Honor 7C hands-on: Budget proposition with impressive camera, build quality

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei on May 22 launched the Honor 7C in India. Priced at Rs 9,999 and Rs 11,999 for 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB RAM and storage configurations, the smartphone seems to be a great proposition in sub-Rs 12,000 budget segment. At these price tags, the phone would compete with the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 (Review), Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 (Review), Xiaomi Redmi 5 (Review) and Oppo Realme 1 (First Impressions).

The Honor 7C features metallic design, 18:9 aspect ratio screen, Android Oreo-based EMUI 8.0 operating system, Qualcomm 450 processor and face unlocking capabilities. Honor has been using the company’s in-house developed Huawei Kirin system-on-chip (SoC) in almost all the current models. However, the Honor 7C is one of a few Honor-branded smartphones that take power from Qualcomm processors. While the Kirin 659 SoC, which powers most budget Honor devices, seems to have an advantage to have more powerful cores than Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 SoC that powers the Honor 7C, the Qualcomm SoC has better graphic handling capabilities over Kirin 659.

The Honor 7C manages to pull out basic tasks at ease. However, it does feel underpowered, especially while handling processor-intensive tasks such as multitasking and online video streaming.

Samsung Galaxy A6, Galaxy A6+ unveiled with infinity screen: Details here

South Korean electronics major Samsung on May 1 announced the Galaxy A6 and A6 Plus budget smartphones. The two smartphones boast ultra-wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio infinity screen, a large-capacity battery, and bright camera modules on the front and back. Designed to compete in the budget segment, the phones offer midrange specifications and features.

Samsung Galaxy A6 specifications

The Galaxy A6 sports a 5.6-inch super AMOLED HD Plus screen in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The phone features a 16-megapixel camera unit on the front and back with of f/1.9 and f/1.7 aperture, respectively and LED flash light. It is powered by an octa-core processor clocked to operate at a maximum frequency of 1.6 GHz, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage options. The phone also supports storage expansion using microSD card slot, which can take up to 256GB cards.

The A6 boasts a 3,000 mAh battery and boots Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

Samsung Galaxy A6 Plus specifications

The Galaxy A6 Plus, on the other hand, sports a 6-inch super AMOLED fullHD Plus screen in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike the A6, the A6 Plus sports a dual rear camera setup on the rear featuring a 16MP primary sensor of f/1.7 aperture mated with a 5 MP sensor of f/1.9 aperture size. On the front, there is a 24 MP sensor of f/1.9 aperture for the selfies. Like Galaxy A6, there is a dedicated LED flashlight on the front and back. The is powered by an octa-core processor clocked to operate at a maximum frequency f 1.8 GHz, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage options. The phone also supports storage expansion using microSD card slot, which can take up to 256GB cards.

Xiaomi Redmi S2 with dual cameras being developed, to come to India: Report

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi is closely working on a new Redmi device, which is expected to make its way to India – according to a report by online technology-based forum XDA-developers. Touted as the Redmi S2, the budget-centric smartphone is reported to sport dual rear cameras and feature the face-unlock mechanism.

Based on the report, the Xiaomi Redmi S2 would sport an 18:9 aspect ratio screen of HD+ (1440×720) resolution. The phone would be powered by Qualcomm MSM 8953 system-on-chip (SoC), which is a Snapdragon 625 processor. In terms of storage, the phone would have a 16GB variant, though other storage models are also likely, and there would be a microSD card slot for storage extension. As for memory, the phone would likely come in 2GB and 3GB RAM variants.


Talking of imaging, the phone would have a dual-camera set-up on the back, which will either have the 12-megapixel primary sensor of Sony IMX486 or OmniVision OV12A10, and the 5MP Samsung S5K5E8 as the secondary sensor. On the front, there would be a 5MP Samsung S5K5E8 sensor.

Oppo F7 review: Notch screen-based smartphone designed for selfie admirers

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo, known for its selfie-centric devices, has become one of the first companies to introduce a notch screen-based Android device in India by launching the Oppo F7. The smartphone’s key features centre around its ultra-wide notch-based screen, a 25-megapixel selfie camera and artificial intelligence-backed scene optimisation.

The Oppo F7 seems to pack some punch on the specification sheet, especially with its 6GB RAM and 128GB storage in the top-end version. However, this selfie-centric smartphone delivers primarily on the imaging front more than any other aspect.

Business Standard reviewed the Oppo F7 on several parameters to test its overall capabilities, and here are our observations:

The Oppo F7 packs a 6.22-inch fullHD+ screen in a glass-metal-glass sandwiched design. It feels light in hand, and its compact body, measuring almost equal to the conventional 5.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio screen-based smartphones, is comfortable to hold and operate.

Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ now get cheaper by up to Rs 7,000: Details

South Korean electronics major Samsung has reduced the price of its flagship smartphone from last year – the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ with 64GB internal storage now cost Rs 49,990 and Rs 53,990, respectively, down from Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900. The power-packed variant of the Galaxy S8+, which has 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory, has also got a price reduction and now costs Rs 64,900, down from Rs 70,900.

The price reduction on Galaxy S8-series smartphones came soon after the company launched the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus, bundled with cashback and exchange offers in India. The Galaxy S9-series has been built on the blue print of the Galaxy S8-series smartphone. The changes in S9-series are mostly on the hardware side, especially the rear camera unit.


With a price reduction of up to Rs 7,000, are the Galaxy S8-series smartphone now value for money? Let’s find out:

Galaxy S8 over Galaxy S9

In terms of design, both the smartphones look similar and feature all-glass build on the front and back, sandwiching the metallic chassis in between. As a matter of fact, both the devices look extremely close and can only be differentiated by looking at the finger print scanner placement on the back. In terms of innards and features, the changes are nothing radical and, therefore, the Galaxy S8 can perform tasks on-par with Galaxy S9.

Nokia 1 with Android Oreo Go OS launched at Rs 5,499: Know specs, features

Nokia 1 in India at Rs 5,499. The Android Oreo (Go edition)-based smartphone had first been unveiled at the Mobile World Congress, along with the Nokia 7 (2018), Nokia 8 Sirocco and Nokia 8110.
The Nokia 1 would be available on both online and offline platforms starting March 28. The phone would be available in red and blue colour variants which could be customised with Nokia Xpress On covers available for Rs 450.

In terms of features, the Nokia 1 runs Android Oreo (Go edition), which is a light-weight version of Android Oreo compatible with devices with limited hardware prowess, such as 1GB RAM or less, etc. The Android Oreo (Go edition) also comes with a dedicated package of Google apps, which take less space and are optimised to use less hardware resources.
Coming to specifications, the Nokia 1 sports a 4.5-inch display with 480 x 854 pixels resolution.

It is powered by a MediaTek MT6737 quad-core processor clocked at 1.1Ghz, coupled with 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage. The smartphone features a 5MP primary camera and a 2MP selfie camera. The 4G phone supports dual SIM and a microSD slot for storage expansion. Powering the device is a 2150 mAh removable battery.

Apple reportedly planning to release cheaper MacBook Air this year

Apple is reportedly making plans to launch a more cheap variant of the 13-inch MacBook Air in the second area of 2018, the media stated.

Apple is likely to launch a new MacBook Air "with a decrease price tag" during the second one sector of 2018, that means we need to see it sooner rather than later, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities turned into quoted as pronouncing to 9to5mac on Saturday.

The analyst expects the greater inexpensive MacBook Air will assist push MacBook shipments up by 10-15 per cent this 12 months.

MacBook Air, released via then Apple CEO Steve Jobs at the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco in 2008, has no longer been up to date given that 2015 as Apple has shifted focus closer to the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook seasoned.

The 13-inch MacBook Air, a popular preference for university students, is presently bought starting at $999 for 128GB of PCIe-based storage, a 1.8GHz twin-center i5 processor, and 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

Waymo to Tesla: Silicon Valley is winning the race for first driverless car

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Henry Ford didn’t invent the motor car. The late 1800s saw a flurry of innovation by hundreds of companies battling to deliver on the promise of fast, efficient and reasonably-priced mechanical transportation. Ford later came to dominate the industry thanks to the development of the moving assembly line.

Today the sector is poised for another breakthrough with the advent of cars that drive themselves. But unlike the original wave of automobile innovation, the race for supremacy in autonomous vehicles is concentrated among a few corporate giants. So who is set to dominate this time?

I’ve analysed six companies we think are leading the race to build the first truly driverless car. Three of these – General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen – come from the existing car industry and need to integrate self-driving technology into their existing fleet of mass-produced vehicles. The other three – Tesla, Uber and Waymo (owned by the same company as Google) – are newcomers from the digital technology world of Silicon Valley and have to build a mass manufacturing capability.

Google partners with Getty, kills 'view image' button from search results

In a move to curb the lifting of copyrighted images from its platform, Google has removed the "view image" button from its image search results.

"Today we're launching some changes on Google Images to help connect users and useful websites.

"This will include removing the View Image button.

The Visit button remains, so users can see images in the context of the webpages they're on," Google SearchLiaison tweeted on Friday.

The change is seen as part of Google's partnering with stock photo provider Getty Images.

Google last week signed a multi-year global licensing deal with Getty Images, allowing it to use Getty's content within its various products and services.

According to a report in The Verge, Google will make copyright attribution and disclaimers more prominent in image search results.

Now, users have to wait for a website to load and then scroll through it to find the image.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S leak shows all-screen front, dual cameras on back

Xiaomi is one of the companies that were the first to venture into the untapped bezel-less screen segment. The first-generation bezel-less smartphone -- the Mi Mix – from the stable of the China-based smartphone manufacturer was a concept device. It had a huge screen of 6.4-inch covering the entire front…well, almost.

The second-generation device, however, sees some major improvements in terms of handling, design and aesthetics. And the phone – the Mi Mix 2 – was launched in more countries than its predecessor.

The second-generation device, with edge-to-edge screen on three sides and a limited chin at the bottom to accommodate front camera, also made it close to be actually called an all-screen mobile phone.

Xiaomi to launch Flipkart-exclusive Redmi phone on Feb 14; details here

Xiaomi is gearing up to launch the next iteration of Redmi smartphones in India on February 14. The upcoming smartphones are expected to be either the Redmi 5 or Redmi 5 Plus, launched in China last year, or just the Redmi 5 Plus but renamed as the Redmi Note 5 for the Indian smartphone market.

As for the key feature of the smartphones, the Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus sport a futuristic 18:9 ultra-wide screen aspect ratio. The budget smartphones have a metal unibody design and boots Android Nougat-based MIUI 9 operating system out of the box.

In terms of specifications, the Redmi 5 has a 5.7-inch screen of HD+ resolution. The device sports an 18:9 aspect ratio screen, which reduces the bezel size and accommodates larger display in a compact body, with the fingerprint scanner housed at the back. The phone is powered by Snapdragon 450 SoC, an octa-core processor built on the 14nm FinFET technology.
In terms of imaging, the Redmi 5 has a 12-megapixel sensor on the back with a 1.25 micron pixels and a 5MP front-facing camera for selfies.

HomePod is no match for Alexa. Is Apple losing the smart speaker plot?

The war for your digital home is waging. Apple has finally followed Amazon, Google and Microsoft by launching a smart speaker with a voice-controlled artificial intelligence assistant. Yet even though the “HomePod” is another technological marvel, there’s a chance Apple is already losing the battle.

The competition isn’t just through the sound quality of the speaker – but the other things that users can do with it. The most common requests to AI personal assistants such as Apple’s Siri are reportedly to play music, read the weather forecast and set timers or reminders.

But the capabilities of these assistants are increasing at lightning speed. This doesn’t just rely on the sophistication of the artificial intelligence involved but also what other technology the assistant can link to. And given Apple’s tendency to reject open connections to other company’s systems, it may find it has some serious catching up to do.

In middle of a WhatsApp voice call? You can switch to video call instantly

WhatsApp has launched a feature in its beta version that will let users switch to video calls from voice calls at the touch of a button.

According to a report in the Independent, if you are in the middle of a WhatsApp voice call and want to switch to a video call, you just need to tap that button to make the switch.

Tapping the button will send a request to the person on the other side, asking if he or she wants to switch from voice to video.

If the offer is accepted, the call will be switched.

If the offer is declined, the voice call will continue as normal. In the current version of WhatsApp, you need to end a voice call to make a video call.

WhatsApp calls are currently only available in one-on-one conversations but it might be available to group chats in the near future, the report said.

The new feature was spotted by watcher of the popular chat app WABetaInfo, which said that the feature is only available to those who have signed up to the beta version of WhatsApp.

Last month, WABetaInfo reported that WhatsApp mistakenly rolled out the 'Reply Privately' feature in a beta update that would allow users to privately send a message to a participant in a group without anyone else knowing about it.

The feature appeared and was subsequently dropped from the beta version of the app, watcher of the popular chat app @WABetaInfo said, confirming that the developers wrongly enabled the feature.

WABetaInfo also leaked the details of the features that WhatsApp was developing for web and desktop, including tap to unblock and a picture-in-picture (PIP) mode.
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Google ties up with Sony, Lenovo for voice command-based smart speakers

Alphabet Inc's Google said on Monday its voice-controlled virtual assistant will show up this year in new tablet-like devices designed by LG Electronics Inc and Sony Corp as the technology company seeks to challenge Amazon.com Inc's dominance in a fledgling market.

Dubbed smart displays by Google, the new devices introduce tablet-like screens to speakers that can obey oral commands to perform tasks like playing music, dimming lights, locking doors and setting alarms. JBL and Lenovo Group Ltd also are developing smart displays, Google said.

Amazon kick-started the market for smart speakers in 2014 with its Echo device, which included the Alexa virtual assistant. The company added a screen for the first time in June, calling the device the Echo Show.

Neither Apple Inc's assistant Siri nor Microsoft Corp's Cortana are currently available on a speaker with a tablet-like display.
The new Google Assistant gadgets unveiled Monday at the CES trade show in Las Vegas mark the first challenge to Amazon's Echo Show and the smaller Echo Spot, which also has a display.

The Show went on sale in June for $230 and the Spot in December for $130. Users of the smart displays being unveiled by Google cannot browse the Web or install apps as they would on a tablet, but the new gadgets are optimized for sound quality and listening to voice commands. Information related to the commands is brought up on the touchscreen.

Lenovo's version of the smart display will come with an 8-inch screen for $200 or a 10.1-inch screen for $250. The device will go on sale "early this summer" and includes a camera that shoots in 720p high definition, Lenovo said. JBL, part of Samsung Electronics' Harman Kardon subsidiary, LG and Sony did not announce pricing and release dates.

Why sliding - and not walking - is the future of VR

Now a virtual reality game lets you go into the painting and move around for a closer look at objects from different angles.
Most people would do this by wearing headsets while seated or standing. This can cause motion sickness after a while because of a mismatch between what you’re seeing through the headset and what your body is experiencing in its relatively static state. And this is one reason for VR failing to live up to its promise.”

Why slide and not walk
Walking involves lifting a foot for the next step. And that requires balancing momentarily on one foot, which is an unstable state. That’s why we topple over as toddlers before we learn how to balance ourselves while walking.

Will this be the year of VR?
Virtual reality remains on the periphery of the consumer market despite the attention it has received since Facebook’s acquisition of VR headset maker Oculus in 2014. IDC data shows 9.6 million VR headsets were shipped in 2017. Most of them were low-power ones, like Samsung’s Gear VR and Google’s Daydream, that work with mobile phones but can’t provide full-blown VR experiences like those you get from headsets linked to PCs or game consoles.

What's exciting about the Asian tech scene in 2018
The number of high-end headsets like those from Sony, HTC, and Oculus was just 3.4 million. To put that into perspective, Nintendo alone sold over 10 million of its new Switch video game consoles last year.
But what will really give VR a boost is a better experience. And that’s where innovations like a more realistic and less sickening way of moving about in the VR world will play a vital part.

Google employees lose nearly 250 Gbikes a week: Report

Technology giant Google loses between 100 and 250 of its colourful employee bicycles a week from its campus, the media reported.

Google maintains roughly 1,100 free, two-wheelers with yellow frames, red baskets and green and blue wheels, known as Gbikes, for its employees to get around its sprawling campus.

However, according to company estimates, its bikes consistently go missing from its campus-between 100 and 250 a week, typically costing $100 to $300.

The bikes have shown up at local schools, in neighbours' lawns, at the bottom of the town creek and on the roof of a sports pub.

"The disappearances often aren't the work of ordinary thieves, however. Many residents of Mountain View, a city of 80,000 that has effectively become Google's company town, see the employee perk as a community service," the Wall Street Journal reported on January 5.

A decade ago, Google started Silicon Valley's first corporate bike programme, which was adopted by at least 16 others across the US, including at Apple, Facebook, and Walmart, the report said.

The company recently equipped about a third of its 1,100 bikes with GPS trackers, which revealed that the two-wheelers take an average 12 trips and travel six miles a day.

It now also has a team of 30 Google contractors and five vans who are tasked with retrieving Gbikes. They carry waders and grappling hooks for pulling bikes out of a creek.

Still, Google isn't entirely sure how many bikes it loses outright. From July to November, Google recovered between 70 and 190 bikes a week, or roughly two-thirds of the bikes reported off campus. The other third wasn't there when contractors arrived to retrieve them, the report said.

Google is also testing versions that employees could unlock with their smartphones.

According to Google managers, reducing thefts is a struggle because they often cannot tell whether riders are among the company's employees or not.

Apple, Android or Windows: Why smartphones, laptops face 'hacking' risks

Less than a week into 2018 and we may have already seen the year’s biggest TECHNOLOGY NEWS. Researchers have identified a security flaw in the computer processors made by three of the world’s biggest chip designers, Intel, AMD and ARM, and a second flaw in Intel chips. This means that almost every smartphone, tablet, laptop and business computer in the world could be vulnerable to having sensitive data including passwords stolen. The cloud servers that store websites and other internet data are also at risk.

This is one of the biggest cyber security vulnerabilities we’re ever seen in terms of the potential impact to personal, business and infrastructure computer systems. What’s more, because the flaw is located in such a fundamental part of the computer, there’s no way to know whether or not a machine has been targeted and what data might have been accessed.

Both the main flaw (Spectre), and the Intel-only flaw (Meltdown) have been created by a design technique intended to enhance the chips’ performance known as “speculative execution”. The problem means hackers can access parts of the computer’s memory that should be inaccessible. Sensitive data including passwords, email, documents and photos could all be at risk.

Most cyber attacks involve finding a flaw in a computer’s software that allows hackers to access the machine’s memory or operating system. For example, in 2017 an attack known as “WannaCry” exploited a flaw in older versions of Windows. It affected around 300,000 computers in 150 countries and had a devastating effect on businesses and organisations including the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

Flipkart ranking: These top smartphones got buyers drooling in 2017

The year 2017 was a great one for the smartphone industry, despite the overall consumer market being somewhat slow in India. While some of the revolutionary features like the 18:9 aspect ratio screens and dual-camera set-ups excited the tech geeks as well as common buyers alike, futuristic technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence became mainstream in smartphones.

Simultaneously, there was seen a major shift in users’ preference, too – while buyers earlier were more after devices carrying powerful innards, the year 2017 saw them drifting more towards exciting features – along with top-tier specifications adding value to capable smartphones.

Home-grown e-commerce major on Friday released its pick of best smartphones in various segments, based on the shopping trends seen across online shoppers on its platform. The company claimed to have arrived at its selection “after analysing the shopping carts of over 150 bn shoppers”.

“With the e-commerce landscape drastically growing in India, the smartphone category continues to be a frontrunner among online shoppers. Flipkart flagship sales events, exclusive partnerships and innovative schemes like ‘no-cost EMI’, ‘product exchange offers’ and ‘buy now, pay later’ has exponentially impacted the sales on the online smartphone category, specifically the budget and mid- range segment,” Flipkart said in a statement.

Here is a snapshot of Flipkart’s top picks in various segments:

FB launches 'click-to-WhatsApp' feature for businesses to reach users

If you are an advertiser on Facebook, you now have a bigger audience to cater to as Facebook has launched a click-to-WhatsApp button on its platform that will let advertisers connect with over one billion WhatsApp users.

Facebook that has over two billion users confirmed this to TechCrunch on Friday that it is rolling out the feature gradually, starting with North and South America, Africa, Australia and most of Asia.

"Many people already use WhatsApp to communicate with small businesses. It's a fast, convenient way to stay in touch," Pancham Gajjar, Product Marketing Manager, Facebook, was quoted as saying.

"By adding a click-to-WhatsApp button to Facebook ads, businesses can now make it even easier for people to learn about their products, set up an appointment or use their service," he added.

Facebook said that over a million Pages currently include WhatsApp numbers in their posts.

To make the new feature work, reported Adweek, businesses that have WhatsApp numbers can add 'send message' buttons with the WhatsApp logo to their Facebook ads and those ads will only be delivered to users who have WhatsApp installed on their smartphones.

People must add businesses' WhatsApp numbers to their contacts to initiate conversations.

Once they do it, the messaging app opens with a default message expressing interest, which can be edited by users before being sent.

The feature is similar to the click-to-Messenger button that Facebook introduced in its ads in November last year.

The click-to-Messenger ads debuted on Instagram in May this year.

Facebook said that over a million Facebook pages currently include WhatsApp numbers in their posts.

To make the new feature work, businesses that have WhatsApp numbers can add 'send message' buttons with the WhatsApp logo to their Facebook ads and those ads will only be delivered to Facebook users who have WhatsApp installed on their phones.

WhatsApp set to launch standalone app for businesses soon

As businesses widely use WhatsApp to communicate with their customers, particularly in Asia, the Facebook-owned service appears all set to launch a brand new app for them.

In a new FAQ published on its site, WhatsApp has revealed more details about the upcoming Business accounts like how to identify verified Business accounts from non-verified ones.

"While chatting with businesses, you can check your contact's profile to see which type of account they're using. A verified account has a green checkmark badge in its profile," WhatsApp wrote in the FAQ.

A Business account with a green checkmark badge in its profile is verified as an authentic brand by WhatsApp.

"A business account with a gray question mark badge in its profile means the account is using the WhatsApp Business app but hasn't been confirmed nor verified by WhatsApp," the company said.

The much talked-about WhatsApp for business app is currently being tested by a private group of testers and the company will introduce it as 'WhatsApp Business' -- a standalone app.

Its description available on Play Store read: "As a test partner for 'WhatsApp Business', you have early access to a wide range of new features that we've built with you in mind. As you experiment with what this new app has to offer, please share your experiences with us so that we can improve the product."