Ericsson, T-Mobile ink $3.5 billion 5G agreement

Ericsson and T-Mobile today announced a multi-year, $3.5 billion contract to support T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G network deployment. Under the deal, Ericsson will provide T-Mobile with the latest 5G New Radio (NR) hardware and software compliant with 3GPP standards. T-Mobile bridging on the LTE Advanced network to 5G, will leverage on the Ericsson’s market-leading 5G portfolio to expand existing LTE capacity needs. The deal also encompasses Ericsson’s digital services solutions, including dynamic orchestration, business support systems (BSS) and Ericsson Cloud Core, enabling T-Mobile to rapidly launch 5G experiences to customers. Under the terms of the new deal, Ericsson will supply hardware and software from its market-ready 5G Platform, which includes its strengthened Ericsson Radio System portfolio, across all spectrum bands available to T-Mobile. Additionally, T-Mobile’s already installed base of Ericsson Radio System radios will be able to run 5G NR technology with simple remote software installation. Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer, T-Mobile, said: While the other guys just make promises, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. With this new Ericsson agreement we’re laying the groundwork for 5G – and with Sprint we can supercharge the 5G revolution. Niklas Heuveldop, President and Head of Ericsson North America, said: We have recently decided to increase our investments in the US ...

Facebook introduces Rosetta AI to identify text in images and videos

Since it is a tiring job for moderators to look at every image or video posted on the enormous platform, the company is building an AI to help them out. The system it built is called Rosetta and is said to extract text from more than a billion public Facebook and Instagram images and video frames in a wide variety of languages, daily and in real time, and inputs it into a text recognition model that has been trained on classifiers to understand the context of the text and the image together. It performs text extraction on an image in two independent steps; detection and recognition. It detects rectangular regions that potentially contain text in the first step and in the second step, it performs text recognition, where, for each of the detected regions, it uses a convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize and transcribe the word in the region. For text detection, Facebook said that it has adopted an approach based on Faster R-CNN. In a nutshell, Faster R-CNN simultaneously performs detection and recognition by learning a CNN that can represent an image as a convolutional feature map. The whole detection system is trained jointly in a supervised, end-to-end manner. Facebook's text detection ...

Reliance Jio 2nd anniversary offer: Rs. 100 discount on recharge of Rs. 399 – Here’s how to get it

Reliance Jio recently offered 16GB free data for all users to celebrate its 2nd anniversary offer.  Jio is now offering its highest selling Rs. 399 plan at an effective price of Rs 100/month after Rs. 50 instant discount for Jio Prepaid users who have Rs. 50 cashback vouchers from Jio on recharging via MyJio App and Rs. 50 instant cashback when payment is done via PhonePe, inside MyJio App.  As you already know, the pack provides free voice and data (42GB) per month for 84 days. How to Claim it? Login to MyJio app and click on Recharge tab Click on “Buy” button to move to Payment Page (Rs. 50 instant discount is already applied) Select PhonePe Wallet as your payment option Sign in to your PhonePe account after confirming your number and OTP Pay the amount using your PhonePe wallet (You will get Rs. 50 cashback on your PhonePe Wallet after the payment is successful) This limited-period offer begins today, September 12th , 2018 and will be available till September 21st.

Google silently refreshes USB-C headphone adapter with lower latency and longer playback

Google axed the 3.5mm audio jack with the Pixel 2 series last year and it probably will follow the same with the upcoming Pixel 3. It included the 3.5mm headphone adapter within the box and now the company has silently refreshed its headphone adapter. According to the Google Play Store listing, the improved dongle provides 53% lower latency and 38% longer playback time than its predecessor. In addition to the improved latency and playback, the new version is smaller than the old one; it's 2.8 millimeters shorter, 0.6 narrower, 0.7 thinner, and 0.4 grams lighter. Though Pixel 2 is the only product of Google which requires this new adapter, the listing does also mention "other devices running Android P or higher." The new version 3.5mm headphone adapter is pricier at $12 compared to the $9 original adapter which is down from $20. Source

UIDAI dismisses reports of Aadhaar enrolment software being hacked

Aadhaar breach is yet again back in the news, this time it is said to be compromised by a software patch that disables critical security features of the software used to enroll new Aadhaar users thus allowing hackers to generate unauthorized Aadhaar numbers. Furthermore, the patch is said to be freely available for as low as Rs. 2,500 allowing unauthorized persons anywhere in the world to generate Aadhaar number at their will. The patch is a bundle of code that is used to alter the functionality of a software programme. It lets users bypass critical security features such as biometric authentication of enrolment operators to generate unauthorized Aadhaar numbers, disables the enrolment software's inbuilt GPS security feature, and reduces the sensitivity of the enrolment software's iris-recognition system.   ...so that their enrolment/updation is done only on authorized machines and their efforts do not get wasted because of rejection of their enrolments or updates . (The list of authorized Aadhaar Kendra is available on UIDAI website https://t.co/Sy2gBGp78t). ##### 24/24 — Aadhaar (@UIDAI) 11 September 2018 This vulnerability is said to be linked to the technology choice made at the inception of the Aadhaar programme, meaning fixing this and other vulnerabilities would require altering Aadhaar's fundamental structure. Gustaf Björksten, Chief Technologist at Access Now, ...

Huawei Maimang 7 with 6.3-inch FHD+ display, Kirin 710, 6GB RAM, dual front and rear cameras announced

Huawei has announced Maimang 7, the company's latest mid-range smartphone in China, as it had promised. It was introduced in UK as Mate 20 Lite, packs a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with a notch, is powered by Kirin 710 SoC with GPU Turbo, Google AR Core support, 6GB of RAM, has a 20-megapixel rear camera with AI scene recognition along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for portrait shots, comes with a 24-megapixel front camera, HDR Pro,  3D Qmoji and a 2-megapixel secondary camera for portrait selfies. It has a fingerprint sensor on the back and packs a 3750mAh battery with support for fast charging. Huawei  Maimang 7 specifications 6.3-inch (2340 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19:5:9 2.5D curved glass display,  85% NTSC color gamut Octa-Core Kirin 710 12nm (4 x 2.2GHz  Cortex-A73 +4 x 1.7GHz Cortex-A53) with ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU 6GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 8.1 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.2 Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD) 20MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.8 aperture, secondary 2MP rear camera 24MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, secondary 2MP camera Dimensions: 158.3×75.3×7.6mm; Weight: 172g Fingerprint sensor Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz / 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, ...

OPPO A7x with 6.3-inch Full HD+ display, dual rear cameras, 16MP front camera announced

OPPO has introduced A7x, the company's latest mid-range smartphone in China. It is a variant of the OPPO F9, a cheaper version of the F9 Pro that was launched in India last month. It has a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display with Waterdrop Screen with screen-to-body ratio up to 90.8% for a more immersive experience, is powered by Octa-Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor, has 16MP rear camera with LED flash, and secondary 2MP camera, features a 16-megapixel front camera, packs 4GB of RAM and 128GB storage. OPPO A7x specifications 6.3-inch (2280 x 1080 pixels) Full HD+ 19.5:9 aspect ratio display Octa Core MediaTek Helio P60 12nm processor (Quad 2GHz Cortex A73 + Quad 2GHz Cortex A53 CPUs) with ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU 4GB RAM, 128GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) ColorOS 5.2 based on Android 8.1 (Oreo) 16MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.85 aperture, secondary 2MP camera 16MP front-facing camera Fingerprint sensor Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS 3500mAh (typical) / 3415mAh (minimum) battery The OPPO A7x comes in Blue and Purple colors, is priced at 1999 yuan (US$ 290 / Rs. 21,150 approx.), available for order ...

Blaupunkt forays into Indian TV market with range of LED TVs starting at Rs. 12999

Blaupunkt, the Germany-based consumer lifestyle and technology brand has entered into Indian TV market with eight LED TVs in Family, Smart Sound and 4K UHD series. Both the Smart Sound and 4K UHD series are Android-powered smart TVs and some models also come with external sound bars. These were unveiled at the IFA Berlin 2018 in August. The company has tied up with Flipkart to sell the TVs exclusively. Blaupunkt Family series HD / Full HD LED TVs specifications 32-inch (1366 x 768 pixels) HD Ready / 43-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD A+ Grade  DLED Panel Panel with 178-degree viewing angle, 60Hz refresh rate,  4000:1 Static contrast ratio, 250 cd/m brightness 2 x HDMI, 2 x USB, Ethernet Port MPEG/H.264 decoder 30W Inbuilt Box Speakers, 60W external Soundbar (Optional) Blaupunkt Smart Sound Full HD LED TVs specifications 32-inch / 43-inch / 50-inch (1920 x 1080) Full HD A+ Grade  DLED Panel Panel with 178-degree viewing angle, 60Hz refresh rate,  4000:1 Static contrast ratio  1.5 GHz Quad-Core Cortex-A53 Processor with Mali-450MP Penta Core GPU 1GB RAM, 8GB internal storage Android TV based on Android 5.1 Dual Band WiFi, 3 x HDMI, 2 x USB, Ethernet Port MPEG/H.264/H.265 decoder Detachable 60W Soundbar + 30W Inbuilt Box Speakers Blaupunkt 4K UHD LED Smart TVs specifications ...

BSNL gets Government approval for 4G services, wide roll out expected soon

The Department of Telecommunications today has approved the state-owned BSNL plan to seek airwaves in the 2100 Mhz band to launch 4G services pan-India. BSNL in 2017 has submitted a detailed project report and in a bid to acquire spectrum worth about Rs 13,885 crore, and sought Rs 6,652 crore as equity infusion from the government. Telecom Commission has extended the duration for spectrum payments from 10 to 16 years now, after an inter-ministerial group’s (IMG) recommendation. BSNL Chairman Anupam Shrivastava said: “The telecom department has accepted our proposal and is in the process to allow spectrum in the 2100 Mhz band to run 4G services." This would allow the telecom to launch high-speed Long-Term Evolution (LTE) services soon. Of all the telecom networks in India, BSNL is lagging behind in the 4G rollout and this is because of the lack of proper radio waves needed to launch 4G services. However, BSNL's full-fledged foray is expected to further disrupt the present market scenario as it aims to offer affordable tariff in competition with rivals to woo consumers in tier-II and tier-III locations. BSNL is expected to roll out 4G services based on the 2100 Mhz band in all 21 licensed service areas except Rajasthan where ...

FiiO M3K Portable High-Resolution Lossless Music Player launched in India for Rs. 6990

FiiO Electronics Technology launches the M3K Portable High-Resolution Lossless Music Player in India. It sports a 2.0-inch IPS screen with capacitive buttons + touchpad for operation. There are five sets of touch buttons to make getting around the UI easy: next/previous track, confirmation, back, and menu keys. It comes with an all-aluminium unibody construction with tempered glass to protect the display from scratches. The M3K is powered by Ingenic X1000E processor which provides high performance but with low power consumption. Moreover, the M3K uses the AKM AK4376A, a well-received DAC that is capable of decoding up to 384kHz/32-bit audio allowing the user to hear the music clearly. Since it comes with power efficient, the company claims that it has a battery life up to 24 hours and standby time up to 38 days. It also has a new AB functionality allows you to compare and repeat between two different tracks as many times as you like, allowing you to really get a handle on any differences. Having said that, the FiiO M3K is automatically recognized when connected in Mac with no need to install a separate driver. With a Windows computer, a special driver from FiiO is required. The M3K supports micro-SD cards for ...