These three apps may help you forget WhatsApp!

Although WhatsApp has become an integral part of our life, some issues like privacy or even fake messages are proving as a downer for the popular messaging app.

 

WhatsApp has become an integral part of our life. Over 250 million Indians are avid users of WhatsApp. The user-friendly messaging platform has around 1.5 billion users in the world. However, some issues like privacy or even fake messages are proving as a downer for WhatsApp. So, if you are looking for an alternative, here is the list of a few apps that you may like to use instead of WhatsApp:

Hike

Hike can be a great alternative if you are looking for a change from WhatsApp. In fact, it is one of the most popular messaging apps in India nowadays, which is better known for its privacy. As the much debatable issue of privacy is taking forefront nowadays, this messenger wins hands down. Hike allows users to hide their private chats using a password, which is impressive. Hence, users get to keep hike messenger accessible at their fingertips while also maintaining some degree of secrecy and privacy at the same time. Hike messenger also provides huge stickers in conversations. Moreover, it also keeps users engaged with live cricket scores, news and other features.

Telegram

Telegram is a probably the best WhatsApp alternative that allows users to send and receive encrypted messages. In fact, the sole purpose of this app is messaging, which is fast and accurate. Telegram also has real-time synchronisation of messages across various platforms. So if you start typing some message on your smartphone, you can finish that on your desktop and send. Users just have to log into both the devices (mobile phone and desktop) at the same time. Also, if you move to a new phone, all your conversations are readily available by simply logging into your account.

Signal

“Privacy is possible, Signal makes it easy”. This is what Signal private messenger stands for. Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups

so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data.

Tech Firms Should Be Made Liable for 'Fake News' on Sites: UK Lawmakers

Tech firms like Facebook should be made liable for "harmful and misleading" material on their websites and pay a levy so they can be regulated, British lawmakers said, warning of a crisis in democracy due to misuse of personal data.

Facebook has increasingly become a focus of the media committee's inquiry into "fake news" after the data of 87 million users was improperly accessed by British-headquartered consultancy Cambridge Analytica.

The cost of higher privacy standards will hit Facebook's profit margins for several years, the firm said on Wednesday, wiping over $120 billion (roughly Rs. 8.35 lakh crores) off its share price, and the company is coming under concerted regulatory scrutiny in Britain, the United States and the European Union.

"Companies like Facebook made it easy for developers to scrape user data and to deploy it in other campaigns without their knowledge or consent," Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said in a statement.

"They must be made responsible, and liable, for the way in which harmful and misleading content is shared on their sites."

The committee's interim report and Collins's comments were embargoed until July 29. Other news organisations broke the embargo after a copy of the report was published online by Dominic Cummings, who ran the officially designated Vote Leave campaign in the EU referendum.

The standards of accuracy and impartiality which tech companies are held to could be based on regulator Ofcom's rules for television and radio, the lawmakers said.

The committee's report also suggested a levy on tech firms which could contribute to an increased budget for Britain's data regulator, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), in the way in which the banking sector pays for the upkeep of its watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority.

The ICO earlier this month fined Facebook for the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by Donald Trump's campaign in 2016, has denied its work on the US president's election made use of the data in question.

It has also said that while it pitched for work with campaign group Leave.EU before the Brexit referendum in Britain in 2016, it did not end up doing any work on the campaign.

The committee however said that adverts used online in the campaign were not clearly labelled, and expressed concern about a breach of spending rules by rival campaign group Vote Leave.

"We are facing nothing less than a crisis in our democracy - based on the systematic manipulation of data to support the relentless targeting of citizens ... by campaigns of disinformation and messages of hate," Collins said.

Google rolls out final beta preview for Android Oreo’s successor

NEW DELHI: Google is preparing for the launch is its next-generation Pixel smartphones which will come with the latest version of Android out-of-the-box. Keeping the launch timeline in mind the tech giant has now released the final developer preview of Android P. The Android P Developer Preview 5 or beta 4 is the most stable version and you can try it before the final launch next month.


Android VP Dave Burke has said that the Android P beta 4 incorporate all the “final system behaviors”. This means that the features which are part of this update are definitely coming to the next version. One of the important feature is the gesture-based navigation system, which the company is improving since the released of the first developer preview of Android P.

Weighing 51.7MB, the update is for those who are already using the Android P Beta 3. The company claims that it has fixed various bugs with this beta update. Presently, the Android P Beta 4 is available on Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

With the Android Beta 4 update, the company has removed the microphone icon from the search bar placed at the bottom of the homescreen. Along with this, it has also tweaked the icons for auto-rotate in the notification bar which comes up when a user turn the device. Along with this, Android P also brings some visual changes to the OS such as new look for the settings menu and quick shortcuts from the pull down menu.

The company has also redesigned the multitasking which now shows the preview of every app in the entire window. The corners are rounded and users have an option to easily edit and take screenshots. Currently, the company has not revealed the name for Android P, but some of the reports suggests that it will be Android Pistachio.

WhatsApp releases new update

Facebook-owned messaging app WhatsApp on Tuesday released a new update for devices with iOS 10 and above with “notification extension” that would allow users to see and download received media files from on-screen notifications itself. Received by some iOS users, the new extension is part of WhatsApp’s version 2.18.80 and would support download of images and Graphics Interchange Formats (GIFs) from the notifications in the user’s auto-download option is deactivated, confirmed WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features before release.

Along with the option to download, the update would also enable users to preview the received media content on swiping down the notifications panel. The new “notification extension” will be made available for users after Whatsapp adds improvements in the next updates, the report added. There is no word yet when will this extension reach the Android users. In its previous update, WhatsApp launched new features including the “forwarded” tag that goes along with messages that are being forwarded.

Verizon could partner with Apple or Google as its 5G-based TV service provider

Verizon could be partnering with Google or Apple to launch its television service once it rolls out 5G services to homes later in 2018.


According to a report by Bloomberg, Verizon is planning to beam online services to home receivers using its 5G technology in Los Angeles and Sacramento. A source familiar with the situation also told the publication that these are still early stages of negotiations and things may still fall apart.
Verizon essentially wants to skip the task of having to develop its own television service and wants to offer its users something on the lines of YouTube TV or the Apple TV service. The company aims to match current high-speed cable and broadband internet speeds and eventually plans to compete nationally against the likes of AT&T and Comcast.
According to the report, however, the partnership may not be a permanent solution for Verizon. The company's CFO Matt Ellis said at an investor conference and that the company is opting for support until it gets "comfortable" with its video service.
While Google's YouTube TV offers more than 60 channels of live TV for $40 a month in the US, Apple is yet to start a live TV streaming service though it is supposedly in the pipeline.
Verizon, therefore, might have to wait for a while, if it plans on partnering with Apple for the service.

Uber hits a new milestone, completes 10 billion trips across deliveries and rides

Uber has announced that on 10 June, “173 trips and deliveries started simultaneously at 10:12 pm GMT, putting us over 10 billion completed trips”. These trips happened in over 21 countries across five continents.

Around this time last year, Uber had announced completing five billion trips. A year later, that number has doubled.
Uber shares that among the final milestone rides, the shortest trip was an Uber Eats delivery, clocking in at just over 800 m, while the longest trip was a traveller taking a 66-kilometre ride to the airport in Denver. Also, of these, five riders were on their first Uber trips ever.
via GIPHY
This news from Uber comes amid the ongoing struggles of the company when it was sued and investigated for gender and race discrimination, it revealed a massive data breach which, at one point, it tried to conceal. The company was also sued over the data breach, issued layoffs and replaced its CEO.
In addition to that, Uber is also under continuous scrutiny into how it treats and pays its drivers, a fatal crash involving one of its self-driving cars, many sexual assault and harassment accusations against its driver partners. In London, it is facing multiple issues from authorities and local cab drivers as well.

Twitter to lock unverified accounts if their display names are Elon Musk

In the spring of March 2018, when cryptocurrency was trying to stay afloat with numerous instances of cryptohacking and cryptojacking, an unverified Twitter handle which went by the name of Elon Musk led Twitter users to believe that the billionaire would help them make a quick buck in exchange for some Ether coins.
This led to a rise in bots which had Twitter display names related to the Tesla CEO. Now, Twitter is locking unverified accounts which go by the name of Elon Musk.

Elon Musk. Reuters.

According to a report by The Verge, if you try to change your display name to Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, or SpaceX and your Twitter handle does not have a number associated to that account, Twitter will lock it. In order to regain access, you need to pass a CAPTCHA test and provide a phone number as well for verification. It is not known if parody accounts are taken into consideration.
A Twitter spokesperson who spoke to The Verge, reportedly said, “As part of our continuing efforts to combat spam and malicious activity on our service, we’re testing new measures to challenge accounts that use terms commonly associated with spam campaigns. We are continually refining these detections based on changes in spammy activity.”
Twitter is reportedly trying to counter bots which imitate Elon Musk. These accounts are known to even converse in the same tone as Musk. It was first reported in March that such bots exist which have been sending a thread of tweets where users are offered a rare opportunity to earn a quick buck by sending 0.5 to 0.4 ETH to his address book, and Elon Musk would send them 5 to 40 ETH, in return. Obviously, those who went ahead were duped.

5G smartphones

5G smartphones will support faster internet speeds by next year; courtesy Qualcomm

Qualcomm seems to have made a big leap in the 5G network segment by launching the new QTM052 mmWave antenna modules. These modules will essentially make 5G smartphones achieve even higher internet speeds in a much easier way.

This is being called a big leap because until now it was difficult to tap on the millimetre waves because of the weak signal interference could’ve been easily disturbed by nearly any object, even if your hand comes in between a transmitter and receiver. The newly-launched QTM052 mmWave antenna module along with QPM56xx sub-6 GHz radio frequency is claimed to have solved this issue. It can bounce signals off from surfaces and connect accurately with the nearest 5G tower.These modules are said to come as a part of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X50 5G modem that is scheduled to arrive in smartphones in the first half of 2019. The company has confirmed to Engadget that it has already shipped the samples to device partners. The firm will be discussing with device partners on where to place them on a smartphone to get the best signal reception.

Also mentioned is that since the Snapdragon X50 5G modem is designed in such a manner that it will have four antennas for each side of the smartphone and the signals won’t be disturbed no matter how you hold your handset. It has been said that X50 modem with QTM052 mmWave antenna modules can potentially reach the peak download speed of 5Gbps. This is faster than a typical 4G connection that has 70Mbps download speeds.

The company says that the mobile hotspots are likely to be the first in line to get these modules followed by smartphones.

Qualcomm already announced that MWC that it is working with around 20 manufacturers who will be using the company’s 5G tech. The list includes Nokia, Asus, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, ZTE among others.

Incidents of data breach in India more than global average

 

• Over 1,200 senior IT security managers surveyed globally, including 100 in India
• Indian companies with revenue in the range of $100 million to $1 billion were covered in the study
• 92 per cent of Indian respondents sharing sensitive data on a cloud system. 

 NEW DELHI: Data breach incidents in India have been higher compared to the global average, according to a survey conducted by defence grade technology maker Thales.

"Around 52 per cent of Indian respondents reported a data breach last year, way above the global average of around 36 per cent. A full three quarters (75 per cent) of respondents in India reported data breach at some time in the past, compared with just 67 per cent globally," James Cook, sales director South Asia, Thales eSecurity told PTI while sharing details of Thales Data Threat Report 2018.

Thales, a Rafale aircraft vendor, globally surveyed over 1,200 senior IT security managers, including 100 in India between October-November 2017.

Indian companies with revenue in the range of $100 million to $1 billion were covered in the study.

"This year's India Data Threat Report 2018 emphasizes the need for change in security strategies to prevent the continuous increase in data breaches and also highlights privacy and data protection practices," Emmanuel de Roquefeuil, vice-president and country director, Thales in India said.

Cook said that security breach is higher in India because they have been spending their budget either at wrong places or were more focused only at the endpoints.

According to the study, 81 per cent respondents lay emphasis on the endpoint or mobile defences - which is ranked at the top in terms of spending plans, while data-at-rest stood at the bottom with 54 per cent.

Data-at-rest is that information saved in archives, hard drives, thumb drives etc which may not be put to use frequently.

Cook said that Aadhaar is driving security spent in India and 93 per cent of organisations surveyed in the country are planning to increase their budget on IT security -- which is the highest in the world.

According to the report, strict privacy guidelines concerning Aadhaar, a 12-digit unique number, are driving far more Indian organisations to plan IT security spending increases than any other geographic or vertical market sector.

The study found that interest in data sovereignty continues to heat up as new data privacy regulations take effect.

Around 85 per cent of Indian respondents said they are affected by data privacy requirements compared to 87 per cent globally.

"In India, the top choice for satisfying data privacy laws is encryption at 30 per cent compared to 42 per cent globally, where it is also the top choice, followed by tokenisation at 25 per cent versus 20 per cent globally," the study said.

The study found that Indian companies are adopting advanced technologies like big data, internet-of-things, mobile payments, blockchain at large levels.

All companies surveyed in India were using cloud technology, with 92 per cent of respondents sharing sensitive data on a cloud system.

"We're now at the point where we have to admit that data breaches are the new reality with over half of organizations in India suffering a breach in the last year. In this increasingly data-driven world it is therefore hugely important that organizations take steps to protect that data wherever it is created, shared or stored," Cook said.

Optiemus aiming to launch more BlackBerry phones in India

 

New Delhi, Jul 23: Optiemus Infracom, which makes BlackBerry phones for the Indian market, plans to line up new devices across various price points in the coming months as it looks to regain lost ground against rivals like Samsung, Xiaomi and others.
The company is also designing its communication campaign to highlight the privacy features offered by BlackBerry phones as it attempts to woo customers amid growing concerns around privacy and security of personal data.
"We are looking at unveiling (new) models across various price points and we are trying to make them more competitive (price-wise). We have a long-view here," Optiemus Infracom Executive Director Hardip Singh told .
BSE-listed Optiemus Infracom has a manufacturing and distribution tie-up with BlackBerry for India and neighbouring markets.
"The relevance of a Blackberry is much, much more today than it was 10 years back because today you are doing more than just communicate -- you use phones for social networking, banking, personal data, photographs. The need to keep all this data private and secure is much more now," Singh said.
He added that the company's campaign is going to focus on privacy and security of data because "that is what makes a Blackberry stand out".
Once a dominant player in the smartphone category, BlackBerry struggled to compete against global competitors like Samsung and Apple. It, then, agreed to license its brand to handset manufacturer, TCL and Optiemus.

BlackBerry has taken a number of steps, including adopting the Android platform for powering its phones in attempts to re-capture its position.

India is one of largest smartphone markets globally. Samsung and Xiaomi dominate the Indian market, while players like vivo and Oppo have strong market share.

Optiemus has launched 'BlackBerry KEY2' today for the Indian market at Rs 42,990. The device, which will be available from July 31, is powered by Android Oreo operating system and Qualcomm chipset.

Featuring a 4.5-inch screen and a keypad, KEY2 has 6G RAM, 64GB internal memory (expandable up to 256GB), 12MP rear dual camera and 8MP front camera and 3,500 mAh battery.

"In the wake of current data breaches across the globe and here in India, consumers are increasingly concerned about the safety of their information, especially on mobile. KEY2 has the best of BlackBerry's software and security. BlackBerry is the most secure Android device available today," he said.

 

Samsung obsessed with Apple

Here's why Samsung seems to be 'obsessed' with Apple and more so with iPhone X

 Eric Clapton is arguably one of the greatest guitarist of all-time and songwriter and certainly knows how to express himself beautifully through the gift of music and words. In an interview Clapton once said, “an obsession is where something will not leave your mind.” Clapton’s words appear to ring true if one goes by the recent number of Samsung ads targeted at Apple and more particularly the iPhone X. The South Korean tech company has released as many as four ads in the past few days that talk about the features missing in the iPhone X but are found in the Galaxy S9.

The three new ads – a fourth one came out last week -- are all about upgrading to Galaxy because the iPhone X, according to Samsung, is clearly an inferior phone. For instance, one ad has an Apple salesman telling a customer that the iPhone X’s camera is great. The customer asks is it better than the Galaxy S9 and the salesman brings in the DxO mark scores where Galaxy S9 was rated higher. The second ad has the same salesman and another customer who wants to know how can he charge his wired headphones and the iPhone at the same time. The reply he gets is that he needs a dongle – a word the customer has surprisingly never ever heard. The salesman further explains that he needs a “double dongle” to charge both devices at the same time. The double dongle, according to the customer, “sounds explicit.” It’s Samsung’s way of poking fun at the missing headphone jack. Isn’t it so 2016 to make fun of the missing headphone jack?

The next short ad takes a dig at fast charging in the iPhone and how one has to buy a Type-C USB cable to Lightning cable and then spend more on Apple’s fast charger. The Galaxy S9 on the other hand already has the fast-charging feature.

https://youtu.be/nxi0AtBVRZE

The fourth ad, which was released earlier this week, has a young woman visiting an Apple store pondering over whether to buy the iPhone X or not. She asks a salesman whether the iPhone X’s download speeds are fast enough or not. The eager salesman duly informs the woman that the iPhone X offers faster speed than the iPhone 8. But the woman is clearly aware that the speed of iPhone X is “not faster than that of Samsung Galaxy 9.” To this riposte, the salesman literally and figuratively gets tongue tied and has no answer to give. Samsung’s message is clear through the ad: upgrade to Galaxy.

Taking pot shots at Apple through ads is hardly a new strategy for Samsung. It has been doing it for years now but with the Galaxy S9 the numbers seem to have touched a new level.

 

Here's a reason why iPhone X is the 'best iPhone' to buy so far

If you have an iPhone X, then this news will certainly make you a bit happy about spending that exorbitant amount of money.

According to a report by 9to5Mac that quotes Liquidation specialist B-Stock, the iPhone X holds an average of 85% resale value as the demand for the used models is high.

This is true for not only individual buyers but also the bulk purchasers including organisations which are buying these second-hand iPhones at not less than 75% retail value.

As per B-Stock, this average resale value is significantly higher than other iPhone models even though they have the same life-cycle

The report further sheds light on the reason of this such high value suggesting that it is because of the high demand in US itself. As per the B-Stock report, 98% of the total iPhone X units are selling in US "with just 2% being sold abroad."


By adopting this strategy, those of who are keen to buy the iPhone "with a new form factor" are able to save some money and are not considering an alternate model for the reduced price.

Even though Apple products are known to hold high resale value when compared to devices from other manufacturers, but the 75-85% value of iPhone is record high, notes 9to5Mac.

Apple iPhone X's other records
The Apple iPhone X set a record by not only being the costliest iPhone so far but also by emerging as 'the hottest iPhone' during the second quarter for the Cupertino-based tech giant.

Dispelling all the fears about poor iPhone X sales, CEO Tim Cook had said during the earnings call, “Customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter. We also grew revenue in all of our geographic segments, with over 20% growth in Greater China and Japan.”


iPhone X Specifications:

Also known as Apple iPhone 10, Apple iPhone Ten
Versions:
A1865 (USA, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, China)
A1901 (EMEA, UAE, LATAM, Canada, USA - AT&T/T-Mobile, Singapore)

Network	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE
	2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
	3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100
	4G bands	LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 25(1900), 26(850), 28(700), 29(700), 30(2300), 34(2000), 38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100)
	Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat12 600/150 Mbps, EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
	GPRS	Yes
	EDGE	Yes

Launch	Announced	2017, September
	Status	Available. Released 2017, October

Body	Dimensions	143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm (5.65 x 2.79 x 0.30 in)
	Weight	174 g (6.14 oz)
	Build	Front/back glass, stainless steel frame
	SIM	Nano-SIM
		- IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 mins) - Apple Pay (Visa, MasterCard, AMEX certified)

Display	Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
	Size	5.8 inches, 84.4 cm2 (~82.9% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	1125 x 2436 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~458 ppi density)
	Multitouch	Yes
	Protection	Scratch-resistant glass, oleophobic coating
		- Dolby Vision/HDR10 compliant - Wide color gamut display - 3D Touch display - True-tone display

Platform	OS	iOS 11.1.1, upgradable to iOS 11.4.1
	Chipset	Apple A11 Bionic
	CPU	Hexa-core 2.39 GHz (2x Monsoon + 4x Mistral)
	GPU	Apple GPU (three-core graphics)

Memory	Card slot	No
	Internal	64/256 GB, 3 GB RAM

Main Camera	Dual	12 MP, f/1.8, 28mm, OIS, PDAF 12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm, OIS, PDAF, 2x optical zoom
	Features	Quad-LED dual-tone flash, HDR (photo/panorama), panorama, HDR
	Video	2160p@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps

Selfie camera	Single	7 MP, f/2.2, 32mm
	Features	HDR
	Video	1080p@30fps

Sound	Alert types	Vibration, proprietary ringtones
	Loudspeaker	Yes, with stereo speakers
	3.5mm jack	No
		- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic - Lightning to 3.5 mm headphone jack adapter

Comms	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot
	Bluetooth	5.0, A2DP, LE
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS
	NFC	Yes
	Radio	No
	USB	2.0, proprietary reversible connector

Features	Sensors	Face ID, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
	Messaging	iMessage, SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email
	Browser	HTML5 (Safari)
		- Fast battery charging: 50% in 30 min - Qi wireless charging - Siri natural language commands and dictation - iCloud cloud service - MP3/WAV/AAX+/AIFF/Apple Lossless player - MP4/H.265 player - Audio/video/photo editor - Document editor

Battery		Non-removable Li-Ion 2716 mAh battery (10.35 Wh)
	Talk time	Up to 21 h (3G)
	Music play	Up to 60 h

Misc	Colors	Space Gray, Silver
	Price	About 1000 EUR

Tests	Performance	Basemark OS II 2.0: 4708
	Display	Contrast ratio: Infinity (nominal), 5.013 (sunlight)
	Camera	Photo / Video
	Loudspeaker	Voice 68dB / Noise 74dB / Ring 76dB
	Audio quality	Noise -93.7dB / Crosstalk -82.8dB
	Battery life	Endurance rating 74h

Sony launches 48MP

Sony launches 48MP mobile camera sensor, may debut in 2019 flagship smartphones

 

Sony, other than smartphones, cameras and appliances, is known for its lenses that are used not only in high-end cameras but also in smartphones from different firms. So it’s just natural that the Japanese tech company has to stay on top of its game. To do just that, Sony has introduced what can be called as its highest resolution image sensor for smartphone cameras.
The new CMOS sensor called IMX586 has 48 effective megapixels and can shoot detailed images at 8000x6000 pixels. It can also capture HD shots when clicked with zoom-in as well. Sony says it has achieved world’s first ultra-compact pixel size of 0.8 um. This makes it possible to stuff 48 million pixels inside a 1/2-type (8.0 mm diagonal) unit.

The new sensor makes use of the Quad Bayer colour filter array, letting the camera shoot high-sensitivity content. In low light situations, the signals from the four adjacent pixels are added, which effectively make the sensor size equivalent to 1.6um or 12MP, delivering a brighter image with low noise. It is worth adding that this technique is carried by Huawei P20 Pro as well wherein the triple rear cameras shoot a 10MP image at low light but with a clearer image.
 

Sony’s IMX586 sensor also beats the Huawei P20 Pro’s 40MP and Nokia Lumia 1020’s 41MP sensors when it comes to megapixel count.
“In addition to these advantages, original Sony exposure control technology and signal processing functionality are built into the image sensor, enabling real-time output and a superior dynamic range four times greater than conventional units. Even scenes with both bright and dark areas can be captured with minimal highlight blowout or loss of detail in shadows,” adds the website post.

As mentioned on the company’s own website, Sony plans to ship the samples of IMX586 by September this year. So in all likeliness we may see smartphones featuring this sensor in 2019.

 

Soon, AI to make sure bikers wear helmets

Artificial Intelligence (AI) for automatic detection of motorcyclists driving without helmets in surveillance videos.
Recently, the institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hyderabad City Police to gain access to video data from the city’s CCTV network. The technology is in the ready-to-be-deployed stage and the institute has already filed for its patent rights.
This is how it works: The solution is partially installed in cameras and partially on the servers of the central police control room. A software is also installed on an embedded card attached to CCTV cameras which helps detect violators (motorcyclists without helmets) by sending out an alert to the central alert database.
“It will be fully automatic along with a web interface to verify the alerts by the operators (traffic police, etc.). From there, it will be connected to the existing RTO website to generate challans (fines) and send a notification to the riders through SMS,” explained Dinesh Singh, one of the research scholars behind this solution.

Number of road accidents due to bike riders without helmets has been alarming. A Delhi Police annual report (released in 2017) revealed that of the total number of fatal accidents in the city in 2016, 35-40 per cent of the deaths were due to riders “not wearing helmets” or “poor quality helmets”.
“We have done significant lab experiments on sparse traffic at the IITH campus as well as dense traffic from Hyderabad city CCTV network. The results are motivating us to develop the complete software to deploy the system for realworld use,” said C Krishna Mohan, associate professor, IITH. Krishna along with research scholars—Singh and C Vishnu— are the trio behind this technology.
This solution can be deployed at the entrances of cities like toll bridges or on the selected checkpoints, especially road intersections.

Next step for the researchers is to get an industry partner on board for making the technology commercially available.

The solution uses convolutional neural network technology (applied to analyse visual images) which primarily mimics the human brain using Artificial Intelligence. The proposed system can easily be extended to other kinds of traffic applications, like detection of tripling, zigzag bike driving, traffic violations by other kinds of vehicles, according to Mohan.

“Recent studies show that human surveillance proves ineffective, as the duration of monitoring of videos increases, the errors made by humans also increases,” Mohan said.

The research team has also developed a novel framework for automatic detection of road accidents in the surveillance videos. Mohan said that they have also proposed a framework for ‘Snatch Theft Detection’ in city-wide surveillance.

Apple : toughest year in India

Why Apple may be staring at its toughest year in India

 

NEW DELHI: Apple could be staring at its toughest year in India in recent times, given the sharp fall in shipments in the first half of 2018, as the effects of the company’s change in strategy to chase profitability rather than growth by cutting discounts and distribution channels comes into play, say analysts.
The Cupertino-based smartphone maker recorded a sharp 55% fall in the April-June quarter on-year and a 30% drop sequentially, on the back of an equally bad January-March quarter, where shipments fell 22% on-year and 46% sequentially, as per estimates from Singapore-based Canalys. International Data Corporation (IDC) India, Counterpoint Research and Cybermedia Research — who are yet to reveal their April-June numbers — say their data will also reflect sharp declines for the first half of this year.

“2018 could well be the worst year for Apple… market share drop is expected for the full year given the weak second quarter,” said Rushabh Doshi, research manager at Singapore-based research firm Canalys.

This could well result in a sharp decline for the iPhone maker’s market share in India — where it has been struggling to expand its toe-hold for many years – if it does not manage strong growth in the present and October-December quarters, when its shipments historically tend to pick up on the back of new flagship launches.

But competition in the premium market — where Apple has been traditionally strong — has also intensified with new entrants like OnePlus marking a strong presence, besides a resurgent Samsung, say experts.

“In the premium segment alone, Apple’s share fell to 20% in the January-March quarter this year, compared to 43% last year,” said Counterpoint Research’s analyst Shobhit Srivastava. He expects Apple’s overall market share in India to fall to anywhere between 1.5% and 2% — from around 3% — unless the company stages a remarkable turnaround in the second half.

Faisal Kawoosa, head, new initiatives, Cybermedia Research, said that Apple is not in a “good situation at all, it will be a very challenging year for them”.

Sector watchers say that Apple needs to recognise the heterogeneity of the fast growing Indian market to succeed here, and develop a strategy that includes expanding retail presence in India, building further on its brand presence and manufacturing more models locally to save on import duties, which will give consumers better or more affordable prices.

Since 2014, the company’s shipments have been rising consistently. In 2015, it shipped in nearly 1.8 million phones, followed by 2.8 million in 2016 and the highest shipment of 3.2 million during last year, as per Counterpoint Research. However, in the first half of 2018, the company has shipped only 850,000 units in India, which is 30% lower than what it shipped in the same time last year, IDC India told ET.

In the past few months, Apple has curtailed distribution to two partners — Ingram Micro and Redington — thereby reducing its retail channel to those who can control pricing. Industry insiders add that retailers have been asked not to give any additional discounts, apart from that offered by the company, which has followed a recent change in top management and some executives leaving Indian operations.

While Apple did not comment on this story, sector watchers said that the iconic smartphone maker must focus on India far more than it is doing at present, by recognising the diversity in the Indian market, especially in terms of pricing and consumer demand, and develop a strategy accordingly.

“The brand wants to sell one product all around the world, but it will have to change that mindset to be successful in a country like India, where customers aspire to own an iPhone but at affordable prices. So, there have to be more models at lower price points than just iPhone X,” CMR’s Kawoosa added.

Counterpoint’s Srivastava said that Apple needs to also manufacture more models in India than just the iPhone 6, as it will directly reduce prices for consumers by about 20%, which is the import duty the company pays on every phone. It is also the reason why the iPhone is the most expensive in India, compared to other global markets like the US or Singapore.

 

Idea, Vodafone merger

Idea, Vodafone pay Rs 7,249 crore under protest to DoT for merger

 

Inching closer to formation of country's biggest telecom operator, Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made joint payment of Rs 7,248.78 crore under protest to the Department of Telecom for merging their mobile business.

"Idea Cellular and Vodafone have made payment under protest as demanded by the DoT for the merger. Rs 3,926.34 crore have been paid in cash and bank guarantee of Rs 3,322.44 crore have been furnished," an Idea Cellular official confirmed the development.

The Department of Telecom gave conditional nod for merger of these companies on July 9 and asked companies to meet the demand raised for taking merger on record.

The combined operations of Idea and Vodafone will create the country's largest telecom operator worth over USD 23 billion (or over Rs 1.5 lakh crore), with a 35 per cent market share and a subscriber base of around 430 million.

The merger is expected to give breather to both debt-ridden firms Idea and Vodafone, from cut-throat competition in the market where margins have hit rock bottom with free voice calls.

It will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country. According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies are capable of offering up to 450 megabit per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.

With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity.

The combined debt of both the companies is estimated to be around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.

Vodafone will own 45.1 stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 per cent and Idea shareholders 28.9 per cent.

The Aditya Birla Group has the right to acquire up to a 9.5 per cent additional stake from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time

If Vodafone and the Aditya Birla Group's shareholdings in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell down shares in the combined company to equalise its shareholding to that of the Aditya Birla Group over the following five-year period.

Android Oreo

Android Oreo doubles its reach, now on 12% devices in the world

Google has revealed the latest Android distribution data on its Android Developer website. According to Google, the newest OS version, Oreo 8 has now reached 12.1% of all the Android devices in the world.
The distribution numbers reveal that Android 8.0 Oreo has hit 10.1% of all the active Android devices and the 8.1 has reached 2% devices.
The growth in the adoption of Android Oreo is good news for Google. There has been an increase of 6.4% in the adoption of Android Oreo as compared to May. This can be attributed to launch of various smartphones makers such as Xiaomi, Asus, HMD Global and others. Besides that, there has been an increased adoption of the latest OS as well.
That being said, Android Nougat has maintained its largest share with 30.8% share of the total Android distribution. The share of Android Nougat 7.0 fell to 21.2%, which is a drop by 1.7% as compared to the previous period and the Android 7.1 Nougat has increased by 1.4% making the total share now to 9.6%.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow is now available on 23.5% devices which has declined as compared to the 25.5% last month. The Lollipop operating system is available on 20.4% devices which is down by 2%.

On the other hand, the KitKat operating system is still running on 9.1% devices, while the JellyBean version of the OS is presently available on 3.6% smartphones. The Gingerbread and Ice Cream Sandwich are at 0.2% and 0.3%, with a marginal fall.

Google notes that the Android distribution data has been collected by recording active devices visiting Google Play in a seven-day period ending on July 23.

Earlier in the year, Google officially introduced the latest version of its Android operating system. Presently called as Android P, the OS brings into focus one of the core strengths of Google: AI and machine learning. The search giant brings features like Adaptive Battery, Adaptive Brightness, App Actions, Slices and much more on board.

Six questions

Six questions you were afraid to ask about Google’s EU antitrust case

The $5 billion question(s)

 

Google has been hit with a massive $5 billion fine by the EU this week for Android antitrust violations, with the European Commission claiming that Google has been taking advantage of Android to impose its own services — Google search, Chrome, and the Play Store — upon consumers and device makers. 

It’s a confusing case, so I’ve taken a few minutes to try to break things down here and answer some of the bigger questions about what’s going on. It might stir memories of Microsoft’s ugly antitrust battle with the US government but there are some differences between the two. Here’s what’s going on with Google and the EU. 

1. What exactly did Google do wrong here?

In short, the European Commission has ruled that Google has been unfairly using Android (which Google owns and develops) to push Google search (which makes up most of Google’s business) on users, giving them an unfair and uncompetitive advantage.

Specifically, it calls out three things:

• Google requires device makers to include search and Chrome in order to have access to the Play Store and other Google apps and services.
• Google “made payments to certain large manufacturers and mobile network operators” to exclusively bundle the Google search app on handsets in favor of other search engines.
• Google has allegedly blocked phone makers from creating devices that run forked versions of Android. In other words, in order to get any Google apps — including the Play Store and Google search — phone makers had to agree not to develop or sell any devices at all that ran on an Android fork (like Amazon’s Fire OS for tablets).

2. Why doesn’t this apply to Apple?

The European Commission’s report says that it views Android as different from, say, Apple’s iOS or BlackBerry’s mostly defunct BlackBerry OS since those are exclusive, vertically integrated operating systems that can’t be licensed by third-party device manufacturers. Essentially, Apple can’t be held accountable for restricting itself to use its own apps on its own OS.

Since Google does make Android available to others, and is (in the opinion of the commission) using those companies and their devices to further increase Google search’s market dominance and mobile ad revenue, it’s on the hook here.

3. Can’t you install anything on Android? Why is the Play Store so important?

Strictly speaking, yes — it’s why Amazon’s Fire tablets and Fire TV devices exist and run Android, despite the fact that they don’t feature the Play Store or any of Google’s apps.

The Play Store is too important

But according to the commission, the Play Store is too important for Android devices: it accounts for more than 90 percent of apps downloaded on Android devices, with the group claiming that device manufacturers consider it a “must-have” app (especially since it can’t be legally installed on Android devices if it isn’t already included). 

The commission’s concerns stem from the fact that Google is using the Play Store as a incentive to force manufacturers to offer Google search and Chrome, with no option to only offer just the store, giving Google an unfair advantage when it comes to search.

In other words: Device manufacturers need the Play Store to be competitive. Google only gives the Play Store to companies that also agree to install search (and Chrome), which makes it dramatically more difficult for other search engines to compete.

4. If search is the problem, why is Chrome included?

At first glance, the EU’s ruling against forcing Google Chrome on users seems to be unfair. What does Google’s dominance with search have to do with a web browser? But Chrome is an essential avenue to Google search, so Chrome is bundled into the ruling, too.

5. What do other companies think?

For the most part, nothing. The Verge reached out to various Android OEMs, including Samsung, LG,, OnePlus, Nokia, BlackBerry, and Amazon, but only heard back from Motorola, Sony, and HTC, all of of which offered no comment on the news, with HTC adding that it will “defer to Google on decisions that impact the broader Android OS.”

6. What happens next?

Google has 90 days to comply with the European Commission, which would mean paying the $5 billion fine, stop forcing manufacturers to preinstall Chrome and Google search in order to offer the Google Play Store, and stop preventing phone makers from using forked versions of Android. Google is already appealing the result, so we’ll see if that actually ends up happening, but if it does, it could mean drastic changes for how Android operates in the future.

Jio GigaFiber effect

Jio GigaFiber effect: BSNL revamps fiber broadband plans, now offers up to 3TB FUP

BSNL has changed four of its premium Fibro Combo ULD plans for broadband connections. Under the new plans, subscribers can avail as much as 3TB of data, as well as FUP benefits.

 

BSNL has modified its higher-end fiber broadband plans, in an attempt to taken on Reliance’s Jio GigaFiber. First reported by TelecomTalk, each of these upgrades has seen data limits increase in the modified premium broadband plans to four times the original limit. 

The plans in question are the Fibro Combo ULD 3999, Fibro Combo ULD 5999, Fibro Combo ULD 9999, as well as Fibro Combo ULD 16999, and these changes will be effective across telecom circles.

As per the Fiber Combo ULD 3999 plan, BSNL broadband subscribers will receive 500GB FUP with speeds of up to 50Mbps. This improves over the previous limit of 300GB with speeds up to 20Mbps. Also, the  speed after exhaustion the allotted data has been bumped up from 2Mbps to 4Mbps.

Similarly, the Fibro Combo ULD 5999 plan now offers 1000GB FUP at a speed of 60Mbps, compared to 400GB at 30Mbps, as per the previous plan. Here too, the speed post exhaustion of FUP has increased from 2Mbps to 4Mbps.

With the Fibro Combo ULD 9999 plan, BSNL subscribers will now receive 2000GB FUP at 80Mbps, compared to the earlier limits of 800GB at 50Mbps. Also, the minimum speeds after FUP will double from 4Mbps to 8Mbps.

Meanwhile the Fibro Combo ULD 16999 plan now offers 3000GB FUP, up from 800GB, with the same 100Mbps speed. This plan will also see FUP speeds of 8Mbps. Across these plans, subscribers can also avail free calling, besides the high-speed internet.

The updates to these Fibro Combo plans comes soon after BSNL had upgraded its budget-friendly Fibro Combo ULD 777 and Fibro Combo ULD 1277 plans. While the Rs 777 plan offers 500GB at 50Mbps, besides unlimited calls, the Rs 1277 plan offers 750GB at 100Mbps. Both these plans, though, will be available till September 9.