Instagram launches ‘Born on Instagram’ initiative to discover creators across India

Instagram has been adding new features and tools for creators recently like refreshed Explore tab, landscape video on IGTV, Branded Content ads, etc. Similarly today, Facebook-owned Instagram has announced its latest 'Born on Instagram' initiative for the digital creator community and will identify and mentor digital creators in India. Instagram at its inaugural ‘Instagram Experience’ (IGX) announced this new initiative and says that its app is being discovered and adopted by many users who are also turning into digital creators and the 'Born on Instagram' initiative will create an amazing opportunity for creators and businesses. This initiative is aimed at enabling creators to express themselves at the national level and discover new talent. Apart from this, the company is also aiming to build a connection between creators and users with this initiative. Commenting on this, Vishal Shah, VP of Product, Instagram said: Instagram is gaining strong momentum both globally and in India. Much like Indian culture, passions pursued by Instagrammers here are the most diverse and represent urban and regional trends. This, combined with the way people freely express themselves on the platform, creates an amazing opportunity for creators and businesses here. It's interesting because in 2010 when we got started, we didn't have ...

Google acquires Fitbit for $2.1 billion with opportunity to introduce Made by Google wearable devices

Recently, Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company reportedly made an offer to acquire U.S. wearables device maker, Fitbit Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Now, Google has confirmed that it is acquiring Fitbit for $2.1 billion and Fitbit will be joining Google itself and Google sees this as an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce 'Made by Google' wearable devices into the market. Google LLC acquires Fitbit, Inc for $7.35 per share in cash, valuing the company at a fully diluted equity value of approximately $2.1 billion. Google says that they have made progress with partners in this space with Wear OS and Google Fit, but now sees an opportunity to invest even more in Wear OS as well as introduce Made by Google wearable devices into the market. So we can expect Google to introduce its own WearOS smartwatch in the future. Google also confirmed that similar to their other products, with wearables, the company will be transparent about the data they collect and why. Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads and Fitbit users will be given a choice to review, move, or delete their data. Similarly, Fitbit also confirmed that it will remain transparent ...

Google Recorder with auto-transcription, audio search now works on non-Pixel smartphones [Download Link]

Google unveiled its new Recorder app with AI capabilities last month alongside the Pixel 4, Pixel 4 XL smartphones. Now Google has confirmed that the Recorder app which was exclusive to Pixel 4 Series will be rolled out to older Pixel smartphones. But, we tried side-loading the recorder app APK and surprisingly, it is working on non-Pixel smartphones (Android 9.0+) too. The new Recorder app has nifty features than just a normal voice recorder. It comes with features like Auto transcription, Audio search, and even works offline too. Auto-transcription transcribes your speech so that you can find what you need later and the Audio search feature helps you find words, music, and sounds. This app also allows you to choose different themes like Light, Dark or adapt with the System Default theme. You can just Tap Record  to start recording your speech and you can find your speech auto-transcribed in real-time in the dedicated 'Transcript' section found next to the 'Audio' tab. You can add title, location to save your recordings as well as the transcript. The transcript can also be shared, saved to Google Drive, and can be deleted if you wish to. Also, you can search for words, phrases, or sounds, like ...

Vivo Z1 Pro gets up to Rs. 2000 permanent price cut in India, now starts at Rs. 13,990

Vivo launched the Z1Pro smartphone in India back in July starting at Rs. 14990, and it went on open sale few weeks after the launch. It was sold at discounted rate during festive sale last month. Today the company has announced up to Rs. 2000 permanent price cut for the phone, so it now starts at Rs. 13,990 for the 4GB + 64GB version, while the 6GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB versions are available for Rs. 14,990 and Rs. 15,990, respectively. It is available at new rates from Flipkart and vivo India eStore. It also offers no cost EMI up to 6 months. Model Name Old Price Revised Price Price Drop Z1Pro – 4GB + 64GB INR 14,990 INR 13,990 INR 1000 Z1Pro – 6GB + 64GB INR 16,990 INR 14,990 INR 2000 Z1Pro – 6GB + 128GB INR 17,990 INR 15,990 INR 2000 To remind you, the phone has a 6.53-inch Full HD+ display, is powered by  Snapdragon 712  SoC with up to 6GB of RAM, has a 16-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel 120° ultra wide sensor, 2-megapixel depth sensing camera, 32-megapixel in-screen camera, 4D gaming experience with real-time recognition of the game scene, gradient back in some color variants, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, and packs a 5000mAh battery with support for 18W fast charging. Check out our Vivo Z1Pro review,if you are planning ...

Google Maps Incognito Mode rolling out for Android users globally

Google offers Incognito mode in Chrome browser, YouTube, etc and the company has been testing Incognito mode in Maps as well for some time. After testing the feature with Google Maps Preview test group, Google has now announced that Incognito mode is rolling out for Android users globally. In Incognito mode, the search history won't be saved to your Google account and in Google Maps, when you turn on the Incognito Mode, your activity like the places you search or get directions to won’t be saved to your Google Account. Turning on Incognito mode in Maps does not affect how your activity is used or saved by internet providers, other apps, voice search, and other Google services. When Incognito mode is on, Google Maps will not save your browse or search history or send you notifications, update your Location History or shared location, use your personal data to personalize Maps. Some of the features that aren't available in Incognito Mode include Commute, For You, Location History, Location Sharing, Notifications and messages, Search history, Search completion suggestions, Google Maps Contributions, Google Assistant microphone in Navigation, Offline Maps, Your Places, and Media integration. Here's how to turn on Incognito mode in Google Maps Open the Google ...

beyerdynamic Blue BYRD wireless earphones launched in India for Rs.10499

beyerdynamic, the German premium audio manufacturer, has announced their in-ear wireless earphones called the Blue BYRD. They are a pair of lightweight, stylish and durable earphones with beyerdynamic's balanced sounds signature. The earphones also feature beyerdynamic's MOSAYC sound personalization technology. The Blue BYRD follow the same design language from its wired sibling, the Soul BYRD, with importance given to freedom and perfect comfort. The earphones connect through Bluetooth 4.2 and can use codecs like Qualcomm's aptX, aptX Low Latency and AAC. It will charge through USB-C and claim a battery life of 6 hours and come with a hard carry case. A standout feature for the earphones is the presence of MOSAYC sound personalization. This technology popularized with beyerdynamic headphones Aventho wireless, Amiron wireless and Xelento wireless, works via the MIY app. The app, using a technology called Mimi Defined, will create a personalized hearing profile for the user and store that profile on the earphones locally. This will ensure that the user can enjoy that sound profile on any device later. The beyerdynamic Blue BYRD is currently available on online stores, including Headphonezone.in, Flipkart.in and Amazon.in (Available soon) for Rs. 10499. The MIY app is available for download through the Play Store and ...

Samsung W20 5G foldable phone to be introduced this November

After rumors, China Telecom has confirmed that Samsung W20 5G, the company's latest dual-screen flip phone will be announced this November. This is the successor of the W2019 that was introduced in November last year, but with a different design. All the Samsung's previous W series phones were flip phones with dual displays, one on the outside, and other one on the inside, but this looks like a foldable phone with a flip design, similar to the one showcased at the Samsung Developer Conference 2019 (SDC19) earlier this week. Earlier rumors said that the new model is said to be codenamed ‘Bloom’ with the model number SM-F700F, and is rumored to feature a 6.7-inch foldable display and a 1-inch cover display. Motorola already confirmed that new razr foldable phone will be introduced on November 13th, and the recent images revealed a foldable phone with a flip design that also has a screen on the outside. Source

Amazfit GTR Review – Smart and Classic

In a world full of modern gadgets that is supposed to get us more productive, we have become rather more comfortable. As a consequence, we have failed to realize that this human body adds fat if it becomes too comfortable. From being active to sedentary, in spite of reduced physical activity, we certainly did not reduce or think about our daily food intake. This is where activity trackers come in, to remind you that technology is really supposed to get us more productive. The watch always reminded us to be more productive, now there are smartwatches, so we can be more productive AND healthier (smarter) at the same time. First let me get things clear, Amazfit is a self-brand of Huami. Huami is a biometric and activity data-driven company with significant expertise in smart wearable technology. Also, Huami is a provider of wearable technology for Xiaomi and exclusive maker of the Mi Band. Since September 2015, Huami has begun to use the brand, Amazfit, to sell smart wearable products that are not designed and manufactured for Xiaomi to address the middle to high-end market. Amazfit GTR is an Activity Tracker Watch with a clean and perfect resemblance of a traditional wrist watch. ...

Worldwide smartphone shipments up 1% YoY in Q3 2019 showing signs of recovery, Samsung leads with 20% market share: Reports

Smartphone shipments for Q3 2019, after a long time, has seen growth of 1% compared to the same period last year. Reports released by Counterpoint Research and Canalys show smartphone shipments of 380 million and 352.4 million, respectively. International Data Center (IDC) is yet to publish their report on smartphone shipments. The top 5 players in the market are Samsung, HUAWEI, Apple, OPPO and Xiaomi. Samsung is reported to have sold approximately 78 million phones in Q3 with a growth of about 11% YoY, contributed by strong demand for its A series and its Note series. HUAWEI, while they face trouble with Google and USA, still held its second place with 66.8 million smartphone shipments, showing a growth of 29%. Its primary demand came from models released before it was on the USA entity list. It will be interesting to see its shipment numbers in Q4 once the sales of the post Entity-List models enter the global markets. At third place, Apple shipments fell by 7%, which is still higher than expected. Right before its September smartphone release cycle, iPhone sales always down. But with the release of the newer, cheaper iPhone 11, along with the strong positive reviews, these numbers should pick ...

Paytm introduces OTP-less offline and online card payments for transactions under Rs. 2000

Paytm has launched OTP-less offline and online card payments feature for transactions under Rs. 2,000. "This move will improve the overall payment flow in terms of transaction completion time and success rates while delivering superior user experience," said the company. Paytm has also tied up with Flipkart-owned Myntra that lets you pay using Paytm (cards, wallet & UPI). Regarding this, Paytm, said: A large number of our users spend less than Rs. 2,000 for their everyday frequent payments. The convenience of OTP-less single click payments will result in increased conversions in a more secure and convenient way. To avail the service, our customers can enable their saved card or add a new card for instant payments at offline retail stores or while using any of their Paytm services and also at the partnered platforms such as Uber, Zomato, Jio among many others.