Xiaomi schedules MWC 2019 event on February 24, Mi MIX 3 5G expected

Xiaomi did not introduce anything at the CES earlier this month, but the company has announced an event at the MWC on February 24th next month. It did not say what it will unveil the event, but we can expect the Mi MIX 3 5G that was teased at the Mi MIX 3 event back in October last year. It also said that the 5G version will launch in Q1 2019 and it has on display in Qualcomm booth at CES. The 5G verion of the Mi MIX 3 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem. Qualcomm at the CES said that its 5G modem will power more than 30 devices in 2019. Samsung is expected to introduce Galaxy S10 X 5G ahead of MWC at its Galaxy Unpacked event on February 20th, but can expect several companies to introduce 5G devices at the world's largest mobile showcase next month. Xiaomi is also expected to demo it next-generation in-display fingerprint scanner at the event and it will likely showcase its latest products including the latest Redmi Note 7 in the booth. We should know the timing of the event in the coming weeks. Source

Xiaomi showcases bigger in-display fingerprint scanner with one-click unlocking

Last year Xiaomi introduced Mi 8 Explorer Edition and later in the year it introduced Mi 8 Pro with pressure-sensitive in-display fingerprint sensor that is 29% faster. This week President Lin Bin shared the next-generation in-display fingerprint on a Mi 8 test unit. He said that the company has worked for more than half an year to bring one-click unlocking and a larger unlocking area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o123KeVXYfo One-click unlocking lets you unlock the phone immediately when you place the phone on the screen without having to place your finger for few seconds. This also increases the fingerprint unlocking area to 25mm x 50.2mm, which is 15 times larger than the area on the Mi 8. This lets you unlock the phone without looking at the screen says the company. Xiaomi president said that the new fingerprint sensor will be introduced in a future product, so we can expect it in the Mi 8 that is expected to arrive in Q3 this year. OPPO also showcased a similar in-display fingerprint sensor yesterday. Source

Paytm launches Food Ordering in partnership with Zomato

Paytm has launched food ordering and delivery service through its mobile app in partership with Zomato. This lets you browse your favorite restaurants within the Paytm App and order food instantly. This service is currently live for Delhi-NCR and the company says that it will cover more than 80 thousand restaurants across 100 cities by end of this month. Paytm said that its QR is widely accepted across a wide range of outlets including quick-service restaurants to fine dining and casual dining options. "This association would further strengthen Paytm’s drive of enabling seamless mobile payments for purchasing food both online & offline," it added. Zomato covers more than 80 thousand restaurants across 100 cities. It achieved a monthly order run rate of 28 million in December 2018 and has a last mile delivery fleet of 1.5 lac partners across India. Paytm Food ordering is available for customers on the Paytm Android app and will soon be made available across India and on the Paytm iOS app as well. For the first delivery, you can get up to Rs. 100 cashback with promocode HUNGRY. Commenting on the launch, Renu Satti, Senior Vice President-– Paytm said: Our association with Zomato is a valuable addition to our platform in ...

SHARP FP-JC2M-B car air purifier with HEPA & Carbon filters launched in India

SHARP has launched the new “FP-JC2M-B” Car Air Purifier, especially designed and built for India. SHARP FP-JC2M-B Car Air Purifier cleanses air inside car silently using dual technology of HEPA & Carbon filters which removes PM2.5 and other gaseous substances. The SHARP Plasmacluster technology generates fresh air by eliminating toxic fumes, gases, molds and reduces static electricity providing the passengers clean and odorless air for your car. The air purifier has a clean air delivery rate (CADR) of 0.54 cubic meters per minute. The Coverage area for FP-JC2M-B is 3.6 cubic meters and it is suitable for every kind of car and SUV. The Car Air Purifier is powered by a 12Volts Car Adapter and has 4 operation modes of Auto, Low, Medium and High according to the driving situation. FP-JC2M-B car air purifier boasts a clean sign indicator and odor sensor with light dimmer option available. The company says that the PM10 Pre Filter is washable and can be used lifetime whereas Carbon embedded Dust Filter & Chemical Filter has one year life and is easily available when need to be replaced. The SHARP FP-JC2M-B Car Air Purifier is priced at Rs. 16,500 and is available through offline across India.

Android Q early build leak: System-wide dark theme, permission revamp, Desktop Mode and more

Google will debut the first beta build of Android Q sometime before the I/O developers conference. However, prior to the release, XDA-Developers have managed to get the very early build of Q running on the Google Pixel 3 XL. Though this won't be the first preview build, it still gives us the idea on where Google is headed.   The leaked Android Q build was built just this week with the February 2019 security patches, and it’s up-to-date with Google’s AOSP internal master. That means it has tons of new Android platform features that you won’t find anywhere publicly. However, it doesn't contain any Pixel software customizations and Google Play apps or services. We've been hearing about the system-wide dark theme in Android Q, we have seen comment on the Chromium Gerrit which hinted that dark mode would be coming to Android Q. However, the Android Q build that is obtained has a fully functional system-wide dark mode in Display settings. To enable the dark theme, you just have to tap on the “Set Dark mode” option in Display settings. You can set the dark theme to always be enabled or automatically be enabled depending on the time of day. Once enabled, the Settings, Launcher, ...

Microsoft Windows 10 19H1 Insider Preview test build separates search and Cortana

Microsoft has released a new Windows 10 Insider preview build 18317 (19H1). With this Insider preview, the company has decided to separate Search and Cortana in the taskbar. Microsoft says that this will enable each experience to innovate independently.  Other available Search and Cortana settings have also been split between the two, along with the familiar group policies. Furthermore, the company has updated the search landing page design, enhance search results and integrate Microsoft To-Do with Cortana. Next up, up until now Start in Windows 10 has been hosted by something called ShellExperienceHost.exe. In order to provide smooth Start experience, now the company is separating it into its own process, called StartMenuExperienceHost.exe. This has a number of benefits, including simplifying debugging and insulating Start from potential issues impacting other surfaces. Insiders, with this update, can now drag and drop font files from File Explorer into the modern Settings > Fonts page to install them. After installation, click on the font in the Font page, to view the different font faces associated with the font and all the details of the font. You can also uninstall the font from this font details page. it is also introducing a simplified Windows Insider Program Settings page ...

US reportedly investigates Huawei over alleged theft of trade secrets

A group of U.S lawmakers has introduced new bills that would lead to the ban the sale of US chips and other components to Huawei, ZTE Corp and other Chinese telecommunication companies that violate U.S. sanctions or export control laws. This new proposed law was introduced shortly after the Wall Street Journal reported that federal prosecutors were investigating allegations that Huawei stole trade secrets from T-Mobile U.S. Inc and other U.S. businesses. The report further said that an indictment could be coming soon on allegations that Huawei stole T-Mobile technology, called Tappy, which mimicked human fingers and was used to test smartphones. Huawei said in a statement the company and T-Mobile settled their disputes in 2017 following a U.S. jury verdict that found “neither damage, unjust enrichment nor willful and malicious conduct by Huawei in T-Mobile’s trade secret claim.” In November, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled an initiative to investigate China’s trade practices with the goal of bringing trade secret theft cases. Back then, Washington had announced an indictment against Chinese chipmaker Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co Ltd for stealing trade secrets from U.S. semiconductor company Micron Technology relating to research and development of memory storage devices. However, Jinhua has denied any ...

Motorola RAZR smartphone with foldable display said to launch in February

According to a latest report, Motorola's Razr is making a comeback with a foldable smartphone and a $1500 price tag. Lenovo is said to be partnering with Verizon Communications Inc. to sell the new Razr device in the U.S. exclusively as early as February. Since the device is still in testing, the timing of its release isn't final yet and could change anytime. At this moment, there are no details regarding the specifications and other hardware details. It is also unclear if Razr would just borrow the name and use a more traditional landscape folding display or would just follow the original RAZR design. This isn't the first time we are seeing a Razr resurrection, as the company in 2011/12 partnered with Verizon for Droid RAZR devices without any of the flip phone design. According to the report, the company is looking to manufacture over 200,000 of the new RAZR phones, which is quite optimistic for a $1500 phone. Would the resurrection of RAZR help Lenovo boost its brand image? Only time will tell. Source

LG said to be working on a smartphone with second-screen for MWC 2019

LG is said to be working on a smartphone with two screens, according to a latest report. However, this won't be the much-hyped foldable device yet. The second screen is sort of a case with a screen and could potentially double the total screen size of the device. This new smartphone with two screens is rumored to launch at the Mobile World Congress trade show next month. It's unclear whether the multiple-screen phone will carry the name of its flagship line, and that this phone may not be the G8 says the report. To clear the confusion, this won't be LG's foldable phone that has been in the news for some time, instead, it will be a standalone or a new addition to the existing line-up. At this point, we don't know if the second screen would strictly be a gimmick or the company has found a practical use-case. In recent times, LG has struggled to stand apart from the competition. For this and many other reasons, whatever LG does, it needs to make its upcoming flagship a sensation. Like most LG loyalists, we too look forward to LG's announcements at MWC 2019. Source

Amazon Echo Input launched in India at Rs. 2999

Amazon has announced the availability of Echo Input in India. This lets users easily add Alexa to your existing speaker through a 3.5mm audio cable or via Bluetooth. It features a four-microphone array so you can talk to Alexa from across the room. The Echo Input is just 12.5m thick and users can use the Alexa App to easily connect Echo Input to your speakers. Unlike Echo Dot, which has a built-in speaker, all audio is played through the connected speaker rather than through Echo Input itself. When connected to Echo Input, your speaker can be added to a new or existing multi-room music group. You can also adjust the volume of the Echo Input with your voice. Amazon is launching the Echo Input with launch offers from speaker brands such as Bose, JBL and UE Boom. When you purchase Echo Input with select speakers from these brands, you can get up to Rs. 2,999 off. The Echo Input is priced at Rs. 2,999 and is available from Amazon.in as well as Croma, Vijay Sales, and other offline retailers. Jayshree Gururaj, Director, Amazon Devices said: Our customers tell us that they love the convenience of being able to ask Alexa to play music, get information, control smart ...