Man orders mobile phone-worth Rs 9,000 from online site, gets brick instead

A man here in Maharashtra has filed a complaint against a leading online retailer for allegedly sending him a piece of brick instead of a mobile handset that he ordered, police said Wednesday.

Gajanan Kharat, a resident of HUDCO area here, told the police that on October 9, he placed an order for a mobile phone on the shopping site and also paid Rs 9,134 for it, Harsul police station inspector Manish Kalyankar said.

Kharat subsequently received a message from the e-commerce company that the product would be delivered in a week's time.

The man received a packet from the retailer last Sunday. However, when he opened it, he allegedly found a piece of brick inside it instead of the mobile handset, Kalyankar said.

The man then called up the courier delivery man, who told him that their responsibility was only to deliver the parcel and not to see what was inside it, he said.

Kharat lodged a complaint Tuesday against the e-commerce company at the Harsul police station here.

The police official said they have registered a case under IPC sections pertaining to cheating and are probing it.

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.

Airtel, Intex offer affordable 4G smartphones bundled with free calls, data

Telecom service provider Bharti Airtel has partnered with home-grown handset maker Intex to launch a range of affordable 4G smartphones with an effective starting effective price of Rs 1,649. The phones come bundled with Airtel Rs 169 plan, which includes data and calling benefits.

The telecom provider offers the Intex Aqua Lions N1 4G smartphone at an effective price of Rs 1,649. To avail of the offer, you ' need to make a down payment of Rs 3,149 and get a Rs 1,500 cashback from Airtel, subject to terms and conditions. That brings the effective cost of the smartphone down to Rs 1,649. For getting the cashback, you have to make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs 169 from Airtel. After 18 months, you get a cash refund of Rs 500 and another Rs 1,000 after the completion of 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs 1,500.

Talking about the smartphone's specifications, the dual-SIM Aqua Lions N1 is powered by MTK chipset and sports a 4-inch screen. There are 2-megapixel cameras on the back and front. The phone features 1GB RAM and 8GB internal storage, expandable to up to 128GB.

 “We are really pleased to see the continued positive response to our ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative from customers as well as smartphone manufacturers. We are delighted to have Intex on board as a partner and their brand familiarity plus distribution reach will add to our affordable smartphone proposition and offer more choice to our customers. We look forward to working with them towards empowering every Indian with a 4G smartphone.”

Xiaomi launches Redmi Y-series selfie smartphones, ropes in Katrina Kaif

China-based electronics maker Xiaomi on Thursday introduced the Redmi Y-series with the launch of the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite in India. The company has roped in Bollywood celebrity Katrina Kaif to endorse the selfie-centric smartphone series. The budget smartphones will go on sale starting November 8 on Amazon India and Mi online store.

The Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite look almost identical but are different in terms of specifications and camera set-ups.

The key differentiator for the Redmi Y1 and Redmi Y1 Lite is the selfie camera, which is also the key feature of the new series. The Redmi Y1 sports a 16-megapixel front camera assisted with LED flash, while the Redmi Y1 Lite sports a 5 MP selfie camera without LED flash.

Another difference lies in the strength of the processor, internal storage and RAM. The Redmi Y1 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 system on chip (SoC), coupled with two storage and RAM options – 32GB/3GB and 64GB/4GB. The Redmi Y1 Lite is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 SoC coupled with 2GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage.

Both the smartphones sport 5.5-inch HD screens covered with Gorilla Glass for protection against accidental scratches. There is a 13 MP camera assisted with phase detection autofocus (PDAF) technology and LED flash in both the devices. The smartphones can house dual SIM cards and there is a dedicated microSD card slot to expand the storage. Both the devices run on 3,080 mAh battery.

As for the pricing, the Redmi Y1 is priced at Rs 8,999 for the base model and Rs 10,999 for the higher model. The Redmi Y1 Lite is priced at Rs 6,999.

Wonder how dual cameras in smartphones work? Here is all you need to know

Dual camera set-ups are fast catching up as a trend in smartphones these days. The year so far has seen many devices – flagship or mid-tier – sporting dual cameras. The latest offerings from Asus, InFocus and Huaweihave added to the excitement around such camera set-ups, assuring the camera game in the smartphone industry is here to stay.

Technically, not all dual-camera set-ups are the same, as they deliver different prepositions. Here is a quick guide to the different aspects of dual cameras and how original equipment makers (OEMs) use them for their devices.

Primary camera, coupled with depth sensor for Bokeh effect

ne of the common dual camera set-ups, mostly employed in budget and mid-range devices, this set-up consists of two different sensors – primary lens with large sensor and secondary lens with depth-sensing sensor. In this set-up, the primary camera captures the shot while the depth-sensing sensor measures the background and other objects. The image processed through the primary camera is then treated with the information retrieved through the depth-sensing sensor to create a single image where the object in focus remains sharp and the background gets blurred, creating the so-called Bokeh effect.

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With a $1,000 price tag, Apple's iPhone 8 crosses a threshold

When Apple unveils its new top-of-the-line iPhone on Tuesday, it isn’t just expected to offer features like infrared facial recognition and wireless charging for the first time.

The company will also enter new territory on price: The latest phone will start at about $1,000, compared with the $769 minimum for its current top phone, the iPhone 7 Plus.

“It’s a whole new threshold,” said Debby Ruth, a senior vice president at the tech consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates. I really do think it’s going to make people pause.”

From the iPhone’s introduction a decade ago, Apple has always priced it as a premium product — a more refined and polished alternative to the legions of cheaper smartphones available in the market.

But this time, the company is pushing into luxury territory. The new phone will cost as much as the company’s entry-level MacBook Air laptop. “They’re doubling down on their strategy: They are going much more to the high end,” Ms. Ruth said.

Apple declined to comment before the product announcements scheduled for Tuesday. (On Saturday, Steven Troughton-Smith, a developer who combed through the iOS 11 software, found references indicating that the new high-end phone will be called the iPhone X.)
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How to protect your phone against Xafecopy malware that's stealing money from you

2017  has witnessed numerous ransomware and malware attacks. The new malware Xafecopy Trojan, which steals money from mobile phone users, has been recently detected by a Russia-based internet security firm Kaspersky.  What's alarming is that the penetration rate reveals  40 per cent of the malware's targets has been in India.

The Xafecopy Trojan is categorised as a malware because it gets side loaded along with other useful apps and then loads malicious code onto the device.

Here is how the Xafecopy Trojan works:

The major entry point for any malware or ransomware is the installation of unverified apps from unknown sources. While the default setting of most smartphones restricts installing any app from an unknown source, the setting can easily be changed by the user.

Once the unverified app affected with Xafecopy Trojan or any other malware is installed and activated in the mobile phone, they spread in the root files of the smartphone and operate discreetly.

The Xafecopy malware clicks on web pages with Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) billing - a form of mobile payment that required no credit/debit card information or CAPTCHA for security. The cost of purchases made through WAP billing is charged directly through the user’s bill.
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OnePlus 3T gets Rs 4,000 price cut, cashback offer, no cost EMI and more

OnePlus today announced the successful completion of 1,000 days of its operations in India. To celebrate the milestone with its users, OnePlus has announced a special promotion event 'OnePlus 1,000 Days'.

During the 'OnePlus 1,000 Days' sale, the company's flagship devices OnePlus 3T will be available at a special price of Rs. 25,999 against the regular price of Rs. 29,999. The promotion offer will be rolled out on the 5th of September 2017 and continue till the 7th September 2017.

During the three day promotion period, customers can also avail additional cashback offer of Rs. 2,000 on Axis bank credit and debit cards along with other attractive offers including Rs. 2,000 on exchange of their old phone on both the OnePlus 3T and OnePlus 5. In addition, customers can avail up to 12 months of zero cost EMI offer and 100 lucky customers can win complimentary domestic flight vouchers from Cleartrip.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikas ?Agarwal, General Manager, India at OnePlus, said, "We are pleased to offer exclusive benefits to celebrate the 1,000 days of OnePlus in India. The fast growth of the brand in India is attributed to the strong support from OnePlus community who truly resonate with the spirit of 'Never Settle' and our exclusive sales partner Amazon.in. Since our inception, we have been on a journey to develop premium flagship phones that combines fast, high end hardware with equally high end design. Our journey has just begun, the best is yet to come."
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Google Pixel vs Apple iPhone 8: Know everything about much awaited devices

Google and Apple are gearing up to unveil their next generation smartphones soon -- Pixels and iPhones. The next iteration of Pixel devices and iPhones are the most awaited smartphones this year.

This year, Apple is expected to launch two upgraded versions of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus i.e. iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus, and an anniversary edition ‘iPhone 8’ that has been hitting the rumour mills and is touted to feature dual rear camera and curved edge-to-edge OLED screen. The next generation iPhones are speculated to feature screen size ranging from 4.7-inch to 5.8-inch.

The iPhone 8 is speculated to feature faster A11 processor, designed on 10nm production unit, iOS 11, virtual home button, cameras with augmented reality app support, 3D facial recognition and infrared sensor for face recognition in low-light.

As for pricing, reports hint that the basic version of the next generation iPhones may cost in excess of $1,000.

28 hours a week: Indians spend 7X more time on smartphones than on TV

Indian  consumers spend as much as 28 hours a week on their smartphones, seven fold more than the time they end up spending in watching programmes on television as more users access internet on their mobile phone.

According to the Mary Meeker report, released on Wednesday night, the delivery of  entertainment, education, healthcare and marketplaces is being reimagined in India with the mobile phone emerging as the primary device for access to consumers.

In education sector, the report said education technology firm Byju’s has shown 15 per cent improvement in the quality of learning by accessing content on smartphones. In the healthcare sector, prices of laboratory tests have dropped by 50 per cent due to the aggregate inventory maintained by startups such as 1Mg and Portea. Customers made savings of around 20-30 per cent due to drug comparison on these platforms.

As far as payments are concerned, the unified payment interface (UPI) and use of Aadhaar is yielding results in areas such as the direct benefit transfer and instant money transfer schemes.

Users spend nearly half their time in watching entertainment content, while around 4 per cent of the time is invested on social networks and search engine sites such as Facebook and Google. News and media content remained low on priority at 2 per cent.

Around 4 per cent of the time is spent on online shopping from marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart.

This could potentially help Indian consumers take a gaint leap away from traditional formats as users stream content on their smartphones, aided by the massive rollout of 4G services by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio.

Launch of Jio in India has accelerated internet adoption by bringing down data prices to 17 cents per GB of data in March, from $2.7 in September last year.

People spend just two hours on print, a primary vehicle for consumption across India for decades, as multimedia content on smartphones account for a majority of their lives. Most of the content they consume is shared on platforms such as ShareIt and WhatsApp.

According to the report, there are around 355 million internet users in India, which is second only to China. Nearly 80 per cent of the useer access internet through their phones.
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No, Google's not a bird: Bringing the internet to rural India

Babulal Singh Neti was sitting with his uncle on a recent afternoon, trying to persuade him of the merits of the internet.

It was 105 degrees outside, and the sun was beating down on the frazzled croplands. His uncle said he had no use for the internet, since he had never learned to read; furthermore, he wanted to nap. This he made clear by periodically screwing up his face into a huge yawn.

Mr. Neti, 38, pressed on earnestly, suggesting that he could demonstrate the internet’s potential by Googling the history of the Gond tribe, to which they both belonged. Since acquiring a smartphone, Mr. Neti couldn’t stop Googling things: the gods, Hindu and tribal; the relative merits of the Yadav caste and the Gonds; the real story of how the earth was made.

Access to this knowledge so elated him that he decided to give up farming for good, taking a job with a nongovernmental organization whose goals include helping villagers produce and call up online content in their native languages. When he encountered internet skeptics, he tried to impress them by looking up something they really cared about — like Gond history.

His uncle responded with half-closed eyes, delivering a brief but comprehensive oral history of the Gond kings, with the clear implication that his nephew was a bit of a good-for-nothing. “What does it mean, Google?” his uncle said. “Is it a bird?”
And then, theatrically, he yawned.

While India produces some of the world’s best coders and computer engineers, vast multitudes of its people are like Mr. Neti’s neighbors, entering the virtual world with little sense of what lies within it, or how it could be of use to them.
The arrival of the internet in their lives is one of India’s most hopeful narratives.
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Nokia 3310 makes a comeback with 22 hours of battery life, dual sim

Breaking News - Finnish mobile device player Nokia is in reboot mode as it gets ready to bring to India its 17-year-old iconic Nokia 3310 handset for about Rs 3,500, along with its Android smartphones, next quarter.

"All the products that we have announced Nokia 3310, Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 will be available in the second quarter of this year in India. Average global selling price for Nokia 3310 is 49 euros," HMD Global Oy Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rantala said.

HMD Global has licence to design and sell Nokia branded phones globally as well as use technologies developed by Nokia Corporation.

"Now, we are celebrating the new era of Nokia brand that is the reason we are with HMD Global. Let me also be very clear that we would not license the Nokia brand to just anybody. It means too much to us. We chose carefully. We looked at the market. We looked at Google to be our brand licensing partner which could do this for a long time," Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri said.

HMD Global also unveiled Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 smartphones for 189 euros and 139 euros built on Google's Android platform. The company has already been selling Nokia 6 in China. One model of Nokia 6 with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage will be retailed at around 229 euros and the other one with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal memory with support for external memory card will be available for around 299 euros.(Read More)

Google CEO Sundar Pichai launches India first tool for small businesses

Latest Business News - In an effort to tap into the 51 million strong small and medium businesses in India, online search major Google today launched a brand new tool My Business.

Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google who is in the Capital for a day made the announcement. He said that the brand new tool has been introduced in India and it would be taken to other countries from here.

Pichai said that it is an India first tool which would be introducing this year. Google My Business would help small businesses set up website from their mobile devices. All they need is a smart phone, he said.

The company has also launched Digital Unlocked, an education programme in association with industry body FICCI and Indian School of Business. The programme will impart mobile and online courses to help small businesses.(Read More)

From Paytm to Freecharge, feature phones get a digi-wallet push

Breaking News - In an effort to bring every mobile phone user into the fold of the digital economy, mobile wallet companies are churning out a host of digital wallets that work on feature phones.

From state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to mobile wallets such as FreeCharge, Oxigen and Paytm, every player is either coming out or already has introduced mobile wallets for feature phones. Feature phones incorporate the ability to access the Internet and store and play music but lack the advanced functionality of smartphones.

In India, around 140 million feature phones are sold in a year and these constitute nearly half of the total mobile phone user base. According to industry experts, to make digitisation a success it is extremely important to reach out to this market. Most of the users of feature phones are in small towns and rural areas but a chunk is also found in cities (Read More).