hosted by Sunil Grover and Samir Kochchar. They will be accompanied by lot of cricketers and comedians throughout the IPL 2018 season. The show is said to premiere at 7:30 PM on April 7 only on the My JIO app. Pic courtesy: World Wide Web

Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 (2018) launched in India: Price, specs and other details

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Nokia recently announced these phones as Mobile World Congress (MWC) and now they have brought all three to India. The new entourage of Nokia smartphones include the Nokia 8 Sirocco, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 6 (2018). These cement the commitment of early launch and arrival of Nokia’s smartphones in India. After just a month of their global launch the smartphones have arrived in our country and here is what they feature: First up, Nokia 6 (2018) The Nokia 6 (2018) is available in two variants with a single SIM slot and a dual SIM Slot. With a 5.5-inch full HD (1080p) IPS display the Nokia 6 (2018) will also sport a Corning Gorilla Glass on it. Over that, the smartphone comes with 3 GB and 4GB DDR4 RAM options, built on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC (Octa-core). As far as the operating system is concerned Nokia 6 (2018) runs the Android 8.0 Oreo OS. The rear gets 16 MP camera with dual-tone flash and Zeiss Optics. While the front sports an 8 MP fixed focus cameras with f/2.0 aperture. Powered by a 3,000 mAh battery this smartphone can deliver up to (claimed) 16 hours of talk time or up to 507 hours of standby time. As for the storage the Nokia 6 (2018) comes with 32 GB and 64 GB memory options that can be expanded with the help of microSD card, up to 128 GB. Other features include, GPS, Wi-Fi, USB Type C connectivity and 3.5mm headphone jack. Nokia 6 starts selling on 6 April 16999 with cashback offer in Nokia mobile stores. Next is Nokia 7 Plus Nokia 7 Plus features a big 6-inch FHD+ (1080×2160 pixels) IPS display with 18:9 aspect ratio. The screen does have Corning Gorilla glass over it, as much needed protection. Under the hood the Nokia 7 Plus runs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset with 4 gigs of DDR4 RAM.  The chip also features 64GB on board storage, which can be expanded by up to 256 GB using a microSD card. The Nokia 7 Plus has 12 + 13 MP wide-angle dual rear cameras with 2X optical zoom. It is matched with dual-tone LED flash. The front of the smartphone sports a 13 MP fixed focus cameras with f/2.0 aperture. Zeiss optics are available on both the rear and front cameras. It is built on the Android 8 Oreo operating system, which should get regular security updates over the air. Other features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, USB Type C and 3.5mm audio jack. Battery life lies at up to 19 hours of continuous talk time via an in-built 3,800 mAh battery. It features aluminium body made from a single block of 6000 series metal. Colour options include black and white. Nokia 7 plus pre-booking starts 20th April and starts selling on 30th April at a price of Rs 25,999. On Amazon and Nokia mobile shops. The fastest of the lot, Nokia 8 Sirocco Catering to the premium end of the smartphone users, Nokia also announced the Nokia 8 Sirocco. It features a large 5.5-inch QHD (1,440×2560 pixels) pOLED display. This also has a Corning Gorilla glass 5 over it (3D). This too has dual rear cameras 13 + 12 MP for superior pictures and will support bokeh effect. 2X optical zoom is available, too. However, the front camera is not like the one found on the Nokia 7 Plus, Nokia 8 Sirocco has just a 5 MP front camera. Built out of stainless steel the Nokia 8 Sirocco is 7.5 mm thin at the spine. IP 67 rating has been procured for this device, making it splash proof. Inside, the Nokia 8 Sirocco users get a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC combined with 6 gigs of RAM. For storage, this smartphone features 128 GB memory. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, GPS, NFC and BT v5. Fingerprint sensor, gyroscope and proximity sensor have also been thrown in the mix. Nokia 8 Sirocco pre-booking starts 20 April and sales begin 30th April with a price tag of Rs 49,999 with cashback offers. Flipkart is the official partner for online sales.

This is what the new OnePlus smartphone will be called, plus everything we know about its specs

After Apple, OnePlus is probably the only smartphone maker that has a cult following around the globe. The Chinese smartphone brand has made a name for itself in not just the Asian markets, but also the western world. The company is all set to launch its latest flagship mobile across the sphere in some time, however in the latest teaser the name has already been revealed. The new top of the line device will be called OnePlus 6. The video captioned “6et ready” was spotted on the official Twitter channel of OnePlus. Some of the phones specifications have also come to light on the web. OnePlus 6 will definitely have the notch, just like the one found on Apple iPhone X. OnePlus 6 will also feature a Qualcomm 845 SoC, Android 8.1 operating system and 128 GB (confirmed) storage. We are still unclear on the amount of RAM OnePlus 6 will get. The smartphone is also listed to get dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. The screen will support FHD graphics and users should be able to play graphic intensive games with ease on this smartphone. Rumours are rife that the price of the OnePlus 6 might be kept around the Rs 40K mark. This could very well be the most expensive OnePlus smartphone launched in the country till date. We sure hope it stays below Rs 40,000, so that it continues to be great value for money option for consumers. OnePlus 5T was launched in two variants, namely 64GB and 128 GB. OnePlus 6 will also come in these two variations with another 256 GB version added to its kitty (revealed via a recent leak). We will keep you updated as more details get revealed about the OnePlus 6 in the coming weeks.

Nokia 6 3GB price slashed yet again, before the launch of 2018 model launch of Nokia 6

Price cuts are part and parcel of the mobile industry. Some smartphones get their price slashed within a month of launch and some after a quarter. Whatever the case maybe, a price cut is inevitable when it comes to smart devices. The latest to undergo a value tear is Nokia 6 3GB that now is available at Rs 12,999 from Rs 14,999 (previously) on Amazon India. The new price cut comes right before the expected launch of Nokia 6, 2018 version, to be held on April 4. When we talk about the specifications of the Nokia 6, it features a 5.5 FHD display with 2.5D curved Gorilla glass, Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB on board memory. As for the cameras it sports a 16 MP rear shooter and a front 8 MP selfie camera. This smartphone also got the Android Oreo 8.0 update in the beginning of this year. To keep the phone alive for long, Nokia did install a 3,000 mAh battery inside it.