Technocete

In a bid to remove problem apps and to focus on quality, Apple will stop supporting 32-bit apps with the release of iOS 11 later this year, meaning that many legacy applications will no longer function at all. "Starting with iOS 10.3, Apple has started alerting users when they open a 32-bit app on iOS. The pop up notification reads that the app must be updated by the developer or else it may not work with future versions of iOS," tech website 9to5mac.com reported on Monday. The tech giant started supporting 64-bit applications with the launch of the iPhone 5s in September 2013. The company also asked developers to submit new apps with 64-bit support since February 2015 and app updates starting June 2015. Last month, Apple has officially released iOS 10.3 update that has major updates regarding its newly launched AirPods, WiFi calling and SiriKit. Other minor updates include new security features and a new cloud section under the Apple ID Settings menu. The new section shows

Adding another dimension to the concept of connected devices where you can "see" everything inside your home while being outdoors, here comes a new-age Internet Protocol (IP) camera. Launched by Noida-based electronic security solution provider AnG India, the device lets you keep an eye on where your family members -- even pets -- are, right on your smartphone while sitting in office. Priced at Rs 9,500 (plus taxes), we reviewed AnG's 1099x HD wireless alarm camera that comes with wireless passive infrared sensor (PIR) detector with door and window sensors. Here is what works for the device . The configuration is a tricky process and the working of the device depends a lot on the internet; so make sure that you have a strong and reliable net connection at home. Once the device is configured, you need to "add" the camera into the official "QV View" app. You can add multiple cameras if you have several of them installed and create a whole ecos

The combined sales of Samsung Electronics new flagship Galaxy S8 series, which will officially hit the shelves later this month, are expected to surpass the 40-million-unit-mark, industry data showed on Friday. South Korea's brokerage houses estimated the sales of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus to be around 43-60 million units, Yonhap news agency reported. Eugene Investment & Securities Co predicted the highest figure of 60 million, while Mirae Asset Daewoo Co expected 51 million units. Samsung Securities Co, a financial arm of Samsung, forecast 45 million phones being sold overall. "As for the Galaxy S models, we can say that a figure around 35 million units can be considered to fall below expectations, while that above 45 million is robust," said Hwang Min-sung, a researcher from Samsung Securities Co. "This year's sales of the Galaxy S8 are not expected to beat the 48 million units posted by the Galaxy S7 last year," Hwang added.'

Samsung India on Friday launched its latest smartphone Galaxy C7 Pro which will be sold exclusively on Amazon India from April 11. Priced at around US $435 (India price approx. Rs 27,990), Galaxy C7 Pro features 2.5D Gorilla Glass and sports a 5.7-inch, full-HD Super AMOLED display. "Galaxy C7 Pro is a slim and stunning device which comes packed with powerful features for unparalleled multitasking and multimedia experience," said Sandeep Singh Arora, Vice President, Online Business, Samsung India. Galaxy C7 Pro The device -- available in navy blue and gold colour -- comes equipped with a 2.2GHz octa-core processor paired with 4GB of RAM, has 64GB internal memory which is expandable up to 256GB and houses 3,300mAh battery, with fast-charging capabilities to fully charge the phone in 100 minutes. Galaxy C7 Pro features a 16MP rear camera as well as a 16MP front camera both with an f1.9 aperture lens. The rear camera comes equipped with phase detection auto-focus

Known for their premium-build quality at reasonable prices, Brainwavz's new B-Series line of earphones come with "Balanced Armature" technology for a richer listening experience. Priced at Rs 7,499 (US $ 115.71), the B150 falls under over-the-ear design of headphones and comes in a small form factor. Here is what works for the device. The compact design allows for a comfortable fit. Small angled nozzles are ergonomically designed, ensuring maximum comfort over longer listening periods. After the Y-split, there is a cinch that slides up and down to keep the earphones in place more securely, especially with over-the-ear wear. At the core of the earphones is the "Single Balanced Armature" driver that provides better treble performance than dynamic drivers, has faster response and more detailed sound. To review the audio performance of B150, we played various genres of tracks. Overall, we did not find any weakness.  On tracks with intense sub-bass content li

Chinese phone-maker OnePlus on Saturday announced that its limited edition OnePlus 3T midnight black was now available on OnePlusStore.in, the OnePlus Experience Store located on Brigade Road in  Bengaluru  and on Amazon.in priced at Rs 34,999. Every customer who buys OnePlus 3T midnight black from the Experience store will be offered a free sandstone cover, the company said in a statement. OnePlus 3T "We have been working on a black coloured OnePlus device for over a year now and are excited to bring this limited edition phone to India. The OnePlus 3T Midnight Black is not only strikingly beautiful, but it is also designed to resist smudges and fingerprints that often plague darker metal chassis," Vikas Agarwal, General Manager of OnePlus India, said in a statement. The OnePlus 3T midnight black features space-grade aluminum with three applied dark coatings 14 microns thick and maintains the natural look and feel of metal. The device comes with 128GB of stora

Apple on Friday announced the opening of its App Accelerator in Bengaluru that will provide specialized support for developers to build tools for the iOS platform. Each week, Apple's team will guide developers to design best practices and refine their skills to create iOS apps. "We are impressed by the great entrepreneurial spirit in India and are excited to provide a platform for these developers to share their innovations with customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, in a statement. The announcement came at a time when Apple app developers earned over $20 billion in 2016 -- up over 40 per cent from 2015 and several of those talented minds were from India. According to an Apple India spokesperson, app developers from India are now creating amazing apps for its platform. "There are several app developers from India who are now part of the growing innovative community globally," the spokes

South Korean giant Samsung on Wednesday launched its flagship device, Galaxy S8, that has a voice assistant,  after much speculation over its specifications over past few months.  The device comes in two variants with different screen sizes -- the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus - and will be available from April 21. Registrations begin from March 30. The device might be priced from $720 (approximately Rs 47,000). Samsung will release these devices in India in the coming months. Samsung also revealed Bixby, a smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant. With a perfect amalgam of voice, vision and touch, Bixby can search restaurants, take screenshots and even book a cab for you. The technology giant has used the best hardware and provided the best features available to date in the device. The device has a bezel-less curved edge "infinity display" covered with pristine glass and a 12MP rear camera with multi-frame proces

Finnish tech firm Nokia, which made a comeback with three Android-based phones -- Nokia 6, Nokia 5, Nokia 3 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) -- has confirmed that the handsets will be available in the US this year. Parent company HMD Global announced the handsets during the MWC. "We're planning on a global release so yes they will be. Get the latest updates by registering at http://Nokia.com/phones," the Nokia Mobile Twitter account said in its reply to a query by US-based book blogger Qwill. Nokia 6 features a 5.5-inch full-HD screen and is crafted from a single block of 6000 series aluminium. The device will be available in four colours -- matte black, silver, tempered blue and copper. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 mobile platform and Qualcomm Adreno 505 graphics processor, Nokia 5 features a 5.2-inch IPS HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass. Nokia 3 is focused on converting feature phone users towards their first smartphone. The new

China-based Oppo has done well in India, capturing 8.6 per cent market share in 2016, and the company has progressively shifted its strategy towards the premium end of devices. Betting on the selfie culture across the country, the company is now looking to tempt users with the new Oppo F3 Plus smartphone. At Rs 30,990, the Oppo F3 Plus offers a lot for your money. A large battery, a six-inch 1080p display, a dual front camera set-up and plenty of storage -- and that's just the beginning. Here is what works for the device The Oppo F3 Plus has a sexy, svelte, metallic body that screams it's a premium device. The "six string" antenna is aesthetically pleasing and ensures solid reception. The home button doubles up as a fingerprint sensor and looks similar to the one in Samsung's Galaxy line-up of devices. The sensor recognises the stored print in an instant, only occasionally failing if your finger is wet. The screen is guarded by Corning Gorilla Glas

Chinese smartphone company Oppo on Thursday launched a new smartphone Oppo F3 Plus in India that comes with dual front camera setup, including a 120-degree wide-angle group selfie camera. Priced at Rs 30,990 (approx US$  473.40) , the first sale of F3 Plus begins April 1 across India and will also be available on Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal. Consumers can pre-order the device starting Thursday till March 31. Oppo F3 Plus "The dual selfie camera F3 Plus marks a new 'Group Selfie' trend, and reinforces our position as the Selfie Expert," said Global VP and President of Oppo India Sky Li. The smartphone has 16MP front camera along with a 120-degree wide-angle 8MP front camera which captures a wider view, up to 105 per cent more than a regular 80-degree lens field of view. The 6-inch device is powered by octa-core processor backed by 4GB, 64GB internal memory and runs on ColorOS 3.0. The 16MP rear camera features dual phase detection auto-focus tech

Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus on Thursday announced that its latest smartphone OnePlus 3T in Midnight Black edition will be available to users for a limited time only. The limited edition of OnePlus 3T Midnight Black will be sold through three channels -- Amazon.in, oneplusstore.in and OnePlus Experience Store in Bengaluru priced at Rs 34,999 (approximately US$  534.64 ). "This new version of our most successful phone so far combines powerful hardware, fast and smooth software and the finest attention to detail," said Pete Lau, Founder and CEO of OnePlus, in a statement. OnePlus 3T Primary specs : The device will come with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM and sports 16MP rear and front cameras. OnePlus has 3,400mAh battery -- an increase of 13 per cent as compared to its predecessor. "The OnePlus 3T Midnight Black version will be available starting March 31, 2 p.m. onwards both on Amazon.in and oneplusstore.in, till stock lasts. Pre-order on Amazon.i

Marking its entry into the mid-segment smartphone category, domestic mobile manufacturing company Lava on Wednesday launched Z25 and Z10 smartphones priced at Rs 18,000 and Rs 11,500, respectively. Lava Z25 sports 5.5-inch 2.5D-curved HD IPS display. The dual-sim device is powered by an Octacore processor, supported by 4GB and 32GB on-board memory with 3020 mAh (ATL) battery. The phone runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0 operating system. The device sports 13MP rear camera and an 8MP selfie camera. "Lava Z25 and Z10 are packed with premium features of camera, fingerprint, design and durability that go well beyond the conventional boundaries in this price segment," said Gaurav Nigam, Product Head, Lava International. Specs and features : Lava Z10 sports a 5 inch 2.5D curved HD IPS Display, an 8MP rear camera and 5MP selfie shooter. It is also powered by Octacore processor and runs on Android Marshmallow 6.0 OS. This device has 2620 mAh (ATL) battery with 'Power Saver mod

In one of the biggest mergers in the telecom space, Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group-promoted Idea Cellular on Monday announced their much-awaited amalgamation. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, will be its Chairman. "Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular announced they have reached an agreement to combine their operations in India (excluding Vodafone's 42 per cent stake in Indus Towers) to create India's largest telecom operator," a joint statement by the companies said. "The combined company would become the leading communications provider in India with almost 400 million customers, 35 per cent customer market share and 41 per cent revenue market share," it added. Idea Cellular in a regulatory filing said its Board of Directors "has approved the scheme of amalgamation of Vodafone India Ltd and its wholly owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd with the company (Idea)". The merger will create an entity with

Bollywood actress Sunny Leone has been roped in as brand ambassador for Dubai-based mobile brand XTouch. "It gives me a great pleasure to be working with one of the most exciting consumer electronics brand in the Middle East. The brand represents premium quality and craftsmanship and comes loaded with user experience that makes its products most appealing and aspiring," Sunny said in a statement. Sunny will be promoting the brand during the forthcoming spring edition of GITEX Shopper at Dubai World Trade Centre. The actress is all set to dazzle the crowds at GITEX Shopper and will unveil special promotional offers for XTOUCH on March 30. Sunny has been roped in for her "beauty, grace, elegance and confidence", says Jack Lee, president at XTouch. On the acting front, Sunny is currently busy with her upcoming film "Tera Intezaar", which also stars Arbaaz Khan. (IANS)

Speculations that famed game Super Mario Run is coming to Android phones are set to end soon -- it will be available in March. According to video game publisher Nintendo America, the game will be available for Android users from March 23. "Android version of #SuperMarioRun will be available on 3/23 with the Ver(sion).2.0.0 update!" @NintendoAmerica tweeted on Saturday. Nintendo launched Super Mario Run in December 2016 for iPhone and has witnessed around 78 million downloads till date. "Android users will get version 2.0.0 upon release, while iPhone users will get an update to the version on the same day. The update will add some new playable characters to the game," the Verge reported. The game features three modes -- World Tour, Toad Rally and Kingdom Builder -- and is free to download. (IANS)