TeamViewer 12 boosts file transfer speed by up to 20x.

TeamViewer has released the latest edition of its popular remote control package. Called TeamViewer 12, it offers major performance improvements including up to 20x faster file transfers.



The package is now available as a Chrome OS app or can be run in the browser. There are also options for unattended access to Android devices, or connecting directly to the Linux console (no GUI required).

Wonder what's new in What's in version 12? Here's the complete list as per the change log:



Mobile to mobile remote connections: Cross-platform, mobile-to-mobile remote control and screen sharing for Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.



Faster file transfer: Thought your file transfers were already fast? TeamViewer now lets you transfer files up to 20 times faster, with transfer speeds up to (up to 200 MB/s).



High frame rate connections: Edit videos or work seamlessly on other high-frame-rate tasks with remote session framerates of up to 60 fps.



Windows Phone support: Remotely support Windows Phone from any computer.

Remote sticky note: Leave a message behind for a more personal customer relationship.



Smoother remote sessions: Work on all remote sessions faster and more smoothly with improved feedback times from touch, keyboard, and mouse.



Code base re-write for performance: Performance-optimized code for tech that keeps up with you. Work faster thanks to significant backend optimisations.



Intelligent connections setup: Connect with the best possible quality via automatic intelligent system adjustments, based on your network conditions and system hardware.



Device connection reports: All inbound connections at a glance in the Management Console. Quickly know who has been connecting to your devices.



Service case notifications: Take swift action on pop-up and email notifications. 

Delegate tasks faster, for more effective IT support.



Service case chat: Let your customers contact you via chat even before they receive support, making sure you get the request to the right supporter quickly.



Remote QuickSteps: Save yourself hundreds of clicks with one-click shortcuts for your most-used remote support actions.



Remote device dashboard: View and take action on critical performance information during a remote session with the new remote device dashboard.



TeamViewer policy assignment: Improved central control of TeamViewer settings for devices you manage. Easily check that the right settings are applied to the right devices.

Silent host rolls out: With a single click, you can quickly roll out TeamViewer to thousands of your devices simultaneously.

OneDrive for business: Quickly access the files you need from your OneDrive for Business cloud storage during online meetings and remote sessions.

TeamViewer Policy API: Easily deploy control settings to any number of devices, all within your own software environment via the API.

Simplified client interface: Focus on the task at hand and enjoy working more intuitively with an overhauled, one-window interface.

Source:- Gadgetsnow.com

Twitter adds ‘Direct Reply’ count and ‘Conversation Ranking’ feature.

Twitter has rolled out a new design for its mobile app, where it will rank replies to a particular tweet based on what is more interesting or popular. Twitter’s app will now show the number of replies to a conversation indicating how many people have replied directly to the original tweet. However, this is not the total number of replies in the entire conversation, according to the company.

Twitter will also start to show sub-conversations based on interests, and not just reflect replies in the same, old chronological manner. The idea is to show replies that will interest a user, and get the conversation going forward rather than just see a lot of tweets which might not make sense.

Twitter’s new move will help cut out some of the noise and spam that exists on the social media website and put the focus on replies that might be witty or funny or useful, which are always great to read.

Twitter says these changes will make it easier to “follow and join conversations”, given they will show the most interesting ones on first. We’re guessing a reply that gets retweeted many times or a lot of likes will end up rising to the top of the conversation. Twitter’s new feature will be rolled out to Android and iOS app, so do update if you want to check this out.

Twitter has seen several new features, but overall 2016 hasn’t been a good year for the social media website. Growth remains stagnant and there are rumours of the company being sold. Twitter also announced that it was shutting down Vine, it’s app that let users record and share quick videos, which would keep playing in a loop.

But the social media website has indicated it plans to crack down on abuse with a new tool which will let users filter out abusive words and phrases.

Source:- Indian Express.

New 2D materials may lead to faster, and smaller electronic devices.

Manipulation of 2D materials such as graphene could make modern day electronic and photonic devices faster, smaller and efficient, a new study suggests. Two-dimensional (2D) materials are a class of nanomaterials that are only a few atoms in thickness. Electrons in these materials are free to move in the two-dimensional plane, but their restricted motion in the third direction is governed by quantum mechanics.

The 2D materials such as graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides and black phosphorus have garnered tremendous attention from scientists for their amazing properties and potential to improve electronic and photonic devices.

Researchers, including those from the University of Minnesota and Stanford University in the US, examined the optical properties of several dozens of 2D materials.

They analysed how polaritons, a class of quasiparticles formed through the coupling of photons with electric charge dipoles in solid, allow researchers to marry the speed of photon light particles and the small size of electrons.

“With our devices, we want speed, efficiency and we want small. Polaritons could offer the answer,” said Tony Low, the University of Minnesota electrical and computer engineering assistant professor and lead author of the study.

By exciting the polaritons in 2D materials, electromagnetic energy can be focused down to a volume a million times smaller compared to when its propagating in free space.

“Layered two-dimensional materials have emerged as a fantastic toolbox for nano-photonics and nano-optoelectronics, providing tailored design and tunability for properties that are not possible to realise with conventional materials,” said

Frank Koppens, group leader at the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, and co-author of the study. “This will offer tremendous opportunities for applications,” said Koppens.

“The study of the plasmon-polaritons in two-dimensions is not only a fascinating research subject but also offers possibilities for important technological applications,” said Phaedon Avoruris, IBM Fellow at the IBM T J Watson Research Center.

“For example, an atomic layer material like graphene extends the field of plasmonics to the infrared and terahertz regions of the electromagnetic spectrum allowing unique applications ranging from sensing and fingerprinting minute amounts of biomolecules, to applications in optical communications, energy harvesting and security imaging,” said Avoruris.

The study also examined the possibilities of combining 2D materials. Researchers point out that every 2D material has advantages and disadvantages. Combining these materials create new materials that may have the best qualities of both. The findings were published in the journal Nature Materials.

Source:- Indian Express.

Facebook adds free games like ‘Pac-Man’ to Messenger app.

You can now play “Pac-Man” with your Facebook Messenger buddies.

Facebook is adding the option to play games with your contacts on the messaging app beginning Tuesday. You can access the feature in the latest version of the app by tapping a game controller icon.

Games available include classics such as “Pac-Man,” ‘‘Space Invaders” and “Galaga,” as well as newer titles like “Words With Friends.” It’s the latest effort by the world’s biggest social network to get people to spend even more time on its properties.

Messenger has a billion users. The app will recommend games based on whether your friends play. Currently, there is no way to play with people who are not your Messenger contacts, so if your friends don’t like to play games, you are out of luck.

Called “Instant Games,” the feature will begin in 30 countries, with 17 titles, though more will come. In addition to Messenger, users can also play solo games in their Facebook news feed.

Facebook tested the waters with two simple Messenger games earlier this year — soccer and basketball, both of which involved flicking balls on the screen with your finger. They proved popular.

Facebook has a long history with gaming, which began with “FarmVille” years ago when people logged in using desktop computers. But since then, Facebook gaming has sort of fallen by the wayside, even as mobile games from “Candy Crush” to “Pokemon Go” have remained popular. Facebook hopes to change that with its Instant Games.

The games themselves are simple to play, and like the earlier soccer and basketball games, the load inside Messenger and don’t open in a separate app.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

India’s low broadband penetration a concern: Trai Chairman.

Telecom regulator Trai today said demonetization has accelerated digital transactions in the country, but expressed concern over India trailing nations like Singapore and Malaysia at the level of broadband connectivity, a key component of digital infrastructure.

“There is one area where we need to do a lot of work and that area is broadband connectivity,” Trai Chairman, RS Sharma said.

He said at an event on eGovernance and Digital India organised by Assocham that as per a white paper, “broadband penetration in India was 7 percent based on certain parameters”.

On the other hand, it had pegged Thailand’s broadband reach at 36 per cent, Singapore’s at 98 and that of Malaysia at around 35-36 percent, he said.

India was, in fact, ranked behind Sri Lanka and Vietnam in broadband penetration, he added.

“This is really a matter of concern...We are not in a great shape as far as broadband penetration is concerned ...Digital India will have to ride on this infrastructure and if we don’t have the robust and reliable infrastructure, we are not going to achieve the objective of digital India, of having a digitally empowered society and the knowledge economy,” Sharma said making a strong case for using cable TV for broadband delivery.

Broadband through cable TV - beaming into millions of Indian homes - would only require tweaking of the policy and Trai has already given its recommendation to the government in this regard.

“Our ranking will zoom up. There are millions of cable TV homes and by 31 December all these will be digitised. That can be leveraged. In many of developed countries like the US and in Europe nearly 50-60 percent of robust broadband is coming from digital cable TV. We need to do that,” he said.

Highlighting the role that Bharat Net project will play in strengthening the digital infrastructure, he said industry, government and the regulator will have to work together in taking India higher than its ranking of 131-132 among 155 nations in ICT penetration.

On demonetisation being a catalyst for digitisation, Sharma said: “Certainly, in the last two weeks or so there has been an acceleration digital transactions.”

Cashless society or, in the short term less-cash society, is the aim of digital India, he said, adding that “this is accelerating already”.

Both Trai and Telecom Department called for making the mobile short code or USSD facility - used to avail banking services on feature phones - more simple and user-friendly.

“We need to work on push USSD, where the burden of pressing keys and pulling codes should move from the payer to merchant,” Telecom Secretary JS Deepak said.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Demand for housing likely to go up to 42 lakh units for 8 cities in 5 years.

The total demand for urban housing is estimated at 42 lakh units during 2016 to 2020 across top eight Indian cities, says a report by Cushman & Wakefield and GRI entitled Revitalising Indian Real Estate: A new era of growth and investment. Existing under-construction and planned supply of 10 lakh housing units by private developers is also expected to be delivered across top eight cities during the period. Delhi-NCR (NCT, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Noida) continues to garner the highest proportion of demand (24%) at around 10 lakh units by the end of 2020.

Lower income group or LIG (below Rs 15 lakh) is the most under-serviced segment. While the demand generated here is likely to be about 19.8 lakh units by 2020, supply by private developers will be limited to barely 25,000 units. Similarly, though the middle-income group or MIG ( Rs 15-70 lakh) accounts for 63% of the total housing supply across eight cities between 2016 and 2020 at 647,000 units, the demand is estimated to be a much higher 1,457,000 units.

“At the ground level, despite demand grossly outstripping supply, there is a considerable proportion of unsold inventory in the MIG and HIG categories, which are not absorbed as these properties are unable to demonstrate value for their buyers. Such units fall out of preference either on account of higher-than-expected prices or due to locations. Lack of funds and high land and development costs are the primary reasons for developers not opting for smaller sized units closer to city centres as profitability drastically reduces. Despite encouragement from the government through taxation and funding relief, under the Housing for All 2022 vision, top cities of India have not seen a significant shift in supply for reduced sized apartments within the MIG or LIG. Further, with the recent move to demonetise large currencies in order to crack down on black money, the demand for HIG and luxury housing could temper further. This is expected to propel developers to recalibrate their plans to suit the high demand segments of affordable housing.” says Anshul Jain, managing director, India, Cushman & Wakefield.

“To be able to utilise the opportunity of the shortfall in supply to demand, private developers will need to change their approach and bring in better strategies, systems, technology and funding options. Some international development companies are actively scouting the various local markets to identify the right opportunities for themselves; Indian developers will need to gear up to meet their onslaught and remain relevant and profitable,” he says.

The urban housing demand is the highest in Delhi-NCR across all the three segments among the top eight cities, forming nearly 24% to 26% of the demand in each of the categories. Mumbai and Bengaluru will follow Delhi-NCR and are expected to generate housing demand of about 711,000 and 686,000 units, respectively, over the next five years. While the majority of the demand emanates from MIG within Mumbai, LIG accounts for the maximum proportion in Bengaluru. In most of the cities, except Mumbai, developers are currently focusing on MIG with 60% to 70% of the upcoming supply concentrated in this segment.

Ahmedabad is expected to account for around 6% of the cumulative demand between 2016 and 2020 with nearly 92% of the demand concentrated in LIG and MIG.

Among all the top cities, Bengaluru is likely to witness the highest supply catering to the MIG between 2016 and 2020. However, the city is not likely to see any supply catering to the LIG between the five-year period.

In terms of demand, LIG and MIG will account for nearly 80%of supply during 2016-2020. However, MIG and HIG are expected to constitute more than 90% of the upcoming supply.

Hyderabad is likely to witness only 7% of the total supply – lower than Chennai and Kolkata. Interestingly, the supply catering to MIG and HIG is expected to be similar levels in Hyderabad, with developers not likely to concentrate on the LIG segment in Hyderabad.

Among all the eight cities, developers are likely to launch the highest number of units for LIG in Kolkata. The expected supply in LIG in Kolkata accounts for 35% of total supply for the LIG.

Mumbai is expected to follow Delhi-NCR in terms of total housing demand. However, the majority of the supply is likely to cater to the HIG, followed by the MIG and the LIG, with the supply of housing units catered towards LIG likely to be among the lowest in Mumbai.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Air India chief comes out in support of pilots.

Pilots protesting against a recent draft proposal by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that threatens cancellation of license of those feigning illness have found an unlikely supporter in Air India chief, Ashwani Lohani.

Sources said Lohani, in a letter to the regulator, has argued that dealing with pilot issues was the airline’s job and if there was a violation, it should be left to the airline to take disciplinary action.

“If there is a safety violation the regulator is always informed but disciplinary action should be left to the airline,” said an AI official.

The DGCA had said in the draft issued on November 7 that it had been “observed that pilots at times do not adhere to assigned flight duties that have a bearing on flight safety or public interest. Patterns have been observed wherein pilots rostered for flights report sick especially during times of festivals, weekends or at times during periods of disagreement with the management over issues of work terms and conditions. In some cases, groups of pilots report sick without notice and as a result, airlines are forced to delay or cancel their flights at the last minute.”

According to the draft, airlines shall ensure that pilots who often report sick are examined by company doctors immediately and airlines forward their names to DGCA.

“Any act on the part of pilots, wherein they pretend to be sick to escape flight duty would be treated as an act against the public interest,” the DGCA has said.

The draft has been strongly opposed by pilot unions of Air India and Jet Airways, which together represent over 3000 pilots. With the national carrier throwing its weight behind the pilots, it is highly unlikely that the draft goes on to become a civil aviation rule, said officials.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Trump announces Dec 15 news conference to discuss leaving business ‘in total’.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will be leaving his far-flung business “in total” to focus on running the country and will outline the plan in a December 15 news conference with his family.

Under pressure to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, Trump announced his plans in a series of tweets but did not explain exactly what he would be doing with his assets.

“I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said.

Trump said he is not required by law to alter his relationship with his business, but added: “I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses.”

“Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!” he added.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

e-wallet firms to hire 200 graduates from IITs, IIMs, other top colleges.

The demonetization drive has brought good news for fresh graduates of top colleges as mobile wallet firms plan to expand business operations due to a surge in wallet transactions.

Paytm, the largest mobile payments and commerce platform, plans to hire 100 graduates this year. MobiKwik in its bid to create a brand will recruit nearly 200 people and strengthen its sales, marketing and business development departments.

Since the government demonetized ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes on November 8, Paytm has added five million new users and registered over seven million transactions worth ₹120 crore in a day. Mobikwik with a user base of 40 million has seen a growth of 40% in daily app downloads.

“We will continue to hire freshers and experienced professionals across diverse roles to keep up with our growth,” says Amit Sinha, senior vice-president, Paytm.

Apart from IITs and IIMs, Paytm has in the past hired graduates from BITS Pilani, National Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, FMS Delhi, XLRI Jamshedpur, MDI Gurgaon, SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai, and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

“This year will be no different,” Sinha adds.

MobiKwik plans to hire 100 graduates from IITs and IIMs at an average salary of ₹15 lakh per annum. “Over the next six months, we plan to invest 10 million dollars on team expansion and increase the team size from 210 to 400,” said Bipin Preet Singh, founder and CEO, MobiKwik.

Freecharge, owned by e-commerce giant Snapdeal, refused to divulge any details. Company CEO Govind Rajan said, “Given the sharp increase in usage in recent weeks, we are expanding the customer acquisition team.”

The final placements across all B-schools and engineering colleges will be held from December onwards. While virtual wallet companies are already hiring people to fulfil immediate requirements, graduates will join work in June.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

RBI restricts withdrawal limit on Jan Dhan accounts to Rs 10,000.

The government clamped temporary restrictions on withdrawals from Jan Dhan accounts on Wednesday in a bid to stop people from parking illegal incomes in these accounts.

In a notification, the Reserve Bank of India announced that Jan Dhan account holders fully compliant with bank transaction data norms will be allowed to withdraw Rs 10000 monthly.

Further withdrawals may be allowed only after the “genuineness” of such needs was recorded by the bank.

Any Jan Dhan account holder who isn’t compliant with the “know your customer” norms will be allowed to withdraw 5,000 per month from the amount deposited through the old notes after November 9 “within the overall ceiling of 10,000”.

This comes after the government revealed the total deposits in the Jan Dhan accounts suddenly increased to Rs 64,252.15 crore between November 10 and 16 – after the government announced the scrapping of high-value banknotes.

“With a view to protecting innocent farmers and rural account holders of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana from activities of money launders and legal consequences under the Benami Property Transaction & Money Laundering laws, it has been decided to place certain limits, as a matter of precaution,” the RBI notification read.

Last Friday, the RBI had announced a weekly withdrawal ceiling of Rs 24,000 for all bank accounts.

The government abruptly recalled all Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes – which made up 86% of the currency in circulation by value – three weeks ago in a bid to stamp out “black money”. But a bumpy roll-out of the move has seen millions of people lined up outside banks and ATMs amid fears that thousands of jobs may be lost in India’s large informal economy.

Two weeks ago, the government announced it will monitor bank accounts, especially those of artisans, workers, housewives and the poor, and prosecute anyone allowing the parking of illegal wealth of others.

The finance ministry decision came after numerous reports that unscrupulous elements were using such accounts to stash “black money”.

The ministry would also monitor zero-balance accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme after a surge in the deposits of many of such accounts.

The government had informed last week that among the deposits in PMJDY accounts, Uttar Pradesh led the chart with Rs 10,670.62 crore deposits followed by West Bengal and Rajasthan.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Indian economy grows 7.3% in Septermber-quarter.

India’s economic growth accelerated to 7.3% in the three months through September from a provisional 7.1% expansion in the previous quarter, government data showed on Wednesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 7.5% growth during July-September quarter.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Global play schools eye India play.

Teaching is no more only about chalk and duster. Chances are your child is likely to learn colours, numbers and shapes while playing soccer as well.

With the number of children going to play schools expected to increase to over 10 lakh by XX from the current 3.5 lakh, three international play school chains Little Kickers, The City and Sherpa Kids are all set to enter the Indian market.

The target audience children aged between 1.5 years to 8 years.

Canada-based Little Kickers uses soccer-based programmes to help in the early development of the child. Another Singapore-based play school, The City, creates small-scale, real-life locations, including supermarket, cafe and hospitals, to stimulate child’s imagination and learning.

New-Zealand-based Sherpa Kids, on the other hand, will introduce the new concept of out of school care (OOSC) provider in India. Such play schools, in global markets, allow parents to leave children after school-time and engage them in activities tailored to fit in with the requirement of their studies.

“Our fees would be around R5,000 per month and we plan to create a strong presence in all major cities in India within the next three years,” Dawn Engelbrecht, managing director, Sherpa Kids International, told HT.

India currently has 65,000-odd play schools.

“Valuable early learning concepts such as colour and number recognition, sharing and taking turns are taught to the kids through a variety of games, which fire their imaginations,” said Christine Stanschus, CEO at Little Kickers.

According to credit rating agency Crisil, the overall pre-school market is expected grow at 20% between 2013 and 2018 and hit a market size of R16,500 crore by 2018.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

India set to zip past Germany as no.4 auto market next year.

India will overtake Germany to become the world’s fourth largest market in domestic car sales for vehicles by 2017, according to IHS Markit, a London-based consultancy firm.

The automobile business has come a long way since 2001. India ranked 16, then. It also had only 16 car makers that year.

Cut to 2016, it has more than 35 car and light commercial vehicle makers. By 2020, that number will go up to 55 car manufacturers. Toyota had plans to bring in Daihatsu, the small car maker it acquired earlier this year. Hyundai has plans to get its subsidiary Kia to India.

According to IHS, in 2017, India will sell 3.8 million passenger vehicles (up from 3.3 million in 2016), while Germany will sell 3.64 million (up from 3.62 million). The growth comes on the back of a fast-growing economy, adequate financing availability, decreasing unemployment, increasing disposable incomes, and rising consumer expectations.

That also marks the entry of a country where the average car prices are low, into the top four markets. “All the other markets sell big cars, except for Japan (which sells a large number of mini-cars)… With a large number of cars selling in the domestic market, India can influence global car making,” said Anil Sharma, principal analyst at IHS Markit.

For example, Maruti Suzuki Baleno is being exported to Japan, where mini-cars are very expensive. “Except their size, there is nothing mini about those cars… India is already Suzuki’s biggest market,” RC Bhargava had told HT in an interview, earlier, talking about India’s growing importance.

Others, too, such as Japanese auto major Nissan have planned to build seven global models in India at its Chennai plant. Nissan and its alliance partner Renault have Kwid and Datsun in their portfolio – the low-cost cars are being exported globally.

According to IHS, India will overtake Japan to become the third-largest car selling country by 2020 – leaving China and the US ahead of it. By then 39 of 55 car makers will be making cars here, boosting exports, too. Production in India is also expected to jump from its current 6th ranking to 4th, trailing just behind the US, China and Japan.

On the other hand, India’s rise is also making global brands bring global products to India, keeping India in mind. Hyundai, for example, is making a sub-four meter compact SUV which will compete with Maruti Brezza, which will be sold in other countries, too.

“We will bring global products to India, as India is an important market, and is a growing market. We are looking at selling a million cars by 2020,” said Y.K. Koo, managing director of Hyundai Motor India.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Zuk Edge to Launch Next Week: Here's Everything We Know So Far.

Lenovo-owned Chinese mobile brand Zuk is set to unveil its upcoming smartphone next

week. Called the Zuk Edge, the bezel-less smartphone has been subjected to several

leaks ahead of the launch.

There is no official date of the launch event, but Zuk CEO Chang Cheng has announced

on Weibo that the smartphone will launch next week, and even shared press renders

of the Zuk Edge for the first time. We've collated all that is rumoured about Lenovo's

upcoming Zuk Edge smartphone, and here's everything that we know so far:

Price

There has been no leak on the price front, but the Lenovo Zuk Edge is expected to follow

the company's business strategy and be in the mid-range segment. Just to recap, the last

Zuk phone launched by Lenovo was the Zuk Z2 smartphone priced at CNY 1,799 (known

as Lenovo Z2 Plus in India, priced starting at Rs. 17,999).

Design

The Zuk Edge was rumoured to have a bezel-less display and a curved edge screen, but

official press renders and latest live images refute the latter claim. The smartphone seen

in the images sport metal edges, with a glass back, and a Home Button below the display.

The camera is situated in the centre at the back with the flash sitting below it. The

speaker grille, 3.5mm audio jack, and the USB Type-C port are all situated on the bottom

edge of the Zuk Edge smartphone. The device is expected to be available in Black and

White colour options.

Specifications

The smartphone was even spotted on TENAA, where most of its specifications were

leaked. According to the listing, the Zuk Edge sports a 5.5-inch full-HD (1080x1920 pixels)

display. It is expected to be powered by quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor

coupled with 4GB of RAM. There's also a 6GB RAM variant expected to be unveiled on

launch day.

The Zuk Edge smartphone is pegged to be available in 32GB and 64GB storage models.

With respect to optics, the Edge smartphone is tipped to come with a 13-megapixel rear

camera and an 8-megapixel camera at the front. As per the TENAA listing, the Zuk Edge

will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow with ZUI 2.0 skin and will house a 3000mAh battery.

The smartphone is tipped to come with a fingerprint scanner as well.

Source:- Gadgets.ndtv.com

Lenovo K6 Power vs Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime: Battle of the big battery phones.

Lenovo K6 Power is now out in India, and the highlight of this new smartphone is its large 4,000 mAh battery. Lenovo first announced its Vibe K6 series at IFA 2016 in Berlin. The K6 Power was launched alongside Lenovo K6 and K6 Note. Lenovo K6 Power is a budget device that fits right in between K6 and K6 Note. 

The K6 Power is aimed at users who rely on big battery packed in a small phone to get through the day. Lenovo K6 Power gets a 5-inch full HD display and runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Lenovo has priced the smartphone at Rs 9,999. Given the pricing and specifications, the K6 Power will directly compete with Xiaomi’s Redmi 3S Prime in India which costs Rs 8,999.

Let us take a look at how Lenovo K6 Power fares against the 3S Prime based on specifications:

Lenovo K6 Power

The highlight of Lenovo K6 Power is its big 4,000 mAh battery. The smartphone sports a metal unibody design just like the Redmi 3S Prime. It features a 5-inch Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080 pixels resolution) and is powered by 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 chipset clocked at 1.4Ghz with an Adreno 505 GPU. It comes in with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage. The memory is expandable up to 128GB via microSD card.

The rear camera on the K6 Power is 13MP with LED flash, PDAF, Manual Pro Mode, Time lapse and Slow Motion. It features an 8MP front camera with auto Beautification mode. The Dual-SIM smartphone offers fingerprint sensor and Dolby Audio support. Lenovo K6 Power runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow with company’s Pure UI that brings support for dual apps and long screenshots. The phone supports the company’s TheatreMax technology to allow for a 360 video, gaming experience for those who have the required VR ANT headset.

Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime

Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime comes at Rs 8,999 in India and features similar specifications. The budget smartphone gets a 5-inch HD display and-and runs MIUI 7 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. It packs a big 4,100 mAh battery, which easily lasts for up to 2 days. The smartphone has a metal unibody design with a curved back. It is powered by a 1.4Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage (expandable up to 128GB via microSD slot).

The device sports a 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front camera. The Redmi 3S Prime has a fingerprint scanner on the back. It is available in Gold, Grey and Silver colour options. In our review of Xiaomi Redmi 3S Prime, we called the smartphone as the battery king.

Xiaomi launched a stripped down version of the smartphone as well – Redmi 3S. The Redmi 3S is priced at Rs 6,999, lacks fingerprint scanner and comes in 2GB+16GB storage options. Rest of the specifications are same as the 3S Prime. Xiaomi Redmi 3S and Redmi 3S Prime are Made in India phones and come with 4G VoLTE support.

So which one wins?  

On the face of it, the Lenovo K6 Power has a better full HD display, along with an 8MP front camera. The VR and 360-degree viewing support with TheatreMax also look like an extra point in the phone’s favour. But it is more expensive than the Redmi 3S at Rs 9,999, and in this price band, it can make a big difference for a consumer.

For now, Lenovo is the number two smartphone vendor in India, with a little over 9 per cent market share, according to the latest numbers from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC). There’s no doubt that the K6 Power with its extra battery life and better display get the interest of that shopping for a new phone online.

Source:- Indianexpress.com

Lenovo K6 Power smartphone launched in India.

Extending its popular K series, Chinese technology company Lenovo on Tuesday launched K6 Power smartphone in India exclusively with retailer Flipkart.

Priced at Rs 9,999, the smartphone can be bought through an open sale starting December 6.

“K series has been very successful for us so far. We have delivered some great K-series devices. K6 Power is the complete all-rounder. People are looking at the great battery, great camera, strong processor, great display with TheatreMax technology. Like other K-series devices, we are hopeful that K6 Power will be a tremendous success in India,” Sudhin Mathur, Executive Director,Lenovo MBG, told IANS here.

The full-metal body design smartphone features 5-inch full-HD display, Dolby Atmos sound, 1.4GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor, Adreno 505 graphics, fingerprint sensor,3GB of RAM and runs on Lenovo Pure UI on top of Android Marshmallow operating system.

The smartphone sports 13MP rear camera with Sony IMX258 sensor, 8MP front camera with wide-angle lens, has 32GB of internal storage expandable up to 128GB and houses 4,000mAh battery.

According to a recent report by International Data Corporation (IDC), Lenovo Group, which constitutes almost a fourth of total online smartphone shipments, continues to lead online channel followed by Xiaomi.

Samsung led the Indian smartphone market with 23 percentage share with 8 percent sequential growth followed by Lenovo Group (including Motorola) at second place with 9.6 percent share of smartphones in the third quarter of this year, IDC said.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Drones are mapping Indian cities - where they’re allowed.

Officials in one of India’s fastest growing cities are using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to update land records in a pilot project that could be rolled out across the country if rules governing the use of drones were simpler, authorities said.

Haryana state’s Project Udaan, or flight, is mapping the technology hub of Gurgaon, a satellite town of Delhi, and the towns of Sohna and Manesar in northern India.

The drone images are being used to update decades-old land records, check encroachments and resolve disputes over land and property.

“While land records are meant to be updated every five years, this is not done regularly and there are invariably errors, even with satellite imagery,” said TL Satyaprakash, deputy commissioner in Gurgaon.

“That is why we are using drones, as they are more precise. So we can verify and rectify the land records before they are digitised,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

India has embarked on a land record modernization programme to survey lands, upgrade records and establish ownership. The project is scheduled to conclude in 2021 at a cost of 110 billion rupees ($1.6 billion).

Delays in mapping lands and authenticating ownership have caused disputes that stall development projects, sparking lengthy court battles. Matters related to land and property make up about two-thirds of all civil cases in India, according to Daksh, a legal advocacy group based in Bengaluru.

Haryana state officials sourced drones from Science and Technology Park, Pune to take high-resolution images every three months to record boundaries, illegal constructions and encroachments of forests and public lands, Satyaprakash said.

These images were then checked against existing land records and verified with village councils in rural areas before being updated, said R.S. Hooda, chief engineer at Haryana Space Applications Centre, which is also working on the project.

“Drones are cheaper now compared to some years ago, as they are being made in India, and the images are far superior to satellite images,” he said.

“This project can be replicated elsewhere quite easily, but the guidelines for drone use are rather strict, including where they can fly, so their use is limited.”

Drones are increasingly used in India to curb deforestation and check illegal mining and quarrying.

But rules governing their use differ in every state, with permissions needed from the local police and the defence ministry to operate them, Hooda said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a draft policy on the use of civilian UAVs earlier this year, which said all UAVs must be registered and that permits to operate them would be issued on a “case to case basis”.

Drones are barred from flying over certain areas, including military facilities, the entire air space over Delhi, and near international borders.

“It is a challenge - if it were a little easier to use drones, we can map more areas quickly. We can do so much more in land-related matters with drones,” Hooda said.

Source:- Hindustan Times.

Trump picks Indian-American consultant, Obamacare critic to overhaul healthcare.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped another Indian-American for a senior position on his team, naming Seema Verma the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Tuesday.

He also named Congressman Tom Price secretary of health and human services, who will be tasked with dismantling Obamacare, which Trump had wanted to repeal in full but has indicated he may retain portions of it.

Verma’s appointment makes her the second Indian-American in a senior position in the Trump team after South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who has been named US ambassador to the United Nations, a cabinet-rank position.

“I am pleased to nominate Seema Verma to serve as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services,” Trump said in a statement, adding: “She has decades of experience advising on Medicare and Medicaid policy and helping states navigate our complicated systems. Together, Chairman Price and Seema Verma are the dream team that will transform our healthcare system for the benefit of all Americans.”

Verma said in the same announcement: ““I am honoured to be nominated by President-elect Trump today. I look forward to helping him tackle our nation’s daunting healthcare problems in a responsible and sustainable way.”

Verma worked with healthcare reform in Indiana with Governor Mike Pence, who is now vice president-elect.

Verma is currently the president, CEO and founder of SVC, Inc., a national health policy consulting company. She has worked extensively on a variety of policy and strategic projects involving Medicaid, insurance, and public health, working with Governors’ offices, State Medicaid agencies, State Health Departments, State Departments of Insurance, as well as the federal government, private companies and foundations, according to the announcement from the Trump transition team.

She is credited with redesigning Medicaid programmes in several states, and the statement called her “the architect” of the Healthy Indiana Plan, the nation’s first consumer-directed Medicaid program.

Verma was Indiana’s health reform lead following the passage of Obamacare in 2010.

Verma did Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University and got her Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences from the University of Maryland.

Source:- Hindustan Times.