First Android Oreo (Go edition) phones, new Android One phones will be announced at MWC 2018 confirms Google

Google announced Android Go back in May last year for low-cost Android devices that have 512MB to 1GB of RAM, and later in December it was renamed to Android Oreo (Go Edition) and said that Android Go edition smartphones would be available from early 2018. Today Google has announced that OEMs will introduced the first set of Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphones at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona next week. It also said that these phones will cost less than $50 (Rs. 3250 approx.) It already started introducing new Google apps – Google Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, YouTube Go, Google Assistant Go, Files Go, Gboard Go and that these devices will come with custom experiences for Chrome, as well as a tuned version of the Google Play Store that also highlights the apps designed to work best on the Go edition devices, in addition to other apps. Nokia 1, the company’s entry-level smartphone is expected to be one of the Android Go edition phones targeted at emerging markets. Earlier rumors said that it will come with 1GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage and a HD IPS display. Last month Micromax confirmed that it will launch BHARAT GO, the first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone in India, in partnership with Google by the ...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro MIUI 9.2.4 update brings Face Unlock

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 5 Pro in India last week, which went on sale today for the first time on Flipkart as well as Mi.com and was sold out within minutes. At the launch Xiaomi promised to bring Face unlock that will be available via OTA update by the end of March, but today as a surprise the company rolled out the Face unlock feature for the phone via an OTA update. This is the first Xiaomi smartphone in India to get the feature. [HTML1] At the launch the company said that its face detection algorithm scans facial features in roughly 500ms using a high-accuracy matching mechanism, making it faster than the fingerprint scanner. However Face unlock is not as secured as fingerprints. The MIUI  v9.2.4 NEIMIEK update is 1.6GB in size and also brings significant camera improvements and stability optimizations. It is already available for the reviews units, and those who ordered the phone today will get the update as soon as they boot up their phone. To remind you, the Redmi Note 5 Pro sale on Flipkart and Mi.com is scheduled for 28th February, Wednesday at 12 noon.

Xiaomi Mi TV 4 sold out in less than 10 seconds in first sale in India, next sale on February 27

Xiaomi launched the the Mi TV 4 for the first time in India last week at a price of Rs. 39,999 . It went on sale in the country today at 2PM. Xiaomi has announced that the TV got huge response from the customers, which was sold out in less than 10 seconds on Flipkart and Mi.com. However the company did not share the number of TVs sold during the sale, unlike it did for the Redmi Note 5 smartphones. Some users said that it sold out before they could see the buy button. [HTML1] The company has launched only the 55-inch 4K Mi TV 4 model in the country and it plans to bring more models based on the response.  The Mi TV 4 has a 4.9mm slim frameless design and comes with Patch Wall, a UI layer on top of the Android OS that’s based on deep learning AI technology that can curate content based on recommendations. It brings all the content from the STB and seamlessly integrates right on your homepage. For content, Xiaomi has partnered with Hotstar, SunNxt, Voot, Sony LIV, Hungama and more. The company says that it  comes with 500K+ hrs of content, and almost 80% of all content ...

Land Rover Explore rugged Android smartphone with swappable add-on battery, adventure packs announced

Land Rover and Bullitt Group introduced Land Rover Explore at the ISPO trade show earlier this month, but it did not reveal the specifications of the phone. Today it has published all the details ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018. It has swappable back covers called packs that can extend capabilities. The Adventure Pack adds 3600mAh additional battery, GPS patch antenna that improves the reliability and accuracy of the GPS and premium topographic mapping with Skyline augmented reality, powered by ViewRanger. It also acts as a TPU Protective case and comes with Stainless Steel Carabiner with canvas strap. The Bike Pack adds a Bike Mount and case for both stem and handlebar. You can also tilt it to adjust viewing angle or change device orientation. The Battery Pack has 4370mAh battery. Land Rover Explore specifications  5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with wet finger or glove support, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection 2.6GHz Deca-Core MediaTek Helio X27 processor with Mali-T880MP4 GPU 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, expandable memory with microSD Android 7.1 (Nougat), upgradable to Android Oreo Dual SIM 16MP rear camera with LED Flash 8MP front-facing camera Water and Dust resistant (IP68) Drop-proof to 1.8 metres with factory fitted screen protector Dimensions: 154.8 x 79.9 x 8.35mm; Weight: 188g ...

Samsung Galaxy S8 Android Oreo update resumes with February security patch and bug fixes

Samsung recently canceled the Galaxy S8 and S8+ Android 8.0 Oreo update merely a week after the update was released citing the unexpected reboot issue. Now it looks like the update has finally resumed in Germany and just a matter of few days before it widely becomes available in the markets where the update had previously been released.  Just as it was reported, Samsung worked on a new version, probably one that doesn't cause the phone to reboot. The Oreo update for Galaxy S8 brings February security patch along with new Experience U.I 9.0 on based on Oreo for the version number G950FXXU1CRB7 and G955XXU1CRB7. For those who have installed the earlier update before it got canceled, the size of the new update is just over 530MB and for those who haven't, it will probably be larger in size. The latest update brings new build number and also February security patch which is a good thing. The update just started rolling out, so it might take some time to reach everyone. Source | Via

Honor 7C and Huawei Enjoy 8 with 5.99-inch full-screen display, dual rear cameras, Android 8.0 get certified

Earlier this month several Huawei and Honor smartphones surfaced on TENAA, now Honor smartphones with LND-TL30 and LND-TL40 model numbers and Huawei smartphones with model numbers LDN-TL10 and LDN-TL20 have been certified by TENAA in China. These are said to be Honor 7C and Huawei Enjoy 8. These share similar specifications and design, feature dual rear cameras and a fingerprint sensor on the back. Honor 7C and Huawei Enjoy 8 rumored specifications 5.99-inch (1440 x 720 pixels) 18:9 FullView 2.5D curved glass display 1.4GHz /  1.8GHz Octa-Core processor 3GB / 4GB RAM, 32GB / 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 8.0 (Oreo) Dual SIM 13MP rear camera with LED flash,secondary 2MP camera 8MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor Dimensions: 158.3 × 76.7 × 7.8mm; Weight: 164g / 153g 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS 2900mAh built-in battery The Honor 7C is expected to come in Black, Gold and Blue colors and the Huawei Enjoy 8 is said to come in Rose Gold color as well, in addition to these these colors. We should know the price when the Source 1, 2

Apple said to launch new water-resistant AirPods with ‘Hey Siri’ support later this year

Apple is said to be busy working on a new AirPods with 'Hey Siri' support and water-resistance that are expected to launch later this year. The new AirPods said to feature a new wireless chip according to a report from Bloomberg.  With Hey Siri integration, users can now communicate with Apple's voice assistant hands-free which is an improvement over the current AirPods hardware which needs a double hardware tap. Going by the reports, Apple is going all out with the upcoming AirPods and is aggressively advancing the AirPods line. Though we still don't know how often Apple is planning on releasing the new model. Hey-Siri integration is said to make it easier to control their music and adjust volume, assuming the assistant is responsive in helping out users with their needs. With the current design, users need to you have to double-tap an earbud, wait for a chime, and then send a request to Siri. Furthermore, the upgraded wireless chip in the AirPods 2 could be the ‘W2 chip’ seen in Apple Watch Series 3. Though the current models can withstand in rain to some extent, they still aren't fully waterproof, but the upcoming model will include formal water resistance. However, the report doesn't speak about any launch date, ...

Over 3 lakh Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro units sold out in under 3 minutes in first sale, next sale on Feb 28

Xiaomi launched the Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro smartphones in India last week, which went on sale exclusively on Flipkart as well as Mi.com today at 12 noon. Manu Jain, Group Vice President and Managing Director of Xiaomi India just said that the company sold over 3 lakh units of the smartphones under 3 minutes, selling 1 lakh units per minute. In comparison, last year the company sold 2.5 lakh Redmi Note 4 smartphones in 10 minutes in its first sale. [HTML1] Over 2 million or 20 lakh people had shown interest (Notify Me) to buy these smartphone during today's sale. He already said that the company has been scaling up its supply to meet the demand. Most users wanted the Redmi Note 5 Pro on both the platforms so they went out of stock as soon as the sale began. People were also queuing at the Mi Home Stores across the country to get the smartphones first. Xiaomi already promised that it will bring both the phone to offline stores through its partners soon. The next Redmi Note 5 and Redmi Note 5 Pro sale on Flipkart and Mi.com is scheduled for 28th February, Wednesday at 12 noon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTuQUxdbVbw Check out our Redmi Note 5 Review, if you are planning to buy the ...

Moto Days Sale from Feb 22 to 24 on Flipkart: Discounts and exchange offers on Moto X4, Moto Z2 Play and more

Motorola today started its Moto Days Sale to celebrate 4-year anniversary of its presence in India and association with Flipkart. It is offering attractive discounts and special exchange offers on some of its smartphones during the sale. Offers on Moto smartphones on Flipkart Moto Z2 Play - Rs. 22,999 (Rs. 5000 off + up to Rs. 20,000 off on exchange) Moto X4 4GB + 64GB - Rs. 20,999 (Rs. 2000 off + up to Rs. 19,500 off on exchange) Moto X4 3GB + 32GB - Rs. 18,999 (Rs. 2000 off + up to Rs. 18,000 off on exchange) Moto E4 Plus - Rs. 9,499 (Rs. 500 off + up to Rs. 9,000 off on exchange) This limited period offer is only available for 3 days, which is till February 24th, Saturday or till stocks last. In its recent report, IDC said that Motorola smartphone saw a marginal increase in sales in India compared to a year ago.

Cat S61 rugged Android smartphone with enhanced thermal camera, indoor air quality sensor announced

Cat phones, popular for its rugged phones, today announced it’s flagship Cat S61, successor of Cat S60, ahead of MWC 2018. It has an enhanced FLIR thermal imaging capability with enhanced software for greater image contrast, expanded temperature range to 400 degrees Celsius, and an upgrade from VGA to High-Definition detail from the visible camera providing unmatched image optimization using FLIR's MSX technology. It also has an laser assisted distance measurement which can measure point-to-point distances up to 10m, then calculate area, and switch between Metric and Imperial measurement.   The indoor air quality sensor from Sensirion can alert users to high levels of indoor air pollutants (Volatile Organic Compounds or VOCs), allowing them to make timely decisions such as opening a window to improve ventilation or taking a break. It can also provide humidity and current temperature readings. It is IP68 dustproof and waterproof up to 3m for 1 hour and is certified with MIL Spec 810G and has been passed to survive repeated drop-tests onto concrete from 1.8m. CAT S61 specifications 5.2-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD Super Bright outdoor display with auto wet finger and glove support, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection 2.2 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 630 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno ...