Sony Xperia L3 with 5.7-inch HD+ display, 3GB RAM, dual-rear cameras surface in renders

Apart from the Xperia XA3 and XA3 Plus, Sony is also said to be planning on bringing a new entry-level model; the Xperia L3. It sports a 5.7-inches 18:9 HD 720p LCD display and will most probably be powered by a MediaTek chipset in-line with few other Xperia mid-range phones. It comes with an 8MP front-camera with portrait feature and on the rear, it has dual-rear cameras with the 13+2MP setup.  There is 3GB RAM and 32GB storage that can be further expanded via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is present on the right side, between volume rocker and power button. The overall package is in a plastic case and comes in silver, gray and gold colors. It packs a 3300mAh, the now with USB-C port, but still runs on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box which again stresses the fact it might be powered by the MediaTek chipset. Though there is no official pricing, the Sony Xperia L3 could range at around 199 Euros (US$ 224 / Rs. 16,020 approx.). Unfortunately, there are no other details about the phone, but there's a chance the company might introduce it at the MWC 2019 event. Source

Google Assistant Interpreter Mode rolling out to Google Home devices and Smart Displays

Last month at the CES Google announced Interpreter Mode for Assistant, a new feature on Google Home devices and Smart Displays where you can ask Assistant to help you have a conversation in dozens of languages. Today the company has announced that this feature is rolling out widely to Google Home devices and Smart Displays  to translate across 26 languages. With this, You’ll both see and hear the translated conversation. You can say "Hey Google, be my Thai interpreter" or "Hey Google, help me speak Spanish" to get started. "Interpreter mode can help businesses better serve their guests through an improved customer experience," said Google. This can be useful wherever language barriers exist, including at hotels, airports, restaurants, customer service kiosks, organizations aiding humanitarian efforts and much more. Google has been  piloting interpreter mode at the concierge and front desks of hotels like Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Dream Downtown in New York City and Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport that makes guests have free-flowing conversations with hotel staff—even if they don’t speak the same language. Now, with interpreter mode on the Google Home Hub, concierge staff can personally provide guest recommendations in real time—leading to better service, plus quicker and easier guest transactions. Source

Apple Acquires UK-based digital marketing startup DataTiger

Apple has acquired U.K.-based digital marketing startup DataTiger in a move that could boost the company’s digital marketing and make it relevant. A regulatory filing in December shows that Apple now controls Operatedata Ltd., the legal name of DataTiger. Apple currently uses several forms of digital marketing, including emails to tout new products and push notifications to encourage users to subscribe to services like Apple Music and more. Apple has acquired several companies in recent times including Shazam music-recognition app, the Texture magazine subscription service, and Akonia Holographics, which makes technology for augmented-reality glasses. DataTiger, U.K.-based startup says that its technology can "optimize the marketing journey" of customers by using data to more accurately send materials to consumers as well as push notifications. DataTiger Chief Executive Officer Philipp Mohr said his firm wants to "bring the stale era of ‘email-list thinking’ and slow, campaign-based marketing to an end." Source

OnePlus to bring Google Duo integration for video calls on its devices

Earlier this OnePlus rolled out OxygenOS 9.0.12 for the OnePlus 6T and OxygenOS 9.0.4 for OnePlus 6 smartphones the brought deep Google Duo integration into OxygenOS. Today the company has announced that the OnePlus 5 and 5T with the OxygenOS 9.0.4 and eventually, OnePlus 3 and 3T with the Android Pie update will get this feature. Google Duo video calling capability will be integrated across multiple native functions such as Call Logs, Contacts, Dial Pad and Messaging. However, users will continue to have access to the traditional carrier video call option (currently available on the latest Open Beta builds for the OnePlus 6 and 6T). OnePlus says that this will enhance video calling utility for its users .  OnePlus alreasy offers Google Lens functionality on OnePlus' native camera app to surface information about the objects through machine learning to provide more details and provide relevant search tags, scan QR codes and use the image recognition tool to get more information about things like books, buildings, and works of art, by simply tapping on it. Source

FTC and Facebook said to be negotiating a record multi-billion dollar fine over privacy lapses

The Federal Trade Commission and Facebook are negotiating a record multi-billion dollar fine that would settle the agency's investigation into Facebook's privacy practices, according to sources. This fine would mark the agency's largest imposition on a technology company. However, two sides have not yet agreed on an exact amount. Facebook has expressed initial concern with the FTC’s demands. If talks break down, the FTC could take the matter to court which might likely turn into a bruising legal fight. Facebook confirmed it is in discussions with the agency but declined to comment further. The lawmakers have faulted the company for mishandling that data while failing to crack down on online hate speech, the spread of fake news and more. As for the FTC, a significant fine or punishment against the social media giant could represent a new era of scrutiny for Silicon Valley companies after years of privacy missteps. The FTC’s probe of Facebook began in March 2018 in response to reports about the social giant’s entanglement with Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that improperly accessed data on 87 million of the social site’s users. The agency's inquiry focuses on whether Facebook’s conduct along with a series of additional privacy mishaps made public in ...

Samsung Galaxy A50 with in-display fingerprint sensor, triple rear cameras, Galaxy A10 and Galaxy A30 detailed specifications surface

Samsung, after the M20 and M10 launch in India has moved on to next phase, the company is said to be working on refreshed models of its A-series line-up for 2019. The complete specification sheet of the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30, and Galaxy A50 have surfaced the internet, ahead of the launch, which is expected to happen very soon.  Samsung Galaxy A10 rumored Specifications 6.2-inch (1520 × 720 pixels) HD+ Infinity-V display Octa-Core Exynos 7884B processor 3GB RAM, 32GB Storage, expandable up to 512GB via micro SD card Android 9.0 (Pie) with Samsung Experience UI Dual SIM 13MP rear camera with LED flash, f/1.9 aperture 5MP front camera with f/2.0 aperture Face Unlock Dimension:155.6 x 75.6 x 7.94mm 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS 4000mAh battery Starting off with the Galaxy A10, it is said to come with a plastic body, unlike the previous A-series phones. It could come with a 6.2-inch Infinity-V display with 720p HD+ resolution. The V-shaped notch will accommodate a 5MP front-facing camera and is said to be powered by the Exynos 7884B Octa-Core 1.6GHz CPU. It could pack 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It might not have ...

Twitter to soon let you add clarifications or annotations to old tweets

Twitter doesn't want to embrace an 'edit button', though it remains one of the most requested features. The company in numerous instances in the past has slipped answering the question. However, this time, it sounds different as the company's CEO Jack Dorsey said that Twitter is “thinking about” some kind of feature that would let people go back to the Tweet and add clarifications or annotations to old tweets. Jack, further said: “the other thing that we’re seeing more broadly within the culture right now in this particular moment is people quote-unquote ‘being canceled’ because of past things that they’ve said on Twitter or various other places in social media. There’s no credible way to kind of go back and clarify or even have a conversation to show the learning and the transition since.” This hints at Twitter plans to build something that would help with the errors in Tweets. While what it has in mind isn't clear yet, but Twitter already lets people share a tweet with more context through its retweet feature. The basic idea behind this is even if The idea here is that even if a tweet has already gone viral, the clarification will be added anywhere the original tweet appears. ...

Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 2 rugged tablet with S Pen, 4G LTE launched in India for Rs. 50990

Samsung has launched Galaxy Tab Active2 in India targeted at B2B segment. It is MIL-STD-810 certified to survive excessive pressure, temperatures, environments, vibration and drops. It has 1.2m anti-shock inbox protective cover, IP68 water and dust resistance and better display touch mode for gloved and wet touch. It has defense grade Knox security platform that helps keep sensitive information safe against malware and hackers. It comes with biometric authentication including a new fingerprint scanner offering improved security authentication and facial recognition for convenient hands-free access. It has S Pen stylus support that function in extreme working conditions since it is also IP68 certified. It comes in both WiFi and 4G versions and has 4,450mAh user replaceable battery. Samsung Galaxy Tab Active2 specifications 8.0-inch (1280 x 800 pixel) WXGA TFT display 1.8GHz Octa-core Samsung Exynos 7870 processor with Mali T830 GPU 3GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD Android 7.1 (Nougat) 8MP auto focus rear camera with LED flash 5MP front-facing camera IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, 1.2m Anti-shock with inbox protective cover, MIL-STD-810G Fingerprint Sensor S Pen (IP68 Certified, 4096 Pressure Level, Air Command) Dimensions: 127.6 x 214.7 x 9.9mm; Weight: 419g 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz+5GHz), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS / GLONASS, NFC, USB ...

Amazon Pay UPI for seamless transactions launched for Android

Amazon has launched the Amazon Pay UPI for Android users. The company has partnered with Axis bank to issue UPI IDs to its customers. It allows customers to link their bank account on their Amazon mobile app and make fast, easy, and secure payments directly from the bank account. Customers can use their Amazon Pay UPI ID to shop on Amazon.in, and also to make payments for their everyday needs including recharges and bill payments without entering bank account or debit card credentials, or going through a multi-layer process to pay from their bank account. Every transaction is secured through mobile device verification as well as the UPI PIN. Customers can link their bank account and complete one time set up the process by setting up a UPI PIN, after which they can make instant payments. Amazon says this launch is a key step to enable Amazon customers in adopting BHIM UPI as a digital payment method. Amazon Pay will continue to leverage the UPI platform to launch new features to further simplify customer experience and expand into new use cases. To try out the Amazon Pay UPI payments experience, log into Amazon from your Android mobile phone and choose UPI as your payment method ...

Airtel deploys LTE 900 technology to enhance indoor network coverage in Mumbai

After Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Punjab, Airtel has deployed 900 Mhz (LTE 900) spectrum band in Mumbai to significantly enhance the network experience for smartphone customers. In addition to high speed data capacity and wider availability, 900 Mhz spectrum will offer improved 4G availability inside buildings – homes, offices and malls. In Mumbai, Airtel already uses 2300 Mhz (TD LTE) and 1800 Mhz (FD LTE) in addition to 900 Mhz (LTE 900) spectrum. Airtel has already deployed advanced network technologies and tools such as pre-5G Massive MIMO, 4G Advanced and Carrier Aggregation to step up high speed network capacity and coverage. Airtel recently announced that it will expand its network in the state by rolling out 15000 new sites and 3000 Km of optic fiber during FY 19 under its network transformation program – Project Leap. Amit Tripathi, CEO – Mumbai, Bharti Airtel Ltd said: Our endeavor is to deliver best-in-class network experience to our customers. The deployment of LTE 900 will further boost Airtel’s 4G coverage, particularly inside homes and buildings. Airtel smartphone customers will enjoy a seamless high-speed data and HD quality calling experience on our upgraded network. We will continue to invest aggressively in deployment of latest network technologies to delight our customers.