Samsung said to launch new online-exclusive smartphone series to take on Xiaomi

In just 3 years, smartphone maker Xiaomi has emerged as the number one smartphone brand in India due to aggressively priced devices. The company has taken down the Samsung single-handedly in a very short amount of time. To tackle this situation, the Korean smartphone maker is all set to launch a new series of Samsung smartphones exclusively via online retail chain, according to a report from ET. The company already has On series that it sells via Flipkart and Amazon. The online-only strategy will help the company to cut on the sellers commission, which enables the smartphone maker to offer phones at a much lower price point. Not only that, the company has also cut on a number of online sellers from 10-12 to 2 or 3 preferred trade partners. This step will enable the company to cater the needs of the partners in a smart and better way. The upcoming series of smartphone from Samsung consist of devices priced between Rs. 10,000 to Rs.15,000, which is a sweet spot for the most of the youngsters and college going students. The company has already begun this initiative by launching  Galaxy A8+ with infinity display exclusively on Amazon.in, which goes against the smartphones ...

Karbonn Titanium Frames S7 with 5.5-inch 1080p display, 3GB RAM launched for Rs. 6999

Karbonn has launched Titanium Frames S7, the company's latest budget smartphone. It has a 5.5-inch 1080p 2.5D curved glass screen, is powered by a quad-core processor with 3GB RAM, runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat) and comes with 13-megapixel front and rear cameras with LED flash for both. It features a fingerprint sensor on the back, packs a 3000mAh battery and comes with a metallic finish on the back. Karbonn Titanium Frames S7 specifications 5.5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD IPS 2.5D curved glass display 1.45GHz quad-core processor 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 7.0 (Nougat) Dual SIM 13MP auto focus camera with LED Flash 13MP front-facing camera with LED Flash Fingerprint sensor 3.5 mm audio jack, FM Radio 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS 3000mAh battery The Karbonn Titanium Frames S7 comes in Black, Champagne and Red colors, is priced at Rs. 6999 and is available exclusively from ShopClues. It also comes with Airtel cashback offer that lets you get Rs. 2000 with down payment of Rs. 6,999 for the smartphone and make 36 continuous monthly recharges of Rs. 199. After 18 months you get a cash refund of Rs. 500 and after after 36 months you get Rs. ...

HTC U11 EYEs with 6-inch FHD+ full-screen display, dual front cameras announced

HTC just announced HTC U11 EYEs, the company's latest mid-range smartphone in the U11 series in Taiwan, as expected. It has a 6-inch full HD+ 18:9 display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652  with 4GB of RAM. Like the original U11 and U11 Plus, this feature Edge Sense technology for squeeze interaction, but this runs on Android 7.1 (Nougat). It has the same 12MP HTC UltraPixel 3 on the back Optical image stabilization (OIS), dual LED flash and f/1.7 aperture and the main highlight of the smartphone are the dual 5-megapixel front cameras to for HDR Enhancement and Bokeh Mode to blur the background. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back and also comes with Face Recognition Unlocking. It has a glass back and packs a 3930mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging capabilities. It is also dust and water-resistant with IP67 ratings. HTC U11 EYEs specifications 6-inch (1080 x 2160 pixels) Full HD+ Super LCD 3 display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Octa-Core Snapdragon 652 64-bit Mobile Platform with Adreno 510 GPU 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory with microSD Android 7.1.2 (Nougat) with HTC Sense UI 12MP UltraPixel 3 rear camera with Dual LED ...

Micromax BHARAT GO Android Oreo Go Edition smartphone launching January-end

After rumors, Micromax today confirmed that it will launch BHARAT GO, the first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone in India, in partnership with Google by the end of January 2018. Android Oreo (Go Edition) is Google’s trim down version of Android for low-cost phones with 512MB to 1GB RAM. Google announced the projected back in May and said that it would be available from early 2018.  Android Go Edition- powered phones will have Pure and true Android experience, and Google said that Android runs well on phones with less than 1GB RAM and 8GB of storage in these phones. Google’s slimmed-down versions of core apps like Google Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go, YouTube Go, Google Assistant Go, Files Go makes this possible. Qualcomm and MediaTek have already announced that they are optimizing their chipset for Android Oreo (Go Edition), so it should be interesting which chipset maker will be the first to power the first Android Oreo (Go Edition) smartphone. Earlier rumors said that the phone will be priced less than Rs. 2000. Micromax did not share any specifications of the phone. We should know all the details including the price when it goes official later this month. Regarding BHARAT GO, Micromax, said: Taking its mission of connecting the unconnected ahead, and ...

WhatsApp Obsolete error faced by some users, issue being fixed says the company

On January 13th several WhatsApp users faced an issue when they opened the app that said the WhatsApp version became obsolete and asked them to download a new version from the Google Play Store, however the Play Store showed that they have the latest version of the app. It also showed some users an option to "Leave Testing Program" but nothing happened when they click it. Several users have said that they have fixed the issue without losing data by manually installing a new version of WhatsApp from http://ift.tt/2FCAwmx top of the existing app. Some said that changing the date to January 12th, taking backup and reinstalling the app again worked for some. WhatsApp said that the issue is being fixed on the background and was caused due to a problem with how the app is distributed, which is not under its control. The latest version of  WhatsApp on Google Play is v2.17.231, which was updated on January 10th. Regarding the issue, in a statement, WhatsApp said: On background, this is an issue that's being fixed. It was a problem with how our app is distributed, which is not under our control. Are you facing this issue? Were you able to fix it by installing the ...

Sharp Aquos S3 with 6-inch FHD+ display, Snapdragon 660, 6GB RAM gets certified ahead of Jan 16 announcement

The images of the upcoming Sharp Aquos S3 have surfaced as it has been certified by the Taiwanese telecommunications regulator. The Aquos S3 will have 18:9 Full HD+ display and it is said to come in two variants; Snapdragon 660 and Snapdragon 630 with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. Going by the leaked images, the device packs a vertical dual rear camera arrangement much like the iPhone X design. It comes with a Fingerprint sensor on the rear along with the LED flash. The Fingerprint sensor in colors in while in the black color variant. Earlier reports suggest that the Aquos S3 is expected to sport a 5.99-inches Full HD+ display with  2160 by 1080 resolution. The device is said to come in two variants, one with Snapdragon 660 SoC, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage. The base variant will be powered by the Snapdragon 630 with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, and Adreno 508 GPU. Both the variants will run on Android Oreo. In the camera department, the device equips 12-megapixel camera and a 13-megapixel secondary rear camera with LED flash. On the front, it has a 16MP sensor. It comes with 3100mAh battery and will not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. It is previously reported that the ...

Samsung said to have showcased foldable phone in a private conference at CES 2018

According to a latest report, Samsung showcased its first ever foldable phone to select clients in a private conference at CES trade show in Las Vegas last week. The company is also said to have shared the launch details, including the details regarding the production which is expected to start from November this year.   The Samsung foldable phone is said to sport a 7.3-inch display developed by Samsung Display division whose mass production will start in later this year. Furthermore, sources claim that the company has unveiled both infolding and outfolding phones during the meeting. The infolding type has a more drastic curvature rate compared to the outfolding type. Considering the durability, the outfolding model is considered more advanced and next-generation technology. Samsung will adopt the infolding type and start the mass production in November and later might move to the outfolding when its comfortable. There is word going around that other handset makers have also showcased their own version of foldable phones that are expected to flood the market soon. "Samsung attracted more clients to the private meeting compared to last year. The phone development seems to be almost finished, raising expectations for the phone launch," said the report. Source

Google Home, Chromecast devices said to be crashing WiFi networks, Google is looking into it

Users of TP-Link, Linksys and Synology routers are reporting a consistent network crashes when the Google Home Max device is online. Many users took Google Product Forum and Reddit to report the issue which started off with Home Max device and later noticed even on the less expensive Google Home and Chromecast devices.  According to the reports, the problems start as soon as the Home Max is added to a network. TP-Link points out the MDNS packets that keep a live connection with Cast devices which is also the same issue that Google blamed during the Nexus Player crashes. Apparently, instead of sending packets in 20-second time-frame, Home Max is said to be broadcasting thousands of them and overloading the router. Post the reports, TP-Link Archer C7 has got a beta-firmware update that should fix the issue, and even Google reported that they haven't heard any complaints post the firmware update. Since it is possible that the issue might arise with Chromecast and other Home devices, it's worth giving the beta firmware update a shot. However, Google's Home Product forum manager, Paula has asked users with network crashing issues to submit the feedback by including screenshots, logs, and firmware version your router is on. Also mentioned that the company is looking into it. Now ...

Ulefone Armor 2S rugged smartphone with 5-inch 1080p display, 4700mAh battery announced

Ulefone introduced Armor 2 last year, now the company has introduced Armor 2S, a cheaper version of it. It packs that same 5-inch 1080p display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection, has dust and water proof body with IP68 certification so that it can survive 1.5-meter depth in the water for an hour or 1-meter depth in concrete for 24 hours and packs a 4700mAh battery with fast charging This is powered by a quad-core MediaTek SoC with 2GB of RAM and runs on Android 7.0 (Nougat), compared to Helio P25 SoC and 6GB RAM in the Armor 2. It also has a fingerprint sensor on the front that can unlock the phone in 0.1 seconds. The company says that it has highly compact and sealed structure with inevitable structural gaps filled with waterproof taps and sealing rings. It has a rugged housing that is made of flexible TPU, glass fiber reinforced polycarbonate and metal, and the protective nubs that cover the four corners of the phone provides all-round protection from drops or falls. Ulefone Armor 2S specifications 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) Full HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection 2.5GHz MediaTek MT6737T Quad-Core 64-bit processor with Mali-T720 GPU 2GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, expandable memory up to ...

TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 Android Wear Smartwatch announced

TAG Heuer announced the Connected Modular 41 Android Wear smartwatch which is the successor to the Modular 45 launched last year. The smartwatch will obviously run on Android Wear platform, but the version isn't clear. The Connected Module 41 measures 41mm in diameter and come in seven standard models.  https://youtu.be/CcCptADzO4s The TAG Heuer Connected Modular 41 is built out of titanium with scratch-resistant sapphire glass screen and is also waterproof up to 50 meters. It sports a 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 390 by 390 pixels, 350 nits brightness, and 326 ppi. It comes with 1GB of RAM and 8GB internal storage. The company is using Intel-powered chipset but hasn't mentioned the chipset details. With Connected Modular 45 set to receive Android Oreo update soon, we assume the 41 also to get the update if isn't running already and the smartwatch is compatible with phones running Android 4.4 phones and iOS 9 or later versions. It comes in nine different straps including three new colors: pink, blue, and white leather. Connectivity options include NFC, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi, and GPS, and also supports Google Pay. Like its previous model, strap and lugs can be customised. It is priced at $1200 (Rs. 76,085 approx.) and is already available to purchase online in selected markets.