Samsung Exynos 7 Series 7904 Octa-Core 14nm processor with support for triple rear cameras announced

Samsung has announced its Exynos 7 Series 7904 processor for its mid-range smartphones targeted at Indian market. This includes support for triple-camera support and supports single-camera resolution of up to 32-megapixels (MP). The company said that the third camera in a smartphone can take panoramic pictures with wide angles or add bokeh effects for aesthetic blur in portraits. It is built on 14-nanometer (nm) process, similar to other Exynos 7 Series 7904 processors, but this uses dual Cortex-A73 cores that run at 1.8-gigahertz (GHz), and six Cortex-A53 cores at 1.6 GHz. Highlights of Samsung Exynos 7 7904 SoC Octa Core – 1.8GHz x 2 ARM Cortex-A73 CPUs + 1.6GHz x 6 ARM Cortex-A53 CPUs Mali-G71 MP2GPU 14nm LPP FinFET process technology LTE Cat. 12 3CA download speeds of up to 600Mbps, Cat.13 2CA upload speeds of up to 150Mbps (UL) Up to Full HD+ (2400x1080) display resolution Up to 4K 30fps encoding and decoding with HEVC(H.265), HEVC(H.265), H.264 and VP8, and decoding with VP9 Up to 32MP for both rear and front cameras, Dual Camera 16MP+16MP, advanced triple-camera setup for high-resolution imaging LPDDR4x memory, eMMC 5.1 Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz) , Bluetooth 5.0, FM Radio GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo) solution to achieve positioning accuracy Samsung has started Exynos ...

WhatsApp now limits message forwarding to five chats at once globally

Last year WhatsApp restricted Indian users from forwarding more than five chats at once, after introduced an option to send or forward messages to multiple recipients, including groups instead of one user or a group at a time, back in 2016. Today it has announced it will be implementing this change, globally. This will continue help keep WhatsApp focused on private messaging with close contacts, believes the company.   The company said that it carefully evaluated this test and listened to user feedback over a six-month period, and the forward limit significantly reduced forwarded messages around the world. Last year it rolled out  feature to indicate which messages you receive have been forwarded to you, to give a better idea and determine if your friend or relative wrote the message they sent or if it originally came from someone else. Starting today, all users on the latest versions of WhatsApp can now forward to only five chats at once. It said that it will continue to listen to user feedback about their experience, and over time, look for new ways of addressing viral content.

What XOLO’s comeback tells us about Indian manufacturers

Where are the Indian smartphone manufacturers these days? Where have they gone? This question has been on my mind for a while. Brands like Micromax and Yu, Lava and XOLO have largely disappeared from the scene this past year or two. Our market is inundated with devices from Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei, Taiwanese brands like ASUS and even Vietnamese brands like Mobiistar. Sure, there is an exception in Smartron, but largely, the Indian brands were nowhere to be seen in 2018. When XOLO invited me to their event, conveniently titled "A new era" where they launched two new devices, I was pleasantly surprised. Before checking the devices out, I had a quick chat with Sunil Raina from XOLO and I'd like to share what I thought about XOLO's comeback and what it tells us about Indian manufacturers. At the event, the first thing I got to know was that XOLO is still one of the very few Indian companies that has complete control over the entire chain of production from design to manufacturing. True to some extent, the devices are indeed manufactured in Lava's factory, Noida. I say some extent because there are several dependencies that are outside ...

ZAAP launches Quick Touch Three and Magnetic Touch Two mobile car mounts

ZAAP has launched “Quick Touch Three” and “Magnetic Touch Two” Mobile Car Mounts in India. These new Car Mounts are designed and developed using ZAAP’s Patented QT Technology and manufactured in South Korea. The company says that the design of both car mounts is done by Marc Nelson who is a well recognized Industrial Designer. The Magnetic Touch Two car mount uses powerful magnets which can hold up to a weight of 380gm. On the other hand, Quick Touch Three uses a traditional mobile holder which can hold mobile phones with a width of 2 to 3 inches. Both products are made for Car Dashboard, Car Windshield, and Desktop and use a special suction gel pad that ensures mount can be used for infinite times and can be restored to original condition after rinsing with water. These come with 'Arm Padding' to protect your mobile phones from scratches and features Shock Stabilizer. It can hold all phone and case combinations from 2.0”-3.0.” Both Quick Touch Three and Magnetic Touch Two are available in classic black color and are priced at Rs. 1,199 and Rs. 1,449, respectively. The products are available on Amazon, Snapdeal, Zaaptech.com & selected retail stores.

Samsung Pay app confirms in-display fingerprint scanner on at least one Galaxy S10 model

Samsung has been working on the Galaxy S10 flagships for months now, and we are almost there to witness the global launch of the flagships in February. We've learned many details about the flagships including the display sizes, cameras, animations, display cutouts, night-mode, and much more from Samsung’s software updates. Latest to join the list is that at least of the flagship will have an in-display fingerprint sensor. After OnePlus 6T which was the first smartphone with an in-display fingerprint sensor, Samsung Galaxy S10 might be the next. Synaptics and Vivo partnered to release the first commercially available smartphone with an in-display fingerprint scanner in 2018. In a tear down of the latest Samsung Pay app, there were very explicit references to an in-display fingerprint scanner—and one reference directly mentions the Galaxy S10’s code-name. Both of these references are used for showing the payment authentication window in the Samsung Pay app or online payments on supported sites. The Samsung Pay app checks if the device has an in-display fingerprint scanner, and if so, it’ll shift the payment flow window at the bottom a bit higher up to make more room. Since all the rumored variants of the Galaxy S10 share the same code-name, it isn't clear which model of the Galaxy ...

Alphabet’s Verily Study Watch gets FDA approval for ECG feature

Verily has announced a health watch in 2017 that is aimed at offering insights into medical conditions such as Parkinson's disease and PTSD. Now, Verily has received FDA clearance for the watch's electrocardiogram (ECG) technology. Verily says the watch can record and display single-channel ECG rhythms. Along with the research trials. Doctors can also prescribe the device to individuals as part of their clinical care. Now that Verily has earned FDA approval, it wouldn't be surprising if Google borrows the ECG tech for a Pixel Watch or its Wear OS platform. Google just acquired the smartwatch tech from Fossil for $40 million, underscoring its commitment to wearables. With Apple racing ahead in the smartwatch game with ECG tools in the Series 4, it's not unlikely Google would want to offer more health-focused options within its smartwatch ecosystem. In a blog post, Verily said: We’re excited to announce that the Verily Study Watch has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a Class II medical device for its on-demand ECG feature. Specifically, the FDA-cleared Study Watch is a prescription-only device intended to record, store, transfer and display single-channel ECG rhythms, and is indicated for use by healthcare professionals, adult patients with known or suspected heart ...

ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 update brings January Android security patch, stability improvements and more [Download Link]

ASUS has started rolling out new update for the Zenfone Max Pro M1 smartphone that brings the latest January, 2019 Android security patch along with stability improvemetns and fix for Garmin watch pairing issue in some countries. The update is gradually rolling out in batches so it will take time to reach everyone, but you can download the full update zip from here and update manually. The company already promised that it will roll out Android Pie for the Zenfone Max Pro M1 in February. Check out the complete change log below. The ZenFone Max Pro M1 - Firmware Notes. (FOTA version - OPM1.WW_Phone-15.2016.1901.339-20190108) Update Google security patches to Jan’19 Optimize system stability Fix Garmin watch pairing issue Screenshots via 1, 2

Facebook Community Actions lets users file for petitions

Facebook is introducing new Community Actions; the News Feed petition feature this week. These Community Actions could unite neighbors to request a change from their local and national elected officials and government agencies. Community Actions start to roll out to the US tomorrow after several weeks of testing in a couple of markets. This allows users to add a title, description, and image to the Community Action, and tag relevant government agencies and officials who’ll be notified. The goal here is to make the Community Action go viral and get people to hit the “Support” button. Community Actions also have their own discussion feed where people can leave comments, create fundraisers, and organize Facebook Events or Call Your Rep campaigns. Facebook displays the numbers of supporters behind a Community Action, but you’ll only be able to see the names of those you are friends with or that are Pages or public figures. While Facebook’s spokesperson says initial tests didn’t surface many troubles, the company is trying to balance safety with efficiency and it will consider how to evolve the feature in response to emergent behaviors. A Facebook Spokesperson said: Building informed and civically engaged communities is at the core of Facebook’s mission. Every day, people come ...

Uber said to be developing self-driving electric scooters and bicycles

Self-driving electric scooters and bicycles at Uber have made news a bunch of times in the past, and now the company is said to be hiring engineers for the self-driving tech. These electric scooters and bicycles could drive themselves around cities in order to reach customers and charging points. Electric scooter and bicycle-sharing services including the ones from Uber as well as competitors Bird and Lime, allow customers to pick up the vehicles and then leave them on the pavement outside their destination. The businesses then pay contractors to collect, charge and repair the scooters and bicycles when they’re not in use. It’s a costly logistical operation which significantly reduces profits for the operators. Uber announced on Saturday that it had begun hiring a “micro-mobility robotics” team to develop scooters and bicycles which could drive themselves to the charging points, potentially removing the need for costly contractors paid to collect them. However, Uber hasn’t published any further information on the project, but said in an online hiring page that it plans to “improve safety, rider experience, and operational efficiency of our shared electric scooters and bicycles through the application of sensing and robotics technologies.” Uber’s self-driving car division was temporarily shut down last ...

BSNL Bharat Fiber broadband home service at Rs 1.1 per GB launched

BSNL has launched the Bharat fiber to the home service where it will offer 35GB data per day at as low as Rs.1.1 per GB and speeds speeds of up to 100Mbps to take on Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. This move comes at a time where Jio is expanding its GigaFiber to over 1400 cities in the country before official roll out. On the other hand, Bharati Airtel has also been expanding its wireline broadband service in India. BSNL has said that it has started Bharat Fiber bookings through its online portal. BSNL officials said that the company maintains transparency in its billing systems and share complete details with customers. It said that it is also issuing regular security, and usage advisory to the customers based on usage pattern. Vivek Banzal, director of CFA, BSNL board said: We realize that now customers are demanding super fast internet and have started owning more electronic gadgets and entertainment tools than ever before. So our Fiber to the Home technology has been upgraded and we are happy to announce the launch of Bharat Fiber which will be an affordable yet able to meet the huge data demand of our customers. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are key themes we ...