Vodafone launches VoLTE services in UP East

After Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa and Rajasthan,Haryana,  Uttar Pradesh (UP) west, and Karnataka, Vodafone has launched its VoLTE (Voice Over LTE) services in Uttar Pradesh (UP) East in India. It is currently available in  cities of Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Faizabad, and, around 26,000 towns and villages in the UP East circle. Vodafone is calling it Super VoLTE and said that the technology delivers high-quality sound over voice calls across the Vodafone SuperNet 4G network so that users will experience ultra-clear voice quality and reduced background noise. If you have a VoLTE enabled handset, you can SMS 4G CHECK to 199 to know if you your smartphone is Vodafone Super VoLTE compatible. If you have Dual SIM handset, Vodafone SIM should be inserted in the SIM slot with data capability and network mode should be set as “4G/3G/2G (Auto)”. Vodafone already said that it will roll out VoLTE in Kolkata soon, and will extended the service across the country in a phased manner over the next few months. You can check out the list of Vodafone VoLTE supported devices here. Commenting on the launch of Vodafone VoLTE in UP East, Nipun Sharma, Business Head – UP East, Vodafone India, said: We have been making significant investments to expand, upgrade ...

American Express launches Amex Pay mobile payment solution in India

American Express has introduced the 'AMEX Pay' mobile payment solution in India that allows eligible Cardholders to make contactless or QR code-based payments to merchants using the mobile app. The AMEX IN mobile app is available for Android and iOS.  The Eligible  Cardmembers need to log in to the 'Amex IN' mobile app and then register for Amex Pay. Once you have your card registered for Amex Pay, you can make a contactless payment. All you have to do is simply tap your device at a merchant's contactless terminal. There is no need to open your Amex Mobile App to make a contactless payment. [HTML1] In order to make QR Code payments, just select the 'Pay with Bharat QR' option on the AMEX IN app, then scan the QR code, enter the amount if it is not pre-populated, enter your Card PIN then you should see the transaction successful message. You do not need to log in to your account to scan and pay using Amex Pay. All American Express credit or charge Card are eligible to use Amex Pay. You can use Amex Pay for payments wherever American Express contactless payments are accepted. Users can also make QR-Code payments wherever you see the American Express logo on a ...

RBI orders banks to stop services to those dealing in crypto currencies

At its first Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Press Conference for the financial year  2018-2019, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked banks to stop having business relationship with the entities dealing with virtual currencies with immediate effect. Regulated entities which already provide such services are also ordered to end relationship within a period of three months. Some of the banks have already banned buying cryptocurrencies using credit and debit cards. RBI said that Virtual Currencies (VCs) raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others.  At the Union Budget 2018 in February, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley  said that the  Government will take all measures to eliminate the use of crypto-assets in financing illegitimate activities. However, RBI said that it will promote the use of blockchain – a public ledger that serves as the backbone of bitcoin – in financial services for strengthening transparency and improving inclusion. This will be big blow to the those dealing with virtual currencies in India since banks will not allow users to buy cryptocurrency via banks or e-wallets etc. soon. RBI also said that it is mulling introducing a fiat digital currency. " While many central banks are still engaged in the debate, an inter-departmental group has been constituted by the Reserve Bank ...

Microsoft to invest $5 billion in IoT over the next four years

Microsoft today announced that it will invest over $5 billion in the Internet of Things (IoT) over the next four-years. The main goal of the company is to offer customers a connected solution and the ability to transform their businesses, and the world at large.  IoT is slowly gaining momentum in India, and it is already in use for a wide variety of use cases such as saving electricity, resources, predictive healthcare, automobile safety and more.Microsoft today mentioned that it is planning to dedicate even more resources to research and innovation in IoT and ultimately evolving to be the new intelligent edge With Microsoft's IoT platform spanning across its cloud, OS, and devices, the company has a unique advantage to simplify IoT to anyone regardless of size, technical expertise, budget, industry or other factors and create trusted, connected solutions that improve business and customer experiences,  better improve the daily live of common people. According to A.T. Kearney research, IoT will lead to a $1.9 trillion productivity increase and $177 billion in reduced costs by 2020. This will affect right from connected homes and cars to manufacturers to smart cities and utilities and everything that comes in between. Microsoft says that companies like Steelcase, Kohler, Chevron, United Technologies and Johnson Controls are ...

WhatsApp beta for Android brings locked audio recordings

WhatsApp is rolling out a new beta update for Android bringing the much-talked locked audio recordings feature. The latest beta update brings the app version to 2.18.102. For locked audio recordings feature, you will have to tap the “mic” icon in the chat and, after 0.5 seconds, WhatsApp will show the lock microphone button.  Once you see the 'lock microphone button' you will have to slide up your finger for enabling the lock recording. Once you have locked the audio recording, the U.I again lets you navigate back to the chat without holding the microphone button. WhatsApp in the next releases could enable option to listen to your voice message before sending it. Another interesting feature that will be added in the next release is the ability to see the size of a specific stickers pack before downloading it. The locked audio recording feature will be soon available to iOS as well, but for now, it is only available for Android. Previously in order to record voice messages, you had to tap and hold the recording button until you are done with the recording, which wasn't very convenient. If you are already a beta tester of WhatsApp, you can directly update the app from the Play Store, if not ...

Airtel to offer free streaming of IPL matches on Airtel TV app

Airtel today announced that its customers can enjoy unlimited streaming of all live matches of IPL 2018 with the new version of Airtel TV app via Hotstar. Already already said that all content on Airtel TV app is completely free for Airtel Postpaid and Prepaid customers until June 2018. It also said that the new version of the app comes with dedicated cricket section that offers a highly curated and interactive content experience to go with all the Live action   Airtel TV users can select and follow their favourite teams, keep up with ongoing matches, leader-board and go through the upcoming schedule all without leaving the Airtel TV app. There will also be a special scorecard notifications to ensure cricket is only a peek away for users. It also said that the new version of the app will also have interactive games and contests with exciting prizes to be won. To watch IPL matches live, Airtel customers need to install the latest version of the Airtel TV app on Android and iOS). New users can download the app, while existing users will receive automatic update notifications. Non-Airtel users need to get a Airtel 4G SIM, insert it in SIM Slot 1 of their smartphone and follow step 1 to get ...

Xiaomi Mi Fan Festival sale on Amazon and Flipkart: Discounts on Mi MIX 2, Mi Max 2, Mi Band HRX Edition and more

Xiaomi today started its two-day Mi Fan Festival sale on Mi.com as well as Flipkart and Amazon.in to offer discounts on its smartphones and accessories. Check out the list of offers. Discounts on Xiaomi products during Mi Fan Festival Sale Mi MIX 2 – Rs. 29,999 (Rs. 3000 off) Mi Max 2 64GB– Rs. 14,999 (Rs. 1000 off) - Flipkart | Amazon Mi Max 2 32GB– Rs. 12,999 (Rs. 1000 off) Redmi 4 64GB – Rs. 9999 (Rs. 500 off) Mi Bluetooth Speaker Basic 2 - Rs. 1,499 (Rs. 300 off) Mi Band HRX Edition – Rs. 999 (Rs. 300 off) -  Flipkart | Amazon Mi WiFi Repeater 2 - Rs. 699 (Rs. 100 off) - Flipkart | Amazon Flipkart also hold flash sale for Redmi 5A at 4PM and for Mi TVs at 5PM. Both Amazon and Flipkart offer 5% (Up to Rs. 500) Instant Discount for with SBI Credit Card users on purchase of Rs. 7500 or more. The limited period offer ends tomorrow, April 6th or till stocks last. You can visit Flipkart or Amazon.in to check out more Mi Fan Festival Sale offers.

Thomson to re-enter Indian market with new LED TVs on April 12

Business France and Technicolor SA France owned consumer electronic brand Thomson has sent out invites for the launch of Thomson TVs in India on April 12th. The company will launch its new LED TVs in the country through the e-commerce market space with an exclusive licensing agreement so it should be either Flipkart or Amazon.in. With over 120 years of legacy, the French Corporation, works with licensing partners world over. It was once India’s highest selling brand and the company said that it will price its Smart LED TVs competitively and like to place the best bet while comparing several options that are available online. Thomson launched its LED TVs in European market a few years back where it is selling A3, A4, A5, A6, B3, B6 and C64 series of TVs.  We should know more details about the list of TVs that the company plans to launch in India and the pricing next Thursday.

Xiaomi to host Supplier Investment Summit in India from April 9 to 11

Xiaomi today announced that it would be organising a Supplier Investment Summit in India from April 9th to April 11. The summit will be hosted with up to 50+ Xiaomi component suppliers from around the world who will visit different states learning about the opportunities in India. Xiaomi says that India is an important market for it outside of China and is also a major manufacturing hub and for the same reason, it is giving a chance for the suppliers to visit different states to evaluate opportunities for setting up local base in the country. This will not only bring in additional foreign investment in India but will also create job opportunities. The primary agenda of this summit is to help the suppliers understand about opportunities in the Indian market, incentives offered by Center and State government, FDI policy, industrial policy and various state sector-specific policies. Xiaomi currently has three manufacturing facilities in India of which two facilities are in partnership with FOXCONN which are present in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh. These two manufacturing facilities are dedicated to manufacturing smartphones. The company says that more than 95% of Xiaomi's smartphones sold in India are being manufactured locally and the production capacity is 1 smartphone per second during operational hours. ...

Motorola schedules an event on April 19 in Brazil, Moto G6, G6 Play and G6 Plus expected

After several leaks, Motorola has finally sent out invites for an event on April 19th in Sao Paulo, Brazil where the company is expected to introduce its latest Moto G6 series smartphones - Moto G6, Moto G6 Play and Moto G6 Plus. All the phones are expected to feature 18:9 displays, fingerprint sensor and the Moto G6 and G6 Plus have dual rear cameras. Moto G6 Plus rumored specifications 5.93-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 IPS display 2.2 GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 630 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 508 GPU 6GB RAM with 64GB internal storage, 4GB RAM with 32GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 8.0 (Oreo) Single / Dual SIM 12MP rear camera with LED Flash, 5MP secondary rear camera 16MP front-facing camera with LED flash Fingerprint sensor 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), Bluetooth 5 LE, GPS, GLONASS, NFC 3200mAh battery with Turbo charging Moto G6 rumored specifications 5.7-inch (2160 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 IPS display 1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 450 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage, 4GB RAM with 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.0 (Oreo) Single / Dual SIM ...