SmartTech

The LineageOS custom ROM project that is the successor to the CyanogenMod project now has a build 14.1 and the developers have expanded the list of phones and tablets which can make use of this version of the software. While LineageOS 14.1 may not entirely be a new update but it has been made available for devices like the OnePlus 3T, ZTE Axon 7, HTC 10, HTC One M7 and more. However, the new smartphones that will support this LineageOS build will be Exynos-based Samsung Galaxy S7and Galaxy S7 edge. Other models that will be supported by LineageOS 14.1 include the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 9.7 (Wi-Fi and LTE), the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 tablet (GSM, Wi-Fi, and LTE) the Samsung Galaxy S III(GSM and LTE) and the LG G3 (AT&T, Korean, and Verizon versions). So if you have any of the above-mentioned devices, then all you need to do is search for the correct LineageOS file and click on the source link. Further, you need to look for the name of the device that you will be insta...

Undoubtedly, the Xiaomi Mi Mix is a trendsetter. We say this as the smartphone was too innovative among the rest in the market. The device featured a high screen-to-body ratio of 91:3% and ceramic housings too. Now, it looks like there is good news for those who have developed a liking for smartphones made using this material. There are rumors that the next-generation iPhone, allegedly the iPhone 8 will be sporting ceramic housings as the Mi Mix. Contradictory to this, another set of rumors suggest that Apple isn't adopting this technology as there are some capacity problems that Xiaomi itself faced for the Mi 5S and Mi 5S Plus. This clearly points out that there is a high demand for the ceramic housing devices, but the manufacturers aren't able to meet the demand. Now, it looks like Changying Precision Technology Company, which is a leader in the segment will make an investment of $8.7 million in order to boost the production of such ceramic back panels. This ...

India is all set to welcome a brand new smartphone brand from China. The newest company making plans to enter the Indian market is Chinese electronics major iVoomi. The company initially plans to introduce its range of affordable Android smartphones in the country with most of its devices being priced between the Rs.4,000 and the Rs.10,000 price bracket. To start things off, iVoomi has announced the launch of the  iVoomi iV505  which is the first launch from the company in India. The handset has been priced at Rs. 3,999 and comes with dual SIM card slots and support for 4G LTE (with VoLTE) support. The handset runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow and the company's version of fast charging - flash charge technology. More details of the handset would be announced soon. In a statement issued by Bradley Yan, Global Business Head, iVoomi, said; "We are committed to establish iVOOMi in the Indian market with our innovative products loaded with highly valued SmartMe OS and ...

Adding more rumours to the much-awaited Apple iPhone 8, the latest report says that the next iteration of iPhone 7 will replace the traditional capacitive Touch ID with new fingerprint sensor tech. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, Apple is reportedly producing an in-house integrated fingerprint ID technology for the future iPhones including the iPhone 8, according to Digitimes report. Citing sources, DigiTimes reports that Apple is planning to combine an algorithm from AuthenTec with glass identification technology from Privaris for the OLED iPhone 8. Privaris is a biometric security firm acquired by Apple in 2015, whereas AuthenTec was acquired in 2012. The sensor will be placed under the iPhone's OLED display. The report also says that Apple will bring additional authentication mechanisms to further bolster the feature set of the upcoming iPhone. Refuting famous Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo's forecast of Apple using iris or facial recognition ...

The release date of the Samsung's next flagship Galaxy S8 has been rescheduled to April 28, according to a report by VentureBeat. A person familiar on Samsung's revised target told VentureBeat that Samsung is planning on skipping the release date of the Samsung Galaxy S8 duo's, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 + by another week. The firm didn't confirm any particular reason for pushing back the release date by a week to April 28 from April 21. However, the firm is under immense pressure to ensure it next flagship smartphone runs smoothly and safely, following the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco it had faced last year. Along the side-lines of launching its new products at a press conference in Barcelona lat last month, Samsung confirmed to launch Galaxy S8 on March 29 at an event in New York. According to recent rumours the Galaxy S8 series are likely to come at a hefty price. The two models, Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, could carry a price tag of price of $950 (approx. Rs 6...

The tariff battle in the Indian telecom sector has further intensified with Bharti Airtel launching an aggressive mobile data plan to counter Reliance Jio. Market leader Bharti Airtel has announced a plan for select customers wherein its subscribers will be offered 28 GBs of data along with free local and STD calls for a period of 28 days under a pack priced at Rs. 345. Airtel' Rs. 345 offer comes days after billionaire investor Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Jio announced a new 'rime'membership offer, though it will charge for its services from April 1. Reliance Jio' Prime plan continues the benefits that the telecom arm of Reliance Industries had offered under its Happy New Year scheme. Reliance Jio' Rs. 303 Prime offer, for example, gives Jio subscribers free voice calls and a daily cap of 1 GB of internet data. Airtel has also placed a limit on internet usage at 1 GB per day. Airtel customers can use 500 MBs of data during day and the remaining...

Riding on the success of its flagship device Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 that offered high-end specifications, the Chinese electronics major has launched Redmi Note 4 -- its first device this year. Bullish over its over $1 billion India revenue last year, Xiaomi is set to launch some eye-popping devices this year and the Note 4 is just the beginning. Let us see what works for the Rs 12,999 Note 4 (4GB RAM and 64GB on-board memory). Similar to its predecessor, Note 4 has an all-metal body. The premium-looking device fits well in the hands with slim borders and 2.5D curved-edge glass on front. The device has a hybrid SIM tray on the left bumper and volume toggles and power button on the right. The speaker grills have been moved below (Note 3 had those in the back). The 5.5-inch device with full-HD IPS display returned sharp text, images and videos. There was no eye strain while watching movies (with highest brightness) for a longer period of time. Xiaomi Note 4 is powered by...

Korean electronics manufacturer, Samsung Mobile, was testing its NFC-enabled payment solution, Samsung Pay in India. Today, the company has finally unveiled this payment platform in India for select few Samsung Galaxy Android smartphones. Since the application has been built by Samsung, it is available for early user access only to Samsung smartphone owners. You can add the credit and debit cards of participating issuers / banks on your Samsung Galaxy smartphones which allows you to make purchases almost everywhere. Samsung Pay uses patented Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Near Field Communication (NFC) to make contactless mobile payments. Samsung Pay adds a level of security to your payment information, fingerprint scan, that physical cards don't have. Samsung Pay  (Early Access Program) is available on selected Samsung Galaxy smartphones only. For you to use this platform, you must have one of the following phones -  Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy...

Scientists have successfully stored a computer operating system, a short movie along with other data in DNA, an advance that may usher the next generation of ultra-compact, biological storage devices which will last hundreds of thousands of years. In a new study, researchers from Columbia University and the New York Genome Centre (NYGC) in the US showed that an algorithm designed for streaming video on a cellphone can unlock DNA's nearly full storage potential by squeezing more information into its four base nucleotides. They also showed that the technology is extremely reliable. DNA is an ideal storage medium because it is ultra-compact and can last hundreds of thousands of years if kept in a cool, dry place, as demonstrated by the recent recovery of DNA from the bones of a 430,000-year-old human ancestor found in a cave in Spain. "DNA won't degrade over time like cassette tapes and CDs, and it won't become obsolete - if it does, we have bigger pro...

On March 8, Facebook will celebrate International Women's Day with a 24-hour around-the-world live broadcast, celebratory artwork that people may see in News Feed directing them to the experience, as well as many other ways to support the day. Women everywhere give their all to build and support a global community that works for everyone. This is especially true when it comes to women who run businesses. We're proud that 40 per cent of business Pages on Facebook are women-owned, a number that has increased 60 per cent from 2015 to 2016. When women do better, communities and economies do better. Facebook stands for bringing us closer together and aims to build, strengthen and empower a global community. They have several ways the community can show their solidarity through the many women-led and supported activities happening on Facebook Live, Pages, Groups, Events and Fundraisers. Through #SheMeansBusiness, a program that Facebook launched last year to support,...

HMD Global Oy's Nokia-branded Android phones and the iconic Nokia 3310 re-boot, which were launched at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017, can now be pre-ordered in select regions of Europe. Dutch e-commerce portal Belsimpel has listed two of the three Nokia Android phones -- Nokia 5 and the Nokia 3 -- on its site for €189 and €139, respectively. Interested consumers can book them in any of the four colours tempered blue, silver, matte black, copper, reported Nokia Power User. Also read:  Make in India impact: Nokia 6, 5, 3 will cost less in subcontinent; release details revealed Consumers can also pre-order Nokia 3310 (2017), but there is no official word on when it will be delivered. Going by the company's press statement released during the unveiling event, the Nokia devices are expected to made available in the second quarter of 2017. So, shipping of the devices is expected to commence only in April. Though Nokia 6 is missing in the e-retail site, it is ex...

Samsung has officially launched its mobile payments solution Samsung Pay in India after months of waiting. Owners of select Samsung devices, who had signed up for an early access programme last week, will be now able to start using Samsung Pay after setting up their accounts. The Company started testing Samsung Pay in December 2016 before letting users sign up for an early access programme last week. It has collaborated with several banks, including Axis, HDFC, ICICI, SBI and Standard Chartered Bank for the service. It is also reportedly planning to partner with American Express for its India venture as well as join hands with Visa and MasterCard. But can you use Samsung Pay in your device? Well, the mobile payments system doesn't work on all devices in India. At the moment, select devices, including with the Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy A5 (2016), and the Galaxy A7 (2016) support it. Samsung Pay has been working in the US, Aust...

"Bachchan is likely to be one of many celebrities in the ' OnePlus Star' campaign " OnePlus today announced that it has appointed Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan as its brand ambassador in India. The company said that it welcomes Bachchan into the OnePlus family as the first-ever 'OnePlus Star Speaking on the partnership, Bachchan said, "it gives me immense pleasure to be working with the most exciting technology brand in India. Being a OnePlus user myself, I am thrilled to represent the brand in India and become a part of the passionate community of OnePlus fans to take the brand legacy ahead." Since OnePlus' press release mentions that Bachchan is the "first OnePlus Star", we expect the brand to rope in other brand ambassadors in the coming months. "We are delighted to welcome Mr. Amitabh Bachchan as our brand representative in India. As the brand grows to the next level, we aim to continue to bond wi...

According to the latest data from TRAI's MySpeed portal, Reliance Jio is the fastest 4G telecom operator in India offering an average download speed of 16.3 Mbps. In terms of 4G speed trend, Jio retained its top position while  Vodafone and  Idea were at #2 and #3  respectively. At the time of writing of this post, that is on  6 th March 2017, Jio is followed by Vodafone and Idea providing 9.2 Mbps and 7.3 Mbps respectively. Airtel doesn't even come in the list of fastest 4G operators as of now as it offers a meagre 4G speed of just 5.8 Mbps ahead of RCom's 3.1 Mbps. The following graphs again show how Jio is way ahead of the other 4G operators across the top metro cities in the country with the notable exception of Chennai where BSNL has emerged as the fastest 4G operator offering an average download speed of 11.3 Mbps As it is evident from all the data presented above, Jio's data speed has improved considerably after a sharp dr...

Swipe Elite Sense android smartphone has just launched in India. This is a stylish looking phone with 5-inch HD display, 3GB RAM, fingerprint sensor, 4G VoLTE as key specifications. The phone available to purchase for Rs. 7499. Swipe Technologies offers the Elite Sense as its latest budget smartphone with 4G.

There have been a lot of rumours and speculations surrounding the Xiaomi Mi 6 smartphone. The latest information now suggests that the device is expected to be powered by Snapdragon 835 SoC and will officially be launched on April 16, 2017. According to a report published by , an undisclosed source has revealed that Xiaomi's next flagship will be released next month with the date likely to be April 16. The source also says that Mi 6 will still be the first domestic smartphone sporting the Snapdragon 835 chipset. The report further revealed that the smartphone is expected to sport a 5.2-inch LCD display with 2.5D glass and a ceramic variant. The camera, according to the tipster sourced in the report, will be similar to that of Sony Xperia XZ Premium. The Xperia XZ smartphone comes with a 19MP rear camera with Sony's new Motion Eye camera system. Previous leaks have suggested that the Xiaomi Mi 6 will come with 4GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, Qualcomm...

PayPal `today announced the launch of Recharge, a unique six-week program focused on empowering women technologists to get back to work after taking time off to explore their passions, develop interests and strengthen families. The program is a part of PayPal's commitment towards nurturing a culture of diversity and inclusion in the technology industry. As with its successful pilot in 2016, Recharge aims to equip women technologists with skills and the confidence required to help them get back to work and jumpstart their careers after a break. The pilot Recharge program received over 300 applications from women with work experience of at least 5 years in product development and analytics, who had taken a career break. Of this, 75 were invited to an event that helped them build their confidence and interview skills, followed by a boot camp that 30 shortlisted women attended. Finally, 10 participants were given the opportunity to join PayPal and continue their professiona...

The counter-attack continues. Refusing to give up on the battle against the powerful Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are back with a slew of new offers. As an onslaught to the recently introduced Jio Prime Membership, the established telecom networks have introduced offers to retain its subscriber base. Vodafone has announced a Rs 346 plan which includes free unlimited calling and SMS to any network, along with free domestic roaming. Like Jio's plan, Vodafone also limits the daily 4G usage to 1GB and gives users 56GB with a validity of 56 days. The Offer is available only until March 15. Airtel has also come up with Rs 349 plan which is available only to the prepaid users, with total 28GB data for 28 days - with FUP of 1GB per day. However, there are prerequisite conditions, the 1GB FUP per day is further divided into two - 500 MB of the 1GB data can be used only from 3 am to 5 am. For the rest of the day, users get only 500 MB. The users also get free unli...

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) had taken some crucial steps at a time cable operators were looting the customers. Three years down the line, it is back with new set of rules that will benefit the viewers and make the whole subscription scene more transparent. On a new tariff order released by TRAI, the authorities have said that the broadcasters will have to declare their channels as 'Free-to-Air'(FTA) or 'Pay'. Broadcasters have been given the freedom to set the maximum retail price(MRP) of their pay channels to subscribers with no restrictions as long as they offered individually. "While framing this tariff order, the emphasis of the Authority has been to ensure transparency, non-discrimination, consumer protection and create an enabling environment for orderly growth of the sector," TRAI said. This means that if you don't subscribe to any pay channel at all, you can get 100 SD channels at home and pay just Rs. 130 plus taxes...

"The ZenFone AR marks many firsts to its name" While Taiwanese giant ASUS didn't have a formal presence at the Mobile World Congress held last week, its latest flagship, the ZenFone AR was so special that the chipset major Qualcomm showcased it in its booth. Unveiled at CES, the ASUS ZenFone AR, the smartphone marks several firsts, so we believe that it certainly requires special treatment. While we couldn't test out all its capabilities, here's a quick look at what the phablet brings to the table. At first glance, the ASUS ZenFone AR seems to be a plus variant of the ASUS ZenFone 3 Deluxe ( review ). Both smartphones fall in the phablet category with their large 5.7-inch displays. In terms of the design philosophy as well, you get minimal elements at the front. The display panel takes up the major portion, with the earpiece, secondary snapper and a couple of sensors above and a row of navigation buttons below. However, the fingerprint scanner has now...