Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ with Snapdragon 845, Stereo speakers surface in more press shots

We are inching closer to the launch of the Galaxy S9 and S9+. We already saw most of the details about the upcoming flagships, however, today we have almost all the details, specifications and even the rendered images leaked ahead of the MWC 2018 announcement. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be powered by the Snapdragon 845, run on Android 8.0 Oreo. Looks wise, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ look almost identical to the S8 duo from last year except for the rear fingerprint sensor placement. The S9 duo will retain the Infinity-display with narrow bezels on all corners. The Galaxy S9+ will have the dual-rear camera arrangement with 12MP rear camera, variable aperture of f/ 1.5 and f/ 2.4 for the primary camera, 12MP secondary rear camera with f/2.4 aperture, and an 8MP front camera with f/ 1.7 aperture. On the other hand, the S9 will just have a single rear camera with a 12MP sensor with  f/1.5 and f/2.4 variable aperture and can record videos at 960 fps. [HTML1] [HTML2] As expected, the Samsung Galaxy S9 sports a 5.8-inches Quad HD+(1440 x 2960 resolution) on the other hand, the S9+ packs a 6.2 inches with the similar resolution. Outside of the USA, the S9 and ...

Google Tez gets utility bill payments – Here’s how to pay post-paid mobile, broadband and electricity bills

Google has updated its Tez mobile payments app that brings support for bill payments, as it had promised.  It has support for over 90 billers, including national and state electricity providers, gas and water, and DTH recharge. Some of them include billers like Reliance Energy, BSES and DishTV, and Google says that it will cover all states and major metros in India. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeAd2n4_Vhg It also supports Bharat BillPay system, which lets you fetch the latest bill from your providers. For most recurring utility bills, Tez will fetch any new bill and send you a timely notification when it arrives. [gallery link="file" size="large" ids="244160,244159,244156"] To add new biller and pay bill, you need to Tap on New Payment on the home screen Click Pay your bills Click the name of biller. You can also search for them by name. Once you’ve located your biller, select them and enter the number associated with your account to link it to Tez Give it an easy name to remember Pay the bill Tap biller's name on your Tez home screen to check whether you’ve paid a bill It also shows all past payments grouped by biller, as well as manage bills from multiple accounts.  Google is also offering a scratch card ...

Idea partners with Panasonic to offer P100 at an effective starting price of Rs. 3799

Earlier this month Panasonic launched its P100, a budget Android smartphone at a starting price of Rs. 5299, exclusively on Flipkart. Today Idea Cellular has announced that it has partnered with Panasonic to offer a cashback of Rs. 1,500 on P100 for Idea customers, the device will be available at an effective price, which is over 25% lower than the MRP. Idea customers will get a cashback of Rs. 300 after the first 12 months of use, and Rs. 1,200 after the next 12 months, on the purchase of the latest Panasonic P100 which is priced at Rs. 5,299 for 1GB RAM variant and Rs. 5,999 for 2GB RAM. With the cashback of Rs. 1,500, the effective price of the 4G device will be Rs. 3,799 and Rs. 4,499, respectively. To avail the special offer, Idea customers need to do a cumulative recharge of Rs. 2,500 during the first 12 months and the same amount during the next 12 months period. Idea customers need to recharge with a minimum of Rs. 199 or above, each month, to be eligible for the cashback. Rs. 199 comes with unlimited calls across all networks, 28 GB data (1GB/day), 100 SMS/ Day, free roaming (outgoing and incoming) and a validity of ...

Airtel, HMD Global partner to offer Nokia 2 and Nokia 3 at effective price of Rs. 4999 and Rs. 7499

Airtel today announced that it has partnered with HMD Global to offer affordable 4G smartphone options to customers as part of Airtel’s ‘Mera Pehla Smartphone’ initiative. Under this partnership Nokia 2 and Nokia 3, 4G smartphones are now available with cashback of Rs. 2000 from Airtel. Both 4G smartphones will come bundled with a special Airtel recharge pack of Rs. 169 offering 1GB 4G data per day and unlimited calling – Local and STD. You need to pay upfront amount of Rs. 6,999 and Rs. 9,499 for the Nokia 2 and Nokia 3 , respectively and do 36 continuous monthly recharges worth Rs. 3500. You will get a cash refund of Rs 500 after 18 months and another Rs. 1500 after 36 months, taking the total cash benefit to Rs. 2000. Nokia 2 specifications 5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) HD LTPS  LCD In-Cell Touch display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection 1.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 212 Mobile Platform with Adreno 304 GPU 1GB LPDDR3 RAM, 8GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 7.1.1 (Nougat) OS, upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo) Dual SIM 8MP autofocus rear camera with LED Flash 5MP front-facing camera Splash proof (IP52) 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dimensions: 143.5 x 71.3 x 9.30 mm ...

Wikipedia Zero no-cost mobile access program will end in 2018

The Wikimedia Foundation has announced that it ending the Wikipedia Zero program which was launched in 2012. It said that the new partnership opportunities will continue to address critical barriers to participation in free knowledge around the world. Wikipedia Zero was created with a goal to address one barrier to participating in Wikipedia globally: high mobile data costs. The company through this program has partnered with 97 mobile carriers in 72 countries to waive off mobile data fees to more than 800 million people and allow free access to Wikipedia on mobile devices. It also clarified that no further partnerships will be formed through this year, and the remaining partnerships with mobile operators will expire. The company says that since 2016 the adoption and interested in this program among users have seen a significant drop-off. The main reason identified as part of the research was low awareness of Wikipedia outside of North America and Europe. To address this the company says that it has experimented with new projects and partnerships and has also seen some initial success in this work. In Iraq where it raised the awareness of Wikipedia by more than 30%. In Nigeria, we partnered with Nigerian community members and Nollywood stars to introduce more than 15 ...

Samsung partners with Petur Jonsson for new ‘Over the Horizon’ ringtone for the Galaxy S9

Samsung made 'Over the Horizon' as default tone on its Galaxy device back in 2011. Each generation of Samsung's Galaxy devices comes pre-loaded with a fresh new take on Samsung’s signature "Over the Horizon", six-note groove. Today it has announced that it has teamed up with Icelandic composer Pétur Jónsson to compose a new “Over the Horizon” tune for the next generation flagships. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doFVaVZrIeg The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ announcement at the Galaxy Unpacked 2018 will take place at 6 p.m.CET (10:30 PM IST) in Barcelona on February 25, 2018. Regarding the creation on the new tune, Samsung on its release, said: Delicately layering instruments, Jónsson’s minimalist arrangement takes you away on an atmospheric journey of discovery. The piece begins with the soft tones of a single piano playing the refrain. As additional instruments are gradually introduced, the sound rises to a crescendo before melting away. As the video cuts away from the opening scene of Jónsson at the piano, it prompts you to imagine travelling over the remote Icelandic countryside. Capturing the beauty of Nordic nature, the camera pans over misty mountains and jagged cliffs, steaming geysers and snow-blanketed hills. Listening to this year’s piece by Jónsson, you will find that the notes ...

Google investigating Pixel 2 XL slow rapid charging in low battery temperatures

Users of Google Pixel 2 XL have started reporting the slow battery charging speeds despite the phone showing the "Charging rapidly" notification. AndroidPolice in their testing has concluded that "rapid charging" isn't always an accurate statement as the phone in low temperatures the phone starts charging at less than 4W. Regardless of the Google claims of 10W+ charging speeds, the Pixel 2 XL only caps to 4W at the best. It isn't clear if the Pixel 2 is also affected by this issue yet. Furthermore, if the 2 XL's battery temp is below 20°C, instead of pulling the maximum charging speed at 10.5W, it will only pull 3-4W. Most misleading this about this issue is that the phone still claims "Charging rapidly," despite the slower speeds. Android Police put the Google Pixel 2 XL in the freezer until the internal battery temperature was around 16°C degrees, at this point the phone was connected to charging.  Later, the phone was disconnected was left to warm up to room temperature, i.e., around 24°C values. At this point, the phone was again connected to charging only to see a huge difference of over 12W in the charging speeds. The phone recorded a speed of 16.3625 watts in warm conditions but was only ...

LastPass finally gets Android Oreo autofill support

LastPass password manager for Android has finally received Android Oreo autofill support. Accessibility option is still available for Older apps and Chrome that don't support the new implementation. LastPass v4.4.1749 brings you an option to turn on Oreo autofill by going to Settings > Autofill. The LastPass password manager shows you a brief animation once you toggle for "Autofill" in the Android Oreo and shows you what you'll have to do next. Once you enable LastPass autofill service as default service, you'll see a warning if your trust the app and everything else is pretty much is identical to what we saw in the previous LastPass beta supporting Oreo's autofill API which was rolled out in August. Android Oreo autofill API offers more seamless and universal experience than the accessibility-based approach. It can recognize address and credit card forms, and they're available as toggles in LastPass' settings. However, for now, both these features are tagged as beta features and are turned off by default. Legacy autofill using accessibility is still available for users who are not on Android Oreo or for anyone who uses Chrome. It also allows LastPass to autofill in apps that aren't yet compatible with Oreo autofill.  You can install the LastPass app from PlayStore or manually download the ...

Huawei P20 Plus firmware files reveal Always-on display, 4000mAh battery

Huawei P20 series is all set to go official at a special event in Paris on March 27th. With the launch inching closer, we are hearing more details about the flagships. Today according to the firmware files obtained by @FunkyHuawei, the man behind most Huawei and Honor leaks, the P20 Plus variant is said to feature an always-on display and a massive 4000mAh battery. The P20 Plus contains Huawei’s Always on Display APK which is pre-installed. Previous Huawei phone to feature an Always on Display feature is the Mate 10 Pro which is also the company's first flagship to have OLED screen. However, it is unclear if the P20 Plus will have an OLED screen or not at the moment, though the possibility is strong. As for the battery, the P20 Plus is said to feature a massive 4000mAh battery according to the apps through Android’s APIs. Further, we also found that the regular P20’s battery capacity is 3,320 mAh a fairly decent capacity unit. We're not very sure about the RAM/ROM of the two devices, but if anything the Plus variant will have an advantage. Previously it is reported that the Huawei P20 Plus will have an iPhone X style top-notch with triple rear cameras. There is a possibility ...

Virgin signs an agreement with Indian Govt for Hyperloop One between Pune and Mumbai

Virgin Hyperloop One today announced that it has signed an agreement with Maharashtra who intends to build a hyperloop between Pune and Mumbai beginning with an operational demonstration track. The company's chairman Sir Richard Branson signed the framework agreement today to begin the development of the route. The Hyperloop route would link central Pune, Navi Mumbai International Airport, and Mumbai in 25-minutes and connect 26 million people, supporting 150 million passenger trips per year. The company further said that the route could result in USD $55 billion (Rs.350,000 crores) in socio-economic benefits, time savings, accident reduction and operational cost savings with 30 years of operations. It also opens up a new possibility of job creation and saves more than 90 million hours of travel time. The Hyperloop One project will begin with a six-month in-depth feasibility study to analyze and define the route alignment including environmental impact, the economic and commercial aspects of the route, the regulatory framework, and cost and funding model recommendations. Upon the successful study, the project will enter a procurement stage post which the Construction of the Pune-Mumbai hyperloop route would commence which would take 2-3 years from the date of signing the agreement. The second phase will target to complete construction of the ...