Samsung earnings guidance reveals 60% YoY profit drop in Q1 2019

Samsung today reported earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2019. After posting 28.7% decrease in profit in Q4 2018 due to weak chip and phone sales, the company said that it would improve sales and business performance this year. Earnings guidance released today reveals 6.2 trillion Korean won ($5.5 billion) operating profit for the quarter, down 60.2% from the 15.64 trillion won profit in the first quarter of 2018.  Samsung has reported revenue of 52 trillion Korean won in Q1 2019, down 14%, compared to 60.56 trillion Korean won a year ago. This is less than analysts' estimates of 6.8 trillion won profit and 53 trillion won earnings for the quarter. The company already issued a regulatory filing last week warning that memory price drops were "larger than expected" and also said that demand for screens like the OLED display it makes for Apple's iPhone is low. LG Q1 preliminary earnings results LG has also announced preliminary earnings results for the first quarter of 2019. It expects 899.6 billion operating profit, down 18.8% compared to 1.11 trillion won in Q1 2018, and 14.9 trillion revenue, which is down 1.4% compared to 15.12 trillion won compared to the same quarter last year. These companies did not announce the performance of each business division. We should know the exact profit ...

TAGG Flex Bluetooth Speaker Review

You might have already seen this powerbank I'd taken a look at, from this company called TAGG. Like I said in that article, there is a big market for smartphone accessories and when it comes to portable bluetooth speakers in fact they would probably be the biggest segment. TAGG is a company that operates in this market. While it is rally hard for me to distinguish between a good BT speaker and a great one, it is certainly easy to find out if it's bad. So, on that basis, let's examine the TAGG Flex, a relatively tiny portable BT speaker with mic and some really good amount of sound. Whether it is of good quality, what all it has as features, how has it performed in the time that I had with the device. Is it good? Should you buy one? That's what we are going to talk about, in this review. I've been using the TAGG Flex for quite a while now and it involved a ton of traveling. The Flex came with me everywhere. So portability wise, it's great for just dropping it in your bag and not really worry about it. Why? Well, it is made of a rubbery ...

Xiaomi drops software support for several devices including Redmi Note 4 and Redmi 4

At the MIUI 9 Global launch, Xiaomi highlighted the fact that even 5-year-old phones including Mi 2/2S will be supported for MIUI 9 Global Stable update but lately things are changing, probably due to too many devices launched in past couple of years. Back in 2017, it dropped software support for some devices that were launched in 2015 or before and towards the end of 2018 company announced it's plan to drop MIUI support for various devices including Mi 4, Mi 5 and Redmi Note 3 Pro (called Redmi Note 3 in India). Last month, the company shared that it has decided to drop MIUI support for Mi Max and Mi Max Prime. Redmi Note 4 will no longer receive MIUI Beta updates! Xiaomi recently announced that Redmi will operate as a separate brand in China, and in the past couple of years, Xiaomi has launched lots of devices under Redmi series. Now as per a post by Mi Community admin, Redmi has decided to drop MIUI Beta ROM development with immediate effects for various devices including Redmi 3S, Redmi 4 series, Redmi Note 4 and Redmi 4A. These devices will not receive MIUI Global Beta ROM updates, the devices affected by the decision are Redmi Note 4 ...

Google Pixel 3 gets Dual SIM, Dual Standby support with Android Q Beta 2

Google started supporting eSIM feature on the Pixel 2 devices and the same was carried onto Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones. It was only Dual SIM, Single Standby (DSSS), but today, with the roll out of Android Q Beta 2, Google brings support for Dual SIM Dual Standby(DSDS) for Pixel 3 devices. Google has surprised everyone with the Android Q Beta 2 update as it has added the nifty Dual SIM Dual Standby feature that users were waiting for. Although Pixel 3 supported eSIM feature, it was not possible to use eSIM + Physical SIM simultaneously and either of the SIMs had to be disabled. With Android Q Beta 2 update, Pixel 3 devices users can provision/register both their eSIM and Physical SIM card at the same time. It is to be noted that this is only DSDS(Dual SIM, Dual Standby) and not DSDA(Dual SIM, Dual Active) which means that mobile data can't be used in both the SIMs at the same time. Steps to enable Dual SIM Dual Standby on Pixel 3 Step 1: Open Settings on your Google Pixel 3 Step 2: Go to Network and Internet Step 3: Click on the '+' symbol next to Mobile Network and Add the second ...

POCO F1 MIUI 10.3.4.0 stable update with Widevine L1, 4K 60fps recording, Game Turbo starts rolling out [Download Link]

Xiaomi's POCO today rolled out new MIUI 10 v10.3.4.0 stable update that finally brings Widevine L1 support to play HD content on Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar, with Netflix support coming soon. The update also brings 4K 60fps recording, New modes for Al camera, Game Turbo, Face unlock App lock, and several fixes. The POCO F1 MIUI 10.1 update has build V10.3.4.0 PEJMIXM, is 515MB in size and has Android security patch for March 2019. Since it has started rolling out today, it will take few days to roll out for everyone, but you can download the incremental zip or download the full ROM and flash using updater method manually. Check out the complete changelog below. System New: Widevine L1 support New: Introducing Game Turbo. Boost your gaming experience! Optimization: Updated Android Security Patch to March 2019 Increased system security. Phone Fix: Ending calls took longer time than expected Fix: Status bar shortcut and floating notification for calls appeared at the same time App lock New: Face unlock support Lockscreen, status bar, Notification shade New: You can stay on the Lock screen after using Face unlock New: You can restrict opening Notification shade on the Lock screen now New: NFC shortcut in the Notification shade Optimization: Face unlock efficiency Optimization: Face data was recorded too fast Optimization: The height of status bar is equal to the height of the notch now Fix: LED light didn't blink when battery ...

WhatsApp Business app for iOS rolls out globally

Facebook-owned WhatsApp rolled out WhatsApp Business for iOS to a limited number of countries recently. Today, the company has announced the worldwide roll out of WhatsApp Business for iOS. The app was launched for Android last year and has been adopted by millions of businesses globally. Features WhatsApp Business app incorporates features that allow small businesses and customers to communicate with one another. This app also has a 'Business Profile' feature which allows the user to share detailed information about the business like description, website, addresses, contact details, etc. It also comes with 'Messaging Tools' which allows the business owners to respond to customers by quick responses, greeting messages, away messages and more. WhatsApp Business app is available starting today and is available to download from the App Store. It will be initially available in Brazil, Germany, Indonesia, India, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S., and will be rolling out around the world in the coming weeks. Source

LINKSYS Velop Tri-Band Mesh WiFi System launched in India

Linksys, the brand which is known for its lineup of routers and networking solutions has announced 'Velop', the whole home WiFi product in India, today. The Tri-Band Mesh WiFi System is priced starting Rs.19,999. Velop is a Tri-Band modular WiFi solution from Linksys and is installed in different mesh configurations. The installation of various mesh configurations aims to provide fast and reliable WiFi to the edge of a home network. How Velop Works? The mesh network system contains individual nodes and each node in the Velop is a Tri-Band system. The Tri-Band AC2200 device will serve as a router, repeater, bridge, and an access point. Velop uses the three radios dynamically to determine the optimal path from the modem and “parent” node to each “child” node and aims to ensure the fastest speeds to all client devices, regardless of which node they are connected to. Dynamic channel scanning algorithms evaluate the unique conditions of the wireless environment to select the best band (either 2.4 GHz or one of the two 5 GHz radios onboard) as well as the channels within each of the bands in order to improve performance between nodes and client devices. Features Velop is powered by Qualcomm SoC and some of the salient features ...

Samsung starts mass production of 5G multi-mode chipsets

The trend of 5G is picking up the pace swiftly, and we are seeing news of 5G all over the web. In the same lines, today, Samsung has announced the mass production of 5G multi-mode chipsets for the latest premium mobile devices. Samsung's new 5G multi-mode chipsets will include the previously announced 'Exynos Modem 5100' along with a new single-chip radio frequency transceiver, the 'Exynos RF 5500' and the 'Exynos SM 5800.' All these will support 5G New Radio (5G-NR) sub-6-gigahertz (GHz) spectrum and legacy radio access technologies. Exynos Modem 5100 In a single chip, the Exynos Modem 5100 supports virtually all networks from 5G’s sub-6GHz and mmWave spectrums to 2G GSM/CDMA, 3G WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, and 4G LTE networks. In order to obtain reliable and power-efficient performance, the Exynos Modem 5100 is paired with RF and supply modulator solutions, Exynos RF 5500 and Exynos SM 5800 respectively. Exynos RF 5500 The Exynos RF 5500 supports legacy networks and 5G-NR sub-6GHz networks in a single chip and adds flexibility in the smartphone designs.  The Exynos RF 5500 has 14 receiver paths for download and supports 4×4 MIMO and higher-order 256 QAM scheme in order to maximize the data transfer rate over the 5G network. Exynos SM 5800 The Exynos SM 5800 is ...

GoDaddy launches Professional Email for small business owners and entrepreneurs in India starting at Rs. 39 per month

Godaddy, the company that offers domain, hosting and other web related services today launched a new Professional Email solution in India for entrepreneurs and small business owners. GoDaddy Professional Email will be available in two different packages namely 'Startup plan' and 'Team plan'.  The Startup plan is priced at Rs. 39 per month and offers an email address that matches the user's domain, 10GB of email storage, webmail, security, etc. The Team plan is priced at Rs. 58 per month/user and offers 25GB of storage. This plan carries almost the same features as the Startup plan, expect the additional storage and additional ways of collaboration. GoDaddy is offering a modern look and clean interface for the new Professional Email solution. GoDaddy's Professional Email comes with a responsive design and works across all the user's devices.  It also has support for data sync across all the devices to keep all the tasks up-to-date. Commenting on the launch, Nikhil Arora, Managing Director and Vice President for GoDaddy in India said: India has emerged as a leader for innovation and entrepreneurship that has grown at a rapid pace. With this professional email tool, we aim to strengthen the small and medium businesses and entrepreneur’s online presence, by further building credibility, and ...

Now is the best time to buy the Apple iPhone XR [Long term Review]

5 months have gone by since I started using the iPhone XR and time with it has convinced me that this is, by far, the best smartphone experience I've ever had and am not even exaggerating. Coming from a world of infinite choice, it was quite interesting to have a completely different view of the Apple ecosystem. Because, in 2019, systemic changes in the infrastructure surrounding a smartphone have made me realize why the long held tenets of trust and user experience matter now more than ever. What has changed in these 5 months is also the price. NOW is the right time to buy the Apple iPhone XR and here's my long term review to tell you why I think so. Since I'm making big claims, thought it'd be better to give you some context. I’ve been using smartphones since the time of Symbian (S60). My first one was the Nokia 6600 (hi5 to all the 6600 fans), then I switched to a 5320 Xpressmusic (S60 V3 FP2). Once the touchscreens started rolling in, I held out until the Nokia N8 launched and got that. What a cameraphone! But then of course we all know how Nokia slowly imploded, it ...