Samsung Galaxy A90 said to feature pop-up selfie camera and no-notch display

[caption id="attachment_258768" align="aligncenter" width="572"] Vivo NEX[/caption] Samsung for a while now has been working on a new Galaxy device; the Galaxy A90. What makes the Galaxy A90 so special is the fact that it will be Samsung's first pop-up front camera phone. This means that there won't be any notch, no punch-hole camera making the screen perfect.  Pop-up cameras are not new to the industry; we have the Vivo NEX, upcoming Vivo V15 Pro among others. This gives the manufacturer to bundle more screen real-estate for users. Revealing Samsung's plans ahead of the A90 official release, popular leakster took it to Twitter and said: "Why do I say that the A90 is perfect? The answer is that the Galaxy A90 will be Samsung's first pop-up front camera phone, so its screen is perfect, there is no Notch, no Hole." While this may sound good on paper, the long-term durability of such mechanical setups is currently unproven. It is not surprising to see Samsung try such new designs when the company is in dire need of a blockbuster series, especially in the budget segment. Samsung teased the existence of a panel with narrow bezels and no cutout in the works. It also said that it would ...

Realme U1 gets a permanent price cut, now starts at Rs. 10999

Realme launched the Realme U1 in India back in November last year starting at Rs. 11,999. After price cuts during festive period, the phone has received a permanent price cut in the country. The 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version now costs Rs. 10,999, while the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version costs Rs. 13,499 after a Rs. 1,000 price cut. The Realme U1 is now available at new rates from Amazon.in as well as Realme India website online, as well as offline stores. Realme U1 specifications 6.3-inch (2350 x 1080 pixels) 19.5:9 Full HD+ IPS display with 1500:1 contrast ratio, 450 nits brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection Octa Core MediaTek Helio P70 12nm processor (Quad 2.1GHz Cortex A73 + Quad 2GHz Cortex A53 CPUs) with 900MHz ARM Mali-G72 MP3 GPU 3GB RAM with 32GB  storage / 4GB RAM with 64GB storage, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Dual SIM (nano + nano + microSD) Android 8.1 (Oreo) based on ColorOS 5.2 13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/2.2 aperture, 2MP secondary camera with f/2.4 aperture 25MP front-facing camera, f/2.0 aperture, AI, Sony IMX576 sensor Dimensions: 157x74x8mm; Weight: 168g 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dual 4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS 3500mAh battery

ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2 Android 9.0 (Pie) beta update starts rolling out

After rolling out Android 9.0 (Pie) update for the Zenfone 5Z globally last month, the company has now started Android Pie beta testing for the Zenfone Max Pro M2. We wish to grow stronger and better with you, the Zenfone Community. Your feedback & inputs matter, and will eventually lead to the official release of Android Pie. Besides, pies taste best when shared with the whole family, right? pic.twitter.com/PtYAUMdip7 — ASUS India (@ASUSIndia) February 1, 2019 The latest Android Pie update brings several new features, including Adaptive Battery that uses machine learning to prioritize system resources for the apps, App Actions that help you raise the visibility of your app and help drive engagement using machine learning, new Magnifier feature for easier copy-and-paste and lots more. Since it is beta testing, bugs are expected to be a part. The company also notes that it will not provide downgrade service for beta power users unless the users quit the beta user program. Those who wish to try the beta and give feedback to the company for a stable release can enroll here by filling the form with IMEI details. Soon after you enroll, you will receive an OTA update directly to your Zenfone Max Pro M2. Source

Panasonic Lumix S1R and Lumix S1 full-frame mirrorless cameras announced

Panasonic has announced the Lumix S1 and S1R full-frame mirrorless cameras with a 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor. These come with HDR still photo mode, that can be played back on HLG-compliant televisions. The cameras can shoot video at 4K, 60fps with dual image stabilization, tiltable LCD display, contrast AD and depth-from-defocus tech. The new cameras are based on the L-Mount standard, which boasts a well-balanced, large inner diameter and compact dimensions for a flange focus to realize optimum size and performance as a mirrorless camera system. The LUMIX S1R packs a 47.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. The LUMIX S1R features a High-Resolution mode for the first time as a mirrorless full-frame camera to enable 187-megapixel ultra-high precision photo shooting. On the other hand, the LUMIX S1 comes with a 24.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. The LUMIX S1 supports professional use in videography; it records smooth 4K 60p video and enables full-pixel readout of signals in 4K. Furthermore, the LUMIX S1 will comply with 4:2:2 10-bit 4K 30fps/25fps internal video recording and 4K 60fps HDMI output as well as V-Log, with a software upgrade key. The LUMIX S1R/S1 packs a Body Image Stabilizer to effectively compensate for the hand-shake movement. Combining the Body I.S.(5-axis) and the O.I.S in the ...

Alphabet’s Verily said to be working on health-tracking shoes to measure movement, weight and falls

Alphabet's Verily life science arm seems to be planning on bringing health-tracking shoes to measure movement, weight, and falls. The company is looking for partners to co-develop these shoes. Sources reveal that Google's company in recent months has shown a prototype of the design in private meetings, hoping to attract partners to build the shoes and take them to market.  However, it is not known if the company is still actively pursuing the project. If Verily does progress with the project, the shoes could have a wide range of health-related uses. Another area of interest is fall detection which could be useful for seniors in particular. Verily was previously known as Google Life Sciences, but in 2015 it became a separate company under Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and is tracked financially within Alphabet’s “Other Bets” segment. In January, it raised $1 billion from Silver Lake and others to “increase flexibility and optionality.” The company has recruited dozens of engineers, scientists and health experts to its ranks. Many of its technical leads originally worked at Google. Aside from the shoes, Verily is working on other hardware projects, including a stabilizing spoon to help people with movement disorder to eat, a smartwatch for its clinical research efforts and a “smart” contact lens for age-related ...

Sony shipped 1.8 million smartphones in Q3 FY 2018, 55% YoY decline

Sony smartphone woes continue to grow as the company ended the December 2018 quarter with just 1.8 million shipments. This represents a fall of 55% compared to last year where it shipped 4 million smartphones. The company has also reduced the full-year outlook, now targeting 6.5 million unit sales compared to 7.0 million units previously. This also means that the company only expecting to ship 1.1 million phones in its final quarter; March 31st, 2019. This would make it easily the worst quarter for Sony Mobile shipments ever – by a wide margin. Sony Xperia XZ3 was meant to mark a fresh start for Sony Mobiles, unfortunately, it paints a bleak picture for Xperia fans. Sony’s mobile communications unit reported 137.2 billion yen (~$1.26 billion) sales, down 36.9% YoY and operating income was down 15.5 billion yen (~$142.3 million) in Q3 2018, down 198% YoY. Thought it might be interesting to see how Sony can arrest the declining state of its smartphone business, at this point, a miracle can only turn things around. Sony is expected to announce new smartphones at the MWC 2019 at the end of this month. Sony definitely needs something truly unique to differentiate itself from the pack. Furthermore, the ...

Apple apologizes for FaceTime bug, says fix is coming next week

Apple FaceTime bug has allowed the caller to listen to audio and watch the video of the recipient even if he doesn't pick up the call. This bug has let Apple to temporarily disable the FaceTime server and the company has officially apologized for the FaceTime flaw. Apple said a fix that will re-enable group FaceTime is now scheduled to be released next week. Apple credited the family of a 14-year-old boy who helped discover the bug and report it to Apple, though the company didn’t react immediately to his report. Apple issued a statement saying the company is "committed to improving the process by which it receives and escalates reports of bugs. The company disabled group FaceTime as a temporary fix but said that a more permanent fix will roll out via a software update next week. Apple in a statement said: We have fixed the Group FaceTime security bug on Apple’s servers and we will issue a software update to re-enable the feature for users next week. We thank the Thompson family for reporting the bug. We sincerely apologize to our customers who were affected and all who were concerned about this security issue. We appreciate everyone’s patience as we complete this process. We ...

Reliance Communications files for bankruptcy for debt resolution

Reliance Communications (RCOM) has anounced that it has filed for bankruptcy with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai, after its debt resolution plans have failed since the invocation of Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) on 2nd June 2017.  Despite the passage of over 18 months, lenders have received zero proceeds from the proposed asset monetization plans, and the overall debt resolution process is yet to make any headway, said the company. The main unresolved challenges are: Lack of 100% approvals and consensus, as mandated by RBI’s 12th February 2018 circular, on all important issues, amongst over 40 lenders, Indian and foreign despite the passage of 12 months and over 45 meetings Pendency of numerous legal issues at High Courts, TDSAT and Supreme Court impeding progress at various stages Last year it sold its Media Convergence Nodes (MCNs) and related infrastructure assets, worth Rs 2,000 crore and its fiber and related infrastructure assets, worth Rs 3,000 crore, to Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIO) to pay its debt to its lenders, but this was not enough as it had debt of Rs. 47,000 crore. RCOM will seek fast track resolution through NCLT, Mumbai, and the Board believes this course of action will be in the best interests ...

Samsung Galaxy S10e with 5.8-inch display with in-screen camera, side-mounted fingerprint sensor surfaces in renders

After Samsung Galaxy S10 and the Galaxy S10+, renders of the Galaxy S10e has surfaced. Similar to the other two, this comes with in-screen camera, but this has smaller 5.8-inch flat screen, unlike the curved screen on the S10 and S10+. Another change is the side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the right side that doubles up as a power button, instead of in-display fingerprint sensor in the bigger models. We had already seen a similar setup on the Galaxy A7 (2018), but the placement is a bit higher on the S10e since the volume rockers have been moved to the left. There is also a bixby button below that. The Galaxy S10e is said to come only in 6GB RAM with 128GB version in Black, Green, White and Yellow colors at the launch with Blue to follow later. It is rumored to be priced  at €750 ($859 / Rs. 61,400 approx.) in Europe. Source

Nokia TA-1157 Android One Smartphone with dual rear cameras passes through the FCC

Nokia TA-1157, a new smartphone has passed through the FCC revealing dual rear cameras, dimensions and more specifications. The mid-range smartphone will come in 3GB RAM with 32GB storage and 2GB RAM with 16GB storage versions, according to the certification. It also reveals 148.95 mm x 71.3 mm dimensions and it will mesasure 131mm diagonally, which could mean that it could feature about 5.2-inch screen, probably with HD+ resolution. It also reveals a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor and a 3000mAh battery. This could be the Nokia 3.2 (2019), successor of last year's Nokia 3.1. It will likely run Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box, but it is not clear if the company will stick to MediaTek SoC or move to Snapdragon since it moved from Snapdragon 430 in the Nokia 3 to MediaTek MT6750N in Nokia 3.1. We can expect this phone at the MWC on February 24th along with the Nokia 9 PureView and another smartphone with in-screen camera. Source