Technology

Facebook is making some changes to its app’s navigation bar on Android and iOS. The navigation bar on Facebook will soon be populated by the most used services, personalised for each Facebook user. The news comes from CNET, which reports that Facebook is looking to bring users closer to their favourite services on the platform by redesigning the navigation bar which rests on top in the Android app and the bottom in the iOS app. As of now, Facebook users can see four icons on the app in India - Newsfeed, Friend Requests, Notifications, and the Hamburger menu to access shortcuts, apps and other linked profiles. With the redesign, Facebook will probably show users anywhere between 4 - 6 icons in the navigation bar. At first, Facebook will automatically choose a user’s most used services and place them on the navigation bar, but going forward, the company plans to give users control over what they see by providing an option in the settings to change these icons. "We want the shortcut

For the first time ever, OnePlus has leapfrogged Samsung and Apple to gain the top spot in the Indian premium smartphone segment in the second quarter of 2018, market research firm Counterpoint Research has said. The Chinese smartphone brand captured 40 percent of the market driven by record shipments of its OnePlus 6 as compared to its previous flagships. OnePlus was also the fastest growing brand in the premium segment registering a 446 percent growth, while shipments for Apple and Samsung declined year-on-year (YoY). Samsung captured 34 percent share in the premium segment and its shipments declined a massive 25 percent YoY due to a downward spiral in shipments of Galaxy S9 as compared to Galaxy S8. Apple’s share in the premium segment reached its lowest ever at 14 percent due to decline in shipments for its iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices. Counterpoint predicts that since OnePlus has now launched its offline and exclusive stores across key cities in the country, the brand will be ab

Microsoft has started testing its ‘Your Phone’ app, which will be available for all with the upcoming Redstone 5 Windows 10 update. The app was first announced at the company’s Build developer conference in May this year. It can mirror content from a phone to a PC and will allow Windows 10 users to access emails, messages, photos and other notification directly from their PCs. As per Microsoft's Windows Blog, the Your Phone app will be available for testing with the newly released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17728 (RS5) to Windows Insiders in the fast ring.  Some new functionalities will be made available on the app for Windows Insiders with an Android device. One will be able to capture an image using their phone and see it on their PC instantly. Additionally, the photos and notifications will also be mirrored to Windows 10 and one can simply drag and drop to copy images. Microsoft’s blog reads, “And rolling out in the coming weeks, Android users might also start to notice a

Facebook is making some changes to its app’s navigation bar on Android and iOS. The navigation bar on Facebook will soon be populated by the most used services, personalised for each Facebook user. The news comes from CNET, which reports that Facebook is looking to bring users closer to their favourite services on the platform by redesigning the navigation bar which rests on top in the Android app and the bottom in the iOS app. As of now, Facebook users can see four icons on the app in India - Newsfeed, Friend Requests, Notifications, and the Hamburger menu to access shortcuts, apps and other linked profiles. With the redesign, Facebook will probably show users anywhere between 4 - 6 icons in the navigation bar. At first, Facebook will automatically choose a user’s most used services and place them on the navigation bar, but going forward, the company plans to give users control over what they see by providing an option in the settings to change these icons. "We want the shortcut

For the first time ever, OnePlus has leapfrogged Samsung and Apple to gain the top spot in the Indian premium smartphone segment in the second quarter of 2018, market research firm Counterpoint Research has said. The Chinese smartphone brand captured 40 percent of the market driven by record shipments of its OnePlus 6 as compared to its previous flagships. OnePlus was also the fastest growing brand in the premium segment registering a 446 percent growth, while shipments for Apple and Samsung declined year-on-year (YoY). Samsung captured 34 percent share in the premium segment and its shipments declined a massive 25 percent YoY due to a downward spiral in shipments of Galaxy S9 as compared to Galaxy S8. Apple’s share in the premium segment reached its lowest ever at 14 percent due to decline in shipments for its iPhone 8 and iPhone X devices. Counterpoint predicts that since OnePlus has now launched its offline and exclusive stores across key cities in the country, the brand will be ab

Microsoft has started testing its ‘Your Phone’ app, which will be available for all with the upcoming Redstone 5 Windows 10 update. The app was first announced at the company’s Build developer conference in May this year. It can mirror content from a phone to a PC and will allow Windows 10 users to access emails, messages, photos and other notification directly from their PCs. As per Microsoft's Windows Blog, the Your Phone app will be available for testing with the newly released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17728 (RS5) to Windows Insiders in the fast ring.  Some new functionalities will be made available on the app for Windows Insiders with an Android device. One will be able to capture an image using their phone and see it on their PC instantly. Additionally, the photos and notifications will also be mirrored to Windows 10 and one can simply drag and drop to copy images. Microsoft’s blog reads, “And rolling out in the coming weeks, Android users might also start to notice a

After launching the P20 Pro, Huawei, it seems, is readying for the launch of their next flagship, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. According to an exclusive published by XDA Developers, they’ve managed to get hold of firmware files for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Lite. After having examined the firmware files, we get a first glimpse of the hardware specifications of these three upcoming smartphones, the most notable being the Kirin 980 chipset. Huawei has continued to use the Kirin 970 chipsets for its smartphones till this year, prompting many to wonder why the company was not pushing out the Kirin 980 sooner. The reason for that is that the Kirin 980 SoC will be the first to be manufactured on the 7nm process, a technique that has required significant R&D on the part of all major chip manufacturers. The Kirin 980 is expected to be unveiled at IFA 2018, and will be first available in the Mate 20 as per the firmware files examined by XDA. The new 7nm FinFET process

If you are looking to pick up a flagship TV this year, then your purchase decision just got a lot tougher. At an event in New York, Sony has announced the launch of 2 new TVs. These TVs are a part of the Master Series. The Master Series aims to give viewers an experience that is as close as it can be to the intent of the creators of the content with respect to picture quality. The two models announced by Sony are the Z9F and the A9F. The Z9F is a part of Sony’s LED TV line-up and is a successor to the Z9D which launched about two years ago. The A9F is an OLED TV, a successor to the A1. The Sony Z9F will be available in 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes, while the A9F will be available in 55-inch and 65-inchs screen sizes. There is no information available about the pricing of the TVs. They will first go on sale in the US later this year. Both the TVs are powered by Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor, the same we got a glimpse of at CES 2018. Both the TVs support 4K with HDR 10 and Dolby Visi

After launching the P20 Pro, Huawei, it seems, is readying for the launch of their next flagship, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. According to an exclusive published by XDA Developers, they’ve managed to get hold of firmware files for the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Lite. After having examined the firmware files, we get a first glimpse of the hardware specifications of these three upcoming smartphones, the most notable being the Kirin 980 chipset. Huawei has continued to use the Kirin 970 chipsets for its smartphones till this year, prompting many to wonder why the company was not pushing out the Kirin 980 sooner. The reason for that is that the Kirin 980 SoC will be the first to be manufactured on the 7nm process, a technique that has required significant R&D on the part of all major chip manufacturers. The Kirin 980 is expected to be unveiled at IFA 2018, and will be first available in the Mate 20 as per the firmware files examined by XDA. The new 7nm FinFET process

If you are looking to pick up a flagship TV this year, then your purchase decision just got a lot tougher. At an event in New York, Sony has announced the launch of 2 new TVs. These TVs are a part of the Master Series. The Master Series aims to give viewers an experience that is as close as it can be to the intent of the creators of the content with respect to picture quality. The two models announced by Sony are the Z9F and the A9F. The Z9F is a part of Sony’s LED TV line-up and is a successor to the Z9D which launched about two years ago. The A9F is an OLED TV, a successor to the A1. The Sony Z9F will be available in 65-inch and 75-inch screen sizes, while the A9F will be available in 55-inch and 65-inchs screen sizes. There is no information available about the pricing of the TVs. They will first go on sale in the US later this year. Both the TVs are powered by Sony’s X1 Ultimate processor, the same we got a glimpse of at CES 2018. Both the TVs support 4K with HDR 10 and Dolby Visi

From displays with thick bezels, smartphones have now moved towards edgeless designs, and manufacturers are constantly vying for more screen real estate by coming up with alternative solutions to house components like the front camera, sensors , earpiece and more. The notch made it into our lives with the Essential Phone and then Apple’s iPhone X made us come to terms with it. The more affordable flagship makers followed suite by launching phones like the Asus Zenfone 5z, Huawei P20 Pro, OnePlus 6 and the likes. Oppo’s Find X and Vivo’s Nex took the edgeless display concept a little further and included motorised cameras that pop out of the display, without cutting into it like a notch. Google, too, jumped onboard when it announced support for the notch and gesture based navigation with the upcoming Android P OS. So if Android P is fully embracing the notch, it is but natural to think that Google’s next flagship smartphone series will sport the display element. The Pixel 3 XL, bigger

From displays with thick bezels, smartphones have now moved towards edgeless designs, and manufacturers are constantly vying for more screen real estate by coming up with alternative solutions to house components like the front camera, sensors , earpiece and more. The notch made it into our lives with the Essential Phone and then Apple’s iPhone X made us come to terms with it. The more affordable flagship makers followed suite by launching phones like the Asus Zenfone 5z, Huawei P20 Pro, OnePlus 6 and the likes. Oppo’s Find X and Vivo’s Nex took the edgeless display concept a little further and included motorised cameras that pop out of the display, without cutting into it like a notch. Google, too, jumped onboard when it announced support for the notch and gesture based navigation with the upcoming Android P OS. So if Android P is fully embracing the notch, it is but natural to think that Google’s next flagship smartphone series will sport the display element. The Pixel 3 XL, bigger

With portable speakers, you can take your music everywhere you go and listen to your favorite playlist on the go. Today, We have found some interesting cashback deals on Paytm Mall on portable speakers from brands like Philips, boAt, Sony and more.  boAt Stone 1000 Portable Speaker Price: Rs 6000 Deal price: Rs 2,634 (inclusive of cashback) The boAt Stone 1000 is a shockproof and waterproof Bluetooth speaker which comes with an IPX5 certification. The speaker packs a 3000mAh battery, which as per the company can deliver up to ten hours of music playback with a single charge. Click here to buy.  Sony SRS-XB10 Bluetooth Speaker  Price: Rs 4,990 Deal price: Rs 2,664 (inclusive of cashback) The Sony SRS-XB10 is a water-resistant Bluetooth speaker, which features an IPX5 rating. The device comes with Bluetooth and NFC technology that lets you connect your smartphone to the speaker quickly. As per the company, the speaker can provide up to 16 hours of music playback in one go. Click here to

With portable speakers, you can take your music everywhere you go and listen to your favorite playlist on the go. Today, We have found some interesting cashback deals on Paytm Mall on portable speakers from brands like Philips, boAt, Sony and more.  boAt Stone 1000 Portable Speaker Price: Rs 6000 Deal price: Rs 2,634 (inclusive of cashback) The boAt Stone 1000 is a shockproof and waterproof Bluetooth speaker which comes with an IPX5 certification. The speaker packs a 3000mAh battery, which as per the company can deliver up to ten hours of music playback with a single charge. Click here to buy.  Sony SRS-XB10 Bluetooth Speaker  Price: Rs 4,990 Deal price: Rs 2,664 (inclusive of cashback) The Sony SRS-XB10 is a water-resistant Bluetooth speaker, which features an IPX5 rating. The device comes with Bluetooth and NFC technology that lets you connect your smartphone to the speaker quickly. As per the company, the speaker can provide up to 16 hours of music playback in one go. Click here to

Last week, Xiaomi launched its much-awaited Mi A2 smartphone under Google’s Android One programme in Madrid, Spain. At the event. it was announced that the phone will be available in 40 countries globally, including in India. Finally, the wait is over and the Chinese conglomerate has decided to make the phone an Amazon exclusive device in the country. People can now see a rolling ad on the homepage of Amazon.in website. When you click on the ad, a new special page comes up showing a “Notify Me’ button. You can click the button to set a notification. The website will send you a notification when the phone becomes available. The special page also contains tiles that give info about the features of the smartphone. When you scroll down futher, you can see media reviews of the device. To promote its camera, the company has also uploaded half a dozen camera samples under a banner caption “#ShotonMiA2”. Xiaomi Mi A2 Specifications: The Xiaomi Mi A2 has an aluminum unibody design and comes wi

Last week, Xiaomi launched its much-awaited Mi A2 smartphone under Google’s Android One programme in Madrid, Spain. At the event. it was announced that the phone will be available in 40 countries globally, including in India. Finally, the wait is over and the Chinese conglomerate has decided to make the phone an Amazon exclusive device in the country. People can now see a rolling ad on the homepage of Amazon.in website. When you click on the ad, a new special page comes up showing a “Notify Me’ button. You can click the button to set a notification. The website will send you a notification when the phone becomes available. The special page also contains tiles that give info about the features of the smartphone. When you scroll down futher, you can see media reviews of the device. To promote its camera, the company has also uploaded half a dozen camera samples under a banner caption “#ShotonMiA2”. Xiaomi Mi A2 Specifications: The Xiaomi Mi A2 has an aluminum unibody design and comes wi

In a first, researchers from 20th Century Fox film studios have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered model to predict what target audience will most likely see a movie. The prediction is done on the basis of the film’s trailer. Since video trailers are one of the most critical elements of marketing campaigns for new films, the model can provide an opportunity to filmmakers to make movies depending on the interests of general moviegoer population, easily communicate the plot of the movie to them, present the main characters, and reveal important hints about the story. This could also help them to understand what aspects of the movie the audience liked and what parts they did not. “These insights typically determine the strategy for the rest of the marketing campaign. In this paper we present a tool, which we call Merlin Video, that uses computer vision to create dense representations of the movie trailer, and uses those representations to predict customer behaviour. Movie

In a first, researchers from 20th Century Fox film studios have developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered model to predict what target audience will most likely see a movie. The prediction is done on the basis of the film’s trailer. Since video trailers are one of the most critical elements of marketing campaigns for new films, the model can provide an opportunity to filmmakers to make movies depending on the interests of general moviegoer population, easily communicate the plot of the movie to them, present the main characters, and reveal important hints about the story. This could also help them to understand what aspects of the movie the audience liked and what parts they did not. “These insights typically determine the strategy for the rest of the marketing campaign. In this paper we present a tool, which we call Merlin Video, that uses computer vision to create dense representations of the movie trailer, and uses those representations to predict customer behaviour. Movie

For the first time ever, scientists have observed a radioactive molecule in space that originates from an ancient stellar explosion. As per Space.com, via a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the detected 26AlF radioactive molecule was radiated when a red nova occurred in the 17th century, which was observed by astronomers as a brightly shining phenomenon in the Vulpecula constellation. Red Nova is similar to a supernova, but instead of one, two stars are involved and they merge in an explosive event, which is followed by a cool off. While cooling-off, they produce large amounts of molecular gas and dust.  The molecular gas, 26AlF is a radioactive isotope of aluminum in the leftovers of the Nova which is called CK Vul (or Nova Vul 1670). Even though space is filled with various kinds of radiations, it’s the first time a radioactive molecule has been detected there. Additionally, this is also the first time that an entity producing the radioactive 26AlF isotope has direct

Ever seen a Tom Cruise movie in which he’s not running? If yes, it probably did not do as well as movies like Mission Impossible 3, in which Cruise sprinted for 3,212 feet or Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol where he ran 3,066 feet. No, these numbers have not been derived by a scientific research or a lengthy study, these are numbers compiled by popular movie review and discovery website Rotten Tomatoes.   According to data gathered by the website, movies in which Tom Cruise runs more than 1,000 feet have a higher Tomatometer average - 71 percent - than the movies in which he runs lesser. “Tom Cruise has sprinted a little over 24,000 feet on screen throughout his 37 years in the movies,” noted Rotten Tomatoes. How, pray tell, did Rotten Tomatoes get to this conclusion? Well, it wasn’t as fast a process as Cruise bolting in the new Mission: Impossible – Fallout. RT’s methodology, as they describe it, was “time-consuming” yet simple. They counted every time Cruise ran on screen, in

For the first time ever, scientists have observed a radioactive molecule in space that originates from an ancient stellar explosion. As per Space.com, via a study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, the detected 26AlF radioactive molecule was radiated when a red nova occurred in the 17th century, which was observed by astronomers as a brightly shining phenomenon in the Vulpecula constellation. Red Nova is similar to a supernova, but instead of one, two stars are involved and they merge in an explosive event, which is followed by a cool off. While cooling-off, they produce large amounts of molecular gas and dust.  The molecular gas, 26AlF is a radioactive isotope of aluminum in the leftovers of the Nova which is called CK Vul (or Nova Vul 1670). Even though space is filled with various kinds of radiations, it’s the first time a radioactive molecule has been detected there. Additionally, this is also the first time that an entity producing the radioactive 26AlF isotope has direct

Ever seen a Tom Cruise movie in which he’s not running? If yes, it probably did not do as well as movies like Mission Impossible 3, in which Cruise sprinted for 3,212 feet or Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol where he ran 3,066 feet. No, these numbers have not been derived by a scientific research or a lengthy study, these are numbers compiled by popular movie review and discovery website Rotten Tomatoes.   According to data gathered by the website, movies in which Tom Cruise runs more than 1,000 feet have a higher Tomatometer average - 71 percent - than the movies in which he runs lesser. “Tom Cruise has sprinted a little over 24,000 feet on screen throughout his 37 years in the movies,” noted Rotten Tomatoes. How, pray tell, did Rotten Tomatoes get to this conclusion? Well, it wasn’t as fast a process as Cruise bolting in the new Mission: Impossible – Fallout. RT’s methodology, as they describe it, was “time-consuming” yet simple. They counted every time Cruise ran on screen, in

Doing away with the famous Touch ID, Apple introduced the world to Face ID with its iPhone X last year, a trend that other smartphone-makers later followed somewhat religiously. Apple seems to be removing the Touch ID from all future iPhones, which reflects that the Cupertino-based company is sure that its Face unlocking technology will work in every condition. On the contrary, other manufacturers are still incorporating a fingerprint sensor, along with Face ID, in their devices as “an add on unlocking feature”. Now, in an interesting development, a group of skydivers have successfully attempted to unlock a phone using Facial Recognition during a freefall. The whole scene was published by Mashable in a video. In a 2.24 minute clip, the divers are seen jumping off the plane from about 15,000 feet. They claim that this was the first time they jumped off a plane with smartphones strapped to their bodies. The goal of the dive was to see if the technology could work in 'unusual' ci

Pendrive and memory cards are usually the preferred options when it comes to the portable storage. These little devices are inexpensive and easy to carry. Today, we have covered some of the best deals of Amazon on gadgets like pen drives and memory cards.    SanDisk Cruzer Blade 32GB Flash Drive   Price: Rs 999 Deal price: Rs 599   The SanDisk Cruzer Blade 32GB Flash Drive is a compact device that lets you transfer files from one computer to another easily. It also comes with SanDisk Secure Access software, which lets you protect your private files from an unauthorized access. Click here to buy.    SanDisk Ultra Dual 32GB USB    Price: Rs 1,290 Deal price: Rs 759   The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB flash drive sports a retractable design which protects it from dust and other potential damage. The pen drive is OTG enabled via a micro USB port, which means one can transfer the files of their smartphone to computer easily. It features a USB 3.0 connectivity, which as per the company, allows the

Doing away with the famous Touch ID, Apple introduced the world to Face ID with its iPhone X last year, a trend that other smartphone-makers later followed somewhat religiously. Apple seems to be removing the Touch ID from all future iPhones, which reflects that the Cupertino-based company is sure that its Face unlocking technology will work in every condition. On the contrary, other manufacturers are still incorporating a fingerprint sensor, along with Face ID, in their devices as “an add on unlocking feature”. Now, in an interesting development, a group of skydivers have successfully attempted to unlock a phone using Facial Recognition during a freefall. The whole scene was published by Mashable in a video. In a 2.24 minute clip, the divers are seen jumping off the plane from about 15,000 feet. They claim that this was the first time they jumped off a plane with smartphones strapped to their bodies. The goal of the dive was to see if the technology could work in 'unusual' ci