Google Pixel 2, Pixel 2 XL available from Airtel Online Store starting at Rs. 10599 with 18-month plan with 50GB data per month, unlimited calls

Bharti Airtel today announced that Google Pixel range of smartphones is now available on the Airtel Online Store with down payments starting at just Rs 10,599. On the Airtel Online store, users need not pay the full price of the smartphones upfront, instead, they can break it down.  Airtel Online Store offers instant financing with convenient EMIs that come with a built-in postpaid plan, which includes data, unlimited calling, and bundled content. For the Google Pixel 2, users can just need to make a downpayment of Rs 10,599 for the 64GB storage and Rs 12,599 for the 128GB and pay the rest in 18 months with an easy EMI of Rs. 2,799. This also includes 50 GB data/month with rollover, unlimited Calls – Local + STD, free National Roaming, 1 year Amazon Prime Subscription, free Airtel TV, free Airtel Secure device protection package. As for the Google Pixel 2 XL, you will have to make a downpayment of Rs. 15,999 for the 64GB and Rs. 22,599 for the 128GB and pay the rest in 18 months with an easy EMI of Rs. 2,799. This also includes 50 GB data/month with rollover, unlimited Calls – Local + STD, free National Roaming, 1 year Amazon Prime Subscription, free Airtel TV, free Airtel ...

Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2 launched in India for Rs. 1499

Xiaomi has launched Mi Pocket Speaker 2, the company's latest portable speaker in India on the World Music Day. The 5W speaker created in partnership with Germany's popular brand Tymphany has a minimal design made of aluminium with an anodized oxide coating and PC + ABS for durability, fabric net design for clear sound with perfect bass and treble, features an LED indicator, uses Bluetooth 4.1 and promise up to 7 hours of continuous music playback. The speaker was introduced back in 2016 as Mi Round Bluetooth speaker 2 and Won iF Product Design Award 2016. Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2 (LYYX01ZM) specifications Top mounted control button to power on/off, Bluetooth pairing and volume and playback controls via rotating the aluminium ring Bluetooth 4.1 for connecting to devices Built-in microphone for hands-free calling Maximum output power : 5W; Speaker Impedance : 4 ohms Dimensions : 60.0 x 60.0 x 93.3mm 1200mAh battery offers about 7 hours of continuous music playback USB Power input : 5V. 1A The Xiaomi Mi Pocket Speaker 2 comes in Black and White colors and is available from Mi.com for Rs. 1,499.

Google’s Flutter SDK finally moves out of Beta, Release Preview 1 out

Flutter is Google's mobile UI framework that aims at helping developers to make high-quality apps that work on both Android and iOS as easily and seamlessly as possible. Post the Google's I/O 2018 presentation back in May it has seen a 50% increase in active Flutter users.  The Google's Flutter SDK preview one is available right away, and the shift from beta to release preview signals our confidence in the stability and quality of the company's focus on bug fixing and stabilization. It also announced that Alibaba has now deployed their Flutter-based app to millions of devices, and Tencent is currently rolling out their NOW app with Flutter. The Release Preview 1 includes Flutter support for hardware keyboard and barcode scanners, video recording, and including a folder of image or font assets. Also, it will also include many new packages that are contributed to package sites, such as Flutter Platform Widgets, a set of widgets that automatically adapt for iOS or Android. It also further extended the Firebase support to include Firebase Dynamic Links, an app solution for creating and handling links across multiple platforms. It is also broadening the support to include 32-bit iOS devices with ARMv7 chips, enabling apps written with Flutter to run on older devices. It says that it is working on improving the ...

Samsung introduces highest capacity 8TB NVMe next-generation compact NF1 SSD

Samsung has introduced highest capacity 8TB NVMe solid state drive (SSD) based on the incredibly small next-generation Small Form Factor (NGSFF) / NF1 SSD. This optimized for data-intensive analytics and virtualization applications used in next-generation data centers and enterprise server systems. Next-generation Small Form Factor (NGSFF) SSD standard, which succeeds the M.2 standard is expected to be standardized by JEDEC in October. Highlights of 8TB NVMe NF1 SSD Built with 16 of Samsung’s 512-gigabyte (GB) NAND packages, each stacked in 16 layers of 256 gigabit (Gb) 3-bit V-NAND chips, achieving an 8TB density in an ultra-small footprint of 11cm x 3.05cm. This is twice the capacity offered by the M.2 NVMe SSD (11cm x 2.2cm) commonly used in hyper-scale server designs and ultra-slim laptops. The NF1 SSD is expected to quickly and easily replace conventional 2.5-inch NVMe SSDs by enabling up to three times the system density in existing server infrastructure, allowing for an unprecedented 576TB of storage space in the latest 2U rack servers. The NF1 SSD features a brand new, high-performance controller that supports the NVMe 1.3 protocol and PCIe 4.0 interface, delivering sequential read speeds of 3,100 megabytes per second (MB/s) and write speeds of 2,000MB/s, five times and three times that of ...

Microsoft acquires Berkeley-based AI startup Bonsai to fuel AI efforts

Microsoft today has announced that it is acquiring AI startup Bonsai with an aim to fuel its AI efforts. Bonsai has developed a novel approach using machine teaching that abstracts the low-level mechanics of machine learning, so that subject matter experts, regardless of AI aptitude, can specify and train autonomous systems to accomplish tasks and the actual training takes place inside a simulated environment. Bonsai says that going forward, it sees a massive opportunity to empower enterprises & developers globally with the tools and technology needed to build and operate the BRAINs that power these intelligent autonomous systems. This acquisition will also accelerate the efforts furthermore. It will combine Bonsai’s unique deep reinforcement learning and machine teaching platform with Microsoft’s Azure Platform and tools, extensive deep learning research, and recent AirSim simulation innovations. Microsoft says that the Bonsai has achieved some remarkable breakthroughs with their approach that will have a profound impact on AI development. It also reminded that Bonsai has also established a new reinforcement learning benchmark for programming industrial control systems. Gurdeep Pall, Corporate Vice President, Business AI, Microsoft said: We’re really confident this unique marriage of research, novel approach and technology will have a tremendous effect toward removing barriers and accelerating the current state of AI ...

Facebook pilots Subscription Groups for admins with exclusive content on private groups

Facebook today announced that it testing subscriptions with a small number of groups to continue to support group admins who lead these communities. The company says that this is to help group admins who invest their time and efforts in balancing and maintaining the groups.  Subscription groups are intended at making things easier for admins to provide with built-in tools, and to save them time so they can focus on offering members-only content. For members, they’re now able to sign-up and manage their subscription through the Facebook app for iOS and Android. This subscription group falls in line with the experience that Facebook made available to support video creators earlier this year. As said above, this subscription groups pilot is being tested with a small number of groups across a range of interests who will share input and feedback along the way. This set of groups include Grown and Flown Parents: College Admissions and Affordability, a dedicated college preparation group with access to college counselors to help prepare parents of high schoolers for the college application process; and Meal Planning Central Premium, a meal preparation group that includes weekly meal plans, shopping lists by preferred grocery store, and more. After it collects the feedback and response to the ...

Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro with 5.84-inch FHD+ 19:9 display, AI dual rear cameras teased in official renders, live images

Xiaomi is all set to introduce the Redmi 6 Pro smartphone on June 25th, now the company has teased the smartphone in several images. A Chinese website has also shared unboxing images of the smartphone and also confirms that the 12-megapixel rear camera with Sony IMX486 along with a secondary  Samsung S5K5E8 sensor for AI portrait shots, same as the Redmi 6,. The company already confirmed Snapdragon 625 SoC and a 4000mAh battery for the smartphone in the teaser. The phone will come in five colors - Rose Gold, Gold, Blue, Black and Red. It also has an infrared sensor on the top. It will have a dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots. Even though the site mentions 4GB RAM and 64GB storage version, it is also expected to come in 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version, similar to the Redmi 6. Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro specifications 5.84-inch (2280×1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:9 2.5D curved glass display 2GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 506 GPU 3GB RAM with 32GB storage, 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with MIUI 10 Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) 12MP rear camera with LED Flash, Sony IMX486 ...

Motorola One Power Android One phone with 19:9 notch display, dual-rear cameras surface in live images

Back in May we first heard about the Motorola One Power Android One phone, thanks to the render. Now, days after the first leak comes yet another news about the phone and this time the phone finally surfaces in live photos revealing the design in its full glory. It also indicates that the company is working on a phone with a notch display and will launch in the coming months. It is the first device in the new Moto series; ‘Motorola One Power’ and it is an Android One device going by the branding on the rear side. Since the naming suggests power, it might pack a huge battery unit underneath and will be a first in the new series. The design looks a lot like the iPhone X with a notch on top and a slim bottom chin. The fingerprint sensor is present on the rear side which is where the dual-rear cameras are arranged. The front packs a 6-inches display, an 8MP selfie shooter and the dual stereo speakers are at the bottom along with the USB Type-C at the middle of the dual speakers. Unfortunately, this where the good things end, we don’t have any hardware details about the specifications, so we ...

Microsoft News (rebranded MSN) app with new design for Android, iOS and other platforms released

Microsoft today is launching its re-branded Microsoft News app for  Android, iOS and other platforms. Microsoft News is the new name for the company's new engine that powers familiar sites like MSN.com, and this also powers the news on Microsoft Edge, the News app in Windows 10, Skype, Xbox, and Outlook.com. Microsoft says that 'Microsoft News' makes it easy for you to personalize your news experience, including prioritizing your favorite topics on MSN.com or selecting interests to follow in your news feed on the Microsoft Edge Start page and on company's Windows 10, iOS and Android apps. The company is combining curated news from more than 1,000 “premium publishers” and 3,000 brands with human editors and artificial intelligence. As for the Microsoft News app, it offers new personalization upgrades, including the ability to tailor interests to follow in your news feed – such as World News, Personal Finance, Fitness and many more. It is easy to configure to set breaking news alerts and it also features a new dark theme, enabling better night reading and a simplified access through seamless integration with iOS and Android widgets. It also offers continuous reading, for a smooth content experience. Microsoft says that its publishing partners receive more than 100,000 unique ...

Instagram IGTV long-form video platform for creators released for Android and iOS

Instagram at an event in San Francisco has finally announced the IGTV standalone application for watching long-form, vertical video from your favorite Instagram creators just as reported. As the name suggests, you’ll also be able to watch long-form videos within the Instagram app so the entire community of one billion can use it from the very start. Unlike the typical Instagram videos which are less than 1 minute and are horizontal, the new IGTV offers are full screen and vertical, and each video can be up to an hour long. IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app and you don’t have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram. From the same screen, you can swipe up to discover more content creators, switch between “For You,” “Following,” “Popular” and “Continue Watching.” You can also like, comment and send videos to friends in Direct. IGTV also has channels; the creators are the channels, and when you follow a creator on Instagram, their IGTV channel will show up for you to watch. Anyone can upload their own long-form videos and become a creator. Instagram also announced that it is now a community of one billion. IGTV is currently rolling out, and ...