Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ Launched: Price, Specs, Release Date & More

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S8 on Wednesday, its latest flagship smartphone boasting a new voice assistant and larger display as the technology titan looks to steal a march on Apple and regain ground after the embarrassing Note 7 saga. The device comes in two models with different screen sizes - the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus.

Some of the key features of the device include a so-called "infinity display", giving the device a bezel-less curved edge and a 12 megapixel back camera. For the top five features, click here. CNBC also got hands-on time with the product.

At the event, Samsung stressed how the new Galaxy S8 is the "start of a new era." The company also showcased its in-house voice-based virtual assistant named Bixby, which makes its debut on the flagship Galaxy S8. As expected, Samsung's Bixby will be taking on other voice-based virtual assistants powered by artificial intelligence including Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Amazon's Alexa. The Galaxy S8 will come with a set of pre-installed apps that will work with Bixby.

There were also rumour that Samsung S8 will sport a iris recognition but nothing like that is happening. As the name suggests, the bio-metric recognition scans iris to unlock the phone, verify Samsung account, and more. Additionally, both the devices also sport fingerprint scanner which is located at the back.

Samsung has also finally introduced its Microsoft Continuum-like feature, Samsung DeX, which will let users use smartphone like a computer by docking it to monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Similar to the Galaxy S7, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are dust and water resistant with IP68 certification. Both the handsets run on the company's UI based on Android 7.0 Nougat.

What is Bixby?
As explained by CNET, It's a three-parter that combines elements of voice commands with Google Now-style cards and image recognition.

Bixby Voice is the Siri/Google Voice Search/Amazon Alexa component that you speak commands to. But it'll be limited at launch. You can ask it to toggle your Wi-Fi settings, share a photo with someone and perform other phone-centric tasks, but you can't launch an internet search, like looking up the weather or asking when your favorite restaurant's going to close.

You start it by pressing and holding the Bixby button beneath the volume keys (like a walkie-talkie), or with a wake word -- Samsung will provide more details closer to the S8's sale date.

Bixby Home is like Google Now cards and it lives one swipe left of the home screen. It's a scrolling list of things like the weather and news stories, your step count, plus some recommendations for things you habitually do. For example, if you call the same person at 4 p.m. every day, Bixby Home will suggest the same when 4 o'clock rolls around. You can customize what you see in the settings, and share items with others.

Bixby Vision will feel eerily familiar to anyone who's ever used Google Goggles or Bing Vision on a throwback Lumia phone. A camera feature, it uses optical image recognition to extract text (OCR), identify objects and read QR codes. You can scan a book cover to shop for it, and learn more about wine through partner Vivino. It uses Google Translate to translate text in 52 languages, and Pinterest to assist with image search.

Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ specifications:
In terms of specifications, the Samsung Galaxy S8 features a 5.8-inch QHD+ (1440x2960 pixels) Super AMOLED display while the Galaxy S8+ sports a 6.2-inch QHD+ (1440x2960 pixels) Super AMOLED display. The company is terming these as Infinity Displays, and they are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5. Samsung also says the smartphones are the first to be certified by the UHD Alliance as Mobile HDR Premium.

Both the smartphones sport 12-megapixel 'Dual Pixel' rear camera with optical image stabilisation and an f/1.7 aperture, while there is an 8-megapixel front camera with autofocus on board as well, featuring an f/1.7 aperture. Both the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will come powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 835 SoC (2.3GHz Quad + 1.7GHz Quad) in the US, while most international markets (including India) will get the Exynos 8895 SoC (2.35GHz Quad + 1.9GHz Quad).

Variants which will be released in select markets, including most probably India. Both the handsets pack 4GB of RAM and come with 64GB inbuilt storage while also supporting expandable storage via microSD card (up to 256GB).

Connectivity options on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ include 4G LTE (Cat. 16), Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4GHz, 5GHz), Bluetooth v5.0, USB Type-C, NFC, and GPS. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, barometer, gyroscope, heart rate sensor, magnetometer, and proximity sensor. It also supports Samsung Pay, with NFC and MST connectivity.

Samsung S8 Release Date:
Samsung has now confirmed the Galaxy S8 release date: April 21 for the US, and April 28 for the rest of the world (including the UK) - although it hasn't given specific information on territories such as Australia.

You can pre-order the phone already and if you do so before April 19 you'll get the Samsung Galaxy S8 delivered to your door as soon as the April 20 if you're in the UK.

Samsung S8 Price:
While Samsung did not announce the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ price at its event, US carrier pricing has been obtained by The Verge. Verizon Wireless has the lowest rates, at $720 (roughly Rs. 46,700) for the Galaxy S8 and $840 (roughly Rs. 54,500) for the Galaxy S8+. Prices go up to $750 (roughly Rs. 48,700) and $850 (roughly Rs. 55,200) respectively.

Cheers!!!

Work on Two Applications in Windows 8/10 at Same Time

You are in your office and you are working on some document. You need to type all the data from that doc to your mail. Yes, you can copy paste it, but you need to update the data. How will you do that? Or lets say, You are chatting with someone on skype and need to prepare a document for that. How will you do that? Obviously, you will use the Alt+Tab button to switch between the apps. When you have to keep an eye on multiple tasks at once on Windows OS, then you can easily do without using any software or any other extra settings in Windows.

If you are using Windows 8 or say Windows 10, you can do it easily. You do not have to make any settings to open two active windows side by side. This is default feature provided by Windows, just follow the below steps to run two applications on the same screen.

1) Open both the applications you want to work on your PC. So that it will be shown at the bottom task bar of Windows OS.

2) Next, tap on the navigation bar on one of the application & drag it to the right end of the screen and release it. This will make it cover half of the Window screen.

3) Now go to another app from the bottom dock of opened apps. Click on the application to open.

4) Again tap & hold the navigation bar of the window & drag it to the left end of the window. This will cover another half of the screen.

Now you have two applications opened on the same screen. And you do not have to switch applications; you can seamlessly work on two windows by dividing the screen using this simpler way.

Cheers!!!

How to Stop Notifications from Facebook Group

Facebook is currently used by millions of people. They share photos, videos and uses many other of its features. Facebook consists of one more feature which you might be aware f, its a Group feature. This group can be created by you or you must have been added to some any of the group. Then you start receiving notifications for any activity that happens in the group. There are some groups which has added me. And every day or two i get many notifications.

When a group is having too many members and is very active, you receive lots of notifications which are of no use for you many times. So to turn off this notification, please follow the steps below for Android users. You don't have to un-follow the group for this, but you can turn off the notifications.

1) Open Facebook App and tap on the menu/hamburger icon.

2) The above steps will open the menu. Look for the App Settings and tap on it.

3) Here under General, tap on Notifications. This will list all the notification items you want to completely turn off.

4) Look for the Group option and tap on it to disable group notifications for all the Facebook groups you have joined.

This way you can turn off the notification for Android device.

How to turn off Facebook Group Notifications on PC/Web
1) Log in to your Facebook account on your PC.

2) Next, tap on the drop down icon at top right and then click on Settings as shown in the picture.

3) After this, look for the Notifications option on the left panel and click it. This will open notification settings on the right. Click on Edit as shown in the picture below.

4) Now scroll down and look for the Group activity and click on Edit.

5) The above step will pop up a window which will have all the joined Facebook groups.

6) Against each group, you will find options. Click on it and then choose Off to disable the notifications for that particular Group.

As you can see I have listed all the methods to turn off notifications for specific Facebook Group and for all the Facebook groups at once. Do let me know via comments if you have any problem while disabling Facebook Group notifications.

Cheers!!!

Relation Between Games and Studies {Infographics}

This infographic explains why games should be added in the educational syllabi. Nowadays, children are grown up in an environment where they develop a continuous sense of affiliation with the modern technology and gadgets; therefore, whenever children see such things, they feel at home with them. On the other hand, if children are given formal books at very early age, not only this would be troublesome for them, but it will also reduce their learning to a minimum because they aren’t accustomed to learning from books. The most important thing that we need to consider is that games are user-friendly educational technology which children love. Their familiarity with the games urges them more and more to play games.

It is not just a blind belief that games help children in their educational pursuits, but is also proved by different research. One prominent among them is the research made by Paul Howard Jones, who discovered that how exactly games help children to increase their creativity. The most important reason behind this is that games increase the level of dopamine in the brain, and dopamine is associated with creativity. Dopamine is also associated with making connections between neurons in our brains. Thus, the stronger the connections are, the easier it will be for us to remember things. The second important attribute of dopamine is that it increases our concentration level. Thus once all these connections are created in the brain, they make the physical basis for learning.

Co-produced by :Game Period & My Book Of Knowledge 

Another important reason why games should be added in the educational syllabus is that games motivate children. It is an acknowledged fact that we do things efficiently that we like because we are motivated by our desire. In a similar manner, as children are motivated by games, this motivation can be channelized in a positive manner for learning. “When students will play games, they will be making different actions, and if some action goes wrong, they will develop the ability to accept things instead of blaming others or throwing accusations at others,” says Kyle Ward who works at Game Period. Thus, games, in the longer run, will make them responsible persons.

Games are also responsible for the skill development in children: for instance, when children play games, they develop many important skills like problem-solving, collaboration, negotiation, and communication. All these skills are very important for their practical lives. There are different types of games available for children of different ages.

Cheers!!!

Samsung Pay Now in India: How to Use it & All You Need to Know

Samsung's mobile payment platform Samsung Pay is in India. The company's Apple Pay rival has reached Indian shores with a slew of bank tie-ups. India is the 12th country in the world to get Samsung Pay, others include South Korea, the US, China, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia. The platform gives Samsung smartphone users another digital mode to pay for their goods and services.

What is it?
It is a mobile payment platform similar to Apple Pay. Samsung smartphone users can use it to pay for goods and services, the way they use their credit cards and other payment apps.

Comes integrated with Paytm
Samsung Pay comes with e-payment app Paytm integrated. To get Paytm enabled, users need to add Paytm through Wallet option. Then link it with your registered phone number.

Supports UPI
Samsung Pay supports the government's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payment system into its app.

How is authentication done
The authentication on Samsung Pay is done via fingerprint or four-digit pin entered. According to Samsung, the platform offers three levels of security: biometric, card tokenisation and the company's in-house Knox security platform.

Supports both NFC and MST
Samsung Pay works with Samsung's patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology as well as with Near Field Communication (NFC). Through MST, merchants can accept payments on regular card machines. This means that Samsung Pay will also work on machines that don't support NFC.

For those wondering how to install Samsung Pay, here's a step-by-step guide

Option A: 
If you have installed the Android software update and you can see the Samsung Pay icon on your device, follow the below steps:
1. Ensure that you have Samsung Account added (Settings > Accounts > Add Samsung Account)
2. Click on Samsung Pay icon to download and install the Samsung Pay app
3. Setup Samsung Pay & start using the app to pay

Option B: 
This is for users who do not find the Samsung Pay icon on their devices.
1. Ensure that the device software is updated to the latest Android software
2. To check, go to Settings > About device and update the software
3. Once this is done, they should be able to see the Samsung Pay icon on their devices.

Incidentally, Samsung Pay doesn't run on on all company's smartphones as of now. The list of compatible devices comprises Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy A7 (2017), Galaxy A5 (2017), Galaxy A7 (2016) and Galaxy A5 (2016).

Also, the Samsung Pay comes with e-payment app Paytm integrated. To get Paytm enabled, users just need to add the mobile payment app through the Wallet option in Samsung Pay. They also need to link it to their registered phone numbers.

Cheers!!!

Now Aadhaar Made Mandatory for Mobile Connections

After income tax returns and PAN cards, the government will make it mandatory to produce an Aadhaar card for acquiring or maintaining a mobile connection. The department of telecom (DoT) on Friday issued directives to telecom operators to re-verify their subscribers — both prepaid and postpaid — through an Aadhaar-based eKYC process by February 6, 2018. This order follows the Supreme Court order of February 6, 2017 that Aadhaar-based eKYC verification should be done for all mobile phone numbers in the country.

The order issued by the DoT to telecom operators on Friday directs them to re-verify their customers on both prepaid and postpaid plans through an Aadhaar-based eKYC (know your customer) process by 6 February 2018. Any unverified mobile phone number, or any number not linked to Aadhaar, will be illegal after the mentioned date.

The Aadhaar-based e-KYC would also be mandatory for customers who are planning to get a new mobile connection. Operators have also been asked to send a confirmation verification code to it subscribers to ensure that SIM cards are physically available with the subscribers before initiating the e-KYC process.

The new order to connect mobile phone connections to Aadhaar comes shortly after the Supreme Court announced in February that all phone numbers in India should have verified users. Mobile phone operators have been asked to inform their customers through any means possible, including print and TV adverts as well as SMSes, about the new Supreme Court order on the re-verification process.

Cheers!!!

LG Stylus 3 Launched in India at Rs 18,500 With Stylus & 3GB RAM

LG has quietly introduced the Stylus 3 smartphone in India. Priced at Rs. 18,500, the LG Stylus 3 is now listed on the company's website, and can be expected to go on sale in the coming days. The device will launch with Android 7.0 Nougat and will be available in Metallic Titan and Pink Gold colour variants.

The LG Stylus 3 was launched in December, and was showcased at the CES 2017. At the global launch, LG had claimed that the Stylus 3 will strengthen the company's portfolio in the mid-range segment.

The LG Stylus 3 features a 5.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with a pixel density of 258ppi. The handset is powered by an octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor clocked at 1.5GHz. It packs a 3GB of LPDDR3 RAM and comes with 16GB inbuilt storage, and supports expandable storage via microSD card (up to 2TB). It sports a 13-megapixel rear CMOS autofocus camera and an 8-megapixel front camera. Both cameras are accompanied by LED flash.

The handset is backed by a 3200mAh removable battery and it runs on Android 7.0 Nougat. As the name suggests, the LG Stylus 3 supports stylus pen and comes with 4G LTE connectivity feature.

LG packs in a “Pen Pop 2.0” stylus with a “Precision Tip”, as they call it. The software is designed to respond to the stylus, so when you pop it out of its little hidey hole, you get a ‘Pop’ menu to tap. The menu includes direct shortcuts to Pop Memo, Capture +, Pop Scanner, Quick Memo, thumbnail previews of notes when the pen comes out. The phone also has apps that support features like perspective corrected cropping, writing memos when the screen is off, and more.

The Pen Keeper feature will keep notifying users about putting back the stylus back in the device. The smartphone also comes with fingerprint scanner located at the back panel and it lets you use it with touch shutter and touch screenshot features.

Cheers!!!

Xiaomi Redmi 4A With 4G VoLTE Support Launched in India: Specs & More

After the success of the Redmi Note 4 in India, Xiaomi has launched the Redmi 4A smartphone. The smartphone features a polycarbonate body and is priced at Rs 5,999 and launches on 23 March at 12PM on Amazon.in and mi.com. Users will be able to pre-order the Redmi 4A soon, even when the device will be out of stock. Xiaomi Redmi 4A will come in Dark grey, Gold and Rose Gold colour variants. The Rose colour option will be available beginning April 6.

The smartphone feautures a 5-inch IPS LCD screen with 1280×720 pixels display resolution. Running on Android Marshmallow OS with MiUI, the Redmi 4A is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 chipset with a quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and an Adreno 308 GPU.

The Xiaomi Redmi 4A rear camera has a 13-megapixel sensor with PDAF, a 5-lens system, an f/2.2 aperture, and is backed by a LED flash. The front camera bears a 5-megapixel sensor with an f/2.2 aperture. Redmi 4A comes with 16GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB).

The primary camera is a 13 MP, f/2.2 aperture unit, while a 5 MP shooter is incharge of selfie duties on the front. Xiaomi Redmi 4A connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS/ A-GPS, and Bluetooth v4.1.

Sensors on board the smartphone include accelerometer, ambient light, gyroscope, infrared, and proximity. Dimensions of the new Xiaomi smartphone are 139.5x70.4x8.5mm, and it weighs in at 131.5 grams. Redmi 4A is powered by a 3120mAh battery with fast charging support.

Cheers!!!

Nubia Z11 Mini S With 23-Megapixel Camera Launched in India

Nubia has announced its Z11 Mini S smartphone with a focus on camera. Nubia Z11 Mini S packs a 23MP rear camera coupled with a 13MP front shooter. The device is priced at Rs 16,999 and will be exclusively available on Amazon starting March 21 at 4 PM IST on Tuesday in Khaki Grey and Moon Gold colour variants.. “nubia is a metronome when it comes to pushing user experience. The Z11 Mini S will lead the way in camera phone.

The biggest highlight of the Nubia Z11 mini S - the fourth model in the Nubia Z11 series - is its rear camera. Nubia has decided to use a 23-megapixel rear camera with a Sony IMX318 Exmor RS sensor and phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) that is coupled with contrast autofocus and said to focus on objects in as little as 0.1 seconds. Other rear camera specifications include an f/2.0 aperture and a sapphire protective lens. On the front, it bears a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 CMOS sensor with PDAF and contrast autofocus, an f/2.0 aperture, and an 80-degree wide-angle lens.

Nubia Z11 Mini S features a 5.2-inch full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. The pixel density is 424ppi with a brightness of 450 nits. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. Nubia Z11 Mini S is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 MSM8953 processor clocked at 2.0 GHz with Adreno 506 GPU. The Z11 Mini S packs 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM (expandable up to 200GB via a microSD card). Nubia Z11 Mini S is backed by a non-removable 3000mAh battery. It comes with support for company’s NeoPower energy saving algorithm.

The fingerprint sensor comes with support for unlocking, screenshot and pictures. Nubia Z11 Mini S is weighs 158 grams and is 7.6 mm thin. This is a dual SIM device that supports TD-LTE and FDD-LTE networks. It supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac wireless networks, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS and GLONASS. Sensors on the device include Electronic compass, G-sensor, Light sensor, Gyro-sensor and Proximity sensor.

Cheers!!!

Apple iPhone SE Available in India For Rs 19,999

Apple iPhone SE is more than a year old now. Originally unveiled in March 2016, the phone came to India in April 2016. The launch price was Rs. 39,900. Since then, the smartphone has received several price cuts. Lately, Flipkart began to sell the iPhone SE for Rs. 29,999, while Amazon.in brought it further down to around Rs. 26,500. Now a Kerala-based retailer named ITNET Infocom has announced to sell the 16 GB iPhone SE for Rs. 19,999 and 64 GB one at just Rs. 25,999.

While no official price cut has been announce by Apple for the iPhone SE - the 16GB variant still has a MRP of Rs. 39,000, and the 64GB variant of Rs. 44,000 - Gadgets 360 understands Apple distributors have been aggressively discounting the iPhone SE recently, and the latest offer is part of a push to clock in additional revenue before the close of the financial year. The 16GB iPhone SE had been going for between Rs. 27,000 and Rs. 29,000 recently, and now retailers are offering it for as low as Rs. 24,999, with the Rs. 5,000 cash back dropping the effective price to Rs. 19,999.

The 16 GB variant is costing a whopping Rs. 19,000 less than its original launch price, while the 64 GB has got a discount of Rs. 23,000. It certainly looks like that Apple is also taking part in the price war which the entire smartphone industry in India is fighting. The latest price cutting makes the iPhone SE cheaper in India than the USA.Tweeting about the new pricing scheme, the retailer has mentioned a clause too. It has stated that the pricing is only valid for card purchases. ITNET Infocom has even given out a contact number which you may call to book your iPhone SE. With this, we suspect that online retailers will soon come up with discounts on the phone.

While no official price cut has been announce by Apple for the iPhone SE - the 16GB variant still has a MRP of Rs. 39,000, and the 64GB variant of Rs. 44,000

iPhone SE Now available in India at Lower price than US. 16 GB @ 19999 64 GB @ 25999 . Offer only for Card Purchase . Call us at 9995800818 pic.twitter.com/815jKF4m5h

— ITNET (@itnetinfocom) March 18, 2017

Tweeting about the new pricing scheme, the retailer has mentioned a clause too. It has stated that the pricing is only valid for card purchases. ITNET Infocom has even given out a contact number which you may call to book your iPhone SE. With this, we suspect that online retailers will soon come up with discounts on the phone.

The iPhone SE cash back offer, which kicked off on Friday, will be available till March 31. Credit cards issued by following banks are eligible for the iPhone SE cash back offer: Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Kotak, RBL Bank, SBI, Standard Chartered, UBI, and Yes Bank. Debit cards issued by these banks will qualify for the Rs. 5,000 cash back: Axis Bank, Citibank, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, Indusind Bank, Kotak, RBL Bank, Standard Chartered, and Yes Bank.

Cash back will be posted back to the card "within 90 days", and Gadgets 360 understands only one iPhone can be purchased per card under this offer. The iPhone SE cash back offer is not open to American Express customers. The cash back is not available if you wish to buy the iPhone SE on EMI using your credit or debit card.

Cheers!!!

Cat S60 Rugged Smartphone With Thermal Camera Launched at Rs 64,999

After being unveiled at MWC 2016, the Cat S60 rugged smartphone was launched in India on Thursday. Priced at Rs. 64,999, the smartphone will be available from high-end multi-brand retail outlets as well as Amazon India from Friday, March 17.

Cat, or Caterpillar, is a US-based construction machinery manufacturing company. The company back in 2013 licensed its brand to UK-based Bullitt Mobile, which has since been producing Cat-branded feature phones, smartphones, as well as accessories, with an emphasis on durability and ruggedness.

The Cat S60's highlight feature is the presence of the FLIR Lepton Thermal Microcamera Module on the rear panel, and the company claims the S60 is the world's first smartphone with an integrated thermal camera. This, according to the company, offers numerous use cases. With the thermal camera, they can detect heat loss around windows and doors; spot moisture and missing insulation; identify over-heating electrical appliances and circuitry, and see in complete darkness.

The FLIR thermal camera on the Cat S60 can pick up heat and measure surface temperatures from a distance of up to 50 to 100 feet, which as per the company lets users see through obscurants such as smoke. It is ideal for professionals, utility workers, outdoor sports enthusiasts, and emergency first responders, the company said. The company is also touting a high-quality speaker that is capable of outputting at over 150dB.

Apart from the thermal camera, the Cat S60 is known for its rugged durability with a MIL-STD 810G rating to be able to withstand extreme temperatures (-25 degrees Celsius to 55 degrees Celsius), as well as shocks and drops (from up to 6 feet). It is also IP68-certified, with the company specifying the Cat S60 can withstand immersion in up to 5 metres of water for up to 1 hour.

The smartphone comes with a dedicated SOS button+ , which can send out location to the pre-programmed contacts in case of an emergency. The users can also customise the short press and long press of the key in order to launch the application.

The dual-SIM (Nano-SIM) Cat S60 smartphone runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It sports a 4.7-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display with wet finger and glove support, apart from Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. It is powered by a Snapdragon 617 SoC (4 cores clocked at 1.2GHz and 4 cores clocked at 1.5GHz) coupled with 3GB of RAM.

Apart from the FLIR thermal camera, the Cat S60 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with underwater capabilities and dual-LED flash, as well as a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. It features 32GB of inbuilt storage that is expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). Connectivity options include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.1, NFC, Micro-USB with OTG, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It supports only FDD-LTE 1800MHz (Band 3), and not TDD-LTE 2300MHz (Band 40), skipping on of the primary 4G LTE bands used by telecom operators in India.

The Cat S60 features a strengthened die cast frame, measures 147.9x73.4x12.66mm, and weighs in at 223 grams. It is powered by a non-removable 3800mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 30 hours of talk time, and 43 days of standby time. Sensors on board include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, gyroscope, magnetometer, and a proximity sensor.

Cheers!!!

Things You Should Know Before Buying Moto G5 Smartphone

Lenovo-owned Motorola has just launched its fifth-generation Moto G smartphone -- Moto G5 plus. The all-new smartphone expands the company's Moto G series known to offer 'good specifications' in budget segment. Moto G5 plus' predecessor -- Moto G4 Plus -- is claimed to be one of the company's bestseller in the Indian market.

Unveiled at MWC 2017 in February this year, the smartphone comes to India within a fortnight of its global launch. At a starting price of Rs 14,999, the new Moto G5 plus offers several firsts. It is a good phone to go for but there is something that you should know before buying the phone.

So here is all that you need to know:

1. Metal Body:
Moto G5 Plus is the first smartphone in the Moto G-series to sport a metal unibody design. The smartphone comes in two colour option -- Lunar Grey and Fine Gold.

2. No Google Assistance:
At the global launch event of the smartphone, Moto G5 Plus was touted as the first non-Pixel smartphone and does not support Google Assistant out of the box.

3. First segment phone to come with Android Nougat:
Moto G5 Plus is the first smartphone in its price segment to come with Google's latest Android operating system Nougat out-of-the-box.

4. Comes with Stock Android experience:
Moto G5 Plus comes with near stock Android experience. This means that unlike other smartphones there is no UI or customizations on top. Moto G smartphones are sure to get Android updates faster vis-a-vis other Android smartphones in the market.

5. Moto G5 is Not Water Proof:
Moto G5 Plus is not water-proof (like all its rivals). The smartphone is splash-and dust-resistant.

6. 64GB variant not launched in India:
The company has not launched the smartphone's 64GB variant here. In India, Moto G5 Plus comes in two variants -- 3GB RAM and 16GB storage and 4GB RAM and 32GB storage.

7. Good specs for the offered price:
The dual-SIM Moto G5 Plus smartphone runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 processor. It has a 5.2-inch full-HD IPS display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection. On camera front, there's 12MP rear camera with f/1.7 aperture and 4K video support.

So, if all this points are acceptable then you can surely go for this smartphone or you have many other phones in same range with more specs and features.

Cheers!!!

Intex Aqua Trend Lite With 4G VoLTE, Front Flash Launched at Rs 5,690

After the Intex Aqua Strong 5.1+, the smartphone company has decided to launch the Intex Aqua Trend Lite smartphone in India. It is essentially a cheaper variant of the Intex Aqua Trend smartphone launched in August 2015. The Intex Aqua Trend Lite is priced at Rs. 5,690, comes with 4G VoLTE support, and has been launched in a Champagne colour.

The company touts the in-built 1.5W speaker as the big highlight as it promises good audio quality and volume. As for specifications, the Intex Aqua Trend Lite runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and support dual-SIM functionality. It has a 5-inch (480x854 pixels) FWVGA TN display, and the smartphone is powered by a 1.2GHz MediaTek MT6737M quad-core chip with Mali-T720 GPU and 1GB of RAM. There's 8GB of internal storage with the option to expand further via a microSD card slot (up to 128GB).

As for optics, the Intex Aqua Trend Lite sports a 5-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash, and a 2-megapixel selfie camera with an LED flash as well. The smartphone packs a 2600mAh battery that claims to last up to 200 hours of standby time and 8 hours of talk time. Connectivity options include 3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, and GPS.

The Intex Aqua Trend Lite's dimensions measure at 146.6x73x11.5mm, and the smartphone weighs 160 grams. The device also comes equipped with Intex's in-house Value Added Services (VAS) like MiFon Security, LFTY, Vistoso, and Tap & Buy.

Cheers!!!

Coolpad Note 5 Lite With 4G VoLTE Support, 3GB RAM Launched at R 8,199

Coolpad on Thursday launched a new smartphone in India, the Coolpad Note 5 Lite. As the name suggests, the smartphone is the basic version of the Coolpad Note 5, which was launched in India back in September. The smartphone will go on sale exclusively via Amazon India from Tuesday, March 21. The Coolpad Note 5 Lite price is Rs. 8,199, and will be available in Gold and Grey colour variants.

The dual-SIM Coolpad Note 5 Lite runs Cool UI 8.0, based on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It bears a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) 2.5D curved glass IPS display with a pixel density of 294ppi and a 70.6 percent screen-to-body ratio. It is powered by a 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735CP SoC coupled with 3GB of RAM and a Mali 720 GPU. It sports a 13-megapixel rear camera with dual-LED flash, and an 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash. It bears a fingerprint sensor on the back panel.

The Coolpad Note 5 Lite has 16GB of inbuilt storage that's expandable via microSD card (up to 64GB), and also features USB OTG support. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0, 3.5mm audio jack, and Micro-USB.

Sensors on board include accelerometer, ambient light sensor, and proximity sensor. It is powered by a 2500mAh battery that's rated to deliver up to 200 hours of standby time, weighs 148 grams, and measures 145.3x72.3x8.7mm.

Cheers!!!

SanDisk Launches 256 GB Ultra Extreme Pro & Extreme Go MicroSD Card

SanDisk the WD-owned flash storage company, on Thursday announced "the next level in flash technology" with the launch of its newest products for the Indian market - the Extreme Pro and Extreme Go USB flash drives and SanDisk Ultra 256GB microSD card. The SanDisk Ultra 256GB microSD card is priced at Rs. 18,990 and will be available from April 1 at retail outlets. The products were first unveiled at CES 2017.

The USB drives were launched boasting of SSD speeds. The SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 flash drive comes in 64GB and 128GB storage capacities with up to 200MBps read speed and 150MBps write speeds, while the Extreme Pro USB 3.1 Solid State flash drive is being offered in 128GB and 256GB options with read speeds up to 420MBps and write speeds of up to 380MBps.

The SanDisk Extreme Pro drive comes in an aluminium casing with a built-in SanDisk SecureAccess software. A RescuePRO Deluxe service is also offered that helps you recover any lost data. At the event, the company demoed the transfer speed of the new Extreme Pro 3.1, uploading a nearly 4GB file on to the drive under 15 seconds. Meanwhile, the SanDisk Extreme Go drive promises to transfer the same amount in under a minute.

The SanDisk Ultra 256GB microSD card is claimed to be the world's first with Application Performance Class 1 (A1), and was unveiled at CES 2017. The A1 compliance means Android apps are loaded in a matter of seconds from the microSD card. The high-end microSD card will store apps from devices running Android 6.0 and higher.

The Extreme Pro is priced at Rs. 8,490 for 128GB and Rs. 13,990 for 256GB, while the Extreme Go is offered at Rs. 3,990 for 64GB and Rs. 5,990 for 128GB - both will be available on Amazon India and select retail outlets.

Cheers!!!

Paytm to Now Levy 2% Fee on Wallet Recharge Using Credit Card

Digital payments firm Paytm on Wednesday announced that it will charge a 2 percent deposit fee from users who top up their Paytm Wallet using credit cards. According to Paytm, this was being done to combat misuse of its zero-fee transfers, explaining that savvy users were rotating their cash through the wallet to earn essentially "free" money in the form of reward points. Paytm said that to ensure that genuine users don't lose money, it will return the 2 percent charge in the form of coupons that can be used on its platform.

Paytm has started levying the fee however, adding money using other payment options like debit cards and net banking would remain free. This may surprise normal users like most of us but for a savvy user, it meant freebies at Paytm's cost," Paytm said in a blog post.

As noted in the post announcing this decision, since November, Paytm has been allowing users to take cash out of the wallet to their bank accounts at no charge. Typically, cashing out has attracted a fee from wallets. At the same time, Paytm and other wallets haven't charged fees for depositing cash into their systems. This meant that credit card users could fill up their Paytm wallets using the card, then transfer that money back to their bank accounts, at no charge. "They were not only getting free loyalty points which effectively is free cash but also getting access to free credit," Paytm noted.

Incidentally, Paytm pays fee to card networks or banks whenever you use any payment instrument like any other online commerce company. Paytm pays a hefty charges when you use your credit card to card networks and issuing banks. If user simply adds money and takes to bank, we lose money. Our revenue model requires users to spend money within our network and we make money from the margins available to us on various products/services we offer.

To avoid the misuse, Paytm "will put two per cent fee (inclusive of taxes) only on adding money to wallet using credit cards", it added. Paytm said it would issue a discount coupon for same amount within 24 hours of adding money using credit cards. Earlier this month, Paytm had said it has blocked transactions through some credit cards and had put a transaction engine in place to detect such attempts.

There are a couple of other caveats listed on the FAQ page. For one, these refund coupons will only be given when the amount you're filling up is more than Rs. 250. If your transaction is lower than that, you will not get a coupon. Also, you will get a fresh coupon every time you top-up Paytm using a credit card, these coupons can not be clubbed, and have to be applied manually and individually. Also, these coupons can only be used in a single transaction. Also, the coupon isn't applied as a discount on the transaction - it gives you an instant cashback to your Paytm wallet.

The coupons can also be used for bill payments, recharges, and so on, as these are not limited to shopping on Paytm Mall. The vouchers will expire on December 31, 2017, but the FAQ mentions that this can be extended on request.

Paytm is applying these charges only on wallet recharges done using credit cards, so if you're using a debit card, net banking, or UPI/ IMPS payments, then you are not affected by this move.

Cheers!!!

Xiaomi Unveils Smart Shoes With Intel Technology Inside

The Chinese company has expanded its product range even further as it has launched its smart shoes powered by Intel technology. The 90 Minutes Ultra Smart Sportswear running shoes come powered with Intel’s Curie module. It is priced at 300 Yuan (approximately Rs 2,900) and is available through Xiaomi’s crowd funding platform Mijia. Initial shipments are expected to begin from April 15.

The 90 Minutes Ultra Smart Sportswear are Xiaomi’s first smart shoes and come built-in with Intel Curie – the button-sized chip that stores fitness data in real-time. Developed in China by Shanghai Runmi Technology Co Ltd, the smart shoes have been designed for professional athletes.

The smart shoes from Xiaomi, developed by Shanghai-based Runmi Technology Co. Ltd, come with 60 days of battery life and have Intel's compact Curie chip that stores all the fitness related data, reports GizChina. The shoes are reportedly aimed at professional runners/athletes and come with arch design and anti-skid features.

In terms of designing, the smart shoes use foam-like material that offers comfort. The sole has also been designed with arch support and anti-skid feature. Other features include antibacterial removable insoles and air cushion. With the Intel Curie module at its heart, the 90 Minutes Ultra Smart Sportswear smart shoes are capable of detecting movement and store data including distance covered, speed, calories lost, etc.

It can further track movements including walking, running, and climbing. The smart shoes from Xiaomi are available in Black and Surf Blue colour options for men while Black and Pink colour options for women. Further there is a special "Blue Edition" of the shoes that glows in the dark.

It should be noted that these shoes are currently available for purchase exclusively in China. There is also a special edition luminous Blue edition that is meant for athletes who like late evening or early morning runs and want themselves to be visible to motorists or other vehicles while on the road.

Lenovo Vibe B With 4G Support Reportedly Launched in India at Rs. 5,799

Lenovo has reportedly launched a new entry-level smartphone for the Indian market, called Vibe B. The India launch of the Lenovo Vibe B was reported by an established Mumbai-based retailer, who claims the smartphone has been priced at Rs. 5,799 and will be available from Friday, March 10.

The Lenovo Vibe B smartphone will come in Matte Black and Matte White colour options. Notably, the smartphone has been listed on the company's global site - but it's not yet listed on the company's India site.

The Android 6.0 Marshmallow-based Lenovo Vibe B sports a 4.5-inch (480x854 pixels) FWVGA IPS display and is powered by a 1GHz quad-core MediaTek MT6735M 64-bit processor coupled with 1GB of RAM. The smartphone is said to sport a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

The smartphone bears 8GB of inbuilt storage, which is expandable via microSD card (up to 32GB). The Lenovo Vibe B packs a 2000mAh removable battery which claims to offer 11.3 hours of talktime and 7.3 days active standby on 4G network.

Connectivity options for the Lenovo Vibe B include 4G LTE, 3G, GPRS/EDGE, Wi-Fi, GPS/ A-GPS, GLONASS, Wi-Fi Direct, WLAN, Bluetooth 3.0, USB OTG, and Micro-USB. The smartphone also features a 3.5mm headphone jack and FM radio. The handset measures 132.5x66x9.9mm and weighs 144 grams.

Source: NDTV

Cheers!!!

WhatsaApp Text Status Feature is Now Available: How to Use It

Its finally a day come true for many WhatsApp users. Remember the new Status feature that WhatsApp has introduced some days back. Many people hated it and tweeted the same. That was actually an un-necessary update. Above that, along with this feature WhatsApp had removed the Text Status feature which almost all the WhatsApp user didn't liked. So many users requested to bring it back. It was met with a lot of criticism from many users who wanted the old text-based status message back.

Now, with WhatsApp's latest beta, the company is testing just that. In the latest Android beta version 2.17.95, users are now seeing the revival of the old status message feature. It seems that the testing has been and this feature has introduced back with a new name "About". It was supposed to be "TagLine" but then the name finally decided was "About".

Now you can again set text status for WhatsApp. To do so, Open your WhatsApp, click on the option (3 dot) button. Then go to Settings. From there click on your Name. You will be displayed an option for changing the Display Pic (DP) and below that you will see About and Number option. Click there and now you can change your status.

You know what is the best part, all your previous status that you stored all are now available. All the status messages that you saved are again in the list.

Notably, this About and phone number section is not visible to all beta users as yet. Within the Gadgets 360 team, only a few members saw the feature despite others being on the WhatsApp v2.17.95 for Android. I was the lucky one to have it updated and can see this feature.

The revival of the text status doesn't mean that the new WhatsApp Status feature will disappear. It still very much exists in a separate tab where you can add photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours, just like Snapchat. The tab also lists all the new updates from your contacts in the same format as you see on Snapchat. Unfortunately, there's no way (yet) to disable this feature completely.

Cheers!!!

Gmail Can Now Receive Attachments upto 50MB in Size

Almost everyone who uses Gmail, or any kind of email service for that matter, sends and receives attachments on a daily basis. Apart from conveniently sharing files using Google Drive, email attachments are still very much prevalent in the Gmail ecosystem. Today Google is expanding email's capabilities some more, at least in terms of the Gmail system. According to the latest Gsuite blog post, Gmail users can now open attachments in incoming mail of up to 50 megabytes in size.

Keeping this in mind, the good people at Google have decided that all of us Gmail users can now receive attachments upto 50MB, up from the 25MB limit imposed earlier. However, the sending size limit will remain the same at 25MB, and Google recommends that users who wish to share files larger than 25MB, should use Google Drive. Google Drive allows users to share files upto 5TB in size, given that the user's drive account has ample storage.

Considering that the attachments often ended up exceeding the earlier size limit, this can be seen as a welcome move by the company. Needless to point out but users who want to exchange larger files can always choose to use search giant's Drive service, which is already integrated with Gmail.

"Sending and receiving attachments is an important part of email exchanges. While Google Drive offers a convenient way to share files of any size, sometimes you need to receive large files as direct email attachments," Google said in its blog post.

The company says that the change will come into effect for all users over the coming days. It would be interesting to see if the company increases the size cap on the emails that can be sent from its Gmail client going ahead or decides to retain it.

In addition to this update, Google has also announced new productivity features for Android users, namely the support of Exchange tasks within the Android Gmail app. With it, tasks are synced with Exchange for easy access from mobile; editing, creating, and flagging are supported.

Cheers!!!

Reliance Jio Prime Membership Plans Unveiled: Here's Everything You Need to Know

Finally, the end of free internet from Jio is going to end very soon. Mukesh Ambani made it clear last month that the free data party’s ending at the end of this month -- not extending until end of June. It means that people has to do something that they have not done since September 1st 2016. They have to now pay for using internet. Insn't that sad? Yes, it is.

After clocking its record-breaking 100 million users in 170 days of its launch, on Wednesday Reliance Jio introduced the ‘Jio Prime Subscription’ services under which customers are allowed to choose low-cost plans if they wish to continue their services.

Reliance Jio has unveiled prepaid and postpaid data plans for its Prime as well as non-Prime members. Enrollment for the Jio Prime membership has already started, and will go on till March 31. Users will need to pay Rs 99 as subscription fees and recharge with one of the Jio Prime packs for getting Jio Prime membership. For prepaid users, the minimum recharge amount is Rs 149. Reliance Jio will be a paid service starting April 1.

For customers, who decide to come onto the Jio network on or after March 3, they will have to pay the subscription charge upfront (Rs 99) while taking the connection. Customers can register for Prime membership via MyJio app or Jio.com or walk in to an offline Jio store.
The company will keep optimising its data tariffs to offer 20 per cent more value to its customers compared to rivals. The move is aimed at attracting more users on the Reliance Jio network, which has 100 million customers currently.

Reliance Jio is offering more benefits to its Prime members at the same tariff as compared to non-Prime members. The prepaid plans for Jio Prime members start at Rs 19 and go up to Rs 9,999. Postpaid plans, on the other hand, start at Rs 303 and go up to Rs 999. On Jio, Voice calls, roaming, SMSes and access to Jio apps worth Rs 10,000 is free for all Jio members.

• Rs. 303 per month: Unlimited free voice calls, 28GB of 4G data billed on a 28 day cycle. FUP of 1GB per day. No other restrictions.
• Rs 499 per month: Unlimited free voice calls, 56GB of 4G cellular data billed for 28 days, with FUP of 2GB per day. No other restrictions.
• Rs 999 for 60 days: Unlimited free voice calls, 60GB of 4G cellular data for 60 days, no FUP, no other restrictions.
• Rs 1,999 for 90 days: Unlimited free voice calls, 125GB of 4G cellular data for a period of 90 days, no FUP, no other restrictions.
• Rs 4,999 for 180 days: Unlimited free voice calls, 350GB of 4G cellular data to be used within 180 days, no FUP, no other restrictions.
• Rs 9,999 for 360 days: Unlimited free voice calls, 750GB of 4G cellular data to be used within 360 days, no FUP, no other restrictions.

If you’re on the Rs 999, Rs 1,999, Rs 4,999 or Rs 9,999 plan, and you run out of data in the middle of the time duration, Jio Booster Packs will help you get 100MB 4G data for Rs 11; 1GB 4G data for Rs 51; 2GB data at Rs 91; 5GB data at Rs 201, and 10GB data at Rs 301.
What’s more, Jio’s prepaid plan start at the following price brackets:

• Rs 19: One day validity, 200MB of 4G data
• Rs 49: Three days validity, 600MB 4G data
• Rs 96: Seven days validity, 7GB 4G data, FUP 1GB per day
• Rs 149: Offers 28 days validity, 2GB 4G data and 100 SMS limit.

Cheers!!!

Rollback to Old WhatsApp Status Feature on Rooted & Non-Rooted Android Device

As we all know that WhatsApp has recently rolled the new Status update. Many were happy with this, but, more than many were sad for it too. This includes me also. Old status was a feature which everyone was aware of and were knowing the importance of it. Then, recently, a news came that the text status feature will be coming back with a new identity as "TagLine". Now, we have to wait and see about this. 

This feature is still hidden but will soon be available. In the mean time, if you want the old status feature, then now that is possible.

Rollback to Old WhatsApp Status on Non-rooted devices:
If your smartphone is non-rooted then you can easily get back the Old WhatsApp status  by installing WhatsApp version 2.17.60. To download it, click here. Once you install it, you can get back the old text status feature. Also, make sure you properly restore all the your message. To know more click here.

Rollback to Old WhatsApp Status on Rooted devices:
If you happen to have a rooted Android device, then you can change the value in the WhatsAppp configuration (xml) file which will enable the old WhatsApp Status, without needing to install old version. Follow below steps:

Backup your current chat history. Then Force Stop the WhatsApp by going to Settings -> Apps -> WhatsApp -> Force Stop.
Now navigate to the Root Folder of your device. Then go to.

/data/data/com.whatsapp/shared_prefs/

You will find xml files in this folder. Open the xml files named as 'com.whatsapp_preference.xml

Now scroll down or use the find tool to search the following below lines:

<int name="ststus_mode" value="1" /> 

change it to

<int name="status_mode" value="0" />

Now save the changes and Open your WhatsApp.

That's it. This will help you get your old whatsapp status back. Let me know if you get it right. If any problem is faced then do let me know in the comment section. Will help you in resolving it.

Cheers!!!a