Android Masters Incorporated

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS More rumours and leaks about Reliance Jio's upcoming 4G feature phone Nokia 6 registrations date and launch offers announced WhatsApp for Android now lets users send files of any type Multiple rumours suggest that Reliance Jio will unveil an affordable Lyf-branded feature phone with advanced functionality at its upcoming AGM next week. Now, more details and even photos of the purported Jio 4G VoLTE phone have popped up online. For starters, the feature phone will of course be 4G-capable and support VoLTE, but it will also shown to support dual SIM cards and tethering, allowing it to function as a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Lyf-branded Reliance Jio 4G feature phone is also tipped to have a 2.4-inch colour screen, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, a microSD card slot, a 2-megapixel rear camera and VGA front camera for video calling. The battery capacity is supposedly 2000mAh, but details of the processor are unknown, except that it could be

  14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS Halli Labs was formed by former Stayzilla employees The company started its journey barely four months ago Halli Labs' work focused on machine learning and artificial intelligence Halli Labs, a Bengaluru-based company that specialises in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), has been acquired by Google. The startup came into existence barely four months ago. The Halli Labs team will be joining Google’s Next Billion Users effort, the Internet giant’s initiative to bring the next billion users from emerging markets like India online. This is said to be the first acquisition of an Indian company by Google. It’s not entirely clear how large Halli Labs is, but its core team members, including Pankaj Gupta and Pradhuman Jhala, were previously at marketplace Stayzilla. Gupta, who founded Halli Labs and assumes CEO position, was the chief product officer and chief technology officer at Stayzilla, while Jhala w

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS Nokia 3 to be available with interest free financial schemes HMD Global has announced a partnership with Home Credit As before, Nokia 3 is available at Rs. 9,499 Nokia 3, the cheapest of the three new Nokia Android phones, will now be available in India with interest free financial schemes. HMD Global has struck a deal with Home Credit to offer prospective Nokia 3 buyers an interest free scheme. Nokia 3, an offline-exclusive Nokia Android phone, went on sale in India few weeks back. It is available in the country at a recommended best buy price of Rs. 9,499, and comes in four colours, namely Matte Black, Silver White, Tempered Blue and Copper White. Under the new partnership with Home Credit, Nokia 3 will be available to buy with financing schemes that will offer 0 percent interest loans with flexible EMI and down payment options. With the new partnership, Nokia 3 potential buyers can opt for to pay their EMIs in six or seven m

  14 July 2017 Photo Credit: iFixit HIGHLIGHTS Galaxy Note Fan Edition comes with a battery with smaller capacity The new phone's battery weighs less than the one on Galaxy Note 7 as well The smartphone was released in South Korea on July 7 Earlier this month, Samsung made a major announcement as the company said that it will be releasing refurbished version of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, called Samsung Galaxy Note Fan Edition. While the South Korean conglomerate said that it will be using components from the Galaxy Note 7 in the new model, the iFixit teardown of the new handset has revealed that it is the same old Galaxy Note 7 albeit with a new smaller battery. In its  note  regarding the Galaxy Note Fan Edition teardown, iFixit says, "Beyond batteries, we've got exactly the same phone: no evidence of the rumoured processor bumps, and no surprises." Photo Credit: iFixit In comparison with the 13.48Wh (3500mAh) batt

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS The Motorola Verve Loop headphones are priced at Rs. 2,499 They are IP57 rated for water resistance and splash proof The Bluetooth headphones are aimed at sports enthusiasts Following the launch of the Motorola Earbuds Metal and Earbuds Sports in-ear headphones last week, Shyam Telecom, the Indian licensee of Motorola Companion Products range, has launched another pair of headphones, called the Motorola Verve Loop Sports Bluetooth in-ear headphones. The water resistant headphones are priced at Rs. 2,499 and will be sold via mobile retail outlets and e-commerce sites. The Motorola Verve Loop Sports Bluetooth in-ear headphones is a mouthful to say, but as the name suggests, the headphones come with Bluetooth support and are being aimed at fitness enthusiasts who don't want to have to deal with the hassles of wired headphones. And since the headphone also comes with an IP54 rating for water and splash resistance, users can sweat

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS Xiaomi's alleged Redmi 5 may launch later this year The prices are expected to start at CNY 859 (roughly Rs. 8,000) The alleged Redmi 5 likely to come in three variants Xiaomi's alleged Redmi 5 budget smartphone has been leaked in images and specifications, indicating the handset may launch later this year. A Weibo tipster has claimed details of the upcoming Redmi 5 including prices, variants, and innards of the alleged Redmi 5. According to the Weibo tipster, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 will start as low as CNY 859 (roughly Rs. 8,000) for the 3GB RAM and 16GB storage variant. There will be two more variants much like its predecessor: CNY 1,039 (roughly Rs. 10,000) for the 3GB RAM and 32GB storage, and CNY 1,099 (roughly Rs. 10,500) for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. Looking at the prices, the alleged Redmi 5 seems to be slightly costlier compared to the Xiaomi Redmi 4 though we need to wait for the actual launch to happen.

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS There are two AMD Ryzen 3 desktop CPU models, both 4 cores, 4 threads The Ryzen Threadripper 1950X has 16 cores and 32 threads Ryzen 3 will go on sale July 27; Threadripper will launch in early August AMD has taken the wraps off its highly anticipated Ryzen 3 and Ryzen Thread ripper CPUs. The budget-focused Ryzen 3 line will target entry-level users, while the enthusiast-class Ryzen Thread ripper is designed for those who want monstrous amounts of processing power in a desktop. AMD is hoping to gain an edge over Intel's offerings in the same space by offering higher performance and lower prices. There are two Ryzen 3 models, which join the mid-range and high-end Ryzen 5  and Ryzen 7 families, completing AMD's new desktop platform. The Ryzen 3 1300X and Ryzen 3 1200 both have four cores but are not multi-threaded unlike all other CPUs announced so far. However, AMD will be counting on four physical cores as an advanta

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS The image was shared by chipset department of Samsung The device in the teaser image doesn't feature any buttons on the side The smartphone's release is expected in September Samsung Galaxy Note 8   leaks are increasing in frequency, but surprisingly, this time around, the South Korean smartphone maker might have teased the handset to us by itself. In a teaser image, shared by the Exynos team,   Samsung   might have given us the first glimpse of the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. Separately, the smartphone has been tipped to be released in September this year. The Samsung Exynos team shared a   Twitter post   on Thursday meant to tout the benefits of the Samsung Exynos 8895 SoC. However, the smartphone pictured in the tweet looked nothing like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, which are currently are only two smartphones to be powered by the processor. The smartphone in the tweet has design elements similar to previ

14 July 2017 Photo Credit: TechPP A leaked image of the Jio feature phone, showing the dedicated button for flashlight HIGHLIGHTS Jio feature phone is expected to launch on July 21 The handset will reportedly cost Rs. 500 It is said to have a colour display, custom OS, and 4G VoLTE support Reliance Jio is set to make a splash once again, if rumors are anything to go by. It is widely expected the company will launch the Rs. 500 Jio feature phone on July 21, the day the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) holds its Annual General Meeting. The Jio feature phone has been in the tech grapevine since early this year, and now two new reports have leaked all the details of the upcoming 4G VoLTE-enabled model, including the specifications, and key features. Jio feature phone specifications, features According to a report by  TechPP , the Jio feature phone will be sold under the Lyf brand; the company already sells smartphones under the Lyf name. As rumoured

14 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS Google prompts simplifies two-step verifications Two-step SMS users will see an invitation to try prompts SMS verification codes are more susceptible to phishing attacks There have been plenty of cyber-attacks in the recent past that would make anyone feel the need to add some additional security measures to protect their digital information. Two-step verification (2-SV) aka two-factor authentication is one of these measures being used by tech giants like   Google,   Microsoft   and   Apple   over the past few years. Google, in particular, tried to make the whole two-step authentication process simpler last year by   introducing 'prompt', which does not require users to input an SMS code. But there are some users who still prefer the old SMS route, and for them, Google has a plan to shift them to Prompts. Starting next week, SMS 2-step verification users will see an   invitation to try out Google prompts   when the tr

  13 July 2017 HIGHLIGHTS The Rs. 453 pack comes with 1GB daily data cap for 84 days Users will get 300 minutes of bundled calls per day, 1,200 minutes a week Jio and Aircel also offer similar plans with 84GB bundled data Days after Reliance Jio announced the extension of its Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer with a new plan, rival Idea Cellular has countered with a new prepaid pack with 84GB bundled data (doled out at 1GB per day), and ‘unlimited’ calls. The new Idea plan is priced at Rs. 453, and directly competes against the new Jio Rs. 399 pack that provides 1GB data per day for 84 days. Aircel has also launched a similar plan, with 1GB daily data and unlimited calls for 84 days. The Rs. 453 Idea pack provides 3G Internet speed, while the Jio network is 4G-only. The bundled ‘unlimited’ calls are limited to 300 minutes per day, and 1,200 minutes per week. If a user exhausts the complimentary minutes, the calls will be charged at 30p per minute. Similarly