Technocete

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)