Indian-origin Canadian Anmol Tukrel claims to have a better search engine than Google
At just 16 years of age, an Indian-origin Canadian citizen named Anmol Tukrel has designed a personalised search engine. Is this search engine accurate? Read on to know more about it.
Anmol Tukrel had designed the new search engine, which is 47% times more accurate than Google. The search engine was designed as part of his high school project and also as the part of the project it had to be submitted to Google Science Fair, which is a global online competition open to students aged 13 to 18 years.
He claims that his search engine is better than Google because it shows most relevant content regarding account location or browsing history. His search engine also tries to understand context and meaning. It took him a few months to design this project and approx. 60 hours to code the search engine.
Anmol Tukrel says, he thought he would do something in the personalized search space. It was the most genius thing ever. But when he realised Google already does it, he tried taking it to the next level.
Some reports say that to test the accuracy of the search engine, Tukrel limited the search query to this year’s articles from the New York Times. Anmol Turkrel’s search engine is about 21% more accurate on an average.
If that is the case, this kid’s future does seem very bright as Google might just pick him up. We have seen Google picking up young talent like him pretty early and getting them on the roles so that no one else scoops them away.
Delhi Police launches SMS alerts service to avoid traffic jams and accidents in the city
To control the ever problematic traffic menace in Delhi, the city’s traffic Police on Friday launched a free SMS alert service for the people.
This service can be subscribed to by sending and SMS with S (Space) DTP (Space) (your name) to 9811452220, the service will then start within 24 hours. The police will then send you information about traffic jams, vehicle breakdowns, water logging, accidents, road blocks, or traffic diversions. And to unsubscribe the service one has to send and SMS to the same number.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said “This is an attempt to provide traffic information to commuters before they embark on their journey. The Delhi Police’s traffic unit will work in tandem with associates across the city who will contribute by giving information on traffic concerns. They want to maximise the use of the digital platform to become a smarter police force. This service was run for a few months on trial basis in 2012 also through a private company to test its viability.”
This free SMS alert service is being launched in association with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, who provided bulk SMS service free of cost to the Delhi Police for this purpose, initially for a period of one year, under the Mobile Seva initiative of the government.
The Delhi Police had been doing the same through updates on Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The Prime Minister of India, in his address to DGsP/IGsP of states, had called for introduction of it as “SMART” policing. We think this is good move by the Indian Capital’s traffic cops and if successful, should be followed by other states and cities as well.
Lenovo A2010 4G LTE Dual-SIM smartphone gets launched at Rs 4,990
The Chinese smartphone maker, Lenovo has just launched its latest smartphone called the A2010. This smartphone is from their very successful ‘A’ series in India. Lenovo A2010 will be available in black and white colour variants.
Mr. Sudhin Mathur, Director- Smartphones, Lenovo India said, “An Indian consumer is evolved and willing to move with the world. We at Lenovo are looking to bridge the gap between the latest technology and an Indian consumer by offering innovative and future-proof devices easily available to the masses at an affordable price. Lenovo A2010 is a step in this direction.”
The Lenovo A2010 has a 4.5-inch TFT-LCD display. The smartphone runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system and comes with dual-SIM support. Lenovo A2010 supports the two available 4G LTE bands in India i.e. FDD 1,800MHz (Band 3) & TDD 2,300MHz (Band 40). It is powered by a 64-bit 1GHz Quad-core MediaTek MT6735m processor coupled with 1GB of RAM.
The on-board storage of the Lenovo A2010 accounts to 8GB that can be expanded further via microSD card up to 32GB. The device features a 5-megapixel rear camera with advanced LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Lenovo A2010 features 4G LTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB as connectivity options. The device houses a 2,000 mAh battery to keep it alive.
The company has priced the Lenovo K3 Note at Rs 4,990 and it will be available exclusively on Flipkart, as far as online sales are concerned. The registrations for the sale have already begun on Flipkart. The Lenovo A2010 (black version) will go on sale on 3 September, 2015 at 3pm.
Techs Specs of Lenovo A2010
- Network supported: 4G LTE
- Display size: TFT-LCD 4.50-inch display
- Operating system: Android 5.1 Lollipop OS
- CPU: Quad-Core 1.0GHz processor (64-bit)
- Chipset: MediaTek MT6735m
- RAM: 1GB
- Memory: 8GB internal memory & add up to 32GB via microSD card
- Camera: Rear camera 5-megapixel and secondary camera 2-megapixel
- Dimensions: 50x 66.50 x 9.95mm
- Weight: 137g
- Battery: 2,000 mAh
Moto G3 review: Staggering battery performance at an affordable price blew us away, did we mention its waterproof too
The segment of phones around the 10K mark has been a heated one since a year or so now. Mostly because people of tier 2 and 3 towns in India have a budget around that, when it comes to smartphones purchase. Also, then there is the reasoning that the youth wants to upgrade a phone after 1-2 years of use, so why spend more. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure that this segment of mobiles phones is where all the action is.
Moto G3 also known as Moto G third gen is one of the latest launches in the segment. We got our hands on this 4G ready device and have been playing around with it since a little while now. Here is our review of this neat little smartphone that provides the perfect bang for your buck. Read on to know more.
Design
Motorola has been an innovator since day one. Let’s not forget they are the ones who introduced the world to the wonders of mobile telephony. The Moto G3 is not a fabulous, nevertheless a good device to look at. It has its own set of design features that sets it apart from the others. We got the white version to review and at first we thought, gosh this smartphone will get dirty easily. However, to our astonishment it does not. If you manage to put a smudge on the back panel, you can easily wipe it off. Thanks the light grooves on it. All the muck just goes away with a light wipe of a cloth.
The front of the Moto G3 sports a 5-inch HD display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. Above that the users get a front camera with proximity sensors and at the bottom Motorola has placed the loudspeaker. The power and volume keys are located on the right of the phone, while the charging port is at the bottom and the audio jack is at the top. As said before, we are great admirers of audio jacks on top as one can slide the phone in the front trouser pocket and connect the headphones to listen to music without any worry.
A rounded silver rim runs on the sides of the Moto G3. The back panel holds a 13 MP camera right in the middle that has a silver trim around it going down an inch with the Motorola logo on it. The logo has a slight indent that makes the user hold the phone in a better manner. Remove the back panel and you will find 2 SIM slots and a microSD card slot. The battery cannot be removed on this phone. You ask why? That’s because this phone is water proof. You can drop it in water and nothing will happen to it. Just remember not to keep it there for more than 30 minutes or water will start to seep in.
Performance
The Moto G3 is a phone that is not the best performer out there, but can run easily with the big boys. Under the hood Moto G3 has a Qulacomm Snapdragon 410 chipset that has a 1.4 GHz Quad-core cortex A53 CPU and 2GB RAM on it. For storage users get 16 GB memory, out of which only about 11.8 GB is available for use. If you need more, you can install a microSD card on it (up to 32 GB).
We ran few mid to high-end games on it and the phone did not flicker. It managed most of them well. Heating was a bit of an issue with some games, nonetheless it would cool down quickly once you shut them off.
Moto G3 has a 13 MP rear camera with auto focus and dual LED flash. This camera is a treat to work with. The colour reproduction is great and one can easily take good HD videos at 30 FPS. The front camera has a 5 MP sensor on the Moto G3, which is not bad either. We quite loved clicking images indoors and outdoors. For low light we used the flash and results were pretty good.
We tested the Moto G3 with Antutu benchmark and it scored 24,068 points. Not bad for a phone at this price. The phone comes with Android 5 Lollipop OS and its native apps. If you are shifting from a previous Android phone, then you might feel some things are missing as this is just the native and basic OS skin supplied by Google. However, the Play store is now overflowing with thousands of apps to take care of all your needs. If you want a feature on the phone, we are pretty sure you will find the right app for it there.
Verdict
The screen of the Moto G3 is the department where we felt the phone could have done better. The response time is a bit low and colours could have also been better with deeper blacks. Motorola has added few neat features on the Moto G3. Some worth mentioning include the double downward flick. This turns on the flash light. Another gesture one can do is to quickly open the camera when in standby mode. Just swoop flick the phone away from you and it turns on the camera. For this to happen swiftly one would need to practice a little.
All this is good, but what really blew us away is the impressive battery life. The 2,470 mAh battery lasted for almost 48 hours straight with normal daily calling and Wi-Fi on. Now that is what we need from a mobile phone. This phone is worth every penny spent on it. This is our recommendation of the month and one can pick this water proof marvel with closed eyes.
Pros
Excellent battery life
Inexpensive
Good Cameras
Cons
Screen not the best
Slight heating issues
Performance
The Moto G3 is a phone that is not the best performer out there, but can run easily with the big boys. Under the hood Moto G3 has a Qulacomm Snapdragon 410 chipset that has a 1.4 GHz Quad-core cortex A53 CPU and 2GB RAM on it. For storage users get 16 GB memory, out of which only about 11.8 GB is available for use. If you need more, you can install a microSD card on it (up to 32 GB).
We ran few mid to high-end games on it and the phone did not flicker. It managed most of them well. Heating was a bit of an issue with some games, nonetheless it would cool down quickly once you shut them off.
Moto G3 has a 13 MP rear camera with auto focus and dual LED flash. This camera is a treat to work with. The colour reproduction is great and one can easily take good HD videos at 30 FPS. The front camera has a 5 MP sensor on the Moto G3, which is not bad either. We quite loved clicking images indoors and outdoors. For low light we used the flash and results were pretty good.
We tested the Moto G3 with Antutu benchmark and it scored 24,068 points. Not bad for a phone at this price. The phone comes with Android 5 Lollipop OS and its native apps. If you are shifting from a previous Android phone, then you might feel some things are missing as this is just the native and basic OS skin supplied by Google. However, the Play store is now overflowing with thousands of apps to take care of all your needs. If you want a feature on the phone, we are pretty sure you will find the right app for it there.
Verdict
The screen of the Moto G3 is the department where we felt the phone could have done better. The response time is a bit low and colours could have also been better with deeper blacks. Motorola has added few neat features on the Moto G3. Some worth mentioning include the double downward flick. This turns on the flash light. Another gesture one can do is to quickly open the camera when in standby mode. Just swoop flick the phone away from you and it turns on the camera. For this to happen swiftly one would need to practice a little.
All this is good, but what really blew us away is the impressive battery life. The 2,470 mAh battery lasted for almost 48 hours straight with normal daily calling and Wi-Fi on. Now that is what we need from a mobile phone. This phone is worth every penny spent on it. This is our recommendation of the month and one can pick this water proof marvel with closed eyes.
Pros
Excellent battery life
Inexpensive
Good Cameras
Cons
Screen not the best
Slight heating issues Karbonn launches Aura 9 Android smartphone with support for 21 languages at Rs 6,390
The domestic smartphone manufacturer Karbonn has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of yet another budget smartphone dubbed as ‘Aura 9’. The company has priced the smartphone for Rs 6,390 and it will be available in White and Navy Blue colour options.
Talking about the specifications, the Karbonn Aura 9 features a 5-inch IPS display with 854×480 pixels resolution. The dual SIM smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat operating system. Powering the device is 1.2GHz quad-core processor paired with 1GB of RAM. The internal storage of the smartphone stands at 8GB which can be expanded up to 32GB using a microSD card.
The Karbonn Aura 9 smartphone sports an 8.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5.0-megapixel front facing camera. The smartphone packs in a massive 4,000 mAh battery and offers 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS as connectivity options. The device has support for 21 languages and also offers Gesture Control to access apps with the screen locked.
Kingston launches the stylish HyperX Cloud Core II Gaming headphones in India
Kingston is slightly new to the gaming headset world. But, that has not stopped them to launch yet another good looking headphone in the form of HyperX Cloud Core II. These headphones are specially built for the professional gamers, musicians and music lovers. These headphones are designed to produce unsurpassed sound quality.
The Kingston HyperX Cloud Core II features a USB sound card audio control box that amplifies audio and voice for an amazing Hi-Fi gaming experience. The headphone’s audio and microphone volume control lets the users adjust not only the sound volume, but also the mic volume. The keys also enable a user to easily toggle Surround Sound 7.1 or the mic sound on and off. These smart headsets also let you figure out where your enemy is in the game and strike before he sees you coming.
The company says the Kingston headphones provide a user with unique style, ultimate comfort and rugged durability. These headphones have a wide, padded headband that offers comfort to a user. The closed-ear design ensures users hear every note clearly.
With the headset, one can get a spare pair of ear cups (cloth or faux leather), USB controller cord with volume control, a detachable microphone, a dual 3.5 jack adapter and a bag to carry all these things.
The HyperX Cloud Core II Gaming Headphones are available at Amazon for Rs 8,999.
Tech Specs
- Wearing Style: Around Ear
- Colours: Available in black-red and white-pink
- USB Audio / 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound
- 53mm Drivers
- Leather or Velour Ear Pads
- Detachable Microphone
- Compatible With PC, PS4 and Xbox One
GUESS tied up with Martian to bring its first GUESS CONNECT smartwatch to India
GUESS is well-known for recreating fashion and lifestyle products. They have partnered with Martian Watches (a California based award-winning developer of fashionable smartwatches) and have just announced the debut of its latest wearable tech timepiece called the GUESS CONNECT. This fashion chic smartwatch line is designed for both men and women.
The GUESS CONNECT smartwatches will feature Martian’s dual mode functionality. This Martian module would sport a microphone and clear audio speaker as well. The GUESS CONNECT smartwatches will also allow users to connect to their smartphone’s resident voice command app. With this feature, the users can give voice commands, talk and listen, and respond to texts and emails directly from the watch.
The buyers will be getting free iOS and Android App with the watch. By using this free iOS and Android app, users can customize which notifications are received on the watch. They can create unique vibration patterns to distinguish between alert types and can easily recall the most recent notifications with just a tap of the watch glass.
The company will be launching the GUESS CONNECT smartwatch in India by this October. The price will be announced soon.
Technical Specifications
- Analog quartz watch with Japanese movement
- Upper command/lower select pushers
- Noise-Cancellation Microphone
- Directional Personal Speaker with adjustable volume
- OLED display
- Bluetooth® 4.0 chip (classic Bluetooth and Bluetooth low energy)
- RGB LED light
- Adjustable Vibrating Motor
- Free iOS/Android app for settings & features
- Dual power sources: 3-5 days of use time & analog watch battery for up to 2 years
- Charging via micro USB.
Make in India: Lenovo and Motorola to start local manufacturing of smartphones in India
Lenovo and Motorola have just announced that they will start the local manufacturing of smartphones in Sriperambudur, Chennai. Both, Lenovo and Motorola will generate a capacity of 6 million units.
Chen Xudong, President MBG Group, Lenovo and Chairman Motorola Mobility Operating Board, said “Lenovo is not new to manufacturing in India. We recognized the potential of India and we invested in PC manufacturing several years ago. Lenovo’s investment in the new manufacturing plant represents the potential we see in the Indian market and our long term commitment to our customers. In the past ten years, our brand has grown manifold in India. We are excited to expand our presence and tap into India’s competent talent pool that will enable us to develop cutting-edge products for our customers across the world.”
The campus will house 1,500 workers for manufacturing lines, quality assurance, product testing, etc. Both the companies will have separate manufacturing lines at the same facility. The Lenovo and Motorola brands have returned to manufacture in India to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Both the companies have started integrating the manufacturing and supply chain operations.
Let’s see, how well this will work for both of them in the near future. Hopefully the prices of the smartphones will come down further after this move.
Micromax Canvas Tab P690 Review: A good looking tablet at Rs 8,999
Micromax, the smartphone and tablet manufacturer has got yet another tablet in the Indian market that is in the budget segment. Called the Micromax Canvas Tab P690, we got to review it recently and this is what we could make of it.
Design
The Micromax Canvas Tab P690 is available in metallic grey colour. The tablets grey metal back panel is grippy and one can hold the tablet nicely. This back grey metal is extended to the side panel that gives this tablet the edge over others. There is also a white Micromax logo on the back, adding to the whole show. Overall, the design is pretty competitive and gives this one an expensive look.
The Micromax Canvas Tab P690 features an 8-inch LCD IPS display. This LCD IPS display is ideal for reading e-books and one can even watch movies on it as the colours look real on the screen. The tablet is not that heavy, it has only 318g weight and it is 7.8mm thick.
The power button is located on the right side of the tablet along with the volume key. The SIM and microSD slots are placed a little away on the same side. Both, the USB port and a 3.5mm headset jack are located at the top of the tablet. The primary camera is on the top left (rear) of the tablet. A neat pair of headphones also come in the box that take care of the users resonance needs.
Performance
At this level performance does matter. The Micromax Canvas Tab P690 has an Intel Atom 1.83GHz Quad-Core 64-bit processor that comes with 1GB of RAM. Together they try to make the applications and services run as smoothly as possible. This tablet has 8GB of internal memory of which only 3.81GB is free for users to store files as the rest is taken by the operating system and default apps. However, there is the option to add up to 32GB microSD card to store additional files.
The Micromax Canvas Tab P690 sensors list includes accelerometer sensor, proximity sensor, gravity sensor and ambient light sensor. The primary camera of the tablet can capture 5-megapixel still images. For selfies, there is a 2-megapixel secondary camera. The picture quality was not up to the mark but the Macro shots were quite good.
We were able to play most apps and mid-end games on the tablet without any hassles. But, the tablet hangs a lot while playing high-end games and one can’t enjoy the game at this level. We faced no problems when it came to audio and call quality on the Micromax Canvas Tab P690. The supplied headphones are really nice. Screen, image and video quality is also above average and we quite liked what we saw.
Moving on to its battery life, the Micromax Canvas Tab P690 has 4,000 mAh non-removable battery inside it. But, it can barely stay awake for a full day. We tested the tablet with Quadrant and it managed to score 12,976 points, we were expecting a bit more.
Verdict
The Micromax Canvas Tab P690 looks good and it is built for the youngsters. It has the Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS, which can get upgraded to Lollipop OS. It comes with a lot of preloaded apps. The experience was quite smooth throughout. One can get the Micromax Canvas Tab P690 for Rs 8,999.
Pros
- Quite affordable
- Stylish compact design
- Decent performance
- Average battery life
- Camera without flash
- Comes with Android KitKat OS
- Network supported: 2G and 3G
- Display size: LCD IPS 8-inch display
- Operating system: Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS
- CPU: Intel Atom 83GHz Quad-Core processor
- RAM: 1GB
- Memory: 8GB (memory can be expanded up to 32GB via micro SD card)
- Camera: Rear camera 5MP and 2MP secondary camera
- Dimensions:8 x 120.5 x 7.8mm
- Weight: 318g
- Battery: 4,000 mAh (non-removable)
YU Yureka Plus Review: A stunning smartphone at an affordable price
Yureka brand by the Indian handset maker Micromax was written off by many at the start. However, the handset maker is doing decently well and the market is slowly waking up to them. The latest smartphone from their house is the Yu Yureka Plus. Want to know about it a little more? Read on.
Design
The YU Yureka Plus is available in white and moon dust grey colours. We received a grey unit for review and quite liked it. The Yureka Plus’s body is supported by a rubberized plastic frame, which is curved all over and has rounded corners. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 over a 5.5-inch display and is very comfortable to use with just one hand. The phone is very light and easy to use.
At the back of the mobile phone, we have a removable plastic panel that fits well with the frame. Under this removable plastic panel, there is a removable battery, two Micro SIM card slots and a Micro SD card slot. At the back, you will also see the camera lens. The power button is located on the right side of the phone and the volume rocker key is located on the left side. The USB port is located at the bottom of the phone and the 3.5mm headset jack is located at the top of the mobile phone. A neat pair of headphones also come in the box.
Performance
The Yureka Plus has a 1.5GHz Octa-Core processor that comes along with 2GB of RAM for applications and services. The users also get 16GB of internal memory to store files. Over that, there is the option to add up to a 32GB via a microSD card. All this runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615. For graphics an Adreno 405 is also on board. The smartphone features HTML5 for browsing. Other features include Gyroscope sensor, Accelerometer sensor, Qualcomm’s quick charge technology and Cyanogen 12.
The primary camera of Yureka Plus can capture 13-megapixel still images and 1080p videos. For selfies, there is a 5-megapixel front camera. The camera captures very decent pictures but in low light and dark areas, the picture quality was not desirable. The camera requires sufficient amount of light for a beautiful snap. A feature worth mentioning here is that the rear camera can autofocus and also comes with a LED flash.
Games, music apps and video galleries ran extremely well. But, the mobile phone heats up really fast. We faced no problems when it came to the audio and call quality on the Yu Yureka Plus. The supplied headphones get the job done and one can hear the beats clearly. Screen, image and video quality is above average.
Stepping towards its battery life, the YU Yureka Plus does not manage to stay awake for a long duration. With 2,500 mAh battery inside it, it worked for 18 hours after a full charge (under nominal use). We tested the phone with Quadrant and it managed to score 23,304 points that puts it right in the middle of the stack.
Verdict
The YU Yureka Plus has good voice quality and also has some great features in it. It has the latest Android Lollipop 5.0.2 with Cyanogen 12 and some excellent apps such as Audio FX and YUniverse browser. The skin enhances everything from the security to the UI design. The experience was pretty much smooth throughout. The company has priced the Yu Yureka Plus at Rs 10,999.
Pros
- Quite affordable
- Decent performance
- 2GB of RAM
- Neat Design
- Average camera performance
- Average battery life
- Phone heats up really fast
Creative launches its latest EP-600m high performance earphones in India
Creative is a leading worldwide manufacturer of digital entertainment products and they are trying to bring good products to the Indian market. They have just launched the Creative EP-600m. These high performance ear plugs feature noise-isolation, dynamic bass and clear audio playback.
The company says that the Creative EP-600m deliver amazing well-balanced audio playback powered by a pair of 10mm Neodymium drivers. This headset also comes with inline microphone, which supports voice pick-up for calls. So, one can easily switch between their calls and music playback. The Creative EP-600m not only ensures maximum sound isolation, but also provides comfort for hours of listening.
The company has priced the Creative EP-600m headset at Rs 799.
Micromax Canvas Selfie 2 and Canvas Selfie 3 smartphones make their debut in India
Micromax is trying to bring decent mobile phones at affordable price for youngsters in India. They are continuously bringing good Android mobiles one after the other. And now, they have just launched two new smartphones in the Canvas Selfie range, which are Canvas Selfie 2 and Canvas Selfie 3. Both the smartphones offer a perfect combination of innovation, style and performance with the premium front and rear cameras with various shooting modes.
Mr. Vineet Taneja, CEO, Micromax Informatics, said, “With over 93 million selfies being captured every day, people today take and retake pictures of themselves until it mirrors perfection and what they want the world to see them as. Keeping this in mind, we have created our Canvas Selfie range which has received tremendous response from our young consumers with Canvas Selfie. Taking the selfie craze to the next level, we are proud to announce the two new smartphones which are ideal for the users delivering fantastic images and equipping them with great beauty editing tools to look their best always.”
Micromax Canvas Selfie 2
The Micromax Canvas Selfie 2 flaunts a 5-inch FWVGA IPS display. The device runs an Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system. Powering the smartphone is a Quad-Core 1.3GHz processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The on-board storage of the smartphone accounts to 8GB that can be expanded further via a microSD card.
The new Canvas Selfie 2 sports a 5MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. The smartphone comes with the Face Beauty mode, which lets the users balance facial features, soften complexions and remove skin blemishes. The smartphone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth as connectivity options and it packs a 2,000 mAh battery (non-removable) to keep it alive.
The company has priced the new Micromax Canvas Selfie 2 at Rs 5,999 and will be available for both online and offline consumers by August 22.
Micromax Canvas Selfie 3
The Micromax Canvas Selfie 3 comes equipped with a 4.8-inch HD Amoled display. Powering the smartphone is a Quad-Core 1.3GHz processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The on-board storage of the smartphone accounts to 8GB that can be expanded further via microSD card.
The Micromax Canvas Selfie 3 sports an 8MP front camera with Blue Glasses 5P Largan Lens and an 8MP rear camera. Both the cameras tag a LED flash (each) with them. The device also features beauty mode, gesture, panorama, night shot, one key shot and 78 degrees wide angle selfie. Micromax Canvas 3 also comes with a Bluetooth enabled Selfie stick.
The smartphone will be available in five funky back and front colours, which consist of Blue, Green, Purple, Sky Blue and Yellow. This smartphone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth as connectivity options and houses a 2,300 mAh battery (non-removable).
The company has not yet revealed the price of Micromax Canvas Selfie 3, but it will be available for the Indian consumers by the last week of August.
Tech Specs of Micromax Canvas Selfie 2- Q340
The Micromax Canvas Selfie 3 comes equipped with a 4.8-inch HD Amoled display. Powering the smartphone is a Quad-Core 1.3GHz processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The on-board storage of the smartphone accounts to 8GB that can be expanded further via microSD card.
The Micromax Canvas Selfie 3 sports an 8MP front camera with Blue Glasses 5P Largan Lens and an 8MP rear camera. Both the cameras tag a LED flash (each) with them. The device also features beauty mode, gesture, panorama, night shot, one key shot and 78 degrees wide angle selfie. Micromax Canvas 3 also comes with a Bluetooth enabled Selfie stick.
The smartphone will be available in five funky back and front colours, which consist of Blue, Green, Purple, Sky Blue and Yellow. This smartphone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth as connectivity options and houses a 2,300 mAh battery (non-removable).
The company has not yet revealed the price of Micromax Canvas Selfie 3, but it will be available for the Indian consumers by the last week of August.
Tech Specs of Micromax Canvas Selfie 2- Q340
- Android 5.0 Lollipop OS
- 5-inch FWVGA IPS Screen
- CPU: Quad-Core 1.3GHz processor
- RAM: 1GB
- ROM: 8GB (expandable via microSD card)
- 5MP Rear Camera with OV Sensor (OV5648) and 4P Lens
- 5MP Front Camera With OV sensor (OV5670) and 4P lens
- Camera with face detection, HDR mode and face beauty mode
- Battery: 2,000 mAh
- 8-inch HD AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla glass 3
- CPU: Quad-Core1.3GHz processor
- RAM: 1GB
- ROM: 8GB
- 8MP Rear Camera with Blue Glasses 5P Largan Lens
- 8MP front camera with Sony MX179 and LED flash
- Camera with Gesture, Face beauty, panorama, night shot and one key shot features
- Bluetooth enables selfie stick
- Battery: 2,300 mAh
Guessing game is over, the next gen of Google mobile OS is called Android Marshmallow
About time the search giant Google revealed the final consumer name for its next generation of mobile operating system. Google has finally given the name Marshmallow to its new operating system for smartphones. The company revealed the name on its developer’s blog along with the final SDK version of the operating system.
Jamal Eason, Product Manager, Android said “Today with the final Developer Preview update, we’re introducing the official Android 6.0 SDK and opening Google Play for publishing your apps that target the new API level 23 in Android Marshmallow,”
There will be some new features added to the operating system that will enable the smartphone makers to easily incorporate things such as fingerprint scanner or an upgraded doze power saving mode.
Jamal also added “Classes for detecting and parsing bar codes are available in the com.google.android.gms.vision.barcode namespace. The BarcodeDetector class is the main workhorse — processing Frame objects to return a SparseArray<Barcode> types.”
We for one are looking forward to the Marshmallow upgrade. Reports do suggest that the phones from Motorola’s camp and Nexus series will be the first to get the upgrade followed by the rest in the coming months.
Fitbit rolls out its universal app for Windows 10 platform
The manufacturer of wearable activity tracker Fitbit has introduced its universal app for the Windows 10 platform. The company stated that the app is compatible with PCs, laptops and tablets.
Speaking about the app, James Park, CEO and Chairman, Fitbit, said, “With the new Windows 10 app, we worked closely with Microsoft to give Windows users an even easier way to access, utilize and interact with the information that matters most to them, across all their Windows devices, to further support them in their fitness journey.”
The new Fitbit app for Windows 10 also offers support for Cortana’s voice commands and Continuum. The app is designed to allow the users to have a personalized interaction related to their health and fitness across various Windows 10 devices. The app also enables the users to track their steps, activity, exercise, sleep, weight and food.
The Fitbit app also delivers notifications and the activity updates are highlighted on the Live Tile. The dashboard of the app gives detailed information related to users’ daily routines, and quick actions enabling activity tracking and logging. The users can also sync the Bluetooth across various Windows 10 devices.
BlackBerry launches P’9983 Porsche design luxury smartphone for Rs 99,990
BlackBerry has introduced a new Porsche Design luxury smartphone in India dubbed as ‘P’9983’. The smartphone was originally announced last year in September and comes with a price tag of Rs 99,990. The smartphone has various colour elements and a hand-wrapped leather back cover. The device also has an exclusive keypad crafted with glass like keys along with a graphite stainless steel colour frame.
Speaking about the new smartphone, Hitesh Shah, Director – Sales and Distribution, at BlackBerry India, said, “With the launch of the new P’9983 Graphite from BlackBerry, we bring a unique stylish smartphone combined with the superior productivity and ultimate security experience of BlackBerry 10 technology for our Indian consumers. This new smartphone is custom-built for power professionals aiming to make a style statement while not willing to compromise on effective communication and collaboration.”
On the specification front, the BlackBerry ‘P’9983’ features a 3.1-inch OLED display with 720×720 pixels resolution. The smartphone runs on BlackBerry 10 OS and has touchscreen navigation with full QWERTY physical keyboard. Powering the device is a 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon (MSM8960) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM. The internal storage of the device accounts to 64GB which can be expanded up to 128GB using a microSD card.
The smartphone flaunts an 8.0-megapixel autofocus rear camera with LED flash and a 2.0-megapixel front facing camera for clicking selfies. The connectivity options of the smartphone include 4G, LTE, 3G, WiFi, Bluetooht, NFC, Micro HDMI, GPS and packs in a 2,100 mAh battery.
YUFit Fitness band review: A cool rubberized fitness tracking wristband at an affordable price
The new generation of people are not getting enough time for fitness activities as their schedules are usually very busy. So, in order to stay fit and healthy, one can easily get a fitness wearable. These bands are getting very popular among the masses these days.
One such fitness tracker came to us in the form of YUFit Fitness band. This band acts as a personal trainer who will always be with you. We spent a good few days with it and this is what we found out.
Design
The YUFit Fitness band is only available in black colour option. To be frank this fitness band has a plain look. The YUFit fitness rubberized band comes with an adjustable strap that can fit on any wrist. This strap has an aluminium clip, which enables the users to adjust its size according to their wrist. Thanks to the rubber body one does not need to worry about sweat or water seeping into the tracker. The OLED display on the top of the tracker provides real-time notifications in a convenient and handy way. The display panel has a plastic covering on top of it, which ensures protection of the device from scratches. The YUFit band does not weigh much, which makes it comfortable to wear all the time.
Tap the device once and the YuFit band comes to life. The touch-sensitive smart key on the tracker helps users to navigate across few pre-set options such as steps taken, calories burnt and more. The activity tracker is right in the middle of the strap and can be easily removed for a quick charge. To charge the device, this activity tracker has two tiny pins under it. The device boots up very quickly and charges up fast too.
Performance
The YUFit Fitness band comes into action when the user downloads the YUFit app on their smart devices. One has to download another app called HealthifyMe for it to functiona fully. This app helps users keep an eye on the calories they are consuming with the help of its database that includes Indian snacks and food. The app is compatible with most Android smartphones and will show you things like calories burnt and distance travelled. The smart band also shows the time besides alerting users about incoming messages and calls.
The YUFit app uses Bluetooth to sync the info between the phone and the band. So one ends up using a wee-bit extra power of the smartphone as well. Users can set goals and work towards them. Battery of the device was good and we rarely had to charge it.
Verdict
Overall, the experience with the YUFit Fitness band was not that bad, and we quite liked it. Consumers can get the YUFit Fitness band at Rs 999, which is quite affordable. There are many other fitness tracking bands in the Indian market, but having an OLED display at this price along with good features makes this fitness piece worth buying.
Pros
- Quite affordable
- OLED display panel
- Real-time notification alerts
- Decent battery life
- Limited to Android
- Less accurate
- Low-range Bluetooth antenna
Google Drive enables users to launch files directly using web viewer
The search engine giant Google has now rolled out a feature which will enable the users to launch files directly from the Google Drives web viewer. As per a report by Engadget, the users who have a viewer on their browser can open a file by right clicking on the file in order to preview it. Along with this, the users can access the ‘Open with’ option from the drop down menu to see the apps they can use.
Prior to this, the users were only able to launch the files within the applications on the PCs or Mac from the Google Drive folder.
The users are required to have Google Drive installed on their computer in the latest version which is v. 1.23+. After this the users just need to sync their files, which will help them in accessing the contents of the Drive’s contents in a faster manner.
Zebronics launches its noise-cancelling metal earphones ZEB-EM1 and ZEB-EM2
Zebronics is one of the India’s leading supplier of IT peripherals, Audio/Video and Surveillance products. They have just launched its latest noise-cancelling metal earphones called the ZEB-EM1 and ZEB-EM2. So what is the USP for these earphones? These earphones are designed to block out ambient background noise. Over that, these earphones also give a supreme hearing comfort to its consumers. Both the earphones have a light weight design, so that users can wear them for a long duration.
Mr. Pradeep Doshi, Director – Zebronics says, “Taking forward the commitment to deliver quality audio experience, these earphones are first of its kind from Zebronics at a competitive price offering unmatched design and sound. Its enhanced sound isolation design reduces ambient background noise that ensures an unequalled, perfectly tailored listening experience.”
The ZEB-EM1 and ZEB-EM2 comes in Metallic Silver, Grey and Green colour options. These earphones have no rattle, no leaking and no distortion. The Zeb EM1 and EM2 deliver pure bass output, too.
These high audio fidelity metal earphones have ultra-flexible and tangle free cable, which comes with an inbuilt mic to switch between music and incoming calls. The ZEB-EM1 and ZEB-EM2 earphones not only ensures maximum sound isolation, but also provides comfort for hours of listening.
The company has priced both the Zebronics ZEB-EM1 and ZEB-EM2 earphones at Rs 699 each.
Kingston announces 512GB memory addition to its card family
Kingston is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. They have just announced the 512GB capacity memory card to its line of Class 10 UHS-I SDHC/SDXC card family. This Kingston SD card is best for DSLR cameras and HD camcorders. It allows users to record more videos and shoot more high-density image files.
This Kingston SD card provides speeds of 90MB/s read and 45MB/s write. These high speeds support photography in continuous modes. It reduces stutter to safeguard video integrity.
Class 10 UHS-I SDHC/SDXC cards also allow users to shoot full 1080p HD video and 3D video as well as transfer files at a faster speed. In addition to the new 512GB capacity, this card is available in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity.
Another one is the SDHC/SDXC UHS-I Speed Class 3 (U3). It is the fastest card in in the Kingston lineup, which provides speeds of 90MB/s read and 80MB/s write. It is designed for high performance 4K camcorders and DSLR and DSLM cameras. The card is also ideal for action photography, television recordings and live broadcasts. This card is available in 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity.
The Kingston card family also includes the Class 4 SDHC. It is designed for point-and-shoot cameras with a minimum data transfer rate of 4MB/s read and write. This card is available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB.
These Kingston cards come with lifetime warranty and have free technical support.
ENRG unveils new 10W Bluetooth Jazz speakers for Rs 3,999
ENRG is a consumer’s lifestyle electronics company who make speakers as well. They have recently launched a 10 watt Bluetooth speaker called Jazz. The speaker has a decent antique look that seems radical.
The ENRG Jazz speakers work on Bluetooth 4.0 tech, which allows the users to connect and play within a maximum range of 10 meters. It comes with a rechargeable 3.7 V 1800 mAh battery that lasts up to 12 hours when fully charged. It has an in-built 3.5mm jack with power output of 10 watts (5W X 2) and frequency range 40Hz-19 KHz with a standard max volume output of 90db.
This speaker system has been built for seamless multi-functional usage. Its power strip allows it to play the most popular MP3 audios from personal devices such as a PC, DVD player or a TV. One can power it on by pressing the round metal switch for few seconds, control the volume by holding down the increase and decrease key and can also change their music track by clicking on the same switches. Users can also connect devices via Aux and stream music using a memory card.
The company as priced the ENRG Jazz speaker system at Rs 3,999 and is available at Amazon and Shopclues. The product comes with 7 day replacement guarantee and 1 year warranty.
Sony unveils the new full-frame mirrorless Alpha a7R II camera in India
Sony has brought another DSLR camera from its camp to India. They have just unveiled the latest full-frame mirrorless camera called the Alpha a7R II. This stunning camera features the world’s first back-illuminated full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor, which realises high-resolution (approximately 42.4 effective megapixels) and high-sensitivity (expandable up to ISO 102400).
The Sony Alpha a7R II has a solid professional look. It is powered by a newly refined XGA OLED Tru-Finder with the world’s highest (0.78x) viewfinder magnification. The camera has a 5-axis image stabilisation system and also has the ability to shoot and record 4K videos in multiple formats including super 35mm (without pixel binning) and full-frame format.
The Sony Alpha a7R II also features silent shooting and has a fast hybrid AF, which gives high-speed response and high-tracking performance with a wider range of lenses. It has an extremely rigid magnesium alloy design, too. The Sony Alpha a7R II comes with an improved and re-designed grip and shutter button compared to its predecessor. There is also a new mechanism to easily lock the mode dial in the camera. Over that, the new Alpha a7R II camera is Wi-Fi and NFC-compatible.
With this beautiful camera, one will be getting a free carry case (MII-SC5), micro HDMI cable, 64GB SDXC high speed memory card, battery charger (BC-VW1) and 2 rechargeable battery.
The company has priced the Sony Alpha a7R II at Rs 2,39,990.
Tech Specs of Sony Alpha a7R II
- 42 MP Full-Frame Exmor R BSI CMOS Sensor
- BIONZ X Image Processor
- Internal UHD 4K Video & S-Log2 Gamma
- 5-Axis SteadyShot INSIDE Stabilization
- 399 Phase-Detect AF Points & 5 fps Burst
- 5″ 2.36M-Dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder EVF
- 0″ 1,228.8k-Dot Tilting LCD Monitor
- ISO 102,400 and Silent Shutter Mode
- Durable Reduced-Vibration Shutter Design
- Built-In Wi-Fi Connectivity with NFC
Sony launches two new Cyber-shot cameras in India in the form of RX100 IV and RX10 II
Sony India is one of India’s leading supplier of Cameras and Camcorders. They have just launched two of its most advanced Cyber-shot cameras under the RX series. First, the compact RX100 IV camera and second, the high-zoom RX10 II camera. These cameras have many beautiful features.
Both, RX100 IV and RX10 II comes with uncompromising image quality. These cameras are perfect for professional photography. The duo features the world’s first 1.0 type stacked Exmor RS CMOS sensor with an attached DRAM memory chip, 40x super slow motion capture, 4K video shooting, high-speed anti-distortion shutter and much more.
The users will get bundled accessories with both the cameras. With the RX100 IV camera, one gets free carry case (MII-DL2), micro HDMI cable and free 64GB SDXC high speed memory card. And, with the RX10 II camera, the users will get free carrying case (MII SC5), micro HDMI cable and free 64GB SDXC high speed memory card. The company has priced the RX100 IV at Rs 69,990 and the RX10 II at Rs 94,990
Tech Specs of Sony RX100 IV
- 20MP – 1″ BSI-CMOS Sensor
- ISO 125 – 12800
- 24–70 mm F1.8 – F2.8 Zoom Lens
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 3″ Tilting Screen
- 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
- 0 fps continuous shooting
- 4K – 3840 x 2160 video resolution
- 960fps High-Speed Video
- Built-in Wireless
- 102 x 58 x 41mm
- 289g
- 20MP – 1″ BSI-CMOS Sensor
- ISO 64 – 25600
- Weather Sealed Body
- 24–200 mm F2.8 Zoom Lens
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 3″ Tilting Screen
- 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
- 0 fps continuous shooting
- 4K – 3840 x 2160 video resolution
- 960fps High-Speed Video
- Built-in Wireless
- 129 x 88 x 102 mm
- 813g
We spent 7 days with Windows 10 and these are the 5 features we love about it
This year, a lot of tech geek’s hearts got filled with happiness as the most popular IT giant Microsoft rolled out its latest OS for PC called Windows 10. Microsoft is the most widely used operating system in the world. This new platform is offering many astounding features. The users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 can now upgrade to the new Windows 10 with ease. We spent over a 100 hours with the new Windows 10 Operating system and here are the 5 best features that we simply loved.
- Free to upgrade
- Universal apps
- Xbox app
- Edge browser
- Action Center
OPPO launches its new smartphone Mirror 5 in India at Rs 15,990
OPPO, the Chinese manufacturer is trying hard to carve a niche in the Indian market with its inexpensive yet sturdy smartphones. They have just launched its new OPPO Mirror 5 in India. This smartphone will be available in white and blue colour option.
Mr. Tom Lu, CEO, OPPO Mobile India said, “OPPO is known globally for meticulous designs and trendsetting flair and our newest offering Mirror 5 is perfect interpretation of our design philosophy which is wisdom and innovation, shining above the ordinary. OPPO Mirror 5 is not simply a device built with appearance and performance in mind, its goal is to bring a spark of creativity to life.”
On the specification front, the OPPO Mirror 5 has a 5-inch IPS display. Powering the smartphone is a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The onboard storage of the mobile phone accounts to 16GB, which can be expanded by up to 128GB using a microSD card. This smartphone runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system.
The OPPO Mirror 5 sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. This mobile phone houses a 2,420 mAh battery. The device also supports two SIM cards with 4G LTE capability. This smartphone offers 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS as connectivity options.
The OPPO Mirror 5 will be available for purchase within this week across India at Rs 15,990. This could very well be the phone that brings OPPO back in to the game and enables them to capture some percentage of the Indian market.
Techs Specs of OPPO Mirror 5
- Network supported: 4G LTE and 3G
- Display size: Full LCD display 5-inch
- Operating system: Android 5.1 Lollipop OS
- CPU: Quad-Core 1.2GHz processor
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
- RAM: 2GB
- Memory:16GB (memory can be extended up to 128GB via microSD card)
- Camera: Rear camera 8MP and secondary camera 5MP
- Battery: 2,420 mAh
- Dimensions:40 x 71.20 x 7.65mm
- Weight: 160g
Intex launches Cloud M6 16GB smartphone exclusively via Snapdeal for Rs 5,999
The Indian smartphone manufacturer Intex has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of Cloud M6 16GB. The smartphone will be exclusively available on Snapdeal with a price tag of Rs 5,999 in White and Champagne colour options.
The Intex M6 16GB consists of a 5-inch display with 854×480 pixels resolution. Powering the smartphone is a 1.2 GHz quad-core Spreadtrum SC7731 processor paired with 2GB of RAM. The inbuilt storage of the device stands at 16GB which can be further expanded to 32GB using a microSD card. The smartphone comes with dual SIM capability and runs on Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.
The smartphone sports an 8.0-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5.0-megapixel front facing camera for video calling. The connectivity options of the device include 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and packs in a 2,000 mAh battery.