Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 VR reference design announced

Couple of months after the announcement of Snapdragon 845, Qualcomm today introduced new virtual reality (VR) reference platform based on Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform, ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 in Barcelona next week. Similar to last year's Snapdragon 835 VR platform, it is partnering with GoerTek that allows for global manufacturers to quickly build commercial designs based on the Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR Platform. It uses Snapdragon 845's Adreno 630 visual processing subsystem offering 30% faster graphics performance, 30% better power efficiency, and more than twice as much display throughput compared to the Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform. Adreno Foveation combines graphics rendering with eye tracking to understand where the user is looking. "It is engineered to direct the highest graphics resources to where the user is physically looking, providing the sharpest visuals possible," said Qualcomm. It offers Six degrees of freedom (6DoF) motion tracking and SLAM for Roomscale -- the ability to track the body and location within a room so you can freely walk around your Xtended Reality (XR) environment without cables or separate room sensors – the first on a mobile standalone device. It has dedicated Qualcomm  Hexagon Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and Adreno Graphics Processing Unit that processes all these. It ...

NETGEAR Orbi Pro Tri-Band WiFi System launched in India

NETGEAR today launched Orbi Pro (SRK60) WiFi System for Small Businesses such as professional offices, restaurants, retail, or bed and breakfast inns.  This doesn't require complicated wiring, professional installation, or added IT costs, says the company. It uses patented FastLane3 Technology that made up of three critical components: Tri-band WiFi, a dedicated WiFi link from the extender to your router, and optimized antenna design.  This includes an AC3000 router and matching satellite engineered to cover a site of 5,000 square feet, and up to 10,000 with two add-on satellites. "With setup and management features that make it easy to add Orbi Pro satellites to cover larger areas, Orbi Pro delivers enterprise-class WiFi and advanced router features with the network performance and reliability a growing business demands," added the company. It comes with three pre-defined WiFi networks for traffic separation: an administrative network for business connectivity, an employee network for internet access, and a guest network for visitors to enjoy the internet. Highlights and benefits of Orbi Pro  Easy setup without wires: Deliver business-class WiFi everywhere without requiring additional, complicated wiring or installation costs Tri-band high-speed WiFi:Delivers both reliable WiFi coverage and maximum internet speeds even as more devices connect through the fast, dedicated wireless connection between ...

Aircel network goes down in several places, people face issue with port out SMS amid reports of bankruptcy

Aircel users are facing network issues for the past few days in several areas across the country, including Tamil Nadu. It was down in Chennai since today morning. Users are also facing issues in sending port out SMS. People who tried contacting the customer care were unable to reach them since they were put on hold for long period. The company is replying to users via Twitter saying that network issues are due to some technical issue and will take some time to get rectified without specifying any time frame. It also replies with the same response to users with port out SMS issues. At the time of writing the article aircel.com website was also down. Earlier this week ET reported that Aircel will file for bankruptcy at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) soon and its board has been dissolved ahead of the move. Another ET report from today said that it has warned its 5,000 employees to brace for difficult times amid funding issues due to intense competition. In an email to employees, Kaizad Heerjee, chief executive officer of Aircel said that the company expects things to get even more difficult in coming days. Reliance Communications, Aircel merger was called off back in October last year. ...

Microsoft announces support for email addresses in 15 Indian languages

Microsoft today on the occasion of International Mother Language Day announced support for email addresses in 15 Indian languages across its email apps and services, including Office 365, Outlook 2016, Outlook.com, Exchange Online and Exchange Online Protection.  Starting now, users will be able to use local language email addresses for Outlook accounts on PCs, and can now seamlessly send/receive emails to and from local language email addresses via Outlook client on PCs, outlook.com in addition to Outlook apps for Android and iOS. The supported languages include Hindi, Bodo, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Sindhi, Bengali, Gujarati, Manipuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. Setting up process is also simple, you just need to open up the Outlook and go to File menu and select Add Account. From there you enter your Indian language email address and click ‘Advanced Options.’ Select ‘Let me set up my account manually’ and click on the ‘Connect’ button. From the list of given options, you need to choose what kind of account you want to connect your Outlook app. At this point, you will now have to enter details about your mail service provider, and you're good to go. The languages that are being introduced support Unicode and users can register local language email addresses in ...

Google Reply smart quick reply app now available for download, here’s how it works

It was reported that Google is testing Reply app to bring smart replies to messaging apps and now the app is released in beta and the APK is now available for everyone to use. From the looks of it, the app does exactly what it says; you get automated response in shortcuts in message notifications. It works on Android 7.0 (Nougat) devices or later. Let's see how to set it up and get it to work.  [gallery size="large" link="file" ids="244420,244419,244416"] Firstly, you need to download the APK from here and install it (Since it is Google signed APK, it is safe to install) Once you open the app, you will be asked to link your Google account so that it can offer more intelligence and personalized automated responses. It will request your permission for notifications/location access Then gives you few options for further customization like fully automated responses depending on the circumstances. Once you are done setting up, you'll notice bubbles with automated response options in your messaging notifications. It works with Twitter DMs, Android Messages, and Hangouts, and from the way it works, we're pretty sure it will work on almost any app that supports replying via a notification. The app quite doesn't get jokes just ...

Panasonic P100 First Impressions

Panasonic has been launching its smartphone under mid-range and low-end segment to up its place in the Indian market as well as to up their sales through both online and offline. The company recently launched P100 smartphone under budget segment that surprisingly comes with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, fingerprint scanner, which is a rare sight indeed for a smartphone under Rs. 6,000. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBQ69pCINhQ The Panasonic P100 directly competes against the likes of Redmi 4A, Moto C, 10.or D and many more. The Panasonic P100 comes in Blue, Black, Gold and Dark Grey colors, with a price tag of Rs. 5,299 for the 1GB RAM variant and Rs. 5,999 for the 2GB RAM version. You can get your hands on this device exclusively on Flipkart . The Panasonic P100 comes in unibody design measuring 145x73x9.9mm and weighs around 174.8 grams. The Panasonic P100 is one of the very few smartphones available with a removable battery, dedicated space for SIM and MicroSD card. At this price point, the P100 feels solid in hand, offers good grip, and compact in hand as well. The USP of this device is its fingerprint scanner and it is placed on the rear side of the device for more comfort. In our usage, the phone ...

Honor 9 Lite gets Face Unlock via OTA update in India

Huawei's Honor brand has announced that it has started rolling out a new software update to enable Face unlock feature in Honor 9 Lite smartphone in India, as it had promised. Face Unlock for the Honor View 10 was released last month. The Honor 7X got the feature in China recently, which is expected to be roll out for the Indian users along with the Android Oreo update soon. To enable face recognition, you need to enroll your face by accessing Face recognition feature in phone settings menu. You can enroll your face by simply looking at the camera. By detecting your face, Honor 9 Lite detects the positioning between you and the phone and adjusts the direction accordingly. The new update that brings Face unlock for the Honor 9 Lite will roll out starting today which is being pushed in batches. The company says that all the Honor 9 Lite should get the update by 5th March 2018. We should also get the full changelog soon. Regarding the new feature, P Sanjeev, Vice President, Sales, Huawei Consumer Business Group, said: At Honor, we believe in delivering superior and innovative smartphone experiences and the Face Unlock rollout for Honor 9 Lite is in line with our ...

13-digit numbers for SIM-based M2M devices to roll out starting July

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has ordered telecom networks in the country to implement 13-digit mobile numbers to SIM-based M2M devices in the country which will co-exist with the current 10-digit mobile numbers scheme. Indian telecom networks that offer M2M services are an integral part of their enterprise offerings catering to various industries. DoT says that 13-digit M2M numbering (with 3-digit M2M identifier) plan will be implemented from 1st July 2018 and all new M2M mobile connections will be allocated 13-digit numbers only from this date onwards. Furthermore, the readiness of LI system has also to be ensured for 13-digit numbers before 1st July 2018. On the other hand, the migration of existing 10-digit M2M numbers to 13 digits will start by 1 October 2018 and should be completed by 31st December 2018. Currently, telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, RCom, and BSNL offer M2M services to their enterprise customers. Airtel's M2M services include Smart Metering, Asset Tracking Solutions, Equipment Monitoring Solutions and Traffic Management Solution.M2M is a cellular network-driven remote communication between two machines and its use cases vary. The Department of Telecommunications in a letter said: The undersigned is directed to convey the approval of competent authority that 13-digit numbering scheme has been approved for SIM-based M2M devices which will co-exist with existing 10-digit ...

Moto Z2 Force Review

Motorola last week launched the successor of Moto Z Force in the Indian market billed as Moto Z2 Force with the shatterproof display. Priced at Rs 34,999, does this smartphone lives up our expectations? Let's find it out. Unboxing We recently unboxed the phone, check out the video below. https://youtu.be/sXEfpCN7VfY Box Contents Moto Z2 Force smartphone in Super Black color 2-pin Turbo Charger (5V-3A / 9V-1.6A / 12V-12.A) USB Type C Cable In-ear Headset USB Type-C to 3.5mm converter SIM ejector tool User manual and warranty information Display, design, and hardware The Moto Z2 Force sports a 5.5-inch (1440 x 2560 pixels) Quad HD AMOLED POLED ShatterShield, shatterproof display with a pixel density of 534ppi. The display is bright with amazing color reproductions and good viewing angle. The sunlight legibility is good as well when the brightness bar is set higher in outdoor conditions. It has bezels above and below the screen so the screen-to-body ratio of the phone is about 70%, which is definitely less compared to some of the latest smartphones with full-screen displays. The device measures 76 x 155.8 x 6.1mm and weighs just 143 grams. It goes easy on your wrist and you won't be feeling the phone when kept inside your pant ...

Snapchat gets new GIF stickers from GIPHY, discover screen tabs and more

Snapchat is now adding new GIF stickers from GIPHY, discover screen tabs and more. Stickers from GIPHY is something that Instagram has recently rolled out to its Stories feature. These stickers are present in the Sticker Picker along with the existing options from Snapchat. Snapchat is also adding tabs to both the Friends and the discover screens within the app. This will make it easier for users to view the Stories whenever they want and also letting you do things like viewing friends with active stories and group chats in one tab and subscriptions you maintain in the other. Using stickers, you can now take a photo or video, and add a funky GIF sticker to your creation according to your liking and preferences. Snapchat CEO, founder Evan Spiegel in the recent earnings call said that Snapchat is still convinced its recent redesigns have made the application simpler and easier to use, and also noted improved ad performance post-overhaul, despite vocal user complaints. Snapchat recently rolled out a bunch of features including new audience analytics for brands and celebrities and also opened its marketing API for all developers to use. These updates are starting to roll out today and is aimed at bringing more creative use of stickers ...