Tech News # 6
Mumbai to Have 1,200 Wi-Fi Hotspots by May 2017: Fadnavis
As part of transforming Mumbai into a Smart City, the state government will provide as many as 1,200 Wi-Fi hotspots in the megapolis, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Friday.
"We are making Mumbai a Wi-Fi city by May 2017 with 1,200 hotspots at important places," Fadnavis said during a debate on issues related to urban development in the state Assembly.
This was another important step after the CCTV project towards making Mumbai a Smart City, he said.
Of the total of 1,200 hotspots, 500 will be operational in the first phase by November 2016, Fadnavis said.
OnePlus 3 Mini Variant Rumour Is False, Says Co-Founder Carl Pei
These days, rumours and leaks in the tech industry are no joke. In the lead-up to most important device launch events, almost all the specifications and the hardware designs are leaked with unprecedented regularity. Maybe this is the reason why OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei quashed the rumour of a mini variant of OnePlus 3 by himself on social networking website Twitter.
Last week, a report by Phone Arena suggested that a new smartphone that had surfaced on benchmark site GFXBench with almost similar specs to the OnePlus 3 apart from the screen size may be the OnePlus 3 Mini.
Carl Pei replied on a link to the story on Twitter by saying just plain "No" followed by "#rumorshutdown".
Intel Partners With IIT Mumbai, DST to Launch Hardware Accelerator Plugin
India's technology ecosystem is largely known for its software companies - from software giants that have been B2B service leaders for decades now, to the e-commerce companies that dominate headlines today. A new incubator that's been put together thanks to collaboration between the government, academia, and Intel, wants to shift the focus towards hardware.
Plugin is a new hardware startup incubator that's a partnership between the government's Department of Science and Technology (DST), which is a leading funding agency; the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), which is IIT Mumbai's business incubator, and has supported over 80 startups until now; and Intel. Plugin will look to provide funding and access to equipment as well as mentorship and refine the startups' go-to-market strategies.
Next iPhone Variants and Lightning EarPods Leaked on Video; Bluetooth Headphones Tipped
With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 out of the way, Apple has now taken centerstage with its new iPhone launch only a month away. Multiple leaks are flowing in everyday, and the latest set brings videos showing the rumoured three variants of the iPhone from up close and all angles, and also another demoing Lightning-powered EarPods once again. Furthermore, there's a report claiming that Apple could possibly be building a Bluetooth chip in-house for enabling wireless headphones with better longevity and less consumption of power.
Lenovo Vibe C2 Power With 3500mAh Battery Goes Official
Lenovo, shortly after revealing the Vibe C2, has now unveiled the Vibe C2 Power smartphone in Russia. The new Lenovo Vibe C2 Power features upgraded innards compared to the Lenovo Vibe C2. There is no pricing announced for the Vibe C2 Power as of now. At the time of writing, the smartphone was not listed by the company's Russian site. We can expect the handset to go on sale soon in Russia.
Much like the Lenovo Vibe C2, the Vibe C2 Power features a 5-inch HD display and is powered by 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735P processor. The new C2 Power packs double the amount of memory - 2GB of RAM - than the previous Vibe C2. There is 16GB of built-in storage and supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 32GB).
One of the biggest improvements in the new Vibe C2 Power is in battery department. The new smartphone packs a 3500mAh battery compared to the 2750mAh battery seen on the Vibe C2.It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 5-megapixel front camera, similar to the Vibe C2. Connectivity options on the Lenovo Vibe C2 Power include 4G, GPRS/ EDGE, 3G, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, and Micro-USB. The smartphone also supports Indian LTE bands. It runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow out-of-the-box. The Russia launch of the smartphone was first reported by Helpix.ru.
The publication also claims that the Lenovo Vibe C2 is now retailing in Russia at RUB 11,000 (approximately Rs. 11,200).
Amazon Great Indian Sale Day 1 Deals: Our Top Picks
Amazon is back with the Great Indian Sale, and the 72 hour deals marathon kicked off at the stroke of midnight on Monday. Amazon India is offering deals across a host of categories like mobiles, other electronics, home & kitchen, fashion, and more.
Before we get to our pick of the deals so far, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1) Amazon is offering Prime members early access to many deals, so this is as good a time as any to sign up for Prime. Amazon Prime costs Rs. 499 for a year after a 60-day free trial if you sign up right now, and comes with other benefits like free one-day shipping on eligible items with no minimum order.
(Also see: Amazon Prime Launched in India, Amazon Video 'Is Coming')
2) Amazon is offering SBI credit and debit card holders an additional 10 percent off if they shop via the app, and additional 7.5 percent via the website. There's a minimum spend requirement of Rs. 5,000, with a maximum discount of Rs. 2,000.
3) Deals are going live throughout the day, so keep coming back for more. Some deals may have limited quantities available (indicated by the percentage claimed), so if you are really keen on buying something, go ahead complete the purchase while you can.
Without further ado, here are the best deals of the Amazon Great India Sale so far:
Xiaomi Mi 5
The Xiaomi Mi 5 (Review) is one of the best all-around smartphones you can buy right now, and Amazon is offering the black and white variants of smartphone at a discount of Rs. 2,000. That may not be a big amount, but if you are already in the market for a Mi 5, this is a good time to pick one up.
Obi Worldphone SF1
It's a phone that most of our readers would be familiar with, and it's going at a great price right now. The 16GB variant of the phone is available at Rs. 7,999, while the 32GB variant is going at Rs. 9,999. In our review the Obi Worldphone SF1 scored high on design, battery life, though the camera performance could've been better.
Samsung On7 Pro
Samsung has again become a contender in the budget smartphone space and it's thanks to products like the On7 Pro. Launched in October last year, the smartphone is available as part of the Amazon Great India Sale 2016 in gold and black at Rs. 10,190.
Logitech K480
The Logitech Bluetooth multi-device keyboard K480 for computers, tablets, and smartphones is one of our favourite Bluetooth keyboards. It can be connected to up to 3 devices at once, and you can switch input between them using the dial. The built-in stand doubles up as cradle for smartphones and tablets. As part of the Amazon Great India Sale, it's available at Rs. 1,799.
Logitech UE Boom
One of the better Bluetooth speakers out there is available at a sub-Rs. 10,000 price point. The Logitech UE Boom comes with water and stain resistance as well as a claimed battery life of 15 hours. Yes, a successor is out already, but at UE Boom is still worth considering at Rs. 9,599.
Teewe 2
The Teewe 2 (Review) is one of our favourite home-grown media streamers, and a pretty decent alterantive to Google's Chromecast. It's available right now at Rs. 1,499.
Soundmagic ES 19S
If you are looking for a decent pair of earphones to go with your smartphone that don't cost a bomb, the Soundmagic ES 19S are worth considering. They work with both Apple and Android smartphones and are available at Rs. 7,99 as part of the Amazon Sale.
Logitech accessories
Logitech is one of the preferred names when it comes to accessories and there are decent deals going around on a bunch of them. Our picks include the Logitech B170 Wireless Mouse at Rs. 549, the Logitech Bluetooth Audio Receiver at Rs. 1,499, the Logitech Type Plus Protective case with Integrated Keyboard for iPad Air 2 at Rs. 2,999, and Logitech C270h HD Webcam and Stereo Headset.
Jawbone activity trackers
Many popular of Jawbone activity trackers are discounted by 25 percent as part of the Amazon Great Indian Sale.
Lightning cables
Apple Lightning GeekTitan 1m MFi cable is available at Rs. 499, against a usual price of Rs. 599, making it a decent deal if you are in the market for a new cable to charge your iPhone or iPad. Amazon's own Lightning cable is available at just Rs. 599, though be warned that the cable is just 4-inches only.
Sanyo IPS TVs with A+ grade panel
Sanyo is offering two good deals on TVs with A+ grade IPS panels and 178 degree viewing angle, along with HDMI*2, USB*2, PC*1, AV*2, RF*1 ports. The 49-inch model is going at Rs. 34,990, while the 43-inch model is available at Rs. 24,990, making them good bang for the buck.
Other AmazonBasics accessories
As you would expect, there are deals on Amazon's own range of AmazonBasics accessories. If you've had your eye on certain laptop or tablet sleeves, or some other cables, this might be a good time to check them out.
Other mobiles
There are deals on plenty of other mobiles like the Acer Liquid Jade, Blu Win HD LTE, Micromax Canvas Win W121, Canvas 2 Colours, Canvas Nitro 2, Phicomm Passion 660, and Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. Do note that most of these phones are rather dated at this point, and may not represent the best bang for your buck. But if you are in the market for these specific models for some reason, this information might come in useful.
Dropbox has sent out password resets to all of its users that have signed up for the service prior to mid-2012, or not changed their password since that time. The company asserts that no accounts have been hacked, and the reset is being done as "purely a preventative measure".
Truecaller has announced in it's blog it has partarned with HUAWEI. due to which all the HUAWEI mobiles which will be launched in America, Middle East & North Africa, South East Asia & India by end of September 2016 .Huawei's flagship phones will now come preloaded with the Truecaller app, starting with the Honor 8.Truecaller said the app has optimised to work seamlessly with all the devices it will come preloaded on. Apart from making calls, the app will also let users search for numbers, block spam calls, check availability, and call duration.
Just hours after the Motorola E3 Power was spotted on sale in Hong Kong, the company has let out a teaser from its Moto India Twitter account indicating that the smartphone may be launched in India soon. Motorola's latest tweet is in addition to a collection of teasers that it has been releasing every day.The teasers spotlight features like large battery and multi-tasking indicating that the the Moto E3 Power in India is imminent.Motorola India has put out three teasers highlighting some of the big features. These include a bigger battery, better multi-tasking, and camera quality. The E3 Power is an upgrade to the Motorola E3 that was unveiled for the UK last month with September availability. However, the Moto E3 Power comes with a larger battery, more inbuilt storage, and more memory than the Moto E3. All of this hints that Motorola might just skip the launch of the Moto E3, and directly release the Moto E3 Power in India.
