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Google Pixel 2 to Feature Improved Camera, SoC; Budget Pixel Also in the Works: Report

Google is reportedly working on its next-generation Pixel devices expected to be announced later this year. According to a new report, Google is again focusing on the camera on the Pixel 2 device and this year we may finally see an affordable Pixel smartphone from the company.

9to5google cites an unnamed person familiar with the matter to report that Google is also considering including the water resistance to its next Pixel smartphone. Though, the report adds that the feature is "still on the table" which indicates that the company is still considering and has not made its mind. Last year, Google confessed that the Pixel and Pixel XL were not water resistant as the company reportedly ran out of time.

 

The report says that the Pixel is being tested with improved processors from two manufacturers and will flaunt a higher price tag than the first Google Pixel devices. The Pixel 2 is being claimed to be tested with "some Snapdragon 83X chips, others with Intel chips." The report citing sources claim that Google is testing the new Pixel phones for low-light photography. To recall, Google last year claimed that the Pixel phones sport the best smartphone camera and the company seems to be working to further improve the feature.

It's worth noting that the new leak points to an early version of the alleged Pixel 2 and there might be alterations and other tweaks by the company when the devices are actually launched later this year.

The report further claims that Google is also testing a custom chipset for a test device. "Multiple test devices with different chipsets are being used now," the report adds.

Google Pixel phones, the first self-branded smartphones by the company, have shown consistent performance in the overall market. Morgan Stanley recently predicted that Google sold 3 million Pixel smartphones by end of 2016 and thus generating $2 billion in revenue. Last year, an analytics firm during Black Friday Sales claimed that the Google Pixel was more popular than the iPhone 7 when it came to activations over the weekend. In India, the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones have been available with great discounts through e-commerce websites.

HP Recalls About 101,000 Laptop Batteries Due to Fire and Burn Hazards

In a new development, HP is recalling specific laptop batteries due to fire and burn hazards. The company is looking to recall as many as 101,000 laptop batteries worldwide, soon after this defect came to light. Notably, the latest action by the company is an expansion of the recall from June 2016, which saw 41,000 batteries recalled.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a fresh noticeinforming users that HP has recalled more than 100,000 lithium-ion batteries made by Panasonic used in its notebook computers. CPSC says that these batteries sold in a specific timeframe tend to overheat, and can pose 'fire and burn hazards'.

 

As a safety measure, HP has recalled specific batteries compatible with HP, Compaq, HP ProBook, HP Envy, Compaq Presario, and HP Pavilion laptops purchased between March 2013 and October 2016. The affected batteries feature bar codes starting with 6BZLU, 6CGFK, 6CGFQ, 6CZMB, 6DEMA, 6DEMH, 6DGAL, and 6EBVA - if you have any of these batteries, you should follow the company's recommended course of action. For immediate safety protocol, users with these laptops are asked to remove the battery from the laptop right away, and use the laptop by connecting to external power. Take the removed battery to the nearest service centre for more information on replacement. Furthermore, batteries sold as accessories or spares, or provided as replacements through support also need to be checked and replaced.

"Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled batteries, remove them from the notebook computers and contact HP for a free replacement battery," the company warns. As we mentioned, the company has also listed the affected battery bar codes of the above mentioned notebooks for a more structured recall.

An HP spokesperson further toldCNET, 'The problem affected less than 1 percent of the HP laptops sold during the time frame.' In June 2016, HP did its first recall for the same issue with as many as 41,000 lithium-ion batteries in the US, citing the same reason as above. At that point, HP had received seven reports of battery packs overheating, melting or charring, including four reports of property damage of about $4,000 total. The expanded recall issued this week as after it received one additional report, causing property damage worth roughly $1,000.

Of course, lithium-ion batteries overheating and catching fire is nothing new, and the general public was recently shown a harsh reminder with the infamous Samsung Galaxy Note 7 controversy, where several units of the smartphone exploded or caught fire due to faulty batteries. The incidents caused Samsung to recall over 2.5 million smartphones, and saw airlines and aviation authorities across the world ban the transport of the smartphone.

Hugo Barra Is Joining Facebook ‘To Lead All VR Efforts’, Says Zuckerberg

Xiaomi’s Global Vice President Hugo Barra, who said earlier this week he is leaving the Chinese company to head back to the Silicon Valley, is joining Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg announced via the social network on Wednesday.

“I’m excited that Hugo Barra is joining Facebook to lead all of our virtual reality efforts, including our Oculus team,” Zuckerberg said in his Facebook post.”

Hugo shares my belief that virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform. They’ll enable us to experience completely new things and be more creative than ever before. Hugo is going to help build that future, and I’m looking forward to having him on our team,” he added.

Barra, who’s been the face of Xiaomi ever since he joined the company after leaving Google around three and a half years ago, announced his departure via Facebook earlier this week citing health and other personal reasons.

“What I’ve realized is that the last few years of living in such a singular environment have taken a huge toll on my life and started affecting my health.” Hugo Barra said, “My friends, what I consider to be my home, and my life are back in Silicon Valley, which is also much closer to my family. Seeing how much I’ve left behind these past few years, it is clear to me that the time has come to return.”

Before joining Xiaomi, Hugo Barra was the Vice President of Product Development for Android at Google.

Xiaomi Mi 5c Launch Pegged for February in New Leak; Won't Support Fast Charging

Just when we were about to give up hope on the Xiaomi Mi 5c, it has cropped up online again. The device has reportedly been spotted on the website of China's Quality Certification (3C) centre, revealing key details about the device, and also re-igniting hopes of a launch.

GizmoChina reports that five different xiomi models went through certification on the website, but the one with the model number MAE136 is expected to be the Xiaomi Mi 5c (aka Xiaomi Meri). The other model numbers that went through certification are 2105212, 2016089, 2016101, and MBE6A5.

The listing reveals that the model number MAE136 will use a 5V/2A power adapter, which means that the Xiaomi Mi 5c will not support fast charging. The smartphone is tipped to come with really narrow bezels, and a 5.5-inch full-HD display with 2.5D curved glass protection. The smartphone is expected to be powered by the company's in-house Pinecone processor paired with 3GB of RAM.

Furthermore, it should offer 64GB of inbuilt storage. The Xiaomi Mi 5c is pegged to sport a 12-megapixel rear camera and an 8-megpaixel front camera for selfies and video chats. It is expected to run on Android Marshmallow-based MIUI 8 out of the box.

After many delays, the launch is finally pegged to be around February. Xiaomi was heavily expected to launch the device in December, but that didn't happen, and we wouldn't recommend you to put your hopes up this time either. Live images of the device along with specifications have been tipped several times in the past, and we sure do hope that the Xiaomi Mi 5c sees the light of the day soon.

Is Mark Zuckerberg Getting Ready to Run for President?

As America changes presidents, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is doing something. This week, he did something in Texas: He went to his first rodeo. He wore a hard hat and a safety vest. He thanked police officers in Dallas for their hard work. He helped plant a community garden.

So what, exactly, is Mark Zuckerbergdoing? Well, even without a peep from the man confirming any interest in the job, some have started to believe that Zuckerberg is running for president.

The reason people think that is, well, because whatever it is that Zuckerberg is doing looks a lot like what presidential hopefuls do:

In this case, Zuckerberg was in Dallas to testify in a $2 billion (roughly Rs. 13,616 crores) lawsuit. The Facebook-owned Oculus VR company has been accused of corporate theft by ZeniMax - an accusation that Facebook has denied. But the chief executive managed to make the most of his trip on Facebook itself by looping it into an unrelated personal project.

Zuckerberg's New Year's resolution this year is to make sure that he has visited each of the 50 states by the end of the year. He has been to several already, (for instance: Hawaii, where he owns a house and is suing some of his neighbours), so the resolution will mean making sure he visits about 30 additional states by December.

"My work is about connecting the world and giving everyone a voice. I want to personally hear more of those voices this year," Zuckerberg wrote in his Facebook post explaining the resolution.

But that resolution wasn't the first thing Zuckerberg that sounded a bit presidential to some. Over the holidays, Zuckerberg said he no longer considers himself an atheist and that religion is "very important" to him. He also hired David Plouffe, President Barack Obama's former campaign chair, to work for the philanthropic organization that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, created.

Once again, it is important to emphasize that while the above sure does make you go "hmm," Mark Zuckerberg has not said that he is running, or would like to run, for president.

One other reason that Zuckerberg might want to spend 2017 meeting Americans could have to do with, you know, Facebook. This year, the company was accused of having a bias against conservative news sources and topics in its trending topics bar. That accusation had a lasting impact on Facebook's reputation in conservative circles. And after the 2016 election, the company faced repeated interrogations from the media about its influential role in spreading fake news and hoaxes. As a result, Facebook announced changes designed to improve its ability to discourage the sharing of outright false information.

Zuckerberg's business model depends on its users believing that the platform is a newsworthy and trustworthy place where they might feel comfortable posting lots of things from their personal lives. Both perceptions have been threatened over the past year. Going out and talking to people, particularly those who have recently lost trust in the company, could be helpful PR for Zuckerberg - for reasons that have nothing to do with running for president.

With someone like Zuckerberg, it can be hard to separate signs of insatiable ambition from those pointing to a specific political goal. Take this passage from Nick Bilton, who outlined the case for at least thinking about the possibility that Zuckerberg might run over at Vanity Fair:

"If he does want the job, Zuckerberg definitely has the personality for it. When Facebook went public in 2012, I co-authored a profile of the young C.E.O. During the reporting, I heard from several friends about his penchant for playing world-conquering board and video games. Early childhood pals told me that one of Zuckerberg's favorite video games as a boy was Civilization, the game in which you have to "build an empire to stand the test of time." Others have told me that, to this day, Zuckerberg loves to play Risk, a strategy board game where you have to essentially take over the world."

Interesting. Except, my dudes, I too really love playing Civilization, and I would never want to run for president. Other things pointed to in that Vanity Fair story are more concrete - like the fact that a Facebook proxy statement from April said Zuckerberg could leave Facebook to serve in a government office but still keep control of his company. Hmm. (In a long statement about those changes in April, Zuckerberg said he was "committed to our mission and to leading Facebook there over the long term.")

Zuckerberg would be 36 by the time the 2020 election rolls around, which is one year over the minimum required age to be president (by contrast, incumbent President Donald Trump would be 74). But even if the rumors of a Zuckerberg run are true - which, again, is not something that has been confirmed in any way - Bilton says that the prevailing thought in Silicon Valley is that the still completely hypothetical Zuckerberg run for office would happen in 2024.

Amazon India sale offers,Nokia sale sold out,xiomi REDMI note 4 launch ,and more this week

  

Amazon is holding its first sale of 2017, the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017, and today is the last day to pick up deals. Ahead of the Great Indian sale, Amazon hired 7,500 temporary workers to ensure smooth logistics, and there have been a number ofgreat deals on offer as part of the Amazon sale.

Among popular smartphone offers and deals still available as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale are the Moto G4 Plus 16GB variant, which is available at Rs. 11,499. The Moto X Force 32GB, on the other hand, receives a Rs. 5,000 discount as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017 offers, and is up for grabs at just Rs. 21,999. The Moto G4 Play gets a Rs. 1,000 discount from its usual Amazon India listing price, and is now available at Rs. 7,999. The Lenovo Zuk Z1 gets a Rs. 2,500 discount from its usual Rs. 13,499 price, and is available at Rs. 10,999 as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale q2017.

The OnePlus 3T doesn't receive any price cut, but Amazon India is offering an extra Rs. 2,000 on exchange during the sale. Furthermore, the Lenovo Phab 2 Plus gets a Rs. 1,000 discount, and can be purchased at Rs. 13,999 (JBL headphones will also be bundled in for free) as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017. Lastly, if you're looking for an iPhone, then the iPhone 5s 16GB is available at a discounted rate of Rs. 15,999 (usual price said to be Rs. 18,749).

Amazon Prime Video also had an interesting announcement this week - Amazon india has partnered with media company OML to release 14 stand-up comedy specials. Globally, Amazon also announced a Good Omens series which will be out in 2018.

Meanwhile, in China, Nokia'scomeback is off to a solid start. The Nokia 6 went on sale for the first time, and sold out in just a minute. That's no surprise considering that there were 250,000 registrations for the Nokia 6 within just an hour, and two days ahead of the sale, the number had crossed 1 million.

Unveiled earlier this month, the Nokia 6 sports a 5.5-inch full-HD display with a 2.5D Gorilla Glass on top. The Nokia 6 is powered by a Snapdragon 430 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The dual-SIM Nokia 6 smartphone comes with a 3000mAh non-removable battery with fast-charging support.

On the camera front, Nokia 6 comes with a 16-megapixel rear camera with f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus, and dual-tone flash, as well as an 8-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture. The Android 7.0 Nougat smartphone has USB 2.0 port for connectivity, fingerprint sensor in the front, stereo speakers and Dolby Atmos audio enhancement.

The week has been pretty packed, and in India we saw the long anticipated launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. The phone starts at Rs. 9,999 for the 2GB RAM, 32GB storage variant. The 3GB RAM and 32GB storage variant of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 will set you back by Rs. 10,999, and the top end 3GB RAM and 64GB storage variant is priced at Rs. 12,999.

The Redmi Note 4 did well in our review, scoring particularly high scores on design and battery life, but the camera, though better than what we saw with the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, still could use some improvement. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 will be on sale from January 23, on Flipkart and Mi.com. No pre-registration is required.

Data deals continue to come up in India as Reliance Jio continues to grow. The latest is from Vodafone, offering 1GB of 4G data at Rs. 150, and 4GB at Rs. 250. In case that's not enough, you can also choose the 35GB data pack, for Rs. 1,500.

Reliance Jio Effect: Best Mobile Data Offers by Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, and Others

Speaking of Jio, a new phone leak has emerged, showing a 4G VoLTE feature phone for Jio. The phone is rumoured to be priced between Rs. 999 and Rs. 1,500, but not much else is known about it. It's worth pointing out that unlike other telcos, Jio only supports 4G, so VoLTE is the only way people can make calls on the network. From the leaked image, it appears that the feature phone will also come with dedicated buttons for Jio's media services.

Early in the week, Samsung released the Samsung Galaxy C9 Pro in Bhubaneshwar. The dual-SIM phone comes with 6GB RAM, a 6-inch display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 653, and 64GB storage, at Rs. 36,900.

Apple meanwhile says it's r ready to start making iPhones in India - but at a price. Among other things, the company is said to be seeking a 15-year tax holiday on imports of components and equipment, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

This week also saw the launch of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, the world's first Tango smartphone. It has a 6.4-inch QHD display, and a total of four cameras - the normal front and back, plus a depth sensing infrared camera, and a motion tracking camera. All this is meant for augmented reality (AR) applications like indoor navigation, search, and gaming. Other launches include the Vivo V5 Plus and the V5 Lite. The phones release on Monday, but Vivo unveiled them this week. Both phones put emphasis on the front camera, for high quality selfies.

The Micromax vdeo3 and video4smartphones have now been officially launched for India as well. These budget friendly phones come preloaded with Google deo app for video-calling. Lava also launched two entry level smartphones, the A50 and A55, at Rs. 3,999 and Rs. 4,399 respectively.

And in the South Korean market, we saw the launch of the LG X300, which sports a 5-inch HD display, a quad-core Snapdragon 425 SoC, 2GB RAM and 16GB of inbuilt storage. It is priced at KRW 253,000 (roughly Rs. 14,800).

Amazon Great Indian Sale Offers: Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, Moto G4 Plus, iPhone 5S, and Other Deals

Amazon India has kicked off its Great Indian Sale, the first big Amazon sale of 2017. The Great Indian Sale offers include a number of discounts and cashbacks on popular smartphones, accessories, and other consumer electronics. Those who have subscribed to the Prime service will get access to Amazon India sale offers ahead of other users, as well as some exclusive deals. Among the notable Amazon offers during the sale include deals on Moto G4 Plus, OnePlus 3T, Moto G4 Play, iPhone 5s, Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Prime, and Moto X Force, among others.

Check out our picks from Day 2 of the Amazon Great Indian sale as well.

Amazon India Sale Offers for Prime Members

As part of the sale, Amazon India is pushing exclusive offers for Amazon Prime members. The first such deal Amazon sale on the Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, which will be available at Rs. 8,999 on the first day. This deal will only be active from 9.30am to 10.30am IST for Amazon India Prime members only. Apart from this offer, there will be deals on Xbox One 1TB Console Tom Clancy's The Division Bundle and the Xbox One 1TB Console 3 Games Holiday Bundle, which will be available at Rs. 24,990 each from 1.30 to 2.30pm IST as part of Amazon India's Great Indian Sale 2017.

Amazon India Prime members get access to top deals 30 minutes before non-Prime members. Amazon has also partnered with Musafir.com to send 10 lucky couples shopping on the Amazon app during the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017 to an all-expense paid trip to Europe. 10 lucky customers also stand the chance to win one Renault Kwid car each during the Amazon sale.

Best Amazon Offers in Great Indian Sale

Other Amazon offers and deals under the Great Indian Sale include the Moto G4 Plus 16GB variant, which will be available at Rs. 11,499. The 32GB variant however, is priced at Rs. 13,999, the same as its usual listing price. The Moto X Force 32GB, on the other hand, receives a Rs. 5,000 discount as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017 offers, and is up for grabs at just Rs. 21,999. The Moto G4 Play gets a Rs. 1,000 discount from its usual Amazon India listing price, and is now available at Rs. 7,999. The Lenovo Zuk Z1 gets a Rs. 2,500 discount from its usual Rs. 13,499 price, and will be available at Rs. 10,999 as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017.

The OnePlus 3T doesn't receive any price cut, but Amazon India is offering an extra Rs. 2,000 on exchange during the sale. Furthermore, the Lenovo Phab 2 Plus gets a Rs. 1,000 discount, and can be purchased for Rs. 13,999 (JBL headphones will also be bundled in for free) as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017. Lastly, if you're looking for an iPhone, then the iPhone 5s 16GB is available at a discounted rate of Rs. 15,999 (usual price Rs. 18,749).

Amazon India sale offers also include the Canon EOS 1200D 18MP Digital SLR Camera at a discounted price of Rs. 22,999 (usual price Rs. 26,499). Powerbanks, headsets, TVs, hard drives, pen drives, and other accessories are also listed with discounts and deals. You can check out all the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017 deals.

Amazon Pay and Other Cashback Offers

For the three-day sale, Amazon Indiahas partnered with State Bank of India to offer cashback to buyers on purchases beyond Rs. 4,999. The bank is offering 15 percent cashback (maximum Rs. 1,750) on purchases made via the Amazon app and 10 percent cashback on purchases made via the Amazon India website.

Amazon India is even pushing its Amazon Pay service by offering cashback to use its wallet service. For orders between Rs. 250 and Rs. 4,999, users can avail 10 percent cashback when they shop on the Amazon India website and 15 percent cashback (maximum Rs. 750) when they shop via the Amazon app during the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017.

Why Amazon Offers on Mobile Make Sense During the Great Indian Sale

We recommend you shop via the app to make the most of the cashbacks on offer as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale 2017. If you're a first time Amazon India user, ensure that you are registered on the site beforehand. Fill in your shipping address and save your card details on your Amazon account before you are ready to purchase to enable faster checkout during the Amazon India sale.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Launched in India: Price, Release Date, Specifications, and More

Xiaomi India on Thursday launched Redmi Note 4, which it touted as its first big launch in country this year, in three variants. The new Xiaomi smartphone will be exclusively available in India on Flipkart, along with Mi.com. Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 will go on sale in the country starting 12pm on Monday on the two e-commerce websites. In India, the company has introduced the smartphone in Gold, Grey, and Silver colour variants, with a brand new Matte Black colour variant coming soon.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 India Price and Variants

The Xioami Redmi Note 4 has been launched it in three variants in India - the 2GB RAM/ 32GB inbuilt storage model has been priced at Rs. 9,999, the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage model has been priced at Rs. 10,999, while the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage model has been priced at Rs. 12,999. All three variants will be available starting Monday, and there are no pre-registrations required for the sale.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 Key Specifications and Features

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sports a metal unibody design and bears a fingerprint sensor on the rear panel. As expected, Xiaomi has not brought the MediaTek Helio X20 deca-core SoC-based SKU to India, and has instead chosen to use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 octa-core SoC in the country instead, coupled with the Adreno 506 GPU. The company is touting the 14nm FinFET architecture of the SoC and its benefits for battery life. The smartphone is also part of the company's Make in India programme.

The dual-SIM (Micro+Nano) Redmi Note 4 runs MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, and sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) 2.5D curved glass IPS display with a 401ppi pixel density. Powered by the Snapdragon 625 SoC, it comes with 3GB and 4GB of RAM, depending on the SKU.

The rear camera on the Redmi Note 4 bears a 13-megapixel CMOS sensor equipped with PDAF (phase detection autofocus), an f/2.0 aperture, 77-degree wide angle lens, and dual-tone LED flash. The front camera sports a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, coupled with an 85-degree wide angle lens. Expandable storage is available on the Redmi Note 4 via a hybrid dual-SIM card configuration, supporting microSD cards (up 128GB).

As for connectivity, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 offers 4G with VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/g/b/n, Bluetooth v4.1, GPS, Micro-USB, and Infrared. Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, electronic compass, and proximity sensor. It is powered by a 4100mAh battery, measures 151x76x8.35mm, and weighs 175 grams.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 India Launch Confirmed for January 19

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi has been teasing its upcoming Redmi launch in India for quite some time, and the Redmi Note 4 was largely expected to arrive on January 19. Flipkart too joined the bandwagon to tease a Redmi smartphone's exclusive availability on its website. Now, Mi India head Manu Kumar Jain has confirmed that the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is indeed launching on January 19, putting an end to all speculation.

Jain took to Twitter to confirm the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 in India on January 19. The smartphone, as mentioned, will be sold on Flipkartexclusively. The pricing and availability details will be unveiled at the launch event.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 was launched in China back in August last year in two variants - 2GB of RAM/ 16GB inbuilt storage model was priced at CNY 899 (approximately Rs. 9,000), while the 3GB of RAM/ 64GB storage model was priced at CNY 1,199 (approximately Rs. 12,000). The smartphone is expected to launch in India in the same price vicinity.

The highlight of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is its metal build and deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 SoC, though the company may launch another variant sporting a Qualcomm SoC in the country. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 smartphone was launched in Gold, Grey, and Silver colour variants in China. It bears a fingerprint scanner on the rear panel, and also integrates an infrared sensor.

As for other specifications, the dual-SIM (Micro+Nano) Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels) 2.5D curved glass display with a pixel density of 401ppi. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is powered by a deca-core MediaTek Helio X20 coupled with Mali-T880 MP4 GPU and 4GB of RAM. It runs MIUI 8 based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with PDAF (phase detection autofocus), an f/2.0 aperture, and dual-tone LED flash. The 5-megapixel front camera of Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 sports an 85-degree wide angle lens. It supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 128GB) in a hybrid dual-SIM card configuration.

Connectivity options include GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, 4G with VoLTE, Bluetooth, GPS, Micro-USB, and Glonass. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 is powered by a 4100mAh battery, measures 151x76x8.35mm, and weighs 175 grams.

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HTC to Launch Six to Seven Smartphones in 2017; Will Focus on Core Features

HTC will introduce almost half as many smartphones this year compared to last year, if the company's President of Smartphones is to be believed. The Taiwanese company this year will focus on its "smartphones' core features" in an attempt to compete against other handset vendors.

Chialin Chang, President of Smartphone and Connected Devices Business, told Engadget that HTC will unveil six to seven smartphones in 2017. Talking about the recent HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play smartphones, Chang said, "We're not trying to emphasise AI (artificial intelligence); we're trying to emphasise companionship." He also confirmed plans that HTC may launch "a few Desire devices for the fun and affordable" markets. Unfortunately, Chang didn't detail availability of the new Desire models.

Further, Chang claimed that machine learning as the main USP for the new HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play smartphones. He suggested that the new Sense Companion virtual assistant is a combination of "Google's Awareness API, device information and third-party data."

The recently unveiled HTC u ultra and U play are the first smartphone in the company's brand new U series. The biggest highlight of the new smartphones is the new Sense Companion, which is an AI-based system that learns the user's daily patterns to provide usage recommendations. The smartphone are expected to hit market shelves in India in March.

Some of the other notable features of the smartphones are the HTC  USonic earphones, which analyses the shape of the user's inner ears with a "sonar-like pulse"; 16-megapixel front camera with UltraPixel mode, "liquid surface" curved glass construction. The smartphones will run on Android 7.0 Nougat with the HTC's Sense UI customisation on top. Another highlight of the U Ultra smartphone is the Dual Display, which is a secondary display.

You can download a 1 GB file in 3 seconds flat with 5G – Qualcomm

5G Will Let You Download 1GB File In 3 Seconds – Qualcomm
We are in the 5G zone and a new Internet experience waiting to be unleashed. Along with Samsung, Nokia, Alcatel etc in the 5G arena, Qualcomm is also pushing hard to bring 5G mobile telephone to you and me.While who will be first to bring the technology to users is anybody’s guess, Qualcomm showed what it can do with 5G tech at the recently concluded CES 2017 at Las Vegas, United States.

Qualcomm showed off to the gathered audience about the different ways it’s going to deliver better performance using 5G technology. Qualcomm CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, also shared interesting titbits in his keynote address at the CES gathering.

In his keynote, Mollenkopf said that 5G isn’t just the next version existing 3G and 4G technologies but a whole new ball game in the field of mobile telephony. Mollenkopf said that 5G will be the key driver of the new age technology like VR live-streaming, autonomous cars, connected townships, etc.

Higher data speeds means more than faster downloads, it’ll make mobile #VR happen.

— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) January 6, 2017

According to him, 5G is expected to change the entire industry as it’ll increase the data speeds and reduce the associated costs. Apart from these benefits, the best thing about 5G is its low latency compared to 3G and 4G which will help users achieve many unimaginable and mission critical operations. Moreover, Mollenkopf said that 5G will have an impact similar to the introduction of electricity or automobile and “affect entire economies and benefiting entire societies.”



— Qualcomm (@Qualcomm) January 6, 2017

The research commissioned by Qualcomm predicts that 5G value chain will support up to 22 million jobs and generate up to $3.5 trillion in revenue by 2035. It also predicts that the full economic impact of 5G is expected to be realized by 2035. It also said that the new 5G technology will allow users to download a 1GB file in 3 seconds flat. Due to its high speed and low latency, the users will be able to download a full-length 4K movie in 18 seconds. The 5G tech will also usher in a new Internet age as far as speeds are concerned.

We now have to wait for mobile service companies to adopt the 5G tech and provide 5G services to users. As per a report, 5G tech will be implemented in Japan as early as September 2017.

Moto G5, Moto G5 Plus Likely to Be Unveiled at Lenovo's February 26 MWC Event

Rumours have been doing the rounds regarding the upcoming Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. On Thursday, a press render of the alleged Moto G5 Plus leaked just days after some live images landed on the Internet. It looks as if one will not have to wait too long to see these devices as Lenovo may just unveil them at MWC 2017.

According to CNET, Lenovo has been sending out invites for a February 26 event. The invite supposedly shows a Moto device with a shadow in the shape of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia with the 'Hello Moto' tagline at the bottom. This almost certainly means that Lenovo is heading to the MWC 2017 in Barcelona.

The invite, however, tells us very little as to what to expect at the event. While it doesn't confirm that the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus will be unveiled, the two phones are the likeliest candidates as of now. After all, the MWC is as big as it gets, and brands like Lenovo and Nokia would want to make their presence felt.

Earlier this month, details related to the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus leaked online, suggesting that the mid-range devices will sport 5.5-inch full-HD displays, 5-megapixel front cameras, and octa-core SoCs. The main difference between the two is the rumoured 13-megapixel rear camera for the Moto G5 and a 16-megapixel rear camera for the Moto G5 Plus.

The Moto G5 Plus is also expected to be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 625 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. The handset is said to pack 3080mAh battery and come with 32GB of inbuilt storage.

Meanwhile, leaked renders of the Moto G5 Plus reveal a fingerprint scanner at the front, and a circular camera panel at the back. The Moto "M" logo sits just below the camera module and the device may be offered in Silver colour.

Apart from the expected Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus smartphones, Lenovo could also showcase some new Moto Mods (the modular accessories for Moto Z line). We are just a month away from MWC 2017 and we'll know soon enough what Lenovo has in store for us.

Huawei P8 Lite (2017) With Android 7.0 Nougat Launched

HIGHLIGHTS

The Huawei P8 Lite (2017) comes with a 5.2-inch display
It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat
There's a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash

Huawei has announced a new version of its P8 Lite smartphone that launched two years ago. The Huawei P8 Lite (2017), on paper, is a slightly better version of the P9 Lite smartphone that launched last year.
Apart from the confusing naming, the timing of the launch of this smartphone is very odd, as the company is expected to launch the P10 Lite in a few weeks. In any case, the Huawei P8 Lite (2017) comes with a 5.2-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixel) display. It is powered by the company's in-house Kirin 655 octa-core SoC paired with 3GB of RAM. The smartphone runs on Android 7.0 Nougat and offers 16GB of internal storage. The storage is further expandable (up to 128GB) via a microSD slot.
As for optics, the Huawei P8 Lite (2017) comes with a 12-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and autofocus, and an 8-megapixel front camera setup for selfies. The dual-SIM device packs a 3000mAh battery and supports LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and NFC as well. It has a fingerprint scanner at the rear as well.
  The Huawei P8 Lite (2017) is a big upgrade from the original P8 Lite in all departments. It's got a bigger display, better processor, more RAM and battery, and even a better camera. However, when compared to last year's P9 Lite, the smartphone has negligible upgrades - the most notable being a slightly better processor.


The Huawei P8 Lite (2017) is priced at EUR 239 (roughly Rs. 17,300) and will be available in the German market in Black colour by the end of January. It, understandably, costs much higher than the P8 Lite, but is less expensive than the P9 Lite (EUR 299 at launch, which roughly translates to Rs. 21,600). The device will also be made available in White and Gold colour options, and in a single-SIM variant in the coming weeks.
Interestingly, GSMArena notes that this device could launch at the P9 Lite (2017) in Latin America. Only Huawei can tell the reason behind this bizarre naming and upgrade system  

                                                           
                                                              Huawei P8 Lite (2017)                                

                                                      KEY SPECS                      NEWS

                                                     Display                            5.20-inch

                                                     Processor                       octa-core

                                                     Front Camera                 8-megapixel

                                                     Resolution                      1080x1920 pixels

                                                     RAM                                3GB

                                                     OS                                   Android 7.0

                                                     Storage                          16GB

                                                     Rear Camera                 12-megapixel

                                                     Battery Capacity           3000mAh

Samsung Galaxy S8 May Ship Without Home Button; Galaxy S8 Plus Rumoured to Sport Dual Cameras

As more and more rumours related to the Samsung Galaxy S8 come in, we can't help but notice the heavy inspiration taken from the Apple's latest offerings. Earlier we heard that the Galaxy S8 is expected to come with a pressure sensitive display - similar to Apple's 3D Touch - and now a fresh leak hints that the Galaxy S8 will come in two variants.
The new Samsung Galaxy S8 series smartphones will reportedly come in two display sizes - 5.7-inch and 6.2-inch - and the larger one will be called the Galaxy S8 Plus. Furthermore, the Samsung flagship will let go of the Home Button, another feature that is heavily rumoured for the iPhone 8.

A report from Korea (first spotted by Android Soul) claims that the prototypes of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus have been made, and the units have been sent to the CEO and Vice Chairman for approval. The Galaxy S8 has a single camera setup at the back because the tech was too costly to feature in the base model, but the larger Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus model dons the dual camera setup at the back - a first in the Samsung smartphone range, but similar to what we say with iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

There's a lot of pressure on Samsung to get the Galaxy S8 flagship right, given its last year's misjudgment. In its rush to beat Apple, Samsung released Galaxy Note 7 sooner than its usual release cycle and paid heavily for it in the form of exploding battery problems.

The company has reportedly set a goal to ship 60 million Galaxy S8 units this year, much higher than the shipments of the last three years. Apart from the abovementioned features, Samsung is expected to remove the headphone jack from the Galaxy S8, once again, similar to the latest iPhone models.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus will reportedly not debut at MWC, and will instead be launched sometime in mid-April.

Nokia 8 Leaked Specifications Suggest a Flagship Nokia Smartphone Is Coming

Just a few days after the official launch of Nokia 6 smartphone by HMD Global, a smartphone named Nokia 8 has made an appearance online. Even though the alleged smartphone is expected to be launched at MWC next month, Qualcomm reportedly showcased the Nokia 8 smartphone in private at CES earlier this month, and it allegedly comes with specifications to get Nokia fans excited.
Two videos of the Nokia 8 smartphone by YouTube channel Total Tech, which were supposedly shot at CES 2017, have given an up-close look at the upcoming Nokia Android phone and revealed some of the specifications of the device.

nokia 8 smartphone story2 Nokia 8 Smartphone

The alleged Nokia 8 smartphone has been tipped to come in two variants.The higher-end Nokia 8 variant will reportedly feature a Snapdragon 835 SoC coupled with 6GB of RAM. Nokia 8 is further expected to sport a 24-megapixel rear camera with support for both optical and electronic image stabilisation. The Nokia 8 is tipped to sport a 12-megapixel shooter for taking selfies and dual-speakers are expected to be at front as well. The phone is rumoured to include either 64GB or 128GB storage options.

The lower-priced Nokia 8 variant has been tipped to pack a Snapdragon 821 SoC coupled with 4GB of RAM. The camera details on this variant of the phone are not yet available.

In the Nokia 8 video, no physical buttons can be seen at front of the smartphone, and the build seems to be quite similar to that of Nokia 6 smartphone that was recently launched by the company.

The Nokia 8 has been tipped to include Carl Zeiss optics, just like some of the earlier Nokia phones, and an HRM sticker further suggests that there might be heart-rate monitor functionality available with the phone.

As these are all leaks, we will have to wait for the official announcement from the company for any confirmation regarding the Nokia 8.

Nokia 6: Registrations for First Sale Cross 250,000 in 24 Hours

HMD Global, the company that now owns the rights to the Nokia brand, unveiled the Nokia 6 last week. The new Nokia 6 smartphone will be sold via a flash sale on January 19 exclusively on JD.com in China. The registration window for the Nokia 6 sale has opened up, and the Nokia 6 has reportedly garnered as many as 250,000 registrations in just 24 hours.
PlayfulDroid reports that the mid-ranger Nokia 6 has managed to rake in more than 250,000 registrations on the first day. This is a big milestone in Nokia's comeback journey, and a testimony to the fact that Nokia still has its fair share of loyalists out there.

On paper, the Nokia 6 is a rather forgettable device with nothing new to offer when compared to other mid-rangers out there. The Nokia 6 smartphone is priced at CNY 1699 (roughly Rs. 16,750). The smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat, and it sports a 5.5-inch full-HD display protected by a 2.5D Gorilla Glass. Nokia 6 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 SoC alongside 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The dual-SIM Nokia 6 smartphone is backed by a 3000mAh non-removable battery.

The unibody Nokia 6 is built using 6000 series aluminium and its home button has an embedded fingerprint scanner. It packs a f/2.0 16-megapixel rear camera with phase detection auto focus and dual-tone flash, as well as an 8-megapixel f/2.0 front camera for selfies. The new Nokia 6 smartphone also includes Dolby Atmos tech and 'dual amplifiers' for louder sound. HMD Global is also expected to launch more Nokia Android phones on February 26, with invites for MWC event sent out on Thursday.

Twitter to Live-Stream Donald Trump's Inauguration

Twitter to Live-Stream Donald Trump's Inauguration 

Despite being excluded from the recently held Trump tech summit, Twitter will livestream US
President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC on January 20.
"Twitter and PBS @NewsHour Partner to Live Stream Coverage of Inauguration Day 2017 #golive," @TwitterComms tweeted on Thursday. According to a report in CNET, the 6-hour coverage would be anchored by Judy Woodruff and feature several correspondents and analysts commenting on the swearing-in of Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence on the steps of the US Capitol. The livestream will cover the speeches, Trump's official arrival at the White House, and the parade.

The livestream will be hosted on inauguration.twitter.com, and @NewsHour.

"Streaming public broadcasting's thoughtful coverage on Twitter will allow more Americans to experience the inauguration and join in discussion around it," Sara Just, Executive

Producer, NewsHour, was quoted as saying by the report. She called the transition of power to a new president a 'powerful moment' in America's democratic process.

Previously, Twitter has livestreamed the Republican and Democratic conventions, as part of its plan to provide live coverage of major US political events.

During the Trump tech summit, the US president-elect had invited executives of a number of technology giants, such as Amazon, Apple, Google, HP, Uber, Airbnb etc., but omitted Twitter. The Trump transition team had passed over the microblogging website because it was "too small." However, a Reuters report says the decision to exclude Twitter Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey was motivated by the president-elect's ire at the company, which rejected an advertising deal with his campaign in October. Trump frequently uses Twitter to air his thoughts.

Written with inputs from IANS.   

HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play First Impressions

HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play First Impressions

 If CES 2017 has taught us anything, it’s that Artifical Intelligence or AI will play a big role in products and services that launch this year. The focus is clearly shifting away from hardware and specifications, with manufacturers now promoting intelligent devices that can learn and adapt to the way we use a product, making the experience unique to each user.

On the sidelines of CES, HTC gave Gadgets 360 a private preview of its first launches in 2017, the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play. These mark the debut of the company’s new HTC U series, which is positioned as a premium line, just below its flagship One series. We tried using both the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play smartphones for a short time, but they didn't have their final Android firmware so we can't go into too much detail about usage. However, we were briefed about the highlight features of both these new models.

With the new HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, the company is betting big on it’s new AI assistant called Sense Companion, which it claims will learn your usage behaviour over time in order to present you with priority notifications and alerts based on people you contact the most. On the HTC U Ultra, the second ‘ticker-style’ display, called the Priority Screen, is where Sense Companion will display important alerts and notifications. The implementation of the display is very similar to LG’s approach with its X Screen and V20 smartphones.


According to HTC, you’ll need to manually perform an initial setup of Sense Companion on the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play, which involves adding your favourite contacts and apps in order to “train” the AI, after which it’s supposed to automatically manage this for you. One scenario that was presented to us was that the AI will be able to alert you if your phone needs a charge, depending on your schedule for the day. This way, it could warn you that your phone will not make it through the commute to work or home before you actually set off, if that's your typical pattern. Sense Companion was developed in-house by HTC, and will work independent of Google's voice assistant.

We’re also told that the HTC AI will be able to understand your consumption patterns as well. For instance, rather than simply recommending restaurants around you, it will learn how you order food - based on restaurant ratings and proximity - and over time, when it’s gathered enough data, it will offer prompts to the places you are most likely to order from. The same goes for the weather. Instead of alerting you with weather alerts every day or hour, Sense Companion will only alert you when the weather is unusual. At launch, Sense Companion is said to work with only some of the core HTC apps, with more to follow in the coming months.

HTC U Ultra back ndtv HTC U Ultra

Both HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play phones feature biometric voice recognition, which means you can train them to respond to commands given only by you. The biometric capabilties help authenticate you so you’ll be able to wake the phone from sleep to perform a task, without having to unlock it manually. The HTC U Ultra has four microphones with an always-listening feature, 3D audio recording and range of around two metres. Both smartphones are said to ship with HTC’s new USonic earphones which feature microphones in the earbuds to map your ear canals to dynamically adapt audio frequencies to each individual's ear. Sound can then be customised depending on the type of music you listen to and ambient noise around you. The earphones also support high-resolution audio playback and work over the USB Type-C port.

The HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play mark HTC's move away from metal unibodies for its premium offerings. The phones now feature a 3D contoured glass design, which HTC refer to as “liquid surface”. The high-gloss design looks amazing, and you have a choice between blue, black, pink and white. We thought the blue looked the most striking. However, there’s no escaping fingerprints here, and that’s the price you pay for all this bling.

 

HTC U Ultra second screen ndtv HTC U Ultra

The HTC U Ultra features a 5.7-inch Quad HD display and is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage which is expandable by up to 2TB. HTC will also offer a premium version of the HTC U Ultra which will have sapphire glass and 128GB of storage. On the other hand, the HTC U Play has a more palm-friendly 5.2-inch full-HD display and an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 SoC, plus either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and either 32GB or 64GB of in-built storage.


The overall design and layout of the buttons is quite similar to that on the HTC 10, which is not a bad thing. There’s a single speaker grille and a USB Type-C port at the bottom, while the SIM tray is placed on the top. Both phones ditch 3.5mm audio sockets, a trend HTC seems to be embracing. The HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play feel incredibly well crafted and premium in every respect. The HTC U Play is a lot more manageable when it comes to single-handed use, but the HTC U Ultra should have its share of takers too.
Last but not least, these phones' cameras are also going to be important selling points. The HTC U Ultra features a 12-megapixel UltraPixel 2 rear camera with support for OIS, PDAF, laser autofocus, and Auto-HDR. On the front, there’s a 16-megapixel sensor which has the ability to switch to ‘UltraPixel mode’, which according to HTC, is about four times more sensitive to light compared to the standard mode. The HTC U Play also offers the same trickery for the front camera, but its rear camera has a 16-megapixel sensor with similar features as the HTC U Ultra, minus the laser autofocus.

HTC U Play back ndtv HTC U Play

The time we spent with the HTC U Ultra and HTC U Play was not enough to form any definite opinion. The units that we played around with weren’t even running their final firmware, which we're told could be a lot different from what we saw. However, the hardware seems solid as always, and if the HTC 10 was anything to go by, we should expect a lean version of Android 7.0.

HTC says that the U series marks a new direction for the brand, with AI taking centre stage. The company also plans to roll out AI updates throughout 2017 and beyond. We hope to see Sense Companion coming to some existing HTC phones too, and we’re told that’s something the company is looking into.

The HTC U Play and HTC U Ultra look like very interesting propositions, and in a way, give us a glimpse into what we can expect from rivals at the upcoming Mobile World Congress. AI assistants will most likely be a common feature across this year’s Android flagships so it’s ultimately down to who has the most compelling solution. It’s heavily rumoured that Samsung is also betting big on an AI assistant for the upcoming Galaxy S8, and we expect the same from other key smartphone makers as well.

As for HTC’s offering, we’re eager to test out the new Sense Companion to see just how smart it really is in the real world, and if having an AI assistant actually has any significant impact on our daily routine in the long run.