Microsoft acquires Affirmed Networks to strengthen 5G portfolio

Microsoft's interest in 5G and its applications have been steadily increasing in recent times, with the latest news being its acquisition of Affirmed Networks, a company that is a fully virtualised cloud-based, network function virtualization solutions provider for network operators. Microsoft is working heavily in producing cloud-processing solutions for network operators in the telecom industry. They believe that previous generations of network technology was largely based on purpose-built hardware and with the 5G future, Microsoft is aiming to leverage its powerful cloud-computing platforms like of Microsoft Azure. With the purchase of Affirmed Networks, who has had more than 100 deployments in 76 countries, Microsoft has got another entry point into a segment of the telecommunications industry where it deems important. Some of Affirmed Networks clients include At&T, Vodafone, Orange, Digitalk, Softbank, etc. The hype for 5G's capabilities is constantly increasing but according to most, its nowhere close to full realisation of the technology's potential. Many segments of the market are mobilising to shift to the next generation, from cloud-computing companies like Microsoft and Google, networking hardware companies like Huawei and Ericcson, and end-consumer devices like Samsung and Huawei. Source

OPPO Reno Ace2 5G phone with punch-hole display, Snapdragon 865, quad rear cameras, 40W wireless charging get certified

Live image and case for the upcoming Reno Ace2 surfaced recently, now the phone has been certified by TENAA with the model number PDHM00. This shows the image of the phone, which confirms a punch-hole display with a large camera hole on the top left. It also confirms a circular quad camera arrangement on the back. 3C certification has confirmed the same phone with model number PDHM00 with support for fast charging up to 65W, same as the predecessor. Zhang Jialiang, head of OPPO's VOOC Flash Charge division has confirmed that the company's 40W wireless fast charging tech will be available commercially this year, so we can expect this in Reno Ace2. Based on earlier reports, the phone will be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 with Snapdragon X55 solution, and the body weight will be about 190g. The company might finally move to 120Hz from 90Hz in the Ace.  OPPO Vice President Brian Shen recently hinted that the launch of the phone in April. Source 1, 2

Airtel offers free access to thousands of e-books on Juggernaut Books

Airtel has enabled free access to thousands of titles on its e-books platform – Juggernaut Books (formerly known as Airtel Books) for all its customers for a limited period, few days after Indian Government announced a 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Airtel acquired a strategic stake in Juggernaut in 2017. Juggernaut Books offers e-books and novels across a wide range of genres – love and romance, business, history and politics, fitness, diet, spirituality and classics. You can access these books from Juggernaut app on Android and iOS. Adarsh Nair, Chief Product Officer, Bharti Airtel, said: In these unprecedented times, Airtel and Juggernaut are trying to make sure that people have more options to stay engaged as they observe social distancing. And what’s better than getting back to reading. At Airtel, we will continue to innovate and bring exciting digital content to customers across our platforms. Chiki Sarkar, Co-Founder, Juggernaut Books said: We set up juggernaut to find a new kind of reading and a new kind of reader for a changing India. That’s why we felt very strongly about doing something original and imaginative with the coronavirus and the country going in lockdown and people spending more time on their screens.

HUAWEI Sound X speaker with 360-degree sound, dual-subwoofers announced in partnership with Devialet

HUAWEI has partnered with luxury speaker maker Devialet, the creators of the ultra expensive Devialet Phantom and Phantom Reactor, to launch their new speaker, HUAWEI Sound X. It features advanced technologies like Speaker Active Matching, Hi-Res certification, Huawei Share and more. The design is similar to Apple's HomePod with a tubular design, housing six tweeters and dual subwoofers that can produce sound in 360°. In-built is Devialet's impressive °Speaker Active Matching technology which configures the speaker specifically to its characteristic. The bass can go as low as 40Hz and go up to a peak-to-peak amplitude of up to 20mm. HUAWEI has integrated Devialet's Push-Push Acoustic Design, which uses the symmetrical dual subwoofers to cancel out vibrations of the other, suppressing distortion at any volume and achieving up to SPL 93dB of clear, nuanced sound, at up to 144 watts of power. The 6 powerful tweeters use HUAWEI Sound algorithm to produce surround sound that can generate frequencies up to 40Khz. Other technologies in the Sound X include Hi-Res certification and HUAWEI share, with which audio can instantly play music on the speaker with a tap. On the top is a colourful ring along with laser carved touch sensitive buttons that can be used ...

HUAWEI Watch GT 2e with 1.39-inch AMOLED display, up to 14 days battery life announced

Along with the P40 series HUAWEI also introduced new HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e smartwatch in India. It includes a concealed crown that goes with the watch body that goes with the watch body to add an extra flourish, is equipped with a 1.39-inch AMOLED touch display, is powered by HUAWEI’s Kirin A1 wearable chip. For the first time, HUAWEI has introduced a blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring feature to the HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e in addition to precise heart rate monitoring, abnormal heart rate reminders, pressure level monitoring and sleep monitoring features that allow users to understand their health status in real time. The HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e supports 15 professional workout modes including eight outdoor activities and seven indoor activities. In professional workout modes, the HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e provides comprehensive monitoring that can track 190 types of data – all to help the users to get the most out of their workout. The HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e can also automatically detect 6 professional workout modes, offering a smarter sporting experience. The design of the HUAWEI WATCH GT 2e is sporty. Instead of following traditional designs where the watch face is separated from its strap, it possesses a classic round dial with ...

Apple’s 2020 5G iPhones may be delayed for months due to production issues

The Coronavirus pandemic is causing Apple to consider the idea of delaying its 5G iPhone as its product development schedule is being disrupted. Another reason for the delay is the reduced customer interest in buying new phones, especially new iPhones, thanks to the current economic climate. While two of its major competitors, Samsung and Huawei have already launched their first 5G devices, Apple is yet to do so. It would be in its interest to have its first 5G iPhone become really popular. But with the pandemic, there is a notable reduction in consumer interest in smartphones altogether. Along with this, there is still massive shortages there are massive shortages with Apple's supply chains. While China largely reports its recovery from the pandemic, industries are slow to open. Engineering development for the iPhone is further being slowed down by travel curbs by the US, owing to the worsening outbreak over there. Supply chain manufacturers have been informed to deliver parts by August, which is late considering normally the deadline is by June. Nothing is confirmed yet and worst case scenario, the launch of Apple's 5G iPhone pushed to next year. For now, Apple is preparing and planning for the worse outcomes too. Source

HUAWEI P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ with 6.58-inch Flex OLED 90Hz display, Ultra Vision Leica cameras and P40 announced

HUAWEI today announced its flagship P40, P40 Pro and P40 Pro+ smartphones in an online event as it had promised.  The P40 has a 6.1-inch FHD+ Flex OLED screen with 3.48mm, 4.47mm and 3mm ultra narrow borders on the top, bottom and sides, respectively. The P40 Pro and Pro+ feature 6.58-inch FHD+ Flex OLED Quad-curve Overflow Display with 2.65mm, 3.35mm and 1.71mm ultra narrow borders on the top, bottom and sides, respectively. These are powered by Kirin 990 and Kirin 990 5G  7nm SoCs with dedicated NPUs and run Android 10 with EMUI 10.0 on top with HMS. These have in-display fingerprint scanner that are 30% faster compared to the predecessor. These have 50MP Ultra Vision Camera with 1/1.28-inch sensor that has a 16-in-1 pixel fusion technology for binned pixel size measuring 2.44μm to massively boost light intake for enhanced low-light performance, f/1.9 aperture. In addition to the main camera, the P40 has 16MP  ultra-wide camera and 8MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. In addition to the main 50MP Ultra Vision Camera with OIS, the P40 Pro has 40 MP Cine Camera, 12 MP SuperSensing Telephoto Camera with OIS for 5x optical zoom + 3D Depth Sensing Camera.  In addition to the ...

Qualcomm QCC514X and QCC304X series ultra-low-power Bluetooth audio SoCs announced

Qualcomm has announced their successor to the QCC5100 and QCC30xx series Bluetooth audio SoC, called the QCC514X and Qualcomm QCC304X respectively. It offers many improvements like increased battery life and comfort, integrated dedicated hardware for Hybrid Qualcomm ANC, Voice Assistant support, premium wireless sound and more. One of the highlight technologies that has been developed for the new series is Qualcomm TrueWireless Mirroring technology. With it, only one earbud remains connected to the device while the other mirrors the connected earbud. The cool part is that it can rapidly swap the connection between the earbuds at any time and also manage a single Bluetooth address so that only one “device” shows up on the phone. Both SoCs' integrate Qualcomm's Hybrid ANC technology, which also offers super-low latency leak-through of the outside environment. Power consumption has also improved, with Qualcomm estimating 13 hours of playtime based on 65mAh battery. Other features include, Always on Voice  activation in premium QCC514X chip and push-button voice activation in the lower end QCC304X chip. Commenting on the launch, James Chapman, vice president and general manager, Voice, Music & Wearables, Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. said: Customers rely on us to help them deliver premium sound with long battery life and robust truly ...

Google Podcast with better discovery, progress sync and more now available for iOS

Just three days ago, a new update for Google Podcast was spotted for Android, which overhauled the UI, bringing a lot of sought after features. Now for the first time, Google has released its Podcast app for iOS, adding new features cross-platform progress sync, subscriptions for Web client and more. Just like its Android version, the iOS app is organised under 3 tabs: Home, Explore and Activity. The Home page will show new episode releases of the podcast shows that have been subscribed to. Each new episode will show a two line description preview, the length of podcast, a button to add to queue and a download button. At the top there will also be a carousel of subscribed podcasts. The Explore Tab has been redesigned to make discovery much easier now. There are tabs at the top that show various categories and the first tab, "For You" will show new show and episode recommendations related to your interests. These recommendations can also be edited from the Google Podcasts settings. And finally, the Activity tab will display your listen history, queued up episodes, and downloads. Automatic downloading and/or push notifications for new episodes can be set here. The new Google Podcasts for iOS is available ...

HUAWEI Watch GT and GT2 users get doorstep repair service launched in India

HUAWEI today announced  VIP Customer Services for the newly its HUAWEI Watch GT 2 and its predecessor HUAWEI Watch GT in India. It has also introduced no cost replacement policy for HUAWEI Watch GT 2 and GT during the warranty period. In case a HUAWEI smart watch shows manufacturing defects or performance related issues, HUAWEI will replace the watch if it is in the warranty period and as per its warranty policy. For those consumers whose watches are out of warranty, HUAWEI has introduced a special repair solution for its out-of-warranty watches. HUAWEI smart watch users can get spare parts, including strap, charging base, back cover, screen and main board, replaced for the out-of-warranty HUAWEI Watch GT 2 (46mm) & Huawei Watch GT. The spare part charges for out-of-warranty repair can be checked on HUAWEI India Website or Support App. Customers will also get 90 days warranty for the parts replaced during the out of warranty repair. HUAWEI will now provide pick and drop services for its smart watches in India. The group has also announced that the services will be marked by a record speed turnaround time with fast and best-in-class repair time service. Additionally, there will also be dedicated expert support. ...