Twitter now shows more ‘News links’ on the timeline

Twitter has now confirmed that it is now pushing more 'News links' by your network on the timeline and is also and grouping the tweets mentioning the link underneath it. This is a much-needed move from Twitter in order to seize the identity in the news section it lacked for a long time. The company first moved from "social networking" to the "news" category in the app store in April 2016, and it now airs live news broadcasts alongside the home timeline meaning that it shows news and tweets from journalists in its "explore" tab. It is also experimenting with curated timelines around breaking news events. Focusing on the news will help Twitter in creating a shared experience among its users. Twitter has confirmed that this feature has been rolled out to all Twitter users across iOS, Android, and web. Source

Apple said to be working on wireless AR and VR headset with 8K display

Back in November we first heard that Apple is aiming ramping its technology for AR headset by 2019 and ship the headset by 2020. Today, we are seeing reports that Apple is working on a headset capable of running both AR and VR technology.  Current plans at Apple hint at an 8K display for each eye which is higher resolution than today's best TVs. The project, codenamed T288, is still in its early stages. Notably, Apple is said to be working on the headset that combines both AR and VR given the level of focus over the past year on pushing augmented reality in iPhones and iPads. Though Apple has had smaller VR projects in the past, bringing out a headset is a major investment in VR. Reportedly, Apple's headset would connect to a dedicated box using a high-speed, short-range wireless technology. The box might be powered by a custom Apple processor which should be powerful than anything that is currently available. This processor would be the backbone of the AR/VR headset. Unlike the HTC VIVE, users won't have to install special base stations in a room to detect their location since everything would be built into Apple's headset and the box. Apple introduced the ARKit; company's first public efforts in AR ...

Instagram said to be testing mute button, reactions to Stories, slo-mo recording and more

Instagram will soon be introducing a bunch of new features; mute button, reactions to Stories, slo-mo recording and more. All these features are currently said to be in the testing phase. Twitter user @wongmjane has dug deep into the app’s code and has seemingly found evidence to the said features.  Starting off, Instagram will soon get reactions to stories, and from the looks of it, it could allow users to react in real time based on the laughing smilies. You could also use emoji in responses. Interestingly, Instagram to soon bring slow-mo features with an aim to eliminate the need for vloggers to rely on the phone's built-in slow-mo features. It is also testing the mute button, which will mute the people from your news feed without requiring to unfollow them. Lastly, Instagram is also said to be working on a calendar view for stories archive which should supposedly make it easier to navigate through your old stories. Since the company is testing these features, they might make it to the public anytime soon. Source | Via

LG G7 ThinQ with Boombox Speaker promises 10x louder audio and 2x bass, has DTS: X 3D surround sound

Ahead of official unveiling on May 2nd, LG has started revealing more details about the smartphone. Last week it confirmed that the phone will have 1000-nits display, now it has revealed that the phone will feature Boombox speaker that will offer ten times louder sound compared to other phones, and also bass of more than 6 decibels (dB), two times more compared to existing smartphones. LG also said that the bass can be further amplified when you place the device on a solid surface or box. The Boombox Speaker relies on a special resonance chamber design within the phone that uses the device's whole body to make it louder  ten times as much resonance space than conventional smartphone speakers. It will also come with DTS:X support offering 3D surround sound effects at up to 7.1, even with normal headphones. Similar to the G6 and V30S, the G7 ThinQ will also come with Hi-Fi Quad DAC that will lower distortion rate to 0.0002%, and gives a clear sound close to the original sound.  It also supports MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) standard, which allows you to enjoy high-fidelity high-quality streaming with little data capacity, same as the V30 phones. Source

T-Mobile and Sprint agree to merge in a deal valued at $146 billion

After T-Mobile and Sprint said they have ceased discussions to merge into a single entity back in November, both the company today announced a they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge in an all-stock transaction at a fixed exchange ratio of 0.10256 T-Mobile shares for each Sprint share or the equivalent of 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile US share. This is valued at about $26.5 billion in stock. Based on closing share prices on April 27, this represents a total implied enterprise value of approximately $59 billion for Sprint and approximately $146 billion for the combined company. The combined company will be named T-Mobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nsbmtwMrgY "The combination of spectrum holdings, resulting network scale, and expected run rate cost synergies of $6+ billion, representing a net present value (NPV) of $43+ billion will supercharge T-Mobile’s Un-carrier strategy to disrupt the marketplace and lay the foundation for U.S. companies and innovators to lead in the 5G era," said the combined release. Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank Group are expected to hold approximately 42% and 27% of diluted economic ownership of the combined company, respectively, with the remaining approximately 31% held by the public. The Board will consist of 14 directors, 9 nominated by Deutsche Telekom and 4 ...

Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco now available for pre-order in India [Update: Now available]

Update: Both the smartphones are now available for purchase in India. The Nokia 7 Plus is available from Amazon.in and the Nokia 8 Sirocco is available from Flipkart. You can also get these phones from Nokia Shop as well as offline stores in India. Check out our Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco reviews, if you are planning to get the phones. Earlier: HMD Global launched new Nokia 6, Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco, the company’s latest Android One smartphones earlier this month. The new Nokia 6 went on sale in the country recently, today the company has started taking pre-orders for the Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco smartphones, as it had promised. Check out the unboxing of Nokia 7 Plus and Nokia 8 Sirocco. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw4Qyihi2Ow Nokia 7 Plus specifications 6-inch (2160 × 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 18:9 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla glass 3 protection Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU 4GB LPDDR4  RAM, 64GB (eMMC 5.1) internal storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) Android 8.1 (Oreo) 12MP rear camera with f/1.75 aperture, 1.4µm pixel size with ZEISS optics, 13 MP secondary camera with ...

Exchange your old dongle or modem for JioFi at Rs. 999 and get Rs. 2200 cashback

Reliance Jio has launched a new, limited period exchange offer that lets you exchange your old dongle or modem for a new JioFi at Rs. 999 and get a instant cashback of Rs. 2,200 in your account in the form of vouchers instantly. This is not the new JioFi 6 (JMR815) that went on sale last month. This is called the JioFi M2S that lets you connect to up to 32 devices (10 recommended) and has a 2300mAh that supports up to 6 hours of battery life. How to avail this offer: Purchase a JioFi at 999 from jio.com  or offline stores Get the sim activated  at Rs. 198 or Rs. 299 + Rs. 99 (JioPrime) Return your old NON -JIO dongle or modem at any JioStore / Reliance Digital or Jio stores Provide your Old Non-Jio dongle / modem serial number and your new JioFi MSISDN Number  Cash back will be instantly credited in your MyJio Account in form of 44 vouchers of of Rs. 50 each which can be redeemed upon Recharge of Rs.198 and Rs. 299 only JioFi exchange offer can be availed only on a new JioFi device (Model: M2S), purchased on or from 26th April, 2018 along with the exchange of old dongle or router/modem, ...

BlackBerry Athena with QWERTY keyboard, Snapdragon 660, 6GB RAM, dual-rear cameras, Android 8.1 gets certified

Back in February BlackBerry Athena was first spotted on Geekbench, through configuration files, and in European device registration databases. Earlier this month press renders of the phone surfaced, now the phone has been certified by TENAA in China with the model number BBF100-4 confirming the specifications of the phone, including a 4.5-inch (1620 x 1080 pixels) display with 3:2 aspect ratio and a 4-row QWERTY physical backlit keyboard with keys that should respond to touch gestures, support for flick typing, up to 52 customizable shortcuts and the fingerprint sensor is built into the spacebar, same as last year's KEYone. It also confirmed Snapdragon 660 SoC with 6GB RAM, Android 8.1 (Oreo), dual rear cameras and a 3360mAh battery. BlackBerry Athena (BBF100) rumored specifications 4.5-inch (1620 x 1080 pixels) 3:2 display with 433 PPI, scratch-resistant glass protection Octa Core Snapdragon 660 14nm Mobile Platform (Quad 2.2GHz Kryo 260 + Quad 1.8GHz Kryo 260 CPUs) with Adreno 512 GPU 6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD 4-row Physical QWERTY backlit keyboard with capacitive touch Android 8.1 (Oreo) Hybrid dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 12MP rear camera with dual-tone LED Flash,secondary rear camrea 8MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dimensions: 151.4×71.8×8.5mm; Weight: 168g 4G VoLTE, ...

Xiaomi Redmi S2 with 5.99-inch 18:9 display, dual rear cameras, Android 8.1 surfaces in live images, video

Xiaomi S2  was certified  by TENAA in China a few days back, now the phone has been spotted in Czech Republic in images and video. This confirms the specifications including 5.99-inch HD+ display, dual rear cameras with a 12-megapixel primary sensor and a secondary 5-megapixel sensor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faZERDmqiKs It runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) based on MIUI 9 and has a 16-megapixel front camera with flash. There is a fingerprint sensor on the back. Xiaomi Redmi S2 rumored specifications 5.99-inch (1440 × 720 pixels) HD+ 18:9 2.5D curved glass display 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm processor with 650MHz Adreno 506 GPU 2GB RAM with 16GB storage / 3GB RAM with 32GB storage / 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 9 Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 12MP rear camera with LED Flash, Sony IMX486 / OmniVision OV12A10 sensor, PDAF, EIS, secondary 5MP camera with Samsung S5K5E8 sensor 16MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor Dimensions: 160.73 × 77.26 × 8.1mm; Weight: 170g 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS + GLONASS 3080mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery The Xiaomi Redmi S2 is expected to come in Black, Rose Gold, Gold, White, Blue, Red, Pink, Gray and Silver and is expected to official ...

Artis BT-R10 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker Review

Artis launched range of Bluetooth speakers in India, a couple of months back. Here we have the review of BT-R10 a portable Bluetooth speaker. Let’s check out if the speaker offers best audio experience in the range. The speaker comes in a large box. In addition to the speaker, it comes with a micro USB charging cable, Aux cable and a user manual. It doesn't come with a charger in the box, but you can use any 5V/1A charger to charge the speaker. Design and Hardware The speaker has a square, portable design measuring 200x74x170mm and weighs 825 grams, but it doesn't feel that heavy since it comes with a handle to hold, which makes it feel extremely handy. There is a light strip on the front that glows in blue color, but it doesn't blink based on music. It can also be turned off. There is also Artis branding on the front and there are two 52mm cones that is clearly visible. The handle lets you carry it easily. You can also hang it somewhere. The sides have a nice curved design, but it has plastic finish, unlike metal on the front, so the build quality doesn't make it feel and look good, but this is decent for the ...